Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1928-07-22
BY EUGENE r. r. WRIGHT.


"A .mae-eatlae tleer as reported u
aa4saal IS reported TO pt an anaSaanR
;Ss sane me asost tSai fsrrorissa ihe jay
pasaF district tTo months ACC.
Y THREW down the morning paper
and stared out into the hot sun
shine of India. Tiger. and not 60
/ miles from Calcutta! A man-eater
with long, yellow fangs and a
tawny hide! picked up the paper again
10 see If I had read correctly, For years
! had dreamed of shooting a royal
Bengal tiger; on my long voyage to
India / had planned over and over
again what would Go If ! ever met
one; and now. the day after / had
settled in hotel, was news OF man
eater, roaring to be killed.
But my greatest JOY was to reaiise
that Diamond Harhor was actually IN
the Ganges Delta. For months ! had
pored over maps OF the delta, tracing
cut the inlsts and lagoons, and wonder
ing what inhabited that mysterious
croup of peninsulas and fats known as
The Sunderbans Islands. Later. an Eng
nShn,an had told me that they were
full of tigers, buffaloes, and half-wiio
tribes of Hindus that caught and
charmed cohraS. ] had decided to eN-
plore them the moment reached India,
and here was word of a tiger come out
Of them. Now I would kill my tiger in
the Sunderhans: would kill him at
The mouth of the Ganges If / had to
swim there.
To settle matters. I bought a gun
Immediately An Indian arms shop
sold me an ancient shotgun and some
ball cartridges for rs rupees, and a
native tailor fitted me out with khaki
shorts and an enormous sun helmet A
railroad, for some strange reason, ran
Gown to Diamond Harbor, and a pas
senger launch made daily trips there:
but the idea of exploring the Sunder-
bans in q native dhow was more at
tractive. and I determined to hire one.
selected the sturdiest-looking boat
from the swarm of craft that lined
the Hooghly River, and hailed the
owner out Of sleep. He was Moslem.
q tall lean one, saved from nakedness
only By a huge white beard that
reached to q shred OF Kurt about his
waist.
Was he doing anything now? asked.
He shrugged his shoulders,
How would he like to hire his craft
20 a young sahib?
He shrugged again, muttered "ach-
china" and the bargaining commenced,
ran on for a half hour, and stopped
sbTuptly when he mentioned Is rupees.
I. was agreed that for is rupees week
he and his son and his craft would be
mine TO command. ! advanced him
some money 10 provision the craft for
period Of three weeks, and when We
parted il was understood that we sailed
the following morning at daybreak,
/ was so absolutely certain that ]
would kill tiger that went around TO
sll the furriers and curio shops In CAL
cutta asking how much they charged
TO cure a tiger skin. How much with
the head mounted? With the head
fat? How should prepare it for ship
ment. and If I got three tigers, how
much could / get for them?
Finally I calculated that. what with
selling the tseth and claws to the
Hindu medicine men, the fat 70 the
Chinese. ard the skins to the furriers,
would make money by the trip,
boarded ms dhoW the next morning
prepared to bring back > fortune IN
tigers.
Ndchammed and his son took Up the
the current Df the HooEhly. Three Jars
Of water. provisions and 5 Pile OF are
wood were aboard. The cabin was
fully 10 feet long. high enough to Sit
upright under, and open ct both ends.
A clean mat covered the bottom. and
there was plenty of room for the three
Of us TO sleep without crowding. A
little clay stove was aft, and forward
vas furled sail
@x -
WE passed Diamond Harbor the next
DAY. and the sun was setting Just
as We reached the channel between
Saugor Island and the mainland Of
Bengal. We we're at the edge Of the
Sunderbans, and was glad had come
on instead of pottering around Diamond