Tiger Shooting. 37 



scended one side, reached the bed, which was some 

 twenty yards broad, but densely jungly, then followed 

 the trace of blood, as the bushes were liberally 

 sprinkled with it. Evidently the fugitive was hard 

 hit, so we all got as close together as the nature of the 

 ground would admit, our rifles at full cock and our 

 orderlies in close attendance. The sepoys knew 

 this ground well, as here, only a short time before, 

 they had by themselves traced up and shot a tigress, 

 and they said, " The tigers will not lie up until they 

 reach that ledge of rocks yonder," pointing to the hill 

 side, some way off, where the action of water had worn 

 the stone into crude caverns. It certainly was a 

 nasty-looking place, and we feared that if the game 

 took up their position among them our task was fruit- 

 less, but before we got half way, a roar from the left 

 was answered by one on the right, and two tigers bore 

 down upon us. We fired, but not before the beasts 

 had penetrated our line. Over went a man close to 

 me and another near to H., and before we could seize 

 our extra weapons, turn round and fire, both assailants 

 had disappeared. The men who had been floored 

 were happily only slightly wounded one lost a part 

 of an ear, and the other had been clawed on the 

 shoulder but the beast had not got off scot free, as 

 a Ghoorkha, the Havildar one of our best cricketers 

 and football players, who unhappily was afterwards 

 killed in an attack on a Naga stronghold, where he 



o o ' 



greatly distinguished himself had given the brute 

 a blow with his kookrie, which we found afterwards 

 had all but severed its foreleg. It was bleeding to 

 death when we finally came upon it lying under a 

 bush. Not fifty yards further had we proceeded 



