The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-11-21
IN A TIGERS CLUTCHES.
AN INDIAN OFFICERS ADTENTURR
IN 4

Chance Meeting with y Native Hunter ana
q Little Service That saved His Lire.
ut Is one thing to hunt the tiger and quite
another thing to have the tiger hunt you.
When Stripes. hunting on his own account,
pounces on a man the victim has q poor chance
for his life. That there arc few men who can
tell OF such an experience 10 needless to say"
said Capt. K. A. Arbuthnot. After tho cigars
had been lighted a guest who had known him
twenty years before in India had pressed him
to tell the story of his tiger adventure there
and the Captain had consented.
Tho thing occurred In the Dabrah Doolah
district in Assam, where I had gone with tho
idea OF becoming a tea planter" continued the
Captain. THE beginning Of the adventure, to
tell the story completely. was my meeting o
shikari named Dassa Balhua on the morning
of the day when l fell in with the tiger. The
word shikari, you will understand, means ma
tive hunter. q tiger hunter in particular. I
was ON my way that day to look over q tract
OF jungly land which l thought of buying and
clearing for cultivation, when on passing Dassa
Balhua's house l saw him sitting In the door
way and he was in q peck of trouble.
His old East Indian company army musket
the gun with which he hunted, was lying acroBs
his lap. and he was fumbling at the lock. He
wanted to 60 out into tho jungle that day, and
here was his gun hammer out of gear, 30 that
'NSA UNIV ~ oSh ~ Noulu " CdUCn anu
stay at full cock. I saw at once what was
wrong with tho lock, and CHANGING to have with
me a file, 1 set the thing right in
five minutes. Balhua was very grateful, and I
rode on. leaving him carefully loading the gun.
l don't wish to get ahead Of my story, but will
say here that my stopping to help Balhua out of
his trouble was. the means of saving my own
Life that day.
This meeting with the shikarl occurred
| about NJ, lo,,no fto. Jonl...t
way, and by the middle of the afternoon 1 had
seen all l cared to of the tract of land | came to
view, and was ready to return to my bungalow.
o. the two servants who accompanied me I
had left one with my horse a mile back, whore
there was some shade and grass. The other,
who was with me, I sent to the man In the rear
directing that they bring tho horse round by
the road to a point where 1 would meet them.
The man started off en- a run. and after watch.
ing him out of sight, I took my way along O
jungle path toward the point on tho road where
l had appointed to meet them.
The jungle growth through which the path
led was made up largely OF bamboo grass taller
than my head. Interspersed with tho grass
were clumps Of bushes. low-toppcd korinda
trees. and here and there a taller tree. Now
that I was alone the thought came to me that I
should feel more comfortable II 1 had kept my
rifle by me, for. 1t being rather heavy to carry,
1hau icit i WIN luo bcTNdnu, VINO uaQ CnarRO
OF the horse. But l was not much disturbed by
anticipations of danger as / strolled along the
wal! for my men at the roadside.
The thing came suddenly. without warn
i nnS b There was y asa strange moving Of the grass
path, the tall grass parted to left and right in
a furrow that came straight toward me, there
was a loud. deep-throated roar-and the tiger
had me-. l was standing stock still staring at
the moving grass. for there was no use in run.
one glimpse of paws. jaws, and white breast
all plpnging for INC, and then 1 was fiat on my
me, his claws set in my left shoulder and right
side. The long feelers at his nose brushed my
sharp. crushing bite. apparently to make sure
IF the tiger had been alarmed. or wounded,
Il no had overtakon me running away. or had
! struggled.I should have been killed out:
the tiger. not REPEATING the bite. lifted bis head
as hSI II Listening r., some sound in the road may
s Sax Y nn ms BY s1m The ees shonld Hf l Ss sEn mis- P me ola sSE
Jung 4, i long @saa sTift a leaps II. ! I've, Weighed osi. f. tina:
along as easily, as a cat would carry, a squirrel.
1T win probably sound strange to you. al
the tiger lesped on ne felt no pain from teeth
though perfectly conscious Of all that was
should be Immediately killed. Perhaps the
best expression OF my condition while / was in
llC tiktIo poNCI "oulu " 10 Say InhU i WAS
in a hypnotic state. for I can compare my sen.
sation with nothing else.
stopped. laid me down and crouched, WstchinT
s %ei r aaFs on ihIyou ss t RiskjS Jungle %o tS SR t agSin wand and
Ing. bearing me along with my II legs 'd RAGING
upon ~ N the od ground round .DG opn min to an open space
t hH @" of two or three YARDS. A lay c r15 g ed
watching me intently.' after tho manner Of Z
cat aF Eh%1 PLAYS Ky NATHAN widh q MOUSE 40 Si,o, Law
look straight into his yellow eyes and could see
the curling in and out of the tip. OF the supple
IN the %jupgle,s stiffness, the loud report Of a gun.
whirl towardIthe sound, and no reared once as ID
reared himself almost upright on his hind IegSi
!It was from 7 the O. old Sid are sIts1ft that / had set in
order that nl~orningNthe East Indian Company
tho path tho tiger was accustomed to take ,ce1 in
70, drink; In, a thick.ieavod tree overiooEinS
thhis path he had built a platform. and from
At the brute. waiting here ass this Vdh day he SO saw Sn ~
Tiger 9ome into view from an unexpested guar.
be- Z s atSf he frF @e d hionE me ey in ,h asa shoulder 6oSn sp;O When as4
iS : himself 4 self, down at a little distance away. the
sfI naS ib nfed q at At hi mi, Ginning a. the head, for he
the brute would be TO kill mo-. The tiger, struck
n the ear by the heavy bullet, died almost In
After the shot was fired lay stin, not feel
tnS sure that the tiger really was done for, un-
tho tree. When / lifted my head the shikoH
was, startled for he had thought that / was
aSea1i rut he came to me and lifted me by the
see me tiger lying stretched on his side.
a. ne can tr9uble you no more, sahib,' said
The shikari opened my jacket and exam.
med my wounds, and then went down to the
roau 70 intercept my servants. by the time he
came PACK with them my wounds were GETTING
painful While one of the servants rode to the
nearest bungalow for men and a litter I lay,
y22ung animal, full grown, with a glossy, beau.
Iitily iiHrked skin, and terrible teeth and
bounty and the hundred rupees that / gave him
iIuNsa Bhihua mad no reason 10 complain OF his
ny : lortuhc, J was taken out of'the Jungle
.hlt hlIilt, ana TO my home the next day. 1 had
= DAY snollier, with fever, that kept me laid IN
iur thFce or four weeks, and 1 did not re,ain ths
iI Sot use 80 Of my right arm for years. But thiaS