Wauwatosa news. [volume] (Wauwatosa, Wis.) 1900-1948, 1904-01-30
AN INDIAN TIGER STORY.

in upper India. We speak respectfully
OF him as the Royal Bengal Tiger, :"
oblyious of the fact that his habitat is
the whole of Asia. from the River Amur
to Java. from Turkish Georgia to Sag
halien. In characteristics the giant cat
differs almost as widely as his human
fellow creatures. The tiger of northern
Siberia has shaggy coat, enabling him
to withstand the arctic wiEscr, and, ,tay-
ing nothing 10 fear but the Samay.ds
puny weapons. lie is more audacioli; aian
his sleek "ongener on the banks of the
Ganges and Brahmaputra. In Central
Asia, where he has to do witt martial
population. he is a determined cattle
poacher, but is perfectly harmless 10
mankind.
During recent trip to Samarcand
learned some curious particulars from
my Russian hosts bearing on his gentle.
ness Of disposition. A poor woman was
spinning one day last autumn ut the door
of her hut, near the Syr Darya, while
her children played around her, when n
clOthe the river bank, pushed aside the
housewife, stepped gingerly over her lit
tie ones. and curled himself up in
dark corner of the howell for Il comfort
able nap. The family did not rise to the
occasion. Regardless of the duties of
lispotaity, they gave the alarm at the
nearest military post, and a party OF
Iurkestan rihemen soon arrived aud did
the poor beast to death. The only in
stance ON REGARD of injury inflicted hy
a Central Asian tiger on u European
was the result of the mans own fool
hardness. A young officer, whole sur.
veying in the interior, learned that one
bad taken refuge in a deserted cottage.
He climbed the roof, scooped II hole in
the hard clay which covered it, and, in
sorting his hand. armed with revolver,
blazd away at random. The startled
creature within sprang up, ana, Selling
his assailant by the arm, bit it off The
explanation of this absence of the
ferocity proyerbially associated with the
tiger is to be found in the operation of
heredity. Wild animals learn from bit
ter experience that it is yearly becoming
more dangerous to modest human beings,
and they transmit this acquired knowl-
edge to their offspring. In old days Il
tiger had Dugald Dalgettys contempt
for bows and arrows, and felt that he
was a match for Il sportsman armed with
single narrelled gun which it was im-
possible TO load and prime in less than
a minute. Things assume different
aspect in his eyes when he has TO en-
counter breechoading rifles. not TO speak
of repeaters, Which can pump c0ntinu-
Gus stream of lead into his carcass.
More than century ago son of the
iliustrious Sir Thomas Munro, to whom
Madras owes her system OF taxation on
land. lost his life'by & catastrophe which
would nowadays be impossible. He was
cadet ON board an lndiaman bound for
Calcutta. While his vessel was waiting
for q pilot off Saugor. ut the mouth of
the river Roogly. he went ashore with
party of brother officers TO shoot in the
jungle, with which that forbidding island
was then. as now, covered. On return
ing to the beach the young men lit huge
fire as Il signal to the ship 10 send off
boat. Seated in it's cheerful blaze they
were exchanging impressions of the
strange land which they had seen for the
first time. when tiger sprang into their
midst with bloodcurdling roar, seized
the unhappy Munro by the neck and
dragged him into the depths of the forest.
Tigers have greatly deteriorated in
Bengal since the year of grace 1873. 1t
is common remark among Anglo
Indian Sportsmen that they are constant
~ growing more proue TO sneak back to
cover and less inclined to show fight.
The polar bear of our day exhibits a
kindred bump of caution. He was great
~ feared by early navigators OF the
northern seas, for his thi'k fleece was
imperyious to spear thruftS and even
arquebus bullets. Win lOeS not remcm-
Der the print depicting the youthful Mel
sons combat with one of these shaggy
monsters during the Seahorse expedition
III lU32 Many are the terrors of the
Arctic regions. hut the polar bear is no
longer reckoned among them.
But To return To our muttonS, or,
rather, our tigers. Time was, and that
within living memory, when the monarch
of our Indian iungles had not entirely
lost his spirit. | once knew an indigo
81 - II as 3Yshata
htbit manned leg and account for i.
by the following anecdote: In the days
OF his youth he went out one day tiger
shooting with some neighborS. They hna
beaten several covers blank and were re-
turning diSconsoately to their tents.
when Mr.. s. saw the tail grass in
front waving ominousiy. and the next
moment out Sprang splendid specimen
OF the royal beast. He stood a few feet
from the elephant on which my friend
was riding, laSniug his tail and giving
vent to roarS which shook the ground
| 80 amazed were the snortSmen nj the
Spectacle that not Il trigger was pulled
lhen, To Mr.. $ horror. his e,enhant
hogan To shake. Now. the sensations
aroused by an earthquake cannot be
compared ia intensity with those felt by
the occupant of 4 howdah when the great
pachyderm beneath thus tries TO rid him
self of his burden The unfortunate Mr..
as SIttuiN Shot like q p1fChCu npa
INTO the air. and landed plump into the
tigers jaws. In a moment the roles of
I hunter and quarry were reversed. Mr..
/ stripes grasped his PROSTATE foe by the
/ thigh, tossed him across his shoulder as
FOX treats geese, and trotted off
/ with him into the jungle 80 tremen-
douS was the shock that my friend loSt
ms senses. When he rcgaint Il them the
( dln OF human voices had died away.
mud he heard naught but the swish of
me grass and bruShwood rubbing against
ms head as he was being carried randi
" TO the menSter'S lair. Most mon mder
snch circumstances would have thrown
up the sponge, but Mr. S was made
81 Sterner stun, He recollected thar be
Ihad a small pistol in his breast pocket
10 cock il. insert the barrel INTO ;be
uger ear and pun the trigger was The
work OF few seconds. There was
Nharp roar of agony, n terrible cruuchinw
~ his imprisoned limb. and again no he.
came unconscious. When, Somc hours
later, he awokc to life. he found himself
helng ieEderlr nurSed ny 4 poor charcoal
burner' who had found him with
broken thigh in the "Trip of a dead tirrr
But my topic is dangerous one in tbiS
peaceahle and well protected realm M
EhS where people are inclined to he
a ~