CASSELL'S POPULAR NATURAL HISTORY. 



lim-d with iron hoo r , Ml ' "hich he ripped off during the first iiight of his confinement, and 



gnawed the ease jKirilv through. 



bung pereeived, the next day the case was repaired by the addition only of a strong piece of 

 wood being nailed on the outside. As might have been expected, the tiger renewed his efforts, and, in 

 the ooune of the following night, made his escape, springing upon a wall ten feet high, where he 

 ,vni:iiiied till Mason, the ko.'per, eame in the morning. The fear of losing so valuable an animal 

 indueed him, t'"i- :i reward of ten guineas, to ha/ard his life in the attempt to secure the tiger. 



He now engaged a Serjeant and some other persons to assist him, whom he placed in a room, the 

 door of which opened upon the leads, from whence he could reach the animal. He then provided 

 himself with a strong rope, one end of which he gave through the window to his companions, and 

 with the other having a running noose upon it he slowly approached the tiger, and threw it over 

 his neck. This was the critical moment : the people within were directed to pull the rope and secure 

 the bea-t. 



Unfortunately, the noose slipped oil; and the enraged tiger immediately sprang upon the keeper, 

 fixing his teeth into the fleshy part of his arm, and tearing his breast and hand in a shocking manner 

 with his claws. In this dreadful situation poor Mason lay under the tiger ; while the Serjeant cut a 

 bullet into four parts, and, having loaded his musket, he fired through the window at the animal, who, 

 the moment he received the shot, quitted his hold, and, after staggering for a few moments, died. 1 he 

 bullet, however, which destroyed the tiger had nearly been equally fatal to the man one of the quar- 

 ters having glanced against his temple, and deprived him of all sense and motion for a considerable 

 time. But, after keeping his bed a fortnight, he gradually recovered, and became perfectly well, though 

 he carried the marks of his enemy about him as long as he lived. 



Carter, who obtained the name of the " Lion King," was, perhaps, never exceeded in daring and 

 self-possession. A full-grown and powerful Bengal tiger was, on one occasion, landed from an India- 

 man for him, and was to be trained for his theatrical exhibitions. Carter expressed no anxiety at his 

 task ; and, at the moment he considered most fitting, he caused the door of the cage to be opened, and 

 armed only with a slight horsewhip, suddenly stood before the astonished beast. Cowed by Carter's 

 stern glance, the tiger went crouching into the farthest corner of the cage. At the pointing of a finger 

 and a stroke with the whip, the terror-stricken animal was sent to the other corner, and kept moving 

 about from spot to spot till Carter left the cage, and declared that the tiger was thoroughly subdued. 

 Van Amburgh is said not to have been so fortunate, a struggle with a tiger having proved fatal. 



A party of gentlemen from Bombay, one day visiting the stupendous cavern-temple of Elephanta, 

 discovered a tiger's whelp in one of the obscure recesses of the edifice. Desirous of kidnapping the 

 cub without encountering the fury of the: dam, they took it up hastily and cautiously, and retreated. 

 Being left entirely at liberty, and extremely well fed, the tiger grew rapidly, appeared tame, and attached 

 as a dog ; it wa.s, indeed, in every respect, entirely domesticated. At length, when having grown to a 

 great size, and, notwithstanding its apparent gentleness, it began to inspire terror, by its tremendous 

 power of doing mischief, a piece of raw meat, dripping with blood, fell in its way. Up to that time it 

 had been kept from raw animal food; but, the instant it had dipped its tongue in blood, it darted 

 fiercely and with glaring eyes on its prey, tore it furiously in pieces, and, growling and roaring in the 

 most dreadful manner, rushed off towards the jungles. 



The tiger is readily tamed when taken young, but its temper may be said to be scarcely so much to 

 be depended on as that of the lion. The celebrated Charles James Fox had a young one which followed 

 him about like a dog. He had reared it from its infancy, and fed it entirely on milk and vegetables. 

 But) one day, while he was sitting reading, the tiger went up and licked his hand, which was hanging 

 over tin; arm or the back of his chair. Before he was aware of the fact, the animal's tongue had 

 scraped away a portion of the skin. Mr. Fox, happening to turn round his head, instantly discovered, 

 with horror, that tin; tiger's eyes were glaring, and its whole spirit was aroused at this first taste of 

 blo,,.l. (1,-utly rising from his seat, and without withdrawing his hand from the tiger's mouth, he led 

 it, with kindly words, into the next room, over the chimney-piece of which was hanging a loaded pistol. 

 ' b'ouil lie, wed more rapidly, the tiger's eyes glared more fiercely ; but, providentially, Mr. Fox 

 was able to HJM ilir pistol ; he levelled it at the tiger's head, which instantly fell dead at his feet. 



whirl, \\as brought from China in the "Pitt" Kast Indiaman, at the age of ten 



