The daily Alaskan., 1904-04-11
fTTEIIE TIGER ETIElII
rconvrirbt 1oo2. by c. D. Lewis, l

hSS been quoted Ill European countries. He lived in the ruins of an old temple on the outskirts of a dense jungle, and there he made and maintained his fame as a tanner of wild beasts, particularly tigers. He did not actu- ally tame them, but the influence he exercised over them was no less than wonderful. Even with thousand wit nesses to corroborate facts one finds it hard to believe in. some of his do- lngs.
 Had he been so minded be could have cleared the whole province of tigers in two or three years and en- rlched himself with the bounty offered for their heads and the heads of other dangerous beasts and deadly serpents, but he positively refused to bring harm to a single deuizen of the jungle. He would throw no obstacle in the way of hunters, and he expressed no sorrow when he looked upon a tiger slain by others, but he had laid down rule, and nothing would induce him to swerve from it. It often happened that natives who had lost relatives or oxen by the hunger of the king of the jungle came to him and prayed for vengeance, but in every instance his reply was:
 q am sorry for you, but tigers must have food as well as men. will not help you to kill one, but l will talk to the beasts and ask them to be more careful hereafter. l am sure they will do this for me-"
 As soon as the Tiger Mans reputa- tion began to spread there were many who desired to put him to the test, and during the long years of his life it was seldom that he refused. A hundred times over he has gone out into the jungle alone at night and call ed tiger to him and led the beast to the ruins for all to see. Sometimes the tiger would crouch and creep and whine. and again he would be fercely defiant and menace the spectators.
 If the report came that tiger in certain district had killed a human be- ing, the man would set off for the place without asking for fee or reward. He would learn all he could about the beast and then enter the jungle to search him out. Sometimes he would be seeking for several days, and when night overlook him he made his camp among the beasts and sepents of the thickets. When the tiger had been found, which was nearly always the case if he had not left for another To- callty. he would be taken by the ear to the village in which he had seized his victim and then be made to roll in the dust by way of apology for his mis- deed He would then be told that he must go at least fifty miles away and live on the game of the jungle for the next month, and 1t has been proved over and over again that the tiger nev- CT failed to disappear.
 It was with the knowledge and ac- tive participation of a governor of In tlia and not more than fifteen years ago that the Tiger Man was put to the hardest test of his life. He claimed i'm muuity from every species Of wild scaSt and serpent, and he was sent in- Q a jungle in which three full grown
 igcrs had taken refuge from some sportsmen, one of whom was the gov
 Iuor. The hunt had ended at dusk md the Tiger Man would have dark less against him as he pushed his way
 trough the jungle The locality was luuwu to be infested with cobras, and just as the hunt was called of one of
 hp party caught sight of a rogue Iephant stealing through the thicket.
 No money would have hired a white aan to penetrate Into the jungle at night. and a native would have lain own in his tracks and refused to stir 70 matter what punishment threaten d.
 There were more than forty people left behind as the Tiger Man set forth upon his errand. He bowed before the governor and said he would bring in at least one of the tigers-one which had been slightly wounded by bullet He was heard whistling and chanting as he penetrated the thickets, and he was absent about three hours. When he returned there were both commotion and consternation. He was leading the wounded tiger by the ear and was followed by the two others, and after the tiger came the elephant. There was yet more. Around the mans left arm was twined a huge cobra with glitter ing eyes, and across his neck and shoulders was another.
 "Sahib, l bring you these presents from the jungle" said the Tiger Man as he halted a few yards away.
 But the governor didn't want them. What he wanted was to see them re- stored to their native wilds as fast as possible, particularly as the elephant evlnced a disposition to charge the crowd. The Tiger Man had the -ad- vantage, and he kept 1t for a long half hour. He played with the deadly Cobras as if they had been twigs of willow, and they made not the slight est attempt to bite him. He spoke to the tigers in a dialect they seemed to understand, and though they growled and showed their teeth they did his bidding as he asked them to leap over each other. The elephant was ordered