414 THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



V 

 INDIAN BUFFALO. 



their choice ; and the probability is, that of prey, equally 

 within his power, the tiger takes that which is the largest. 

 There is not more truth in the allegation of the older natural- 

 lists, that the whiskers of the tiger are poisonous. The breath 

 of the animal is offensive, and both the bite and the tear occa- 

 sion ugly and festering wounds, but that is the case with the 

 whole genus. As was remarked by the lion, the saliva 

 of the tiger may not be a very wholesome application to 

 a wound ; but there is no reason to suppose that any of the 

 genus is furnished with a direct poison, as they are sufficiently 

 armed without it, and nature, though she always does enough, 

 never does too much. 



Among the most formidable adversaries of the tiger is the 

 Indian buffalo, which is able to maintain a severe and often 

 a successful contest with him. 



A tiger is sometimes dispatched by a single well-directed 

 thrust of a spear. This was done by Sir Robert Gillespie 

 mounted on his Arabian courser. Sir Robert being present 

 on the race-course of Calcutta, during one of the great Hindoo 

 festivals, when many thousands are assembled to witness all 

 sorts of shows, was suddenly alarmed by the shrieks and com- 



