74 SPORT IN BENGAL. 



hesitate to consider my answer ; but if questioned as to the 

 locality where he was most likely to meet with one, I would 

 at once suggest an evening stroll in a grassy glade of the 

 beauteous (?) Soonderbuns, where he could watch the young 

 fawns skipping beside their speckled dams, while the striped 

 beast he sought prepared to make a supper off him ; and if 

 my young questioner acted upon that suggestion, I confess I 

 should not expect to see him more. 



There are persons whose minds are so ill-balanced as to 

 regret the present paucity of tigers, especially in the fields 

 and groves around certain schools and colleges ; but there can 

 be no doubt that, although their absence may have something 

 to do with the too-rapid growth of population and the con- 

 sequent occurrence of famines and other calamities at the 

 present day, even the most morbid mind must allow that the 

 country and people are better for the absence of the tigers 

 which did patrol duty upon the roads close to Calcutta itself, 

 and that too not at night only. 



Some idea of the numbers of tigers infesting Bengal less 

 than a century ago, may be formed by a reference to that 

 interesting old work, " Oriental Field Sports," by Captain 

 Thomas Williamson, who served upwards of twenty years in 

 Bengal, and describes vividly, not only the sports he shared 

 in, about the end of the last century, but the state of the 

 country, the habits of the Europeans of his time, and many 

 other things, not to be found without much research. It is 

 remarkable that although the gallant author spent so many 

 years in India, his knowledge of the vernacular is such as 

 would do no credit to a candidate going up now " for the 

 lower standard." Writing of the river running under the field 

 of Plassey, Captain Williamson names it the " Baugrutty, 

 i. e., the Tigers' River ; it was formerly surrounded by large 

 grass jungles teeming with tigers, buffaloes, etc. In another 

 place he informs us that a tiger is sometimes called " seer," 

 which means in the Moors' language the head, as the tiger 

 undoubtedly is the head or principal "beast of the field ! 

 Again, he tells us that the panther, for its partiality " for 



