Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-06-09

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had come. not as before, to seize some ryot
going home from his fields, a post runner
upon the road. a wood cutter in the forest
or an fll-starred gwalla amid his herd
Seeta. wife of Bribu. the carpenter, was
carried on while crossing the street
A Hindu community is perfectly helpless
unoer such circumstances They rave for
an hour and then sink into apathy. This
Is why, to go no further, we read in the
Imperial Gazetteer for India that man.
eating tigers destroy eighty persons here,
hundred there and more somewhere else
Inc forest officer. Capt. A.. had just
come from leave at Ootoocamund and I
with him: otherwise what was now dore
would have been attempted before Next
day we saw the whole history Of this muir
der in the trail. This beasts foresight and
purpose, its internal cunning-stupidly
called tnstinct-were there perfectly por-
trayed. Before dark the tiger came down
from the hills within sight Of their village
well and stood looking. AS cover failed in
'front.' he made a detour and came I'D with
In rushing distance on the right. Some
thing prevented him from killing anybody
then. but we saw where he crouched.
watching those who drew water about sun
Set When the spot was deserted the beast
turned out again to avoid any stray pariah
dogs that might give an alarm, and en-
tered at gap where two houses had been
burned There 1t remained, ambushing the
street, up to the time when Seeta crossed
from her dwelling to visit friend. She
was not struck down and killed instantly
The tiger seized her near the middle of her
oody, Tor as she was borne away her hands
and feet dragged: bushes had been broken
SO k<rr
she was certainly alive during that inter-
val between his attack and their arrival at
the place where we found all that was
ieIt OF her. From there his trail led away
70 tne hills. Experience proves that there
Is but one way to hunt a man-eater This
Is the highest development of the most
deadly Of wild beasts Ordinary devices
machans. scarms, beaters-are useless here.
NO animal Is at once so cautious and so
cruel. panther under like circumstance
may be as fatal, but his daring betrays
him into indiscretions. The tiger makes no
mistakes. Such a thing as a man-eater
connning Its depredations to an especial
place Is unknown; 1t infests a district, has
many iafrs, travels constantly and NAV he
expected by day or night anywhere. That
Is why the helpless communities whose peo-
pie ne massacres give themselves up to
despair. The strain of living in the shadow
or such death Is too great
when A. and myself stood on that trail
we both knew perfectly well 1t must be
f f tli the monster gathered himself
for his death rally, and We did follow IL
until both were half dead with heat and
exhaustion, our attendants worn out and
our animals almost broken down. The IT,
ger ger. Travelled by night principally; our pur-
SUIT could be conducted only during the
day. More than once also. his track was
lost. Twice we made q cutoff and were
close to him. On the first occasion he kin
ed pilgrim carrying Gauges water in the
road leading east from Baroda. This man
was eaten. and while his DESTROYER Law nv
IN nala news came to us and we pushed
forward at once The second time a Rrin.
Iarrl was struck dead In his camp, and
again we got near. Now, on the third even
ing OF our hunt. 1t became tolerabiy GER
tain that the next day would bring us face
to face. = ~N
News of the Tiger.
it was one Of those intolerable Indian
nights, more exhausting than the bla zinp
noon. Our angareps were placed under a
holy fig tree, but these sacred bouyhs
brought none Of that peace Gotama Buddha
found beneath them. We sat and gasped.
aimlessly looking out upon the moonlight
ed scene. Suddenly a dark figure rose from
the nulla in front, and a man approached
with the metal badge Of a government peon
glittering on his breast. Ghetto son of
Soonaryan. was superior native and ac-
quainted with the elegancies Of Oorloo,
having consorted with Moonshees, Cheetoo
said that 1t was In a propittous hour that
he, a person Of small consideration, found
himself TN the presence of our highnesses.
1t had befallen him to bear a letter to one
Sikander Singh-the same being a patel
backward with his rents. While returning
by the peculiar mercy of Allah. and because
his destiny was not yet accomplished
WEAKNESS. and a heat greater than that of
Gehenna. overpowered him, SO that he rest
ed by the wayside, and his life was saved
For, behold, this tiger, offspring of infidel
parents, came forth from the jungle but q
little beyond, and walked down the road to-
ward that broken land encircled by a waste
cursed with barrenness and scorched by
the sun. What need Of further words? We,
who knew everything would certainly know
this abominable one intended to stay there
1t not being In the nature of tigers to cross
uncovered plains. That was what we hop
ed for. but there was always a possibility
before he got into the peninsula Of Jungle
In front that our game might double
The Elephants and the Trackers,
We had only two elephants, Notice, who
showed herself worthy Of her name and a
pearl indeed when the time came, and IT.
poo. a leggy underbred beast,w too much
Of the Meerga about him to be trusted
Ours was no sporting expedition In which
heaters could be employed. and men might
choose their own positions. We had to run
the tiger down and meet him wherever he
described by Cheetoo was reached early
and there his great square pugs might have
been followed along the road by ANYBODY
He soon turned off. however and got on
ground so difficult to traverse that both of
us thought we should be at last forced into
the most desperate of all UNDERTAKINGS In
which a hunter can engage, that Of attack
ing tiger at bay On foot 1t did not hap
pen so, however, and our crackers went on
with but little delay from finding them
selves at fault. Wonderful was the skill of
these lean, dark, silent men, who moved
on, covered b. our rifles, communicating
with each other by gestures, q few inaudi-
BILE words, hissings like those of cobras or
by giving the low croaks of a Jungle crow
They traileG the tiger with arcely a pause
over sheets of rock and through dense
brakes, pointing with cleaning eyes to
places where he had stopped to listen for
the fierce yet wary beast well knew he was
followed, and at length, after midday Co.
gooloo, who led, Strengthened himself I'D
gazed intently down a deep and narrow
glen that opened before us. came swiftly
to the shoulder of AS elephant, and
said. while he motioned toward some dense
cover in its midst, ''Sahib. the tiger IL
there!' Truly 1t was a likely spot, and we
were also near the jungies edge. but some
thing more than those circumstances and
signs appreciable by civilized man went to
make up the certainty of his decision. Very
soon however our elephants told the same
story, for we had entered but u little dis
lance into the ravlne before Tipoo signaled
danger by his trumpeting, while Notice less
nervous stopped, cooked her ears snuYad