tigers, evidently young and
inexperienced animals, took no notice of the protestations of the jackal,
but the two larger tigers at once got up and took a long steady look at
him, and the jackal moved restlessly about and seemed to redouble his
efforts to attract the attention of the tigers. The larger tigers now
seemed satisfied that some danger was at hand, and to the immense relief
of my friend, walked down into the jungle, followed by the three smaller
tigers. After waiting a little my friend got up and proceeded homewards,
and, he said, "I am not ashamed to own that, after passing the place where
the tigers had disappeared from view, I fairly ran for the house." The
most interesting experiences one hears of tigers and other wild animals
are, as may be supposed, not from sportsmen engaged on shooting
expeditions, and who have killed much game, but from pioneer planters and
others whose business lies in tigerish localities, and that is why Mr.
Sanderson's book is so particularly interesting. My friend told me when I
last met him that he had only killed two tigers, but that he had had
occasionally some unexpected interviews with them. One of these was
interesting as showing that a tiger does not like the rearing of a horse.
My friend was riding across the country one morning when he came suddenly,
at the edge of a shola, on a tiger, which at once crouched as if to
spring. The horse, an Australian, wished to turn, but my friend, being
afraid that the tiger might then spring on him, turned his horse's head
towards the tiger and touched him with the spur. This caused the horse to
rear, and the moment he did so the tiger turned tail and ran off. We have
seen that man does not relish the roar of a tiger, and it may be
interesting to record one instance where a single tiger was commoved and
put to flight by the yell of a single man. He was a planter on the
Nilgiris, and the brother of a friend of mine, and was in the habit of
going out at the end of his day's work with a book and a gun, and seating
himself on the hillside to look out for sambur deer. On one occasion he
was thus sitting in the long grass when he heard something coming through
it. This turned out to be a large tiger which came into view suddenly, and
quite close, as may be supposed from the fact that the planter was sitting
in long grass. The tiger at once crouched, and the planter was afraid to
raise his gun, as it was probable that the animal might spring at h