THE TIGER. 61 



bushes, which he broke like straw. The tiger was 

 forty yards off. The Indian stood still, aimed, and 

 fired; a fresh roar, and the ferocious beast pursued 

 his course. 



" At twenty yards the Indian fired his second barrel ; 

 a frightful cry of terror and agony was the reply. 

 The tiger at one bound reached and seized his enemy, 

 and tore him in pieces ! " 



M. Thomas Anquetil threw down his rifle, and 

 taking his revolver in his right hand and his cutlass 

 in his left, he held himself -in readiness ; he could 

 not fire, for the man and the tiger were so entangled 

 together. At length the animal, with his eyes on fire, 

 his mouth all bloody, and lashing his sides with his 

 tail, abandoned the dead body, and turning round 

 upon the hunter, prepared for a spring, when six shots 

 resounded. All the balls had struck, and the animal 

 rolled on the ground, uttering a convulsive groan. 



" The Indian was reduced to a shapeless heap. He 

 had not left his hold on my rifle. His cramped fingers 

 still clung with one hand to the stock and the other to 

 the barrel of the gun. The wood was broken and the 

 barrels bore marks of the tiger's fangs. 



" The ferocious beast it was a female lay on the 

 left side, the claws stiffened, the pupils contracted, the 

 mouth dripping with blood, slimy foam, and shreds 

 of throbbing flesh. She belonged to the species called 



