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Maori Messenger : Te Karere Maori, Volume 2, Issue 40, 4 July 1850, Page 4

Combat with a Tiger.—Batavia, Sept. 29. —From the Residency, Rembang, a communication has been received of a rare instance of the intrepidity of a native, which has been crowned with an extiaordinary fortunate result. This native, named Wiro Dipo, went at ni-.ie o'clock in the morning of the flrst of .August to the forest situated near the Dcssa Dag<">» intending to tenrch for Aretn leaves to maku mats of; and he had provided himselt with a hatchet fit to cut grass and light wood. Shortly after his entrance into the foieat he tliicoveretJ, at a short distance behind linn, R tiger of the largest kind, ready to dpr.r.g upon him. Wiihout awaiting the leap, Wiio l)ipo himself attacked the monster and gava it some wounds with his light weapon, which caused the tiger to fall down roaring, dragging his asEai'ant down with him, but tlto last succeeded in raising himself and in

giiing a number of blows to the tiger who finally expired under tliem. Wiro Dipo came without any wound out of this battle, and it is believed that ibis nearly inexplicable circumstance may be ascribed to the rapidity and intrepidity with which Wiro Dipo anticipated the leap of the and to the fear which this must have caused to the tiger, the timorous as well as cruel nature of this kind of animal bt ing suflicienily known. The skin of this tisjer was mensuied alterwards, and it »as then lound that its length Irom the nose to the beginning of the tail was 5 feet 2 inches, nud including the tail 8 feci 5% inches.

| FnIOIITFUL J)EAT|I OF THE « LIOJJ QUEEN.' An inquest was held at the Golden Lion, Chatham, on the. body of Ellen Bright, a young girl, aged 17. killed by a tiger in the establishment of Mr. Womliwell, which had arrived in that town for exhibition on the preceding day. The deceased, denominated 'the Lion Queen,' performed before her Majesty some lime since, and was going through the usuil evolutions with n lion and tiger, at the lim: she met her death. She wns a niece of Sir. WombwcU's and daughter of John Bright a bugle player in the band. On l : iiday evening, she went into the den in which the lion and tiger were kept, to perloim the usual tiicks, principally with the former. The tiger being in her wiy, the eirl struck it slightly with" a small whip- The beast growled, ? tietched out its paw, causing her to fall against the cige—the animal then springing ;U her seized her by the neck, inserting the tie It of the upper jaw in her chin, and in closing his mouth, inflicted Irightful injury on the throat, by Ins fangs, and then in.ikin)t i second gripe across the throat. The animal did not loose his hold until struck over the utso violently with an iron bar. 'I he unfortunate female was removed from jthe cage, b.'eo ling profusely, and life all but extinct. The Jury returned a verdict to ilie effect, that deceased was killed by a male tiger, while exhibiting in its den ; and expressing a strong opinion against the practice of allowing persoos to perform i:i a den with such animals. The Warhior Wasp of the lstE of Fiiance, —It is curious that in the Isle of France the common bee is ir.t to be found as a native of the woods, while in the l-.lt; of Uourhon it is very common, and furnishes an abundance of wax and honey. This is expltiiKd by supposing that the warriors of whom we aie about \<> speak destroy ilie bees, and have thus prevented their multiplying in the island in question. Truly, like the banditti of whom we read in hooks, these wasps are splendidly a tired, although not in the spoils of those they have rolved. Their head, chest, and body, is of a resplendent lustre ; now green, or seen in another position, blue, and glistening with all the lustre of an excellent varnish ; their antenna: are black, their eyes of u brownish yellow, and their legs partly bronze-coloured, and partly of a beautiful violet. They are strong and swift ol" wing, and are possessed of a terrible lance, the thrusts of which even men c.innt endure without far more p-.iiu ami iiiilimmalion than attends an o'dinary sting. The foe with whom these magnificent clud warriors have to contend is a kind of in<ect allied to the cockroach, which, in our kitchens, has arquired the incorrect title of " black beetle." This insect is detested by the inhabitants of the is'an I, for its ravages upon almost everything of value or delicacy, and it is not less haled by the sailor for its uestruelivenejs i-n ship-board. It is called Knkerlac, and is much larger than the cockroaches which are the pltgue and terror of our cooks. Imagine that one of ihese great and odious insects is marching along the highway. The warrior inslan ly aliohts, and the kakerlac stops, thinking perhaps to intim date its ndversary by its s'l23 anil ferocious aspect. Doth insects glare nt one another. The wasp is the lirst to attack, ,aud darts upin the other, seizing il by the muzzle with its strong jaws, then, bending its body so as to bring its tail under the abdomen of the kakerlac, Ilia lance with its charge of poison is deeply plunged into the body of the unhappy foe, imbuing a deadly vemon into its system. Having made tl.is thrust, the warrior looses th.B foe, and soars in triumph n little way into the air, satisfied of a successful issue The wretched kakeilac.aUer a few brief convulsions, lies paralysed on the ground, unahl-i to stir a step ifrom whereit encountered its terrible adversary. Fully aware of this, the victorious wasp, after taking a few turns, as if to proclaim the downfall of the giant kakerlac to the surrounding neighbourhood, returns to the scene where the conflict wa3 fought. The kakerlac, unable to resist the victor, ind being naturally, though a great devourer, a very taint-hearted creature, HO3 immoveable, while the wasp seizes the prostrate foe by the head, and in a sort of triumphal march drags it along the road toils nest.