TIGERS. 89 



yards, and trotted quietly towards me, eyeing me all the 

 time, and evidently calculating the chances of being able to 

 pull me off my perch. I could see all this performance by 

 looking over my right shoulder, but could not stir to bring 

 the rifle to bear on him, owing to my position on a branch. 

 Coming to the conclusion I was out of his reach (at 

 least sixteen feet above ground) he decamped, and we 

 tracked him for a mile towards the Apparowpett nullah, 

 about three miles off, but saw no more of him that day. 

 The author of " Shikar Sketches " (Mr. Moray Brown) 

 states that on a certain occasion he saw a tiger spring up a 

 tree, leaving the marks of its claws about fourteen feet 

 above the ground ; it is therefore certain that nobody can 

 be safe at a lower elevation, but in the Deccan one is seldom 

 higher than twelve feet, as an idea prevails that a tiger 

 cannot reach that height. I believe that without making 

 any spring a tiger can reach nine feet ; a glance at any tree 

 which has been used by them for sharpening their claws 

 will show seams in the bark that height, and a slight extra 

 exertion should add several feet to it. A great friend of 

 mine a gallant officer of the 76th Eegiment met his 

 death by being pulled out of a tree by a tiger, although he 

 was posted some eighteen feet above the ground, the tree, 

 however, was an exceptional one, being solitary and 

 almost branchless, with a gnarled trunk covered with knobs, 

 up which a tiger could easily climb ; in fact, it much 

 resembled a pollard willow. It happened near Tarcherla 

 a small village on the banks of the Godavery in a district 

 I had specially recommended him to try. The tiger 

 towards the end of a long beat came down a rocky slope 

 near the tree, which was in open ground near the foot of 

 the slope, my friend and his shikari, being perched on the 

 stump in a very conspicuous position. On being fired at 



