324 JACKALS AT A CARCASS. 



tigress. So intense was the stillness that the slightest movement on my 

 part would have been heard. 



Neither the tigress nor bullock moved for full three minutes, when the 

 former stood up, satisfied with her investigation, and stepped towards the 

 bullock. Her jaws were within a foot of his throat ; there was going to be 

 no spring or rush, and in another moment he would have been seized ; when 

 a wish to save the poor helpless beast that had been my only companion 

 during the still watch impelled me, and I drew myself quickly up and put 

 the express to my shoulder, pushing the barrels through the screen, which I 

 had not done hitherto for fear of the moonlight's glinting on them. 



At the slight sound I made the tigress drew herself up instantly, stand- 

 ing close to the bullock, and looked straight at my mecMn ; in a moment 

 she would have been off, when I fired at her shoulder and rolled her over. 

 I stood up and gave her another shot over the screen as she was gasping 

 convulsively ; this settled her. 



Till now the bullock had remained perfectly quiet, but at the shots he 

 commenced to dash madly round and round the stump, roaring with fright, 

 and jumping over the tigress as he passed. My trackers were anxiously 

 waiting at some distance, and on my giving the well-known signal, three 

 barks in imitation of the spotted-deer, they came running up. By this time 

 I had got down the tree and was examining the tigress, and as my bungalow 

 was only half a mile away some more of my people soon hastened up with 

 Soondargowry, the pad-elephant. This young lady was very amusing in 

 all her ways : she walked up to the tigress and sniffed it, and then with a 

 growl, as much as to say, " A tigress to-night, eh ! is that all ? " knelt down 

 to receive her burden, and marched off sturdily with it to camp. 



On another occasion when watching for a tiger by moonlight I was enter- 

 tained untn his arrival by the proceedings of three jackals. Two arrived 

 before sunset, and their elaborate care in approaching the carcass of the 

 bullock the tiger had killed, though it lay in open ground, and they might 

 have known the tiger could not be secreted in very close proximity, was 

 highly amusing. When close to it they would suddenly scamper off, appa- 

 rently with the object of drawing some movement from the tiger if it were 

 anywhere near. Having at last plucked up courage to begin, one fell to 

 voraciously, tugging away at the skin and making a great noise, whilst the 

 other watched assiduously, never essaying to taste the tempting flesh. 

 Presently the sentry raised every hair on its body and tail, lowered its head 

 into the attitude of a dog in vomiting, tucked in its tail, and made a quick 

 shuffling movement forward, ludicrously like an aggressive turkey. Here 

 comes the tiger, thought I ; but presently I descried the cause in the shape 



11. 



