DO TIGERS DREAD FIRE? 261 



of his allowance, and he vowed a vow to Mahadev 

 that if she took the tiger away she could do with him 

 what she pleased. Shortly after the gowala died, 

 and since that time the present tiger kept guard 

 over the villages and allowed no other tiger near. 

 When I pointed out that this tiger had killed several 

 buffaloes and cows to my knowledge he replied, 

 ' Well, must he not live ? Is he to die of hunger ? 

 He does not kill men nor allow other tigers here 

 he is my great-uncle." 



The following incident, related by a gentleman 

 of whose veracity there can be no question, would 

 seem to prove that tigers, like the African lion, 

 have occasionally taken away men from the camp- 

 fire and shown no particular dread of light : 



" We were surveying a district lately acquired by 

 the British in North Burmah, and as we had found 

 great difficulty in procuring local labour in the 

 previous season, we took with us from Bangalore 

 a number of Madrassee lascars. The country was 

 in a very disturbed state, as bands of dacoits looted 

 villages and robbed and murdered travellers where- 

 ever they found them. Six military police under 

 a naik were sent with us for our protection, and a 

 couple of elephants to carry our baggage and 

 provisions, as nothing was to be had in the district 

 we were going into. The first part of our journey 

 lay through low marshy country, with here and 

 there a little rice cultivation, but we soon got 

 past this into a ' terai ' at the foot of a range 

 of hills, and here our troubles began. The country 



