Man-eaters

[peter]

A MOONLIGHT GHOST

The story in this post isn't a story. The incident described by J.H. Knowles in his book 'In the Grip of the Jungles' published in 1932 (I got the Natraj Publishers reprint of 2007) happened less than a century ago near the Himalayan Station of Mussoorie, overlooking the valley of Dehra-Dun from a height of about 7000 feet:

*This image is copyright of its original author

Knowles published his book before Jim Corbett published his book 'Man-Eaters of Kumaon'. Compare the photographs of both: they could have been brothers. 

I don't doubt that most biologists will dismiss the story below at once, but I did not. Knowles was experienced and contributed to many magazins. Read the story below and do it well, as it shows in what way a confirmed and experienced man-eating tiger presents himself. Than read the story on T-24 (Ustaad) again. 


INTRODUCTION

Knowles was a naturalist, a writer and a hunter who was well-known in his day. One day in November, he was contacted by his friend Bill about a tiger who had just about shut down a large tea estate about 15 miles from the town of Dehra-Dun. Bill was the manager of the estate and asked Knowles to come as quickly as he could.

On his way to the office of the man-eater, a bungalow situated in a smaller garden (Banwali), Knowles and the Gurkha carrying his rifle hired fresh ponies in Dehra Dun. The rough road to the tea garden led into wild country. Than they met a man:

" ... In front of us lay a winding gorge of sheer rock wall, in the centre of which there lived - inside a spacious cave - a wonderful hermit, a Brahmin priest who had the reputation of being able to to predict the future. At the mouth of the cave stood the tall, well-knit, silent figure in yellow robes: " ... Pass on sahib ... ", the priest said, " ... your call is urgent ... " (pp. 3). I saluted him. " ... Do not enter the Banwali bungalow without your loaded rifles ... ", he warned. I then saw him bending down to whisper something to Bacha Sing (the Gurkha), who seemed to start back in alarm! I knew it was useless to question the peon, as he would be sworn to silence. Two hours later Bill, his young assistent, Jackson, and I were discussing our plans for that memorable night ... " (pp. 3).

It is about what the priest said to the Gurkha who carried the rifle of Knowles. Remember that part.

  
THE HUNT

Knowles, his friend Bill and his assistent Jackson had agreed to travel to the deserted part of the tea estate (the Banwali bungalow) at midnight by bullock cart. Just the three of them. The bullocks would carry tinkling bells in order to attract the man-eater. The Gurkha's of the tea estate (as well as the one carrying his rifle) were ordered not to follow them.

On their way towards the estate two hours later, they saw a big black bear dashing across the road to their rear. They knew he had been startled by the tiger, who was following them. Just before they reached the Banwali bungalow, they heard the deafening trumpet of an enraged wild elephant. The bullocks came to a dead halt. When they saw the tusker meant business, the frightened bullocks suddenly ran forward. Jackson was hurled in the air, not to be seen again, and Knowles and his friend Bill were swung clean out of the cart and fell heavily to the ground.

They lied stunned on the ground and saw the cart rattling down the drive, carrying away their rifles, back in the direction from which they had come. With some difficulty, they reached the bungalow. While trying to revive his friend with whiskey, an enormous dark shadow the size of a buffalo looms up.

Try to imagine the situation. Three men out to kill a man-eater who had closed down an entire tea estate fell from a bullock cart just before they reached their destination. One of them was lying somewhere close by, whereas the other two, shocked and hurt, walked to the bungalow. In the bungalow, one of the two, while trying to revive his friend, saw the shadow of what seemed to be a very large tiger on the front porch. The doors of the bungalow were not closed:

*This image is copyright of its original author

At the mercy of the man-eater and without their rifles, they had no option but to wait for the inevitable. The tiger played them. With seconds to go, the tiger is shot and killed. Not by Jackson, but by the Gurkha's who had strict orders not to follow the three men, no matter what. They had been there all the time! Why was that?

One reason was it was against their nature to wait and see. Furthermore, the priest had ordered them to go. He told them Jackson would be the victim of the tiger and urged the Gurkhas to take 'Fate by the horns' and save him. They picked up one of the rifles of Bill, took a short cut through the jungle and reached the bungalow long before the three men did. In hiding, they too were surprised when the tiger approached the front door of the bungalow. In order not to startle him, which could have resulted in him killing the men, they had stalked the tiger round to the back of the bungalow and then shot him. 


CONCLUSIONS

1 - About a century ago, a man-eating tiger shut down an entire tea estate situated about 15 miles from the city of Dehra Dun. 

2 - The three men who decided to hunt the tiger in the middle of the night were hunters, but they didn't really know about man-eaters. On top of that, they told those who had experience (the Gurkha's working at the estate) to stay away. The nail on their coffins were the bells carried by the buffalos. When they knew they were followed by the man-eater, they were surprised by a wild tusker. As a result, the buffalo's ran and the men were hurled out of the cart with their rifles. One of the three was lost, whereas the other two barely made it to the bungalow. Inside, but with the doors of the bungalow still open, they were surprised by the man-eater who took his time telling them exactly what he had in mind. How not to hunt a man-eating tiger.

3 - There is hunting and there's hunting dangerous animals like man-eating big cats. Those who hunted man-eaters often failed. We don't know about that, because those who failed seldom wrote books. Animals who hunt humans have to be intelligent. Hunting them, therefore, takes skill and knowledge, but endurance, experience and luck are as important, if not more so. Luck? Yes, plain luck. In this story, there is the priest, the Gurkhas, the tusker and, finally, the tiger. He could have taken the two men right away, but he didn't. And Jackson, the most likely victim? Well, they found him and he lived to tell the tale.

4 - In the end, it also is about being able to act in an adequate way when it counts. The man-eater was a large male who succeeded to surprise both the Gurkha's and the men inside the bungalow. In full view of them, he played his favorite game. The Gurkha's knew he could kill the men inside when they made one mistake. That's why they decided to stalk the tiger round to the back of the bungalow. This takes time, skill and nerves. Than they had to kill him with one shot. And that's what they did. 

If I would have been Knowles, I would have have carried the rifle of the man who shot the tiger from then on (the Gurkha he hired to carry his rifle). In the days if the British Raj, this wasn't done. But the story made the Gurkha famous. Better than carry his rifle, perhaps. Reply