THE TIGER. 23 



of mosquitoes which came out a little before' dusk and attacked me savagely at the very 

 time when I most expected the Tiger. I have not yet met the man with sufficient stoicism 

 to bear the bites of mosquitoes unflinchingly ; and on this occasion, although I tried to 

 avoid moving, it was beyond human endurance to refrain from occasionally brushing away 

 the tormentors from my face. Whether the Tiger came and caught sight of me, or whether 

 he never returned, I could not ascertain ; but just before dark I heard some animal rush 

 through the jungle, and I caught a glimpse of something red. It struck me at the time 

 that whatever it was moved too quickly for a Tiger, and that it was probably only a 

 Jackal or a Barking Deer. Be this as it may, I neither saw nor heard anything more, 

 and returned to the hut where I was staying considerably disappointed. 



As the Tiger had had a good feed, I thought it best to leave him alone for a few 

 days and tempt him again when he was hungry ; I therefore returned home and waited 

 till it was nearly full moon. I then revisited the Tiger's jungle, and this time tied up 

 three cows on different parts of the hill-side, and had them watched from a distance during 

 the day. The animals were provided with food and water, and were left out all night. 



On the evening of the second day the cows were still unmolested, and as we had 

 not seen a fresh track nor heard the Tiger's voice, we began to think that he had left 

 his favorite haunt for a time. At daybreak on the third morning however, on going my 

 rounds as usual, I found a cow missing. A broad trail through the adjoining bushes 

 showed plainly what had become of her, and I proceeded to follow it up. The peg to 

 which the cow had been tethered had been torn, up, and the cow dragged down the hill 

 into very thick cover. As the cow was a good sized one it must have been a large Tiger 

 which could carry it through so many obstacles. After following the trail for about a 

 quarter of a mile, I found the cow lying under a thick bush ; she was still warm, and the 

 tooth holes in her throat were the only marks of violence. For several yards in every 

 direction was a dense cover of low bushes, and it would have been absolutely impossible 

 to have obtained a shot at the Tiger had I left the cow where she lay. I therefore dragged 

 her four or five yards into an open space which I found I could command very well 

 from a tree which grew near its edge. I at once made my men cut a quantity of branches 

 with as little noise as possible, and with them I constructed a capital nest in the tree 

 and within a quarter of an hour I had comfortably established myself in it. I then 

 dismissed my attendants with orders to bring me some sandwiches and a bottle of beer 

 at midday, when they would be least likely to disturb the Tiger. The morning passed 

 away without incident ; some vultures collected on the neighbouring trees, but they seemed 

 to know that they must wait for the master of the feast to take his share before they could 

 regale themselves. About midday my dinner arrived, and was handed to me in silence, 

 my men being again dismissed by a sign. 



During the afternoon several birds of various species visited my tree, and as I remained 

 perfectly motionless, they sometimes came within a few inches of me; and once a slender 

 snake came gliding along the branches and passed close to my face with a most graceful 

 undulating motion. 



