Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1905-12-07
DAILY SHORT STORY
A TIGERS CHOICE.

of Bengal, had gone 10 the jungles on a
tiger hunt The. accident that befeli
three of them oni the second day was
a curious one The four were making
their way up the. dry bed of nullah.
or ravine when a tree growing on a
high bank suddenly caved into the ra-
vine, catching and breaking bones for
three OF them The officers were at
tended by fifty servants and beaters.
and filters were>soon constructed and
they were borne back to camp.
On the third day after the accident
word was brought in that large tiger
had visited village four miles away
the night previously and carried away
a woman. The fourth officer of the
party. who was a lieutenant. had, of
course, given his services TO his COM
rades. but when news of the tiger
came they insisted that he make an
attempt to kill the beast. 1t was be-
lieved that the feline, would pay the
village a second visit. and the officer
would have to pass, the night in hut
to be ready for him. He protested, but
was overruled, and anfhOur before dark
set off with his guns land guides. The
injured officers by 10i o'clock were all
asleep. and an hour later the attendant
also slumbered.
The major had slept tfor three hours
when his thirst awokeI him. His ham,
mock was swung vei.y close to the
ground and his head and shoulders SO
elevated that he couldt see all around
him. He saw that tine servant was
ncII hn. tnI 10, IN h inn fny
fear of awakening his brother officers.
He had been awake about ten minutes
when a great tiger suddenly appeared
close beside The sleeping; native. The
beast must have made its way over the
clear and open ground from the jungle.
and as there was no air stirring the
horses had noti scented him. He was
male tiger in his prime, and that he
had come for a victim could not be
doubted. He must have been surprised
that no better watch was kept. Had
the servant been awake heswOuld have
instantly been seized and carried off,
but his being asleep puzzled the tiger.
The beast shifted and Snuffed for mo-
ment and then turned to the ham
mocks. He visited the captains before
he came to the major. He purred like
a cat as lie stood with his nose within
six inches of their faces, and it is q
thing hard to believe, but nevertheless
true, that his purring awOke each in
turn. Neither of the men moved so
much as an eyelash while under the
scrutiny of the beast. They were men
who had hunted; the jungle before, and
many dangers had hardened their
nerves.
When the tiger left Captain Burton
to purr in the ears of Captain Brookes.
| the former opened his eyes and watch
ell his further movements. For what
| seemed five minutes the terror of the
jungle stared into the face of the sleep
ing man. thrusting out his furred
| tongue at intervals and licking at the
splints and bandages of the broken
| arm. Fortunately there was no blood
70 excite his appetite. Then came the
| major's turn. He knew 1T would come
and had prepared for ii, but he after
| ward said that RI was the ordeal of his
life The skin of his leg had been
broken and bled freely when he re-
ceived the greater lnlrt. but luckily for
him the surgeon had treated the hurt
| with an antiseptic very disagreeabl BILE
to the tiger. The beast shifted and
| licked and then fell,back with growl
OF displeasure.
For two or three minutes he stood
staring at the horses and the tents of
the natives and seemed inclined to pay
ihem u visit. but why go TO that trouble
when he had four victims under his
| nose? 1t was such good thing that he
was troubled which to select. He in
spected each of them in turn again
and was still undecided, when one of
the native servants helped him to de-
eide the problem. The man awakened
| and came out of his tent TO see II the
horses were all right. He had no idea
| of danger. but stood and yawned and
stretched.
Probably reasoning that an alarm
| would be given in a moment, the tiger
whrled and seized the servant by the
right arm close TO the shoulder and
| whirled the burden over his back and
galloped of TO the jungle. and in his
surprise and terror the man made no
| outcry until half the space had been
covered. Then the tiger uttered a roar
| of defiance and increased his pace. The
| camp was at once alarmed, and great
was the surprise of the officers to find
that all had been awake and watching
Some of the servants fired off guns
and ran to the edge of the jungle with
blazing brands, but, of course. the tiger
held TO his prey.
Early i'm the morning the lieutenant
| appeared. He had passed the night in
the village. but no tiger had appeared.
He at once took up the trail Of this one.
having a dozen native dogs TO assist
him. The beast and his burden had
passed through strip of jungle about
forty rods wide and then reached rough
and open ground. All the way through
| the jungle the man had caught the
bushes with his hands to detain the
tiger, but had always been wrenched
loose. When clear OF the tangIe the
n a. l..