ni 



FKI.ll'.K. 



FEI.IP V.. 



ground for the uMTtion. It i* u capable of being tamed, and of attach- 

 meat, even to fondue**, for iU keeper aa any other animal of it* kind. 

 We have seen many instances of this mutual good understanding 

 between the man and the beast, and Mr. Bennett mentions a remark- 

 able example in hi* ' Tower Menagerie.' A tigren of great beauty, 

 in the Tower when he wrote, and scarcely a year old, had been during 

 her pawage from Calcutta allowed to range about the Teasel unre- 

 stricted, and had become perfectly familiar with the railors, showing 

 not the slightest symptoms of ferocity. On her arrival in the Thames 

 the irritation produced by the sight of strangers instantly changed 

 her temper, rendering her irascible and dangerous. So sulky and 

 savage was she that Mr. Cops, who then kept the lions in the Tower, 

 could hardly be prevailed on by her former keeper, who came to see 

 her, to allow him to enter her den ; but as soon as the tigress recog- 

 nised her old friend she fawned on him, licked him, caressed him, and 

 manifested the most extravagant signs of pleasure ; and when at last 

 he left her, she cried and whined for the remainder of the day. The 

 tame tigers of the mendicant priests, or fakirs, of Hindustan are well 

 known. 



But whilst there can be no doubt of the tameable qualities of the 

 tiger, and indeed of all the great Cats, they are Dot to be incautiously 

 trusted. The natural disposition is always ready to break out ; and 

 the mildest of them, though 



" Ne'er so tune, so cherish'd, and lock'd up, 



Will hire m wild trick of his ancestors." 



Thus Bontius states that in 1628 a tiger at Bataria, which had been 

 brought up from a cub, and accustomed to men all ita life, escaped 

 from ita cage, fastened on a horse which was feeding near, and killed 

 it ; so that the citizens rose upon the tiger with fire-arms, and slew it 

 in iU turn to prevent further mischief. 



lloya) Tiger (Felit Tifrii). 



We conclude this part of our sketch with the account given by John 

 Mason, who formerly kept the beasts in Exeter 'Change, to Mr. Wood, 

 of hi* fearful encounter with one of these captives. 



About the year 1802 a tiger had been purchased by Mr. Alpey to 

 end to the Emperor of Germany, and placed in the Tower, there to 

 remain for a few days till the ship destined to convey the animal 

 abroad was ready. The beast was confined in a large sufHciently- 

 Tentilated wooden case, lined with iron hoops, some of which he 

 ripped off during the first night of his confinement, and gnawed the 

 case partly through. This being perceived, the next day the case 

 was repaired by the addition only of a strong piece of wood nailed on 

 the ouUide. " The consequence," *ay Mr. Wood, " might well be 

 expected. The tiger renewed his efforts, and in the course of the 

 following night made hi* escape, and sprung upon a wall ten feet 

 high, where he remained till Mason came in the morning. The fear 

 of loving such a valuable animal induced this poor fellow, for a reward 

 of ten guinea*, to hazard hi* life in an attempt to secure the tiger. 

 For thin purpose he engaged a sergeant and some other persons to 

 Mint him, whom he placed in a room, the door of which opened upon 

 the lead*, from whence he could reach the animal He then provided 

 himself with a strong rope, one end of which he gave through the 

 window to hi* companions, and with the other, having a running 

 DOOM upon it, he (lowly approached the tiger, and threw it over its 

 nock. Thi* wan the critical moment : the people within were directed 

 to pull the rope and secure the beast Unfortunately the noose slipped 

 off, and the enraged animal immediately sprung upon the keeper, fixing 

 his teeth into the fleshy part of his arm, and tearing his breast and 

 hand in a dreadful manner with his claw*. In this shocking situation 

 the poor man lay under the tiger ; while the sergeant cut a bullet 

 into four part*, and, having loaded hi* musket, he fired through the 

 window at the animal, who the moment he received the shot quitted 

 hi* hold, and after staggering for a few minute* expired. The bullet 

 however which destroyed the tiger had nearly been equally fatal to 

 UM> man, one of the quarter* having glanced against hi* temple, and 

 deprived him of all sense and motion for a considerable time. Never- 



theless, after keeping bin bed a fortnight, he gradually recovered, and 

 is now (1807) perfectly well, though he will carry the marks of hi* 

 enemy about with him a* long as he live*." (' Zoography,' vol. i.) 



In the East the Tiger i* associated emblematically with power. Thus 

 the Chinese mandarins covered their seats of justice with its skin. 

 In plate 17 of the atlas to Sir George Staunton's ' Embassy to China,' 

 representing a military post, two swordsmen are habited and shielded 

 BO as to exhibit a tigerine aspect. The tiger-soldiers of Hyder Ali 

 and Tippoo Saib were amongst the choicest of their troops. The 

 tiger's head, gorgeous with jewels, that formed the principal orna- 

 ment of the throne of Hyder and Tippoo, and was taken by the 

 British among the spoils of the latter at Seringapatam, is well known ; 

 as is the automatic representation, clumsy enough it must be admitted, 

 of a royal tiger tearing to piece* a soldier in the pay of the British, 

 and imitating the growling of the beast and the cries of the man, taken 

 also upon the same occasion. (See the Museum at the India House.) 



Tiger-Cata, We now proceed to speak of those species of Fdit 

 which, on account of their resemblance to the tiger, are called after 

 that animal Tiger-Cats. 



Asiatic Tiger-Cats. 



Fdit Ifepalcntii, Horsfield and Vigors. Size of the Felit Javanentii, 

 Horsf., but its habit more slender, the tail and neck proportionally 

 elongate. Ground-colour gray, with a very slight admixture of tawny ; 

 bands and spots of the head, back, neck, throat, abdomen, and thighs, 

 deep black ; superior longitudinal bands resembling those of F. Jara- 

 ntnsit. Ground-colour of throat and abdomen nearly white ; the lower 

 flanks marked with a faint tawny longitudinal streak. Cheeks streaked 

 with two parallel longitudinal lines, at the termination of which follows 

 a transverse lunar mark which passes with a bold curve to the angle 

 of the mouth, near which a very narrow band crosses the throat. 

 Sides of the neck appearing marked with two broad waving bands, 

 at the termination of which stands an oblong regularly transverse 

 band. Neck underneath nearly immaculate. Shoulder and flanks 

 exhibiting irregular diversified marks, the anterior oblong, the poste- 

 rior angular, of a mixed tawny and black, and, individually, above 

 or posteriorly with a broad dash of saturated black : they are scat- 

 tered over the sides without any regular longitudinal disposition, but 

 they have generally an oblique direction. Abdomen marked through- 

 out with uniform oval spots ; anterior thighs within exhibiting one 

 broad black band, the posterior thighs two. Rump and thighs marked 

 externally with roundish or oblong spots ; tail above, to within about 

 an inch of the tip, with uniform roundish spots, arranged posteriorly 

 in regular transverse bands. Head above and ears agreeing generally 

 with those of F. Javanentit. Length from extremity of nose to root 

 of tail, 1 foot 104 inches. Length of tail, 104 inches. (Vigors and 

 Horafield.) 



Nepaul Tifcr-Cat (Ftlit Mpalauii). 



Dr. Horsfield and Mr. Vigors observe that the distinguishing 

 characters of this species are its comparatively lengthened habit ; 

 the slenderness and proportional length of the tail ; the disposition of 

 the marks on the flank*, and the character of these marks as far as 

 regards their diversified form ; and the saturated black patch with 

 which they are individually marked at their upper or posterior edge. 



" In the Bengal Cat," say those zoologist*, " these marks have a 

 different disposition ; they are oblong, and arranged on the flanks in 

 regular succession longitudinally. The materials contained in the 

 museum at the India House have enabled us to make this statement, 

 which is founded on the examination of a specimen brought by General 

 Hardwicke, and on a careful drawing prepared under the eyes of Dr. 

 Hamilton. We have thus two distinct species of small cats from 

 India, and the elucidation of this point is of some importance, as it 

 appears from the following remark in M. Temminck's monographs, 

 1 ['existence de cette espcce dans 1'Inde n'est pas coimtatco,' that he 

 entertained some doubts on the existence of the Bengal Cat It is 

 not our intention, at present, to give a comparative analysis of all the 

 specie* which resemble our animal. The discrimination of many 

 species of Fdit U at all time* a difficult subject ; and on many of 

 them naturalist* still disagree. Our immediate object is to indicate 



