The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1892-11-10

STRUCK DOWN BY THE TIGER.
jungle which they supposed was the tigers
habitat, tethered the bullock in a small
open space perhaps 100 yards wide, and
then bolted precipitately for safer regions.
We three then disposed ourselves around
the edge Of the clearing, about thirty
yards apart, l being in the middle, and
awaited results.
There was an oppressive silence and my
nerves became strung to their highest ten
sion as listened with strained ears for the
slightest sound and peered anxiously in
every direction. Presently murderous
roar broke upon the stiffness, followed i'm
mediately by low cry which came from
Lewes' direction. The cry seemed as though
it had been suddenly suppressed or cut
short, and it was with the gravest forebod-
ings that / made hurriedly toward the spot
in which knew he had concealed himself
When l reached it my worst fears were
realized. There was my poor comrade
lying face downward, with the tiger stand
ing over him. l had approached quite
close, and Cole had done the same from the
opposite direction. Even at that moment
could see by his terror stricken counte.
nance that he feared the worst. However
this was no time for delay or thought. /
heart. Just as 1 did so the beast, which
had perceived Coles approach, launched
itself at him, and though my shot told it
was not fatal.
For a moment feared there was going
to be n second catastrophe, but ball from
his rifle, which we afterward found had
entered his wide open jaws and raked him
almost Ito put it in nautical phrase) from
stem to stern, stopped him short and laid
him dead at my companions feet We
now hastened to Lewes' assistance, but all
our efforts to restore him were unavailing.
Indeed we should never have attempted it
had we not been dazed by grief and sorrow,
for the poor fellows skull had been frac-
tured like an eggshell by a blow of the
man eaters paw. Long we struggled,
frantically but despairingly, to bring back
some sign of life, making use Of such
means as were at our disposal and which
our limited knowledge of surgery war,
ranted, but at last the conviction forced
itself upon us that all was useless, and we
sadly desisted.
Cole returned to the village for assist.
ance while kept long and gloomy
watch by tho corpse. Poor Lewis body
was taken to the hospital, and all that
could be done to render the sight of it less
distressing was performed there, and the
| cruel duty of informing his wife Of her
loss devolved upon me, for, having per,
| susded him to undertake the expedition,
| felt myself bound to do that which every
one else shrank from doing. 1 shall never
forget her CHEEKY invitation to enter as
knocked at her sitting room door, or her
bright smile of welcome as she asked me
| to be seated.
$50 you're back" she said. did you
kill the tiger, Captain Fraseri And, by
the way, what have you done with my
| Charlief"
Then suppose she must have noticed
| something unusual in my face, for she
Bprang from her seat and clutched me con
vulsively by the arm, crying piteously
"Oh, he's not hurt For Gods sake, say
| he's not hurt"
But why tell any more 2 l broke it tc
her as tenderly, as gently as could.
Over the corpse of his friend Captain
Fraser took an oath to devote his spare
| time to the destruction of tigers, and has
kept it so well that the natives in danger
| GUS regions look on him as a being some
| what above the ordinary human. And
| still man eating tigers are 80 common that
deaths by them figure in the mortuary
lists as considerable item. The nature
| of the country may be judged from the
| fact that in the death lists snake bite fig
ures as consumption and influenza do In
the north, and in the year 1871 deaths by
| wild animals numbered 1908.
| There are 145 species of snakes, nearly all
venomous, and in the last year for which
we have report they caused II, ,529 deaths
l as officially reported.