when
they committed themselves to a positive statement.

An old planter residing at Sultanpore, close on the Nepaul border, a
noted sportsman and a crack shot, was charged on one occasion by a
large tiger; the brute sprang right off the ground on to the
elephant's head; his hind legs were completely off the ground, resting
on the elephant's chest and neck; Mr. F. retained sufficient presence
of mind to sit close down in his howdah; the tiger's forearm was
extended completely over the front bar, and so close that it touched
his hat. In this position he called out to his son who was on another
elephant close by, to fire at the tiger; he was cool enough to warn
him to take a careful aim, and not hit the elephant. His son acted
gallantly up to his instructions, and shot the tiger through the
heart, when it dropped down quite dead, to Mr. F.'s great relief.

Some sportsmen are of opinion, that the tiger when charging never
springs clear from the ground, but only rears itself on its hind legs;
this however is a mistake. I saw a tiger leap right off the ground,
and spring on to the rump of an elephant carrying young Sam S. The
elephant proved staunch, and remained quite quiet, and Sam, turning
round in his howdah, shot his assailant through the head.

I may give another incident, to shew how closely tigers will sometimes
stick to cover; they are sometimes as bad to dislodge as a quail or a
hare; they will crouch down and conceal themselves till you almost
trample on them. One day a party of the Purneah Club were out; they
had shot two fine tigers out of several that had been seen; the others
were known to have gone ahead into some jungle surrounded by water,
and easy to beat. Before proceeding further it was proposed
accordingly to have some refreshment. The _tiffin_ elephant was
directed to a tree close by, beneath whose shade the hungry sportsmen
were to plant themselves; the elephant had knelt down, one or two
boxes had actually been removed, several of the servants were clearing
away the dried grass and leaves. H.W.S. came up on the opposite side
of the tree, and was in the act of leaping off his elephant, when an
enormous tiger got up at his very feet, and before the astounded
sportsmen could handle a gun, the formidable intruder had cleared the
bushes with a bound, and disappeared in the thick jungle.

The following adventure bears me out in my remark, that tigers get
attached to, and like to remain in, one place. Mr