The true Democrat. [volume] (Bayou Sara [La.]) 1892-1928, 1897-07-24

HW ~ is q very big name for
INV very small native no.
@ ~ north Of Penang, and
on the high road to the hunting
steppes Of the Bakit, or hill country.
Punda was q good sort Of Malay, which
means bad sort Of anything else.
That is, he would plumber only on the
securest principles, and never QUAR- ell
with bigger man Or better armed
one than himself. In this he differed
from other Malays, who would plumber
and knife upon no principle or provo
cation whatever, if they thought there
was a ten-anna piece to be gained
thereby.
But deeper reading Of this pros
porous Boniface of the jungles revealed
the fact that he was capable of love-
yes, even tender, human affection;
and that little Iali, his fye-year-old
daughter, was the object of worship
in his heart even more fervent than
that which he bestowed upon the five
homemade clay gods before which, in
dark corner Of the Oak, he burned q
vast deal Of ill-smelling incense. The
second year Of Tsangs married life
had hardly begun when his beautiful
wife was bitten by ayellow viper while
gathering healing herbs down in the
valley. When they found the poor
creature she was dying-with her new
born babe in her arms. This calamity
the bereaved husband regarded as
direct visitation of the clay gods in the
corner; only the day before he had
robbed q King hunter Of his rife,
leaving the poor fellow to make his
way unarmed down to the sea, where
he ran upon pair of half-staryed XII
hangs, vicious species Of Malay
chimpanzee, in fleeing from which he
fell over a cliff and was dashed TO
pieces And Punda-Tsang always felt
that that yellow viper was sent direct
from the land Of the Judging gods to
avenge the blood Of the poor King
hunter. But there was one thing that
mitigated the harshness Of this ven
geance-the presence Of the little
child, whom he tenderly cherished,
and whom he had called Iali, which is
to say, forgiven.
One day two officers Of II. NJ. ship
Scorpion stopped at the Oak on their
way down from hunt in the hill
country. We were seated under the
palms before the bungalow after tiftin,
smoking cheroots, while I listened to
their exploits with interest. Suddenly
J four native Malays approached, wheel.
ing live tiger in clumsy wooden
cage, and halted before the Oak.
They were going to dispose Of him tc
a naturalist down on the coast, who
had method of killing and stufine
animals by which the marvellous lustre
of their skins was preserved. The
forest king was certainly a magnificent
specimen, and the officers evidently
> thought so, too, as they concluded tt
buy him, perhaps to swear that they
had captured him. They bought the
animal for a good round sum, sent ths
' natives back rejoicing, and started
down toward the coast, while Punde
Tsang,, not contented with exactine
fifty per cent. commission from thu
poor fellows for using his Oak for !
| tiger mart, committed the meanest &C
Of his life. He slyly sawed one of tn
hind bars nearly through in fou
places. Then he went to work planint
t to waylay the tiger on his way back tt
} his haunts after he should break loose
= which he knew would happen befor
the purchasers could get many mile
down the valley. He quietly pursue'
his planning until late that night
: when he heard from good authorit
, that the tiger had broken jail, an
nearly killed one Of his owners. The
5 he prepared to put his plans into &C
: ton.
r Punda knew we'll enough that tn
q instant tiger smells blood he vii
!; drop flat, and, even if the feast is
i mile away, will begin slow, creepin
e journey toward it, wasting hours, per
: haps. When he has approached with
h in twenty feet of the prize, quiverin
:. with desire and terrible with greed, b
will leap into the air like a cannon ba
II and plunge down upon his victim
). Punda- Tsang knew all this; so he du
pit down the valley, constructed
:, network Of branches over it and laid
y quarter OF q bullock upon it. Then b
n waited for the tiger to scent the bloc
h and make his slow, crawling journe!
It knowing that when he made the gran
. twenty feet leap be would go crashi1
through the network into the pit y
low. Then Tsang planned tia. 2