a sight that strikes a certain chill to the heart of the onlooker.
When he bounds forward, with a roar that reverberates among the mazy
labyrinths of the interminable jungle, he tests the steadiest nerve
and almost daunts the bravest heart.

In their habits they are very unsociable, and are only seen together
during the amatory season. When that is over the male tiger betakes
him again to his solitary predatory life, and the tigress becomes, if
possible, fiercer than he is, and buries herself in the gloomiest
recesses of the jungle. When the young are born, the male tiger has
often been known to devour his offspring, and at this time they are
very savage and quarrelsome. Old G., a planter in Purneah, once came
across a pair engaged in deadly combat. They writhed and struggled on
the ground, the male tiger striking tremendous blows on the chest and
flanks of his consort, and tearing her skin in strips, while the
tigress buried her fangs in his neck, tearing and worrying with all
the ferocity of her nature. She was battling for her young. G. shot
both the enraged combatants, and found that one of the cubs had been
mangled, evidently by his unnatural father. Another, which he picked
up in a neighbouring bush, was unharmed, but did not survive long.
Pairs have often been shot in the same jungle, but seldom in close
proximity, and it accords with all experience that they betray an
aversion to each other's society, except at the one season. This
propensity of the father to devour his offspring seems to be due to
jealousy or to blind unreasoning hate. To save her offspring the
female always conceals her young, and will often move far from the
jungle which she usually frequents.

When the cubs are able to kill for themselves, she seems to lose all
pleasure in their society, and by the time they are well grown she
usually has another batch to provide for. I have, however, shot a
tigress with a full-grown cub--the hunt described in the last chapter
is an instance--and on several occasions, my friend George has shot
the mother with three or four full-grown cubs in attendance. This is
however rare, and only happens I believe when the mother has remained
entirely separate from the company of the male.

The strength of the tiger is amazing. The fore paw is the most
formidable weapon of attack. With one stroke delivered with full
effect he can completely disable a large buffalo. On one occasion, on
the Koosee _derahs_, that is, th