Year: 1878

Chicago Tribune


III there ever was a hunters paradise
IT is the little island of Singapore and
the adjacent Malay peninsula. The
jungle swarms with game, from the ele-
Phant and tiger down to the wild bear.
while birds, from the gorgeous plumed
parrots and cocEatoos down to the tinv
humming birds, rise before you in
droves. Birds of paradise soar here and
there in the heavens, while peacocks and
golden pheasants strut in every opening
in the forest. But / have not space 10
give an entire list of the game that a
days tramp in the jungle will show one
here, nor to give r diary of the two
weeks encampment of Chicago resi-
dent in these wilds, but simply to tell
you how green hunter from Chicago
killed tiger


The statistics of the Colonial Govern
ment of Singapore, it being an English
Colony, show that the tigers eat on an
average man per day during the year.
The most of these were coolies from the
sugar plantations, but instances are on
record where they have boldly entered
the suburbs of the city and carried off
policemen on their night rounds, and
do not remember in our night rambles
about Singapore of seeing any police
asleep in the doorways. The Govern.
ment, by reward of fifty dollars for
every tiger killed on the island, has
greatly reduced their numbers Yet
they breed unmolested in the Malay
Jungles, and, swimming across the mar
row straight that separates Singapore
from the main land, are still the terror
of the planters, for tiger will take To
the water like duck.


The city of lahore found saualid
Malay village, the houses built on piles
driven in the ground, the floors being
some feet from the ground, 30 as to pro-
tect the inhabitants from dampness and
wild beasts Space will not permit
description of the Sultan's palace" or
the pompous dignity with which he re-
ceived me. Suffice il to say that fee
of twenty silver dollars secured me the
right to hunt in his domains, and
authority to hire twenty natives as camp
servants and beaters TO scour the Jungle
and drive up the game, the salary of said
natives to be seventeen cents per dav
each and one pound of rice per man.
The extra supply of rice was soon laid
in, and the head man of the partv.
furnished me by the Sultan, who re-
joiced in the name of Raima, and who
was as villainous a looking Malay as the
Peninsula could possibly produce, vet n
veteran tiger-tracker, started out to find
suitable camping spot, and was TO re-
turn at five o'clock in the afternoon, so
we could move in the cool Of the even
ing, while ] was TO wait in the village
with my Singapore servant for his re-
turn. The dense jungle comes UP to the
very edge of the village, and its cool
shade was very grateful to me, for now
1T was noon, and the sun poured down
with fearful heat. ] could not eat. but
lay painting under the cocoanut trees
and drinking the cool milk that came
from the huge nuts. II was fortunate
that ! had come the seventeen miles
across Singapore Island in the cool of
the day, for though ! had a thick cork
hat on, found that / must use great
caution under this tropical sun to avoid
serious consequences. About three
O'Clock Rajma came back in breathless
haste TO say that not three miles from
the village he had found the carcass of
a buffalo COW, which had been freshly
killed by tiger, who would doubtless
return in the evening to eat the rest of
IL, and that If ] watched ! would be
able to get a shot


was all excitement at once. hurried
Rajma off TO fix some kind of platform
in q tree near the carcass, while /
followed with two other natives carry
ing my guns and a good supply of
ammunition. On the way several large
black deer started up i'm easy range but
] dared not shoot for fear of alarming
bigger game. Arriving at a large open-
ing in the jungle, ] beheld the scene of
action. The carcass lay about thirty
yards from large jamin tree, in which
RaJma had, about fifteen feet from the
ground, erected small platform of
bamboo poles, loosely covered with huge
leaves OF the cocOanut-trees Raima as
cended first I followed him. while the
two servants handed up the guns and
then returned To- the village. I cut awav
few branches that obscured the view;
put cartridge in the Creedmoor rife as
n rcserve-the others were already
lOaded-and then sat down with nothing
70 do but sit quiet and keep a sharp
lookout II was still very warm and
the jungle was as quiet az n cburcb
except that now and then a drove of
chattering monkeys would go by cbas-
ing one another from tree 10 tree Tx
cepting the monkeys there was no sign
on life in the forest-every thing
seemed taking a siesta


We watched for two long hours ex
changing rapid glances whenever a twig
Iell or leaf stirred. At last the sun was
nearly setting, when j heard the parrots
chatterlng wildly not far of Raima