Los Angeles herald., 1892-11-27


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, / 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
! 1t 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 ] 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.
raised my rifle and sighted for the tigers
heart. just rs l did so the beast, which
had perceived Coles approach, launched
itself at him, and though my shot told it
was not fatal.
For moment 1 feared there was going
to be a 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 Aood of ior3c foot
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 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 the 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-
suaded him to undertake the expedition,
felt myself bound to do that which every
one else shrank from doing. 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 Fraser? And, by
the way, what have you done with my
| Charlie?"
Then suppose she must have noticed
something unusual in my face for she
vulsively by the arm, crying piteously:
"Oh, he's not hurt For Gods sake, say
he's not hurt"
But why tell any more broke it to
her as tenderly. as gently as l 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 we'll 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 so 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 ls,07S.
| There are las species of snakes, nearly all
venomous, and in the last year for which
we have report they caused 14,520 deaths
| rs officially reported