Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1898-07-02
A MAN TIGER.
BY CHARLES B.. LEWIS.

We were encamped on the banks Of
the Chumbul river, on the east side of
the Chittore hills, India. It was a gov
eminent party, in charge Of Captain
Jordan, a military engineer. The object
was to see if the river could be tapped
and a canal constructed to run the wa
ters across the flat country to the east
for irrigation purposes. There were two
English soldiers and a party Of 20 ma
tives detailed with the captain, and two
English officers and myself were with
the survey as volunteers. This meant a
surveying and hunting party combined.
There was plenty of game in the Chit
tore hills, and Captain Jordan was a
veteran hunter as we'll as a prominent
engineer.
We had not yet got settled in camp
when the natives appeared to tell us
some queer stories regarding a tiger
which had lately made his appearance in
the n~eighborhood. In the first place, he
was of astonishing size. No one had
ever seen his like. In the next, as they
declared, he had more the face of a hu-
man being than of a tiger. Again, he
had been encountered, face to face, by
several natives, but instead of attacking
them had contented himself with q look
and then walked off. On one occasion
he had entered a village and stealthily
approached an old man who was cook
ing his supper at a fire. His presence
was not discovered until he rubbed his
nose against the old mans shoulder and
emitted a sound like the purring of a
cat. Dumb and helpless with terror, the
native waited to be attacked, but after
walking around the fire two or three
times the beast went off into the thick
ct. This old man stoutly declared that
the tiger had the face of a man and
that it seemed to desire speech with
him. The beast had been roaming about
for three weeks when we got there, but
in all that time had not attacked q ma
tive nor killed an animal belonging to
the villagers.
The natives Of India are not only SUI
perstitious to the last degree, but given
to the grossest e~xaggeration in all their
statements, and their declarations in
this case were taken with many grains
Of allowance. AS a rule they are very
anxious to get rid of their dangerous
neighbors, but in this case they be-
sought US not to harm. the tiger. The
soul Of some good man, native or white,
had taken possession OF the beast, and
for that reason he had spared the vii
layers and should be spared in turn. To
kill him would he sacrilege, and in re.
venge a man eater would be sent to de-
populate the village.
It was four days after the natives had
come in before we got sight of the man
tiger. Captain Jordan had begun his
preliminary work, and one day when he
was on the bank Of the river, half a
mile below camp, I took my gun to join
him and get a shot at some wild swans
which had passed down the stream.
Thus far we had hunted only small
game and had heard nothing further
from the tiger. The sun shone brightly
in a cloudless sky, and the weather was
hot. and ! knew enough Of the tigers
habits to be sure that he would be lying
up in some cool spot during the heat Of
the day. I heard the captain shouting
to his assistants long before I got to
him. They had crossed the river on a
raft, and he was alone. Just before /
reached him I struck into a path used
by the wild animals as they came down
from the hills to drink. Forty feet away
/ caught sight Of the officer standing be-
hind his surveying instrument, and at
the same instant my eyes fell upon a
tiger creeping along the path between
Us. For a few seconds I believed the
creature to be a dog. Then as l fully
realized what it was and that he was
stalking the unsuspecting man ! was so
unnerved that / stood stock still and
gazed at him. I had only a shotgun,
loaded with swan shot, but the actions
Of the beast were Sc singular that I for
got I was armed at all. While I contin-
ued gazing at him he crept forward to
the captains feet and lay down and
rolled over in play.
All Of a sudden and without realizing
what I was doing I uttered a shout. In
turning the captain stumbled over the
tiger and pitched forward, and, with a
sort Of yelp, the beast sprang away into
the bushes. Though the officer got .
full view Of the creature it was hard for
him to believe that things had occurred
as they had. As the tiger had not been
disturbed by me 1t was a source of won.
der why he had not attacked the officer.
When the natives came to hear Of it,
they asserted with great earnestness
that the soul Of some friend Of the cap.
tain had passed into the beast and that
the tiger had heard Of his presence and
came to welcome him. This was absurd,
ct course, but nevertheless we had to
admit that there was something very
singular about the matter.
Three evenings later we sat at the
door Of the mess tent and smoked and
talked after the evening meal. 1t was a
bright moonlight evening, and we could
zee almost as we'll as at MONDAY. BY
and by Captain Jordan rose up and
started down to his horse, 400 feet
away, and we were following him with
our eyes, when a tiger sprang ont Of q
hollow where it had been crouching and
seized him and rushed away to the