vi THE TIGER 115 



the second day, when our patience was almost exhausted, we met 

 a native who declared that a tiger had killed one of his cows only 

 two days before. Taking him as a guide, he led us about two 

 miles, and in a slight hollow among some green tamarisk we were, 

 after a long search, introduced to a few scattered bones, all that 

 remained of the native cow which had been recently killed, and 

 the skeleton dislocated by jackals and wild pigs. Unless the tiger 

 had been disturbed there was every chance of its being somewhere 

 in the neighbourhood ; we therefore determined to beat every yard 

 of the island most carefully, although it extended several miles in 

 length, and was about one mile in maximum width. 



The line was formed, but no scouts were thrown forward, nor 

 were any precautions taken ; it was simply marching and counter- 

 marching at hazard. Hours passed away and nothing was moved 

 to break the monotony of the day but an occasional pig, whose 

 mad rush for the moment disturbed the elephants. 



It was 2 P.M. : hot work for ladies my wife was in the howdah 

 behind me. I confess that I am not fond of the fair sex when 

 shooting, as I think they are out of place, but I had taken Lady 

 Baker upon this occasion at her special request, as she hoped to 

 see a tiger. We were passing through some dense green tamarisk, 

 growing as close and thick as possible, in a hollow depression, 

 which during the wet season formed a swamp, when presently the 

 elephants began to exhibit a peculiar restlessness, cocking their 

 ears, raising their trunks, and then emitting every kind of sound, 

 from a shrill trumpet to the peculiar low growl like the bass note 

 of an organ, broken suddenly by the sharp stroke upon a kettle- 

 drum, which is generally the signal of danger or alarm. This 

 sound is produced by striking the ground with the extremity of the 

 trunk curled up. 



I felt sure that a tiger was in this dense covert. The question 

 was how to turn him out. 



The tamarisk was about 20 feet high, but the stems were only 

 as thick as a man's arm ; these grew as close together as corn in a 

 field of wheat ; the feathery foliage of green was dark through 

 extreme density, forming an opaque mass that would have concealed 

 a hundred tigers without any apparent chance of their discovery. 



Although this depression was only about G feet below the general 

 level of the island, it formed a strong contrast in being green, while 

 the grass in the higher level was a bright yellow. The bottom had 

 been swampy, which explained the vigorous vegetation ; and 

 although this lower level was not wider than 80 or 90 yards, it 

 was quite a quarter of a mile in length. 



