CHAPTER VII 

 TIIE TIGKR (continued) 



THE day after the accident described, we were sitting beneath the 

 shade of a mango grove at about 4 P.M. when a native arrived at 

 the camp with news that a tiger had just killed a valuable cow 

 which gave him a large supply of milk, and the body was lying 

 about two miles distant. The tragic incident of the previous day 

 had established a panic in the village, and the natives were not in 

 the humour to turn out as beaters. I quite shared their feeling, 

 as I did not wish to expose the poor people after the loss they had 

 sustained ; it was too late for a beat, therefore I determined to 

 take the two elephants and make a simple reconnaissance, that 

 might be of use upon the following day. 



It was 4.30 P.M. by the time we started, as the two elephants 

 had taken some time to prepare. The native was tolerably correct 

 in his estimate of distance, and after passing through a long suc- 

 cession of glades and wooded hills, broken by deep nullahs, we 

 arrived at the place, where soaring vultures marked the spot, and 

 the remains of a fine white cow were discovered, that had been killed 

 upon the open ground and dragged into the dense jungle. Leaving 

 Demoiselle in the open, and taking Berry into my howdah upon 

 Moolah Bux, we carefully searched the jungle until sunset, but 

 finding nothing, we were obliged to return to camp, having made 

 ourselves thoroughly acquainted with the conditions of the locality. 

 On the following morning at daylight I took only twenty men, who 

 had recovered from their panic, and with the two elephants and a 

 very plucky policeman we made our way to the place where the 

 body of the cow was lying on the previous evening. It was gone. 

 Leaving all the men outside the jungle, we followed on Moolah 

 Bux, tracking along the course where the tiger had dragged the 

 carcase, and keeping a sharp look-out in all directions. After 

 a course of about 150 yards we arrived at a spot where the tiger 



