, having fallen into a quagmire, the man was himself
unable to extricate it, and went to call the assistance of his
neighbors. Meanwhile, a large tiger, coming to the spot, seized upon
the buffalo, and dragged him out. When the men came to the place, they
saw the tiger, with the buffalo thrown over his shoulder, in the act of
retiring with him towards the jungle. No sooner, however, did he
observe the men, than he let fall the dead animal, and precipitately
escaped. On coming up, they found the buffalo quite dead, and his whole
blood sucked out. Some idea may be gained of the immense power of the
tiger, when it is mentioned that the ordinary weight of a buffalo is
above a thousand pounds, and consequently considerably more than double
its own weight.

The effect of feeding the tiger upon raw flesh, is shown by the
following anecdote: A party of gentlemen, from Bombay, found, one day,
in a cavern, a tiger's whelp, which was hidden in an obscure corner.
Snatching it up hastily, they cautiously retreated. Being left entirely
at liberty, and well fed, the tiger became tame, like the dog, grew
rapidly, and appeared entirely domesticated. At length it attained a
great size, and began to inspire terror by its tremendous strength and
power, notwithstanding its gentleness. Up to this moment, it had been
studiously kept from raw meat. But, unfortunately, during its rambles,
a piece of flesh dripping with blood fell in its way. The instant it
had tasted it, something like madness seemed to seize the animal; a
destructive principle, hitherto dormant, was kindled: it darted
fiercely, and with glowing eyes, upon its prey--tore it with fury to
pieces, and, growling and roaring in the most frightful manner, rushed
off, and disappeared in the jungle.

Tigers are sometimes very cunning. One of them was kept at a French
factory, at Silsceri, which was secured by a strong chain. This animal
used to scatter a portion of the rice that was set before him as far
round the front of his den as possible. This enticed the poultry to
come and pick it up. The tiger pretended to be asleep, in order to
induce them to approach nearer, when he suddenly sprang upon them, and
seldom failed to make several of them his prey.

This animal is susceptible of strong attachments. An instance of this
is recorded of a tigress of great beauty in the Tower at London. She
was extremely docile in her passage home from Calcutta, was allowed to
run about the vessel,