Wauwatosa news. [volume] (Wauwatosa, Wis.) 1900-1948, 1907-06-22
THE DEATH OF A MAN EATER

ger; never saw anything like HIM before 7
or since-good deal of Bhil in him, | !
think. writes Francis Campbell in the /
Westminster Gazette. Anyhow. he came /
to ask me ii ia 90 ana shoot a man
eater that had afflicted his village for
two months and carried off twenty per
sons, the last two being his own wife and /
his sister He was the headman of the /
village. He had come himself to make |
quite sure of the sahibs hearing all about |
it. 1t was great tiger-very great and
powerful-not old or NANCY, he would
answer for it. He had seen the tiger
when it carried off his wife.
And all the while he talked he KEPT
folding the ends of piece of muslin lie
wore across his body like a scarf-a
frayed, torn piece of stuff, Just the color
of a wallflower, brownish red. Fifteen
little ones and five women hath this tiger
killed out of my people" he said. "Will
my lord come and slay it," Well. said.
I'd have a try, making up my mind, for
all he said, that it was both ancient and
NANCY. Tigers don't take to man eating
till they've lost their teeth. However,
this particular beast seemed to come it
rather strong. and | thought I'd like to
together. the man showing me the way.
| soon spotted the fact that ne was
mad-mad as a halter IF the tiger had
taken his wife it had also taken his
brains; he was a bit creepy as travelling
companion, and the oldest part of his lu-
! nacy was to be forever caressing that
| torn muslin thing he wore-kissing 1t and
| stroking it and talking to it as If the
- Ill 81
Lord the Tiger" and the sudden destruc-
! ton that was coming on him. When We
! got to the village | didn't wonder he was
| dotty.
He had been married only week and
| the wife was, according to the village,
speckless beauty. They had been prom
! ised to each other from childhood and it
had taken him nearly all his life to save
enough to buy her-pretty hard luck.
The tiger came on them as they were
drawing water-came out of the Jungle
behind them and took the woman The
Lunatic had pursued it till brought forci-
bly, back by the villagers. How is that
for pluck-a naked, unarmed man against
a tiger? l began to respect my Lunatic,
ana since he couldn't fire a gun ! gave
him an Afghan knife and showed him
how to use it. The first night we had no
luck.
The second night the brute drank a
mile below its usual place. But early on
the dawn of the third day they came
racing to tell US that the tiger had car
ried away man from the well and had
taken to the jungle. The Lunatic got out
his knife and wiped it. To-day, sahib,' :
he said quietly, "we shall kill him.
will lead the way" How he picked up
the track through the jungle 1 don't
know; but he did. Then We lost it, but
found it again in the river bed and fol
lowed it upward for about a mile. the
stream growing thinner and the bed mar
rover. till at last it disappeared and we
had to burst our way through vines and
bamboo grass over ladder of red hot
stones.
The I.unatic was dripping from every
pore and painting like a motor; but be
never ceased to taunt the invisible tiger
as if it were already dead-harking back
to its remote ancestry and hooking al
the virtues of tigresses dead a thousand
wears ago, and all the time lingering that
end of brown muslin. Suddenly we camC
into a little level where the now dried W
stream poured over a ledge o. rock, hol
owed out beneath into a narrow cave
cool and shadowy. And there, crouchec
to sprinc-my Lord the Tiger. l felt
him coming and had just time to films
myself aside. Blest if I didn't 90 rolling
down over the water smoothed stones
into the cave and arrived with my right
hand clutching the gun outflung beside
me. Why it didn't go off is mystery.
I lust had time to aim when my Lore
crashed back, his spring having landed
him among the bamboos. The Lunatl'
was making such fiendish row witt
) two fiat stones, shrieking and believing
simultaneously, that the brute IN tn
strong sunlight was dazed-and furious
; of course-and made for his lair, opeI
mouthed and snarling. | was standing
riobt in the entrance when he came a
me. I put the charge down his throat
He came on at me, but l expected HIM t.
drop. He didn't He mauled my arm
> pretty badly before then.
, When I came to / was propped NJ
AGAINST the bank. dripping wet. The Lu
! Matte must have flown, for the water wa
r GOOD bit behind us. and the tiger wa
still tvitching. He was sitting before
amonp the stones. calling it every nam
in his language that was bad. cal
curse a bit myself when it IS necessary
but that chap was genius in this par
ticular line: he didn't leave that tiger
shred of reputation to stand on. Nhe
he paused to take breath | got up an
,, investigated. He was a young tiger, an
in splendid condition, but one eye ha
been shot away, and all the teeth on on
t side of his jaw. l suppose that was WI
E he had taken to man eating men
t toned to the Lunatic that would Ink
, him skinned Immediately, and tina
wrought curious change in him.
on. sahib. no." he protested. this
NV wife-my sister" He threw. hi
s arms around the bleeding brute and bt
b gan calling it by every endearing nam
e he could think of, caressing it. embracin
!. Il Then all at once he took off the piec
A Of brown muslin and bneeling in front
= the dead tiger he spread 1t out, as Oh
- might spread something precious before
woman or a child. -,
d ooh. pearl of the world-my beloved
+ he cried. "See-I have brought thee th
It veil"