The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1889-07-20

our way. We were still two miles from
the village, and it was nearly shutdown,
when thunder storm came up. We
were in pretty open ground when the
first flash of lightning came, and know
ing that it would soon be followed by a
downpour of rain we made dash for a
grove to our right. fell before l had
gone ten steps, and as l got to my feet
thunder shook the earth, and the rain
drops began to patter. Irushed ahead
in what l supposed was the direction
my comrades had gone, but as it after
ward appeared l bore off to the right,
missed the grove entirely, and just as
the flood-gates of heaven opened |
dashed into a native hut on the edge
of clearing. | did not see the hut
until close on it, and entered it suppos-
ing it to be inhabited. Even when |
called aloud and got no response, and
knew by the sound of my voice that the
hut had been abandoned, | reasoned
that | was on the outskirts of the
village, and that my companions had
taken shelter in huts near by.
The storm had long been gathering
and its blackness brought night at once.
AS soon as the lightning began to play
| could see the interior of the hut by
the flashes. There was only one room,
with the usual mud floor, and the only
article left behind was hamper, such
as the natives strap to their backs to
carry loads. This stood in corner,
and supposed it contained some per-
sonal effects to be carried away at the
owners convenience. Had l not seen
this hamper, and thereby got the idea
that the hut had just been vacated, l
should not have dared cross it and sit
down on the floor with my back to the
wall to wait for the storm to cease, as
every hut is taken possession of by
serpents as soon as abandoned. The
roof was in pretty good repair. and l
had nothing to worry about. The thun-
der and lightning were soon over, but
the rain continued to fall for at least
two hours. Then it ceased almost in
gnu IOllCu dWd
and allowed a new moon to show it's
face.
The remainder of the party had taken
shelter under the trees, and as soon as
the rain ceased they came out into the
open and began to call for me. l was
resting easy and half asleep when l
heard the first call, and at the second
| drew my feet under me and stiffly
pulled myself up. As did so | heard
a snarl and growl, followed by the
fall of the hamper and a rush, and |
was thunderstruck to see tiger spring
out of the door. As subsequent investi-
cation proved, he was crouched be-
tween the hamper and the wall, and
had been in hiding all the time was
in the hut. Why did he not attack me?
He might have beer frightened at the
storm, as many savage beasts are, or
my boldness in walking in upon him
may have ratified him. Unfortunately,
he recovered his courage as soon as he
left the hut. The search party was
directly in his path to cover, and ne
charged right among the men and
knocked one of the natives down, and
stopped long enough to inflict bite
which resulted in death.
On a subsequent trip, year later,
and further to the south, had an
other odd encounter with tiger. 1t
ought to have cost me my life, and
why it did not no tiger hunter has
ever been able to satisfactorily explain.
We had been in the village of Syderpul
for three days, three white men and a
dozen attendants. seeking to destroy
man-eater who had created great
havoc, when the beast came out of a
jungle just at shutdown. seized an old
man seated in front of a hut not two
hundred feet from us, and reached |
cover with his prey before we got the
alarm. We raised a great shout and
discharged our rifles after him, but he
replied with growl and kept on. In
this case, and in this alone. | saw the
tigers method of carrying off human
being. He seized the man by the
shoulder and gave the body a twist
until the weight OF it rested on his
back. and he trotted off under the
burden as if it did not weigh ten
pounds. There was a howl all over
the village, and the old mans relatives,
who were many, set up such wailing
as made evening hideous.
We could do nothing that night, but
were astir early next morning. and
were not long in tracing the tiger to a
dense thicket in the bed of ravine a
mile away. He had not carried the
body there, however. Being either
sharp set with hunger or over-bold in
self-confidence, he had stopped within
forty rods of the village for his horrible
feast, and only some fragments of
clothing and a few bones were left to
tell the poor nsan's fate. Our heaters
not only found the tiger at home, but
he was defiant and ready for fight.
Twice he charged up the steep bank to
find that his tormentors had taken
refuge in trees and escaped him. He
finally retired to the center Of the
thicket to bide his time. We flung
- l. ooI lo,,1l