CREATURES OF THE WILDERNESS 97 



lower jaw as to lame even an elephant in a few 

 moments. 



The tiger may be less courageous than the 

 lion. Several anecdotes in illustration of 

 cowardice in both animals will be told in 

 these pages, and, on the whole, the reputa- 

 tion for greater bravery remains with the lion. 

 The tiger may even, in some districts, be less 

 dreaded by the natives than its tree-climbing 

 cousin, the leopard. Yet it remains, all the 

 same, the most terrible creature in Asia. The 

 natives of India hold it, as a rule, in such rever- 

 ence that they rarely allow themselves to men- 

 tion its name, even in a whisper. The jackal, 

 in its master's presence, utters a terror-stricken 

 note utterly different from its usual howl. Even 

 Europeans, armed with the latest rifle and 

 ammunition, treat "Stripes" with respect, and 

 those who know him best take fewest liberties 

 when he is prowling around. He is the yellow 

 peril of the jungle, and when he comes gliding 

 sinuously through the undergrowth there is 

 great commotion among the lesser brethren. 

 Squirrels scritch and monkeys chatter with 

 terror, peacocks and jungle-fowl scream, small 

 deer fly panic-stricken out of harm's way. I 

 have seen it suggested that the dislike which 

 many otherwise courageous people have for 

 cats is to be regarded as a survival of the dread 

 in which their monkey ancestors held tigers ! 



