El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1912-08-23
By F. st. Mars.

{ -HE grass was about 10 feet high,
and burnt to fine reddish fawn
4 color in the fierce heat Of the
sun, and the shadows between showed
up in dead black lines 1t was not a
nice place to go because once inside.
although but so yards from safety. you
were as completely lost as if you were
/ in the Sahara desert.
The sinking sun gloWed like COP
] per ball, low down, and the heat was
| sitting. The only things which seemed
| to live were a peafowl-peacocks and
! peahens-and their discordant screams
I filled the stagnant air while their bril-
liant colors were to be seen every
/ where.
Now, those who live in the Indian
4 jungle will tell you that peafowI in
I numbers generally means at least one
tiger not very far away, and the fact
spotted coats Shone like silk in the
sun as they fed slowly along just out
side the edge of the jungle, ought to
have known. Their leader was to
blame, in fact-he, the grand stag with
the sweeping antlers-for not keeping
them further from that deadly grass
than a foe could spring.
Suddenly a peafOwl SQuaked, and q
monkey-one of those venerable gray
chaps that the natives of those parts
regard as sacred-darted up the run
sat swearing at something that moved
hidden in the grass below. The deer
threw up their heads instantly, rec
ogniZing the well known danger sig
nails. Then there broke 1pon the hot
air the dry wicked snarl of a hungry
tiger.
The deer. ran little together. all but
one old STAG, who remained notion
less apart. Ali eyes and ears were
turned towards the snarl- No one
looked behind None beheld the tawny.
blackstreaked shape that seemed to be
part of the jungle grass. Only the
old stag had taken care to get the
wind behind him, and to look forward
Therefore, when the shape rose
that it seemed impossible that any
creature could avoid it, the stag gave
one bound and vanished into cover
like a smokepuff, leaving the disguised
tiger TO tear up the grass and snarl
and grOwl.
Now the tiger was still standing in
the place where he had missed his
rush, when the jungle grass parted,
and, quiet as cat, out stepped a IL
gress. She it was who must have ut
ears, and gliding, stealthy gait, she
was evidently very hungry, and in an
abominable temper to boot.
The tiger eyed her for a moment,
marvelously lodged a savage slash
that she aimed at him with her cruel
taloned paw when she discovered that
she had failed in his spring, and
very quick, but the vanishing Of the
tiger was wonderful He just gave one
spring DenlnQ a DuSus ana cropping
flat, was seen no more
A mans cough emanatinT from the
branches of a tree some so yards away,
had suddenly broken the silence of the
jungle. The tigress, however, more
hungry than her mate-probably be-
cause she had to feed three little cubs
hidden not lar away in the grass jun
gle did not vanish On the contrary,
she spun on her launches, and
crouched snarling, staring Up at the
form of man dimly perceptible among
the branches.
There was moments pause, and
then-bangi The terrific report of the
rifle crashed through the stiffness like
thunder. 1t was followed Instantly by
a dry, coughing roar, and the tigress
shot forward with a rush. There was
no time for a second shot; she seemed
literally to hurl across the interven-
ing space like some taWny bolt. In an
instant she had reached tie tree, leapt
a full Is feet straight UP in the air,
clawed madIy at the feet of the man.
struck a leg, failed to get a hold, and,
as the man yelled, dropped back and
vanished at a bound into the jungle.
For about a quarter Of a mile she
moved swiftly at a gallOp along the
after game path; then she stopped to
lick her wound. It was in the left
foreleg, and although only through the
flesh, would make hunting to her prac-
tically hopeless for quite five days. The
thought Of starving probably never en-
tered her head The anxiety for her
little, pretty, kittenish cubs, however,
seemed TO try her sorely, but instead
of going back home, she first had a
bath and a drink, then careful clean,
and finally hobbled away to hunt
What she did then during those few |
hours Of darkness that followed, no one
knows Twice during the night was
heard the rush and crash of a sound |
agonized roar of tigress- tigresses
rarely roar, by the way-following i'm |
mediately after Presumably she was
trying to hunt. and il hurt.
these things !
found her in her den, silent, sullen and
desperate. Her cubs were clamorous,
but there was little food for them. She !
must have been without food then for
some time-four or five, or even
more, days perhaps-and the consider |
able loss of blood, added to this had
her.
Moreover. just as if the jungle folk
had some secret means OF transmitting
news, the fact that the she terror of /
tie jungle was at last down was al
ready known. Although it was day
light, and they are strictly nocturnal |
beasts, no less than six powerful jawed, |
carrioneating, striped hyenas sat abs t |
on their launches outside her lair; and !
she could not drive them away. That |
was the maddening- part of it; she, the |
queen of the jungle, dare not drive |
away pack of carrioneaters, who !
would eventually slay her and her cubs |
now. In ordinary times they would |
have scattered before her like chaff.
Then suddenly, just before midday |
the hyenas vanished noiselessIy; the |
tigress thought they had gone away |
to sleep, and would be back again |
when darkness fell. She was wrong,
however.
All at once came a rustic, and soft !
pad, pad, pad" a sound she knew 1
well; and in a flash, her mate stood |
before her. He was a fine figure of |
beast, out there in the full light of |
the sun, near u feet long he was, and |
over three and half feet high at the !
shoulders; erect proud, massive.
Ordinarily the tigress had never let |
MIN even approach the CUPS rather
killing their children sometimes, you /
see. But now she did not care much /
about anything Therefore he came, !
he looksed, he saw; then-well, he lay 4
down and went TO sleep
The tigress could not sleep at first. !
There were no enemies to be feared |