Tazewell Republican. [volume] (Tazewell, Va.) 1892-1919, 1898-07-21
A FIERCE BATTLE.
It Was to the Death Between n Fero-
cious Tiger and Huge
Alligator.

Alligator.
Tie ferocity of the tiger, the agility
CT man and the perseverance of the ALI
gator are the elements in most inter.
esting tragedy of the Gauges just re.
ported. Taken as whole, the event i.
enc of the most striking illustration:
nature has offered of the fact that, Like
man, the tiger sometimes overreachee
itself.
The primal cause Of all was the de-
termination of native ofan Indian viii
lage to take a bath. Had he bathed
quietly, what is about to be told might
never have happened, but he chose to
make great ado about it, and the fol.
lowing was the result:
The bather waded in toward the CEN
ter of the river, until the water reached
his neck, and then he began to disport
himself, making as much noise as q por-
poise. 1t so happened that in thejungle
adjoining, tiger had esconced itself,
taking its position upon spot so ele-
waited that twas able osee through the
open spaces in the thick growth and
view the bather at play. Having seen
him, the tiger evidently made up its
mind that here was the meal for which
it had been looking, and SO, as another
native who saw it all tells the story, it
began to stalk It's prey by stealthy
creeps.
The proper distance being gained, the
tiger gave a leap toward the man, but,
alas, it was no mathematician, and
failed to recognize the fact that since
the relative altitude of itself and the
bather differed so greatly, a leap of the
right strength for horizontal range
would carry it beyond its mark. 1t
splashed into the water eight or ten feet
beyond the man who was emulating
the porpoise.
Now it happened that in the mean
time an alligator had also seen the viii
lager and, like the tiger, thinking he
might make savory morsel, made his
way beneath the water toward the I'M
conscious victim, who, though ignorant
of the peril, was thus between two fires,
menaced by the tiger on one side and
the alligator on the other. Just as the
alligator thought he had reached about
the proper distance to lunge for his
prey, there was a tremendous splash
just in front of him, and, probably
thinking it was the bather, the reptile
closed its huge jaw, not on the villager,
but on the paw of the tiger.
Naturally, the bather did not under
stand the cause Of the. ensuing commo-
ton. His back being toward the point
from which the tiger jumped, the first
knowledge of it's presence was gained
when the brute splashedin into the water.
He could not understand for few mo-
ments why it was the tiger did not turn
round and devour him.
1t was inexplicable that the animal in
sisted on keeping one of it's paws far
under water, while it beat the surface
Of the river savagely with the others,
uttering growls OF apparent agony.
Suddenly the water of the river began
to turn red. Then, all at once, as the
frantic assaults of the :iger became
more furious and its growls developed
into roars, the huge tail of an alligator
reared up out of the water just in front
of the tiger,
This revealed to the villager what had
happened, and he lost no timein fleeing
up the adjoining hill and climbing the
nearest tree. Weak and faint though
he was, he managed to retain his senses
and view the conclusion of this strange
combat.
The struggle continued with no
abatement in fierceness for some mo-
lnents. The tiger shrieked in its agony
and bit at the water and its unseen an
tagonist. Clearly it was the alligator's
intention to pull the tiger down under
the water, drown it and thus secure
q far more luxurious and abundant
meal than the bather could possibly
have afforded.
The action of the tiger indicated be-
yond peradventure that the alligator's
intentions were thoroughly understood
and no prisoner could strain to break
his bonds more frantieally than did the
tiger to loosen the hold of those jaws
of iron upon its paw. In every conceiv-
able way the animal tried to get at the
snout that was slowly pulling it down
to death, but without avail, for the ALI
gator never allowed it's head to rise
above the surface of the stream on
which the blows of the frenzied tiger
spent their force.
So it went on, moment after moment,
until at last it dawned upon the tiger
that hope had vanished and death was
certain. The struggle grew weaker and
weaker. Lower and lower-the tigers
head sank, until with one final roar of
rage and agony it vanished and the
Gauges rolled on in perfect placidness,
the only thing visible on its surface be-
ing a few large bubbles that marked
the expiring breath OF the alligator's
Observation-Disclosures Record.
n.-..4,-o Iyoo-o.a