Remarks on guns.--How to cure skins.--Different recipes.--Conclusion.
My remarks on guns shall be brief. The true sportsman has many
facilities for acquiring the best information on a choice of weapons.
For large game perhaps nothing can equal the Express rifle. My own
trusty weapon was a '500 bore, very plain, with a pistol grip, point
blank up to 180 yards, made by Murcott of the Haymarket, from whom I
have bought over twenty guns, every one of which turned out a splendid
weapon.
My next favourite was a No. 12 breachloader, very light, but strong
and carefully finished. It had a side snap action with rebounding
locks, and was the quickest gun to fire and reload I ever possessed. I
bought it from the same maker, although it was manufactured by W.W.
Greener.
Avoid a cheap gun as you would avoid a cheap Jew pedlar. A good name
is above riches so far as a gun is concerned, and when you have a good
gun take as much care of it as you would of a good wife. They are both
equally rare. An expensive gun is not necessarily a good one, but a
cheap gun is very seldom trustworthy. Have a portable, handy black
leather case. Keep your gun always clean, bright, and free from rust.
After every day's shooting see that the barrels and locks are
carefully cleaned and oiled. Nothing is better for this purpose than
rangoon oil.
For preserving horns, a little scraping and varnishing are all that is
required. While in camp it is a good plan to rub them with deer, or
pig, or tiger fat, as it keeps them from cracking.
To clean a tiger's or other skull. If there be a nest of ants near the
camp, place the skull in their immediate vicinity. Some recommend
putting in water till the particles of flesh rot, or till the skull is
cleared by the fishes. A strong solution of caustic water may be used
if you wish to get the bones cleaned very quickly. Some put the skulls
in quicklime, but it has a tendency to make the bones splinter, and it
is difficult to keep the teeth from getting loose and dropping out.
The best but slowest plan is to fix them in mechanically by wire or
white lead. A good preservative is to wash or paint them with a very
strong solution of fine lime and water.
To cure skins. I know no better recipe than the one adopted by my
trainers in the art of _shibar_, the brothers S. I cannot do better
than give a description of the process in the words of George himself.
'Skin the animal in the usual way. Cut from the corner of the mouth,
down the throat, and along the belly. A white stripe or border
generally runs along the belly. This should be left as nearly as
possible equal on both sides. Carefully cut the fleshy parts off the
lips and balls of the toes and feet. Clean away every particle of
fatty or fleshy matter that may still adhere to the skin. Peg it out
on the ground with the hair side undermost. When thoroughly scraped
clean of all extraneous matter on the inner surface, get a bucket or
tub of buttermilk, which is called by the natives _dahye_ or _mutha_.
It is a favourite article of diet with them, cheap and plentiful. Dip
the skin in this, and keep it well and entirely submerged by placing
some heavy weight on it. It should be submerged fully three inches in
the tub of buttermilk.
'After two days in the milk bath, take it out and peg it as before.
Now take a smooth oval rubbing-board about twelve inches long, five
round, and about an inch thick in the middle, and scrub the skin
heartily with this instrument. On its lower surface it should be cuts
in grooves, semicircular in shape, half an inch wide, and one inch
apart. During scrubbing use plenty of pure water to remove filth. In
about half an hour the pinkish-white colour will disappear, and the
skin will appear white, with a blackish tinge underneath. This is the
true hide.
'Again submerge in the buttermilk bath for twenty-four hours, and get
a man to tread on it in every possible way, folding it and unfolding
it, till all has been thoroughly worked.
'Take it out again, peg out and scrub it as before, after which wash
the whole hide well in clear water. Never mind if the skin looks
rotten, it is really not so.
'When washed put it into a tub, in which you have first placed a
mixture consisting of half an ounce of alum to each gallon of water.
Soak the skin in this mixture for about six hours, taking it up
occasionally to drain a little. This is sufficient to cure your skin
and clean it.'
The tanning remains to be done.
'Get four pounds of babool, tamarind, or dry oak bark. (The babool is
a kind of acacia, and is easily procurable, as the tamarind also is).
Boil the bark in two gallons of water till it is reduced to one half
the quantity. Add to this nine gallons of fresh water, and in this
solution souse the skin for two, or three, or four days.
'The hairs having been set by the soaking in alum, the skin will tan
more quickly, and if the tan is occasionally rubbed into the pores of
the skin it will be an improvement. You can tell when the tanning is
complete by the colour the skin assumes. When this satisfies the eye,
take it out and drain on a rod. When nearly dry it should be curried
with olive oil or clarified butter if required for wear, but if only
for floor covering or carriage rug, the English curriers' common
'dubbin,' sold by shopkeepers, is best. This operation, which must be
done on the inner side only, is simple.
'Another simple recipe, and one which answers well, is this. Mix
together of the best English soap, four ounces; arsenic, two and a
half grains; camphor, two ounces; alum, half an ounce; saltpetre, half
an ounce. Boil the whole, and keep stirring, in a half-pint of
distilled water, over a very slow fire, for from ten to fifteen
minutes. Apply when cool with a sponge. A little sweet oil may be
rubbed on the skins after they are dry.
'Another good method is to apply arsenical soap, which may be made as
follows: powdered arsenic, two pounds; camphor, five ounces; white
soap, sliced thin, two pounds; salt of tartar, twelve drams; chalk, or
powdered fine lime, four ounces; add a small quantity of water first
to the soap, put over a gentle fire, and keep stirring. When melted,
add the lime and tartar, and thoroughly mix; next add the arsenic,
keeping up a constant motion, and lastly the camphor. The camphor
should first be reduced to a powder by means of a little spirits of
wine, and should be added to the mess after it has been taken off the
fire.
'This preparation must be kept in a well-stoppered jar, or properly
closed pot. When ready, the soap should be of the consistency of
Devonshire cream. To use, add water till it becomes of the consistency
of clear rich soup.'
I have now finished my book. It has been pleasant to me to write down
these recollections. Ever since I began my task, death has been busy,
and the ranks of my friends have been sadly thinned. Failing health
has driven me from my old shooting grounds, and in sunny Australia I
have been trying to recruit the energies enervated by the burning
climate of India. That my dear old planter friends may have as kindly
recollections of 'the Maori' as he has of them, is what I ardently
hope; that I may yet get back to share in the sports, pastimes, joys,
and social delights of Mofussil life in India, is what I chiefly
desire. If this volume meets the approbation of the public, I may be
tempted to draw further on a well-stocked memory, and gossip afresh on
Indian life, Indian experiences, and Indian sport. Meantime, courteous
reader, farewell.