276 THE HIGHLANDS OF CENTEAL INDIA 



tte same place. The beaters came on Mm in a patch, 

 of long grass jungle, from which he obstinately refused 

 to move. He had been once wounded in a drive, and 

 never would face the gims again. At last we set fire to 

 the jungle, while I awaited him on a tree at one end. 

 The raging flames must have passed completely over 

 him, and it was not till they had nearly reached my 

 post, and the heat was exploding the dried fruits of a 

 leael tree^ next to me, with reports like pistol shots, 

 that I retreated from my post. I had barely reached 

 the ground when I heard a shout from the beaters, who 

 were all in the trees round about the cover, and the tiger 

 broke out among them. Then ensued a drawing-up of 

 black legs, and a perfect Babel of abuse of his remotest 

 ancestors was poured on him from the trees as he halted 

 below, and looked up at them with a longing gaze. I 

 hurried round, but was just in time to see him pause for 

 a moment on the top of a ridge, his grand form appearing 

 dilated to an unnatural size, from the bracing of the 

 muscles, lashing tail, and bristling coat, bathed in the 

 red glow of the setting sun and the blazing jungle. The 

 next instant, before my rifle could be got to bear on him, 

 he plunged down the farther side and disappeared. 



I had one piece of really wonderful luck in this trip, 

 which compensated for a good deal of heavy fagging in 

 vain after the monarch of the jungle. I will quote the 

 account as written at the time, which betrays an en- 

 thusiasm I should scarcely be able to call up in such a 

 description nowadays, and which gives the details of a 

 method of hunting tigers which in later years I abandoned 

 as involving too great a risk of human hf e, namely, driving 

 with beaters. In such a country as the upper Narbada 

 valley, however, the more legitimate method of stalking 

 with the elephant could scarcely be followed, owing to 

 the extent and density of the cover and the abundance 

 of water. 



Three tigers, namely, a tigress and her two nearly 

 full-grown cubs, had long been the plague of some villages 

 on the banks of the river. Their depredations extended 

 1 JEgle marmalos. 



