the back of the bullock, and
then sat up and put both its paws on its neck evidently to drag it down,
but it then perceived that the animal was tied, and at once turned and
sprang into the forest with such rapidity that my friend did not fire. He
however sat patiently on, and after a considerable time the tiger
reappeared, went through the whole stalking performance as carefully and
exactly as before, and was seen and charged by the bullock as before. But
this time the tiger was in earnest and seized the bullock. There was a
struggle, the rope broke, and the bullock dropped dead, and then the tiger
stood for a few seconds, a magnificent figure in the bright sunlight,
looking all round as it were for signs of danger. Whether the tiger saw or
smelt my friend is uncertain, but it suddenly lay down behind the bullock,
interposing the carcase between itself and my friend, and resting its
head on the body. As it is always more or less precarious to fire at the
head of an animal where it may suddenly move my friend waited to get a
body shot, but as the tiger had evidently no intention of moving he fired
at the head and the tiger was apparently shot dead on the spot. But my
friend, who was an experienced sportsman, waited a little, and in the end
thought it safe to fire another shot before going up to the tiger. He did
so, when the tiger sprang up and went off into the forest at full speed,
and fell and died at some little distance away. The first bullet had
struck the tiger below the eye, but had been deflected, and was found
lodged in the jaw. My friend thinks that it would have proved fatal to the
tiger, but that is doubtful, as tigers make such wonderful recoveries from
wounds.

In tying out baits it is very important to use a chain instead of a rope,
as the tiger will commonly cut the latter and carry off the carcase, and
it is sometimes desirable, or even necessary in some cases, to sit over
the carcase and await the return of the tiger. The latter is always the
case where there are great continuous forests, where tigers cannot be
isolated, or successfully pursued, unless one has an army of men and many
guns. This form of sport, which Mr. Sanderson speaks highly of, I can
imagine may be very interesting, but it is also very tiresome and
tantalizing. A great many years ago I remember trying it for two nights,
but without any success, and never again tried it till some years ago,
when I made an attempt in one of the forests