ther. Hence in some
places the tracks of the tigers are so numerous as to lead the tyro to
imagine that dozens must have passed, when in truth the tracks all
belong to one and the same brute. So acute is their perception, so
narrowly do they scrutinize every minute object in their path, so
suspicious is their nature, that anything new in their path, such as a
pitfall, a screen of cut grass, a _mychan_, that is, a stage from
which you might be intending to get a shot, nay, even the print of a
footstep--a man's, a horse's, an elephant's--is often quite enough to
turn them from a projected expedition, or at any rate to lead them to
seek some new outlet from the jungle. In any case it increases their
wariness, and under such circumstances it becomes almost impossible to
get a shot at them from a pit or shooting-stage. Their vision, their
sense of smell, of hearing, all their perceptions are so acute, that I
think lying in wait for them is chiefly productive of weariness and
vexation of spirit. It is certainly dangerous, and the chances of a
successful shot are so problematical, while the _disagreeables_, and
discomforts, and dangers are so real and tangible, that I am inclined
to think this mode of attack 'hardly worth the candle.'

With all his ferocity and cruelty, however, I am of opinion that the
tiger is more cowardly than courageous. He will always try to escape a
danger, and fly from attack, rather than attack in return or wait to
meet it, and wherever he can, in pursuit of his prey, he will trust
rather to his cunning than to his strength, and he always prefers an
ambuscade to an open onslaught.

[1] This was at the time the Prince of Wales was shooting in Nepaul,
not very far from where I was then stationed. Most of the
elephants in the district had been sent up to his Royal Highness's
camp, or were on their way to take part in the ceremonies of the
grand _Durbar_ in Delhi.

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