Fisherman & farmer. [volume] (Edenton, N.C.) 1887-19??, 1890-05-09
IN A TIGHT PLACE.

INTERVIEW WITH A MANEATING TIGER.
While at Katamand, in the NepaI dis
trict of India, with Captain White, the
American tiger and serpent DESTROYER, a
delegation came in from a village called
Aliwar, thirty miles away, to get some
OF the English officers to 90 out and de-
stroy a man-eater who had rendered
himself q terror to large district. Hear
ing Of the presence of the American. they
came to him instead. The Government
bounty on the head of man-eater at
that time was $50. The villagers offered
to make up sixty additional, and to give
the Captain COW and four goats. In
ten minutes he had closed a bargain, and
on the afternoon of the second day we
reached AliWar. 1t was situated on the
Scindwala River, which is one of the
tributaries of the Ganges, and within
fifteen miles of the foothills of the
Himalaya Mountains. The country was
badly broken and covered with heavy
forest and jungle, and the Captain pro-
nOunced it the finest tiger range in India
The village contained about 700 in
habitants, and had considerable COM
merce with points lower down on the
stream. 1t was on the bank of the
river strung out for half
mile, and the cleared space thus
occupied was not more than
quarter of a mile wide. A DAYS work
on the part of the villagers would have
been sufficient to clear away the cover
under which the tiger approached, but
not move was made. The beast had
appeared about four weeks previous, and
the first intimation of his presence cost
woman her life. She was cooking at
fire on the north side of the village, not
over ten feet from the door at which her
husband and three children sat, when
tiger, who had come out of a ravine and
kept the cover of some bushes, sprang
upon her. This was just at shutdown. The
spring of the tiger knocked the woman
into the fire. He seized her by the foot
and drew her out, and, although her
clothing was on fire, he took hold of her
shoulder, gave her body twist to throw
the weight on his back, and was off at a
run. The woman must have been killed
by the blow Of his paw as he sprung, as
she made no cry.
In the four weeks which had elapsed
since the man-eater appeared he had cal
ried off seven people, and for long dis
tance of ten miles around the people were
in great terror. There were half dozen
old muskets owned in Aliwar, and these
had been loaded and discharged at the
ravine at high noon in hopes to scare the
tiger away. Two nights previous to our
arrival the tiger had entered a hut through
an open window, seized boy ten years
of age, and made his exit by the door.
The cries of the boy awoke every one in
the village and could be heard a long
way up the ravine He had not come the
night before, but was expected to show
up on this the night of our arrival. We
reached <he place about two hours before
shutdown and as soon as the Captain got
the lay Of the land he made his plans.
Two huts on the northern edge Of the
village were abandoned to US. The Cap
tain and one Of his men took one, and a
second native and myself occupied the
other. All had guns, and the plan was to
watch for the tiger and pot him. The
hut [ occupied belonged to a storage
merchant. 1t was a solid building, made
OF small logs and a heavy thatch roof.
The ground floor, which was the only
one, occupied space of about 1924
feet. 1t had one door and two windows.
The door and one window were in front
and the other window at the rear. Six.
teen feet from the door bamboo parti-
ton ran across the room. In this rear
room goods belonging to various parties
were slowed at fixed charge, while the
family occupied the front room as living
room. The door in the partition slid up
and down in grooves.
When we began our watch we fastened
the door securely. The window beside it
was an opening about two feet square, pro
tected only by cloth curtain. The o.,
at the rear had a wooden blind, ar lis
was fastened on the outside.
1t was a hot and sultry night, and we
had jar of water and brandy in the
stOreroom. The front window COM
manded a good view of the country over
which the tiger was expected to ap-
proach, and for two hours peered and
listened and waited, but without re-
ward. The native was stretched out on
the floor and sound asleep. Weary with
standing on my feet, aud my throat very
dry for the want of moisture, quietly
aroused my companion and told him to
watch while refreshed myself. I was