The Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1???-1928, 1908-10-13
BATTING THE TIGER
DANGEROUS SPORT INDUCED IN
BY JAVANESE.
Captured Monarch OF the jungle
Turned Loose in Public Square
and Worried to Death by
Men with Spears.

Tiger-baiting as practiced by the
Javanese would seem to be the mos
daring Of all sports. 1t thrills the
blood of European spectators and some
times makes them wish they coule
look on from a balloon The tiger Il
the most ferocious Of the cat family
and the hunting of him in India is no.
conducted without an elaborate out!iI
of elephants, shlkaris and rifles, yei
the natives of Java let him loose In {
public square and worry him to dealt
with their spears The batting is ar
annual festival called 'rampok, i
takes place In the palace Enclosure OF
the native sultans. The Enclosure Is
mile square and has walls II fee
high and about as thick, but the bait
ing is held in long, open space calico
the "aloun-aloun,' bordered by stately
waringns, or sacred trees, of the Is
land. A grand stand occupied by the
sultan, his family and foreign guests
faces the center of the square, where
eight or ten cages, each containing
tiger, are placed.
Thousands of spearmen. armed with
sharp-pointed lances march up antI
surround the square, Behind the spear
men are native spectators. 1t is &
thrilling moment when the sultan
gives signal for the sport to begin
Two unarmed men approach one Of
the cages, pull up the trap door ant
take to their heels. They have iot
of. doubtful honor. The jungle mon
ster is, perhaps, in an ugly mood and
inclined to take revenge on the first
human heing at hand.
One bound and he could overtake
the fleeing men, Yet, it is more likely
that the tigers spirit Is cowed by Ions
captivity. and that he, dazed by SC
much publicity, refuses to bulge from
his cage. In that case a pistol is fired
near him, and the startled beast emits |
a roar as he leaps from his iron prison |
A cry arises from the spectators, and
the spearmen stiffen their lances as he |
dashes straight toward them, He sees !
too many lances in front He stops |
suddenly and thinks it over. Then he |
walks sullily around the square, his
1.-THE body in a partly crouching pc
sition, his tail moving slowly from side
to side, his ears back and his yellow
eyes ashine with ugly alertness. He
gives hideous snarl showing his
powerful white teeth, as a handful OF
pebbles are flung at him.
The little brown natives revile the
forest ruler and taunt him. They tel
him he is not in the jungle now, and |
will get his deserts for killing cattle |
and eating little children. They en-
treat him to give a sample of his re
puted ferocty. Finally spearman
reaches forward and gently pricks
him In the flank. Like a flash thf
tiger leaps high in the all
attempts to pass the serried wall. but
he is caught on the points of seyera
lances, and falls back into the square
amid the shouts of the spectators lie
snarls with pain and rage. rolls around
In whirlwind of black and yellow
stripes, springs across the Enclosure
and makes another try to escape
Again the lances catch him, and the
blood flows from many wounds. He is
insane with rage and dashes about
all sides of the living barr
der. II is rarely that he succeeds In Il
overlapping the spearmen. as a tiger {
lid once, and landed on the heads OF q
'earward spectators, who shrieked in ,
error and fell over one another. while ,
he savage beast made for the open
gate and regained his liberty in the
ropical forest Generally the wounded
nimal falls from exhaustion. and the
pearmen make an end Of him The
'aiting goes on until all the tigers are D
.illed. The sultan pays high prices 81
or the animals captured for the ram p
ok. Wide World Magazine e.