The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1911-11-15
Tigers Remarkable Devotion
Rural Postrnan Owed His Life to the Strange Friend
ship of a Wild Beast.
(Wide World Magaxine.l

today said the runner wife. as she
prepared him some cakes for the
journey: II had such evil dreams last
night that my heart mtsgivcs me for
your safety. Can . not get a sub
stitute. for today ut LEAST"
Not at such short notice." said Tul-
81 Ram. busily sorting out the letters
which had been given him for Tha-
kore. But what Is it that you fear
II IL some months now since Govind
Naik encountered that wandering
leopard-and his hurt was but small.
All this time l have passed daily he
tween Kcrail and Thakcrc. and have
seen naught more dangerous than
samhur-though. indeed added the
runner. ref!ectively. the spoor of
larger beasts has been visible on the
path at times. Now. were there da-
colts on the road"
The road to which Tulsi Ram re-
TERED was a foot-worn track connect
ing the villages OF Kerail and Thakore.
For about one-half Its length it wound
through some of the widest country
in Rajputana.
Yes. continued Tulsi Ram. ut is
too late to secure a substitute oday;
and these mails must be carried to
Thakore without fail. if 1 am to re-
tain my employment. hut, lest your
dreams pretend evil. wife. 1 shall
sharpen my spear and keep q very
good watch going and coming. The
rest is with the gods.'
ITO whom l shall make proper Of
f"rings-IH though we can afford the
cost said his wife. impressively. iii
they preserve you from danger" She
then handed him a small packet of
Axe which he placed in Il pocket of
his tunic.
Iulsi Ram next proceeded to whet
the blade OF the short spear with
which poscarriers in the country dis
tricts are armed. Before he left his
wife. with h notion of averting mis-
fortune from him. passed her hands
dow his face. cracking her knuckles
and uttering an intercessory a y to
Vishnu.
AT an easy jogtrot the runner pass
cd through the fields outside of Kerali
and was soon out of sight in the scrub
land beyond.l With only an occasions
al matt to remove a thorn from his
1901 or. perchance. to alter the posi-
ton OF the bag slung over his left
shoulder. he trotted. slackening to a
fast walk where Il hill ~intcrvened; and
today he was careful 10 nurse his
strength. lest he should be suddenly
called upon to exert all his power | m
hight or in skirmish. In about an
hours time he had climbed to the
edge Of the forest land. wherein dan.
Ger to life might be more reasonably
expected to occur. Here. in the shade.
he matted for n few minutes in order
70 refresh himself for the smart run
he proposed to take through the for.
est.
Il fear the stream" he muttered;
III lG E1 cool an1 yr,n- L-k "a =
Whereabouts Il wild beast is most likely
to Turk. And it is there that one must
needs go slowly and carefully with an
eye TO muggers (alligators), and the
stan TO feel for unusual depth Of wa
ter owing to a distant freshet. How
ever. 1t is all with the gods" he grunt.
ed, and. having girded afresh his loins,
sought h path once more.
With every mile the inclosing Jun.
gle grew denser and quieter, the vista
at every turn greener. coloring the
foliage overhead. The soft "~pat-pat"
OF the runners Fastening feet awoke
little sound, and he was careful to
tread between or stride over such
dried litter as had fallen along the
path. Bravely did he jingle his bells,
especially as he approached those bits
OF adjoining shrubbery which had al
ways appeared to him likely lurking
places for felines on the watch for
the smaller game that frequently used
the open path in preference to the
forest ways, with their deadly posi-
bilities.
After he had gone about three miles
Tulsi Ram arrived at the ravine which
i~ntersected the path and formed a
kind Of boundary between the areas of
the forest 1t divided of.
A gloomy place is that ravine. 1t
is some 90 feet deep and about 100
Yards wide. and in its hollow runs the
drainage of the adjoining hiIlsides-
u stream perhaps 80 PAGES wide in the
not months. but a raging. impossible
torrent when the rains fill 1t from
bank to bank with sudden freshets. Its
shores are strewn with loose pebbles,
"hich slide away under foot with un-
canny loudness; the waters edge is
lined with clumps Of overgrown reeds,
n the stream itself is dark with re-
Elections, with many a deep hole where
the mugger lies ever watchful.
Here 1t was that Govind Naik's pre-
decessor vanished. mail bag and all.
a victim to a patroling alligator; it
here hat Govind Naik himself
startled a leopard into attack as the
brute was returning from the waters
edge dragging a foolish barking deer.
IT was here that Tulsi Rams won.
derful experience began with a short,
grating tiger roar that held him SPELL
bound even as he was about to enter
the stream. SO sudden and SO unex-
pected was the sound that he could
not for the life of him say whence 1t
came. He stood motionless as
tream murmured noisly past. his
Faculties completely number. Then
there was a crashing noise in a reed
clump not two PAGES from him, fol-
lowed by a loud splash and he saw
an alligator dive hurriedly for the
higher reaches OF the stream.
The reptile must have been lying
In wait for some unwary deer or pig
and had been driven by the tigers
growl into abandoning its situation
in order to take itself into an element
where 1t would have all the advantage
in defense or attack.
The occurrence served to arouse the
runner and he now realized that he
had by a hairs breadth only escaped
destruction from the mugger. But
this was poor consolation anyhow, for
he believed he had merely exchanged
n form of death for another equally
cruel.
1t has been said hat the unfortu-
nate man did not know where the IT,
ger was. For this very reason retreat
was as open to danger as an advance
and the remaining course of action
left him-to seek the nearest tree and
climb it-had in it az much peril as
another. He accordingly determined
an advance. feigning unconcern
and trusting to 1t to discourage an at
tack. So reversing his spear, which
he had used to sound the ford at ev-
cry step. and scanning the clear wa
ter for further signs Of the mueeer.
he crossed. With many q furttye
glance he climbed the pebbly shore,
and loudly jangling his bells. entered
the forest.
The runer at a smart jog trot, had
gone about 200 yards from the stream
when a slowly forming suspicion that