The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1903-11-01
HUNTING THE CAVE TIGER
YoU CRAWL INTO HIS PARLOR WITH
TORCH AND PoT HIN.
The Theory Il That He Fears the
Light and Won't Take Advantage
story of Man Who Tried 1t.


There is good hunting In China-exciting
enough to suit any sportsman. 1t is thor
oughly sportsmanlike. also. for IL Is an
equal contest between the hunter and his
quarry. The quarry is tiger.
Tigers I'm the Chinese hunting country
are found in caves in rocky territory. The
method OF getting one is simple.
The hunter enters the tigers cave when
the tiger is in It, and shoots. There are no
dogs. no benters. TO aids OF any kind. save
q native tracker holding a torch. There
fore it is advisable TO see the tiger quickly.
TO shoot even more quickly when you do
see him. and not to miss him when you
shoot.
returning American who tried this
strenuous sport once-only once-was tell
ing about his experience the other day.
This is his story of the most exciting hunt
ing trip he ever took or ever expects to
take:
81 happened to be near Annoy, not long
after the recent unpleasantness IN China"
he said, land there met friend who IS
employed IN the Chinese customs service.
He Il a keen sportsman. and thought then
that was. Naturally. when he showed
me feveral fine tiger skins and told me
that he had shot the tigers himself In the
country around about there, I wanted to
shoot tiger myself
III said so. My friend explained that
the tigers were found among the caves,
but i didn't raise any serious objection TO
that. hearing that there was little jungle
about there. You see, didn't know.
My friend said he'd fix IL for me. When
I was so set on the tiger shooting he was
as anxious as l. He lent rifle, found
q native tracker and the next morning
the tracker and / set of.
I'VE went by boat up the river to the tiger
country. After an hour o. two we came
TO spot where the banks were high aud
rocky and honeycombed with many caves
and openings. Then we landed and my
guide began to examine the cave mouths
AT last at the mouth OF a large. dark
assure. he pointed out some marks in the
tiger. He wasn't satisfied that they were
fresh, but nevertheless he lit a torch and
signed to me TO enter.
Then for the first time realized Just
what I was UP against.
DIDN'T LIKE IT.
'T confess freely that didn't like II. I
think ia have backed out IL could, but
there was committed to the enterprise.
There was no getting out OF IL. so, reassur-
ing myself with the notion that II my friend
could kill tigers that way 1 could, I saw
that my rife was properly loaded and
''The cave widened inside and In the floor
OF clear white sand the tracks were plainly
visible. The cave was not large, though.
and there was no tiger inside. Being sure
OF that went
1.-The guide said IL was not the regular
haunt of the tiger. but he occasionally
used 1t. and now he was pretty sure he
knew the cave, where that tiger would be.
He took me to another cave.
There were many tracks at this one.
Id t.&r Ior- tfnIa
you couldn't enter upright But the tracker
relighted his torch. signed to TO get
down on my hands and knees and get in.
Again / was ashamed to refuse. /
went In.
Behind me. blocking the passage. came
the tracker. with his lighted torch just over
my shoulder. Cropping on hands and knees
along winding hole. could see only two
or three yards ahead.
BEYOND that was inky blackness. More
than once thought saw the tigers shape
In front of me. But each time the guide
behind prodded me TO go on. hated TO,
I'VE must have pentrated fifteen or
twenty yards In this way when ! found the
passage widening and saw that 1t led into a
larger cave. l was just about TO enter
this congratulating myself that here at any
rate I could stand upright and move, in
stead OF being cramped on hands and knees
at the mercy of whatever there was ahead,
when the tracker seized my arm from be-
hind and pointed over my shoulder into the
darkness
Il couldn't see a thing at first and I
couldn't describe my feelings. but then the
guide raised his torch little, and 1 per-
ceived only few yards in front of me two
burning eyeballs, apparently close to the
ground.
at was a case of acting quickly and
making mistake L raised my rife,
and with the light of the torch behind me
on the sights, I aimed straight between the
two points OF fire and pulled the trigger.
KILLED THE TIGER.
s~The conclusion, in the confined space,
almost deafened me. At the mo-
ment the tracker jammed his torch into
the sand and extinguished It, leaving me
IN total darkness. Before / knew what
was happening 1 felt him dragging me
backward through the passage, and in a
few seconds we were in the open air.
i asked the man what was to be our next
move I didn't tell him so, but was de-
termined on one thing. Nothing would in
duce me to enter the cave again. with pos
sibly only wounded tiger In IL.
However. the man was jubilant He de-
clared that L had killed the beast How
he knew. seeing that he had extinguished
the light the moment / fired, / couldn't
imagine and he didn't explain.
had hit the tiger at all, but after relighting
the torch the native said there was no
danger ard he going In to see He
went. i stayed outside and registered a
mental vow that nothing should ever per-
suade me to so tempt Providence again.
seemed TO me an interminable interval
and he vas beaming with joy. He said
that the tiger was stone dead, shot through
the brain. Then he went 10 fetch the two
boatmen TO help US haul the beast out.
I'VE did IL by tying a rope around the
body and the three of US pulling on il. while
the fourth guided the weight over the
rough spots 1t took an hour of hauling
to do it.
1T proved to be male tiger OF not
very large size. but in excellent condition
with a Beautifully marked skin. BY after
noon we had that off and were on our way
home.
Now, my friend assured me later that
tiger hunting of that sort was as safe as
such sport could be. Among the many
expeditions after these cave tigers that he
had taken part In. he said, ne had never
known a mischance. The tiger whether
missed or hit, never charged. Whether
the light and its sudden extinguishins
confused him or not he didn't know, but
no accident ever occurred.
1T may be true answered the man who
had tried il once, but m all in Oh that
sport Never again for me-"
Mound Builders Work.
1iiwaukee Sentinel.
state Senator George W. Wolff. OF Elk
hart Lake who has been occupied the past
seasoa I'm surveying the Indian antiquities