Beyond the village we entered some thick Patair jungle.  Its greenness was refreshing after the burnt up and withered grass jungle.  We were now in a hollow bordering the stream, and somewhat protected from the scorching wind, and the stinging clouds of fine sand and red dust.  The brook looked so cool and refreshing, and the water so clear and pellucid, that I was about to dismount to take a drink and lave my heated head and face, when a low whistle to my right made me look in that direction, and I saw the Captain waving his hand excitedly, and pointing ahead.  He was higher up the bank than I was, and in very dense Patair; a ridge ran between his front of the line and mine, so that I could only see his howdah, and the bulk of the elephant’s body was concealed from me by the grass on this ridge.

I closed up diagonally across the ridge; S. still waving to me to hurry up; as I topped it, I spied a large tiger slouching along in the hollow immediately below me.  He saw me at the same instant, and bounded on in front of S. His Express was at his shoulder on the instant; he fired, and a tremendous spurt of blood shewed a hit, a hit, a palpable hit.  The tiger was nowhere visible, and not a cry or a motion could we hear or see, to give us any clue to the whereabouts of the wounded animal.  We followed up however, quickly but cautiously, expecting every instant a furious charge.

We must have gone at least a hundred yards, when right in front of me I descried the tiger, crouching down, its head resting on its fore paws, and to all appearance settling for a spring.  It was about twenty yards from me, and taking a rather hasty aim, I quickly fired both barrels straight at the head.  I could only see the head and paws, but these I saw quite distinctly.  My elephant was very unsteady, and both my bullets went within an inch of the tiger’s head, but fortunately missed completely.  I say fortunately, for finding the brute still remaining quite motionless, we cautiously approached, and found it was stone dead.  The perfect naturalness of the position, however, might well have deceived a more experienced sportsman.  The beast was lying crouched on all fours, as if in the very act of preparing to spring.  The one bullet had killed it; the wound was in the lungs, and the internal bleeding had suffocated it, but here was a wonderful instance of the tiger’s tenacity of life, even when sorely wounded, for it had travelled over a hundred and thirty yards after S. had shot it.

It was lucky I missed, for my bullets would have spoiled the skull.  She was a very handsome, finely marked tigress, a large specimen, for on applying the tape we found she measured exactly nine feet.  Before descending to measure her, we were joined by the old Major Capt[=a]n, whose elephants we had for some time descried in the distance.  His congratulations were profuse, and no doubt sincere, and after padding the tigress, we hied to the welcome shelter of one of the village houses, where we discussed a hearty and substantial tiffin.