The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1900-01-28
For Tiger-Bait
Awful Experience Of
an English Hunter.

Officers Of the British army in India
suecunb to few things. but among them
is the fascination Of a tiger story. A
tiger story is their unfailing resource on
the long ocean voyage they must regul-
arly make between London and Calcutta
II IS a rare treat 10 be a listener when
some srizzleI vetran. during the enforced
iesure of this homeward journey, holds
a smoking room audience svellbound with
a tale of adventure.
Such a treat was mine not SO very bong
ago. says writr in the New York Her
aid We had had a day Of monotony
aboard. The great steamer squatten on
the deep in iaziness as contagious IN its
effects as that of the oceans waves. she
suffered herself to be pushed along by the
impatient machinery in the hold. but was
otherwise as motionIess as a ddzing pas
senser. Coming on deck after dinner I
noticed an absorbed group. 81 which
Major Neyil was the centre. in the smok-
ing room.
The fame Of Major Nevi1 as tiger
hunter extends from one end Of India to
the ether. 1 entered the smoking room
instantly.
I'VE were eneamped six days journey
from Calcutta" the Major vas saying.
The forests were as thick and stubborn
as the hair on a boys head. Fer hours
had struggled through the high grass and
over the monstrous roots Of trees. At
one Of the turns in the dry bed OF tor
rent I halted.
''Not many yards ahead were a tiger,
mis- mate and their two cubs. The father
sprawIed at un length on the ground.
asleep What magnificent mopster,
The cubs frisked about like giant kittens.
The mother watched them idly. When
the cubs collided with her in their sport
she dealt one or the other a playful blow
that would have wrecked a bungalow. I
shrank into the foliage and contemplated
this domestic scene with the fascinated
intensity OF all who behold tiger in its
pride Of freedom. The mother especially
absorbed my gaze. Her skin was as clean
as ladE's n7uf The stripes caught the
eye in vivid waves. like the brass on that
deck out there. She yawned as 1 watched
her. The depths thus opened threw me
into a vertigo. 7 did not trust myself to
steal off for some minutes.
within a few days l had organized q
hunt I insisted that the tigress be left
TO me. Ny companions were to take care
of the rest OF the family We found them
and with little difficulty, in the depths Of
the jungle The tigress, when I caught
sight of her. had arched herself in the
beautiful attitude which precedes a spring.
My eye had the straightest %. lines from
the gun barrel to her head. For one sec
ond she and I exchanged a look that
made me cold. l fred and she leaped
simultaneously.
\ long burn through her fur was the
only effect of my bullet. A hanging
branch had detected II. 1 fred again.
did not lose a minute, a second. She was
hit A wide red stream ran down her
breast. Her roars seemed to exhaust the
supply Of air about US and make il hard
to breathe. She rushed ahead and disap-
peared in the jungle. We dared not fol-
low through the high grass, but one of
my men climbed a tree.
f" 81 see her. master he cried. She IS
stretched on the ground.
Alive OF deadT
+" Dead
81 ran ahead. There lay the tigress.
motionless mass of loud color AS
stood gazing. the great eyelids lifted She
leaped to her feet and beat the ground
with one paw Quick as herself, ! aimed
my gun at her heart. The bullet barely
missed. Once more let fly. This time 1
broke projecting fang from the jaw OF
the tigress. The bullet emerged just be-
meath her eve The beast reared nightly
upon her hind legs. There was no time
to reload my gun. She gasped right in
my face In desperation I rammed the
steel barrel Of my weapon between those
foaming Jaws Of hers. She knocked it
aside as # it were a match.
Il stood disarmed within reach OF her.
7 lifted an arm in puny defence Of my
head before her onward rush. She lifted
me as a cat might a mouse. Up the tor
rents dry bed she swept and thrashed me
face downward, to the ground. Planting
one paw upon my PROSTATE form she
shook me until my skeleton ratified Her
object was to break my spine. The claws
1f this raging tigress dug into the ex-
posed flesh. Another paw tore my nip. I
was bathed in the blood that flowed from
her jaws. I lay helpless as a babe.
II feigned death. The effort was easy
in my abject helplezsness. and It saved
NJ life.
MY men had not been inactive. One
seized a huge stone and Ter il 81. The
missile struck the tiEress fun IN the face.
The others yelled and danced about Us.
The great beast forgot me FOR an instant
IN the fury Of this new provocation. Des-
- y
picked up my gun and loaded f. One
y my men sustc1ed the weapon 7 heard
.wo shots. and then I swooned. Upon M
return 70 Consciousness the tiger lay life
ess beside me.
What a release from ny agony the
prospect ~ death held out I lay there
inpatient % breathe my last But the
ren were nercilsss- They insisted UPON
sontriviuz q stretcher from tire oouEhs
and carrying me fifty miles. The flow %
blood seemed 70 - draining every vein
n ny body. 7 adopted heroic measures .
: spear was heated red hot and applied
10 the wounds There followed tgJ more
Says n agony before that Journey ended.
Then the doctor said ] must loss an arm
The claw 81 the tlgrezs had swollen s.
no a great bag % fostering flesh But 7
-efussa the operation. preferred death.
rae member zss saved. out II cost me
Fix months - torture.
There vas silence in the smoking room
-Yery cigar and every pipe rad gone CIT
That ended my tiger hunts concluded
he Major Il had bad enough. even
1o1eh M experience Ess less terrible
han that of Sir Arthur, here"
We al looked Al Sir Artazr Hewitt
,ad heard - TINS renowned tiger hunter
nzuy .Irres. sut had never before seer
sim = taL thin. soidieriy figure WITH
fsee darEenad ~ close application ~ 1
Ne LIZ b Ll--nea tae Ell q re .