CHAPTER XVIII 



A bait taken — Living animals as bait — A seemingly cruel practice — 

 Reasons for adopting it — A tigress put up — Missed — Charging through 

 the beaters — Cubs discovered — An all-night vigil — The tigress returns — 

 Finding her cubs — Process described — An opportunity lost — The cubs 

 disappear — Tigress or ghost — How the cubs were removed — Morning 

 at last — Tracking up — Death of the tigress — The cubs found — Dharwar 

 again — A shooting camp — News of game — Daily disappointments — Two 

 tigers reported at last — The beat — Turned by a stop — A roar and a rush 

 — A hurried shot — Instantaneous effects — The tiger's mate — Beaters 

 charged again — Marked dovm — Drawing lots for places — A tempting 

 offer — Why I rejected it — Premature congratulation — The tigress 

 let off again — Questions and answers — Extraordinary performance — 

 Subsequent explanations — What might have been accomphshed — 

 The shikaris' disgust — A panther in my tent — My dogs wake me up — A 

 desperate struggle in the dark — Firing haphazard — A sudden crash — 

 Ominous silence — The servants aroused — They arrive with a lantern 

 — What the light revealed — One dog missing — Carried off by a panther 

 — A fruitless pursuit in the dark — Resumed at daybreak — Remains of 

 Rover found — An unsuccessful vigU — The spot re- visited months later 

 — A panther shot — Was it the same ? 



I HAVE, I think, in a previous chapter describing the tiger 

 and its ways, made mention of the curious manner in 

 which the tigress feeds her cubs. I was once fortunate 

 enough to witness this strange meal. 



I had received news of this particular tigress late one 

 afternoon. She was said to have killed one of my tied- 

 up buffaloes, and was reported to be lying up in a ravine 

 some eight miles from my camp. 



I have already stated elsewhere that one of the methods 

 employed to locate a tiger or panther is to bait the jungles 

 in the neighbourhood he frequents, that is to say, to tie 

 up buffaloes or goats, as the case may be, in all places 

 which he is likely to pass in order that he may kill one, 

 and thus give the sportsman a chance of locating him. 



This tying up of live animals for the tiger or panther 

 184 



