i ^ í l
1 1
50 THE TIGER PROWLING THROUGH A VILLAGE.
THE TIGER PROWLING THROUGH A VILLAGE. 51
s lliey (limiiiisli in
'oazcl, &c. do mure
Ijiilli. -I
liscliief, : proporl
¡ably filili lililí Ilio
lliiiii a lion, a ligcr,
pole cal, Iho
or a leopard !
Ill tliose jiiirls oC llie coiliiLry wlicre lliore is lillle ciillivaLioii, and (liaL
perliajls on one or hvo sides of a village, jungles of some sorL will infallibly
spring U|>, aflbrdiiig lo tlie most noxious liea.sis and rejILiles an inimediale
vicinity lo llieir |irey ; in sncti siuiations, or wlicrc there are woods and other
covers within a lew miles, the inhabitants are perpetually in a state of alarm,
often seeing th
spirited individ
attempt a resciK
BcngaUce for tli
as his legs will i
well as the meat
his tutelar deity he awa
nay. witliont danger, (¡uit his asylum and resume his occupations.
r friends taken away liy tigers at mid-day. Though a few
ds may, here and there, he iomid, who .act with vigour and
yet such is not to he considered as common. The weak timid
most part flics from the scene of horror, and repairing as fast
rry him, lo the nearest place of security, fastens himself in as
there oHering up a sinhlcn but animated prayer to
no slight perturbation, for intelligence that he
Soine villages arc hnilt so completely siirroiinded by jungles, that one would
laturally ask, what reason, could po.ssibly exist for selecting such barbarously
vild sites for bidiitatioiis ? We sometimes .see a small town accessible only by
me path-way ; which after uicamlering, for perhaps a mile or more, through a
• my forest, grown up with bushes and long grass, terminates at a small
git
opei
f c Ive acres, an
iiing, often not exceeding one or two acres of arable land ; with, perhaps, a
idled pieces, forming in the whol e not more than ten or twelve acres, and
enltivatcd just sutliciently to yield
few eipniliy iiiisci-able dwellings.
abundance of land to be had in the beautiful, fertile plains; but is occasioned
by a certain tendency in the natives of India, seemingly inseparable from their
nature, to avoid, if possible, paying an iota for ground rent, or any other
assessment! These little villages arc generally so hidden from view, and their
apjiroach so dangerous, as very sullieiently to guard them from being inspected
by the collector's servants. A few tame bnll'aloes, perhaps a eow or two, and a
small herd of goats, usually complete the stock of snch a place.
bsistenec to the wretched inhabitants of the
riiis strange seclusion is not for want of
pi
He luirions Hindoo indulgi le gratilicatiou of being safe from
all legal exactions; yet heavily does ho pay for sueh a mistaken idea of liberty.
Ho pays heavy taxes to the tiger, which is speedily attracted by the noise and
scent of the cattle, and nnniberiiig it among his haunts, rarely fails to make Ills
noetiirnal visit, and lo carry oil'whatever may appear beyond the tlircshold.
Sometimes, indeed, his patience being overcome by the fears and precautions of
the inhabitants, whose losses render them extremely careful, the tiger springs
upon the thatch, and <|uickly, by means of his all-powerful talons, makes
himself an opening, through which ho descends into the interior of the house.
On such occasions tigers freipienlly fall victims to their rapacity ; the inhabitants
retiring, and closing the doore after them ; so that their royal visitor is
caught, as it were, in a trap ; for although this luode of entrauee be easv, it is
b y no means equally ready for escape ; there being a wide diflcrcnec between
the mere dropping down Ihrongli the aperture, and returning ^vith a liarlecpiinado
through it, in opposition to the assemblage of persons, ^vho feeling
confident on such an occasion, delay not to repair to the breach, armed with
speai-s and match-locks, when they rarely fail of success. There have been
instances of thatches falling in wi t h the weight of tbe persons who had ascended
to assist in deslroyiiig the tiger, and on one occasion the straw being brought
down in contact with some embers on tile floor, the fire rapidly ilestroyed the
whole house, together with tbe tiger, which could not find means of esrape.
Many years since an old woman, residing near Miduapore, cpiittcd her house
very early in the morning, on some pressing business, and returning shortly
after up the street, saw a tiger enter her habitation, of which the door had been
left open at her departure. With great presence of niiud and conrage, she
hastened and closed the door ; ber erics alarmed the villagers, who lost no'time
in opening a sullleient portion of the thatch to gain a view of the tiger, when
they soon made hira snfler for his impertinent intrusion.
In some parts, and especially in the villages situate near the long belt of
j u n g l e on the western boundaries of Rengal, the houses are generally surrounded
b y strong high palisades, formed of sani trees, bamboos, or other adequate
materials. But for such a preeantion, it would be impossible lo inhabit that
part of the country, where during the day tigers may be heard to bowl in
strains not very comfortable to the auditors. Often in the mornings the tracks
of one or more tigers may be seen thronghoiit the vill.ages ; and, occasionally,
the marks of their claws high up the palisades; seemingly as though they had
amused themselves with exercising their talons, as cats are often found to do
against the leg of a table, &c.
Although wood may be had for the trouble of cutting and bringing it from
the jungles, which are frequently on the very skirts of the village, yet, strange
to say, in many instances the natives confine theiusclvcs to making a very inadequate
fence, merely to keep their cattle together during the night, in the
manner of a pound, and accessible in every quarter to the incursions of tigers.
Others, again, barricade but one side of the house, judging that the habitation
itself will be a sufficient fence in that quarter, because the tiger cannot see the
cattle. Experience, however, generally teaches them that tigers have noses as
well as eyes, and can skip over a coninion thatch with great facility ; for the
eaves of the huts in India rarely exceed five feet, nor arc the ridges usually
more than ten or twelve feet from the ground.
The parta/i dogs, before described, are ordinarily the first to giv
t h e y are generally very vociferous on all occasions, but when a tiger
they ut ter a most dismal and impressive kind of bowling bark, whicl ^
understood by those accustomed to finch matters, fails not to create universal
p a n i c ! The cattle, whether confined in railed pounds, or In the inclosed areas,
Î the alarm;
s prowling.
or fastened to pickets out in the open roads, give strong indications of uneasiness
• kicking, snorting, and endeavouring to retire from the danger. These
symptoms of alarm multiply a thousand-fold in the heart of the poor peasant;
who. In lieu of sallying forth to repel the attack, and preserve his property,
rcnuains snug within doors, eongratulating himself on his own personal salety,
and not daring until the day may he well advanced to open bis door, even for
the purpose of ascertaining bis loss. If, by chance, any villager .should feel
bold enough to venture forth, at the time of the tigers presence in the vill.age,
it is usually under cireunistanees e.xeiting risibility, and ill calculated for any
purpose but as a quotation with other equally gallant exploits, among similar
heroes, when recounting their feats as they smoke their goorgoonns, at that
provoker of prowess the arrack sliop.
To say the truth, when we consider how very Indifferently the villagers are,
in general, provided with arms suitable to an attack on a tiger, having for the
most part swords and bucklers, or bows and arrows, or slim blunt spears, with
occasionally an ill conditioned matchlock, and bad ammunition, huddled up in
rag's! and neariy inaccessible ; we cannot but think they act wisely in declining
t h e contest; though lo deliver sueh an opinion among them, would be to challenge
a very desperate engagement in words; a species of hostility in which
the natives of India, tho women in particular, are wondrous expert, and may
j u s t l y claim the palm even of those desperate rivals the dames of Billingsgate!
Those acquainted with the language of Hindostán can bear testimony, that,
both for grossness of abuse, and violence of declamation, as well as for approp
r i a t e expression and gesture, the scolds of India are not to be surpassed ! I I
Tigers are sometimes, though very rarely, caught in traps, formed like a
large cage of strong bar-work, chielly of wood. Within is a small separate cage
to contain a live goal, a dog, &c. intended as a bait. The door is usually on
t h e same construction as that of a common rat-trap. The best mode I over saw
was by means of a rope strelehed across near ihe bail, at which ihe tiger
generally claws, .and in the couree of his operations hooking the rope with one
of his talons, pulls out a wedge fastened lo its end, which lil,crates the door,
and allows it to fall correctly in its groove, without the-danger of slicking by
tbe way ; as all eontrivanees which deviate from the perpendicular are very apt
10 do. This is on the principle of the guillotine. The common iron spring trap
has been tried, I am told, with great success ; but, I believe, only for hyajnas,
wolves, &c. and occasionally a hungr y leopard. The royal tiger will not touch
any thing but of its own killing; but leopards are not qu
lite so fastidie
may be allured by the scent of meat, I have hei
rd this doubted ;
following fact, wh'ieh occurred while the corps to wbicb 1 then was allaehed
was at Hai^ary-hhang, In ihc Rani-ghur country, puts the matter out ol doubt.
Tbe Serjeant Major of our battalion had killed an ox for his winter provision.
vithiii his hut, which was on the right Hank of
bell of arms. 'I'lic sentry stationed there gave the
ad entered the hut, in which there were several
and had booked up the joint
the line, close to the grenadi
alarm that sonic large aninia
apartments. A light was brought, and nil
nothing could be seen for a while. All we
covered that a leopard was clinging to the
where the meat was banging. No sooner d
discovered than he tpiitted his hold, sprii
through the door way, clawing several a
sentry in particular a scratch down the f:
weeks. Many who escaped the leopard's pa
ibcrs crowded lo the place; but
? about to retire, when it was disthatch
with his claws, just above
inial perceive that he was
Idenly down and darling
,cd, and giving the poor
ill laid him up for some
however, sufierers by the
id the ai
iging Sil
i he p.as
whii
III the
bruises they received, in the general struggle to get out of the bwigalov:.
Ill another part of this work it may he seen, that in some of the ditches
surrounding forts in the Carnatic, alligators are purposely kept, and that all
puntih dogs found in tbe forts are thrown into the ditches as provision for the
alligators. Some gentlemen who have kept ligcrs in cages adopted the same
means of supply for their royal captives, ¡iiitting the pariah in at an ajierture in
the cage, made for the purpose. Sueh persons as may have resided in India,
will admit the propriety of thus disposing of a most troublesome breed of curs,
most of which are unappropriated, and being numerous, are not only very troublesome
to passengers, often biting them very wantonly, but making such a noise
a t night as sets all attempts to rest at defiance. Added to this, in so warm a
climate, where so many dogs go mad, aod where thei'r bites produce the most
deleterious effects very quickly, it is the best of policy to rednce their numbers
as closely as possible within the limits of real utility.
I t has not always happened that the tiger has killed the parmh put into his
cage. 1 know an instance of one that was thus devoted to destruction, and was
expected to become the tiger's " daily bread," standing on the defence in a
manner that completely astonished both the tiger and the spectators ! He
crept into a corner, aiid whenever the tiger approached, seized him by the
lip, or the nose, making him ro.ar most piteously ! The tiger however, impelled
b y appetite, for no other supply of any kind was given him for several days,
would renew the attack. The result was ever the same. At length the tiger
began lo treat the dog with more deference, and allowed him not only to eat
t h ^ m e s s of rice and meat furnished daily for his subsistence, but even refrained
from any attempt to disturb his rest I The two animals after some weeks
became complelely courteous, and each showed symptoms of atlaehment to his
But what must appear extraordinary was, that the dog, on being
1 the aperture, considered the cage as his
confidence ; and when the tiger died.
He then became a pensioner ; and, for
companic
allowed free ingress and egre
home, always returning to
s thron:
rith
moaning for
aught I knov
nt of his companion.
, may be yet alive.