The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-03-03
SOME TIGER ADVENTURES.
Buried Alive by Tiger-A Duel Be-
tween Tiger and an Alligator.
From the CornhiIl Magazine.

n,
and had had many a har-breadth escape
from the latter's jaws. One fine afternoon.
having nothing better to do, he went out
dishins with half-a-dozen of his friends
this is not going to be a fish story, but
real, live tiger story, the fshy part coming
IN only incidentally. They chose a small
river some couple of hundred yards in
width. One bank of the river was fat and
open, but the other was somewhat undu-
lating and shrubby--in fact, il was ada
cent to jungle. The fishers sat in a row
about ten PAGES apart on the former bank;
eacn had loaded gun by his side as a
| precauuon against unwelcome intruders.
| Now, our friend heard a swish and turn
| ing round, beheld his rod scuddng along
the surface of the water like race-yacht
such catch was worth a little exertion;
so he plunged into the water and struck
out for the rod. He came up with it al
most at the other side of the river. but
| at that instant terrific roar was heard
| a tiger leapt on the swimmer from the
neighboring brush, and was off with him
before his startled companions could raise
finger on his behalf
The shikar was a little stunned by the
tigers onslaught; he recovered conscious
ness, however, in a few minutes. when he
X.
and in full sail towards the heart of the
jungle Fortunately, he was not serious
| ly hurt as the tiger had gripped him by
the arm just above the elbow. There he
lay quite helpless; what was he TO do?
Any movement on his part might have
made his condition far worse; so he lay
perfectly quiet, and shut his eyes as if he
were dead. Soon, however the tiger ar
| rived at his den, which was no more than
a hollow scooped in the sand at the foot
OF large tree. There the Tiger deposited
him and covered him over loosely with
| sand Luckily for him, his face was up
| permost when he fell, otherwise he would
have had no other aftermath between
death by suffocation and death from the
tiger if he had dared to move AS it was.
he could manage to breathe gently, and
even to have an occasional glimpse under
his eyelids. After this operation of par
tial burial, the tiger ran ahead few
yards, but returning instantly as if he had
some misgiVings in his mind. Seeing, how
ever, all safe, he bounded forth but again
| returned to make assurance doubly
sure He kept up this method
of self-persuasion for few times.
Till, feeling quite certain about the mat
ter, he finally went away on his mission.
After waiting few minutes to see that
the tiger had really gone. our shlkari
| sprang up and climbed the tree lust over
| the den, and hid himself well among The
! leaves. He had not long to wait for the
| denouement, for the tiger soon returned
accompanied by tigress ana a couple Of
| cubs Dixie a generous and exemplary hus-
band and father, the tiger evidently scorn-
| ed to cat on the sly). They came along
| with many a Joyful cat-llze gambol in
anticipation of the great feast, and found
| the den-empty Such a lamentation over
! the lost dinner then arose as was never
heard before in the whole animal kingdom:
| IN fact, the tigers persisted so long in their
/ piteous cries that our shikari began To
| nave some doubts as to the righteousness
! of defrauding the poor creatures of their
! hard-earned wages; but he was prevented
from Offering himself to them In a moment
of misguided magnanimity by the thought
of his own wife and children whose
claim upon him was obviously higher At
any rate, he stuck in the tree all night. as
it was too risky to venture out in the en-
| suing darkness; then next morning. when
the coast was clear, he fed home to tell
me these undoubted facts
My next story is not simply a tiger story
for there is an alligator in it; so we had
better call it a "Gger-and-alligator storv'Y
Just outside of an Indian village there was
jheel or ravine. This jheel was close 10
small river, tributary of the Ganges.
when the river periodically overhowed its
banks during the rains it became one Of
the jheel, and on these occasions the den
liens of the river usually took it into their
several heads to pay casual visit to the
jheel. Now one evening villager went
to the jheel to have a wash. He entered
into the jheel right up to his neck and he
gan to disport himself like a porpoise. Now
tiger, having seen him thus engaged
from the top of The hill on the same side
OF the Jheel, began to stalk his prey by
steaithy creeps. Having come TO a right
distance, the brute gave a leap towards
his prey. But alas! The tiger was no
mathematician; he evidently had neolac-
led the study of dynamics in his school
days perhaps 1t was the fault of his par
ents in having sent him to a cheap insti
tution). At all events, he failed 10 recoe
nize the fact that since his prey was much
lower than himself in relat tive altitude n
leap of the right strength for a horizontal
range would carry him beyond his mark
when there was an angle of depression:
consequently ne fell some eight or ten feet
on the other side of the bather.
Now, it happened that in the meantime
an alligator had also seen the viHager from
the opposite side of the aforesaid ibeaI
and, thinking that his dinner-tinoa bad
arrived, began to draw Decline undor
water towards the bather. When he
thought that he had almost come upon his
prey Vor ne cou!d not see very well under
water. as II was so muddy, he heard a
great splash just in front, and, thinking n
was case Of now or never" Gas The
bather might be intending that splash for a
final gambol preparatory TO his departurs1
he made dash forward and brouRht bis
enormous jaws down upon--the NIrar's
paw,
AT first the bather nearly tainted with
fright when he saw the tiger fan on the
water. He could not, However understand |
for a few moments why the tiger aid NOT |
turn round 70 devour him. What was Inc |
meaning OF this strange, untigerIIke con- |
duct? And why on earth did the tiger per-
sist in keeping one OF his paws under w.
ter, and beat the water savageIy with The
other, uttering horrible GROWS an The |
timer Most mysterious Of all. the water |
began to turn redi Then, all at once as
the frantic assaults OF the tiger t.eca,,aa /