SOME TIGER AND PANTHER STORIES 39 



certainly wanting in spirit, as he made no attempt 

 to take the offensive; but he was the largest 

 tiger that I have ever seen shot, measuring 

 between pegs fixed in the ground, at the head 

 and tail, 9 feet 8 inches. 



A day or two after this we had a beat for two 

 young tigers in the very place in which Wood had 

 shot the two tigers on the previous expedition ; 

 and, as before, we were posted in machans. Mrs. 

 Lumsden had shots at the tigers, as they broke, 

 but failed to stop them. We then formed a long 

 line, and hunted them through the sal forest 

 for some hours. Lumsden had a shot at one 

 of them, a young tigress, which then passed me 

 at a gallop. The distance, when I fired, was 

 considerable, but the tigress passed me apparently 

 unwounded. One of the two shots, however, 

 was evidently a hit, as the tigress was seen shortly 

 afterwards lying up behind a tree. I had a 

 staunch but very slow elephant, and Lumsden 

 reached the place before me and put a bullet 

 into the tiger. One or two more shots were 

 then fired to finish her off. I made no claim, 

 as the tigress may possibly have been wounded 

 by Lumsden's first shot, and he certainly gave 

 her the coup de grace ; but the idea among the 

 men was that I had put a bullet into her. 



After the death of the tigress we sat unsuccess- 

 fully over two kills which had occurred in the 

 forest until a late hour, and then had a long 

 elephant-ride back to camp, arriving there long 

 after dark. It was hot weather, and, for a lady, 

 it was a wonderful exhibition of endurance. We 

 got no more tigers; but I shot the panther 



