TIGERS. 79 



bushes, rose abruptly all round, and the nullah appeared to 

 be the only spot a tiger would be likely to break from. It 

 was a very tigerish-looking spot ; many of the soft-barked 

 trees were scored to a height of seven or eight feet, 

 by their habit of springing up and drawing their claws 

 through the bark to sharpen or clean them, and we found 

 that the cubs had been at the same game too ; the marks 

 were quite fresh, so we attributed the gara to the tigress. 

 Immediately the beat commenced, the tigress and cubs 

 were started, and broke away over a steep and bare hill 

 three hundred yards to our right, passing between the stops, 

 who were too far apart to head them, and whose rattles, 

 though vigorously used, were of no effect. 



Our syces had been left with the horses some distance 

 off in rear, and at the end of the beat came running up to 

 say they had just seen the big tiger killing one of our 

 buffaloes, not a quarter of a mile off, on the bank of the 

 large nullah we were then posted on, and that not a minute 

 had elapsed since they saw it drinking the blood of its 

 victim. We forthwith advanced shoulder to shoulder to 

 the gara, which was still quivering when we arrived. It 

 was too late in the day to arrange a beat, so, hastily 

 deciding to sit up close by, as the tiger was evidently 

 within a few yards of us in the nullah, we mounted some 

 of the adjacent trees, forming a semi-circle round the kill, 

 the base of which was the nullah. Presently an old bear 

 came slowly along, sniffing about the roots of the trees 

 within twenty yards, but of course was not fired at. A 

 " Kola baloo " * then crept out of the nullah in a cautious 

 and scared way ; looking suspiciously all round. He 

 approached the carcase, and, after smelling it, rushed 



* t( Tiger's provider/' a jackal that attaches himself to a 

 tiger, and acts as scout for him. 



