130 CASSELL'S POPULAR NATURAL HISTORY. 



produced oxer and iivcr again, tin- emming Hindoo tlius reaping triple and quadruple tin- amount 

 fiiirlv due to him ; but, on one occasion, craft, as usual, overreached itself the head presented was so 

 fi-i-rlittullv dei-.iin]i.ised that the fraud was immediately detected, and, to prevent its repetition, all the 

 tiger's remains that were brought were burnt. 



A kind of spring-bow was formerly laid in the tiger's way, discharging a poisoned arrow, generally 

 with fatal ellcct, when the animal came in contact with a cord stretched out for the purpose. Again, a 

 heavy beam was suspended over (lie way traversed by the tiger, which fell and crushed him on his 

 disengaging a cord which let the beam fall. A Persian device is said to consist of a large spherical, 

 strong, interwoven liamlioo cage, or one made of other suitable materials, with intervals without three 

 or four inches broad. Under this shelter, which is picketed to the ground in the tiger's haunt, a man, 

 provided with two or three strong spears, takes post by night, with a dog or goat as his companion, 

 wraps himself in his quilt, and goes to sleep. A tiger arrives, of whose presence the man is warm 

 the dog or the goat, and generally, after smelling about, rears himself up against the cage, upon which 

 the man stabs him resolutely with his short spear, through the interstices of the wicker-work. 



A more perilous method was adopted by the Nairs, on the coast of Malabar. A partially cleared 

 space was fixed upon, near a much-frequented thoroughfare for travellers, and a he-goat was pitted in 

 the centre, without food or water. At convenient distances, in a circle, several pits were dug and 

 previously well cemented ; these were just wide enough to admit the body of a man, and they varied in 

 depth from eight to ten feet. On either side of the interior strong wooden plugs were inserted, to 

 serve as steps, on which the naked-footed Nairs balanced themselves whilst on the look-out for prey. 

 Supported upon these, their arms and shoulders free, and each one armed with a bow and arrows, these 

 men patiently waited the arrival of the foe ; nor were they kept long in suspense. A heavy rustling 

 amongst the grass and brushwood was heard, succeeded by a bound, a roar, a piercing shriek from the 

 terrified goat, and half a score arrows quivering in the body of the aggressor, who, in some instances, 

 got his quietus at the first discharge. In other instances the wounds were only trivial, and then the 

 tiger, lashing his tail with impotent rage, would rush at the pits, and tiy to claw out the Nairs, who by 

 this time were crouched at the bottom, and, secure in their retreat, gave with their unexpended arrows 

 many a vigorous thrust, which ultimately debilitated the tiger. Such assaults are usually fatal; but, in 

 one instance, a Nair's arrow got entangled between his legs, which impeded his descent, while the 

 tiger, with a bound and a blow, dislocated the unfortunate man's neck. 



A plan, much more convenient and far less perilous, may now be mentioned. When, despite of 

 all precautions, a tigress will insist, night after night, in carrying off sheep, bullocks, children, and 

 sometimes men and women, the people, driven to desperation, hire one or two men, known to be crack 

 shots, and to have had some experience in tiger-killing. A platform is erected amongst the loftiest 

 branches of some trees in the outskirts of the village, which is thatched over as a defence from severe 

 heat or rain. Here, seated sometimes alone, sometimes in couples, well shrouded from view by the 

 foliage, these men wait patiently hour after hour. Within range of their guns is the carcase of an 

 ox, dragged hither as a decoy for any hungry tiger that may be prowling in the vicinity. Already, 

 indeed, has it proved attractive : vultures, gorged to excess, hop lazily from stone to stone, as the 

 growling contentions of a crowd of pariah dogs and jackals scare them from the carnival. And almost 

 distracted are the men in ambush, lest they should not leave even a bone to entice their longed-for 

 victim. They dare not drive these felons away, nor must they even fire among them this would deter 

 the tiger from any approach ; they can only wait to see if he will come. 



At length, their hearts palpitate almost audibly, as the crackling of dry leaves and the swaying 

 to and fro of tall grass give proof that he is near. Nor do they only know this : the jackals are off at 

 a canter ; the pariah dogs are gone, only the vultures remain, as if fearless of the tiger coming. Cat- 

 like and stealthy, yet noble in mien and beautiful in skin, out creeps now the royal tiger; and bending 

 *n<l crouching for a final bound, he aims at the throat of the prostrate carrion. The silence is but 

 momentary, broken by the sharp click of the gun-hammer ; then comes a flood of light, a loud explo- 

 sion, and a roar of agony, for, as the sportsman looks out from his leafy shelter, he sees the tiger pros- 

 trate by the dead ox that lured him to his fate. 



Hunting the tiger is a sport exclusively Indian ; it has even been looked upon as much pre-eminent 

 -norts as that of the fox in Britain is held superior to a chase with rabbit beagles. It 



