408 THE ASWAIL, OR SLOTH BEAR. 
upon the person that inflicted the injury ; for should it only be slightly wounded, it runs 
forward in a straight line, as if it were actuated by the one idea of getting as far as possible 
away from the object which had caused it so much bodily snffermg, and can but seldom 
be finally captured. 
As a general rule, the Aswail remains within its sheltered den during the hot hours‘of 
the day, as its feet seem to be extremely sensitive to heat, and suffer greatly from the bare 
rocks and stones which have been subjected to the burning rays of that glowing Indian 
sun, On one or two occasions, however, where the wounded Bear had been successfully 
tracked and killed, the soles of the poor animal’s feet were found to be horribly scorched 
and blistered by the effects of the heated rocks over which the creature had recklessly 
passed in its haste to escape from its enemies. On account of this extreme sensitiveness 
of the Aswail’s foot, it is very seldom seen by daylight, and is generally captured or killed 
hy hunters who track it to its sleeping place, and then attack their drowsy prey. 
The Aswail is said never to eat vertebrate animals except on very rare occasions, when 
it is severely pressed by hunger. Its usual diet consists of various roots, bees’-nests, 
together with their honey and young bees, grubs, snails, slugs, and ants, of which 
insects it is extremely fond, and which it eats in very great numbers. Probably on account 
of its mode of feeding, its flesh is in much favour as an article of diet, and though rather 
coarse in texture, is said by those who have had practical experience of its qualities to be 
extremely good. 
The fat of this Bear is very highly valued among the natives and the European 
residents, being used chiefly for the lubrication of the delicate steel work that is employed 
in the interior of gun-locks. For this purpose the fat is prepared in a similar manner to 
that of the tiger, being cut into long strips, forced into closely stoppered bottles, and 
placed during the entire day in the blazing rays of the sun. The powerful sunbeams soon 
melt the fat into a homogeneous mass, and when the evening begins to draw on, the 
contents of the bottle are found to settle into a firm and white substance, which has the 
property of remaining untainted even in that heated climate, where, if no such precaution 
were taken, it would in a very few hours become a mass of putrescent abomination. The 
prepared fat is especially valuable for gun-locks, as it preserves the bright steel from rust, 
and does not clog by constant service, as is the case with almost every other animal oil. 
In connexion with this subject it may be as well to mention that the ordinary 
“trotter oil,” or “neats’-foot oil,” may be prepared for the most delicate work in a similar 
manner. If a bottle of this oil be placed in the sun’s rays, and a few strips of lead 
dropped into the vessel, an extraordinarily heavy deposit begins to take place, and fills the 
lower part of the bottle. The upper part, however, remains bright and limpid as erystal, 
and by a repetition of the same process may be so effectually purified that it will never be 
hable to that annoying viscidity which detracts so much from the value of animal oils that 
have been for some time in use. It is in this manner that watch makers purify the oil for 
the lubrication of the delicate machinery of their trade. 
Very little is known of the habits of this Bear while in its wild state, but it would 
appear from the conduct of two young animals that inhabited the same cage in the 
Zoological Gardens, that it must be a gentle and affectionate creature. 
It is, at all events, known that the maternal Aswail is in the habit of carrying on 
her back those of her offspring that are not able to make full use of their own means 
of progression. The two animals that were kept in the Zoological Gardens were 
accustomed to lie close to each other, and while in that easy position used to suck their 
paws after the usual ursine fashion, uttering at the same time a kind of bearish purr, as an 
expression of contentment. This sound, although it partakes of the nature of a whine, 
admixed with the purr, is not without a musical intonation, and may be heard at some little 
distance. Indeed, it has not unfrequently happened that the Bear has been betrayed to its 
pursuers by the continuous sound which it utters while lying half asleep within its den. 
The hair which covers the body and limbs is of singular length, especially upon the 
back of the neck and the head, imparting a strange and grotesque appearance to the 
animal. The colour of the fur is of a deep black, interspersed here and there with hairs 
of a brownish hue. Upon the breast, a forked patch of whitish hairs is distinctly visible. 
