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these notes, he mentioned a tree to which tigers constantly 

 resorted for this purpose and, in order to show me the height at 

 which they left their marks, took me to it : we found the tree not 

 only most deeply and freshly scored many feet up the trunk, I ^ 

 think ten if not nearly twelve, I did not take a note of the height 

 at the time, so may be wrong ; but marks of tiger's hair left 

 where the owner had evidently been clinging, cat-like, to the 

 trunk far above any man's height : I took from the bark, at least 

 eight feet from the ground, a portion of a tiger's claw : this may 

 support the native theory that their purpose in thus marking trees 

 is to sharpen their claws : why they should trouble themselves by 

 returning to a particular tree for this purpose, is more than I can 

 suggest. 



The animals, for judging from the marks, there must have been 

 at least two of them had apparently, not many hours before 

 indulged in a regular game of romps at the trunk of this their 

 favorite tree by rushing at it from across a small path and, with 

 the impetus thus acquired, attempting to vie with each other in 

 getting up it. What a grand bit of sport it would be to come 

 suddenly upon them while thus engaged ! ! 



The following letter, published in the South of India Observer 

 of the 25th of March 1869, may not be thought misapropos here. 

 I am certain I know the writer, and that he is a dear comrade 

 and brother sportsman referred to in these pages and a far better 

 naturalist than I am : at any rate I know that the details of the 

 encounter between the tiger and the wild dogs he mentions are 

 exactly as he tells them. I was at Ootacamund when it occurred, 

 and a few days after had the particulars of the scene related to me 

 by the eye-witness, a mutual friend. The story is an interesting 

 one as it corroborates so much that sportsmen know and naturalists 

 hear of the habits of both the tiger and the wild dog : 



" I think the letters of " HAWKEYE" and " VAGRANT" must have 

 " excited an interest in sport and natural history amongst some of 

 " your readers. I therefore venture to write on a subject that has 

 " puzzled me for many a year, viz., the statement so often made 

 " by native shikarees, that wild dogs will attack and kill a tiger 

 " I never could believe that they would even attack him, and 



