“The natives of India, especially the Hindoos, hold the Tiger, as they do the Cobra, in superstitious awe. Many would not kill him if they could, for they fear that he will haunt them or do them mischief after death. Some they regard as being the tenement of a spirit, which not only renders them immortal, but confers increased powers of mischief. In many parts of India the peasants will hardly mention the Tiger by name. They either call him, as in Purneah, Giahur (Jackal), Janwar (the beast), or they will not name him at all; and it is the same in the case of the Wolf. But though they will not always themselves destroy him, they are quite willing that others should do so, for they will point out his whereabouts, and be present at his death; and the delight evinced thereat is intense, for it often relieves a whole village from an incubus of no slight weight, and saves the herdsman from his weekly loss of cattle. The conversation and remarks made by these villagers round the fallen Tiger are often very amusing and characteristic. “All kinds of power and influence are ascribed to portions of him when dead; the fangs, the claws, the whiskers, are potent charms, medicines, love-philtres, or prophylactics against disease, the evil eye, or magic. They are in such demand that the natives _will_ take them; and we have known whiskers, claws, and even fangs, extracted and carried away during the night, even when the dead Tiger has been placed under the surveillance of a guard. The fat, also, is in great demand, for its many potent virtues in relieving rheumatism and other ailments. The liver, the heart, and the flesh are taken away and dried, to be eaten as tonics or invigorating remedies that give strength and courage. There is also a popular delusion that a new lobe is added to the liver every year of his life. A Tiger’s skin with its whiskers preserved is a rarity; you cannot keep them. The domestic, who would preserve any other valuable as a most sacred trust, will fail under this temptation! The whiskers, besides other wonderful powers, are said to possess that of being a slow poison when administered with the food. Such is the belief, which you may try in vain to disturb! The clavicles, too--little curved bones like tiny ribs--are also much valued; but they are generally lost or overlooked when the Tiger is cut up, lying buried in the powerful muscles near the shoulders.” It is a very common opinion that the wounds made by a Tiger’s claw or teeth are poisonous, and consequently highly dangerous. It is, however, hardly necessary to state that the Tiger’s venom is of quite the same nature as that of the Frog and Newt, which so many country people believe in devoutly to this day. The huge jagged canines, and the carefully sharpened claws make wounds which are certainly ugly enough, but their danger arises merely from their depth, and from their liability to fester in a hot climate.