Year: 1872

BeDgals -


| use the old Kentucky pea rifle,
eighty bore. which 1 had with me liz


Texas and Colorado Since then l got
it converted into breech loader aud it


now takes three and half drachms of


powder, and a hollow picket nearly


three diameters in length, made of thin
steel and coated with platinum to give it


weight and enable it to take the rifing.


There is a small screw plug in The base,


which can be taken out. The cases,


which are very long. and the piekets, I
am obliged to get cut from Springfield,
Massachusetts, a. there are none manu-
factured in England Well, the secret
of my bagging to certainty every tiger


hit with single bullet from this pea
rifle is this, that fill up the hollow in
the picket with nine or ten grains of
stry ychuine of Schele's strength. That
is, reckon, an overdose, as | believe
one grain Of this strength would kill a
tiger; but l give him to the extent the
picket will hold.


| With this bullet so prepared. it does
not matter in the slightest degree In


what part OF the body you hit the tiger;
all that is necessary is that the bullet
penetrate the skin somewhere, and if you
cit down and smoke your pipe, as I gem
orally do after firing, you will find the
animal lying dead in from ten minutes to
an hour or so, according, | fancy, as to
whether the picket breaks up at large
or small vein when found, the tiger is
frequently as stiff as if he had been shot
two or three days previously 1t is very
curious to watch the effects of the
strychnine, which appear to vary good
deal On one occasion | came on a tiger
that had a few minutes before wounded
in the fe-hy par; Of the hind leg be
was standing motionlces with his legs
spread out like four-lcgged stool. and
painting ike an express steam engine
did not mind in going up to within few
yards of him, as | had my three barrel
breech loader in my hand bu. he, new
ertheless, took no notice OF me. although
he must have seen me. / then went
gradually nearer, bat he never moved,


and at last, not wishing TO keep the beast


in pain, went up into tree just above
him, and punched a nea. hole in his
| skull with solid picket from the Ken
lucky.


On several other occa sions have seen
d tiger which | had wounded walking
through the jungle apparently all right.
but falling into convulsions whenever a
twig or branch of a tree which he was
passing under touched his back To
show how infallible il this method of
killing a tiger, once fred at n tiger
daShing across me at full tear. and made
sure | had missed him. but the sams
evening after had returned from shoot.
ing, a COW wher1er reported dead tiger in
The jungle where had been. Instantly
repaired TO the spo, by torchlighs, for
fear some dhers might eat him. and as
once saw it was the tiS,r had fred at,
After at least half IN hours search for
the bullet mark. we at last found the
picket imbrdded in one Of tie Joints Of
his tail. within about one foot from tho
rip of it ! learned til. idea from an
elephant hunter at Ntrtw-. in Southern
Central Africa lie told ire he has fro
quently ba-sed elephants by this means
a, from 400 - 500 yard. but he used a
very heavy rife, and | fancy his shells
would have held twenty or twenty-five
grains at least. | had no opportunity Of
trying it there myself, as had no means
of obtaining stryohnine. OF course, if
You ke to my pl,n. you must do as I
do with every animal you bag. that is.
collect dry wool sud burn him the mo-
ment his skin is off--abeit TO the great
disgust of the villagers. many of whom
are as fond of tigers flesh as he some.
times is of theirs