Newspapers / Roanoke News (Weldon, N.C.) / June 16, 1892, edition 1 / Page 3
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THE ROANOKE NEWS, THURSDAY, JUNE 16, 189a. I. 1 1 1 IN A TIGER'S LAIR, A Terrible Adventure) in an Indian Jtinglo. ... j -S.UA .V r f ST,: . . f j W." '7 AW' It WAS stationed in lower lltir mah for several years ruioeecd iiiL the second w Hurinese w u r and had abun dant leisure to i n (1 n 1 g e my taste for hunt infr, for all kinds of frame. from junplo fowl to ele phants, abound ed. During the drv season of 1812 1 was spending a few weeks at the little town of Amherst, on the. coast of the trulf of Miirtaban, at the mouth of the Kuhvaii river. A man-eating tiger had taken upliis abode in the vicinity of the vil lage, and so bold and fatal had his depredations beeomc that a perfect panic reigned among the superstitious natives, who declared that no mere tiger could be so cunning in escaping all traps and so fiendish in his bloody deeds, and that it was a demon in the form of a tiger that was preying upon them. My friend, Lieut. llaibLsh, of the Grenadiers, joined me at the end of my first week in the place, and, ns he was fully as enthusiastic a sportsman as myself, we were not long in planning a campaign for ridding the village of their terrible enemy. Ve (list sent for the head man of the village and direct ed him to have proclamation made by means of the town crier that we pro posed to kill the man eater and would pay double wages for a few first-class hunters to assist us. lly sunset we had by dint of persuasion, extra' w ages and the natural desire for vengeance among those who had suffered in their own families from the ravages of the beast pot together about a score of men much above the average of Iiurmese hunters, and armed with everything from a dull hog spear to an antiquated army musket. The sun was less than an hour above the horizon tho next morning when wo rmssed bevond the boundaries of the village and entered the narrow paths which penetrated the dense jungle. Wc divided our force into groups of two or three individuals, giving orders to spread our lines nt first, and gradually converge toward a prominent hill, some miles distant, near which tho tiger was supposed to have his lair. If the beast was started the word was to he passed along the line as quickly as possible, andallweretoelo.su toward the indi cated point with all speed. We had been slowly advancing for overanhour, and the heat was becoming uncomfort able us the sun rose higher, when far away to the left we heard two or three musket bbots, followed by loiw swims, which quickly passed from group to group along tho scattered line, until wo knew that the tiger had been started and brought to bay. As fast as tho nature of the jungle would permit we made our way to the bpot, guided by tho incessant clamor of our men. which grew louder and louder ns the successive groups came in and 1 added their voices to the. chorus. We found our nu n gathered around a patch of dense thorny jungle, which occupied the center of a broad grassy opening in the forest. This dense growth was probably an acre in extent, and so closely were its thorny bamboos laced and interlaced together by rattan vines, and creepers of every sort, that it really looked ns if anything larger than a bird would have difiieulty in making its way through the matted mass. Here and there were low tunnel-like paths, formed by the game, and in one of these the enormous tracks of the tiger could bo plainly seen, freshly marked . in the moist earth. Several of our men tiger's citadel, and cither kill him out right or compel him to break cover, when we might expect a good account of him from the men on guard outside. The older natives vigorously protested that such an undertaking meant cer tain death to all who entered that dark thicket, but I was not as old then as I am now, and llarbish, being equally as rash, we adoptcilShuwayo's suggestion. I chose the path in which the tiger's tracks were to be seen, while the oth ers tools those nearest me on eitncr hand. We left our rifles outside, as the paths we had to follow were so low, as well as naiTow and tortuous, that most oT our progress was made, on all fours, and a gun would have been worse than useless. We each carried a heavy six- chambered revolver, and felt no fear of being unable to put the tiger to flight or kill him in case he stood his ground. It was ticklish work, I can tell you. The interlaced foliago overhead was so thick that 1 crawled along in a deep twilight that was almost total darkness. To add to mv trouble the track, or tun nel, that I wns following took so many short turns that it was seldom that I could see six feet in advance. All was still as death, and if I was not afraid of being laughed at I should certainly have beaten a retreat, and I have many times wished that 1 had done so. Sud denly the silence was broken by a hoarse rumbling growl, for all the world like distant thunder. That it was close at hand I knew, but there is un element of ventriloquism about the voixe of a tiger, in common with the cries of many other wild beasts, that rendered rae unable to decide with any certainty cither the distance or direc tion from whence the sound came. 1 peered into the twilight on every side, but could see nothing, and in the silence I could distinctly hear the throbbing of my heart. Then instead of a growl the very air vibrated with a savage roar, and I caught the sound of a spring, the bursting of some heavy body through the thick growth close uhead of me, and, horrible to tell, a groan of pain nnd agony which I knew proceeded from llarbish. I was frantw with a desire to reach ray friend, and rescue him from tho tiwr'B fun before life should be - n - n- NEW A VERTISKliNTS. r t n r l it ii i i i Li u Stores, Dwellings and other buildings insured in the best companies against loss by fire. LOSSES -:- BY -:-FIRE LOSSES -:- BY -:- FIRE PROMPTLY PROMPTLY Rates Low. Rates Low. o :- PAID. :- PAID. Rates Low. Rates Low. -nimmmuinmnrjuuiuiuiniai Q lummrammnimnnniiimmm- GINS A SPECIALTY. -mraramramturaranitomuiniOmnimnitnrainmiuuimiuraai- 3& 7 rX:VV-l('' ON I UKCKIVMI A CliVPMNli KL'HV B)HH'l.l)'.:ll. j had plainly seen the great cat he j dashed into the cover, nnd there j could be ho mistake that we had I tho rik'ht tig;T co.-cml, for he tioro certain marks which, us well as his unusual M.'.e, ld.ntilicd him beyond question. Wo consult for a few minutes ns to the best method of proceeding, nnd as llarlish an.l sev eral natives advised setting firo to the copse, wo made a trial of that plan. i'!l hands standing with our weapons ready for instant use. expecting the cina-ry to bo driven from his lair by the ilam.-s and smoke. But the foliage was too green, and our fire quickly died away willinnt nf!'.i..ti;TT nor nlirDOsC. alul all the natives but one btro:igly urged ns to abandon the chaso for the day, hop ing for better luck ne.t time, Th-t one man, a tall, stalwart fellow called Klmwuj'o, was a tit ted hunter of tho re gion, nnd, moreover, was smarting ml" dcr the loss of a near relative who had been dragged to a bloody death by this very tiger, and ho proposed a plan which, by its very audacity, at once captivated llarbish and myself. "His idci was to leave most of the mu ;a':-..i'd m-onnd the i-'ter edge of the little piece of jungle, wl.de throe of us. the li"utcimnt, bhmvr.yi ar.d I. vvsre to boldly force our way into the THE llUHMAX KKACIIEV TUB SPOT. crushed out of him, and 1 shouted wild ly to Shuwayo, and struggled madly to force my way through the few feet of distance" that separated me from tho brave boy in the tiger's clutches. In a moment 1 recovered my wits, and set to work again on all fours and made all haste to the rescue. I was thus creep ing forward, when, just as my head projected around one of the in numerable angles of the path, I received a crushing blow on my shoulder It was '.he tiger, nr.d if that blow had hit mv head instead of my shoulder, I should not be here telling about it. As it was, my pistol was knocked out of my hand, and I had just tnno to throw ray left arm over my head as some slight protection, when down came that great paw again, and there I was flat on my face, with the fetid breath of tho man-eater hot on my neck, as neipiess ns ever was a mouse under the claws of a cat. I tried to move myself backward a little, thinking that I might get my right hand on to my pistol, and so free myself; but my captor was far too sharp for that, and nothing but my left arm saved mo from instant death, as ho struck mo again with that cruel paw. This time he did not stop with a blow, hand in his mouth anil ilish deliberation, as it seemed the flesh and bones to tho elbow. I no ty irom mo- in .spue in suppress it, nnd that cry probably saved my lue, for it gmucit our brave. .Shuwayo to my rescue. It seemed an ago to mo then, though it could have been but a few seconds, be fore tho liurman reached tho spot, The. tiger, being very pleasantly en mi "ed with me, neglected to properly I guard his Hunks, and the hunter was ! able to hold Ids heavy pistol within a i foot.i f tho beast's ear and blow tho brute's brains out at one shot. The sound of that shot was tho last tl.m.r remembered for some time. (vi. i , i-civl consciousness I ,iw, i, ..... f eind mvM'lf in invlbed at the'bungnlow. Mv left arm had been amputated at the 1 wa.i d 'iiieit to travel Low rates in the Standard Companies given on STEAM, WATER and HORSE POWER GINS. For further Particulars Apply to ill I B I III Rll 11 II 111 I i I HTUl' AT 11S1I1 Southern -:- Hotel, HI I I I ' I I I R- i b J m iti k, in ill ii I'll i i c r i r nr. n ii h rn i rv i miuuin uij wn "i Fii(,hysiosh'cAi:nk , I iquoks and a lm WcpsTnt Firt! I wish I couM 1. I inc liom on AVrr itiHtitsc lu gooa your renicuy is. n ) its anil is now the stouHM W many thanks, I remain yours el (i who tc sufi?r Hfttsc know jliit lu'Wifl l' son use it it one y nr. fcl cbl.l 1 lmvt. v.-iih-' and thitt, ,i. ,.,.. ,i, of,, sv'.th the ei ,.,, llarbish, poor fellow, had been terribly torn by tho claws and teeth of tho tiger, though ho h?A been c,v.r...! t'u. loss of vmv limb. V.'hen tho ' i,.r.,l tlin co'ise thev found both M....l,i.;h siiid me uii.'.cr the dead tiger, ,i !ki ,;."ftl U3 out, as they sup in. v. ....v. ..(. ... , , i .... :e posed, dead, too, nnd inaecu i notion n anr two rash hunters ever bearded tho .: ' ;., l.io i..,i ns recklosslv ns wc did ,,.vt i:..i.,l t.oiell about it. When I re eove-ed thev brought me theskiu of the it iv:k nnnsiial'.v large and line lv"m:irked, and when I get to England 1 e-nieet to see it on tho library floor where it has lain for many years as a of mv first tiger hunt. bt. Louis Wobe-Demoerat. A Tdvely n n"i'.f"ie "Wc ar citi.i "i 1 poi t lie I'": li:ir.,'i'."-"" '''" r l.asto can C" 1;;,'1V" ..Mr. J- Boomer v.nir tocr.il our new :,r.'" e'r. V win-."1 Mr .1. Huomer , pr.,ln who iMf'T ' - 1cnver Tnmiu CrSEiei, r.i. Pro. or, S I have tint hnl oik- of my l N.tiii s-nco 1 t!j jago. HRRhV 1.1..MO.IL. B ' Pn.AnnntiA. Pa.. J-n. . t. M wli. le the pnticnt liail j-'ioi n' l'h hci'O, tn.U - j weic tt.ua by tltis n-mo.lv. jg t . i. 11 ii 'i , 7 Trcii.urcr Ai.icric? n l'ubiuhing House. V !i ,m.V.'' VASh'S. 'i ii;.l vu I'-.-y ' C....':.uf -.,-i.-k.w-. ve w.-l i-c: s.ii Uvc.ije. i'oil-Uih"::i:..! Sue. . A. u.eaa Ihill Chemical Co., V.FST f3:ll.Al!lVS.J'MA, FA. This - Space - be longs to the HALIFAX, IsT. C3 It. O.IU KTON-,JK., O KW11. I.. TKAVIS. KL'KTON AND TliAVIS, ATTORNEYS AND COUNSELLORS AT LAW, HALIFAX, N.C. Practice in the counties of Halifax and Northampton, and in the Supreme and I-Viieial courts. Claims collected iu all parts of North Carolina, aug i ly. JAMES M. Ml'I.l.l'N. II U U i. IS J, A ATTORNEYS AT LA 11', WAI.TKB E. DaI.iKL ii a n I a h, CLEAN KOOXIS. SPLENDID T A ULEr OLITE SERVANTS. Fare always the bent the niaikekcsuitf iord. SERVICE NEAT AND PROMPT. JKsTNEAlI THE COURT HOUSE. -a P,:igga,!f Ulien from and Wej.hox, N. C. Practice in thecourU of Hulifitu RiidNonbam tonnd in llieijiiiinmcund Ft'derul courts. Coi in iiUmirtsof North t'nroliiia. -Umiu'li iirtioe nt Ilulifiix. S.C.oiien every Mon riiHOMAS N. HILL, KOCEMES. I have a couiple stock of Family Gro- n 1,1 1 1.!..!. T .:n 11 cenea ot aiiKinas wuieu a win BL-uui for Cash. I have aUo on hand arid am constant ly receiving a large variety of LIQTJOES. Such as whisky, brandy, vine, ale, porter, carbonated water?, &e. beer Attorney at I.hw, HALIFAX, N.C. mug co initios and AiiS. W t '.rrf.i tlcesiii Ilalifcx and ailj ycileralaad Suiireine courts. D'" 11. L. UTNTKl!, SVV'vi'tDI-NTLST. KL'ROrON -J-L1 XI Can he found at his nflicv iu Enfield. Pure Nitrous Oxide Ons fur the Puinlfoi KxlrueliiiK f Teeth nlwiiys on hitnil. feb 07 ly. T, W. HARF.SS, D. D. S. Call and see nic ou Wasliington Ave nue at tho Siy'olJ Mard of 1!. W. Daniel. W. D. SJUTII. octlSly W I HIT South SycatLuic t., Tcteisburg, a. fM'm I 1H 7 STORE H.C. Spiers, O t to the railroad eUtion. NICE ACCOM MODATiONL-i ZD. 11 AXES 2.00 A D AY. Special nrranpenientu for board by th v eek or uiouth. e 5 i LriTi.BioN, N. C. Tuetn KxtractcJ without V.uin, i :0 (hu, R. G. REID, Proprietor ',10 tl i fcrv. 'ft - ! p A r iKKSW " pi vos lrt An I: tviii f iiml lfl an iitt'iiHiiilo 1 ;JtlHit . a.i.imc Ho, iiiiii, isuw Vui'ls wiy .v (i.M.VCrfu.I.KY, ;.!.;, p 'A 0 SI 'Vf'i.ii; . -.v! fn. slim fiJfl ,tt-i i'.i 'i..--? w ; 0) 0 i i n 'nrraiueen. ah -aliHiactcirv. Li-west ate u iiTi'''y work warnc i i.
Roanoke News (Weldon, N.C.)
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June 16, 1892, edition 1
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