New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1891-01-18
LONE IN An INDIAN JONGLI'
A TIGERS COMPANY ON A LONELY ROAD.
M1srAK1NG A THIEvING CARRIER FOR =
LEOPARD

LEOPARD
"were you ever really frighened!' asRea 'ho III
cuircr Of one who had seen life in several pha'e'
.Do Won mean as a coward, or being in an internal
funk'27
DWELL | mean scaredf q,
Scared as You Americans call IT, nave oeel.
was nrety well scared by the muneers in INDIA lheS
-. - do.,or IN the same carriage in which | was
dr,n % the fort in Sealote and the brutes TOOK Us
all nrsoners that is the corpse, his wife, my mother
and two brothers. We were rescued by some o'h"s
but that is only childish funk though l must "A
Won that I'm my boyish dreams the bayonettns OF my
youngc, brother. for the sepoys did toss him on ther
bayonets gave me many Il terrible nightmare ih@t
was long ago. however, but not many years from that
awful time my father stationed at Alnorah Just
at the foot Of the HimalayaS and was ordered from
there to Mecrut.
1T was before railroad days in india and the
tourney had to be done in bullock carts and paanquhs
Through the Tera forest the latter was the only MODE
Of travelling.
ITO the sportsman it is paradise Tigers
eopards elephants, sambur nellghuy, deer OF all
sqas. wild pig, peacocks pheasants ana numerous
other quarry loved by the sportsman are 10 be
found pleuufully To the traveller especially with
a wife and family. this feverbeted region Is one To
ot through as quickly as possible. 1t was 50 In looo
Then. more 50 than now, palanquln bearers "oun
leave their loads In the road and fly at the sign OF any
dangerous animal Of the jungle
.These palangun professions curious ones
Four 10 six men would bear the poles OF the paahqu
ON their shoulders. and bctldc them If they got
in stem for that rocked the sahib meme sahib out
IT their slumber or II they awake made reading
an impossibillty. Beside the palanquin ran the men
who carried the baggage, slung on poles there were
men with torches to show the road the light making
fantastic shadows the thick forest foliage on either
side The servants and extra hands brought up the
~, lord ~
rerrlnghe sahb with his wife and children Ills worn
,vas law Dut even 10 the timd Iiindoo the call OF
nature was often stronger one than the command OF
the sahlb Two facts OF this jungle traVel lHe "ri'er
knows o. The first in the Terai
I'VE had entered the Tera and were in Its very
midst when the jungle all around was alive Win
trumpctinG that told undoubtedly OF large nero d
elephants The carriers. as IS their wont III any aP
nrooch Of danger dropped the palanquins and other
i,,d but the Sahb headed the flying crowd and shoot
inr the leader Of the rout ordered the men back III
choicest Bencalce. The jungle was SET on hie os
some Of the torch-bearers and the huge beasts soon
we're heard laundering through the underground ana
then followed an old path 10 water ana saieV.
How about the shot lindoo" "Oh. WE'LL u was
inst after the mutiny. | suppose he was buried ny
some Of his people Just at that time we didn't thnk
much q, a Uindoo We only remembered Cawnpoor
at was years aferwaM that this same desertion
nv native carriers vas brought home forclby 10 me-
Two officers OF the garrison at Bangaore were ordered
10 ioin tho IIydcrabad contingent We gave them
a great farewell and were pretty late leaving ue
housc In fact it rcvcllle that sent many OF
ne hurrynr to our quarters 10 change our mess uni
form into that for parade The two officers C and
r. leaving Ms were both young men ana strong Ihey
tumblc1 into their palanquins and were soon out oil
the cantonncnt ont Of sight. and by tat evening oI
Of IN, memory Of many. Down in the plains cholea
wa, prettv bad. but nobody thought anything of II.
rha hot lgI
Of the disease at the time in Kurnoo where there
was q small garrison The travellers had a pleasant
evening there and set OIL shortly after 10 O'Clock
along the Jungle road. II midnight when one
n, tbe officers showed undoubted symptoms of cholera
The carriers. learning it, promptly boed
To be deserted in jungle Is never pleasant, but
70 have man down with cholera on ones hands
adds considerably to the dsagreeabeneSs OF the Stua
ton c. had chlorodyne and gave r.
big dose then closing up the palanquin determined
to walk back 10 KGrnool for assistance. IL was
beautiful night, with the moon nearly at the full.
lighting up the road and the few open patches OF
the Jungle The jungle was alive with strange cries.
and every and then some animal would crash
through the underwood C thought these latter
sounds increased rather quickly, and halted more
than once to peer into the BUSH There was nothing
to be seem and he tried to persuade himself that IL
was only his Imagination. lie hurried on. and coming
to an omen space was Mortified to tiger walking
parallel to him. lie stopped, the brute did the same
II was no use turning back he had covered half the
tourney He cursed his folly for having left his rifle
behind lie threw stone at the animal and waving
his arms frightened it away. and then began TO run
toward Kurnool. The tiger was soon back and like
a cat playing with a mouse allowed It's fnture victim
to hurry on but never WAS out of striking distance.
For a short way the beast seemed to vanish. 1t had
only trottcd ON ahead. and c. turned n corner
Of Inc road he the tiger standing ont In the middle
Of it, twltchng his tail from side to side. lie fright
encd fine animal again. and 1t took to the jungle.
when after few minutes he saw the brute again. this
time crouchiGg In ne road rcany Tor Snrlng nature
There were white men hanging over him when
he came to his senses, with lot OF excited natives
standing round with torches In their hands;
The garrison Kurnool had heard of the descrtion
and plight OF their late guests and had set out at
once 10 aid them. They had the tiger Just in
thn MEL, Of time and the brute frightened by the
torches had sought safety in the jungle. C was
sent in at TO kurnool. and not hong afterward
II was brought in and successfully nursed back to
What happened to the carriers that deserted
They got II pretty not from the resident magistrate,
YOU may bc certain.
/ was terribly scared once in an African forest
I had slung nv hammock between two trees. had the
bush cleared away for short distance round, and
made the carriers put their loads under my hammock.
must have slept for three hours. when | suddenly
in possession of every sense felt there danger
around and hardly moving pcered into the dark.
There was Just glImmer of light and made out
what | Thought was a leopard. had a revolver. not
good arm to shoot leopard with: 1t was. however.
better than nothing. To take sight impossible,
50 | fred trusting in luck. There was "A terrible
yen. it vas not that Of q leopard; but OF q human
was crawling up on all tours to maize a robbery. We
left him at the next village. With piece Of cloth
Tor his maintenance. II the man ever recovered.
only been shot in the thigh, he was undoubtedly
made slave and think he deserved It. at any rate
put stop to all future robbery"