The Wilmington daily Republican., 1895-09-26
ABATTLEFOR A WATER
FIERCE STRUGGLE BETWEEN AN ELE-
P1ANT AND TWO TIGERS.

| The "Rogue. Took Possession Of the Pool,
and His Claim Was Not Disputed Until
the Thirsty Tigers Came the Scene
An Excited Guide Spoiled the Fun.
The tiger hunter does not hunt ct ram
dom for his game He knows that In the
heat of the day the great cat sleeps the
hours away In the deepest solitude he can
find. His bed may be In the dense Jungle,
where he must worm his wny in and out
like serpent, or In some dark ravine
splitting the hills and Offering him hum
dred spots which have never been lighted
up by the rays Of the sun since the hills
were orentod When the sun goes down
and darkness follows its setting, then the
royal beast opens his. eyes, yawns and
stretches, and after few snarls and growls
lastly leaves his lair in search of supper
He may cross dozen streams, but he will
not lap at the water. 1t is only after he
has eaten his fill and is ready to retire and
sleep again that great thirst selves him,
| and he seeks the nearest creek or pool and
plunges his head In until ho must shut his
eyes as he laps enough water to satisfy the
| thirst of an OK.
And the mon who hunt the elephant rs
well as the tiger know that the largest
animal on earth Is as crafty and cunning
and far more timid than the fox. II there
|
his mouth grows hot, but he will not leave
the shelter of the forest to drink until
after midnight. Then he makes his way
through thicket and over fallen trees and
| up hill and down more quietly than the
hycna who follows after. When they are
in twos and threes and more, the tiger
who has come down to the pool will skulk
about, splitting and snarling, and wait for
them to depart, but when there is only one
| thu rOval hanat will his obi 10
drink where he pleases and as long as he
will
Aftor riding for two hours our native
! guide led us TO a water hole on the edge of
| great forest During the rainy season it
was lake covering 90 acres of ground
In the dry season 1t was little better than
mud hole but furnished the only water
for miles around. We saw the track Of tho
elephant, buffalo, deer and wild hog and
doubted not that the tiger, panther, hyena
and jackal caino to the same pool to slake
| their thirst.
Ere the sun went down we had built our
| platform among the trees, eaten our sup
per and prepared to pass the night as COM
fortably as possible. We cared nothing for
elephant, buffalo or deer. 1t was tiger
we had como to kill, and knowing that ho
would not appear until long after mid
| night the two of lis slept and left 1t to the
guide to watch and wake us at the proper
hour. Soon after 12 O'Clock he whispered
to us that ROGUE" elephant-an outlaw
| from the herd and more to bo feared than
| the tiger-had come down from the forest
and taken possession of the pool. Stand
ing in the center of 1t, he was trying to
frighten all other comers away. We
| watched him for few minutes and then
slept again, and an hour later the native
whispered in our ears: -
"Sahib, 1t is time. The roc -,
ouiet Tb,t NEE - suddenly grown
70 drihiriR. think he will come by ths
path over tho hill"
5. 1t was two hours yet to daybreak, but
N we had the light of moon and stars and
r. could see everything almost as well as by
daylight. 1t is never quiet in an Indian
forest by night except when the tlgel
y. moves about. Then the very tree toad:
ie and insects seem to be warned of his pres
ence and hush their notes for n time. Tht
ie elephant was standing like block o.
u stone, his eyes fastened on tho crest of thu
nd hill spoken of by the native and for throt
r. or four miuutes the silonce was so pro
M ~ found that We could hear our watches tick
H. ing Then the head of the tiger appeared
above tho hill and half "A minute later the
- beast came slowly walking down. He wa.
oi a full grown male, and he was followed
80 by his mate There were defiance and con
nd tempt in their very gait as thoy slouchet
lr- along, and before reaching the pool eacl
pw gave utterance to vicious growl to war;
the elephant that they were not to be tri
C, fled with. He stood so quietly that yol
would have thought him asleep, and for
moment the tigers sat down on the odgt
: of the pool and glared at him and strucl
out with a fore paw, as you have seen al
. angry cat. AS he did not move, they low
l.nt,.
the first sound the rogue uttered shril
scream and dashed at them.
We had looked to see the tigers stand
but his terrific rush frightened them TO
If the moment, and they ran away, closol,
pursued to the top of tho hill by the trum
pcting elephant. After five minutes h
slowly returned to take his place In tn
pool, but he had not yet reached the wa
: tiers when the tigers, perhaps ashamed o
d their fight, came bounding down and upol
him. AS bo wheeled to meet them AM
sweep the earth with his trunk one spranI
upon his forehead and bit and dug an
D raked him, and the other alighted on hi
- left hip and pursued the same tactics. Tn
elephant made rush into grove of youBi
trees, and the tigers were swept to til
n ground. Then he came crashing back il
search of them. Huge as he was in bulk
his movements were wonderfully quick
With sweep of his trunk he rolled on
tiger over and over and into the water, an
"a to rid himself of the other, which ha
~ mounted his back, he dropped down an
rolled over and was up again before W
had realized the trick The beast knocke
.er into the water swan out and together TIL
pair again attacked. They fastened TO HI
- hind legs, they bounded upon his baci
they were under and over him as cats pla
at with q ball. We heard their teeth an
IL claws tearing at his tough hide, and W
heard them yelp with pain as he brushe
them of or dealt blows with his trunl
OF sudden, when tho battle was fierces
the excited native accidentally discharge
III his gun. There was growl from the t
.l. gers and blast from the elephant, an
when the smoke had cleared away the
was nothing In sight. Tigers and el
ter phant had fled in terror from the prcsen'
-, Of man.-5t. Louis Republic.
Ia Barbaric Dancing.
81 Tho queerest foe the women missionari
III have ever encountered Is the dancing hnl
in the Gilbert islands. The climate Is sal
| ltit xynrIn that thp paIiR