Year: 1878

some fifty yards ahead in the opening,
numbering along in a bovine canter. l
thought that the beast would 90 back to


the shelter of the raYine; and, as stops


are not supposed to fire without orders, I
did not think it advisable to send a bullet


after him; for, if l missed, he would


never be seen again. However, he had


no intention of stopping, and so blazed


at bin, and missed.


Cur shikaris next day came to camp


with a wonderful story of how they had


seen a tiger and tigress. who, on their
| approach, had leisurely retired to q


swamp not a mile from the tents. Off


we started to the other side of this swamp,


with the pad elephants, to try and beat
| through in their direction. One elephant
| got stuck on her way across, and was in
dire distress, the tears rolling down her
| cheeks. She had to go back and reCrOss
lower down. 1t was swamp, and no


mistake; and might have harbored all


the tigers in NOpal. We could make


nothing of it.


! Our elephants went in some fifty or


sixty yards, but could 60 no further; so
we let off guns and fireworks and set fire
| to the grass and bushes, in order to drive


away any game there might be near the
| four hOwdah elephants. The jungle


caught fire readily, and the cracking and


smoke and flames did ones heart good.
We ultimately drove out an immense
! bear. a little further on I tried to press
my way through the reeds, but it was
impossible; they were ten and fifteen
feet higher than my howdah, thick as
ones finger.


It was not till afternoon that we got to
the spot where the shikari had found in
the sand the footprints of three or four
tigers. There was plenty of shade, and
water was not far off. The ravine broke
into three portions, at the mouth of
which we were posted. My elephant
stood level with the ravine, rather to one
side. We heard the monkeys Chattering,
and Immediately knew for certain that
tigers were afOOt. Just then I caught
sight Of tiger stalking along the edge
Of the high bank to my left, his back
and tail being all 1 could see. On NOV
ing my elephant in his direction he
mended his pace and went ahead.
followed for a short distance, but the
better advice Of the shikari recalled me
to the others. He said, very truly, that
we could try for this animal afterward,
with better chance of success.


On turning heard "bang, bang" and
found that they had come on two large
tigers and had fired at them right and
left. The male got off, and the female
was wounded, and killed when the others
came up.


Meanwhile others were hurrying off in
another direction, firing at something in
the grass. made tracks also, and we
came on a large cub after a chase of a
quarter of a mile. A lucky shot at thirty
or forty yards dropped her. We hunted
after the big tiger, but without success.
How he could have eluded us is a mystery.


On this we formed up line and turned
homeward, going in the direction my
tiger had taken. The plateau was term
mated by a river flowing at right angles,
the grass on this plain being nowhere
higher than a mans head. We were
standing up, talking of our days sport,
the guns in their compartments, when
an elephant between my neighbor and
myself stopped dead and SHE'D; there
was a trepidatiOn among the pads, and
fair-sized tiger (the one l had SEEM ran
across our front to the left, trying to get
away. The tiger then came half in my
direction and fired with my double
smOOth-bOre, WOunding him, it afterward
appeared, in the body. He then came at
my elephant; my two barrels were dis
charged, and before I could take up a
second gun he had come within ten feet
of the elephant, cr9uChed, and-stopped.
He then turned off toward our extreme
left, and finding some one in the way, he
made a desperate, hopeless charge right |
at my friends elephant, and, as far as I
can remember, he was in the air when !
he fred, hitting him in the head. His |
attitude was like that of man taking a |
header.


On examination he was found to be a
full-grOwn male.


During the night we heard tiger not |
far from the house, not growing, but |
utteTing a kind of cry. They said this |
beast was always loafing about the prem |
ises, hankering after cart bullOCks. The |
indefatigable shikari had seen footprints |
in the sand leading down to the river.


The grass was high and thick, and we |
beat for some distance, knowing that |
game were in front, but not their exact |
whereabouts. Atlength the line Wavered, |
and he pronounced that & tigress had |
broken back.


We turned to the right-about. She |
was presently seen by the mahouts, and .
fred at; but she ran on before US, the
moving grass indicating her position.
Here we stopped, and sent the elephants
out of the grass, and, after long de5our,
beat up from where we had started IN
the first instance. I remained as stop.


The monkeys chartered, and swung
from tree to tree, so we knew that she
had not gone far. Again, the line missed
her, and again they went back-this time
with success. She was driven up to some
twenty yards in front of my elephant,
and, as she put out her head and shOul-
der from behind some grass, I fired. At
this instant she must have drawn back,
for, although she growled, she was not
hit. We thereupOn got an easy shot, and
killed her with bullet through the body.
We had some trouble in securing this,
our last tiger.