The Press. (Stafford Springs, Conn.) 1883-1935, 1907-08-28
A TIGER IN A TREE.
Experience Of Whaler's Crew In the
Island of Java.

Experience Of a WhaIer's Crew In the
island of Java.
Two days had been spent watering
ship at a spring on the banks Of the
New river, which is a days sail from
AMER, a neat little roadstead in the
island of Java, and ON the morning of
the third day the captain of the New
Bedford wllaler concluded he would
make an excursion a few miles up the
river. Accordingly his boat was fitted
out with some provisions, and there
was q gun for each man, with plenty
| Of ammunition. The captain took his
rife, the only weapon OF its kind on
board. A young whaler with a record
as good shot-a tiger at twenty feet
being his most famous achievement
was ordered into the boat as the look
out man and sharpshooter. What fol-
lowed after they set sail is best told
in his own words as he has written
them in Forest and Stream:
The wind was fair, and we proceed
ed up the river at a good pace. 1t
was a narrow, sluggish stream, it's
banks bordered with virgin forests and
no sign Of human habitation. The
trees were full of birds and monkeys,
and they kept up a racket which was
novel and interesting to us. Then.
too, the captain was In excellent hu-
NOR, full. of yarns of his voyages and
adventures, and the time passed rap
idly. At noon we ate our lunch and
took In sail and began our return jour
ney, estimating that we had gone up
the river about fifteen miles.
The wind was now dead ahead, and
we got out oars for a fifteen mile pull,
a mere trifie for well seasoned whale
men. Bending to the ash, we made
the boat spin along at a lively gait and
were some FIVE miles away from the
turning point when suddenly the cap
tain exclaimed:
MY goodness! Look at that tigerr'
And, sure enough, lying we'll out on an
overhanging branch Of a tree under
which we must pass lay a magnificent
tiger, evidently watching its chance to
spring into our boat.
To say that the captain was "gallied"
conveys but faint idea Of his mental
condition, and as for my shipmates
they were sight to behold. Perhaps
my experience at AMER helped to
steady my nerves, for while the cap
tain was still In a funk / said conf.
IDENTIFY:
Captain, let me have your rife, and
feel sure can knock that fellow of
his perch"
The captain handed me the rife, and
in an instant I drew a bead, and just
as the captain was saying, "Now, Jack,
don't miss him." I fred. I felt shaky
myself, for knew II missed him the
chances were that when he made his
spring he would land In our frail boat,
and that would be the end OF boat cap
tain and crew.
But the bullet went to the mark.
Like an arrow from a bow the beauti-
full creature shot through the air. We
felt the wind OF his form as he passed
only a few inches over our heads and,
with fearful splash, went below the
surface OF the water. The instant he
struck the captain roared like lion:
"Now pull, boys. pull! Let's get out
OF this internal hoIer'
We did pull, better perhaps than we
ever did on going on to a whale. and
the gait we made In going back to the
ship held the record for the rest of the
voyage. Long after, sometimes when
the captain would get excited In pull
ing for fleeing whale, he would sing
out: ''PulE boys, pulll There's a tiger
up that treeP'