197 



" waiting an opportunity for a rush, when, on turning out of the 

 " shadow of the hill, he detected the rider, and instantly made off; 

 * it was unpleasant while it lasted, for the horseman was unarmed. 



" The formidable power of the tiger is well known ; to his 

 " great strength is added his ponderous weight, and I can well 

 " understand how even the large and powerful buffaloes of the 

 " Todahs are an easy prey to him. The first time I witnessed a 

 "specimen of his strength was on the occasion of a large stag 

 " having been killed by a fellow-sportsman in the valley behind 

 " Dodabet. The stag fell into a stream, and though we mustered 

 " all hands, dog-boys and horse-keepers, two sepoys, and our two 

 " selves, with dog-chains round legs and antlers, all we could do 

 lt was to get the animal clear of the water, but up the bank we 

 " could not raise it ; this was in the evening, and the next morn- 

 " ing, when we reached the spot, the stag was gone. Taking up 

 " the track, it led into the nearest wood, and there we found our 

 " game half-eaten, with his antlers locked between the stems of 

 " two trees, which alone prevented the tiger taking the stag clean 

 " away to some more convenient feeding spot. Having eaten so 

 " much, we thought it probable Mr. Tiger was taking a snooze 

 " close by, and began prowling on hands and knees through the 

 ** thick tangled undergrowth of the shola a most insane proceed- 

 " ing, but there was no " wife and children" in those days, 

 " nothing came of it, so we took possession of the mangled 

 " remains, and went on our way to look for sport elsewhere. I 

 " have heard of another case demonstrative of the great power and 

 " activity of the tiger. In escaping from a beat, one was seen to 

 " leap clean over a man, apparently without touching him ; but 

 " the man fell, and on going up, it was found that a blow from 

 " that dreaded paw in passing had completely dislocated the man's 

 " neck ; another case happened near Bellary, to a beater, who 

 " while watching a ravine on one side, had not observed a tiger 

 " coming up another ravine behind him. The tiger seems to have 

 " thought this a fine opportunity for a game of leap-frog, for he 

 " was seen to put his paws on the beater's back, and in the most 

 " elegant and playful manner, bound over him into the dell below. 

 " The state of that man's back was dreadful to look at ; he 



