Show Jk IL i tp j 4 V V t Vy y v V Ve jc rhe ie e true and thrilling tale of ot adventure was written for The Cm- Cm C tr Enquirer by Arthur Sp Spencer for years in the employ of Carl Hagenbeck mus animal dealer of Berlin Mr Spencer spent most of ot this time as AIr Mr becks s 's chief hunter in the jungles of India and South Africa and has r bablY ably had more desperate encounters with wild animals than any man now I Sing fins ing AFEW FEW years eara ago before the advent of railroads In that part of India of of 1 which this story treats all that section of country adjacent to I being bIng J g an impenetrable jungle abounded with game of every description J l lIe t time all India was the paradise for sportsmen in search of big ni m he country around owing to its accessibility from the thee fi s t e additional fact that it was used as a garrison for English soldiers a desirable point for those contemplating hunting to use as could be found in all his ferocity that terror of the Indian Jungles J 1 tiger ng ng on earth can so strike terror to the hearts of the people leople of a native las as the information that a tiger had been seen seen in that vicinity Crops and all outdoor work left Incomplete until it is Is' Is known the thea thel a 4 al l has been killed or driven away And so it Is ts s that a tiger hunt is not a a. sport abort but a public necessity For if the animal is allowed to remain st d his presence soon makes itself felt in a most disagreeable manner manner oman inay go to the spring for a pall pail of water and disappear as though earth arth l had fiad ad opened and swallowed her only a few drops of blood and some of ot cloth and the imprint in the sand of the paws of some some nial niall remain main as mute witness of what had taken place A mail carrier leaves leves village bells tinkling merrily a few hours afterward some hunters come 1 ps's oSs his mail bag and the signs of a struggle the same imprint of paws in sand and and then terror strikes the villagers as each looks at his g and wonders whose turn will come next The native being armed b with the most primitive weapons cannot hope to cope with their b b adversary f t was during one of the depredations of one of these animals that had ca cae car car- e edff men vo and a girl from a small village near that the writer tt with a number of animal hunters arrived there with the Intention capturing ii o 0 leopards The garrison officers had been appealed to by the na- na jc VS and atthe time of our arrival organizing a party to go In search of r r. he beast that was then terrorizing the neighborhood Our arrival was hailed F with delight and our services were brought into immediate requisition since sincere I f jv re were nere experts in the art of animal Little time was was was' w wasted sted in preT pre- pre T l and as soon as possible we set out the scene of ac action lon Arriving M the village we found the natives in a state bordering on frenzy We quieted t fears by assuring them their enemy would be in their hands in a few t flours io o rs but we as well as they were destined to disappointment Owing to the water courses were all dried up we could not US use our rubber nets rf TOE had no means of knowing where the animal went for water vater so we were l e to resort to the only other method that tha of tying a live iv alf to o. o a a. pole n ne arthe r the he village where its bleating would attract the attention of any prowling r bat e st and then ensconcing ourselves nearby to await its coming q T i We We had however failed to remember the current belief that an animal on e eI I 3 turned turne man-eater man will never touch anything else so we had our labor lator for our r nsw pa All AH that long at afternoon we lay sweltering under a burning burning- Indian burning Indian sun in the hot dusty undergrowth until near sundown we were startled as well as ab horrified by a message brought by a runner that while we were lying there In inactive a man believing himself secure in ill our promised protection had started to gather rice that w was s about destroyed for the lack of attention and pad had been pounced upon right before the eyes of his children by a large tiger and carried away into the jungle At once all was excitement Here were two score of th the L best wild-beast wild catchers in the world and a dozen old English hunters of big V V V Vv v game came made sport of by one tiger who carried off his lis prey almost before our eyes eves We d to await the coming of another day as it ii would have been utter folly to have attempted to find the tiger that night and the poor native was undoubtedly already dead Early next morning after a hasty meal we went ent ourselves t to the scene of olf the tragedy of the night before Here It was decided that we would separate the entire country as each one with improved arms and ample supply supply sup sup- and find beat up i i rf ply of ammu ammunition and the fact that we were were- all expert shots slots considered j i-i i himself himself himself him him- self able to cope with any anyone one animal in daylight So after arranging a code of signals should the beast be sighted we separated Now as' as asI Iwas as was the thc lucky or unlucky one to find the tiger I shall merely deal with the account of my movements I had selected for coy rny search an old up dried-up water course partly because it afforded afforded-a better vantage ground from which to scan the surrounding surround surround- ling log ing country and partly because from my knowledge of ot the habits of the BengalI Bengal tiger I knew when resting they generally seek seel the fringe of the woods adjoining adjoining adjoining adjoin adjoin- ing a water course and there lie in wait walt for prey either man or beast that make use of such places to facilitate travel So I walked along on the alert forthe forthe for forthe the slightest sound soul that might tell of the presence of animal life ife I had gone inthis inthis in inthis this manner a mile half-mile or more and had just jUt concluded I had had better better try another another an an- other tack when as I was passing a clump of bamboos I heard a sl slight rustle and before I had time tithe to raise my ready ever-ready rifle a dark object shot through the air all and struck me with the force of a a. catapult When I recovered my senses I found myself lf beneath the body of as It seemed to me the largest tiger I had ever At my slightest movement he emitted a growl that plainly showed me I had better abandon any attempt to release myself So here I thought was the end of our tiger-hunt tiger as far as Iwas Iwas I Iwas was concerned I was to go the way of the many former victims of of this monster monster monster mon mon- ster and furnish another illustration of the cunning and ferocity of the ter ter- ter- ter While these thoughts were flitting through my mind the tiger having evidently evi evidently evi- evi dently made up his mind what to do with me grabbed me in the side and with witha a rapid motion threw me over his shoulder with as much ease as though I had been a baby and with th a bound up the side of the bank began to force his way through the reeds and bushes at a rate rate rate-of of speed sufficient to dispel all thoughts of any hope hone I might have of assistance reaching me from my comrades He kept on for for probably half a m nine mie e when upon coming to a small glade he dropped me and lay down near near- me watching me as a cat does a mouse FindIng FindIng Finding Find Find- ing mys myself lf released I at once set wits my wits at work to study some plan of escape I had two revolvers and a hunting k knife ife strapped to my waist but I dared not risk the attempt to draw a revolver for before I could shoot with any certainty the tiger Uger would be upon me and rend me limb from limb While debating what to do and knowing any minute might be my last Iwas Iwas I Iwas was struck by the tie thought thought and and to this day it has puzzled me to know why Idid Idid I Idid did not think of It it sooner that sooner that in my side coat pocket I carried over a pound of cayenne pepper I had carried this his fo for years to guard against just such a predicament as as i was then in and here when the opportunity offered I had well- well nigh forgotten it Then with a coolness born of desperation I began slowly to slide my hand t toward ward my pocket After what seemed Deemed ages I reached the coveted coveted cov coy eted powder It It was the work of f an Instant to grasp a handful Then as I withdrew it the tiger aroused by the movement threw open open his jaws and with eyes yes abla ablaze e started to grasp me in his mouth but ut S 'S as he did so I gave him a handful of red pepper full in his eyes and mouth then rolled quickly out of reach of his wild struggles Then as he blinded and frenzied with pain rolled around in the grass I sprung to my feet and keeping out of his reach sent two well well- directed bullets into his brain A few spasm spasmodic dic struggles then all was over several shots in the air all as a a. signal to my companions and was shortly by the entire party who listened with interest to my ray narration narration narration narra narra- tion of my encounter We Ve skinned the tiger and returned to tp the village where upon the fact of the death of the tiger becoming known I I r IWas Was made the hero of the hour After a af day spent sent in celebrating the event evelt we separated the officers to return to the garrison we to our hunting of leopa leopards d The skin of pf the tiger tige now adorns my Cleveland home and at times in ill a reminiscent mood I throw myself upon it I think of the time when those broad r d black and yellow bands seemed to me the sign of certain death eath ARTHUR ARTHUR SPENCER |