140 IN THE INDIAN JUNGLE. 



at the ghur (Gainghur, the Raja's residence). A 

 tiger had killed several cattle. The pugs were 

 small and some said it was a panther ; but I knew 

 it was a tiger because the pugs of a tiger show the 

 toe marks distinctly, whereas in a panther's pugs 

 the toe marks are very faint, because it treads more 

 on the ball of the foot, to preserve its claws for tree 

 climbing. The tiger cannot climb trees but the 

 panther can. I have seen it run up a tree like a 

 squirrel and bite a man's leg on the topmost bough. 

 On a tree you are safe from a tiger. 



" I said it was a tiger, and the Raja asked me to 

 kill it. I set my bow and poisoned arrows near the 

 next kill but the tiger did not come near it. I set 

 it at several different kills but the thief of a tiger 

 was too cunning. He would not come near it. The 

 people laughed and said I was a tantee (weaver), and 

 not a baghmaree (tiger-killer), and that I had better 

 go back to my trade. But the Huzoor can see I am 

 a man " stroking his moustache c< and am not to 

 be beaten by a janwar(wild animal). I took counsel 

 with no one but walked the jungle every day to 

 see if I could not circumvent this dog that had 

 thrown dirt in my face and caused the villagers to 

 laugh at me. I soon noticed that there were two 

 sets of pugs, which went together. This led me to 

 believe there were a tiger and a tigress. I went to 

 every kill before the Khols got scent of it and 

 carried away the flesh, as these people eat every 

 kind of flesh, even rats and snakes and carrion, 

 and I carefully noted that the trails all led in 

 one direction to a rocky hill covered with dense 



