ADVENTURE WITH A TIGRESS.

Otago Witness, Issue 1198, 14 November 1874, Page 3

ADVENTURE WITH A TIGRESS.

Stewart had left the Lieutenant Governor's camp at Mirzapur on the night of the 25th November for a day's shooting, ancl intending to return osa the, night of the 26th. He had been, e&pecially oautioned not to venture into, the jungles, with the orange of meeting a tiger when on. fop* ;-bujb, an, eager temperament and; intense love of sport overcame caution^ Bje> fell 1 in with three brother sppi'isn^en, living, in a ruined fort in the jungle. They went out together, found and attacked the too probable enemy ; and a tigress was wounded in the leg. A wounded tiger may become the scourge of a district .* it was natural that English i sportsmen should make every attempt to ! jsity t]}§ beast rather than i^y e j^,i

slightly disabled close to several la-ge native villages. They tracked her by the blood, still wet beneath their feet, up tlio face of a steep, stony hill, to a moj-a of rocks where was a cave, the mouth of which was visible above Ihein. The p] ice was rery dangerous. They knew that iho object of pursuit was close at hand, and most probably 'in the cave. A mn oil was held, and it -was proposed io di>,-r proceedings till the following jnornn,^, ]-\ order to get buffaloes to the pi i. ■>. Inv 1 , by driving them among the rocLs, :i>. ]. c the tigress show herself. Stewart oi., s s<\ the delay. He had loft camp ofi ti j understanding that ho ay.is to retux.' <■- „ night, and in his eagerness io Io c no "i-.-.j went straight up to the mouth of U- • . vc, and looked in. Providonti.-.llv, -o3: n ; was there. He thon tracked tho ]»•<. >■ v little beyond the spot; but as darL.u'.s drew on, he yielded to the genor.J v.'-^u and agreed to await the morning for further operations. Having t<> paw iho place on his return to camp, he reckoned that an hour up the hill, added to Hie night's absence, would not cause any serious detention. The next morning there was delay in procuring bnifaloe^ and the party had to go to work without them. The blood of the wounded animal being, moreover, dry, it was difficult to ascertain her precise locality. Division of opinion as to her movements ensued, the trail became lost, and there was >\ partial separation of the guns. Stewart appears to have been hidden from his companions by intervening bushes, when, crouchingin a comparatively open part of t\>Z jungle, the tigress saw him approach and unexpectedly dashed on him. Wiriick down to the ground, he remained motionless. From his own account he hud no inclination to call out ; and well tli.it it, was so. A strange necessity is that of suppressing all signs of the life it is man's instinct as well as duty to preserve. His enemy passed him, but soon returned to seize him by the left calf, changing to ths thigh in an attempt to carry him oli. Thinking the victim dead, she clropi-ccl him from her mouth, then struck him with her closed paw and left him, noc, however, till she had inflicted no less thai) thirteen indelible wounds. On being found by his companions, he helped them for the moment in binding up his own wounds, but soon sank into a kind of delirium. He was put upon a litter, taken into Chunar, and by care ancl skill enabled in a few weeks to resume his wonted occupations. — Telegraph and Travel.