Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1891-03-26

hundred and fifty to four hundred
pound. II Is not impossible that the
weight may sometimes reach Eve hun-
dred and iifty pounds bat the author
Of this book has never seen 90 heavy
90 animal When the animal il fair
y measured, without stretching, the
average length from point Of nose TO
tip Of tail 10 nine feet six inches.
This 10 seldom exceeded by more than
few inches. One tiger. when meas
ured by Sir Samuel. proved to Be
nine feet seven inches long; bat the
hide when cured. was eleven feet. four
inches in length.
The strength Of the tiger 10 also
exaggerated 10 the popular conception.
Thus il 10 often asserted that this an.
imal can lift and carry off q COW
simply through the power Of its jaws
and neck. This notion is pronounced
preposterous. Extremely small az are
the cattle Of India. their height e1-
ceeds that of the tiger. and, therefore.
. cows body must drag on the ground.
As the weight of an ordinary native
COW 10 just about that of the average
tiger three hundred and fifty to four
hundred pounds). the latter can, Of
course. drag its own weight By lifting
its victims body partially in its
mouth and thus lessening the friction
on the surfacs Of the seil. It 10 q
mistake TO suppose that any tiger Tex
cept the so-called man-eaters) attacks
man with the intention of eating him,
as natural prey. The greater num-
Der of accidents are occasioned by ii.
gers which have no idea of making q
meal Of their victims, and which as
q matter of fact leave uneaten the
men they have killed. They are usu-
ally prompted by the instinct of self.
defence. Even the man-eater which
is usually an old and cowardly tiger,
or more commonly tigress. attacks
men not 80 much because of any &C.
quired preference for human flesh. as
because il is easier to kill native
villager than to hunt for the scarce
jungle game. The difficulty expert
enced in killing man eater is due.
not to any superiority Of courage over
other tigers, but, on the contrary, to
it's exceptional cunning and caution.
1t is a sneak thief.
OF the chapter devoted by Sir Sam
uel to the various species Of lsopards,
by far the most interestir & sections
relate to the cheetsh, or hunting leop.
ard, which in India and Persia has
from time immemorial been tanned
and trained for the purpose Of hunt
ing deer and antelopes. This animal
is entirely different from other leop-
ards. having long legs. light body,
q long neck, q small head and large
and piercing eyes. The cheetah 10
generally admitted to be the fastest
animal in the world. being able to
overtake, on open ground. The black
buck which surpasses in speed the
highest bred English greyhound. II
may be kept about house with com.
parative safety, as it seldom attacks
domestic animals, but confines its at.
tention to the beasts of plain and for
est. The domesticated cheetahs that
Sir Samuel has seen were AZ gentle as
dogs. When game 10 expected. there
fore. this animal is conveyed to the
scene of the hunt in cart, seated on
the outside Of his cage beside his mas.
ter, who has his arm around him.
He is blinded by a hood. like fal.
con, and sits upright like dog. wait
ing for bis eyes to be uncovered. AT.
ter successful hunt, the cheetah is
allowed to lap a quantity of fresh
blood from wooden ladle. This Ia.
die, consequently, has for him the
same attraction as q "lure" for fal.
con or seive of oats for horse. By
showing it to him you can recover the
cheetah when he is disobedient TO a
call.
There 10 marked difference be.
tween the Indian rhinoceros, the
"unicorn' Of the ancienis, which has
but one horn Cless. on the average,
than eight inches long, and the AT.
ric an rhinoceros. that has two horns,
Of which the anterior protu bsrancs is
very long and straight. The Ketloa,
or black rhinoceros. which inhabits
the country east of the White Nile,
from Abyssinia TO near the equator. 10
pronounced by Sir Samuel Baker the
most ferocious Of known animals. Il
will attack either man or beast with
out the slightest provocatioD. The
longest anterior horn belonging TO
any Of the black rhinoceros shot BY
Sir Samuel himself measured twenty.