The San Francisco call., 1897-05-16

But she still retained her position across
Bob's breast while showing her teeth and
snarling at me.
~ thought it probable that she was so
badly wounded as not to be able to rise
upon her legs and so decided 20 take her
at close quarters and make sure of her.
With my pistol in my right hand and in
my left long bladed knife, sharp as a
razor, 1 crept forward. / advanced
crouched almost upon my knees. as the
tigers position across poor Bob was such
that l feared to fire with a downward
range.
~ had got up within ten feet of the
tiger when she suddenly left Bob and
leaped at me. The charge of the beast was
surprise, but by backward move 1
avoided her leap and as she passed fired
my pistol into her neck, at the same mo-
ment pIunging the knife into her side up
to the hilt. She fell and did not move
from where she landed, the pistol shot
having broken her neck.
''Seeing the tiger was in its death strug-
giles l turned my attention to Brother
Bob, who was still stretched unconscious
upon the ground. The beaters were fast
approaching through the jungle with
great uproar and humping of tomtoms,
wild hogs in droves, both black and gray,
were rushing by, spotted deer were charg
ing past and the whole jungle seemed
alive with game of all kinds, some droves
of wild pigs slmos running over me.
II was just STOPPING over Bob when
huge male tiger bounded ont of the jungle
and halted within ten feet of where I
stood. / had my pistol upon him in an
instant and as his head was SO held that
bullet would not glance from his skull l
took good aim and gave him a shot be-
tween the eyes that brought him down as
dead as though he had been sheep or an
OK. Seeing that the shot had killed the
tiger | ran down to the river, filled my hat
with water and went to work to try to re-
store Bob's senses. He had been badly
stunned and was breathing heav-
lily, but l saw had no bad wounds
and soon had the satisfaction to
see him open his eyes, when it was not
long before his wits returned and he was
able to sit up. The paw of the tiger had
struck him on the side of the head and
knocked him senseless, but had only
slightly wounded his scalp. The weight
of the tiger on his chest had almost
stopped his breath and he felt some inter
nal soreness. We found that bis life had
been saved by lucky chance. In game
bag he had slung to his side were some
quail and a pee-fowl or two, and it was
these the tiger had seized upon and
crunched in her blind rage, not Bob's ribs.
"Bob was much astonished and bewil.
dered when he saw two dead tigers
stretched out alongside of him. l told
him that he had gone into sort of de-
lirium of rage and killed them both, and
for time he believed my story. He said
he had an indistinct recollection of hav-
ing done good deal of fighting. We found
that his shot had plowed through the
muscles of the female tigers left shoul-
der. only slightly wounding her. but prob
ably paraly zing her left fore leg.
when the old shekarry came up with
his crowd of beaters he was at first much
disappointed that we had killed no deer
or wild pigs. Alas, sahibs,' cried he, mo
meat-no meat He, however, soon
cheered up and took great credit to him.
self for having said there were tigers in
the jungle. After the tigers were skinned
we went down the river and killed for the
old fellow quite lot of pigs. We were
well satisfied with our prizes, the skins of
the two tigers. The male measured, as he
lay on the ground, eleven feet two inches
from tip to tip and the female ten feet
four inches.
"They were unusually large hill tigers
which are OF heavier build than the tigers
of the valleys, but average less in length.
To kill tigers with pistol was feat be-
fore unheard of on the frontier, and OBJ
tanned fo- us great credit for nerve, but
give tiger square shot in the head and