2 12 COLONEL NIGHTINGALES LETTER. 



brought in news that a ghara (a young buff) had been killed ; 

 the tiger had only eaten a small portion and then had taken 

 himself off, so I had a long beat without result, but I perse- 

 vered and struck off to the Nurra river where I had shot the 

 tigers two days ago, and I was lucky enough to put up the 

 beast in a thick patch of grass. Toby barked at him and I saw 

 the tiger running up the opposite bank of the river ; a long 

 shot. However, as the jungle beyond was thick and bad, I 

 fired and hit, on which my friend pulled up and lay in some 

 thick bushes, growling at Toby. When I got across the river 

 to the beast, I, not knowing exactly where he was, stumbled 

 right on him ; up he jumped and came roaring at the huttie. 

 I gave him two balls, one in the neck, one in the mouth, and 

 upset him, but the plucky beast got up and charged again ; he 

 was only five paces off when I fired, and before I could shift 

 my gun the beast had got up to the elephant and had just 

 placed his paw on the elephant's trunk, when I having 

 snatched a gun, leant over and firing close to the mahout's 

 head, rolled the tiger over under the snuffier's trunk just in 

 the nick of time. I was on the top of the hill so a crowd 

 of admiring niggers saw the scrimmage. My elephant is a 

 small one, eight feet odd, and was the staunchest in India I 

 believe ; what he may be now I cannot say. This shot just 

 in time was well for the mahout and gave him great con- 

 fidence, but you will see further on how we were arranged. 

 The day after this was blank. 



" Next day a large buffalo of mine was killed ; but we 

 could find no tiger, and I beat for hours in vain ; however, 

 perseverance is my motto, and I was beating down a 

 ravine towards evening when the tiger was put up J such 

 a whopper. After a long chase I got a running shot at 



