Hopkinsville Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1889-1918, 1897-06-18
CAUGHT IN A TIGER PIT.
DY GEORGE W. sHIPMAN.

the breaking OF some of her ma
chinery, and was obliged to lay up
for several days at Singapore to make
the needed repairs.
Having nothing in particular to
busy myself about, and tired of the
routine life on shipboard, / deter
mined to make short excursion into
the interior of the island; so, taking
my Winchester rifle, l went ashore
in the quartermaster's dingey, and set
out at once for the mission house of
Bukit-tima.
The island Of Singapore lies Just
off the Malay peninsula, and is COW
cred with multitude of small hills,
some 300 or 400 feet high, their sum-
mits mostly crowned with virgin for
ests.
The mission house at Bukit-tima
was surrounded by a number of these
wood-crowned hills, much frequent
ed by Chinese woodchoppers and saw
yers.
One of the mission fathers told me
there were always few tigers prowl-
ing about, and occasionally a China
man, working in gambir planta-
ton, was killed by one of them.
These plantations are always in a
newly cleared jungle in the bottom
lands, and the unfortunate laborer
was usually pounced upon while pass
ing through the strip of woods lying
between the plantation and the vii
lage.
On the day following my arrival
at the mission house l started out on
a ramble through the forest, hoping
to get shot at a man-eater. 1t was
foolhardy undertaking on my part,
and one that no person should ever
attempt alone.
However, / gave the matter no Sec
ond thought, and taking my Win
chester, strolled off in the direction
of the gambir plantations, and wan
dered through the woods for some
distance without seeing or hearing
anything that would denote the pres
ence of game, when l caught sight of
a blue-billed gaper, or Malacca rain
bird.
There are but few birds of any kind
ON the island, and I was anxious to
get a good view of this one, which
appeared to be about the size of
robin. In color, he, was black, blend
ing into rich claret color, with white
shoulder stripes, and broad bill,
deep cobalt blue above, with bright
orange below, while the iris was
beautiful emerald green. l did not
want to shoot the pretty creature, and
so followed it for some distance as it
fitted from tree to tree.
Forgetful of my surroundings,
stumbled along, intent on the bird,
until suddenly the earth beneath my
feet gave way and, with a crash of
breaking sticks, | felt myself falling
through an opening in the ground,
enveloped in mass of dead leaves,
and bringing up with force that
nearly drove the breath out Of my
body and set pyramid of stars dane
ing before my eyes.
1t was some moments before
could realize my situation; and when
l did, it was to discover that / had |
fallen into n tiger pit
The tiger pit is an institution pc
culiar to the island of Singapore; and |
the one / had fallen into was Is or
20 feet deep, wider on the bottom |
than at the top, somewhat like an
iron furnace, so that it was practical
ly impossible for person to get out |
of it unassisted.
Had the bottom been hard or rocky |
| might have been seriously injured,
but fortunately it was soft and |
spongy, and the covering of the pit,
which was old and rotten, going down
with me, broke the force of my fall,
so that ] escaped with nothing more !
than a good shaking up. l had chung
to my Winchester, but saw no inn
mediate possibility of its being of any
material assistance to my escape from
the pit, which was matter for grave
There was no dwelling anywhere
near, and, in all probability, no hui
man being was within a mile OF more
of my prison, and at that distance
there was no likelihood of anyone's
hearing my gun if was to discharge
it. Night was coming on, and l
would be obliged to stay where / was
and trust to the morrow to find a
way out Of my present difficulty
1t was a long. tedious nipht. in