The daily morning journal and courier., 1907-01-17
LONG WAIT FOR A TIGER.
HUNTERS EXPERIENCE IN AN
 INDIAN JUNGLE,


 ger Returned to His Quarters-The
 Shot That Killed.
 On stihing evening in May, writes a correspondent of the Pail Mail Gag cite, I was comfortably ensconced in a long cane chair on the veranda of the Sonaripur Forest Bungalow, in the kheri Division of Oudh I had re- turned late from forest inspection, and, feeling a bit done, was enjoying weed ana peg. The ceaseless hum of my rlads of insects filled the air, and the thermometer registered 94 degrees The sharp bark of the cheetul, or spot ted deer, now and then assailed my ears, the bell of the sambhar, the drum of the khakar, or barking deer the howl of the jaekal and the harsh scream of the peacock warned all con- cerned that either panther or a tiger was on the warpath. This time it was 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 village, eat portion, and on the next day or so kill again at a village fifteen or twen- ty miles away
 l had dropped off into an uneasy doze, when I was awakened by loud call from the punkah coolie telling that my shikari, Patch Khan, had ar rived with news of the man eater. At village ten miles distant from the bungalow a herd when driving his cattle back from their grazing ground along the forest road, had been sprung upon by a tiger and dragged into thick jungle, at a spot mile and half from the village. Another youth was with the herd at the time, who lost no time in gringing the news, and all the villagers, beside themselves with fright, were imploring him to get me to go at once and kill the beast. I or his delight, to have the elephant ready at A. M. sharp. His eyes glistened with the double prospect of days sfikar and the customary Government reward for potting an eater of men. I then dismissed him, with the order to give Sham Kulli, elephant, two pounds extra of "goor' (sugar as it comes from the cane,) and prepared for my trip
 took a double barrelled, 450 Henry Express and twelve bore cartilage firing gun by the same maker, the cartridges for the gun being loaded with three and half drams of Curtis & Harvey's No. 6 powder and Meade's shells, charged with sulphate of anti mony and chlorate of potash, a most deadly projectile with which I had killed all previous tigers and panthers Next I looked up my "machan,' made 10 bamboos and string, for fixing on the branches of tree in which to sit, ,a ,apds~aRr and waterproof torkeep off the heavy dew, which falls like rain at night; flask of whiskey, pipe and tobacco completed my' impedimen- ia. At A. M. I got on my elephant and started for action Grows dawn was not far off, 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 it cost a long palaver, which will spare you
 It was nearly o'clock before it was finished, and the sun, blood red, was well above the surrounding trees. I ordered the lambadar to bring with him few men that he could depend upon, also the lad who was with the cattle when the other was carried off. Just as we were staring the mother of the victim, an old woman, came forward, tearing her hair, beating her breast and bowling like fiend at the top of her voice. Her lungs, may say, were Tn perfect order. I tried all I knew to pacify in vain, telling her that I had come to avenge her sons death. On hearing this she howled louder than ever All direct persua- sion 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 frightened and, clutching the money, she disap- peared like a rabbit around a may stack.
 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. l track ed forward few yards, where the tiger had crossed the dry, sandy bed of small "mullah," or water-course and from the size of the footprints l saw that he was heavy and full grown 1t 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 Ii 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.
 I kept my elephant close in my real adn there were about a dozen villager, with me who possessed everything ir the way of pluck, but I was prety cer. tain that even the smell of a tiger would scatter them in all directions, st that, after all, I had but shikari ant myself to trust to. We had proceeded about half mile, and my elephant al the while was showing signs of uneasi ness, when we came across the vic tim's "puggaree, which had caugh on a knot of fallen sal tree, ovel which the tiger had dragged the body.
 Here for a few moments my shikar and I were at fault, as the grass whicf had up to this spot been pressed dowr by the passage of the tiger and kill