My First Shot at a Tiger.

Te Aroha News, Volume VI, Issue 347, 2 March 1889, Page 5

My First Shot at a Tiger.

"V, T happened intheMehratta country, which at the time -4^ 3 I°^ which I write was as yet (^pS^f^ - almost untouched by rail)/Ih *' ' K^dSj^ndatTbrdedexceilent v^*/Vn ] ground for big giiro shootJPyyf y^4r*- i"g- But big game shooting \ ib ex pensive, and being a sub-flllifPfC'--'f \altem on little mote than IlllpjK/'' i' my * ia^' nac * oc . cn IfijifPj''^ I", wmo two years in Jmlia, WfffityAl 7 p and had hid plenty of '^1 oppoitunities of exeicising b;y skill at smaller game, such as snipe and partridges, I possessed no ii(le, and ha Inever been out alter anything bigger than hares. One morning at breakfast my biothei subaltern and 'stable companion," \V . came up and rather surprised me by suggesting in the most commonplaco tone — ' Come sliootincr to-day ?' 'All light; what kind of thcoting V replied 1. •Oh, tiger-. 5 Of couiso I looked upon it as a mild attempt at a joke, and replied in the same tone: but as he seemed lather shoit, and said he hud no time to waste talking nonsense, 1 began to think he really wanted me to <jfo with him on some kind of shooiing exclusion, so I strolled over with him to the bungalow which we slimed, and tried to yet out of him when lie proposed going, and what kind of cartiidges to taUe. 'We don't want man} cartiidges, as we ohall not shoot many tigers,' said he, still, as I fancied, keeping up the joke. 'When, ho^evei, I saw him putting togethei hi-* rifle, 1 thought he must be after something bigsrer than winged game. While I wns changing into 'shikar kit,' W came into my room bunging some caitiidges loaded with lo bore bullets tightly sewn up in kid. ' You haven't got a" rifle, 1 know,' suid he (we had livei together for tome time, and each knew pretty well what the other possessed), 'but a* the jungle is pretty thick, and we shall not get a furthei than ,30 yards oil, if we get one at all, yom 12-bore gun v\ ill do \ery well with these.' At last I began to see that he really was after something big, and when A dro\e np to our verandah in a. ' tonga/ and shouted ' Look sharp, you follows,' 1 made haste to place my gun and caitiiJgec in the trap, trusting to have matteis explained to me on the I had great faith in V , who, thanks to influential fuends, had already made hi^ debut in big game shooting in Canara, and though not older than myself, he had on more than one occi?ion proved himself an excellent shot with a rifle. His tastes were exclusively confined to shooting, and he was therefore able to spend the whole of his spare cash on that one amusement. He had, however, never succeeded in getting: a shot at a tiger, though he had been out scveial times when tigers weie killed by others, and had shot panthers, bear, and bison. A ' tonga ' can scarcely be called a comfortable conveyance, as one requires; cushions and all soits of conveniences to make tra\elling in it anything like beatable, but we made oursehes as snug as circumstances allowed. The two mules made several attempts to tuin np vaiious loads in the cantonments, ha\ing e\identl) a rooted objection to going in the direction we wanted them, but at last we gofc clear ot the and started oft at a pretty good pace along a dust} led load leading to wauls a village wheie I had several times been after small game. At la s t W began toexpla'n matters. 'I have been looking after this brute for a long time,' said he, 'and last night my shikari came iv to say that lie (the tiger, not the &hik<.ui) had killed a cow iicu a village about twelve miles o(i. He had not touched the young bufkilo I tied up for him, but they seen to know pretty well wheie he is, and there is apparently no mistake about its being a tiger. The) say there are two hill grown ones and a brace of cubs, but mo>b likely that is one of their usual nathe lies.' 1 knew W— — had his ou n scheme? and plan-, which he usually kept very daik, but I had no idea that we were likely to find a tiger within a twelve miles dii\e of a station where theie wcie some 8,000 troop-; and a good many sporting officer?, only too ready to pay highly for ' khubbev ' ot big game. When we got within about two miles of our destination, we turned oti the metalled road on to a cro* '-country track, and after jolting along and neaily getting pitched out half a dozen times, we were met just outside the village by the shikari, who was on the look-out for u-. Tall, straight asadait, with hooked noae and piercing black eyes, one wculd haidly have taken him for a Mahratta, but he was a ttue I Mahratta by birth, though nominally a j JRoman Catholic by iehg;on, and hi^ name j — Anton— had decidedly a Christian ring; about it. Whether he was a comerted ! Christian or only a descendant oi some Mahratta converted by Poituguese mi onion aries, I was never able to ascertain, as he did not care to talk on the subject of leligion, and I fancy that though he prided himself in being a cut above liis fellow lagers in that respect, ho was just as superstitious as any of them. He diank little — a rare virtue among converted nafches — dresse'l in nothing but turban, a cloth round his Joins, and sandals with a blanket thrown over his shouldeis for 'full dress,' and his remaiks were few, bub to the point. He had on previous 'occasions generally shown us spot tof some kind, though perhaps not as much as he promised. We halted under a clump of trees on the edge of the \illage, where we found the beatei'3 collected. They were for the mo=t part squatting down in the manner peculiar to natives of india, and waiting with tiuly Oriental patience. Probably the shikaii had collected them hours before under threats of the sahibs' displeasure, but a few turned up from the village after our aim al, silently taking their places among the others. W r e took the precaution of counting them before netting to work, and weeding out a few of the weaker men, reducing their number to a hundred. This counting is a very necessary preliminaiv, as otherwise at the end of a day's shooting about double the original number turn up, but if counted beforehand one need only pay the number one staited with. Should moie turn up at the end of the day, they can easily settle it among themselves, as they know very well who has ' borne the heat and burden of the day,' and who has not. The payment usual in that part of the country was piomised — viz., two annas (about twopence) a man should no tiger be seen, three annas should one of us get a shot but miss, or four annas for a tiger. Besides this, the shikari was to receive the Government reward for the destruction of a tiger (Rs. 25), and the patel, or head man ot the village, a present, the amount of which was left to our discretion or generosity. The shikari was rather profuse in his instructions as to the beat, of which we understood very little, as they were given in Mahrathi, few of the villagers underetandinu any other language, though the shikari fcalked pretty good Hindustani as well. The beaters started off in Indian file in one direction under the patol, and %ye in like manner in another, headed by the shikaii. We had forbidden any of the beaters to bring guns, which were more likely to be a

sourco of danger to themselves and us Chan to the tiger. One or two had appeared at the rendezvous oulsido the viUngo with long single barrelled, muz/le-loading weapons, but these had been promptly sent backwhence they came. The shikari, however, insisted on taking his gun, which, after a good deal of discussion, we a'lowecl. \Vc were fust led to see the kill, a young cow, which had been neatly devomed by the tiger. \\ c then started oil' to the placo i towards which tho shikari had decided to drive the tiger. The jungle consisted ot I small tiees and bushes in full leaf, as it was dm ing the cold reason (the leaves fall duiitig the hot weather tlnough heat and j di-oue'ht, and not, as in England, in t u c 'autumn). The w hole giouud was neitlict i too hilly nor too Hat. We crossed several small lavines leading to a stream thickly overgrown with jungle \egetation. Along the stream men had been placed with squib? to prevent (.lie tigei ciosVing it. At last the shikari slopped, aid turning to us. said : ' This is the first place : winch sahib wi'l stay here We had not hitheilo thought about de" / cicling which place we weie ouch to take ' so wo plucked three pieces of gm-, of ditle ent length-*, which we <z<.i\q to the *hikan to hold, and decided that wheunci drew the shortest should '-toy here, and that the other two should go on, the one chawing the lonce-t .<=tiaw taking the f.uthcst place. A drew the shortest, dm\ s'n)cd witli a native. The thiknii looked on with apparent indilleiencc while we neie ca&tmt^ lot-, not making the slightest reniai k. Aftei leaving A we stalled od'afiCfrh, and 1, ha\ mg diawu the middle piece of gi.is-, hjs to take the ne.\t place. T kept my c) c well on t'se spot w heie'wc had letc A ,;o as not to ii.c in that dnection, and followed the othci^- in a toitof beaten jaih up the -ide of a ra\ine. The a^amst a small tiee, and wanted W 10 take up hi^ position theie, as he -aid the tigei wa* sure to come out there. The latter, ho\\e\oi, lefused, as he Hii; to have the iai thest place tint the shikdii would nob undei-taud anything about oui ha\ingdiawn lot-, iwul in hoarse whispeis tued to peisuade W to ie main there, as he .-aid it wa«. the best place. He knew \V was the be-l shot, 01 at 'ea-t lie had -een liim big gamo befoie, "O had moie confidence in him. Of course I alto tued to persuade W- to take this place, hawng a good deal moie faith in h's shooting than in my oun ; and bc-idca we were indebted to him foi our excursion. But he was tiim, and left me with a nnthe, going on with the thikaii to the other place. 1 began [o look out foi a good tiee to a«cend, and at la-t iound one which suited me. I sent the nati\c up tir-t to take the gun. and thcti climbed up 1113 -elf and took my seat a httle below him, and about si.\ feet fiom the ground. I may heie mention that in thi« pait of India tigcis aro genei^lly shot horn tiees and not horn elephants, a- tho junple i= not well adapted for that kind of '•hooting, and elephants ate diilicult to obtain in sulhcient numbers. A tiee i^> -elected, and one take- up one's position theie, as a tiger always urn& with Ins head down, looking in fiont of h in for legs. He does not think of looku.g in tiees, being accustomed to see the natnes and cattle walkinc about on the around, and not amonj. the branches. One ficicfoie sits in a tioc moie foi piotcction iiom \ iew than from attack. as it is ustialu 5 tial to sit not moie than *i\ oi ei^ht feet fiom thcgiound, and a tiger will easily fetch a man down from twelve feet if he attack?, i did not feel veiy comfoi table in the tree butha\ing loaded and cocked I waited a^ quietly as I could, being obliged co my position occasionally to a\oid getting ciainp in the legs. I could tee ncithet of m\ companion 5 , I but knew e\act!\ wheie tlicj wcie, and ot con ifce had to beat then positions m mind in cacc of my getting a shot. .Soon aftci 1 had -ettled my-eh I began to heai in the distance the ciics ol the bea'eis, at lust faint, but gradually gi owing neaicr and more distinct". There na^ no wind . all aiound me was peifcctly silent, and the smallest bitd could be heard Hying just. 1 began to f iy laiting my gun to the shoulder, and found that if I got a ohot to the light I should in all probability make a hash of it, through not being able to tuin round propeily in the tiee. So I devoutly hoped the tigei , if he turned up at all, I would appear cither =tiaight mhontora little to the left. The fclightc&t sound brought my heait into my mouth with I excitement, e^en a pacing jungle • fowl tiipptng lightly over the falling lea\es. A Ismail ia\ine tan along in front of me at about Unity jaidt>' distance, and thence the groand ro-e gradually, leasing almost a clear '-pace to within about ai\ty yaids, studded only with a lew tivcs and bushes. JSuddenly I lieaid a fcound among -some bushes a little to tin left, and J laned my gun almo-t to the shoulder Clash ! cia»li ' among t)>c bu-heo*, and onb came an enoimous pig, which passed between me ard A at about thirty yards' distance from me. The beatei.% weie getting nearer and neaier, and 1 began to think all chance of ,-eeing any bigger game, at )ea*t in that beat, was past, when I heard something stiaight in iront, and could scaicely believe my eyes when I saw emerge from the bushe«, about siXty yards in front of me, a tiger. He wa-i coming straight towards the ravine, and I thought it bettci to me befoie he reached it, as had lie gone down the iavine he would have parsed between A—and myself, but out of of both. I uu-ed my gun quietly when he was within a lew yards of the edge of the ra\ine, and filed. The report re-echoed through the jungle, and the tiger, appaiently unhai mcd, turned tail and went straight back. I took a flying shot beCoic he got out ot sight, and then hcaul nothing but the shouts of the beatei.-, who had clambeietl up tiees. in all diiections in case ot the beast being wounded. In about a quaiber of a minute, however, I heard a .shot fiom A—-, and almost immediately afterwards a shout, '•I've got him, come along '" W hurried up, and we together cautiously appioachel A 's tiee. He shouted ' All right, he's the other side,' and descended. But A — rather qualified his former assertion by saying, 'I think I've gob him ; let's go up in a line, quietly.' Wo slowly walked up to the place wheie A had seen him, reidy to fire should he bo only wounded; but although the giound was fairly e'ear could see nothing. Atla.sb, having seaiched all round Avheie A had seen him, we found no maiks of blood, bub only the tiger's ' pugs ' leading to the stieam. So we began to give it up as a i baJ ]ob. I 'I could swear T hit him,' exclaimed A . | ' I don't see how I could have missed him,' said I, feeling all the &arne that I had made rather a fool of myself by missing a tiger at j thirty paces almost in tho open. ' Very unlucky,' said XV -, sulkily. However, we determined to see if there were any marks of blood where I had fired, and after searching for some time found nothing bub my fiisb bullet, fired beforo the tiger ' made a strategic movement to the rear.' There was nothing for it but to return to our tiitin-baskel, which we had left under the tree just out&ide the village. We all fe't pretty disgusted, and consequently our tiffin was nob a \ery lively one. I think, however, that I was tho most depressed of the party, though we scarcely I

spoke at all. Having iiiii.hod our meal — and, notwithstanding our ill-luck, wo made a pretty good one, having beou all the morning in the open air— an idea came into my head that perhaps after all my gun wan at /unit, being a smooth-boic ; so I suggested thai we should all try ib in tnina at some ot the beer-bottles we had emptied dining tiffen. We placed one on a atone about fifty yards ofl, and the others I insisted on my having the fufat &ho\ I fired, and the bottle biokc with a crash. 1 Well, tit any rate it h not the s>un that ! is at fiui lt,' said the others, almost in a breath. They followed suit, and we smashed (lie lomaiiung botd'es, pioving that the gun was not to blame. On the way home, still ai. other misfoitune befell us. Wo were diiwng over a tiack thsough a rceenfly-fellcd pait of the jungle, the giound being co\o)od\vilh the stumps of t ee^ standing out about a foot above the ground. \V uas diiving, and 1 sat alongside. Suddenly uo 101 l a jolt, and wcic all tluownoiit the 'tonga' turning on to ils, side. We had driven o\cr a stump which we had not notiecd, and to lender malrciy worse I had alighted on WW — — '& left arm, which had recently been vaccinated. His language w.is scnieely pailiamentaiy altci tiiis, and we woie all glad to get back and change for ire.-s. It is some consolation to be able to 1 elate that wo got <he tiger \ety .shortly aftcruaids. We again t;ed up the buflalo, which he killed, and vac wont alter him in a piiity of the. as the jungle into which ho had removed wa.s thicker and icquncd moic gun.-, W got a lair shot at about foi ty 3 aids, and biouyht him to yinfes? ; and 1 had the gr.itsficatiou ot ceuding a bullet into him wl.en disabled. lie was a lire, fullgiow n, male titjci. l!e was bioughi. into the station in a cait, and skinned in oui •compound,' to tho ine.xpic.-piblc ilelight of the iMthe* in goni'i.jl, and ot our in [)ai t'cuhir.