THE TIGER. 135 



the medical art, and after being chopped into little dice-like cubes, are prepared after some 

 Esculapian and mysterious fashion, and thenceforward hold rank as remedies of the first order. 



Another, though less gallant, mode of killing Tigers is by setting certain enormous nets, 

 supported on stakes, so as to form an inclosure, into which the animal is partly enticed and 

 partly driven. 



The height of the stakes to which the nets are suspended is about thirteen feet ; so that, 

 allowing for the droop at the upper portion of the toils, the nets are about eleven feet in height 

 at their lowest point. It is, however, rather a stupid, and withal hazardous, mode of Tiger- 

 hunting, and is not very often employed. It requires the aid of a very large body of men, and 

 besides there is always a risk of inclosing some large animal, such as the buffalo or elephant, 

 which rushes madly forward, and with the irresistible impetus of its huge body bears to the 

 ground nets, stakes, and sentinels, leaving a wide path free for the remainder of the inclosed 

 game to follow. 



In order to induce the Tiger to leave its lair and to enter the toils, all possible means are 

 used. Fires are lighted, burning torches are waved, guns are fired, drums are beaten, and, 

 lastly, fireworks are largely employed. The most effective kind of firework is one which is 

 made on the rocket principle, the tube which holds the fiery composition being of iron, and 

 the "tail," or shaft, of bamboo. The rocket is held in the hand like a spear, and the fuse 

 lighted. When it begins to fling out its burning contents, and to pull against the hand of the 

 thrower, it is launched by hand, as if it were a spear, in the direction of the concealed quarry. 

 An extremely powerful impulse is given by the burning composition, and the missile rushes 

 furiously onward, scattering on every side its burden of fiery sparkles, hissing and roaring 

 with a terrible sound, and striking right and left with its long wooden tail. 



No Tiger can endure this fiery dragon which comes on with such fury, and accordingly 

 the terrified animal dashes out of cover, and makes for the nearest place of concealment. But 

 so artfully managed is the whole business that his only path of escape takes him among the 

 nets, and, once there, his doom is certain. He cannot leap over the toils, because they are too 

 high, nor break them down, because they are so arranged that they would only fall on him, 

 and inclose him in their treacherous folds. Should he endeavor to climb over the rope fence, 

 he exposes himself as a target for bullets and arrows innumerable ; and, if he yields the point, 

 and tries to conceal himself as best he may, he only delays his fate for a time, falling a victim 

 to the watchful enemies who start him from his last fortress, and, from the safe eminence of 

 an elephant's back, or the branches of a tree, pour their leaden hail on the devoted victim. 



This mode of hunting, as well as the more legitimate custom of following the Tiger into 

 the jungle, while mounted on elephants, requires the aid of many men, elephants, and horses, 

 and cannot be undertaken every day. There is, however, another method of killing this 

 terrible beast, which, when employed by hunters who understand each other's plans, and can 

 place the fullest reliance on their mutual courage and tact, is more destructive to the fierce 

 quarry than even the netting system, with its mob of beasts and men. 



Two, or at the most three, hunters set out on their campaign, accompanied by their chosen 

 "beaters" and other servants, and start with the determination of bearding the Tiger in his 

 den, unaided by horse or elephant. It is a bold plan, yet, like many bold plans, succeeds 

 through its very audacity. 



The object of the beaters is by no means to give assistance when a Tiger is started, because 

 they always run away as soon as the brute shows itself ; but to make so astounding a noise 

 that the Tiger cannot remain in the vicinity. When they reach a likely, or as it is termed, a 

 "Tigerish" spot, they shout, they yell, they fire pistols, they rattle stones in metal pans, they 

 beat drums, they ring bells, they blow horns, and, by their united endeavors, produce such 

 horrible discord, that not even a Tiger dare face such a mass of men and noise. This precau- 

 tion is absolutely necessary, for the Tiger loves to hide itself in as close a covert as it can find, 

 and, unless driven from its place of refuge by such frightful sounds as have been mentioned, 

 would lie closely crouched upon the ground, and either permit the hunters to pass by, or leap 

 on them with a sudden spring, and so obtain a preliminary revenge of its own death. 



A few bold and active beaters are sent forward as scouts, whose business is to climb trees, 



