The Marietta journal. [volume] (Marietta, Ga.) 1866-1909, 1897-10-14
A REALISTIC PICTURE.
Photographing Tiger In the Very Act
of Springing.


Speaking of realistic pictures of
animals" said a New York dealer
in wild beasts to a writer for The
Star, Il recall seeing in India about
two years ago tiger photographed
under very exciting circumstances.
A party of natives were going about
in Ragpootana with full grown
Bengal tiger, which they had tanned,
as they called it. What they really
did, however, was to keep it tightly
roped by oil four legs and by the
neck, and each man held on by
main force to a stout rope. In this
way they led the tiger, or the tiger
led them, as you please, from place
to place on exhibition.
well, in the course of their wan
behring's" continued the dealer,
"they came to village near Bonn
bay, where photographer happen
ed to be passing through, and he,
hearing of the strange company,
sent for them. Now, about the only
performance that the tiger, par
ticularly savage beast, had in his
repertory was killing animals, and
it occurred TO the artist that an in
Simultaneous photograph Of the great
brute i'll the very act of striking
down its victim would make an in
teresting picture. So arrangements
were made. A full grown buffalo
was procured and taken out to the
edge of the jungle, where it was
tethered with 25 feet Of rope to a
stake.
"The photographer took up his
station on foot outside the radius of
the animals tether, and the tiger
was then brought up on the oppo-
site side and shown its victim. At
once it fixed its dreadful, glaring
eyes on the doomed creature. It's
lips curled back in a hideous snarl,
and it began to move stealthily to-
ward the buffalo. The ropes wero
then one by one slipped off, and
there, 20 yards apart, stood the two
beasts, but the buffalo gave no sign
Of fright or even consciousness OF
any danger.
1t simply stood staring in help
less sort of fascination at the ad-
vancing brute. At first the tiger
had crouched, but now it stood
erect, and, with restless tail and
teeth all flashing out of the red
gums, stepped slowly forward across
the intervening space. Foot by foot
the interval between the buffalo and
death, cruel, relentless, inevitable,
was diminished, yet the great horn,
ed beast never stirred. It's eyes
were fixed on the tigers, Its
breath came quick and hot from its
nostrils. Once and again and once
moro the beast of prey paced on and
then stopped. 1t was within strik-
ing distance.
1.-The buffalo's sides were now
heaving rapidly, and its terror was
audible in its painting, and then,
quick as a flash of lightning, the
great striped body was launched
through the air. There was dull
sound as it struck the buffalo, and,
as if smitten by thunderbolt, the
huge animal, its neck broken by
the blow of the tigers fore foot,
fell. At this moment, this indefina
bic point of time, the artist touched
tho trigger of the spring shutter,
and in the fraction of a second the
picture was on his plate-the tiger
in the act of striking-and none too
soon, for before the hand could
slip in another slide the buffalo's
knees bent beneath it, and the dead
hulk fell. The tragedy was com.
plete."
And the photographers"
He had some trying moments.
Indeed there were times when il
looked as if the tiger preferred the
artist to the beef, and had the victim !
retreated to the end of its tether the |
beast of prey would have been as |
near the one as the other, but it was
q tame tiger, you know, and so the
photographer got his sun picture.
Neither alive nor dead was the
huge victim seen at the exact mo.
ment of time when it was sinking
under the weight of its dreadful
Swifter even than death
itself, the sensitive plate seized the
reflection of the collapsing buffalo |
before it had time to die, and,
though the end was, humanity /
speaking, instantaneous, the one /
beat of the heart that interviewed |
between the awful blow of the ii. !
gers paw and its victim S actual sur
render of existence sufhced for the |
artist to catch and fix with unerring
fidelity the attitudes OF the slayer |
and the slain. Washington Star.