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that causes the noiseless footfall ; but, unless witnessed, it must be 

 difficult to conceive the deadly silence in which so heavy an animal 

 as a large tiger can make his way. 



I was standing at the edge of a wood one burning day in April, 

 the middle of the hot season in most parts of India. The dry 

 leaves and twigs with which the ground was covered, rustled so 

 audibly when moved by breeze or living creature, that one might 

 have fancied it impossible for a mouse to pass unheard ; I remem- 

 bered afterwards that a hare, a jungle hen, and some small lizard, 

 had each as they ran by, attracted my attention, and that of the 

 man beside me, by the crackling rustle of the dead leaves ; and 

 that, during our trip of three days, even the deer of various kinds 

 we saw could not move without making the presence of some living 

 thing known as they got over the ground. A small herd of sam- 

 ber especially, the day before, had galloped down hill with as much 

 clatter of hoof s>& an equal number of troop horses. 



Almost at the first distant shout of the beaters, the large man 

 eating tiger before mentioned came out close to me, so noiselessly 

 that, had not my eye caught him, he might have passed unobserved 

 by me, as he was by the trained and trusty, gun-carrier standing at 

 my elbow, and who, looking in another direction, and not seeing 

 me raise the gun, had not, although his ears were from constant 

 practice as keen to any noise on hill-side or in forest as those of the 

 wildest animal, an idea that game was on foot until he heard the 

 angry growl with which the animal received his death-wound. 



Again, while my regiment was marching in the Northern Circars 

 an officer's servant, who with the mess kit had, as is often done, 

 preceded the corps to the next encamping ground, was, just at dusk 

 and close to the mess guard, carried oif the high road by a tiger ; an 

 infant he had in his arms, when he was seized, was quite unhurt in 

 the awful rush that must have taken place. As far as I can remem- 

 ber this child was about eighteen months old, it would be inter- 

 esting to know what effect the recollection of the scene may have 

 on it in after-life. 



On hearing of the tragedy next morning when we reached our 

 encamping ground, three of us went back to the spot about three 



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