156 THE TIGER. 
men and noise. This precaution is absolutely necessary, for the Tiger loves to hide itself 
in as close a covert as it can find, and, unless driven from its place of refuge by such 
frightful sounds as have been mentioned, would lie closely crouched upon the ground, and 
either permit the hunters to pass by, or leap on them with a sudden spring, and so obtain 
a preliminary revenge of its own death. 
A few bold and active beaters are sent forward as scouts, whose business is to climb 
trees, and, from that elevated position, to keep watch over the country, and detect the 
Tiger if it attempt to steal quietly away. 
~ There is a certain bushy shrub, called the korinda, which is specially affected by 
the Tigers on account of the admirable cover which its branches afford. It does not grow 
to any great height, but its branches are thickly leaved, and droop over in such a manner 
that they form a dark arch of foliage, under which the animal may creep, and so lie 
hidden from prying eyes, and euarded from the unwelcome light and heat of the noon-day 
sun. So fond are the Tigers Toe this mode of concealment that the hunters always direct 
their steps to the korinda-bush, knowing well that if a Tiger should be in the neighbour- 
hood, it would be tolerably certain to be lying under the sombre shade of the korinda 
branches. 
As it is necessary that Ee hunters should on a pinch be able to conceal them- 
selves from the sharp eyes of the Tiger, the colour of their dress is a matter of some 
importance. Experience shows that there is no tint so admirably suited for the purpose 
as that warm reddish-brown which is assumed by dried leaves. Clothed in this dress, 
the hunter can so easily amalgamate his person with the surrounding objects, that not 
even the Tiger’s eyes can distinguish his form. A hunter has actually thus lain on a 
piece of rock while a Tiger prowled along within fifteen feet of the unsuspected foe, 
and passed on without detecting his presence. Even when a Tiger does see a human being 
thus attired, it becomes suspicious, and, not knowing what to make of the strange object, 
moves slowly away from the cause of alarm. This costume is especially useful among 
rocky ground, with which it assimilates most perfectly. 
If a Tiger be fairly traced to its ordinary lair, the sportsmen prefer to lie in wait at 
some convenient point, and either to await the voluntary egress of the quarry, or to send 
in the beaters, and cause the animal to be driven out in the proper direction. When this 
mode is adopted, it is found best to have, besides those which are held in hand, a whole 
battery of guns, eight or ten in number, which are laid on the ground, ready loaded and 
cocked, their muzzles all pointing towards the spot where the Tiger is expected to make 
its appearance. The object of this expedient is two-fold: firstly, to make sure of the 
animal in case the first shots fail to tell mortally ; and, secondly, to be in readiness should 
a second or even a third Tiger be driven from the bush. It is so usual an occurrence for 
two Tigers to make their sudden appearance where only one was expected to lie, that the 
precaution is an absolutely necessary one. 
Contrary to the habits of most animals, which take the utmost care of their young, 
and in their defence will expose themselves to the direst peril, the mother Tiger is in the 
habit of making her young family her pioneers, and, when she suspects anything wrong, 
of sending them forward to clear the way. Knowing this curious propensity, the expe- 
rienced hunter will not fire upon a cub that shows itself, for the mother will, in most 
cases, be waiting to see the result of her child’s venture. Therefore, they permit the cub 
or cubs to pass with impunity, and reserve their ammunition for the henett of the mother 
as she follows her offspring. 
Should the Tiger not fall to the shot, but bound away, the hunters know whether the 
wound is a mortal one by inspecting the marks made in the ground by the feet of the 
retreating animal. It is a curious fact, that however hard a Tiger may be hit, yet, if the 
wound be not a rapidly mortal one, the claws are kept retracted, and the foot-prints show 
no mark of the talons. But should the injury be one which will shortly cause death, the 
Tiger flings out its limbs with the paws spread to their utmost, and at every leap tears up 
the ground with the protruded talons. 
A Tiger has many weak points where a bullet does its work with ereat rapidity. The 
brain and heart are of course instantaneously mortal spots, and the lungs come next in 
