Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1891-04-29
BATTLE WITH A TIGRESS.
An African Hunters Experience With One
of the Fierce Creatures.

An African Hunters Experience with One
of the Fierce Creatures.
We had gone but a short distance on
the trail of the wounded deer when an
extra thick, COOL gamy-looking patch
of cover in the bed of the nullah at
tractcd my attention; SO, picking up a
large taft of grass, L hurled it in.
This was answered by loud ''wough-
wough," and out sprang tigress, who
was scrambling up the opposite bank
when l fired at her. Size finched at the
shot. and half fell back when l let her
have the second barrel, yelling to Da!-
soon enough. and had only time to get
behind tlse trunk Of large "mhowa-
tree when the tiG1ess gailored past
him within a few yards!
heard him fire two shot in rapid suc-
cessiCn. and seen made my way up to
him. He said that after his shots the
tigress went on. but very lame; and he
had lost sight of her'at a spot where the
little plateau he was on sloped down to
some open ground covered with bushes,
around whose base patches of rumnah-
tered here and there.
On reaching the spot where the
ground sloped downward we saw the
tigress lying under d bher-tree out in
the open, some two hundred yards from
us. Davidson was all for opening fire
on her there and then, but | would not
assent to this; and after some argu-
ment as to the best course to pursue,
we decided to walk up to her till within
some thirty or forty yards before firing
that is, if she would allow US to take
such liberties This we did; and got up
within some thirty yards OF where she
was lying, gazing at us with her head
between her paws, and her tail sweep
ing the ground preparatory to charg-
ing.
Davidson then fred, and, with that
hoarse coughing roar made by charg-
ing tiger, which can never be recalled
by those who have once heard it with
out a tingling of the blood and a quick
ening of the pulse, and she jumped,
and came straight at us. the incarna-
ton of fendish rage: bHt both firing in
succession, she turned, and entered one
of the patches Of grass | have alluded
70, where she stood for an instant, Civ
ing me standing shot. | heard the
''thud" of my bullet, and the next in
slant she turned and came roaring and
charging down at US again.
During this charge through the dry.
withered grass, she presented a most
curious appearance; and the only thing
7 can lil1en the scene to is to an imagi-
nary long, fiery, wriggling serpent adj
vancing rapidly in a sinuous course.
Davidson gave her another shot as
she came on, and as he did SO an old
stump of tree. some four feet high
and slightly out of her direct course,
seemed to attract her attention, and
this she attacked with great fury, Civ
ing it a couple of swift, lightninglike
pats with her muscular paws.
This gave us time to put in three more
shots which. as they were delivered at
only some fifteen yards stance, tum-
bled her over, to our intense relief and
satisfaction.
Pelting the body we'll with clods of
earth and stones, to make sure she was
dead, we walked up TO inspect our prize,
and were surprised to find the vitality
she had exhibited. We had fired twelve
shots at her, and out of these ten were
hitS.-N. Y. Journal.