Year: 1864

HUNTING THE TIGER WITH ELEPHANTS.


In parts of the country where good shi-
karis were not to be obtained, / used to
find tigers by fastening bullock near some
ravine or thicket known to be frequentcd
byI them the poor animal was generally
carried off in the course of the night and
nothing further was necessary than to fol-
low up the trail Of the tiger to some neigh
boring cover, where we are sure to find
him gorged Tigers are also found when
returning at dayb-eak from their nightly
prowl by men stationed upon trees, who
hem them into the first cover they enter
In whatever manner tiger is found the
great point to insure success Is toi procure
plenty of hands from the nearest villages
and effectually to surround the place so as
to prevent his stealing away before the
elephant arrives. If he becomes restless,
as he is apt to do when not gorged with
food. shout is generally sufficient to pre-
vent his breaking cover; for, with all the
ferocity, the tiger is a cowardly animal,
and much averse to showing himself by
daylight.


Having found our tiger, we must, before
proceeding to action, devote few words
to that most useful auxiliary, the elephant.
A really good sporting elephant is lnvalu-
able. He beats for the game like poln-
ter and carries his rider i'll safety over
the most dangerous ground, and through
the thickest covers, which he searches
inch by inch, with a degree OF patience
and sagacity that makes instinct almost
amount to reason. Trees that oppose his
progress are levellcd by his head, OF torn
down with his trunk his stupendous
weight forces itself through every obsta-
Gle and at the word Of command the sa-
gacious brute picks up stones and hands
them to his driver to throw into thicker
parts of the cover.


On finding the tiger, the elephant gives
warning of his proximity by throwing up
his trunk and trumpeting and, if we'll
trained, should remain perfectly steady,
ready to obey every command Of his ma
hOut.


The worst fault an elephant can have,
is a propensity to charge the tiger. in So
doing, the violence of his motion is apt To-
unseat the riders, rendering it impossible
to take aim and what is still worse, he
genarally throws himself upon his knees at
the moment of attack, pitching the men
out of howdah by the violence Of the shock.
This bad habit is usually caused by the
driver encouraging his elephant to trample
upon tiger when killed, and thereby ron
derng the animal ferocious. Nothing is
required Of an elephant but to remain per
fectly steady when the tiger is found ; and
the best way Of training him to do 50 Is I"
make him stand quietly over the tiger after
he is killed, without allowing him to touch
it while the driver encourages him by
his voice, and rewards him with balls OF
sugar dipped in the blood Of the animal
Some elephants are so steady as to allow a
tiger to rush up to their heads without
hinching but these are not more or less
alarmed by determined charge. \ vcte-
ran gains confidence, and is at length made
perfect by the GOODNESS of his driver, and
the good shooting of his owner but those
which are i'll entered turn round and often
run away at the first roar OF tiger and
even the best and most practiced are often
rendered useless, and become irrecoverably
timid by wounds received in a successful
charge.


| have had occasion to use nervous, tim
in elephants, and they are bad enough
but would rather ride determined run
away than savage brute who insists on
killing the tiger himself. 1t is, no doubt,
a severe trial to the nerves to find your
self hurried away 10y huge mgovemablc
monster, with the prospect Of being either
smashed against tree or rolled into a ra-
vine but this is nothing to the risk you
incur on a fighting elephant Of being pitch
ed into the jaws of an enraged tiger, or
pounded into jelly under an elephants
knees.


On a really good elephant the sportsman
is exposed to little danger less perhaps
than in most Indian field sports. He is
raised from ten to twelve feet from off the
ground, on a comfortable seat, from whence
lie can fire in all directions, and he must
be bad shot indeed if he fails to stop u
tiger in his charge. But even supposing
that he does miss-which he has no busi
ness to do-and allows a savage tiger to
spring upon the elephant, still the man is
seldom the object of attack, and he ought
to be able to blow the brute's brains out
before be does much mischief Tigers
generally spring at the elephants head,
rarely making any attempts to reach the
howdah. Instances Of their doing So have
occurred, but they are very rare.