14 The Carnivora. 
considerable time he was able to stand, and on looking for his 
rifle saw it lying four or five yards from him. The tiger, it 
seemed, having been roused by the beaters, and, bounding off 
in his fright, dashed against the man with his whole force and 
stunned him. None of the beaters had seen anything of it, 
and: his brother officers could hardly believe their comrade’s — 
story of this singular collision with a tiger, the effects of which 
he felt fur several days. 
According to accounts I have heard from those who ought 
to be able to judge, a tiger can make a spring of 30ft. from his 
crouching position. Few animals except the elephant would be 
able to resist some 400lb. weight hurled such a distance, and 
it is really wonderful that any man who has been in the clutches 
of one of these brutes should ever escape with his life. One 
of those who had got off with very slight injury, told me that 
a wounded tiger charged him, and was content with merely 
leaving the marks of his claws on his thigh: but he has a most 
vivid recollection of his sensations when those huge tenter hooks 
were driven into his flesh. The tiger, finding no resistance was 
offered, thought it was not worth while to stay to maul him, 
and went off without doing further damage. This act of forbear- 
ance was probably dictated by the approach of the beaters. 
Though on the whole more courageous than the lion, the tiger 
is usually a skulking brute, especially in the presence of man. 
His attacks on the buffalo, however, in which the bulls at times 
severely wound him, must be placed to his credit, and three 
or four tigers have been known to drive the inhabitants out 
of « village by their frequent attacks on the cattle and the 
oceasional seizure of a human being, until the Englishman’s 
rifle has been called in to put an end to the terrorism. In 
the agricultural districts of Mysore the tigers have hecome so 
emboldened by the timidity of the people, that they have been 
known to chase men in the open. The native methods of de- 
stroying them can do little to keep down their numbers, traps 
of every kind being most uncertain with so wily and powerful 
abrute. Netting is practised with considerable success in some 
