WILD BEAST WORSHIP.

Waikato Times, Volume 112, Issue 18805, 29 November 1932, Page 9

WILD BEAST WORSHIP.

• —♦ A “BLOOD BOND.” WITH MAN AND TIGRESS. From the jungle of the Deccan comes a remarkable story Illustrating the widcly-prcvalent superstition that a man-eater -is accompanied by the spirit of its last victim, which warns it of the presence of danger. A native hunter sat in a tree over tho corpse of a man killed by a tiger. The monster approached to renew the feast, whereupon the corpse raised a grisly rig-lit arm and pointed to Hie watcher in Hie tree, and the tiger retreated. The watcher descended, pegged down the offending hand, and resumed Ills vigil. Again Ihe tiger came, lent Hie left hand was raised in warning. Once more the hunter descended, pegged down that, hand also, and climbed back to tils ambush. The monster approached, and, with nothing now to warn hlnva well-placed bullet ended his evil life ns lie bent to feed. There has been a great tiger-man in history. His name was Tipu Sultan, generally known as "The Tiger of Mysore." A Murderous Careor. The story uf his murderous career

in the jungle and town would rival i in bloody episode that of tho ruthless I Tchaka, Chief of the Zulus. i Tipu Sultan once said it was better to live two years as a tiger than 200 years as a sheep. Ills ruthless philosophy found plenty of expression in Hie jungles of India. Not only was "The Tiger of Mysore” seemingly possessed of the cruelty of the maneater, but the striped beast was i everywhere displayed as a symbol of j r his power. ! 1 His flag was a green square set off j 2 with the tiger stripes in the sides and s angles. Golden tigers were carved on his throne. His cipher v/as a tiger’s r face, and in his territory was the Tiger . Rock, from which prisoners of war » wore hurled to destruction and the I a wild beasts. A musical tiger was e found In his palace at Seringapalani - and sent to the museum of the East India Company in London. Tho Spoil of tho Zoo. •• " Of these strange stories of tigermen and wor-wolves, writes a weli- " known explorer in a London paper, c “let me tell the story of the man who e haunted the zoo at Calcutta. There ~ are, perhaps, tho Hnest captive tigers of Hie world in the Calcutta zoo, and whenever I visit, the town 1 neve-’ neglect a visit to their cages, i, " Always I saw the same figure, apf pnrenllv idling among the crowds. I “ He was a lypieal balm, a young Bengali in the huttoned-up coal uf hi-, kind. J was told that lie was a clerk r iu the Government service, lie was

I one of those thousands who write ex- | ecrahle English and read Herbert [ Spencer almost daily. ! “ But the tiger house of the zoo had a peculiar fascination for him, and one tigress in particular. This beast had been presented by an Indian maharajah, who had no doubt found the tigress a nuisance in his domain. “ Day after day the young babu would lean against the wall of the I tiger house and gaze at the tigress | with eyes of adoration. There was no l doubt that he was deeply in love with the beast. Jealously he would watch t he beeper feed the tigress, and something like a snarl would cross his lips when ttic keeper was more than usually inditI ferent. Man In Love with Tigress. “The halm who was in love with a tigress became something of an oddity to the native keepers, hut an inbred jungle superstition prevented them from driving the young babu away. There were times, too, when the youth would bring special tit-blis of food for his tigress, and feed the beast llirongh the bars. And the tigress, knowing him, would purr delightedly at his approach. ime morning t-lic tigress was found dead in her den from one of the common and natural penalties 01 eaged | life— indigestion. •• The keeper kept an rye open for the of the yoiilli that day, hut the babu was ne\er seen at the zoo again.

“ At the time when the tigress was j being skinned a funeral was shuffling j its way along the back streets of j Calcutta. “ A young baibu had been found dead I in bis little room that morning. They I had died simultaneously. i “ When I heard the story I remetn- I tiered Hie words of Jalat Singh, who j used to be my gun-bearer in the J jungle: ‘There is a blood bond between a man and an animal, sahib , If the beast die, Mien the man must i die.’ ”