any other part of India with Tigers, the moft voracious and de-
flructive animal of the periinfula. This part was probably
famed for the tremendous animal: Seneca diftinguiihes it in his
Oedipus by the epithet Gangetica Tigris. Thofe which fupphed
the Roman amphitheatres with the objeits of the fport, were
procured from fome part of this great empire, which produced
the largf ft and the fierceft. The firft which appeared in the
SpeBacula at Rome, were in the time of Auguflus, having been
prefented to him by certain ambaffadors from iMia. Zarma-
nus, or Zarmanochagas, whom' I have mentioned before, was
one of them. In the Suriderbunds, the tigers are particularly
fatal to the Wood-cutters and falt-makers, who refort there in
the dry feafon ; they will not only feize on them in the iflands,
but even fwim to the boats at anchor, and fnatch the men from
on board. The P i e t i f t s , w h o annually vifit one particular ifland
for the fake o f wafhing themfelves in the facred water, often
fall viaims to thefe terrible animals : they have fuch power as
to carry off a man with the utmoft facility ; they will even
go full fpeed with a buffalo, which they will feize out of the
field or pafture, In my Hiß. Quad. i. p. 279, 1 have given, a
melancholy inftance of their fpringing among a party of gentlemen
and ladies recreating themfelves on the iflands of the
Ganges, and carrying away one of the Company; fuch accidents
are not uncommon. Another party in the beginning of this
century was more fortunate; the company were feated under
the ihade o f trees on the banks of a Rengalefe river; a lady
among them obferved a tiger preparing to take its fatal fpring,
a n d with amazing prefence o f mind laid hold of. an umbrella,
and
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G A N G E T I C H I N D O O S T A N . i 53
and furling it full in the animal’s face, terrified it To that it in-
ftantly Retired. This lady afterwards fell into diftrefs, but was
gratefully relieved by the whole party, as each individual
might fuppofe that his particular exiftence might have been
owing to her. I am told that the tigers are fometimes plagued
with flies, which fettle about their eyes, and frequently make
them almoft blind : Thefe wander remote from their ufual
haunts, and give themfelves up to deftrudtion. Large rewards
are given for deftroying o f tigers in general ; the fkins, the
claws, and the teeth, are articles o f exportation.
T h e colors o f thefe animals differ to their age or ftate o f C o l o r o f .
health ; the ground color of a young or vigorous beaft is almoft
o f _a brilliant orange ; the black intenfe, and the little white it
has is moft pure. In old or fickly beafts the black is dull, and
the yellow fades to a fandy hue.
An animal of the panther or leopard kind, o f a deep black
color, with the fpots of a more intenfe black, was taken in thefe
forefts, and added to the menagery in the tower of London by
Mr. Ha/lings. By the fize and ftrength it more probably merits
the name of panther than leopard. An animal of the laft fpe-
cies, of a dirty white color, fpotted with grey, taken near Agra,
was prefented to Jebangir. It is lingular that in the Torrid
Zone many more inftances of the accident of white animals
flaould have been found, for it is recorded that the fame emperor
had feen an antelope, a hawk, a crow, a partridge, a quail, and
a peacock o f that color.
T h e one-horned Rhinoceros is very common in thefe iflands, Rhinoceros.
it loves forefts and fwampy places, and is a frequent concomi-
V o l . I I . VA
tant