MISCELLAXEO US NO TES. 



389 



■be there. Left camp at 9-15 a.m. Motored in half an hour to Kosi bank 

 ■ on this side, crossed in a boat comfortably, went across a strip of jungle 

 about half a mile wide, and again crossed in boat the other branch of Kosi 

 on other side and got into howdahs at 11-15 a.m. We stood on bank of 

 dry nullah bed some 100 yards wide, and sent two elephants across to first 

 patch of grass, where big tiger was reported. It was lying there in rather 

 low grass. _ A magnificent sight followed. A huge tiger, looking bigger 

 even than it was owing to its standing out well above the low grass, imme- 

 diately showed up and after going on the far side ahead of the farther ele- 

 phant suddenly turned round and with tail up, charged out at elephant, 

 then tiurned round and came through the grass straight at us. I attempted 

 to down it with Slannhcher as it was leaving grass to cross nullah but ele- 

 phant moved and my bullet failed to stop or drop it, the same happened 

 with the second shot from the Mannhcher, and then I took up the -240 

 double barrel and my first shot hit it in the shoulder rather low. But 

 except for a quiver she came on charging right across the nullah and, just 

 when things looked exciting, suddenly fell dead at our feet, when almost up 

 the bank. We aU voted it to be a fine male tiger— the father of the family. 

 Imagine our surprise on going up to it to find it was a huge tigress, of which 

 the smaUness of the head as it lay dead gave me my first doubts. On eyeing 

 it closely it turned out to be the Record Tigress ever shot and the biggest 

 recorded in India — 9 ft. 7 inches long, with a body 6 ft. 5 inches, and a 

 really superb prize to have secured. The record from Rowland Ward's 

 book tin now was 9 ft. 5| inches, by Lord Villiers, though my 9 ft. 5 in. 

 Lachhamania Tapu tigress shot in 1918 in Nepal had a 6 ft. 3 inches, 

 against the body of Lord ViUiers' tigress of only 6 ft. 2| in." 



" The following are the detailed measurements of the Record Tigress: — 



Length of body 6 ft. 5 in. 



Length of tail 



Total length 



Girth 



Head 



Forearm 



Height 



We then went on a bit and sent elephants round to beat up a long patch 

 of low grass towards us where the two other tigers had been seen. Here 

 again it was a very fine and jolly sight. Shortly after the elephants had 

 begun beating up to us we saw a tiger coming towards us some 500 yards 

 off. He was still going through the low grass slowly, some 100 yards from 

 us towards our left, when I fired a Mannlicher bullet but, owing to the 

 elephant moving sUghtlv, missed. My second shot, however, hit it in the 

 neck and dropped it in its tracks. Soon afterwards another tiger showed 

 itself coming to our right front from the same direction and yet another 

 to our left ! The tiger on the right after a while crossed in front of us at a 

 walk some 150 to 175 yards off and I dropped it ^nth a bullet through the 

 shoulder but it picked itself up again and charged the elephants to our 

 left, scratching one and then lying up opposite them inside the line, ihe 

 third then gaUoped across towards our right front and I downed it with 

 a -240 buUet a Uttle far back. I took my elephant up to it and finished 

 it off and then we went up to the other wounded animal. Ranjit bmgn 

 said he could see it in the grass lying down opposite liim so I told mm to 

 fire. But in accordance with his usual practice he fired at his hind quarters 

 and then a funny sight ensued : Jabbers missed the chargmg tiger witn 

 his second barrel and the next moment he and Bharat Singh were chnging 

 .on to the howdah for dear life while the elephant was down on his knees 



.3 ft. 2 in. 

 9 ft. 7 in. 

 3 ft. U in. 



2 ft. 3f in. 

 1 ft. 51 in. 



3 ft. 1 in. 



