66 HISTORY OF THE TIGER. 



stir. A pistol fired by me, shattered his lower jaw-bone; 

 and immediately, as danger of approaching him was now 

 over, one of the villagers, with a matchlock, went close to 

 him, and applying the muzzle of his piece to the nape of his 

 neck, shot him dead, and put him out of pain. The people 

 then dragged him out, and we dismounted to look at him, 

 pierced through and through ; yet one could not contem- 

 plate him without satisfaction, as we were told that he had 

 long infested the high road, and carried off many passen- 

 gers. One hears of the roar of a tiger, and fancies it like 

 that of a bull, but, in fact, it is more like the grunt of a hog, 

 though twenty times louder, and certainly one of the most 

 tremendous animal noises imaginable." 



"A full-grown Tiger was lately in the possession of some 

 natives of Madras, who exhibited it, held merely by a chain: 

 it was, indeed, kept muzzled, except when allowed (which 

 was occasionally done) to make an attack upon some ani 

 mal, in order to exhibit the mode of its manoeuvring in quest 

 of prey. For the purpose of this exhibition, a sheep in 

 general was fastened by a cord to a stake, and the tiger 

 being brought in sight of it, immediately crouched, and, 

 moving almost on its belly, but slowly and cautiously, till 

 within the distance of a spring from the animal, leapt upon 

 and struck it down almost instantly dead, seizing it at the 

 same moment by the throat with its teeth. The tiger would 

 then roll round on its back, holding the sheep on its breast, 

 and, fixing its hind claws near the throat of the animal, 

 would kick or push them suddenly backwards, and tear it 

 open in an instant. Notwithstanding, however, the natu- 

 ral ferocity of these animals, the individual in question was 

 go far in subjection, that, while one keeper held its chain 

 during this bloody exhibition, another was enabled to get 

 the carcase of the sheep away, by throwing down a piece 

 of meat previously ready for the purpose." 



They are also capable of affection for the person who 



