212 Wild Beasts 



shot through the exact centre of the blade-bone terminated 

 its existence." 



In this attack four men were wounded, but it is not 

 often that a tiger charges home upon a line of beaters ; 

 generally, only stragglers suffer, although, as has been 

 said, some tigers attack immediately upon being found. 

 Whenever and however the assault is made, it must needs 

 be a terrible one, and to most creatures at once over- 

 whelming. Imagine a beast like this, so active, so power- 

 ful, so armed, five hundred pounds' weight of incarnated 

 destructive energy launched by such muscles as his against 

 an enemy. " It has been the personification of ferocity 

 and unsparing cruelty," says Sir Samuel Baker. But it is 

 to the terrible character of its attack, to the fact that 

 this is so frequently fatal, and to the awe-inspiring appear- 

 ance of the beast as it comes on with dilated form and fire- 

 darting eyes, that much of its reputation for more than 

 ordinary ferocity is due. A tiger is beyond question the 

 most formidable of all predatory creatures when earnest in 

 his aggressive intentions ; very frequently, however, he is 

 not so. False charges, made in order to intimidate, are 

 more common than real ones. A tiger will bristle, and 

 snarl, and roar, apparently with a perfect consciousness of 

 the additional impressiveness given to his general appear- 

 ance in this way. Some are, of course, braver than 

 others ; locality and their experience of human power 

 make a wide difference between those whose characters 

 have been formed in separate areas. Still everywhere 

 their temper is short and fierce, and when roused to fury 

 they fight desperately. When we hear of the abject cow- 



