314 WILD MEN AND WILD BEASTS. 



tigress, crossing over to me, was dropped with one shot. We 

 left her lying, and proceeded to beat out the covert. Pre- 

 sently the tiger jumped up, also before the Bashi. Again the 

 elephant backed, and again he missed. The tiger plunged 

 into a mass of creeping plants, and then, turning to the right, 

 entered a small ravine, and left the river. Cadell and Murray 

 now joined us, and after searching for some time we again 

 saw the tiger making off. Murray fired with an explosive 

 shell, which burst close behind him, and he got away, and was 

 lost among the ravines. This tiger escaped entirely through 

 the misconduct of the mahout, and on our return to camp he 

 was sent for and admonished. He was informed that any 

 future exhibition of cowardice would be met by instant 

 chastisement. The elephant, which had been lent by the 

 Rajah of Jhabbooa, I knew to be good and staunch. The 

 tigress which we had bagged was 9 feet 1 inch in length. 



On the following morning a buffalo was found killed in 

 the cypress near the mouth of the Maun river. We forded 

 the Nerbudda on the elephants, and, after posting men to look 

 out from trees, we entered the covert. After hunting for some 

 time we came on the tigress, which we shot without much 

 trouble. She was 9 feet in length, and on opening her we 

 found four cubs, which would have been born within a day 

 or two. We removed their skins, which were very prettily 

 marked. We halted another day at Nulwye, but finding no 

 more game, we sent off our camp to Oochawud, some miles 

 higher up the Deb river. 



We hunted in the bed of a smaller river on the way, and 

 started a panther near a village named Kirnowe. The Jhab- 

 booa mahout again misbehaved, causing Cadell, who was on 

 the elephant, to miss his shot. He was at once visited with 

 the promised chastisement, and his mind and body were so 



