36 THE FORESTS OF UPPER INDIA 



in the neck and head, as a precaution against his getting 

 up again, as tigers have immense vitahty, and have been 

 known to come to again after lying apparently dead, and 

 just kUl the shikari who ventures too near, upsetting all 

 his calculations. One must feel an awful fool if a tiger 

 escapes for want of a second barrel, and it is a very 

 common story indeed. 



It had been a long wait, but caution is the second most 

 important virtue in tiger hunting. A heavy boot, 

 thrown after a sufficient time had elapsed, failing to make 

 him move, it was safe to come down from the tree, and 

 soon the shouts of Jussoo from the valley below, in 

 response to a call agreed upon signalling success, were 

 heard coming nearer. Before half an hour fully twenty 

 natives appeared from the jungle paths, and the tiger was 

 inspected with many ' Wah wahs P and ' Ram rams P 

 They almost worshipped the slayer of the terrible man- 

 swag as the deliverer of their homes and families from a 

 long-experienced dread. The tiger was carried in triumph 

 to the camp, and the procession along the road received 

 accessions from goodness knows where, as the villages 

 are scattered and some way off on the spurs of the hills. 

 But they had all known of the result by signals from 

 Jussoo, and great was the joy in the whole district. 

 The tiger was a fair-sized male, 9 feet 6 inches long, and 

 had the crooked claw of which Jussoo knew the track. His 

 whiskers were pulled and taken for charms, and next 

 day, when the skin was taken off, his flesh was taken away 

 and divided among the villagers, or sold in the bazaar 

 at Naini Tal, as a charm against tigers, or a medicine to 

 cure deficient nervous energy, and other diseases which 

 would not yield to the treatment of the best hakims. 

 The return to Naini Tal was one of great satisfaction, as 

 the cool climate and congratulations of friends were 



