ir
SHOOTERS COMING B 82 Y S U R P R I S E ON A T I G E R .
t l . r ro »¡II boa "renter corlalnly of meeHi .gi . i l l . ligers; ™hich, in all probabilily,
view Jeer and pea-fowls inuel. llie same as a cat does rats and sparrows.
T b e r e 1» a long sll,, of grass jungl e not far above Ten,,do«!, N,M„h, in ti.e
B k a „ M f o r c district, wldeb, being mixed will, nndcrwood, and having so.Iie
„ , a n - o and olber trees scattered tbrougb it, skirls llie Ganges for about two
miles ' Ver y early in tl.e mornings tl,c trees may fre<|i.enlly be- seen covered
w i t h peacocks, wllich fly i.p in ibe evenings, and roost there all nigl.t. An
officer Lie,.tenant Underwood, wl.o was proceeding in charge of tI.e boats ol a
delach'.nenl, la..ded in ll.e evening for the purpose of gelling a few peacocks ;
R was not long before he broughl down one that had ascended for ihe n.ght.
T h e bird llntrered m.lch ; Inll al length fell inlo a small open space, towards
which Mr, Underwood ran, in order to .nake su.-e of him. It often happens,
ll.at sneh pe.acoeks as recover ihcir legs, if only winged, will ran so fast as to
r e m . i r e a good dog to overtake ihcni. The reader may easily conceive what
WIS Ihe sportsman's so.'prisc, 0.. approaching the area, when he saw no less
t h a n tlirce ligers, lhal appea.-ed lo have been asleep, bat were roused by the
r e p o r t of the pieec! He .lid not think it worth while lo sland upon ibc
eeremonv of picking up bis bird, which lay dead close 10 the ligers ; but relumed
to bis buigr»-^, resolving lo be very cautious how he followed his meli-
..alion to shool peacocks !
W i l h i n a very few days before the occurrence above related, I was in very
g r e a t danger. 'Being out in the evening, rather loo late, for il was getting
t o w a r d s dusk, 1 saw in a patch of bcauliful moo„je grass, interspersed with a
fe.v low bushes, several spotted deer laying asleep. I crept close enough lo get
a good aim at a line buck, which was not above a dozen yards from me.
While I was levelling, I observed something strange agiui e the grass, but a few
feet on ll.e oilier side llie buck : it was nothing less than tile tail of a tiger,
waviuo- in lhal e.xtalie manner we observe in cals aboul lo seize a bird. The
moment for drawing the trigger was delayed by the sight of what I did not at
first sufficienlly dislinguish ; and I should prol.ably have fired al the deer,
which I eonld searci-ly miss, had not ihe tiger put in a more forcible claim, by
springing on ihe animal thus doubly devoted to deslruclion, and rendered it
e.vpedient for me 10 preserve the means of defcnee ; not that I could with
I r u t b assert, that 1 .vas so cool and eollected at the moment as to avad myself,
h a d it been reipiisile, of the loaded piece I held in .iiy hands ; for, I much fear,
my apprehensions, or rather ihe complete privalion of sense which overpowered
m'e for a few seconds, would have made me but an indifferent recorilcr of any
facts that might have occurred during the first moments of surprise. As to
my retreat, if il w-as not couducled in the most complele order, for my servants
bad left .ne in the lurch, il was however clTeeted without loss. The tiger was
content wi l b wlial he had got ; and, ihough 1 c e r t a i n l y envied him his prize, I did
not feel the least iuelinalion lo dispute the possession ; and therefore abandoned
ll.e field without delay. The other deer dispersed ; but ouc of them passing by
a servant belonging lo an officer in our camp, who had a loaded piece, the man,
who was an excelleul sportsman, shot him.
H a v i n g thus explained ihe danger alteiidant on shooting in particular kinds
of cover, Í shall p..ocecd to inform the reader, lhat the fignre seen in ihe Plate
c a r r y i n g a stick over his shoulder, laden with ga.ne, is one of ihc common palankeen
bearers of the upper eounlry. The other band hears a sworyc, or
e a r t h e n vessel, filled will, water. This being of a very poi-ous sandy earth,
t h o u g h hard baked, generally keeps its own surface moist ; and, being besides
covered will, a cloth, usually a piece of red curroah, manufaclured in the
c o u n t r y , and peculiar lo Hindostán, which is often immersed or soaked so as lo
keep it constantly wel, renders the water remarkably cool, even in the hottest
day. At the houses of gentlemen, allhongh ihe water for lable use, it being
an arlicle of general beverage in ils simple slate, is always kept cool in this
manner, yet artificial means, such as agitation wilh salt-pelre, &e. are invaria
b l y used, both for ^viiie and for waler ; sometimes refrigerating them to such
a degree as to crack llie glasses inlo which they are poured. A very slight
degree of cold in so very warm an atmosphere causes the air immediately in
contact with the glasses lo form large globules on its e.xterior, which stands like
an heavy dew thereon.
The full display afibrded of the pad, will enable ihe reader to form a eoinpelent
judgment as lo ihe space, as well as in regard to the powers of elep
h a n t s . The ancients have favoured us wilh descriptions of the manner in
which they cijuipped elepbanls, wilh lowers carrying from six to cighl combat
a n t s . Many have asserted, thai all animals have degenerated ; and, lhat the
e l e p h a n t of former times was far more stupendous than what we see in our
days. Allowing il to be so ; let us, on the olher hand, avail ourselves of the
same clamour, which has been so often urged, as to ihe great falling ofi" of our
own species in size. Comparing the two, and su.'cly nothing can be fairer, ihe
p r o p o r l i o n should he the same. Wilhoul doubting as lo the use made of elep
h a n t s among ibe ancients, we may surely be permitted to use our own faculties,
ill judging as to what eonld be elTccled by iheir means. Though it is said
we have lost some of ihe fine arts, yet our eyes remain lo us ; and we have the
additional advantage of experience, added to ihe innumerable and acute
researches oreulighleiicd and sensible men.
T h e moderns have discovered, lhat no means exisl for seenring any machine
w h i c h could safely convey six men ; allowing each such room as must be indispensably
needful for combalanls. And they are nol, by any means, uninformed
of the many very eerlain modes of repelling ihe attack of an elephant;
such as fire, noise, and especially by wounding tlic proboscis, or trunk. I am
aware lhat when iiitoxicalcd, an elephant becomes, like a drunken man, insensible
to danger, and would fight his shadow ; bul, unluckily for those who
would argue, that such should he, and was, the stale in which they were
used, we have a thousand incoiilcslible proofs, that a drunken elephaiil is utterly
unmanageable ; generally proving miscliievous lo all alike ; defying control;
and becoming, in every rcspccl, a very unfit tool for any particular party, or
p u r p o s e !
P L A T E XXL
A TIGER HUNTED BY WILD DOGS.
I AM aware thai the snhjeel of this Plate will be considered even by many
who have passed nearly their whol e lives i.. Bengal , and especially m other parts
of India, is being by no means authentic; and l a m also
f ew have confounded the dhole, or wdd dog, w.th the jaekall. In f el, it ha
f a l l en in the way of very few, lo ascertain the absolute existence of the animal
r „ u e s t i o „ . However, the want of information in others shall not deter me
f r o . . ofi-ering to the p..blic what I know to be true ; and I have only to obse^e
r i b as .u'ay be sceptics on this subject, lhat most, perhaps all. of the genaemen
who have been any ti...e resident on the Western fronliers tha . to say,
f r om Md,u,pore to Ch,„„ar, will be found on enqu.ry to acknowledge the
v a b d i t y of my assertion.
T h i s very singular animal is, I believe, only lo be found along ihe borders
above described; and even there ihey are so scarce, as ..ol to be geuerally
known They are by nature extremely shy, and avoid all places which aie
much fre,ue..ted either by men or eallle. Residing for the most part, .n iWe
immense saul-jungles. which, for hundreds of miles, appear like one bla k
d r e a r y wilderness, il cannot be supposed that Europeans 11, general , who mostly
confine their occupations and their ordinary reercations to the open eounlry,
could have many 'opportunities of seeing them. I shoidd
lhan tweilly years residence in Bengal, in which time I bad trave sed I he
l , n t r y in a lLs t every direction, have quilled India, and been inclined to
dispnte- the existence of the dMe, had I not been stationed two years in
R„,„gh,„; in Ihe heart of the Wcslern frontier, and bad oceuh.r demonstration
of ils identity.
W e r e I to assume a decisive and peremptory tone in describing ihe dhole
and its lnd.its, I should but e.xpose myself to the erilicism and r id.cl e merited
b y any one, who would venture to assert what neilber himself, nor any othe
p L s o i ' .0 ;ho. n reference might be ...ade, eonld establish. A I shall asser
L the certainty of the exi s t enc e among the wild animals 111 India.
I i l v e seen them, and diligently enquired of the many natives, who appeared
n c r f e c l l v acnuainlcd wilb their value, as to their modes of subsistence, and
other mailers wilhin ihc scope of their inlclligence. The result of my researches
I shall faithfully detail.
The dhole, com.nonly so called, ihough ils name varies much in different
places, appears 10 be aboul the si.e of a small g reyhound. Itbas an „„comn.only
L e u look; the connlenance being highly enlivened by a remarkably brilliant
eye The body, which is slender and deep-cbestcd, is very thinly covered will
a reddish-brown coat of hair; or more properly, of a rich bay eo our. I he tall
is Ion., and thin; becoming, like the feet, cars, inuzz.le. &e. darker towards
Ihe e.;iremilies. Their limbs, ihough light and compact, appear to be remarka
b l y strong, and lo be equally calculated for speed, or for powe r , n ,ny opinion,
t h e v inneir resembl e many of the common pariah .logs in form ; but the s.ngulari'lv
of their colour and marks a. once proves a complele distinct,o„. Nevertheless,
as occasionally pariahs, and many greyhounds of the ,„d,pnous lirceo.
may h found almost ulquivocal l y answering the above desenplioi, questions
: . m probably arise amolii naturalists, whether the dhole be not an acc.denlal
v a r i e t y from the .logs just n.eulioned i or, whellier they may not be deviation,
f r om the wild breed !
The dholes are said to be perfeclly innocent, if unmolested ; hut. If allaeked,
extremely fierce and imphlcahle. They <lo not willingly approach persons; bill,
if Ihey chance lo meet any in tbeir course, they do not shew any ,.artienlar
a n x i e t y lo avoid their sight: ihey vie,v the human race rather as .d.jects of
e n r i o s i l y ; appea.-ing not 10 be aelualed either by apprehension or eninity.
r ^ a l l es vbo reside near ihc KunaeUU, and ICa,c,.«a.,d.j passes, m whic ,
l l n i l y dhole, may frequently be seen, describe them as confining their ques s
e n t i r e l y lo wi l d animals, and asscrl, that, ihey wi l l not prey on s h e j . g o a t . ^c.
O t h e r s again, in ihe wild eounlry lying soulh from Jeh,.ak.«A Meel«.ns,.„ge
mainlain thai eallle, &c. are lost by their depredations. However, t ough
I l d nol get any information which to myself proved
t o believe, thai the dhole is not particularly ceremonious; bul will.