92 
THE STORY OF THE TIGER. 
which appears to have been communicated to their posterity, just as the puppy 
of a retriever dog will plunge into the water and fetch a stick without being 
taught. 
Tigers are usually taken by the natives in pitfalls, at the bottom of which 
is planted a bamboo stake, the top of which is sharpened into a point. The 
animal falls on the point, and is impaled. 
The general notion that tigers cannot be tamed is erroneous. They can 
be tamed as easily as the lion; but great caution must be used with all wild 
animals, as in a moment of irritation their savage nature breaks out, and the 
consequences have more than once proved fatal. 
The coloring of the tiger is a good instance of the manner in which animals 
are protected by the similarity of their external appearance to the particular 
locality in which they reside. The stripes on the tiger’s skin so exactly assim¬ 
ilate with the long jungle grass, among which it lives, that it is impossible for 
unpracticed eyes to discern the animal. 
The attachment of animals to man,is one of the most pleasing and attractive 
traits in their character. It is not confined to domestic ones alone, but extends 
to the most ferocious, as the lion and tiger; and to the most suspicious, as the 
fox and the marten. A rat has been known to accompany its master in his 
walks, to fly to him for safety at the least alarm, and to shun the presence of 
strangers. Instances of strong attachment are frequently met with in birds. 
A tigress showed a fidelity of attachment in a way that would scarcely be 
expected in that fierce creature. She was brought from India in a vessel 
where she was allowed to- run about. Here she became quite friendly to all, and 
attached to her keeper. 
On her arrival in London she was turned over to other parties, and in con¬ 
finement became sulky and savage, and was at last placed^in a menagerie. Her 
old keeper one day visiting the place, asked permission to enter her den. Those 
in charge refused, and it was not till he exercised the most urgent entreaty 
that he obtained his wish, all present looking upon him. as a doomed man. 
No sooner, however, did the tigress recognize her old kind friend, than 
she fawned upon him, licked and caressed him, exhibiting the most extravagant 
signs of pleasure, and after he left she whined and cried for hours. 
The most highly esteemed amusement in many parts of India is the contest 
of savage and determined tigers. They are suitably prepared for the encounter 
by being kept on short commons for some days before that appointed to. test 
their strength, and no one who> has not been an eye-witness of this barbarous 
pursuit can imagine the breathless interest and expectation with which the 
