CHAPTER III 



THE TIGER. 



THE TIGER — ITS FAVORITE HAUNTS — ITS DESTRUCTIVENESS — TIGER HUNTING — MODES OF KIIXINO 

 TIIF, TIGER— TAME TIGERS — THE TIGER IN ANCIENT TIMES. 



IF in Africa the lion reigns supreme, in Asia his claims to empire 

 are disputed by an animal which equals him in size, and exceeds 

 him in beauty of fur. 



The Royal Tiger, Filis tign's (Plate VTI), stands as high as the lion, 

 but is more slender and lighter built, while the absence of a mane gives 

 it more of the typical cat-look. It is peculiar to Asia, and inhabits Java, 

 Sumatra, a great part of Hindostan, China, and Southern Siberia as far 

 north as the banks of the river Obi; it approaches sometimes the con- 

 fines of Europe, one having been killed near Tillis in 1853. 



In its color the tiger presents a most beautiful arrangement of mark- 

 ings and contrast of tints. On a bright tawny yellow ground, simdry 

 dark stripes are placed, arranged, as may be seen by the engraving, 

 nearly at right angles with the body or limbs. Some of these stripes are 

 double, but the greater number arc single dark streaks. The under parts 

 of the bod)% the chest, throat, and the long hair which tufts each side of 

 the face, are almost white, and upon these parts the stripes become very 

 obscure. The tail is of a whiter hue than the upper portions of the 

 body, and is decorated with dark rings. 



The bright hues of the tiger harmonize admirably with the dusky 

 jungle grass and dark stems of the Eastern forests in which he dwells, 

 and enable him to approach his victims without being perceived, while 

 even skilled hunters have overlooked him when close at their feet. The 

 tiger is met not only in the grassy thickets of the jungle, but also in 

 large, heavily timbered forest lands ; but his favorite haunts are the reedy 

 banks of rivers, the impervious bush of bamboos, and such like cane- 

 brakes ; he loves above all spots, however, those where the shady 



