TIGER SLAYER BY ORDER 



walking on further, came upon his footprints on the spot 

 from which he had evidently jumped into the water. 



The villagers, entering this water, which on an average 

 was about five feet deep, waded across, but could find no 

 footprints on the opposite side, and were still searching, 

 when suddenly one of the men, who had not as yet come 

 out of the water, called out excitedly, " Here he is, here 

 he is ! " 



This sudden and decidedly disquieting announcement 

 might well have caused a panic, but for the fact that the 

 man who had made it, was now seen peering into the water, 

 and prodding with his spear at something underneath it. 

 He now explained that when he was crossing over he had 

 been testing the depth of the water, when he felt something 

 soft, and investigating further, concluded it was the carcase 

 of the tiger ! The others now assisting him, they soon 

 dragged the body to the bank, and sure enough it proved 

 to be that of the tiger, which with its last dying effort 

 had evidently plunged into the water, intending doubtless 

 to swim across, but being too badly wounded, had probably 

 been unable to rise to the surface, and was drowned or 

 had died while in the act of swimming across. 



The animal proved to be a small and very mangy 

 tigress, but must have been possessed of extraordinary 

 vitality, for on examining the carcase later it was found 

 that the bullet (an explosive 12-bore) had struck her far 

 back in the stomach, and exploding inside had burst the 

 diaphragm and made mincemeat of the liver, and yet 

 she had sufficient energy left, not only to travel seventy 

 measured paces, but to jump into the water from the bank ! 



On another occasion in the same district, Colonel W , 



while out with D , the Forest Officer, again nearly lost a 



tiger which they had shot. They had received information 

 of three tigers, said to be in some jungle on the banks of 



the Weingunga. D having a good number of elephants 



with him at the time, they went out at once. 



By three o'clock in the afternoon they had bagged two 

 out of the three, then went after the third, and having 

 marked him down, posted a pad elephant on the other side 

 of the river as a stop. 



The tiger, driven out by the beaters, made for the river, 

 234 



