THE TIGER. 
19 
Is he not afraid of any other animal ? / 
Ill his rage, lie will attack every living beast, except 
the elephant, and the rhinoceros, and even these he does 
not always avoid. 
Will he attack men also ? ( 
He is so bold and fierce that he does not even fear the > 
face of man, but will attack the solitary traveler wherever 
he can find him, or at a single bound, select his victim ? 
from a group of men. 
Is he a match for the lion ? ) 
The Royal Tiger does not run when he sees the lion, 
and if the lion offers him battle, he does not refuse the 
combat. Sometimes the Tiger, it is said, will beat the ) 
lion, and destroy him, and sometimes these battles are so j 
terrible that both animals are killed on the spot. 
What is said of the beauty of this animal ? ( 
The Tiger is called the most beautiful of quadrupeds. ( , 
The perfect blackness of the stripes around his body, j 
with the deep yellow between them, and the shining ■ 
smoothness of his hair, gives his skin very uncommon 
beauty. Besides the beauty of his skin, he has an elegant > 
form, which fits him at once, for swiftness and agility. 
How does the Tiger seize his prey ? 
The Tiger seizes his prey exactly as the cat does. \ 
The cat does not seize her prey by running it down like ( 
the dog and hyena, but she watches until the poor little \ 
mouse comes along, when she springs upon it, at once. ■ 
Just so the huge Tiger does. He hides himself where \ 
the buffalo, or other animals come to drink, and when 
one comes near him, he gives a bound, and seizes it with ' 
his terrible claws and teeth. 
What is said of the strength of this animal ? ( 
It is said that the Tiger is so amazingly strong, that ; 
after having killed a buffalo, an animal larger than an ! 
ox, he throws it across his back, and holding it with his 
teeth, runs off, just as a fox runs away with a goose. 
Do Tigers go in droves, or herds, like zebras and wild horses ? ) 
These animals are so fierce and spiteful, that they i 
never can agree to live in peace, even among them- j> 
selves, and hence they never run in droves, nor do they 
assist each other in their combats with other animals. 
What is the difference between the Tiger and the leopard ? \ 
The shape of the Tiger and the leopard are very ’ 
nearly alike. Their colors are also alike, being yellow | 
and black ; but the arrangement of these colors is quite 
different in the two animals. The Tiger is yellow, 
striped with black, while the leopard is yellow, spotted j 
with black. The size of the Tiger is also much larger ' 
than that of the leopard ; he is also more fierce and cruel. 
The leopard can be tamed so as to be glad to see his 
master, but the Tiger is seldom glad to see any thing 
which he cannot tear in pieces and devour. 
Is this animal of any use to man ? ; 
The skin of the Tiger, on account of its singular beau¬ 
ty, is valuable, and sells at a high price, but no other 
part of the animal is of any use. 
If the Tiger himself is of little use, his history perhaps 
may be useful, for we must not believe that any thing 
has been made without a good design. 
If it should be asked for instance, why the most beau¬ 
tiful of quadrupeds, should be at the same time one of 
the most ferocious and hateful of all animals, in his ac¬ 
tions, we may answer, that the Creator, perhaps intend¬ 
ed to show us how little value we ought to set upon 
beauty, by thus bestowing it on the worst of creatures. 
In not permitting such strong and cruel animals to 
run in droves, the Creator’s wisdom, and his kindness 
towards man is plainly to be seen. For did Tigers herd 
together, and combine to do mischief, the people where 
they live, would either be destroyed by them, or be 
obliged to go constantly with guns or spears in their 
hands, to defend themselves, and save their lives. Thus 
we see that the ferocity of Tigers, being such as not to 
admit of their running in droves, is the very means by 
which their wide destruction is prevented. 
ANECDOTE I. 
The following story will not only give some idea of 
the boldness and fierceness of the Tiger, in India, but 
will show the great danger there is, in going into those 
parts of the country where he lives, even when every 
care is taken to frighten him away. 
Mr. Munro, and three other gentlemen, left their ship 
and went on shore in India to hunt deer. They had not 
walked far from the shore, before they saw the tracks of 
several Tigers, but not supposing themselves in any dan¬ 
ger, with their loaded guns in their hands, they contin¬ 
ued to hunt until towards noon. At length, growing 
tired, and wishing to sit down to rest themselves, they, 
in the first place, fired their guns, and then kindled a 
large fire, to frighten away the Tigers, if any happened 
to be near them. They then set down to rest and take 
their dinner, but had only just begun to eat, when one of 
their servants came to say, that a fine deer had come 
very near them. The gentlemen instantly took their 
guns to shoot at the deer, but at that moment a horrible 
growl was heard close to them, and before they had time 
to see from whence it came, an enormous Tiger sprang 
and seizing Mr. Munro, carried him away into (he woods. 
This was done so quick, that there was no time to fire 
at him, until he had run some distance with Mr. Munro 
in his mouth. The gentlemen, knowing that their un¬ 
fortunate companion must certainly be killed,unless they 
could hit the ferocious beast, instantly took good aim and 
fired. The Tiger, however, continued to run off with 
his prey, and Mr. Munro was given up, as torn in pieces 
