Chapter XVII

The Koosee jungles.--Ferries.--Jungle roads.--The rhinoceros.--We go to visit a neighbour.--We lose our way and get belated.--We fall into a quicksand.--No ferry boat.--Camping out on the sand.--Two tigers close by.--We light a fire.--The boat at last arrives.--Crossing the stream. --Set fire to the boatman's hut.--Swim the horses.--They are nearly drowned.--We again lose our way in the jungle.--The towing path, and how boats are towed up the river.--We at last reach the factory.--News of rhinoceros in the morning.--Off we start, but arrive too late.--Death of the rhinoceros.--His dimensions.--Description.--Habits.--Rhinoceros in Nepaul.--The old 'Major Capt[=a]n.'--Description of Nepaulese scenery. --Immigration of Nepaulese.--Their fondness for fish.--They eat it putrid.--Exclusion of Europeans from Nepaul.--Resources of the country. --Must sooner or later be opened up.--Influences at work to elevate the people.--Planters and factories chief of these.--Character of the planter.--Has claims to consideration from government.

CHAPTER XVIII.

The tiger.--His habitat.--Shooting on foot.--Modes of shooting.--A tiger hunt on foot.--The scene of the hunt.--The beat.--Incidents of the hunt.--Fireworks.--The tiger charges.--The elephant bolts.--The tigress will not break.--We kill a half-grown cub.--Try again for the tigress.--Unsuccessful.--Exaggerations in tiger stories.--My authorities.--The brothers S.--Ferocity and structure of the tiger.--His devastations.--His frame-work, teeth, &c.--A tiger at bay.--His unsociable habits.--Fight between tiger and tigress.--Young tigers.--Power and strength of the tiger.--Examples.--His cowardice. --Charge of a wounded tiger.--Incidents connected with wounded tigers. --A spined tiger.--Boldness of young tigers.--Cruelty.--Cunning.--Night scenes in the jungle.--Tiger killed by a wild boar.--His cautious habits.--General remarks.

CHAPTER XIX.

The tiger's mode of attack.--The food he prefers.--Varieties of prey. --Examples.--What he eats first.--How to tell the kill of a tiger. --Appetite fierce.--Tiger choked by a bone.--Two varieties of tiger. --The royal Bengal.--Description.--The hill tiger.--His description. --The two compared.--Length of the tiger.--How to measure tigers. --Measurements.--Comparison between male and female.--Number of young at a birth.--The young cubs.--Mother teaching cubs to kill. --Education and progress of the young tiger.--Wariness and cunning of the tiger.--Hunting incidents shewing their powers of concealment. --Tigers taking to water.--Examples.--Swimming powers.--Caught by floods.--Story of the Soonderbund tigers.

CHAPTER XX.

No regular breeding season.--Beliefs and prejudices of the natives about tigers.--Bravery of the 'gwalla,' or cowherd caste.--Claw-marks on trees.--Fondness for particular localities.--Tiger in Mr. F.'s howdah.--Springing powers of tigers.--Lying close in cover.--Incident. --Tiger shot with No. 4 shot.--Man clawed by a tiger.--Knocked its eye out with a sickle.--Same tiger subsequently shot in same place.--Tigers easily killed.--Instances.--Effect of shells on tiger and buffalo.--Best weapon and bullets for tiger.--Poisoning tigers denounced.--Natives prone to exaggerate in giving news of tiger.--Anecdote.--Beating for tiger.--Line of elephants.--Padding dead game.--Line of seventy-six elephants.--Captain of the hunt.--Flags for signals in the line. --'Naka,' or scout ahead.--Usual time for tiger shooting on the Koosee. --Firing the jungle.--The line of fire at night.--Foolish to shoot at moving jungle.--Never shoot down the line.--Motions of different animals in the grass.

CHAPTER XXI.

Howdahs and howdah-ropes.--Mussulman custom.--Killing animals for food. --Mysterious appearance of natives when an animal is killed.--Fastening dead tigers to the pad.--Present mode wants improving.--Incident illustrative of this.--Dangerous to go close to wounded tigers. --Examples.--Footprints of tigers.--Call of the tiger.--Natives and their powers of description.--How to beat successfully for tiger. --Description of a beat.--Disputes among the shooters.--Awarding tigers.--Cutting open the tiger.--Native idea about the liver of the tiger.--Signs of a tiger's presence in the jungle.--Vultures.--Do they scent their quarry or view it?--A vulture carrion feast.

CHAPTER XXII.

We start for a tiger hunt on the Nepaul frontier.--Indian scenery near the border.--Lose our way.--Cold night.--The river by night.--Our boat and boatmen.--Tigers calling on the bank.--An anxious moment.--Fire at and wound the tigress.--Reach camp.--The Nepaulee's adventure with a tiger.--The old Major.--His appearance and manners.--The pompous Jemadar.--Nepaulese proverb.--Firing the jungle.--Start a tiger and shoot him.--Another in front.--Appearance of the fires by night.--The tiger escapes.--Too dark to follow up.--Coolie shot by mistake during a former hunt.

CHAPTER XXIII.

We resume the beat.--The hog-deer.--Nepaulese villages.--Village granaries.--Tiger in front.--A hit! a hit!--Following up the wounded tiger.--Find him dead.--Tiffin in the village.--The Patair jungle. --Search for tiger.--Gone away!--An elephant steeplechase in pursuit. --Exciting chase.--The Morung jungle.--Magnificent scenery.--Skinning the tiger.--Incidents of tiger hunting.

CHAPTER XXIV.

Camp of the Nepaulee chief.--Quicksands.--Elephants crossing rivers. --Tiffin at the Nepaulee camp.--We beat the forest for tiger.--Shoot a young tiger.--Red ants in the forest.--Bhowras or ground bees.--The _ursus labialis_ or long-lipped bear.--Recross the stream.--Florican. --Stag running the gauntlet of flame.--Our bag.--Start for factory. --Remarks on elephants.--Precautions useful for protection from the sun in tiger shooting.--The _puggree_.--Cattle breeding in India, and wholesale deaths of cattle from disease.--Nathpore.--Ravages of the river.--Mrs. Gray, an old resident in the jungles.--Description of her surroundings.

CHAPTER XXV.

Exciting jungle scene.--The camp.--All quiet.--Advent of the cow-herds. --A tiger close by.--Proceed to the spot.--Encounter between tigress and buffaloes.--Strange behaviour of the elephant.--Discovery and capture of four cubs.--Joyful return to camp.--Death of the tigress. --Night encounter with a leopard.--The haunts of the tiger and our shooting grounds.

CHAPTER XXVI.

Remarks on guns.--How to cure skins.--Different Recipes.--Conclusion.

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

Tiger Hunting--Return to the Camp Coolie's Hut Indigo Beating Vats Indigo Beaters at work in the Vat Indian Factory Peon Indigo Planter's House Pig Stickers Carpenters and Blacksmiths at work Hindoo Village Temples