TIGERS. 107 



gradually rose in front towards the cairn, so that, as a 

 matter of fact, we were actually on the same level as the 

 tiger himself. He very nearly succeeded in getting away 

 on the left flank without being fired at. The only fault of 

 the Secunderabad shikari es is their neglect to credit the 

 tiger with the fine sense of smell he is undoubtedly 

 possessed of. When the covert is of ordinary thickness and 

 extent, a tiger, as a rule, appears noiselessly and suddenly, 

 perhaps within ten yards of one's post ; but it not unfre- 

 quently happens in jungles where the withered leaves 

 abound and are large like those of the bastard teak, for 

 instance that his approach is heralded by their rustling 

 under his tread ; but from small isolated hills or piles of 

 rock where he has to cross the open ground, he bolts like a 

 rabbit at full gallop, and usually gives a pretty difficult 

 shot. In such spots, however, the space available for his 

 escape, being limited, can generally be commanded by two 

 rifles, and any extra ones should be utilised as " long 

 stops," in case he gets through the first line. 



A few days after the occurrence just recorded, news of 

 two garas was brought in, 'and that the tiger was " ringed " 

 into the small hill, the scene of our first day's defeat. The 

 monkeys had discovered, and were swearing at him, and 

 as this annoyance might induce him to shift his quarters, 

 we pushed on quickly to the ground. On the way we 

 examined the carcases of the two haylas, which were within 

 a few hundred yards of each other, and had been dragged 

 into the shade of some bushes near at hand, to protect 

 them from the vultures in accordance with a tiger's 

 invariable custom.* Very little remained of either, but 

 one had been killed by a tigress and cubs, which had gone 



* The remains of oue of these had been carefully covered up 

 with leaves by the tiger. 



