MY LAST TIGER. 
207 
and pointing about twenty yards ahead 1 saw him lying 
on his side gathered to his fathers. The ball had gone 
clean through him behind his shoulders ; he was a fine 
young male but thin and lanky, I could only make him 
seven feet eight inches as he lay. The next morning 1 sent 
Atley to see if any other tiger had been to the Bison, he 
reported that a tiger had been and had dragged the carcass 
some yards and had eaten a part of it. I started in the after- 
noon to watch for him ; it was tedious work, but a tiger is 
worth it. Whilst watching, two of those same animals I had 
seen previously came, and were scratching up and eating the 
ofifal ; it was very interesting to w^atch their ways. At last 
one of them threw up his nose, and raising himself on his hind 
legs sniffed about evidently smelling danger, not in my 
direction, but from where I expected the tiger ; it then went 
up to its companion who was busy at work, and touching it 
with its nose went through exactly the same manoeuvre. The 
other looked round, sat up and sniffed about for an instant 
and off they trotted. I fully expected the tiger, but he did 
not come, and after waiting for three hours and darkness 
coming on^ I went home. It rained the whole of the next 
day, and when on the following I went to look for the 
bison, 1 found that the tiger had been at him, had dragged 
the remains to the nullah, and nothing but the bones left ; 
rather a bit of bad luck. 
On the 12th September, 1868, 1 was out in the forest 
that extends along the foot of the Nielgherry mountains 
looking for any game that might turn up, when I heard a 
spotted deer give one of their sharp shrill barks ; having seen 
a short time before the quite fresh track of a tiger in the 
sand of a dry nullah 1 stole along it, and soon came again on 
