Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1902-02-19
THE DAILY
SHORT STORY.
THE SHADOW
OF DEATH


in to the north and south by spurs
from those ranges.
One morning in the year 1867 news
came to Jubbulpoor, which is n large
city sixty miles south of Saugor that
the civil commissioner of the latter
town had been carried off by a tiger.
No tiger had been seen within fifteen
commissioner was riding in the sub
urbs about shutdown he was pulled
from his saddle and carried off by a
beast lying in wait in bit of jungle
beside the highway. y servant wit
messed the tragedy, and lie reported
the tiger as full grown, but not above
the average. He. gave the alarm. and
a hundred people turLed ont, but the
tiger carried his prey across fields and
highways q distance of four miles and
then entered 4 heavy jungle. This
was the coming of what they called
tine Shadow OF Death. There were
no troops and but three English fam
lilies at Saugor. Officials went up
from Jubbuipoor TO investigate, and
six rifiemen from the Tenth National
infantry followed them. Before any
one had reached Saugor the tiger had
killed Il mail rider thirty miles to the
north. Two nights later he carried OFF
a villager fifteen miles TO the south.
Within q week there was n cry of
alarm all up and down the valley,
and fifty men were put in the field as
hunters. y reward amounting to about
$500 was offered for the destruction Of
the man eater. and villagers and farm
ers were assured that his career would
he brief. On the evening of the sixth
day after the tragedy at Saugor the
tiger returned to the outskirts of the
town, leaped over 4 campfire beyond
which sat an English civilian named
Baker. and the man was seized and
carried off with twenty people within 4
stones throw. Baker was sportsman
and had come up from Jubbulpoor to
join in the hunt There We're four men
within twenty feet of him as he was
seized. The tiger gripped him by the
shoulder, tossed him across his back
and went away into the darkness with
snarl When daylight came. it was
proved that he carried the man eight
miles before being lost in Il ravine. At
one spot the beast, burdened as he was
with the weight of 100 pounds. leaped
n ditch eighteen feet wide. This made
the fourth victim in six days, and dur
ing that time the big cat had traversed
a distance of 80 miles.
Had n plague suddenly fallen upon
the people they could not have been
more alarmed. In one day half the in
habitants Of Saugor deserted their
homes. and in day or two more the
highways and fields were abandoned
by the farmers for several miles
around. The hunters got out and beat
up the country. but while they were
ut work the tiger travelled forty-five
miles up the valley and killed a farmer
and his wife and two children in their
hut and carried the body of the farmer
to the foothills. Word had scarcely
reached the hunters when the beast.
shifted his quarters by twenty miles
and carried OFF woman who was get
ting water at i spring. \ hundred
soldiers were now ordered up from
Jubbulpoor, and sportsmen hocked to
the valley until nearly 200 men had
taken up the chase. There was an
interval of two days between the III
gers sixth and seventh victim. He
travelled eighteen miles in this time,
and, entering n village just ut sun
down, he seized the head man and
sped away On this occasion he was
struck with clubs and cooking utensils
in the hands of the villagers. but he
would not let go his hold. Only TWEEN
ty-four hours later the beast ambushed
and killed an English sportsman on
highway.
After the eighth victim had been re-
corded the reward was raised to ST.
800, and the number of hunters was in
creased to 300, but it was too late to
check the stampede. 1t is a matter of
record that twenty-seven villages and
800 farms were abandoned in ten days.
The tiger Travelled such distances that
no one in the valley felt safe, and he
was so daring that the superstition of
the natives was aroused. The ninth
victim was another mail rider the
tenth a farmer and the eleventh n
French tourist who sat OH the veranda
of Il public bungalow when seized. Be
tween these last three victims the IT,
ger Travelled over a hundred miles. 1t
was four days between the eleventh
and twelfth victim, and there was hope
that the man eater had left the valley.
The twelfth victim was one of the
soldiers detailed on the hunt, and for
the seven days succeeding the tiger
claimed n victim every day, making
nineteen in all. From first to last the
beast was sighted perhaps Il hundred
times and fired upon by hundred diff
ferent men, but none of their bullets
struck him. He was pursued by horse
men and footmen over 400 miles. but
could never be driven to bay. He had
stampeded a district forty miles long
by twenty-eight broad and killed nine
teen people when his death came about
in very curious manner. A patrol of
three hunters was stationed under n
tree at a certain point to watch for
him. A hyena came about and annoyed
them, and as n last resort he was fired
upon to drive him away. In the dark
ness he was not n fair target. and the