Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1907-01-22
LONG WAIT FOR A TIGER.
Hunters Experience In an Indian
jungle.

jungle.
On q sitting evening in May. writes
correspondent of the Pail Mall Ga
zette. I was comfortably ensconced In
a long cane chair on the veranda OF
the Sonaripur Forest Bungalow, in the
Kheri Division Of Oudh. 1 had re-
turned late from forest inspection. and'
feeling a bit done, was enjoying
weed and q peg. The ceaseless hun.
OF myriads of insects filled the air,
and the thermometer registered "a de-
grees. The sharp bark OF the cheetui'
or spotted deer now and then assailed
my ears, the bell Of the stambhar,
the drum of the khakar. or barking
deer the howl of the iackal. and the
harsh scream of the peacock warned
all concerned that either a panther
or q tiger was on the warpath. This
time II was a tiger. From two Of the
villages the inhabitants had deserted
en- masse, and every device known to
circumvent him had been tried. but to
no purpose. One day he would Kill
man or woman in the vicinity OF q
village, eat a portion, and on the next
day or so kill again at village fifteen
or twenty miles away.
/ had dropped off into an uneasy
doze, when I was awakened by a loud
call from the punkah coolie, telling
that my shikari, Fateh Khan. had ar
rived with the news of the man eater.
At a village ten miles distant from
tie bungalow q herder when driving his
cattle back from their grazing ground
along the forest road, had been sprung
upon by tiger and dragged into thick
Jungle, at q spot a mile and q hair
from the village. Another youth was
with the herd at the time. who lost no
time In bringing the news, and all the
villagers, beside themselves with
fright, were imploring him to get me
to go at once and kill the beast. l
ordered my mahout up and told him,
to his delight, to have the elephant
ready at 8 q. m. sharp. His eyes glis-
tened with the double prospect or q
days shikar and the customary gov
ernment reward for potting an eater
of men. 1 then dismissed him. with
the order to give Sham Kulli, the ele-
phant. two pounds extra Of 'goor' (su-
gar as 1t comes from the cane), and
prepared for my trip.
I took q double barreled .450 Henry
Express and a twelve bore cartridge
firing gun by the same maker, the
cartridges for the gun being loaded
with three and a half drains Of Curtis
& Harvey's No. 6 powder and Meade's
shells, charged with sulphate OF an
timony and chlorate Of potash,
most deadly projectile, with which
had killed all previous tigers and pam
theirs. Next looked up my "machan."
made of bamboos and string, for fixing
on the branches Of tree In which to
sit, and a rug and waterproof to keep
off the heavy dew, which falls like
rain at night: a flask of whisky, a
pipe and tobacco completed my imped-
imenta- At a. m. got on my ele-
phant and started for action. Grows.
dawn was not far of, the east had
a tinge of orange and red, and all
along the forest road, on either side,
the jungle awakened with animal life
I gathered what news I could Of the
headman Of the village, and 1t cost
long palaver. which / will spare you.
1t was nearly o'clock before 1t was
finished, and the sun. blood red, was
we'll above the surrounding trees.
ordered the lambadar to bring with
him a few men that he could depend
upon, also the lad who was with the
cattle when the other was carried OF.
Just as we were starting the mother
of the victim. an old woman. came for
ward. tearing her hair beating her
breast, and bowling like fiend at the
top Of her voice. Her lungs. may
say, were in perfect order. tried all
1 knew to pacify her. but in vain. tell
ing her that had come to avenge her
sons death. On hearing this she
howled louder than ever. All direct
persuasion was useless. so I placed
five rupees in her hand, telling her
the body should be brought back the
next day for burial. Her face bright
ened, and clutching the money. she
disappeared like a rabbit around q
haystack.
After proceeding along the forest
road for about a mile and a half the
lad pointed out the spot where the
brute sprang on his comrade. 1 track
ed forward a few yards, where the IT,
ger had crossed the dry. sandy bed
Of a small "nullah,' or water course.
and from the size Of the footprints /
saw that he was heavy and full grown.
It was jumpy work. for the jungle
consisted Of very thick tiger grass,
from ten to fifteen feet high, over very
bad ground. I took my gun. loaded 1t
with shell. and went carefully ahead
foot by foot. following the track Of
the tiger and his kill. but by this time
the sun was getting very hot, and
there was no air.
kept my elephant close In my rear,
and there were about q dozen villag-
ers with me who possessed everything
in the way of pluck, but I was pretty
certain that even the smell Of tiger
would scatter them In all directions, so
that. after ALL had but my shikari
and myself to trust to. We had pro-
ceeded about half a mile, and my ele-
phant all the while was showing signs
Of uneasiness. when we came across
the victims "puggaree." which had
caught on a knot Of a fallen sal tree,
over which the tiger had dragged the
body.
Here for a few moments my shikari
and were at fault. as the grass. which
had up to this spot been pressed down
by the passage Of the tiger and killed,
now showed no sign Of drag, so we
cast ahead to right and left, and at
last struck the track again. To this
day. though. I cannot tell how the
brute moved the body to this spot
I,,,it loot for the tiger