80 SPORT IN ASIA AND AFRICA 



her rather severely. Leaning well out of the how- 

 dah, I waited until the tiger was close up so as to 

 make sure of the shot ; but, just as I was pulling the 

 trigger, the elephant funked and swung round 

 with a jerk, and the rifle went off in the air. By 

 the time the elephant had been turned round the 

 tiger had galloped some distance ; shots fired 

 at his tail by Wood and myself were unsuccessful, 

 and he got clean away. It was very disappointing ; 

 but it was partly my fault, as I ought to have 

 made allowance for the possibility of the elephant 

 funking, and fired as soon as the tiger appeared- 



The Terai, or moist alluvial land, lying between 

 the branches of the mighty Gagra River, provides 

 grazing in the hot weather for large herds of 

 cattle and buffaloes. The grass is burnt in the 

 spring, and at the end of April the land is covered 

 with short green grass. Tigers still abound in 

 this part of India, and toll is taken of the herds. 

 These grazing buffaloes will, as one of the herds- 

 men informed me, respond to a particular call 

 announcing the advent of a tiger, and will charge 

 en masse and drive the animal away ; but young 

 buffaloes, when detached from the herd, are not 

 infrequently attacked and killed. 



A tigress with three small cubs was then marked 

 down in a dry ravine near a village. The tigress 

 was in poor condition, and evidently found a 

 difiiculty in feeding her numerous progeny ; and 

 apparently she had taken up her quarters in the 

 ravine on the chance of killing one of the village 

 cattle, as there was no game in the vicinity. 

 Wood was with the line of elephants on this 

 occasion ; Lumsden was on the left bank, and 



