The Young Rajah | Page 9

They therefore
allow the creatures to range about as they please; and when any poor
fellow is seized by one of the brutes--as is frequently the case--he will
humbly beg the tiger sahib to set him free, or to finish him mercifully.
The natives, however, have no objection to my killing any of their
lordships; and we will this evening go to a fort on the banks of the
Ganges near which they are wont to pass on their way to drink at the
river. We will carry provisions and liquor, so that we may pass our time
agreeably till one of the brutes appears."
The party accordingly, accompanied by several natives of rank, with
their servants, set out, and were not long in reaching their destination.
The top of the fort offered a safe spot whence any number of wild
beasts could be shot down without the slightest risk to the sportsmen of
being attacked in return. A table and chairs were placed on the roof of

the fort, and the English gentlemen and Hindoos sat in the cool of the
evening quaffing their claret and conversing on various topics, with
their rifles ready loaded placed against the parapet, while a lookout
kept watch for the approach of a tiger, panther, or any other denizen of
the forest.
"Few men have more narrowly escaped becoming tiger's meat than I
have," said Major Sandford. "I carry some ugly marks about me to bear
witness to the fact; besides having the slight `halt' in my walk which
you may have observed. I was, some eight years ago, out shooting with
several companions, and being somewhat tired, I sat down on the side
of the bank, having left my gun a few feet from me. The rest of the
party had gone to a little distance, when, suddenly looking up, I saw a
huge tiger spring out of the jungle, and before I had time to reach my
gun the brute had seized me by the leg,--which I thought, by the fearful
way he held it, he would have bitten off. The rest of the party, seeing
my fearful condition, began to shout at the top of their voices, hoping
to drive off the beast. They were afraid to fire, for fear of killing me.
But the tiger was not to be disappointed of his expected dinner; so,
throwing me over his back with one jerk, off he trotted. I did not,
however, lose my presence of mind; but recollecting that I had a brace
of pistols in my belt, I drew one and pulled the trigger. To my horror, it
missed fire! I had still another. I managed to get hold of it, well
knowing that if that missed my fate was sealed. Pointing the muzzle at
the brute's head, I fired. The tiger gave a leap, and opening its mouth,
let me drop, while it fell down dead by my side. I scrambled away as
fast as I could, scarcely believing that I was safe, till my friends coming
up assured me of the fact, and congratulated me on my merciful
escape."
The subject of the "power of the human eye?" over the most savage
animals was touched on.
"There can be no doubt about it," observed Captain Burnett. "I was
once a short distance from a village, accompanied by my shikaree
wallah, when we heard the cry of `Help! Help!--a tiger! A tiger!'
resounding through the forest. Having loaded our guns with bullets, and

seen that our pistols were primed, we hurried towards the spot, when
we came in sight of a native who stood facing a huge tiger. From our
relative positions, it was somewhat difficult to shoot without running
the risk of hitting the man; we therefore shouted together, to try and
make the tiger move. He did so, and I at length got a shot at him; but
though he was hit, off he went without his expected meal. The native
then told us that while in the jungle he had suddenly caught sight of a
beast about to spring on him, when, with admirable presence of mind,
instead of running, he stood with his eye steadily fixed on the savage
monster. The tiger, wavering before the human eye, slunk behind a
bush; but every now and then he peered forth to see whether the man's
glance was still fixed on him. The brute continued moving from bush to
bush, as if endeavouring to avoid the undaunted gaze of his adversary,
that he might have an opportunity of springing out and seizing him.
Each time the tiger moved, the native turned facing his cunning foe,
and shouting at the top of his voice, in the hope that assistance might
come to him."
"I can narrate a still more