Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-07-29
PUT TIGER TO SLEEP.
Fate OF Jungle King That Dined on
Poppy-Fed Bear.

froih the chicago Ocean.
There was queer tiger kill in the Ghur-
| hasa district some weeks ago" writes A.
M. Slndholm of Lahore, India, in a letter
received by friend last week THE brute
was fine one. ten feet long with a per
feet skin. and there seemed every reason to
think that he would give any number of
hunters an ugly tussle. But he fell like a
ripe apple into a basket, to the single gun
of the hunter who bIundered upon him in
the jungle. 1t was a very odd chain of
| circumstances that brought the result of a
| dead tiger, instead OF the mauled hunter
who might reasonably have been expected
TO Issue from such an encounter.
The thing came about in this way: A
civilian named Martin from Calcutta who
| was shooting at Ghurbasa. was watching IN
a poppy field for a bear that was in the
habit of coming there by night. Ghurbasa
is a the westerly edge of the opium dis
tr:ct, and the bears there in the rDening
season of the peoples have a trick of eat
ing the seeds in the pods. On this night
which was dark. Martin heard the bear
among the peoples, but could not get a
shot at him. After much waiting in trying
to get nearer the bear. he alarmed him. and
the beast made off in the darkness into the
jungle The hunter was tempted to send
random shot after him, but refrained. luck
lily. as it proved. The sounds of the ami
mails moving through the underground had
scarcely died away when there came to the
Indian bear gives when in great pain
peril, and with it the sound of a tigers
granting roar. For a few minutes there
were heard the voices of the two beasts in
conflict and when these sounds ended the
hunter, not caring to investigate further
at the time, for the tiger was evidently the
victor. returned to the fieldkeeper's hut
where he was staying during the hunt.
That the tiger should have attacked the
bear even without provocation was not 10
be wondered at. for there is always i'll will
between these animals, and whenever they
meet, unless the bear sees the tiger in time
to take to tree fight to the death is to
be assumed. The tiger is usually the win
ner, and for the most part is content with
killing the bear and leaving his remains to
the ants and jackals, but If hungry he
sometimes makes his dinner off him. Co
ing out next morning to the scene of the
battle of the night before-the bears trail
led plainly to it-Martin found about an
eighth of mile beyond the field in the jun
gle the bears body partly devoured by the
tiger. The condition of the ground about
showed that there had been a lively fight
while il lasted and the tigers tracks mark
ed the direction he had taken after his
dinner. The condition of the carcass and
the tracks showed that the tiger had left
the bear al least six hours before. and Mar
tin had no idea that the animal could be
anywhere in the vicinity. He sent one of
the three natives with him back to a tank
for water and waiting his return. smoked
his pipe to the windward of the bear. TAX
ing no precautions whatever as to watch
ing or keeping silence.
When the native came back with the
water chatty the hunter drank from il and
then started to follow the tigers trail.
smoking his pipe as he went forward. He
had. not gone fifty PAGES before he came
directly upon the tiger lying asleep in a
little open space beneath an acacia tree. The
brute was lying tumblewise. as if he had
lurched in walking and dropped in his
tracks, and was sleeping the slumber of
the Seven Sieepers rolled into one. So close
was Martin upon the beast when he first
saw him that with two more steps he could
have touched him with his rifle, but the
tiger did not rouse move in the least
from his place. and all the noises made by
the party while about the bear and in their
advance had failed to disturb him. Indeed
but for his heavy breathing the brute had
all the appearance Of dead tiger.
AT sight of the tiger the natives scattered
and took to the trees, and Martin, thor
ough sportsman and as plucky they
make them, made some active steps to the
rear before stopping to investigate further.
Then from behind bunch of jungle grass
he fired at the brute and missed shot as
easy as could be offered At the report of
the rife the tiger jumped to his feet. stared
wildly around and then bolted in the direc-
ton in which he happened to be pointed at
the moment which was toward the acacia |
tree. and brought up. head on, with a bump
against the trunk. This gave Martin a fac
shot at his side and he placed bullet be- |
hind the shoulder Though the wound |
would have proved mortal the tiger was |
still active enough to have made trouble |
for dozen hunters; but instead of charg- |
ing at the smoke, was to be expected I,
under the circumstances, he wh:rled about |
and roared and tore at the tree. which |
gave Martin a chance to finish him with a |
third shot in the ear.
Martin at first could scarcely realize his |
good fortune IN bagging a splendid tiger so |
easily. By threatening them with his rife |
he got the natives down from the trees and |
with their help he skinned the beast and |
came back with the hide to the bungalow
His explanation of the strange behavior of |
the tiger was that the beast was 'dopey' |
from feeding on the blood and tissue of the |
poppy-fed bear. This theory seems quite /
reasonable, and 1t Is corroborated by the !
testimony both of European hunters and /
shikaries-native tiger hunters-who say
that the flesh of bears frequenting the i
poppy fields has narcotic property which |
strongly affects any creature that feeds