The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-08-29
HUNTER KILLS
 PHANTOM TIGER SportSman's Weird Dream In PrimevaI Forest LEADS TO DISCOVERY Of Jungle Tragedy On the River Pein Ganga in Northern Part of
 the State of Fly
 derabad.
LEADS TO DISCOVERY
From the Wide World Magazine.


 Many strange things happen in the
 primeval forest-things for which one is
 utterly unable to account. Hunters who
 wander in the wild places of the earth,
 penetrating deep into remote jungles far
 from the haunts of man, sometimes meet
 with strange adventures. One sportsman
 may hunt and shoot wild beasts for
 many years, and be but little wiser as to
 their ways and habits at the end while
 others, who possess some of the instincts
 of primitive man, whose community with Nature is of the closest, quickly learns
 all their ways and penetrates deeply into
 the mysteries af Nature.
 Some years ago my camp was pitched
 under spreading banyan tree on the
 bank of the river Pein Ganga, in the
 northern part of the state of Hyderabad.
 It was the height of the hot weather, and
 the stream contained but little water, the
 wild animals resorting to the larger pools
 and reaches in the early morning and at
 the setting of the sun to quench their
 thirst. Either focked herds of spotted
 deer and smaller companies of nilgai, and
 one day I startled COW bison with
 couple of calves. which had been down
 to drink soon after daybreak Following
 their natural prey, the great predaceous
 beasts also resorted to the water course,
 where they nightly prowled or lay in wait
 for their victims. In the tall trees over
 head those scavengers of the forest. the
 vultures, built their nests, and by watch
 ing them one could sometimes find the
 place where the midnight marauder had
 been at work. Over the remains of the
 victim they would soar at first far up,
 mere specks in the azure sky and, grad
 ually descending, would alight on the ad-
 jacent trees or on the carcass of the prey
 should the tiger not be near to drive the
 intruders from the feast.
 Here, close to the river bank, killed
 one tiger which had eaten one of my
 bunaloes. Being too far from camp to
 carry the great carcass in, the tiger was
 skinned on the spot, and the vultures
 soon picked his bones of every vestige
 of flesh. Next night another tiger killed
 a buffalo at the same spot. but left his
 prey untouched and when on the follow
 ing night & tigress with two cubs passed
 close to a third buffalo--even went to
 look at 1t, as could be seen from the
 tracks-but did not molest the patient
 beast, I began to think there was some-
 thing uncanny about the place. Perhaps
 all these tigers were frightened by the
 whitening bones af their deceased rela- tive, or perhaps his spirit, haunting that dismal solitude, warned them of tho prox-
 imity of danger. At any rate, they left
 the place hastily had fled into the night. Wandering far from camp I came one day upon a dark pool of water. deep In the jungle and under the shadow of
 giant tree. No living thing was there, but in the mud on the margin of the pool was the impress of the paws of great
 tiger. Other animals had been there also, for there was no water but this for miles
 around. On the soft margin of the pool could be read the comings and goings
 of all the beasts of the forest-the deer,
 bears, fur-horned antelope, and the
 marks of many birds, peafowl, jungle fowl and quail. A porcupfne had dropped quill upon the bank, but over the other
 tracks, and evidently more recently than
 all was the great sign-manual of the tiger
 1t was a difficult and in fact, almost impossible locality to organize @ beat in;
 nor were beaters to be obtained near this remote spot, which was 10 miles or more from the nearest human habitation. More
 over the local inhabitants would not go
 near the place, for they said 1t was
 haunted. So the only way of bringing to bag the great tiger whose tracks had seen was to lie in wait for 1t. The branches of the tree which overshadowed the pool afforded a good place of conceal ment, whence the watcher could obtain clear view of the animal should he re- turn to slake his thirst.
 I took up my place of concealment among the branches of tho great tree rhAw, thA 1o 6 already reached the tops of the tall trees in the vest and as the nights phantom army, the shadows of the forest, advanced across the face of the water, the animals began to isue from their retreat in ..ie surrounding thickets. The little barking deer and four-horned antelope came down with dainty footstep to the waters edge and dipped their soft muzzles in the life- giving fluid. A fine peacock appeared, spreading hls proud tail before a bevy of sober-p -plumaged hens; jungle cock crowded loudly in a patch of grass and | his challenge was taken up in the adja- cent thicket. A troop of gray monkeys with black faces came swinging from tree | to tree, and one or two at time with caution mad fear expressed in their move ments and in the grimaces on their sooty countenances, came down to snatch nasty draught of water.
 The heat and exertons of the day made me sleepy, and moro than once I found myself nodding over the rifle that lay across my knees. At last must actu- ally have fallen asleep, and as l slept dreamed.
 Suddenly 1t seemed all the voices of the forest were hushed The animals that had come to drink disappeared as if by magic and in the gray light of the approaching night no living thing re- mained. Then there came human cry "a shriek of fear and agony-from the bushes some distance up the ravne in which the pool lay, followed by the roar of a tiger. A moment more and all was still again. remained spellbound, un- able to move hand ar fiat. Next I heard the deep breathing of tiger as the beast came down the watercourse, and the sound of his velvet footfall in the dry leaves; he was evidently dragging his victim with him, for tho heels could be heard trailing through the leaves. The