P L A T E XXII.
A TIGER KILLED BY A POISONED ARROW.
1 HE coiislriiclion of the a p p a r a t us for shoot ing t iger s witli a r rows , ei ther
poi soned or not, is exi r cme ly s imple. Tl i c r e are viirious modes ; but lha l in
genera l use is as follows. T h e bow is fi.xcd at tlie middl e b y two s takes , di s tant
enough lo al low llic a r row lo pa s s freely wi thout touching, anil at about eighteen
iiiclies, or two feel , f rom the g round, a c cording lo the size of ihe anima l to be
bi l led. T h e g r e a t nicety is, to fi.'i the bow so that the a r row ma y fly qui t e horiz
ont a l ly; or, al least, as much so as the pr inciples of project i les will admi t .
T h e ehord of the arc sliould be ])arallel to the road f requented by the tiger.
T h e s i r ing be ing dr awn ba ck, so as to bend the b ow sulliciently, is ke|)l a l its
stretch b y means of a stitV piece of stick, cut j u s t the length, so as to pinch a
we d g e aga ins t I lie inside of the bow. Thi s we d g e come.s down s ix or e i ght
inches, and at its lower end has a s t rong line fas tened to i t ; whi ch, bein"-
carried iicross tlie pat l iwny, for perliitps twenty or tliirtv yiinls, and s t rained
niodt'niLoly tight, is llicrc laslenerl lo a s t rong s t ake {iriven into tllc g r o u n d for
tbe purpos e , if no suflieient busti l)e at l iand. Thi s be ing all done, tile a r row is
g ent ly depos i ted i]i ils pro| )er plaee. T o give it the requi s i te position before the
ehoril we r e stretehed wonid l)e dang e rous ; as, in set t ing tile lat ter tight, tile
we d g e mi ght be dr awn, and the a r row be di s cha r g ed at llie oper a tor . T h e
re ade r wl l , from this deseriplioii i inder s land, thai, tile liow is firmly f ixed ;
and, tha i , the we d g e int roduced belvveen ihe ins ide and ihe ext ended s t r ing of
the bow, operates as a lever ; for w hen any p owe i , siieh as the s tep of a tiger,
pres ses aga ins t ihe s i r ing, and eau.ses il lo de p a r t f rom its r ight line, Ihe we d g e
niusi iieeessarily give wa y lo the force, and turn ihe cxtei idi i ig stick d ownwa r d s ;
thereby s e l l ing it at l iberty, and occ.-isioniiig the how to act ins tantaneous ly !
S u c h is Ihe velocity of llie a r row, and so rpiiek doe s Ihis s imple cont r ivance
act, thai , l iger s are, for the mosi par t , shot near the siioulder. But , even we r e
il less rapid, we mi ght natural ly conjecture, that, the t iger , feel ing his l e g obs
t ructed by Ihe line, would pause, and al lbrd ampl e time for the arro\i- to t ake
eflcet, before he could eompletely pa s s ils range. Gene r a l ly, l iger s fall williin
two hundred y a rds of Ihe fatal spot, they be ing mos t f rei lucni ly struck ihroiigli
the lungs , aud somet imes s t r a ight through the hear t . I f the a r row be poi soned, as
is mos t fretiuently ihe case, joeal i ty is no pa r l i enl a r o b j e c t ; though wi thout
doubt , such wo u n d s as would of themselves prove efl'eetual, una ided l,y the
venom, g ive Ihe simarric least t rouble. T h e poison never fai l s to kill wi thin an
hour , f t is nol a lwa y s neces sary, bill it is usual , for one or mor e pe r sons to be
a t hand, in the neares t trees, or in some s e cur e s i lnat ion, c ommanding a vi ew of
the spot, to wa l ch the event, as well as to caut ion t ravel ler s who mi g h t inadver
tent ly be pr o c e eding towa rds the snare, and he liable to its mi s chi e f T h e
hows are, however wi lh hi t le devialioi, laid in pl a c e s not much f r equent ed, and
mos t ly at a time when all the sur r ounding vi l lager s , unde r s t anding lha t some
t i g e r ha s commi t ted r avage s , e xpe c t ihe l iows lo be l a id near hi s haunt s ; wliieh
in cous equene e are c a r e ful ly avoided.
As soon as Ihe t iger is deail, no t ime is lost in s t r i pp ing od' the skin ; for,
we r e it suf fered to remain nmi l the heat mi ght taint it, nothing could cirect its
preserva l ion : it would rot to a c e r t a int y ; and, even we r e it not to do so.
r a pidl y , the hair wo u l d loosen aud fall olf. S u ch wo u l d resul t me r e ly f rom the
s t a l e of Ihe a tmosphe r e ; hut the poison would accelera te its ruin leii-fohl. T h e
t empe r a tur e of a t iger ' s bo dy is, at all t imes, hi ghly f avour abl e lo eorriiptioii ;
but , a f t er the torment s ])rodiicc(l in cons equenc e of the wound, the c a r c a s e hecome
s inconceivably di sposed to iiulTescenee.
When bows are f ixed in gra.ss Jung l e s , for whi ch indeed ihey seem pecul iar ly
e a l eul a l ed, the tops of the g r a s s a r e cut awa y wi lh a sickle, so a s lo form a
na r r ow vista for the pas.sage of the a r row. T h e s i r ing, whi ch pa.sses a c ros s the
pa th, is however c a r e ful ly concealed ; the g r a s s b e ing br ought over to meet
and cover it f rom ihe t iger ' s observat ion. I t is not tha t the for c e of the a r row
would be sens ibly dimini shed in so shor t a c o u r s e ; bul , lha l , sonic r a the r s l i l f
r e ed, or stick, mi ght touch, and diver t it f rom its pr o pe r direetioii. Fo r the
bow is ordinar i ly so ve ry suhs t ant i a l as to rc(|nire the whol e force, of a s t rong,
well a c cus tomed man, lo heiid and dr aw it | i roper ly.
T h e Puhariala, or hill peopl e , who ma y be said to be ihe only per sons
" • f e r i » .
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L- A T I G E R n L L E D B Y A F O I S O N E I D A R H O W . I . E T I G R E T D É F A H U N E F L B C I I E E J I P O I S O IWf E E