Wild Beasts and Their Ways, Sir Samuel White Baker [books successful people read TXT] 📗

and would be frightened away by the noise of the beaters should we drive the hollow, and it would escape unseen. If, on the other hand, the tiger should be lying in any spot within a radius of half a mile, it would be very hungry, as proved by its attack upon the cow during broad daylight, and it would assuredly kill one or both of the baits, and remain with its prey, if we should tie up two young buffaloes that night; we should then be certain to have it within the drive on the following morning.

This was sound reasoning, and according to rule; but the native argued that the tiger, having been knocked over and pounded by the buffaloes, would be so cowed that it would decline to attack the young buffaloes that might be secured to trees as baits; it would, on the contrary, avoid anything in the shape of a buffalo, and if we neglected to drive the jungle at once, we should find a blank upon the following morning.

The sequel proved that the man was correct, as the buffaloes were untouched on the following day, and the tiger had disappeared from the locality.

The tiger, although hungry, was sufficiently disturbed by its defeat to abstain from any further attack; although the baits were only twelve months old, it was too shy to encounter anything in the shape of a buffalo.

In the grassy islands of the Brahmaputra there were a vast number of tigers some twelve or fourteen years ago, but their number has been reduced through the development of the country by the various lines of steamers which have improved the navigation of the river. Formerly a multitude of small islands of alluvial deposit thrown up by the impetuous current created an archipelago for 60 or 70 miles of the river's course south of Dhubri, in the direction of Mymensing; these varied in size from a few hundred yards to a couple of miles in length, and being covered with high grass and tamarisk, they formed a secluded retreat for tigers and other game at the foot of the Garo Hills. The river makes a sudden bend, sweeping near the base of this forest-covered range, from which the wild animals at certain seasons were attracted to the island pasturage and dense covert, especially when the forests had been cleaned by annual firing, and neither food nor place of refuge could be found. As these numerous islands abounded with wild pigs, hog-deer, and other varieties of game, they were most attractive to tigers, and these animals were tolerably secure from molestation, as it was impossible to shoot or even to discover them in grass 10 feet high without a line of elephants. The improvement introduced by steam navigation gave an increased impulse to cultivation, as the productions of the country could be transported at a cheap rate to Calcutta by the large barges termed flats, which are fastened upon either side of the river steamers. These are 270 feet in length, and of great beam. The steamers are from 270 to 300 feet from stem to stern, and are furnished with hurricane decks capable of stowing a large cargo, although the draught of water is limited owing to the numerous sandbanks that interrupt the channel. The peculiar conditions of the Brahmaputra, which render it necessary that these large vessels should be of very shallow draught, entail the necessity of a rudder 17 feet in length to afford a sufficient resistance for steering when running down the stream. The shock when striking upon a sandbank is sufficient to bury the stem without straining the vessel, as the flat bottom remains fixed upon the soft soil for a few moments, during which the force of the stream upon so large a surface brings the steamer broadside on to the obstruction and releases the stem. It is then an affair of an hour or more to get her off the bank by laying out kedge anchors, and heaving upon the hawsers with the steam winches.

The Brahmaputra is an extraordinary river, as it acknowledges no permanent channel, but is constantly indulging in vagaries during the season of flood; at such times it carries away extensive islands and deposits them elsewhere. Sometimes it overflows its banks and cuts an entirely new channel at a sudden bend, conveying the soil to another spot, and throwing up an important island where formerly the vessels navigated in deep water. This peculiar character of the stream renders the navigation extremely difficult, as the bed is continually changing and the captains of the steamers require a long experience.

During inundations the islands are frequently drowned out, and the wild animals are forced to swim for the nearest shore. Upon such occasions tigers have been frequently seen swimming for their lives, and they have been killed in the water by following them in boats. The captain of the steamer in which I travelled told me of a curious incident during a great inundation, which had covered deeply all the islands and transported many into new positions. Upon waking at daylight, the man who took the helm was astonished to see a large tiger sitting in a crouching attitude upon the rudder, which, as already explained, was 17 feet in length. A heavily-laden flat or barge was lashed upon either side, and the sterns of these vessels projected beyond the deck of the steamer, right and left.

The decks of these large flats were only feet above the water, and the tiger, when alarmed by a shout from the helmsman, made a leap from the rudder to the deck of the nearest vessel. In an instant all was confusion, the terrified natives fled in all directions before the tiger, which, having knocked over two men during its panic-stricken onset, bounded off the flat and sought security upon the deck of the steamer alongside. Scared by its new position and by the shouts of the people, it rushed into the first hole it could discover; this was the open door of the immense paddle-box, and the captain rushed to the spot and immediately closed the entrance, thereby boxing the tiger most completely.

There was only one gun on board, belonging to the captain: the door being well secured, there was no danger, and an ornamental air-hole in the paddle-box enabled him to obtain a good view of the tiger, who was sitting upon one of the floats. A shot through the head settled the exciting incident; and the men who were knocked over being more frightened than hurt, the affair was wound up satisfactorily to all parties except the tiger.

The progress of science in the improvement of steam navigation has had a wonderful effect throughout the world during the past half century, and it is interesting to watch the development resulting from the increased facilities of steam traffic upon the Brahmaputra. Although a residence upon the islands is accompanied by extreme risk during the period of inundations, there are many villages established where formerly the tigers held undisturbed possession; and the rich alluvial soil is made to produce abundance, including large quantities of jute, which is transported by the steamers to Calcutta. The danger of an unexpected rise in the river is always provided for, and every village possesses two or more large boats, which are carefully protected from the sun by a roof of mats or thatch, to be in readiness for any sudden emergency.

When the natives first established themselves upon the islands and along the dangerous banks of the Brahmaputra, they suffered greatly from the depredations of the numerous tigers, and in self-defence they organised a system by which each village paid a subscription towards the employment of professional shikaris. These men soon reduced the numbers of the common enemy, by setting clever traps, with bows and arrows, the latter having a broad barbed head, precisely resembling the broad arrow that is well known as the Government mark throughout Great Britain. The destruction of tigers was so great in a few years that the Lieut.-Governor of Bengal found it necessary to reduce the reward from fifty rupees to twenty-five, and tiger-skins were periodically sold by auction at the Dhubri Kutcherry at from eight annas to one rupee each.

In this manner the development of agricultural industry brought into value the fertile soil, which had hitherto been neglected, and the wild beasts were the first to suffer, and eventually to disappear from the scene; precisely as indolent savage races must vanish before the inevitable advance of civilisation. and their neglected countries will be absorbed in the progressive extension of colonial enterprise.

I believe there are very few tigers to be found at the present time in the islands or "churs" of the Brahmaputra, and although I never had the good fortune to know the country when it was described to me as "crawling" with these animals, I look back with some pleasure to my visit in 1885, when through the kindness of Mr. G. P. Sanderson, the superintendent of the keddahs, I was supplied with the necessary elephants.

The Rajah of Moochtagacha, Soochikhan (or Suchi Khan), had started from Mymensing with thirty-five elephants, and he kindly invited me to join him for a few days before I should meet Mr. Sanderson at Rohumari, about 38 miles below Dhubri, on the Brahmaputra. I had a scratch pack of twelve elephants, including some that had been sent forward from the keddahs, and others kindly lent by the Ranee of Bijni. These raised our number into a formidable line, excepting one huge male with long tusks belonging to the Bijni Ranee, who was too savage to be trusted with other elephants in company. This brute, as is not uncommon, combined great ferocity with extreme nervousness. He had just destroyed the howdah, which was smashed to atoms, as the animal had taken fright at the crackling of flames when some one had ignited a patch of long grass in the immediate neighbourhood. This had established an immediate panic, and the elephant bolted at full speed, destroying the howdah utterly beneath the branches of a tree; fortunately there was no occupant, or he would certainly have been killed. The sound of fire is most trying to the nerves of elephants, but a good shooting animal should be trained especially to bear with it; otherwise it is exceedingly dangerous.

The Rajah's elephants were his peculiar enjoyment, and there was the same difference in their general appearance, when compared with the keddah elephants, as would be seen in a well-kept stable of hunters and a team of ordinary farm horses. At the same time it must be remembered that Suchi Khan's elephants did no work, but were kept solely for his amusement, while the keddah animals had been working hard in the Garo Hills for many months upon inferior food, engaged with their experienced superintendent Mr. Sanderson in catching wild elephants. Nevertheless there was a notable superiority in the Rajah's shikari animals, as they had been carefully trained to the sport of tiger-hunting; they marched with so easy a motion that a person could stand upright in the howdah, rifle in hand, without the necessity of holding the rail. They appeared to glide instead of swaying as they moved, and in that respect alone they exhibited immense superiority, the difficulty of shooting with a rifle from the back of an elephant in motion being extreme. Several of these elephants were so well trained that they showed no alarm when a tiger was on foot, at which time an elephant generally exhibits a tendency to nervousness, and cannot be kept motionless by his mahout.

A favourite shikar animal had been badly bitten by a tiger a few days before my arrival, and it was feared that she might become shy upon the next encounter. Although