48 SPORT IN ASIA AND AFRICA 



tiger was there I felt sure, and my conviction was 

 presently proved to be correct by two tremendous 

 sniffs, the tiger having apparently detected the 

 smell of the elephant. I was so situated, and was 

 so near the ground, that it was decidedly exciting, 

 and if I had been able to see, it would have 

 been too exciting to be agreeable. My impression 

 was that the tiger was under me, but an examina- 

 tion of the footprints in the morning showed that 

 he was standing at right angles to the carcase 

 of the buffalo, parallel to the machan with his 

 paws nearly touching the carcase. As I was 

 sitting on the extreme edge of the machan, he 

 could not have been more than 14 feet from 

 me ; in fact, with a fishing-rod, I could have 

 touched him. Presently he moved over the 

 carcase, and, as he moved, the colour showed 

 for an instant against the blackness of the night. 

 He then settled himself immediately under me, 

 and in the stillness I heard his teeth cHck in the 

 hide of the buffalo, which he tried to drag. I 

 turned the rifle down right under me and fired, 

 but unfortunately did not turn it quite far enough, 

 and an examination made in the morning showed 

 that the bullet had missed his head by a few 

 inches. The marks of the teeth in the hide and 

 the mark of the bullet in the ground were quite 

 clear. There was silence for a second, and then I 

 heard him gallop off. 



It was very disappointing, as the tiger would 

 probably have killed again, and I should have had 

 a better chance with a three or four days' moon ; 

 but, as the saying is, " It is better to have loved 

 and lost, than never have loved at all," and the 



