Evening capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1888-1893, 1892-11-26

Il brought up, as sailors term it,
all standing. against large bowl
der, to which clung. until ! he.
gained, in measure. my scattered
faculties. BY the aid of the rock
struggled to my feet. wiped the
blood and dust from my eyes; at the
same time the growl of the tiger sa
luted my ears.
Ten yards distant, and directly in
front of me. the brute was crouch.
ing. its huge head between its paws,
eyes flashing fire, it's claws working
convulsively. while it's tail jerked
rr;yUllsly from side to side as it pre-
pared to spring upon me.
"A glance over my shoulder re-
vealed the fact that to retreat was
impossible. | was standing on the
edge of a rocky declivity fully sixty
feet in height One chance of es-
cape. a forlorn hope, flashed through
my brain with the rapidity of light'
ming. and ] assure you on occasions
of great danger men form their con
clusions very quickly.
Climbing on the highest point of
the bowlder ! stood erect and faced
my implacable foe. There was a
smothered snarl. final combined
twitching of the body, and then,
with the fury of a thunderbolt, the
huge mass launched itself in mid
air, pointing directly to me. re-
member catching glimpse of the
infuriated beast, and the appearance
it presented, brief though it was.
will never fade from my memory.
The powerful jaws were stretched
wide apart, the steellike claws pro
t1uding far through the stubby fur
its mouth, wide open, displayed rows
of glistening teeth, while mingled
blood and foam dropped in large
flecks from the tremendous jaws.
Faint and weak, for the long con-
tinued tension on my nervous
strength was beginning to tell, l yet
managed to slide very nimbly from
the pinnacle to the fiat surface below,
where | covered, half fainting with
terror and apprehension.
with the swiftness of thought a
shadow passed over me; there was a
thud, rattle of loose, rolling peb-
bles, and then all was still. | ven
tured to raise myself, peer over the
edge of the cliff, and realized that ]
was saved.
THE tiger, as | had calculated
when standing on the bowlder, had
gauged his leap in accordance with
the position | had assumed, his
and irnpetuosity carrying
him headlong over the edge of the
precipice. beheld his huge form
lying crushed and mangled amid the
rocks below, silent and quiet enough
at last. Then everything appeared
to revo!ve before my dazed, bewil-
dered eyes. a deathly sensation of
sickness overpowered me, and all was
blank.
with the return of consciousness
1 found myself in Rawlings bunga-
low. In good time | heard the de-
nouement of my hunting adventure.
"Tamba, like the faithful servant
that he was, at the first intimation
of danger had turned to hasten to
my assistance, but arrived just in
time to behold the fierce brute hur-
rying into the jungle with my body
clutched in bis jaws Hoping to be
able to recover some souvenir to car
ry back to Sahib Rawlings, and at
the same time to avenge my death
if possible, he followed on the broad
trail of the beast. He discovered me
in a dead faint, and the tiger motion
less at the base of the cliff.
by the aid of some native wood
choppers a litter was improvised by
which | was conveyed to my friends
bungalow. Brain fever followed, and
months elapsed ere | left behind me
the fragrant, delightful Island of
Ceylol but when ] again found my
self afoat, gazing back at that grand,
majestic pinnacle known as Adams
peak, and marked the broad eXpanse
of forest and jungle surrounding it,
| shuddered trembled in fact-and
have never had the slightest desire
to participate in hunting again.
Ladies', my yarn is spun out"
Thanks, captain, thanks awfully
for YOUR interesting yarn; but may
ask you question:
Certainly, as many as you please,
responded the sailor as he glanced at
her furtively from beneath the visor
of his uniform cap.
did you ever hear of the marinesf
The marinesl What do you nleanT'
II thought perhaps you imagined
you was relating your-ehem story
to file of those credulous sea war
riors
Ladies'. do you take me for a
blooming Munchausen2 You are pos