A TIGER KILLED BY A POISONED ARROW. 87
liracllsiiig this iiarl of sporting, arc, as already oliservccl, qiiile a ilislinol race from
ihc rest of [he iiilialjltanls of Bengal ; and, from every circumstance, may be,
wHh reason considered as the aborigines. They are in stature and features very
like the Welch ; tliey have customs diametrically opposite to the various people
s n r r o n n d i n g tbem, and speak a language equally dia'crcnt. The bow seems to
b e their principal weapon, and they are amazingly expert at it. I bave seen
t h em lie on their backs, steadying the bow with their feet, borizontally ; and
at the distance of two or three hundred yards, send the arrow tbrough a
™mmon water pot, not more thai, a foot in diameter. They will shoot kites
nyiug, and indeed rarely miss their object. This is not to bo wondered at,
w h c r w o reflect that they have no other means of killing game, on ivliich they
principidly rely for subsistence ; ihougb they eullivate here and ihere, a small
valley with rice, and rear immense quantities of fowls. No people in the world
are so expert and successful, as ibe Pahaririks, in making capons. They perform
the operation with a small blunt iron knife, always kept suspended by a ring
on its baft, tliroLigh which a small cord passes, and serves as a girdle. With this
r u d e instrument they make an ugly laeeralion, tearing open the orifice in a
manner that woul d astonish our learned dissectors. They anoint the parts with
a little ghee and turmeric i and arc so extremely successful as not to lose one in
1 huiidr°cd. Capons are very cheap in consequence of the general practice of
c u t t i n g , so much so, that I he average price may be deemed about twopence or
t b r e e p r a c e each. 1 have bought twenty seven for a rupee ; i. e. half a erowu.
T h e y are chiefly white, and grow very large and fal.
T h e practice of poisoning arrows is chiefly confined to the Eastern boiiiid
a r i e s i it is adopted in some parts of the Jiingleterry district, but is little
known lo the westward, where they appear to rely much on the immense size
of the arrow beads, some of which arc very broad. I saw one of a eresecnt
form, that was more than four inches across at the barbs. Though such
do not penetrate readily, yet when they happen lo graze against a limb, they
cut desperately. The people of Timor, in parlieular, use these broad arrows;
their aim is not so corrcct as that of the smaller kind ; Init when discharged
among bodies of troops, they arc foumi to do amiizing mischief. It often happens
that some refractory Zembuhr, or land-holder, will not pay his rents
without coercion; when a small delachment i s usually sent lo enforce regularity.
At such times the military often suller greally.
T h e eommoii arrows thronghout India are made of reeds, but those in
nse against tigers are chiefly made of wood ; such as the damem, or ash,
especially that kind called the singcah dameen, or horny a.sh ; which is very
l i - h t , tough, and pliant; and, ivheu choice and well polished, works up ill a
manner resembling horn. The co»o/,, which is so called from its being of a cow
colour, is occasionally adopted for making arrows ; but these are remarkably
lieays', the wood being next in solidity lo the shmh or lead tree, which is nearly
as black as ebony, and is, 1 believe, a species of the lignmn-vihc. When arrows
arc made of reeds, the heads are generally fixed on with Jimmiili, or resin ;
but when wood shafts are used, they are bored, and the licads being heated, are
fixed in very tight.
T h e tiger bow is made either of the s'ntgffth dtunecii, or of split bamboo ;
either of which answers admirably. Their ordinary length is from ..^ix 10 eight
feet, and they may he alioiit nine or ten inches in girth at the middle. They
are made rather Hat than round ; and those made of bamboo, have commonly a
thill batten, of the same sUifl', secured wilhiii the bend, and running nearly
ihe whole length; ihc bishiiigs or fastenings arc of the ihiii riud or bark of
rattans, wdiich are very strong. The how siring is made of strong catgut,
twisted Ingcther, sometimes iqiwards of half an inch in diameter. The reader
will readily conceive the sirength required lo heiirl such a how, as well as the
impetus it imparls to the arrow, ll is surprising, that the Pahariahs, who are
quite a dimiiiitive race, should be able lo use hand bows of amazing strciiglh;
such as would completely astonish our British toxophilites, and cau.se them to
consider their own weajions as mere toys.
T h e arrows used for shooting tigers have generally but a moderate harb ; 1
have seen some without any. The poison is for ihe most part a liipiid, in
which thread is steeped, and wound round at the back of the harb. We are
not acquainted with the real iialnre of the poisons ill general use; hut we are
certain of their deleterious efleets. Some pretend that only one kind is infallible ;
namely, litharge of lead, pounMl hot upon some hrniscd herbs. This may probably
he in part true. Litharge appears to he ihe hasis of the poi.son ; but, assuredly,
it is blended wilh some other slimulants, or active body, else it would
fad of suflicient powers lo operate so very suddenly as poisoned arrows often
do. There arc not wanting hunilreds who hoast respectively of ihcir own
particular recipes; which, however, they conceal with great caution; vending
t h e prepared venom to snch ils may give them a preference.
The bows in use among ihc superior classes, who keep them mostly for
show, or amusement, as also such as are carried by travellers for their defence
against rohbers, which abound ill India, ami generally murder before they
ptllage, are formed of hidfalo horn. They are made of two pieces, curved
exactly alike, and having each a wooden tip for the reception of the string;
their olher ends arc brought together, and fastened to a strong piece of wood,
that serves for a centre, and is the part held ill the grip of the left band. Being
very neady fitted, and covered with a size made of animal fibres, especially the
bladders and intestines of sheep, they are then wrapt with very fine tow, laid on
thin and smooth. After this ihcyarc painted, and varuished in the highest stile;
so excelleiilly are the hetlcr sort finished, that, it woul d be ut terl y imposible to
discover the smallest flaw, or not to suppose that the bow were all of one piece.
The peculiar excellence of a bow of this sort is, that it shall not be in the
least uneven, either in its make, or iii its action ; hut, that, the siring, which is
composed of numerous thin catguts, laid together without twisting, but lapped