The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1891-01-20
4 RIDE WITH DEATH.
David Kerr Tells a Story of Tiger
Shooting.
ADVENTURE IN FAR-OFF INDIA.
HOW a Bioodthlrsty Beast Was Imprisoned In
Mail Cart to the Horror Of "a
Single Passenger.

Oh0sS ConlOuLucu UlSerS, L1ey never Will
show up when you want 'em, and they al
ways come just when you don'tl"
Little did Capt. HaHIin, while growing
over the perverseness OF the tigers in not
coming to be killed, dream how terribly
his careless words were about to be made
good.
he and | had been tramping by night
through lonely part of the Sivalik range
THE foothills of the Himalaya} toward
point where we hoped to catch the district
mail cart, which would carry US to our
destination, the little town of Raipoor.
Having our guns with US we had improved
the occasion by hating at spot well
known as mice place" for tigers, a ma
tive postman having been killed and eaten
there only week before while on his way
to meet the very mail cart which we were
now trying to catch.
But, as Hamlin had said, the tigers
would not come when we wanted them:
and after waiting nearly an hour in vain we
gave 1t up. and went on through the Jungle
to strike the one local post road.
we were none too soon, for scarcely had
we emerged from the bristling mass of
thlcket that stretched its tangled boughs
right into the narrow road from either
side, and scarcely had we caught sight of
the low white wall of the tiny post station
gllmmering spectrally in the fitful moon
light, when the rumble of the approaching
mail cart was heard in the distance.
A queer affair it was, very much like an
iron tank on wheels; for when this road
had been opened a few years before the
mall carts were often attacked by the wild
mountain tribes of the dirtrict on the
chance OF finding money or articles of
value among their contents, and had to be
guarded by an escort of native troopers
As an additional precaution, the mails
were 1nclosed in huge iron case, and this
case was still in use, though these attacks
were now thing of the past, and the
armed guards had been dispensed with for
some time
In front of the case was perch for the
native driver and conductor, and behind it
was sort of open box in which stray
passenger or two like ourselves could be
slowed if required, the whole machine being
drawn by two tough little mountain tats
(ponies).
The mail cart had pulled up; the driver
was standing by his horses heads; the con-
ductor had opened the case and was lust
handing out a packet of letters and /.
having scrambled in behind, was about to
take the guns from my comrade and stow
them under my feet, when suddenly there
broke from the thicket close beside US a
sound that l shall never forget; not full.
deep mouthed roar, like that of the African
lion, but horrible, snarling yell, at which
the strongest nerves might well have tin
gled.
In one glance / saw huge dark shadow
shoot up like rocket from the wall of
matted boughs; the conductor falls back
ward as If struck by a thunderbolt; the
horses dart away at full gallop, hurting the
driver headlong into a ditch, and then I
found myself tearing away through the
darkness in a runaway mail cart, with N.Y.
self for its only inmatel
So l supposed, at least, but l was soon
undeceived by dull, mufied roar that
seemed to break out under my very feet,
soaring the frantic horses worse than ever
Then l saw it all. In springing at the con-
ductor the tiger must have fallen into the
iron case, and the lid, which closed with
a spring, had shut down upon him and
caught him in a trap. So there was, bump
ing and banging at furious speed over a
rough road at midnight, in the heart of an
Indian jungle, with my horses mad with
fright, a tiger for my only companion, and
no weapon of any kind-for Hamlin had
not had time to put in the guns before the
horses bolted.
1t was true that, as matters then stood, a
whole arsenal of guns would not have
helped me one whit; for, not knowing the
trick of the spring lock, l was quite unable
to get at the tiger, and the tiger was equal
ly unable to get at me. But if the mail
cart were to be upset, as it was almost sure
TO be sooner or later, the lock might be
broken and the tiger set free, in which case
nv utterly unarmed condition might be a
serious matter.
Mr.. Barnum in similar position would
doubtless have found and opened the
spring, harnessed the tiger to the mail
cart, made him draw it to the nearest town
and then exhibited or sold him at hand
some profit. But /, not being clever enough
for such stroke of genius, was at my wits
end what to do, when the question was
suddenly decided for me.
As we came flying round sharp bend of
the road sudden glare of light broke
through the gloom little way ahead of
voices at once came rolling on the night
breeze. Ny runaway team, startled by
the glare and the noise, slackened their
speed, and l found myself in the midst of
a detachment of native sappers, COM
manded by young lieutenant whom I
knew well.
Hello, Keri" cried he with loud laugh,
sis this you? / thought it was the devil
oil in nh
with cargo of dead letters. Have YOU
been robbing the mail, or what?"
A roar from the imprisoned tiger fore
stalled my explanation, which was given
in very few words.
''Well, !" cried the young officer, grinning.
'that tigers in the wrong box and no mis-
take, but the sooner we have him out of it
the better"
His men soon punched hole with their
working tools in the side of the iron case,
and well aimed ball cut short Mr. Tigers
career as a mail carrier.
But when we raised the lid of his iron
tomb, oh, what a sight we sawl Never did
a reviewer make more thorough mince-
meat of an enemy's novel than our striped
friend had made of her majesty's mail
during his brief term of office. And for
HldHy Weeks diter IndI, whenever letter
came to Rajpoor with its envelope torn, it
was common joke for the local wags to
say that it must have been brought by
'the new postman of the Sivalik Hills"
Since the time of my adventurous ride
the jungle has been cut away to consid-
cradle distance on either side of the Raj
poor post road, and it is now tolerably
safe. though tiger scrapes" are still said
to take place upon it every now and then.
DAVID KER.
Brick dust deposit milky urine. sceld
ing or painful sensation inHnnnnna4oin &C