v THE TIGER 103 



centre of the blade-bone, the tiger will fall dead, as the heart will 

 be shattered, and both shoulders will be broken. ' A shot close 

 behind the shoulder will pass through the centre of the lungs, and 

 death will be certain in about two minutes, but the animal will be 

 able to inflict fatal injuries upon any person it may encounter 

 during the first minute, before internal bleeding shall have produced 

 complete suffocation. If the hunter is confident in the extreme 

 accuracy of his rifle, a shot in the centre of the forehead rather 

 above a line drawn across the eyes will ensure instant death. This 

 is a splendid shot when the hunter sits upon an elevation and the 

 tiger is approaching him ; in that position he must be careful to 

 aim rather high, as, should the bullet miss the forehead, it will 

 then strike the spine at the junction of the neck ; or if too high, 

 it will break the spine between the shoulders ; at any rate, the 

 chances are all in favour of the rifle, whereas, should the aim be 

 too low, the bullet might penetrate through the nose, and bury 

 itself within the ground, merely wounding the animal instead of 

 killing. Should the hunter be on foot, he must on the contrary 

 aim low, exactly at the centre of the nose ; if he is only one inch 

 too high, the tiger may escape, as the bullet may pass over the 

 head and back ; but if the aim is low and the nose should be 

 missed, the bullet will either break the neck, or regularly rake the 

 animal by tearing its course through the chest and destroying the 

 vitals in its passage along the body. In that case the '577 solid 

 bullet of 650 grains and 6 drams of powder will produce an 

 astonishing effect, and will completely paralyse the attack of any 

 lion or tiger, thus establishing a thorough confidence in the heart 

 of its proprietor. 



