THE TIGER. 21 



at the story, and waited for the others to arrive. In about half an hour the other villager 

 came in howling and declaring that Moti had been killed by the Elephant. On cross- 

 examination, however, I found that he had merely heard a noise, and had at once bolted 

 without waiting to see what had become of Moti ; and from his account I was quite certain 

 that it could not have been an Elephant which they met, but probably a Tiger, o.r perhaps 

 only a Pig. I at once set off for the place, and, guided by the villagers, came to a patch 

 of ' nuV (a species of high thick reed), close to where I had shot the Elephant. I entered 

 this, and soon found the axes and other things which the men had thrown away in their 

 flight ; and a pace or two further on I found poor Moti lying on his face. I lifted him up, 

 and found that he was quite dead, with the marks of a Tiger's teeth in his throat. He had 

 evidently come upon the Tiger asleep, and the brute must have jumped up and killed him 

 instantly. I had given him a gun before he went out, but he had foolishly fired off both 

 barrels immediately after leaving camp ; the gun and a jungle fowl which he had shot were 

 still in his hand. I was sorry for poor Moti, as he was a plucky, willing fellow. His brother 

 was with me, and helped to carry him to camp ; he was soon deposited in the Ganges. 



None of the Hindoos at Rikki Kase would sell a cow or a buffalo to be tied up as a bait 

 for the Tiger, so I took a buffalo calf by force, and fastened it under a tree, close to the ' nuV 

 where poor Moti was killed. I made a ' machdn ' in the tree, and took my station in it about 

 four o'clock. I waited till about nine o'clock, when it became too dark to see to shoot, and 

 I had ordered men to come to meet me with torches. No Tiger came ; in fact I hardly 

 expected it ; as it had evidently only killed Moti on being surprised, and not with any 

 intention of eating him. I heard a Tiger roar at a great distance, and several Elephants 

 came to drink at a pool near the tree, and when I descended to go home, I heard them all 

 round me. 



Talking of Tigers roaring, the word is rather out of place : the sound heard at night is 

 more a sort of moan than a roar, and when a Tiger charges, it utters a series of loud angry 

 grunts. 



Tigers are met with so unexpectedly, that it is wise never to walk in jungles frequented 

 by them without a loaded gun or rifle in one's hand ; a shot in the nick of time will very 

 probably either stop or turn a charge. I had on the previous day walked through the very 

 patch of 'mil' in which Moti was killed, without any gun in my hand, but I have taken good 

 care to be armed ever since when walking through ' Tigerish ' places. 



When spending the hot months at Murree in 1874, I used frequently to make short 

 shooting excursions, and used occasionally to hear of kills by Tigers and Panthers. 

 I promised a reward to any one who would bring me immediate news of a fresh kill, and 

 consequently many days seldom passed without my receiving ' k/mbr' of some sort. On 

 enquiry, however, it usually turned out either that a cow or goat had been killed about a 

 week before, or else that the village Shikari had been trying to get a shot at the wild 

 beast, — whatever it was, — and so spoiled my chance of success. 



On one occasion, however, a villager came in with the news that a Tiger had recently 

 killed three cows, and that he was known to be in a certain heavy jungle on a steep hill-side. 



