TIGERS. 97 



" bringing it down with such force, as not wily 

 " to stun a common sized bullock or buffalo, but 

 " often crushing the bones of the scull! I have 

 " seen many men and oxen that had been killed 

 " by tigers, in most of which no mark of a claw 

 " could be seen ; and where scratches did appear, 

 " they were obviously the effect of chance, from 

 " die paw sliding downwards, and not from 

 " design!" 



My opinion is, that, whenever there are 

 scratches, it is owing to the claws meeting with 

 resistance from some bone, and not penetrating- 

 deep ; sometimes it may be in consequence of the 

 hinder part only of the paw having struck the 

 animal, the talons having gone beyond it, and, 

 when the limb was retracted, came in contact 

 with the animal's body, and scratched it 



During a residence of nine years at Chittrah, 

 I never saw a man or animal killed by a tiger, 

 that had not the marks of talons ; yet I admit that 

 the force with which a tiger generally strikes, is 

 sufficient of itself, without the aid of his claws, 

 to kill men or large animals, and I believe that it 

 occasionally takes place in the manner I have de- 

 scribed, but never from its weight, like the fall of 



H 



