MODE OF STRIKING THEIR PREY. 1 7 I 



print in front of me perfectly dry, so I knew the animal was 

 just before me ; it was impossible to see more than a yard or 

 two in this dense high grass, and my great fear was that the 

 tiger might mistake my brown shooting dress for the body of 

 a deer and strike me down by mistake, and it would be little 

 use begging my pardon afterwards, so I commenced singing, 

 as I knew that the striped gentleman or lady hates nothing 

 so much as a human voice at a high pitch. 



The tiger in the plains is seldom seen till eventide, as he 

 generally lies up during the day in dense jungle or tangled 

 brushwood, but in the cooler climate of the mountains he 

 wanders about freely in the day time. 1 have never seen a 

 tiger strike down an animal although I have watched him or 

 her for an hour together prowling about on the opposite hill in 

 search of prey. I have seen them chase deer, but they never 

 go more than two or three hundred yards, and the magnificent 

 bounds they take are quite thrilling to behold. Some have 

 stated that the tiger differs in his attack from the lion, in not 

 killing his prey by a blow from his paw; this is quite different 

 to my experience. I once saw two large Indian buffaloes 

 lying dead within a few feet of each other, and the herdsman 

 told me that a tiger had suddenly bounded into the midst of 

 a herd, had struck first one and then the other buffalo, but 

 on his yelling and shouting had disappeared as rapidly as he 

 had come; I examined these dead beasts and found that both 

 of them had their necks broken. A friend of mine told me 

 that he was once out after a tiger that had laid up in a sugar 

 cane field. Elephants and beaters were sent in to drive him 

 out; my friend was posted on an elephant commanding the 

 corner of the field ; a native was stationed some distance 

 further down ; presently there was a shout from the beaters, 



