Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1907-06-21
THE DEATH OF A MAN EATER


kering on the veranda-queer sort of mig
ger; never saw anything like him before
or since-good deal of Bill III him, |
think, writes Francis Campbell in the
Westminster Gazette. Anyhow, he came
to ask me if Id 20 and 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 sahib's hearing all about
it. 1t was a 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 a piece of muslin he
wore across his body like scarf-a
frayed, torn piece of stuff, just the color
of a wallfOwer 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, I 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
pot him. | got leave and we went Oft
together. the man showing me the way.
| soon spotted the fact that ne was
mad-mad as halter. If the tiger had
taken his wife it had also taken his
brains; he was bit creepy as a travelling
companion, and the oldest part of his lu-
macy was to be forever caressing that
torn muslin thing he wore-kissing it and
stroking it and talking to it as if the
thing understood-an all about "My
Lord the Tiger and the sudden destruc-
ton that was coming on him. When we
cot to the village [ didn't wonder he was
dotty.
He had been married only week and
the wife was, according to the village, a
spec<less 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 forcl-
bly, back by the villagers. How is that
for pluck-a naked, unarmed man against
tiger? | began to respect my Lunatic,
anu 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 a man from the we'll and had
taken to the jungle. The Lunatic got out
his knife and wiped it. "Today, sahib,, .
he said quietly, eve shall kill him. I
will lead the way" How he picked up
the track through the jungle [ 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 a ladder of red hot
stones.
The Lunatic was dripping from every
pore and painting like motor; but he
never ceased to taunt the invisible tiger,
as il it were already dead-harking back
to it's remote ancestry and hooking at
the virtues of tigresses dead thousand
wears ago, and all the time lingering that
end of brown muslin. Suddenly we came
into a little level where the now dried up
stream poured over a ledge Of rock, hol-
owed out beneath into narrow cave,
cool and shadowy. And there, crouched
to spring-my Lord the Tiger. [ felt
him coming and had just time to fling
myself aside. Blest if [ didn't 60 rolling
down over the water smoothed stones
into the cave and arrived with my right
hand clutching the gun outtlung beside
me- Why it didn't go off is a mystery.
[ lust had time to aim when my Lord
crashed back his spring having landed
him among the bamboos. The Lunatlc
was making such fiendish row with
two fiat stones, shrieking and believing
simultaneously, that the brute IN the
strong sunlight was dazed-and furious,
of course-and made for his lair, open
mouthed and snarling. | was standing
right in the entrance when he came at
me- l put the charge down his throat.
He came on at me, but e 0ected him to
drop. He didn't. He nls.oled my arm
pretty badly before then.
When | came to [ was propped up
against the bank, dripping wet. The Lu-
matte must have flown, for the water was
good bit behind us. and the tiger was
still twitching. He was sitting before 1t
among the stones, calling it every name
IN MS language thaC was pau' Gan
curse a bit myself when it is necessary,
but that chap was a genius IN this par
ticular line; he didn't leave that tiger
shred of reputation to stand on. When
he paused to take breath [ got up and
investigated. He was a young tiger, and
in splendid condition, but one eye had
been shot away, and all the teeth on one
side of his jaw. l suppose that was why
he had taken to man eating. [ men
toned to the Lunatic that [ would like
him skinned Immediately, and that
wrought a curious change in him.
oh, Sahib, MOI" he protested. "this is
my wife-my sister" He threw his
arms around the bleeding brute and be-
gan calling it by every endearing name
he could think of, caressing it, embracing
it. Then all at once he took off the piece
of brown muslin and kneeling in front of
the dead tiger he spread it out, as one