The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1889-10-17

ing for the possession of the body OF
that child. Now one, now the other
would get hold on the throat of its
opponent and tear away huge pieces of
flesh with its hideous fangs; their great
eyes all the time cleaning with fire,
their supple bodies swaying to and fro
as they grappled in struggle to the
death. They must have fought thus for
upwards of twenty minutes, sometimes
the man-eater, sometimes the tigress
getting an advantage; when, glaneing
for a moment from the scene of this
unique contest to the spot where the
child was lying, | saw it. to my aston
ishment, move and otherwise give un-
doubted signs of life. The mother saw
it also, and if had not stopped her
would have cried aloud, ''He lives, he
livesw
Soon. gazing in astonishment, we saw
the little fellow sit up and look over to
where the tigers were raging in battle.
Instead of being frightened, however,
he clapped his hands in childish glee
felt that l would give lac of rupees
to save him. He was quite unharmed.
having only been stunned.
''See," said the young mother,
proudly, despite her fears. ''see, he is
not frightened. All! his father was a
hunter"
turned my gaze again upon the
ferocious combatants. Twice l lifted
my rife to end the contest, and twice
Baker said, as he put aside my barrel:
Don't fire. Let them fight it out.
1t will make our work the easier"
So forebore, and we sat there and
witnessed the dreadful strife drawing to
a close; for weakened by loss of blood,
! utterly exhausted and with his entrails
dragging on the ground, the man-eater
with last desperate effort sprang up
ward at his opponent, missed his mark,
fell face downward upon the sand and
rolling over died. The tigress had
triumphed.
! And now 1 lifted my rife for the
third time, but dropped it in despair.
| was too late. The tigress, desperate.
ly wounded as she was, had already
gained the spot where the child sat,
cooing and growing in happy innocence
of its awful peril. To fire now would
be to run the risk of hitting the child,
as the animal lay in a straight line with
it. There was nothing to do but keep
our nerve and wait. 1t was hard on us
men; but the agony of the mother was
terrible to witness. l thought she
would go crazy.
| Hour after hour went by and still the
wounded tigress stretched her great,
beautifully striped frame near the little
child, licking and fondling it from time
time as if it were one of her own slain
cubs. Soon the little fellow, tired out
with play, lay back against the body
of his feroeious protectress and slum-
bered peacefully In about an hour he
awoke, hungry and crying, and then
the strangest sight of all was wit
messed. We saw the ferocious animal
who had given its life to preserve the
life of the little one, moved by the ma.
ternal instinct which governs all the
higher brute creation, sucking the lit.
tie Hindoo. But it was evidently dy.
ing. Its attempts to reach and fondle
the tiny infant became feebler and
feebler. At last with dying effort il
raised itself on its forepaws and gazed
around. Even as we looked we saw
the great muscles relax, perceptible
shiver ran through the great frame
and in another moment its muzzle
dropped upon the sand. and remained
there motionless and inert. The
tigress was dead.-Austyn w. Gran
vile. in Chicago Journal.