The Portland daily press., 1897-01-06
THE TIGER AS A SWIMMER.
He Does Not Dread Water, as Do Others of
His Species.


His Species.
AS far as is known to naturalists, the
tiger is the only Nom ber of the cat
family that without hesitation will take
to the water and swim long distances.
Whether the waser be fresh or salt seams
to make no difference. When in his
wanderings stream or estuary lies in
his way, the tiger wastes little time in
hunting for the shortest route of Cross
ing, but plunges in at once, regardless OF
sharks or crocodiles, which, unless he be
wounded and bleeding, are usually will
ing to give him unmolested passage.
Unless the stretch of water is of consid-
erable width, he swims onward to the
opposite shore, shaping bis course in the
same direction hs was following before
coming to the bank. Off the Malay
Peninsula tigers sometimes swim from
the mainland to the island of Singapore
. Sedgy places by water pools are favorite
haunts of the tiger, the rushes atfording
him concealment in which to wait for
the forest creatures which come to tie
pools to drink. For similar reason he
prowls the shores of lakes and rivers,
and often chooses as an abode and
lurking place the vicinity of an old
water tank, as the mud or stone walled
reservoirs built by the Indian natives to
collect and store rain water are called.
If in springing upon his prey ho miss.
and the deer or buffalo ruskes into the
water, the tiger leaps after, and crap
pling, fetobes 1t to tile shore.t IL the VIC
TINS struggles in the water are violent,
he ends them by breaking it's neck with
his teeth bsfore bringing it to the land.
Of the aquatic capabilities of the tiger
an English man in oae of the middle dis
tricts of India had thrilling. experience
several years ago Ensconed in the top
of a large leaning Htree which extended
from the bank of tho lake far out over
the water, he was watching for deer
which two shikarris, or native tiger
hunters, with a party of natives. were
trying to start from the jungle. Sud-
denly tiger appeared on the shore close
at hand and swan out into tn lake.
The Englishman thinking that he had
sure thing, fred, Wounding the tiger
slightly. At once the tiger turned,
swan to the Shore and Degan to crawl
out oil the trunk of the leaning tree
toward the hunter. The Enslishman,
whose second shot had missed, 1etreated
before the advancing beast until re
could 20 no further, and then dropped
into the lake.
The tiger leaped after him, seized him
| by the shoulder and brought him to the
shore. The tiger had carried his victim
to the top of the bank, when the two
shooting, appeared from the jungle In
p1ediately they fired upon the tiger. One
| of their shots broke Che brute's back,
aud, releasing his held on the English
MANS shoulder, the tiger rolled down
the bank into the water whera another
bullet quickly despatched him. AL
though his shoulder was painfully
bruised and lacerated ny the grip of the
| tigers teeth. the Englishman hat sus-
tained no serious injury from the en-
counter, which taught him a lesson as to
new possibilities of danger to the hunter
| in tiger shooting.
| In times of high food in the East In
| dering Them is inundated. often with
much loss of brute and human life, the
| tiger seems to share in the fear that per-
vadessthe jungle beasts, and to lose tenn
porarily his ferocious instinct of slaugh-
| ter Gathered upon emiDsnces that rise
| like islands above the apreading waters
may be seen the wolf, the leopard, and
the tiger, standing peacefully in COM
pany with the deer and cattle and the
smaller animals that are their natural
| prey, all the ordinary instincts of the
| beagts being held in allegiance bg the
common terror oil feel at the 6invasion of
| their haunts by the GOOD. From his
| facility in swimming and his ability to
crowd his way among other refuGees to
q place of safety, the tiger is apt to fare
BETTER than most animals, not distinctly
auuatic, at such times Thens hen better
cannot be found he will seek ANY avail
able place Of refuge, as an uprooted tree,
| the top Of wall, or the roof of q house
that has withstood the rush of the
waters. MOI ipfrequently heShEs tried to
Install himself on the raft or boat with
which some Of the natives we're trying to
get to the dry land.
Such an Instance occurred In the Gan
ges Valley, near village called Char
poot, more than twenty yenrs ago. A
native carpenter residing IN. the suburb
was awakened in the early morning by
the water pouring finto the house over
the doorsiIl, and looking out he saw that
what had been the night before a fertlls,
open plain, was "a lake Of muddy water.
He had the materials at hand. and his
oarpenter's skill served him in good
stead in quickly making a raft on which
he embarked with.his family sand their
scanty outfit of household utensils. AS
with a long bamboo he padded or poled
his slow way along in the endeavor to
reach the safe hayon Of the hills beyond
the valley, be spied the head of huge
tiger that was swimming in the same
direotion., The tiger seemed wearisd,
rs if he had swan long way, and pres
emily. to the constsrnstion Of the car