A rattling of sticks, and the cries of several kind? of bestial voices were heard—­to which the buffaloes replied with a deep bellowing.  On a sudden, from an opened side door, there darted forth a huge tiger, certainly from ten to eleven feet in length, and four in height.  Without much hesitation, he sprang with a single long bound right amid the buffaloes; one of which, winding his body out of the reach of the formidable horns, he seized by the neck with both claws and teeth at once.  The weight of the tiger almost overthrew the buffalo.  A hideous combat now took place.  Groaning and bellowing, the buffalo dragged his powerful assailant up and down the arena; while the others, with their heavy, pointed horns, dealt the tiger fearful gashes, to liberate their fellow beast.  A deep stillness reigned among the public; all the spectators awaited with eager suspense the issue of this contest between the tiger and the buffaloes; as well as the fate of some unfortunate asses, which latter, to increase the sport, being made perforce witnesses of the sanguinary action, at first looked down upon it from their poles with inexpressible horror, and afterward, when their supports were shaken by the butting of the buffaloes, fell to the ground as if dead, and, with outstretched limbs, lay, expecting their fate with the greatest resignation—­without making a single effort to save themselves.  Two other tigers, of somewhat less stature, were now, with great difficulty, driven in; while the main struggle was still going forward.  But no efforts could induce them to attempt an attack of any kind; they shrank down like cats, crouching as closely as possible to the walls of the inclosure, whenever the buffaloes, who still continued, however, to butt at their enemy with the utmost desperation, approached them.  The great tiger had, at last, received a push in the ribs, which lifted him from his seat.  He came tumbling down, and crawled like a craven into a corner; whither he was pursued by the buffalo, maddened by the pain of his lacerated neck—­and there had to endure many thrusts with his horns, at each of which he only drew up his mouth with a grimace of pain, without making the smallest motion to ward off the attack.

The spectacle was by no means ended here.  Other combatants were driven in, and fought with more or less energy.

PERILOUS INCIDENT

On A Canadian river.

A young man and his sister have kept this ferry several years, during which they have performed many acts of heroic benevolence, and have rescued numbers of their fellow creatures from a watery grave.  One of these had so much of perilous adventure in it, that I shall make no apology for giving some account of it, the more especially as I was myself one of the trembling and anxious spectators of the whole scene.