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Overview
"Braddon destroyed more tigers than any man now living." - Eclectic Magazine, 1895
"As District Officer...he found himself under the necessity of making war upon the man-eating tigers and panthers that infested the neighborhood." -The Morning Post (London), June 3, 1895
"A fascinating volume." - Daily Telegraph, 1895
"Braddon in his 'Thirty Years of Shikar' tells of Sir George's narrow escape from death in an encounter with a tiger." -Tulare Advance-Register, Sept. 15, 1896
Why did Sir Edward Braddon record more tiger kills than any other tiger hunter in India, and how did he survive so many close encounters with these man-eaters? Was he just doing his job and saving lives of villagers in his district from man-eating tigers, or was he engaged in the wanton destruction of a now endangered species?
In 1895, Sir Edward Braddon, who for many years lived in India, in the employ of the British government, published some account of his hunting experiences, especially in pursuit of tigers in his book " Thirty Years of Shikar."
As noted by Braddon, during this time tigers killed the wretched wood-cutters, or the old women who picked up sticks in the jungle; they carried off the wayfarer from the high road ; they broke into the grass huts of the sleeping peasant and carried off the husband from his wife's side. Every year brought its long death-roll of men, women and children killed after this fashion, and one tiger alone was credited with a hundred victims.
A long period of immunity had encouraged such confidence in these brutes that they made occasional night raids into the town itself, and dragged their unfortunate victims out of the houses. The first of these dangerous animals that Braddon succeeded in killing, was shot from a perch in a tree where he had concealed himself, while on the ground below a buffalo was tied up as a bait.
"Flushed with success," Braddon says, "I sought every opportunity of killing the three tigers yet remaining. I went out after them whenever they were reported to be abroad in the scrub and lighter jungle that lay outside the heavier cover; and within twelve months all four had been destroyed, the last by a poisoned arrow from the spring bow of a native hunter. Thenceforward, during my stay at Deoghur the woodcutter and the cowherd were free to traverse the jungle in safety."
In describing his confrontation with one man-eating tiger, our author says, "In about a quarter of an hour I came upon it within thirty yards of me, with one paw resting on the body of the slain man; calm and wholly undismayed by my appearance. Never did I interview a tiger so little disconcerted as this was by my abrupt intrusions. Hardened by its long and unpunished career of crime against humanity, it had, I suppose, come to regard man as merely something to be eaten by hungry tigers. It never moved from that moment when our eyes met . . . ."
The writer of this book does not, however, pretend to claim motives of philanthropy as the only ground for his passion for tiger hunting— a sport of which he was passionately fond. Perhaps the section of country that most abounded in these animals was the Terai of Nepal, a tract lying at the base of the Himalaya Mountains. When the heat of the summer sun has dried the mountain pools the tigers descend from the hills and take refuge in the high grass and reeds that border the pools in the low ground. From this they are driven out by a long line of elephants with a small army of attendants and beaters.
About the author:
Sir Edward Braddon (1829 –1904) spent 8 years in mercantile pursuits in India before he was engaged in civil engineering on the East India Railway, during which time he led a small force of volunteers against the insurgent Santhals; he subsequently served as a volunteer with the 7th N. I. against the rebels, and on the close of the rebellion pursued and captured 14 of the leading Santhals implicated in the murder of several Europeans and natives. He served under Sir George Yule as a volunteer against the rebel Sepoys in the Purneah and adjoining districts and raised a regiment of Santhals In April 1862, Mr. Braddon was promoted to be Superintendent of Excise and Stamps, Oudh; subsequently made Inspector General of Registration, and Superintendent of Trade Statistics in that Province, and during 18 months acted in addition as Revenue Secretary to the Financial Commissioner.
"As District Officer...he found himself under the necessity of making war upon the man-eating tigers and panthers that infested the neighborhood." -The Morning Post (London), June 3, 1895
"A fascinating volume." - Daily Telegraph, 1895
"Braddon in his 'Thirty Years of Shikar' tells of Sir George's narrow escape from death in an encounter with a tiger." -Tulare Advance-Register, Sept. 15, 1896
Why did Sir Edward Braddon record more tiger kills than any other tiger hunter in India, and how did he survive so many close encounters with these man-eaters? Was he just doing his job and saving lives of villagers in his district from man-eating tigers, or was he engaged in the wanton destruction of a now endangered species?
In 1895, Sir Edward Braddon, who for many years lived in India, in the employ of the British government, published some account of his hunting experiences, especially in pursuit of tigers in his book " Thirty Years of Shikar."
As noted by Braddon, during this time tigers killed the wretched wood-cutters, or the old women who picked up sticks in the jungle; they carried off the wayfarer from the high road ; they broke into the grass huts of the sleeping peasant and carried off the husband from his wife's side. Every year brought its long death-roll of men, women and children killed after this fashion, and one tiger alone was credited with a hundred victims.
A long period of immunity had encouraged such confidence in these brutes that they made occasional night raids into the town itself, and dragged their unfortunate victims out of the houses. The first of these dangerous animals that Braddon succeeded in killing, was shot from a perch in a tree where he had concealed himself, while on the ground below a buffalo was tied up as a bait.
"Flushed with success," Braddon says, "I sought every opportunity of killing the three tigers yet remaining. I went out after them whenever they were reported to be abroad in the scrub and lighter jungle that lay outside the heavier cover; and within twelve months all four had been destroyed, the last by a poisoned arrow from the spring bow of a native hunter. Thenceforward, during my stay at Deoghur the woodcutter and the cowherd were free to traverse the jungle in safety."
In describing his confrontation with one man-eating tiger, our author says, "In about a quarter of an hour I came upon it within thirty yards of me, with one paw resting on the body of the slain man; calm and wholly undismayed by my appearance. Never did I interview a tiger so little disconcerted as this was by my abrupt intrusions. Hardened by its long and unpunished career of crime against humanity, it had, I suppose, come to regard man as merely something to be eaten by hungry tigers. It never moved from that moment when our eyes met . . . ."
The writer of this book does not, however, pretend to claim motives of philanthropy as the only ground for his passion for tiger hunting— a sport of which he was passionately fond. Perhaps the section of country that most abounded in these animals was the Terai of Nepal, a tract lying at the base of the Himalaya Mountains. When the heat of the summer sun has dried the mountain pools the tigers descend from the hills and take refuge in the high grass and reeds that border the pools in the low ground. From this they are driven out by a long line of elephants with a small army of attendants and beaters.
About the author:
Sir Edward Braddon (1829 –1904) spent 8 years in mercantile pursuits in India before he was engaged in civil engineering on the East India Railway, during which time he led a small force of volunteers against the insurgent Santhals; he subsequently served as a volunteer with the 7th N. I. against the rebels, and on the close of the rebellion pursued and captured 14 of the leading Santhals implicated in the murder of several Europeans and natives. He served under Sir George Yule as a volunteer against the rebel Sepoys in the Purneah and adjoining districts and raised a regiment of Santhals In April 1862, Mr. Braddon was promoted to be Superintendent of Excise and Stamps, Oudh; subsequently made Inspector General of Registration, and Superintendent of Trade Statistics in that Province, and during 18 months acted in addition as Revenue Secretary to the Financial Commissioner.
Product Details
| BN ID: | 2940186726777 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Far West Travel Adventure |
| Publication date: | 07/10/2022 |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | eBook |
| File size: | 734 KB |
About the Author
Sir Edward Braddon (1829 –1904) spent 8 years in mercantile pursuits in India before he was engaged in civil engineering on the East India Railway, during which time he led a small force of volunteers against the insurgent Santhals; he subsequently served as a volunteer with the 7th N. I. against the rebels, and on the close of the rebellion pursued and captured 14 of the leading Santhals implicated in the murder of several Europeans and natives. He served under Sir George Yule as a volunteer against the rebel Sepoys in the Purneah and adjoining districts and raised a regiment of Santhals In April 1862, Mr. Braddon was promoted to be Superintendent of Excise and Stamps, Oudh; subsequently made Inspector General of Registration, and Superintendent of Trade Statistics in that Province, and during 18 months acted in addition as Revenue Secretary to the Financial Commissioner.
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