The Evening statesman. [volume] (Walla Walla, Wash.) 1903-1910, 1907-02-28
Perilous Hunt for a Man Eating Tiger

On sitting evening in May, writes
a correspondent of the Pail Mall Ga
zette, l was comfortably ensconced
in long cane chair on the
| veranda of the SOnaripur for
| est bungalow, in the kheri di-
vision of Oudh l had returned late from
forest inspection and, feeling bit done,
was enjoying a weed and a peg. The
ceaseless hum of myriads Of insects fill
| ed the air. and the thermometer regiSt-
cred "a degrees. The sharp bark of the
cheetul, or spotted deer, now and then
assailed my ears, the bell of the samb-
har, the drum of the khakar. or barking
deer, the howl of the jackal. and the
harsh scream of the peacock warned
all concerned that either panther or a
| tiger was on the warpath. This time
| it was a tiger From two of the VIII
| lagos the inhabitants had deserted en-
masse, and every device known to cir
cumvent him had been tried, but to no
purpose. One day he would kill man
or woman in the vicinity of the village,
eat a portion, and on the next day or
so kill again at a village Is or 20 miles
| away.
| l had dropped off into an uneasy dOze
| when l was awakened by loud call
! from the punkah cOOlie, telling that
my shikari, Fateh Kahn, had arrived
with news of the man eater. At viii
lage 10 miles distant from the bunga-
low a herd when driving his cattle
back from their grazing grounds along
the forest road, had been sprung upon
by a tiger and dragged into thick jun
gle, at a spot mile and half from
the village. Another youth was with
the herd at the time, who lost no time
in bringing the news, and all the viii
layers. beside themselves with fright
were imploring him to get me to go at
once and kill the beast | ordered my
mahout up and told him, to his delight
to have the elephant ready at p. m
sharp. His eyes glstened with the
customary government reward for pot
ting an eater of men. l then dismissed
! him with the order to give Sham kulli
the elephant, two pounds extra OF
"goor' (sugar as it comes from the
cane), and prepared for my trip.
Gets Ready.
| took double barrelled $50 Henry
express and a II 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 chorate of potash
a most deadly projectile, with
which had killed all pre-
vious tigers and panthers. Next l look
ed up my "macham,' made of bamboos
no No hot
of a tree in which to sit. and rug and
! waterproof to keep off the heavy dew,
which falls like rain at night. a flash of
| whiskey, a pipe and tobacco completed
! my impedmenta. At a. m. l got 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 jun
gle awakened with animal life. l
| gathered what news | could of the
headman of the village. and it cost a
long palaver. which l will spare you.
1t was nearly o'clock before it was
finished. and the sun, blood red, was
| we'll above the surrounding trees. l
| ordered the lambadar to bring with
him a few men that he could depend
| upon. also the who was with
| the herd. Just as we were STRAIT
! ing the mother of the vic
| tim. 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. l tried all
| knew to pacify her, but in vain telling
her that l had come to avenge her
tI,;c oh In1y
ed louder than ever. All direct persu-
! alton was useless, so l 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 Il hay
stack.
Tracked Tigers Spoor.
| After preceding 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 a few yards, where the
| tiger had crossed the dry. sandy bed
of a small "nullah," or watercOurse.
and from the size of the footprints l
saw that he was heavy and full grown,
1t was jumpy work, for the jungle con-
! sisted of very high grass, over very bad
ground l took my gun, loaded it 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 a dozen villagers
! with me who possessed everything In
the way of pluck, but | was pretty GER
! tain 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 proceeded
about half a mile, and my elephant all
| the while was showing signs of uneasl-
ness, when we came across the victims
! "puggaree," which had caught on
! knot of a fallen sal tree, over which
! the tiger dragged the body.
| Here for a few moments my shikari
, and | were at fault, as the grass, which