DO TIGERS DREAD FIRE? 267 



on the ashes of our camp fire. We gave the remains 

 of the poor fellow what burial we could and hurried 

 off on our return journey. We passed several 

 other of our late camps and did fifteen miles that 

 day. The next day we had passed one camp 

 and were just entering a second when the elephants 

 swerved on one side of what was the site of our 

 camp fire, and here on the ashes we found the 

 skull, feet, and thigh bones of a second human 

 being, which, from scraps of cloth about, were 

 recognised as those of the Madrassee carried off a 

 few days before Ramaswamy, the cook. The next 

 day the remains of another lascar were come on, 

 several camps away. We could now see the cunning 

 tactics of the tigress by which she had avoided 

 detection. She had actually followed us up on 

 our own tracks, and, having made a kill, dragged 

 the unfortunate back to our previous day's camp, 

 some four or five miles off, and there stayed with 

 her cubs till pressed by hunger to follow us up 

 again. The marks of the elephants and men 

 made a kind of a beaten track, along which she 

 would leave no trace. The cubs, which Kissen 

 Sing said were not more than six months old, 

 judging from their pugs, were not allowed to 

 accompany their mother when on the hunt, but 

 remained behind to feast on what she brought. 

 We hurried back to head-quarters and saw nothing 

 of tigress or cubs. The survey in that locality had 

 to be abandoned that season, as none of the lascars 

 would work there." 



