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UNIVERSITY
LIBRARY
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OF THE SAGE ENDOWMENT
FUND GIVEN IN 1891 BY
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arV1082
31924031176435THE ROYAL TIGER OF BENGALWorks by the same Author.
The Thanatophidia of India ; being a Description of the
Venomous Snakes of the Indian Peninsula ; with an account of the
Influence of their Poison on Life, and a Series of Experiments. Second
Edition. With 31 Plates (28 Coloured), Folio, £7 7s.
ii.
Clinical Surgery in India. With Engravings, 774 pp.
8vo., 16s.
in.
Clinical and Pathological Observations in India.
With Engravings, 684 pp. 8vo., 20s.
IV.
European Child-Life in Bengal. 32 pp. 8vo., Is. 6d.“ I shot the brute in lfifil, when encamped at the village of Muttccara. A com- had
been killed across the river, and I took my elephants over at once and found him very
soon, disabling him with one shot. There was nothing interesting about his death,
except his enormous size. He was over 12 feet as he lay, and his skin thrown loosely over
two charpoys, placed lengthways, covered both completely ! It measured 13 ft. 5 in. or 6 in.
pegged out. He was incomparably the largest tiger I have ever seen.”
Liect.-C'ol. Hoii.eav.THE
ROYAL TIGER OE BENGAL
HIS LIFE AND DEATH
BY
J. EAYRER, M.D. E.Z.S.
Bengal Medical Service
LONDON^! I I
J. & A. OHUIICHILL, NEW BURLINGTON STREET
£. M,A. /6/<T
/CORNELL^
UNIVERSITY
V LIBRARY^
must prey.”—Titus Amdronicus, Actiii. Scene 1.LIEUT.-COL. G. W. BOILEAU, BENGAL ARMY
In reminiscence oe a Tiger-shooting Party
In the Ocde TeraiERRATA.
Page 2, place “ Tribe Digitigrada,” below “ Order Carnivora.”
Page 2, line 4, “ Placentaria,” should be “ Plaeentalia.”
Page 25, line 11, “ Cervus muntjac,” should be “ Cervulus vagi-
nalis.” “ Rusa aristotelii,” line 12, should be “Cervus aristotelis.”
“ Rucervus duvaucelii,” should be “ Cervus duvaucelli.” “ Portax
picta,” line 13, should be “Boselaphus pictus.”
Page 32, line 3, “ (P. mollurus),” should be “ (P. molurus).”
Page 50, last line, “ Seesoo,” should be “ Sissoo.”
Page 75, last line but one, “Dalbergia sisoo,” should be “Dalbergia
sissoo.”
Page 84, last line but two, “ (entellus),” should be “ (semno-
pitlieous entellus).”
Page 93, line 24, “ putiali,” should be “ putial.”
SEE PAGE 3.
There is one animal very nearly allied to the cats, named Crypto-
proota Eerox, found in Madagascar. It is described in “ Recherches
sur la faune de Madagascar,” by Pollen and Schlegel, also by
A. Milne Edwardes.THE ROYAL TIGER OF BENGAL.
IN the following pages it 'is proposed to give
a sketch of the natural history and habits of
the largest and most powerful of the cat tribe,
which from its size, strength, ferocity, and beauty,
claims supremacy over all congeners, not except-
ing even the lion, and is, therefore, well entitled
to the epithet “ Royal,’' bestowed by naturalists. /
/Having seen something of the tiger in his home,
and not unfrequently encountered him in his native
swamps and jungle, the description will involve not
merely a zoological definition, but also an account
of his habits and mode of life, as well as of his
death./
The purpose is, in short, to consider him from a
field naturalist’s point of view.
It may be well to begin by stating the tiger’s
position in the scale of animal life.2
THE ROYAL TIGER OF BENGAL.
It is of the—
Sub-Kingdom . . . Vertebrata.
Class..............Mammalia.
Sub-Class...........Placentaria.
Tribe...............Digitigrada.
Order..............Carnivora.
Family.............Felidce.
Genus..............Felis.
Species............Felis Tigris Linn., or
T. Regalis of Gray.
A few words in explanation of this formula may
not he out of place.
The tiger is a vertebrate animal, whose embryonic
development is allantoid and placental ; a warm-
blooded, air-breathing creature that sucldes its young
until they are old enough to follow their carnivo-
rous instincts and eat flesh; having all the ordi-
nary characters of other mammals with certain
modifications, which adapt it to its predatory and
carnivorous life, and place it in the feline family
of which it is a typical exemplar. It is unneces-
sary to enter into details of the characteristics of
the sub-kingdom, class, and order to which this
family belongs; but it may be well to state briefly
those of the family itself.
The felidae are the typical carnivores ; they are
distinguished by a rounded head, short but powerful
jaws, armed with formidable fangs and cutting teeth.
They have vigorous limbs, digitigrade feet armedTHE ROYAL TIGER OF BENGAL.
8
with sharp retractile claws, and cushioned with soft
pads on the under surface, which aid in giving the
noiseless, stealthy tread and vigorous spring. Active
by night and day, vision is adapted for either, the
pupil dilates widely in a feeble, while it contracts
to a vertical slit, or minute pointy in_a. bright ...
light. Hearing is acute ; speed, strength, and
agilitv remarkable. The tongue covered with sharp
recurved firm, long papillae, which give it a rasp-
like appearance, and by which the remaining flesh,
that has escaped the teeth, is licked from the bones
of its prey. The clavicles, or collar-bones, are very
small and rudimentary, lying imbedded in the
well-developed muscles near the shoulder.
The felidse are distributed generally over the globe,
except in Australia and Madagascar; but the
species with which we are concerned is limited
entirely to Asia. The Asiatic cats or felidae were
divided bv Blyth_into.--ilu'oc -groups,—the pardine,
the lynxine and the cheetah (F. iubatal. A
popular si iMivision is intp^Jimis,Higers,_L;opards,
cats, and lynxes^ The cheetah (F. jubata), or hunt-
ing leopard, though associated in this arrangement
with the Felis pardus, or leopard, differs considerably
from that animal. The general appearance of the
tiger is so familiar that it seems almost super-
fluous to describe it. Its figure denotes a combination
of great strength, suppleness, and agility,—the elon-
gated',“lithe, at the same time deep and!compressed
body ; the comparatively shorHbut vigorous limbs,4
THE ROYAL TIGER OF BENGAL.
with their elastic cushioned digitigrade feet, sharp
retractile claws, and powerful muscles which attain
their greatest development in the region of the jaw,
neck, shoulder and forearm, and the formidable
fangs, all proclaim a predatory blood-thirsty creature,
armed and fitted to wage war against and maintain
supremacy over other animals, f
Before proceeding further with that which concerns
the natural history, it may be well to give a short
description of the modifications of the mammalian
structure, which peculiarly characterize the tiger
and fit him for his predatory life. These are cer-
tain points in connection with the structure of the
head, jaws and teeth—the muscular, osseous, and
digestive systems.
The skull of the tiger is adapted for the insertion
and action of powerful muscles and teeth. The ten-
torium or septum that separates the cerebrum from
the cerebellum, and which in man and many other
creatures is membranous, is bony in the felidse, pro-
bably for the purpose of increasing the strength of
the skull, and not, as has been suggested, for the
purpose of diminishing the shock of cerebrum against
cerebellum in the feline leaps and bounds; for which
purpose, indeed, the elastic membranous tentorium
would answer better. The lower jaw is short and
strong, and is articulated to the skull by a hinge-like
joint, which restricts its movements nearly in a ver-
tical plane—that of opening and closing the mouth.
The coronoid process, which gives insertion to theTHE ROYAL TIGER OF BENGAL.
5
temporal muscles, is proportionately large. The
muscles are all very powerful, and arise from large
and deep fossae, which have well-marked ridges of
bone. The zygomas form expanded arches, under
which the temporal muscles pass, and they give
attachment to certain bundles of muscular fibres.
The masseter muscles, which aid the temporals in the
Fig. 1.
DENTITION OF TIGER.
A,	Upper Jaw :—1, Molar; 2, Premolar, sectorial; 3, Premolar ;
4, Premolar; 5, Canine or Laniary ; 6, Incisors.
B,	Lower Jaw :—1, Molar, sectorial; 2,Premolar ; 3,Premolar ;
4, Canine or Laniary; 5, Incisors.
movements of the lower jaw, are also large, whilst
the pterygoids are relatively small. The teeth are
of the diphyodont type; that is, they are first de-
ciduous and then permanent. They are firmly im-6
THE ROYAL TIGER OF BENGAL.
planted in deep sockets in the jaws, and consist of
dentine, enamel, and crusta petrosa. They have
special forms, entirely adapted for flesh-eating. In
each jaw there are sis incisors, the outermost
resembling a small canine tooth, and two long and
powerful canine or holding teeth or laniaries ; these,
which are enormously developed, are the formid-
able fangs, and are pointed, recurved, convex, and
grooved in front, and sharp-edged behind. The
lower canines are rather smaller than, and pass in
front of, the upper when the mouth is closed. The
molars, or cheek teeth, are eight in number in the
upper jaw, the first being only rudimentary, and has
no corresponding tooth in the lower jaw. There are
six in the lower jaw. The second tooth in both
upper and lower jaw has a conical crown and two
roots. The third upper tooth has a cutting crown
with three pointed lobes and a flat inner side, against
which the cutting teeth in the lower jaw works
obliquely. There is a small tubercular tooth behind
and on the inner side of the upper tooth. These
tuberculated cutting teeth are called sectorial, “ dents
carnassieres ” of Cuvier. They are seen in their most
characteristic form in the tiger.
The formula is—
Incisors — ; Canines hi; Premolars —; Molars H 30.
3-3	1-1	‘2.-2	1-1
The purpose of these teeth is obvious. ' The small
incisors are used to gnaw the soft ends of bones, and
to scrape off fibrous and tendinous structures. TheTHE ROYAL TIGER OF BENGAL.
7
long fang-like canines seize, pierce, and hold the
prey. The sectorial, or scissor-like teeth, working
vertically against each other, serve to cut and
divide the flesh or to crush the hones. These move-
ments being effected by powerful muscles, which
pass under the zygomatic arches from high crests of
bone on the boldly-sculptured skull, and give the
peculiar aspect so characteristic of the carnivora.
The tiger has a moderately well-developed brain of
the gyrencephalic type; that is to say, the cerebral
lobes are convoluted, and extend somewhat over the
cerebellum, from which they are separated by the
bony tentorium, and are united transversely by a
corpus callosum. The special senses of hearing and—
vision are acute, whilst smell- seems4o-bu~CSmpara-
The pupils are round, in which
from some other cats, which have
vertical pupils ; the tapetum lucidum is of a greenish
hue, which gives the eye a peculiar and characteristic
glare when the pupil is dilated, and is often well
seen in the wounded tiger when crouching prepara-
tory to a charge. The tactile sensibility is acute,
and is especially marked in the so-called whiskers
upon the chin, lips, cheeks, and eyebrows. Each
hair has extreme sensibility at its root, and is move-
able by muscular fibres which form a portion of the
platysma myoides, and surround the hair bulb, which
is connected with a bed of glands and with the
nerves of the lip. They are, no doubt, of use as
feelers in their stealthy movements by night and
tively defective,
respect they differTHE TOTAL TIGER OF BENGAL.
day. It is not only in the jaws that the muscular
development is so remarkable, but also in the neck,
shoulder, and forearm. The whole muscular system
is, indeed, highly developed, but it is especially so in
the above-mentioned sites as contrasted with that of
the hinder extremities. The tiger can not only
strike down a cow or even a buifalo with his fore-
arm and paw, and hold it with the long fangs which
his powerful jaws enable him to imbed in the flesh
of his struggling victim, but can also raise it from
the ground through the action of the powerful
muscles of the neck, which take their origin from the
vertebral spines, and can either carry or drag it off
to his lair, where he devours it at leisure.
Those who have seen the tiger when stripped
of his skin, can hardly fail to have been struck
with the grotesque resemblance to a gigantic human
form which is presented by his sinewy and muscular
frame as the arms are stretched out on either side.
The vast shoulder, arm, forearm, wrist, and hand
have a wonderfully anthropoid appearance.
It is sufficient to say that these muscles are
modifications of those in the human or other mam-
malian limbs, and that they attain the excessive
development in obedience to the necessities of the
creature’s existence.
The distal phalanges and their claws are remark-
able, and may be briefly mentioned. There are five
in each fore, and four in each hind foot. The
mechanism by which they are made retractile isTEE TOTAL TIGER OF BENGAL.
9
interesting. The claw and the phalanx into which
it is fitted are kept in the retracted position by an
elastic ligament, which connects the two phalanges.
Fra. 2.
FELINE CLAW OF FORE FOOT PARTLY EXTENDED.
A, Proximal phalanx, b b, Extensor-tendon, helps to exsert
and steadies the claw, c, Lateral ligament, d, Fold of claw
sheath, e, The claw, f, Distal phalanx. g, Flexor perforans.
H, Elastic ligament. I, Second phalanx, x, Flexor perforatus.
hf Annular ligament.
It is unsheathed by the action of a flexor muscle
(flexor profundus), which opposes the action of the
ligament, and can be exerted at will. The claw
phalanx when retracted by the ligament is drawn to
the outer or ulnar side of the second phalanx, not on to
it, the joint that connects them being so formed as to
admit of this oblique action. By this arrangement
the claws during ordinary progression are withdrawn,10
TEE ROYAL TIGER OF BENGAL.
and kept out of the way, and are consequently not
liable to wear or be blunted by contact with the
ground. When the tiger wishes be can, by an
exertion of the flexor profundus, exsert the claws and
use them as formidable weapons. Owen (“ Comp.
Anat. and Physiol.,” p. 69, 70, vol. iii.), says,
“ The toes of the bind foot are retracted in a
different direction, viz., directly upon, not by the
sides of the second phalanges, and the elastic
ligaments are differently disposed.”
This, if it be the case in the lion and tiger and
larger fetid®, is not so in ocelots and other small cats,
in which the arrangement is very like that of the
fore foot. It may be that, as climbers, they require
Fig. 3.
CLAW OP HIUD FOOT.
as great strength and retractility in the hind as in
the fore claws.
The skeleton of the tiger is remarkable for the
perfection of its mechanism.___Tlio bones are com-
pact, dense, and strong. The trunk is comparativelyTHE ROYAL TIGER OF BENGAL.
11
slender, simple jligestive apparatus of the carni-
vora requiring little space. Lightness and graceful-
hesfFofdhe body, with great agility and speed, are thus
s6curecb~being needed in the extensive leaps that
the tiger, though in a less degree than the other
felidse, is wont to make.
The stomach and alimentary tract correspond to
the teeth. Digestion of the warm flesh, sometimes
hardly dead before being swallowed, is very easy.
The stomach is simple, and the intestine short, the
colon and caecum being remarkably so, and in this
respect very different to those of herbivorous ani-
mals. This allows of a small abdominal cavity, and
consequent lightness of the body.
The clavicles are rudimentary, and lie imbedded
in the muscles of the anterior part of the shoulder.
They are frequently lost in dissecting the animal,
unless looked for carefully. They are regarded as
charms and amulets by the natives in India.
From this slight sketch of the anatomy, we will
pass on to study the tiger from other points of
view.
Contrary to custom, I propose to give him pre-
ce	on. He is generally described as
m , o nearly equal, to the so-called king
of beasts ; but in size, strength, activity, and beauty
he really surpasses him, and, therefore, though he
may neither be so courageous nor so dignified, he is
entitled to the first place—at all events, in India—12
TEE ROYAL TIGER OF BENGAL.
for there he is in his home, whilst the lion, com-
paratively rare and confined to certain limited
portions of India, such as Guzerat, Gwalior, and a
few other localities, is, as it were, the outlying and
degenerate representative of a branch of a fauna
that attains its highest development in Africa;
withal, the largest tiger exceeds the -largest lion
in size as much as in strength and activity. The
lion is indebted, to a certain extent, to his noble
head and mane for the dignity of his appearance,
and for an apparent exaggeration of his real size.
The absence of this ornament in the tiger makes him
contrast in this respect unfavourably, hut a com-
parison of the largest specimens of each, despoiled
of their skins, would decide the question in favour
of the tiger. I have measured them as they
lay dead on the spot where they had fallen, more
than ten feet from the nose to the end of the
tail, and there is little doubt that they exceed even
this length ; now, as no lion has ever attained
such a size, the question must be decided in favour
of the tiger, so far as size and strength are con-
cerned. In ferocity he cannot he exceeded; whether
the evidences of a more noble and generous nature
sometimes ascribed to the lion are really genuine,
may he doubted. If true, may they not be the
result of a more apathetic and less energetically
savage nature, which, in this respect, makes the lion
appear a more amiable savage than the tiger.
There is only one species of tiger, though thereTHE ROYAL TIGER OF BENGAL.
13
are several varieties in colour and even shape ; some
are longer and lighter, often shorter, proportionately
higher, and have both limbs and body of more bulky
development than others. The colour of a full
grown tiger in good health is exceedingly beautiful..
The ground is of a rufous, or tawny yellow, shaded
into white on the ventral surface. This is varied
with vertical black stripes, or elongated jmds and
brindlings. On the face and posterior surface of
the ears the white markings are peculiarly well de-
fined, and present an appearance as remarkable as
beautiful. The depth of shade of the ground colour,
and the intensity of the black markings vary,
according to the age and condition of the animal.
In old tigers the ground becomes more tawny, of a
lighter shade, and the black markings better defined.
The young are more dusky in the ground colouring
than the middle-aged or old tigers.
The depth of colour is also affected by locality
and climate; those found in forests are often-of-a
deeper shade than tigers found in more open loea-..
lities. It is said that in more northern latitudes,
they are of a lighter. colour, almost white. The
circular white patches on the back of the ears, and
the white and black about the face are very con-
spicuous in the tiger rushing through the grass or
jungle, when disturbed. Brilliant as is the general
colour, it is remarkable how well it harmonizes with
the grass or bush, among which he prowls, and for
which indeed, until his charge and the short deep
B,u
THE ROYAL TIGER OF BENGAL.
growls or barkings which accompany it, reveal his
presence, he may be mistaken. The tigress differs
from the tiger; the head, as well as the whole
body, is smaller and narrower. The neck is lighter,
and is devoid of any crest, which though very
much smaller than the voluminous mane of the
lion, undoubtedly exists in large and old males.
The tigress is lither, more active, and when
accompanied by her offspring far more savage
and blood-thirsty than the male; she will then
attack, even when unprovoked, and in defence of
her young, of which she is proverbially fond, is
as courageous as she is vicious. Most of the acci-
dents that have befallen sportsmen and others who
have encountered these animals have been due to
tigresses. I have seen a tigress, accompanied
by her young, charge, unprovoked, a line of ele-
phants, and inflict severe injuries before she was
despatched. The -only well-authenticated case in
which a sportsman was taken out of a howdah was
one in which a tigress, in one bound, reached the
sportsman, her hind feet resting on the elephant's
head—the fore feet on the rail of the howdah. The
occupant, who had mortally wounded her as she
sprang, was seized, and, after a short struggle,
dragged or thrown to the ground. The tigress then
received another bullet, and died where she fell; the
sportsman, severely wounded, was (earned into camp,
and slowly recovered from the injuries, which were
severe. This occurred to the well-known ColonelTHE ROYAL TIGER OF BENGAL.
15
H------, and the Beene of the adventure was in the
Oude Terai, where it was witnessed by one of the
party, from whom I received the description. I
have seen a tigress, unaccompanied by her young,
deeply lacerate the heads of two and the hind
quarters of a third elephant, severely injuring a
mahout by tearing his leg with one of the fore
paws, in the space of a few minutes, before she
was placed hors-de-combat. This exciting incident
took place in Purneah, in Bengal, and the scene of
it was a large tract of long fine grass, in which she
could not be seen until she charged and seized the
elephants. In this ease the cubs were probably not
far distant.
Asa genera.1 rule, the first instinct of the hunted,
tiger is to escaae^hia-pursuersr-and - as he is very
wary, much skill and management are needed tvr~
prevent him from doing .so. He will creep stealth-
ily out of the corner of the cover, and slip
away unseen, if not watched, at the different outlets
or nakas. The only chance of securing is to wound
him ; he will then, generally, turn and fight, charge
Repeatedly at the nearest object, until he is disabled,
and incapable of fighting any longer.
The tiger has synonyms, according to his habitat.
.In Bengal and some other parts of India he is
> known as Bagh; the Tigress Baghni—sometimes
jSela-Bagh, or Gro-Bagh. In the North by the
Persian name Sher—female, Sherni;—according to
Jerdon, in Bundelkund and Central India, Nahar.—16
TEE ROYAL TIGER OF BENGAL.
By the Southals and Hill people about Bhaugulpore,
Tut;—by some, Pulung;—in Goruckpore be is known
as Nungya-char. In the Tamul and Telogoo tongues
he is Pali-Reddapuli;—in Malabar, Parampuli;—by
the Canarese, Huli. In Thibet, he is Tagh ; in the
Lepcha country,'Sahtong ;—in Bhotanese he is Tukt;
in Burmese, Ivy a ; in Chinese, Lau-chu, or Lau-hu.
The common name for tiger in Bengal, Oude, and
the North-west is Bagh, or Sher. The lion being
known as Bubher Sher, or Untiahbagh, i.e., camel-
coloured tiger.
The tiger was known to the ancients—he is the
tigris Tty pis of Latin and Greek authors. There
is no doubt he figured in the Colosseum and other
amphitheatres. Pliny, in his “ Natural History,”
says, “The tiger is produced in Ilyrcania and
India;” and he alludes to its tremendous swiftness
and fondness for its young. He says that' Augustus
was the first who showed a tigress in Rome, at the
dedication of the Theatre of Marcellus; that the
Emperor Claudius showed four tigers; and Suetonius
speaks of tigers exhibited by Augustus. It was
said by Dion that the Tiypets first seen by the
Romans and Greeks were sent by the Indians, when
they were sueing for peace from Augustus. The
Emperor Philip, on one occasion, exhibited ten
tigers, along with elephants, lions, and other wild
beasts. Gordian, Antoninus, Elagabalus, and Aure-
lian also exhibited tigers, in the circensian games,
or in triumphal processions.TEE ROYAL TIGER OF BENGAL.
17
Latin and Greek authors make frequent allusions
to the tiger—Aristotle, Virgil, Horace, Martial,
Claudian, Juvenal, Appian, and Pliny speak of him.
In the .ZEneiad, Virgil makes Dido to say—
“ Duns genuit te Cautibus horrens,
Caucasus, Hyrctmeeque admSnmt ubera tigres.”
Pictorial evidence is not wanting, were it neces-
sary, to adduce additional proof that the true tiger
was known in Pome; some mosaics found in that
city exhibit the tiger (the real striped one) devouring
his prey. They are thought to have been executed in
commemoration of the exhibition by Claudius before
mentioned. The tigers exhibited by the Romans
were probably brought from the Elburz Mountains,
south of the Caspian Sea—the ancient Hyrcania—
and also from India; in these countries they still
exist. But I believe tigers are seldom now seen
on this side of the Indus.
Ancient accounts describe the tiger as being of
tremendous strength, speed, and ferocity. Modern
observers admit the strength and ferocity, as well
as the agility with which it makes its bound or
final rush on its prey, but deny its continued or
sustained swiftness. In pursuit, or in a long rim,'
it is soon overtaken and brought to bay. Indeed, it
is the character of the felidee generally to excel rather
in bounds or sudden efforts of agility than in sus-
tained speed, and the tiger is more remarkable in
this respect, perhaps, than his congeners.IS
THE ROYAL TIGER OF BENGAL.
' The tiger is a cat in all his actions, and those
who have studied him in his native haunts must
have been struck with their resemblance.
He is one of the symbols of power in the East;
in China, the judicial throne is covered with his
skin; and he has always occupied a prominent
place in the menageries and parks, or rumnas, of
Oriental princes, kept for show, and often, half or
wholly tamed, led about by a chain, or confined in
large cages and enclosures where he was made to
fight with other tigers or with buffaloes, elephants,
rhinoceros, or even with the horse and other ani-
mals, for the amusement of the native courts and
their visitors.
I have seen several tiger fights at Lucknow
in former years, before King Wajid Ally was de-
posed ; and the memorable scene that followed
that monarch’s removal from his government—
when an auction of tigers, leopards, cheetahs,
elephants, rhinoceros, giraffes, and other animals,
took place—had probably never been, and never will
be, equalled. A dozen tigers, sold to the highest
bidder, at ten rupees each, was perhaps one of
the most remarkable purchases ever made, not sur-
passed even by that of a brace of rhinoceros at 250
rupees, or a giraffe at 500 rupees. All this has now
changed; the rumnas and wild beasts have long
since disappeared. Lucknow is no more as she has
been. Tho tiger-throne of Hyder Ally, the tiger of
Mysore, at Seringapatam, and his toy tiger devouringTHE ROYAL TIGER OF BENGAL.
19
an English soldier, in which he is said to have de-
lighted, are gone likewise. How different Hyder
Ally and Tippoo Sultan must have been from the
amiable and accomplished old gentleman, Tippoo’s
last surviving son, who died lately in Calcutta at
a ripe old age! He was well known in England
some years ago as Prince Gholam Mahomed, and
was much respected by Europeans and natives in
India.
The geographical distribution of the tiger is very
wide. When Buffon stated that it was found, not
only in Asia, but also in the South of Africa, he was
mistaken, for it is confined entirely to the former
country, though the area is a wide one. From
Ararat and the Caucasus on the west, it ranges east
as far as the Island of Saghalien, but it appears not
to ascend to the high tableland of Thibet. -From...
-Gape Comorin it extends north in Hindostan to the
Himalayas, to the height of 6,.000 to 8,000 feet; one
was killed recently, as reported in the Home News
of February 2nd, 1874, at Dalhousie, 8,000 feet
above the sea, the first, probably, that has been
found so high.
Humboldt, in his “ Central Asia,” speaks of the
tiger being found in Ceylon, but evidently he is
mistaken. It is neither met with in that island nor
in Borneo, notwithstanding that, with reference to
the latter island, we find the following passage in
Mr. St. John’s work:—“At one place two rocks20
TEE TOTAL TIGER OF BENGAL.
were pointed out to me in the stream, about thirty
feet apart, called the Tiger’s Leap. I made inquiries
about these animals. They insist that eight came
to their country (Borneo); that they were not tiger-
cats, as I had suggested. If such animals were ever
here, they might have escaped from cages in the
capital, as it was a common custom among the far
Eastern princes to keep these ferocious creatures,
though I never heard of Bornean princes doing so.
I have read somewhere that formerly there were a
few tigers on the north-east coast, probably let loose
by strangers, as the ancestors of the elephants
were.”*
It is found in Georgia, north of the Hindoo
Koosh, in Bokhara, and Persia. South of the Caspian
Sea; in the Elburz Mountains (the ancient Hyrcania),
it is said to be numerous. On the shores of the
Aral, Blyth says it proved troublesome to the
Russian Surveying Expedition in the mid-winter,
and it is found as far north as the shores of the Obi,
and in the deserts which separate China from Siberia.
It exists, according to A. Murray, “ on the Irtisch,
and in the Altai regions, and thence eastward to
Amur-land, where it is very destructive to cattle;
and so round by China, Siam, to all India southward
of the Himalayas.” Though absent from Ceylon
and Borneo, it is found in Burmah and the Malayan
peninsula as far south as Singapore, Java, Sumatra,
* St. John's “Life in the Forests of the Far East,” vol. ii.
p. 113.THE GEOGRAPHICALHBUTION OF THE TIGER.
120
140
160
lOO
140
Stanfords Gearf?EstoH)* 55 Ghaninc/ Cross.THE GEOGTHE ROYAL TIGER OF BENGAL.
21
and perhaps in other islands of the Archipelago. Its
extreme range is from 50° to 55° north on the con-
fines of Siberia and China, to about 7° south in
Java and the Indian Archipelago; from 143° east
in the island of Saghalien, to about 40° west towards
the shores of the Black Sea and the Caucasus. It is
a mistake, therefore, to regard the tiger only as a
tropical animal, though it is probable that the finest
are found in the warm regions; and none are
finer than those of Hindostan, and especially of
Bengal.*
As has been said, there is only one species of tiger,
(the clouded tiger, or Felis macrocelis, being a
leopard), but no doubt he varies considerably in size,
and depth or brilliancy of colouring, according to
the climate, locality, and other circumstances. In
the colder regions the hair is longer, thicker, and
more fur like. My acquaintance with him has
been chiefly in Bengal and the Terai, which may be
regarded as his head-quarters in India ; and amongst
the finest specimens are those of Saugur Island and
the Sunderbunds at the mouth of the Hooghly. Like
cats, tigers attach themselves to certain localities,
and a good tiger beat is sure to continue to be so
* Captain Lawson, in a recently published work, entitled
“ Wanderings in New Guinea,” describes an animal very similar
to the Bengal tiger, of which he shot three specimens in that
island. It is to be hoped that Captain Lawson will publish a
more detailed account of this tiger, and of its exact geographical
position and range in New Guinea, where it has not hitherto
been supposed to exist.22
THE ROYAL TIGER OF BENGAL.
year after year. There are certain spots that are
sure “ finds,” and yon may rely on a tiger being
there, though his predecessor may have been killed
but recently, and such places or their vicinity are
often selected as their nurseries. The long grass,
especially the nul, is a favourite cover in which to
deposit the cubs.
- The tigress gives birth to from two to five, even
sis cubs. Three is a frequent number, and her period
of gestation is said to be about fourteen to fifteen
weeks. She is a most affectionate and attached
mother, and generally guards and trains her young
with the most watchful solicitude. They remain
with her until nearly full grown, or about the
second year, when they are able to kill for them-
selves, and begin life on their own account. Whilst
they remain with her she is peculiarly vicious and
aggressive, defending them with the greatest courage
and energy, and when robbed of them is terrible
in her rage, but she has been known to desert them
when pressed, and even to eat them when starved.
As soon as they begin to require other food than her
milk, she kills for them, teaches them to do so for
themselves by practising on small animals, such as
deer and young calves or pigs. At these times she
is wanton and extravagant in her cruelty, killing
apparently for the gratification of her ferocious and
blood-thirsty nature, and perhaps to excite and
instruct the young ones, and it is not until they are
thoroughly capable of killing their own food thatTEE ROYAL TIGER OF BENGAL.
23
she separates from them. The young tigeffc are far
more destructive than the old. They will kill three
or four cows at a time, whilst the older and more
experienced rarely kill more than one, and.—this at
intervals of from three or four days to a week. For
this purpose the tiger will leave its retreat in the dense
jungle, proceed to the neighbourhood of a village or
gowrie, where cattle feed, and during the night will
steal on and strike down a bullock, drag it into a se-
cluded place, and then remain near the “ murrie ” or
“ kill ” for several days, until it has eaten it, when it
will proceed in search of a further supply, and having
found good hunting ground in the vicinity of a
village or gowrie, continue its ravages, destroying
one or two cows or buffaloes a week. It is very
fond of the ordinary domestic cattle which, in the
plains of India, are generally weak, half-starved,
under-sized creatures. One of these is easily struck
down and carried or dragged off. The smaller
buffaloes are also easily disposed of, but the buffalo
bulls, and especially the wild ones, are formidable
antagonists, and have often been known to beat the
tiger off, and even to wound him seriously with their
horns.
Cattle and buffaloes especially, seem to have an in-
stinctive knowledge of the proximity of a tiger, pro-
bably from the scent, and one may generally guess
that a tiger is present in a swampy patch of long
grass if the cattle refuse to enter it, which they would
otherwise be only too glad to do, for the sake of the24
THE ROYAL TIGER OF EENGAL.
fresh and succulent grass that they find there.
The attack of the tiger is generally, though not
always, made in the night. He watches the cattle,
creeps stealthily out until within springing or rather
rushing distance, then, with a rush or bound and a
roar or deep growl, he seizes it by the throat and
drags or strikes it to the ground with his formidable
arm, fixes his fangs in the throat, his powerful fore
claws in the trunk or neck, and holds it there until
it is nearly or quite dead, when he drags it off to the
jungle to be devoured at leisure. The first morsels are
generally torn from the flank or hind quarter. Near
the “kill” is the lair or “ beithuck,” a spacewhere the
grass is trodden down something like a hare’s form.
From this he proceeds as his appetite prompts him to
the “kill,” until it is eaten and even the bones gnawed,
by which time, owing to the heat of the weather, it
is far advanced in decomposition, and the “ kill ” is
revealed, not only by the odour, but by the flocks of
vultures, kites, crows, and adjutants wheeling and
soaring in the air above it, and by prowling jackals.
The vultures also sit with a gorged and sleepy
aspect in the branches of the surrounding trees, from
which they descend from time to time to make a
meal when the tiger has left it, or even to snatch a
morsel whilst he is feeding, and often disputing its
possession with him, a temerity for which they
sometimes pay with their lives from a sudden stroke
of his fore paw.
When gorged with his first meal, the tiger is slug-TEE TOTAL TIGER OF BENGAL.
25
gish and. drowsy. He dislikes being disturbed, and is
not easily roused ;HiTfhis state, being far less for-
midable and indisposed to fight than a lean and
hungry tigress, who has her young ones to defend and
care for, he is frequently surprised and slain. He
feeds on cattle when he can get them, for they are
easily killed, and furnish an ample meal, but as they
are not always forthcoming, he has often to seek his
food elsewhere. In India the hog deer (Oervus por-
cinus), the cheetul or spotted deer (Cervus axis), the
karker (Cervus muntjac) or barking deer, the sambur
(Rusa aristotelii), the goen or swamp deer (Rucervus
duvaueelii), the nil-ghye (Portax picta), the wild hog,
occasionally monkeys, even pea-fowl, and other smaller
animals, become his prey. The pig is said to be an
especial favourite, though it sometimes happens that
in attempting to kill a boar he meets with more than
his match, and is beaten off and even mortally
wounded by its tusks. When the buffaloes know,
as they often seem to do, that a tiger is near them,
they form into a circle or phalanx, the males on the
outside, where they face about to receive him.
Under these circumstances the attack is generally
deferred until some weak member of the herd is
caught incautiously straggling from the rest, and is
then struck down; not unfrequently, even then, they
charge the tiger, drive him off, and rescue their
wounded comrade. I have seen young buffaloes
that had been thus recovered, and though lame and
sickly looking, they were not always mortally26
TEE ROYAL TIGER OF BENGAL.
injured. The approach of a tiger is often revealed
to the herdsman by the deportment of the buffaloes:
they form into a circle, within which he finds
safety in retiring, a proceeding which is evidently
comprehended and encouraged by the buffaloes
themselves. In times of want, when other food is
scarce, tigers have been known to eat each other, or,
it is said, carrion not killed by themselves. Frogs
and other small animals are not despised, and even
the porcupine sometimes become their prey. A
case is recorded where a tiger was killed, in an
extreme state of emaciation, with a quill sticking in
his gullet, which had become impacted there when
eating the porcupine. The tiger, and the tigress too,
sometimes eat their own young, and when she brings
forth in captivity, it is said, she requires to be more
than usually well fed to prevent her from devouring
her offspring.
The tiger is a shy, morose, unsociable brute,
and is often found quite alone, though at certain
seasons his mate, if not present, is probably not far
away. Four or even five tigers have been seen
basking in the sun together in ruins like those of
Grour, but the party generally consists of the mem-
bers of a nearly full-grown family, and though
the young ones are still with their mother, they are
probably about to leave her and start in life on their
own account. A tigress, whose skin now before me
measures 9 feet 4 inches from snout to tip of tail,
with her three full-grown cubs, all fell togetherTHE ROYAL TIGER OF BENGAL.	27
within a circle of 100 yards in diameter, in the Nepal
Terai, one evening in the end of April, 1871, on the
last occasion when the best of viceroys and the keenest
of sportsmen was the life and soul of a party who
swept those noted tiger heats, little anticipating the
great calamity that was so soon to deprive them of
their much loved leader.
The tiger is found in most of the tree and
grass jungles throughout India. Those more re-
mote from population and cultivation are more
frequented, though when compelled by hunger he
visits and even takes up his abode in the vicinity of
the more open, cultivated parts, and in so doing
becomes the dread and pest of the villagers, who are
in constant apprehension for their own or for the
lives of their cattle, though in justice we must say
more frequently the latter than the former. During
the cold and rainy seasons he is a peripatetic creature,
restless and wandering from place to place. At
these seasons he probably has no fixed abode,
though he keeps within a certain range of country.
When the tree or grass jungle is thick, and gives
general cover or shelter, he roams freely from plaoe
to place, seeking what he may devour, and during
these seasons is safer from his human enemies than
in the months of March, April, and May, which, in
Bengal, Oude, and the North of India generally, is
the tiger-hunting season. During these months the
extensive plains of long grass and much of the
underwood and scrub disappear. They are burned,28
TEE TOTAL TIGER OF EENGAL.
in fact, to promote the growth of the nest year’s
crop, and thus, what was formerly a dense and
endless cover, now becomes an open plain or cleared
out forest. The heat too becomes intense. At these
seasons the tigers are found in patches of long grass,
the nurkool or nul, which are kept fresh and green
by pools of water or swamps. Here, and in the
edges of the forest, they lie at rest during the heat
of the day, sheltered from the rays of the sun by the
tall reed-like grass, which is from twenty to thirty
feet high, and cooled by the moisture. These
swamps, or baghars, as they are called in Oude,
are often treacherously deep, and are dangerous to
the elephants from the phussun or quagmire so often
found there. These grassy retreats occur on the
outskirts of the forest, frequently near villages or
gowries (cow-feeding stations), and the tigers in-
habiting them become the pest and scourge of the
place, for though shy and solitary they must have
food, and will come where it is most easily obtained,
and their wants are not supplied by less than an
average of about a cow every third day; in some
cases where he has fallen into evil ways, and has
found out that it is easy and pleasant to kill a man,
he causes great destruction of human life, and he
will soon depopulate a village by killing some, and
frightening away the rest of the inhabitants. He is
not by any means confined to these grassy plains or
swamps, but is found also in the forests, and indeed
wherever the necessary shelter, food, and water exist.THE ROYAL TIGER OF BENGAL.
29
Sometimes he affects ruins, and those of the ancient
city of Grour, where lie imbedded the debris of
former stately buildings, among dense jungle of
corunda (Zyziphus jujuba), are a favourite resort.
The patches of tamarisk by the river sides or on the
churs (sandbanks), the grass, rattan, and other
underwood in many places, abound with tigers;
the rocky ravines and scrub-covered hill sides and
nullahs also give them shelter, and are chiefly the
characteristics of the habitat of the tiger in the
Bombay and Madras Presidencies, which make
tiger shooting so different there, to what it is in
Bengal.
It is generally admitted that the tiger attains the
greatest size in India, and there can be no doubt that
he is really the largest of the existing felidse. Blyth
says that he believes that the largest tigers consider-
ably exceed in size the largest lions. Badde says he
has compared skulls from the Amour, from Caucasus,
and India, and that he found the latter considerably
larger than the others. The Caucasian tiger appears
to be remarkable for the small size of the upper canines.
The size of the tiger varies; some individuals attain
great bulk and weight, though they are shorter than
others which are of a slighter and more elongated
form. The statements as to the length they attain
are conflicting and often exaggerated; errors are apt
to arise from measurements taken from the skin after
it is stretched, when it may be ten or twelve inches
longer than before removal from the body. The
c30
THE ROYAL TIGER OF BENGAL.
tiger should be measured from the nose along the
spine to the tip of the tail as he lies dead on the spot
where he fell before the skin is removed. One that
is ten feet by this measurement is large, and the
full-grown male does not often exceed this, though
no doubt larger individuals (males) are occasionally
seen, and I have been informed by Indian sportsmen
of reliability, that they have seen and killed tigers
over 12 feet in length. The full-grown male Indian
tiger therefore may be said to be from 9 to 12 feet
or 12 feet 2 inches, the tigress from 8 to 10, or
perhaps, in very rare instances, 11 feet in length, the
height being from 3 to 34, or, very rarely, 4 feet
at the shoulder.
But we must look with doubt on Buffon’s state-
ment that one had attained the length of 15 feet; and
with even greater hesitation can we accept the
recorded statement that Hyder Ally presented a
tiger to the Nawab of Arcot that measured 18
feet.
Wherever the tiger is found he roams undisputed
master of the locality, and the destruction of life he
causes is often great. His favourite food, as I have
said, is cattle, deer, and the wild hog; and, accord-
ing to some, the pea-fowl; and it is a remarkable
fact that wherever he is found these birds may he
looked for too ; though it is probable that this is due
rather to the nature of the cover than to any pre-
ference for pea-fowl. I remember, in a shooting
expedition in the Nepal Terai, with the NepaleseTEE ROYAL TIGER OF BENGAL.
31
minister, Jung Bahadur, who was accompanied
by about 400 elephants, to have seen, when the
tiger was surrounded in long grass and low scrubby
jungle, that as the circle of elephants gradually closed
in, numerous pea-fowl were enclosed also, and be-
came so frightened by the towering wall of howdahs,
that some were picked up by the piadehs, or foot-men
accompanying the elephants, being too frightened
and confused to rise from the long grass and fly over
and beyond the mighty circle by which they were
hemmed in. In such grassy places a tiger, with his
silent and stealthy tread, would easily approach, and
might seize the birds before they could disentangle
themselves and escape out of the long grass. It is
said that the tiger sometimes attacks the alligators,
or gurrials, as they lie basking on the banks of the
rivers, or on sand-banks, the margins of which are
often fringed with the tamarisk, long grass, or other
congenial cover. This may be possible when other
food has failed, and it is said that it occasionally
happens that he falls a victim in the attempt, more
than one instance being recorded of his having been
seized by the powerful jaws of the alligator, dragged
into the river, and drowned. There is a fine illus-
tration of a tiger being so treated by a large
alligator, in a picture by Wolf, recently published.
As the tiger is found on the margins of swamps and
rivers which teem with these great saurians, it is
possible that such an incident may occasionally
occur, though I confess I feel inclined to relegate32
THE ROYAL TIGER OF BENGAL.
it to the category of travellers’ stories. It is said
also that he is sometimes surprised and destroyed by
the great python (P. mollurus) of the Indian jungle
and swamps; and though I have no knowledge of,
or scarcely any belief in such an occurrence, I
think it not absolutely impossible; for I have seen
and helped to kill a python nearly twenty feet in
length, which probably would have been equal to the
destruction of a tiger, had it been so inclined, and
had the opportunity occurred. There can be no
doubt that the destruction of human beings by tigers
is very great in India (though the actual amount
may have been exaggerated), as well as in other
localities where they abound—and where they
become man-eaters, the sacrifice of life is often
serious. It is said that these man-eaters are gene-
rally, though not always, very old tigers, whose teeth
have become blunted or defective.
The tiger is generally most dangerous to cattle,
but not always so. In some parts of India the man-
eater appears to be the rule rather than the exception.
Jerdon says that in Central India, in the Mudlah
district, near Jubbulpore, in 1856 and previous
years, an average of between 200 and 300 villagers
were killed yearly by tigers. Captain B. Rogers,
Bengal army, has lately drawn a melancholy pic-
ture of the ravages committed on human beings;
and only lately I observe that Government has
appointed an officer in the Madras Presidency
especially for the purpose of destroying tigers. ItTHE ROYAL TIGER OF BENGAL.
33
is said that when a tiger has onoe killed a man, and
tasted human flesh, he prefers it to all other food.
Whether this be true or not I cannot say; but there
can be no doubt that when once the dread, natural
in all animals, of the human form has been overcome,
the man-eater becomes so formidable as sometimes
to cause the depopulation of a village and become
the dread of a district. That this is not always
the character of the tiger is proved by the in-
difference with which he is often regarded by the
natives, who carry on their usual avocations as herds-
men, cultivators, wood and grass cutters, close to the
cover in which they know he is concealed. This
may arise either from their peculiarly apathetic or
fatalistic character, or from the experience which
teaches them that, generally, so long as the tiger is un-
molested, and has other food, he will not injure men.
But it is not less certain that over many roads and
along many paths through the forest or grass, men
will not pass at night, or even in the day, alone, with-
out torches or tomtoms to scare away the enemy that
they believe is lurking ready to seize them as they
pass. It sometimes happens that a road or path is
closed for weeks or months by a tiger, and only be-
comes safe after some European or native shikari has
met and destroyed the enemy. Not only postmen,
herdsmen, and casual foot travellers are occasionally
seized and carried off, but even those travelling on
horseback or in hackeries (bullock carts) have been
taken. Yet, withal, it is strange to see the apparent34
TEE ROYAL TIGER OF BENGAL.
indifference with which the cowherds and villagers
often regard the formidable brute. Cow after cow
is attacked and killed, or occasionally recovered by
the herdsmen, who frighten the tiger off the body of
the stricken creature, by shouting or beating their
sticks on the ground; and over and over again
I have been taken by these aheers (herdsmen)
up to the “kill” on foot (for they will often
refuse to mount an elephant), without the slightest
evidence of fear, and when the tiger is on foot, or
perhaps wounded and ready to charge, they will
stand near or form a line, and beat him out of
the jungle. Should he pass near one of them
he is pretty certain to strike him down, perhaps
inflict a dangerous wound, either with claws or
teeth; but he is much less likely to do this if un-
wounded.
Dr. J. Anderson, in his "Western Yunan Expedi-
tion, narrates the following incident, in reference to
a man-eater:—“ While we were at dinner one
evening in Bhamo, a cry was raised that a tiger was
in the town, and we at once started with our rifles,
and were met by a man who informed us that a
woman had been killed; we hurried on, and in a
hollow, before a clump of bamboos, came upon the
body of the poor woman, over which her niece was
crying bitterly. The back of the skull was completely
smashed in, and part of the scalp was torn off. The
woman had been sitting in the low verandah of aTHE ROYAL TIGER OF BENGAL.
35
ground hut, making thatch, and had evidently been
whisked off by one fell swoop of the tiger’s paw, for
no marks of the teeth could be discovered. A
number of people were seated close beside her, talk-
ing loudly; but this only verifies what I have heard
about man-eating tigers, that they rather take
advantage than otherwise of a noise to secure their
prey; and this one, a tigress, had a decided partiality
for human flesh, for she had carried off another
woman a year before, and the townspeople attested
that she cleared the stockade, nine feet high, with
the woman in her mouth. In the present instance
she had dragged her prey about fifty yards, but
whenever the people discovered what had happened
they rushed from their houses with torches, and
shouting drove her off. When we arrived there were
fifty men, all armed with spears and guns, and many
carried torches, and fires had been fit in every
direction, to frighten the brute away. The scene
was a most exciting and effective picture; we had
the body removed, and beat the thickets, but could
discover no trace of the tigress. The woman was
buried the same night, in accordance with the Bur-
mese custom, followed in all cases of persons killed
by tigers. On the following morning we found the
tracks of the animal clearly imprinted on fresh bricks
laid out to dry, and its sex indicated by the foot-
prints of her cub.”
The Bev. Mr. Mason, in his work on “ Tenasserim,”36
THE ROYAL TIGER OF BENGAL.
says, “ Twice during my residence in Tavoy they
(tigers) came into the gate of my compound, broke
open the door of the goat-house, and succeeded in
killing a goat each time before they could he routed.
On another occasion, while sleeping in a jungle-
hamlet, a tiger leaped into a buffalo-pen close by the
house and killed a buffalo. They appear to be
afraid to encounter man until they have once had a
contest with him, when all fear ceases ever after. I
have encamped in the jungles often where the tracks
of tigers were seen all around in the morning within
a few yards of where myself and people had
bivouacked; yet they never ventured an attack.
But whenever a tiger has once tasted human blood,
it even seeks it in preference to all others. A Bur-
man was struck down by a tiger at the head of Tavoy
river, and he was seen by his companions to inflict a
severe wound on his antagonist with his knife, hut
was carried off. A few months afterwards a karen
was killed by a tiger in a village twenty miles dis-
tant, and when the villagers subsequently succeeded
in killing the animal, it was found to have been
wounded as described by the Burmans. A karen
was killed by a tiger near a village a dozen miles
east of Tavoy, supposed to he the same beast that
had devoured a man ten miles distant a short time
previous. This karen was carried off after breakfast
in the morning while going out alone to his work in
the field, and no less than a week from that time a
Burman was struck down by a tiger in the middleTHE ROYAL TIGER OF BENGAL.
37
of the day, not sis miles distant, and when there
were eight other men in company.
“ A karen who was killed by a tiger near the forks
of the Tenasserim, was walking with three others in
company a couple of hours before sunset, and had a
gun on his shoulder. The karens that lived nearest
immediately set traps in the paths that led to their
villages, and the animal was soon caught near one of
their houses.
“ On one occasion I reached a lone karen village
at dusk, and was surprised to find it barricaded all
round to prevent access. On inquiry, I found that
two men had been devoured by a tiger the day
before in the neighbourhood close by. It appeared
that one man had been carried off, and four others
armed themselves and went in pursuit; after a day’s
search, and while in the track, the beast came out
boldly on the plain and succeeded in carrying off
one of the armed karens who had engaged in the
pursuit.
“ A few years ago a little body of karens removed
from Yay and settled on the upper part of Tavoy
river; but, after losing four or five men in as many
different years by the tigers, they have been com-
pelled to descend into the more populous parts of
the valley.”
The natives of India, especially the Hindoos, hold
the tiger, as they do the cobra, in superstitious awe.38
TEE ROYAL TIGER OF BENGAL.
Many would not kill him if they could, for they fear
that he will haunt them or do them mischief after
death. Some they regard as being the tenement of
a spirit, which not only renders them immortal, hut
confers increased powers of mischief. In many parts
of India the peasants will hardly mention the tiger
by name. They either call him, as in Purneah,
gidhur (jackal), janwar (the beast), or they will not
name him at all; and it is the same in the case of
the wolf. But though they will not always them-
selves destroy him, they are quite willing that others
should do so, for they will point out his whereabouts
and be present at his death ; and the delight evinced
thereat is intense, for it often relieves a whole village
from an incubus of no slight weight, and saves the
herdsman from his weekly loss of cattle. The con-
versation and remarks made by these villagers round
the fallen tiger are often very amusing and charac-
teristic.
All kinds of power and influence are ascribed to
portions of him when dead; the fangs, the claws,
the whiskers, are potent charms, medicines, love-
philters, or prophylactics against disease, the evil eye,
or magic. They are in such demand that the natives
will take them; and we have known whiskers, claws,
and even fangs extracted or carried away during the
night, even when the dead tiger has been placed
under the surveillance of a guard. The fat, also, is
in great demand for its many potent virtues in
relieving rheumatism and other ailments. TheTHE ROYAL TIGER OF BENGAL.
39
liver, the heart, and the flesh are taken away and
dried, to he eaten as tonics or invigorating remedies
that give strength and courage. There is also a
popular delusion that a new lobe is added to the
liver every year of his life. A tiger-skin with its
whiskers preserved is a rarity ; you cannot keep them.
The domestic, who would preserve any other valuable
as a most sacred trust, will fail under this temptation !
The whiskers, besides other wonderful powers, are
said to possess that of being a slow poison when
administered with the food; such is the belief,
which you may try in vain to disturb! The
clavicles, too, little curved bones like tiny ribs, are
also much valued; but they are generally lost or
overlooked when the tiger is cut up, lying buried
in the powerful muscles near the shoulder.
Captain B. Rogers, of the Indian army, who has
studied the habits of the wild animals of India,
recently read a remarkable and interesting paper on
the subject of the ravages committed by them, before
the Society of Arts, in London, and gave, with other
important information, details, of which I have ex-
tracted some items, as illustrative of the magnitude
of the evil.
Captain R., who is an experienced sportsman, has
suggested a comprehensive scheme for the destruc-
tion of wild beasts, which, no doubt, if carried
out, would somewhat diminish the evil. A model
of a trap invented by him for the destruction40
THE ROYAL TIGER OF BENGAL.
of tigers was exhibited in the South Kensington
Museum.
Speaking of the destruction of life by wild animals,
Captain R. says, in Lower Bengal alone, in a period
of six years ending in 1866, 13,400 human beings
were killed by wild animals, whilst 18,196 wild ani-
mals were killed in the same period at a cost of
65,000 rupees; and it appears, moreover, that the
Government reports show that in these six years
ending in 1866, 4,218 persons were killed by tigers,
1,407 by leopards, 4,287 by wolves, and the remain-
der by other animals; the tiger and wolf thus claim-
ing nearly equal shares. The worst district in
Bengal Proper is that of Rungpore, in the Rajshahye
Division, the yearly loss of life being between 55 and
60 persons. In Bengal Proper alone about 1,200
tigers are killed annually; of these 4 per cent, are
cubs. Next to Bengal come the Central Provinces,
and then certain parts of Madras.
The Chief Commissioner’s reports of the Central
Provinces show that in 1866-67, 372; in 1867-68,
289; in 1868-69, 285 persons were killed by tigers.
The District Magistrate from Dhera Dhoon writes:
—“ Man-eating tigers are quite an exception in
Oude and Rohilcund; one is heard of in every six
years, but he is invariably killed after a short lapse
of time.” Captain Rogers says, however, that
tigers are man-eaters by nature and instinct, not byTEE ROYAL TIBER OF BENGAL.
41
education; “ men, therefore, are liable to be eaten
where tigers exist.”
One gentleman, writing from Nayadunka in July,
1869, says—“ Cattle killed in my district are
numberless. As regards human beings, one tiger
in 1867-1868-1869 killed respectively 27, 34, 47
people. I have known it attack a party, and kill
four or five at a time. Once it killed a father,
mother, and three children ; and the week before it
was shot it killed seven people. It wandered over
a tract of twenty miles, never remaining in the
same spot two consecutive days, and at last was
destroyed by a bullet from a spring gun when
returning to feed at the body of one of its victims
—a woman.
“ At NyneeTal inKumaon, in 1856-57-58, there
was a tiger that prowled about within a circle say of
twenty miles, and it killed on an average about
eighty men per annum. The haunts were well
known at all seasons. * * * * This tiger was
afterwards shot while devouring the body of an
aged person it had killed.”
Captain It. relates an incident which illustrates
the superstition of the native in regard to tigers :—
“ A tiger in Chota Nagpore destroyed a great
number of lives. * * * * I had a weapon set
across its known path, and it was only a matter of
hours before his career was stopped. But what was the42
TEE ROYAL TIGER OF BENGAL.
result ? Numbers of the natives in the vicinity, in-
cluding those I had employed to set the trap, ran
off when they heard of the animal’s death, and did
not return for days, as they felt sure that when dead
it would be revenged on them, and take the form of
a human corpse so as to get them hanged for murder.
The remains were not, on that account, shown to me
until decomposed.” Further, he remarks, “ When
a Ghond or Kurkoo (the people inhabiting certain
wild tracts) is killed by a tiger, the wife, children,
and parents are thrown out of caste—all intercourse
between them and other inhabitants being inter-
dicted, on the ground that they are labouring under
the displeasure of the Deity. In fact, the man-
eating tiger is the deity to whom those wild and
ignorant aborigines offer prescribed sacrifices on the
occasion of their having suffered from its ravages;
thus the injury they have incurred is increased, and
the previously scanty means of these helpless
creatures are doubly taxed.”
Again, quoting a Government report—“ In one
instance, in the Central Provinces, a single tigress
caused the desertion of thirteen villages, and two
hundred and fifty square miles of country were
thrown out of cultivation. This state of things
would undoubtedly have continued, but for the
timely arrival of a gentleman who happily was fortu-
nate enough, with the aid of his gun, to put an end
to her eventful career.”THE TOTAL TIGER OF BENGAL.
43
In 1868 tlie Magistrate of Godavery reported “ that
part of the country was over-run with tigers, every
village having suffered from the ravages of man-
eaters. No road was safe, and a few days before his
arrival at Kondola, a tiger charged a large body of
villagers within a few hundred yards of the civil
station.”
Again, it is reported that one tigress, in 1869,
killed 127 people, and stopped a public road for
many weeks, and was finally killed by the opportune
arrival of an English sportsman/’
Other instances might he added, but the above are
sufficient to prove how fierce and destructive tigers
can be, not only to cattle and other lower animals,
but to human beings.
We are startled by its magnitude, when we read
Captain Rogers’ statement “that the loss of pro-
perty which the ravages of the carnivora entailed
amounted annually to ten million pounds.” Great
it no doubt is, but we would hope that Captain
R. has over-estimated the amount. It would be
interesting to know how much—a large share no
doubt—is attributable to tigers alone.
The tiger likes to be at rest in his cover, to bask
in the sun, or recline in the shade, according to
the weather; in the great heats, when he is most44
TEE ROYAL TIGER OF BENGAL.
readily found and shot, he likes the cool wet
grass, and will often take to the water. He
loves to Belect the vicinity of good food and water,
and to remain there for a season, until changing
circumstances prompt removal elsewhere. The full-
grown tiger is not wantonly destructive : he kills
only to eat; and when he is not hungry, unless pro-
voked, animals about him are safe, and he will re-
main near, or pass close to men and cattle without
molesting them. It is not so, as I have said, with
the younger tigers, or with the tigress when training
her young. They kill for mere sport. The con-
firmed man-eaters, preferring human flesh, establish
themselves where it is most easily procured, and
become more cunning, wary, and stealthy than
others ; it is said they are generally old animals.
The tiger seems to he particular about the state of
his claws, they are always kept sharp, polished,
carefully protected within the sheath of inte-
gument, and are kept from contact with the
ground, and thus remain pointed and clean, being
very formidable weapons, with which fearful
wounds are inflicted. Probably it is to keep them
in order, clean and bright, that the tiger is so fond
of scratching the bark of trees; and the deep
vertical scorings, up to a height of ten or twelve
feet, are often seen on the Indian fig or other
tree. They have favourites which they select
or set apart for this purpose, and the scorings
are very deep and numerous. I remember aTHE ROYAL TIGER OF BENGAL.
45
Ficus venosa by the side of a nul-swamp in
Purneak, under whose shade I have often rested
in the middle of a hot day’s tiger shooting in
March or April. It stood alone, and was evidently a
favourite resort of the tigers, for it was deeply and
numerously scored by their claws.
Tigers do not, as a general rule, climb trees; hut
when pressed by fear, as during an inundation, or
when no other way of escape offers from real or
imaginary danger, they have occasionally been known
to do so. They have also been seen to clamber
up or even spring to a certain height, where they
have seen a man, and whence they thought the shot
came, and pull him down. I have heard of
authentic instances where this happened. Nor are
they wont to spring to any great height from the
ground; though an instance occurred recently, re-
lated by an eye-witness, where a tiger pulled a.
native, in one spring, out of a tree at a height of
eighteen feet from the ground. The tiger’s usual
•attack is a rush accompanied by a series of short
deep growls or- roars, in which he evidently
thinks he will do much by intimidation; when
he charges home he rises on the hind feet,
seizes with the teeth and claws, endeavours, and
often succeeds, in pulling down the object seized.
They do occasionally leave the ground with a
spring, clear a fence or ditch, or even alight on the
elephant’s head, his. pad, or hind quarters; but
this probably happens in the case of tigresses or
D46
TEE EOT AT TIGER OF BENGAL.
young and active males. The heavy old tiger
seldom, if ever, is so energetic in springing up
heights; though he will take a good hroad ditch or
wall, etc., in a hound.
I have been told by an eye-witness of an
incident that illustrates not only the tiger’s activity
but his strength when he chooses to exert them.
A tiger at a bound sprang from an elevation
right among a herd of cattle, and in his spring
struck down simultaneously a cow with each fore
foot. Both were disabled ; one, he immediately killed
and began to devour, whilst the other wretched
creature lay with its back broken by the tiger’s
terrible blow within a few feet watching the fate of
its companion. In this position the group was seen
by my informant, who added that he never saw such
ati expression of terror and suffering as was depicted by
the wretched cow. The tiger unfortunately escaped.
It must be remembered that when a tiger stands on
his hind feet, his fore paws reach nine to twelve feet
high, and this brings him well up to the head, hind
quarters, or pad of an elephant. Having seized, he
holds tenaciously, and if he makes a good grip with
his hind claws he may get higher. The fore claws
are driven fiercely in, and elephants are often severely
lacerated by them. On one occasion I remember
to have seen a tigress pull a large elephant down till
her head almost rested on the ground, simply from
the intense pain caused by the implanted claws.
The tigress was partly shaken, partly shot off theTEE ROYAL TIGER OF BENGAL.
47
elephant’s head, and killed. In the evening, when
the elephant was being attended to, and having her
scratches washed and dressed, the mahout called my
attention to a claw that had been wrenched from the
tigress’s foot and remained deeply imbedded in the
elephant’s head above the eye. It is a popular
belief, and by no means confined to the ignorant,
that the wounds inflicted by the fangs and claws of
the tiger are very dangerous and of a specific nature.
This, however, is a mistake. It is certainly possible
that the teeth and claws may occasionally he con-
taminated with septic matters from the decomposing
flesh of his prey; hut this is probably rare, as any
one would say who saw these weapons and know the
careful way in which they are kept polished and
clean. The fact is, the wounds owe their dangerous
condition to the fact of their being deeply punctured
or lacerated; otherwise they have no peculiarity, and
they not unfrequently heal very readily, though they
are occasionally followed by profuse suppuration,
which as in similar wounds may induce blood
poisoning. I have seen the severest injuries in-
flicted by the tiger recovered from rapidly, others
after profuse suppuration and sloughing of the torn
and stretched tissues.
It is remarkable how many people escape who
have been wounded by tigers. They seldom kill on
the spot, and, unless in the case of the man-eater,
rarely take the human victim far, if at all, from
the spot where he is struck down. The action is48
TEE ROYAL TIGER OF BENGAL.
generally a bite about the shoulder or head, a
shake or two, perhaps he drags the victim for a few
paces and then drops and leaves him, having crushed
the shoulder or limb, or deeply wounded the scalp or
neck, in some instances having fractured the skull and
thus caused death, or he gives a blow of the paw and
a shake or two, and then leaves him. This is gene-
rally the case when the tiger is alarmed or when he
is encountered suddenly and thinks he is in danger;
if not molested, and if he see his way to escape, he, as
a general rule, will turn out of the way into the nearest
cover with a menacing growl, but without attacking.
Several instances are on record where the victim was
seized, carried off, but ultimately dropped, and made
his escape ; a friend, since dead, was thus seized and
dragged many yards by a tiger, but was relinquished,
and without any very serious injury. Where a man
is taken for food he is carried off and eaten as a deer
would be; though even in such cases escapes have
been effected.
The tiger takes the water readily and is a good
swimmer. The Saugur Island and Soonderbund
tigers continually swim from one island to the other,
to change their hunting grounds for deer. They
have more than once been surprised by the river
steamers, or by boats, and killed in the water.
It is said that they swim from Singapore to the
neighbouring islands. They will, when hunted, or
even in the usual course of their travels, swim across
large pools in the forest, or in the swamps, or evenTHE ROYAL TIGER OF BENGAL.
49
rivers. It is not many years since one got on board
a Soonderbund steamer, when lying at anchor, and
for a time took possession of the deck, and was at
last shot by the captain. They frequently cross the
Ganges, and I have traced them by their footprints
Fig. 4
tiger’s eoee-eootprint.
to the water’s edge on one bank and taken up the
track again on the other side. (See Fig.) Though a
tiger seldom does so, he can spring to a considerable
height if he likes. A friend, one of the most expe-
rienced tiger shots in India, relates an instance
where a tigress having been fired at from a tree, or
some other concealed place, sprang into a machan in
a field, at least ten or twelve feet from the ground,
thinking the shot came from there, and by her
weight and the force of her spring brought it all to
the ground; it was empty, the shot had not come
thence.
A machan is a platform erected on a frame, or in50
THE ROYAL TIGER OF BENGAL.
a tree, from which a herdsman watches cattle or the
grain, or the sportsman waits for game; it is often
used for shooting from, and sometimes is erected in
a tree for the purpose of tiger shooting, when the
jungle is beaten and the game driven towards it.
Tigers have occasionally hut very rarely been
shot in trees. As they are not tree climbers, the
occasions on which they would he found there are
quite exceptional; I have already alluded to this,
and to their fondness for scratching the hark of
trees with their claws.
Though preferring the solitudes of his jungle
cover, he occasionally finds his way into a village,
sometimes even into the villagers’ huts. This only
happens when impelled by hunger and attracted by
food, in which case, being near a village, he may
have endeavoured, in his anxiety to take advantage
of the first cover, to conceal himself there. I have
known a tiger to be killed in the underwood, in a
tope of trees, quite close to a village. This tiger had
no doubt often roamed through, or close to the
village in the night. Sportsmen have often heard
them near their tents at night. The roar of the
tiger as conventionally understood, is seldom heard;
he generally makes a few short grunts or harks, or
savage growls, when roused, attacked, or wounded,
and when he charges. During the . stillness of the
night, which is only disturbed by the gentle murmur
of a mountain rapid, or the sighing of the wind
through the branches of the Seesoo forest, all campTEE ROYAL TIGER OF BENGAL.
51
sounds being bushed, the prolonged deep wailing
howl of the tiger and tigress calling to each other
is often heard, and an imposing sound it is,
making one feel glad not to be alone or abroad in
the forest, and to have the shelter of a tent and the
feeling of security given by the belongings of the camp
around one. The nocturnal proceedings of the tiger
are, no doubt, very cat-like ; only on a grander scale.
It seems to be the impression that tigers have not
diminished much, if at all, in numbers in India,
since 1857. In certain localities where cultivation
and population have extended, where jungle has been
cleared away, and land reclaimed from the forest or
the swamp, they have thinned or disappeared; but
such conditions are rare in comparison with the large
uncultivated areas over which the tiger still roams ;
indeed, in those outlying places on the edge of the
forest and in belts of jungle, where cattle grazing is
the occupation of the sparsely-scattered population,
it is probable that the tiger has increased rather
than diminished of late years, in consequence of
the general disarming of the people, which became
necessary after the Mutiny of 1857. The subject
has attracted the consideration of Government both
at home and in India, and it is to be hoped that
more decided measures than any hitherto taken, will
be the result of the interest this undoubtedly important
subject has excited. A more systematic method of
dealing with the evil may be needed, and some general
and combined action on the part of the authorities,52
THE ROYAL TIGER OF BENGAL.
but it must not be supposed that nothing has been
done. A system of rewards has long existed, and
the sums paid for tigers, leopards, wolves, form a
large item in the yearly accounts of most district
officers in India. The reward paid by Government
for the destruction of tigers is generally, I believe,
at the rate of ten rupees a head; in the case of a
notorious man-eater, more is given. Within the
last year an officer has been appointed in the Madras
Presidency whose duty it is to destroy tigers and
other wild beasts, and this is perhaps a preliminary
to other arrangements on the part of Government for
a similar object.
The methods of destroying tigers are numerous.
They are snared in pit-falls and traps, shot by spring
guns, and arrows, occasionally poisoned, and it is said
that bird-lime has been used in their destruction.
I have read of this, but know of no authenticated
case in which it has been practised. The bird-lime,
it is said, is spread on the fallen leaves ; these ad-
hering to the tiger’s paws are soon plastered all
over him, including his face and eyes. Blinded and
stupefied by rage and fear, he falls an easy prey to
the villagers, who then either shoot or stab him to
death with spears. We read in Allen’s Indian Mail
of February 24th, 1874: “ It would almost seem as if
the tiger, in fear of strychnine, toda-traps, and Cap-
tain Caulfield’s guns, had resolved to retire to the
Hills. We lately mentioned the fact of four tigers
having been seen in company not far from Ooty.THE ROYAL TIGER OF BENGAL.
53
We have since .heard that a native bringing toddy
from the plains to the bakery at Conoor, was seized
somewhere in the Conoor Ghat, and carried off by a
tiger.”
One mode of effecting his death is to lay a bait
by tying up a cow or goat in some spot the tiger is
wont to frequent; near this, on a machan or on
the branch of a tree or from behind some extem-
porised screen, the shikarie waits his approach at
night, and when the bait is seized takes aim, and
often succeeds in destroying him, though it not un-
frequently happens that in the uncertain light he
misses altogether or only wounds, in which case a
second chance is seldom obtained. It sometimes
happens that the sportsman, tired by waiting and
watching, falls asleep, and awakes only to see the
prey carried off, and too late to get an effective shot.
Many tigers are thus yearly destroyed, but still
numbers remain, and the destruction of life and
property caused by them goes on, though I am
inclined to think not to so great an extent as is
sometimes represented; and when it is borne in mind
that the population of India, including the Native
States, is nearly 250,000,000, the proportion of deaths
is not so'large as it at first sight seems to be, and
probably would not contrast so very unfavourably
with mortality from what should be preventible
causes at home—railway accidents, for example!
Far be it from me to suggest ought that might
appear to involve danger to human life, but I must54
THE TOTAL TIGER OF BENGAL.
say that I should regard the complete extinction of
tigers with a regret something akin to that with
which annihilation of the fox would be regarded in
England. So far as the sportsmen and their follow-
ers are concerned, serious and fatal accidents are not
more frequent from the claws and teeth of tigers
than they are in fox-hunting in England, from
falls and the chances of the field.
I certainly would not preserve tigers, and
would encourage their destruction, but by hunting,
rather than by poison* or the snare. Of course,
when no sportsmen are at hand, they should be
destroyed without law, when and where they could
be found.
There are several ways of compassing the tiger’s
death resorted to by sportsmen, and they are prac-
tised according to circumstances, the nature of the
country, and the opportunities at command. In
Bengal, Central India, the North West, and the
Terai, where he is found chiefly in jungle and grass
or swamps, and where he would generally be perfectly
inaccessible on foot, the tiger is hunted from ele-
phants, and there certainly is no more exciting or
nobler sport; or he is driven in a hunqua (a drive)
from his forest or grassy retreat, towards trees or
other elevated spots, in which machans are placed,
from which the sportsman aims in tolerable safety,
* Poisoning by strychnine has recently been resorted to in the
Madras Presidency, where an officer has been appointed by Govern-
ment to compass the destruction of tigers.THE ROYAL TIGER OF BENGAL.
55
and often succeeds in securing his game. In Madras,
Bombay, some parts of Bengal, Central India, and
the Central Provinces, the tiger is often hunted on
foot, and it is in this dangerous sport that fatal and
serious accidents are liable to happen, for no accuracy
of aim or steadiness of nerve can always guard
against or prevent the rush of even a mortally
wounded tiger, that in his very death-throes may
inflict a dangerous or fatal injury. I have known
more than one such case, and too many have
occurred. This exciting and dangerous sport is
sometimes, from the nature of the ground, as safe
as from the howdah, but it is generally dangerous
when the wounded tiger is followed on foot into
the cover, where he has taken refuge, and it may
be truly said, “ Le jeu ne vaut pas la chandelle.”
Works on tiger-shooting in all its forms abound, and
stirring incidents in the howdah and on foot are
numerously recorded; it would seem like repeat-
ing an oft-told tale to tell of them again, but I
shall conclude this history of the great cat, by
relating a few anecdotes descriptive of his habits,
and of the circumstances under which he is hunted
and slain.
Tiger-shooting, though a less dangerous amuse-
ment than supposed by many, is not altogether
exempt from peril, even when pursued, as it
generally is, in Bengal, from elephants, for though
the mahouts and the sportsmen in the howdah are
rarely injured, accidents may occur, whilst the66
THE ROYAL TIGER OF BENGAL.
beaters and others on foot, who are in the vicinity
of the hunted tiger, are occasionally wounded
or killed. This mode of tiger shooting certainly
combines sufficient of excitement with personal
danger to make it interesting. On foot, it entails
an amount of danger and risk of life, which I
venture to think is hardly justifiable in a mere
amusement, as many serious and fatal accidents
only too clearly prove.
The following incidents, taken from a recent num-
ber of Allen’s Indian Mail of 6th April, 1874, and
the Calcutta Englishman of 24th April, 1874, are
examples of the kind of danger that may occasionally
occur in tiger-shooting from the howdah
“ While antelope-shooting in the Dhoon, up got
a tiger which was wounded. On being rapidly
followed, tiger, elephant, and rider, all fell into
a deep pit dug for catching wild elephants! The
tiger crawled up by the elephant’s head, and was
shot in the act of clutching at the occupant of the
howdah, and luckily managed only to claw him
slightly, when he rolled over dead! A very
narrow escape! ”
“ A rather curious tiger hunt, in which the tiger
seemed to think that he should have his share of the
sport, as well as the ‘ shikari,’ occurred some short
time ago in the Dhoon. A gentleman well known inTHE ROYAL TIGER OF BENGAL.
57
Dehra, an enthusiastic though rather inexperienced
sportsman they say, went out about a month ago
into the Eastern Dhoon for a day or two’s shooting.
Arrived on the ground, he was seated in his howdah
on the elephant, looking out anxiously for game of
some sort, when the mahout suddenly cried, ‘ Sher,
Sahib,—hurra Sher! ’ for a tiger had made his
appearance unexpectedly close to the elephant. The
gentleman hurriedly fired, and planted a hall from
his rifle, not in the tiger’s shoulder but in his
abdomen. This mistake must have been due to
surprise at the tiger’s sudden advent on the scene,
and the consequently hurried shot; otherwise such
a want of knowledge of anatomy as was evinced
in seeking a vital spot in the abdomen would
be unpardonable. The consequences of the mis-
take were, serious; for the tiger, resenting the
sudden disturbance in the region, where the
remains of his last kill were peacefully reposing,
charged the elephant, and by a spring succeeded
in planting his fore paws on her head, while
his hind legs clawed and scratched vigorously
for a footing on her trunk. Imagine the feel-
ings of the mahout, with a tiger within six inches
of his nose! the elephant trumpeting, shaking,
and rolling with rage and pain, till he was barely
able to maintain his seat on her neck at all;
and the occupant of the howdah, too, tumbled
from top to bottom, and from side to side of
it, as if he were a solitary pill in a pillbox too58
TEE ROYAL TIGER OF BENGAL.
large for him. Of course in this predicament he
was utterly unable to use his rifle to rid the ele-
phant of the unwelcome head-dress she was per-
force wearing; the attempt to fire, in all that shaking,
would probably have resulted in his blowing out the
mahout’s brains instead of the tiger’s, or in his
shooting himself. Meanwhile the mahout, with the
courage of despair, slipped out the gaddcln or cushion
on which he sat, and, rolling it round his left arm,
and taking the iron gujbag in his right, assailed
the tiger manfully about the ears. But, being
thickheaded, he did not seem to mind the gujbag
at all; for, after taking a bite at the elephant’s
forehead, he calmly continued his struggles for
a footing on the reluctant and ever-dodging
trunk, heedless of the rain of blows on his thick
skull, and no doubt promising himself to square
accounts presently by swallowing the mahout,
gujbag, and all. But the elephant was begin-
ning to see that she couldn’t shake the tiger off,
so she tried another plan; and, making an extem-
pore battering-ram of herself, with the tiger as a
buffer, she charged straight at a sal tree, think-
ing to make a tiger-pancake on the spot. But the
sal tree, alas! was a small one, and gave way under
the shock, and away went tree, tiger, and elephant
into an old and half filled up obi, or elephant-pit,
which happened to be conveniently placed to receive
them just on the other side of the fallen tree. The
tiger and the mahout were both knocked off by theTHE ROYAL TIGER OF BENGAL.
59
shock and fall; hut the latter, luckily for himself,
fell out of the pit, the former into it under the
elephant. The elephant now had her share of the
sport, and gave the tiger such a kicking while he
lay under her, making a kind of shuttlecock of him
between her fore and hind legs, that the breath must
have been almost kicked out of him: then deeming
she had done enough for honour and glory, and that
she couldn’t eat the tiger if she did kill him, she com-
menced climbing out of the pit, whose crumbled and
sloping sides luckily made the scramble out practic-
able. The mahout, who had by this time picked
himself and his scattered wits up, rushed round and
caught her by the ear just as she reached the level,
and was preparing for a bolt, and, scrambling rapidly
up to his perch on her neck, succeeded in stopping
her and turning her face to the foe once more. The
elephant being now under command, our sports-
man at length resumed his proper share in the
proceedings, and the tiger being still at the bottom
of the pit, breathless, if not senseless, from the
kicking he had undergone, by a well-directed
shot put him finally hors-de-combat, and had the
satisfaction of carrying him into the station in
triumph, where his skin is preserved as a witness of
this strange tiger hunt. The elephant, though it
got one nasty bite, and was badly scratched about
the trunk and forelegs, is now none the worse for its
single combat with the monarch of the Indian
forests.”eo
THE ROYAL TIGER OF BENGAL.
Despite his strength, and the ferocity with
which he uses his formidable weapons when he is
roused, it is remarkable how frequently men have
escaped from his clutches. Numbers are now
living who have been in the jaws, or have been
struck down by the terrible forearm of the tiger,
and yet have survived to tell the tale. Seve-
ral such cases have occurred within my own
knowledge.
Though the tiger frequently does not succumb
until he has received many wounds, and will con-,
tinue fighting to the last even when desperately
injured—sometimes even springing up and seizing
the elephant or man approaching his apparently
lifeless body, and perhaps falling dead in his last
efforts to charge—he not unfrequently falls to a
single shot; I have seen this on several occasions,
and on four or five have had the satisfaction of
bagging the game with a single bullet from smooth-
bore or rifle. A hall through the neck, if it cut the
spinal cord, is instantly fatal, and the tiger turns a
somersault and lies dead in his tracks. A hall
through the lungs or heart, behind the shoulder or
through the abdomen, near the spine, by cutting the
aorta, will cause rapid death, and the tiger is found
dead within a few yards of where he was struck.
But it is remarkable how many bullets they will
take in the head if the brain escape—as it often
does, owing to the comparatively small size of the
brain cavity—or in the abdomen, trunk, or limbs,TSE ROTAL TIGER OF BENGAL.
61
without being disabled. Though mortally wounded
they go on fighting, and may do much damage, or
may even effect their escape.
For ordinary howdah shooting, the smooth twelve-
bore for the average shots (which are at from 20
to 40 or 50 yards), with round or conical bullets,
and three drachms of powder, is sufficient; for longer
shots, or*when on foot, the ordinary rifle or express
is essential; but even for tigers the use of explosive
shells is to be deprecated! A short double carbine
breech-loader of large bore would be most useful, as
would a pistol, either double-barrelled or on the
revolver principle, carrying a large bullet, say of the
bore of 8 or 10, according to the old round bullet
gauge.
The following remarkable confirmation of the
tiger’s vitality, and the danger attending the pursuit
on foot, is taken from a recent number of the Indian
Medical Gazette (March 2nd, 1874) :—
“ On the 17th of January last, when beating for a
supposed leopard, a fine tiger walked directly under
the tree, on a low branch of which I was sitting,
giving me a deliberate shot at a distance of not more
than four feet. He dropped on the spot, clawed
furiously at the ground, and turned round and
round for about fifteen seconds, then pulled himself
together, and set off at a gallop, getting my second
shot after going about thirty yards. This turned
E62
TEE ROYAL TIGER OF BENGAL.
him. He went about fifteen yards more in a series
of wild plunges, and then fell over, gave a kick or
two, and died. On examination he proved to be a
male, 9 feet 7 inches (skin stretched to 11 feet
3 inches) in length. The hall, an ordinary twelve-
bore round bullet, fired from a smooth bore with 3£
drachms of No. 6 powder, had struck him about an
inch to the right of the spine, passed through the
right lung, struck the heart in the ventricular sep-
tum below the right auricle, and torn a huge hole
through the right ventricle, besides opening the left
into the right, then grazed the left lung and emerged
below, an inch and a half to the left of the mesial
line. The exit wound, both in the recent and in
the dried skin, was very decidedly smaller than that
of entrance, a phenomenon I have frequently ob-
served both in men and animals. In the heart,
however, the usual rule held good, and the aperture
of exit was twice the size of that of entrance. I
have frequently heard of such cases. A friend of
mine tells me that he has seen a tiger go 150 yards
with his heart ‘ blown to bits ’ by a shell; and a
second assures me that another wounded as mine was,
went 80 yards after attempting to pull him out of a
tree. My second bullet entered behind the left
elbow and the radius, or the beast might have gone
further than it did. As it was, he went nearly
fifty yards, and, although he died probably within a
minute, it might have been a very awkward minute
for me had he seen me. The moral of the case forTEE ROYAL TIGER OF BENGAL.
63
sportsmen is—always aim at the brain.” We might
add also—do not shoot tigers on foot!
The following incidents, extracted from Indian
papers, are interesting:—
“ On Monday morning (the 13th) as two officers
of H.M.’s 66th Regiment, Messrs. F. and C.,
were out in the jungles below Ramghat, above
Sawunt Waree, and on the look-out for bison
and bears, one of them was followed by a tiger,
which seared the native shikarrie into a tree, leaving
Mr. 0. to face the growling brute. It advanced
towards him by a bound or two, but as the hunter
stood firm the game began to move off, and then in-
cautiously placed itself on a rock, whereupon the
sportsman accepted the invitation and gave him a
bullet through the shoulder. This appears to have
been a fatal shot, for the tiger gave a lurch forward
and threw itself down a ravine, where, by blood
stains, it was tracked by Mr. F. into a deep
cavern. Having no beaters to assist nor lights to
guide them, the hunters were obliged to leave their
prey to die alone. The place where the incident
occurred is nearly five miles north-west of the
Ghat highway, and as the slain beast was a
reputed man-eater, the few villagers who dwell
in those mountain districts are well pleased be-
cause the sahibs got the tiger, instead of the
tiger getting one of the sahibs, as he evi-G4
THE ROYAL TIGER OF BENGAL.
dently intended to do.”—Times of India, April
20th, 1874.
“The writer of ‘Three Months in the Forests of
Travankor ’ describes the following scene in the
forest:—‘ Threading our way carefully, single file,
along the narrow track, now cutting a path through
the dense jungle with our hunting knives (essential
appendages to an expedition such as ours), again
getting to a clearer space where the fresh breezes
fanned our heated brow, and glimpses of wooded
hills and slopes and valleys appeared through the
trees, hut still proceeding steadily upwards, we at
length came to an open space on the verge of a steep
and precipitous hill side, where we sat down to rest
and enjoy the beauty of the scene. On one hand
towered the mighty forest trees rising tier above tier
to the blue heavens; on the other, a yawning
precipice sloped down to where a mountain torrent
settled among great boulders of rock far below us.
While we were gazing in quiet admiration of the
scene, a rustling of the trees and sounds of hurried
footsteps rapidly approaching, made us turn hastily
round, and a magnificent sight greeted our aston-
ished eyes. A noble stag, his antlers thrown back
in act of listening, his nostrils dilated in terror, was
Hying down the path straight towards us, and in
another instant the cause of his terror became appa-
rent. A splendid tiger was following in his path,
rushing down the narrow gorge, leaping over everyTHE ROYAL TIGER OF BENGAL.
Go
obstacle tbat barred his way, and momentarily
gaining on his prey. The stag flew on, not seeing
us in his wild haste, until he was so close we could
almost have touched him, when his terrified gaze fell
upon us, standing rifle in hand, though we refrained
from firing, seeing the tiger behind. To go on was
death from our bullets, behind the tiger was close
upon him, and without an instant’s hesitation he
turned and took a flying leap over the precipice, the
tiger (who had never once caught sight of us, so
intently was he gazing at his prey), following in his
excitement, and in a moment both the noble animals
were lost to sight among the branches of the trees,
where they must have been dashed into a thousand
pieces before they reached the bottom.’ ”—Madras
Mail.
Some years ago Major A., a sportsman of great
experience, skill, and resolution, when hunting with
a companion, wounded a tiger in heavy tree-jungle.
The animal remained in the cover crouching under
a large branching tree. Major A.’s elephant be-
came unsteady, probably from having been clawed
by the tiger, and getting beyond the mahout’s con-
trol ran away. This most dangerous of all acci-
dents occurring among trees, was attended with
the not unusual result—the howdah was crushed
against an overhanging branch, and swept from the
elephant’s back. Major A. and the native in the
khawas—that is the back seat of the howdah—were66
THE ROYAL TIGER OF BENGAL.
likewise swept away, but seizing tbe branch, hung
suspended as the elephant passed from under them.
The native being light and active swung himself
on to the branch and was safe. Major A. not
having so secure a hold, and probably not being
so agile, was unable to do so, and after hanging
suspended for a few moments, vainly attempting
to get on to the branch, at length dropped to the
ground, and, as ill luck would have it, fell on to
the wounded tiger’s back, which was lying under
the tree. Being wounded in the spine the tiger
was unable to move his hind-quarters, and could not
rise, but retaining all his vigour in the fore part of
the body and limbs, struck at and drew Major A.
within his grip, and, infuriated with rage, wreaked
his fury on the unfortunate gentleman; seizing
him first by one leg he severely lacerated it, then
leaving that, he seized the other, and bit it more
severely. Major A. was utterly unable to get away
from the infuriated animal, and spent some dread-
ful moments in this awful position. His companion',
whose elephant had also taken fright, shortly after
reappeared on the scene, and gave the wounded tiger
the coup de grace. Major A., frightfully wounded
and exhausted by loss of blood, was then carried
some distance into the nearest station, where it was
found necessary to amputate one leg. Notwith-
standing his serious injuries and the capital opera-
tion, he recovered, and has lived to return to
England.TEE ROYAL TIGER OF BENGAL.
67
The ease of Colonel H. has already been men-
tioned. A tigress at one bound, receiving a fatal
wound as she sprang, reached the elephant’s head,
and seizing him, they came together to the ground.
Though severely wounded, he survived the injuries
for many years.
Major B., when shooting in Central India on foot,
severely wounded a tiger, and though he retreated
immediately to the trunk of a fallen tree, was seized
by the arm by the infuriated brute, and dragged to
the edge of a nullah, down which they both rolled
into the stream at the bottom, where the tiger died,
but not before it had inflicted such serious wounds
as to render amputation of the limb necessary. This
daring sportsman happily survives, and fills a high
office under the Indian Government.
The late Colonel S., a most distinguished soldier
and sportsman, when following a wounded tiger on
foot in the long grass, was suddenly seized and
carried off by the animal he was seeking. He
managed, however, to effect his escape without
having received any very serious injury, and re-
joined his companion, who had deemed him lost.
Mr. -----, when out snipe shooting with some
companions in Bengal, was informed by the natives
of a village situated near a rice field, that some
large animal was in the vicinity, which, from their68
THE ROYAL TIGER OF BENGAL.
description, they supposed to he a wolf. Mr.-----------
says that, as he was walking on the outskirts of the
rice, which was full grown, he became suddenly
aware of a tiger staring at him from among the rice,
and in a moment he was struck down and seized by
the shoulder. He was hardly able to remember
what occurred or how he escaped; but he did escape,
for the tiger, after giving him a severe shake, and
having plunged his fangs into the shoulder, left
him wounded and half senseless. He was carried
home and recovered, after a long and exhausting
illness, which resulted in permanent injury to the
shoulder-joint and limb.
Mr. ------- went after a tiger on foot in Lower
Bengal, and wounded it. It had taken refuge in
some light tree-cover, and was crouching under the
trees. On being pointed out to him, he fired, this
time with a shell, which exploded in the tiger’s
body, inflicting a most deadly wound; but notwith-
standing, the brute had strength enough left to
charge and seize him by the arm and shoulder,
falling dead in the act of crushing the limb between
his teeth. This gentleman recovered after pro-
tracted suffering, but with a stiffened and wasted
limb.
The three following cases are extracted from a
report by Dr. Downie, in the Indian Medical Gazette
of December 2nd, 1872 :—TEE ROYAL TIGER OF BENGAL.
69
Sowar Bhart Singh, aged twenty-six, raj put, on
9th August, while acting as a beater, was attacked
by a wounded tigress. His matchlock missed fire,
he struck one blow on the head with his tulwar, and
was then knocked down. One of the officers with
whom he had gone out, shot the tigress through the
head while she was standing over the Sowar. He
was carried in fifteen miles, and I saw him at 10
o’clock p.m. There were about a dozen tooth
wounds in the left forearm without fracture, one
apparently penetrating into the wrist joint from
behind. He had a scalp wound three quarters of an
inch in length near the vertex, and a claw wound
about one and a half inches long from the inner part
of the left eyebrow skirting the orbit. Stitches of fine
silver wire and cold applications were ordered.
There was also a compound fracture of the radius
and ulna, just below the left elbow. There seemed
no hope of saving the limb, but as no operative
appliances were at hand, and the man was much
exhausted by his journey, it was deemed right to
wait till morning. The arm was secured by loops
to a splint, and cold water applied. A grain of
opium was given, to he repeated if necessary. He
passed a tolerably easy night, and at 6 a.m. on the
10th there was a good deal of inflammatory swell-
ing, and other mischief. In addition to several
deep tooth wounds at and near the fracture, there
were two or three above the elbow, with much
bruising, inflammatory swelling, and emphysema-70
TEE ROYAL TIGER OF BENGAL.
tous crepitation. Amputation was performed on the
23rd October. The wound healed.
Narain, camel driver, aged twenty-two, brought in
on 8th September. Had been attacked by a tiger
two days before. Had a deep wound just behind
the upper part of the great trochanter, about three
inches in depth, obliquely upwards; a flesh wound
on outer front of thigh, about four inches long and
one and a half inches broad. The wounds pro-
gressed favourably, though slowly. He recovered.
Buldeo Singh, rajput, aged thirty, on the evening
of 22nd September, was brought in mauled by a
wounded tiger. On the front of the left shoulder was
a deep flesh wound, and on the back of the shoulder
a superficial lacerated wound, two and a half inches
by one inch. There were three fang wounds in the left
flank ; one in front, large enough to have admitted
two fingers at least, penetrating into the abdomen ;
two wounds behind led down to the abdominal
cavity, but did not injure the bowel. He had also
one or two slight wounds over the ribs. Under
cotton-wool, dipped in carbolic oil, the wounds
rapidly healed; the man is now able to walk
about, and there only remains a superficial wound,
which is healing.
There is little to remark of these cases except the
small constitutional disturbance.TEE ROYAL TIGER OF BENGAL.
71
The following have recently occurred :—
Near Roorkee, an officer fired at and wounded the
tiger from a machhn, as it was seizing a buffalo.
He followed on foot, and came on the tiger in the
grass; fired as it charged, and mortally wounded
the brute, which, however, had strength enough
left to rush in and seize him by the shoulder,
inflicting severe wounds. The tiger actually fell
over dead, with his jaws closed on the officer’s
shoulder ;—the narrowest escape, with life, conceiv-
able. This officer was placed on the sick list on
the 4th April, 1874, having been injured on the 2nd
of that month. The wounds were washed and
ligatured in the jungle, prior to removal to Roorkee.
On examination the shbulder was found greatly
swollen, the ligatures so tense as to necessitate their
division; in this condition it was found impossible
accurately to diagnose the nature and extent of the
injuries sustained. There were two extensive lace-
rated wounds on the front of the deltoid, and two
corresponding to them on the dorsum scapulae, pro-
duced doubtless by the fangs of the tiger. There
was also a deep penetrating wound at the acromion,
which extended deeper than the third joint of the
forefinger. On the inner aspect of this wound the
rough surface of the fractured acromion could be
detected, while the outer fragment was dragged deep
into the wound, and was only on one occasion
touched by the finger. The spine of the scapula72
THE ROYAL TIGER OF BENGAL.
was fractured about its centre, and there were other
less serious injuries of the back and leg, from the
animal’s claws. The nervous shock which followed
this accident was excessive, and for about fifteen
days the patient’s mind was quite unsettled, his
ideas wandering and disconnected ; his eyes staring,
tongue coated, pulse varying from 133, or flutter-
ing with intermissions. Any attempt at fixing the
limb aggravated the foregoing symptoms, and the
idea was abandoned, position on pillows being sub-
stituted. The sloughing and discharge from the
wounds was at first very great, but improvement
manifested itself in this, as in all other respects,
from about the twentieth day. The patient’s limb
continued powerless, but his general health and con-
dition of mind daily improve. Treatment consisted
in a thorough cleansing of the wounds with solution,
permanganate of potash, and their subsequent treat-
ment with carbolic oil. Bark and ammonia, in
effervescence, with generous diet, prescribed daily.
Those who fall into the tiger’s clutches do not
always escape so fortunately, and were the cases of
all sportsmen who have perished published, a long
list would proclaim the dangers they incur.
Mr. K. was induced to follow a wounded
tiger on foot on Saugur Island, where, in some low
scrubby jungle, which barely reached his waist, he
was suddenly attacked. The tiger had evidently
been watching him, and rushing on him seized himTHE ROYAL TIGER OF BENGAL.
73
by the knee, which was perforated by the fangs, and
the bones much crushed. The tiger shook him
violently several times. Mr. K.’s brother came to
his aid, and wounded the tiger again, which then
made off, leaving his victim helpless and bleeding
on the ground. The case terminated fatally, after
protracted suffering; this unfortunate gentleman,
who would not submit to amputation, succumbed to
the exhaustion produced by his wounds.
Some years ago, in the Madras Presidency, Cap-
tain H. went out after a tiger on foot. He was
accompanied by beaters and a spaniel. The dog,
when questing in the jungle, flushed a tiger, which
endeavoured to escape. Captain H. got some shots,
and wounded it more than once. It charged, and
seized him by the loins on one side, gave him a
fierce shake or two, dropped him, and then seizing
him on the other side repeated the shaking and again
dropping, left him and disappeared. His beaters
had escaped up trees or elsewhere meanwhile, but
when the tiger departed they came to his aid, and
carried him into the station. He suffered no pain,
and described how the tiger had seized and worried
him. He sank from the shock and exhaustion,
within a few hours.
Were the records of the Medical Board searched,
no doubt several additions might be made to the
above cases.74
TEE ROYAL TIGER OF BENGAL.
The following incident in tiger shooting from the
howdah shows that the sport so pursued is not
always unattended with danger:—
Some years ago, when in company with a party
who were returning to camp, after a blank day in
the Oude Terai, and when near the tents, towards
sunset, a villager came up to the line of elephants,
and said there were two tigers in a swamp near at
hand, and that they had been causing great destruc-
tion among the cattle.
The sportsmen—there were only two—accordingly
proceeded to the spot, and forming line with about
twenty elephants, heat up the swamp. They had
not proceeded far when one of the tigers was started,
and was killed almost by the first shot. He was
left lying where he fell, whilst the line beat on in
pursuit of the other tiger, which had doubled
back at the time the first was killed. The line
was taken back, and again beat up the swamp—
whilst so engaged one of the howdah elephants
became much excited, and could not be persuaded to
move on—giving evident signs of the vicinity of a
tiger. This presently proved to be the dead one.
The rest of the line meanwhile had passed on, and
whilst the occupant of the howdah on the elephant
that had been arrested by the dead tiger was
looking down into the grass, to see the fallen
tiger, he heard the shrill trumpeting of an alarmed
elephant ahead, accompanied by a couple of shots,TEE ROYAL TIGER OF BENGAL.
75
and immediately perceived that his companion’s
elephant, a few hundred yards ahead of him, had
been seized by the other tiger, which was on its
head. The elephant, from fright and pain, being
nearly pulled to the ground, the occupant of the
howdah managed with great difficulty to keep his
seat—whilst holding on with one hand he contrived
to fire two shots with the other. This, with the
shaking of the elephant, which was much agi-
tated, dislodged the tigress, which crouched on the
ground, her eyes glaring, and was preparing for
another spring, when No. 2 came up, and gave her
the coup de grace. In this case the occupant of the
howdah had the narrowest escape of being thrown
out on to the enraged and wounded tigress.
The following extracts are from a Journal kept during
a tiger-shooting expedition to the Oxide Terai, in
1855, before the Mutiny, and previous to the
Annexation of Oude :—
“ March 19th, 1855.—We made our first entry
into the forest, a small part of the edge of which
we had to cross to arrive at a grassy plain on the
opposite bank of the Girwah, where the tigers had
been seen; and on approaching the bank of the
river we passed over some recent footprints.
“The outskirts of the forest are not dense, and
consist of the Sisoo — (Dalbergia sisoo), dak
(Butea frondosa),' catechu (Khair mimosa), semel76
THE ROYAL TIGER OF BENGAL.
(Bombax), and other trees. There are numerous
open glades covered with long grass, in which both
the spotted deer (Cervus axis) and the hog deer
(Cervus porcinus) are found.
“We heat all over the plain but found no tigers.
They had been there, but were from home; and, re-
crossing the Grirwah, we returned, making a short
detour through the edge of the forest to a large
swamp about a mile to the westward of the place
where we had entered the forest. We sent the
whole line in, and the elephants were immediately
hidden in the long nurkool grass. I and H. took
the plain side, B. and D. the opposite side close to
the edge of the forest, keeping a little in advance
of the line that was crashing and tearing through
the nurkool behind us.
“ When the elephants had got about a quarter of
the way through the swamp, some of them began
to trumpet and show other signs of uneasiness. A
moment afterwards two tigers broke cover, bound-
ing out into the plain within thirty or forty yards
of my elephant; fifty yards further on they entered
the jungle again. The moment my elephant saw
them she turned sharp round with a scream and
bolted, fortunately for me, across the plain; had it
been into the forest I was done for. The mahout
stopped her in about three minutes, and back we
came to the edge of the swamp. I now took up my
station at an opening in the long grass, where, being
driven before the elephants, it was evident they mustTHE ROYAL TIGER OF BENGAL.
77
cross. H. this time took up his position close
to me ; my elephant again became very restive,
uneasy, and alarmed. The elephants in the swamp
again gave signs that the tigers were near, and in a
moment, within forty yards of us, a large male tiger
bounded across the opening and plunged into the
jungle on the opposite side. Off went my elephant
again as before, this time taking H.’s elephant with
her, to our disgust. We had just time to get a
couple of hurried shots at him as he entered the
swamp before our elephants were off with us. We
stopped them as before, and came back to the head
of the swamp into which the big tiger had just
crossed, and waited there for him as the line beat
up behind; we heard his foot-falls as he came along
before the line, but when he saw that he was near
the end, and I suppose distrusting the plain, he
suddenly turned back and charged through the line ;
we turned immediately, and just as we got back to
the opening where he had before crossed, he again
broke cover and bounded across the opening, trying
to make for the high bank on the opposite side.
H. got first shot, being a little in front of me, and
rolled him over with a ball through his back. We
pushed up to where he was howling and struggling
in the long grass—a magnificent sight—and emptied
our barrels into him. We left him lying stiff and
dead to go after the other tiger, which had also
doubled back, and whilst we were shooting his,
companion had broken cover and was cantering78
THE ROYAL TIGER OF BENGAL.
across the plain. We were off after him as quickly
as possible, the race who should he first. B. came
up with him in the long grass and rolled him over.
He picked himself up immediately, and made a
charge right at the elephants. B. gave him another
shot. I also gave him a couple of barrels, and he
was secured; just as I fired he was close under the
elephants, his eyes glaring, mouth open, ears well
back, looking awfully wicked and determined, hut
he was too much crippled by B.’s shot to spring.
My elephant again made an attempt to holt, but this
time was not so had, only going a few yards; by the
time I got back to the spot the tiger was dead. We
padded them, and returned to our camp, which was
pitched at a dreary, desolate-looking spot, called Chel-
hua, not more than two or three miles from the old
ground, being only just across the plain on the
opposite side of the river. After dinner we skinned
and measured the tigers by candle-light. The big
one as he lay, before the skin was taken off, was
9 feet 5 inches; the small one 8 feet.”
“ March 20th.—We entered the forest for a short
distance, and before noon had padded a beautiful
full-grown tigress. We beat her out of a small
bhagar (swamp). She broke cover a long way ahead
of us, and concealed herself in the long grass in an
open plain, where we came up with her. B. got the
first shot at her. Off she went again, we all follow-
ing as hard as piadahs and moogries could make the
elephants go. Suddenly I saw D.’s elephant stop,THE ROYAL TIGER OF BENGAL.	79
and immediately afterwards sink down on her knees.
The tigress had charged home and got her by the
trunk. The elephant, Raj Kawan, was very staunch,
and the tigress was very soon knocked and shaken
off without doing any mischief. Just as I ap-
proached the spot she charged, and received two
halls as she was hugging the elephant by the fore
leg, which brought her down again. She made
another attempt to charge, but without success,
and she received the contents of five or six more
barrels before she died. She remained in the
crouching posture, as if ready for a spring, and it
was a moment or two before we were certain that
she was dead. She was a very beautifully-marked
full-grown tigress, of what the natives call the
Keerie variety. She fought and died hard. The
natives have the idea, and many Europeans share
it with them, that there are two varieties of tiger,
the Keerie and Tinger; but they are mistaken,
there is only one, and any difference as to colour,
size, or shape, is mainly what depends on age, sex,
and local causes. Some tigers are much more
beautifully marked than others. Those that fre-
quent the forest much are said to be darker and more
vividly marked than the others, but this is the only
real difference. My authority for this is a good one
—Mr. Blyth, of the Asiatic Society’s Museum in
Calcutta.
“ The elephant was not in the least injured by the
tigress, and we, especially D., are much pleased with80
THE ROYAL TIGER OF BENGAL.
her. She is not the one that ran away the other day
with him; he had discarded her, and selected this one
from amongst the beaters, on account of her size. She
is very rough, and quite unfit for carrying a howdah,
hut in tiger-shooting steadiness is an invaluable
merit in an elephant, and one that covers a multi-
tude of sins. She stood beautifully when the tigress
charged, and seemed to be perfectly fearless and
indifferent, whilst many of the pad elephants had
bolted and were rushing about in all directions but
that of the tiger. I was on H.’s elephant, a very
fine animal, perfectly fearless, but a little unsteady;
when the tigress charged, she snorted and kicked the
ground, and would have rushed at the animal had she
been allowed. "We sent a pad back with the tigress,
and went on beating for another which had been
recently seen in the neighbourhood, but though we
looked hard we could not succeed. We tried several
most likely-looking places in the forest, and then
crossed the old bed of the Cowriallie, to a chur
covered with long grass, our shikarrie insisting that
it was a likely find, but we were again unfortunate,
for we found nothing in the grass but peacocks and
hog deer. We found the river running in a new
channel on the other side of the chur, a beautiful
clear stream with a sandy bottom. In crossing the
old bed of the river we came upon one or two quick-
sands, and in one of them ‘ Shamguttah ’ again stuck
fast, but after wallowing, struggling, and rolling in
the ooze for some time she extricated herself.THE ROYAL TIGER OF BENGAL.
81
“We had very little small game shooting this day,
being constantly on the look-out for tigers. D.
knocked over a pig and a hog deer. B. shot a
nurkool partridge. I had also a long shot at a
herd of spotted deer, hut they were too far off. On
returning to the tents at 5 p.m., we found the tigress
skinned and the flesh already picked off her hones
by innumerable vultures and jackals. Her skin
was full of bullet holes, but was most beautifully
marked.”
“ March 22nd.—Started at about 10 a.m., and tried
part of the ground we had gone over yesterday.
“ Our shikarrie took us to a recent ‘ kill.’ The
buffalo, for such it was, was very little injured, only
a small piece of the hind quarter having been eaten.
The place was perfect—a beautiful glade in the
forest with a very long and dense nurkool swamp on
the border of which he had killed. We beat right
through it, but could not find the tiger. He had been
disturbed by the aheers, and had most probably
retreated into the forest, which is close at hand, very
dense, and surrounding the glade and swamp com-
pletely. We w'ere told that the aheers had driven
him off the ‘ kill ’ that very morning.
“We then proceeded to beat out another very long
and deep swamp with steeply wooded banks, along
which we had much difficulty in conducting our
elephants. Just as we arrived at the extreme end of
the swamp, and fortunately on the side on which B.
and I were waiting, looking at the line crashing and82
THE ROYAL TIGER OF BENGAL.
floundering along through the nurkool and water,
suddenly, with the usual two short roars or grunts,
out sprang a large male tiger. We hoth had
snap shots at him. As he came at us B. turned him
right at me. My two barrels, the contents of one of
which he received in the hip, turned him again across
the swamp, and then, as he was rushing up the steep
hank on the opposite side, he came face to face with
H. and D., who shot him dead as he charged up
amongst the trees.
“ I measured him; he was 10 feet 1 inch, as he
lay dead on the spot where he was shot. His skin
when taken off was over 11 feet. All say he is
one of the finest tigers they have seen. He had
evidently been sneaking along quietly before the
line, hoping to get into the forest at some favourite
opening, but we followed too close for that, and
when at last he was forced to break cover in the
open, he did what tigers do not often do I am told,
charged right at us, though unwounded.”
“ March 23rd.—Uncrossed the river this morning
at the same place as yesterday, and made for the
“kill” of which we had received information the
previous evening; but, though we found the remains
of the cow, the tiger was not there. We pushed on
to a patch of long grass jungle, in an open country,
here and there interspersed with trees, and as the
beaters entered one end, the tiger broke cover from
the other, and bolted across the plain towards a
ridge of high ground with some tree jungle and aTHE ROYAL TIGER OF BENGAL.
83
swamp at the other side of the ridge. We followed
as hard as we could make the elephants go, the
mahouts hammering them on the head with the
ancus (hook) and the piadahs (footmen) on the tail
with the moogries. We came up to the swamp in
about five or six minutes, and, forming line, beat
right up it. It was not very deep on the side I took
with H. and D., the opposite one to the trees, but
near the trees the water was very deep, as we after-
wards found.
“ B. remained on the ridge to receive the tiger did
he get up the hill after breaking cover. We moved
steadily on, and out he came with the usual two
roars. I was fortunate in getting the first shot at
about forty yards distant. The hall struck him in
the neck, and without a struggle he rolled over, dead.
We pushed up, and found him floating; the ball
had struck just as he was entering the deep water to
make for the hank where B. was waiting. We
dragged him out, and found that it was a fine, full-
grown tigress, very prettily marked. We sent her
off to camp at once to be skinned, and went on
in the direction of another swamp not far ahead.
The Muela swamp is very extensive—one of the real
primeval productions of nature—and dismal, wild,
and gloomy it looks; hut, as it turned out, a rare
cover for tigers. The water in the centre for great
part of its length is deep and dark ; large alli-
gators and strange-looking fish make their appear-
* The moogrie is a club with sharp spikes in it.84
THE ROTA I TIGER OF BENGAL.
anee on its surface, and quietly disappear when they
perceive the strange objects on the hanks. The
edges of the swamp are covered with long and dense
grass and trees; on the left-hand side, where we
approached it, the forest itself is dense and magnifi-
cent, the branches of the trees overhanging the
gloomy, treacherous-looking water below, and the
thick grass and tangled low jungle which encroaches
equally on both forest and water.
“ This cover is a favourite haunt of tigers,
pythons, and alligators. B., who was on the forest
side, shot a large python, that glided quietly
away with a bullet through his sinuous body, into
the shelter of some impenetrable jungle, just as I
fired at a large alligator which was lying quietly
on the surface of the water, with the end of his
nose and eyes only appearing above the surface.
The hall struck him in the head, and he quietly
sunk to the bottom, a few bubbles of air slowly rising
to the surface, only remaining to indicate where he
had been.
“We had a line of twenty-four elephants to-day;
the rajah was with us, and had with him four or
five of his own. We divided the elephants into
two divisions, one half with B. and the rajah on
the forest side, the other half with H. D. and myself
on the other. We had not proceeded far before
a number of Lungoor monkeys (entellus), which
were hounding about in the trees on B.’s side, sud-
denly began to screech and spring violently forward,THE ROYAL TIGER OF BENGAL.
85
shaking the branches of the large trees like the
passage of a whirlwind through them. It was
evident that they had seen something that alarmed
them seriously. In a minute more I heard the cry
of ' Bagh, bagh.’ A large tiger had gone out
before B., and was concealed in the grass somewhere
ahead of us; the monkeys had seen him, and gave
the alarm.
“We got him after a hard chase. He was shot in
a large clump of nurkool grass in which he took
refuge, and from which he would not break. The
ground was too heavy for the elephants to go in,
and the anars we threw in would not burn on
account of the water. We heard, though we could
not see him, and by the moving of the grass we
could see his whereabouts. We kept firing volleys
in upon him, and B. got a momentary glimpse
which he took advantage of to give him a shot
through the back, which appeared to quiet him, for
the grass ceased to move.
“After waiting a minute, H.’s khas burdars went
into the jungle sword in hand, and dragged him out
through the mud and water, quite dead.
“We now got out of our howdahs and had
tiffin under a tree, whilst the men were padding
the tiger. After a short rest we mounted and
proceeded along the swamp, which now altered in
character, the deep water ceasing and a mixture
of long grass, nurkool and kulwa, stretching right
across it, with trees of the willow and wild jamun86
TEE ROYAL TIGER OF BENGAL.
interspersed at intervals. The elephants formed
line again across the swamp, and within ten minutes
we put up another large tiger. He broke cover
into an opening in the swamp, and it was magnifi-
cent to see him look round as if astonished at the
noise and confusion in this usually quiet and
secluded spot. As he saw us he received our bullets,
which wounded and infuriated him, for up he came
right at D. and H.’s elephants, who were a little in
advance of mine. The next shots turned him, and
he made off in a direction ahead of us up the
swamp (amongst the trees), which here takes a
bend. We followed as quickly as possible, for the
trees on the bank were here thickly clustered
together; by going higher up on the bank I
managed to get ahead, and in a few minutes I
knew from the agitation of my elephant that I was
near him. On looking down into the swamp there
he was lying completely exposed under a tree at
about forty yards from me, and how magnificent he
looked with his ears well back, his eyes glaring, and
back arched up ready for a charge! I took as
steady an aim as I could, for my elephant was much
excited, kicking the ground and shaking the howdah
dreadfully, and fired; to my horror the gun ex-
ploded with a report little louder than that of a
common percussion cap. I tried the second barrel—
it did the same; the tiger was now charging up the
hill at my elephant. I seized a second gun, abus-
ing the chuprassey in the khawas for having for-THE ROYAL TIGER OF BENGAL.	87
gotten the bullets, as I thought was the case in
his excitement, and pulled the triggers of both
barrels; the result was the same—the powder was
had. The tiger was now close on my elephant,
when D. and H. to my left hit him hard and turned
him in their direction ; as he went along the hank
D. rolled him over like a hare with a bullet through
the hack. He picked himself up and staggered
down into the bottom of the ravine, where we all
followed and emptied our barrels into him. It was
beautiful to see him roll over; hut I almost pitied
the brute as he staggered down the side of the
ravine, and saw him crouching in the agonies of
death, game to the last, and glaring savagely at us
as he received the coup de grace. We left him lying
there, for in the meantime another tiger had been
put up and seen by B. on the other side. I now
examined into the cause of my gun’s misfortune,
and found that the chuprassey had just commenced
a new flask of Pigou’s powder, which had been
either damp or was had from age. I loaded three
or four barrels with it, and found that it did exactly
the same each time ; it exploded, but with almost no
report, and with barely force enough to send the
bullet out of the gun. On examining the grains of
powder I found that they had lost the shiny glazy ap-
pearance of good powder, and were agglomerated
together in little lumps. This was one of the lessons
a sportsman has to learn—look to your powder! The
same mishap will not, I think, occur to me again.88
THE ROYAL TIGER OF BENGAL.
“ I found that another new flask which I opened
was as had, but fortunately I had a good
one in the howdah, and in the meantime had bor-
rowed a flask from H., and off we went after
number four. After some beating we bagged him
also, but not before he had been on one of the pad
elephant’s heads ; the elephant was small, and being
deep in the swamp, and coming suddenly on the
tiger he was seized by the head. The tiger was,
however, soon shaken off, and very soon after B.
and the rajah on the other side killed him. The
elephant’s head was not much injured ; there were
two rather deep wounds, but they were not serious.
The khas burdar behind the mahout fired at the
tiger when on the elephant’s head, but I don’t
believe he hit him. This is the fourth full-grown
tiger to-day. Another was seen by B. to cross the
swamp and get away into the forest on the side on
which he was shooting. As we were a long way
from home and had the rapids to cross, we Bet off for
camp, not having time to beat for more to-day, but
shall return to-morrow to make further discoveries in
this magnificent swamp. It was a fine sight, our line
of twenty-four elephants, with the grim monsters
hanging across their backs, and really repaid one for
all the hard work and sun, etc., to which we had
been exposed.”
“ March 24th.—After breakfast this morning
we again crossed the river at the same place
and went straight to our yesterday’s beat, whereTUB ROYAL TIGER OF BENGAL.
89
we got the three tigers, to try that part of it
that was left unbeaten yesterday. We were again
fortunate, for we found a magnificent tigress with
two half-grown cubs, only a little beyond the place
where yesterday we left off beating. We started
her in the nurkool. She cantered on with the cubs
into a broad open space covered with long grass
on dry ground, and there came to bay. It was a
beautiful sight to see her charging out at the line
of elephants, whilst the cubs were running about in
different directions, and each time being received and
turned by a volley from the howdahs. At last
she ceased to charge, but we saw the grass moving
and heard her growling. We went up to the spot,
and another barrel or two made her ours.
“ In the meantime some of us went after the cubs,
who were charging here and there in the grass,
evidently in great fear and anxiety about their
mother. They ran the gauntlet of some dozens of
shots, and one got away into the forest badly
wounded and bleeding at the mouth. As I was
following him I came upon the other, who charged
like a full-grown tiger; I pointed my gun down-
wards, and sent a bullet through his chest as
he was grasping the elephant round the leg. This
gave him his quietus, and I followed the other
cub that had disappeared in the forest. I could not
overtake him, and returned to the spot where the
tigress was being padded. She was a beautiful
creature, light, lean, active, and vicious, and seemed90
TEE ROYAL TIGER OF BENGAL.
determined to do mischief. The aheers (cowherds)
who took us to the place, said they had often
watched her feeding the cubs and teaching them
to hunt and kill. The piece of ground where
we killed her was covered with the remains of
cows, deer, etc.; as, indeed, all along and in the
swamp we had observed the same. In fact, this
seems to have been a most favourite stronghold
for them.”
“ March 27th.—We did not get the tigress after
all, though we found her traces in the swamp, in the
shape of a newly-killed, almost warm, cow. She had
heard us coming and sneaked off into the forest,
which is dense on either side, and where there would
not be the slightest chance of finding her. We there-
fore gave her up with reluctance, and struck off due
westwards, towards a large swamp near Hilowna
Gowrie, where we are to pitch our tents to-night.
We were more successful here, for we got a very
fine tiger in the swamp. We hardly expected to have
got anything in it, for it looked more like a large
Jheel than a Bhagar. The grass was short, and in
many places there was really no cover at all. We
put up quantities of partridges, snipe, painted snipe,
and hog deer, and I was preparing to have a shot at
the next partridge that rose, when suddenly I heard
two or three shots to my left, and in another
moment the well-remembered growls of a wounded
and angry tiger. D. and B. had put him out of a
clump of long grass and sent him over to H.THE ROYAL TIGER OF BENGAL.
91
and me; we had an open space, with about a foot
deep of water, between us. He charged us in
the most determined manner, and was almost on
my elephant when a couple of shots in the ribs
turned him, and he went growling off to a clump
of grass, in which he lay down. We went up,
hut before finishing him he had been on B.’s
elephant’s hind quarters. D., I think, gave him
the coup de grdce in that position. He was a
very fine tiger, and the aheers told us he had only
just come from the forest, which was close to the
swamp, to kill. He was lean and hungry looking,
and had an old festering wound on one of his fore
legs, and was also blind of an eye. He was 9 feet
7 inches in length. The aheers said that they had
frightened him off a buffalo that he had struck down
yesterday. He must have been awfully hungry and
very savage. He would have killed again that day to
a certainty. Where we entered the swamp, though it
was beautiful grazing ground, the short, young, green
grass being such as is much liked by cattle, there
was not a single cow or buffalo in it. As we came
out with the tiger on an elephant’s back, we met the
cattle going in in numbers. It is wonderful how
instinct seems to tell them of the presence of their
enemy. The number of cattle killed by tigers
in the Terai annually must he enormous; they
prefer them to any other food, for they give less
trouble than deer and make a better meal. I suppose
a tiger kills every third or fourth day, and when one92
THE ROYAL TIGER OF BENGAL.
or two establish themselves near a cattle-grazing
village they very soon decimate the herd. They
rarely attack men, and when they do so it is
only when provoked. Some are man-eaters, hut
we met none such. I think from what I have
seen and heard that they often show the most
extraordinary forbearance, for already we have
met with two men who have been in the grip
of a tiger, and yet were allowed to go away
almost unhurt.
“ I believe that a tiger would seldom touch a man
unless he went out of his way to disturb him, or he
were very hard pressed by hunger. They nearly
always try to get away when first found; hut
wound them, and they fight like devils incarnate!
On returning to the tents, we found that the tiger had
more than one old wound besides that in his fore
leg, and whilst his skin was being taken off, a
Bun-jarah came forward and told us that fifteen
days ago his brother-in-law was returning from
the forest in that direction; that in the dusk
he saw something lying in the grass, as he forced
his way through it, which he took to be a deer.
He fired, and in the next moment, to his horror,
he was in the grip of a large tiger. The animal
seized him by the shoulder, but dropped him
again almost immediately, and leaving him dis-
appeared in the forest. The man is now recovering
from the wounds, which do not appear from the
description to have been very severe. It seemsTHE ROYAL TIGER OF BENGAL.
93
extraordinary that the tiger being wounded should
have let him off so easily.
“ After bagging our tiger we struck off through the
edge of the forest in a northerly direction for a
plain in the forest, in which there is said to be a
good find. It is here that the tigress and cubs
live. We beat it through, finding only long grass
and a dry nullah, but got nothing except some hog
deer. It was too dry for a tiger. We killed a little
small game on our way back to the tents, and saw
some florican, but as yet have not had a chance of
getting a shot at this bird. The florican is an easy
bird to shoot if you get down from your elephant
and stalk him, but not otherwise. .	.	.	.
“ April 1st.—The weather was now beginning to
get hot, and shortly after we returned to Lucknow.”
Extracts from a Journal kept during a shooting expedi-
tion in Bengal, Ulwar, and the Nepaul Tend, in
the year 1870.
“ January 12th.—The party started after breakfast,
and rode about eight miles, when they found about
thirty elephants waiting at the village of Dohri.
Having got into the howdahs, they proceeded to
beat over the extensive nul and putiah jungle of
Serajpore. After beating for some time, a young
tigress was found. She made a charge along the
line, but could neither make it good, nor could she
a94
THE ROYAL TIGER OF BENGAL.
break the line, and soon fell before the fire from the
numerous howdahs of which she tried to run the
gauntlet. H.R.H. had a good shot at her, and a shell
from his rifle produced a marked effect. She was
scarcely padded before a second tiger was afoot,
close to where the first was killed. The line was
taken hack to heat up the ground again, and No. 2
was soon hors-de-combdt; it proved to he a second
tigress, somewhat larger than the first. The ryots
of the neighbouring station were much pleased, for
they had been losing many cattle lately, and the
death of the two tigresses promised them some
relief. A short beat was then made through a
neighbouring patch of long grass jungle, but with-
out success. After tiffin the party went along the
picturesque road which leads to the ancient city of
Gfour ; and after inspecting the interesting ruin of
the Sona Musjid, branched off across the swamps
towards the camp, which had left Turtipore and was
pitched at Sookerbarri.
“ January 13tk.—Left camp after breakfast, and
rode about three miles to the Mahanuddie. The
elephants and howdahs had been sent on, and had
crossed the river. At about eleven the beat com-
menced with a line of about forty-five elephants,
over the extensive grassy undulating plains that
abound in these parts of Malda, a district charac-
terized by its picturesque groups of magnificent
trees, chiefly of the Indian fig tribe. The line
having been formed, it beat steadily on; very littleTHE ROYAL TIGER OF BENGAL.	95
game was seen, excepting a few black partridges
and an occasional bog-deer or bare, when suddenly
a signal went along tbe line tbat a tiger was afoot,
and soon after he was seen bounding along with bis tail
in tbe air—making for a nullah several hundred yards
ahead. He got up close under H.R.H.’s elephant,
which was in the centre of the line; a few shots were
fired, but apparently without effect, and H.R.H. lost
the chance by having his shot gun in his hand at the
time, and before he could change it the tiger was too
far ahead. Making for the nullah, which was in one
part clear of jungle, he was seen to wade across the
nullah and enter the cover, but he was too far off to
make it desirable to fire, as in the boundless plain of
grass there was every chance of losing him if missed.
As he appeared to be secure in its shelter, all
waited for the line to come up; but he had mean-
while made off, and, though the nullah and grass
were carefully beat, he was not seen again. This
proved how true it is that the cold season, when
the plains are covered with long grass, is not the
season for tiger shooting. Had it been two months
later, and the cover all burned, he would no doubt
have been bagged. It is satisfactory to know that
he remained there for any sportsman who might
come that way in March or April.” ................
From Another Expedition in TJlwar.
“ February 20th.—It was intended to halt to-day,96
THE ROYAL TIGER OF DENG A L.
and the party walked out to see the lake and the
aqueducts of Silisere. A large alligator was
wounded, hut, the water being deep, it made its
escape, although a man followed and drove a spear
into it. News came from the Maharajah about 2
p m. that a tiger had been found not very far off,
and that it was being watched and surrounded to
prevent its escape. The elephants were immediately
sent on, and after tiffin the party rode out to the
place where the tiger had been seen. The elephants
were assembled in a hollow between two hills, and
the tiger was said to be in a ravine on the hillside,
about 600 to 800 feet high. As it was impossible
to get at him on the elephants, it was determined to
attack on foot, and accordingly some climbed the
hill on one side of the ravine, which was full of
thorny shrubs and broken masses of stone, whilst the
rest took the other side. The shikarries and beaters,
with several couples of dogs, that in appearance were
something between a greyhound and a mastiff, were
ranged on either side. After a long and' fatiguing
climb, each having taken his post, the sport com-
menced. A shot from H.R.H. set the tiger in motion,
and, breaking cover, he ran the gauntlet of several
guns. Making across the ravine he was turned, and
when severely wounded went down the ravine
towards the plain ; all followed, and gradually closed
in on him. He was not seen for a little time, and it
was supposed that he was dead; but it was not so.
He was soon in motion again, and, after charging,TEE ROYAL TIGER OF BENGAL.
97
turned and went roaring down the ravine. He was
again quiet for a moment, and then rushed out and
charged 0., whose rifle missed fire. The dogs
were fortunately loosed at this critical moment, and,
rushing in, turned him when within a few feet of
C. The tiger was badly injured, having a broken
foreleg, with other wounds. He got hack into the
ravine, the dogs going in and tugging vigorously at
him in all directions. He knocked over several, but
did not kill any. All closed in on him, and after a
few more shots he was hors-de-combat. He turned
out to he a fine male tiger. An elephant was left to
pad and bring him into camp.”..........................
From an Expedition in the Oude Terai.
“ February 26th, 1871.—The Maharajah crossed the
river, and came into the camp, bringing with him
some of his men, who exhibited their skill in cutting
pieces of green wood with the kookrie. Soon after-
wards the party got into their howdahs, and the
usual heat in line with the elephants commenced.
The beat lay again through grassy plains and
forest, consisting chiefly of sul and ebony. The
Mohan was recrossed, and the tents were in sight,
when a Goorkah came up, and said he had just seen
a tiger kill a cow. The cover was perfect, the
country wild and uncultivated, long grass by the
river side, and clumps of forest scattered here and
G 298
THE ROYAL TIGER OF BENGAL.
there. The howdahs and pads were gradually got
into line on the receipt of this welcome news, and
the spot, a most tigerish one, gradually enclosed by
a circle of elephants. The tiger was soon afoot, and
received a shot from H.R.H.’s rifle. He made several
attempts to break the line, but the elephants were
staunch, and after some ineffectual charges he fell
riddled with many bullets. He proved to be a fine
male tiger, 10 feet 3 inches in length. He made
little fight, for he had no chance of doing so.
Several peacocks were in the grass at the time, and
being so confused that they could not escape, were
caught by the mahouts and charcuttahs, who picked
them up. After this unexpected piece of luck, the line
moved on to the new camp at Pursooah, about eight
miles from the last, and in a plain about one mile
from the Mohan. The Maharajah is encamped close
at hand. The hag to-day consisted of the tiger,
and about a dozen spotted and hog deer, hares,
partridges, and peafowl................
“March 2nd.—After breakfast the party set off for
the jungle. The beat commenced in a ‘ khair ’
(Catechu) forest, and long grass ; and soon the line
was agitated from end to end, by the report that
three tigers (a tigress and two full-grown cubs) were
afoot. They soon made their appearance, and broke
cover in fine style. One cub took to the left of the
line, and was killed immediately. The others got
away, and were lost in the forest. After a long beat
in the forest, by the side of a nullah, and through aTHE ROYAL TIGER OF BENGAL.
99
nurkool swamp, where nilgye, spotted deer, and
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abandoned, and a general beat commenced, during
which a fair amount of game was bagged, among
others, an enormous python. It was so heavy that
it required six or eight men to lift it on to the pad
elephant. The line now beat on in an opposite
direction, through the forest. The firing was pretty
brisk, and the line had crossed to the other side of
the patch of forest, when one of the pad elephants
suddenly put up a small tiger, which bounded into
the open, and crossed the plain. It was thought by
some that a tigress was seen at the same time. For
a moment he was lost sight of, but after a long
stampede across the plain, during which time he had
doubled back into a patch of long grass among a
herd of tame buffaloes, by whom he got considerably
knocked about, he was overtaken and killed by
many shots. A patch of mud, in which he got
entangled, was his destruction, as it prevented his
escape to the forest, and allowed the elephants to
come up. He tried to fight, but in vain, and fell,
riddled with bullets. This was evidently one of the
cubs seen in the morning. The first was 6 feet 6
inches, and the second 6 feet 9 inches long. The
camp soon after this returned to the station.
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