180 SHIKAR SKETCHES. 



at us, with her head between her paws, and her 

 tail sweeping the ground preparatory to charging. 

 Davidson then fired, and, with that hoarse, cough- 

 ing roar made by a charging tiger, which can 

 never be recalled by those who have once heard 

 it without a tingling of the blood and a quicken- 

 ing of the pulse, up she jumped, and came 

 straight at us, the incarnation of fiendish rage ; 

 but, both firing in succession, she turned, and 

 entered one of the patches of grass I have alluded 

 to, where she stood for an instant, giving me a 

 standing shot. I heard the l thud ' of my bullet, 

 and the next instant she turned, and came roar- 

 ing and charging down at us again. 



During this charge through the dry, withered 

 grass, she presented a most curious appearance ; 

 and the only thing I can liken the scene to is 

 to an imaginary long, fiery, wriggling serpent 

 advancing rapidly in a sinuous course. Davidson 

 gave her another shot as she carne on ; and, as 

 he did so, an old stump of a tree, some four feet 

 high, and slightly out of her direct course, seemed 

 to attract her attention, and this she attacked 

 with great fury, giving it a couple of swift, 

 lightning-like pats with her great, muscular paws. 

 This gave us time to put in three more shots, 

 which, as they were delivered at only some fifteen 

 yards distance, tumbled her over, to our intense 



