TIGER SLAYER BY ORDER 



considerable distance, we were finally obliged to abandon 

 the search. 



Probably the tiger had merely received a flesh wound 

 from which, as I did not get him, I hoped he would 

 eventually recover, and that we might meet again some 

 day ! 



The bison, no doubt, had made off earlier hi the pro- 

 ceedings at any rate, I have no recollection of having 

 seen him after transferring my attention to the tiger. 



Thus ended an incident which, had fortune favoured 

 me, might have proved better worth recording, but though 

 I failed to achieve what would, probably, have been a 

 record " right and left," yet the situation in itself was so 

 unique that I make no apology for describing it. 



***** 



When out shooting on one occasion with B of the 



policein the Ghorisgaon jungles (Khandesh), we had wounded 

 a tigress and followed her up into some very thick jungle. 

 So dense was the cover that we had to hack our way to 

 where the tigress lay. Suddenly we came upon her, crouch- 

 ing within five paces of us, and opening fire at once, rolled 

 her over dead. 



Fortunately she did not charge, or she would certainly 

 have left her mark on one, or both, of us. It was a broken 

 hip, no doubt, that prevented her from doing so, for at 

 such extremely close quarters, it is seldom that a wounded 

 tiger fails to take the offensive. She was a fine beast, 

 measuring eight feet six inches, and it was with some 

 difficulty that we dragged the carcase out of the dense 

 cover. 



On another occasion I was beating for bakri * in a strip 

 of jungle, when suddenly a fine tiger put in his appearance. 

 I was on foot and armed with a light, single-barrelled rifle, 

 but the chance was too good a one to lose. The tiger was 

 standing facing me about fifteen yards off, so taking a 

 steady aim between the eyes, I fired, and lurching heavily 

 forward, he fell stone dead. 



Hearing the shot the beaters came running up, expecting 

 to find I had " bagged " the bakri, and were consequently 



* Jungle sheep. 

 46 



