The record-union., 1899-06-19
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TRAITS OF INDIAN TIGERS.

TRAITS OF INDIAN TIGERS.
More Formidable Than the Lion.
and Yet Cowardly at Times.
Speaking of the tiger, he is easily
the king of all the feline family" said
Sidney Castron, who arrived in New
York last week from Calcutta, and
last night was telling jungle stories to
some friends. He can whip a lion,
nandS down, as has been shown in
every case reported where the two
nave come together on fair terms. The
tiger is as strong and heavy as the
lion, Is sWifter, more ferocious, and
more dangerous. He is a thorough
Asaatic In his traits, being subtle,
crafty, and recklessly brave and cow
ardly by turns, with the trouble for
the hunter that he never can tell when
he hushes a tiger which way the brute
will run, whether from him or for him.
In lighting temper a tiger will turn
upon the hunters beating the jungle
on elephants. leap upon the head or
shoulder of the nearest elephant. and
make things very unpleaSantly lively
n. "A
has been known to charge straight
upon full battalion of soldiers and
come near to breaking it's formation
before he could be disposed of. Cen
eral Wolseley, in published account
of his march with detachment to the
relief Of General Havelock in the In
dian mutiny, tells how, during night
march, tiger sprang into the midst
OF his column upon bullock attached
to an ammunition wagon and attempt
ed to carry it away. The outcry and
flashing of torches drove the tiger
from the bullock, but he did not quit
the field, but remained standing un-
der tree in full view, glaring at the
procession until it had marched by AS
every cartridge and every minute was
precious, the order was given that no
shot be fired at the tiger.
Nine times out of ten, on the other
hand, the tiger when hunted will run
straight away or sneak and double in
the thick jungle in the effort to es-
cape In bit Of cover he will lie as
close to the ground as a rabbit, and
all the outcry and throwing of stones
by the inc of beaters will not start
him up unless he is actually hit In
hunting the tiger on foot it is usual to
station the lookouts in trees to watch
for the first appearance of the beast
If one of them sees the tiger trying to
steal past him he has only to break a
dry stick sharply in two and the
cracking sound will turn the tiger
back. In short, when the brute once
gets scared and suspicious he is one
of the biggest towards alive, who will
stand wounds without coming to a
fight, though none the less he is al
ways dangerous when driven to bay
with no show of escape.
The tiger at ali times is very liable
to panic when confronted suddenly by
anything which he does not understand
The opening of parasol by a lady
has been known to stampede a charg-
ing tiger, and an experience somewhat
similar occurred with a missionary
whom I knew, who told me the story
He was crossing a patch of open coun-
try on foot when he saw a tiger steal
ing toward him from the jungle on one
side. He had no show to run or fight,
and so he did the only thing that oc-
CURED to him to do, and, dropping on
his knees, prayed loudly. 1t was a per.
formance evidently new to the tiger
which aroused his suspicious, for he
stopped, sheered away, and at last
went back into the jungle. Both were
taken equally by surprise, and when
the man yelled out 'Scatl' the big cat
turned tail and sneaked away
''As is generally known, a man-eat-
ing tiger is usually an old beast which
acf
game, and SO seeks an easier game in
human beings. But tigers born of a
man eating tigress are always man
eaters, for they get their first lessons
in hunting from their mother A
tigress teaches her whelps to hunt as
a cat does her kittens, by bringing
them live prey to practice upon. Ten
years ago in one of the hill districts of
India a tigress was killed, whose TAX
ing off caused much rejoicing among
the natives, and was told at length in
many of the Indian and English news
papers She was known all over India
as the man-eater who once had given
her whelps a live man to play with.
She carried off the man from an open
hut in the forest where some woodcut-
ters were sleeping. His companions
took refuge in trees, and from their |
place of safety saw her take the man |
alive to where the whelps were wait
ing close by, and lay him down before |
them. AS the man attempted to crawl |
away the whelps would cling to his |
legs with teeth and claws, the tigress
looking on and purring with pleasure. |
Whenever the man got too far away I
from the tigress she would bound af- |
ter him and bring him back. When I
the whelps had had enough of their |
sport the tigress sprang upoh the man.
and, holdin him down with her fore
paws, began her meal from his living |
body.''-New York Sum-