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 swarm in and about the wound. 



In tracking 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 innumerable 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 lies 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 slips 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 foliage ; 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 neces- 

 ary 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 contract- 

 ing 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, re- 

 quiring 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 fur 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 the animal. As a general rule, the 

 finest skins are eleven feet six inches in length. 



The color, 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. 



