172 SIR JAMES OUTRAM HIS WONDERFUL ESCAPE. 



and the tiger came bounding out exactly where the native 

 was posted ; on seeing him the tiger sprang clean over his 

 head, and my friend said he could just perceive a slight 

 motion of the tiger's forepaws as he passed over the man's 

 head ; the native fell to the ground, and on going up to him 

 they found him lying dead with his neck broken. 



I have pursued and shot all my tigers either on foot or 

 from a ladder (never from an elephant) and with one excep- 

 tion have never been in danger. I have always managed to 

 have my sport without any injury to myself or my shikaries 

 by taking the following precautions ; never firing at a tiger 

 when facing me, never following a wounded tiger into thick 

 jungle, and never going up to one supposed to be dead with- 

 out first ascertaining beyond doubt that such is the case, 

 or by giving the coup-de-grace in the shape of a ball behind 

 the ear. 



By not being careful in this respect one of our greatest 

 Indian warriors, Sir James Outram nearly lost his life. He 

 told me the following adventure and narrow escape he had 

 from a tiger. 



He was out on foot and had wounded a tiger which 

 got into some low bush jungle and could not be found ; he 

 and a friend who was with him separated to look for it, 

 for a long time without success ; at last Outram came to 

 a very dense bush, he stooped down to peer into it and had 

 no sooner done so than the tiger sprang out at him. The 

 charge was so rapid that he had no time to bring the rifle to 

 his shoulder and so fired from his hip. The next moment 

 the tiger knocked him down and was on the top of him. 

 Outram said he felt at once that the tiger was dead, but the 

 great weight of the animal prevented him freeing himself; 



