A T IGER HUNTED BY WILD DOGS.
85
f . - . play .o a where my own Ignorance was, In .„,1,. Ac veil
blindeJ me. Fads alone eooUl have had ih.s effect.
The fu-s, oeeurrenoe which tended induce me lo a belief of Lhe pos.lbillLv
: : e : L e , . n , . . . y di^e^d „y ^.e „a. i.™.«,.
plly. as an inslrumenl .nited to expose the supposed woudee.
yards frou, ' - i„ a »eming state of exUey !
tad - »gf - = . „ Ute bank; and as tbe situation was ,n
.„specte t . - o ^ , I have done,
T ^T i i r - d ' l : : i . r k e d , a„d, giving a spr^g dow„,
t ^ r t ^ i ^ . w, t b ^
tiger arrived at a thick cover, he disappeared.
T had be™» in my nd.ul, lo eon,pose a requiem lor u,y poor dog as I saw
1 Iiail began u, my „,„ment would turn about, and
hiu^hasiug the t ,^r ^^ ^V a r i s had assuredly brought
see him relum safe.
This cireumstanec gave me the first idea, that a tiger might feel himself
in my heart I felt mv belief much shaken ; and, as some gentlemcu at CI,Mm
seemed to coufmu what tbe natives had so onsuecessfully endeavoured to force
on my mind, I became more open to eonvictiou. However, 1 should not, projjably
have become an entire convert on a subject so bttle known, had not
the most ineontcstible proofs been publicly witnessed, that common s|,au,els
have been found to attack tigers with great elTcct.
Lieutenant Colonel Bateman, of the Bengal Cavalry, who was extremely
partial to tiger-hunting, in which sport hi, successes l.ave rendered Inm cmsp,-
euous, being out shooting at A,.„o,,.Mcr, in lhe dominion, ot the ^al,ol. V,«,er
of OuA. came by el.auee to a spot wltere a tiger lay concealed. I he spannds
he bad wit), him. to the nuud.er of five or six, for the purpose of ,)Uttn,g np
florikeus, partndgcs, &e. did not hesitate lo attack the tiger: and though one
or two of Ihem felt the force of bis paws, yet tbe others so completely atmoyed
bin, anil remained staunch, as to be the means of his destruction. I hey so occupied
the tigers attention, that the Colonel was able to select lavourabic
situations, and lo lodge two balls in him will, full elfeet.
Had Colonel Bateman's experience of such a trait in the character of his dogs
been confine,I to one solitary iuslanee, wc might have Imputed such an event to
aceidcut, and classed it with man, memorabilia, highly cnrlous for tbeir ,mgnlaritv
but more to be considered as anomalous, than as forranig any datum n.
re-a'rd to tbe nature of the animals in .pieslion, or as furnishing the smallest
grounds for comparison in a, far as relates to the Mole., bnt as ,t was found
ffterwards, on repeate.l trials, ,hat the ,logs acted in a similar manner, and
with c.,ual success; and indeed farther, that other .logs, being once tn.lueed by
example, cvinced lhe same dispositions an.l powers, we may conclude, w.thout
appearing too closely attached to an hypothesis, that, t ere are ew, ,1 any,
annuals which dogs, in tbeir wihl state especially, are unable to snbdne.
Were it necessary to strengthen well-known fads with reasoning, we migh,
with safety refer lo the defence n.a.le against a tiger by a panah, menUoned ,„
a former Nnn.ber ; founding on that instance an ample a,.,l substantial support
in fevour of tbe position assuu.cd. Indeed a great variety of authentic anecdotes
might be adduced, which If they d.d not give the stamp o Cer a,nty
would l u l to sustain, by their inelinatio;, to the same pom , all that I h e
asserted on the subject. Inclosing ihis Chapter, however. I must recal th
,.ea.lers attention to the .limculty of ascertaining any lb,ng mater al in so
i len a part of our research ; and I have to remark that under s . . h circum
stances, ,t has been necessary for me to detail froin the aut iorit.es of ot ers.
have e nfessed, that, for some time I was extremely incredulous; and. that, n
be end I yielded to conviction. I lament much that there are few, if any
: , n ; „ now ,11 England, who are ac,|nai„ted with this novel and interesting
; a of our topic; ai^d hope, if this work shoul.l fall into • ^ ^»"'l;»
I h o can afford the public a more complete invest,g.t,o„ he w.ll be so obliging
as to communicate such particulars, as ,nay fill up the blanks.