The new enterprise. (Madison, Fla.) 1901-1908, 1907-08-01

OF Niger; never saw anything like him
before or sinCe-gUod deal of Bill in
MIN, | think, writes Francis Campbell
IN the Westminster Gazette. Anyhow,
he came TO ask me If I'd go and shoot
man eater than had afflicted his VII
lage for two months and carried of
twenty persons, the last two being his
own wife and his sister. He was the
headsman of the village. He had
come himself to make quite sure OF the
sahib's hearing all about 1t, 1t was
great tiger-yery great and powerful
not Old or NANCY, he would answer
for 1t. He had seen the tiger when Il
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
frayed, torn piece OF stuff, just the
color of a wallhower, brownish red.
Fifteen little ones and five women
hath this tiger killed out Of my peo-
pie" he said, will my lord come and
Stay 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 TIL
they've lost their teeth. However,
this particular beast seemed to come
1t rather strong, and thought I'd like
to pot him. | got leave and we went
off together, the man showing me the
way.
soon spotted the fact that he was
mad-mad as a halter. II 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 lunacy was TO be forever
caressing that torn muslin thing ne
wore-kssing it and stroldng 1t ana
talking 10 it as if the thing under
stood-and all about MY Lord the
Tiger" and the sudden destruction that
was coming on him. When we got 10
the village | didn't wonder he was
dotty.
He had been married only week
and the wife was, according to the VII
lage, a speckless beauty. They had
been promised 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 we're drawing water
came out of the jungle behind them
and took the woman. The lunatic had
pursued it till brought forcibly back
by the villagers. How is that Tor
pluck-a naked, unarmed man against
a tiger? | began to respect my lun-
attic, and since he couldn't fire gun
81, 1ytoi nd
ed him how to use it. The first night
we had no luck.
The second night the brute drank
mile below it's usual place. But early
on the dawn of the third day they
came racing to tell us that the tiger
had carried away a man from the well
and had taken to the jungle The lun-
attic 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 don't know; but he did
Then we lost it, but found 1t again in
the river bed and followed 1t upward
for about a mile, the stream growing
thinner and the bed narrowed, I'LL al
last II disappeared and we had to burst
our way through vines and bamboo
grass over a ladder of red hot stones
The luhatic was dripping from
avery pore and painting like a motor;
hut he never ceased to taunt the IN
visible tiger, as if 1t were already dead
-harl;ng back to its remote ancestry
and hooking at the virtues OF tigresses
dead thousand years ago, and all
the time lingering that end OF brown
muslin. Suddenly we came into
little level where the now dried up
stream poured over a ledge or rock,
followed out beneath into narrow
cave cool and shadowy. And there,
crouched to spring-my Lord the Tig-
or felt him coming and had just
time TO fling myself aside. Blest If |
admit 20 rolling down over the water
emoothed stones into the cave and ar
rived with my right hand clutching the
a,n outAung beside me. Why it didn't
go off is mystery
inst had time to aim when my
lord crashed back, his spring having
landed him among the bamboos. The
,,,,otic was making such fendish row
With two fat stones, shrieking and
he,low,ng simultaneously, that the
hrnte in the strong sunlight was dazea
and furious, of course-and maze lot
his lair. open mouthed and snarhns'
was standing right in the entrance
uhan no came at me, l put the
- down his throat. He came on