338 THE HIGHLANDS OF CENTEAL INDIA. 



haunches, stones and earth rolling down before her. The 

 growling grew deeper as we descended, and the noise of 

 struggling ceased, as if the tigress had collected herself for 

 a last charge. The bamboo stems kept whipping me in the 

 face as I stood in the howdah with my double smooth-bore 

 ready for the coup de grace. My face was soon covered with 

 blood, and my shooting jacket torn to ribands. A raging 

 thirst parched my throat, for I had now been some five hours 

 in the sun ; and my hat having been swept off on first enter- 

 ing the bamboos, its rays had been for some time beating 

 full on my unprotected skull. I felt my head begin to swim, 

 and the bamboo stems to dance before me in an indistinct 

 maze. Had it lasted much longer, I feel certain I must have 

 had a sunstroke ; but the last act was playing out. Crash 

 went the elephant into a dense clump of bamboos ; a jagged 

 stem seized me by the neck ; and as I raised my hand to 

 disengage it, the roar of the tigress burst forth in my very 

 face ; a striped form rose in the centre of the clump, in the 

 act of bounding on the elephant's head. Leaning over the 

 railing of the howdah, I levelled the gun, double-shotted in 

 both barrels, at her chest ; and the next moment was shout- 

 ing out : " For God's sake, bring that claret and water, will 

 you, and come down, half a dozen of you, and take up this 

 carcass ! " 



So I bagged the whole family, to the no small delight of 

 the cattle-keepers of the place. 



A large panther was making himself very troublesome at 

 that time in the neighbourhood of the Jubbulpur and Mandld, 

 road. He had killed several children in different villages, 

 and promised, unless suppressed, to become a regular man- 

 eater. I encamped for some days : in the neighbourhood of 

 his haunts, and the very first night the villain had the im- 



