South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1913-10-24
HUNTING THE AMERICAN TIGER
By Dan j. Singer

we would go dinnerless. when just as
darkness settled down they all seemed |
TO disappear as they had come leav-
ing behind myriads Of wings and
creepy bodies, which continued to
wriggle about US throughout the night |
AT dawn we continued up-up. al
ways up and southwark: for the gen
eral trend of these rivers is 10 the
north. We were now within less than
four degrees Of the equator. and the
day continuing overcast. we did not
stop until we finally turned up a
tributary stream and were compelled
to portage around a series of falls and
rapids.
As 1 lay in my hammock that
evening. formulating plans for the
next day, l could not help taking
note of the many strange sounds and
voices that rose up out Of the for
ests. as the shades of night came
drifting down. First there came the
hum and droning Of myriads OF in
sects; then as these died away the
air quivered and thrilled with the
drowsy murmurings OF birds as they
flew home from their feeding grounds
TO perch on the highest trees, while
the fail of the "goat-sucker" sounded
like the departing voice Of a lost soul.
The millions of frogs and toads, one
after another, helped to swell the
chorus of the night The dragon-fiies
came with their ghost-lightS. that
glOwed and glimmered and danced
and danced. Then the wierd night
song of the bowling monkeys swelled
through the forests until they rose.
fell again, then rose, smothering all
other sounds. The apparently sleep
ing world is, in reality. awake. alive
with sound; for il is now patrolled
by other creatures. Those of the day
have retired, their allotted tasks per-
formed; now come the things that
hate the glarish sun. TO frolic, seek
food, prowl, seize and be seized in
turn, until the breaking of the dis
tant dawn.
With the hounds the next morn
ing we struck out into the jungle.
My men had reported plenty Of
American tiger spOor and other un-
failing signs that one or more Of the
big. crafty cats were in the vicinity.
] felt, too, that it was about time
that something should happen.
Quickly and quietly we threaded our
Game signs were plentiful and varied
from puma and jaguar to labba. But
suddenly the unexpected occurred as
ii almost invariably does. l heard a
rustling in the thick underbrush
ahead, a grunt, a squeal and DASH
a chorus of grunts and squeals-and
across in front of us dashed the big
gest herd of peccary it had ever been
my lot t. come upon. With flaming
eyes and bristling hair the dogs made
a mad rush forward. We tried to bar
their way and calle1 them off. But
one might as we'll n,tve attempted to
stem the torrent Of Niagara as TO try
to get them off the trial of these
porkers. The dogs would not heed,
and | was fearful lest the whole pack
might be wiped out by such a large
herd of these pugnacious wild hogs.
To make matters worse l had brought
the rifle into play, and one old boar
lay quite dead, while a second, just
nicked, had with all his viciousness,
wheeled to make his fight to the
death; and about a half dozen more
stopped TO back him up. The dogs,
surrounding these, cut them off from
the rest of the herd, which went
crashing on through the woods. The
clamOr and din that rose sounded as
If a myriad Of crazy echoes had been
set loose. That there would be va
cancies in the ranks of the dogs was
now apparent: old Dash had fought
his last battle. The long tusks of an
old board had been sunk deep into
| his neck. The old rifle spoke out
once. twice-and two porkers crum-
! pied. Another / caught a glimpse of
! as he rushed off with an arrow stick
| liz straight up in his neck, while John
| Charley's last arrow went well-nigh
| through the only remaining one.
| There was more meat in camp than
We had hoped for, but the porkers
| did not go TO waste
| (To be continued tomorrow
u