The National tribune., 1901-02-28

he passes. and gives him a serious wound
= The beast, maddened with pain, roars ant
leaps into the jungle, carrying the Spcal
: imbedded in his flesh, and, after what ht
considers safe interval, the boys climb,
down, gets back to the circle of watchers
} and reports what has sloccurred.
For long time there is silence, and the
wounted tiger keeps lthe whole neighbor
hood guessing. But this monotony is
broken rudely by a gunshot, heard on the
outskirts of the wide surrounding band OF
heaters, where n young Malay has been
keeping guard over n jungle track. In
stantly those near Iiush to the spot, only to
hnd the boy badly wounded or killed, after
firing shot that struck the tiger. but did
not prevent him renrhing and pulling down
the youth who fired it.
| Hardly has party carried the wounded
man TO shelter, than news arrives that, in
trying to break the ring at another point.
the tiger has sprung upon the point of Il
spear held in rest by a kneeling Malay.
and the spear, passing completely through
the beasts body, the tiger has come down
on the mans back and killed him. The
| old men say it is because, regardless of
| the wisdom of their ancestors, fools now
| face a tiger with spears unguarded,
whereas in the olden time it was always
| the custom to tie a cross-piece of wood
where blade joins shaft, TO prevent the
tiger running up the spear and killing
his opponent.
The game is getting serious now, and
the tiger has retired to grOwl and roar in a
thick, isolated copse of bushes and tan
gled undegrowth, from which it seems inn
possible to draw him. and where it would
be madness to seek him.
By this time all the principal people in
the neighbOrhood have been collected. The
copse is surrounded and two elephants are
ridden at the cover, in the hope of driving
the wounded tiger from his shelter. a
vain hope. for, when the huge beasts get
mcOnyeniently near TO him, the tiger. with
n great roar, springs on to the shoulder Of
the nearest elephant and brings him to his
knees.
The terrified occupants of the hOwdah
tsaddle) are thus deposited on the ground,
but lose no time in picking themselves up
and getting away. The elephant, with a
scream of terror, whirls round. throwing
off the tiger with broken tooth, and, ac-
cOmpanied by his fellow, rushes from the
place and will not be stopped till several
miles have been covered and the river is
between them and their enemy.
Severe maladies require desperate and
heroic remedies. After a short consuta-
tiOn, q young Malay chief and several of
his friends, armed only with spears, eX-
press their determination to seek the tiger
where he lies. They Immediately put the
plan into execution. Shoulder to shoulder
and with spears in rest, they advance to
the cOpse. They have not long to wait in
doubt, for the wounded and enraged beast,
with open mouth and eyes blazing fell pur-
pose, charges straight at them There is
the shock of flesh against steel, an awful
snarling and straining of muscle, and the |
already badly-wounded tiger is pinned to |
the ground and dies under the thrusts Of
many spears.
The general result OF a tiger hunt, under |
such circumstances, is the death or serious |
injury of one or two of the pursuers.-
]. MARTIN MILLER.