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WATCHING FOR A TIGER.
The spot I selected was at the edge of
a tank, where a tiger used to drink.
There was a large tamarind tree on its
banks, and here 1 took my post. A vil
lage shikaree accompanied me; and soon
after sunset, we took up our position on
a branch, about twelve feet from the
ground. I should first mention, that w e
had fastened an unfortunate bullock un
der the tree for a bait. Well, we re
mained quietly on our perch fora couple
of hours, w ithout any thing stirring. It
might be eight o’clock, the moon had
risen, and so clear was the light, that we
could see the j ickalls at the distance of
half a mile, sneaking along towards the
village, when a party of Bi inparries, pas
sing bv, stopped to water their bullocks
at the tank. ‘They loitered for some
time; and, becoming impatient, I got off
the tree with a single rifle in my hand,
and walked towards them, telling them 1
was watching for a tiger, upon w hich they
started off immediately. I w r as saunter
ing back to my post, never dreaming of
danjer, when the shikaree gave alow
whistle, and at the same moment a growl
rose from some bushes between me and
the tree. To make my situation quite
decided, I saw his (the shikaree’s) black
arm pointing nearly straight under him,
on my side of his post. It was evident
that 1 could not regain the tree, although I
was within twenty paces of it. There was
nothing for me but to drop behind a
bush, and leave the rest to Providence.
If 1 had moved then, the tiger would have
had me to a certainty ; besides, l trusted
to his killing the bullock, and returning
to the jungle as soon as he had finished
his supper.
It was terrible to hear the moans of
the wretched bullock when the tiger ap
proached. He would run to the end of
his rope, making a desperate effort to
break it, and then lie down, shaking in
every limb, and bellowing in the most
piteous manner. The tiger saw him plain
enough, but, suspecting something wrong,
he walked growling round the tree, as if
he did not observe him. At last he made
his fatal spring, with a horrid shriek ra
ther than a roar. 1 could hear the tor
tured bullock struggling under him, ut
tering faint cries which became more and
more feeble every instant, and then the
heavy breathing, half growl, half snort of
the monster, as he bung to his neck,
sucking his life blood. 1 know not w hat
possessed meat this moment, but I could
not resist the temptation of a shot. 1
crept up softly within ten yards of him,
and, kneeling behind a clump of dates, I
took a deliberate aim at Ins head, while
he lay with his nose buried in the bul
lock’s throat. He started with an angry
roar from the carcase when the ball hit 1
SOUTHERN LITERARY GAZETTE.
him. He stood listening for a moment,
then dropped in front of me, uttering a
sullen growl. There was nothing but a
date bush between us ; 1 had no weapon
but my discharged rifle. I felt for my
pistols, they had been left on the tree.
Then 1 knew r that my hour was come, and
all the sins of my life flashed with dread
ful distinctness across my mind. I mut
tered a short prayer, and tried to prepare
myself for death, which seemed inevita
ble. But what was my peon about all
this time? he had the spare guns with
him ! Oh, as i afterwards learned, he,
poor fellow, was trying to (ire my double
rifle : but all my locks have bolts, which
he did not understand, and he could not
cock it. He was a good shikaree, and
knew that was mv only chance; so when
he could do no good, he did nothing, if
Mohadeen had been there, he would soon
have relieved me; but I had sent him in
another direction that da3 T . Well, some
minutes passed thus.
The tiger made no attempt to come
at me; a ray of hope cheered me ; he
might be dying. I peeped through the
branches ; but my heart sank within me
when his bright green eyes met mine,
and his hot breath absolutely blew in my
face. I slipped back upon my knees in
despair, and a growl warned me that even
that slight movement was noticed. But
why did he not attack me at once? A
tiger is a suspicious, cowardly brute, and
will seldom charge, unless he sees his
prey distinctly. Now, 1 was quite con
cealed by the date leaves; and, while 1
remained perfectly quiet, 1 still had a
chance. Suspense was becoming intol
erable. My rifle lay useless at my side;
to attempt to load it would have been
instant death. My knees were bruised
by the hard gravel, but 1 dared not move
a joint. The tormenting musquitoes
swarmed round my face, but 1 feared to
raise my hand to brush them off. When
ever the wind ruffled the leaves that
sheltered me, a hoarse growl grated
through the stillness of the night. Hours
that seemed years rolled on; 1 could
hear the village gong strike each hour of
that dreadful night, which 1 thought would
never end. At last the welcome dawn !
and oh, how gladly did 1 hail the first
streaks of light that shot up from the
horizon, for then the tiger rose, and sul
kily stalked away to some distance. 1
felt that the danger was past, and rose
with a feeling of relief which I cannot
describe. Such a night of suffering was
enough to turn my brain, and I only
wonder that I survived it. 1 now sent
off the peon for the elephant, and before
eight o’clock old Goliath had arrived. It
was all over in five minutes. The tiger
rushed to meet me as soon as 1 entered
the cover, and one ball in the chest drop
ped him down dead.
RANDOM READINGS.
— Epigram. —The following must ei
ther have been written by a loafer , or a
decidedly well bred poet:
ON MISS ANNE BREAD.
“Toast any girl but her,” said Ned,
With every other flutter—
I’ll be content with Anne Bread,
And wont have any but her.
—Wood and Coal are both very high
just now. — Phil. Times.
Egad—we are glad to hear that; for
our’s we find to be mighty low —perhaps
you could spare some. — Richmond Star.
It’ we were the Philadelphia Times, as
we are the Boston Times, we wood most
certainly spare the Corporal a tew cords
—to hang himself.
—The word dun was first used during
the reign of Henry VII. It owes its birth
to Joe Dunn, an English bailiff, who was
so indefatigable and skillful in collecting
debts, that it became a proverb, when a
person did not pay his debts, “w hy don’t
you Dunn him?’ that is, “why don't
you send Dunn after him ?” Hence orig
inated the word which is in so general
use.
—The Alphabet —The twenty-six let
ters of the Alphabet may be transposed
624,448,401,733,239,<360,000 times. All
the inhabitants of the globe, on a rough
calculation, could not, in a thousand mil
lions of years, write out all the transpo
sitions, even supposing that each wrote
forty pages daily, each of which pages
contained forty different transpositions
of the letters.
—A Case of Frog Rain. —The Wis
consin, of Milwaukie, says that a very
heavy thunder storm, w hich happened at
night, during the last week in July, the
roads and paths at an early hour of the
morning, were profusely strewn with
small f:ogs of about inches in length.
Ihe same paper states the prevailing
opinion in those parts to be that it was a
case of “frog-rain.”
— Con. —Why is too much brandy
like the fellow who goes about number
ing the people? Because it takes the
senses!
—A Good Reference.—“ Do you
know r Mr. ?” asked one friend of
another, referring to an old gentleman,
who was famous for his fondness for the
extract of hop.
“Yes, sir, 1 know him very well.”
“W hat kind of a man is he?”
“Why, in the morning, when he gets
up, he is a beer barrel, and in the eve
ning, w hen he goes to bed, he is a barrel
of beer.”
—A damsel in Ayrshire, having two
lovers, and not knowing which to prefer,
se tied the matter by marrying one and
immeeiately eloping with the other.
[September 4,