Natural History in Anecdote Part 5

Old Instincts and new Opportunities.

In the "Miscellany of Natural History," from which several of these anecdotes are taken there is a story ill.u.s.trating the way in which old instincts will show themselves in the presence of new opportunities. On the evening of the 20th October 1816, a lioness made her escape from a travelling menagerie which was drawn up on the road-side, about seven miles from the town of Salisbury. It was about eight o'clock, and quite dark, and the Exeter mail was pa.s.sing when the animal suddenly darted forward, and springing at the throat of the off-leader, fastened the talons of her fore-feet on each side of the neck, close to the horse's head, while those of the hind-feet were forced into the chest. In this situation she hung, while the blood streamed from the agonized creature, as if a vein had been opened by a lancet. It may be easily supposed, that the alarm excited by this encounter, was very great. Two inside pa.s.sengers instantly dashed out of the coach and fled to a house on the road-side. The keeper of the caravan came, and immediately set a large Newfoundland dog on the animal. The lioness, on finding herself seized by the leg, quitted the horse, and turned upon the dog, which the spectators expected would very soon become the victim of her fury; but she was contented with giving him only a slight punishment, and on hearing the voice of her keeper, retired under a neighbouring straw rick, and gently allowed herself to be secured. "This anecdote," says the writer, "is remarkably characteristic, the moment that the animal found herself at liberty, and an object of prey presented itself, all her original propensities, hitherto restrained, were instantly called into action; but no sooner did the voice of her keeper reach her ears, than the force of long habit prevailed, she became calm, and allowed herself to be bound, and led again to her den."

The Tiger.

The tiger is one of the most beautiful, but at the same time one of the most rapacious and destructive of the whole animal race. It is found in the warm climates of the East, especially in India and Siam. It so much resembles the cat, as almost to induce us to consider the latter a tiger in miniature. It lurks generally near a fountain, or on the brink of a river, to surprise such animals as come to quench their thirst; and like the lion bounds upon its prey, easily making a spring of twenty feet and upwards. When it has killed one animal it often attacks others, swallowing their blood for which it has an insatiable thirst in large draughts; for even when satisfied with food, it is not satiated with slaughter. The tiger is said by some to prefer human flesh to that of any other animal; and it is certain, that it does not, like many other beasts of prey, shun the presence of man, but has been even known on more than one occasion to spring upon a hunting party when seated at their refreshment, and carry off one of the number, rushing through the shrubs into the forest, and devouring the unfortunate victim at its leisure. The strength as well as the agility of this animal is remarkable; it carries off a deer with the greatest ease.

The tiger is ornamented with long streaks across its body. The ground colour is yellow, very deep on the back, but growing lighter towards the belly, where it softens to white, as it does also on the throat and the inside of the legs. The bars which cross the body from the back to the belly are of the most beautiful black, and the skin altogether is so extremely fine and glossy, that it is much esteemed, and sold at a high price in all the eastern countries, especially China. "The colouring of the tiger," says the Rev. J. G. Wood, "is a good instance of the manner in which animals are protected by the similarity of their external appearance to the particular locality in which they reside. The stripes on the tiger's skin so exactly a.s.similate with the long jungle gra.s.s amongst which it lives, that it is impossible for unpractised eyes to discern the animal at all, even when a considerable portion of its body is exposed."

Ravages Committed by Tigers.

The ravages committed by tigers have often led to the organisation of hunting parties formed with a view to exterminate the more aggressive of the enemy. The following narrative of a tiger excursion at Doongal is from the "East India Government Gazette."

"There were five tigers killed by the party, besides one bear killed, and another wounded; a wolf, a hyaena, a panther, a leopard, and some immense rock and cobra capella snakes. Among the occurrences during the excursion, some were of a peculiar and pathetic nature. The first happened to a poor Bunnia, or dealer, of the village of Doongal, who had been to the city of Hydrabad, to collect some money, and who was returning, after having gathered together a small sum, when on the way, a little beyond the cantonment of Secunderabad, he saw an armed Paeon seated, and apparently a traveller in the same direction. After mutual inquiries, the Paeon told the Bunnia he was going to the same place; and, as the Bunnia was glad to have somebody to accompany him, he gave him a part of his victuals; and, on their way, they mutually related their histories. The Bunnia innocently mentioned the object of his visit to the city, and the fact of his returning with the money he had collected; this immediately raised the avarice of the Paeon, who decided in his mind to kill the poor Bunnia in a suitable place, and strip him of his money.

They proceeded together, with this design in the mind of the Paeon, until they came to a place where the ravages of the tiger were notorious, and he prepared to kill the Bunnia; and while he was struggling with him, and in the act of drawing his sword to slay him, a tiger sprang upon the Paeon, and carried him off, leaving his shield and sword, which the Bunnia carried to Doongal, as trophies of retributive justice in his favour. The next victim was the wife of a Bunjarra. They were resting under a tree, when a tiger sprang up, and seized the woman by the head.

The husband, from mere impulse to save his wife, held her by the legs; and a struggle ensued between the tiger pulling her by the head, and the man by the legs, until the issue, which could not be doubted, when the tiger carried off the woman. The man seemed to be rather partial to his wife, and devoted himself to revenge her death,--forsook his cattle and property,--resigned them to his brother, and offered his services to be of the tiger-killing party, and strayed about the jungles, until he was heard of no more."

"A camel driver, who had been just married, was bringing home his bride, when a tiger followed, and kept them in view a great part of the road, for an opportunity to seize one of them. The bride having occasion to alight, was immediately pounced upon by the ferocious beast, and he scampered away with her in his mouth. A shepherd was taken by a young tiger, which was followed by the mother, a large tigress, and devoured at a distance of two miles; and a Bunnia, or dealer, from Bolarum, was seized returning from a fair. A woman, with an infant about a year old, was captured by a tiger; and the infant was found by the Puttal, or head of the village, who brought it to his house. Some of the Company's elephants that were going for forage were chased by a tiger, which was kept off by a spearman; and a comical chase of them was made up to Doongal, the elephants running before the tiger, until they entered the village. It is said the lives lost by these tigers amounted to about three hundred persons in one year, within the range of seven villages; and the destruction of cattle, sheep, and goats, was said to be immense."

[Ill.u.s.tration: Lieutenant Collet and the Tiger]

An Intrepid Hunter.

Captain Brown in his "Natural History of Animals" tells a thrilling story of an adventure of Lieutenant Collet, of the Bombay army, who having heard that a very large tiger had destroyed seven inhabitants of an adjacent village, resolved, with another officer, to attempt the destruction of the monster. Having ordered seven elephants, they went in quest of the animal, which they found sleeping beneath a bush. Roused by the noise of the elephants, he made a furious charge upon them, and Lieutenant Collet's elephant received him on her shoulder, the other six having turned about, and run off, notwithstanding the exertions of their riders. The elephant shook off the tiger, and Lieutenant Collet having fired two b.a.l.l.s at him, he fell; but, again recovering himself, he made a spring at the lieutenant. Having missed his object, he seized the elephant by the hind leg, and, having received a kick from her, and another ball, he let go his hold, and fell a second time. Supposing that he was now disabled, Collet very rashly dismounted, with the resolution of killing him with his pistols; but the tiger, who had only been crouching to take another spring, flew upon the lieutenant, and caught him in his mouth. The strength and intrepidity of the lieutenant, however, did not forsake him: he immediately fired his pistol into the tiger's body, and, finding that this had no effect, disengaged his arms with all his force, and, directing the other pistol to his heart, he at last destroyed him, after receiving twenty-five severe wounds.

The Leopard.

The Leopard, who is also known as the panther, belongs to Asia and Africa. He is distinguished by the beauty of his coat which is of a rich fawn colour, graduating to white underneath his belly. It is covered with spots or cl.u.s.ters of marks which resemble the form of a rose. He is an agile climber and a terror to goats, sheep, monkeys and all lesser animals, but shows no special hostility to man unless attacked or cornered.

The Leopard's Tenacity of Life.

Like other members of the cat family the Leopard shows remarkable tenacity of life. Whether like the domestic cat he has nine lives or not, he certainly takes a great deal of killing.

The following account is from the pen of an eye-witness quoted from Captain Brown's "Natural History of Animals".--"I was at Jaffna, at the northern extremity of the Island of Ceylon, in the beginning of the year 1819, when, one morning, my servant called me an hour or two before my usual time, with 'Master, master! people sent for master's dogs--tiger in the town!' There are no real tigers in Ceylon; but leopards or panthers are always called so, and by ourselves as well as by the natives. This turned out to be a panther. My gun chanced not to be put together; and, while my servant was doing it, the collector and two medical men, who had recently arrived, in consequence of the cholera morbus having just then reached Ceylon from the Continent, came to my door, the former armed with a fowling-piece, and the two latter with remarkably blunt hog-spears. They insisted upon setting off, without waiting for my gun,--a proceeding not much to my taste. The tiger (I must continue to call him so) had taken refuge in a hut, the roof of which, like those of Ceylon huts in general, spread to the ground like an umbrella; the only aperture into it was a small door, about four feet high. The collector wanted to get the tiger out at once. I begged to wait for my gun; but no--the fowling-piece, (loaded with ball, of course,) and the two hog-spears, were quite enough. I got a hedge-stake, and awaited my fate, from very shame. At this moment, to my great delight, there arrived from the fort an English officer, two artillery-men, and a Malay captain; and a pretty figure we should have cut without them, as the event will show. I was now quite ready to attack, and my gun came a minute afterwards. The whole scene which follows took place within an enclosure, about twenty feet square, formed, on three sides, by a strong fence of palmyra leaves, and on the fourth by the hut. At the door of this, the two artillery-men planted themselves: and the Malay captain got at the top, to frighten the tiger out, by worrying it--an easy operation, as the huts there are covered with cocoa-nut leaves. One of the artillery-men wanted to go in to the tiger, but we would not suffer it. At last the beast sprang. This man received him on his bayonet, which he thrust apparently down his throat, firing his piece at the same moment. The bayonet broke off short, leaving less than three inches on the musket; the rest remained in the animal, but was invisible to us. The shot probably went through his cheek, for it certainly did not seriously injure him, as he instantly rose upon his legs, with a loud roar, and placed his paws upon the soldier's breast. At this moment, the animal appeared to me to about reach the centre of the man's face; but I had scarcely time to observe this, when the tiger, stooping his head, seized the soldier's arm in his mouth, turned him half round staggering, threw him over on his back, and fell upon him. Our dread now was, that, if we fired upon the tiger, we might kill the man. For a moment, there was a pause, when his comrade attacked the beast exactly in the same manner as the gallant fellow himself had done. He struck his bayonet into his head; the tiger rose at him--he fired; and this time the ball took effect, and in the head. The animal staggered backwards, and we all poured in our fire. He still kicked and writhed; when the gentlemen with the hog-spears advanced, and fixed him, while he was finished by some natives beating him on the head with hedge-stakes. The brave artilleryman was, after all, but slightly hurt: He claimed the skin, which was very cheerfully given to him. There was, however, a cry among the natives, that the head should be cut off: it was; and, in so doing, the knife came directly across the bayonet.

The animal measured little less than four feet, from the root of the tail to the muzzle. There was no tradition of a tiger having been in Jaffna before. Indeed, this one must have either come a distance of almost twenty miles, or have swam across an arm of the sea nearly two miles in breadth; for Jaffna stands on a peninsula, on which there is no jungle of any magnitude."

Hunters Hunted.

Captain Brown gives a thrilling story of an adventure which befell two Boers in South Africa in 1822. They were returning from a hunting excursion, when they unexpectedly fell in with a leopard in a mountain ravine, and immediately gave chase to him. The animal at first endeavoured to escape, by clambering up a precipice, but, being hotly pressed, and slightly wounded by a musket-ball, he turned upon his pursuers, with that frantic ferocity, which, on such emergencies, he frequently displays, and, springing upon the man who had fired at him, tore him from his horse to the ground, biting him at the same time very severely on the shoulder, and tearing his face and arms with his claws.

The other hunter, seeing the danger of his comrade, sprang from his horse, and attempted to shoot the leopard through the head; but, whether owing to trepidation, or the fear of wounding his friend, or the sudden motions of the animal, he unfortunately missed his aim. The leopard, abandoning his prostrate enemy darted with redoubled fury upon this second antagonist; and so fierce and sudden was his onset, that before the Boer could stab him with his hunting-knife, he had struck him in the face with his claws, and torn the scalp over his forehead. In this frightful condition, the hunter grappled with the raging beast, and, struggling for life, they rolled together down a steep declivity. All this pa.s.sed so rapidly that the other man had scarcely time to recover from the confusion into which his feline foe had thrown him, to seize his gun and rush forward to aid his comrade, when he beheld them rolling together down the steep bank, in mortal conflict. In a few moments he was at the bottom with them, but too late to save the life of his friend, who had so gallantly defended him. The leopard had torn open the jugular vein, and so dreadfully mangled the throat of the unfortunate man, that his death was inevitable; and his comrade had only the melancholy satisfaction of completing the destruction of the savage beast, which was already much exhausted by several deep wounds it had received in the breast, from the desperate knife of the expiring huntsman."

The Jaguar.

The Jaguar, otherwise known as the American Leopard, belongs to the forests of South America, and has many points of difference from as well as some of similarity with the Leopard of Asia. Though ferocious in his wild state, he is amenable to civilizing influences and becomes mild and tame in captivity. He is an excellent swimmer and an expert climber, ascending to the tops of high branchless trees by fixing his claws in the trunks. It is said that he can hunt in the trees almost as well as he can upon the ground, and that hence he becomes a formidable enemy to the monkeys. He is also a clever fisherman, his method being that of dropping saliva on to the surface of the water, and upon the approach of a fish, by a dexterous stroke of his paw knocking it out of the water on to the bank. D'Azara, says: "He is a very ferocious animal causing great destruction among horses and a.s.ses. He is extremely fond of eggs, and goes to the sh.o.r.es frequented by turtles, and digs their eggs out of the sand."

The Strength of the Jaguar.

The strength of the Jaguar is very great, and as he can climb, swim, and leap a great distance, he is almost equally formidable in three elements. He is said to attack the alligator and to banquet with evident relish off his victim. D'Azara says that on one occasion he found a Jaguar feasting upon a horse which it had killed. The Jaguar fled at his approach, whereupon he had the body of the horse dragged to within a musket shot of a tree in which he purposed watching for the Jaguar's return. While temporarily absent he left a man to keep watch, and while he was away the jaguar reappeared from the opposite side of a river which was both deep and broad. Having crossed the river the animal approached, and seizing the body of the horse with his teeth dragged it some sixty paces to the water side, plunged in with it, swam across the river, pulled it out upon the other side, and carried it into a neighbouring wood.

A Night of Horror.

Mrs. Bowdich tells a story of two early settlers in the Western States of America, a man and his wife, who closed their wooden hut, and went to pay a visit at a distance, leaving a freshly-killed piece of venison hanging inside. "The gable end of this house was not boarded up as high as the roof, but a large aperture was left for light and air. By taking an enormous leap, a hungry jaguar, attracted by the smell of the venison, had entered the hut and devoured part of it. He was disturbed by the return of the owners, and took his departure. The venison was removed. The husband went away the night after to a distance, and left his wife alone in the hut. She had not been long in bed before she heard the jaguar leap in at the open gable. There was no door between her room and that in which he had entered, and she knew not how to protect herself. She, however, screamed as loudly as she could, and made all the violent noises she could think of, which served to frighten him away at that time; but she knew he would come again, and she must be prepared for him. She tried to make a large fire, but the wood was expended. She thought of rolling herself up in the bedclothes, but these would be torn off. The idea of getting under the low bedstead suggested itself, but she felt sure a paw would be stretched forth which would drag her out.

Her husband had taken all their firearms. At last, as she heard the jaguar scrambling up the end of the house, in despair she got into a large store chest, the lid of which closed with a spring. Scarcely was she within it, and had dragged the lid down, inserting her fingers between it and the side of the chest, when the jaguar discovered where she was. He smelt round the chest, tried to get his head in through the crack, but fortunately he could not raise the lid. He found her fingers and began to lick them; she felt them bleed, but did not dare to move them for fear she should be suffocated. At length the jaguar leaped on to the lid, and his weight pressing down the lid, fractured her fingers.

Still she could not move. He smelt round again, he pulled, he leaped on and off, till at last getting tired of his vain efforts, he went away.

The poor woman lay there till daybreak, and then only feeling safe from her enemy, she went as fast as her strength would let her to her nearest neighbour's a distance of two miles, where she procured help for her wounded fingers, which were long in getting well. On his return, her husband found a male and female jaguar with their cubs, in the forest close by, and all were destroyed."

The Puma.

The Puma, or American lion, is known by several names. It is sometimes called a panther, or colloquially a "painter", and sometimes a cougar.

It resembles the lioness somewhat in appearance, especially about the head, though it is smaller and less powerful. Its length varies from four feet to four feet and a half, and its colour is that of the fox, graduating in parts to white. Like the lion it inhabits plains rather than forests;--in the marshy districts, and on the borders of rivers in the south, and in the swamps and prairies of the northern districts. It lives on such wild and domestic animals as come within its reach, lying at full length upon the lower branches of trees, and dropping upon its victims as they pa.s.s beneath. Deer and cattle of all kinds it attacks, and, not content with killing enough for immediate purposes, destroys large numbers, sucking small quant.i.ties of blood from each. According to Sir William Jardine it is exceedingly destructive among sheep and has been known to kill fifty in one night. The Puma is, however, easily tamed and becomes very docile under kindly treatment. Edward Kean kept a tame one which followed him about like a dog and was as playful as a kitten.

The Puma's Ferocity.

"Molina and D'Azara say," says Sir William Jardine, "that the puma will flee from men, and that its timidity renders its pursuit generally free from danger." The following incident given by Sir William Jardine and at greater length by Captain Brown, shows that this is not always the case.

According to these accounts, two hunters visited the Katskills in pursuit of game, each armed with a gun and accompanied by a dog. They agreed to follow contrary directions round the base of a hill, and to join each other immediately upon hearing the report of a gun. Shortly after parting, one of the friends heard the gun of his comrade and hastening to his a.s.sistance came first upon the body of his friend's dog, torn and lacerated; proceeding further, his attention was attracted by the growl of a wild animal, and looking up, he discovered a large puma crouching over the body of his friend, upon the branch of a tree.

The animal glared at him, and he, knowing the rapidity of the Puma's movements, immediately raised his gun and fired, whereupon the puma rolled over on to the ground with his prey. The dog flew at the infuriated beast, but one blow from the puma's paw silenced him for ever. Seeing that his comrade was dead the hunter left the scene in search of a.s.sistance, upon securing which, he returned to find the puma dead, beside the two dogs and the hunter whom he had killed.

Animals and Men.

Captain Head, in his "Journey Across the Pampas" says:--"The fear which all wild animals in America have of man is very singularly seen in the Pampas. I often rode towards the ostriches and _zamas_, crouching under the opposite side of my horse's neck; but I always found that, although they would allow my loose horse to approach them, they, even when young, ran from me, though little of my figure was visible; and when I saw them all enjoying themselves in such full liberty, it was at first not pleasing to observe that one's appearance was everywhere a signal to them that they should fly from their enemy. Yet it is by this fear 'that man hath dominion over the beasts of the field,' and there is no animal in South America that does not acknowledge this instinctive feeling. As a singular proof of the above, and of the difference between the wild beasts of America and of the old world, I will venture to relate a circ.u.mstance which a man sincerely a.s.sured me had happened to him in South America:--He was trying to shoot some wild ducks, and, in order to approach them unperceived, he put the corner of his poncho (which is a sort of long narrow blanket) over his head, and crawling along the ground upon his hands and knees, the poncho not only covered his body, but trailed along the ground behind him. As he was thus creeping by a large bush of reeds, he heard a loud, sudden noise, between a bark and a roar: he felt something heavy strike his feet, and, instantly jumping up, he saw, to his astonishment, a large puma actually standing on his poncho; and, perhaps, the animal was equally astonished to find himself in the immediate presence of so athletic a man. The man told me he was unwilling to fire, as his gun was loaded with very small shot; and he therefore remained motionless, the puma standing on his poncho for many seconds; at last the creature turned his head, and walking very slowly away about ten yards, he stopped, and turned again: the man still maintained his ground, upon which the puma tacitly acknowledged his supremacy, and walked off."

The Ocelot.

The Ocelot is a native of South America and one of the most beautiful of the Cat family. It is smaller than the Leopard, attaining to about three feet in length, and eighteen inches in height. Its colour is grey, tinged with fawn and the body and legs are covered with longitudinal chainlike stripes broken into patches of some inches. Its habits are like those of its near relations, the Leopard and the Jaguar, though its appet.i.te for blood makes it perhaps even more destructive. It will suck blood with the greatest avidity and frequently leave a carcase otherwise untouched in order to pursue other animals for the sake of more blood.

When tame the Ocelot is remarkably playful, climbing up the legs and nestling in the arms of its benefactors. It is apt to be dangerous in a poultry yard but will keep good friends with a house dog, and play, somewhat roughly, perhaps, but without malice, with children.

The Clouded Tiger.

This animal belongs to Sumatra where it lives upon the forest birds.

Like the Ocelot it is exceedingly playful when tame, seeking the notice and returning the caresses of all who encourage it.

The Serval.