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CHAPTER III
AN ANALYSIS OF WORKS OF KENNETH ANDERSON

This chapter discusses in detail works of Kenneth Anderson.

There are sixty five jungle stories in his eight books, The Black Panther
of Sivanipalli, Jungles Long Ago, Tiger Roars, Tales From the Indian
jungles, Man-Eaters and Jungle Killers, The call of the Man-Eater, Nine
Man-Eaters and One Rogue, This is the Jungle.
He writes about his adventures in the jungle for hunting tigers
and leopards particularly those that were man-eaters. His adventure
stories are set in the depths of Indian jungles. Full of dramatic tension
and excitement, they also reflect his genuine concern for Indian wild
life and rapidly vanishing jungles. Besides focusing on wild life, he also
explores the subject of the occult and medical lore in his books.

(1) The Black Panther of Sivanipalli

‘The Black Panther of Sivanipalli is Anderson’s best-known book.
It contains seven stories and two informative chapters. He tells the
real-life adventure stories set in the deep jungle with panthers, tigers,
bisons and also snakes. He finds a panther as a real challenger to his
hunting acumen. Therefore first five chapters are devoted to panthers.
The other two chapters ‘Snakes and other jungle Creatures’ and ‘The
Big Bull Bison of Gedesal’ deals with other jungle creatures, that
inhabits the jungles of Southern India. In the story of ‘The Killer of
Hyderabad’, Anderson has provided map of the locations for readers.
‘The Black Panther of Sivanipalli’ is the titular story.
In the introduction, Anderson has explained the reasons why five
chapters of this book are devoted to panthers. A very first reason is that
panthers are very common in India. One can find panthers within a few
miles of some of the big towns. A very cheap, small animal like a dog, a
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goat or a donkey can be used as bait for panthers. Hence hunting

panters is fairly inexpensive. Shooting of panthers by the sporting
method of sitting on the ground offers same thrill as tiger hunting. He
is therefore, much interested in writing about panthers. He also makes
it clear that he has deliberately written about snakes in this book.
because a great deal has been written and is known about big animals
in the jungles such as tigers, lions, elephants and other jungle
creatures in various parts of the world. But not much has been written
about snakes, and most people know very little regarding them. He
states his purpose as “I hope I am able to throw some light upon these
equally interesting creatures.”(Anderson The Black Panther of Sivanipalli 4)

This indicates that Anderson is very serious writer and he writes

with an intention to provide more information to his readers. He writes,
“Nor must the reader think for a moment that tigers,
panthers, bears, and elephants are the most dangerous
creatures to be encountered in an Indian jungle.”(4)
He mentions uniqueness of the poisonous snake and describes its
movement in catchy words. He says the poisonous snakes are, “For
quicker, far less visible, and far more potent…’’(4)
He has told the story of a very gallant bison and two adventures
with tigers. He states that after reading his adventures of shooting a
man-eater, reader will come to know about the many difficulties,
hardships and disappointments involved in it. For him the encounter
with the second tiger was enigmatic.
Anderson says that while recording his adventures in the jungles
he forget the present and memories come rushing in. He remembers
the blackness of the forest, the jungle carpet below, the myriads of
fireflies, the glowing eyes of a tiger, panther or bison and green eyes of
graceful deer and also whispering trees. This confession of Anderson
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reveals his love of the jungle and wild life in it. It is pure delight for
him to write on his experiences in the forest at night.
Anderson appeals to his readers to spend some time to read this
book and he is confident that he will take them into the domain of the
tiger, the panther and the elephant. He criticizes civilization that
imposes rules, the false values and ideas upon its people. His love of
nature and wild life is so intense that he asks his readers to visit a
tropical jungle and experience its excitement. He inspires the reader to
go to the jungle.
“Here in the jungle you will find truth, you will find peace,
bliss and happiness; you will find life itself. There is no
room, no time at all for hypocrisy, for make-believe, for
that-which is artificial and false. You are face to face with
the primitive, with that which is real, with that which is
most wonderful- which is God.”(5)
The introduction reveals his commitment for the cause of Nature
and wild life. He therefore says,
“If I can succeed in spiriting you away for a few moments
from all that is mundane in your life, into the marvels of a
tropical jungle and its excitements,………Then I shall feel
myself amply rewarded.”(5)

“A Panther’s way”
The first chapter ‘A Panther’s way’ is a deep study of life of a
panther. As mentioned in the introduction, this book is devoted to
panthers and therefore Anderson aptly deals with all the facets of
panther’s behavior. A panther is his chief attraction in the jungles. His
keen observation of panthers enables him to disclose all the secrets of
panther’s life. He admires this wonderful animal and analyzes the
causes of his becoming a man-eating beast.
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In the beginning he states that every panther differs from any

other panther. He differentiates some panthers he had observed and
says,
“Lastly, but quite rarely, comes the panther that attacks
people, and more rarely still, the one that eats them.”(6)
He mentions that some extraordinary circumstances make
panther a man-eating beast. He discusses some circumstances which
compels a panther to consume human flesh. His observation is that
once having tasted human flesh, the panther often takes a liking to it.
Anderson comments on the Panther’s attitude towards man.
According to him a panther is an inoffensive and quite harmless
animal. That is fearful of human beings. Panther is so scared of human
beings that at the sight of man it vanishes silently into the
undergrowth of the forest. The most entertaining spectacles is to watch
a panther stalking his prey. He can flatten himself to the ground and
his coloration renders him invisible. In a couple of bounds, and with
lightning speed he attacks on his prey. The prey is forced to the ground
and that vice-like grip never relaxes till the animal’s is dead. Anderson
describes all types of movements of a panther very vividly. Even he
mentions about the precautions to be taken while hunting the panther.
Anderson describes a panther as very cunning animal and the most
skillful of hunters. He therefore says that the hunter needs a keen
sense of the jungle, a soft tread and an almost panther-like mind.
Anderson provides information regarding panther’s habitats, his prey
in the jungle. He mentions that a panther will eat anything that is
alive provided it is not too large to be tackled. Jungle fowl, peafowl,
rabbits, monkeys, wild pigs and any of the deer family, except the very
large stags are prey of a panther and near villages domestic pigs, dogs,
goats, sheep, donkeys and average size cattle, are his staple diet.
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Anderson narrates his experience of encounter with a panther.

He writes with much familiarity with a panther and penetrates into the
psyche of the animal. Once he was lying in the grass behind a tree
overlooking a saltlick in a corner of a shallow ravine. Suddenly he
heard a movement behind and was surprised to see a panther near by.
Anderson comments on the reaction of the panther. Actually panther
was also surprised being discovered. So he stood up and half-turned
around with the intention of getting away. He writes,
“Then he looked back at me once again, as much as to say,
‘can’t you get the hell out of here? Finally he moved off.”(10)
Anderson reveals another interesting aspect of panther’s life,
that is how the pantheress brings up her cubs and in doing so he
compares her with the tigress. He states that it is fascinating to watch
a pantheress with her cubs, or a tigress with hers. In both cases the
solitude of the mother is very noticeable. He observes, carnivore do not
bring their cubs out of the cave where they are born until old enough to
walk stably and understand the rudiments of hunting. He writes about
the behavior of cubs and tells his own experience,
“I have kept a number of panther and tiger cubs, and have
found the former particularly prone to gastritis.”(11)
The most important task of the mother is to educate her cubs in
the art of killing. Anderson writes in detail on this aspect also. He
states the difference in the learning process of panther cubs and tiger
cubs. Panthers choke their victims to death by gripping the throat and
hanging on whereas the tiger very scientifically breaks the neck. Hence
tiger- cubs takes much longer to teach. A mother tiger or panther comes
out on the hunting trail with her young and they follow behind, copying
every action of the parent. At such times it is dangerous to be too near
a tigress, she will attack but a pantheress is less likely to attack. She
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will demonstrate her anger by growling ferociously. Anderson’s

sympathy for cubs and their mother is expressed here he says,
“But whatever you do, and unless utterly unavoidable and
in self-defense, please do not shoot the mother, be it
panther or tiger, for if you do the cubs will invariably
escape into the jungle where they may starve to death, if
they are big enough they may develop into man-eaters.”(13)
He is well aware of the impacts of shooting the mother and
therefore he appeals to be sympathetic with her. His conservationist
attitude is reflected in this appeal. Then he mentions about the mating
season of both these species of carnivore and how they behave during
this period. By giving example of domestic cats during mating period he
explains the savagery of tigers when making love. He says that
panthers are much the same in this respect. But in certain things a
panther resembles a cat more close than does a tiger. On the method of
covering up the excreta he draws this close resemblance between cats
and panthers. This gives him an opportunity to express his opinion on a
hyena. He says that
“The droppings of this animal are easily recognizable, and
also the track of hyena is identifiable by the difference
between the size of the fore and hind-paws. He also gives
details of the structure of hyena’s claws.”(13)
Anderson points out to the controversy regarding the
identification of two species of animal, the panther and the leopard. He
throws light on this controversy and says that this argument has died
out with modern times. It has been now recognized that they are indeed
one and same. He also states that the difference in environment and
diet has caused some animals to grow to a much larger size than
others. His observation is that the forest-dwelling panther generally
grow much bigger and has a darker and thick coat than the panther
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that lives near villages. This is because of the difference in the diet as
panther that lives near villages has restricted food supply that of dogs
and goats. He calls it the ‘village panther’, who is smaller in size and
has the paler skin. But there are exceptions he says from his own
experience. Anderson even mentions that the same case is applicable to
tigers. The tigers feeding on jungle creatures are sleek and muscular
because strenuous exercise hunting wild game reduces fat. He says,
“Strenuous exercise reduces fat, not only in human beings,
but in tigers also.”15
Thus Anderson relates human beings with animals in this
matter. Anderson describes methods of hunting of monkeys by tigers
and panthers. He mentions the skill of panthers in climbing trees, and
how they save themselves from the attack of wild dog’s pack. He refers
the wild dog as one of the most intelligent animals in the Indian jungle.
The comparison of tigers and panthers continues in this chapter when
Anderson mentions about the ability of tiger to swim across large
rivers. He further comments on the origin of the tiger. He writes,
“The tiger was originally an immigrant into India from the
colder regions of Mongolia….. The panther is a true native
of India and of the tropics.”(17)
He criticizes the sportsman of the past who said that the tiger is
a ‘gentleman’ while the panther is a ‘bounder’. He disapproves this
belief and says that their beliefs about animals of both species are
based on their experiences when they followed wounded animals with
old-fashioned weapons. He also presents the difference between
reaction of a wounded tiger and a wounded panther. The cave of a
tigers and her cubs is very cleanly kept as compared to occupied by
panthers. He illustrates the difference between the roar of a tiger and a
panther. He describes, the tigers call as,
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“Their melodious, deep throated and long-drawn moaning

call, terminating in that never-to-be forgotten ‘oo-oo-ongh’
that reverberates down the aisles of the valleys,………….
Is music to the jungle lover’s ears.”(19)
He refers a panther’s call as the harsher, less distance-carrying
call which is less frequently heard. He has mentioned another
difference between a tiger and a panther. The tiger’s habit of following
a particular beat on his hunting expeditions. A panther never follows
any such pattern. In fact a panther’s habit is to appear anywhere
suddenly and disappear abruptly which makes impossible to anticipate
or forecast movement of man-eating panther.
At the end of this chapter he makes a sincere appeal to his
readers to carry a camera along with them because cleverly taken
photograph is a far more meritorious and commendable achievement
than any stuffed trophy hanging on the wall. His strong naturalist and
conservationist attitude is expressed here. He says that,
“With the first you can view the animal as often as you
wish in all the beauty of its living grace and strength;
where as a stuffed trophy, like a cast cocoon or broken
eggshell, is just the husk of a once-beautiful animal which
sooner or later will deteriorate and be destroyed by time
and insects.”(21)
Thus Anderson illustrates the difference between shooting
animal with a gun and shooting it with a camera. In the first chapter
he provides all the information of a panther and creates interest about
it and also sets a reader’s mind for reading stories of panthers.

“The man-eating Panther of the Yellagiri Hills”

‘The man-eating panther of the Yellagiri Hills’ is a very
interesting story of hunting the panther by Anderson. He gives account
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of his efforts to rid the panther that occasionally killed human beings.
This story reveals Anderson’s excellent art of narration which creates
interest for the reader to read the story in a single sitting. He writes in
a very simple and everyday language and explores his own mind as
well as the mind of the panther.
The setting of the story is about ninety five miles away from
Bangalore, his native place. He purchased a farm of one and half acres
to make his holiday home. Anderson visited his farm frequently as he
always wished to live in company of nature. Wild animals and hunting
was his passion and therefore he purchased the farm to enjoy nature
and solitude at Yellagiri which was hundred kilometers away from
Bangalore city and was near to Jalarpet Railway junction.
Anderson begins his story with beautiful description of natural
scenery of the forest at Yellagiri hills. He narrates an incident of a
panther’s attack on a young bull. It was a hot afternoon near the
jungle,
“It was mid-afternoon; the tropical sun blazed overhead, a
veritable ball of fire. The jungle lay still and silent under
its scorching spell. Even the birds and monkeys that had
chatted all morning were now quiet, lulled to sleep in the
torpid air.”(22).
Anderson describes the scene very vividly and the panther’s
arrival in dramatic manner. The curiosity of reader is raised when he
describes movement of an unknown animal in the surrounding jungle.
The brown bull was munching mouthfuls of grass and was at peace
with itself and the world. Then he refers
“The green eyes were those of a large male panther of the
big forest variety, and his heavy body, near equaling that
of a tigers in dimensions, was pressed low to the ground,
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the coloring of his rosettes merging naturally with various

tints of the grasses.”(23)
Then he describes the attack of a panther as a ‘bolt from the
blue;’ subsequently the death of the brown bull within a few minutes of
the attack. Nathan, the herdsman lost one of his best beasts near the
jungle of Yellagiri Hills on that day. In the next three months not only
Nathan but the other two herdsmen who lived in the same village lost a
couple of beasts.
Thus Anderson gives account of this incident and then with
sound reasoning states that a panther settled in a locality where food
was plentiful and easy to get. He says,
“He decided to live nearby in preference to moving through
the forest in his normal hunt for game, which was far more
arduous any how.”(24)
Anderson records changes occurred in the attitude of the panther
with the change in the cycle of season. He observes rightly that in the
monsoons and with heavy pasture grew up everywhere it became
unnecessary to drive the herds of cattle into the jungle for grazing. This
change was not relished by the panther and he became bolder and
changed his strategy. Then his hunger increased and adopted a more
belligerent policy towards the herdsmen. On one occasion the panther
killed the cow and when the herdsmen resisted, he growled hideously
at the men who ran away. Anderson here depicts all the incidents that
led the panther to become a man-eater. His account of panther’s
behavior is the outcome of his keen sense of observation mingled with
his rationality. Anderson here introduces the forester of that region,
Ramu. Anderson criticizes the forester and corruption in the forest
department. He criticizes Ramu as,
“Although it was part of his duties as the representative of
the government to check poachers, he himself was
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accustomed to indulge in a little poaching over waterholes

and salt licks, his quarry being the various kinds of deer
that visited such spot, or an occasional jungle pig.”(26)
Anderson comments on how Ramu managed to escape from the
dutiful conscientious range officer who came to know about his favorite
pastime. The range officer was a conscientious young officer, keen to
uphold the government’s policy of game preservation and tried to catch
his subordinate in the act of poaching.
As the problem of the panther became grave the villagers
approached Ramu and requested him to kill the panther. Anderson
narrates in detail how Ramu attempted to shoot the panther from the
machan. Instead of shooting the panther he shot the goat and hastily
retreated to the village. He told the villagers that he had hit the
panther and they would find him dead. For the next two months after
that incident there was no any attack on cattle or goat of the village.
Then one evening the panther attacked on a boy and injured him. That
was the first attack made upon a human being by the panther. Three
weeks later the panther again attacked, this time on the goat-herd who
died but not before he fought bravely with the furious animal.
After providing this background of the panther, Anderson tells
how he happened to visit that place. At first, he writes about the
location of that area,
“The Yellagiris are a crescent-shaped formation of hills
lying immediately to the east of Jalarpet Junction railway
station on the southern Railway. The opening of the
crescent faces away from the junction, while its apex, so to
speak, rises abruptly some three thousand feet above sea
level about two miles from the station.”(30)
Anderson purchased a farm of small acreage at the top of that
ridge in 1941. His intention was to keep that farm as a weekend resort.
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The coolies on his farm told him about the panther when he was on his
visit from Bangalore just after the death of the goat-herd. He mentions
that no news about the man-eater had been published in any of the
newspapers. Thus Anderson came to know about the panther by a
coincidence. but this news interested him and he decided to make an
attempt to bag the animal. But he had not brought his rifles with him
and had only a shotgun. Further there were only two L. G. cartridges
available. Even then he started his adventure and found the trail of a
panther. He identified the panther a fairly large adult male from the
pug marks. He met the Patel of the village to procure the goat. He built
a machan and sat on it waiting for the panther. Here he present
perfectly the sight of the machan. He writes about how he spent those
hours in the jungle under similar circumstances. There was extreme
silence except the peculiar low whistle of the ‘herd-boy’ bird. He
describes the bird in detail, its name in the Tamil language. It shows
his interest in observing birds also. He spent three nights on the
machan without any encounter with the panther and left the village for
Bangalore with utter disappointment. He believed that perhaps the
panther had moved off to some distant part of the Yellagiri Hills. But
he gave the village Patel his address and money for a telegram.
A month passed and he received the telegram from the Patel
about the fresh attack of the panther. Anderson traveled to Jalarpet at
night and climbed the hill at midnight. From the Patel he heard the
story of panther’s killing of the mail-carrier. He took review of the
situation, collected information about the movements of the panther,
his possible hide-out at Periamalai hill. He provides details of the
location of Peramalai hill and then describes the jungle at the foothill.
He observes the forest very minutely and passes very important
comment on the status of forest in southern India. He says,
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“I could see that, as was happening with so many of the

smaller forest tracks in southern India, the lantana pest
was slowly but surely encroaching on the jungle proper and
smothering the original trees.”(40)
This clearly expresses Anderson’s concern for the Indian jungles
and rich variety of flora in it. Like a learned naturalist he observes the
damage that lantana is causing to the original trees. He examined the
area in the jungle where the unfortunate mailman had been killed by
the panther. With the help of the Patel and villagers he tied three
donkey baits for the panther. After preparation in the afternoon he
went to his small farm.
Anderson gives information of his farm at Yallagiri Hills and
narrates an interesting story about it. The story justifies that Anglo-
Indians also believe in supernatural, like Indians. The farm belonged to
an Anglo-Indian person who spent many years to convert that barren
land into cultivation. After his death, his sister sold the farm to
Anderson. Then he came to know about the mystery and myth
regarding that property. He learnt from the villagers later on that the
house ‘Kottai’ is a haunted place and the spirit or ghost of the Anglo-
Indian farmer visits the farm. Anderson purposely confesses that,
“Now, I am not an imaginative person. I am not afraid of
the dark. Nor am I superstitious.”(45)
Then he narrates his horrible experience during the night when
he felt that something heavy and cold perhaps the tiger pressing his
throat. He had experience of the ghost but when he probed in the light,
it was the largest toad. This experience of Anderson throws light on the
origin of superstitions.
The most-thrilling incident in the story occurs in the first round
of his encounter with the Yellagiri man-eating Panther. He sat on the
machan in moonless night in the forest. He gives account of the sights
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and sounds in the jungle. He was accustomed to sitting up in the jungle

on machans or in hide-outs. Anderson accurately describes the state of
human mind while sitting alone in the jungle on machans or in hide-
outs. He says,
“Thoughts of all kinds creep into a man’s mind on such occasions,
some pleasant, some otherwise, and some reminiscent.”(49) He reflects
on human nature and says further, “Is it not strange what-the human
mind may think of when it is forced to be idle?”(49) On that particular
evening he heard voice of the panther who had arrived there. Anyhow
the panther became aware of his presence on the machan and started
growling. The angry panther terrified him with a series of loud growls.
Finally he rushed to the tree to attack on him. The machan was just
ten feet-off the ground and so his life was in danger. But suddenly one
of the branches covered on the machan fell down upon the panther.
Anderson hurriedly fired at the undergrowth. Then he fired another
shot at the spot where the panther had vanished. The next morning he
examined the spot but there was no any trace of the Panther. He
became disgusted and decided to return to Bangalore.
For next two months there was no any news about the panther.
He thought that the panther had given up his tendency to attack on
human beings. After nine weeks he received a telegram from the Patel
stating that the panther had reappeared and once again killed a human
being. He rushed to the village with preparations. A young woman was
killed by the panther three days before. He observed carefully the spot
where the panther attacked on her and decided to hide himself beneath
lantana bush instead of sitting up on the machan. Anderson’s study of
sthe animal behavior is noteworthy. To make a proper plan to kill the
panther he studied all the possibilities of his habits. He writes,
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“As I studied these conditions an idea suddenly came to

me. I would create a scene as close as possible to what the
panther might expedite to be.”(50)
Then for the next night he crept under the bush at evening and
the goat was tide at some distance. He waited and kept vigil during the
whole night but the panther did not come. He came out of the bush in
the morning quite disappointed. He says,
“I came out of the bush the most disgusted man in
the whole of India.”(59)
He blames goat for his failure. He changed the goat and again
crept into the bush for another attempt. With evening it became dark
beneath the lantana, the goat called loudly and he waited for the
panther. After an hour he heard rustle and the faintest sound of a dry
twig being trodden upon. He sensed the panther’s arrival. He had to be
very careful in taking shot at the right moment. Then he heard a faint
hiss and instinctively realized that the panther had seen him. Now the
panther was preparing for attack when he switched on the torch and its
beam sprang right into the twin reddish eyes of the panther. Aiming
quickly he pressed the trigger of his rifle and fired two bullets at the
panther. Then he heard gurgling sound of a dying animal followed by
silence.
Anderson crawled out of bush and was sure that the panther was
dead. But he became restless with the thought that the panther he had
killed might not have been the man-eater but just an ordinary animal.
This shows that Anderson wanted to kill only man-eating panther and
not an ordinary one.
Next morning he found the dead panther. He was an old male
panther with a pale coat. Anderson detected every sign of being the
man-eater, for his canine teeth were worn down with old age and his
claws were blunt and frayed. Anderson expresses his contentment at
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the end of the story for he had bagged the real culprit. Thus the story
has traditional end in terms of the Shikar stories.

“Old Munuswamy and the Panther of Magadi”

This is one more interesting story of Anderson which has
background of Bangalore, his residential place. The story is also
remarkable for excellent characterization of ‘Munuswamy’ a
professional guide of shikaris. Anderson provides geographical,
historical and socio-cultural information of city of Bangalore. First of
all he appreciates unique climate of Bangalore. He also tells the history
related to its name. he says that the name, Bangalore, is an Anglicized
version of the Kannad words ‘Bengal uru’ meaning ‘bean town’ as
translated literally. While commenting on the development of the city
he mentions that Bangalore was far from being a city until the end of
the Second World War. Later all it’s other assets combined together to
make it the most popular place in India. Then he turns reader’s
attention to three very high hills within a radius of thirty-five miles of
Bangalore. He gives information of each hill respectively. The third hill
to the west is known as Magadi Hill. It has two humps like a
dromedary. Between them is a heavily-wooded valley. The approaches
to this valley are slippery. The panther that terrorized Magadi had his
cave in that valley. Anderson describes topography of Magadi hill as,
“Magadi hill is surrounded by gorgeously wooded and hilly
country. To the south lies a stretch of reserve forest,
covering a series of hills, extending southwards for over
seventy miles to the Cauvery river, near a place of
Sangam.”(65)
Further he mentions that a large number of panthers and bears
live in that valley. It is therefore, his son, Donald’s favorite hunting
place. He has shot forty panthers and over a dozen bears in that area.
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To the west of Magadi hill are plains of low scrub in which black-buck,
hare, peafowl, partridge and quail abound. Thus Anderson describes
rich wealth of fauna in the valley of Magadi hill. Then he refers to the
dam on the river Arkravarthy that supplies water to Bangalore
throughout the driest year. The leopard first appeared in that part of
the region. As mentioned in the previous chapter ‘A Panther’s way,’
Anderson again states that a leopard and a panther are one and the
same creature.
“For no good reason that I know of, in India we more often
call them panthers.”(66)
Anderson then introduces the protagonist of the story, the
panther who killed some goats in the villages at the foot of Magadi hill.
He then makes a general comment on the behavior of panthers. He
mentions that for many years generations of panthers and the people
have grown up together. This shows the co-existence man and panther
in that region. So nobody took the panther of Magadi seriously until he
started killing big domestic animals like bulls and cows. Anderson has
deep understanding of needs of the people. He, therefore comments on
the social life and rituals, and states the importance of cow and bull in
the economy of rural life. So by killing these animals he committed
unpardonable offence!
Anderson introduces another chief character in the story, an
individual named ‘Manuswami’, who claims that he is a professional
‘gentleman’s shikari guide.’ He is also a rogue. He brings in items of
shikar news to the town and passes them on to novices. Then he
demands a reasonable advance of money for the information he has
provided. Then he turns up on the appointed day to accompany the
novice to that place. When they reach that place the animals are
nowhere. But Manuswami is quick willed and a real liar. He befools his
clients. Anderson says,
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“To see him at his best is to watch him bringing news of a

panther to some unfortunate green horn who is about to
learn the lesson of his life.”(67)
Anderson exposes all the tricks of Manuswami. It is very
interesting that he even writes on how he was deceived by him for at
least four times. He narrates an incident which exposed his modus
operandi to him. Then Manuswami requested Anderson, not to expose
his roguery to anybody. Anderson describes his appearance so that one
can easily recognize this an English-speaking ‘gentleman’s shikari
guide’. He describes him as a lean, tall, oldest, very black man, with
long hair drawn to the back of his head and tied in a knot and large
protruding eyes wearing a turban or a cap, dhoti, lengthy or baggy
trousers. He warns his readers to remain away from old Manuswami,
the happy-go-lucky ‘crooked’ guide. Anderson then says that he has
purposely portrayed his character in detail because he plays quite a
prominent role at the beginning and at the end of the story. He,
therefore, acquaints his reader with this unusual and unique character.
Thus Anderson portrays in detail both main characters the story.
When the panther of Magadi started killing livestock of villagers
frequently, Manuswami’s latent hunting instincts awoke. He decided
that he would shoot the panther and then advertise the fact in the town
and would make propaganda of himself. He goes to Madgadi with an
old hammer-model gun borrowed from somebody. Anderson writes,
“…….., Manuswami the old shikari, who had once served
with Generals and Viceroys, had come to shoot the animal
that was causing them such a loss.”(73)
He built the machan to sit up. He shot the panther high up in the
shoulder but the panther got away. The panther was not dead but
injured. Manuswami returned to Bangalore.
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The wounded panther began to attack goats and dogs outside

some of the villages, from Magadi to Closepet. Anderson narrates an
incident of the panther’s attack on the pony. Shortly afterwards a man
was pounced upon near Magadi village, he was taken to the hospital
and a police report was made. The police dafedar went for an on-the-
spot examination of the evidence. He saw the panther nearby and
brought his service rifle. He missed the target and the next second the
panther retaliated. The dafedar was badly hurt in the attack of the
panther. Anderson comments humorously on the situation,
“The reports of the panther’s attacks had all been
registered but when he attacked one of their own force and
a dafedar at that the police really got busy.” (77)
He comments on the attitude of the police in general. They found
out the root of all this trouble and old Manuswami, the rascally shikari
guide was arrested. It was obvious that the panther was on the way of
becoming a man-eater. The D. S. P. gave him just four days time to
shoot panther when he bargained with him. He undertook to shoot the
panther within four days and lay the body at the feel of the D.S.P.
Manuswami approached Anderson and requested him to shoot
the panther. Anderson went to Magadi village with Manuswami. Then
next morning an individual named Allimuthu reported him that the
panther lives in a cave in the recesses of the cleft between the two
hummocks of Magadi hill. They set off for cave. Anderson describes the
valley, hill and the forest vividly. The passage towards the cave was
covered with the dense lantana bushes. They took strenuous efforts to
cross it. They reached near the cave and heard growl of the panther.
Anderson confirmed that it was the panther and not the bear. For this
he gives information of Indian bear.
“Bruin is black in Southern India, and I would have easily
picked out such a black object against the brown grass.”(83)
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He fired his gun as soon as he spotted the panther. The panther

was dead instantly. He examined the dead body and found the wound
on it’s back caused by Manu Swami’s gun. That evening the body was
put before the D.S.P. It was within forty-eight hours that Anderson
shot the panther of Magadi to save Manuswami from legal action.
The story throws light on the interest of the amateur hunters
who entertain the rogue like Manuswami. The panther was on the way
to become man-eater because of Manuswami’s mistake. It is only
because of novices and greenhorns in the game that a rogue like
Manuswami remains active. Anderson expresses his serious concern
about it in this interesting story.

“The Black Panther of Sivanipalli”

In the introduction of this book, Anderson has stated that this
book is devoted to panthers in the jungles. Here is the story of a very
rare variety of panthers known as the black panther. This type of
panther is very rarely seen in the jungles and therefore there are
number of myths, mysteries and legends related to it. Hence this story
is very significant and therefore he has given the title of this story to
the book.
In the beginning of the story, Anderson refers to his proximity to
Sivanipalli. It was his favorite place for a weekend excursion. He
presents its topography in details and describes the jungle stretches to
the east of Sivanipalli. He describes the jungle variety as,
“The jungle varies in type from the heavy bamboo that
grows in the vicinity of the waterhole to the thick forest on
the southern and western sides, with much thinner jungle
and scrub, interspersed with sandalwood trees, to the east
and north.”(87)
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He appreciates the beautiful countryside and expresses his love

for that place. He mentions that he was attracted to Sivanipalli on his
very first visit in 1929. He mentions about his frequent visits,
“I have spent many a moonlit night ‘ghooming’ - derived, from the
Urdu verb ‘groom’ meaning ‘to wander about’- The jungles around little
Sivanipalli had all sort of wild animals in it. He mentaions the presence
of a tiger, an elephant, a panther, sambar, bison in it but also mentions
that except an elephant one can not see these animals easily as they
are too cunning and disappear at the sight of man. Thus Anderson
presents wild life prevailing in this beautiful jungle. He also mentions
that it is an ideal locality for a panther’s activities.
Sivanipalli sprang a surprise in 1934 when a black panther had
been seen drinking at the waterhole by a herdsman. This was very
unusual incident for the villagers. Anderson provides all type of
information about the black panther. He comments on the appearance
and origin of the black panther,
“Now the black panther is not a separate or special species.
It is simply an instance of melanism. A black cub
sometimes, but very rarely, appears in a litter, the other
cubs being of normal size and color.”(88)
He states that black panthers occur more in the thick evergreen
forests of Malaya, Burma, Assam and also seen very occasionally in the
western ghats of India. He had seen once only across the ghat section
between Pennagram and Muttur near the Cauvery river. He says that
the mystery of the black panther has never been satisfactorily solved.
The villagers of Sivanipali refused to believe in the headsman’s
report of sighting the black panther. They were superstitious and
related his experience with Satan. They said that it had not been a
normal or living animal but Satan in one of the numerous forms he
often adopts to frighten poor villagers. But after a few months the black
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panther reappeared and attacked on a cow. The herdsmen instead of

driving off the attacker, ran away from the place. This was only
because they saw the black panther and not normal one. The existence
of this strange beast unnerved the villagers and they became more and
more careful and stopped grazing of the cattle beyond far distance from
the village. Finding that his food supply was being cut off, the black
panther started to extend his field of advent, the activities of the black
panther greatly interested Anderson. He decided to shoot the panther.
For this he offered a cash ‘baksheesh’ of fifty rupees to the informer. A
man named Rangaswami in Sivanipalli who assisted him in his few
shikar expeditions sent the telegram to report the fresh kill by the
black panther. Anderson rushed immediately to Sivanipalli to pursue
his operation in the darkness of night. After great efforts he reached
the place near the stream at which the panther had killed the cow. It
was too dark and he was dependent only on sense of hearing movement
of the black panther. Then suddenly he heard the sound, the panther
was on his kill. But then suddenly sound stopped and he became
restless as many thoughts came to his mind. Here, he, explores his own
mind perfectly and analyzes his confused state of mind to take proper
decision, at the critical moment. When he switched on the torch he saw
two reddish-white eyes staring at him. He took careful aim and then
fired. The panther vanished and again he was confused that if he had
missed his target. He went back to Sivanipalli, and started his search
of the black panther with Rangaswami, the herdsman and the bitch
named ‘Kush’. They found the blood-trail of the black panther, with the
help of ‘Kush’ who by her instinct discovered it. The trail led them far
away through the big gorge, the narrow bed of stream to a large hill,
half a mile behind a hamlet named Kundukottai. There were many
caves on the top of the hill. ‘Kush’ took them to the cave and they saw
many beehives hanging from the roof of the cave. Anderson gives
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account of the life-cycle of the little creatures known as ‘rock-bees.’ He

mentions that these rock–bees, when disturbed, can be most formidable
opponents. Anderson narrates the thrilling encounter between him and
the black panther in the cave. After detecting his presence he fired two
bullets at the black panther but at the same time disturbed the bees
who subsequently attacked on him. He describes the attack of bees as,
“The bees fell upon me as an avalanche.”(116) He describes painful
experience at the cave of the black panther who was lying dead inside.
He removed his skin at the Denkanikotta forest bungalow. Thus he
narrates one of the most memorable hunts of his life. He says,
“It was the first and incidentally the only-blank panther I
have shot.” He also comments on the attack of bees as
punishment, “…….and returned to Bangalore well
compensated for the punishment I have received from the
bees-for I had a black panther skin, which is something
very uncommon-……..”(120)

“Snakes and other Jungle Creatures”

The fifth chapter, ‘Snakes and other Jungle Creatures, is the
most wonderful chapter in this book, because it expresses Anderson’s
deep concern for Indian jungles and its wild life. This chapter brings
forth his interest in recording the behavior of an elephant, tiger,
panther, sloth bear, wild boar and also of snakes.
In the beginning of the chapter he pays tribute to the great
writers like Dunbar-Brander, Champion, Glasfurd, Best, Corbett and a
host of other writers who have recorded the habits of the animals of the
Indian jungle. The animals of the jungle form source of secret
attraction and interest to many people. Some of the above mentioned
writers wrote a half-a-century ago, when the jungles of Indian
peninsula were literally alive with presence of large number wild
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animals, particularly carnivore. And now the wild life of India becomes
a thing of the past, therefore the real intrinsic value of their
momentous works become more important. Thus in the beginning of
this chapter, Anderson appreciates those writers who wrote on wild life
in India and states the significance of their works in the changing
jungle scenario.
Anderson draws attention to another interesting fact that the
shikaris of India who started their careers as trophy seekers or as
professional hunters found an increasing love for the animals of the
forests which they once hunted and killed. The majority of them gave
up the habit of killing in favour of wild life photography and the study
of nature. Thus Anderson records change in the attitude of shikaris.
He also throws light on the beliefs of the people regarding the
jungle in the early years. He writes,
“In the early years it was considered a rather hazardous
undertaking to enter the jungle on a shooting trip. Apart
from the dangers from the animals themselves which were
deemed very great, there were the risks in the form of
various poisonous snakes, scorpions, spiders and other
creatures and the threats to health in the jungle diseases
such as malaria, black-water fever and so on.”(122)
Here, Anderson attempts to remove certain misunderstandings
about Indian jungles. He refers to scientific investigations to claim that
no poisonous spiders, lizards or frogs exist in India and only a few
varieties of snakes are poisonous. The jungle beasts were said to be
most bold and terrifying but the old writers have shown that the wild
creatures are not aggressive in their habits on the contrary they are
afraid of human race. Anderson reviews the dangers from the wild
animals and snakes and shows that there is less risk in the jungle than
on the busy city street. He says.
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“………, it is safe and true to state that the dangers of a

sojourn in the thickest of forests are far less than those run
by a pedestrian when crossing any busy city street. The
writers of the past have all shown this.”(123).
Anderson provides information of the animals in the Indian
jungles. He mentions the glory of the animal, acclaimed as the king of
the Indian jungles, the tiger, but he expresses his opinion that the
elephant is the real lord of the Indian jungles. He writes in detail on
the behavior of the elephant in the wild. From his own observations, he
describes how the elephants react at the water hole on the approach of
tiger and a panther respectively. He states that an elephant is far more
dangerous animal than the tiger. He writes about ‘rogue’ elephant in
short but refers some incidents for the case study. He writes about wild
boar and calls it as the biggest hearted animal in the Indian jungle. He
also gives information of ‘Bruin,’ the sloth bear of the south Indian
jungles. He describes vividly the habits of the sloth bear.
Anderson concentrates more on providing information about the
snakes, and rather gives long account of snakes. He writes on snakes
purposely because one of the potential dangers of any jungle are the
many varieties of reputedly poisonous snakes that infest the forests. He
mentions that “Actually the great majority of snake stories told to the
visitor are grossly exaggerated.”(133) He provides information of the king
cobra, the russell’s viper, the krait, the cobra and other varieties. He
narrates his own experiences of the hamadryad or the king cobra. His
experience on the Baba Budan hills while a tiger beat was in progress
is very interesting. He had attraction of the snakes since his childhood.
He mentions that during his childhood he kept snakes as pets. He
provides some examples of how people saved their lives after bitten by
poisonous snakes. He also narrates the incident of 1939, when he was
bitten by a cobra. At the end he gives very funny example of a station
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master named Narasiah, working at Polreddipalyam station on the

Southern Railway. It was believed that Mr. Narasiah could cure any
person from poisonous snake bite provided he was informed by
telegram. He heard many accounts of his miraculous cures. He explains
his ‘modus operandi’ and says that his secret died with him. This
chapter is more informative and written with the intention to
familiarize readers with snakes and other jungle creatures.

“The killer From Hyderabad”

Anderson provides political history of Hyderabad and gives exact
details of the location. For this purpose he has presented map of the
area in which the killer of Hyderabad operated. He, therefore says,
“This area of operations was immense, as you will understand if you
glance at the map.”(160) Anderson describes the climatic conditions and
social background of the three districts, Anantpur, Kurnool and
Nandyal. After giving a brief idea about the region he mentions,
“This forested portion, which forms the setting of my story,
is more or less in the midst of a jungle belt stretching
northwards across the Krishna river into the former
Hyderabad state, and southwards towards the town of
Cuddapah.”(150)
There were no motorable roads in those days. Anderson relates
this situation with the preservation of the fauna of that locality. His
conservationist’s approach is expressed here. He is very sensitive and
serious about the preservation of the wild life in the region and
therefore criticizes enthusiastic but misguided and unsporting hunters.
He condemns their activities like shooting wild animals in the
spotlights of motorcars. He disapproves wanton killing and wicked
practices of the hunters that cause immense damage to wild animals.
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He suggests that the remedy for this problem is to create public opinion
of the fact that wild life is a national asset.
One more interesting aspect of this story is his depiction of tribal
community known as “Chenchus.” He provides information of this
tribal community and depicts social life of the Chenchus. A man-eating
tiger that terrorized the area for about four years began his activities in
the forests which belonged to Hyderabad state where he fed on
Chenchus and few lonely travelers. He announced his arrival at
Chelama. He narrates an incident of the tiger’s attack on the Chenchus
and while doing so he also informs about birds in the jungle. Chenchus
began to fall victims to the man-eater and when the death-toll reached
eleven the Hyderabad state gave call for the hunters. The Nawab of
that area answered the call and attempted to shoot the Hyderabad
man-eater. However he unluckily failed to kill it and the wounded
animal disappeared.
Anderson explains ‘modus operendi’ of the man-eater and
illustrates common feature of all man-eaters. He records very
important observation about the habit of the man-eaters. He says,
“……….., it is possible to assess not only the whole extent
and area of the tiger’s range of operations, but to anticipate
its return to each locality within the margin of a
fortnight.”(159)
This shows Anderson’s careful study of the animal behavior. The
tiger accounted for about eighty persons and thus gained reputation of
being a very devil incarnate -- a sort of supernatural fiend. Much
publicity was given in the press when the tiger killed the trolley-coolie
of Railway between Chenchus and Basavapuram. Then Anderson
decided to join expedition against the Hyderabad man-eater. He started
his operation from one end of the area towards, Basavapuram and
Chelama. Ali Baig assisted him as a translator in Telugu language. He
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then met Bala, the son of the Chenchu trapper who lived in a hut in the
jungle with his mother, wife and one child. He was a birdtrapper.
Anderson admires bravery of this little aboriginal family that had so
bravely faced the danger of the man-eater. Soon he shot a tiger near
the kill but that was not the man eater. Then the news from
Gazulapalli came that the tiger had killed Bala’s young wife. Anderson
narrates the pathetic tale of Bala. He reached there immediately and
asked grief-striken Bala to show the place where his wife was killed by
the man-eater. Then he made the place for hiding in the hollow trunk
of a tree. Bala brought his wife’s body to that place. As the tiger
approached and started eating body of Bala’s wife, Anderson fired three
shots from his rifle. But the tiger just disappeared. He had leaped into
the shelter of the jungle. They found the blood trail but then the trail
became difficult to follow. Anderson admires sacrifice of Bala who
allowed his dead wife out for bait. He thus showed respect to Bala. The
story ends on the note of uncertainty. Anderson raises many questions
to himself. News of human kills continued to come in and therefore
Anderson expresses his doubt regarding the death of the man-eater. He
writes, “Did the man-eater I wounded recover after all? Has he started
operations again?”(215) these questions makes him restless.

“The Big Bull Bison of Gedesal”

As the title indicates, this is the story of the big bull bison, his
extraordinary courage and heroism. Anderson, therefore says,
“This is not the story of a regular hunt, concluding with the
shooting or wounding of the Big Bull Bison I am going to
tell you about.”(216)
His attraction of jungle creatures is not restricted to only
panthers and tigers. He is equally interested in other wild animals like
bear, elephant and bison. Here he writes on an extraordinary animal he
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knew in the jungles of North Coimbatore district. Gedesal is the name

of a small sholaga village. Anderson visited, that place frequently. He
describes the range of the Biligirirangam Mountains, isolated islands of
forest called ‘sholas’. The topography, the vegetation combined to make
the area a favorite haunt for bison, sambar and bear. There is a low
range of hills to the east of the road from kollegal to the hamlet of
Dimbum. The deep valley running along the base of the mountains and
a perennial stream flows down the valley and many separate bison
herds inhabited that area. The bison herds number from twenty to
forty. Anderson explains the social system of the bison herd in detail.
The big bull of the story was the leader of a herd of at least thirty
animals. Anderson saw him frequently early in the morning. It was
easy to identify him by his crumpled left horn that was clearly
deformed. Anderson says that the old bull owes his long life to this
deformity. He had the natural advantage of his huge body and
Anderson saw his eyes when he frequently motored along the road on
dark night. But he saw this veteran some years ago on the lower slopes
of the Biligirirangam range. Anderson also mentions about the
honorary game warden of that area Mr. Randolph Morris who was one
of southern India’s biggest coffee planters and also an authority on
shikar and a hunter of renown.
Anderson describes a bison fight which he witnessed in the valley
one morning. He had never witnessed a bison fight before and was very
curious to know how it would end. The combat lasted for many hours
and the bull with crumpled horn won the battle. His opponent gave up
ground and became reddened by the glore that flowed from the many
wounds in his body. Anderson saw the big bioson on other occasions
also but then came the memorable event which left lasting impression
of the bull in his mind. It happened in November 1953. Anderson was
on his visit to Dimbum when the local sholaga, named Rachen informed
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him about the terrific fight in the jungle between a tiger and some
other animal. Anderson went to that spot in the jungle where the
marathon struggle occurred two nights ago. The Sholagas found the
carcass of a tiger there. From the close examination of the surrounding
place it became clear that there had been a titanic struggle. When they
followed the blood trail they came near the water stream and saw the
big bull bison of Gedesal, the bull with the crumpled horn standing in
shallow water. He was badly wounded in the furious fight with a tiger.
Anderson describes his condition vividly and also mentions that he had
thought of shooting him to put him out of his agony but changed his
mind to respect his gallant victory! He was very impressed by the
heroism of this outstanding animal. After few days he again saw his
friend, the big bull, surrounded by his herd at his favorite haunt.
Anderson expresses his affinity for the animal at the end of the story.
He says, “Long may he live in the jungle to which he belongs.”(227)

“The Maned Tiger of Chordi”

This is the story of hunting a very big tiger that gave great
trouble to the villagers. Anderson here mentions the difficulties and
problems faced by the hunter pursuing the man-eater. He gives clear
idea about the theory of telling hunting stories and how in reality
impressions of people are very far indeed from the truth. He writes,
“Failures are very many and conditions-physical, mental
and nervous-are most arduous; and frequently, the animal
takes months and even years to catch up with.”(229)
Here he mentions about the hard conditions and suffering of the
hunter because it took almost five long and tedious years to hunt the
maned tiger of Chordi. There were other hunters also who attempted to
hunt the maned tiger. He was known as ‘the maned tiger’ because he
had an outstanding rut of hair around his neck, behind his ears and
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covering his throat and chin. He was called as ‘The Maned tiger of
Chordi’ because his original habitat was known to be around the village
named Chordi. He was first seen there and also made his first human
kill near Chordi. It is a small roadside hamlet surrounded by jungle,
about four miles from the little town of kumsi, which is sixteen miles
from Shimoga. Anderson provides informantion about Chordi so
perfectly that reader gets proper idea of the setting of the story. He has
given distances of each locality from the other places and has also
provided map for the aid of his reader. Anderson describes the beauty
of the famous Gersoppa waterfalls and passes ironic comment to show
the effect of nature on materialistic men. He analyzes rationally the
change that occurred in the behavior of the tiger from being hunter of
the natural game-animals that live in the jungle to man-eater. He
explains that at first he became a cattle-lifter tempted by the presence
of thousands of animals grazing in the reserved forests all over the
Shimoga district. That changed him into an exceedingly destructive
menace to the herdsmen around Chordi. As the cattle were killed by
the maned tiger, the herdsmen decided to do something. One cattle-
owner carried his gun into the forest against the forestry department’s
regulations and fired at the maned tiger when he attacked on one of his
animals. The badly injured tiger disappeared from the vicinity of
Chordi for few months. When he reappeared he drew attention of the
cattle grazers. Once more he was wounded by the gunshot from a
machan as he was approaching his kill. Again he vanished for
sometime and returned as a man-eating tiger. This time the cattle were
comparatively safe but the herdsmen were in danger. He became
greatest scourge and terror that any jungle can produce a man-eating
tiger. Anderson vividly describes his pathetic condition. His ability to
hold his prey was greatly hampered by his deformed limb due to
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gunshot. Because of his disability he became thin and emaciated tiger

and he was faced with starvation. Anderson writes,
“He-the big maned tiger-was forced to try to catch the rats
that ran in the bamboo trees, and even they escaped him.
Sheer necessity, and nothing else, drove him to this new
diet of human flesh.”(233)
Thus Anderson describes the tragic plight of the tiger that
accorded very closely with the pattern of events usually associated with
the careers of man-eaters. From being hunter of the wild prey the
circumstances forced him to become a man-eater. The man-eater of
Chordi started taking his toll of human beings at Anandpuram,
Tagarthy, Gowja, Sagar and at Kumsi. A numbers of enthusiasts
turned up to kill the maned tiger, they tried hard and diligently but
luck did not come to their way. This particular tiger did not seem to be
tempted by the cattle and buffaloes tied up as a live bait. Meanwhile
the human killings continued.
Anderson narrates in detail his expedition between Kumsi and
further bank of the Sharavati river for the maned tiger with his friend
named Jack Haughton. He was also known by the nickname of ‘Lofty’.
At Tuppur, Lofty, shot the tiger near the kill from the machan. But his
joy of success short lived when it became clear that it was not the man-
eater and he killed some other tiger. He felt guilty and was full of
remorse. Anderson writes on his reaction,
“He (Lofty) just said; ‘Had I known it was not the man-
eater I would not have shot the poor brute.”(241)
The same mistake Anderson did at Kumsi later within the
boundaries of the karadibelta sanctuary for that he received notice
from the District forest office at Shimoga. The D.F.O. was reported by
his rangers that Anderson shot a tiger within the sanctuary who was
not the maned man-eater. Anderson expressed his regret in his reply to
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the D.F.O. He apologized for his shooting of the wrong animal, though
he possessed the special permit. While writing about this event
Anderson also comments on the ‘read-tapism’ in India. He says,
“Now, I have lived all my life in India, as such the ‘read-
tapism’’ that goes with all government transactions was
well known to me.”(263)
Here, Anderson critically examines the nature of routine office
work in India.
After about a year Anderson again went to Kumsi. He met the
D. F. O. who was not the same person but the two range officers were
the same. Both the officers were of the opinion that he had killed the
right tiger a year before. Anderson expresses his opinion,
“Once a man-eater, always a man-eater. A tiger has never
been known to give up the habit altogether.”(265)
From his past experiences of the man-eater he concluded that the
tiger had strayed to some other place. He received information that the
tiger attacked a herd-boy in broad daylight at Amligola. Anderson
rushed there, the northern boundary of the Aradibetta sanctuary. He
describes a delightful little forest of Amligola. At night he heard tiger’s
calling. He realized that the beast was walking along the bank of the
stream. He decided to chance his luck. Anderson gives account of that
thrilling encounter with the maned man-eater who was on the opposite
bank of the stream and within the sanctuary. In the moonlight he
switched on the flashlight and saw the tiger fifteen yards away. He
took the shot behind his right shoulder and then fired three times more
to kill the beast. He examined him old marveled at the unusual ruffle of
hair growing around his neck. It formed a regular mane which was the
outstanding characteristic of the man-eater. Anderson expresses his
surprise, he says,
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“some jungle mysteries can never be solved, and one of

them is why this tiger had a ‘mane’ at all.”(269)

“Man-eater of Pegepalyam”
This is the nineth and the last story in this book. But it is not a
complete story because it ends without the success of the author in
hunting down the man-eater. Anderson therefore, mentions that the
tiger about which he writes is very much alive at the moment of
writing. This man-eater claimed fourteen persons as per official record
although unofficially its tally of victims was thirty-seven men, women
and children.
Anderson refers his earlier book Man-eater and Jungle killers
and states that he has written the story of the same animal entitled the
‘Mauler of Rajnagara’! At that time the tiger had his abode at the foot
of the scrub jungle at the foot of the hilly plateau. The tiger began his
exploits against the human race from the village named Rajanagara.
Hence he became well known as the tiger of Rajanagara. This tiger had
adopted a typical method in his mode of attack on human beings. The
tiger always mauled his victims by clawing them and not by biting.
Thus it was a most unusual and peculiar case.
Anderson mentions that he has already narrated his attempts to
shoot this unusual tiger ‘Mauler of Rajanagara.’ He failed to shoot the
tiger and now waiting for another opportunity in his second round.
Anderson’s story of the tiger raised curiosity among his friends and
well-wishers. One of them is Joe Kearney, from Los Angeles, California
who sent him a cablegram stating that he was looking forward to
further developments regarding this particular tiger. But he could not
satisfy their curiosity as the tiger stopped his mauling and simply
vanished from the scene. Perhaps everybody thought that the tiger had
become normal as there was no any incident of tiger’s attack.
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After nine months the little hamlet of Pegepalyam came to public

knowledge. It was fifty miles north of Rajnagara, in the Biligirirangn
range of mountains. Time passed and desultory human kills were
reported, from villages around Pegepalyam. Another incident happened
at Pegepalyam in which the person, who had been attacked in
retaliation, wounded the tiger with his knife. The wounded tiger ran
away but soon returned with rage and killed the man. Here, Anderson
mentions about the natural cowardice of man-eaters, while giving
account of this incident.
Anderson visited Kollegel and Pegepalyam soon after that
incident. Memory rushed back to him and he remembered the mauler
of Rajnagara. By taking review of the situation he found the likelihood
in both tigers and started thinking that ‘mauler of Rajnagara’ has now
become man-eater of Pegepylam. He stayed there for one week but
could not shoot the tiger. He returned to Bangalore and the man-eater
continued his operations. Then his son, Donald also decided to go to
Pegepylam.
Anderson while giving account of the man-eater of Pegepylam is
lost into the memories. He remembers the blackness of a jungle at
night. He hears the call of a tiger. He feels that tiger is coming nearer,
ever nearer. He can listen clearly ‘O-o-n-o-o-n! A –Oongh! A-oongh!’ The
call of a tiger which he has heard so often. He says,
“I have heard it so often before, and the more I hear it the
more I thrill to that awful melodious sound.”(278)
Anderson tries to identify ‘Mauler of Rajnagara’ with ‘the man-
eater of Pegepylam.’ As stated in the beginning of the passage this is
not a complete story. Anderson’s account thrills the reader and one gets
so absorbed in his narrative that he feels the real tiger has arrived!
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(2) JUNGLES LONG AGO

Jungles Long Ago is the only book of Anderson that was
published posthumously in 1976. The book does not contain any Shikar
Story or the story of shooting man-eaters. The book is in the form of his
reminiscences of adventures in Indian Jungles. Instead of
concentrating on the big game hunting, Anderson lovingly
reminiscences about his exciting days and nights spent amidst the
simple folk inhabiting the hamlets situated on the fringes of dark
forests. There are many companions who taught him jungle lore,
assisted him during his hunting expeditions. As in case of his other
books, introduction is very important. The first chapter ‘A Night in
Spider Valley’ introduces the reader to the thrill in the jungle. Second
chapter informs about the art of curing sicknesses in rural and tribal
areas. It also reveals how certain animals are sacrificed to make
medicines. The chapter “Occult Lore and other matters’ throw light on
social life and beliefs in the Southern India. In “Some Indian Game
Sanctuaries,” Anderson introduces reader to important game
sanctuaries. This book has strong conservative approach of the author.
His love of nature, native people and of course wild life is expressed in
it.
Introduction to this book reveals many aspects of Anderson’s life.
At first he writes about his intention of writing this book. He has
written this book with very serious purpose. He mentions about the
letters that he received from his readers all over the world. His readers
expect answers to their questions. Then he mentions a particular letter
he received from England. He was asked in that letter to justify why
he preach animal preservation in all his books while his stories are
about shooting them. Anderson wanted to stop writing after his last
book Tales From the Indian Jungle. But he received many letters from
readers urging him to continue writing to increase public interest about
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the jungles and the wild life that remains in India. Thus he makes it
clear that he has written this book with purpose of preaching of
conservation of the jungles and the wild life and therefore, there are no
stories of shooting man-eaters, or of shooting anything.
In reply to the letter from England, Anderson confesses that,
“But I feel that most of my readers will believe and
understand me when I say that I have never killed for
pleasure, at least not since I was very young.”(Anderson Omnibus
Vol. II, Jungles Long Ago 545)

Anderson also confesses that he had killed animals only in case

of necessity. He expresses his regret for the sins of his youth. Thus
Anderson appears to be very sincere in his commitment for the cause of
preservation of the wild life and the jungles.
He says that he has written all those reminiscences of his
adventures in the jungles that are very precious to him. He writes,
“All these reminiscences are jewels in a long chain of
memories; precious jewels that sparkle for me
brightly…..”(546)
Anderson expresses his joy and satisfaction for those wonderful
moments of days and nights spent in the jungle. He mentions every
member of the jungle life from the fireflies to the chorus of a pack of
jackals that contributes to the beauty and music of the jungle. He also
remembers fun of camp life. He takes his reader to one such camp in
the jungle and appeals,
“Close your eyes and listen to my tales of tigers, of
adventure and mystery as the jungle breezes waft the
night scent of the wild flowers on a cool current that fans
your brow, and remember that you are in a land where
time is of no consequence and the word ‘hurry’ is never
spoken.”(547)
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Thus Anderson advocates the merits of the jungle life in the

introduction.

“A Night in Spider Valley”

‘A Night in Spider Valley’ is the first chapter of the book.
Anderson refers his childhood friend, Eric Newcomb who figures largely
in this story. Anderson narrates few incidents to show that Eric was
such a crazy character. It was Eric’s idea to do a night jaunt into the
jungle in search of adventure. Eric stressed that they should go
unarmed in the jungle to enjoy a night in the Spider valley. Anderson
refers to his early stories of man-eaters “The Novice of Manchi’ and
‘The Marauder of Kempekerai’ in which he has described the Spider
Valley. It is a deep and densely forested valley in the district of Salem,
twenty miles southward of a little hamlet named Aiyur and enclosed
between two lofty mountain ranges. Anderson presents jungle
topography very minutely. He then explains why they chose ‘Spider
Valley’ for ghoom. Anderson has given meaning of the Hindi word
‘ghoom’. In other stories also he has freely used Kannada and Hindi
words. He says ‘ghoom’ is a Hindustani word signifying ‘to wander’ or
‘stroll’. The valley was a very densely forested area and abounds in
those days with elephant, bison, tiger, panther and bear. Sambar and
jungle sheep were plentiful because of the hilly terrain and adjacent
mountain ranges. Snakes were present in numbers, and smaller
animal life was abundant. The valley was the home of millions of
fireflies, a luminescent beetle and three varieties of ‘glow-worm’. It was
damp evergreen jungle with a hamadryad (king Cobra) in it. Anderson
owned a fleet of Ford cars especially kept for using for his trips to the
jungle. Eric decided to travel by a car named ‘Sudden Death’.
Anderson provides details of their preparation for journey to the Spider
Valley.
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They reached the Aiyur Forest and after dinner at the lodge set
out for night adventures. The first adventure was at the water hole.
Their torches revealed a row of twin-pointed green lights on the
opposite bank of the pool. A herd of spotted deer had been caught in
the act of drinking. But Eric committed a mistake, he moved into the
beam of torch and revealed his presence to the deer. Anderson
describes the reaction of deers when they saw Eric. He comments from
the point of view of the animals. Anderson refers ‘man’ as their
deadliest enemy! From the point of view of deers he is their deadliest
enemy so they disappeared like magic. Another sound took the place of
deers. It was a bear. Anderson knows the peculiarities of every animal
in the jungle. So he mentions that because of its poor eyesight and
weak hearing capacity bear came to the pool. As the bear saw Eric
near the pool it attacked on him. But Eric hurled his torch straight at
the oncoming bear and it changed its mind and ran away in a crashing
of bushes.
Anderson describes every moment of this thrilling encounter
with the bear. His excellent narrative skill makes the scene alive for
the reader. He presents the topography of that area in detail and
narrates encounter with an elephant. Here he has analysed the
behavior of an elephant. He comments on three possibilities of man-
elephant encounter. He writes about elephant’s behavior when catches
scent of a man. This shows his minute observation of elephants in the
jungle. They both heard rumbling like distant thunder. Eric felt that
it was the sound of tiger. Anderson replied that the rumbling sound
came from elephant’s stomach! He describes elephants as wasteful
creatures because of their habit of massive destruction of plants.
In this passage, Anderson provides information about the jungle,
animal behavior and also instructs the readers how to behave in the
jungle. He says,
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“There are five fundamental lessons a night-prowler

should learn if he hopes to prowl with success, whether
‘ghooming’ like ourselves or reconnoitering the front lines
of an enemy”.(558)
The first is not to talk or even whisper, on any account. The
second is to ‘freeze’ at sight or sound of an animal. The third is to keep
to the shadows and avoid crossing open spaces. The fourth is to be
careful where you place your foot. The fifth is to ‘freeze’ literally. He
appeals his readers,
“Bear these five tips in mind always if you have occasion to
go out on a night ‘ghoom’ or under different circumstances
if you don’t want to invite an enemy bullet in your
direction”.(558)
Thus, Anderson’s writing is very much informative and he wants
to impart knowledge of wild life and ways of jungle life to his readers.
Then after observing movements of elephants he sees a sambar
doe and unknowingly walks into the web of an enormous spider. A
large number of spiders live in that valley and therefore, he calls it
‘Spider Valley’, Anderson records these spiders and mentions that he
had watched these creatures spinning their webs in day light. He now
writes on every movement of the spider. This shows his interest in
small insects, small creatures like that of large creatures.
Anderson narrates their journey in the night through the valley
upto the hamlet of Kempekerai. During their journey they also
encountered the cobra and tigers. He gives detail account of every
incident, provides information about snakes and also records calling of
a mating of tigers. At last he introduces the most astonishing
character of Byra, residing in the hamlet of Kempekerai. Byra, the
poojaree was his old friend of the jungle. He was very happy to meet
Anderson and Eric arriving at unearthly hour at his door from the
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valley. Anderson comments on the life in the hamlet of Kempekerai.

He comments briefly on how they live on the fringes of darkest jungle.
Anderson’s naturalist’s approach is expressed here when he
gives an account of how the domestic as well as wild animals like deer,
bison, wild boar that died because of insecticide provided by the
government. He writes,
“This is indeed true picture of the state of affairs in those
good old days till a certain deadly poison was introduced as
an insecticide by the government and made available to
farmers, almost free of charge, to protect crops from insect
pests”.(581)
Anderson’s comment is like that of a learned ecologist. After
taking some rest at Kempekerai they started their journey in company
of Byra and other villagers. But on their way they faced very critical
incident of elephant’s attack on Byra. Anderson has described this
thrilling incident in detail in which Byra’s leg was broken at the thigh.
He recovered after four months. Anderson expresses his satisfaction,
“However, the all important fact was that Byra was still alive”.(600) He
also says that throughout this period of pain and adversity Byra must
have remained deprived of his beloved jungles, and their mountains
and streams. Anderson was very glad when he took him back to
Kempekerai from Bangalore.
Thus, Anderson narrates his night-prowling in the Spider Valley
with his friend Eric. He shares his thrilling experiences with the
readers so that readers will also become interested in visiting jungles
abounded with wild animals. The story of Byra reveals Anderson's
kinship with the native people in the Spider Valley.
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“The Medical Lore of India”

‘The Medical Lore of India’ is very unique piece of writing. As
mentioned in the introduction of this book, Anderson is not interested
in stories of shooting wild animals but he wants to share his most
memorable experiences of the jungle life. In this passage he makes an
attempt to expose the medical lore of India to his readers. He draws
attention of the reader to the condition of the poor people in Southern
India. Anderson is well aware of the reality and therefore, he states
the real fact that the poor people of Southern India cannot afford to go
to a doctor for their ailments. He rationally analyses how it is very
difficult for them to take treatment of the doctor due to their poverty.
So they go for very simple options available to them. Anderson gives
example of how the poor people deal with a recent injury to finger or
leg. They apply sticky cowdung to the wound. If you try to convince
them about consultation with a doctor they will not listen to you.
Anderson tells about the medicinal value of one species of spider.
It spins its webs between the branches of small bushes where they
scintillate with multicolored clusters of jewels that is remedy on
bleeding wounds. Similarly he tells about how a villager deals with
firefly. When he catches it he may keep it for good luck or he may eat
it.
Anderson explains with few examples that some of the wild
creatures of this land are in great trouble because of their ‘so called’
medicinal value. They are in great demand as medicine and are killed
as soon as they are seen. The black-faced grey langur monkey are in
more demand. They are slain in large number mercilessly. Even in the
dense forest they are shot by bands of poachers. All this is being done
in the belief that the flesh of a langur monkey is effective aphrodisiacs.
Another important wild creature is the elegant Indian slender lorris.
This small wild animal is also sacrificed to make medicine for the
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purpose of aphrodisiacs. He describes its tragic fate when its two large
eyes are torn out of their sockets to make the medicine. On one
occasion he found such an animal. He took it home, fed it and despite
severe wounds the little monkey recovered. One more species of
mammal which suffers similar fate in Southern India, is the large
Indian fruit bat. It is also known as ‘flying fox’! The flesh of this
mammal is said to be very effective remedy for asthama and therefore,
the flying fox is diligently shot. This belief is widespread in the country
and so they are either caught or killed to obtain their flesh. Snakes are
brutally killed for some superstitious beliefs. The poisonous ones are
killed but the large and harmless snakes, as the dhaman or ‘rat-snake’
are skinned alive. Thus Anderson shows with examples how the wild
creatures are slained for medical purpose in the country.
Then, he reviews various schools of therapies that prevails in the
country. He begins with ‘gem therapy’, the art of curing sickness by the
semiprecious stones. He mentions three ways of performing it. He has
also discussed the Tibetan prayer-wheel treatment.
Anderson passes very important comment on the policy of the
government of India. He says,
“From the beginning, the government of India has not
imposed a ban upon any of the many systems of medicine
practiced in this country, nor has any preference been
shown officially for any particular practice.”(610)
He states that this policy was followed because of the numerous
castes and creeds, some of whom have a marked liking for a particular
system. He mentions that the standard Hindu system is Ayurveda.
There is its sister system of Siddha. Anderson trusts in the efficacy of
both these systems. He takes review of other systems such as Unani
medicine, ‘The urine system’, the ‘de Chane system’, ‘Yogic exercises
 176

etc’. He has also discussed cases of ‘miracle’ healing in the four great
Indian religions. He mentions at the end of the passage,
“I can tell you for certain that there are herbs that keep
away sickness, sustain the human heart, the blood
pressure…. Flu”(615)
Thus he expresses his faith in natural herbs for the cure of ailments.

“Occult Lore and Other Matters”

“Occult Lore and Other Matters” is very interesting chapter in
the book. Anderson’s life in the jungles and subsequently his familiarity
with the natives exposed him to the knowledge and study of super-
naturals and also social beliefs prevailing in the society. The folk of
southern India are very sensitive in the matters of magical forces and
pertaining to the unseen. Anderson reveals all such matters and social
beliefs of the folk of southern India in this chapter. At first he mentions
that illness of any kind, a calamity, material losses or a spot of ill luck
are all ascribed to either ‘bad time’ or the deliberate machination of
some evilly disposed enemy. They firmly believe in a black magician
who cast a spell. In these circumstances, black magicians, spell
removers, soothsayers and fortune-tellers of all descriptions are in
great demand in the country. Anderson mentions that all kinds of
fortune – tellers can be seen on the pavements. He writes about their
methods of telling fortune and also states that it would be futile if you
try to dissuade any of the clients from wasting their money. In these
circumstances the soothsayers seem to earn a very lucrative living.
Anderson remarks,
“The Indian mind inclines strongly to the disposition of
fate, and the parrot or the love bird, the playing cards,
shadows and the rest are all agents that can be made to
foretell one’s future when handled by a skilled guru.”( 618)
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Here Anderson has done a very proper assessment of the mind of

Indian people. He further says that most illnesses are ascribed to
demon visitation and for every patient who consults a qualified doctor,
there is at least another ‘medicine – man’.
Anderson narrates in detail the case of young Nicholas to expose
the modus operandi of ‘medicine-man’. Nicholas, after his father’s death
met an apparition on night. From that time on he suffered from
mysterious fits! Then came the magician to cure his disease. Anderson
proves that it was a simple case of hysteria, since his mother’s conduct
had upset him greatly. But for the people it was simply a case of
possession by evil spirit. Anderson relates the story of an Anglo –
Indian, middle aged woman, Maria. Her conduct changed suddenly
when the demon within her became active. Maria fancied she heard a
voice in her own head telling her to do things. Anderson gives an
account of how he had solved her problem. Anderson narrates one
more case of spirit-possession. He says,
“nevertheless, I have come across some well-authenticated
cases of spirit possession and I will now tell you about one
of these’.(634)
He writes on the case of Ossie Brown which he has already told
in his book, The call of the Man-Eater. For him that was a clear
example of spirit-possession. Anderson also mentions about a number
of persons living in India who performs miracles. He writes on the
black magicians of India, person filled with a supernatural power,
hypnotism and provides few examples for the justification.
Anderson’s sympathy for the poor folk of India is expressed in
this passage. He writes on their grave problems, he is a well-wisher of
the poor people and therefore, comments on the threat of ‘Population
explosion’ and appreciates the work of the family planning units. His
deep concern for the poor man is expressed in his comment,
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“The Poor Indian, like everybody else, is human even if he

is poor”. (662)
His admiration of India comes through his dialogue with people
from America, Western Europe and even from Japan. He had talked to
a number of visitors from foreign countries. He writes about his
discussions with them about India. He says,
“… and this much I have gleaned, that almost everyone
has confessed that he or she has found no place in the
world like India. Some of them have travelled widely, and
all of them hope to spend the rest of their lives in
India.”(663).
Anderson is proud of his country. He refers Yogi Aurobindo
Ashram, Sai Baba at white field in Bangalore who attracts foreigners.
Anderson even writes on the drift between the rich and the poor. He
writes on crimes, poverty, misery and many other issues in this
passage. He expresses his opinions on various subjects related to the
country and says,
“India is a beautiful land, inhabited by a nice, friendly
people, more appreciated by foreigners than by
themselves”.(669)
Thus this extraordinary piece of writing shows that Anderson is
interested not only in jungle life but the social milieu too.

“Some Indian Game Sanctuaries”

This passage records Anderson’s journey and visits to five
sanctuaries in India in the company of two American friends and a
Canadian. Anderson presents details of his experiences because he
maintained a day-to-day record of all that happened.
Anderson gives account of his journey to the Gir forest of Gujarat
state known for the Asian lion. He describes the scene in the jungle and
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observes that the scenery was reminiscent of Africa. Anderson has

given short history of the Gir forest. He describes the ‘lion show’
arranged for the visitors. He is very impressed by the chowkidars who
call the lions near the bait. They witnessed the feasting lions from very
close distance. Anderson describes here a very humourous scene when
the two chowkidars ran forward, caught hold of the dead buffalo by a
foreleg and started to drag it. Anderson calls it
“A tug of war between two human beings and
a wild lioness.”(675).
His account of the ‘lion-show’ is very interesting. He then
describes ‘a panther show’ arranged by the enterprising Range Officer.
A goat had been tied up to a post earlier in the evening and killed by a
panther which was apparently, a regular visitor to the spot. All the
spectators were sent inside a big circular iron-barred cage. Anderson
compares this scene with the scene in the circus. He says, at the circus
the animals are in the cage and the spectators outside. Here, we were
in the cage and the panther was outside. Anderson noticed the reaction
of the panther. He ironically writes on what the panther might be
thinking about the spectators. He must have wondered to himself what
it was all about, how stupid human beings are to face all this trouble to
watch him eat. Anderson gives account of the conflict between the
panther and the hyaena.
The jungle track passed several hamlets occupied by Maldharis,
a pastoral sect of people who live in that area and bring their cattle into
the Gir forest for grazing. Anderson is very sensitive author in the
matter of wild life. Here, he provides information about the clash
between the Gir lions and Maldharis, who inhabit one hundred twenty
nine nesses or hamlets. He gives account of the past scenario of the Gir
forest and compares it with the present situation. The shortage of
grazing area resulted in increase in promiscuous poaching. All these
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changes affected the lions, they began to kill the cattle and buffaloes of
Maldharis in great numbers. In desperation the Maldharis began to
poison the lions that killed their stock. Anderson compares this
situation with the situation in southern India. He compares the
problem of the Gir lion with tigers, panthers and even hyaenas in
Southern India. He records his observation,
“This is the same sort of thing that has led to the almost
complete extinction of tiger, panthers and even hyaenis in
Southern India.” (683)
He expresses his anxiety regarding existence of the lion in India.
“The Fate of the Gir lion is, indeed, hanging by a thread.”(683) He
poses the problem of the Gir lion in this passage.
Then he records his visit to the private forest of Maharajah of
Wankaner. He mentions about the animals sighted there. He visited
the city of Udaipur and then reached at Jaisamal game Sanctuary to
view a ‘Panther Show’ of a different sort.
Anderson describes his journey to Kanha in Madhya Pradesh.
He provides information of the barasingha or twelve-horned deer. He
heard a tiger roaring at night. He expresses his happiness,
“How good it was to hear the memorable sound again “Oo
oongh! An-oo-oongh! Aungh! Oo-oo-ongh!”(697)
Anderson narrates his encounter with the group of barasingha
and other animals in the Kanha jungle. He explains how the jungles of
Kanha are very different from those of Southern India. His observation
is very important. He mentions that sal trees clothe the Kanha, tall
and straight and beautifully green. The absence of lantana
undergrowth is noticeable. In southern jungles wandering becomes
difficult on account of lantana or segai. He states that absence of
lantana and elephants in Kanha jungles make it a paradise for
‘ghooming’. He writes,
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“On the whole, I would say the Kanha jungles are about
the best for this purpose that I have ever visited.”(698)
Anderson mentions that many old hunters who have spent their
early years in Madhya Pradesh will remember this area with nostalgic
affection as one that produced some of the most magnificent tigers.
Anderson narrates all his experiences of Kanha jungle.
Anderson’s wish to go to Kaziranga did not complete due to many
reasons. The situation grew rather unpleasant because Joe, a
professional American wild life photographer and Anderson himself
were desparate to visit Kaziranga sanctuary known for one-horned
rhino and the swamp deer. Anderson and his friend visited Culcutta
and their tour of to game sanctuaries of northern India came to an end.
After reading this chapter one feels that he has personally visited
himself those sanctuaries. Anderson’s lucid account of his journey and
visits makes reading delightful in this piece of writing.

“The Anaibiddahalla Tigress”

The Anaibiddahalla Tigress is a story of the tigress with her two
cubs. Anderson explains meaning of the word ‘Anaibiddahalla’. He
says, “Anaibiddahalla” literally means in the vernacular ‘The hollow
into which the elephant fell”. Further he describes that incident in
detail. In the summer an elephant came to the pool in search of water.
The elephant extended its trunk to suck up the water but slipped on
the slimy sides skidding down into the pool. The elephant made
prodigious but vain efforts to come out and finally disappeared beneath
the surface of the water. After that no creature came near that pool for
a very long time. Anderson describes the topography of the region and
narrates in detail how the wandering tigers from across the river
Cauvery stroll eastwards up the Chinar river, then turn northwords up
the Anaibiddahalla pool and finally return westwards down the
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Talavadi nullah to reach the Cauvery and swim across it once more to
the Kollegal bank on the opposite side.
Anderson has passed many comments on the behaviour and
habits of tigers in this story. From his long experiences of wandering in
those forests he has acquired knowledge of tigers which he conveys in
his stories. This story is an outstanding example of observation of
tiger’s life in the region.
Here he mentions that the tigers always followed the similar
movements in that region from the Talavadi to the Anaibiddahalla
stream down to the Chinar and back to the Carvery. For him it’s a
mystery. So he writes,
“I wandered across this area for many years and found it
always so. I even questioned the poojarees who have spent
all their lives in these forests, and they said the same
thing. It is one of those jungle mysteries that appears to
defy explanation”.( 713).
Anderson also comments on how these tigers behave during this
circular path. He says that feline hunters had always been harmless,
confining themselves to hit and run, raids on the cattle patties that lay
along the beat if they were not lucky enough to find the wild game.
Now, from general he comes to particular tigress with her two
cubs. This tigress, finding the cattle many in numbers decided to settle
down in the area of the Anaibiddahalla pool. It was much easier for her
to kill cattle or buffalo calf to feed her cubs. Kills began to take place in
quick succession and then the poojarees and other low-caste villagers
sent a call for help to Anderson’s friend and camp-follower named
Ranga. Anderson writes here more about Ranga. He had two friends
in the jungle, Ranga and Byra. He has told everything about Byra in
the previous story ‘A Night in Spider Valley’. In this story he portrays
character of Ranga in detail. He mentions that he and his friends Byra
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and Ranga had wandered in those forests, mile upon mile, for many
years. Byra had been a poacher but Ranga was a far more versatile
fellow. Starting as a poacher he climbed the ladder of status to that of
a miniature landlord. He had murdered three wives and lived with two
more wives. He had gone to jail after the first murder.
Ranga planned to shoot the tigress on the kill from the machan.
He fired at the tigress with two cubs in the darkness. But there was no
sign of tigress or cubs. Early in the morning they found the blood trail
and thought that she is dead. Then after few months tigress and her
cubs attacked on the cartman at night. News of this event spread far
and wide and the bullock carts ceased to travel by night. It was
Ranga’s mistake that made her man-eater. Driven by hunger, the
tigress started to attack cattle by daylight. She was handicapped by the
injury to her shoulder. So the cubs learnt the art of killing as mother
could not do much better. It transpired that each kill made by the trio
of animals presented a nasty spectacle of mangled living flesh, a victim
that had been partly eaten alive. It was all so different from the kill
made by a normal tiger. These attacks continued and the cubs became
expert, curiously they remained with their maimed mother instead of
breaking away. Then Anderson narrates the case of Mariappa, the
cowherd who instead of running away after the trio attacked on his
cow, rushed towards three tigers and was killed by them. At the end of
the story Anderson instructs his readers about how to react when one
sees the tigress with her cubs. His observation of behaviour of tigers is
remarkable and using it he instructs the readers,
“Tigers do not like their family privacy disturbed for one
thing, while numbers definitely bolster their courage”.(723)
He draws inference, that numbers bring courage, both to human
beings and to tigers.
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The story ends abruptly, but throws light on major aspects of the
tiger behaviour.

‘‘In a Jungle Long Ago’’

In a Jungle Long Ago is a very different story in this book. In this
story Anderson shows interest in the human behaviour instead of
animal behaviour. The story reveals mystery of the murder committed
by the landlord’s son Sathynarayan. The love-affair between
Sathynarayan and Mardee, a daughter of Poojaree Kaiyara leads to
unfortunate death of Mardee. Then there is series of deaths that occur
after the first murder. Anderson attempts to solve the mystery of
deaths but he fails to do so as it was the spirit of the black magician
Kaiyara, the poojaree who had avenged the murder of his only
daughter and himself. Anderson therefore, writes in the beginning,
“Then notoriety visited the little camp for the second time
with the advent of ‘The Avenging Spirit’, which I am going
to tell you about.”(725)
The setting of the story is Panapatti in the district of Salem in
formerly presidency of Madras. The owners of most of the herds
kraaled at Panapatti were rich landlords inhabiting the large town of
Dharampuri. The herdsmen to whom the cattle were entrusted during
their stay at patti, were the lowest caste of villagers from Pennagaram,
augmented by a few pooojarees, who were jungle-men belonging to an
aboriginal tribe. They were living in the forest, sheltered in little
thatched huts known as ‘gavvies’. Kaiyara was such a poojaree. He
was living with his wife and daughter, Mardee. His wife died by a
snake-bite and he was left alone with his little girl, Mardee, to look
after. The years passed and Mardee grown up into an attractive young
woman. Many of the poor herdsmen and poojarees coveted her and
came to Kaiyara with proposal of marriage. Mardee was of a
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determined nature and had always aimed high, far above the local
poojarees and cattleboys.
Then one day, Sathynarayan came to Panapatti. He was the
eldest son of a rich landlord and merchant, Gopalswamy of
Dharampuri’. Sathynarayan was married and had a wife and young
son. He saw Mardee for the first time and lusted after her greatly. He
had fallen in love with her. Sathynarayan seduced her and she became
pregnant. Everybody in the Patii knew about it. Kaiyara asked his
daughter and she admitted that Sathynarayan had promised to marry
with her. But when Kaiyara asked Sathynarayan about his
relationship Mardee he became furious and called her a low caste slut.
He refused any affair with her and disappeared. Then after few days
he abducted Mardee and murdered her. As Mardee vanished from the
patti everybody thought that she had been taken away by a tiger.
Kaiyara was a black magician who could cast powerful spells. By
now everybody in patti had reasoned what had happened but none
dared to speak of the matter openly. At public meeting Kaiyara
declared that some evil man has beguiled his daughter. He has taken
her away and perhaps murdered her. He explained the villagers that
they are poor and helpless people. The person who spoiled Mardee’s
life, the evil man is very rich. But he has the power to curse him and
his family. He will go in search of his beloved daughter, he may not
come back. He then loudly caste a spell and cursed Sathynarayan and
his family. He claimed that his curse will destroy Sathynarayan’s
family.
Next morning Kaiyara left the patti and never came back!
Sathynarayan murdered him with the help of his driver Das. He had
thrown his body in the large tank. Then after six months,
Sathynarayan and his family visited Panapatti for the Pongal festival.
A strange incident happened there between the patti and the main
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road. Sathynarayan and his family were walking together. His wife
was little behind him with his son. Suddenly a tiger appeared and took
away his wife and only son. The next day villagers discovered their
bodies. But the tiger did not eat any part of their bodies! Anderson
was there at that time. He searched for the tiger but there was no any
evidence of the tiger. The villagers said that it was the spirit of
Kaiyara who had avenged the murder of his only daughter and of
himself. The poojaree had assumed the form of a tiger to fulfill the
curse.
After few days Sathynarayan’s driver also met tragic death. His
car fell in the same large tank in which he had thrown the dead body of
Kaiyara. Sathynarayan heard the news and madness fell upon him.
First his son, then his wife and now the driver lost their lives and he
became convinced that it was his turn next. Meanwhile Anderson tried
to shoot the tiger who attacked on his wife and son but failed to shoot
the tiger. The villagers refused to help Anderson because for them it
was not a tiger but a spirit! Sathynarayan was admitted to a mental
hospital. The psychiatrist discovered his mania but no treatment was
effective. He became permanently insane! One day he disappeared
from home. Nobody saw him in the town. After four days Byra, the
poojaree saw vultures circling in the sky at Panapatti. Being a hunter
since his childhood he went for investigation and found that it was body
of Sathynarayan. He had been killed by a tiger, but no part of his flesh
had been eaten. Byra and the other poojarees searched the whole area
for pug-marks, but they had found none.
“He replied to Anderson, ‘For it was no tiger that killed
that swine! Kaiyara made a job of it’.(746)
This wonderful story of ‘the Avenging spirit’ shows that Anderson
is versatile writer.
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(3) The Tiger Roars

The Tiger Roars is hailed as the best of all of Anderson’s works.
It was published in 1967. In the seven chapters of this book he narrates
his expeditions of hunting the man-eating tigers and leopards. He tells
of his adventures in the jungles of southern India.
In the introduction to this book he makes an intense appeal to
the state governments and every sportsman who visit forests and also
every Indian to make a supreme effort to save the country’s wild
creatures from extinction. Anderson is more worried about the future
generations as he believes that wild life in the jungles and also the
jungles are facing a serious threat of extinction. If the efforts are not
made now the future generations will be unable to enjoy beauty of the
forest and wild life.
Game and bird sanctuaries have been formed by the government
and also rules for protection of the wild life are made but rules are not
enforced. The poor conditions of the forest guards and corruption are
the hurdles in the protection of the wild creatures. Time is already
short, so he insists on immediate action on the existing scenario in the
state of Mysore and also in the district of Salem belonging to Madras
state. Tigers and panthers are now almost extinct there because the
villagers use a poison for killing them. It is supplied to them by the
local governments as an insecticide to protect their crops. The tigers
and panthers eat the decorated meat of their kills and dies. The jackals,
hyaenas, vultures and even crows also meet with similar fate.
Deers are slaughtered by the poachers and corruption make the
officers to remain silent. He writes,
“so death stalks the wild creatures of India.”(282)
He further says that extinction of animal species in South India
will certainly follow unless the governments of the various states and
the people also become realistic and take action immediately.
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Anderson states that he has enjoyed writing these stories He

states the reason of his pleasure in following words,
“… for in doing so I have been carried back to the forest life
not only to memories of bygone days but to its enchanting
sights, its myriad exotic smells, its medley sounds, its joys,
its sorrows, the exuberance of like there and its
tragedy”(282)
Thus he expresses his love and fascination for the forest life.

“The Novice of Manchi”

The Novice of Manchi is very interesting story of hunting the
man-eater. In this story one comes across very sensational events that
explore human emotions. Especially in this story, Anderson expresses
his feelings of fear and anxiety when he was sitting alone in the
darkness near the dead body of Mathu thinking that the man-eater
may discover his presence and add him to his menue. Anderson reveals
what was going on in his mind and when he tell that he was out of
danger he had mixed feelings of relief. He writes,
“mixed feelings of relief. From immediate danger, and
sheer disgust with myself at my cowardice, set in when I
realized that only a few moments earlier I had been
trembling, scared out of my wits at nothing but the
darkness and the thought of the man-eaters proximity.”(317)
This story of the man-eater also reveals Anderson’s knowledge of
behavior of wild creatures and the birds. This story also throws light on
the superstitions of the aboriginal jungle tribe that inhabits the forests
of the Salem district in southern India called ‘poojarees’. Anderson has
provided detail information of lifestyle of poojarees that live on the
produce of the forest. Also his close friendship with his old friend and
instructor of jungle lore, Byra the poojaree becomes vital.
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A tiger attacked on a lone traveler along the jungle trail from

Aiyur to kempekearai. The tiger successively attacked on the human
beings in twenty four days in the vicinity of the track form Aiyur to
kepekarai with a radius of four miles from Manchi. Then, Byra
belonging to poojaree tribal community and resident of Manchi arrived
in person to convey the report of the man-eater menace in the vicinity.
He requested him to help the terror stricken poojarees of Manchi
Anderson after getting the detail information about the tiger drawn
inference that he was not veteran man-eater but a beginner and
therefore, he has given the title of the story on ‘The Novice of Manchi’.
He has provided map of the location where the man-eater was
operating. Therefore readers get clear idea of the action that takes
place in the story.
Anderson approached Manchi with Byra to shoot the tiger. He
acquired little information other than the bare facts that already
recounted by Byra. After Byra’s departure the tiger appeared at the
pool which was very close to Manchi and few women had seen him. He
wanted to set his tent near that pool instead of the village. But on the
suggestion of Byra he pitched his small tent with belongings near the
jack fruit tree. He decided to sit under the babul tree some twenty feet
from the water and facing the jungle for the man-eater’s arrival. He
was waiting for the tiger to come. Anderson here expresses his love for
jungle in following words,
“while I had been watching the sunset abstractly, I had
been listening to the sounds of the jungle which at all
times are pleasant music to my ears, particularly at the
close of the day and again at dawn.”(295)
The tiger appeared there but Anderson committed mistake, he
switched on his torch and the man-eater disappeared in the bush. Then
he went back to his tent near the jack-fruit tree to sleep. He was
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awakened by some scratching sounds. That was the man-eater! It was

very critical moment for Anderson he fired three shots at the tiger in
the darkness. But he could not hit the man-eater. Byra and other
poojarees related his failure with ‘black-magic.’ Then they asked him
that the spell would have to be removed if he hopes to kill the man-
eater. Anderson comments on the superstitions of the tribal,
“Superstitions of this sort is rife amongst the simple people
of the Indian forests, and large numbers of townsfolk as
well.”(304)
So the poojaree’s performed the pooja to remove the spell. Byra
and Muthu insisted on Anderson to follow the track of the man-eater
immediately after the spell was broken. The two poojarees found tiger’s
track where he had approached the pool. They followed the track and
suddenly the tiger attacked on Muthu and killed him. It was a great
shock for both Byra and the author. Muthu was the sorcerer’s grandson
who sacrificed his life now. Then Anderson told Byra his plan to wait at
night near the dead body of Muthu to kill the tiger. There was
argument on this matter between the two as Byra states that if the
body is burnt then Muthu’s soul will gain peace. Again Anderson
comments on the belief of the tribal people. Anyhow he convinced Byra
and both of them sat near Muthu’s body in the darkness.
Many sensational and exciting events occurred on that night. At
first they heard shriek of the dying sambar, killed by the man-eater.
Then elephants appeared on the scene where the tiger had killed
sambar. Anderson describes the fight between elephants and the man-
eater just by recording sounds in the jungle. Once again he expresses
his remarkable knowledge of animal behavior. The elephants drove
away the man-eater from his kill far away from Anderson and Byra.
The tiger arrived at his previous kill that is Muthu’s body. Anderson
was hiding behind the wall of boulders constructed by him and Byra
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near Muthu’s body. He shot the tiger with very hard efforts in the
darkness. He fired four bullets at the tiger successively to give relief to
the poojarees of Manchi. That ends his adventure of the man-eater of
Manchi.
The story is full of exciting incidents. Anderson gives thrilling
account of that decisive night of encounter with the man-eater. All
incidents are recorded in such a manner that every incident becomes
alive for the readers.

‘‘The Lame Horror of Peddacheruvu’’

The case of the man-eater of Peddacheruvu was exceptional case.
Anderson explains the topography of Peddacheruvu and also the causes
of tiger’s becoming man-eater in the beginning of this story. He makes
the readers familiar with the locality where the series of events in the
story takes place. It is the area of densest forests in the state of Andhra
Pradesh. He also writes about one particular species of antelope, known
as the nilgiri or blue bull that existed in those forests once upon a time.
He mentions that these great animals which once abounded
everywhere, are now extinct in all other forests of the south. The
availability of large number of animals attracted tigers and panthers.
Anderson then discusses the general situation that compels tigers and
panthers to feed on human beings. He says that tigers and panthers
are forced to prey on the herds of cattle, sheep and goats. Then the
herdsmen attempt to drive away the marauders with spears, traps,
bullets and other devices. This incapacitates panthers and tigers for
normal hunting and in time then take to man-eating.
Then Anderson concentrates on the area covered with thick
forest suitable for tigers and panthers near Markapur and Srisailam.
Peddacheruvu is a small village situated to the west of the road from
Markapur to Srisailam. He also describes a pretty lake ringed by the
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jungle. This area is abounded by tigresses during the mating season

from November to January seeking their mates. Sometimes the awful
din of male tigers fighting for the female can be heard near the lake
area. The man-eater of Peddacheruvu was one such a male tiger
fighting with another male tiger for the same reason. During the fight
he had lost an eye and an ear and the tendons of his right foreleg had
been chewed by his rival causing him to drag that limb as he walked to
leave a distinct trail behind him. These disabilities, together with his
advancing years, had prevented this animal from being able to kill his
normal prey. The people of Peddacheruvu told Anderson about the two
tigers who quarreled from sunset to midnight just before Christmas
and the mating season.
The disable male tiger first attacked on cattles, sheeps and goats.
Then he made his first human kill in the form of a cartman. The second
victim was a woman. Anderson gives detail accounts of these two
incidents. Then human kills had followed in rapid succession after that,
and one day Anderson received a letter from his old telugu friend
named Byanna who lived near the Markapur railway station. Byanna
had invited Andersons to shoot that tiger. Anderson reached Markapur
on the next forenoon and the same night to Peddacheruvu village.
Anderson started his expedition with Byanna to shoot the man-eater.
Anderson narrates how the tiger and the panther responded to his
calls. When he made a tigers call he received response from the other
end. A tiger approached there but suddenly turned away. Anderson
observes that a tiger’s behavior is always unpredictable! Anderson also
comments on the aboriginal jungle men of that area known as
‘chenchu’. Anderson and Byanna with the help of chenchus built
machans near the lake and tied baits to shoot the man-eater. But the
lame man-eater did not turn up. However his assistant Appu found the
trail of the lame tiger. While wandering in the jungle they came across
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a group of chenchus who told them that the man-eater had carried off a
chenchu name kalla from the hamlet on the previous evening.
Anderson with the help of chenchus discovered the remains of kalla in
a small dry nullah. They built the machan near that spot. Anderson
climbed on a machan. He records the sights and sounds of the jungle. A
kind of wood-cricket inhabits the forests of Andhra Pradesh in large
number. He provides information of these strange insects who produce
vibrating sound that has intensity of a tractor working nearby. After
sometime he heard the call of the man-eater. He roared in the valley
repeatedly. The tiger came very close about fifty yards from his
machan. He started to move around his machan and kalla’s remains in
wide circles, while his roaring grew louder and fiercer. For more than
one hour the man-eater did not show himself. So finally Anderson
decided to take the risk. He got down from the machan. The man-eater
launched his attack from behind, Anderson switched on the torch but
the huge tree trunk came in between. Anderson fired at the man-eater
from the shelter of the trunk but he missed his target. Anderson was
ashamed of his failure to shoot the man-eater, but had not lost his
hope. Finally with the help of Appu he discovered man-eater’s regular
drinking-place. When they reached there at the water pool they saw the
tiger. Anderson describes this incident from tiger’s point of view,
“suppose the tiger, too, thought the sight before him
frightening. The people he had so far killed had been taken
by surprise. They had screamed but offered no resistance.
In this case a man stood before him,….”(364).
Thus Anderson describes the confused state of mind of the man-
eater, who was surprised by the reaction of Anderson and his friend. He
fired at the man-eater twice successfully. Then Anderson mentions that
the close examination of the dead animal confirmed that the tiger
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turned into a man-eater by the severe injury to his right leg during a
fight with another tiger. Anderson ironically remarks :
“At least in this case, man was not to blame!”(364)
So the tragedy occurred to the lame tiger not because of man but
another tiger. Therefore, Anderson states that the case of man-eater of
Peddacheruvu was an exceptional case! At the end of the story
Anderson reveals another mystery of why the crickets stopped their
chirruping when the man-eater started roaring. Anderson has
portrayed the character of the lame man-eater with exceptional skill.

“The Queer Side of Things”

In this passage, Anderson shares his strange experiences in his
forest wanderings. He declares initially that he has grown older and
has no urge to slay except when occasion calls for it. He also states that
his visits to the jungle are not always for the purpose of hunting and
killing. Thus he visits jungle for joy and out of curiosity about strange
things in it. Here in this passage he gives account of such strange
things and events that happens with man and animals in the jungle.
In the first instance, he tells about the ruins of a great temple
that stands among the foothills to the north of the Nilgiri range of
mountains, covered by heavy forest. He tells about the ancient past of
that region. A few centuries ago, all that area was cultivated and
densely populated. But that human habitation in the area ended
completely because of the ‘great fever’. After giving brief account of the
tragedy of that civilization, he turns to tell about his visit to the temple
in company of some tourists. His story is about one tourist from
Australia named Captain Neide. He had stolen the brass lamp in front
of ‘Nandies’ in the temple. Anderson and Neide’s wife remonstrated but
he took the lamp with him. Four days after that incident he again met
those tourists at Ootacamand and learned about what happened to Mr.
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Neide. His wife told him that after picking up the lamp Neide suffered
from high temperature and became very sick. He became delirious.
Then he realized his mistake and decided to return the lamp. Anderson
also accompanied them to the ancient temple, they stood at the altar
before the five nandies and Mrs. Neide reverently replaced the old
brass lamp on its pedestal. The fever left Mr. Neide and there was no
need to go to hospital, as he was cured. After giving this account
Anderson says by taking his readers into confidence,
“All I know is that it happened!”(372).
Then Anderson narrates another curious incident that he
witnessed at hamlet near Mavanhalla settlement, fifteen miles from
Ootacamund. It was a case of black magic. Anderson’s familiarity with
Indian social tradition is expressed in his remark, “In India couples do
not get engaged of their own volition.”(372). He further explains a
peculiar tradition of marriage system of Irilas people who live there. It
consist of purchasing a girl for marriage. It is the story of a comely girl
in the hamlet who was engaged to be married to man living in the
village of Gurupalli. In this case the boy’s parents at the last moment
refused to pay money and the girl’s parents, in a rage, broke off the
engagement. Then the disappointed boy decided to take revenge on the
girl. He walked through the jungle to the town of Kollegal to meet a
black magician of very great and evil repute. The black magician made
him buy a whole sheep for sacrifice, and the unholy ceremony was
performed. Then the girl began to suffer, at first she saw apparition
then many strange things happened to her.
Anderson happened to visit Mavanhalla and came to know about
it. He examined that girl and surprisingly the piece of broken bottle
glass, with jagged edged emerged out of her mouth. News of these
happenings had spread far and wide, and the next afternoon an Indian
Christian healer arrived in the village. The healer with strange-
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confidence claimed that god has given him the power of healing and
that he had come to heal the girl. He cried with loud voice and
commanded the evil to come out of her body. The girl was violently
convulsed, bending backwards, shuddered, then was still. The girl
became normal after that. All the people nearby her felt the power that
radiated from that strange and simple man. Once again Anderson
vows, “I saw there for myself and know they are true!”(379). Anderson
then narrates the story of dacoit, a thief and murderer named Selvaraj.
Anderson gives account of the feud between his family and their
neighbors. The feud caused mass murders and both sides had gone into
hiding in the forest, afraid of the police and thirsting for each other’s
blood. Selaraj lived entirely in the jungle and his domain was from the
bank of the Cauvery river upto the mountains of the Chinar river.
Anderson describes activities of Selvaraj or ‘Mumptyvayan’ who became
a dacoit, a sort of Robin Hood of South India. The large majority of
people loved him and respected him because he robbed the rich to feed
the poor. After introducing ‘Mumpty’, Anderson narrates his thrilling
meeting with him in the dense forest. The encounter with a dacoit
shows many aspects of Anderson’s character and also of a dacoit.
Anderson’s story of ‘Mumpty’ ends with his death.
The last story in this chapter is about a bull elephant. Anderson
narrates an encounter with a solitary old bull elephant at Anaikatti.
His behavior was quite unaccountable. There was something seriously
wrong with him. Anderson then set out with two karumba trackers to
find out the cause of elephant’s strange behavior. The two Karumbas
observed the elephant and then said to him,
“The wise one is very old. His days on earth are over, and
he has come to the river to die in it peacefully.(406)
Anderson curiously observed the elephant for few days and at
last found him at the big pool in the river ‘the place where the
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elephants come to die’ according to karumbas. He was dead. He had

come there to die! Thus Anderson reveals here the mysterious behavior
of the old elephant and also the belief of Karumbas is justified. He
became close friend of that elephant for some time.
These strange stories of men and animals makes this chapter
very interesting to read. Anderson here narrates his incredible
experiences of the jungle life.

“The Dumb Man-Eater of Talavadi”

The Dumb Man-Eater of Talavadi is yet another story of the
man-eater tiger. But like other stories of Anderson, this story is also
unique in the sense that he concentrates more on the character of his
friend Hughie Hailstone! Anderson therefore, states that,
“I have met many unforgettable characters in my time and
most of them have been jungle men, Indian, Anglo-Indian
and European.(411)
Anderson expresses his opinion here that the forest develops a
man’s personality, and the more time he spends in the jungle the
clearer his personality becomes. His friend Hughie Hailstone is one
such character.
The setting of this story is Hughie’s wonderful home in the forest
called ‘Moyar valley Ranch’ near Moyar river in the Nilgiri forest
division in North Coimbatore district. Anderson has described this
place in detail.
One day in an attempt to shoot the wild pig Hughie and his
servant named Sweza fired at the tiger and Hughie’s bullet struck the
tiger full in the face and thus was born the man-eater of Talavadi. The
wounded tiger began to operate on the Talaimalai-Talavadi track. First
he killed the vendor at Talavadi, and then in quick succession attacked
on human beings. Consternation spread among the village folk and
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Hughie fell ill suddenly and unexpectedly. He felt deeply about all that
had taken place and he held himself responsible for starting the tiger
on its man-eating career by wounding it. He could not follow the
wounded tiger because of his illness. So he invited Anderson at Moyar
Valley Ranch to shoot the wounded tiger. Hughie expressed his remorse
not only for wounding the tiger but for not finishing it off after that.
Hughie provided all the details of the tiger to Anderson and there was
scarcely any doubt that it was the animal he had wounded that had
now become a man-eater. The people who saw the man-eater confirmed
that the face of the tiger had been scarred and contorted.
Here, Anderson has discussed two different theories of hunting
the man-eater. Anderson explains about the arguments behind both the
schools of thought. He has also commented on ‘man-eater’s beat’ that is
the habit of the man-eating tiger, in shikar parlance.
Anderson started his expedition by tying the baits on the
Talaimalai-Talavadi track. He built the machan to sit up for the man-
eater. He spent few nights on the machan but then one evening he
received the news that the man-eater had killed a woman near the
hamlet of Dimbum on the Satyamangalam-Chamrajnagar road.
Anderson went to Dimbum and met Abdul kunni whose wife was killed
by the tiger near the well. He told Anderson that the other woman who
saw the tiger, said it looked like shaitan (the devil) himself! Then only a
few hours later the tiger carried away the girl from the same spot
where he had killed Abdul Kunni’s wife. Anderson was shocked because
this was very abnormal on the part of the man-eater. He therefore,
remarks,
“This was something unheard of in the annals of man-
eaters.”(448).
Anderson hastened to the well and discovered regular blood trail
from where the tiger dragged away the unfortunate girl. Then he came
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to a place where the man-eater was engrossed in his meal. Here,

Anderson comments on the relationship between crows and the tiger
and also behavior of crows. In the final scene, Anderson narrates how
the man-eater became suspicious about his presence and then attacked
on him from behind but Anderson fired rapidly to kill the tiger. He
escaped from the man-eaters jaw by very narrow margin. He therefore
writes,
“…., or if I had run backwards instead of forwards, I would
not be here to tell this tale.”(453)

“The killer of the Wynaad”

The story, “The killer of the Wynaad” has different setting than
Anderson’s other stories. Most of his encounters with the man-eaters
occurred in the jungles of Karnataka, Tamilnadu and Andhra Pradesh
states where the tigers inhabited in large number at that time. But the
jungle of the Wynaad had very few carnivorous animals in it. Anderson
has explained the reasons for the scarcity of tigers and panthers in
Nilgiri, Wynaad in the state of kerala. When he had gone to Coorg to
stay with his friend Timayya he came to know about the man-eater.
Everybody in region was taken by surprise because no human had been
harmed by the tiger till that day. Anderson was also surprised by the
news of the man-eater. He therefore expresses his reaction in the
following words,
“I listened to it dispassionately, wondering like him as to
how a man-eating tiger had found its way into an area so
unpropitious, where ordinary tigers and panthers are
almost unknown.” (458).
His friend and host Timayya was interested more in shooting the
man-eater where as Anderson himself was reluctant to go after the
tiger. In his opinion the animal was not a confirmed man-eater, but
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probably a sick or wounded tiger and it would either die of its sickness
or wounds. Timayya offered to bet that he was wrong. But Timayya
won that bet because on the third day they heard about another kill by
the tiger. Anderson then mentions Timayya’s reaction,
“My friend had set his heart on going after this tiger.”(459).
Anderson and Timayya started their adventure after bringing
rifles from Bangalore. Before giving account of his tiger hunt, Anderson
provides details of topography of the area that is stretched from kabini
river to the northeast and Kerala state in extreme southwest. He
appreciates the beautiful scenery, nature in the state of Kerala and
compares it with the beauty of the Himalayas. He also describes the
climactic conditions and fauna in the jungles of that area. He points out
that existence of leeches throughout the year has affected carnivorous
animals and deer also. He also passes comments on ‘Kheddah’
operation and the jungle tribe Karumbas and the sholagas. He
describes scenery of Coorg state also.
Anderson and Timayya started their operation from Manan
toddy and a stretch of dense forest on the Kerala bank of the Kabini
river. On their way they met a group of bamboo cutters carrying a
wounded person to the hospital. Anderson describes the heroism of a
bamboo cutter named, Yega who saved his brother’s life by showing
extraordinary courage. Anderson and Yega followed the trail of the
tigers. Then they discovered the place where the man-eater had
dragged his victim.
Anderson and Yega made a plan to sit up on the grass for the
tiger to come at the kill. Timayya also joined them. Anderson gives
vivid account of their encounter with the man-eater. The man-eater fell
victim to Timayya’s bullet. The high melodrama that took place at the
decisive moment in the dark night is vividly depicted by Anderson.
Timayya was overwhelmed with delight and performed a war dance
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around the dead tiger. The man-eater was killed under unusual
conditions, not from the machan or any high ground but just sitting on
the ground inviting geater risks. Anderson, therefore describes it as, “It
was a war of nerves.”(480)

“The Man-Hater of Talainovu”

In the story, “The Man-Hater of Talainovu” Anderson at first
presents the political background of the hamlet called Talainovu in
formerly Coimbatore district of the Madras Presidency. He comments
on the deforestation from Talainovu across rugged hills down to the
valley of the Cauvery river. The story deals with the wily panther that
made its abode in a steep valley some ten miles from Talainovu.
Anderson explains the nature of panther and states that this panther
was never a man-eater in the true sense but it was man-hater filled
with deep hostility for the human race and therefore he has given the
title ‘The man-hater –‘ not ‘The man-eater ---’.
After presenting the topography of that area, Anderson portrays
character of the pantheress. Here, Anderson portrays the pantheress
like a human character and narrates her grave tragedy. He writes,
“This pantheress was a young animal, and when she gave
birth to her cubs, three in number, she was a proud and
happy mother, devoted to her offspring and prepared to
defend them with her life.”(485).
She brought her cubs out of the cave in which they were born and
hid them in a bamboo thicket on the banks of the Cauvery river. But
the bamboo cutters discovered her cubs in the thicket and killed them.
The horrible sight of her dead cubs drove her crazy. She attacked on
the bamboo cutters and killed two of them and tore them to shreds.
That is how she became man-hater! Anderson comments on an inborn
fear of the human to all wild animals and also criticizes hypocrisy of
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the bamboo cutters who created a picture of a savage panther of huge

dimensions but did not disclose how they had wantonly destroyed the
cubs and infuriated the mother. The vengeful pantheress continued
her attacks on men. Anderson here deals with the psychology of the
pantheress. He analyses her mind and states that hatred must have
filled her mind and therefore she started attacking and killing human
being where she could but never eating her victims. It was evident by
the manner in which each corpse was bitten and clawed savagely. She
seemed to be taking savage delight in mangling each body almost
beyond recognition.
The stretch of the Cauvery river where the pantheress was
operating was a favorite fishing spot of Anderson. He occasionally went
there for fishing trip.
Here he gives an account of his trip with his son Donald,
Merwan, his shikari friend Thangavelu to the Talainovu fishing
grounds. They established their camp near the river. The man-hater
pantheress approached their camp at night and attempted to kill one of
them. Anderson woke up and tried to shoot her. After a few days again
he heard a faint hissing, rasping sound in the thicket that was closest
to their camp. Anderson describes the entire drama of clash between
the pantheress and his party which came to an end with the death of
the pantheress by two shots fired by his son Donald. However,
Anderson was not happy. He writes,
“Truly my heart had not been in that night’s work and I
regretted every part I played in hunting her from the time
we heard her story.”(516)
Thus Anderson narrates the pathetic story of the pantheress and
her tragic fate. The pantheress evidently remembered the slaying of
her cubs and her feeling of hatred for the human race seemed as fresh
as on that day.
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“Sher Khan and the Bettamugalam Man-Eater”

“Sher Khan and the Bettamugalam Man-Eater” is the last story
of this book. Anderson has provided map of the location. He gives
details of the place called ‘Bettamugalam estate’ of the British collector,
in the district of Salem. The retired British administrator loved the
jungle and preserved it at tremendous expenses. Anderson expresses
his deep concern for the preservation of the jungles. He admires efforts
of the British officer to preserve this jungle of three hundred acres from
the thorny undergrowth and the lantana plants. He draws readers’
attention to the problem of the lantana plants that began to envelop the
forests of southern India. He also mentions about the danger of jungle
fires. After the death of the Anglo-Indian his jungle and jungly castle
fell into disrepair. There was no legal owner of his huge estate after he
died. After that the wild animals also vanished from that jungle. Only
the jungle fowl and peafowl remained to increase in the heavy
undergrowth of lantana. The whole area assumed a forlorn appearance.
Sometimes an odd tiger or panther would pass that way, for a stray
spotted deer or jungle sheep. The villagers came to the officer’s castle to
steal material like granite blocks, stones of the building. One such a
villager was Gurappa. He had come there to steal some granites to
make his hut. He brought with him a bullock-cart. Suddenly a tiger
attacked on him and dragged him away into the lantana bushes. By
chance, at that time Anderson was at Sivanipalli, the village that lies
five miles to the west of Aiyur. Bettamugalam was near Aiyur.
Anderson visited that place where the tiger killed Gurappa and
discovered remains of his dead body. Then with the forest officer he
went to his bunglow, the officer asked him to spent night at Aiyur but
Anderson was firm to go to his camp at Sivanipalli. He was not
interested to shoot the animal for the tiger was not a confirmed man-
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eater. He refused proposal of range officer and started his journey to

Sivanipalli in the torchlight.
Anderson here explores his own psyche. While travelling alone
through the forest he was terribly frightened. He writes,
“Suddenly a feeling of great uneasiness came over me
rather, feeling of mortal fear. Why, I could not imagine. I
had heard no sound, nor had I caught any audible cries of
alarm from the deer and other creaturs in the jungle to
warn me of danger.”(527)
He was hunted by the idea of absolute loneliness.
His fear turned into reality when he realized that he is followed
by the tiger. The tiger kept on walking at a measured pace behind him.
Anderson comments on the nature and behavior of the tiger. He says,
“all tigers, including man-eaters, know that every other
creature is afraid of them. They are accustomed to striking
terror into the hearts and minds of their prey,….”(528).
Finally Anderson decided to act, he extinguished his torch and
ran fast in the darkness. Then he saw the tiger behind the rock and
fired two bullets at him, and then the tiger disappeared. He was
confused whether his bullet struck the tiger or not. This made him to
meet Sher khan.
Anderson has portrayed humorous character of Sher khan with
minute details. Sher khan was a person who had led a colorful
existence. He was a Muslim, a poacher of game, a timber thief and the
suspected dacoit on a minor scale. He claimed that his forefathers
served in the army of the Tipu sultan. Sher khan volunteered to help
Anderson in chasing the tiger. He brought with him his only weapon
that was the sword of his ancestors. They reached at the rock from
where Anderson had fired at the man-eater on the previous night. Soon
they discovered the blood trail and Anderson realized that his bullet
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had inflicted a severe wound to the man-eater. They followed the pug
marks and the blood trail.
Anderson describes their adventure of searching of the wounded
tiger that took them to the bank of the river. He gives vivid account of
the final action in which he saved himself from the sword of Sher khan
as he attempted to strike the tiger. The tiger and Sher khan were very
close, it was very difficult task to shoot the tiger without hurting Sher
khan. He went down, screaming and the tiger fell on the top of him.
Leaning forward, Anderson placed the rifle behind its neck and pressed
the trigger. Sher khan was practically unhurt but the tiger was dead.
Thus the climax of the story is very thrilling. Anderson’s skill of
narration makes the story very interesting.

(4) Tales From the Indian Jungles

Tales From The Indian Jungles was published in 1970. In the
introduction to this book, Anderson writes about a person who is
speaking continuously, telling a tale and lost in his own world. For him
the past has become so real that he is unaware of his audience beside
the fire in the jungle at night. The forest is lost in the silence for
sometime and the roar of a tiger breaks suddenly followed by the
scream of an excited elephant. But the speaker is not disturbed he
continues to tell stories of the denizens of the forest; interesting
incidents, macabre and ghostly sketches of himself. He loves to speak
about the jungle and its people for he knows about them better than
anybody.
“He appears to be of the jungle himself, and we get the
impression that he belongs there.” (K. Anderson Omnibus Vol. I Tales

from the Indian jungle 4)

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The jungle is home for him and he want to die there; the jungle is
his birth place, his heaven and his resting place. At the end of the,
introduction, Anderson has disclosed the identity of the speaker.
Thus this powerful introduction to this book reveals Anderson’s
intense love of the jungle, wild life and its people. He belongs to jungle
in real sense as he expresses his wish to live there and die there!

“Ghooming at Dawn”
The first chapter of the book has very distinct title, ‘Ghooming at
Dawn.’ This opening chapter is similar to the opening chapter of
Anderson’s another book Jungles Long Ago which has the title ‘A Night
in Spider valley.’ Anderson has frequently used words from vernacular
languages ‘Ghooming’ is a typical Hindi word that is chosen by him. It
shows that Anderson is deeply rooted in the Indian soil. Here in this
chapter he gives an account of his early-moving ‘ghoom’ that means
trekking through the jungles. This time he is camped in the open upon
the river bank, a few yards from the fringe of the forest and he is
accompanied by the native tribal known as ‘Poojaree.’ Anderson
comments on the caste-system prevalent in India by referring the social
status of the Poojaree. Anderson literally takes the reader on the jungle
safari in this chapter. With the Poojaree he starts his journey from the
bank of the Cauvery River to a peak called Ponachimalai through the
jungle. He records his observations with minute details. He comments
on the animal world he comes across his trekking through the forest.
He refers to the hyenas, jackals, the sloth bear, a sambar, a herd of
spotted deer. All these wild animals and their movements are recorded
by him. He also records small and large birds in the jungle with their
peculiarities. He is more particular about a sambar that he saw. He
describes movements of an old sambar and comments on the natural
inquisitiveness among the deer and antelope families. He also states
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that because of the same habit thousands of them are slaughtered each
year by experienced poachers. He describes the behaviors of the excited
member of the band of languor monkeys. He informs about the plants,
large trees in the jungle. He says that the jungle is filled with all
manner of herbs and plants whose leaves, stems, flowers and even roots
are useful for the medical treatment of human beings.
The chapter ends with description of a touching scene that he
witnessed, on that occasion. On the background of utter peaceful and
beautiful scene he observed an incident beneath a large bush. He
records that first the fawn was killed by the panther and then mother
deer rushed forward to save her fawn. But the panther left the little
carcass and killed the mother too.
Anderson narrates this incident with minute details and his skill
of narration makes it alive. After narrating this incident he comments
on the laws of the jungle. His friend, John who also witnessed the
same, raised his rifle to shoot the panther out of mercy for the fawn and
the deer. But Anderson prevented him saying.
“Don’t shoot, John! It’s the law of the jungle. The panther
has killed for food, not wantonly”(16).
Thus Anderson passes very serious message at the end of this
chapter. He is ardent conservationist who wants to preserve wild life
and nature.

“The Bellundur Ogre”

This is Anderson’s one of the most exciting and thrilling stories of
man-eaters. The story is full of melodramatic incidents that leads to
shooting of not one but two tigers. Also there is an outstanding
character portrayal of the magician of Bellundur.
The setting of the story is a hamlet named Bellundur in the
district of Shimoga in Mysore State. Anderson mentions that this part
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of Mysore had been the home of numerous tigers for many centuries.
But they seldom harmed humans unless they were wounded. The dense
jungles of the area, well watered by heavy mansoon rains attracted
tigers to inhabit it. ‘The Bellundur Ogre’ was one such a tiger.
Anderson here provides background of this tiger. Anderson narrates
the growth and career of this tiger exactly in the manner of individual
character. He analyses perfectly why this inoffensive and ordinary tiger
changed his diet from the wild deer and pig to herds of cattle to trouble
the villagers. It was because of the government’s programmes of cattle-
rearing that affected the number of wild deer and pigs in the forest.
Anderson appreciates patience of the Indian villagers. When the Ogre
killed and ate many herds of cattle, the villagers decided to set a trap,
catch it and kill it. Anderson gives vivid account of their unsuccessful
attempt to trap the Ogre. Then he narrates the efforts of a railway
officer Mr. Johnson to shoot the same tiger.
The important character of the magician appears now in the
story. Anderson refers him as old Buddiah, the magician presented
himself before him, offering his services to succeed in shooting the
tiger. The magician wanted to impress his fellow villagers with his
greatness by showing them that even a white man had to come to him
for help. But Mr. Johnson insulted and threatened the magician. Then
magician stalked away in fury and even the villagers felt insulted and
decided not to co-operate him. However he continued his efforts and sat
on a machan. He succeeded only in wounding the tiger, which got away.
Here, Anderson reiterates his theory of a man-eater. He
comments,
“The familiar pattern had appeared once more: an innocent
tiger had been turned into a man-eater through being
wounded and left to fend for itself”(27)..
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The menace of the Bellundur Ogre began in Bellundur and

neighboring Tagarthy village. It roamed everywhere and a man was not
safe even in a locked room. Anderson’s old friend, Doctor Stanley, the
medical officer of Tagarthy village, wrote a long letter to him and
related the story of the Ogre, inviting him to shoot the Ogre. Anderson
decided to help Mr. Stanley. At first he met the magician who asked
him to perform his ceremony. He satisfied the magician by giving
money to recite the mantra. Anderson humorously says that with the
end of mantra the tiger’s doom was sealed!
Anderson narrates in detail about their expedition. First they
tied baits for the tiger, but on the third day they received information
about the man-eater’s attack and killing of the villager. Anderson and
Stanley started stalking the Ogre. They were very close to the man-
eater and he began to growl and its protest grew to hideous volume.
Anderson makes a very significant statement here on the behavior of
wild creatures in the jungle. He writes,
“There are no fixed rules in the jungle and no two animals
are alike. Like us they are individuals; they react
differently under different circumstances and unexpected
often occurs.” (33).
Thus he comments on the animal nature and uncertanity that
prevails in the jungle.
Anderson describes a very strange situation when they were
after the man-eater. Anderson was behind Stanley and the distance
between them was just forty yards and tiger was somewhere in
between. Despite their considerable hunting experience, Stanley and
Anderson himself had narrowly escaped shooting each other; both had
fired at point-blank range. Anderson has narrated his shocking
experiences during this expedition. Stanley made a plan to dig a
narrow hole just where the human remains were scattered. Anderson
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had to sit in the side hole made by Mr. Stanley. This ‘sitting-in-the –
hole’ idea was horrible experience for him. At mid-night he confronted a
terrifying sight. The Ogre approached near that spot and Anderson
found it too difficult to shoot him in that position. Just then another
tiger appeared there. The other tiger identified him and the fight
between the two tigers started. Anderson remained motionless in the
hole and tigers left that place. But another drama occurred in the
nearby hut. The man-eater killed a woman inside the cottage but could
not drag her away as her husband and others resisted. Then Stanley
and Anderson made a fresh plan to shoot the Ogre near the hut where
he had killed that woman on the previous night. Both of them took
‘their’ respective positions and the Ogre appeared near the hut.
Anderson had very close encounter with the man-eater. He shot the
Ogre and came out but he saw another tiger, almost at point-blank
range. The man-eater turned out to be a tigress and the other animal
was her mate. The magician and the villagers celebrated the victory.
Anderson gives truthful account of each incident in the story. He
has exposed his own state of mind while narrating the incident of
stalking the Ogre with Stanley. At every moment he faced dilemma and
he had to take instant decisions every time. He has also commented on
the necessary skills required for the hunter to undertake such an
expedition. The map of the location provided by Anderson enables the
reader to understand action of the story.

“The Aristocrat of Amligola”

The Aristocrat of Amligola is the story of the largest tiger shot by
Anderson. Throughout the story Anderson calls him with the name
‘Gowndnorai’ which means in the kannada tongue ‘an aristocrat’. In the
beginning of the story, therefore, Anderson makes it clear that this
story really concerns a very large tiger that had characteristics far from
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being noble. This particular tiger came from a place named Amligola
situated in the remoter jungles of the district of Shimoga in then
Mysore state. People called him ‘Gowndnorai’ because of his unexpected
behavior at the time he first appeared in the thick forests surrounding
Amligola.
Anderson has discussed the possible reasons for the migration of
this large tiger from the Karadibetta Tiger sanctuary. He peeps into
tigers mind and states that,
“he felt it was time to shift to more select jungles, where
there were fewer of its species to more game for him to
hunt.”(63).
Then Anderson explains the climatic changes that forced the deer
and other wild animals of the forest to migrate. The southwest
monsoon failed one year and the jungle became dry so the wild
creatures that fed on the grass were compelled to move away in other
areas. So this tiger started feeding on the herds of cattle from the
villages. On each occasion his prey was a long, large bull or a fat cow.
This tiger spent a long time in reconnoitering and selecting his victim,
he always picked the biggest animal he could find, proportionate to his
own colossal size.
Anderson happened to visit regularly the Tagarthy forest, which
was his favorite haunt. He heard repeatedly stories about the
extraordinary size of this tiger and became curious to see him. With
this intention he went to the forest and was caught in very strange
situation. He encountered the tiger of colossal proportions who came
very close to him. In fact the tiger approached in his direction and
Anderson was very frightened. But then he discovered the reason for
the tiger’s strange behavior. The tiger was actually chasing a tigress
that was behind him. Anderson narrates this thrilling experience in
detail and then comments on the behavior of tigers in the mating
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season. He says that tigers can be very dangerous if encountered in the

mating-season in company with their newly-found spouses.
Anderson reached Amligola and spent night with his friend, the
headman, Ramiah. They heard loud roaring and growling from the
forest and it was clear that the tigers had begun their mating in right
earnest. The next day he went to the forest for investigation and again
faced a very grave situation. The tigress called her mate when she saw
Anderson nearby. The tigress approached there and Anderson climbed
on a tree. The situation was very dangerous for him as the tiger came
right under his tree, looked at him but to his surprise the tiger went
away from him. Anderson describes this thrilling event with
photographic details. The horror of colossal tiger disappeared from his
mind and therefore he says that the Gowndnorai had behaved like a
gentleman. He expresses his gratitude for him,
“I really owe the Gowndnorai and his mate a debt for
sparing my life”(75).
Anderson returned his home after that incident. From his own
experience of the tiger’s behavior he made up his mind that this tiger
will not become a man-eater. However, after few days he received a
letter from Ramiah informing him that the big tiger was growing
overbold and begging him to come to Amligola and shoot the tiger.
Anderson refused to go and expressed his opinion
“I oppose hunting tigers that have not molested man, and I
was not going to accept the headman’s fear of something
that had not yet happened; the Gowndnorai might never
become a man-eater and I had certainly no justification for
shooting an animal that had spared my life on two
occasions.” (75).
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Anderson’s reaction clearly shows that he disapproves wanton

killing and his faith in the tiger who behaved with him like a
gentleman.
But then Ramiah borrowed a gun to shoot the tiger and wounded
him seriously. The wounded Gowndnorai started killing human beings.
Anderson hurried to that place to relieve the tiger from pains but his
first visit proved useless. From his observation he established two facts
about the tiger. First he was not totally blinded by Ramiah’s shot and
he was likely to prove more cunning, elusive and cowardly. Here was a
man-eater at the beginning of his dreadful career. Anderson has very
rationally analyzed behavior of carnivores and particularly how they
learn by instinct to approach deer and such creatures downwind, for
the currents of air would betray their presence and their quarry would
escape. He also states that once a tiger has tasted human flesh, it
rarely abandons this habit.
Ramiah again called Anderson to deal with the Gowndnorai
because he had turned into a dangerous and elusive brute. He rushed
there and built a machan near his latest human kill. Finally he shot
the Gowndnorai, the largest tiger whom he called ‘The Aristocrat of
Amligola’!

“The Assassin of Diguvametta”

In this story Anderson writes more about his personal life. He
makes an attempt to satisfy his friends and many other people who
asked him why he do not leave India and go to England, Australia or
Canada. He justifies his decision to live in this country and expresses
his intense love of India. He has also exposed here the functioning of
the Government officers, especially the forest officers!
The setting of the story is the forests between Chelama and
Diguvametta in the state of Andhra Pradesh. Anderson presents
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topography of that region. His love of nature is expressed here. He

admires picturesque scenery of that area and also mentions that these
forests were stocked with game and carnivore. He loved that part of the
forested area because it provided him utter peace and solitude and the
friendship with wild Chenchu tribesmen who inhabit the extensive
jungles. Anderson provides details of wild life prevailed in those forests.
He mentions about the absence of the elephants and bison’s and
presence of nilgai or blue-bull antelope species in that jungle.
Anderson gives account of his visit to Diguvametta and his stay
at the forest bungalow whose caretaker was his old friend Aleem Khan.
It was Aleem Khan who informed him about a panther that proved
troublesome in future. The panther dragged away his dog from the
forest bungalow. Anderson here writes about his love of India, where he
preferred to stay instead of any other western country. He has told
about his attractions in the country. The dense forests, the utter
solitude of a jungle with fifty miles from his home, the varied languages
and dialects of the towns, tribesmen are all the sources of his
attraction. His discussion is philosophic, he ponders on life and death
and meaning of life. At the end he confesses
“My friends cannot understand when I tell them that these
things are the reasons why I love India, why I do not think
I shall ever leave it.”(92).
His confession shows that he is deeply rooted in the Indian soil
and he will never think to leave it though an Anglo-Indian.
Then he continues his account of his stay at Diguvametta forest
bungalow where he meets the district forest officer, (D.F.O.) His
meeting with D.F.O. is very interesting, he passes political comment
and expresses his dislike of the government officers. The D.F.O. knew
nothing about the jungle fauna. Anderson also narrates how he
purchased a small plot of land from Ranga Reddy at Diguvametta to
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get rid over the government officers in occupying forest bungalows. He

mentions that he purchased many parcels of land in so many jungles
after he suffered in many forest bungalows, because of the government
officers.
The D.F.O. invited him to shoot the panther but Anderson failed
to shoot it. Then he returned to Bangalore. After four months Anderson
received a letter from Aleem, reporting that the panther had killed a
railway ganger between the long bridge and the water-column. Then
next letter came about a month later reporting another human kill by
the panther. Then he received the telegram from Aleem informing him
that Panther had killed his sister’s child. Anderson rushed to
Diguvametta and came to know about that incident. He learns that the
panther dragged the girl from a little grave under a stone slab
‘mischief.’ Anderson narrates the story of the British forest officer and
his little dog named ‘mischief’. Anderson decided to sit on the
tombstone at night to wait for the panther but it did not turn on that
night. Then he received information that the Chenchu tribesman was
killed by the panther on the same night. So he made another plan with
Aleem. Both of them would hide somewhere on the hillside above the
mouth of the railway tunnel.
The final encounter with the panther was horrible experience for
Anderson and he has described it vividly. The panther attacked on
them from behind and there was face to face fight between them.
Anderson fired into the face of the panther at point-blank range, and it
fell with a loud thud upon the railway track below. Anderson mentions
that the driver of the midnight train was amazed at the sight and he
will remember the sight long after his retirement from service. Thus
the story has very exciting end!
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“Tales of the Supernatural”

In his other books also, Anderson has written about the
supernatural experiences. ‘The call of the Man-Eater’ and ‘Tiger Roars’
contains his curious experiences in the jungles and the common beliefs
on the occult. Anderson in the beginning of the passage refers to the
fact that the occult is always associated with hunting experiences and
forest lore. Therefore many people have asked him about his occult
experiences during the years he had spent in the jungles. He expresses
his opinion on this matter,
“other hunters, far more experienced than I am, have
related some interesting happenings of this sort and we
have little reason to doubt them. I have had a few curious
experiences myself and have told them already, like that of
the dead watchman of the kalhatti forest bungalow.”(118).
He also mention the case of Captain Neide, who removed an old
lamp from an ancient temple and the consequences of it as narrated in
his book Tiger Roars. Anderson states that his intention in writing this
chapter is only to record some of the beliefs of the people of south India.
He briefly comments on the common beliefs of evil spirits that exist in
man and woman. The female evil is referred as a ‘minnispuram’ in
Tamil language and a ‘Yakshi’ in Malayalam language. Female spirits
are regarded as highly dangerous to humans. It can adopt any shape or
form, animal or human to victimize humans. Then he writes about
belief in vampirism and shows how it functions. He compares the
Indian vampire with the European counterparts. He provides few
examples, particularly an example of a Jewish family that come to
Bangalore from Rangoon.
Anderson comments on the truth of the black magic. He narrates
his own case. He gives details of his meeting with a seer living in
Bangalore. He tells the reader how he himself became a member of the
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brotherhood of the silver Armlet due to his friendship with a black

magician, a necromancer. Anderson has also discussed in detail on
miracles performed by holy men in India. He gives example of small
genii known as ‘kutty shaitan’ the word that is curious combination of
Tamil, Malayalam, Hindi and Urdu which means ‘small devil.’
Anderson narrates his friend’s experience with two Egyptian brothers,
namely, Mohammed Bay and Ali Bay. His good friend, a retired army
doctor become friendly with Mohammed Bay, the black magician. The
doctor witnessed the horrible event of the Egyptian black magician’s
meeting with several spirits in grotesque forms, resembling strange
animals. This account of horrible fight between an Egyptian and evil
spirits is really blood curdling.
Anderson records his general observations here. He mentions
that many Indian families believe that they are guarded by what they
call deities. They are thought to be superior spiritual beings. He writes
about the concept of ‘Amavasa’ night, and states that
“Belief in the existence of spirits and in the occult has
found its way into all religions in India.”(134).
He writes about the beliefs and practices of many Christian
converts in India. He observes that superstition and belief and fear of
unknown are rife in all walks of life in all communities and all
religions. He also tells about how a live fresh-water turtle is sacrificed
on account of superstitious belief. This passage ends with an account of
Anderson’s mysterious encounter with the supernatural at
Sampigehalli. That was his favorite haunt once and he had many
friends in that village. His village friends wrote to him to come to their
aid. The man-eater took away two men from their village. When he
reached Sampigehalli he came to know that the tiger lives in the well
near the old temple. He spent night on the parapet of the old temple
and had strange, mysterious and mystic experience there. He saw the
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tiger coming out of the well but also saw something incredible! He
writes about it,
“There was no mistaking that I saw something, but it had
no real form or shape: a small cloud of what seemed to be
dark smoke came out of the well.”(146).
When he narrated his strange experience of that night to the
villagers they were not surprised. In fact his friend revealed him the
myth related to that mysterious well. Anderson decided to spend one
more night there for investigation. He returned back from his way on
the next day. He writes,
“In fact everybody smiled at my return till I told them that
this time I had not come to hunt a tiger but a ghost- The
evil spirit who lived down the well at the old temple.”(152).
Surprisingly he had similar experience of the ghost in the well on
the second night. Once again he felt unutterably tired, forlorn,
depressed and altogether without hope! Thus the chapter ends with an
account of Anderson’s own mystic and mysterious experience of the
supernatural at the village, Sampigehalli.

“The Strange Case of the Gerhetti Leopard”

This is a story of the strange animal that wandered in the nearby
forest of a tiny village Gerhetti. It is in southerly direction from
Anchetty to Pennagram forest track in Salem district of then Madras
state. Anderson frequently visited the Gerhetti Forest Lodge and
wandered into the forests. Anderson deliberately mentions about the
animosity of the District forest officer (D.F.O.) with him. The D.F.O.
disapproved his wandering about the forest of Gerhetti and created
many problems for him. Anderson here takes an opportunity to
comment on the nature of Indian citizens and the legal system in India.
He says,
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“But ask anyone who has lived in India he will agree with
me that rules are made only to be broken”(160).
Everyone breaks them and enjoys the process. Then he narrates
in detail how the D.F.O. put the charge of theft in the forest lodge with
the help of its caretaker. However his lawyer sent a notice to the D.F.O.
for defamation claiming a fabulous sum as damage. Anderson camped
at Gerhetti for the full week.
Anderson is seriously concerned about his readers and therefore
he expresses his regret for the digression in the story before
concentrating on the story of the man-eating panther. He says, “You
must forgive me for this digression, but my excuse is the need to let you
know that even in the jungles we have our problems.”(164).
The leopard in this story was an animal of an average size and
began its depredations by stealing fowls from the huts of woodcutters,
then he turned to the sheep. Anderson saw this animal number of
times during his stay at Gerhetti. Anderson refers to another village
Jungalpalayam which is on the track between Gerhetti and
Natrapalayam. He depicts social life in the village. He calls it as the
‘happy village’ because villagers were always contended and laughing
despite lack of facilities like medical centre, school, places of
amusement. Anderson admires the villagers and describes their routine
activities, including the most popular game ‘kabbaddee’ or
‘goddoogoddoo’ played by the villagers. He gives details of this game.
Then Anderson refers to the dreaded epidemic of cholera that
spread far and wide in that area. A few people died in that remote
village by this infectious disease and the villagers threw the dead
bodies into the jungle instead of burying or burning them. The panther
might had eaten the corpses and then started killing people in the
vicinity. Anderson gives account of each of his victim. He also states the
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difference between the panthers and tigers to analyze the behavior of

this strange leopard.
But the villagers of Gerhetti were not suspicious about the same
panther because most of the people in that area had seen the harmless
panther. A few people even said that the panther was mad, having
eaten of the cholera corpses. The man-eaters were practically unknown
in that region.
Anderson’s tenant at Anchetty, Narayan brought him the news of
man-eater panther with a request from the Patel to come and shoot the
panther. When Anderson reached Gerhetti, the panther claimed his
fourth victim. He was the son of the bungalow-watcher. He was killed
by the panther in the early hours of the morning near the garage in the
bungalow. Anderson took review of the situation and the place where
the remains of the dead were lying. He made a plan to hide in the
garage at night and when the panther would come to eat he would
shoot him. Anderson here describes movements of the vultures near the
dead body in the evening. As the darkness spread, he became panic
with the thought of the man-eater. He waited patiently for few hours,
but the sense of danger remained and became very real. The man-eater
was close by!
Anderson here comments on the sixth sense that warns the
hunter of incoming danger in the jungle. He writes,
“That strange sixth sense that I have felt in times of
extreme peril, and was to save my life so many times
thereafter, telling me as if in spoken words that the
leopard was about to attack.”(182).
Anderson moved backward instantly and pressed the switch of
the torch, the man-eater launched its attack on him and he shot the
man-eater with his gun. His bullet hit its mark by sheer luck and killed
the leopard in mid-air. Thus it was thrilling encounter with the strange
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man-eater. Anderson describes the final scene of action with

photographic details to make it alive for the readers.

“The Lakkavalli Man-Eater”

Anderson refers to the township of Tarikere in the western part
of Mysore state and says that one can hear many stories from the
villagers at a distance of not more than four or five miles from the town
about the depredations of tigers. Anderson makes his reader familiar
with the topography of the region near the hamlet of Santaveri and the
area known as Laulbagh. One road from Tarikere passes the eastern
and northeastern slopes of mountains known as Baba Budans. The two
hamlets named Lakkavalli and Umblebyle are on the road to
Bhadravati town. Anderson records the movements of tigers that cross
Baba Budan mountains into the vicinity of the hamlet Santaveri and
Laulbagh. Santaveri is at the height of 4,500 feet above the sea level,
which is a rocky, wild and thickly forested region.
Anderson happened to visit these places because his old friend,
Dick Bird was the postmaster at Santaveri. Dick Bird was one of the
most famous tiger-hunters in the district. Dick always called Anderson
with the name ‘Jock’. Anderson relates this information with his other
nickname and also tells that during his schooldays he was known by
the name ‘Snake Charmer!’
So it was Dick who told him about the huge tiger who was cattle-
lifter. This huge and bold tiger had peculiar habit of lifting the cattle
bodily instead of dragging it. The tiger was reported to carry off its
victims across its back into the jungles of the ‘Laulbagh.’ Dick
requested Anderson to shoot the animal but he refused to do so as it
was not the man-eater! Anderson after that incident returned to
Bangalore and forgot all about that tiger.
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After some months an unknown gentleman met him by chance at

the stamp vendor’s booth in Bangalore. He introduced himself as
Venkatasubbarao, the Assistant Chief Engineer working on the
Lakkavalli Dam Project. He earnestly begged Anderson to return with
him to Lakkavalli to try to rid the village of the menace of the man-
eater. The work of the dam project was also stopped on account of the
man-eater’s threat. He agreed to go with him on the same day and he
also received a letter from his old friend Dick Bird requesting him to
come urgently to kill the tiger that has turned man-eater and carried
off his postman the day before.
So Anderson started his journey to Lakkavalli with his new
friend Venkat, at night. When they were at a place named
Bagavadkatte they saw a magnificent tiger at a bridge on the stream.
Venkat wanted to shoot it but Anderson refused because he knew that
the animal was not a man-eater. So here, his approach towards
shooting of a tiger becomes clear as he explains his new friend that all
tigers are not man-eaters. He writes,
“I explained to him at some length that all tigers are not
man-eaters that we were outside the man-eater’s ‘limit of
beat’ at the moment. …… more over, it was against rules
to shoot tigers on the roadside with the aid of a spotlight,
and unsporting besides.” (195).
The next morning it became clear that the tiger that had crossed
their road was not man-eater because the real man-eater had killed
another person at Lakkavalli.
Anderson collected all information about the man-eater and
concluded that the man-eater had carried its victim westward and it
was living in the Laulbagh Forest Block. He met forest officers to
enquire about hiding place or cave of the tiger in that forest. It turned
out an ancient temple, almost in ruins in the Lauldagh forest. He,
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therefore along with Venkat and the forest officers went to the temple
in search of man-eater. Anderson describes their adventure which
ended in despair. So the Munneswara temple was not the man-eater’s
hiding place. Then by an accident they received information from the
outcaste Lambadi that the tiger lives under an overhanging ridge of
rock beyond the Munneswara Temple. So he began his another
adventure in search of the tiger. He was accompanied by the Lambadi,
he crept forward on tiptoe as cautiously as possible but the tiger saw
him and charged with shattering roars of ‘Wroof! Wroof!’ Anderson
leaped quickly aside and fired twice into the tigers head. Then he fired
two more shots at the man-eater, because “A dying tiger can in fact do
you an awful lot of harm.”( 205). At the end of the story he expresses his
satisfaction for accomplishment of his mission, well within time. He
recreates this incident of the man-eater’s attack vividly.
Thus this short story of hunting the man-eater reveals many
facets of Anderson’s personality. He even treats his readers like friends!
One incident in this story expresses his environmentalist’s attitude
towards the wild animals.

“What the Thunderstorm Brought”

This is the last passage in this book. It records Anderson’s visit to
the jungle with his family to celebrate his son’s success in the shooting
competition. He states that they both love the jungle. They feel at home
in the jungle and find peace there. He also states their intention of this
visit to the jungle. They were interested in photographing tigers at
night and not shooting them. He has purposely not mentioned the
name of the jungle that they visited, for protecting the remaining tigers
in that jungle. He writes,
 224

“I will not tell you to which jungle we went because it is

one of the very few places remaining in Southern India
where tigers are to be found.” (207).
This shows that Anderson is deeply concerned with decreasing
tiger population in the country. He also says that tigers, panthers and
bears are becoming very scarce in Southern India. Anderson has
discussed about all those factors that are responsible for the
destruction of wild animals in the Indian jungles. He blames the
foreigners, the Indian poacher, the deadly insecticides for that. He tells
of the disastrous results of insecticides on tigers, panthers, hyenas,
jackals and even vultures. Thus Anderson is an ardant ecologist who
thinks constantly for the purpose of protection of the wild life
protection in the country. Then he narrates his visit to the ‘Tiger land.’
He records activities of all those wild animals which he saw there. He
says that this particular jungle was still a veritable paradise for game
and he saw large herds of spotted deer, sambhar, nilgai.
Showers of rain and the thunderstorm spoiled their programme
of filming a tiger in the jungle. But then they faced very dangerous
situation when the elephant tried to pull Donald out of the machan.
Anderson gives thrilling account of this incident. Finally they escaped
from the danger when the elephant left that place. Anderson comments
on the uncertain behavior of the elephant. He says,
“Elephants are individuals after all and this one could
change his mind and return.”(227).
Anderson records their stay for few more days in the ‘tiger-land.’
He describes all those birds and animals he saw there. He concludes his
account of their trip to the jungle by expressing his feelings of
satisfaction. He writes,
“We left ‘tiger-land’ that afternoon, disappointed but richer in
experience for our little adventure with the elephant.”(229) Thus he
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confirms that the jungle is constant source of joy and knowledge for
him.

(5) Man-Eaters And Jungle Killers

Man-Eaters And Jungle Killers published in 1957, is Anderson’s
well-known book. It consists of stirring tales of wild animals and
hunting adventures of Anderson in the southern Indian jungles. On
many occasions he was called upon to rid the affected locality of the
prowling man-eaters. With his excellent narrative skill he proves
himself a master story-teller.
The introduction of this book is very noteworthy because
Anderson expresses his views on various matters of the forest ecology
and conservation and also on the present environmental crisis. He
criticizes human civilization for bringing industrialization, higher
standards of living, greater amenities and comforts by neglecting
appreciation of Nature. He says in disgust, “Her (Nature) face has been
scarred and furrowed by man-made projects and constructions. He
vehemently criticizes deforestation caused by man for the sake of the
timber for the constant expansion of a mechanical culture. He mentions
that the wild animals, the birds and all the living creatures that once
beautified our lands are all disappearing rapidly now. He gives an
example of the American prairies that was once the home of countless
bison and now they are in extinction. He also relates the example of
Africa where money-making hunters slay thousands of elephants.
Anderson then comments on the decreasing variety and number
of wild animals in the Indian jungles. He says that until 1930, calls of
the tiger and the panther followed by warning calls of the deer family
could be easily heard in the jungles. But now the night passes without
a sound. Once the pug-marks of a tiger and other wild animal trails
were easily seen in the morning but now tracks of a few rabbits are
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visible. Thus the wild life is disappearing from the jungles. According to
Anderson this is irreparable loss. He says further,
“one cannot doubt that the time will come when even the
few living creatures that today remain in their natural
state will have vanished, and man may then, and only
then, realize too late what a priceless asset he has
wantonly allowed to be thrown away.” (Anderson ‘Man-Eaters and

Jungle killers”, 234).

Thus Anderson warns that it is a high time to save the wild life
in India. He appeals to the readers to become very active for this cause.
At the end of the introduction he reveals his intention of writing jungle
stories. He explains that his writing gives pleasure to the adventurous
people but also gives knowledge of the conditions of living, in and near
the great forests of India in the past and also how the fine sport of
‘shikar’ is in the process of vanishing forever. Anderson thus writes his
shikar stories with very serious intention and deep concern for the wild
life in India.

“The Marauder of Kempekarai”

“The Marauder of Kempekarai” is an interesting story of the
man-eater. Kempekarai is a small hamlet standing on the lower slopes
of the western range. Around it lie a few fields and beyond that the
forest of dense bamboo, intersected by a stream that flows down the
valley. Anderson is very particular about presenting the topography of
the area where all the incidents in his story occurs. He therefore says,
“… you will have in your mind’s eye the background of my story”(236).
Kempekarai is in the North Salem district of the presidency of Madras
in southern India. The valley where it is set, is described by Anderson
as ‘The Spider Valley’ in his other book entitled, Jungles Long Ago.
Anderson’s old jungle friend Byra undertook the hazardous journey and
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reached Bangalore immediately after his son-in-law, Mara was killed

by the man-eater. Byra was accompanied by Ranga his old
acquaintance. Byra related the brief history of the coming and doings of
the man-eater at kempekarai. He insisted that his son-in-law, Mara
must be avenged by Anderson. So Anderson went to kempekarai and
started his operation with Byra and Ranga. Anderson here discusses
few interesting facts of hunting the tiger with the help of a live-bait. He
writes about certain opinions regarding the colour of a live bait among
the hunters. He also provides information that the Badaga tribe who
inhabit the Nilgiri mountains are very averse to selling healthy
animals for bait. He comments on some aspects of the technique of tiger
and panther shooting along with the popular notion of ‘good luck’ of
certain shikaris, or big-game hunter.
Byra and Ranga fixed the canvas camp-chair machan above the
partly eaten brown bullock, and then things began to happen quickly.
Anderson faced very gruesome experience on that night. The tiger
appeared directly beneath him, with a snarling growl and began at
once to claw its way up the tree trunk. Anderson lost his balance by
this sudden and surprise attack and could not fired, on the other hand
the tiger’s forepaw claws penetrated in the seat of his pant, and
wounded him. Then he derived a very ingenious plan to shoot the tiger.
It consisted of digging a pit in the stream-bed, getting inside it and
placing the cart wheel above and anchor it. He also decided to put a
human dummy on the foot path near the stream to attract the tiger.
Anderson narrates another stirring adventure in this story. He records
movements of the bear who approached near the dummy before the
arrival of the tiger. He pressed the trigger of his rifle when the tiger
came. The deafening explosion was followed by hideous roars of the
tiger for fifteen minutes and the he staggered away into the jungle. But
the real danger approached in the form of torrential rain. He suddenly
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realized that the stream which had been dry would be soon be flowing
with the spate of rain-water. Anderson describes his struggle to come
out of his hiding place. He expresses his feelings of relief,
“Thankfully appreciating the escape I had had I began the
return journey to kempekarai. No other sound could
possibly be heard above the splatter and swish of the
rain.”(266).
He stayed there for three more days, combed the forest but there
was no news of the tiger. So he returned to Bangalore disappointedly.
After ten days he received the telegram that a tiger had attacked the
driver of a bullock-cart. Again he went to kempekarai in the ‘Spider
Valley’. This time he laid on the rock for night. At eleven ‘o’ clock he
sensed a movement nearby. Then instantly he realized that it was the
tiger crawling towards him on his belly, silently to make his final,
murderous assault. Here he reveals his state of mind to the readers.
“Perspiration poured down my face and neck; I trembled
with terror and excitement”.(270)
He offered a silent prayer to god and raised the rifle to his
shoulder and fired three bullets to end the career of the man-eater.
Next morning he examined the carcass of the tiger for investigation.
Anderson raises the question at the end of the story. This is the
riddle that every hunter tries to solve when he kills a man-eater. “what
had made this tiger a man-eater?” Anderson mentions that this
question is important not only for the hunter but also for the education
of the general public. Because always it is the human race itself that
causes a tiger to become a man-eater. He found that old bullet wound
in the right leg of the tiger had forced him to turn to human being as
food, in order to keep himself from starving.
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“Alam Bux and the big Black Bear”

“Alam Bux and the big Black Bear” is a story of a sloth bear.
Anderson quotes,
“All bears, as I have had occasion to remark in other
stories, are excitable, unreliable and bad tempered
animals.” (Anderson- 273).
He says further that natives give bears a wide birth, together
with the elephant, they command the greatest respect of the jungle-
dwelling folk. The particular bear in the story was a big, black and bad
bear for his unwarranted and exceptionally bad temper and
aggressiveness. There were many stories about him. Some people
believed that the bear had been robbed of her cubs and had sworn a
vendetta against the human race. The most fantastic of the stories was
that this bear had kidnapped an Indian girl as a mate and then the
whole village had turned out to rescue that girl, then the bear started
attacking human beings in retaliation. According to Anderson the bear
had been wounded at some time by some human being. But the most
common interpretation was that he was quite mad!
Anderson gives account of the changes that occurred in the
behaviour of this bear. This bear originally lived in the Nagvara Hills,
which lie to the east of the large town of Arsikere, some 105 miles
northwest of Bangalore. After his earlier offences he lost his fear of
mankind and grew bolder and migrated to the plains. Anderson had
been hearing occasional stories of this animal for about a year, but he
had not paid much attention to it. He gives reason for that,
“…., as I felt that, like nearly all the stories one hears in
India of maulings and killings by wild animals, they were
greatly exaggerated.” (275).
Here, he criticizes in general the attitude of Indians to
exaggerate misdeeds of wild animals.
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It was only because of his old friend, Alam Bux, Anderson started
his expedition to shoot this bear. He records his friendship with Alam
Bux who was the guardian of a Mohammedan shrine situated on the
main road from Arsikere to Shimoga. This particular bear travelled in
that area and settled there. Anderson depicts routine life of the bear at
that place. Then one day the bear attacked on Alam’s son and killed
him. Alam Bux sent a post card to Anderson to convey the sad story of
his son expecting that he will come to avenge his son. So Anderson
reached Arsikere without delay and began his operation to shoot the
bear. He searched that animal for day and night. Here Anderson
records all those animals he encountered during his night trail. He
even searched for the bear in his cave. But he could not see that animal
during his stay there. Then he left for Bangalore. For one month he
heard nothing about the bear. The District forest officers of
Chikmagalur wrote to him, asking him to come and shoot the bear,
which was now active in the jungle near the small town of Sakrepatna,
twenty miles from Arsikere.
Anderson concluded that it was the same bear that had been the
cause of the death of Alam Bux’s son. He arrived at Sakrepatna with
the D.F.O. and the forest department people. They received information
of the bear’s attack on the herdsman, Thimma from his brother.
Anderson went to that spot where the bear made assault. He walked
nearly six miles into jungle at the foot of the hill that was densely
covered with scrub and clumps of bamboo. He advanced deeper and
deeper into the scrub all alone. Then he heard a faint moan and after a
couple of hundred yards found, Thimma, lying at foot of a tree in a
puddle of his own blood. His situation was very critical and Anderson
realized that he would die by morning. So he decided to carry him on
his shoulder. He managed to lift him and started return journey
however he collapsed on the rock with Thimma and his ankle had
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sprained. Now he himself was unable to walk, and there was no

alternative but to spend the night with the dying man. It was very
horrible experience for him. Therefore, he says, “I never wish to
experience again so terrible a journey.”(285) Thimma died and he sat
beside him till daylight came. The forest department people and
villagers came in the afternoon near the scene. They took him to the
Sakrepatna forest bunglow first and then to Chikmagalur local
hospital. Anderson has depicted all these incidents very vividly. His
humanitarian approach and outstanding courage is revealed through
all these incidents. It took one week for him to recover from swollen
ankle. But he was now determined to shoot the bear. He says,
“I was determined that I would get him at any cost, just as
soon as I could walk.” (286).
Four days later he went back to Sakrepatna and shot the bear.
At the end of the story Anderson comments on the nature of bears. He
says that bears as a rule are excitable but generally harmless creatures
but this particular bear was an excepation. He had become the wanton
and deliberate murderer of several men.

“The Mamandur Man-Eater”

Anderson has discussed apparent reasons of a female tigress
becoming a man-eater in the beginning of the story. One explanation
was that she was a grown-up cub, who had learned the evil practice of
man-killing and man-eating from her evil sire. The tigress began her
depredations near Mamandur village. This tigress developed man-
eating tendencies after her third human kill. There after she killed
three more human beings. This affected routine life in that area. All
cattle-grazing stopped as also the collection of wild honey. Then Mr.
littlewood, the District Forest Officer wrote to Anderson to rid the
affected locality of the prowling man-eater tigress. So Anderson set out
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on an adventure at Mamandur. He stayed at the forest bungblow with

the intention to collect information of the animal. Anderson vividly
presents the topography of the village Mamandur. He was familiar
with that locality and had visited it several times for he loved nature
and wild life of that jungle. He writes,
“In years gone by, when game was far more plentiful, I had
spent many a pleasant early morning or late evening,
standing on the verandah or on the plinth of the bungalow
with a pair of powerful binoculars, looking along those
forest-lines.”(293).
Thus Anderson loved beautiful forest and wild life of Mamandur.
He, therefore records variety of wild creatures he saw there, like tiger,
wild dogs, bear, sambar, spotted deer etc. Anderson here narrates his
encounter with an old bear whom he shot reluctantly. He had
witnessed a pack of eleven wild dogs ‘ringing’ an old bear. Anderson
dashed after them to save the bear from the attack of the wild dogs. He
successfully drove them away to save the bear. He was very close to
him when in true bear style, the bear rose on his hind legs to attack.
Anderson to save his own life shot the bear. But he was very upset. He
therefore, regrets his act of killing the bear. He says,
“I was sorry to have had to kill old bruin, but he brought it
on himself."(294).
His reaction reveals his attitude towards shooting of wild
creatures. Also he conveys his knowledge of the behaviour of bears to
his readers. He started his hunting operation with the help of the local
shikari Arokiaswamy. He tied the three buffaloes in the area as baits
for the tigress. Nothing happened for the next four days but on the fifth
day, seven men rushed to him informing that the tigress had killed a
railway points man. He immediately went to the forest-line that led to
the west. He crossed some distance to discover the dead body of the
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railway man in the nullah, partly eaten by the tigress. Anderson spent
that night beside the dead body waiting for the tigress to come. A very
strange incident happened on that night. Anderson has given detail
account of it for the amusement of the readers. He made a new plan to
shoot the tigress. He decided to take walk in those five forest fire-lines.
He felt that there was the definite chance of attracting the tigress. He
disguised himself in local costumes and by tying a white turban round
his head, he set out in the evening to meet the tigress. Anderson
records the risk involved in his adventure and also comments on much
debated ‘sixth sense’ ! “I should have to rely on my sense of hearing-
and that other, my sixth sense!”(304). Anderson narrates his night
trekking with minute details. He informs that there were no bisons and
elephants in the jungle. He walked twenty miles to return at the
bungalow. He failed to see the tiger, so he again started walking in
apposite direction. When he reached the railway track, suddenly he
heard the moaning call of the tigress. Then he replied her with the
deep-lunged moan of a male tiger. To his surprise, a tigress strode
down the forest-line towards him, she came abreast, then began to
pass. He shot her behind the ear and she died instantly. However
Anderson expresses his guilt, “It was an unsporting shot.” (307) For him
there was no apparent reason for her becoming a man-killer. He,
therefore, says, after all, the Chamala Man-eater had taught her the
bad habit!

“The Crossed-Tusker of Gerhetti”

“The Crossed-Tusker of Gerhetti” is a story of a ‘rogue’ elephant
who became notoriously famous in an area of about four hundred
square miles in the Salem North Forest Division. The Collector of
Salem district proscribed this animal as ‘rogue’ and the permission was
granted for the elephant to be shot by any game-license holder in the
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district. Anderson mentions that the description of this animal in the

government notification was very vague. The only feature that
appeared to identify the elephant was that the two tusks, three feet
long, met and crossed near their tips. The official notification was
received by Anderson. However he was always not willing to shoot an
elephant. He, therefore, writes,
“As a rule, I take no pleasure in elephant – shooting, as I
have a very soft corner for these big and noble
animals.”(314).
Anderson justifies his disliked for shooting of elephants. In the
beginning of the story Anderson narrates three different events related
with the cause of elephant’s molesting human beings. The rogue of
Gerhetti started his career quite suddenly and started killing human
beings. The first possible reason that made him rogue was his fight
with the other elephant, Anderson refers it as a ‘Mammoth’ struggle.
Second reason was his state of ‘musth’ and the third was that this
elephant had been wounded by one of the many poachers. Anderson
criticizes poachers and red tapism in India in this passage. According to
Anderson many of the so-called rogues are not rogues at all. The
poachers and cultivators are in the habit of firing at elephant and often
wound them in the process, when they become embittered against the
human race. In his opinion people interested in shooting of an elephant
sometimes concoct tales and urge the villagers to write exaggerated
reports to the collector. But he appreciates that the elephant is strictly
protected in India.
Anderson was not willing to shoot the Gerhetti rogue. But when
he received a letter from his shikari friend Ranga who lived in the town
of Pennagram, reporting that the elephant had killed a poojaree woman
he went to Gerhetti. He has presented topography of that region and
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has also written an anecdote of Anaibiddamaduvu, which lay about

seven miles from Gerhetti.
He started his adventure with Ranga and one forest department
person. They followed three different tracks made by the elephants in
the jungle. They covered distance of forty miles up to the confluence of
Talvadi and the Cauvery river, in three days but every time they were
disappointed. Each time they encountered an ordinary bull elephant
and trudged dejectedly back to the water hole. Then they received
information from the cartman that an elephant had crossed his track.
So they moved towards Anchetty. At 8.30 p. m. they heard the
elephant’s scream. He was moving towards the ford. After few minutes
they saw a charging bull-elephant that rushed towards them. When he
was in the fifty yards range, Anderson fired three bullets at him and
the elephant reeled, collapsed and then recovered, to continue his fight.
The next morning they followed his blood trail and found him after two
miles lying against a tree-trunk. Anderson then fired the last shot to
make him free from pains. Here, he reveals his own state of mind.
“I really pitied this poor beast, murderous killer of men
though he had been.” (329).
Anderson expresses his sympathy for the unfortunate wild
creature. He pays tribute to the ‘crossed-tusker of Gerhetti’. He writes,
“Although a killer, the ‘crossed-tusker of Gerhetti’ was a
brave fighter, and I honoured him as he lay before my still-
smoking muzzle …” (329).
This chapter is packed with all information about the elephants.

“The Sangam Panther”

“The Sangam Panther” is an account of Anderson’s short trip to a
beautifully wooded spot at the confluence of Cauvery river with the
Arkravarthy in then Mysore state. This place is known for masher
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fishing, with crocodile shooting among the sand-banks and rocks in any
direction along the river. Anderson mentions about the rich fauna that
includes spotted deer, sambar, barking deer, wild pig, bear, panther,
tiger, elephant in the jungles on the both banks of the river. Anderson
went there when the village Patel, or headman came to Bangalore with
the invitation to shoot the man-eater panther. He took two days’ casual
leave for this purpose.
Anderson, here, expresses his opinions about the status of
‘panther’ in India. From his careful study and experience, he reveals
many facts related to this species of carnivores. Although he has
devoted his book “The Black Panther of Sivanipalli” to panthers in
India, here also he provides lot of information about panthers. He
states that, “man-eating panthers are rare in southern India.” (330). He
compares the jungles of southern India with the mountainous jungles
along the foothills of the vast Himalayan range and also the western
Ghats. He says that the southern forest areas are of much smaller
extent and are surrounded by cultivation and therefore, panthers which
are found in all other jungles of southern India, have plenty to eat and
somehow do not become addicted to the bad habit of man-eating.
Therefore he says, “Therefore, when I heard that a panther had killed a
woman, and later killed and eaten a child at Sangam, I did not belive
it.”(332).
At sangam he had only three days at his disposal. He tied five
bull-calves as baits for the panther. But there was no use. On one night
a hyena approached near the bait. Anderson describes the behavior of a
hyena, compares Indian hyena with African hyena. His account of
hyena’s behavior is very interesting for the readers.
Anderson was ready to suffer to any extent for the poor people at
Sangam. Anderson’s humanitarianism is well expressed in his account
of the panther’s attack on the woman. He treated her with the available
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first-aid equipment then took her to kankanhalli hospital and after her
death brought the limp body of the girl in the back seat of his car to
Sangam. Anderson was always willing to help poor people in the
villages. He describes the terrible events that occured in the village. He
discovered few fact about the panther’s behaviour and made plans to
shoot him. First he sat in the cattle shed for one night. He describes
that horrible experience of sitting in the cattle shed. Then on the next
night he sat over the dog-shed consisting of scraps of zinc sheeting. On
the third night he heard ominous growl of the panther as he was
discovered on the roof by the panther. He instantly shot the panther
before he attacked on him. Then he examined the dead panther next
morning. He found that it was an old panther with worn canine teeth
and blunt claws and without any sign of deformity. He, therefore,
comments,
“It seemed that only old age, and the prospect of gradual
starvation through her physical incapacity to kill animals,
had caused the sangam panther to make war on the
human race…”(351).

“The Ramapuram Tiger”

“The Ramapuram Tiger” is very exciting story of the man-eater,
consisting of sensational events narrated skillfully by Anderson. All
facets of his writing skill are reflected here in this story. It has very
dramatic end and then Anderson reflects sincerely on the factors such
as providence, a guiding spirit, and intuition or a sixth sense. Thus he
becomes philosopher while relating a strange sequel to the end of the
man-eater. The story is remarkable for excellent characterization of a
Shaloga named Jeyken who was haunted with the idea of revenge for
his wife’s murder.
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Anderson came to know about this man-eater through the news

paper report. Coincidently he had planned visit to the Forest
Department office at kollegal for the renewal of his game licence. So he
went to kollegal to obtain the required shooting licence and also to rid
the affected locality of Rampuram of the man-eater. After giving brief
idea of the domain of the Ramapuram tiger, he presents the topography
of the Biligirirangan hills. The village of Ramapuram is situated about
twenty-five miles from kollegal.
Anderson describes the density of the thick forest in that area
and states that tigers normally dislike very dense vegetation. He
explains it with proper reasons why tigers dislike very dense forest.
Then he concentrates on giving details of the tiger’s career, and
narrates that unfortunate incident which made him man-eater. The
Ramapuram tiger was reported to have come from the banks of the
Cauvery river. He began his career as an ordinary cattle-lifter in the
area of coffee-estates and inhabited by sholagas. He had killed and
eaten several cattle and then one planter made a trap for him when the
tiger killed a milch-cow and dragged it into a ravine. The planter set a
trap for the tiger. The tiger returned to his kill and to his bad luck and
the future ill-fortune got his head in the trap and got himself severely
wounded. After few days he claimed his first victim, wife of a sholaga
named Jeyken. Then he became habitual man-eater. Thus Anderson
narrates tragedy of the Ramapuram tiger to his readers.
Anderson started his expedition from Forest Lodge at
Ramapuram and began his walk to Bailur. He won the confidence of
the inbhabitants of that area. He gives information of the tribal men
known as sholagas. He appreciates them as they are born jungle folk.
While giving account of his journey from Ramapuram to Bailur,
Anderson describes beauty of Nature. He is greatly attracted by the
beautiful dense valley and the myriad tree-tops. He purchased three
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young bulls for bait and employed three persons to look after them.
Jeyken, the husband of the girl who had been the man-eater’s first
victim came to Bailur to offer his help. They started looking for the
pug-marks of the man-eater. One early morning he saw the tiger’s pug-
marks near the dead bull. He found that the killer of that bait was a
tigress and not a tiger. Here, Anderson has discussed the problem of
identification of the man-eater. When he followed the drag marks he
came to the spot where he saw two tiger cubs. He records their reaction
and narrates how the tigress dashed out of the cavern. His account of
this encounter with the tigress reveals his ability to read psychology of
the tigress. He writes,
“she was telling me, in the simplest of languages: ‘Get out
quickly, and don’t harm my cubs or I will kill you.” (366).
He further states that
“I realized at that moment that she did not want to harm
me; that she was only protecting her cubs,” (366).
At the same time Anderson exposes his own state of mind. He
expresses his satisfaction for he had not been forced to shoot the
tigress. Then he started his return journey to Bailur village. He
reached near the small wild-fig tree beneath which his bait was tied. As
he started inspecting the bull, suddenly the man-eater charged! It was
quite unexpected and surprise attack of the man-eater. He says, “But I
confess that I was totally taken by surprise.”(368).
Anderson explains his own fearful condition and gives vivid
account of his combat with the ferocious tiger. He fired two bullets. His
second shot killed the bull and the bull collapsed but the tiger rolled off
the bull and bounced on him as he fired his third bullet in the tiger’s
throat. Anderson makes this dramatic climax of the story very much
alive for the readers. He also expresses his regret for shooting the bull
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during the encounter. “But I had killed the poor bull that had
unwillingly saved my life.”(369).
Anderson describes the events that followed the victory. Jeyken
behaved strangly, he started stabbing the dead tiger, thinking of his
dead wife. The villagers expressed their gratitude to Anderson. Then
Jeyken told Anderson that he had seen the man-eater day before in the
vicinity. Perhaps he was approaching along the road to kill Anderson.
This discovery makes him to reflect on ‘providence, a guiding-spirit,
intuition, or a sixth sense!’ Thus Anderson passes philosophical
comment at the end of the story.

“The Great Panther of Mudiyanoor”

This story is distinct in the sense that the narrator and
protagonist of the story is not Anderson but his son Donald. Anderson
received a letter from a man named Varghese, informing that the big
panther had killed domestic animals and the village cattle and
something had to be done urgently. He was caretaker of Moyar Valley
Ranch. At that time, Anderson was busy and had no time to go to
Mudiyanoor and therefore he decided to send Donald, his son to deal
with the panther. Donald gladly accepted this task and along with his
two friends he went to Moyar Valley Ranch. Hence it is Donald, who
relates the rest of the story himself. But the background of the story,
the topography of the region and also information about Mayar Valley
Ranch is given by Anderson himself.
Modiyanoor is a small village near the southeastern end of a
fertile valley that lies north of the Moyar river and south of the foothills
of the mountain chain known as the Biligirirangans. Anderson
describes it as ‘happy valley’ for the fertile earth, good climat and
beautiful mountain ranges. He presents the topography of that region
and mentions about the routine life of the people there.
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Anderson then tells about his friend Hughie Hailstone who was
the owner of the estate, the moyar valley Ranch. Anderson has already
given details of his friendship with Hailstone and his estate in his other
book. Actually Hailstone’s servant named Varghese informed Anderson
about the ‘great panther’ of Mudiyanoor. This panther earned that
name because he was quite outstandingly large. He began his
depredation on the village cattle and with increasing boldness started
to harry the herds of fine milch cows, belonging to Hughie Hailstone’s
estate.
Finally Donald with his friends Rustam and Cedric started their
adventure by offering live bait in the form of four half-grown bulls in
the outskirts of Mudiyanoor village and the ranch. He gives account of
their shooting of the panther and also a tiger. While shooting the
panther he committed mistake by firing at him when Cedric was close
behind. Though he had succeeded in killing the panther this story
reveals the nature of Donad Anderson and also the difference between
two generations.

“The Mauler of Rajnagara”

“The Mauler of Rajnagara” is the story of an unsuccessful hunt, a
complete failure, because it was extremely cunning and quite
extraordinary tiger. Anderson, therefore states that
“At the moment of telling this story (November 1955), the
‘mauler’ is still alive, having defeated every effort I made
to ‘bag’ him.” (386).
Thus Anderson admits his failure and accepts the fact that the
mauler had succeeded in out witting him at every encounter. He came
face to face with the tiger for at least three occasions during his stay of
seven days at Rajnagara. However he was unable to shoot the tiger,
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and also failed to know about his peculiar habit of only scratching and
not biting his victims.
Anderson mentions the distinctness of the tiger. He says that his
habits were un-tigerish. In every case of attack on human he severely
scratched the man from the crown of his head, down his face and neck
and across his chest and back. It was said that this tiger had originally
came from the Nilgiri jungles and then wandered down to the Moyar
river and took its abode in that region. It was an area of small cattle-
patties and therefore preferred that locality. Anderson presents in
detail the topography of that area. The tiger continued his attacks on
human beings for two years and claimed thirty-three victims. Anderson
received the official report from the forest authorities regarding the
man-eater and then he went to the small village of Rajnagara. But
when he reached just two kilometers before Rajanagara he met two
persons carrying another person who was wounded by the tiger.
Anderson gives an account of that incident occurred on the first day in
Rajnagara. It was fateful day for him. He sent one person with the
victim and asked the other person, named Muniappa to show him the
spot where the tiger attacked. Muniappa reluctantly agreed to come
with him to follow the tiger. Anderson encountered the tiger in the
ravine but before he took aim, the tiger had attacked on him and then
tiger suddenly lost his courage and ran away. Anderson waited for one
hour expecting tiger to come near the kill. Then he left the ravine after
the sunset. He returned back on the road but Muniappa was not there!
He searched nearby and then reached Rajnagara. He was shocked to
know that Muniappa was missing and large crowd gathered to enquire
about him. It was very grave situation for Anderson because he was
responsible for his life. The next morning he searched for him and
found his dead body. He wanted to sit up near the dead body at night
but Muniappa’s relatives apposed his idea. Anderson stalked for the
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tiger for next six days but there was no result though he encountered
him three times. On the seventh day he left the place to join his duties
in Bangalore.
His seven days in Rajnagara were full of exciting and thrilling
experiences which he has recorded with minute details. At the end of
the story he purposely states that the reader will realize that such
adventures are not always crowned with success. Failures and
disappointment are far more frequent.

(6) The Call of The Man – Eater

Anderson describes this book as a book of Adventure stories and
states his intention of writing this book in the introductions. He makes
it clear that his interest is not only to provide an account of the pursuit
of the larger wild animals but to take the readers with him on an
excursion and to introduce him to the sights, sounds and incidents to be
experienced in the jungle. He refers India and his native place as ‘the
beautiful land’. He recalls his memories of strange or amusing
incidents of those wonderful days and nights in the jungle and says
that these memories are very precious to him and he wants to recall
them.
In the introduction, he purposely mentions that he has related
some of the habits of a few lesser – known creatures in order to bring
them to the reader more intimately. He says that he is always happy
and contented in the company of his humble jungle friends. Thus he
expresses his love and sense of brotherhood with the poor tribal who
live in the jungles. Anderson takes review of the present scenario of
wild life in India. He draws reader’s attention to the vanishing jungles
and its wild life, also reminds him of India’s unique heritage and makes
an intense appeal to put an end to the wanton slaughter of wild
creatures. He expresses his disgust with the sportsman who are
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responsible for this tragedy and appeals them to use camera instead of
the rifle and gun. He says,
“for the sportsman of the future, I would strongly advocate
the camera instead of the rifle and gun.”(K. Anderson Omnibus Vol I
– The Call of the Man – Eater 406.)

He expresses his love of Nature and invites the reader to a

wonderful journey to the jungle that throbs with life. Anderson quotes
beautiful poem by Lawrence Hope and then draws attention to the calls
of the wild animals, jackal and tiger. At last he insists his reader to
come with him.
“So put your man-made cares aside and visit these
wondrous regions with me, where the jungle presides and
the laws of nature hold sway”.(407).
He quotes another poet who requests his readers to allow the
wild places speak to him in the silence of his heart and mind. Thus,
introduction of this book creates a very strong awareness about Nature
and wild life in the mind of a reader.

“The Call of The Man-Eater”

This story begins in a conversational tone. Anderson speaks with
his readers about his experience in the jungle of Joldahl. He sits in the
verandah of the forest bungalow at Joldahl and records the calls of the
wild animals. And then states that,
“For the tiger to whose roars I was listening was no
ordinary tiger. He was a man-eater!”( 409).
Anderson then explains in detail the location of Joldahl and
industrial town of Bhadravati. Then he describes dense jungle of
Joldahl and Gunjur situated fifteen miles southwest. He had often
camped at Gunjur in the old days. Then he refers to a very hard-
working and obliging caretaker at the Gunjur bungalow. He had a
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lovely little daughter who grew up into a lovely girl of seventeen years.
The same girl became the man-eater’s first victim. His friend Joe
Thompson told this story to him. The death of the girl whom he
remembered so well prompted him to write a letter to the forest Range
Officer at Joldahl. He asked for details of the tiger and the death of the
daughter of the caretaker at Gunjur. He received reply after five days
confirming the sad tale of the girl. Anderson went to Joldahl by his car
and then walked to Gunjur by the ten-mile footpath to meet his old
friend, the caretaker who recounted his daughter’s tragic end. He
promised him that he would try to avenge her. Anderson has also given
an account of the tiger’s two more human victims. Anderson preferred
to set his camp at Joldahl to start his adventure of shooting the man-
eater. After midnight he heard the tiger’s calls in the jungle and came
out near the armchair on the verandah of the forest bungalow. As the
sound faded into the distance, he judged that the tiger was going
towards Gunjur. The next morning he found pug marks of the tiger in
the narrow ravine. He followed the pug-marks and came to know that
the tiger had followed the footpath all the way to Gungur. He then met
the caretaker of the Gungur forest Bungalow, Ananthaswamy. He
asked him about the presence of the tiger in the vicinity and he replied
negatively. This has compelled Anderson to discuss about the behavior
of the man-eater. He makes very important comment here that the
man-eater takes a liking to the flavour of human flesh and he prefers
killing and devouring a man, woman or child to killing domestic cattle
or wild animals. He also mentions about the strange fact that a man-
eating tiger and panther remain basically afraid of the human race.
When Anderson made a plan to shoot the tiger from the tree or machan
he faced problem of availability of bait, but Anantswamy told him that
he would himself sit or stand in the open as a bait. He said
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“But I am doing it – and doing it cheerfully – in an attempt

to avenge my little daughter. I will gladly sacrifice my life
to bring about the death of her cruel slayer”.(421).
Anderson appreciates his magnificent courage. He finally decided
to make a dummy of human being.
Anderson narrates incidents that followed in realistic manner.
He gives detail account of how a lone jackal and the tiger came closer
simultaneously. Anderson here informs about the partnership of a tiger
and a jackal which is mysterious and unexplainable. The jungle tribes
explains this partnership of two carnivores. Anderson narrates here
another interesting event that occurred when he was sitting in the
hide. The panther was seated just outside the hide and he almost
touched its skin. It was very thrilling experience. He describes his
excitement and compares panther with the Satan. Anderson has
humorously narrated this incident. On the next night the jackal led the
tiger to the dummy and he sprang upon the dummy with roar. However
Anderson failed to shoot the tiger because of the excitement of
Anantswamy. The next night Anderson started stalking the tiger. They
placed the dummy again and the uncanny jackal guided the tiger
towards the dummy as he had done two nights previously. First the
jackal appeared in front of the dummy as he had done two nights
previously and raised his head towards the sky to utter ‘Ba-ooh-ah’,
‘Ba-ooh-ay!’ Then sped some yards away. Then the tiger appeared on
the same spot and Anderson shot him without mistake. He examined
the tiger next morning and found that he was a very old male with
worn canines. Anderson passes very humorous comment on the jackal
who led his partner to his death and was sorry. He also argues that
possibly it was the jackal that had in the first place tempted the tiger to
eat human flesh by leading him to easy prey – the caretaker’s
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unfortunate daughter. The map of the locality helps readers to identify

the events in the story.

“The Evil One of Umbalmeru”

This is one of the most interesting stories of Anderson. The
curiosity of the reader is raised up to the end of the story. Anderson
went to Nagapatla to camp for a week with his friend Deva Sundram
and there he was reported of ‘the Evil one’. He asked the ‘bungalow-
keeper’, old Dadoo for ‘Jungly Khubbar’ and bursting with excitement
he told him about the exploits of the ‘Evil one’. Then at Rangampet the
village Patel said,
“Aye, he is in the jungle in real earnest, and has taken five
people already. But he will never fall to your firearms, sir
for he will never give you a chance by appearing before
you.”(470).
Another old villager said that this particular beast leaves no pug-
marks, no trail, no evidence behind. The bunglow keeper said that the
Evil one had come to the forest during the past few months and had
accounted for the disappearance of five people already. Anderson’s own
reaction was like this,
“It can’t be anything but a tiger or panther. Although I
must admit it is certainly a peculiar and unusual beast.
This mystery intrigues me. I would certainly like to solve
it.”(474).
Thus, Anderson creates mystery about the evil one. The ‘Evil one’
committed a series of murders in a score of villages and hamlets on the
border of the three forest ranges known as the Bhakarapet Reserve,
The Chamala valley and Mamandur High Range forests of the Chittoor
district in Andhra Pradesh. Anderson records all the five victims of the
‘Evil one’. Hence there are more characters in the story. Anderson
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narrates how a great magician or ‘Mantramkara’, Kothanda Reddy

first-disappeared, then Adiraja followed by venkatamma followed by
other two persons. Then he narrates how he went to the Forest
Bungalow at Nagapatla with his friend Deva sundram. There he came
to know about the prawling of the ‘Evil one’. He started searching for it
in the surrounding jungles. Here he expresses his love of Nature by
admitting that he was never tired of watching beautiful scenery in the
forest. While wandering in the forest he saw first pug-marks of the
tiger near Umbalmeru. Thus it was confirmed that atleast one tiger
was in the area. Three days later the bamboo cutter saw the tiger
within half a mile of the rocky pool Umbalmeru. Thus the Evil one at
last revealed his identity. Then on the very next day he attacked on the
bamboo cutter. Anderson therefore writes,
“The Evil one was no evil spirit, intangible and unreal, as
everyone had thought. It was a flesh-and-blood tiger, as I
had more than half-anticipated it would be.” (478).
Then on the same night he sat on a tree with his friend Deva and
the bamboo cutter. He was able to see a hyaena and a tiger also. Then
he got the information from the manager of railway station that it
could be the tigress that escaped from a circus some months ago that
came to Tirupati. This information was more interesting for Anderson.
So he asked many questions to the manger and came to know that the
tigress had been called ‘Rani’. He collected all information about the
tigress and concluded that,
“The enigma was solved, and the animal’s peculiar habits
were no longer a mystery. For I was sure now that the
man-eater was the escaped tigress and no other beast.” (495).
His inference was absolutely correct. Then he went to Rangampet
to enlist the aid of his friend Ramiah who was well acquainted with
that area. He asked him about a cave in the vicinity of the Umbalmeru
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pool and learnt that there are five caves near the pool. So he went in
search of the tiger to each cave with Ramiah and Deva. At the opening
of the fifth cave the tigress leapt out with thunderous growl. He
shouted at her ‘Rani! Rani!’ The tigress halted, she turned her face
towards him, she hesitated a brief second with a strange expression of
bewilderment and partial submission. But he fired at her and she
toppled forward. Anderson has given very vivid account of this incident.
He has described expressions of the tigress when he called her and
reaction to the situation with great accuracy.
Anderson has discussed the problem of Rani. What had turn
Rani into a man-eater? He has analyzed it very rationally and logically.
Here, he explains the evils of bringing up wild animals in years of
captivity. Thus it not a story of the ‘Evil One’ but the ‘unfortunate one!’
Anderson has related the physical and psychological implication of
years of captivity on the poor animals. Thus he pleads the case of such
animals. For that he has given an example of one lady who brought up
a panther cub until it grew too big and dangerous to be kept any longer.
The story of the ‘Evil One of Umbalmeru’ ends with an anecdote of the
lady.

“A Night by the Camp Fire”

This is a unique chapter in this book because this is not a story
but a kind of preaching of the readers. In the beginning of the passage,
Anderson informs his readers how he behaves when he is disgusted
with the sight of too many people and the awful noise they make. His
solution to this problem is to go to some nearby jungle. Then he gives
an account of his journey to a place called Kundukottai, where there is
a nice forest. He describes charming natural beauty of the forest and its
wild life. His wonderful experience of the night by the camp fire is
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narrated by him to create awareness of beautiful Nature among the

readers.
Anderson admits that so far he has written stories of hunting
and shooting of the wild animals which creates the impression that
these animals are fierce, implacable and unreasonable and deserves to
kill and destroy them. He confesses that in his younger days he too
thought in the same way. But then for many years he has kept most of
these creatures as pets from an early age to quite an advanced age in
various ways and capacities. He states from his experience that every
one of them has exhibited traits of remarkable good sense and affection.
He illustrates his opinion by telling stories about few of them.
First of all he tells the story of his pet sloth bear which he got by
an accident in the jungle. He brought an orphan baby bear home and
gifted it to his wife. She christened it as “Bruno”. The bear became very
attached to his family members as well as to all the children of the
tenants living in his bungalow. Anderson describes all mischief and
playful activities of Bruno. He also mentions that his wife was
inconsolable after Bruno was sent to Mysore zoo. He writes about his
experience of bringing up a hyena baby acquired from the jungle. He
narrates how a female hyena gallantly fought with five wild dogs before
her death leaving behind her two orphans. Anderson gave the name
Jackie to this male baby hyena. He has given account of how he
brought up a baby hyena and many incidents that occurred to him.
Anderson records the eight panther cubs that he kept as pets. He says,
“we have had about eight panther cubs in all, most of them
rescued from their dens after the mothers had been
shot.”(531).
He mentions that panther cubs are extremely playful and
mischievous. They can recognize their owner from among other people.
Then he relates the story of his pet jackal named ‘Ella’. He had a
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strange pet, the python named Jemima. Anderson’s love of animals is

revealed in this chapter. He tells about his experience of a baby
elephant also. At the end of the chapter he comments on the
superstitions of the aborigines who live in the jungle areas. He has
discussed their beliefs about the spirits of the dead, the black magic
and the occult matters. Thus this chapter presents a different character
of Kenneth Anderson.

“The Black Rogue of the Moyar Valley”

“The Black Rogue of the Moyar Valley” is a story of a full grown
and exceptionally hairy elephant. He was very definitely a ‘rouge’, and
nasty animal. But it is a pathetic tale and therefore, Anderson warns
his readers in the beginning of the story,
“But before I begin, let me warn you that this tale has
rather a sad and unexpected ending. It closes with an
experience I have never had before, and most certainly do
not want to go through again.”(550).
This incident took place in the jungle on the bank of the Moyar
river in the Coimbatore district, and Blue mountains. He refers to the
presence of two large wild life sanctuaries that exist on the both banks
of the Moyar river, namely the Madumalai Sanctuary and the
Bandipur Sactuary. He has described topography of the place of action
and also the fauna that inhabits in those all very dense jungles.
There were two different stories related with the origin of the
rogue. Both these versions are discussed by Anderson to make the story
interesting. First was the titanic battle of two furious bull elephants
that continued on the river bank for two days. This battle inflicted
many injuries to the black hairy elephant resulting in his becoming
rogue. The other story was from the village of Tallamalai in the forests
belonging to Coimbatore. According to this version the local person
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fired at the elephant that was destroying his crops. The elephant had
been wounded and after few months sporadic attacks of a solitary
elephant occurred in those areas. Anderson narrates incidents of
attacks of the black elephant.
One day an American tourist who was visiting Bangalore came to
see Anderson and asked him to conduct a trip to a place where he could
take movie-pictures of bison. Anderson explained him the situation and
suggested that to photograph the bison is comparatively easy than the
tiger. They went to the forest of Coimbatore as these animals were very
numersous there. One the way he picked up a sholaga named Rachen,
for his assistance. They made their plan with sholaga guides to go to
forest from hamlet named Honathetti. In the course of conversation
they mentioned the black rogue. As they reached the forest they
encountered the black rogue. Rachen spotted it. The black rogue was
deliberately following them. He came closer and then charged. The
American threw down his camera and the four of them ran as fast as
possible and climbed on the higher end of the rock. Anderson describes
his horrible experience,
“The rogue reached the edge of the rock, where he towered
above us- a truly awesome sight!” (565).
Anderson was cursing himself for not bringing his rifle on that
occasion. The ghastly game of hide-and seek with the black rogue
continued for many hours. Anderson expresses his reaction,
“I was tired and angry. Above all else, I was ashamed. For
nearly three hours my companions and I had been engaged
in a cat-and-mouse game wherein we had most definitely
been the ‘mice’.”(569)
When the elephant had gone for the water they escaped from a
ghastly death. They reached the village and then Anderson decided to
go back to the forest to shoot the elephant, with two sholagas. Soon
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they found the trail of the rogue and began to follow his track. They
went down the nullah for a mile and suddenly found that the elephant
was stuck fast in a quagmire, he had blundered straight into ditch
filled with mud. He was screaming in sheer terror, inch by inch he sank
lower and lower. Anderson and the two sholagas were distressed at his
dreadful plight. Anderson therefore writes,
“To shoot him in this terrible plight, while struggling for
his very life, appeared to be the act of a coward and
murderer.”(576)
He realized that escape for the poor animal was impossible and
shot the elephant behind the ear. He says,
“A sigh of relief escaped all three of us. At least the poor
beast could suffer no more. It was dead.”(576)
The American and Anderson went to that spot on the next day
but the elephant had disappeared completely, and the soaking sand
held their dark secret. It was harrowing experience for Anderson.

“Jungle Days and Nights”

Anderson’s life was full of adventures as he lived in the isolated
places, off the beaten track and therefore he had stock of exciting,
thrilling incidents. In this chapter he recounts some of them. These
incidents are tragic as well as humorous. Thus Anderson shares his
memories with his readers.
First incident occurred in the forest near Gummalapur in the
Salem district. In search of a panther he followed the vultures circling
in the sky in search of a panther and was shocked to discover that it
was a human corpse, the body of a woman and not panther’s kill. As the
policeman of Gummalapur had fallen ill, he reported about the dead
body to the Patel and returned to Bangalore and then sent the report to
police station at Hosur by post. But the police came at his door and
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began questioning. They took him to that spot. Anderson gives this
account to show that how he had suffered from officialdom through
making a true report of what he had found in the jungle. He narrates
another incident of report about a dead elephant in the jungle. This
time it was the forest Dept. that made him suffer. Then he narrates the
major and very serious event that occurred on the road of Punjur. He
was traveling with his son Donald and two more friends of him at
midningt when they come across a young dying woman on the road.
Considering his two previous experiences and consulting with his
friend he decided to desert her. He felt guilty for his decision to leave
the poor girl to her fate.
Anderson also tells two short stories about himself to show the
effect of the appearance of a tiger on him in the early days of his career
as a hunter. The first incident happened at Lingadhalli. He was sitting
on the machan near the dead bull. When the tiger came he was
petrified with horror and the gun rolled off the platform. He tells about
how the same scene repeated when he went on a hunting trip with
another boy named Jerry Barrow. Anderson recounts some of his trips
in the jungle that resulted in incidents with an element of comedy
where as some incidents turned out funny. Thus Anderson deviates
from his regular stories of hunting and shooting the wild animals in
this chapter.

“The Creatures of the Jungle”

In the beginning of this chapter, Anderson points out that much
has been written about the big animals and carnivore of Africa and
about tigers, panthers and elephants in India. But the smaller animals
are ignored by the writers. He, therefore is determined to write about
small and lesser known animals in the jungles of southern India. First
of all he writes on the Indian wild dog. He gives detail information of
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this animal. He mentions that the wild dog is a most interesting

animal. They are great killers but he had never heard of a single
instance of men being attacked by wild dogs. He narrates few incidents
of the wild dogs that throws light on their behaviour. He relates a
strange incident in the jungle when he was forced to shot three wild
dogs. Then he concentrates on another animal about which little has
been written is the Indian wild pig or the wild boar. He gives account of
how the wild boar is hunted with the help of packs of dogs and also the
game of ‘pig-sticking.’ He mentions that the wild boar has intelligence
and muscle, and the heart of a fanatical warrior. The sloth bear is
always attractive for Anderson. He, therefore, writes,
“The sloth bear is a creature that has always interested me
greatly.”(625)
He relates many stories of bears to emphasize their habits and
chief traits. He says that they are very intelligent animals. He
describes less known species of a pangolin and discusses in detail one
special species to be found in India, the striped hyaena. He gives
opinion,
“An animal for which I have a special affection is the
hyena, perhaps for no better reason than that most
sportsmen appear to regard him with contempt, unworthy
even of a photograph or bullet.”(634)
Similarly he provides lot of information of panthers, tigers and
elephants. He has given many examples to focus on peculiarities of
these animals. Anderson was intimate with these animals in their
natural habitat. Hence he is able to write in more details particularly
on panthers, tigers and elephants. Thus this chapter ‘The Creatures of
the Jungle’ is packed with valuable information about the wild animals
in India. Anderson’s purpose is to share his knowledge with ordinary
readers.
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“The Sulekunta Panther”

“The Sulekunta Panther” is a wonderful tale by Anderson.
Anderson’s ecological approach and love of wild creatures is revealed in
this story. He has portrayed excellent character of one of his shikaris,
‘Muniappa.’ He was a hunter by profession and in addition was a
poacher. But he confessed to Anderson that he had stopped poaching.
He knew well the jungles within a radius of ten miles of his own village
of Jowlagiri. Muniappa sent a postcard to Anderson informing that a
tigress had killed three head of cattle close to the hamlet of Sulekunta.
He invited him to come and shoot it. But Anderson refused to kill a
tigress that was legitimately killing for her food. A fortnight later
Muniappa turned up in person. Then it became clear to him that he
was seeking the tiger-skin to give it to his creditor to release him from
the debt. After five weeks Anderson received the telegram from
Muniappa regarding the fresh kill by the tigress. So Anderson reached
that place immediately and then they went to Sulekunta. It is a little
hamlet in the forest of the North Salem division, seven miles from
Jowlagiri. Anderson describes the topography of that place and
describes a varied type of jungle; heavy forest with much bamboo
growth in a deep valley.
Muniappa had built a bamboo-tree machan near the kill.
Anderson found that the structure of the machan was most insecure
and he knew that it would sway and creak horribly. He sat on the
bamboo machan and the whole structure bent in thirties degrees. At
night came the rain, thunder and lightning and the tigress also! His
rifle and other equipment fell on the ground as the machan tilted to an
angle of forty-five degrees. Anderson clutched fearfully a piece of
broken bamboo and remained in hanging position as a series of
coughing roars and the sound of a heavy body rushing through the
undergrowth was heard by him. In this position he held on to save his
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life and continued his shouting to drive away the tigress that was
beneath him. He was in great danger because any tiger could reach him
without effort. Finally he jumped on the ground and spent horrible
night in pitch-darkness. Early morning he returned Sulekunta. He
mentions that he spent the most uncomfortable night ever. Then he
returned to Bangalore in a sad mood. He suffered from pneumonia and
decided not to go again to Sulekunta. But after a month after receiving
telegram from Muniappa, Anderson went to Sulekunta. He came to
know that the beast is a ‘thendu’ means a panther of large size, who
killed fully-grown white cow, at the fringe of the same belt of bamboo.
Muniappa made an ideal hide out in the lantana bush. Once again
Anderson sat waiting for the panther. He describes music of the jungle
he heard and at 7.45 p.m. he heard the faint hissing sound, the
unmistakable snarl of a panther. He comments on his confusion
regarding the identification of the animal, whether it is tigress or
panthers. The animal in the course of time saw Anderson in the hide-
out and disappeared. Here Anderson explores the mind of panther. He
considers the panther’s way of thinking to deal with the situation.
Anderson was compelled to sit up for the panther on the second night.
This time he made a new plan and changed his place of hiding. As
expected, the ‘thendu’ appeared and sat perfectly still and silent in
front of him. Now, here Anderson describes his own dilemma. He had
his finger on the trigger of the rifle when he hesitated for a moment, he
was lost! Lowering his rifle he said, ‘Good evening’ to the panther, who
returned his greeting with ‘woof ! Woof !’ and passed away. Anderson
changed his mind at the last moment. He reveals his mind,
“I had almost squeezed the trigger when I thought of the
two night of excitement and entertainment with which this
animal had provided me. Was I now justified in
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butchering him in cold bood when he was quite unaware of

my presence, and when he had committed no crime?”(692).
Thus Anderson disapproves wanton killing of panthers and
tigers. His environmentalist’s approach is revealed here. He says
further,
“But I never regretted my last-moment decision to spare
the life of that beautiful animal.”(692)
His love-hate relationship with the panther is an interesting
aspect of this story!

“From Mauler to man-Eater”

Anderson refers two episodes he has recorded in the earlier book
of adventures. First episode is about the tiger that began to behave
very strangely by mauling the herdsmen and cattle at Rajnagara. This
tiger never bit any of his human victims but mauled him with the claws
of forefeet. Then another such a case found in the Pegepalyam jungle.
Anderson gives few examples of the tiger’s victims, and then states that
the human remains that had found indicated that there was nothing
wrong with the animal’s teeth or jaws. His constant mode of assault
was by clawing and striking with his forepaws, and not by biting. This
made it very clear that this animal was none other than the earlier
‘Mauler of Rajnagara’, that had strayed northwards into an area about
sixty to one hundred miles northeast of Rajnagara. Hence, Anderson
mentions in the beginning of the story that this story is the sequel to
episodes he has recorded in the earlier book, Man-Eaters and Jungle
Killers.
Anderson records incidents of two more attacks and at Alambadi
in particular and analyzes the problem of the man-eater. He states that
“It was therefore, reasonably certain that this tiger was
not entirely devoted to man-eating.”(696)
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Then the news came from the hamlet Bejahahai that the two
persons had been killed and eaten by the tiger. This has made
Anderson and his son Donald to think seriously on the matter. Donald
also agreed to work upon as there was something concrete and
authentic information with them. They both concluded that the elusive
tiger of Pegepalyam and ‘Mauler of Ranagara’ started his depredations
again. Anderson at this stage of the narrative mentions that “What
follows is Donald’s story, as he told it to me”.(697). Before he recount’s
Donald’s story, he gives details of the location of the hamlet of
Bejahahai, situated in the valley of the highest mountain peak, Ponachi
Malai. Anderson has provided a map of the area where all the events of
the story occurred.
Donald had long determined to shoot that tiger to solve the riddle
of its strange habit of mauling its victims before killing them. He,
therefore began his quest from Ootaimalai. On the way he picked up
old shikari a fellow named Ranga and another old shikari friend Byra
for assistance. They all reached on foot to the hamlet named Bejahahai,
where the tiger had killed two persons successively. Here, he provides
information about the jungle hamlet Bejahahai and its people and
passes comment on their life style and nature. They are all Sholagas.
He conducted meeting of Sholagas, the villagers, to acquaint with
them and to collect information of the tiger. All of them, the villagers
told him that it is impossible to shoot the tiger because it is protected
by the jungle goddess. But one middle aged Sholaga named Lotta came
forward with contempt and blamed the villagers as liars. Donald had
decided to make him member of his team as he knew the jungle of that
area intimately. Anderson has beautifully portayed character of Lotta
who plays important role in shooting of the man-eater. Lotta
commented on the nature and mystery of the tiger as,
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“This tiger has no magic nor goddess to protect it, dorai.

But it does have brains, much more brains than most of
the people standing here.”(706)
Lotta revealed the hiding place of the tiger. It was a small cave
near the top of the hillock in which he believed the man-eater lay up
during the day.
So they started their expedition to reach at the mouth of the
cave. Anderson narrates this thrilling journey with photographic
details. Events followed quickly as they reached on the top of the cave.
The tiger growled within the cave below Donald. Then he roared loudly,
and the next second had dashed out of the cave. Donald fired first
bullet behind the neck and the second shot in the chest of the tiger,
then the tiger was dead. The story ends in an unusual manner of the
man-eater’s story. That is the mystery is solved by examining the dead
animal. It was an old gunshot wound that probably caused the tiger to
become a man-eater. The whole of its nose had been blown away by the
gunshot, the painful injury on the face made the tiger to make assault
in particular style. The tiger had never forgotten to associate that
terrible wound with the human race and had taken great care to keep
its face out of the way and safe from possible harm every time he
attacked on the man. Thus story has typical end that reveals the
mystery about the man-eater.

(7) Nine Man-Eaters and One Rogue

This book is dedicated to the jungles of southern India, their
birds and animals and their forest people Chensoos, Sholagas,
Karumbas and Poojarees. Kenneth Anderson proudly and gratefully
dedicates it in return for twenty five years of joy they had given him in
making and keeping their acquaintance. The book contains nine stories
of hunting man-eating tiger and panthers and a rogue elephant that
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roamed in the southern Indian jungles. In his introduction to the book

Anderson deliberately explains why tigers and panthers develop man-
eating tendencies. He states that the man eating tiger is an
abnormality, for under normal circumstances, the king of the Indian
Jungles is a gentleman and of noble nature. He further says that the
tiger kills only for food, never wantonly, and his preys are the wild
beasts of the forest, or, where temptation offers; the villages cattle that
are sent to graze in the government reserves. Then he relates few cases
in which a tigress occasionally teaches her cubs the art of killing their
prey by selecting three or four cattle to provide practical for the
youngsters. But such slaughter is never performed wantonly by a tiger
for the sheer joy of slaying. He further explains tiger’s method of killing
its prey.
Anderson also gives information about the panther. He explains
the difference between the panther and the tiger. He says that the
panther is a much less powerful animal than the tiger, and is of
cowardly disposition. Anderson admires this variety of wild cats as
“One of the most picturesque inhabitants of the forests of
the Indian peninsulas, and of Asia and Africa”(Kenneth Anderson-
Nine Man-Eaters and One Rogue x).

Anderson states that man-eaters of both varieties have generally

been created by the interference of the human race. In most of the cases
a tiger or panther incapacitated by a gunshot wound descends to killing
man, the weakest and puniest of creatures. Sometimes the same
incapacity of killing the wild animals of the forest or even cattle due to
accidental injury compels the tiger or panther to feed on human prey.
Sometimes the habit of man-eating is passed on by tigress to her cubs,
occasionally the taste for human flesh is acquired by a panther that has
devoured corpses that have been thrown into the forest. Thus,
Anderson justifies the causes of developing man-eating tendencies by
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tigers and panthers. He has discussed about terror created by the man-
eater and how villagers react to such situations.
Anderson is keen to plead the case of a rogue elephant. He gives
reasons for the abnormal behavior of the elephant in certain situations.
Anderson admires the forests of India teeming with wild life He
appreciates the beauties of nature, flora and fauna of an Indian Jungle.
He expresses his sense of gratitude to his shikari friends, who taught
him all about the jungle and its creatures, Ranga and Byra, a wild
poojaree. He also appreciates his old hunting friends, Dick Bird and Pat
Watson who provided valuable guidance to him. Thus, the introduction
of this book reveals Anderson’s views on the man-eaters, rouge
elephant and his naturalist’s altitude.

“The Man-eater of Jowlagiri”

Anderson has provided a sketch map of the localities referred to
in this story. So it becomes easy to understand the incidents narrated
in the story. Anderson first narrates an incident at Jowlagiri forest.
The three poachers with their leader, Mauniappa shot a male tiger,
mistaking for a wild pig.
Muniappa killed the male tiger and therefore a tigress in the
jungle lost her mate. It was the mating season, and this tigress was
decidedly annoyed at absence of her mate which she quite rightly
connected with the interference of human beings. The angry tigress
prowled in the area of Jowlagiri hamlet. She continued her uneasy
movements for a week and then a hunter named Jack Leonard was
called to shoot her. He failed in his mission and just wounded the
tigress. Leonard’s bullet struck in to the right shoulder of the tigress. A
few months passed and the tigress began to kill human beings. Her
area of operation extended from Jowlagiri to Gundalam, thirty miles to
the south and to Denkaflikota, forty-five miles to the west. Death
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followed death over a wide area and the tigress claimed fifteen victims
during that period.
Anderson’s friend, the sub collector of Hosur sent an urgent
message to him, to come and rid the area of the scourge. Anderson went
to Jowlagiri first and then he tramped to Sulekunta. Anderson gives
account of his expedition with minute details. He tied three buffalo
calves at likely spots but was not successful. On the third morning he
received information from the people of Anchetty that the tigress had
killed a man early that morning. Anderson describes how he trailed the
tigress to discover her kill. He reached a deep nullah and there he saw
the pug-marks which took him to a spot where he saw the dead body of
the unfortunate victim. He decided to sit up on the sloping outcrop of
rock to a point some ten feet above the bed of nullah. He narrates his
horrible encounter with the tigress on that night. He describes the
movements of the tigress and also his state of horror. He reveals his
horrible feeling of imminent danger and warning of the sixth sense. He
writes,
“A fearful sight revealed itself. There was the tigress,
hardly eight feet away and extended on her belly, in the
act of creeping down the sloping rock towards me”.(11)
His account of meeting with the tigress is thrilling and shocking.
He managed to save his life and failed to kill the man-eater at a point
blank range. He could only tear off her ear. He stayed there for eleven
days tramping from Gundalam to Anchetty and Denkaflikota, Finally
he returned to his home at Bangalore. Anderson’s analysis of the
tigresse’s behaviour is remarkable here.
After five months he received three letters from the sub-
collector. When he came to know about killing of the priest of the little
temple at Sulekunta, he went there immediately. He searched for the
trail for two days and then received information of the next kill- the
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watchman of the Jowlagiri forest Bungalow, who had been half- eaten
by the tigerss within a hundred yards of the bungalow. Anderson
interpreted the motives of the man eater and made a plan to sit up on
the tree. At night he started imitating call of the male tiger. He was
successful on the third time. The tigress responded to his call. Again
and again she was giving answers to his calls, she was coming in his
direction in search of her mate. At last the tigress appeared in front of
him. He moaned in a low tone, she stopped abruptly and looked at him
in surprise. The very movement Anderson fired at her, and she sank
forward and dead. Anderson however felt guilty for his unsporting ruse
in encompassing her end. He expresses his regret for that. Thus it is a
story of hunting the tigress that had been robbed of her mate by the
poachers and later wounded by the hunter.

“The Spotted Devil of Gummalapur”

Anderson mentions the chief traits of a panther. He explains in
the beginning of the story panthers way of mauling human beings. He
says that the leopard is common to all tropical jungles and indigenous
to the forests of India. He even says that when attacking a human
being the panther rarely kills, but confines itself to a series of bites and
scratches with its claws. Because of his smaller size a panther can
conceal himself easily any where. With the innate sense of self
preservation and stealthy disappearance, the panther survives to any
situation. After giving all information about panthers, Anderson states
that the man-eating leopard of Gummalapur was such an animal. This
leopard had established a record of forty two human killings. This
leopard had created its terror in an area of two hundred fifty square
miles. This animal was diabolical and cunning and some stories of its
craftiness were spread throughout that area. The ferocious panther was
fond of human blood, and terrorized the villagers.
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Anderson received an invitation from Jepson, the district

magistrate to rid his area of this scourge. He accepted it and went to
Gummalapur. He decided to keep vigil at night by sitting alone in the
chair. So he spent that night in the open area of the village. Then he
made a new plan of sitting behind the boxes in front of the human
dummy in a hut with open door. But nothing happened on the first
night. He decided to repeat the performance with the dummy on the
following night.
Anderson narrates the sensational and thrilling event that
occurred at night. He records his feelings
“I decided to repeat the performance with the dummy, and
I met with an adventure which will remain indelibly
impressed on my memory till my dying day.”(28)
Anderson sat behind the boxes in the hut with the dummy. After
some time he fell asleep and suddenly he awoke with a feeling that all
was not well.
He says that his jungle training enabled him to take stalk of the
situation immediately as soon as he awoke. A strange thing happened.
The dummy seemed to move backward. It suddenly disappeared to the
accompaniment of a snarling growl. He realized that the panther had
come and it had mistaken the dummy for human being and proceeded
to stalk it. Then the panther realized that the thing he attacked was
not human after all. The leopard disappeared and Anderson searched
for it in the torch light. It had vanished as mysteriously as it had come.
Anderson was very disappointed and annoyed with himself.
The story reveals Anderson’s extraordinary power of reading and
judging of animal nature. He has exposed the psyche of the leopard.
Anderson explains the nature of the leopard as,
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“Then only did, I realize the true significance of the

reputation this animal had acquired of possessing
diabolical cunning”.(29)
He anticipated how the leopard will react to this situation. He
therefore considering the reputation of the leopard left Gummalapur
and went to small hamlet on the edge of the forest named Devarabetta.
He decided to spend the night in an open area of the village. Anderson
narrates the entire drama that took place on the decisive night. At
midnight a village cur approached him and sat beside him. At three
o’clock he heard a low prolonged growl, a faint rustling as the leopard
approached from the roof of the house. He became very alert, then the
village cur began to bark lustily. The same instant the panther charged
around the corner and sprang at him. But Anderson pressed the torch
switch and fired bullet at the leopard as the panther crashed against
the wall of the hut. He fired two more bullets into the spotted body and
it collapsed and was still. He examined the carcass and found two
porcupine quills that had penetrated in the toes. He mentions that the
leopard became man-eater by acquiring the habit of eating the corpses
after a cholera epidemic in that area. He refers to the leopard as
malignant and crafty animal. At the end of the story he writes about
his friendship with the village cur whom he named ‘Nipper’ and who
saved his life from the leopard’s attack.

“Byra, the poojaree”

The character of Byra appears in many stories of jungle
adventures by Kenneth Aderson. This chapter is entirely devoted by
him to his jungle friend, Byra. Anderson narrates an incident of his
first meeting with Byra twenty five years ago at the foot of the lofty hill
of Muthurmalai on the bank of Chinar river. Anderson cought him in
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the jungle while poaching a sambar. He first introduced himself as

Byra, a Poojaree. Anderson says,
“And This is how I met Byra, the poojaree, and my friend
for twently five years, who taught me most of all I know
about the jungle and its wild, carefree, fierce, but lovable
and most wonderful fauna”(175).
Thus Anderson expresses his gratitude to Byra. Anderson also
provides information of his routine life in Byra’s own wards. Then he
narrates his first experience with Byra in the jungle. Byra took him to
the cave of a tiger whom he shot. He says,
‘That was the first of my very many experiences of Byra’s
knowledge of jungle- lore’(181).
He further states that as the years rolled by, their mutual
confidence in each other increased. Here, in this passage Anderson
relates just two of the many adventures they had experienced together.
The first adventure is that of the bears of Talavadi in the Salem
North forest Division. Anderson was invited by Byra to rid a panther
who was regularly killing cattle along the Muthur Anchetty road.
Anderson reached there and fired bullet on the panther when he came
near the dead cow. But panther leaped forward and then disappeared
in the darkness. On the next-morning Anderson and Byra together
detected a blood trail of the wounded panther and started stalking it.
When they moved ahead suddenly they stumbled upon a hole in the
ground and a mother bear rose to her feet to attack on Anderson. He
pressed the trigger of his Winchester rifle but there was a misfire at
very crucial moment. The she-bear grabbed his rifle and furiously
counter attacked when Byra threw himself between him and the
furious bear. He was successful to divert bear’s attention and then the
she bear buried its fangs in Byra’s shoulder and the fierce battle
between the two continued for sometime. When the baby bear
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screamed, the she-bear rushed to his safety and then both of them
disappeared. Anderson has narrated this horrible, blood curdling
encounter with the bear. Byra attempted the supreme sacrifice to save
his life. Byra got himself seriously wounded, he was shifted to the
hospital in unconscious state and it took many months for him to
recover. Anderson states that this adventure formed the blood
brotherhood between himself and Byra, founded on his cheerful
sacrifice. Byra proved that he would lay down his life for Anderson.
The next adventure occurred during his expedition of the man-
eating tiger of Mundachipallam. Anderson here informs about his
friendship with Ranga whom he met before Byra. He compares both of
them and states that Ranga was a very different man from Byra in
both physical and personal attributes. He says that Ranga had better
organizing capacity than Byra but he is far more dishonest man than
Byra. He further says that Ranga dispises Byra, whom he looks down
upon as a semi-savage. But he is a brave man and reliable in the face of
danger. In the expedition of Mundachipallam tiger hunt Byra and
Ranga both were his companions. The story begins and strangely
enough ends after many deaths, and the narrow escape of Ranga.
Anderson records two similar incidents near the well, Ranga climbed
the tree to save his life and the man-eater had reached near the base of
the tree and removed the lion-cloth around his waist. Then on next
occasion Anderson shot the man-eater of Mundachipallam. After
successful adventure Anderson and Byra went to Pennagram, back to
his house near Muthur. They reached well in time when Byra’s fifth
child was born. Anderson describes this event and expresses his
admiration for his jungle friends as,
“In such simple and hardy fashion are the Byras of the
forest born. So do they live and so do they die, true
children of nature and of the jungle” (206).
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“The Tigres of Tagarthy”

In the beginning of this chapter, Anderson presents the
topography of the village of Tagarthy. He mentions about the particular
variety of jungle in that area, and describes the beautiful scenery that
he always enjoyed there. He mentions that these jungles are the home
of the Hamadryad or king cobra. He states that during all his visits to
Tagarthy there were more than four separate tigers in permanent
residence. He records that in 1939, February month eight cattle were
killed by tigers in the area in a single day. This indicated eight
separate tigers operating at a time at widely distant places. He
observes that due to the more number of tigers in that locality,
panthers are rarely met with. In this chapter Anderson relates seven
stories of the tigers of Tagarthy. He begins with the story of Sham Rao
Bapat of Tagarthy. He shot the tiger who was scratching the door of his
house. He was a fine example of the heavy type of cattle-killing tiger.
He narrates his own experience of Tagarthy. At Tagarthy, once he saw
a tiger, lying unconcernedly on his back, apparently fast asleep. He did
not hurt him. He says,
“I leant my rifle against the tree and myself also, and for
quite twenty minutes I watched that tiger sound asleep on
his back”. (212)
Then he narrates an incident when he and his wife saw a tigress
and her cubs in the torch beam. This incident has sequal which is
amusing. Anderson depicts experience of Dr. Stanley who was stationed
by his Medical department at Tagarthy. Dr. Stanley told him two other
experiences of tigers at Tagarthy.
The story of the tiger of Gowja is also interesting. This tiger
about year 1938 walked out of the preserve and started killing cattle
around Amligola. Anderson narrates in detail how he shot the
troublesome old tiger of Gowja.
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Thus this chapter depicts not one tiger or man-eater but many
tigers that inhabited area of Tagarthy. The title of the chapter is
therefore very apt. The readers become familiar with each tiger because
of excellent narration of Anderson.

“The Hosdurga-Holalkere Man-Eater”

The place Holalkere is the second largest town in the District of
Chitaldroog. Anderson states that it had long been the centre of
sporadic instances of man-eating by tigers. There was good evidence to
believe that the locality was the habitat of tigers which had inherited a
taste for human flesh. Several instances of human kills were reported
in that area. Therefore, an advertisement was published in the Mysore
Gazette, to the free shooting of tigers without the requirement of a big-
game license.
Anderson and his friend Angus Mactavish and his wife together
decided to kill the man-eating tiger. With this intention they met the
district forest officer to obtain all possible information about the most
recent kills by the tiger. They came to know that the man-eater had
been reported among the ruins of an old fort which crested a small hill
named Yogi Mutt to the south of Holalkere town. So Anderson and his
friends started their campaign from Holalkere. Anderson has narrated
all those incidents that occurred during their expedition. On several
occasions they were disappointed and failed to trace out the man-eater.
They spent days and nights driving up and down between Hosdurga-
Holalkere and Chitaldoorg flashing the spotlight in the hope of meeting
one of the tigers on the road. Anderson has provided a sketch-map of
localities referred to in the story. Anderson reports the tiger’s visit to
the camp of Lumbani woodcutters. The final action of the story takes
place in the ruins of ancient fort where Anderson shot the man-eater.
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Anderson gives vivid account of his thrilling encounter with the man-
eater inside the fort.

“The Man-Eater of Yemmaydoddi”

“The Man-Eater of Yemmaydoddi” is the story of an unfortunate
tiger who developed man-eating propensity because of the irresponsible
and unsporting shot from the ‘Car Shikaries’. The broken jaw, smashed
by the ‘car shikaries’ a months ago was the root cause of all the trouble
in that area. The setting of the stories is an area of forest in the Kadur
District of Mysore in Southern India. A magnificent lake, called the
‘Madak’ which is surrounded by forest –clad hills forms the background
to the story. Anderson describes beautiful dense forest in the area and
mentions that the area is rich in game and thus the surroundings
abound with tiger that come there to feed on the plentiful sambar,
spotted-deer, wild-pigs. But these tigers later became cattle-lifters,
Anderson has provided the map of localities referred to in the story. He
went to Yemmaydoddi towards the end of the year 1948, with his friend
Alfie Robertson with the object of procuring a trophy for him. His
account of their shooting trip is very fascinating. He tells about
difficulties they faced during their journey and how they come across a
panther while traveling in the bus. Anderson at the end of the story
blames the people who shoot wild animals by sitting in the car
carelessly. They do not know art of tracking, the science of big- game
shooting and beauties of the jungle.

“The Man-Eater of Segur”

Anderson presents the topography of the hamlet of Segur
situated at the foot of the north-eastern slopes of the well-known
Niligiri Mountains or ‘Blue Mountains’. He describes beautiful health
resort of Ootacamund, ‘the queen of Hill Stations’. He depicts beauty of
nature, dense tropical jungles that prevail and also refers to the rich
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wild life consisting of wild elephant, bison, tiger, panther, sambar,

spotted – deer and other animals. He describes charm of the densely
wooded forest; especially the mornings are fresh and sunny, ideally
suited to long hikes through the forest. These forests were a favorite
resort of Anderson, and he had several little adventures that are still
memorable after many years. Anderson also informs about three
distinct native tribes that inhabited in that area, the Badagas,
Karumbas and the sholagas. After giving details of the place where the
adventure took place, Anderson narrates the story of ‘The man-eater of
Segur’. This tiger was reported to have come originally from the jungles
of the Silent Valley Forest Block in the District of Malabar-Wynaad.
Anderson records every kill of the man-eater and while recording
his first kill describes behavior of ‘semi-wild’ buffaloes who protected
the dead body of a Kesva herdsman. Anderson spent three weeks in
that area; he spent many nights on a tree at various places and
frequently traversed the ten miles of forest road between Segur and
Anaikutty with two karumbas in search of a tiger. He received reports
of human kills on several occasions and he tracked the man-eater with
Karumbas but without success. On one occasion he discovered that the
man was killed by the she-bear. Anderson narrates comic experience of
his visit to the bear-cave. He reveals several facts of behavior of the
sloth bear. Once he encountered a small panther on the road at night
but he did not shoot it. This incident reveals his friendly approach with
the panther and conservationist thinking. He says,
“I let the little brute alone, to pass its days in happiness in
the beautiful forests where it rightly belonged.”(116)
Anderson passes a very important comment on the behavior of
man-eaters. He says that every man-eater becomes very cautious by
practice and therefore takes great care while approaching its kill. He
also mentions that this particular tiger was definitely possessed of a
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very acute sixth sense. He also narrates a very pathetic tale of death of
the son of the forest guard stationed at Anaikutty. He records the
reaction of the grief-striken poor father when he saw half-devoured
body of his son. He spent that night on the machan and suffered from
successive attacks of malarial chills because of the rain-storm during
that night. Despite all these difficulties, Anderson shot the man-eater
in the river bed following the trail of it from the dense forest to the
Segur River. He expresses his feelings upon his success as,
“Thus I knew that at last, after many tiring efforts and
exasperating failures, I had shot the man-eater of
Segur.”(125)
He examined the dead body and found the reason of tiger’s man-
eating propensity. Once again it became clear that it was a gunshot of
poacher that blinded the poor animal and so the tiger had taken his
revenge upon the human species that had been responsible for the loss
of his eye. This story is an example of Anderson’s ability to endure and
face failures and disappointments to achieve the elusive success.

“The Killer of Jalahalli”

In the beginning of the story Anderson makes it clear that this is
not the story of a man-eating tiger or panther but of an ordinary
leopard that fought bravely in defense of its own life. The unfortunate
beast died undefeated and after days of suffering. The setting of the
story is village of Jalahalli situated just seven miles from Bangalore.
Anderson then refers to the Forest Department plantation within a
mile of Jalahalli. One day a wandering leopard from the rocky hills of
Magadi strayed into the Forest Department plantation. He settled
there by living on the rabbits, rats and other inmates of the forest
plantation. One day the leopard killed a goat belonging to the Police-
daffedar of Jalahalli. To avenge the leopard the daffedar sat up in a
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tree and fired at the leopard on that night. The leopard received a
wound in its left-foreleg. The next day the villagers of Jalahalli
conducted a large-scale rabbit beat. When the operation started the
leopard jumped out instead of a rabbit and mauled six villagers. So the
villagers went to meet Hughey Plunkett who had been a reputed
hunter. When Hughey rushed to that place the leopard sprang upon
him and injured him very badly. The next day two brothers from the
village went to shoot the animal but leopard pounced upon them and
mauled them severely. So the villagers came to Anderson’s door. He
hastily grabbed his rifle and went there with his friend, Eric
Newcombe. Thus Anderson got involved in the hunting of the leopard.
Anderson narrates vividly the dramatic incidents that happened
during the next four days. He admits his mistake that instead of taking
the wounded brothers to the hospital he was tempted to bag the
panther as an easy opportunity. He describes thrilling combat between
Eric Newcombe and the leopard at point blank range. Then he narrates
an amusing incident happened to the police vehicle and finally escape
of the wounded leopard. All these incidents come to life with excellent
narrative skill of Anderson. The leopard killed one more human being a
mile away. Anderson went to that spot in search of the wounded
leopard. As he reached there the leopard began to growl its warning.
Because of the thick and impenetrable undergrowth he failed to shoot
it. But on the next day he found the leopard lying beside a small pool of
water. The leopard died by the wounds and internal injuries. Anderson
examined the dead body and took it to the police station to make an
official report and obtain the skin.
Anderson expresses his sympathy for the unfortunate leopard
and admires his fighting spirit,
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“The skin of this panther now adorns the hall of my

bungalow. I cannot help but record the deep
administration and respect in which I hold this beast.(159).
Thus he pays tribute to the leopard who fought cleanly and
courageously in defense of its own life, against great odds, though it
was severely wounded.

“The Hermit of Devarayandurga”

The tiger in the story is referred as ‘the hermit’ because of the
choice of his abode and his eccentric habits. Therefore he was an
unusual tiger. He was not a man-eater yet he killed three people within
the short space of five days on the Devarayandurga hillock. This place
is close to the city of Bangalore and six miles from the town of Tumkur.
Anderson describes the topography of this area in detail. There was no
regular forest in that area but was covered with very ordinary scrub-
jungle of lantana bushes and held a few small caves. The whole area
was but an island scrub among flat, cultivated fields and hence was not
suitable for a large animal like a tiger. The area was just fifty miles
from Bangalore and therefore the incidents of human kills by tiger
were headlined in the local press. Thus he came to know about the tiger
and left for Devarayandurga. After reaching there the frightened
villagers told him, the story of an old woman’s death. Anderson records
this incident with minute details by commenting on the nature of the
killer.
Anderson started his adventure immediately and tied a half
grown bull as a bait. On the next day he found that the bait was killed
by the tiger. After examining the pug-marks he realized that the killer
was an adult tigress. He writes about her nature as,
“From all these facts it was therefore apparent that the
tigress was not, after all, the very strange and eccentric
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animal she was reported to be. She just appeared to be a

particularly bad-tempered female.”(165)
Thus Anderson has analyzed the nature of the tigress perfectly.
He climbed on the tree to keep night vigil but his first attempt
was not successful. No tiger appeared. Then he changed the bait to
attract her. The next night she came near the bait but sensed
something suspicious in surrounding and left that place. Anderson
mentions about the ‘sixth sense’ and says that he has noticed some
carnivore are gifted with ‘the sixth sense’. He sat on the machan for two
more nights with the live-bait but there was no use. On the third night
a party of villagers approached him at 7 o’clock and informed that the
tigress had killed a cow only a half-an-hour before near the small tank.
So he rushed to that spot and stalked the tigress in the darkness. He
followed her and was surprised to see the tigress sitting on a branch of
a large, solitary Bunyan-tree. He took careful aim and fired a bullet at
her, with a loud thud the tigress fell on the ground motionless. Thus,
realizing she is dead he went back to his camp at Tumkur. The next
morning when he reached near that spot he found that she had
disappeared into the lantana. Anderson gives thrilling account of these
incidents occurred in two days. He followed the blood trail of the
wounded tigress and finally shot her dead in the lantana cover. She
was an old female with blunted fangs. Hunger and old age was the
cause of her vicious temper and obviously an inborn aversion to man!

“The Striped Terror of Chamala Valley”

“The Striped Terror of Chamala Valley” is a story of a tiger of
normal size who menaced the Chamala Valley in 1937. He suddenly
appeared and first killed a bamboo-cutter near Gundalpenta.
Thereafter his killings became sporadic and irregular extending
throughout the length and breadth of the three valleys. One day the
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tiger killed the forest guard at Nagapatla. This tragedy received a great
deal of official attention and news was published by the press
throughout the country. A reward was offered by the government for
the destruction of the man-eater. The chief conservator of forests,
Madras suggested Anderson to make an attempt to bag the animal.
Anderson presents the history of the locality and depicts
topography of that locality. His love of Nature and knowledge about the
wild animals that inhabited in that valley is revealed in his narration.
He reached the Nagapatla forest Bungalow to begin his campaign
against the man-eater of Chamala. He visited the spots in the Chamala
Valley where the kills had occurred and acquired knowledge of the beat
that the tiger followed. He tied four baits in the vicinity to attract the
tiger. Nothing happened except a large ‘Tendu’, a forest panther killed
one of the baits. On the ninth day he found the pug-marks of a tiger
when he was strolling through the jungle near Polibonu. Then he found
that one of his bait was killed by a tiger. He followed the trail of the
tiger and came to a shallow nallah. Anderson records reaction of
monkeys after seeing the tiger. The larger monkey watchman was
looking intently in the direction of the tiger. Then the tiger saw,
Anderson approaching and disappeared. Anderson decided to spent
night on the tree. It was the most unendurable vigils of his career as a
hunter. The tiger appeared surprisingly after making sound of a
sambar stag, ‘Dhank’. He was very shocked by hearing that sound.
Because the tiger had made sound of a sambar. Here, Anderson
discusses the old tales told by jungle men that tigers imitate sambar
and belling call of a stag. He had heard of tiger’s ability to mimic
sounds of their prey. Anderson shot that tiger and returned to
Nagapatla.
Anderson analyses his slaying of the man-eater. He is very
rational in it. He reviewed the situation of his hunt and came to
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conclusion that he had shot the wrong tiger. Anderson is very honest in
expressing his doubt. He left for Bangalore on that evening but on the
way he met the collector of Chittoor and told him about his misgivings
and asked him to send a telegram after another human kill.
On the eleventh day he received the telegram, stating that a
woman had been carried away by the man-eater. Anderson accepts his
failure. He says,
“I had failed. I had shot the wrong tiger, exactly as I feared
had been the case.”(52)
Thus he is honest to confess his mistake and repents for killing
the wrong animal.
He went to Nagapatla again but failed to get any evidence of the
man-eater. Then he sat on the machan for two successive nights but
without success. On the third day he received the news that a
herdsman had been killed by the tiger half an hour before. He rushed
to that spot and followed the trail of the tiger. He reached in the small
stream where the tiger had carried his victim. As he continued to move
the tiger appeared, carrying its human victim by the neck. It was
sudden and unexpected meeting for both of them. The tiger dropped its
prey to attack on him but Anderson at the same moment fired two
bullets and the tiger rushed forward with a gurgling roar and
stumbling onward to reach him. Anderson fired few more bullets and
the man-eater was dead. Thus at last he succeeded in his mission. He
examined the dead body and found no any deformity in him. He draws
inference that the tiger had deliberately repudiated both forms of food
natural as well as human flesh and eventually resulted in his tragic
end!
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“The Rogue-Elephant of Panapatti”

The story begins with the description of an elephant who is
antagonist in the narrative. Anderson provides detail measurements of
the size of the elephant. He mentions its peculiarity that he had one
tusk, about eighteen inches long. Then he comments on the past of this
animal.
“This youngster, before he became a rogue, had evidently
been ambitious and was more than normally high spirited,
for he had thrust his unwelcome attentions upon the ladies
of the herd under the very eyes of their lord and
master.”(92)
His high-spirit had led to a major encounter with the leader of
the herd. The youngster had eventually bolted, battered and beaten
with vicious gashes in his sides, inflicted by the powerful tusks of the
bigger male. Anderson describes the event that turned youngster into a
‘rogue’. He is the same ‘rogue’ that is mentioned in the title of this book.
After the fierce battle with the leader, resulting in his defeat the
‘rogue’ had wandered for few days in the vicinity of the herd. One day
he attacked on the buffalo cart, proceeded to smash the cart. Therefore
the elephant steadily worsened his reputation.
Anderson describes his first experience with the rogue when he
had gone to Hogenaikla, on the banks of the Cauvery River for fishing.
He went to the dry bed of the Chinar stream to shoot the peacock;
suddenly rogue appeared before him, some fifty yards away. Anderson
realizing the futility of an attempt to escape fired both barrels of his
shotgun by hiding behind the tree trunk. The rogue screamed with rage
and defiance and fled away into the forest. He had no time to stay
there, so he says,
“……, so I left the honor of the first round entirely to the
rogue of Panapatti.” (95)
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Soon the government declared this creature as ‘rogue’ elephant.

The forest department broadcasted official notification offering a
government reward of Rs. 500 for its destruction.
Anderson narrates briefly few events that followed after the
government notification. He describes the horrible attack of the rogue
on a hunter who had come to Panapatti. The rogue carefully made his
way through the camp fire and rushed upon the tent with scream of
range to kill the hunter. The government reward was increased to Rs.
1000 as a result of this incident.
Anderson accepted the challenge and was determined to begin
his second round against the elephant. Arriving at Panapatti, he visited
the scene of the tragedy. With the help of the cattlemen from adjoining
villages he spent four days searching for the elephant, laboriously
traversing the grass belt and the bamboos, crossing the range of foot
hills and descending their further slopes up to the waters of the
Cauvery River. On the fifth day they came upon the fresh tracks of the
elephant which had evidently crossed the river from the opposite bank
of the Coimbatore District. Anderson describes his stalking of the
elephant. They walked more than five miles and finally they saw an
elephant lying on its side in the water. Anderson made snapping sound
to confirm the identity of the ‘rogue of Panapatti’. The elephant
screamed with triumph and hate and then charged across the water
but Anderson shot him dead. The account of his encounter with the
‘rogue’ thrills the reader.

(8) This is the Jungle

The stories in this book are adventure stories set in the depths of
Indian jungles. Full of dramatic tension and excitement, they also
reflect Anderson’s genuine concern for Indian wild life and rapidly
vanishing jungles. Like his other books, he expresses his point of view
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on Indian jungles and particularly on extinction of wild life. He refers

to the tribal people who live in the wilder places of the earth and
admires a strange fraternity they form irrespective of race, colour and
creed. Then he admits that he also belongs to their category that is
awkward, boorish and semi-civilized.
Anderson Claims that he has tried to introduce among his
hunting stories some studies of Nature and the biography of tiger in
this book. He mentions that his purpose of writing is to weave into the
tales some interesting facts concerning the habits of the tiger. He also
says that he has sought to give a picture of the life and conditions
prevailing in the Indian jungles. He is very optimistic about the impact
of his stories in preserving and protecting the wild life in the jungles.
He, therefore, says,
‘My stories may still serve a little the growing protest
against the wanton, wasteful and criminal destruction
being waged every night of the year in India.’ (Kenneth Anderson

This is the Jungle. XIV)

“This is the Jungle”

“This is the Jungle” is the first chapter of this book. Anderson
confesses that as a young man he found peace and charm and
overwhelming delight in wandering in the jungle on a moon-lit night
and even dark paths. He explains that he has derived a lot of pleasure
during his stroll in the Jungle. He tells about his amazing experiences
and also insists that though he walked alone and unarmed, very rarely
the creature of the jungle attempted to harm him. He mentions his
unexpected encounters with an elephant and the Indian sloth bear. He
refers to the danger of the poisonous snakes in the darkness. He warns
his reader about wandering in a forest inhabited by a man-eating tiger
or panther or by a rogue elephant. He observes that animals are
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invariably silent in the forest and do not reveal their presence. He

provides examples of herbivorous species and also tigers and panthers
who rarely give calls except in the mating season. Anderson records
variety of jungle sounds that he heard in the jungle. He refers to the
regions of solitude like jungle clad hills and the mountains above them
and states that Nature reigns supreme there. He has discussed
situations in deep valleys. He condemns hunters, both human and
animal who wait beside the water pool or the game-trail to kill animals.
Anderson warns here that India will be much poorer - the whole
world will be poorer when the wild places of this earth and of this land
are bereft of their animal life, and mankind will loose sweet hour of
solitude and meditation forever. At the end of the chapter, he earnestly
appeals to the reader,
“It is my earnest desire to arouse in all of you readers a
love of the jungle and its animals that will help to move
public opinion to legislate for their protection from wanton
destruction and slaughter.”(10)
Thus Anderson is very serious about his mission of conservation
of Nature and the wild life in India.

“The Man- Eater of the crescent Mountains”

“The Man-Eater of the crescent Mountains” is the story of a
terrible tiger that lived in the mountainous terrain named Baba
Budans or Mountains of the Crescent. Anderson has provided sketch
map of locality where the man-eater of the Crescent Mountains
operated. In the beginning of the story he has described the topography
of the Baba Bundans or mountains of the crescent. He describes vividly
evergreen forest known as the Jagar valley. He mentions that this
valley is the home of bison and sambar in vast numbers, also the heavy
rainfall that makes the valley dense and dark region. He describes the
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density of the thick jungle by referring to various insects that inhabit

there. Then he describes the location and routine life in the village
known as Hogarehalli.
Anderson mentions about the arrival of the tiger in dramatic
manner. He appeared out of nowhere. According to some people he
came from the Jagar valley but few people said that the tiger wandered
in from quite different region, very far away, known as Lakkavalli and
the Lalbaugh, because of the disturbance in the jungle as a result of
construction of a large dam across the Bhadra River. He arrived
suddenly and with malice in his heart against the human race, he
started killing human beings. Anderson gives detail account of such
attacks on the villagers in the area. The tiger returned from the Jagar
valley after disappearing for few months and started his campaign of
murder on the slopes of Hogarkhan hill. The tiger created its terror in
that region when Anderson with his son, Donald and a German friend
came there. They reached there to collect a few baby crocodiles and
other reptiles for their German friend.
Anderson here provides information about the crocodiles in the
Cauvery River. He describes how crocodiles were hunted by the hunters
employing ingenious methods. The Government authorities encouraged
the destruction of the ‘muggers’ or crocodiles. Anderson and his son
decided to rid the man-eater of the Crescent Mountains. They both
started their operation and at last succeeded in killing the man-eater
Anderson has given very vivid account of their successful hunt.
Anderson narrates how the proud Patel and the grateful villagers
forced him and Donald to stay at Hogarehalli for the night feast to
celebrate the death of the man-eater.
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“Ghooming by Night and Tracking by Day”

“Ghooming by Night and Tracking by Day” is another interesting
chapter in the book. It seems that Anderson is keen to share his
experiences of jungle life with his readers and therefore in his other
books namely, Jungles Long Ago, The Call of the Man-Eater and Tales
From Indian Jungles also he has written about ‘ghooming’ and
‘tracking’ experiences in the jungle. He writes here in conversational
language and the reader feels that he is also accompanying the author.
He begins this passage as, “We are in an Indian Jungle. Night has
fallen.” (57) Thus, Anderson considers the reader in his party to take
jungle ride at night and also in the day light.
Anderson gives very detail account of whatever he see and hear
in the jungle. He acquaints his reader with variety of animals and birds
in the jungle. He gives information of phenomenon of nature, flora and
fauna that comes on his way. He sees the wild dogs, pangolin and other
creatures and provides valuable information about them to the readers.
He literally takes the readers on the jungle safari in this chapter. His
selection of the typical Indian word ‘ghooming’ indicates his deep
knowledge of vernacular languages. Anderson fulfills his objective of
creating awareness of the Nature, Jungle and wild life in this chapter.
He has been successful in introducing the reader to the Nature.

“Bagh the Tiger”

“Bagh the Tiger” is very outstanding chapter in this book,
because Anderson has tried to record the typical life-story of a tiger
named Bagh in the present day conditions. Here, he presents the
biography of a tiger, first time in his writing. At first he introduces
‘Bagh’ the tiger cub, newly born at the entrance of the cave. It was his
first adventure to peep through the darkness of cave to see the daylight
and the outside world. In this long narrative, Anderson depicts many
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incidents in the life of Bagh. His father, ‘Timor’ was the king of the
jungle and his mother ‘Seeta’ looked after her three cubs including
Bagh. In the first episode Anderson describes how Seeta behaves with
her cubs, he describes how she licked all her cubs vigorously, kindly.
Then he narrates an incident when Bagh became four months old, his
first great adventure in life. He learnt that their mother, had to kill so
that they should eat. It also gave him the smell and taste of freshly-
shed warm blood and meat. Anderson describes the behaviour of Bagh’s
two sisters Leela and Meena. Two months later, Bagh made his first
independent kill, the porcupine and when he became four months old,
made his first real kill. Anderson depicts Bagh’s development from
childhood to fully grown male. Then he gives account of his attack on a
bioson resulting in painful wound in his left thigh. It took seven weeks
to recover his wound. He met with two serious accidents in his life.
Then he attacked on a baby elephant which proved even worst
experience for him. Anderson explores the psyche of the male tiger,
Bagh. He mentions that Bagh’s ego received a severe blow after his
attack on a baby elephant and then he turned to attack on cattle herd.
The shameful memory of his defeat from bisons and elephants was still
lurking in his subconscious mind and so he came nearer the farmsteads
and human settlement to bag easy pray in the form of bulls and cows. A
poor herdsman named Gundappa decided to set up a trap for Bagh who
killed his valuable cattle. The trap was set and on that fatal day Bagh
got trapped and the steel jaw fastened on either side of his neck. Bagh
roared with pain, he fought bravely to escape from the trap but
received severe injury. He rushed into the jungle and suffered from the
intense pain that was torturing him for many weeks to come. Then he
became a man-eater and finally, one day the man with the gun, shot
him dead. Anderson narrates the reaction of the hunter after killing the
man-eater,
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“Bagh, the Maharajah, was dead at last, but the man who
killed him could not help feeling little sympathy for the
creature he had been forced to slay.”(187)
Perhaps the hunter is Anderson himself and Bagh is the every
man- eater, he had killed unwillingly.
Bagh committed crimes of killing human- beings as a result of
the changed circumstances brought about by his disablement. The
typical life story of Bagh brings forth the tragedy of entire tiger species
living in the Indian jungles under present day conditions.
Andesson’s other stories in this book. ‘The swami of ‘Valaithothu’,
‘The villain of windy Valley’ and ‘The lonely Panther of Kuppa Gudda
Hill’ narrates his successful shooting of the cattle lifters and man-
eaters. All these beasts are also victims of the similar circumstances
that Bagh faced. All of them met tragic death because of human
intruision, encroachment on their territory. Bagh’s story is an ideal
example of tragic fate of tigers and panthers living in Indian jungles
today.

“The one–legged Dutchman of wild Heritage”

In this Passage, Anderson portrays Captain Jonklaas, a
respectable gentleman, a tea-planter from Ceylon. He was the Dutch
who had come to South India to satisfy a long-felt need to see, hear or
shoot the king of Asiatic jungles- the tiger, in his own realm. Anderson
mentions that Captian Jonklaas had wonderful idea of constructing a
hut right in the heart of the wilds to entertain his visitors from the
west in royal style. Anderson describes the shack he had built of giant
bamboos throughout and the place named ‘Wild Heritage’ Anderson
states that the name was very appropriate because it provided wide
open spaces, animals, birds, flowers and trees, the scent of the jungle
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by daytime and the secret calls of wild animals in the night. Thus the
place ‘Wild Heritage’ was paradise in true sense for all Nature Lovers.
Anderson presents the topography of the ‘Wild Heritage’. It was
situated in the pretty little hamlet of Mahvanhalla at the foot of the
Nilgiri Mountains. He describes virgin forest from east of Mahvanhalla
on the bank of the Segur river as far as the Moyar river. This dense
forest was the home of the elephant, the tiger and the panther, and
their prey, the many herds of samber, spotted deer, wild pig, jungle
sheep that everywhere abound.
The Captain had fallen in love with that place and had formed
the habit of returning each year in winter to shoot his annual tiger.
Anderson admits that the Captain told him that the jungles of Ceylon
are beautiful in every way, but they lack just one thing and that is
there are no tigers. Thus it was the attraction of the tiger that brought
Capt. Jonklaas to south Indian jungles. Anderson admires his love of
jungles and wild animals. He mentions that despite his great physical
handicap Jonklaas managed to wander in the jungle with the aid of an
artificial leg.
Anderson then, narrates Captain Jonklaas’ two interesting
adventures. First adventure is that of killing of a lone male tiger of
Mahvanhalla who for many years haunted the banks of the Segur river.
The second adventure is his encounter with the one-tusked rogue
elephant that operated at kilkotagiri in the Nilgiri Mountains.
Anderson’s unique style of narration of such exciting and thrilling
adventures makes this passage very interesting to read.