Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1901-06-29
TIGER HUNTS IN CHINA
ADVENTURES WITH FIERCE AMI
MAILS IN lMANCHURIA.
Col. Root of Wyoming Rid = Village
of Two Pests-Novel Retfnue
a
of Assistants.
From the Salt Lake Herald.


From the Salt Lake Herald
Col. William H. Root, the dealer in wild
animals of Laramie, Wyo., is a man of
much travel and varied experience. He left
his home on New England farm and
came west in the middle fifties At that
time he was lad scarcely seventeen years
of age. During his first years in the west
he was in turn bull whacker, as the
driver Of an OK wagon was called; stage
driver, superintendent Of district Of
the road, scout, guide. hunter and. last
of all. dealer in wild animals. In the lat
ter vocation Col. Root has filled orders for
nearly all the great menageries and zoolog-
ical gardens in the world.
In recent interview Col. Root said:
II have had some exciting experiences In
my time, but some of my early experiences
with Indians and my adventures In Africa
while buying animals for the late P. 7.
Barnum are somewhat tame when COM
pared with the things / passed through in
ManchoOria and southern Siberia. l went
to those countries some years ago to buy
tiger skins for a London fur dealer.
But before tell about my experience In
that heather land let me say word about
tigers. There are several species of tigers
and all of them are ferociouS. The lion Is
called the king of beasts, but the title does
not rightfully belong to him. The royal
Bengal tiger is larger, stronger and Drawer
than the lion and also a greater fighter. A
lion will run from a man unless 1t Is cor
nered or desperate from hunger, but a
tiger. as far as I can learn. has never been
known to flee from a man. tiger will
charge upon an elephant or company OF
soldiers. 1t seems to know no such thing
as fear.
I'm some parts Of Asia tigers practically
live upon human flesh. In northeastern
o1>~ IT,, ro& oil oil 20
southern banks of the Amoor river as far
westward as the mountains, the tigers kill
an incredible number of human beings The
Chinese or Tartars In those parts are arm
ed with bows and arrows or very crude
firearms, and they have a difficult time
keeping tigers out of their villages.
Tiger Skulls as Medicine.
"In Manchooria the people believe that
pulverized tiger teeth and claws are a
powerful medicine which will make those
who eat 1t strong and brave. Tiger skulls
are also made into medicine. Perhaps you
have noticed that many tiger skins, in fact
nearly all that are sold in America, have
the head filled with plaster of paris and the
teeth made of the same material, and also
lack claws. Well, these hides come from
Manchooria. Whenever tiger Is killed
there, the mandarin of the place demands
the skull, teeth and claws. When he gets
them, and the proper ceremonies are per-
rites pulveriZes them into a powder.
THE finest skins are those of the royal
Bengal tigers. large Bengal skin in good
condition will bring $1,000. Manchooria
skins sell from $50 upward to $500. The
Bengal skins differ from the Manchoorian
in several respects, but the particulars
would not interest you. The demand for
tiger skins is great, especially in England.
Several years ago the demand was much
greater, and skins were selling at high
prices. At that time travelling was not SO
easy in China as 1T is now, and great diff
fculty was encountered in getting skins
from the interior to the coast
Il arrived at village about fifty miles
from the mountains in western Manchoo-
ria, and perhaps twenty or thirty miles
south of the Amoor river. in the summer Of
1883. l had with me a party of three Eu-
ropeans, two 1Englishmen and a Scotch
man, and an interpreter and seven or eight
coolies. He had several of the finest hunt
Ing rifles made, among them being three
express rifles, shooting explosive bullets,
and four Marlin repeaters. When we ar
rived we presented our letters to the mayor
or head man of the village-our letters
were from the mandarin Of that part of
the county-informing the readers that we
were tiger hunters and as such should be
treated with respect and aided on our way.
The mayor Informed us that his village
had suffered from raVages of tigers from
remotest times; that there were two tigers
in the hills near by which harbored the
souls Of executed criminals: that the
spirits Of executed criminals entered these
two tigers, and that they at times became
so bold as to enter the village in open day
these tigers could not be killed. because
they were devil tigers. He promised us
that he would give us ten tiger skins If We
would rid his village of these two tigers
We agreed to these terms at once. The
next morning we were to start the hunt.
Queer Hand of Hunters.
Just about the time we four white men
were ready to start the mayor came around
with about forty of the sorriest- looking
coolies l ever saw, chained together in
pairs by means of leg shackles He in
formed us that he used some Of his con-
victs and criminals in tiger hunting, and
If convict killed tiger he was pardoned.
OF course did not want such an outfit as
that with u.s. and told the mayor so, but
he insisted that they be permitted to go,
and at last l consented.
THE way these fellows were armed was
mirth.provoking. One had tin pan and
stick, and the man chained to him had
a bow and arrow. Nearly all the pairs
were armed in the same manner. Some Of
the guards had firearms-old blunder-
buses, fintlocks and old gaspipe pistols
and others had bows and arrows. few
of the prisoners carried nothing but spears.
The poor devils, guards and all, were
scared almost to death before the hunt
started.
From the start I was puzzled as to how
I could use the outfit. l did not want to
hunt in front of them, because l was
afraid they might shoot me If we flushed
any game. l did not want to be behind
them, because that might prevent me and
my companions from getting a shot.
Here let me say that the three men
with me were all experienced hunters.
Donaldson, the Scotchman, was one Of the
best shots / ever Saw-not even barring Al
Huston or Ed Lane Of Wyoming. He had
hunted tigers before. He was hard man
to get along with, but good man, never
he tx1o
lishmen, were good shots and cool-headed
men. They had had some experience in
tiger hunting while in the English army
in India.
well, It was finally decided that we
should descend on the brush in line
with Grant and Akers in the middle and
Donaldson on one end and myself on the
other. We walked along the ridge above
the ravine until we came opposite the part
of the brush in which the tigers were sup
posed to have their lair. Then we formed
our line and prepared to descend upon the
brush. The poor devils began to beat their
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