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Entered according to Act of Congress, in June, 1867, by J. W. Burke & Cos., in the Clerk’s Office of the District Court of the United States for the So. District of Georgia.
Vol. I.
THE TIGER.
kind is the Tiger, but
little inferior in size
IUJ and strength to the
lion, and surpassing
it in ferocity and
agility. It inhabits the jun
gles of the Indus and the
Ganges, and the adjacent
islands in the Indian Ocean.
It varies in length from four
to ten feet; in height from
two to four. It is more
slender in form than the
lion is, with a shorter and
rounder head. But it is pe
culiarly distinguished by its
skin, which is of various
shades of yellow, elegantly
striped by transverse black
bands or bars, which mark
the sides of the head, neck
and body, and are continued,
in the form of rings upon its 1
tail, the last of which gives
a black tip to the extremity.
Some men went out
one day to shoot game on
an island called Ceylon. —
After a while they got tired
and sat down to rest them-
selves and eat dinner, but they first made
a large fire to keep away the wild beasts.
By and by they heard a loud roar, and a
tiger sprang among them, seized one of
their number and carried him away into
the bushes. The other men fired their
guns at the tiger, but for nearly an hour
they heard nothing moro of their poor
companion, At last he came up to them
covered with blood, and said that he had
killed tho tiger, but ho was dreadfully
MACON. Or A., JULY 27, 1867.
wounded, and only lived two or three days.
Tigers were formerly so abundant in
India that they committed depredations
upon the inhabitants in daylight, but ot
late years they have been hunted so much
by the European population, that they
are less feared.
The Hindoos do not hunt the tiger.
They believe that after death their souls
pass into tho bodies of animals, and that
tho soul of some great narwab, or prince,
inhabits the lordly tiger.
They, therefore, entertain
for it a superstitious rever
ence, call it by the most
honorable names, and en
treat it to let them pass in
safety.
The tiger is sometimes
tamed by the fakirs of In
dia, and accompanies them
in their rambles, but owing
to the irritability of their
temper, they are dangerous
pets. They are also to be
found in Zoological gardens
and menageries, in nearly
all civilized countries, con
fined in cages, and some
times, when taken young<
and subjected to control from
an early period of their
lives, they are, to a certain
decree, rendered tame; but
O
they are naturally treacher
ous and cruel, and number
less instances have occurred
in which they have attacked
their keepers in an unguard
ed moment and mangled
them in the most terrible
manner.
Some years ago, a young
lady in Philadelphia visited
the National Circus, where
a large number of wild ani
mals were on exhibition.
She foolishly attempted to caress one of
the tigers, which seized her by the lett
arm and lacerated it in a most shocking
manner before it could be made to let
go its hold. So firmly were its jaws
closed upon the limb that a crowbar had
to be used to force its mouth open.
Our engraving represents the royal
Bengal tiger, the largest of his species,
and one of the most beautiful of the ani
mal tribe,
No. 4r.