New-York tribune., 1912-01-07


HARI DESERT. BY Lieutenant Arnold
w. liodson. +. r. q. s.. Sub-lnspector
Of the, BeChqanlland Protectorate Po-
Introductory Note by Sir Ralph Will
Jams, Is. c. NJ. c.. and a Foreword by
| J.. c. Selous. With maps and So Illus
trations. Svo. pp. 359. Charles Scrib-
ncr's Sons
That veteran Of the Anglo-Indian
civil service, Mr.. Sainthill Eardley-Wil-
not, has been no stranger to American
lovers of the literature of life in the open
and Of sport since the publication here
OF his Forest Life in India" the result
OF his long connection with the Indian
Forest Service. In his new book, the
third, we believe, from his pen, he has
undertaken n task of exceptional diff
ficulty at this late day, and carried it
on to the end with unfailing satisfaction
to the reader
THE Life Of Tiger" is literally what
the title implies, a biography of Il MEM
Der of the tribe from cubhood TO old age,
with a brief interval of captivity, intro
duced, no doubt for the sake of a de-
scription Of the method of the animal $
capture. After Mr.. Thompson Seton and
| his school, and, where India is con-
| cerned especially after Kipling and his
! jungle books, the way of the newcomer
was beset with pitfalls. But he has es-
| capped them all. not only by avoiding
the element of human psychology of the
one writer and the imaginative treat
ment Of the other. but by supplying
! gifts all his own, Il knowledge of the
! wilderness and of wild life as great as
| theirs, and, above all this, a genuine
sympathy with the tiger, which, after
all, must fight its struggle for existence
in the manner deCreed for it by nature.
| 1t is a simple story Of the ways Of the
fauna of the jungle beginning with the
| helplessness Of the cub and the paternal
and maternal obligations it involves. y
story also, of lessons to be learned, Of
gradual preparation for an Independent
cXistence-tigers cannot afford to live
together in considerable numbers, for
the presence of the family was long since
known to all the jungle folk. The crows
were constantly scOding; the jungle fO"l
| and pea fowl too, resented the intrusion
and the monkeys were never tired or pro-
claiming aloud what all around were al
. ready aware of During the hours that
, should have been given TO SIumDcr att'r
! arduOus hunting il was trying 10 be un-
! der the observation of all who might he
! idling in the tops of the trees. Game was
getting SCarCtr, and each week Longer cN-
cursiUns were necessary 10 secure food,
while the animals were so constantly on
! the alert that success was not 50 frequent
as always to relieve the pangs Of hunger.
| The strain on both parents showed itself
! in the growing Ill temper OF both tiger ana
! tigress.
| Left to his own resources, the tiger
passes through a period of starvation;
then driven to desperation, he breaks the
law Of the jungle. He attacks cattle
with the man-smcll on it. The truce
that leaves him alone so long as he does
not bother the natives is broken, and a
lesson is pumped into his paw from
rifle in a howdah on an elephants back.
There is the wound to be nursed. for in
that hot climate it testers easily and
maggots readily settle in il. And thus
the tiger learns and reaches maturity,
mates as did his parents before him, 10y
ally hunts for his offspring, and goes off
to find the struggle for maintenance
grow harder with increasing years. The
zest Of the hunt is gone, yet he must
spend longer hours in the search Of food,
since neither sight, hearing nor smell
are rs acute as once they were. The
author suggests the ultimate tragedy of
the wild animal grown too old to fend
for itself, then mercifuly ends the story
with a rifle bullet.
Lieutenant Hodson is a mighty hunter
and evidently an efficient officer. His is
tie directness of narrative Of the soldier
who only writes for pastime, yet what
he tells is worth reading. Leaving aside
hij exploits with the rifle, the enormous
size of his bag" there is much here Of
information concerning the true" Kala-
hari Desert. which is practically still
terra incognita to geographers and tray
ellers Always in good humor, un-
daunted by hardships, he tells of his
"treks," on which he found the Bush
men far superior to the Kafilrs as guides
ami "spoorcrs," owing to their more
tractable and docile nature and their al
most supernatural intuition in finding
their way in a dense, wild country
These Bushmen, by the way, have a
sensible marriage custom:
1t is customary for the parents to ar
range the marriage Of their children when
| quite young. The boy then, as he grows
up, hunts for the father of his fiancee, and