, 1891-03-05
IT WAS D%ISAGREEABLE.
A BRITISH ARMY OFFICER HELD AT
BAY BY THREE TIGERS.

The Striped Beasts Play All Around
H~im-Armed, but Too Nervous to HIT
One o. the Man Eaters-The Death
Cry Of His Horse Attracts His Friends.
Tell you the most exciting adventure Of
my lifefn said Lieut.. Charles I. Stewart.
formerly Of her majesty's army in the In
dia service, but now a resident Of Birming-
ham, Ala well, l met with quite a num-
Der Of more or less thrilling adventures
hunting lions and tigers in the jungles,
but only once did / lose all hope. shall
never forget that huLt: in fact / shudder
every time ] think Of it. Two other Of
hcers, English visitors in India, and my
self went into the interior for a tiger hunt.
We camped near a large jungle. where
tigers were reported by the natives to be
plentiful We had three servants with US.
and in addition employed a dozen natives,
several OF whom had much experience in
tiger hunting.
The drst day in the jungle we killed a
young tiger, and then we hunted four days
without catching sight Of another. We
would spend the day beating through the
jungle and return TO our camp at night
There was plenty Of smaller game, but we
were out for tiger OF nothing. The sixth
day out we went into a portion Of the jun
gle where Il was not so dense, and we
could make our way on horseback very
well We kept pretty well together until
noon, but found no game. At noon we
stopped 20 eat a cold lunch, and. as it was
extremely hot, the others Of the party de-
cided 10 rest for two hours before they pro-
ceeded-
N A A PREDICANWSr.
while the others were resuugI mounted
my horse and rode alone toward a small
stream a short distance TO the right Of our
@aw0H Ar.-r she I.vk VRn FTrrwI. sac.
dense that my horse could not get through.
! turned 10 go back TO camp, but had Id
vanced only a few steps when my horse
stopped with a loud snort Of terror. 1
looked ahead, and there, not more than 100
feet away, were three OF the largest tigers
1 ever saw. They were standing still, and
seemed undecided whether to attack us or
to run away. My horse was trembling
with fright and 1 could not move him for.
ward or backward. ! raised my gun to
shoot. then lowered il again, for realized
that il killed or crippled one OF the beasts
the Others would be upon me before could
fire again.
The tigers seemed still undecided what
to do, and | shouted at them as hard as l
could, thinking possibly | might Brighten
them away. At the sound OF my voice the
beasts dashed their tails and began 10 play
about like huge cats, but all the time they
were AuNhutluk LNNhih me IOI a lew
seconds l was thinking very fast. trying to
decide on some plan OF action. / thought
of urging my horse forward and riding
right past them AS rapidly as possible. /
buried my spurs in my horses sides, but
he would not move. Every moment the
frightful looking beasts were coming near.
er and nearer.
Nov they were creeping and gliding
through the tall grass. just as a cat creeps
- L#-H q 1911
and lost no time In putting II into effect.
Bending forward l removed my feet from
the stirrups, raised myself out Of the
saddle and slipped along the back Of the
horse until | dropped to the ground, The
horse was now between me and the tigers,
and II he would only stand still until they
sprang upon him | might be able TO escape
unnoticed during the struggle | knew
would follow. My horse seemed paralyzed
with fear, and | began slowly backing
away
CHASED BY THE BEASTS.
Il had not gone ten feet whenI saw three
great tawny bodies rise in the air and come
down on the hack aud neck OF my poor
horse. When the horse felt the sharp teeth
and claws tearing into his flesh he gave
one long, piteous. almost human cry and
then began TO struggle for his life. Taking
advantage OF this struggle ! was getting
away AZ ihsl As pu.slDlt- 1 SAW my morse
go down with the tigers tearing at his
throat and sides, and | knew the struggle
would soon be over. For a moment | felt
] was safe, and turning / started on a run
tnward camp, After running = Few sveps
1 looked back, and, 70 my horror, saw one
of the tigers coming bounding after me.
His hideous jaws were covered with blood
and his eyes cleaned like balls of Ere.
81 turned and raised my rife, but beforel
could pull the trigger ! saw the other two
tigers leave the dead horse and come
bounding toward me. Then | lost hope.
Great drops Of perspiration rolled down my
face, and my knees were so weak / could
scarcely stand determined to risk a shot
at the first tiger anyway, and reduce the
fearful odds | had to contend against. !
fired, but my nerves were too weak, and /
missed. At the sound OF the shot all three
of the beasts stopped for a moment, then
they began creeping forward for a spring.
II said a prayer Of some kind and gave
myself up for lost. IL seemed to me |
stood there ar age watching those angry
beasts creeping nearer and nearer. My
nerves were about TO give way entirely uu-
der the terrible strain when | heard a
noise behind nie. A-momeut later a deaf
ening volley OF rifle shots, and then 1 sank
to the ground in a faint. The cry Of my
horse bad been heard at the camp, and
half n dozen Of the native hunters were
sent out to see If / was in trouble. They
came up just In time, and the well aimed
shots from their heavy rifles killed all
three Of the beasts" -Elmira Telegram.