THE SUPERNATURAL IN INDIA.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume XLII, Issue 7395, 22 February 1902, Page 3 (Supplement)

THE SUPERNATURAL IN INDIA.

It was my good fortune in the month of April, some fifteen years ago, to meet with an individual who " undoubtedly possessed a certain power over the wild animals in his vicinity, and who did not' scruple to use it to his own prdflt. I had organised a small shooting party into Nepal in that year. We did not expect 'mucbi sport in thajt 'amd of cwamp* and forest; we anticipated a week's tour In a new country with" a little shooting to enliven the marches; and crossing the border we encamped near a village about eight miles in Nepal. My orderlies visitect the village and returned with the usual news that the villagers knew of no tigers in the vicinity; they added, however, that they had discovered an old man who . made his living by selling charms to protect the cattle against any tiget they might chance to meet in their pasture grounds. The two statements did not agree, but I knew that the villagers would give no information as to .the whereabouts of a tiger, because, in the first place, they believed that the tiger would learn their treachery, and make maters extremely disagreeable in the future; whilst, secondly, they did not desire any strangers to camp near their village. The charm vendor readily appeared when sent for, and proved to be a wizened, emaciated, feeble old person, who made no promises save that he would JOIN THE HUNT on the morrow, and asked for nothing but a goat and a bottle of rum to sacrifice to his deities. Both these delicacies were "supplied; 'l am unaware how he disposed of them, but next morning his bleary eyes and shaky hand were evidences of a night passed in vigils, either festive or prayerful. He first begged to be placed on the largest elephant, as V^ remarked that the tigers would specially resent his appearance as their enemy, and next drawing from his girdle a small copper bell he suspended It tinkling from finger to thumb, muttering at the same time some unintelligible sentences; then after apparently receiving whispered instructions, he silently led the way through the forest, followed by the sportsmen, whose feelings varied between shamefacedness and contempt. I must explain that at this season of the year the forest has already been devastated by jungle fires, and only here and there are patches of unburnt grass left cither by accident or on account of the dampness of the locality. As • a male tiger stands some three and a half feet high and -roeiertis about six hundred pounds, I was both astonished and angry, when the tiger charmer stopped at the edge of a small patch of grass which might have concealed a pig or deet, but certainly could not, in my opinion, afford suitable cover for & tieeV. When I represented this to the old man he merely replied: "THE TIGER IS THERE," and we, traversing the grass, passed ouv on the .other side without discovering an> living creature. We again appealed to our leader to cease his fooling and take us to a more suitable spot, but were met by the same stolid reply, There was nothing to be done but to try again, and this time we discovered an immense tiger lying crouched between two elephants. He arose on being discovered, and walked slowly in front of the howdah to the edge of the patch of grass, there turning in a dazed way, he calmly regarded us, and fell at once with a bullet behind the shoulder. The extraordinary behaviour of this tiger impressed me more as a sportsman than the proceedings of the old man; but we acknowledged that the incident was in every way uncanny. It was yet early in the day and, the bell again sounding, we were led in a bee line to anothe*. tiger, which suffered itself to be slaughtered in a similar manner. In five days we bagged six tigers, and only desistec because the old man explained that if we killed all the tigers his trade m charms would be ruined.— S. Eardley Wilmot, in "Temple Bar.'