2l6 COLONEL NIGHTINGALES LETTER. 



the reply, the Panura has just gone into this valley ; so off 

 I started in pursuit of the crusher. After a good deal of 

 beating I put the monster up, and as he ran off gave him 

 a ball behind, missing with my right barrel owing to the 

 elephant moving ; some half hour elapsed before I again got 

 a shot at him, but this time as he ran by about one hundred 

 yards off, I put two bullets into his shoulder and he pulled up 

 under a tree. I went up and floored him with four more 

 bullets and he lay at full length apparently dead. I reloaded 

 and was going to give him a pill behind the ear to make 

 quite sure, as he was such an immense beast, but the mahout 

 swore the tiger was dead, so we went up to him and when 

 about fifteen paces from him he suddenly jumped up as if 

 untouched, and rushed at me ; at ten paces I gave him the 

 conical in the neck and upset him, but undaunted, this 

 splendid beast dashed on ; at five paces I drew the bead 

 between his eyes and pulled the trigger, by Jove! the gun 

 missed fire — here was a pretty go. 



" Before I could change my gun the tiger came up to the 

 huttie who stood like a rock, and striking him a tremendous 

 blow between the eyes, seized him by the trunk with his 

 teeth and pulled him down on his knees. I was very nearly 

 shot out of the howdah, and what with the mahout roaring 

 that he was being killed (the tiger was close to him, not 

 two inches from his leg), and the man in the khowas 

 screaming 'Saab, Saab,' as we went over, to say nothing 

 of being knocked about like a pea in a rattle, there was 

 enough to confuse me. I am happy to say I never turned 

 a hair, and all my thoughts were bent on flooring the tiger,, 

 as I saw that such a monster must otherwise bag us. I, 

 managed somehow in the scuffle to put two bullets from 



