Frank asked what birds or beasts were to be found in Sumatra.
"You find pretty much the same as you do in Malacca or Siam," was the reply. "There are plenty of elephants of the same species as on the main-land, and there is any number of tigers. They are very large, and proportionally fierce, and a great many of the natives are eaten by them every year. They do not often attack white men, but I had a close escape one evening from being eaten by one of them."
"How did that happen?"
"I had been visiting a planter of my acquaintance, and we did not separate till about dark. I had a ride of six or eight miles before me to reach the house where I was to stay for the night, but did not mind it in the least, as I had been over the ground before, and had no fear of losing my way. My friend cautioned me to look out for tigers, but I only laughed when he said so, as I had no idea that a tiger would attack a man on horseback.
"I was cantering gently along, when all at once my pony began to prick his ears and sniff the air, as though all was not right. Every moment he was more and more uneasy, and he exerted himself to the utmost to make good time over the road. Never in my life was I carried faster by a horse than on that occasion.
CHASED BY A TIGER.
"In a few minutes I heard the growl of a tiger, who was in full pursuit, and gaining at every stride. The road led to a creek, and it occurred to me that my whole safety consisted in reaching that creek before the tiger reached me. I threw my hat off to amuse the beast for a moment, and it gave my horse just the time he needed without a second to spare. The tiger did not try to follow through the water, and when I got to the house where I was to stay, I resolved not to venture again on that road after dark.