THE WHITE TIGER. 157 
order. The liver is a very dangerous organ to touch, and a Tiger, when there struck, 
rarely lives for more than fifteen or twenty minutes. 
Perhaps of all animals the Tiger is one of the easiest to kill, although the wound may 
not be an instantaneous cause of death. Whether the cause may lie in the habits or diet 
of the creature is not certain, but true it is, that a wound inflicted on a Tiger very soon 
assumes an angry appearance, becomes tainted, and affords a resting-place for the pestilent 
blow-flies, which take such a hold of the poor beast, that even a slightly wounded Tiger has 
been known to die, not from the immediate effects of the injury, but from the devouring 
maggots which swarmed in and about the wound. 
In tri wcking the wounded Tiger, the blood-spots that are flung from the agitated animal 
are of vast service. They are easily distinguishable, even though they dry instantaneously 
on touching the ground. As it dries, each blood- patch is surrounded by eetenranle tiny 
ants, which seem to crowd to the spot as if they had been created for that sole purpose, 
and from their numbers make the gory traces more apparent. But these bloody tracks are 
by no means a necessary consequence of wounding a Tiger, which very often receives a 
deadly hurt, and yet spills no single drop of blood. The cause of this strange fact is the 
loose manner in which the skin hes over the body. It may therefore happen that, when 
the Tiger is in energetic movement, a portion of the skin which, when the animal is at 
rest, would be over the shoulder-blades, is shifted to quite another spot. If at that moment 
a bullet passes into the body of the creature, and checks its active movement, the skin 
ships back again to its usual position, so that the hole in the skin and that in the body no 
longer coincide ; thus preventing the external outflow of blood. 
When the Tiger is killed, it is necessary to guard it in some way from the direct 
beams of the sun, or even from actual contact with objects which have been heated by its 
burning rays. 
Should the creature fall on a tolerably cool spot, all that is necessary is to cover it 
with bushy branches, grass, and other fohage; but if the locality should be a hot one, as 
is generally the case, further precautions must be taken, by dragging the dead animal 
under the shelter of some shady tree or bushes. The reason for this cautious proceeding 
is, that the Tiger's flesh rapidly yields to putrefaction, and thus loosens the hair from the 
skin. So, however fatigued the hunter may be after he has succeeded in killing his prey, 
he dares not give way to repose until he has taken all the necessary precautions. Even 
ten or fifteen minutes under a hot sun is sufficient to bring off the hair in large patches, 
leaving the hide in a state perfectly unfit for use. Should the animal lie on a hot rock, 
the result will be the same. 
After taking the skin from the dead Tiger,—which in itself is no easy task,—the next 
business is to preserve it in such a manner that it will dry uniformly without contracting 
into unsightly folds, without putrefaction, and without suffering from the teeth of the 
swarming ants and other insects, which are the plague of all taxidermists in hot 
countries. 
For the latter object, sundry preparations are used, arsenical soap being that which is 
most generally known. It is, however, an exceedingly dangerous substance, requiring 
very great care in manipulation. A more harmless preparation is composed of a very 
strong solution of salt, alum, and powdered “ cutch,” in which the hide is steeped before 
being dried. In order to insure regularity of drying, the skin is laid on the ground with 
the far downward, and fastened to the earth by a great number of wooden pegs, which 
are driven through its edges, fringing its entire outline. inclusive of the head and limbs. 
The hot sunbeams soon draw away the moisture, and in a few hours the skin is dried, and 
may be packed for carriage. The size and value of the skins vary exceedingly, the latter 
according to the current prices of the day, and the former according to the age and growth 
of theanimal. Asa general rule, the finest skins are eleven feet six inches in length. 
The colour, too, is more variable than might be supposed, some skins being much 
darker than others ; while occasionally, a specimen is discovered, the fur of which is so 
pale, as to earn for ‘the animal the title of White Tiger. One of these animals is figured 
in the engraving; the original was a well known specimen in London about the 
year 1820. 
