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25 EbS

THE

ORTSMAFS VADE-MECUM

Rotes on Shooting.

HIMALAYA

"FIELD" OFFICE,

BREAM'S BUILDINGS, E.G

HORACE Cox,

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1887
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THE SPORTSMAN'S VADE-MECUM

FOB THE

HIMALAYAS.

SHIKAR DRESS,

THE

Sportsman's Vade-Mecum

FOE THE

Himalayas:

CONTAINING NOTES ON SHOOTING, OUTFIT, CAMP EQUIPMENT,
SPORTING YARNS, ETC.,

FULLY ILLUSTRATED.

WITH

INDEX.

K. C. A. J.

LONDON:

HORACE COX,

"THE FIELD" OFFICE, BREAM'S BUILDINGS, E.G.

1891.

LONDON :
PRINTED BY HORACE COX, BREAM'S BUILDINGS, B.C.

CONTENTS.

Guns and Rifles .po#6 2

Ammunition 5

Useful Articles 9

Dress 29

Camp Equipment 34

Stores 43

Medicines 43

Writing Materials, Maps, &c. 44

Summary of Kit, &c 45

Eemoving and Drying Skins, &c 47

General Notes 52

Conclusion 58

Sporting Yarns 60

Chapter L Black Buck 62

II. Oorial 71

III. Chinkarah 77

Bustard 78

Coolun 80

IV. Markhor 81

V. Ibex 89

VI. Gooral 97

VIL Barasingh 99

VIII. Thar 102

IX. Musk Deer 104

X. Bears 106

Index . 117.

M314Q99

THE SPORTSMAN'S VADE-MECUM

FOR THE

HIMALAYAS.

WHENEVER the annual shooting season in the glorious Himalayas
draws near, many an eager sportsman commences preparing his
battery, kit, and stores, for a trip to one of those nullahs where
the best heads are to be found, known to the favoured few.
What a hurry, bustle, and race there is to get into Kashmir and
push on at once, with some celebrated shikarie, to the nullah
where Jones got the big ibex, or to the valley where Smith got
the grand markhor, or to that part of Ladak where last year
Robinson saw and stalked, unsuccessfully, the largest Ovis
ammon in the world ! The men from Bombay have the best of
it, compared with those from Bengal, as they get a month's start,
and can reach the ground earlier, provided the various snow passes
are open ; if still closed they have to put up with long, wearying
delays, which detract much from the total pleasure of the trip.
As they have to leave in September, they cannot have much of a
time with the red deer (Bara singh), whose horns are likely to be
in velvet until the last week of that month, so there is some
consolation for the Bengal men.

Well, every man has an idea of his own, sometimes founded on
his past experience, sometimes on that of others, and in these
notes it is intended to review the most useful patterns of different
things taken with him by a sportsman, and the difficulties he may
encounter, founded on the experience of the writer. If others
find them as useful and suitable as he did during his trips in those
regions, he will feel that they were not kept in vain.

THE SPORTSMAN'S VADE-MECUM

G-UNS AND ElFLES.

This may be well styled a dangerous subject, as to mention
individual makers would lead to the supposition that it was worth
my while to puff them; I must therefore omit all names, and
trust my readers to believe me when I say I have tried and fired
weapons by most well-known, and by some unknown, makers.
In the latter category are included those who are local and do
not advertise in any papers that have passed through my hands,
besides those who have joined the great majority and are now
forgotten. From all I have tried I have drawn my own deduc-
tions, and to-morrow could select a gun from one house and a rifle
from another without any deliberation as to which to choose for
a name.

No matter where you buy your weapons, try them yourself
at 100, 150, and 200 yards for the rifle ; at 40 yards for the gun.
Diagrams are perfectly correct and dependable when supplied,
but it is a fact that they have been made by men who have much
experience and practice, and represent what can be done with the
weapon when in their hands. There are many reasons why you
cannot do as well, and, unless you can make fairly average shooting
with both barrels, try another and another weapon until you get
what you want. One of the commonest sources of irregular
shooting is the weight of the pull-off of the triggers ; for a rifle
they must be heavy, otherwise the left hammer may fall on the
explosion of the right barrel. But they should be alike, and you
should be thoroughly accustomed to the strain required. Last
winter a friend of mine made vile shooting with a gun he had
selected after trial at a well-known maker's ; he shot so badly
that at last he appealed to me. I tried the gun at rabbits bolting
across narrow rides cut through high gorse, found the pull-off
excessive, told him so, and he had it rectified, making excellent
practice subsequently.

When firing snap shots with a rifle you may not heed the pull-off,
but at the end of a long stalk, after a good head, you will find that
an excessive strain on the forefinger is by no means conducive to
good shooting.

Tears ago I had a wonderful short-barrelled 12-bore rifle, with
patent eccentric triggers ; snap-shooting was painful, as the triggers
came back over half an inch before the hammers could fall ; but

FOR THE HIMALAYAS. 3

in a stalking shot you had only to press lightly, and gradually the
trigger came back, the hammer falling with the sights unmoved,
from the time aim had been taken. I do not recommend this
pattern, but just mention it as a specimen of how circumstances
alter cases.

A Gun for the Himalayas should be 12-bore, breech-loading
(but not complicated) , with cylinder barrels ; a choke is unsuited
for ball, and most of the game require a pretty big circle of shot
to catch them swooping down and around small glens. I would
prefer steel or laminated steel barrels, and hammers below line of
sight ; springless strikers ; bar locks, to insure full thickness of
good wood at the small where the great strain comes if the gun
falls ; top-snap treble-grip action ; chambered for Eley's cases ;
weight at least 7flb. Be sure you get a solid oak and leather
case for it, with reliable turning-over and re-capping machines,
measures, cleaning rod, screwdriver, bottles of lock and rangoon
oil, wad-cutter, rammer, pull-through barrel cleaner, spare strikers,
nipple-wrench for fitting same, bullet-mould, &c. ; you can leave oat
the machines and measures when going to the hills, if you are sure
you will not be reloading, and fill up the space with gun rags ; but
mind you have spare strikers ; a broken one may be the source of
much discomfort, if not of actual danger, unless replaced.

The Rifle may be either '450, '500, or magnum '500. I do not
like '577 ; it is too large for the smaller game, and unnecessarily
powerful for the larger. Just before leaving India I was corre-
sponding with a well-known maker about a '450 magnum to take
5 drams powder, and to-morrow I would choose that. At the time
I was using a '450 made by him for 4 drams, but I used 4|, and
attribute my success to the flatter trajectory even the half dram
extra insured. I believe this rifle will kill all Himalayan game
if handled fairly, and cannot see why a sportsman should require
one that will kill everything, regardless of where it is hit.

If you do not like such a bore, get the '500 magnum, sighted
for 6 drams. You may as well have the flattest trajectory made,
for on many occasions a slight error in judging distance will cause
a miss, and opportunities cannot be thrown away they are by nc
means plentiful. I recommend the solid, long-drawn brass cases ;
the coiled do not last as well, nor fire as strong, I believe, and the
bottle-shaped give a greater strain to the breech-end of the barrels
at the moment of ignition. I have also found that the bottle-

B 2

THE SPORTSMAN'S VADE-MECUM

shaped require swedging before they can be used again, while the
long-drawn may be fired many times without any such operation ;
I never swedged my old '450 or -500 cases, and used them over
and over again.

So much for the bore. The next point is whether it is to be a
single or double ; if you can afford it, let it be the latter, but if
money is an object it is better to have a really first-rate single than
any second-rate double. My '450 was a single, and I never lost
or missed game owing to its being so, neither was my life ever in
danger from a wounded animal. It may be said I was lucky ; but
I think I ran little risk, for I never tried shots at bears up above
me ! I had decided on a double "450 magnum by the same maker,
when duty called me out of India, and, as I said before, that is the
weapon I would choose now.

There should be a fixed sight for use up to and at 150 yards,
with one leaf for 200 yards. Between these distances I prefer to
take a fuller sight according to the increase in elevation required,
instead of putting up the 200 and aiming fine ; beyond 200, up to
230, you will find a good rifle will fully satisfy your expectations
with the 200 yards leaf up, and more foresight visible. The sights

SECTION

ELEVATION

here shown are excellent. There is a platinum line down the
centre of the back-sight, and the end of the fore- sight towards
the breech is counter-sunk, so that it is always a round black object.
The height of the back-sight is exaggerated in the sketch, to

SECTION

enable the pattern to be seen ; the fore-sight is about right, and
will require a sight protector, such as I have described later on.
It is no use having a fore-sight nearly flush on the rib or lump

FOR THE HIMALAYAS.

at the muzzle ; it is ranch more difficult to distinguish, and inter-
feres with the taking of a full or very full sight when required.

Bar-action locks ; springless strikers ; double-grip under-lever,
or treble-grip top-snap action ; steel barrels with engine-turned
rib ; pistol hand- stock ; eyes for sling near toe of butt and between
the fore-end and muzzle ; hammers below line of sight. Do not
buy rebounding locks; the strain on the cap on explosion of the
powder is enormous, and, unless supported by broad-nosed strikers,
it is very likely to jam in the striker-hole in the false breech.
Do not have safety bolts on the locks ; they are dangerous. If you
give a native a loaded rifle with the safety bolts on, one of two
things is likely to happen ; he will release the bolt, fiddling with
it, and discharge a shot in dangerous proximity if not actually
into you, or you will forget about it and be pulling the trigger
until it breaks or your game disappears. I removed the safety
bolts from my double "500, having the slots filled with soft solder,
and never gave the natives loaded weapons ; it was seldom I was
not loaded in time, for a snap-shot even. If you have safety bolts
there is always the danger of an accident through having the rifle
loaded, leaning against a rock or tree, or even through putting
it into the waterproof cover without removing the cartridges.
Nothing would induce me to use a rifle that had safety bolts
working on its locks ; out they must come before I would venture
on a day's shooting.

A good solid oak and leather case ; loading implements and
re-capping machine ; brass-swivel cleaning rod; screw-driver; spare
strikers, and nipple wrench for fitting same; wad cutter and
lubricator moulds ; bullet mould and plug ; lock and ran goon oil ;
pull-through barrel cleaner in case ; spare fore and back sights that
have been fitted and tried ; sling ; box caps and anvils for
re-capping, being certain they fit the cartridges that suit the rifle ;
bullet wrappers, and plate to guide in cutting same. (See " Loading
Eifle Cartridges.")

AMMUNITION.

This may be divided into different heads, gun and rifle ; but it
is most desirable to carry all considered necessary, ready loaded.
If you carry the cases and materials, they take up more room,
and are more liable to individual damage ; sometimes you may
want cartridges in a hurry (having used the loaded stock), be

6 THE SPORTSMAN'S VADE-MECUM

delayed, and so too late for the " big head " the men saw
on the other side of the range from camp, half an hour before
your return, and while a little daylight was left to go after it.
To-morrow that head may be miles away, in another part of the
range, and you may not be lucky enough to find out his exact
whereabouts again. Sometimes, a couple of bears having been
met with, a considerable number of cartridges may have been
expended, the stock in hand considerably reduced, and, perhaps,
a balance of three left, with which no one would care to start after
a good head. The first may kill him at once, but, on the contrary,
may miss, and, even if it does bag him, you may subsequently see
a better one, miss with the two rounds you had left, and have to
let him go, having nothing to fall back upon until you have loaded
some more a work of time if properly carried out. Therefore,
it is advisable to have plenty of loaded cartridges.

Number of Cartridges. The gun so materially aids the larder, it
is worth while to have 400 to 500 cartridges, loaded as follows.
(The actual charges must be to suit the gun ; the size of shot
only can be recommended here.)

100 cartridges, No. 2 shot. Left barrel for pheasants, &c.

150 4 Eight barrel for pheasants, left barrel for

chikor.

150 ,, 6 ,, Eight barrel for chikor, and generally

for black partridge, a stray wood-
Total 400 cock, &c.

If your gun can fire ball, twenty ball cartridges will be handy,
as you may meet a bear on your pheasant or chikor ground, with
your rifle-carrier some way off, or you may want a second gun
when driving small nullahs for bears, &c.

The rifle being the weapon for " trophies," be sure you have the
right sized and shaped cartridges, and the best. Solid (or drawn)
brass are better than any coiled, and when cleansed and reloaded,
do well for buck, or any other shooting in the plains against timid
animals. Against dangerous game a new cartridge is most
essential, as a misfire may cost you or your men dearly.

For a six months trip 100 cartridges should suffice ; but if fifty
more can be carried conveniently, they will form a second reserve.
If you carry a larger number, you are liable to be less careful,
and blaze away recklessly, doing little in the way of sport, but
wounding or frightening many a head. A good sportsman picks

FOR THE HIMALAYAS.

his shots carefully and considerately, and abstains from waste of
ammunition, and the killing of females or small and worthless
heads. Between travelling, bad weather, and other difficulties, out
of the 180 days' leave, you can hardly expect more than 120 days
on the shooting grounds, looking for game, though the chance of
a shot at a head worth having may be twice in a week ; the
average, all round, will rarely exceed this. Sportsmen have been
six weeks without a shot at anything but an odd bear, and
that on ground supposed to be good. Game wanders and
moves about so much that, until one has seen it, one cannot
say when a shot may be expected. Markhor especially have a
wonderful knack of having left just before you reached the
ground.

How to Carry Ammunition. Gun cartridges should be packed
in soldered tin boxes of one hundred each, and distributed
amongst the three or four bullock-trunks (yak-dhans) or leather-
covered baskets (kiltas), forming the personal baggage. Divide
the numbers of each size shot, so that the proportion is kept up
much the same as in the total ; you will then use one box at a
time, and keep the rest intact. Thus, for a box of 100, put in 25
of No. 2, 33 of No. 4, and 42 of No. 6. Such boxes as these are

small lOin. by 4Jin. by 4Jin. There will be twenty cartridges in
a layer on the bottom, arranged alternately, in rows of five across.
There will be room for five of these layers, forming the full case of
100. Any little spaces can be filled in with plugs of paper. If
your coolies come to grief, and drop a load into a stream, you will
not lose much if the load is not recovered, and nothing if it is
fished out, besides distributing the weight fairly amongst the
loads. The next best thing to soldering down the lids, and when
you want to keep the boxes for further use, is to have the lids to
fit well, and, after passing a string round the box when packed,
roll it up in wax-cloth twice round, and well overlapping at the
ends ; then tie it up securely. This will generally suffice, if placed

THE SPORTSMAN'S VADE-MECUM

in the middle of the contents of the box it is to be carried in, but
it is not so certain as the soldering down.

Rifle cartridges can be best packed in small tin cases of ten (10),
made a little longer than the loaded cartridge, with a tight-fitting
top. They should be rather wider than five cartridges placed
side by side, alternately bullet and base, and a little more than
two cartridges thick. Roll the cartridges in paper, as Govern-
ment cartridges for the Martini-Henry are rolled, but with

thicker paper, so that there shall be no movement of a single
round. Take an ordinary half sheet of the Times, or any similar
paper, cut it in two down the centre from top to bottom. Double
the piece so obtained lengthwise, and do it a second or third time,
until its width is about that of the length of a cartridge, see
Fig. (1).

7 8

Now place one cartridge across on it, about one-third of the
length from you ; double up that end (A) over the case and fold it
over on B. Lay a cartridge, 2 , on A, the opposite way to 1 ; double
back A, and on B, close against 2 , place cartridge 3 (Fig. 3).
Now down with A again as in Fig. 4, place cartridge 4 similarly
to 2 , up again with A, and place 5 similarly to 3 (Fig. 5). Double
A down over 5 , and place 6 on top of it (Fig. 6) pointing in the

FOR THE HIMALAYAS.

same direction as 2 and 4 , and, therefore, the opposite way to 5 .
A should be nearly used up now, so bring B over with it and work
back to 1, using up B as shown by dotted line in Fig. 8. A
bundle of ten will then be formed, which can be readily slipped
into the little box, where any surplus paper may be pressed in also.
Put on the lid, tie up securely, wrap up in wax-cloth and secure
with string. These cases will leep for a long period, and not
suffer from damp. Distribute them amongst the loads as n the
case of gun cartridges, and you will probably have plenty of
ammunition, even if you should lose a load or have it soaked.

USEFUL ARTICLES.

Cartridge Pouch. To carry what one requires in the way of
rifle ammunition for immediate use, nothing is better than a
leather pouch as under. Six compartments are made by sewing
soft calf, or even sheepskin, on to the harder back A, as B, so that
six cartridges will each be in a separate place of its own. A
doubles down over all to keep off the damp or wet and prevent

Closed

Open

loss, being held down by D, a continuation of C, which is sewn
to A at 1 and 2, so as to form a loop for the belt to pass
through. This loop, C to D, will be about lin. wide ; it will
fit over the stud E and keep A down. A duplicate should
be carried by the shikarie in a cartridge bag, with the six
rounds in it, all ready to exchange for the first when its con-
tents have been expended. The cartridge bag will be alluded
to further on.

THE SPORTSMAN'S VADE-MECUM

Cartridge Extractor. This is rarely required with a properly
built rifle and solid brass cartridges, but a "jam " may occur, and
it is better to be prepared. The handiest and safest way to carry
it is on the flap A of the cartridge pouch described above. Z is
a small pocket sewn on to the corner of A. The hook end of the
extractor can be put into this. It should be about lin. to If in.

long. At X a small strap is sewn, which can button on to the
stud on A, obliquely. When D, which fastens down A, is passed
over the stud, all are secure. It cannot be forgotten when
leaving camp, unless the sportsman forgets belt, pouch, and knife,
which is unlikely. If carried loose in a pocket, its absence may
not be noticed, and discovered too late.

A Small Pocket, above the belt and Hin. to the right of the
edge of the jacket, will be handy to carry two or three rounds in,
when the weather is dry. It should be a little longer than the

Belt

cartridge, and smaller at the mouth than at the bottom. A small
flap should button over it, to prevent any falling out when
stalking. A correspondent, " Sujanpore," recommends having one

FOE THE HIMALAYAS.

of the above located just by the top button of the coat on the
left side, he having found it very useful, especially in a stalk ; but
it would not be so convenient when firing standing or kneeling,
and an extra pocket would be a little more than I should like.
I have found my own most convenient, and never lost a head of
game through delay in loading or reloading.

In this rough sketch A is the pocket, looking at a man in front.
B shows by dotted lines where the cartridge pouch can be con-
veniently carried, while C and C' show two places for the hunting
knife. C' is the more convenient, as the knife is clear of your
thighs in climbing, out of the way when crawling on your stomach,
and quite handy should it be required for self-defence. It is just
behind the hip, though shown a little too much to the front in the
sketch.

The Belt is very comfortable if about 2in. wide, with an adjusting
runner. The clasp may be an ordinary buckle, or anything the
sportsman fancies. On it should be carried only the knife and
cartridge pouch. Every bit of weight tells when one has to climb
after ibex, markhor, &c., on villanously steep ground.

The Hunting Knife is of many kinds, but something of the
" Shakespeare " pattern is the best. In the sketch the knife is
shown with the full dimensions marked. It is double-edged, and
should have a point very sharp, so as to be easily thrust through

Knife

~*~-~~ '<*

*VN

... Inches ---

* lhes~-

the throat of an animal. This is the proper thing to do, as it saves
the throat from being slashed from ear to ear, as natives do it ;
and, if thrust through near the shoulders, will be more certain of
reaching the jugular veins, &c.

The Sheath should have a brass mount on it, ending in a ball at

THE SPORTSMAN'S VADE-MECUM

A, and running up to a collar, B, so that it may not be knocked off
the sheath and lost. The leather of the underside of the sheath
should project about one inch, to admit of its being securely sewn
on the frog. In the sketch these three articles are shown side by
side in the actual lines they will be in when put together.

The Frog is made of two pieces of leather, one, D, being doubled ;
straight out it will measure llin. C is a piece l|in. long, sewn on
to D at the dotted lines shown on its edges, just sufficient room
being left between it and D to allow of the sheath being pressed
through. The protruding leather of the sheath will be sewn down
on D, as shown by the dotted lines just outside C. This stitching r
and that of C to D, should pass through both thicknesses of D r
and so form the loop for the waist-belt to pass through. As
mentioned before, this knife is best carried behind the right hip.
The ball at the end of the sheath saves the sportsman from
accidents.

In India there is a dodge with a spring for holding the knife in
the sheath. It is unnecessary if the sheath is a well-fitting leather
one, but it may be wished for by some, so here is a sketch.

Handle

From A to B runs a small steel spring, held down to the sheath
by two screws or rivets (CD). At E there is a notch in its lower

edge, which fits over a corresponding projection on the hilt of the
knife. When the knife is pressed home into the sheath, this spring

FOR THE HIMALAYAS. 13

inclines outwards when the hilt reaches B, and closes with a
*' click " over the hilt when the knife is home. To draw the knife,
the right thumb is inserted under B, raising the spring off the
hilt, upon which the fingers withdraw the knife. In the sketch of
the hilt, looking along the knife from the top of the handle, the
spring E is shown closed on it.

Telescopes and Binoculars. There are many excellent patterns to
be bought, but, if comfort is sought, have a pair of light aluminium
binoculars, and carry them in a pocket on the outside of the left
breast. They are out of the way there, handy, and comfortable.
They should weigh little. A telescope is excellent for examining a
herd and fixing on the best head, but its field is too small to search
a hillside and look for game. It is not so portable and handy
when stalking, and was abandoned by the writer as not worth its
weight, and the trouble of adjusting and using. Binocular teles-
copes are unhandy for the sportsman himself to carry, and one
person is quite enough to stalk wary game, without an assistant
following at his heels. In stalking, it may be said, one person
makes a " noise," two make a " bobberie," three make a "tumasha,"
and four well, they generally frighten the game away before
they commence the stalk at all !

Adjust the glasses very carefully on arrival at high altitudes,
say 8000ft., making quite sure they are right for your vision at
about quarter of a mile ; then make a good mark on the inner
tube, so that you can always adjust before putting them into your
pocket of a morning. You will find much valuable time saved ; I
never carried them closed, once I learnt what time meant.

The Cartridge Bag is useful at all times, either to carry gun-
cartridges when after birds, or the various items enumerated below
when out with the rifle. It should be carried by the shikarie, and
contain cleaning apparatus, spare pouch, reserve box of ammuni-
tion (ten rounds), skinning knives, measuring tape, small tin for
luncheon, flask, pipe, and tobacco. A well-made bag of the size
for 100 gun-cartridges will carry all these.

The Cleaning Apparatus may be carried in a very small leather
pouch, such as one generally buys a brush and string in for spong-
ing a gun out. In it should be a strong whipcord, about 1ft.
longer than the barrel, with a loop at one end and a long lead
plummet at the other. The plummet must be considerably smaller
in diameter than the bore, so as to slide through easily. After

14 THE SPORTSMAN'S VADE-MECUM

firing, put an oiled rag (which should also be in the pouch) into
the loop, and pull it through the barrel two or three times ; the
rifle will then be clean, and capable of shooting its best again. Do
this while the barrel is still warm if possible, as the fouling is then
moist and soft. On your return home, after a long day, it is a
great comfort to know your rifle has been cleaned, and only requires
a rag through it once more before laying by for the night. It is
sometimes the custom to get the shikarie to clean it with a rod
and rags after the day. He is probably as tired as you, does it
carelessly, and perhaps strains the action. With a strong cord and
a rag that does not fit too tight, the rifle can be well and carefully
cleaned on the spot. Care must be taken to use a small rag at
first, and add strips until it fits the bore properly. For choice,
drop the plummet in at the breech and pull out from the muzzle.

A Reserve Sox of Ammunition should be one of your tin boxes,
with its ten rounds in it intact. The spare pouch has been already
described.

Skinning Knives. Of these there should be two to save time. If
you have only one, either you or the shikarie may be idle, or
using your hunting knife for a work it never was intended to per-
form : bones and hard muscles are very blunting, and it is difficult
to restore the razor-like edge this knife should have to be perfect.
A skinning-knife, on the other hand, is better with a " wire edge "
rough like a fine saw, in fact. This is easily restored on a piece
of whetstone, or any hard stone from a brook or rock. The small
butcher's knife in a sheath, such as merchant seamen carry, is very

suitable for this purpose. The shape of the blade is good for its
work skinning and cutting up. About lOin. total length over
handle and blade will do well. These knives may be used for many
odd jobs besides skinning, such as making pegs to stretch skins,
cutting small wood, &c. The heavy black line on the edge shows
where it should be sharpened. In skinning, the portion of the
blade included by the dotted line from A should be chiefly used,
drawing the hand down and back, as shown by the arrows.

FOR THE HIMALAYAS.

A Measuring Tape should be 6ft. long ; those nickel self-winding
ones are the best and handiest. They take up little room.

The Luncheon Tin should be about 7in. or Sin. long, 4in. wide,
and 2in. deep. Any small box will do, but this size will carry a
good deal of bread and cheese, or sandwiches, if the sportsman has
a cook who can make bread.

A Flask of Britannia metal does not excite the cupidity of a
native as much as one of silver or electro-plate, so is more suitable.

Pipe and Tobacco may be just what you like, but a tin cover on
the pipe is useful, as the wind soon blows fine, mild tobacco about.

Axe. In addition to the cartridge bag and its contents, the
shikarie should be given a small American-pattern axe to carry ; it
is most useful. It should be of steel, weighing J to lib. in the head,

12 Inches

helved with a short handle of beech, 12in. long. With this little
tool one can break up large game, get the neck severed from the
body, break up the latter, clear the joints at the knees and hocks ;

Section on A B

Space or
Loop for Belt

Lace

and it is always handy to cut sticks (should you lose your alpen-
stock you can soon get another from the trees below), to clear a
path, or cut steps on steep slippery snow and ice, split up pegs for

THE SPORTSMAN'S VADE-MECUM

tents or skins, and a hundred other purposes. It should be carried
in a frog, and held in with a couple of turns of a slip of leather (a
porpoise hide boot lace does well), and secured to the shikarie by a
belt round his waist. The frog is made as in sketch. An oval hole
is cut in the leather about 2in. from one end, sufficiently large to
allow the axe handle to slide in. The other end then goes round
over the belt, comes back to the hole, behind it, and is sewn to the
front leather, as shown in the sketch by the dotted lines on either
side of A. The lace can be passed over the head, then down and
round the stud, and fastened with a couple of half hitches on
itself. Another plan is to have a small strap sewn on the loop, as
C, which passes over the head and buttons tight on the stud, as
shown by the dotted lines.

A Brass Cleaning Hod, with revolving swivel on it, should be kept
in camp, to give the rifle a good sponging out once a week.

A Sight Protector should always be on the foresight of a rifle, until
one is actually in the presence of game. Often and often men have
had their sights knocked out of trim by their shikaries' careless-
ness, and not noticed it till they have missed an easy shot. These

little protectors can be made by any tinsmith out of brass, as tin
solder will suffice, and brazing is not essential. The patterns of
those suitable for single and double rifles are annexed. It may be
stated in passing, that on no account should they cover the bore of
the rifle ; they might be blown off in a hurry, or cause the barrel
to burst.

FOR THE HIMALAYAS.

They are simply brass tubes, fitting tight on to the barrel, with
an extension passing over the sight. The rifle may be fired with
one on, but proper aim cannot he taken ; it should only be left on
when snap shooting, or when the shikarie has forgotten all about
it when handing you the rifle, and time does not admit of its
removal.

Gun-covers are very useful out shooting, as you are often driven
home by wet weather coining on suddenly, and the labour of
cleaning in a damp tent is no joke. There are different patterns,
but the most useful are those that will take in the weapon full
length. In Kashmir and elsewhere they are made of leather, which
is all very well, but heavy rain soon soaks it, and covers the
weapon with a mass of rust. It is better to have a waterproof
cover inside the leather one, and the writer had a third cover of
cotton inside the waterproof. This kept all dust and dirt out of
the barrels, and, though exposed to incessant rain on many a day,

feet,

Inside

none of the weapons suffered in the least. Waterproof covers ai
rather expensive, but anyone can have cheap and efficient ones
made of the waterproof sheeting, 5ft. wide, which can be bought
by the yard. The great thing to pay attention to is, that the seam
is under the barrels and stock. A gun being generally carried with
the guard downwards, whether on the shoulder, under the arm, or
a,t the " trail," the rain will fall on the top, where, of course, there
should be no seam. Keep the outer leather covers well greased,

To cut out a cover, proceed as follows : Buy of the waterproof
about the length of your longest weapon, say 4|ft. Double the

18 THE SPORTSMAN'S VADE-MECUM

edge of the sheeting over, so that the waterproofing is outside, and
the insides touching. Lay the gun on the double, as shown in
the sketch, and mark with a pencil where it is to be cut, as shown
by the dotted line A B. Mind you leave enough room for the
hammers and trigger-guard, or. there will be a difficulty in getting
the cover on and off. The seam should be sewn with a narrow
strip of the waterproof as "binding;" a strong needle and well-
waxed pack thread will work this material easily. Out of one
piece of the 5ft. cloth one can cut three gun-covers, and have a bit
over for putting round anything else that requires to be kept dry,
such as papers, &c.

The Sight-protectors mentioned on page 16 are very much
wanted on the barrels when in the gun-cases, as rough jolting
during a march often causes a foresight to be seriously injured or
displaced.

Slings. Some people advocate, some decry, these things; but
they are very useful when on bad ground, for both you and your
shikarie want all your hands and feet, and want a third hand even !
They are very convenient if hooking by small swivels to barrels
and stock, and the following is a good way to make use of them :
Pass the right arm between the sling and rifle, sling towards the
front and muzzle upwards ; then let it down till the sling rests on
the right shoulder. The right hand can steady it if riding, and
when climbing, it will be found out of the way. Carrying a rifle
hung on the back is most fatiguing; it contracts the chest, and
causes all sorts of discomfort, if it does not form a source of
disease. A horn button should be sewn on the edge of the shoulder,
as shown at A in the sketch, to prevent the sling slipping over.
T. S. K. recommends this in the Field, March 20, 1886, and also
the following method of slinging, which is not quite the same as
mine, being shorter in the sling. He says :

" The eye on the butt ought to be close to (an inch from) the
toe, that on the barrel hardly an inch from the fore-end. They
look ugly, but the difference in comfort is great. The adjoining
outlines, one of which may be compared with that of K. C. A. J.,
will show what I mean. The sling may be broad where it goes over
the shoulder, and secured by a round thong at each end to the
eyes ; at the butt the sling should have buttonholes, and the thong
a cross-piece, or button, of wood or horn, to button into the holes
for adjustment. There is nothing in this to clink, and the rifle

FOR THE HIMALAYAS.

can be fired with the sling on. The way proposed by K. C. A. J.
has the same fault as the Austrian sling that it carries the rifle
too low down below the hip, where it bangs about, and prevents
easy climbing. A large horn button sewn on the shoulder is a good
plan to prevent the sling from slipping down when carried on one
shoulder and not round the neck. For difficult ground, frozen
slopes, and where a stick must be used, the rifle must be carried on

the back, high up. It can be easier carried by having a piece of
bent wood to fit the shoulder, attached by thongs at each end to
the rifle, just as the Swiss carry their heavy loads ; but this is
scarcely worth while for a rifle weighing only lOlb. or lllb."

The foregoing is very sound and practical, but it has a dis-
advantage on the Himalayas. One is often scrambling up hill a
great deal, amongst birch and other trees, against the low hanging
branches of which the muzzle is continually striking ; even the

c 2

THE SPORTSMAN'S VADE-MECUM

rifle I drew often came in contact with timber in the way I have
described. Across no ground can a sling over the chest be com-
fortable; but I append another pattern, as it may be useful to
anyone who does not mind pressure on the chest. The weight is
better distributed than in the ordinary way, and the height of the
rifle may be increased or reduced as wished, by drawing the strap

(B) up or down through the flat hole (A) in the butt. This strap
is sewn on the back of (D), while a leather loop (C) is sewn on the
sling, which in its turn is sewn to (D). The rifle barrels pass
through (C), and if a small strap or waist-belt be worn over (D),
the butt is kept quite close to the side.

I discarded this sling, after a very long trial, as the weight on
the chest was too oppressive for me, but the friend who gave me a
pattern had long used it with a light rifle, and considered it per-
fection. The single '450 I used had no eyes for a sling, so I simply
whipped one end of a strong leather strap to the barrel in front of
the fore-end, and the other to the small of the butt ; many a long
mile I rode and clambered with that simple sling.

Oil, &c. It may seem unnecessary, but it is just as well to
mention that what is called " Rangoon oil " is the best for the
barrels. Vaseline is the same oil further purified, and is equally
good. For the locks and action use nothing but " watchmakers'

FOR THE HIMALAYAS. 21

oil." This can be bought in small bottles, and a little goes a long
way. The beauty of this oil is that it never freezes or clogs. It is
what is used for watches and chronometers. The seanis round the
locks, false breech, and fore-end, should be well filled with bees-
wax, to keep out moisture. To dress the stock nothing beats bear's
grease (with some elbow ditto added!). It can be readily melted
down on the camp fire, but it is better to do it gently in a pot by
itself than to refine it by boiling down in water. The intestines of
a bear in good condition are a mass of fine white fat. That on the
outside of the body is more impure, owing to blood, &c.

Loading cartridges for the gun. As everyone does not possess an
Erskine machine, the following method is described, being rapid
and soon picked up. For it you require a bowl or small box that
will hold two or three pounds of powder, a powder and shot

6 Inches

measure, a small hand, rammer (of wood), and a tin funnel. The
latter should be about the size marked on the sketch 4dn. wide at
top, about Sin. deep, lin. wide where tube begins, and the tube
tapering, so as to fit just comfortably into a cartridge. The
" rammer " is a very simple little piece of wood, just fitting loosely
into a cartridge, with a comfortable handle at top. To commence
work, empty two or three pounds of powder into the bowl or box ;
take one of the brown cardboard cases with one hundred cartridges
in it, and cut the broad, flat card off the side the mouths of the cases
are towards. Lay the now open frame-full on the table in front of
you, place the bowl of powder close to its right edge ; take the
funnel in your left hand and the powder measure in your right,
place the funnel in the right top cartridge and pour in a measure
of powder, having scooped it up with your right. Shift the funnel
to the next case to the left and pour in its measure, and so on to

22 THE SPORTSMAN'S VADE-MECUM

the end of the row. Then work back from left to right on the
next row, and, on completing that one, work again from right to
left, and so on, until every case has a charge of powder in it. You
will find it will take a very short time ; keep hold of the funnel
and measure all the time. Lay down funnel and measure and take
up a handful of wads in left hand ; with the finger and thumb of
right hand, place one in the mouth of each case, working alternately
as in putting in the powder. Take the rammer in right hand and

rani down all the wads, being careful that they start fair and
square, Just look over the lot to see you have missed none and
then proceed with the shot in the same way as the powder. You
cannot load a case with a double charge of either powder or shot,
for it will not hold it. Put in the wads over shot, pressing them
down if necessary with the rammer. Take them out one by one,
and turn down in the usual manner, replacing them in box, or
dropping them into a bag, as you think best.

To load ball cartridges for the gun. Mind the bullet- mould is a
size smaller than the bore of your gun, i.e., a 13 mould for a
12-bore gun. Be careful to cast the bullets of softish lead, such as
I recommend for the Express, and, after cutting off the core or
neck, carefully tap down the slight protrusion with the side of the
mould, so that the bullet is uniformly spherical. Have some thin
cotton rags cut into squares of 2in. a side, and well greased by
insertion in the melting lubricant wax and mutton fat mixed in
the proportions of four to one. Wrap up each bullet in a patch,
screwing the corners and surplus material into a tail, which cut off
close to the bullet. Load the cases with your favourite charge of
powder, 3 to 4drs., put a thin card and then a thick felt wad in,
and then the bullet, being careful that the opening of the patch is
down on the wad, if possible ; it should be, if the lubricant has
attached it firmly to the bullet, but if inclined to stick to the sides
of the case and allow the bullet to go down alone, it is better to
have the opening upwards. Crimp the case just above the bullet
by passing a strong cord once round, one end of which has been

FOR THE HIMALAYAS. 23

firmly fixed and the other held in the left hand ;'by moving the
case backwards and forwards along the cord, keeping it from
revolving, the choke above the bullet will be all that can be
desired. The cord must pass once around the case, remember,
and be slightly greased. Never put a wad over the bullet, nor turn
down the edge of the case. Both are dangerous.

To load rifle cartridges is a more troublesome matter, as
there are a good many things to be prepared before filling the
cases.

Bullets should be cast of softish lead. Old Snider bullets are
excellent, especially for the Express. Perhaps some rifle or
ammunition makers will question this, but experience proves that
this lead is more dangerous than anything harder. Hard bullets
are too brittle, and fly into minute fragments. Those of Snider
lead break up a good deal, but you will almost invariably find the
base of the bullet intact, though opened out from the size of a
sixpence to a shilling perhaps. Hence the shock is not so wasted
in small and light fragments. The weight is not excessive, so
that is no objection. I cannot recommend copper tubes in bullets ;
I tried them and found they rather prevented their expansion.
When there is an open hollow left, there must be a body of air
much compressed as soon as the bullet attains its maximum
velocity, and this condensed air acts as a powerful disintegrator on
impact with the carcase of an animal. Only once did a bullet
burst prematurely, so to speak, and then it happened by hitting a
bear in the elbow joint. I aimed behind the shoulder, but she was
grubbing for roots, and drew her fore leg back as I fired, so
received the bullet on a hard mass of bones and muscles. I do
not believe any bullet smaller than Sir Samuel Baker's " Baby,"
could effect much damage after meeting with such an obstacle
outside the carcase. Splinters of my little bullet penetrated the
side, and I bagged the bear with a gun bullet after a short but
exciting race. In any case, the tube adds weight to a bullet already
heavy enough.

Paper bullet wrappers can be cut out of the tough paper called
"Bank Note." None of the ordinary papers will do. They
should be just long enough to go twice round the bullet, and to
enable them to be rolled on well the ends are cut obliquely. As
they are twice the circumference, they will be just six times the
diameter of the bullet. Thus, for a '500 Express, the edge AB

THE SPORTSMAN'S VADE-MECUM

will be Sin. long, the width, CD, about IJin., to allow of plenty of
stuff to twist up after wrapping round bullet. A pattern should

^_ 3 Inches .".,

be cut from a piece of cardboard or tin, by which eight papers may
be cut at once by doubling the material beforehand.

Now, to wrap a bullet well is not so easy as it looks. Take a
paper, damp it slightly by pressing on a piece of damp blotting
paper, or on the tongue, and place it on the bullet as under, being
careful that the edge not only covers all the cylinder portion of the

bullet, but also a little of the conical head. Keep the right fore-
finger on the point of the paper (A), and roll the bullet round with
the fingers and thumbs. The edge B must come up quite even

FOR THE HIMALAYAS. 25

with the edge A (if not, the paper was started a little crooked).
Then roll on until the paper comes to an end, being careful that all
the edge A B is even. You will then have it as 3. Change the
bullet now the other way, into the left finger and thumb, and twist
up the paper that is surplus at base of bullet (4). Lay it by and
continue with the next. When all are wrapped, cut off most of the
screw of paper with a pair of small scissors (5). Get your servant
to dip each bullet now into a pot of melting wax and mutton fat,
about four parts wax and one part fat. They should be covered
with this mixture about as far as the dotted line in Fig. 5, but do
not require dipping more than once ; it makes the paper keep firm
on the bullet when loading, and subsequently prevents moisture
passing towards the powder ; it also keeps the bullet firm in the
cartridge, and dispenses with " choking " the case around it.
When you have dipped all your bullets, pour the wax mixture into
a flat plate to make lubricators of. It should be about one-eighth
or one-sixth of an inch thick when cool, according as the cases have
little or much room to spare over the powder, the great thing with
rifle cartridges being to have about half the cylindrical portion of
the bullet in the case, so that the nose and front half rest in the
rifling, and get driven in tight at once by the shock of discharge.
If the bullet is mostly imbedded in the case, it will be expanded
first in the chamber, and, as it moves, will suddenly receive a great
check from the rifling ; the recoil or strain on the rifle is greater,
and the shooting not so reliable.

It will be gathered from the above, that bullets should not
fit the bore tight until fired. The best fitting are those you can
drop in at the muzzle, and slide down by their own weight to the
breech. The shock of discharge will expand them, and make them
fit tight. The bare bullet, without the paper wrapper, is here
alluded to ; the wrapper does not make it fit, it prevents leading,
though it does make it fit a little tighter.

To cut the lubricators out of the sheet of wax stuff, a small
wad-cutter is required. It can be made out of an old case that has.
had the base cut off, and mouth choked to the original size of a
new one. It will want a collar (A A) soldered on, so as to allow
the handle (BB) to be attached. With this little tool any number
of wax lubricators can be cut, as the string of them will come out
at the top, between the fingers at C. They will be solid wads of
course, and to make the bullet fit well, with the paper screw in the

THE SPORTSMAN'S VADE-MECUM

base, a small round hole requires to be cut out of them. The tool
for this can be made out of a piece of tin or brass, for it is only a

spiral cutter. The plan of it is seen by looking in the direction of
the arrow. It is used when the lubricator has been placed in the
case, and requires to be pressed into the centre of it, and give half
a twist or turn with the finger and thumb of the right hand, and

withdrawn, when a neat round hole through the lubricator will
be found. The jute wad which is over the powder will stop

FOR THE HIMALAYAS. 27

the cutter and enable the small piece of wax to be withdrawn
inside it.

Gunpowder. For gun cartridges, Curtis and Harvey's No. 4
grain ; for rifle ditto, the same makers' No. 6 grain, " extra large
size for rifles."

Cases, powder, and jute wads must be bought ; for the latter may
be substituted those cut with a punch out of cardboard, but they
are not so tough or impervious to the wax.

Loading. To measure the powder the greatest care is necessary,
for the accuracy of the rifle depends greatly on the charges being
uniform. Weighing the charge is too slow a process, when a
hundred cases have to be loaded ; but the following method is slow
also, so the loader must please himself. Too much care cannot be
taken ; it is time well spent. Pour the powder into a bowl, scoop
the measure three times through it, to fill it properly. Then take
a piece of smooth wood (say a pencil), and sweep the surplus off,
leaving the measure quite full and even with the brim. Pour the
powder into the case gradually, tapping the latter gently on its
base edge as the powder flows in ; this will get the excess charge
into a comparatively small space. Place a jute wad over the
powder, and press it down gently with a rammer. Next press
down the wax wad (lubricator) ; cut out the centre with the spiral
cutter, place the bullet in the case, and press it in. Then take up
the cartridge in right hand, with its base against the palm, rest
the bullet on some soft but unyielding surface, such as the cloth
on the table, and press gently down on it, so as to insure its being
well home on the wax and powder. The loading is finished, and
the cartridge will be found all that can be wished.

Recapping Cartridge- Cases. With reference to this subject, it
is probable that many readers would like complete details or
plans, and I believe what I describe below cannot be beaten with
any other machine. I have reloaded many hundreds of gun and
rifle cases, and can honestly say I have been well repaid for my
trouble.

I used machines of one pattern for 12 and 16 bore guns, and
450 and *500 bore rifles ; they were all identical, except in their
dimensions. On a small base A A rest two cores B B' of such
diameter that they fit pretty closely inside an empty cartridge.
Both are hollow on the top, but inside the hollow of one, B', pro-
jects a sharp steel pin C. A lever D is hinged on an upright

THE SPORTSMAN'S VADE-MECUM

E between the cores, and carries a brass knob F, one side hollow,
to fit over the steel pin, and the other flat, to fit down into the
hollow of the other core. To extract a cap, the cartridge is put
on B', and just turned, to insure the pin penetrating the hole in
the saucer that carries the cap ; it then rests against the anvil.
The lever D has a handle at the end (cut off in my sketch), by
bearing down on which the cap is extracted . Throw cap and anvil
into some small box on the table, and continue the operation with

the cases you wish to finish. Then extract the anvils from the
caps, wash them in a solution of vinegar and water, to remove all
verdigris and fouling, letting them steep twenty-four hours if
possible. Pour off the solution, rinse them two or three times in
clean water, and dry well in an oven or in the sun. They will be
quite bright and fresh.

The brass rifle cartridges must be thoroughly cleansed before
being recapped; I always had them boiled to remove all fouling,
and then wiped out with a small rag and cleaning-rod by iny
servant. They were finally dried in the sun.

To recap, just place a case on B, put an anvil in a cap and
then both into the saucer, and press home with the flat end of F,

FOR THE HIMALAYAS. 29

by carrying the lever over to that side. Continue the operation
with all the cases you have uncapped, and I am sure you will find
the job much easier than uncapping and recapping each cartridge
before passing on to the next. I generally uncapped cartridges
one day, left the anvils to soak all night, dried them, and recapped
next day ; but I have kept cases from which the caps have been
extracted till next season, then recapped them, and found them
perfectly satisfactory. There is a hole at the bottom of B, to allow
the gas to escape, should the cap explode, and another at the
bottom of B', in which rests a spare steel pin, to replace a
breakage. It screws in and out with a pair of flat-nosed pliers.

These machines may be obtained for all the bores I have
mentioned, for I have possessed and used them myself. They
were made by James Dixon and Son, Sheffield.

I used Eley's caps for both theirs and Kynoch's gun cartridges ;
but for Eley's express rifle cases, the larger-sized rifle-case cap
must be bought. I nearly lost my eye, having all my hair and
eyebrows singed, by using gun-cartridge caps for '450 cases,
besides missing a fine black bear, who luckily hooked it !

DRESS.

Every one will have his own ideas of the number of each article he
will require, but a good general list will be attached ; it is not very
bulky, and will be included in the complete list of kit hereafter.

For a headdress, a grey felt helmet, double-topped, will do for
travelling and shooting. It is light, a good colour, and lasts a
long time. Wear a grey puggarie on it, so that, when making a
stalk, you may remove the somewhat "tall hat" and wrap the
puggarie round your head. It shows less, and from its form and
colour, very much resembles the rocks around. When in very cold
regions, a puggarie alone, 9yds. long, of Khaki cotton stuff,
wrapped well over the temples and back of neck, is the most
comfortable.

Flannel Shirts should be worn day and night, supplemented by a
Shetland wool vest when in very cold regions.

A broad flannel belt around the waist will save one from many
attacks of the stomach, owing to cold weather, chills after great
exertion, &c.

Drawers need only be worn by day by those who use them

30 THE SPORTSMAN'S VADE-MECUM

during their ordinary avocations ; but at night, in cold regions, a
good pair of Shetland wool will enable one to sleep sound, and not
suffer from either cold or a little damp.

Woollen socks, strongly made, are the best for the feet. Have a
clean pair, along with a pair of woollen drawers, in the head of
your camp bed, and put them on when getting into bed at night.
Your feet will be warm and dry, and when rising in the morning
the change to your trousers and other socks will not chill you much.

A woollen Norfolk jacket, turn-down collar, and two plaits in the
waist to enable the belt to be worn comfortably, is the most suit-
able coat. Let it be made amply loose in the shoulders, arms,
and skirts, with five buttons down the front and three pockets
first, the small cartridge pocket alluded to before ; secondly, one
inside the left breast, for handkerchief, &c. ; third, one outside the
left breast, with a good flap over it, for binoculars. At the neck,
a hook and eye will keep the collar more comfortable than the
button alone.

For trousers, have a pair of breeches made, but without buttons
on the leg, and made as loose as knickerbockers in the seat and at
the knees. They should fit pretty close to the calf, and extend
down to the ankle, so as to be tucked into the socks.

Leggings are required, both to help keep the legs warm and keep
snow and rubbish out of socks and shoes. Beyond doubt, the
Indian putties, or cloth bandages, are the best things out. They
afford great support to the muscles and veins, prevent the legs
becoming too big (and, therefore, heavy), keep them warm, sup-
port the leg of the breeches in a comfortable position, and save the
legs from the blows of falling stones or timber when clambering
up a steep hillside.

An outer sock, over the woollen and inside the shoe, is a great
means of saving wear and tear. Woollen ones worn alone inside
grass shoes soon show holes at the heel and ball of foot, but an
outer sock of either leather or canvas will materially assist to pre-
vent this. The easiest way to have these made is to rip up an old
ammunition boot that fitted well ; the three pieces forming it
namely, sole, front, and back will be good patterns to cut out by.
The material may be old buck, cheetal, or other skins, with hair
outwards, and three or four holes on each side over the ankle to
lace them by. If they are to be worn with the grass shoe that has
a string between the big and second toe, they should be divided

FOR THE HIMALAYAS.

and stitched around the division. Canvas lined with flannel may
be used, but it is too coarse in the joints, and does not pay for the
time and trouble. If these leathers get hard from wet, soak them

in clean grease ; the moisture on the hillsides will soon clean it off
your socks if any penetrates through, for, of course, it should be
applied by dipping them on the hand into the grease, and not by
pouring it into them !

For the feet, the covering varies with the country and nature of
the ground. Marching on good roads or paths, shooting boots are
the thing, but on precipices, after ibex, thar, or markhor, some-
thing more tenacious is required. The natives make up grass shoes,
as they are called, out of various substances straw (particularly
that of rice), the bark of a kind of tall willow, and hempen cords.
Those of bark are excellent, lasting much longer than those of
straw, but they are inferior to those of hemp, made by the Afridis
beyond the Indus chiefly. In Ladak shoes wear out very quickly;
one pair of strong shooting boots lasted a hard-working sportsman
only a fortnight ! The great thing to look to is, that your men get
you plenty of shoes before you reach your ground, or on the way
to it; for they have a knack of having none for themselves or
you, when you have been a few days in a place and wish to move
on or visit some distant point for a week's trip. Of common grass
shoes there should be at least thirty pairs in hand, for a pair will
only last one day. Of the better materials, fewer pairs will
suffice, but no one can have too many pairs. The writer generally
had thirty pairs (either ready-made or the material for them), and
never found there were too many ; it was always a case of sending
for more straw-rope when a man went down to the valleys below.

THE SPORTSMAN'S VADE-MECUM

A BalaMava cap under the puggarie enables one to have some-
thing to pull down over one's ears when a cold wind is blowing
through one, with ice and snow around. It can be kept rolled up,

as Fig. 1, under the puggarie in ordinary wear, and let down, as in
Fig. 2, when one's ears are perished with the cold. Of course it is a
most excellent nightcap. They are best knitted of grey Shetland wool.

A Cardigan jacket is most useful, and should be worn at all
altitudes above 9000ft. for the sake of warmth when sitting still.

A chamois leather vest, covered with flannel and pierced with
holes to assist the evaporation of perspiration, is much wanted at
the higher altitudes amongst snow and ice, where the wind is
piercing. The seam down the chest should be sewn up, and those
over and under the right arm opened and arranged with buttons.
It may seem a little more troublesome ; but, once it is on, it
protects the lungs more than the other plan.

Warm woollen gloves may be carried with advantage, as one's
hands are often too cold to hold a rifle, until circulation has been
restored by slapping the arms like a cabman. This, of course, must
be done quietly, in a secluded spot, before commencing a stalk.

An ulster is wanted in camp and sleeping out under the stars.
It should reach to the heels, have a hood and belt, and small
wrist straps, so as to draw the sleeves tight when required.

A waterproof coat you want for yourself. A fairly light and long
one is best. Anything stiff and heavy is unbearable. It should be
carried by your shikarie, strapped on the back of the cartridge-bag.

The colour of the outer garments depends on the ground you
intend to visit. For ibex, markhor, thar, and, in fact, all game
that live at high elevations, a kind of French grey, the colour of
the granite rocks, is good. The natural tint of " push," the under

FOR THE HIMALAYAS. 33

fur of hill game, is the thing to copy. It is much the same
as the under fur of a rabbit, but not so dark, more of a grey.
In jungle and forests, something darker and more of a green (or
Khaki) colour is suitable. Shetland wool is just a little too light
for the grey ; but the writer once had a herd of ibex, filing past at
twenty yards distant only, who never noticed his head with the
Balaklava cap on, until one female winded him after going by.
Even then she was the only one that saw him, for they all looked
the other way into the gorge below.

Coloured spectacles or goggles should be worn on snow. The
effect of the glare on the eyes is very severe ; the natives suffering
from snow-blindness are useless for two or three days perhaps, so
it is as well to have a pair for each of your servants. They are
cheap, and will be appreciated.

An Alpenstock is hardly part of dress, but one is not properly
turned out without a stick of some kind in one's hand. They can be
readily obtained in the hills, the best being from a kind of hard
wood called " Bus " in Kashmir. It looks like a " Sally," as they
call it in Ireland, but the wood is very hard, like a rose tree, and
takes a fine polish. On no account should they be iron tipped.
In the first place they hold better if cut at the point of the

shape annexed, and make much less noise. When worn, they can
be re- sharpened with the small axe or skinning knife. They should
not be too long, or they will be heavy and unwieldy ; about 5^ft.
should suit a man of 6ft. or over, rather shorter for anyone less.
The tip may be charred a little in the fire, to harden it. This
pattern has been shown to the writer by probably the best native
mountaineers there are in the world, who can go almost anywhere.

LIST OF CLOTHES.
2 Norfolk jackets. 6 pairs outer socks (leather).

2 pair woollen trousers.

4 flannel shirts.

2 flannel belts.

2 pairs woollen drawers.

2 Shetland woollen vests.

6 pairs woollen socks.

2 putties or leggings.

2 shooting boots.

1 puggerie.
1 grey helmet.
1 Balaklava cap.
1 Cardigan jacket.

1 chamois leather vest.

2 pair warm gloves.
1 ulster (with hood).
1 waterproof coat.

THE SPORTSMAN'S VADE-MECUM

CAMP EQUIPMENT.

This will embrace a large number of articles, but the chief are
tents.

Tents. From the last Kabul campaigns, it was pretty well learnt
that a very small tent would suffice, even in an intensely hot
climate, provided it had a double fly (or roof) ; and that it was
equally suitable in a cold one. These were christened "Kabul
Tents," and are, par excellence, the sportsman's friend, combining
the advantages of being light, strong, comfortable, and easily
pitched, even on bad ground. The outer cloths of each fly are
" drill," the inner ordinary cotton cloth (generally " dosutie " or
" two thread," from the web and woof being woven with two
threads side by side). The handiest size is 8ft. by 8ft. inside, with
3ft. walls ; from inside ridge to floor, 7ft. The tent-pegs are iron,

8 feet

but it is nearly always possible to use wooden ones, except in
Ladak. Everything complete, tent, poles, and pegs, weigh 801b.
A second tent is required for the servants (and one's own use when
making a trip from camp over the hills, to shoot on ground to
which you cannot well move everything). It should have but one
fly, but with the outer cloth " drill," and the two inner ones plain
cotton. A convenient size is 6ft. along the ridge, 5ft. high, and 8ft.
wide on the ground line. One end should have the usual pieces,
opening and forming doors, while the other should be prolonged
along the ground line, and rounded up to the ridge as in sketch.
A small curtain is sewn all around the edges to allow of stones,

FOR THE HIMALAYAS.

sods, or pieces of timber being laid to keep all wind out. The
weight, with poles and wooden pegs, should not exceed 301b. to
351b. These tents may with advantage be stained Khaki-colour ;
often game leave a valley, having seen a conspicuous white object
at the bottom or end of it, perhaps some miles away. One of
Khaki-colour is much more easily concealed, as the shade is similar
to the background. These two tents are sufficient ; a third can
always be rigged up with a large waterproof sheet, that will be
hereafter alluded to.

A camp bedstead is essential, to keep one off the moist earth ;
but when after game and hot in its pursuit, one often dispenses
with it and lies on " bracken," or any other material with which a
couch can be made. It should be well finished, with four good
stout legs, and strong stiff material for the sides and ends. Tbe
dimensions should be 6ft. long, 2|ft. wide, and 1ft. 8in. high.
This is the frame (A). The canvas bottom is usually laced all
along the ends and one side, but this is an endless source of delay

m Long sides

i? 6re

1j
FRAME OF *
CAMP BEDSTEAD X

Corner enlarged

and inconvenience, as the cord gets worn with incessant hauling
backwards and forwards through the holes, and then, if knotted,
has to be cut or opened whenever the bed is taken to pieces. The
annexed plan will be found to answer very fairly, and can be im-
proved upon by having buckles underneath instead of permanent
stitching (B 1, 1, 1). This is really a tube of canvas the width of
the bed ; the canvas should cross the bed and be joined by its
edges and the ends underneath, where they meet in the centre, may
be sewn or strapped with half-a-dozen straps and buckles, as
alluded to above. Stitching will answer, however, as the canvas

D 2

36 THE SPORTSMAN'S VADE-MECUM

cannot stretch much, and the other straps at head and foot take in
all slack, over the cross pieces. No small tube is required for the
long side poles to fit into ; they will fit comfortably at each side of
the tube, as in (B 2). It will be noticed in the sketch that the
side poles are placed in the upper holes in the legs, and the cross
ones in the lower ; this should be insisted on for natives, as a rule,
do just the opposite, and the luckless sportsman has his head and
heels in the air, with his body in a bow between them, instead of
lying flat and level. A mistake cannot be made if the long poles
are invariably placed in the upper holes in the legs, and the cross
pieces in the lower (see sketch C). One often sits on the end of

The Wrong Way The Right W 3 y.

the bed, too, and this soon mates a great hollow, which is uncom-
fortable. By the plan recommended it occurs in a much less
degree ; besides which one is more off the ground, and small
boxes or bundles may be kept under the bed, out of the way. The
legs should be made with good big flat feet, as one often is en-
camped on soft and marshy soil. As a rule, they are made sharp
at the bottom the very place they should be blunt and flat. The
sides and ends should be made from light, stiff wood ; bamboo is
too springy. When taken to pieces, the bed is easily packed. The
long poles remain inside the canvas, the legs and ends being placed
close to one of them, and then the whole rolled up. Secure with a
couple of straps, or small pieces of rope, near each end. This bed-
stead and the six bamboos belonging to the two tents form one
loa 1 of about 501b.

Bedding should be all woollen, except one resai (or cotton padded
quilt). There should be a couple of double blankets and the
" resai;" the whole rolled up in a Wolseley's waterproof valise.
The pillow of this valise will carry some of the clothes, such as a
pair of woollen drawers and socks (to sleep in) a clean shirt, a
pocket-handkerchief, pair of slippers or shoes, cardigan jacket,
towel and washing kit, brushes, needles, and thread. It straps up
well, and is most useful when camping out. At the Stores its
price is 1Z. 2s. 6d., but it may be made from good sail canvas for
about 10s., and will answer well.

FOR THE HIMALAYAS. 37

A large waterproof sheet is very useful, though somewhat heavy.
It should be of " twill," about 9ft. by 8ft., with brass eyelets every
2ft. or so around the edges, and at the corners. The first use for
it is to roll up your bedding and valise in, to insure their being
quite dry in any -veather on the march ; the second is to double it
up and lay it under your valise when sleeping on the ground ; the
third is to pull some of it over you when sleeping out and rain
comes on ; the fourth is to prop it up on sticks, and form a good
tent for your men, when you are in the small shuldarie, and it is
pouring with rain ; you may be sure your men will thoroughlv
appreciate your care of them. (Poor fellows ! how of tea have they
lain down without a murmur round a wretched camp fire, with the
rain falling in torrents, and btriven to rest till the morning, when
the sahib would be off again. Their solitary blanket is but a poor
assistance to their ragged clothes, and any shelter over their heads
is acceptable. They do not mind or notice draughts much, but
cold rain and sleet make them miserable.) It may be used as a bath,
if you prefer not having a canvas one ; and if you Lave a skin you
value stretched out drying when rain comes on, lay the sheet over
it, propping it up in the centre with a stone, and it will not suffer.
In fact, the waterproof sheet is always handy and useful.

Bath, basin, and bucket can be well made out of sail-canvas. It
is sold by the yard, 2ft. wide, and anyone can have these articles
made with it, at a very small cost. In making them, the great
thing is to have all the seams double, just as they are in the sails
of a ship. When new they will leak ; but steep them for a couple
of days, and you will have nothing to complain of. Having pur-
chased 9yds. of this sail canvas, proceed as follows : Double lyd. of
it back on the rest, and cut out a double oval for the bottom of
your bath ; this will be three feet one way and 2ft. the other (A) .
Then measure enough canvas to go round its outer edge (about
7Jft.), and allow 3in. extra for the seam. Join the two ends by a
double seam (B). There is a line of blue along the centre of the
canvas ; lay a hoop of rope, the length of the large ring of canvas,
around on this line, and double the canvas over it ; you will then
have (C) half the width of (B) but twice as thick ; sew the canvas
down on the rope as shown by the dotted lines on (C). This will
be the side of your bath, 1ft. high. Sew in the bottom all round
the edge (1, 1, in C) with a double seam, the same as the ends of
the side were joined. You will then have (D). Sew on four or

THE SPORTSMAN'S VADE-MECUM

five loops (2, 2, 2, D), to enable pegs to be put through to keep up
the sid-es of the bath, if they are inclined to collapse. All the
sewing must be done with a strong needle and spunyarn, or double
pack-thread ; no awl can be used, as it will cut the canvas, making

*:.'.7..*.O

v_ ^

//7g in Centre
/as

line mi
of Can vi

so many leaks, for the canvas can hardly expand euough to fill
them, though it will close tight around the needle holes. The
basin and bucket maybe similarly made; single canvas will be
sufficient for the former, double for the latter.

The bath would take 6ft. by 8ft. canvas 14

The basin would take l^ft. by 3ft 4

The bucket would take 1ft. by 6ft 7

Total

So we may say, 9yds. The material costs about Is. a yard, so for
10s. all that will be wanted can be bought ; the thread, needles,
and workman's pay may be another 5s. A portable drinking cup
may be made from a fragment of the canvas.

Soxes for kit should be waterproof, if possible, as heavy rains
are often encountered. Good mule-trunks, about 2ft. long by 1ft.
wide, and 15in. high, are suitable, owing to their size being that of
a comfortable load for a coolie ; they are rather expensive, so it is
cheaper to buy yak-dhans (leather-covered boxes). The chief con-
venience of both these pattern boxes is the lid ; it does not open at
the back on hinges, but about three inches from the back, on the

FOR THE HIMALAYAS.

top The leather covering is carried over the seam and hinges,
and materially assists to keep out rain and dirt, while the box is
much more handy to open in a tent In the annexed sketch the
hing j -line is shown by dots from A to A. Four of these should

YAK-DHAN.

suffice to carry most of the kit, including stores and cooking
utensils. A small piece of waterproof for each is a great blessiLg.
A square yard will be enough, and will insure your boxes being
always kept dry, for in incessant rain the contents are certain to
suffer a little otherwise.

An adze is a most useful tool in camp, to replace the heavy and
unwieldly tent-hammer in the first place, and do a good many jobs
that that instrument could not attempt. The adze weighs about

31b., and will drive tent pegs, dig a trench round and clear the
ground for the tent, split firewood, and cut timber in the rough.
Being faced with steel at the nose, it does not get much blunted by

40 THE SPORTSMAN'S VADE-MECUM

ordinary soils. The handle slides down through the head, so can
be removed for convenience of packing. It costs from three to
five shillings complete.

Cooking utensils. No matter what obstacles may be in the way,
copper and brass vessels should not form part of a kit, on any
account. It is almost impossible to get them re-tinned at any
regular time, and even then one is not sure of the material
employed. Lead is very freely used, instead of the kind of solder
that is suited for tinning, and should be guarded against. The
list described here will be found safe and light. " Saucepans or
camp and export use, with loose handles, complete in nest of ten,
42s." This is the description of them in the Stores list, but the
sportsman does not want so many, and may get just what he
requires out of the set ; four are sufficient, and may be two pint,
three pint, six pint, and eight pint. In Calcutta, Messrs.
Thompson (Esplanade-row, facing the Maidan) keep these articles,
and probably there are others. They look like Deckchies, but are
much stronger ; they fit one into the other, so take up little room.

s. d.

Four iron saucepans, with lids and loose handles 015

One small frying pan, folding handle 030

One small gridiron, light wire, double 030

One iron kettle, hinged handle 046

One small Warren cooking pot 12

1 17 6

The Warren pot is the cooking pot for camp life ; it requires only
to be known to be appreciated. The lid on the top fits all three
parts, so you may have your soup making for some hours, then
put the vegetables on about an hour before dinner, and finally add
the meat in its compartment, about half an hour before the meal
is to be ready. If the soup seems to have taken up too much room
and does not allow the meat compartment in, remove some of the
bones and refuse meat from the former, and it should fit all right.
In addition to the foregoing cooking utensils, it is well to have
six tin plates or dishes ; they are sold by the dozen, and are really
sheet iron, galvanised or tinned. They measure about lOin. in
diameter, and 2Jin. in depth, and fit into one another, forming one
rather thick soup plate, as it were, when packed. Two used
together make an excellent pie-dish and oven combined ; two are
useful as dishes to serve up in, and the remaining two are useful

FOR THE HIMALAYAS.

to set milk in ; a pair of small iron tongs, a butcher's knife, small
hatchet, pepper and salt boxes, and a small canister for cook to
keep fat in, will complete the kitchen.

In the way of plates, &c., a neat pattern can now be bought
called "wrought iron enamelled ware." It is very tough and light,
far better than the old-fashioned enamelled iron ware. At the
Stores the prices are as shown against each article in the annexed
list.

One teapot (!$ pint) 2

Two breakfast- cups and saucers at Is. Id. each 2

Two egg-cups at 4|c7

Two dinner plates 9in., at 10d 1

Two soup ditto, 9in., at lid 1

Two tumblers, pint, at 7d 1

d.
7
2
9

8*
10

Total

10 3

In addition to these articles, there should be the following,
which are not expensive : Two table knives and forks, two cheese
knives, two teaspoons, two dessert spoons and forks, one pepper and
salt box, two tin-openers, one steel, one bundle of skewers (iron).

A camp lamp is wanted, as a bare light soon gets blown out.
Good oil is hard to obtain, and it is a dirty thing to carry, so one
should take candles. The handiest are a small self -fitting ozokerit

by Field and others, which run twelve to the lib. box. They are
by far the most portable and cleanly. A lamp in which to burn
them is easily made of tin, with narrow glass slides ; the breaking

42 THE SPORTSMAN'S VADE-MECUM

of one of them does not matter so much, as it would if there were
four broad slides instead of eight narrow ones, as in the sketch.
It should fit into a small tin case. Mind the handle and top are
riveted to the frames, as the heat will often melt solder, and the
whole top will come off. The bottom should have a bayonet-
locking arrangement, as it is called, to enable one to put in the
candle conveniently. The top frame should open on a hinge, to
allow new glasses or pieces of tin to be inserted, should the others
get broken. In its tin case it can be carried safely by a man with
any load, or by your servant.

A water-bottle should be of vulcanite, to hold about two or three
pints. It is covered with felt, which saves it from being broken,
besides keeping the contents hot or cold, according to the tempera-
ture they are at when put in. Keeping the felt damp will insure a
cold drink on the hottest day. Never buy an enamelled iron one ; I
had such an one, and found it most repulsive in the Soudan.
Cold tea turned to ink, owing to the action of the tannin on the
iron exposed by the enamel chipping off, and I literally drank ink
during some thirsty night marches ; it was horrible !

A leather mussuck and chargul should be procured before entering
the hills ; excellent ones may be ordered from Cawnpore. The
first is always useful in camp, the second when marching or shoot-
ing on hot ground. The mussuk need not be made of an entire

CHARGUL

skin ; about one-half, or a small sheepskin, is ample. The chargul
should hold three or four quarts of water ; it is practically a large
leather bottle, with a tin spout, and keeps the water inside deli-
ciously cool by the evaporation on the outside of what soaks
through the sides (see sketch).

FOR THE HIMALAYAS. 43

STORES.

The following will be found most useful ; they will about fill one
yfik-dhan and a dozen-wine-case (claret), when the ammunition
has been put into the former (100 gun and 30 rifle cartridges) :

81b. Chollet's compressed vegetables

(two 41b. cases).
121b. jam (assorted).
5lb. cheese.

61b. of candles (Fields' 12, in boxes).
Two dozen matches (Tandsticker)
Twelve pounds oatmeal (in lib. square

tins).
Half a pound Liebig's extract of meat

(four 2oz. pots).

61b. Erbswiirst (or consolidated soups).
141b. sugar (moist).
21b. maccaroni.

Two pounds Yeatman's yeast powder
(in small tins). This is invaluable
for making bread, puddings, &c.,
according to directions on wrapper
on each tin.)

61b. tea.

Six tins condensed milk.

Twelve tins cocoa and milk (mixed).

lOlb. soap.

lib. salt, mustard, and pepper.

Three bottles Worcester sauce (pints.)

One bottle ink (half pint).

61b. bacon, in small tins.

With reference to the above list, it may be as well to state why
so much of some articles is recommended.

Vegetables should be taken, as one is sometimes where none can
be obtained, and a little is always so wholesome.

Oatmeal and condensed milk supply a plate of porridge under the
worst circumstances.

Yeast powder has been explained in the list itself.

Erbswiirst supplies one with a pint of delicious soup when no
supplies can be obtained near camp, or one is unable to eat solid
food through indisposition.

Cocoa and milk give a nourishing and warming beverage for
breakfast at 4 a.m. when pretty nearly frozen.

Soap, always largely wanted to wash the soiled woollen clothes.

Sauce, a great improvement to all stews and pies.

Liquors. There are none shown because they must be extra.
If you want a " tot " every evening, a dozen of whisky will be a
supply; but that is one coolie's load. Tea will be found much
more comforting as a rule; but everyone does not think so, and he
must estimate an extra load for every march, if he takes a fair
supply of liquor.

MEDICINES.

Absence of the doctor is a thing one is apt to forget, and it is
just as well to have a few simple remedies at hand in case of

THE SPORTSMAN'S VADE-MECUM

emergency. Anything serious must involve a return to the
nearest place where medical aid can be obtained ; with care and
judicious haste, a patient may reach it in good time. A small
note-book of doses and medicines is badly wanted. About twenty-
four simple and ordinary cases, with their treatment, would be
invaluable. None having come into the writer's hand, he can only
recommend every traveller to take the following with him. The
bottles are small, and the whole lot will not occupy much room if
securely packed in a case :

Perry Davis's pain killer, one small
bottle.

Cockle's pills, one box.

Chlorodyne (Collis-Browne's), two bot-
tles (2oz.)

Compound camphor liniment, one bot-
tle (2oz.)

Rose water (for the eyes), one bottle
(2oz.)

Vaseline (for face and hands), four
bottles (small).

Hollow ay's ointment, one pot.

Eno's fruit salt, one bottle.

Jamaica ginger essence, one bottle

(loz.)

Mustard leaves, one tin case.
Court plaister, two packets.
Soap plaister, one roll.
Lint, a small roll.
Brandy, one bottle (the best).
Small scales and weights.
Small glass measure, for drops. &c.
Quinine (loz.)
Insect powder, four tins.
And an Ingram' s enema, in case

medicines fail or cannot act.

WRITING MATERIALS, MAPS, &c.

One of " Lett's Royal Scribbling Diaries," with a week in an
opening, interleaved with blotting paper, is the best kind for all
usual notes, &c. No. 31 (foolscap size) has enough room on each
day for all general information ; a note-book should be used to
record any special day's sport. 'I he diary is divided with three
lines on each side of the page, and may be utilised as under :

JUNE 11, MONDAY.

J8|

No. of coolies employed :

12 coolies, cost . .

;i|

III

Started at 6 a.m. ; heavy rain ; reached
Simla, Lowrie's Hotel, at noon ; all

1154

loads up ; scenery very fine ; no game
about ; received letters from A., B.,
C., D. ; wrote to G., H., L, K.

FOR THE HIMALAYAS.

A note book is always of use in one's pocket or the shikarie's bag,
as what is written down on the spot is worth a great deal more
than what is written from memory.

Foreign note paper, a little blotting paper and pens will complete
the list, but an indelible pencil will be found to possess properties
it would be a pity not to take advantage of. First of all, it is
handy and compact, about 4in. long, and can be used on damp or
dry paper, it does not rub so much as an ordinary lead, and lastly,
when short of ink for letter writing, a small piece of the lead it
takes (Eagle's) will dissolve in a teaspoonful of water and supply
an excellent violet liquid.

Maps of all the hills one intends to travel through are useful
and interesting. Mark the camps or halts you make, and colour
in the road you came with your pencil in the evening, or when you
have some spare time. They will be thus corrected up to date, for
they often vary considerably from what they were when surveyed.
Write in the names of any places wrongly spelt or omitted, and,

No. 100.

.?...:..
8 !

FOLDED.

r^i

in fact, make them as nearly as possible complete. They should
be mounted on thin cotton cloth, in small pieces about 2ft. by 1ft.
(or a quarter sheet), with the number and position of the map
marked outside them, such as of map No. 100. Divide it into
four pieces, and mark them on one of the sides after folding.
You can then lay your hand on what you want without opening
each to see if it will join on.

SUMMARY OF KIT, &c.

On person. One Norfolk jacket, one pair trousers, one flannel
shirt, one cholera belt, one pair leggings, one pair socks, one pair
shooting boots, one pocket handkerchief, one pair goggles, one
helmet, one puggerie, one pair gloves, one pair binoculars,

THE SPORTSMAN'S VADE-MECUM

one alpenstock, one water-bottle, one cartridge-bag (containing
luncheon- tin, flask, pipe, tobacco, lights, note-book), one water-
proof coat ; the last three to be carried by personal coolie or
shikarie.
Loads.

No. 1. Large tent, with peg-bag.
No. 2. Tent-poles and camp-bed.
No. 3. Bedding (see below).
No. 4. Box (see below).
No. 5. Box (see below).
No. 6. Box (see below).
No. 7. Box (see below).

No. 8. Small tent, mussuck, bath,

basin, bucket, adze, lamp.
No. 9. Servants' kit, chargul.
No. 10. Gun-cases (choose a good

man for this load, though light).
No. 11. Stores (in addition to No. 7

box).

No. 3 Bedding. Valise, two double blankets, one resai, one
waterproof sheet, one ulster, one pair woollen drawers, one pair
socks, one flannel shirt, two pocket handkerchiefs, one pair slippers,
one Cardigan jacket, one towel and washing kit, one pair brushes,
one clothes-brush, needles and thread, and, inside blankets when
rolling up, diary and writing-case.

No. 4 Box. 100 gun cartridges, 30 to 40 riflo ditto, one
flannel shirt, one cholera belt, one pair woollen drawers, one
woollen jersey, two pair socks, one Norfolk jacket, one pair
trousers, one pair leggings, one pair shooting boots, three pair
outer socks, three pocket handkerchiefs, bundle mending materials,
&c. (needles, thread, thimble, scissors, buttons, spare laces).

No. 5 Box. 100 gun cartridges, 30 to 40 rifle ditto, one
flannel shirt, one jersey, two pair socks, three pair outer socks, one
pair gloves, one chamois leather vest, three pocket handkerchiefs,
medicines, axe, gun-covers, pouches, skinning knives, hunting
knife, belts, measuring tape, lib. alum, one tin arsenical soap.

'No. 6 Box. 100 gun cartridges, 30 to 40 rifle ditto, four
cooking pots (complete), one gridiron, one frying-pan, one kettle,
one Warren cooking pot, six tin dishes, one pair tongs, one
butcher's knife, one hatchet, one pepper and salt box, one cannister,
one teapot, two cups and saucers, two egg-cups, two dinner-
plates, two soup plates, two tumblers, two table knives, two table
forks, two cheese knives, two teaspoons, two dessert spoons, one
pepper and salt castor, one steel, one bundle iron skewers, two
tin-openers. (KB. The cartridges in this box to be used first.)

No. 7 Box. 100 gun cartridges, 30 to 40 rifle ditto, 41b.
vegetables, 61b. jam, 21b. cheese, 21b. candles, one dozen boxes

FOR THE HIMALAYAS. 47

matches, 61b. oatmeal, lib. Yeatinan's yeast powder, 21b. erbswiirst,
71b. sugar, 21b. tea, one bottle sauce, lib. salt and pepper, 21b.
soap, one bottle ink, ^lb. Liebig's extract of meat, two tins
condensed milk, four tins cocoa and milk, one tin bacon
altogether about 551b. contents.

No. 11 Case. Balance of stores, about 601b.

REMOVING AND DRYING SKINS, &c.

It is most essential to give personal supervision to the removal
of skins from heads and carcases, as well as to their subsequent
stretching and drying. Not one shikarie in a hundred will do
them as they require to be done, to ensure their being set up
properly by some well-known taxidermist subsequently. I am
sure some general information will be of use to anyone commencing
a tour through the hills, even if not bent on sport, for he may
pick up some bird or animal, the skin of which he wishes to pre-
serve as a temporary measure until it can be sent home or tanned.
For a full treatise on the art, I recommend Rowland Ward's
" The Sportsman's Handbook," and shall endeavour to give such
hints here as will enable you to save skins from destruction.

As to birds, the best way to skin them is by making an incision
from the side of the abdomen up to the shoulder, under the wing ;
by working out the rump and body you can get to the legs, clearing
them down to the knee joints from the hips, where they should be
divided. Then work to the wings, extracting each as far as the
last joint, remove all meat, &c., and divide from the trunk at the
shoulder, not at the last joint. Then work down the neck to the
head, off which the skin should be cleared to the base of the
mandibles. Clear the interior of the skull, remove tongue and
palate, after having separated the head from the neck, and your
skin is ready for preserving.

Working back, anoint the inside of the skull, as well as the
exterior, and all the skin, with arsenical soap ; be careful that the
leg and wing bones are quite free from meat. Place rolls of tow
or cotton wool in each limb, with some insect powder sprinkled
through, and turn the skin right side out again. Stuff the body
to the natural size, especially the neck; there should be a roll of
tow inside the latter the exact length of that of the specimen, so
that the skin will dry correctly. Dust the feathers well with

48 THE SPORTSMAN'S VADE-MECUM

insect powder, and when quite dry (in about three days) roll up
neatly in a paper, turning down and pinning the ends, so that the
insect powder and its noxious fumes may remain around the bird.

If the powder is not sufficient, add some camphor, or you will
find a nasty, hairy weevil amongst the feathers later on ; the
latter will be quite spoilt. It is well to overhaul and air the
specimens on every spare dry day, carefully redusting them with
the powder. Always allow plenty of room in a box for bird skins,
with no weight on top of them.

When an animal falls to the rifle, the shikarie usually wishes to
" hallal " it (cut its throat), and does so immediately under the
angle of the jaw-bone, slashing it from ear to ear. Everyone of
the heads so treated is useless for stuffing, there being no neck left
on which to mount them, and as a matter of fact the object of the
" hallal " is lost, for the life blood rarely flows from such a wound,
neither veins nor arteries being severed. However, that seems to
be nobody's business ; as long as there is a gash somewhere in the
throat the meat is clean, provided life was in the animal when it
was made.

Every native trusted to " hallal " good heads must be shown how
to do so correctly ; the hunting knife, not the skinning ditto, must
be used, and plunged into the throat from one side, just in front
of the shoulder, where the neck ends ; there the veins and arteries
come out from the trunk, and must be severed if the knife has a
keen double edge. You can then remove the head from the
carcase at sufficient distance to leave a good neck to mount it on,
and remove the skin subsequently. A is where the shikarie likes
to slash, B is where the prod or thrust should be, the dotted line
being a good one to follow in detaching the head.

To skin the head, commence by inserting the point of the hunting
knife under the skin on the back of the neck, and cut up nearly
to the horns ; then diverge to each horn. Next take the skinning
knife, separate the skin from around their base very carefully,
and remove the skin from the skull, cutting the ears through,
and separating the nose and cheeks well in to the bone, so that the
full interior will be left for stuffing. The nose will require careful
opening from the inside ; also the ears and lips ; remove flesh and
fat, rub in plenty of arsenical soap, dust in powdered alum, put some
coarse stuffing into the head inside out, after sewing up the seam
with a few stitches to keep the skin straight, and dry in the shade.

FOR THE HIMALAYAS.

I used wood-ashes a good deal for preserving, the great object
being to know that they are quite cold and dry before applying to

the skins. If hot, good-bye to your skins, for they will be burnt ;
if wet, the salts have been absorbed probably, and not much pre-

servative power remains in them, besides which they do not absorb
the grease and dampness of the skin.

THE SPORTSMAN'S VADE-MECUM

The horns will get loose when dry, but may require separating
from the core at the base ; kerosine oil is the best thing to preserve
them from ravages by weevils, &c., but it blackens them too much
to be natural, and I prefer pouring in turpentine, or corrosive
sublimate dissolved in rain water.

Clean the skull carefully, scraping off all flesh, and remove and
clean the lower jaw ; clear out the brain by the hole where the
spinal cord entered ; dry in the shade with some ashes sprinkled
over, and when dry replace the lower jaw and horns, tie all well
together in their places, attach a numbered label and a similar one
to the skin belonging to them ; you will be able to have them
mounted correctly by this means of identification, otherwise you
may be horrified to find a ihar head-skin on an ibex skull when
you visit the ancestral mansion where your trophies have accumu-
lated after passing through some stuffer's hand, to whom the
identity of the animals was unknown !

To skin an animal properly is not quite such a simple process as

is generally thought ; you must attend to it, no matter whether
you intend to have it stuffed or simply tanned, for most natives

FOR THE HIMALAYAS.

will make incisions in the wrong places, and it will be quite out of
shape when dried.

Begin by inserting the sharp-pointed hunting-knife under the
skin of the throat, and run it in a straight line down to the vent,
along the belly. Next insert at the brisket, opposite the centre of
the inside of foreleg, run up the inside until close to the knee,

BEAR SKIN.

then work round behind that joint, and run along the back of the
leg to the pastern joint. Do the same with the hind leg, working
round behind the hock and down to the pastern. Having cleared
the leg, with the skinning-knife, separate the bones at the pastern
joints, subsequently cutting them off if you prefer, or clearing them

E 2

52 THE SPORTSMAN'S VADE-MECUM

of bones and meat right into the foot, especially in the case of
bears ; the latter will not dry well unless cleared of everything down
to the claws. I generally left the hoofs on markhor and ibex until
they were made up on rugs, &c., but they were very much in the
way about the rooms, and made an awful clatter when tripped over I

Having removed the skin, have it spread out to enable all the
fat, meat, and small feet-bones to be removed. Then proceed to
peg out.

Commence by having the skin drawn on to the spot it is to be
pegged out, so that the hair will get into its proper sit as it passes
over the space. Have plenty of thin, sharp pegs ready ; drive one
of them in centre of neck, then one in centre of rump at root of
tail. Be quite sure the skin is not over- stretched, because, though
you may make it bigger, the hair will become much thinner on the
larger surface. Next have a peg driven through each foot, so as to-
splay the legs out at a suitable angle ; have a good look at them
from both ends of the skin, so that you may be sure they are alike.
Then peg out the loose skin on each side of each leg, the neck, and
feet, and then insert pegs about 4in. apart all round, to stretch
quite even. Rub in a good quantity of cold wood-ashes, after
painting the feet with arsenical soap ; cover with a waterproof -sheet
at night or when rain comes on, and it will dry well in a couple of
days. Peg out in the shade, but on dry, airy ground ; on no
account in the sun, as the grease will melt into and spoil the skin
for ever. Appended is a rough sketch of a bear skin pegged out,
with numbers to show the order of insertion of the most important
pegs. Too much pains cannot be taken with this portion of the
sportsman's work if he has any wish to have a good show of skins
on return from his trip.

GENERAL NOTES.

Bread cannot be bought in the interior of the hills, and it is
wonderful how difficult it is to get any cook to make it for you.
As a matter of fact, anyone can make passable buns or small
loaves, if he only tries ; the great thing is to use baking or yeast
powder, and not carbonate of soda. There is a difference between
them ; for the former will make bread light and white, while the
latter will make it leathery and yellow. Servants will often say
that they have no oven ; but that is soon made. There are two

FOR THE HIMALAYAS. 53

useful patterns, the first being to dig a small deep hole in the
ground, wider at the bottom than top ; plaster it round with clay,
and light a fire in it ; keep up the latter until the pit has become
quite red-hot round the sides. Then have the ashes and embers
removed, and lay your loaves at the bottom, cover the mouth
with a flat stone, and keep the air out by putting some clay around
it. The bread will be from half to one hour baking, according to
the size and heat of the oven ; practice will enable one to judge the
time. The other oven is made by stones above ground, covered
with earth and used in the same way. Excellent cakes, pastry and
bread can be turned out in these rough contrivances. For pastry
one is often at a loss for butter ; a good cook will produce a fine
white fat from the interior of any sheep, with which he can make
up puffs, cakes, or pastry. It is a very acceptable change from
bread alone, although it does not read as a very choice preparation.
Bridges. Many varieties will be met with, including suspension,
pine-log, grass-rope, brushwood-rope, and raw-hide. As for the
word bridge in the mountains, it means a way of crossing a river
above the water, quite regardless of the manner in which it is
accomplished. You may ride, walk, crawl, or be slung over ; still, the
means are all bridges. The suspension require no remark, neither
do the pine-log, as they are usually well built on good foundations ;
but the grass-rope are very insecure things to look at, and at the
end of the season, when the ropes have pretty well rotted, much
care is required that too great a strain is not thrown on them.
The loads should be cut down, and two or more trips made by each
man, till all the baggage is safe across. Over these and the
brushwood-rope, grass shoes or stocking feet should be the way
for a sportsman to make the passage ; shooting boots are too hard
and slippery. The brushwood-rope are made of a kind of four-plait,
three or four such ropes at bottom to form the footpath, and other
two or three on each side to form supports ; the latter are joined
to the centre by stray binders. The whole bridge is a thing of dis-
comfort, for the ends of the sticks catch one's clothes and delay
one in a nasty swaying, jumpy spot, perhaps over the centre of
a mighty torrent. A man before one will make the passage much
easier The last kind, the raw-hide, are peculiar, for they consist
of a single rope about as thick as four fingers, stretched across a
gorge ; on it travels a large wooden fork, with a raw-hide loop
made fast to each of the prongs. A light line extends to either

54 THE SPORTSMAN'S VADE-MECUM

bank from this contrivance, enabling it to be pulled backwards and
forwards. A leg is placed in each loop, the fork gripped with the
hands, and the passenger despatched with a shove along the rope.
He goes down with a rush, and is slowly pulled up on the other
side by men on the bank. The rope is very elastic, and the sensa-
tion must very much resemble what one would experience if danced
up and down at the end of a piece of indiarubber, like a child's
toy! It is undoubtedly strong, but it looks awfully weak; and
dancing over a torrent in the Himalayas is not exactly the same
thing as driving across Westminster Bridge in a brougham ! There
is no fear of an accident if the passengers do not let go the fork.
The smell of the grease burning from the friction is not agreeable,
I may add.

Cookery. With the Warren pot a good deal may be done, but
the pie-dishes deserve notice, as they provide such an excellent
savoury repast. To commence one, take a dish and cover it with
dough all over the inside and edges. Then lay in the ingredients,
such as cut-up chikor, pheasants, fowls, venison, vegetables,
sauce, &c., and put another layer of dough over the lot, letting it
come well down on the edges, which should be wetted to make
them adhere to each other. Then, turn a second dish upside
down, and lay it on the first, pressing well down. Run a small
strip of dough all around the seam to close it well. Bake by
laying in the fire ashes, with some red embers on the top. It will
take about half to three-quarters of an hour to bake. When
cooked, remove the top tin and cut away. All the fragrance of the
ingredients will be retained and the meats tender.

Fires do not alarm game much, if not too exposed. Even
markhor have come within sixty yards of the writer and his men
round a fire under a rock, and remained watching for some time.
Finally they clattered away, the darkness being too much for the
game or sights to be visible to him, though the shikarie declared
there was a good head amongst the former. Next morning some
were seen from the rock, and during the day a herd trooped past,
but the writer was elsewhere then.

Fore-sights have been much written about and discussed. Pro-
bably the most suitable is what is here described. The end of the
bead, towards the breach, is counter-sunk with a small drill. Con-
sequently the bead is always black, the bluing inside the counter-
sinking remaining untouched after months of wear and tear. Of

FOR THE HIMALAYAS. 55

course this hollow may be filled with red or other sealing wax if the
sportsman wants a bright sight ; but the plain one described has
been found excellent against everything, from a black bear to a
piece of white paper. How it came to the writer's knowledge was
by the silver bead-end falling out from the fore- sight of a rifle he
had, and the sight so altered becoming much more distinct under
all circumstances.

Fruits. Jogging along the road a look-out should be kept for
wild fruits. The following may be found in many places : Red and
white raspberries ; black and red currants ; strawberries ; goose-
berries ; rhubarb black cherries, growing in clusters like the flower
of the horse-chestnut. From the gooseberries excellent "fool"
may be made, but with rhubarb one should be moderate at first, as
it acts rather as a purgative on some people.

Hollows of express bullets generally have a copper tube pressed
in tight; it is a fact that nothing is required there. The air
becomes compressed by the velocity of the passage of the projec-
tile, and blows up the bullet more effectually than the tube on
entering an animal. The air inside the tube is of the ordinary
atmospheric pressure, or a very little more if the tube fitted tight
in the lead during the latter part of its passage into the bullet ;
that in the hollow left open must have the pressure of several
atmospheres when its velocity is about 1500 to 2000ft. a second.
The accuracy of the rifle has been improved, so far as the writer's
experience has gone, with both a '450 and '500 Express, by leaving
the hollow open.

Ice has often to be crossed when after ibex, crossing passes, <fec.,
and is not so formidable as it looks. Small steps are carefully cut
by a man in advance, and step by step one can follow him. This
is where an axe is so useful, for with an alpenstock the holes are
not so well or quickly cut.

Noises frighten game, but vary in their power. Some will make
them start and be on the alert, while others will make them rush
headlong down (or up) almost perpendicular rocks. Among the
first the report of a gun or rifle comes ; game get puzzled by the
echoes, and, until they see the smoke or sportsman, start about
restlessly, but do not know from what direction to expect danger.
A whistle will make them spring up and listen, but the sound of
the human voice, or any movement they can identify with man,
will send them off at a gallop. At night round the camp fire the

56 THE SPORTSMAN'S VADE-MECUM

noise seems smothered by the glare if such an expression may be
used and game will approach close, deeming the darkness their
own security.

Passes have to be crossed, and on such occasions goggles should
be worn, and the face smeared with vaseline. It sounds nasty,
but if you are not prepared you will find your nose and lips raw,
and all your face blazing and cracking after you descend. The
servants will probably suffer from snow-blindness, so coloured
goggles should be given them.

Servants. I recommend only one, a Khidmutghar; any more
are simply encumbrances. He should be a good cook, healthy
and strong, and experienced at this work, if possible. Give him
warm clothes, some waterproof sheeting, goggles, woollen socks,
putties, and a fair allowance of baggage. Hire local men for gun-
carriers, letter-carriers, and shikaries. They are quite reliable.

ShiJcaries cannot be depended on. A good one with Smith last
year will be utterly worthless with Jones this. You may be
recommended a " treasure," and find him just the contrary. He
may have you wasting valuable time on all sorts of empty ground,
and finally have you fagging away for some distant spot where he
should have taken you at first. The amount of pay does not seem
to be the cause, for many are offered large sums if they assist in
obtaining a large bag; neither does a high daily remuneration
obtain success. At most villages men may be found who are well
acquainted with the neighbouring hills, and with them game can
be found ; but all stalking must be carried out by the sportsman's
orders, as they have little experience. They will take you where
you direct, and guide you safe over the worst ground, but you will
have to make your own plans for circumventing the game. This
is where the real shikarie comes in ; for, being long accustomed to
the different kinds of game, their habits and localities, he can very
quickly, and generally correctly, decide on the best way of getting
to him ; still, he is such a rara avis that the writer has generally
been content with local men.

Tea forms an important item in the sportsman's fare, and is
welcome both hot and cold, according to the temperature one is in.
To make it properly is not understood by natives, and the two
following ways are the best the writer has met with. That for
cold tea appeared either in the Asian or the Field some years ago.
To make hot tea: Boil the water in the kettle and pour half a

FOR THE HIMALAYAS. 57

tea-cupful into the teapot ; put on the cosy and let it warm up
thoroughly. Then pour out the water, put in the tea, and put the
cosy on again, letting it remain so for five minutes. Then pour in
the boiling water, let it draw for five minutes, and you will have a
cup of tea of delicious fragrance. The tea-leaves get softened by
the steaming at first, and so part with all their best quality of
flavours within five minutes of the water having been poured over
them. To make cold tea, place the tea in a bottle, pour in the
amount of cold water you wish to have as tea, and let it remain for
three or four hours ; then pour it off into your water bottle, and
throw away the leaves. If this does not seem strong enough, the
soaking may be allowed to go on all night, and the tea poured off
in the morning before starting. Hot water cannot make good cold
tea ; it draws out too much of the rank astringent properties of the
leaves.

Time is of so much importance that expense must not be spared
in making marches as rapidly as possible. Out of six months'
leave, between one and two are spent travelling ; and it is not
interesting work when passing along plains or bare hills destitute
of game. Where any of the latter exists, either it is worth halting
for, or should be ignored and passed by. The gun may be kept
handy to assist the larder, but attention should be paid to the
season, and no winged game killed till the latter months.

Vegetables may be obtained at many places, but some districts
are very bad in supplies, and recourse must then be had to the
compressed kind. Potatoes, onions, cucumbers, spinach, haricot
beans, and pumpkins may be obtained from time to time. In some
places the young shoots of a particular fern are a very good
substitute ; they much resemble asparagus, and should be cooked
in a similar way, by gentle simmering over the fire, and served
with white sauce.

Weather is the great friend or enemy to the sportsman's efforts.
If wet and showery, probably no amount of work will pay ; but if
fine and bracing, no day will be too long, no work too hard. From
April to June, the days are often mild and showery in the lower
hills. From the time the rains commence till even the end of
September it is rain and fog, fog and rain, and camp-life is very
trying. But when the rains cease, so bright and crisp a season
comes that everything looks inviting, except the enormous height
of all herbage, which conceals game on even open ground. On

58 THE SPORTSMAN'S VADE-MECUM.

this account (coupled with the snows being higher, and game
therefore more dispersed), the first two months are better ; and if
the season be dry and very cold, good sport may be hoped for.

Wind is a thing you must pay attention to, and carefully prevent
game getting to leeward of you if possible. Bears in particular
depend on smell more than any other sense to warn them of
approaching danger. Markhor and ibex, too, do not depend on
sight alone ; it is acute, but they cannot distinguish a motionless
object sometimes. A markhor looked at the writer and his
rifle-carrier for a considerable time and never recognised them r
though he was scanning the whole hillside and they were lying
exposed within 350 yards of him. The ibex filing past were alluded
to before. Evidently smell has a good deal to do with most
game's knowledge of danger. Among crags and gorges the way
wind varies is incredible; sometimes you are sure you have the
wind of the game, and are well to leeward of him. You commence
your stalk, and on arrival at the point you hope to get your shot
from, you find the wind has veered round in some extraordinary
way, and is blowing straight to the game. You retire again, and
find on examination that the game has vanished, or is staring at
you from some distant and probably inaccessible point.

CONCLUSION.

These notes have been completed as far as lay in the writer's
power. One important point has been avoided, expense, on account
of the enormous difference in the sums expended by different men
over the same ground. It may be laid down for certain that the
actual travelling, living, pay, and feeding of servants, shikaries,
messengers, and coolies, and all other incidental expenses, will
never exceed Rs. 200 per mensem, if due care is taken of the
" dibs," and no one trusted to buy or pay for things on the sports-
man's account. Pay for everything yourself, and keep your money
under your own lock and key ; you may be quite sure that the
people will be better dealt with and will deal better with you,
than can possibly be the case if you entrust this duty to the best
servant in the land.

SHOOTING YARNS.

INTRODUCTION.

THE tales that follow are simply successful days and others culled
from my diaries and notebooks, as specimens of what anyone may
expect in Northern India. I never went in for howdah or jungle
shooting, because my means were small and opportunities rare,
but any who want tales of that kind may read with advantage the
various works by Forsyth, Saunderson, Kinloch, and Sterndale.
For Himalayan shooting in particular, read Kinloch's, Baldwin's,
and Ward's ; they are all most interesting.

I divided my tales into two series ; one with the '450 single,
and the other with the *500 double Express, so that there may be
some comparison of the powers of the two bores by anyone who
wishes to satisfy himself as to which he prefers. As I have already
stated on page 3, I would now choose a double *450 magnum
Express, provided my means would admit of such a weapon from
our best makers.

CHAPTER I.
BLACK BUCK.

BY whom was the rifle made ? I regret that it would be a bit of a
puff for me to give that information, but I can assure my readers it was
by one of our best-known makers, and was chosen by our musketry
instructor a well-trained shot, from whose hands it passed into mine. It
was only a single-barrel, and therefore not suitable for tigers and
panthers ; but for all the other game met with in Northern India it was
quite sufficient. As a matter of fact, the musketry instructor killed a
tiger or two with it ; but then he was in a howdah on an elephant, and
had a double gun by his side loaded with ball, which is a most effective
weapon on those occasions. I often wished it had been a double, but I
cannot recall any instance in which I lost a good head or skin owing to its
being a single. It was so accurate that it was always a feeling of
certainty that I should kill or miss. I could not blame the rifle when the
latter occurred, but always myself, and I am sure that the greatest charm
of sport can only be enjoyed tvhen you feel that all else is perfect, and
only yourself doubtful. My yarns are not intended to do more thaii fill
up some of the odd hours for those who love the sport and like a tale
about it.

The dear old weapon fired 4^drs. of powder and was sighted point-
blank up to 150 yards. There was one flap sight marked 200, and you
had to exercise your judgment as to which was correct, whether on the
level plains, the sweltering oorial ground, or the grand corries and ravines
of the Himalayas. On the first there was not much trouble in deciding
correctly, after a certain amount of practice, but on the second and third
so many difficulties presented themselves that, even after mature delibera-
tion, you often decided wrongly. When you are on one side of a corrie,
buried in deep shadows of early morn, and the game is opposite, a sad
longing for a rifle point-blank up to 300 yards will arise. The distance
looks about 100, but you must allow for the mistiness of the air, the bad
light, the respective colours of the game and background, the respective
positions of the former and yourself if above or below and the fact
that the foresight is a big black ball in such a light, with a very ill-defined
contour. Happy is the man who can count few misses under these
circumstances, but I have yet to meet him ; the results generally acknow-
ledged have confirmed the saying that " the best may err."

For a wily blackbuck a light '450 is very handy ; and with this slung
on one's shoulder, and a steady pony that will stand fire under one, there

64 SLACK BUCK.

can be no excuse for not enjoying sport. The shooting may be bad as far
as the man is concerned, but the scenes and their study will well repay
even the proverbial duffer. It is curious how differently the blackbuck
is scattered. In some parts you will see many herds every day, each
numbering some dozen good bucks, and hundreds of youngsters and does ;
in others you will find two or three bucks only and a dozen does, perhaps
twice in the day, but it is amongst these that the best heads are found*
Probably where bucks are numerous they are more sought after, as it
certainly taxes a man's patience to wander all day and see but one or two
small herds that are extra wary, and the general head- or pot-hunter
would vote it not worth the candle. But we are not all such, and many a
tale can be told where a good buck has been long sought after before he
fell to the lucky pursuer. I don't think the old '450 ever killed a large
one ; about 21^in. was the best, and even that it did not kill, only wounded
badly, and enabled another to finish off.

We were on the march down country, and near the confines of the
Punjab, when the idea struck two of us that if we could obtain three
days' leave, we might reach the edge of a district famous for the length
of horn of its buck. Many of 25in. had we seen on the walls of the
Deputy- Commissioner and others, whose duties took them every cold
weather through those favoured parts, and many were the jokes cracked
as to the length of stay the said officials had made in the very best parts ,
owing to a great excess of business there ! Somehow, no one else seemed
to find the big heads so often, and even the " silver bullet " was hinted
at sometimes. We determined we would have a try, and started for a
fifty-mile drive in the usual gharrie, drawn by the usual lean and
miserable tattoos, who were driven wildly from stage to stage, and then
led back reeking, to await the arrival of the next traveller. It was
always so on that road, and the reason easily discovered ; few passengers
meant small receipts, and the Dak Company was always near bankruptcy.

We had our dinner in an old serai and then started, with our kit, in
two pony eckas. These contain no real springs in any part of their
frames ; there are sundry bamboo and split -wood lattice girders about
them, but I never could find springs ; and when you travel along unmade
roads, to which Irish boreens would be Rotten Rows, you are certain to
feel every bone in your body dislocated, every muscle lacerated, perhaps
a tooth dislodged, and your temper ruffled ! Twelve miles and a half of
this torture we had in the dark, and though we varied our positions
many times, changing sides, &c., no rest could we obtain. We were both
" six-footers," and quite unable to sit cross-legged like tailors which is
the position affected by the wily natives, for whom these instruments of
torture were constructed. I could not help wondering how their bones
and muscles stood the rude shocks, but supposed they had not the same
feelings as ourselves. When we reached the rest-house where we were to
put up, we found we were in a very out-of-the-way spot, only visited at
long intervals by officials in civil employ; everything was dirty and out of

THE -450 EXPRESS. 65

place, and, to crown all, there was but one bedstead, which fell to my lot,
so iny chnm had to sleep on the hard floor. We pulled some of the
matting over and made a rough and hard foundation for his bedding.
Next morning we sent for the Thanadar of the village, and ordered a
bullock-cart and shikarie, but none arrived till neare vening ; we sallied
out, but saw nothing, and returned in the dark to supper and bed.

The following day we arose very early, and started off in a bullock -
ecka for a drive of thirteen miles further, to reach some of the real
haunts of the buck. Our drinking water was bad, the sun hot, and the
air dusty, so we had a rough time of it till " tiffin," when we were at last
rewarded by the sight of a couple of buck and a few does. After them
we went, keeping to the left, to try for a gradual approach to shooting
distance. Some thin bushes were growing about 120 yards from where
they were lying, behind which my chum dropped for a stalk, he having
won the toss for first shot. He could not manage to get into a decent
position, for the does kept moving around the bucks, covering them just
as his aim was perfect. I had walked on with the ecka, but seeing the
game was very uneasy, I asked him if I should fire, at last. He said yes ;
but they had begun to gallop before I could draw a bead, and then I
found the difficulty of judging the distance ahead at which to aim.
However, the hammer fell and ditto the buck; up he got immediately
and bolted at a tremendous pace, with both hind legs trailing behind him.
I followed ; but so many natives gave chase that I tried to finish him at
once with a second bullet. I missed and then kept up the chase on foot,
missing four more shots. At last the natives were all left in the ruck, so
I was able to slow down a bit, and the poor brute turned into a small
patch of bushes. My chum came up, the natives following, but we made
them keep back a long way, and gave the buck half an hour's time ; it
was probable he would be unable to bolt again. I was truly sorry at
having shot him so badly, and wished to put him out of pain; the
pleasure of shooting had vanished when we saw his sad plight. We then
walked round the patch on either side, and he actually moved out again
but slowly to be finished by a bullet from my chum's rifle. We held a
court of inquiry on him, and found my bullet had broken both hind legs
just above the hocks ; his horns were a little under 22in.

From the above it will be easily learnt how unlikely one is to recover
a buck with one leg broken ; for this poor brute travelled between two
and three miles with two in that condition.

We reached the rest-house at midnight, slept sound, and travelled
back next day, looking up some nilghai en route, too tame to shoot ; we
reached our camp at four a.m., and marched with the regiment at six.

There cannot be a doubt that the accuracy of the rifle was the cause
of iny hitting the buck ; if it had been a bad one, the trajectory would
have been high, and the chance of a miss much greater ; my own error
was as to the animal's speed, and probable check while pressing the
trigger.

66 BLACK SUCK.

Further on down country we reached a district teeming with buck,
vast herds roaming along both sides of the road. Our commandant
borrowed a rifle from me one morning at our halt at " coffee-shop " (as
Chotahazree on the march is called), and shot two before we resumed
our march, without leaving the road. Another morning we saw a
curious specimen, with his horns and the imaginary line from tip to tip
forming a perfect equilateral triangle. He was a chocolate colour ; but,
for the sake of his horns, I determined to have him. I was on rear
guard, and, as the march was resumed, he bolted away, and was lost to
sight in the hazy distance, leaving me to abuse my luck. I was about to
move off when my syce drew my attention to a buck coming back from
the direction the other had gone in ; he said it was the same, and so it
was, or his twin brother; he joined his does about 300 yards from the
road, and I at once went after him, with my syce leading my pony.
There was a big canal running across the road nearly at right angles, so I
made a detour, and advanced on him with the canal in his rear. This
was sure to give me a cross shot, and he bolted away to the right at a
gallop. The '450 rang out with its sharp report, and the buck rolled dead.
His horns were about 18in., and a perfect equilateral triangle taken in the
way I mentioned. A handy native slung him on his shoulders, and for a
modest four annas (barely sixpence) trotted off six miles to camp.

I had often heard of this district, but had never seen heads over 18in.
out of it in years agone ; so one day I determined I would make a regular
effort, and shoot only really good heads. I started off alone on my pony,
with rifle slung on the right shoulder, butt downwards (in the manner
recommended on page 18), and soon came to a wide and rapid-flowing
canal. No bridge was to be seen ; so I turned down stream, and moved
into the country about a quarter of a mile from the bank. Presently I
saw a large herd of bucks and does perhaps three or four hundred
but my binoculars could show no horns over 18in., as well as I could
judge, so I rode on. I saw another large herd a mile further on, and
found one buck with a decidedly good head. I rode as near as I dare
and, having dismounted, passed the bridle over my arm and circled round.
The buck had a great bee in him somewhere, and kept running about after
the smaller fry, so that sometimes I saw him, but more often he was
hidden by the herd. I got within about 150 yards, knelt down under the
pony's nose, and next time he came round managed to plant a bullet from
the '450 just behind his right shoulder. He dropped, and the herd bolted,
unmolested, as the next heads were not good enough. He was dead when
I reached him, but being alone I hallaled him (cut his throat), removed
his interior (gralloched him, in Scotch), and then rode about until I found
a willing native, who started off to camp with him. I suppose camp was
six miles away, and the presence of troops unknown to the native, yet he
hurried off most cheerfully at once, on the chance of backsheesh. These
horns were a little over 20in.

After such success, I rode on for some time without seeing anything

THE -500 EXPRESS. 67

good, but presently descried a very black fellow lying down out on the
plain away from the crops, with two or three smaller bucks near him.
His horns looked good, so I went for him in the same way as for the first.
He was more wary, and bolted when I was still at long range, and I had
to snap a standing shot. The little rifle was true again, and he tumbled
over and over, with the bullet a little too far forward in the shoulder.
The others were too small for my attention, and I walked up to my prize.
A better pair of horns than the first, just 21iu., and a rare black skin.
Another friendly native was quickly found and despatched to camp after
the usual ceremonies. I began to think my luck was too good to last, and
that some error must have been made by my former acquaintances, who
usually sent in 18in. as the best they had seen.

The sun was now getting high, and, looking at my watch, I found it
about eleven o'clock. Great Scott ! perhaps I may get another before
noon ! "When a " griff," three bucks of sorts in a whole day had been the
best performance of my seniors, and had won my admiration. Well, I
saw more, and at last found a herd coming towards me, with a good head
near the tail (of the herd !). They were mighty shy, and the pony and I
could not get nearer than 300 yards. Every side we tried, but it was
evident they had been molested, and would not stand fire again in a hurry.
The best buck looked as good as either I had shot, so I could not give
him up, but I was quite unable to get the shot ; at last a boy came along
with a herd of cattle, and I explained to him I would give him the
all-powerful " backsheesh " if he would drive them alongside the game
and let me keep under their cover. He acquiesced, with joy depicted on
his black phiz, and we were soon within 100 yards. I dropped behind
and just followed the tail, in a rather hazardous position owing to some
of the " bheils " wishing to rush at me. The boy drove them on, and at
last the buck dropped behind his herd, and I was able to fire. He was
walking pretty smartly, but the rifle was true and planted the bullet
where I wished behind the shoulder. The herd galloped off with their
usual leaps, always taken at the spot where the foremost commenced, and
the cattle rushed about in great confusion. A small boy was left in
charge of them, and the other started for camp with buck No. 3, whose
horns were a bare 19in. I cantered away for camp myself, and was in it
by twelve noon. All three buck arrived safely, and the men of my
company had great feeding on two of them, while the third gave our
mess meat enough and to spare. It was certainly great luck to get three
buck averaging 20in. before noon on a day in December in the North-
West Provinces.

The first time I tried this rifle at black-buck, I rather expected to
find the game smashed up too much, although I had seen plenty shot
with rifles of the same bore, but not of quite such a flat trajectory or
high initial velocity. However, subsequent experience proved that it

F 2

68 BLACK BUCK,

was not too large, provided the bullet was well placed ; if in the
shoulders or hauiich there was much destruction and waste, but I ani
thankful to say that seldom occurred.

I mentioned previously that one morning our commandant bagged two
without leaving the road, with a rifle I lent him ; that was the double
"500, and I often bagged two in the day with it, but never three ; of
course, any number may be shot, but only really good heads or remarkable
horns should tempt one to fire. If numbers were the object, I see no
reason why a good shot should not shoot a dozen any day in quite an
ordinary buck country, but I cannot condemn too strongly such waste
and wanton destruction.

There is a most reprehensible practice followed by some would-be
sportsmen (sic); they take out a Government Martini and ammunition,
judge distance on bucks in large herds, at any distance up to five or six
hundred yards, and blaze away ; the result is heartrending, females with
young and fawns more often falling than the game aimed at, in addition
to which some unfortunate native receives a rude reminder of the
Feringhee's presence by the whistle of a heavy bullet, even if he does
not actually provide the billet for the unwelcome messenger. Nothing
can excuse the dangerous practice ; it is no use saying the Boers do it in
South Africa, for the simple reason that the country they shoot over is
uncultivated and hardly inhabited, with no cover to conceal a human
being from view except such as grass affords ; in India the buck is found
in the midst of fields and villages, and it takes a man all his time to get a
line free from natives, standing crops, and villages even with the light -
bulleted, and therefore comparative short-ranged, Express. Even the
shot-gun is dangerous in crops, for the native habit of squatting while
hoeing or working ground, causes his entire concealment, even in a
comparatively low one.

To return to the sport, however. I turned out from one of our camps
near a large military cantonment, in a bullock- ecka, and drove straight
away from the Trunk-road for about a mile, until I found antelope in
some open scrub-jungle, with ruins interspersed. I dropped behind the
ecka, and examined a good many heads that were scattered about before
I found one that was good enough to justify my trying a shot. It was
a very black buck, lying down under a small tree, and I had to content
myself with a shot at 180 yards, as the others were moving about
uneasily. As a rule the best buck keeps quiet, lying down to the last,
and after a shot at a good one standing in a crop, a better has often
appeared bounding away, having been aroused by the report.

I lay down with both elbows easily placed and had a fair shot behind
the shoulder, the ground being quite free of grass, and curving down-
wards slightly between us. On firing he never moved, then dropped his
head and rolled over ; on proceeding to have the " hallal " performed, I
found the bullet had hit just the edge of the shoulder, about 2 inches to
the left of where I had wished to place it. His horns were over eighteen

THE -500 EXPRESS. 69

inches, and he was in splendid condition. I could see nothing more that
day, so drove back to camp, late for dinner owing to the distance I had
wandered during the afternoon while searching for good buck. It was
by no means pleasant, jolting over the open country in the dark !

Another day I mounted my favourite mare, to whom the sight of game
was quite delightful. Nothing she enjoyed more than a gallop after a buck,
and it needed neither whip nor spur to urge her best speed on such an
occasion. I used to hobble her when making a stalk, and sometimes had
a weary task recovering her, as she was very nimble, and, even hobbled,
could get a mile away, and keep ahead, until the humour to evade me had
worked itself out. Well, I rode off! into the country to the east of the
road, with the '500 slung from the right shoulder, muzzle up ; it was quite
comfortable, and I could spare a hand to steady the butt. I followed a
country track for some three or four miles, turned off to the right,
and looked out for buck. Presently I spotted one lying down in a bare
tract that had been ploughed and let lie fallow. With the bridle on my
arm, I made a circle round, but before I had reduced the distance to 300
yards, he was up and away ; he was a very good one, so I mounted and
followed, hoping he might get into some country where a stalk would be
possible. He was much too wary, and I had to relinquish the chase.
Wandering on, I came to a slight rise, and found some six or seven buck,
with a few females, feeding not far from a crop that would give me cover
for a stalk. I dismounted, hobbled the niare, and left her there to attract
their attention, while I retired behind the rise and circled round for my
stalk through the cover. To my horror, as I crouched along, the mare
stumbled away and left me. Luckily, the antelope were so much interested
in her movements, that I was able to continue my stalk, and got a fair
shot at the best buck off the knee ; he was about 150 yards away, but
received the bullet a little behind the shoulder and dropped, kicking for a
moment only. I did the hallaling myself, repeating the usual blessing as
taught me in a district many miles away, and then turned to look for my
mare. She was in a nice green crop over a mile away, so I had to trudge
along, leaving the buck on the ground, but she moved on again when she
saw me coming, and defied me for nearly an hour. A solitary villager
then turned up and helped me to catch her. To my disgust, one stirrup
leather and iron were gone, and I had to follow her tracks for a long
way back before I recovered them : it was great luck doing so. The native
took the buck on his shoulders and started for camp ; I made a long
detour, seeing a few heads, but none worthy of a sportsman's attention.

Many another pleasant afternoon I had, and sometimes a whole day, but
I never excelled my morning's work when I got the three, averaging 20in.,
before noon. Once in a way I got a right and left at good heads, but it
is seldom that two worth having are found together, except iii the Punjab,
where they are few but good.

Once I found a good buck lying down on a rise, about 100 yards from
A green crop that was not very high. I made the stalk between, as I

70 BLACK BUCK.

could not have seen the buck from the crop, and succeeded in approaching
to within 150 yards ; I was unseen, as the ground quite concealed me.
Having removed my helmet, I gently raised my head and peered over
the rise, to see my buck scratching the side of his face with his hind toe,
quite oblivious of my approach. I wriggled up a bit with the '500 rifle,
got both elbows on the ground, and aimed at the point of his shoulder
quickly. It was very hot on my bare head, and that alone hastened niy
movements. I fired, and the buck gave one bound into the air, falling
dead. Amongst the green crop, in the hollow to my right, sprang up
some bucks and does, one of the former being fairly black. I quickly
decided he was worth the shot, and slewed round sufficiently to cover
him ; they were trotting off, and I had to rise and fire from the knee. He
received the contents of the left barrel, but, instead of dropping, galloped
round in a wide circle for nearly 200 yards, and then dropped dead. On
examination I found number one had received the bullet at the spot I
intended ; his horns were just 18in. Number two was hit about 6in.
too far back, but must have died from the suffocation caused by internal
haemorrhage, the lungs being quite stuffed with blood ; his horns were a
little over 17in.

CHAPTER II.
OORIAL,

FROM the yarns given in the previous article it will be seen that the "450
rifle was eminently suited for black-buck at any rate ; so we will change
the venue to the hot, arid hills of the Punjab, where the oorial roains
many miles from water, apparently never suffering from thirst, and you
shall judge whether it is the weapon you would like when in his
vicinity.

At the end of one hot weather I was very low in spirits through having
no shots at four-legged game for over twelve months, so determined to
try a range I had seen during my wanderings on duty some time before.
I sent for my syce and arranged how the relays of ponies were to be laid
on my route, and having obtained three days' leave, drove off in the well-
known bamboo -cart, two days later. It was a hot evening in September,
and much more likely to drive fellows to the high hills of the Himalayas
than to the low red ranges running out into the bare, burnt-up Punjab.
Company I could have none ; but when one is accustomed to wild shooting,
there can be no feeling of ennui because one is alone; it is the total
absence of the game one is in search of that produces that most distress-
ing complaint.

As the air of the evening met niy face, I felt decidedly cooler and more
comfortable ; but when I reached the solitary rest-house where I had to
await the morning light to start with the shikarie of the place in search of
a suitable site for the tent, the air was hot as from a furnace and my
throat dry and rough. At dawn there was a much colder feeling about,
and we soon started off with a large mussuck (leather bag) full of
water, borne by one of the shikarie's proverbial " bhais " (brothers). A
bottle of cold tea, made in the only good way for assuaging a hot hunter's
thirst, was slung from the shikari's shoulder in a long woollen stocking,
well wetted. We had a hot march to the range, about three miles, and
then, having sent the tent, &c., to the very top of a saddle between two
points, where any chance breeze could be felt, we clambered up a spur,
in the shade of the rocks above until near the summit. We turned
west along the range, and studied many a corrie and ravine, seeing nothing
but females and puny males. By eleven o'clock the cold tea was exhausted,
and the sun so powerful that I was glad indeed to reach the tent and
throw myself on a bare bedstead with the wind blowing over and deceiving
me as to its temperature There was little appetite during those hot
hours, and much water was drunk, and more soaked up by a towel tied

72 OORIAL.

around my head. It was an awful day ; and the evening crawl further
along the ridge produced nothing worth shooting.

The next day was as bad, and the water supply running short. One
man was set off to a distant village to replenish the niussick as soon as
the sun got low, and there was a decided feeling of conviction that the
oorial had been shot down in the years gone by. The third and last
morning was much the same as the others, and after breakfast we started
to work back along the range, sending the tent, &c., down by another
route. How hard and uncomfortable those rocks were ! Some miserable
wild olive bushes, dried-up tussocks of coarse grass, and bare oleander
wands, did not lend much of variety or beauty to the scene, which the
awful sun and shimmering haze were trying to change into a furnace.

At last we came to a regular chasm some hundred and odd feet deep,
which ran into the range at right angles to its length, and commenced at
a considerable elevation from the plains below. We could not get down
it, and had to turn to the left along its brink. The shikarie suddenly
grasped my arm, and pointed to my feet apparently ; he drew rue back,
and explained there were some oorial down below in the rift, and he would
see what was amongst them. There I crouched while he reconnoitred,
feeling baked and nigh sunstroke, although I had an excellent double
helmet on and much flannel padding down my spine. When he returned
he could only announce one male, which of course he declared was a
monster. Creeping to the edge, I looked down, but could detect nothing
for some time ; the oleanders and grasses were not so burnt up as on the
exposed ridges, and rather concealed the ground. At last I saw some
movements, and with the binoculars could identify a male and some six
or seven females. His horns were good enough for me, never having
shot one ; and, finding there was no apprehension of danger amongst the
herd, I was able to make myself comfortable on the edge of the chasm,
with the shikarie holding on to my ankles ; the old '450 was then pushed
forward, and aim taken short along the back of uiy prey. The glare and
dancing haze, together with the perspiration pouring down my forehead
and into my eyes, made my aim uncommonly faulty. I pressed the trigger,
and the shikarie announced the game was hit. As the smoke cleared I saw
him moving away slowly up the hill, but he fell over and lay still,
just as I fired another shot. The females ran about scared, but quite
unable to discern the point of danger. My ambition was satisfied, so I
stood up, and then they soon deserted their late lord and master, and
galloped out of the gorge, and away over the breakneck hillside. We
had to make a long detour to reach the head of the chasm, and work
round and down to the ram ; he was a nice fellow, with horns of just 25in.,
but my first bullet had hit some 6in. too far back, and on the left of the
backbone. On opening him we found his paunch full of grass, very wet,
and looking even green ; while we well knew he had gathered it amongst
the corries, and had drunk no water for some days perhaps. I must add
that the bullet had split up inside him, and made a regular mess of lungs.

THE -450 EXPRESS. 73

heart, and general interior economy, yet he moved some twelve or fifteen
yards before he fell. This is worth remarking, and I shall allude to it
again further on in my yarns.

Well, we had no choice ; I must carry the rifle, and the shikarie the ram,
and we struck down the hills and away to the rest-house. It was almost
at the end of the range and close to the road, perhaps a mile and a half
away, that we had found the only decent rani. It was a weary and
exhausting tramp back, and even four bottles of cold soda-water did not
assuage my thirst at the bungalow.

In the afternoon I started to drive back, with the oorial in the net of
the trap, and reached the mess in time for dinner. I had no more of this
killing sport for a year, the cold weather being fully occupied with work
and the hot weather spent after ibex, &c., in the glorious Himalayas ; but
I returned early in October and visited another range, not from choice,
but because other " sahib log " (white folk) had gone to the range I had
been on before and particularly wished to try again. (They got some
good heads one, the best I have seen or heard of, 36in. ; I measured it
subsequently with my tape, and can vouch for the length.) I fired with
a '500 rifle that trip, and must include the results (nil) in my remarks on
that bore when considering its points later on.

About a fortnight later we reached this range while marching down
country, and I tried the '450 then. A chum and I got a day's leave and
started for a tent we had sent out to pass the night in, but saw no game
en route. Next morning we tossed for choice of sides of range to shoot
on, and I won the southern ; crossing over to it, a small herd of six or
seven came bolting down about 150 yards from me and about 400 from
my chum, for we had only just separated. I fired a snap shot at the rani,
but he was amongst the bushes and I could not swear to him, so missed.
Away they went into a nullah that crossed the plateau, and I ran quickly
forward on to the edge, loading as I ran. They came out the other side,
and I spotted the ram end on, bolting away as hard as he could, nearly
120 yards off. I had a nice shot at the back of his head, but, as I was
jumpy, could not press the trigger at once. However, at last the
hammer fell, and ditto the ram, dead as a door nail, for the bullet hit
fair at the back of the skull where the joint of the neck fits in, and made
a regular hash of his brains, &c. He was about 150 yards off when he
fell. His horns were 25in. and 24in. respectively, being much broken at
the tips, and might have measured from one to three inches more if
perfect.

Having gralloched him, I went on, and later came on a solitary ram in
a ravine. He clambered up on the opposite side, disturbed by my
follower, and would not stop to look at me even, so I made a guess at the
distance, put up the 200 yards sight, and let drive. I had misjudged, for
the bullet hit the rocks just over his shoulder. Bad luck, I thought ; but
I hoped for another chance, and at last, while sitting resting about half a
mile ahead, back came the rani or one very much like him. I remained

74 OOEIAL.

where I was, hoping he would corne within range, for I have often found
game not observe niy presence (owing to my clothing being of a colour
suitable to the locality), until a movement has caught their eye. He
halted about 200 yards away, but behind a bush, so that his outline and
position were both concealed. Suddenly he advanced a little, and then
hurried down a ridge ; I tried to snap at him, misjudged, and hit just
behind him. I need not say he hooked it very smartly then. I turned
back for the road running through a piece of the range, met my chum,
and we galloped fourteen miles on into camp, where our kit and game
subsequently arrived safely.

The ground patronised by oorial is certainly most exacting as to
endurance, health, and shoe-leather. The stones and pebbles are loose
and sharp, rendering walking dangerous, and removing the sole off an
ammunition-boot in an incredibly short time. Water is scarce and bad,
shade there is none, while the game is wary and able to travel at a great
pace over the most dangerous places. On one occasion I tried some hill
shoes, " chupplies," made from tree bark twisted up into thin rope.
They held well and made no noise, but I wore out two pairs a day and
could not replace them; for it was some 400 miles to the valley I got
them in ! Still, the game was worth getting, not existing out of the
Punjab save in distant Ladak, where it is called sharpoo, and generally
classed as a distinct species. After a very careful comparison and
examination of many heads, I am of opinion they are identical ; for it
must be granted by those who know the oorial proper that in different
ranges of hills different patterns of horns will be found, each peculiar to
its own locality. In the two I have visited I observed the horns
were generally lighter in colour, more polished, and perfect at the tips in
one, while they were heavier, rougher, and much broken in the other.
The latter were identical with sharpoo horns, while the former were like
neither, yet they were a little nearer sharpoo country, if one were to
consider the possible routes down the rivers along which the progenitors
may have travelled from Ladak.

On returning to the plains from, a long trip in the hills, I made my way
to the range where I shot the oorial through the back of the head with
the single '450, but tried the '500 this time. I sent out a tent, &c.,
which I reached after a very hot march, for it was early in October.
Next morning I soon found some, but amongst the herd of three males
and a dozen females there was nothing I thought good enough, so I went
on. After real hot and tiring climbing and scrambling, we came across
a similar herd, and then saw nothing till tbe afternoon, when an old man
we met volunteered to show me a big one that always lay down in a
certain spot he knew of. I explained to him that he was to look for
the game and point it out, so that I might make the stalk, for neither he
nor my gun-carrier knew anything of the art. He took me in hand at

THE -500 EXPEESS. 75

once, turned back and led me along a villainously steep hill-side with
more than the usual amount of grass on it. Turning up into a ravine he
signed to me to be ready, so I loaded the '500 and carried it at half-cock,
but could not quite determine from his signs whether I was to expect a
herd or solitary ram. Suddenly a very fine ram jumped up out of the
tussock-grass about 40 yards ahead, and went away rather slowly along
the side of the ravine. I pushed past the old man, cocking the rifle as I
moved, and had just raised it for a good shot at the brute's head, when
the old man seized my arm and shook me as a terrier does a rat, shouting,
"Sahib, Sahib." He must have clean lost his head, and by the time I
had shaken myself free, the rain was bolting and my snap went over his
head, and ditto the second barrel; he was out of sight before I could
reload, and I abused that venerable old rogue with all the choice epithets
in my vocabulary, sending him away disgraced at the end ! I felt ready
for any violence towards him, nearly. The remainder of the day I
tramped about without a shot, and then descended a deep ravine, where
the terraces reminded me of the steps of the Great Pyramid, and were
equally as tiring. My tent was two miles away under a solitary tree, and
I never slept sounder than I did that night.

I was off at dawn next morning, and followed up the ravine running
from near camp, which enabled me to reach the higher ground without
much steep climbing ; the stones and rocks are so hard and sharp in
these hills that boots have little hold, and " chupplies " (sandals) last but
little time.

Soon we found a large herd, which I stalked three times ; there was
not a good male to be found amongst them, although I hoped that one
would have joined them as they moved about. No, luck was against me,
and I scanned the herd again and again from within two hundred yards,
only to decide I could fire at nothing ! It was fagging work, but, after a
rest, I clambered about with the local man all day, and returned to camp
weary and footsore, without having fired a shot.

We tried up a small ravine next day, and soon came on tracks quite
fresh; I took the double, loaded and put it on my shoulder, expecting to
see game soon. We examined each ravine we entered or passed, and
very bare and uninviting they looked, being composed of a rough
conglomerate of stones and gravel, with no herbage save along the
bottoms. The configuration was due to the action of water, I believe,
similar to many other parts of the Punjab.

As we were crossing the end of one, my man shouted, " Sahib, Sahib,
Sahib ! " and on looking round I could just distinguish some oorial at
the top of the ravine, with the sun shining straight behind and above
them ! One male had a fine head, and I hastily fired when they halted
for a moment ; the bullet went just over him into the ground, as I
judged the distance to be about a hundred and twenty yards. The
bright sun deceived me truly, for I subsequently found it was barely
sixty ! I was very much disgusted, but could only lament the misfortune

76 OORIAL.

of the position I was in when firing, for they had vanished over the crest.
By the time we scrambled up to the spot they had been on, they had
travelled a long way and were hidden by the broken ground.

Later on that day I stalked a herd most successfully, but could see no
male worth shooting, in my opinion, although I was within twenty yards
and undiscovered ! I then had to discharge my willing, but quite
inefficient gun-carrier, and trudge away back to where my camp had been
moved on the road to the railway. I secured another man belonging to
this locality, and left at dawn with him. About 8 a.m. we came on a herd
of six good oorial, the best I ever saw, and tried a stalk by working down
a neighbouring gorge and turning up to the left, so as to take them in
rear. I always tried to keep high up on the hills looking for game, and
then descend for a shot, as it is generally downwards all game look for
danger. Bad luck attended me, for they were very restless and had
moved off when I reached niy point, chiefly owing to the shouting of a
cowherd to his charges in the ravines of the foot-hills. We made a
detour, hoping to meet them as they turned up again, but they went down,
and I found them three hundred yards below me, gazing up hill ! I left
my man and tried a single stalk, but failed, nearly falling every step, and
missing the largest male, with the 200 yards leaf up and a very full sight.
He was nearly three hundred yards away, but, seeing he was so restless
and unapproachable, I chanced a shot for the sake of the splendid head.
During the afternoon I came on some more, but could not get a shot.
My notes end up that trip with the summary that the game was generally
very wild on that range, but that I would probably have bagged a couple
of good heads, had my local men any idea of sport and the science of
stalking.

My readers will quite understand from the above that game is plentiful
enough, but that good heads are both scarce and exceedingly wary, while
at the same time little assistance can be expected from local men, whose
chief ideas are cattle, crops, and snuff !

CHAPTER III.
CHINKARAH, BUSTARD, AND COOLUN,

THE beautiful chiiikarah or raviiie-deer is not a very difficult game to find
and stalk, but, owing to its diminutive size, offers a decidedly small mark ;
it is plentiful in some parts, unknown in others, and may be shot with
smaller bores than '450. However, it was with the latter I tackled it,
and never found too much damage done, provided I hit fair behind the
shoulder.

One cold weather I determined to look for them, so sent out the syce
with a rifle about fifteen miles to await my arrival next morning. I rode
out, and, having secured a native to carry some lunch, cold tea, and the
rifle, started oft' along some low sand-dhunes to a patch of thin jungle
that spread over a good deal of that country. After about an hour's walk
I found some of the game feeding in an open glade, with no cover near
them save some tussocks of short dry grass. The binoculars showed one
fair head, so, having taken the rifle and enjoined perfect concealment on
my follower, I prepared to stalk. They were moving little, feeding
about the grass, so when I saw all heads down, I crawled forward on my
hands and knees, carrying the rifle in my right hand and laying it down
each pace, most carefully, with my eyes strained up to watch for a head
showing ; their bodies were visible about as far as the medial line, and
whenever a head rose, I was motionless until it dropped again. My clothes
were identical in colour with the sandy soil and rough grass, and, if
motionless, I could not have attracted the eye of any game. As I got
nearer, it became a matter of screwing myself along on my elbows and
the toes of my boots ; it was not easy work nor pleasant, for the Punjab
sun was beating down on my back out of a beautiful blue sky. At last I
arrived within 150 yards, after many anxious moments while being
scrutinised by the does. The buck I at last spotted for certain, and tried
to aim off my stomach, biit I was too low, and the grass hid him com-
pletely ; it is wonderful what short grass will conceal a man lying on his
face, and interfere with his aim at an animal some 2ft. high at the
shoulder. There was no help for it but to try and get on the knee. I
succeeded in doing this unobserved, but as I fixed my aim the buck looked
up as if by instinct ; it was too late, for the bullet reached him before he
had decided as to the identity of the queer lump so near. The others
scampered off, unmolested for two reasons : there is much danger in
snapping off in a thin jungle, as natives and cattle may be anywhere
about, and unless the next best pair of horns are good, it is unnecessary

78 CHINKAEAH, BUSTARD, AND COOLUN.

destruction. The native ran up and " hallaled " him (cut his throat) in
the orthodox Mussulman fashion ; the horns were fair, about 13in., and
the skin a nice one. We had to work out to the edge of the jungle and
secure another native to carry the game back to where the syce was halted
for the day. I wandered about all day but fired at nothing, and reached
cantonments in time for mess.

Another day I was more successful, bagging two, but I missed a snap
shot at a hyena at close quarters, the only one I have ever seen. As we
were walking to the jungle from the road, I noticed the tracks of a very
large -footed dog in the sand, damp with the morning dew, and questioned
my follower, who at once declared it was a " lacker bagher " or hyena.
The same word is used in some places for the leopard, but I need hardly
point out that the tracks of the latter show no marks of claws, while the
former show them just as they appear in those of a dog. Leopards do
not frequent open dak jungle either. He had evidently been visiting the
village hard by, looking for some carrion probably, and as the tracks were
fresh, I decided to follow him up. After many times being thrown out
on hard dry ground, we at last tracked him into a very thick patch of
grass and bushes, perhaps 20ft. across. I stood close to the edge, looking
down and into it, for it was only some 3ft. high in parts, while my man
belaboured the bushes on my right. Suddenly there was a rush, and an
indistinct form passed out and away on the far side. I made a hurried
snap, but certainly missed, and when the smoke cleared the brute had
quite vanished amongst the jungle. I never saw him again.

Great luck sometimes happens to one, and I can well recall one of the
last days I had in this same little jungle. I started at early dawn as
usual, and on reaching my point for halting, turned into the country with
the native, who had become quite trained to my requirements and ways ;
he always brought a youngster with him (the proverbial " bhai ") to carry
the game, for it is truth that I never visited the spot without bagging at
least one buck. Luck was with me still, and I had a stalk behind a thin
bush, mostly on my stomach over hard dry ground, after a solitary buck ; he
was nibbling the shoots of the bushes, but very fidgety, rushing about at
times most erratically. At last I got well up to the bush and knelt down
on the right side, from which position I got a fair shot at about 150 yards,
and killed him. I found his horns a pretty pair, much about 13in., but
his coat all rough and staring on the back. On investigation I found the
skin punctured with many small holes, with lumps under each. These
proved to be " bots " or maggots, some three-quarters of an inch long,
with their heads buried in the flesh and tails protruding into the small
hole in the skin. On removing the skin they remained fast in the flesh,
making it look most loathsome ; the natives in my compound did not
object in the least. The irritation of these pests caused all the uneasiness
I had noticed while stalking. I had heard of the mad bolts and rushes of
bucks and does at certain seasons, but saw the cause and effect at last.

Having despatched the carcase to my halting place, I had much

THE -450 EXPRESS. 79

wandering about for an hour or two, but seeing nothing worth having,
and believing all were infested with the maggot plague, I gave the man
my rifle and we turned towards our starting point. As we came out of
the jungle I was some way ahead, and just cast my eye over the young
green corn that grew close up to its edge. Right out in it, some 300
yards away, were three small ostriches stalking about. "By Jove,
bustard ! that's what those are ! " flashed through my mind. I had
never seen one before, nor heard of their being within forty miles of the
station. " I wish I could get a shot " followed the first thought, and then
I disappeared behind one of the last bushes, and warned my man to make
a detour and bring me the rifle. When he reached me he was not aware
of what they were hardly, so it was evident they were not regular
visitants. They were slowly stalking away from me, quite out of shot,
but, as my eye roamed around for any cover to make a stalk behind,
two separate little bushes caught my eye on an old boundary-line between
the patch of corn the birds were on and the one next it. They were small
but thick, and the sandy soil had drifted up to the boundary-line, raising
it some 2ft. above the level of the plain. The corn itself was too short to
give any cover for a stalk, and a stern chase is always a long one, but it
looked possible I might reach the bushes for a shot at a new kind of
target.

To deceive the birds, we moved away from our bush straight for home,
if I may apply that term to syce and pony on the side of a villainous
unmade road, under a solitary tree. I left my man behind the last bush,
and then held on until those I had spotted on the boundary came between
me and the game. Down I dropped on the knee, and did not take very
long to cross the corn to the bigger bush, but I could not fire through it,
owing to its thickness. There were three big things slowly striding ahead,
so there was no time to lose ; they were over 100 yards away. I worked
round to the left of the bush, trying to fire off my stomach ; it was useless ;
the corn quite hid them when my chin was on mother earth. I then
worked back to the right of my cover, and got slowly on the knee ; they
were then some distance further on, but I chose the biggest, and drew the
bead at where the points of his wings or shoulders would be. The usual
smart crack of 4| drs. of powder, and two huge birds rose from the plain;
away they went, but number three I could not see. I was rather startled,
as I thought he was so large that, lying dead, he would show plainly on
the corn ; I went forward to investigate, and found him, the corn being
just above his carcase ; the bullet had gone through the points of both
wings, smashing them, but only leaving a round hole through them, and
his chest ; he was stone dead, and I was truly delighted. I paced the
distance, and found it 147 yards. We soon reached the road, and next
morning I had a deputation wait on me to inspect this rara avis ; few of
them had ever seen the great bustard, and none had shot him. We dined
off him subsequently at mess, and voted him excellent eating, while his
feathers still supply me materials for a particular trout fly I am very

80 CHINKAEAH, BUSTARD, AND COOLUN.

partial to. I gave away many of the feathers, and should not be surprised
to hear they have helped to kill the wily salmon also ; my fishing has been
after the smaller fry, so I never tried the larger sizes, and, alas, I fear
not one remains now.

Altogether, I shot some fifteen chinkarah there, the smallest about
lOiu., the best about 13in. I saw nothing better than I shot, but was once
sold, and bagged a female with a pair of horns quite abnormally long,
though thin ; they quite deceived me when examining a small herd with
the binoculars. I think they measured nearly 9m., but they were so thin
that they looked a good 12in.

A year later I had been moved to a bad shooting district, the oorial I
have told of being the only game near, with an odd chiukarah at the foot
of the same hills. I left the latter alone. On one occasion I was out in
the district on duty, shot plenty of very fishy ducks (some eleven varieties)
with the gun, but only saw one wary chinkarah, who quite declined
to let me get nearer than 400 yards. One day, coining back to camp from
work, I spotted a large flock of coolun (cranes), amongst some thin
young corn, so changed ponies and rode back with the well-beloved
450 to look for them. It was getting dusk when I found them,
looking like grey ghosts stalking about the wheat. I dismounted and
circled round till they began to get nervous, when I dropped on the
knee, put up the sight for 200 yards, and covered one ; another was
stalking across a little way behind him, so I waited until they were in line,
and pressed the trigger. At the flash and report the pony gave such a jump
I was nearly capsized, for I had never fired in such close proximity before.
Having quieted down, I was allowed to advance ; one coolun was dead,
the other flopping along some twenty yards behind, but he dropped and
lay motionless before I got up. Yes, the two dropped to the one bullet,
and neither was damaged in the least, shot through the points of the
wings the first, and a little further back the second. The next thing was
how to get them to camp ; the pony would not allow them near, but a
bandage over the eyes, a strap round the four legs of the birds, and they
were soon over the saddle-bow, their heads hanging down nigh the pony's
fof.e-feet. When I removed the bandage there was much nervousness,
and I was denied a mount. I did not hurry the matter, but led on
towards camp, and presently was allowed to mount, eventually riding in
triumphant with rifle and game. Having removed the tail-covert feathers,
so ornamental for some fair one's hat, the birds were cooked and eaten
before many days had elapsed. I wonder where the other members of
that merry party now are ; one I have in my mind's eye, for I saw his
name in print lately, the others are gone but not forgotten.

CHAPTER IV.
MARKHOR,

So far I have confined myself to some of the sport within reach of those
whose duties lead them to out-of-the-way places in the plains, or who may
be stationed in some of our most thronged cantonments. The Himalayas,
ever glorious and invigorating, are getting more opened up every year,
facilities for travelling to their base being nearly perfect ; so I purpose
just telling of some of the sport enjoyed with the dear old '450 in
wandering through them. I never penetrated into Ladak or Thibet,
owing to various changes in plans, and difficulties in getting enough
leave. Only once had I the latter quality, and then unexpected obstacles
occurred ; but I have visited the range from the Indus (west of Murree)
to Darjeeliug, and seen the haunts of much game, although I cannot in
any way claim to have made such things as " large bags."

Perhaps the markhor deserves first place in the list of game. To my
mind he is the monarch of the Himalayas. The Ovis polii has a heavier,
and the maral a more beautiful head ; but the former is found on tolerably
level, open ground, we may surmise, as the length of horn would much
incommode him on precipices or in woods. The latter inhabits much the
same style of ground as the markhor, judging by the beautiful pictures in
Atkinson's books, "The Altai Range" and " Upper and Lower Amoor; "
but both are in ranges so distant, that they have no claim to be compared
with him in these remarks, and few Englishmen can say at the end of the
nineteenth century that they have shot either.

Anyone who has seen the markhor of Kashmir in his wild state
(amongst precipices, running close together, deep into high ranges
crowned with the fine silver birch and junipers, as high as shrubs can
find a soil and climate suitable to their existence) must allow that there
is no game more hoary and noble looking. Can you not picture to
yourself an animal about as big as a fallow deer, weighing perhaps as
much ns W 2501b., with a rough, shaggy coat, horns that reach over his stern
when the head is thrown back, and a massive beard, hanging down a foot
at least, which would fill your two hands ? There is a gradual twist in
those horns, varying in the number of turns according to the locality in
which bred, and a curve more graceful than pen can describe ; while the
eye is large and fearless, although its owner acknowledges man to be an
opponent he dare not face. If you study him on his native precipice,
surveying the neighbourhood and listening attentively for anything he
cannot comprehend and so marks " dangerous," there will be something

82 MARKHOR.

to repay you for the long and toilsome marches, the inferior, ill-cooked
food, and the general hardships you have undergone in order to reach his
majesty's dominions. "What can compare with the patience with which
he will stand motionless for some quarter of an hour, gazing from his
narrow ledge directly at you, or into the broad valley down at the gorge's
mouth ? Must you not allow he looks grand, the " monarch of the glen,"
and far surpasses anything you had imagined, even when well refreshed
with pages from Kinloch and other writers ? I think Landseer would
have christened a picture of this wild goat with a name more laudatory.
I can fix on none, not having a vocabulary comprehensive enough. So let
him rest, one of the Creator's most beautiful works, to the eye of a true
sportsman.

I was after this splendid game in Kashmir, and had passed many weeks
wandering along the ranges with no success, when at last I found a
curious nullah with a good many in it. At first I had real hardship, rny
bedding not turning up, and the cold at night being intense, for it was well
on in October. I was nearly starved, too ; but when things had come
square, I had not much further cause to complain. Our camp was formed
amongst some leafless birch trees on the edge of a corrie in a ravine that
ran precipitately down into one of the large valleys of the range. As
there was no tent, only bedding and cooking utensils, there was nothing
to attract the attention of game save the smoke of our fire, which was
well concealed in under the rocks. It was precious cold that night, for
snow had fallen previously, but on a bed of dried fern I slept well, being
awakened once or twice by heavy stones crashing down the other side of
the ravine, which had probably been disturbed by game.

At dawn we were up, packed the bedding. &c., and after a hasty break-
fast moved up the ravine, no game being visible and the precipices below
quite impassable from above. The men with the bedding were directed
to follow us up to the saddle of the mountain, and then go down to an
overhanging rock in the valley beyond, where I had bivouacked before.
As I clambered up I heard some stones falling, and suddenly saw a large
inarkhor coming down the opposite side, far above me, nearly a quarter of
a mile away. The goojur (cowherd) and I dropped where we were
on the edge of the corrie, and well we passed for stones in our grey
clothes. The two coolies behind were beckoned to lie down amongst the
rocks, and we turned our attention to the game. Down awful places he
clattered, a solitary old male, with a long black beard, white chest, and
good horns. In one place he tumbled on the loose debris and went
sprawling; but he soon recovered his feet, at the same time sending a
perfect cartload of stones down the gorge. He then turned to his left
along a ledge, under a rock and behind a lonely pine. There he turned to
the gorge, halted, and looked away to the valley two miles below, listening
to some cowherds who were holloaing in it. They soon stopped, and then
he turned his head and looked straight at us. We were so like the stones
and so immovable, though tortured with cramp in the legs, that he could

THE -450 EXPRESS. 83

not discover us, and presently turned to look down the valley again.
Across the corrie to where he stood was about 350 yards ; but the light
morning breeze was blowing up into our faces, and carried our scent away
over the ridges above, to our left and his rear. It was an awful time
while he remained there, scanning us and the valleys alternately, for I was
on slippery sloping grass between stones, my left leg doubled under me
and asleep, hands bitterly cold, grasping my rifle and trying to remain
motionless.

After about half an hour (it may have been more, but certainly not less)
he was satisfied there was no one about, and down he went a little further,
halting behind another pine, where he remained about a quarter of an
hour ; luckily the coolies were well hidden and silent, so he heard and saw
nothing. DoAvn he dropped again, first both forefeet, then both hind, on
what I should call almost a precipice, up which none of us could clamber.
As soon as he was out of sight behind a friendly ridge in the gullet of the
corrie (which ran from our ridge, and shut out the view into the bottom),
away I clambered, trying to warm my poor hands and steady my nerves.
His horns were so long and heavy that I began to hope he was a monster,
a regular " breaker of the record," and to lament my rifle was only a
single '450. My excitement was intense. Nothing could I see of him,
though I heard much crashing through bushes, and stones being sent
flying. I subsequently found he had got into a small gorge I could not
possibly see down, in order to drink. I beckoned up the goojur and we
went down a little, and then along slowly to try to get into the gorge ;
this, we found, would expose us too much, so we sat down looking through
the thin birch trees, and waiting to see the game move up again. At
last he quietly clambered up the cliff, but lower down the gorge, and
halted on a very narrow ledge to look up towards us ; he was barely
200 yards away, but I could not draw a bead 011 him, as I found the birch
twigs came across, and might very easily deflect the bullet in its flight.
He did not discover us, turned to the left, and walked very carefully
along the ledge, until he reached a small patch of juniper bushes, that
found a home on a space about 6ft. square. There he halted, turned
broadside on, and gazed across the gorge below. I had a clear view of
him then, through an opening in the birch tops ; but, as he was over
200 yards away, although below me, I put up the 200 yards leaf, rested
my elbows on my knees, took a very full sight at the usual spot behind
the shoulder, pulled myself together, and pressed the trigger. Bound he
flew, and away along the ledge. " Missed, by Jove ! " thought I ; but the
goojur said, " Hit behind the shoulder, fair. I saw the hair wave about."
As he spoke, down dropped the noble animal, and rolled until stopped at
the edge of the clift' by some most opportune junipers. Away went the
goojur, a Mussulman, to hallal him, by cutting his throat before life was
extinct, so that all true followers of the Prophet might gorge on the
flesh. Life was extinct when he reached him, you bet ; but I was
supposed to be unable to judge that fact, and the ceremony was duly

G 2

84 MARKHOR.

performed. He shouted out that he was a "burra wallah" (big fellow),
and, with iny other native's help, I was soon with him. Just 46in. his
horns measured ; but, with his grand black beard and massive carcase,
they looked much more to my eyes. They were a good pair for that
range, but they have been killed there nearly 60in.

It took a long time to skin and cut him up, but I was much interested
with the result of the shot. I had hit him fair behind the shoulder ; his
lungs were cut to ribbons, yet he went some forty yards before he fell.
I believe he was 230 yards away when I fired.

Next day we went away north from our camp under a rock, after
cautioning my coolies to keep quiet and make no noise. It was just after
dawn, and, as soon as light was come into the valley, we saw five markhor
one as good as my trophy of the day before on the other side of the
valley, not half a mile from camp. Our men then commenced jabbering,
and the game moved up and into cover, in no hurry apparently. Our
hillside was bare, so, when we had given them time to get well amongst
the crags, and could see nothing of them after a careful scrutiny with the
glasses, round by camp we went, abused the coolies in strong terms but
with bated breath, and then followed up.

On arriving where we had last seen the big one and another, we could
find nothing, the junipers and small pines forming a very thick jungle ;
suddenly my man spotted one walking along a ledge about a hundred
yards above us. I thought him the good one, but could get no rest, so
fired standing, and the bullet hit the rocks just above him. It was a bad
place for a shot, at an angle of 50, with the jungle just keeping its own
hold, but I was to have a shot in a worse place later on. My man advised
me to follow him up, as we had not been seen, and consequently he would
not have gone far.

Up I went again, holding on to the brushwood and slipping every step.
After we had clambered perhaps 100ft., my arm was suddenly seized and
the rifle thrust into my hand by my man, who pointed out a markhor on
the very top of the cliff against the sky-line, looking straight down at us.
I could not retain a foothold without a grasp of the bushes, so seized my
man and pulled him behind me, making him hold me up almost, while I
took aim. It was far over 200 yards, and seemed almost straight up. I
never had such a shot except with a gun at rocketers. Just as I was
about to fire, the game turned his head to the left, and I could see his
right shoulder and forelegs, but his body was end on. I did my best, let
drive, and down he came, not striking bush or anything, for some fifty
feet ; hit he was, but somewhere behind, I feared. Suddenly he emerged
on the ridge, and staggered over into another gully, where we found him
standing in some birch trees. I fired a shot to finish him, seeing his fore-
quarter covered with blood, but missed. I could not make it out, the
bullet passing over him, and I had aimed low, as he was only forty yards
away ; but I looked at the rifle, and found I had neglected to put down
the 200 yards leaf after firing the first time ; that accounted for my bad

THE -450 EXPRESS. 85

shot, and I soon put matters right. We followed him, the native along
his track, while I clambered above, and soon came on him lying down
amongst a few birches, breathing heavily. I waited for my man to
turn up, beckoned him to me, and finished the game, when he rose to his
feet, with a bullet in the neck. This was a young markhor, with small
horns, and nothing like so large or heavy as my first.

My man then went off over the cliffs and corries, looking for the others,
which he found soon enough ; but my heart-breaking coolies came, chatter-
ing loudly, along a sheep-path below where I had been shooting ; they
were seen by the game, which went away for miles, across and down the
valley to a distant ridge. I could do no more that morning, and made
myself at home by going down to my permanent camp in the valley far
below, where skins were pegged out and heads cleaned.

For some days after this I saw nothing but females and small males,
amongst some gorges I had not been in before ; I fired at nothing, so by
this time some of them may be real good ones, I think.

On the next Monday morning I was up with the dawn, and away to the
top of the high cliff that overhung our camp ; I suppose it was six miles
up and around, and we had all our trouble for nothing, for we found plenty
of good tracks, but saw only females and small males. We tried back
around the crest, until we reached the edge of an awful khud (precipice)
above the gorge where I shot my first markhor ; stones went rattling
down, but we could not see the face of the cliff, and it was perfectly
unscalable. A cruel cold wind was driving through us, and I could barely
retain my hold of the alpenstock ; we scrambled along the crest, seeing
females and small males, until at last I was so cold and exhausted that I
had to squat down under a rock and try to get shelter while I rubbed my
hands and feet, and recovered my wind. At these high altitudes in
October, exertion very much sooner exhausts one than earlier in the year,
after March. A fine old cock Monaul pheasant suddenly shot out from
immediately under my seat, and went floating down into the valley with
his usual outcry; he had not noticed my arrival, but while feeding up
the rocks had got my wind, and made off, as he had no idea how near I
might be.

Snow began to fall, so I was about to move off and clamber down to
where I had ordered my camp to be made, but just sent my man up to
examine the pass and nullah on the north side of it, to see if any game had
come up ; it was getting dark, too, and markhor move out to feed before
the short twilight is ended. He soon hissed to attract my attention, and,
when I had got up, he pointed out a markhor ; but I could only see the
animal through the glasses, as he was behind some thin birch trees. He
was standing with his stern to the snowy blast, looking down toward my
camp far below. After some time I could just distinguish him with my
naked eye, put up the leaf for 200 yards, and tried to take aim. See him
I could not, I was so blinded with the cold, and it was so dark with the
snow-clouds overhead ; at last I made him out very dimly, and pressed

86 MAEKHOR.

the trigger, aiming high, as he appeared to be over 200 yards away, across
a gully and below me. I missed, and he turned up hill quite leisurely, not
being able to discern where the shot was from ; I fired two more shots,
with no better result, as he clambered up a steep bit of conglomerate. I
then asked my man if he had seen where my shots had gone, and he said
high over the animal. I tried another, but he did not appear to be hit ;
then another, and finally my sixth and last, I vowed. Then my man said
he was hit, and that I should give him a finisher. I saw he was bagged,
tottering on the ledge, over which he fell plump, plump, about 50ft., and
then rolled and bumped down into the head of the gorge. I guessed his
horns were smashed, and so it soon proved, the right being broken short
off about Gin. above his head. I sent the native to " hallal " him, and
made my way round and down to camp, whence I sent the other men to
bring in the beast. They were not long over it, and I soon was scanning
the head ; very thick horns, but small, about 32in., with one broken and
the piece missing. I then turned to the carcase and found I had hit three
times; one (my fourth shot, I believe) in the shoulder, another cut the
inside of the hind leg and removed one testicle clean, the third cut the
brisket through, just behind the fore legs ! Having aimed low, I conclude
these latter wounds were my fifth and sixth shots. Next morning I
recovered the missing horn amongst some snow and junipers. I was
awoke at night by the extreme cold, and finally by a heavy snowstorm
coming on, which covered my bedding as I lay under the rock. It came
down heavily for a short time, and we were unable to move out in the
morning until it had melted somewhat. My goojur was down with fever
and headache from the exposure the evening before, so I had to content
myself with a robust coolie, but did nothing that day. We were again
awoke by the cold at nig'ht, in a goojur's hut below, and were snowed up
in it all day, but succeeded in getting down to camp by dark, after some
nasty shaves through tumbles on the slippery, melting snow. It was
frightfully cold to the feet, and rheumatism gave me awful twinges in the
right knee ; however, I adopted the natives' remedy, saturating rny knee
in bears' grease, and was able to get out again on the morrow.

Soon after dawn we tackled a nullah to the south-west, leading up to
the ridge, and it was a real stiff climb. We saw some small inarkhor
only, and at dark reached camp under a friendly cliff, flushing a good
many Koklas pheasants in its vicinity.

Next morning, after the usual early breakfast, we went up the cliff,
another very stiff climb, on to the ridge top ; here we turned along to the
east, found tracks and heard stones rolling down from time to time, but
could not get sight of any game, on the extremely steep cliffs. About
noon the goojur spotted two inarkhor lying under a pine tree a long way
below, on the end of a moraine, where it fell over into the valley below.
They were 500 yards away, and the ground was bad for a stalk, being
steep and smooth with snow. We had to commence by crossing an open
space, in full view of the inarkhor if they had been looking our way, up

THE -450 EXPRESS. 87

hill, but, as usual, they chiefly watched the hill-sides opposite and below
them ; and by a judicious use of the glasses we were enabled to remain
stationary whenever they scanned the snow and rocks we were on. At
last we reached some juniper bushes, where I left the goojur, and con-
tinued sliding down the snow on my back an exceedingly cold, wet job
I made for a dead tree I had marked before commencing the stalk, and
advanced to within 40 yards of the game. Here a difficulty arose, as
there were three pines, and from the position I was in (so different from
those I had occupied en route], I could not determine under which the
game lay; the ground was broken much very different from the flat
patch it looked like from above.

Having the rifle cocked, I carefully commenced reconnoitring, first one
side of the stump, then the other, but could not detect them. Suddenly
they started up from amongst the hollows, about twenty yards away from
me, and bolted over the edge of the moraine like a flash, and I missed the
shot I snapped at them, after giving a " chuck, chuck ! " to try to halt them.
They must have been watching me for some time behind the tree, you
might say, but I think not. I had the wind, and they were probably
gazing in other directions, until some movement of my head attracted
their attention, and then they were off "eck dum" ("one breath," i.e.,
instanter). I had been looking for them under the wrong tree for five
minutes. Had I hit off the right I might have bagged both ! I reloaded
and ran on to cut them off along the face of the moraine ; but they did
not appear, so I turned back, and on looking down over the edge, hanging
on to a bush, saw the head and shoulders of one the bigger, I believe.
He was gazing up at me, not 30 yards below. I let go the bush, trying
to fire at his neck, but had to aim through some grass growing in the
cleft of a rock about half-way down, and on firing could see nothing.
Almost immediately a markhor appeared at the bottom of the steep part
of the moraine, and stopped, turning to look up. No doubt, my clothes
being the colour of the rocks, I was still not quite identified with genus
homo, and the sounds .of the shots had reverberated all round. I had
reloaded, and was about to fire, when he moved off across the huge
boulders that lay huddled together just as they were left by the snow on
an opportune plateau on the hillside.

He could not travel very fast, but his movements were not in a bee-line
by any means, and I put up the leaf for 200 yards, before trying a shot,
as he was a long way below and away from me. I aimed between his
shoulders and let drive. Immediately I saw him stagger, and his hind
feet slipped off a rock. I guessed I had bagged him, so watched him
going on much more slowly, quite crippled behind, and at last down he
dropped, rolled over a couple of times, and lay dead. The goojur went to
hallal him as usual, so I looked the other way till that operation was
accomplished, then clambered down carefully and across to the spot. I
found the horns very straight, and therefore not so long as they appeared,
being only 32in. On following the course of the bullet, I found the

88 MARKHOR.

kidneys and stomach all smashed up. My aim had been to reach the
lungs and heart, but the animal's movement had been more than I had
allowed for, and the bullet entered the back in front of the right hip. It
came on to snow hard, I could see no trace of the other markhor, so had to
make for camp below, which I reached very cold and wet, the snow
turning into sleet in the lower and warmer valley. 1 saw a good many
pheasants en route (one being that erroneously yclept " Argus " in the
Himalayas), and clambered down the cliffs alongside a waterfall of about
250ft., that did not touch a rock from top to bottom. It was a grand
cascade, but the weather was not quite suitable for sight-seeing.

Next day being Sunday, I did not go out, but devoted Monday, Tuesday,
and Wednesday to the ridges and corries, and, seeing nothing but females
and small males, I did not fire a shot. The heavy snow and frosts at
night were driving the game down, for all big tracks led away towards
the valley where I had shot the last. So ended my most charming
rambles after markhor.

CHAPTER V.
IBEX,

I WAS unable to get any leave next season, but had a good turn on
detachment in a hill-station for the mouths of May and June. I was
often after leopards, but never saw one. A bunyiah (vendor of grain
foods) shot a very good specimen at a cross-road within a quarter of a
mile of camp, with an old match-lock. Such is lack !

The succeeding year I was more fortunate, and determined to visit the
ibex in gme of his strongholds. Kashmir was crowded out before I could
have reached any decent ground, so I moved into some wild country by
another route. On my way I met an old Forest Department officer, who
made my mouth water with his tales of ibex, whose heads I might
see at places he mentioned, where they were arranged on piles of
stone. He had spent winters in their haunts, and had shot them
under the favourable circumstances existing some five-aud -twenty years
before my time. Rifles were muzzle-loaders then, and by no means
express, but all game was much more plentiful, less harassed, and
therefore less wary.

For this game the best glasses procurable are necessary, as it is often
at a great distance they are sighted, and careful scrutiny is imperative to
save the sportsman a useless and exhausting clamber. Binocular telescopes
1 have not recommended, but lately I saw a pair by Steward that can be
carried by anyone in the breast-pocket, which I strongly approve of :
they supply a long-felt want.

After much trouble and tribulation I reached the foot of a snowy pass,
over which I had to climb to find any of the game I required ; one other
brother of the rifle was there before me, waiting for the pass to open,
only two or three natives having come over it with the greatest
difficulty. Next day it was more open, and a large batch of hungry
villagers appeared on the snow above, on their way into more hospitable
regions to buy food after the rigorous winter. We had an awful clamber
up, especially over the glaciers, where footholds for each step had to be
cut with a small axe, in the hands of an old stager amongst the coolies.
The glare was blinding, but my servants and I had dark goggles, so were
not much troubled ; the poor coolies hung rags over their eyes to gain
some slight shade. Once on top of the pass, between 15,000ft. and
16,000ft., we had an easy time, the descent being much facilitated by the
long slides we all made down the steep, loose snow on the north side of
the range ; the hot mid-day sun and cold nights, with frost, had formed

90 IBEX.

the glaciers on the southern side. Some of our slides were from
300 yards to 400 yards, down steep snow-slopes, which we negotiated by
simply sitting down and letting ourselves go "a la toboggan; " it was so
wetting that I placed my light mackintosh under that portion of the body
that was in the greatest proximity to the slide !

It came on to sleet when we had reached the snow line below, and our
condition on arrival at a miserable lean-to shed under a cliff was pitiable
indeed; our quarters were filthy, there was no space on which a tent
could have been pitched, and one coolie with the servants' shuldarie (tent)
did not turn up that night. I felt certain he had perished on the pass, as
he was old and infirm, and had simply come from sheer necessity, the
wages (one rupee) being quite a large sum, on which he could subsist for
a month at the least. Next morning a rescue party was sent up
the gorge towards the pass, and met the old fellow toiling down,
quite cheerful, but weak ; he had wrapped himself up in the tent
and slept under an overhanging rock. A little aqua vitce refreshed
him, and he was able to finish the journey out of the pass, but with
a lighter load.

When I reached nay ground it was the beginning of May, and I
wandered over much country before I succeeded in getting a shot. I
first tried in a nullah on the Kashmir frontier, and was nearly taken
prisoner by the native ruler's guard, who were protecting some gold-
smelting works. There were ibex on the cliffs around my camp, where
no white man had shot for twenty years; but I was ordered out by
the resident at the Kashmir court, and with a heavy heart I had to try
poorer ground.

After a week's wandering in and out of nullahs, I found some game at
last, and started next morning, after the usual hasty breakfast, to try for
a head. I had two villagers from the next valley, to act as guides and
rifle-carriers (I gave up the professional shikarie long ago as a real bad
investment), honest, hard- working men, who were most useful, and took
good care of me in some of the very worst ground I have tried. We first
worked up to the foot of the landslips on the site of a village during
summer months in years gone by. One day the slip began, the people
and flocks escaped, and the next not a vestige of the village remained,
only the edge of some cultivated patches. Such was the tale I heard, and
very dangerous the remaining patches looked.

A few thin little pines grew at the base of the cliffs above the old
village site, so we clambered up to them to reconnoitre. Stones came
tumbling down, but we could not detect the game, so faced the cliffs
where a small gorge made ascent practicable, and, after an awfully
stiff climb, almost reached the top of the ridge, just below the old
winter's snow.

Along the cliffs some ibex were detected by one of my men, so we
worked over, above them ; I got on to a sloping rock, and surveyed them
through my glasses, being concealed by some rough herbage. Presently

THE -450 EXPRESS. 91

I made out three males emerging on an old landslip covered with short
green grass, and as they descended they skipped about in a most frolic-
some way. There was no means of approaching them, so we had to wait
till they had finished their repast and returned to the gorges ; you may
quite understand some time had elapsed, and we were much cramped.
Luckily the wind was well in our favour, so we commenced to get down
in the gorge next that into which they had retired, but all our efforts were
very nearly frustrated by some females and young, who were lying some-
where below us, and had not gone down on the landslips. Fortune
favoured us, however, for they were not aware of our proximity, and we
got over the males we wished to secure ; an overhanging rock supplied
me with a good look-out point, whence I carefully surveyed some six or
seven with my glasses. There was nothing very good amongst them,
although the horns were very perfect and symmetrical, the best being
very thick. I had two rifles with me, the old '450 single, and a double
'500 by a less known maker, which I had picked up at the eleventh hour
before starting on leave ; it shot well with 5drs. of powder, but, having
been originally sighted for only 4drs., there was a tendency to throw high
with snap shots. I drew a bead with the '450 at 250 yards at the best
male's shoulder, having put up the leaf for 200 yards, as he was a long
way from me, though a little below me ; the bullet passed over him, I not
having allowed enough for the difference in elevation of our respective
positions. He started violently, but he could not discern my whereabouts,
so I laid down the single and took up the double '500. I fired at him
again, but there was no apparent result. He started, but did not dare to
bolt in any direction. The others all got huddled together, I may say,
quite unable to ascertain the place of danger, and not daring to bolt. I
then fired the left barrel, and apparently hit somewhere, for he gave an
ugly wriggle, and fell down a little way before regaining his feet. I was
quite disgusted with my shooting, for away they all bolted down the
gorge, and over the ridge or angle into another. I snapped a shot at one
just before crossing the ridge, at my feet almost. This time my men
saw the bullet hit the rock over his back. I put down the 200 yards leaf,
and waited a moment after reloading. The last male stopped on the
ridge below before going* into the next gorge, to try to discover us. That
pause was fatal, for I drew a bead with the '450 at the point of his
shoulder, and he disappeared the instant I fired. As the smoke cleared
there was no game in sight. I was afraid I had missed, for it was a very
quick shot, almost a snap. On clambering down with great difficulty, I
sent one man over into the gorge, and he found the game dead. On
examination I discovered the bullet had gone high again, penetrating his
neck, which it smashed, death being instantaneous. I had aimed fine in all
cases, but I suppose I had overjudged the distances. His horns measured
over 27^in. round the curve, well shaped, and the best in the herd. The
skin was worthless, as the fall had knocked off much hair in patches, and
the under winter-coat of wool (pashmina) was falling out. The others

92 IBEX.

had all gone off, not a sign of one being discernible for the rest of that day.
The climbing was very severe, the cliffs being nearly perpendicular,
and devoid of the friendly juniper bushes, common on some inarkhor
grounds.

Next day I was away up the valley at dawn, and found three fine males
feeding on a slope below the cliffs and snow. We made a stalk up a
shallow nullah to the left, trying to get to their level ; but whether some
watchful female gave the alarm, or they had finished feeding, or they had
got our wind in the shifty corner of the mountains, I do not know ; any
way, they were up in the cliffs when I made my stalk, and we lay like
stones for more than three hours, hoping they would move into some gorge
and allow us to shift, so as to make another attempt from above. No
such luck, for there they remained, and finally, after a heavy snowstorm,
we had to make for camp, drenched and nearly frozen.

I was after them in the morning again, but could not find them, though
we hunted the hillside and watched for four or five hours ; then it came
on to snow, sleet, and blow, cutting us to the bone. We stood it until
we were simply frozen, and had to make for camp over snow and rocks.
Such fine heads, and real hard work after them, with no result. It was
cold at the altitude of my camp, freezing every night. In the morning
the small servant's pal I used could not be folded or packed until the sun
had thawed it ! You may imagine how much one appreciated an ulster,
warm socks, drawers, and nightcap in bed. The latter consisted of a
Wolseley valise and extra waterproof-sheet on mother earth, with
blankets and resai rolled around one. The natives slept under a rock,
with a big fire in front, but were very cold, I should have supposed ;
yet they had no complaints, and gorged themselves on the rank buck
goafs-flesh.

For three weeks, off and on, I worked for these big ibex, and never got
within shot. On one occasion I was nearly successful, having scaled the
cliffs to the snow line, and got above them, but, when moving along for
the stalk, some awful female gave the alarm, and they passed quite
leisurely at about 300 yards above me ! Had they been below, I would
have risked a shot, but that distance up a precipice was too doubtful, and,
though I returned to them once more, after a fortnight's tour round
other nullahs, I never got a shot. I bagged two with the '500
Express ad interim, and shall tell of them when discussing that size
of bore.

As I look over the notes in my diary, I am puzzled to know how I had
patience to endure the wettings and cold winds, day after day, with no
result. Doubtless the size of the three " big 'uns " was a stimulus ; for, if
I could have got within shot, I might have got two, if not the three. I
certainly was very sanguine, but my patience was not rewarded; it is
doubtful if any other rifle has bagged them on that most awful ground.
Probably they were all three over 40iu.

THE -500 EXPRESS. 93

Having been so unsuccessful with the three " big uns " in my nullah, I
decided to leave them for a bit and try another place further up the river
and on the other bank, so started with the shuldarie and a week's
provisions. It was evening by the time we reached a suitable camp ; and
while reclining in my tent, a herd of small ones came by, and were seen
by one of my men who was returning from the nearest village ; he said
they were not worth following, so I let them alone.

A lovely clear sky greeted us when the day broke ; we had left the tent
in the grey dawn, and clambered up over rock and grass until almost on
the top of one of the main ridges running down from the mountain chain
of everlasting snow, 25,000ft. high. The tracks of ibex were everywhere,
and soon my sharp-sighted villager spotted some ; they were in a most
inaccessible spot, on the other side of a huge, bare cleft in the ridge ; but
as my glasses could promise nothing very good, I left them alone. About
nine o'clock we reached the edge of a very steep and rocky gorge,
immediately below perfect walls of cliffs, with other gorges and ridges
beyond. The ground was so cut up and difficult, that I squatted under a
friendly overhanging rock, reading, while my two men clambered up
higher, and scanned the ground from the crest ; they were under a good
screen of small arbutus, which had found a spot to exist on here and
there, on the very edge of the precipices. About half-an-hour elapsed
before one of them returned to say they had discovered some game on the
other side of the gorge, so I took the '500 and clambered up to see.
From my point under an arbutus, I could see nothing good, nor any way
to reach them, unless I could scale the cliffs to my left and then descend
further on, so as to get a shot from above. After a discussion, we decided
not to attempt such an awful task, but to wait and watch from where we
were.

While so employed, spread out on the rough herbage and rock, we were
presently startled by the alarm-note of a female ; looking up to my left in
the direction whence the sound proceeded, I discovered two gazing down
at us, not two hundred yards away. They had evidently clambered out of
the gorge at some point higher up the ridge, but did not cross from the
ibex we had been .watching. Not a move did we make, just squinting
out of the corners of our eyes, and praying they would move on and not
alarm the herd. At last they moved away slowly, stopping twice to
examine us again, and then literally bounded away in a manner one could
not believe that any animal could go on such ground ; they whistled a
couple of times, but the slight breeze there was blew past instead of
towards us, so we could hope the others were not alarmed.

Having turned our attention to the far side of the gorge again, we
could see nothing, and were in despair, but presently a female clambered
up into view, crossing over into our side, and being followed by four small
males; then came two bigger males, and after a halt and good look round,
they plunged out of sight, moving towards us. At once the older man
and myself clambered up higher, so as to reach the spot where the two

first females had emerged, for I presumed the others must follow the
same track. We were only just in time, for there was the female coming
along a mere line on the face of the rock not sixty yards away ; an angle
quite shut out the rest of our sid? of the gorge. I quickly moved behind
an arbutus-bush unobserved, and loaded ; I there had a friendly granite
rock on one side, just the colour of my Balaklava cap, so whipped off my
puggerie and peered round the bush. A small male was standing at the
corner looking in my direction, so I disappeared and tried the other side.
There I found the female within twenty yards, staring at the bush but
unable to detect me. I remained breathless, but at last the small male moved
on, and was followed by another who seemed to rise from the rock as he
stepped round the corner. Another and another followed, each in turn
bigger than the one immediately before him, and finally the sixth and
biggest. There they all were, along a ledge no wider than my hand, at
distances from twenty to sixty yards from me ; I dare not rise to fire, as
the female was gazing at me. There was a grand scene before nie : six
wild goats of historic keenness of vision and smell scattered along a mere
line of rock, varying in length of symmetrically curved horns, sunning
themselves and looking away into the valley at their feet unconscious of
danger, and thoroughly at home on ground that man could not cross
without the utmost care and deliberation. It was a scene such as
Landseer might have painted, and some wealthy sportsman might have
paid four figures for. Alas, the scene has vanished save from my mind's
eye, and the world will never view it.

After a considerable study of me, the female gave a warning whistle,
and the males became alert, but gazed into the gorge and valley, not
dreaming that man was so near them ; they could decide nothing, even
the biggest male being balanced with four feet on one spot on the ledge,
head bent down, great beard hanging clear, and all his attention fixed on
the ground below. He was broadside on to me, not sixty yards away, so
I rose steadily, covering him with my rifle as I did so. Just as I pressed
the trigger, they all commenced to move except him, and when the smoke
cleared, there was nothing in sight ; he had fallen head first into the
gorge, on the opposite side of which a small male appeared almost
immediately. Others followed, but I waited till the last and, therefore,
second best showed himself, and gave him the left barrel, sending him
reeling; he was nearly two hundred yards away, clambering round the
loose shale at the head of the gorge. I had not ventured to attempt to
reload till then, for the time was a mere pause between the shots, I
may say.

I reloaded and tried to get the third best, believing his horns were
about 31in. or 32in., but he was beyond my range, and I failed to
hit him though I fired four shots, the last hitting about three inches
above his back on the rocks he passed; when I subsequently found
my second one was only a little over 29iu., I was well pleased I had
not killed.

THE -500 EXPRESS. 95

With the aid of my two men, I succeeded in getting along the ibex
ledge and down into the gorge, but it was a place where I could not help
feeling that one false step would be fatal, and that without my hardy
mountaineers I should be utterly helpless. We reached the second ibex, and
found him dead enough where he fell ; the bullet had got him in the ribs
about four or five inches too far back, but I could not complain of my
shooting, for the excitement was intense. My men hallaled him, and we
then clambered down to the first. To my horror, one horn was pointing
one way, the second the other, his skull having been fractured by the fall.
I whipped out my tape and began to measure. Joy ! joy ! the 36in. tape
was not long enough, and I found it took well over forty inches to follow
the curve from the lower edge to the tip. On turning over the carcase,
the hole showed that the bullet had hit the exact spot. I felt quite
recompensed for all niy previous ill luck and hard work, and returned to
my tent triumphant. The ground was so bad that I wore out both heels of
my grass-shoes, leather outer-socks and woollen ditto, and a good deal of
the real tegument.

I made many more attempts after the " big uns " in my first nullah,
but never succeeded in getting a shot : it would be tedious to relate my
many bitter disappointments after labours almost incredible, when I look
back. The one thing that I always found a great handicap in favour of
the ibex was the absence of any hollows under a rock on the ground they
frequented, where it was possible for a 6ft. Briton to spend the night. I
had become used to small quarters when after markhor, but all my efforts
to follow the same tactics and sleep on the same leyel as ibex were fruit-
less : I never found a spot where long bedding could be spread under a
friendly rock. There were ledges here and there, but no shelter, and the
risk of rolling over the edge was too great, besides the chance of falling
rocks, which often whizzed down by day and night. We had many
shaves, a stone of some half hundred weight just missing my second man
one day as we lay on a small slope eating our frugal lunch ; and the smaller
ones that came down in showers were decidedly scaring at all times. Occa-
sionally a great snow-slip took place, and then all was glorious confusion
and uproar. We escaped such dangers, and I believe that the ground
these wary ibex inhabited was as bad as any on which they can live. Had
I been able to sleep there, I am certain I could have secured them, but
a laborious climb in the grey dawn never enabled me to catch them
unawares but once or twice, and then other opposing elements, namely,
wind and watchful sentinels, defeated me. I might have fired at, and
over, 300 yards, but it was my great desire to outwit them, and I
have to acknowledge they quite defeated me, although they had some
close shaves.

Looking over some friends' letters, I see one of them shot a 40in. and
33in. ibex right and left, having stalked within 20 yards of the first, and
started the second (by the report), between the first and himself. He was
suffering from fever at the time, and spent two days in camp recovering

96 IBEX.

before he could attempt to move on again. Luckily, the spot was just
above his intended camp-ground !

Another well-known sportsman, our modern Nimrod, killed seven ibex
in less than two months' leave, measuring 43in., 42in., 38in., 38in., 31iu.,
and 25in. respectively. I believe a good shot on ground not lately shot
over, may hope for as many, if not quite as good, heads still, but he will
have to work very hard indeed, especially in the way of marching to and
from his ground.

One sportsman who wintered in the Himalayas made a bag of thirty -
two ibex, whose horns averaged 38in ! I quote this from another great
Niinrod's letter, and he was quite aghast at it, evidently. I never heard
of anything to equal this, and would much like to have seen the heads, so
that I could give the individual lengths from my own measurements.

CHAPTER VI.
GOORAL,

SHOOTING this small game is excellent practice with the rifle, as gooral
inhabit slopes of grass sufficiently steep and slippery to demand care when
moving, and easy adaptation of oneself to awkward positions when firing.
I know no game that inhabits barer hillsides, where one must particularly
study wind, and any cover obtainable from the natural slopes of the
ground. It is a pretty little animal, wonderfully active over bad ground,
and sufficiently plentiful on its regular haunts to repay one for a day's
ramble after it.

I left them alone for some seasons when in pursuit of other game, but
decided one year to have a turn at them during the interval between the
end of the rains and commencement of the bara-singh shooting. I worked
round to ground near Dalhousie, and found plenty of occupation with
them.

Near camp a very round bare hill protruded into the valley. On this I
was assured I could shoot some ; so in the morning I started off, through
long grass dripping with the heavy dew, and had a very stiff climb for a
couple of hours before seeing any. My man at last spotted one in a very
awkward place below me ; it was on the other side of a narrow rift, but
so perpendicularly below that I could not aim while sitting on the slope.
I made a detour, and reached an overhanging rock by the friendly aid of
some young fir trees, from which I had a better view. The game was
still below me, but I could get no cover lower down, so crawled on to the
rock and peered over. Judging the distance to be 230 yards, I put up
the leaf for 200, and aimed for the shoulder ; when I fired he bolted a
short distance, and halted again, bewildered. I decided I must have fired
over him, and put down the leaf, reloaded, and took a careful aim. When
the smoke cleared he was gone ; so I sent my man down to where the
animal had been, and he shouted that he had fallen over the khud. So he
had, and was lying some 800 feet below in the bed of the torrent. It took
the native a long time to bring him up ; but I was glad to find I had hit
him on the right side and smashed him before he fell. The horns were
not large ; one being lost in the fall spoilt the head.

After a rest, I went for a long clamber along the east side of the hill,
and found another above me. but missed him. It was another awkward
position to be in, firing up hill, standing on a very steep slope, and I could
not decide where my bullet went, but I think it was high. I got home
late, tired and weary.

98 GOORAL.

I moved camp next day and went to fresli ground, further up the east
valley ; the grass was rank and drenching with dew, but I found a gooral
before long on the other side of a ravine. I could only see the head
and neck, so had to make a guess for the shoulder, and fire from a nasty
cold seat on the wet grass. I judged it to be about 120 yards, and
aimed fine. "When the smoke cleared he was gone, but my man went to
the spot, found he had fallen or rolled down the hill, and at last recovered
and brought him up. The bullet had hit fair behind the shoulder, as I
had been very fortunate in my guessing. The horns were not broken, but
they were small.

I had a long scramble over the hillside, made an unsuccessful stalk,
getting no shot at a good one, and was well pleased to reach camp at last.
Later on I had a couple of days on fresh ground, but, owing to the utter
incapacity, if not actual opposition, of my local guide, I was baulked of
several shots, and had to leave for the plains without another head.

CHAPTER VII.
BARASINGH.

THIS deer belongs to Kashmir and neighbouring States, not appearing
beyond the Indus to the west or the Ravee to the east, as far as I can
ascertain. I had not met with it in the markhor ground I had been on
in Kashmir, having devoted myself to that animal alone, varied with an
odd bear when moving about ; but I was determined to try for one this
time.

The stag is apparently similar to the red deer of Scotland, but 1 think
a little heavier both in body and head. I devoted a fortnight to the
pursuit of it, bagging one at the commencement, and then working hard
without a shot for many days.

My path led me over a low pass into a valley clothed in beautiful pine
woods, with cliffs and corries springing out of it on every side; the
bracken had turned rich deep brown, and the grass was beginning to
assume an autumn hue. I arranged my camp in a secluded glade, and
next morning made off up a corrie, to reach the top of the ridge, so as to
be above the game. "We examined every glen and corrie for the noble
stag I was in search of, but saw other game, an old red bear and two
half -grown cubs, away below feeding, where they remained unmolested,
as I would not disturb the ground. The hillside became more easy in its
slope, so I sent one man, carrying my '500 double, to have a look down
into the valley below, while we kept along the bare uplands above.

Suddenly, as we came over the brow of a spur, my rifle-carrier dropped
as if shot, and whispered that there was a stag below us. Sure enough
there was, but he had only three points on each horn, and they were in
velvet, so I declined to fire. As there was a good deal of tall bracken
around the stag, I kept scanning the slope with my glasses to try to find
a better head. I soon found one, with ten points apparently, so I
prepared to shuffle down a little further, on my back, so as to get within
range ; feeling rather disgusted at having to tackle the game with a
single '450, while my double *500 was on the hillside somewhere else,
quite out of my reach. There was no use loitering, as its carrier had
been halted by signs when the game was viewed, and delays are too
dangerous to permit of my waiting till he could get round to us. When I
reached a friendly boulder I intended to fire from, I found the big stag
was looking straight up hill, and not down, as I supposed, when I
commenced my stalk. He was about 120 yards away, so I covered the
base of his neck with the rifle, but before I had a fair sight on him up he

H 2

100 BAEASINGH.

jumped, and turned round down hill, looking into the glen at his feet. I
was rather hurried by seeing the smaller stag also spring up, so aimed at
the big one's shoulder and fired. Two hinds sprang up at the shot, and
away went the four along the hillside, too far for a second shot by the
time I had reloaded. He slowed down, so I felt sure I had hit him, and
with my glasses I could see blood on his right side, high up.

They turned into a corrie about 400 yards ahead, and I soon saw the
smaller stag and the hinds hurrying down the hill. It was evident the
stag hit was too sick to follow, so we waited a bit, and presently he came
out slowly, and went down hill at a walk until he reached some over-
hanging rocks, under which he turned. Away we went to finish him, but
he did not like the spot, and moved on again into the next corrie, where
I missed a snap shot as he went floundering through the heavy thickets.
We followed him up for some distance through corries and ravines,
finding a great deal of blood all along, but, as we could not come up
with him, I turned down to the easy slopes below, while my man
took up the trail. Presently he broke out of the copse in one corrie into
another and larger one, and I hurried on for a shot ; but he reached new
cover ahead, bolting as I came into it, and led us a weary chase through
much timber and ravines. He was not inclined to stop anywhere, so we
had to keep following him up. His tracks were often lost, and not
recovered for some time. At last he broke back, and I missed a snap
with the double '500, a young oak coming between me and the stag as I
pressed the trigger. The oak was shattered, but the stag held on.

The chase was getting a long one by this time, but we stuck to it, and
I got another snap with the '500, missing with both barrels. I was dis-
gusted with my shooting, but, as I was much pumped and unsteady, I
could not expect better luck. I seized the '450 from my other man,
loaded it, and spotted the stag as he slowly clambered up the other side
of a ravine, 130 yards away. He stopped to look round, and gave me a
broadside shot, but I was so shaky and tired that it took me all I knew to
press the trigger steadily. Down he dropped, with a broken back, and I
sent a man over to catch his horns as he rolled through the bushes, to
prevent his tumbling into the stream below. When I got across, I was
delighted to find he was a ten-tiner, with an excellent coat as well. He
was awfully fat, weighing about 4001b., and it was a long job skinning
and cutting him up. The horns were beautifully clean and fine.

The fag home with a rifle to carry was no joke, for the ground was
very steep ; but I was so satisfied with the sport that I struggled on.
I never had been excited so much over any hill shooting, and enjoyed
it immensely. My missing four shots with the '500 was not unlikely to
happen, as it was sighted for 4drs., but I used 5 ! It sold me later on
when after oorial, and it was then I determined on a '450 Magnum as
being the weapon for the hills. My first shot at the stag with the '450
had hit him on the right side of the back, just missing the bone, and had
exploded all down his ribs ; the shock must have been very severe, but

THE -450 EXPRESS. 101

another half drachm of powder, or a bullet from the '500, would probably
have dropped him at once.

The demesne-like appearance of much of this valley was enchanting ,
and I do not suppose more beautiful scenery can be found anywhere.

Next day I returned to camp below, seeing nothing en route, and then
tried the hills again. I wandered over much ground for ten days, seeing
a few hinds and small stags, but neither seeing nor hearing another big
one. I met another sportsman and found the camp of a third, but neither
got a shot, so I had to decide that no more could be done that season,
unless I penetrated more towards Kashmir, and time did not permit it.
I packed up and made for the Punjab, via Dalhousie and Umritsur, to
look for an oorial before commencing a march of 700 miles down country.

CHAPTER VIIL
THAR.

THIS game is not so much followed as it deserves, for, although its
horns are not grand, it inhabits magnificent portions of the hills, and can
be reached from many stations on the short leave, which is often wasted
there.

The usual habitat is much the same as that of the markhor, but there
are varieties of ground, from dense ringall- jungle to steep broken cliffs,
and good practice at mountain climbing may be had by the tyro, before he
tackles the more valuable game in another year.

The best thar head I ever saw or heard of measured only 15in. in the
horns, but the grand ruff on the throat and neck rendered the trophy one
to be proud of, and I am sure no sportsman would have despised it.

I was once on my way up to some ground near where this head had
been shot, and as my men toiled along ahead of me I saw them all begin
to totter, and I myself nearly fell, for an earthquake came on, the hills
rocking and rumbling in a most awful manner. Nothing happened, and
we reached the camp-ground all right. Next morning I was out at
dawn on the head of some cliffs, and as the fog rolled away I had a
wonderful panorama spread before me. Yalleys, rivers, villages, forests
at my feet, ending with a hill-station in the blue distance ; while to my
left rose the peaks of eternal snows, still white, but riven with the flow of
the summer's melting. Crossing over the rocks, we could see a steep
slope far below, and, after a careful scrutiny, descried some thar, but none
good enough to tempt a stalk. We watched them for some time, to make
sure no big male was amongst them, and then moved away to try some of
the marvellous gorges or corries that cut into the cliffs. My man left me
and disappeared over the edge for a few minutes to spy out the land
alone.

He soon returned with tidings of three big males in a corrie ; so I
joined him, and we descended step by step down the face of the rocks for
some hundred feet, when he turned me to the right along a ledge, and
finally pointed to where he said the game was. A little herbage concealed
'us, but after a good quarter of an hour hunt I could discern nothing, even
with the glasses, and the spot he pointed to was not a hundred yards
away. The sun was in my eyes, certainly, but I could see the side of the
corrie covered with a small shrub (some kind of bilberry), and nothing
like game of any sort could I detect. I crawled round a little to the
left, and peered over the edge of the rock, but, even with his finger before
my eye, there was nothing I could identify. I began to think there was

THE -500 EXPRESS. 103

something wrong with my sight or the native's, when suddenly I saw
something move, and at once the head of a thar was as visible as if it lay
on a table before me. The whole of its body was concealed by the
shrubs, and, although the man said he could see three, I could not find
the others. He became so excited that the beasts got alarmed, and up
they sprang, literally rising from what looked a perpendicular mass of
green shrubs, if I may so describe it. I had the single '450 in my hand,
and tried to select the best, firing hurriedly as they darted down the rocks.
He disappeared, and, snatching up the '500, I let the next best have it ;
lie vanished into a cleft in the corrie, and I failed to stop or hit the third.
Almost immediately afterwards I saw one falling head over heels down
into the valley below, and two others clambering off. My men recovered
one, hit fair enough by the '500, but the other I either missed or hit in the
wrong spot, for I never saw him again. The ground was so bad that I
could not get down to the dead beast, and had to await the return of nay
man to get up to the easier ground above.

In the evening we saw a magnificent hoary old male on the far side of
a wide ravine, but it was too late to follow him, and all next day on his
ground was unsuccessful, for we saw many females and small males, but
no signs of my friend. I spent three days more on these cliffs firing at
nothing, and then returned to camp.

Next week I visited another part, but it came on to rain and literally
poured for five days and nights with little intermission. I got out for an
hour or two occasionally, seeing game but being rolled up in fog and mist
before I could do anything, and the toil of clambering back and hunting
for camp was awful. I gave in at last and went down to my permanent
camp, luckily escaping any ill effects.

A few days after I met another shooter who had bagged the old male I
saw the week before, or one very like it, as he crossed the hills the day
after I went down ; the horns were a little over 14in. I think, and he met
with him just under the sheep-path he was marching along.

The first thar I ever shot was at long range with a 12-bore rifle, a
regular fluke, but I shot a fine male with the right barrel at seventy
yards, and missed another with the left a day or two afterwards. A
friendly shepherd took me to their haunts, where we came on two feeding
at the head of a gorge ; they bolted up the rocks, and I had a nice shot at
the chest of the first ; he fell dead, but the 200 yards sight got knocked
up somehow when I meant to raise the 100 for the other, and the bullet
went just over him.

The skins are worth having for rugs when in good order early or late in
the season, and I would gladly have a week after thar now if I could get the
chance. The scenery is superb, and the various other game one meets
with supplies much material for observation and study. Clambering up
and down from thar ground, you may meet gerow. serow, bear, gooral,
khakur, two or three kinds of pheasants, foxes and porcupines.

CHAPTER IX.
MUSK DEER.

THIS is not an animal either difficult to find or much of a trophy, but
there are some points about its construction, appearance, and habits that
I found worthy of note. From well-known books I had learnt a good
deal before I ever saw one ; still, my remarks may be of interest to even
a well-read or interested person.

The long canine teeth of the male, protruding well below the chin, are
certainly carried by no other deer except the khakur, and his are neither
so long nor so white ; their use seems to be pulling up moss and other
food through herbage or even snow. Doubtless they would be a very
efficient weapon in a fight, but I have never heard of a musk deer having
been known to use them for that purpose.

The peculiar texture of the coat is another well-known feature, but it is
certainly curious to see such minature porcupine quills forming the hairy
covering of a deer. It is quite useless for preservation except as leather,
which it supplies delightfully soft and clean, if dressed white.

The musk gland is only found in males, and cannot be described as
valuable except from a mercenary point of view, as the odour is too over-
powering and penetrating to suit any but those people who indulge their
tastes in a gluttonous manner. The natives have a great hankering after
the pod, and will rob you on every possible occasion of its contents, if
not of the pod itself.

The appearance of this little deer ascending a steep slope in quick,
short jumps, with its very long and pointed ears directed forward, always
reminded me of a kangaroo ; bar the tail, the resemblance was very
strong, for neither sex have any horns whatever.

There is another peculiarity about it ; on each foot the small false hoofs
that hang from the pastern above the proper ones are very long, quite an
inch, and very sharp. Consequently, its tracks consist of the usual deer
type, but diverging or splaying a good deal at the toes, with two indenta-
tions in rear, caused by these false hoofs ; each foot thus makes four
distinct marks on the ground.

Another very curious trait of this beautiful animal is the noise it makes
when bounding along a hill ; there is a regular clatter, very much
resembling the castanets of a negro minstrel troupe. I studied the
subject carefully, and decided it was caused by the hoofs and false hoofs
meeting together smartly as the animal rose from the ground, the removal
of weight from the feet being so instantaneous that they came together

THE -450 EXPRESS. 105

with a regular spring. Lately I read of the khakur, or barking deer,
making this noise ; though I often met with it, I never studied that
species, so may be wrong, but I feel certain it is caused by the same
movement of the feet- joints, and not by any portion of the mouth, as
was suggested in the article I read.

Anyone who wants to taste real venison may have it from the haunch
of the musk-deer; I never found anything to equal it, cooked in the
primitive fashion of a bent stick and piece of string before a clear camp
fire. In a pie, or cold, it is delicious, and I only regret that eating it
entails the slaughter of a beautiful, harmless, and otherwise valueless
animal ; I rarely shot it, although I met with it scores of times.

CHAPTER X.
BEARS.

CERTAINLY these animals are a class distinct to themselves, on account of
the curious formation of the joints in their hind-legs, their unusual shaped
feet and snouts, and the resemblance their tracks bear to those made by
the human foot when unfettered by civilised man's handiwork.

To look at a bear when groping about amongst logs and stones, search-
ing for those larvae and insectidas in which his soul delights, you naturally
note how slow, methodical, and even lazy he appears ! Or should you
surprise him up a wild cherry or apricot tree, how deliberate and careful
he is as to where he places each foot while descending, stern foremost,
into the jaws of death, held open in the hands of his great enemy, man !
Or, again, amidst the Indian corn just ripening, what toothsome morsels
he selects from the parent stem, ruthlessly broken down, and what ruin
marks his track ! Amongst a swarm of angry bees, too, what callousness
he shows while being attacked at his vulnerable points ; intent on the
luscious honey, he heeds nothing but man, and even he must almost poke
him in the ribs with the muzzle of his rifle to announce his arrival in a
sufficiently remarkable manner ! How anxious he is to get away with a
whole skin, whenever that broad snout of his announces, with its wonder-
ful twistings, that danger is near, and yet, how many are the sturdy hill-
men who are carrying to their graves scars and cicatrices on various parts
of their bodies, from the crown of the head to the sole of the foot, all
inflicted by our slow, methodical, lazy, deliberate, careful, rash, destruc-
tive, luxurious, callous, fearless, timid, courageous friend in the black or
brown coat !

And can't he travel, too ! Just surprise him asleep at the foot of some
mighty pine, or in a corrie below the ground the ibex loves. Why, he is
gone before you can cock your rifle, leaving you rubbing your eyes and
wondering which way he did go. His sight is bad, and if his nose were
no better, he must have disappeared from the face of the earth long ago.
That pig-like flexible organ is his sentry and watchman, and he seems to
trust it as infallible, thus falling a victim to misplaced confidence at times.

The maternal instinct is well developed, and nothing is more interesting
than lying concealed above a bear and her cubs while feeding below. The
way she turns over the stones, roots out the luscious grubs for the
youngsters, and looks out for danger as well, supplies much worth noting.
When surprised, she will cover their retreat, and return to the rescue
should one of them get nabbed.

THE -450 EXPRESS. 107

In captivity they become very docile, and are easily taught tricks. It
would be hard to enumerate all their accomplishments, but they certainly
are very lively and amusing. I shall never forget awaking one night in a
station in the Punjab, to notice at once the well-known " hoff, hoff " of a
bear. The season was hot, doors and windows were open, but the punkah
dispensed with at night. It flashed through my brain that this must be
some pet escaped from confinement, and I puzzled myself trying to decide
how to secure him or defend myself should he attack me. Bears were not
within twenty miles of the station, and a flat cultivated country inter-
vened, so he was not likely to be wild, but, if escaped from captivity, there
was no saying what sort of a " budniash " he might be. I crept out of
bed, looked out of the window, and, by the moon's bright light, descried
a half -grown cub, walking about under a mulberry tree some ten paces
away. I soon saw he was secured and went to bed again, wondering how
in the world he came to be tied up in my garden. Next morning I found
my chum in the other part of the house had brought the pet up from
barracks, where she (for it was a female, after all !) played hide-and-seek
with the men often. It was so grotesque to see a six-foot Paddy come
quickly out of one door into the verandah of his barrack-room, dodge in
at another, and the bear after him, just too late to catch him. Bound and
round they went many times, and Bruin thoroughly enjoyed the romp,
never hurting anyone, for her sharp canine teeth had been removed.

While chained in my garden it was most amusing to see Sally (that
was her name) take a bath. The bath consisted of half a fifty-six gallon
cask, sawn in two through the bung-hole in the usual manner; into
this the bheestie emptied two or three mussucks of water, and then Sally
began her antics. First she walked round it, shoved it about, peered
over the edges, splashed an odd paw in, and played with it much as a cat
does with a mouse. When tired of these simple pranks, she climbed on
to the edge and remained balanced with the two hind feet close outside
the two fore ; there she remained admiring herself iu the natural mirror,
slapping at her reflection now and then. Presently she would begin
rocking the tub, balanced as she was on one edge, and would keep it
going up and down at great speed until she had succeeded in splashing
at least half the water out. The see-saw motion was quite remarkable,
for I never saw her upset the tub ; she always retained the balance
perfectly.

Her next move was to pretend to lose her balance while the tub was at
rest, and flop well down into it. Out she would get again two or three
times, and finally lie down in it, coiled up, with her nose near her tail
She would then try the other side, and when she considered her ablutions
completed, she always climbed out, upset the tub and sent it rolling away.
After many shakes and rubbings she then climbed into the tree, reclined
on a bough and dozed till dry and hungry. I forget what became of
Sally, but her owner has joined the great majority, I regret to say.

I often was after bears in various parts of the hills, and found them

108 BEARS.

much scarcer than I had supposed, until at last I reached the regions
that had been less harassed by the white man, and here they were fairly
plentiful. Finally I often met with them when after other game, and
many a Bruin owes his whole skin at the present day to my general rule
of only firing at the particular game I was in searcli of. I found that
rule conducive to much better results than that which lays down to fire
at everything you see.

My first bear was a red female, and I came on her when ascending to
some likely markhor ground. I had been weeks marching about in rain
and mist, my leave being the last three months of the hot weather, with
literally no luck, so I made up my mind to try to bag her and hope for
the markhor. I was carrying the '450 single, and my man had my double
gun, so I remained quiet amongst some rocks, watching her rooting and
scratching about on a grassy patch. She was so intent on her feeding
that she never heeded me, and after a little time I aimed between her
shoulders, for I was above and in front. Just as I was about to fire, it
suddenly struck me it would be as well to use the double gun with ball,
should she charge. I laid the rifle down, at half-cock, took the gun
from my man, opened the breech and then gave it him back while I got
the cartridges out of my belt. The poor fellow was so excited that he shut
the gun with a bang, making enough noise to frighten a bear a quarter of
a mile off, let alone 50 yards ! I seized the gun from him, loaded and
leaned it against a rock, then snatched up the '450 and stood up for a shot.
The bear was alert, of course, and bolted as I rose ; I let drive, but went
over her head with the snap. A half -grown cub followed her from amongst
the rank grass, but my shot turned them, and back they came, galloping
past me, about 40 yards away. I snatched up my gun and snapped at
the cub, which was leading then, but missed, being unable to see him
exactly owing to the grass. The old one galloped on, and I could see
her all right, so had a good shot for the spot behind the shoulder, but
aiming well ahead. I heard the bullet hit, but on she went for about
20 yards, then wheeled round towards us and began making an awful
row. Down she tumbled suddenly, picked herself up, rose on her hind
legs and advanced a couple of paces towards us, then tumbled again. I
had reloaded and was waiting for a certain shot if she charged us ; she
was an awful sight, snapping her jaws and roaring, while blood and
foam poured from her mouth. I saw she was done for when she fell a
second time, so rushed to the brow to have another snap at the cub. I
fired twice with the rifle, as he was going at an awful pace down a most
precipitous hillside, but failed to hit, and afterwards was glad he had got
off. I never fired at a cub again.

On returning to the old one, I found her quite dead, of good size and
coat, and we rolled her over to see where she was hit. In the exact spot
behind the shoulder there was the hole, on the other side a similar one,
where the bullet made its exit. I was puzzled at the way she had lived
and travelled after receiving such a wound in the right place, so cut her

THE -450 EXPRESS. 109

open, when we had removed the skin. I found the heart divided from
the centre to its lower side, as it lies in the body, with a rough jagged
cut where the bullet had passed. Nevertheless, she had travelled about
twenty yards at a gallop, and lived some half minute quite time enough
to have given a nasty blow had she reached a human being. It taught
me a lesson, which I never forgot, for I always took good care to be above
bears when firing, thus ensuring time to load should they charge. On
the level or below them I believe they might often have given me " a nasty
one " during my subsequent wanderings, and more than one friend has
had a squeak for it through not following this old and well-worn rule.
After skinning the game, we descended into a gorge, encamping on the
banks of a torrent, where niy blanket and waterproof coat formed a
teut-d'abri. It poured all night, but thanks to my shelter and a thick
ulster, I kept dry ; my man was seedy next morning, so I dosed him with
medicine, and he was soon all right.

On another occasion I had been a long tour round the head of the range
after markhor, and was returning to camp, quite ready for a Sunday's
rest, when I crossed a rocky spur, and looked down on a small blue lake
and vast moraines, left by the winter's snow. Nothing could I detect
with my glasses, so we clambered down, and between the moraines I
found a bear had been rooting. We crouched down again, and I had
a good look around, at last spotting one busy digging up some roots.
The latter appear to be like the buttercups' in shape rather, but I never
learnt their name. About a quarter of a mile intervened between us, but a
friendly dry nullah, or furrow of an ice-plough, led up past the spot, so I
was able to make a stalk under it and some friendly rocks. As near as I
could approach was 200 yards, for cover ended then, and occasionally a
glance was cast all over the ground by the game. I put up the leaf for
200 yards on the '450, and waited until her movements brought her
broadside to me. She was grubbing away with both fore paws, so I
aimed behind the shoulder and let her have it, firing off the knee. She
received the bullet, and was quite knocked over, but got up quickly,
looked about a second, and then made off slowly down hill. After her I
ran as hard as I could, with the double gun in my hand to finish her.
She managed to keep well ahead of me, though limping badly, so I tried
a couple of shots, but was too jumpy, and sent both over her. I decided
I was too far off to do much damage, even if steady, as it was difficult to
judge distance for the gun, so hurried on after her for about 200 yards,
gaining rapidly until within about 80 yards. A friendly moraine came
to my aid, for she crossed it, falling often, while I skipped from stone to
stone in a manner more reckless than I ever tried before or since. Some
augel must have guarded me, for my grass-shoes never slipped, nor
missed the spot chosen for them as I glanced along my course. The bear
and I left the moraine abreast, and I pulled myself together, breathless
though I was, and gave her one, breaking her back and right shoulder
Die she would not, so I had to put a bullet, through the poor brute's head

110 BEARS.

to finish her. My Express bullet had landed on her right elbow, it
having been drawn back as I fired, splintering it to atoms, and then
passing in pieces into her chest. The shock must have been great, for
bears with one leg broken generally manage to escape.

On another occasion, I moved camp, and from, my new quarters, on a
high spur, I spotted a red bear very busy, grubbing up roots on a deserted
'' g5t " (sheep-yard). A deep valley intervened, and I was looking for bara-
singh, so left him alone for two days. Having failed to find deer on that
side of the range, I moved over to the bear's haunts, with my usual flying
camp of bedding, food, and small servant's tent. On arrival we found
our bear at work on another " got," about a quarter of a mile beyond ; he
was very busy, as usual, so I was able to make a good stalk by detouring
above and behind him. The herbage was so rank on the " got " that on
entering it I could see nothing for some time, but at last found Bruin,
and leant against a rock while I fired the '450 at him. Somehow I was
unsteady, and he bolted on my firing. I seized the '500 double which I
had left against the rock loaded, and covered him again ; he stopped and
stood up on his hind legs for a better view. The '500 was directed at
his chest, over the point of the shoulder, and he dropped dead, with
the bullet correctly placed, from about 200 yards. This was a standing
shot, with no rest. I found on examination he was the fattest bear I had
ever killed, and I keep some of his grease still, for polishing gun-stocks.
After skinning we clambered back to the shuldarie.

On the afternoon of the same day my man found another about half a
mile away, amongst some brushwood and high vegetation ; he was a long
way below us, and looked like a lady's tiny muff ! "We went after him,
and after much sliding and scrambling on a greasy and steep hillside, I
sat down to have a good examination of the ground before arranging the
stalk. I found the vegetation and brushwood so high and thick that it
would be impossible for me to make anything like a noiseless approach
through it, so decided I must fire at the animal from above. I moved
along the hillside and then down, through some brushwood, until I got
seated where I expected to fire from. I could only see his back
occasionally, as he moved about amongst the weeds, so waited for some
time till he came into a sort of lane through them that ran in a direction
away from me. Judging the distance to be 200 yards and more, although
a good deal below, I took a very full sight with the single *450 at the
back of his head, as he stood tail towards me. I could only just
discern him in the shadows of the evening, but on pressing the trigger
and the smoke clearing, I saw him unmoved, apparently listening. I
reloaded and scanned him with the glasses ; not a move, so at last I
decided he was dead in his tracks, and we went down. Dead lie was, for
the bullet had penetrated behind and under the right ear, going into the
brain and smashing all the skull, &c. ; the effect must have been
instantaneous. I consider the bullet hit about three inches to the right
of where 1 aimed, but he may have moved his head a little as I fired.

THE -500 EXPRESS. HI

He had a fine brown coat, and was of full size. I slept well that night,
quite satisfied with the '450, although I had missed with it in the
morning.

I remember killing a very fine black bear with a single bullet from this
little rifle while returning to camp from a day after markhor. That day
was an eventful one, for my shikarie (as he was in his youth, probably !)
took me up an awful wall of rock, where the foothold was mostly small
edges of slatey stuff, about two inches wide, while below us was a clean
drop of 1500 feet had we slipped. The old man's nerve was gone, for he
shivered and gave up ; had it not been for his nephew, an active young
scamp, I should never have got safe out of it, I believe. The old man
had been on the ground three times before, he said, and afterwards
acknowledged he had always funked it ! I hope none of my readers will
have the misfortune to meet with another shikarie of this sort.

However, I have digressed, and must resume about Bruin. We were
thoroughly tired, and had come down into some of that forest scenery
that makes jmrts of the Himalayas like dells in an English woodland.
There were bushes something like a coarse oleander, with luscious purple
berries hanging in small bunches, of which bears and natives were very
fond. Suddenly my young attendant thrust the "450 into my hand and
pointed out a black bear below us. I could see the bushes moving, and
at last got a glimpse of the ears and top of his head. I had loaded while
trying to catch sight of him, so was ready, but could not determine
where his chest or shoulder was, so had to wait, and caught him as
he came out on to a small open space. He was moving up hill and
past us, so I just got a glimpse of the chest, aimed where the horse shoe
on it should be, and fired, Bound and away he went down hill, making a
great outcry, which sounded much the same as a human being shouting
" I'm off ! I'm off ! I'm off ! " Having reloaded, I sent a snap shot after
him through the bushes, and all noise soon ceased. The natives climbed
a tree overlooking the route he had gone, and said he was lying dead. I
ordered a few stones to be rolled down, to make quite sure he was
defunct, and we then descended to him. We rolled him down to a
convenient spot for skinning, and found the bullet had caught him fair
nearly in the centre of the horseshoe, cutting the jugular vein and
windpipe ; his lungs were a mass of blood, yet he had travelled some fifty
yards down hill before he succumbed. The skin was in a beautiful glossy
condition, such as one sees on military accoutrements when really well got
up. My snap shot had not touched him.

When narrating about the '450 and bears, I included the occasion on
which I missed with it and bagged with the '500. I had some varied
experience with the latter, and will just give some details of the powers
and defects I found in it.

I remember well being interrupted in a bit of sewing I was at when

112 BEARS.

resting in the shuldarie. after an awful climb after ibex, by my man
coming in to say there was a very large red bear feeding on a " got
nearly a mile below. I had been away on ibex ground all the forenoon,
and had been driven home by the intense cold of snow, sleet, and strong
wind, but it had cleared in the evening. I was loth to stir, but, as my
man insisted on the great size of the brute, I strolled out and had a good
look through the glasses. Yes, he was a beauty, but T never started with
less energy than on that occasion. I took the '500 double and clambered
down until I got amongst some boulders, which afforded me good cover
for a stalk ; by their kindly aid I got within sixty yards, but his stern
was towards me, so I could not fire, I thought. I wound round to get a
shot at his shoulders, when he suddenly looked up, straight at me, and I
found I had been mistaken ; I had taken his shoulders for his rump, his
head being buried in the ground, rooting about, and partly concealed by
the rocks. I was just about to fire when he bolted, so T stood up, and,
when he came out clear of a slight undulation, about 120 yards off, I
fired ; over he went, and died immediately. The bullet hit in the loin
high, about a foot too far back, and some Gin. too high, but the shock
was so great that he never recovered himself. On skinning him we found
his inside cut to ribbons ; the bullet had travelled forward and down-
wards, bowels, paunch, lungs, heart, and liver being all hard hit. The
coat was the best I ever shot, but not the best I ever saw. I will now
tell the tale of that trophy which I failed to secure.

I had been for a tour along excellent ibex ground, but been baffled by
the nature of the precipices, which were quite impassable for such
distances, that we could cover but little ground in an entire day. There
was an awful wild grandeur in those mountains, and game was secure
enough against man as long as it remained there, although exposed to
other dangers from snow-leopards, avalanches, and snow-slips. After
three days toil, sleeping little and shivering much, I decided to return
to the river, cross, and have a rest at my permanent camp. I had
heard of a wonderful bear on the valley side, but did not expect to see him,
when suddenly my man pointed out a very white mass moving along
towards, but below us. With the glass I discovered it was a red bear,
with a splendid coat, so long that it wobbled about like the heavy fleece
on a sheep at shearing time! "By Jove! there is the very bear," I
thought, and we squatted to watch him. He was about a mile away at
first, but approached at a good pace, so much so that I decided he had
been alarmed elsewhere, and was seeking his refuge. He at last reached
a gorge running down from us, entered it, and lay down under a pine, on
a gentle slope, burying his head in his two fore -paws ! I never had the
luck to see a bear in a wild state do this before or since ; it was quite a
study to see how he settled himself and prepared to sleep. He was too
far away for me to attempt a shot some 500 yards so I directed my
men to take me down the mountain, outside the gorge, until we had
reached his level. They did so, but I could not get into the gorge, nor

THE -500 EXPRESS. 113

shoot across it, until I had got below the bear almost, and could not fire at
the long range it was across. At last we managed to get in at a villainous
spot, and crawled along till I reached a point hanging out from my side of
the gorge. Here I could see Bruin fast asleep apparently, but the light
was going, and I found much difficulty in taking aim. I could get no
nearer than 250 yards, so put up the leaf for 200, and aimed full for his
shoulder. When the smoke cleared I saw him alert and standing up. I
fired the left barrel, and away he went at a great pace up out of the gorge.
I fired two more rounds, but failed to stop him, and from then till now
have been unable to say whether I hit or missed, but I feel certain I
missed, probably by over-estimating the distance across space, and in a
bad, half-light. I was disgusted with myself, and have never been able
to feel otherwise than that by some bungling I missed as fine a bear as
ever was seen in the Himalayas. On descending into the gorge from my
firing point, I found a rough track used by game (and probably by goats
and sheep), which led up the mountain, and by which I might have got
within fifty yards of Bruin had my men or I known of it. It was the only
track on that mountain side, from its crest down to the mighty torrent in
the valley below. My men did not know the ground, for it was only once
in some years villagers reached it, there being no bridges that flocks could
cross for many miles, and no villages on that side for about forty !

Not many miles from that spot, but on the other side of the river, I was
coming down a spur, after two or three unsuccessful days after ibex, and
pitched the shuldarie under a rock, from the top of which I had a view
into a deep and rock-walled valley. I was seedy, with a sore leg, caused
by a pink-coloured tick having buried his head in the calf and left a
portion behind when being ejected ; consequently, I was unable to go out
for a clamber, and lay down after having scanned the ground with no
result. My man remained on the look-out, and presently came in to say
that a large brown bear was feeding under us, far down in the valley. I
hobbled to the edge and looked over, to see a small brown ball rolling
along an erratic course. Tt was so very brown that I considered it worth
securing, so directed my men to strike the tent, pack up, and follow me
down the ridge, when they heard the report. As the bear was working to
the mouth of the valley, I judged that, by hurrying down the ridge, which
formed its mouth on one side, I should be able to meet him as he emerged
and secure a good shot. Taking one man and the '500 double, away I
went, and had much pain and trouble owing to the great drops between
the ledges. I had scaled the range by another route, which was much
easier. We were not long getting down to the mouth, where I expected
to meet Bruin, but there was no view into the valley, owing to the way
the rocks curved, so we moved on, and tried along a ledge until stopped
by a cleft ; I remained on the end of the ledge, and sent the native to try
to get ahead by climbing higher first, so that he might discover Bruin's
whereabouts. Just after he left me 1 heard a heavy stone being moved,
so looked over, and there was my game, not twenty yards off, moving

114 BEARS.

along a lower ledge and feeding. It struck me I had been very successful,
for I had resisted my man's advice to turn into the valley some 500ft.
higher up, pointing out that I had spotted a rock from above as being at
about the right level to meet the bear if he continued to travel the same
route.

Poor Bruin did not heed me, and was utterly unconscious of danger. I
lightly stepped two paces to get behind a small arbutus on the edge of my
platform, slipped two cartridges into the rifle, and then turned towards
him. It may seem I ought to have been loaded before, but the ground
was so dangerous that I could trust neither my man nor myself with a
loaded weapon, and from habit the loading was carried on without any
noise whatever. I looked over again, and found he was feeding and
moving on, so waited until he was passing inside another small shrub. If
I could kill him there I thought his body would be arrested and saved the
fall down into the old snow and torrent some 600ft. below. I aimed
between and behind the shoulders ; he dropped stone dead, but, as the
muscles relaxed, he slipped off the narrow ledge and went rolling down
into the stream. My man had remained like a rock, leaning back against
the cliff in a most awkward position, from the time he heard the stone
moved until I fired. I was too done to attempt to retrieve the skin that
evening, so ordered camp to be pitched on a small plateau near by, and
lay down there till morning. My men were up early, and we descended
to the stream, skinned a large and well-coated very brown bear, with a
small open wound in the right forearm, and then clambered down and
home to camp, where I was laid up some days.

On one occasion I had a most tremendous fag after a fine bear which
I did not secure, and it was such a curious case that I shall add it.

My camp was pitched at the end of a narrow valley, under the shade
of steep mountains, with a view of limited width at the face of the ground
on the other side of the mighty torrent which flowed past its mouth.
One of the men came in to say a bear was feeding on a landslip on the
other bank ; I went down to the valley's mouth, some hundred yards, and
could see Bruin quite plainly, but he was over 300 yards away. He
was a good one, with a long, light-coloured coat, but the distance was too
great, the river impassible, and the nearest means of crossing was a
" Julie," or suspension bridge made of plaited sticks, two miles away, only
traversable by hardy mountaineers and eager hunters. To it we went
as fast as we could travel along the mere scratch of a track, which nearly
proved fatal to me, for one of the three small poles across a cleft (on
which some flat stones made a path) snapped under my foot, and I fell
through, but luckily jammed with my knee against the next pole and my
side to the rocks; had my knee missed I might have slipped down into
the river in a brace of shakes, and from it there was no hope of return.
My two villagers grasped my hand and hauled me up, but I was a good
deal shaken, and had to rest a bit. At last we reached the Julie and
crossed with much care, for it was a mere skeleton of a thing, made

THE -500 EXPRESS. 115

entirely of twigs, about 100 feet from bank to bank and about 80 feet
above the roaring torrent of dirty snow-water. It hung in a great curve
and swayed in the breeze in a very nerve-shaking manner. Having
got safely over, we headed up stream for two miles, and were soon
opposite camp, where my look-out man was signalled to for information ;
he waved his blanket about but we could not decipher his meaning, and
no human voice could have been heard above the roar of the waters. It
was getting dusk, so we turned up the mountain, finding the ground
far more extensive and jungle-covered than it looked from camp. At
last we got on to the landslip, which was all loose rocks varying from a
cubic foot to an ostrich egg in size ! In the dark I at last saw the
game, moving away and down, but could not emerge from the cover I
had, a friendly little pine, so tried a long shot and missed ; doubtless I
was unsteady after my four miles scramble and risky fall, but I felt
it was my only chance to fire standing where 1 was ; away he went and
I never saw him again. We returned to camp more leisurely than we
left it, but I was indeed thankful to get some supper and turn in.

I may add here that it is worth while to cut out the large canine teeth
of all bears, as they make very pretty brooches, mounted in silver ;
indeed, they may be used for many other little jobs, such as handles to
small paper-knives, heads of walking-sticks, &c. ; they split in the dry
heat of the plains if not encased in beeswax.

I 2

INDEX.

Adze page 39

Alpenstock 33

Ammunition 5

amount of 6

,, how to carry 7, 8

,, pouch for 9

reserve 14

Arsenical soap 46

how used 47, 48, 52

Axe 15

frog for 15

use of .. .15

Back-sight 4

Bag, cartridge 13

contents of 13

Balaklava cap 32

Ball cartridges for gun 22

Barasingh 99

Basin, camp 37

Bath 37

Bears 106

stalking 57

Bears' grease, how to obtain ... 21

Bed, camp 35

Bedding '. 36, 46

Belt, flannel 29

knife and cartridge 11

Binoculars 13,89

to be adjusted 13

Bird skins, drying page 47

removing 47

Blackbuck 62

Bore of gun 3

rifle 3

Boxes 38

Breeches 30

Bridges 53

Bucket 37

Bullets, dipping 25

in cartridges 25

lead for 23

wrappers 23

,, wrapping 24

Bustard . ,. 78

Camp bedstead 35

lamp 41

equipment 34-42

Candles 41, 43

Cap, Balaklava 32

Cardigan jacket 32

Cartridge bag 13

extractor 10

cleaning 28

loading 21-27

pocket 10

pouch 9

re-capper 27

re-capping 27

Cartridges, number of 6

No. when shooting 9, 13

118

INDEX.

Cartridges, packing page 7

pattern of rifle ...3, 6

Chamois leather vest 32

Chargul 42

Chinkarah 77

Cleaning apparatus 13

rifle 14

rod 16

Clothes, colour of 32

description of ...29-33, 45

list of 33

Coat 30

waterproof 32

Cookery 54

Cooking utensils 40

Coolun 80

Cost per month 58

Covers for boxes 39

gun 17

Cutting the throat of game. . .48, 49

Diary, how to keep 44

pattern of 44

Dishes, tin 40

Drawers 29

Dress 29-33

head 29, 32

Drinking water, how carried ... 42

Drying skins, animal 50, 52

bird .. 47

Equipment, camp

Expenses

Express bullets

Extractor, how carried

.34-42

... 58

... 28

.,10

Feet, covering for 31

Fires, camp 54

Flannel belt 29

shirts... .. 29

Flask, pocket page 15

Fore-sights 4, 54

,, protector 16

Fruits, wild 55

Game's sense of smell 58

Gloves 32

Goggles 33

Gooral 97

Grass shoes 30

Great coat 32

Gun 3

bore of 3

cartridges, to load 21-23

number of 6

covers 17

,, implements 3

,, powder 27

selecting and trying 2

Headdress 29

Heads, drying 50

skinning 49

Helmet 29

Hollow of buUets 55

Hunting-knife 11

,, frog for 12

,, how carried 11

sheath for 11

Ibex 89

Ice, how crossed 55

Implements, gun 3

rifle 5

Kit, summary of 45

Knife, hunting 11

,, skinning 14

INDEX.

119

Lamp, camp page 41

Lead for bullets 24

Leggings 30

Loading gun cartridges 21

rifle cartridges 23-27

Loads 46

., contents of 46

Lubricators, to cut 25

Luncheon tin .15

Maps

Markhor

Measuring tape

Medicines

Musk-deer

Mussuck . .

Noise, notes on
Norfolk jacket .

Note -book

paper

Notes, general

. 45

. 81
. 15
. 42
104

. 42

...30, 33

.. 52

Oil, lock 20

Rangoon 20

Oorial 71

Outer socks... .. 30

Paper for bullet -wrappers 23

Passes, crossing 56

Pipe-cover 15

Plates 41

Pocket, cartridge 10

., for binoculars 13

Pouch for ammunition . . , 9

Pouch, spare
Powder, gun, and rifle
Preserving skins
Protectors, sight
Puggarie
Putties

47-52

.. 30

Recapping cartridges 27

machines 27

Removing skins, animals 50

bird 47

head 48

Rifle, action of 5

bore of 3

charges for 3

implements for 5

selecting and trying 2

sights for 4

slings 18

Rifle cartridges, number of 6

how to load.. 23-27

loading 27

Rifle powder 27

Rope bridges 53

Servants 56

Sheet, waterproof 37

Shikaries, notes on 56

Shooting, best time for 57

Sight protectors 16, 18

Sights,rifle 4

spare 5

Skinning animals 50

,, birds 47

heads 48

Skins, pegging out 52

Slings, rifle 18

Smell, sense of 58

Snow passes, crossing 56

Socks, outer 30

,, woollen . ..30

120

INDEX.

Stocks, polishing page 21

Stores, list of 43

Strikers, spare 3, 5

springless 3, 5

Sugar 43

Tea

cold

hot

Teapot

condemned 13

Tents 34

Thar 102

Time, value of 57

when best for shooting... 57

Triggers, pull off of 2

Trousers 30

Tumblers .. 41

Ulster

Utensils, cooking

Vaseline for face page 56

Vegetables, compressed 43

fresh .. ..57

Waistcoats, cardigan 32

chamois leather ... 32

Warren pot 40

Water bottle 42

Waterproof coat 32, 33

sheet 37

Weather, importance of 57

Wind 57

Wolseley valise 36

Woollen gloves 32

Wrappers bullets, gun 22

rifle 24

Wrapping bullets, rifle 24

Writing materials 44

Yak-dhans

.. 39

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EXPRESS RIFLES.

'400, '450, '500, '577 bore (Semi-smooth bore, non-fouling rifling).
Authenticated diagram of '450-bore double Express at 50, 100, & 150 yards.

~~ 50yds. 100yds, 150yds.

2 '/a

Ten con-
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UBIQUE '

BALL AND SHOT GUN.

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[1]

Advertisements.

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Terms, CasJi vvith Order or BanJc References.

ECLIPSE WORKS, LOVEDAY ST., BIRMINGHAM,

lEZDsTO-L.A.ICTID.

Advertisements.

FIRST CLASS

AWARD
MELBOURNE
EXHIBITION,

1888.

CONTRACTORS
FOR

ARMS.

'EJECTOR" HAMMERLESS GUN,

Treble Bolt Action, and the most perfect " Ejector " Mechanism.

Price from 35 to 5O.
" RELIANCE " HAMMERLESS GUN, Price from 22 10s, to 40,
THE "PRESTO" EJECTOR (New Model), 33, Plainer Quality "Ejector "from 20,
THE " FINSBURY" HAMMERLESS GUN, an excellent gun for the Colonies, The
mechanism is simple and strong, to stand hard wear, Price 12 & 15 10s.
HAMMER GUNS in great variety, Prices from 5 to 30,

WILDFOWL G-TJISrS.

EXPRESS DOUBLE RIFLES,

360, '400, -450, '5OO, '577 Bore.

Bored on our Non-Fouling Rifling system, giving
the flattest Trajectory com bined with perfect ac-
curacy. The reputation of our Rifles is well
established in India and Ceylon.

Prices 20, 25, 30 and upwards,

THE "IRVING-NOBLE" IMPROVED STEEI POINTED BULLET, for '577 and
500 Bore EXPRESS RIFLES.

Invented by the late Lieut. C. Irving-Noble, 5th Madras N.I. By the use of this Bullet an

ordinary Express Rifle becomes a most deadly weapon against Bison and other large game

(See diagrams and description in Price List.)

THE "JUNGLE" BALL AND SHOT GUN, 12 Bore.

Bored on a new system of Invisible rifling, no choking at the muzzle, shooting conical bullets
with the accuracy of an Express Rifle up to 100 yards, and shot cartridges equal in pattern
and penetration to an ordinary shot gun.

EJECTOR ROOK AND RABBIT RIFLES, Hammer and Hammerless.

THE "FINSBURY " ROOK RIFLE, detachable barrel, in neat flat canvas case

with fittings complete, 5. The best and cheapest Rifle ever offered at the price.

GUN, RIFLE, & REVOLVER MANUFACTURERS,

32, FINSBURY PAVEMENT, LONDON, E.C.

Illustrated Catalogue Post Free.

[1.]

Advertisements.

COGSWELL & HARRISON,

CUN AND RIFLE MANUFACTURERS.

IN drawing attention to the following Eifles and Guns, specially constructed for
Foreign Sport, C. & H. would point out the unique advantages they possess in
their Harrow Factory for the careful execution of all orders, which may be
inspected at any stage during the process of manufacture, not omitting the
Shooting powers, that can be tested on their ranges the most replete in the
kingdom.

EXPRESS RIFLES. PRICES.

Hammer or Hammerless, Top

Regulation Charge for Lieht Charge for ^ eve w r - Treble-Grip, Safety Bolt,

Bore. C. & H.'s Express Kifles. C. & H.'s Express Rifles. S^to^^^f&^

Regulation or Light Charges.
Powder. Bullet. Powder. Bullet. Cash. Credit.

400 110 grs. 230 grs 83 grs. 230 grs } .25 10 .30

450 110 326 110 270 [ 35 14 42

500 138 440 120 340 f .42 10 .50

577 165 600 160 ', 520 ) .51 60

Solid drawn Cartridge Cases.

The Eegulation Charges for C. <fe H.'s Express Bifles give greatly increased energy
beyond those of the Light Charges, the striking force at 100 yards being augmented in
some cases to over 20 per cent.

Plain quality Express Rifle, Lever over Guard Action, Coiled Brass Cartridge Cases, for
Light Charges only, 21 5s. Cash, 25 Credit.

Generally speaking, these Light Charges ONLY are used by many makers in all qualities
of Eifles.

Magnum or extra powerful Express Eifles to order.

Sir Eobert Harvey states : "I have used 8 bore, 577 and 450 bore Express Hammerless
Eifles made for me by Messrs. Cogswell <fc Harrison, in India, Siam, Africa, &c. They have
given me every satisfaction, and I hope the 4-bore Rifle now being built for me will be equally
successful. My friends to whom I have recommended them have, I believe, been equally
well pleased."

LARGE-BORE RIFLES.
Shooting Large Charges of Powder, from 25 10s. Cash, 30 Credit.

ROOK AND RABBIT RIFLES.

Unsurpassed for accuracy, non-fouling, and moderate price.

Plain Quality, 245, 295, or 360 bore 3 15s. Cash, 4 IQs. Credit.

Hammerless Drbp-Barrel, Top Lever, Safety Bolt, Self-Ejector,

Pistol Hand, &c 5 5s. Q 5s.

Ditto, best quality 8i to 10 Guineas Cash, 10 to 12 Guineas Credit.

The Shooting can be inspected.

COLLECTORS' GUNS.

Hammerless Top Lever ... .! 5 5s. Cash, 6 5s. Credit.

410-bore 2 10s. Cash, 3 Os. Credit.

"i, 6 5s.

SHOT GUNS.

Specially made for Shot and Ball.

With Hammers from 17 Guineas Cash, 20 Guineas Credit.

Hammerless ,, 23 5s. 26

Ditto, Self-Ejector 27 10s. 31

Credit only given on satisfactory references.
PRICE LISTS, &c., ON

COGSWELL & HARRISON,

142, NEW BOND STREET, AND 226, STRAND,

LONDON.

Advertisements.

HOLLAND & HOLLAND'S

NEW "PARADOX" BALL AND SHOT GUN

( IF ^ T IE IN" T ) _

An extraordinary weapon. A 12-bore double gun of ordinary weight
(about 71b.), shooting shot with the pattern and penetration of a first-rate
12-bore shot gun, and conical bullets, up to 100 yards with the accuracy
of an Express Rifle.

" A marvellous performance." The Times.

" We need scarcely remark that it will commend itself to the notice of foreign sportsmen
without further assistance from our pen" Field.

u The shooting with shot was all that could be desired, the ' plates ' made being even and
round. We then retired to the 100 yards range, and tried the ' Paradox' again with Express
bullets, and fired six shots, right and left barrels alternately. All six bullets were placed in a
space l^in. by 4iin., beating all the Express rifles at the l Field ' trial" Asian, Dec. 13, 1887.

The following are a few of the many testimonials as to the value of the
" Paradox " gun :

" I consider the 'Paradox' 12-bore, with 4|drs. of powder, to be the most perfect weapon
for Indian shooting." Extract from letter from Sir SAMUEL BAKBH to The Field, June 16, 1889.
" I killed three bears in Kashmir with it from 40 to 100 yards. In each case the bear was
clean killed the first shot." (Signed) W. K. LITTLE.

lt I am convinced that the most useful and charming weapon of modern times is Holland's

Paradox Gun It will, indeed, be a tough grizzly which can resist the shock, and

penetration from a hollow bullet from the ' Paradox,' which at 100 yards will go clean through
it from shoulder to shoulder, Nor will the ducks and grouse share a better fate with shot
cartridge." Extract from "Three Years' Hunting and Trapping in America," by J. Turner
Turner.

Keferring to the Earl of Lonsdale's recent sporting trip to North America and the Arctic
regions, the Daily News of June 29, 1889, says: " The Earl carried with him a remarkable gun,
which he calls tho 'Paradox,' with which sole weapon he was able to collect moose, bear, &c.,
and birds as well."

PRICES:

8 and 10 bores (Extra), 12, 16, and 20 bores, 30 to 60 Guineas.

EXPRESS RIFLES.

Semi Smooth Bore Rifling (Registered), '400, '450, '500, and '577 bores.

Authenticated, of -500 Express rifle, 10 shots in Sin. by 3fin., 100 yards without cleaning out.

" FIELD " BIFLE TKIALS. " There could be no doubt of the great superiority
of Messrs. Holland's Rifles." Field, Oct. 13, 1883.

All our published Diagrams have been made in public and authenticated.

BIG GAME RIFLES, 12, 10, 8, and 4 Bores.

HOLLAND & HOLLAND,

WINNERS OF ALL " THE FIELD " RIFLE TRIALS,

98, New Bond Street, London.

Advertisements.

THEBELMONT

INTERCHANGEABLE

DOUBLE-BARRELLED

HAMMER AND HAMMERLESS GUNS

AND RIFLES CONTINUE

A GREAT SUCCESS!

Sales Exceed Over 7500.

Hundreds of unsolicited high-class testi-
monials. Copies sent on application.

To sportsmen requiring a good reliable
weapon, with A 1 shooting powers, at a ESTABLISHED 18ol.

very moderate price, the Belmont Guns Interchangeable Small Arms Contractor to Her Majesty's
and Rifles are most strongly recommended. War Department.

These HAMMER GUNS are built in 12
and 16 gauge, and have had a most popular
reception by the sporting community all
over the world. They are unequalled for
elegance of design, solidity of mechanism,
and give sure satisfaction.
GRADE A. GRADE B. GRADE C. GRADE D.

6 5s. 7 5s. 9 10s. 13.
Suitable Cases: Grade A, 13/6: B, 17/6;

C, 26/-, D, 30/6.

Complete Set of Implements: A, III-;
B, 13/- ; C, 17/6 ; D, 20/-.

THE BELMONT HAMMERLESS GUN
either 12 or 16 bore, is a barrel cocker, and
combines all the good points to be found
in the most modern guns. Perfect and ,
thoroughly reliable interception bolts. '
Dual or premature discharges impossible.
GRADE A. GRADE B. GRADE C. GRADED.
8 10s. 10. 12. 15.

Suitable Cases: Grade A, 17/6; B, 26,'-;

C, 30/6; D, 40/.

Complete Set of Implements : A, 15/- ;
B, 17/6 ; C, 20'- ; D, 25/-.

A simple and effective EJECTING;
MECHANISM can be attached to these'
Hammerless Guns and Rifles of any grade|
for 3 10s. extra.

ALL THE BELMONT GUNS AND RIFLES'
HAVE TREBLE WEDGE-FAST ACTIONS.
AND ARE TRULY CIRCULAR JOINTED.

A 12-bore Gun, specially built for Wild-
fowl, t9 kill at 100 yards, for 20/- extra to
price list.

Double Rifles, Hammerless, bores from '360 to '577 : Grade A, 14; B, 16; C, 18 10s. ; D, 22.
Double Rifles, Hammer: Grade A, 10 10s.; B, 12 10s.; C, 15; D, 18 10s. Hammerless Rifle
and Shot Guns combined: Grade A, 13; B, 15; C, 17 10s. ; D, 21. Hammer Rifle and Shot
Guns : Grade A, 9 10s. B, 11 10s. ; C, 14 ; D, 17 10s.

The Belmont Ball and Shot Gun, 12 or 16 bore, for shot at 40 yards and conical ball to 100 yards.
Hammerless: A, 10 10s.; B, 12 10s.; C, 14 10s.; D, 17 10s. Hammer: A, 8 5s.; B, 9 10s.;
C, 12 10s. : D, 14 10s. Martini Rifles and every requisite for Volunteers' use. The improved
Lea, Magazine, and other Repeating Rifles. Single Express and other Sporting Rifles (from '303
to '577 bores), and Rook Rifles on all systems. Army Service and other Revolvers.

No gun or rifle is permitted to leave the works without passing the most rigid scrutiny, and
special attention is given to ensure HIGH-CLASS SHOOTING POWER. A guaranteed record
accompanies each gun and rifle. The limbs, being interchangeable, can be duplicated by return
of post in case of accidents. This is of the utmost importance to gentlemen going abroad.
SPECIALITY IN STEEL BARRELS. Ammunition at lowest prices.

Gun and Case delivered at Bombay, Calcutta, Sydney, Melbourne, Hong Kong, or Cape Town

*** Visitors to Birmingham are requested to call and see the art of Gunmaking in all its
branches from the raw material to the finished gun.

Send for latest Illustrated and Descriptive List to

C. G. BONEHlLL.^rr* BIRMINGHAM.

Advertis ement s .

W. J. JEFFERY & CO.,

$ttn anfc ^liflc ^Takers,

60, QUEEN VICTORIA STREET, LONDON, E.C.

JEFFERY'S

IMPEOVED

Teleseopie Ktfle Sights.

fFHESE Sights are specially suited for use in
hilly countries, and also on plains, where it
is difficult for the sportsman to get within easy
range of game. By using Telescopic Sights the
sportsman can render his rifle effective up to
400 or 500 yards, the accuracy of shooting with
these sights at those ranges heing equal to that of
the ordinary open sights at 100 or 120 yards.

Our Telescopic Rifle Sights have been success-
fully used during the Burmese War, against
Dacoits ; were also supplied for use during
the Siege Operations at Suakim ; also used for
Experimental Purposes with the New German
Government Military Rifle.

Pzice 4 10s. to 7.

Fixing to Bifle, shooting and regulating, extra.

If on a new Bifle of our own make, extra 7s. 6d. If
on a rifle by other makers, extra from 15s. to 2Os.,
according to calibre and cost of ammunition.

DOUBLE EXPRESS RIFLES

Fitted complete with best quality Telescopic
Sights :

No. 1 . Under Lever Action 25

No. 2 . Top Lever Action 35

No. 3. Hammerless Action . . 40

W. J. JEFFERY & CO. have FOR SALE about

1000 SECOND-HAND GUNS and RIFLES,

By nearly all the leading makers, at prices about
one-third the original cost.

COMPLETE LIST, post free on application, of
New and Second-hand Guns and Rifles.

To NAVAL and MILITARY MEMBERS of CO-OPERATIVE STORES.

W. J. JEFFERY & CO. undertake to supply Officers with Guns, Rifles,
and Revolvers at 10 per cent, under prices advertised in the Stores Lists.
Cartridges also at a reduction.

Advertisements.

W. W. GREENER'S

WOELD -EENOWNED

GUNS & RIFLES

Possess the enormous advantage
of Greener's Treble- Wedge- Fast
Cross-Bolt, used, and so highly
extolled, by Mr. J. P. Sanderson, of
the Government Elephant Keddahs.

Guns of first-class Shooting Qualities at Moderate Prices

KEPT IN STOCK BY

Messrs. MANTON & CO., Calcutta.

68, HAYMARKET, LONDON, S.W.,
AND ST. MARY'S SQUARE, BIRMINGHAM.

Bead " MODERN SHOT GUNS," by W. W. Greener., profusely illustrated, and is a work no
lover of the gun should be without, Price 5s., of Messrs. Cassell and Co., or the Author.

W. R. LEESON,

RIFLE MANUFACTURER

By appointment to H.R.H, the Duke of Edinburgh,

Begs to call the attention of big game sportsmen to
his superior quality Double Barrelled Express Rifles,
with double grip action, and special Steel Barrels,
made in '36O, '4OO, '45O, '5OO, and '577 bores.

Plat Trajectory and Accurate Shooting. Price J$0.

Ditto Hammerless, with Patent Screw Grip Action, j>42.

Single barrelled, with Hammers, ,14.

Specialities in 20 and 28 bore guns for Indian Shooting,
and Light 12-bores, from 12 to 38. Ejector Guns from
25 to 52 10s.

IPIR-ICIE LIST OUST

ASHFORD, KENT, ENGLAND.

Advertisements.

CHARLES LANCASTER,

Awarded 22 First-Class Prizes and Medals.

THE COLINDIAN"

(REGISTERED.)

A Non-fouling Smooth Oval Bore Rifled Gun (12 C. F.) shooting elongated conical-shaped
u EXPRESS " or SOLID BULLETS accurately from 20 to 100 yards, and shot of all sizes, as
well as a modified choke bore, without choke boring or grooved rifling, thereby preventing
leading, fouling, and undue recoil.

A great number of these Guns have been tried, before purchase, by well-known Sportsmen,
who have pronounced them to be the Gun to take abroad.

These Guns have been used with very great success in England, Scotland, Russia, Africa,
India, America, and Australia.

See letters in the Field, March 17, 24, and 31, 1888, <fec., <fec.

CAUTION. C. L. begs to inform purchasers of Partly or Wholly Rifled Guns for Ball and
Shot, that not one of his has failed to pass the legal proof house tests by bursting or bulging
near the muzzle.

With Hammers, 27, -36, and 45. Hammerless, 36 and 45

Double Barrel B. L. 28; 2O; 16; 14 and 12 Bore

G-A-TVLtt G-TJUNTS

WITH HAMMEES, OB HAMMEELESS.

20, 27, 36, and 45. | 27, 36, and 45.

HAMMERLESS EJECTOR GUNS (EJECTOR ON FORE-END).

40 and 50.

NON-FOULING SMOOTH OVAL-BORE ROOK AND
RABBIT RIFLES.

(-230, -250, -300, '320, -360, and '380 C. P.)
With Hammers, 5, 8, and 10. New Hammerless (Patent), 10.

NON-FOULING SMOOTH OVAL-BORE
MAGNUM AND EXPRESS DOUBLE-BARREL B.L RIFLES.

(360, -400, -450, -500, and -577.)
With Hammers, 36, 45, and 58 10s. ; or Hammerless, 50 and 58.

BREECHLOADING HAMMERLESS PISTOLS.

WITH ONE STRIKER ONLY.

Adapted for the Government Cartridges. With Four Barrels, 8, with Two

Barrels, 7 10s.

LARGE BORE DOUBLE-BARREL PISTOLS.

577 C. F. 8. (Pistols of smaller bore in stock.) If Pistols fitted with
Cocking Trigger, 10s. extra.

Shot Cartridges can be flred from all these Pistols, thereby making them specially suitable
for military and exploring expeditions. Have been extensively used hi the Soudan, Burmah,
and on many expeditions to all parts of the world.

N.B. Cases and Fittings for Guns, Bifles, Pistols, fec., extra according to quality.

Guns, Bifles, and Pistols may be tried before purchasing.

ALL THE ABOVE PBICES ABE STRICTLY FOR CASH, OR FULL CREDIT PRICES WILL BE CHARGED.
LONDON Beferences or payment required on all orders from gentlemen unknown to the firm.

151, NEW BOND STREET, LONDON, W.

El S T A. J3 31. I S H IE ID 102G.

Advertisements.

BOZARD & CO.,

GUN AND RIFLE MANUFACTURERS,

AND

PROFESSIONAL GUN FITTERS.

Inventors of the " Water Force Gauge," " Anti-Friction " Cartridges,
Hammerless Ejector Gun (Patent), Central Vision Gun, and " Bendometer "
(Eegistered).

THE "QUEECH"

(EEGISTERED)

BALL and SHOT GUN.

A weapon combining all the essentials for both large and small game in India or the
Colonies, shooting shot with the pattern and penetration of a first-class shot gun, and conical
bullets with the accuracy of an Express rifle. These guns are made either hammerless or with
hammers, and with or without ejector mechanism.

Send for Description and Testimonials.

Prices, with Hammers, from 3O to 35 cash.
,, Hammerless, d25 to

33, NEW BOND ST., LONDON, W.

EDWINSON GREEN,

GUN, RIFLE, AND REVOLVER MAKER,

87, High Street, Cheltenham, also 16, Northgate, Gloucester, England,

Winner at the New York and London Gun Trials ; also Bisley Meetings.

Winner of the Two First Prizes at the last Field Gun Trials, being the highest prize ever
won by any gunmaker. See Committee's report : " Mr. Green distanced all his competitors in
all three classes, beating Mr. Greener's 12 bore by 32-28 points. A most marvellous per-
formance, truly. His patterns were marvellously regular."

High-class Ejecting Hammer and Hammerless Guns, bored for long, medium, or short range
shooting, from 15 to 40. Plainer qualities from 6 to 12.

Combined Rifle and Shot Guns. Express and Smooth bore Rifles. Bad shooting guns
properly regulated and made to shoot well. Try-gun and shooting range on the premises.

Being the only -THE PERFECT LOCKFAST ^ Army and Navy

voider ^hl" c^n" "^f Patterns:

charges, and is & MOST ACCURATE ^sJ^IBppBl|; II Also Target

the highest de- SHOOTER- ^JSP IK and Pocket

velopment of CAN BE QUICKIY LOADED & ^"" K^

the Revolver. FIRED WITH ONE HAND. "^BIBCN^ Patterns.

Ejects all the cartridge cases at once, and is fitted with a comfortable stock, which will not
injure the hand.

Each competitor who used an E. C. Green Revolver at 1890 Bisley meeting won prizes ; also
beat all English makers at 1891 Bisley meeting in the first series.

SEND FOR ILLUSTRATED PRICE LIST.

Advertisements.

WESTLEY RICHARDS

AND CO., LIMITED

The only English Gunmakers awarded the Grand Prix, Paris Exhibition, 1889.

PATENT EJECTOR GUN

OVER TWO THOUSAND ARE IN USE,

The great success of our Ejector Gun during the last five years in all parts
of the world, and the many flattering testimonials we have received, enable us
to recommend it with the fullest assurance that it will be found satisfactory in
every respect.

EJECTOR GUNS, .35 ; Highest Quality, JB47.

HAMMERLESS GUNS, from 15 15s.

EJECTOR RIFLES, All bores, from 40.

CENTRAL FIRE GUNS, from 10 10s.

ROOK and RABBIT RIFLES, from 5 5s. to 10 10s.

DOUBLE AND SINGLE EXPRESS RIFLES

In all bores for large and small animal shooting, accurately sighted.
SOLE MANUFACTURERS OP THE

DEELEY-EDGE-METFORD RIFLES AND
WESTLEY RICHARDS' FALLING BLOCK RIFLES.

MARTINI & GOVERNMENT MAGAZINE RIFLES.

Price Lists and Drawings sent free by post on application to

178, NEW BOND STREET, LONDON.

82, HIGH STREET, BIRMINGHAM.

GUNMAKERS BY SPECIAL APPOINTMENT TO

H.B.H. THE PEINCE OF WALES, H.E.H. THE DUKE OF EDINBURGH,
AND H.E.H. THE DUKE OF CONNAUGHT.

Advertisements.

JOSEPH LANG & SON,

10,

"SECOND-HAND GUNS."

HAVE THE FOLLOWING AT
GREATLY REDUCED PRICES.

Pair 12-BORE HAMMER GUNS, light, and nearly

new.

Some 12 TOP LEVER HAMMERLESS EJECTORS,
made 189O.

Several 12 HAMMERLESS, light, handy guns, both

steel and Damascus, recently made, and exchanged

for New Ejector.

The Most PERFECT SIMPLE EJECTOR, has more
than held its own for two Seasons, competing with
guns by all other high-class makers. Price, best

gun, dB6O.

1O, F-A-XjX* M: .A. X* I* .

Trade Mark
Begistered.

' The GUN of the PERIOD "

AS AN EJECTOR, ^fi^ _^gg\ om y Ejects

Honours :

Paris, 1878.

Sydney, 1879.

Melbourne, 1881.

Calcutta, 1884.

EXPLODED

CARTEIDGE

Ejecting from

Fore-end.

Cartridges :
Brown, 8s. 6d.

Blue, 9s.;

Green, 9s. 6d.;

E.C. or Schultze,

11 , per 100

The above is the latest development
of " the Gun of the Period," fitted with
Westley Bichards' ejector, and Anson
and Deeley's patent, combined with
G. E. Lewis's treble grip, from 20 to
40 guineas ; other ejectors from 16 guineas.
Send 6 stamps for 166 page illustrated catalogue of actual stock to July, 1891, ready. Our stock
of sporting guns, rifles, and revolvers is the largest in England. Anything on approval ; on
deposit.

ROOK and RABBIT RIFLES, '220, '297-'230, '297--250. '300, '360, and '380 Bores, from 30s. to
8 guineas ; Hammerless, 8, 10, and 12 guineas. Miniature COLONIAL GUN, rifle barrel, '380 bore,
with extra interchangeable shot barrel, '410, 32 or 28 bores, from 5 to 10 guineas ; this is a splendid
weapon for rooks, rabbits, and small birds. FARMERS' GUNS, English hand-made barrels, left
choke, rebound low hammer locks, snap fore end, 5 guineas ; the best value in the trade.

G-. E3

GUN, RIFLE, & CARTRIDGE MANUFACTURER, 32 & 33, Lower Loveday-st. , Birmingham
Established 1850. Telegraphic Address" Period," Birmingham.

Advertisements.

A. LANCASTER,

50, GEEEN STEEET, GEOSVENOE SQUAEE,

LOITIDOIT, "W.

THE " ANGLO-INDIAN'S " BALL OR SHOT GUN.

HAMMERLESS AS ILLUSTRATED :
No, 1 Quality, 25. No. 2 Quality, 40.

No. 3 Quality, 63.

HAMMER BALL AND SHOT GTJNS:

No. 1 Quality, 21. No. 2 Quality, 35.

fTHESE Guns are specially adapted for use in India, Africa,
* and the Colonies, and many sportsmen are using them in
Scotland for Grouse and Deer stalking.

The system of rifling adopted in these Guns is a modifica-
tion of the original Lancaster oval bore, which admits of shot
or ball being fired from the same barrel. At 40 yards with
shot, a pattern fully equal to that of a good cylinder bore
Gun is obtained. At 100 yards with ball, the accuracy of
shooting equals that of an Express Rifle. The depth of the
rifling is almost imperceptible, consequently, very little
additional strain is put upon the barrels by firing ball from
them, and the additional recoil is very trifling. To the
Sportsman with whom economy is an object these Guns are
a great boon, as the possession of one of them sets him
practically on an equality with the owner of a Double 500
Express and an ordinary 12 -bore Double Gun, and in addition
to this, the advantage of being prepared for any variety of game,
whether small or dangerous, cannot fail to be appreciated.

A. Lancaster's complete Lists of Guns, Rifles, &c.> post
free on application.

Advertisements.

F. BEES LEY

2.5^ JAMES'S STREET.SW
INVENTORY PATENTEE

HAMMERLESS CUN

BEST QUALITY ONLY
OFWHITWORTH STEEL

THE EDITOR OF "THE FIELD," JUNE 14, 189O.
"The work he turns out may be thoroughly relied on."

BEESLEY FROM PURDEY'S

INVENTOR AND PATENTEE

OF THE SIMPLEST

EJECTOR GUN.

ABSOLUTELY TWO LIMBS ONLY FOR THE

2, ST. JAMES'S STREET, LONDON, S.W.

CODRICTIEIR, OIF 1

Ball and Shot Guns. Express Rifles. Ladies' Guns.

Advertisements.

Silver Medal, Highest Award, Melbourne, 1888.

JOYCE'S CARTRIDGES

Loaded by Special Machinery to
ensure the Best Results.

Percussion Caps

and Gun
Wadding

OF ALL f _

DESCRIPTIONS. X. ^ r^'/ BAILtl

PATENT GAS-CHECK
^>X CARTRIDGE.

/ Unsurpassed for Hanerless Guns.

To be obtained of all G-umuakers.

F. JOYCE & CO., Limited,

LONDON.

Advertisements.

G. KYNOCH & CO., Ltd.,

MANUFACTURERS OF

HIGH-CLASS MILITARY AND SPORTING

AMMUNITION,

Regulation Martini-Henry Cartridges,

303 GOVERNMENT MAGAZINE RIFLE AMMUNITION,

SPECIAL TARGET REVOLVER CARTRIDGES.

First Prize won with this Ammunition at the Edinburgh and Midlothian Eifle
Association, July, 1891.

PATENTEES AND SOLE MAKERS OF THE

"Grouse," "Perfectly Gas-Tight," and "Perfect"

SPORTING CARTRIDGE CASES.

A B

"PERFECTLY GAS-TIGHT" CASE.

This case has a solid drawn brass cup under the head extending to AA. The

" Grouse " case is of similar construction, but the brass cup is extended to BB,

leaving just sufficient paper to turn over in the usual way.

s -A. IM: x 3 XL, IE s oisr j^^^Lxc^-Tioisr.

t -to

WORKS: WITTON, NEAR BIRMINGHAM.

Advert isemen ts.

ELEY'S

SPORTING CARTRIDGES,

" ELEY'S LOADING/'

ELET'S DAMP-PROOF OASES,

A PAPER CASE WITH METAL COVERING.

Superior to any other Metal-Covered Case for
quick and easy extraction. Specially recommended
for "Ejector" Guns.

"Made in all sizes.
DAMP-PROOF CARTRIDGE (CLOSED).

PEECUSSION CAPS, GUN WADDING.

To be had of aft Gunmakers.

WHOLESALE ONLY.

254, GRAY'S INN ROAD, LONDON.

CA UTION. As Cartridge Cases of foreign and other make are frequently
sold as ours, Sportsmen are Cautioned to see that all cases have the name
ELEY stamped on the metal base or printed on the paper tube. No
other are GENUINE.

[2]

Advertisements.

CDRTIS'S & HARVEY,

GUNPOWDER MANUFACTURERS,

ONLY MAKERS OF THE
DIAMOND, <f^> GRAIN,

BASKET CANISTER, AND

PATENT BROWN SPORTING GUNPOWDERS.

FACTORIES :

EOUNSLOW, Middlesex ; TUNBRIDGE, Kent ;

GLYN NEATH, Glamorganshire ; and KYLES OF BUTE,

Argyllshire.

CURTIS'S and HARVEY again find it neces-
sary to caution their friends, and the Public
generally, against the SPURIOUS IMITATIONS of
their Gunpowders that are still being offered
by unscrupulous persons, and they cannot
too strongly advise all purchasers to EXAMINE
the Canisters and Labels CLOSELY, and see
that the latter bear their names in full, without
which none are genuine.

Agents in Lucknow, Messrs. MURRAY & Co., from whom
supplies of all brands of Sporting Powders, including the
CELEBRATED T.S. No. 6 for Eifles, can be obtained.

Wholesale Agents in Calcutta, Messrs. RENTIERS & Co.

Advertisements.

JOHN HALL & SON

TRADE O -^E^S^r 4 M A R K

MANUFACTURERS OP ALL DESCRIPTIONS OP

GUNPOWDER

FOB

Commerce, Sporting, and War.

CONTRACTORS TO HER MAJESTY'S AND
OTHER GOVERNMENTS.

" UAI I 'Q M/% " Por RIFLE
HAL . O INO. D SHOOTING.

Mills : FAVEESHAM, KENT.

OFFICES:

77, CANNON ST., LONDON, E.C,

Advertisements.

Sole Manufacturers of the

*' NEWCASTLE CHILLED

CHILLED SHOT vHU I

" *" Used for Sporting Purposes in all parts of the

world. Without equal for hardness, regularity of
size, and uniformity of shape. Gives greater pene-
tration and superior pattern at long ranges, and
keeps its shape better than any other kind of shot.
(See records of the London Gun Trials, 1875. 1877,

1878 '

BEWARE OF IMITATIONS.

The Company also supply " MILLED SHOT " made by a patented process-
that produces a quality hitherto unequalled for the tenacity of its nature, the
principal sizes being Wildfowl and Buckshot, and the larger sizes of bullets.

No poisonous matter is used in any of the manufactures.

Telegraphic Address " CHILLED," Gateshead.

WHOLESALE ONLY.

Special attention is called to the Trade Mark, as imitations of the
Company's manufacture are being offered and sold as Chilled Shot.

SPORTING, TABLE, TOILET, & POCKET CUTLERY.
ALPINE ICE AXES, SKATES,

AND FINE STEEL WORK GENERALLY.

Instantaneous Game Killers for wounded birds in combination with

Cartridge Extractors and Whistles.

Flat and Four-point Boot Screws for Shooting', Fishing, Climbing, &c.
Folding Lanterns.

TROPHY MOUNTING.

Game Registers, Hunting Sets, Flasks, and a multiplicity of Goods for
a Variety of Purposes.

The following Lists now ready gratis and post free : Skates, Cyclists*
Sundries. Alpine Axes and Accessories. Smokers', Anglers', and
Travellers' Sundries. " Meritorious Service " Utilities and Novelties.
Sporting Goods, &c. _

HILL AND SON,

4 7 H.A.'X'IMI-A.IR/IKIET, ILiOItTIDOItT.

ESTABLISHED NEARLY A CENTURY.
Trade IVIark : " Others' "Wants, Oux- Gruide."

Advertisements.

THRESHER & 6LENNY,

BY SPECIAL APPOINTMENT TO

H,mi, the Queen and H.R.H, the Prince of Wales,

EAST INDIA and GENERAL OUTFITTERS

TO
H.R.H. the Duke of Coiinaiight. The Governor-General of India.

The Governor of Madras. The Governor of Bombay.

The Governor of Ceylon. The Governor of the Cape of Good Hope.

The Governor of \ew South Wales, &e., &c.,

152, STEAUD, LONDON, W.C.

(NEXT DOOR TO SOMERSET HOUSE.)
INVENTORS AND SOLE MANUFACTURERS OF

THEESHER'S INDIA GAUZE WAISTCOATS.
THRESHER'S KASHMIR FLANNEL.
THRESHER'S INDIA TWEED.

THRESHER'S JUNGRA CLOTH.

Extract from TME FIEZZ^D," January 12th, 1889:

" IN THE NORTH-WEST HIMALAYAS.

October 8th, 1888.

" During early morning, beating the jungle for chukore, much of the brush-
wood is composed of a red-berried plant, with a leaf like box, and bristling with
very sharp thorns, rigid enough to penetrate and rend almost anything. In
shooting scrub like this, or any stiff covert, give me THRESHER AND GLENNY'S
JUNGRA CLOTH, which I have found impervious to the fiercest thorns and the
most aggressive spear grass." " D. G."

Detailed List of the necessary Outfits, with Prices, &c., for
every Climate and Appointment, will be forwarded with Illus-
trated Catalogue on application.

THRESHER & GLENNY,
152, Strand, London, W.C

(Xext Door to Somerset House.)

Advertisements.

FOR SPORTSMEN.

t Invention.

No MORE SEARCHING FOR CARTRIDGES IN AWKWARD PLACES.

THE

supplies a want long
felt by sportsmen an
easy means to carry car-
tridges, keep them dry,
and have them ready
for instantaneous use
without the trouble of
unbuttoning the coat.

The principle has been
worked out with great
care, can be introduced

OLPAS

(REGISTERED
TRADE MARK.)

to any style of coat or
material, and will prove
a boon to every lover of
the gun.

The specially designed
cape also will be found
a great acquisition in wet
weather. All sportsmen
should possess one of
these garments.

ORDERS AND INQUIRIES TO BE MADE TO THE PATENTEE.

JAMES BERTSCHINGER,

SHOOTING AND FISHING GARMENTS, HABITS, LADIES' COSTUMES, &C,
294, REGENT STREET, LONDON, W.

Advertisements.

DEFORE you decide on your KIT for the HIMALAYAS, you
^ should inquire into the merits of GABARDINE, and
GABARDINE COMBINATIONS (Burberry's Patent).
In these, Gabardine is used for the outer material and the
lightest of woollen tweeds for the inner; each of these
materials are rain-proofed by distinct processes, and beyond
the point of resisting a downpour, this plan provides so great
a scope for selecting cool or warm substances, that any
temperature, from tropical heat to Icelandic coldness, can be
arranged for,

Gabardine has repeatedly received favourable notice from
all the leading papers on sport ; correspondents in the pages
of the " Field " have recommended it in preference to leather,
for the resistance of the Wait-a-bit Thorn, and for wear in
the rough coverts of Albania; for SNOW it is " par excellence"
the thing to wear as this does not cling to it; unlike
Mackintosh, it is PERFECTLY VENTILATING,

" It is well suited for cold weather and mountain
sports." Major-General OSBORNE.

LONDON SHOW ROOMS, 30, HAYMARKET.

ILLUSTRATIONS, PATTERNS, & INFORMATION.

T. BURBERRY. BASIN6STOKE.

Advert isetncnts .

E. T-A.TJT

MESSRS. E. TAUTZ and SONS beg to tender publicly
sincere thanks to their Patrons for past favours
and recommendations of their house, which has re-
sulted in a large and steady increase of their business
for some years past.

Encouraged by this great success, and with a view
to meeting more fully in the future all the require-
ments of their custome-s, Messrs. TAUTZ have just,
at great expense, added NEW WORKSHOPS capable
of accommodating 2OO MEN. This has bean done
with a view to MANUFACTURING ALL THEiR
GOODS ON THE PREMISES, under the IMMEDIATE
SUPERVISION of EXPERIENCED FOREMEN and
PERSONAL MANAGEMENT.

Messrs. E. TAUTZ and SONS have just completed
their Stock purchases for COMING SEASON, in-
cluding many Novelties and Specialities made after
their own designs and unobtainable elsewhere, and
beg most respectfully to invite an early visit to this
Establishment.

485, OXFORD STREET,

Advertisements.

BREECHES MAKERS,
SPORTING TAILORS, &c.

HUNTING, BIDING, RACING, POLO,
SHOOTING BREECHES AND KNICKERBOCKERS

In all Materials
BUCKSKINS-Hunting and Military.

W~ KNICKERBOCKER BREECHES,

Vide the "FIELD," June 5, 1885.

"We have received a ^ampl** of the above from Messrs. Tautz,
which appear to be of tne <-ame make as those noticed by us
in the " Field" o" July 15, 1884- but which the above firm state
they have made for 2O years."

Vide "SPORTING AND DRAMATIC NEWS," Feb. 20, 1886.
"It will seem odd to many persons whose legs are usually
covered by trousers that so much skill should be required Tor
the cutting of a well-fitting pair of breeches. Something on
this head may be learnt from a recent decision of a learned
judge in the chancery Division of the Hign Court of Justice,
the machinery ef which was put In motion by Messrs. E. Tautz
and Sons, of 4-85, Oxford-street, to restrain a tailor from
copying a 'design.' The design in question was a pair of
Knickerbocker- Breeches."

RIDING TROUSERS, OVERALLS, LEGGINGS, GAITERS, SPATS,

HUNTING COATS, COVERT COATS, DRIVING COATS, RIDING SUITS.

SHOOTING SUITS, Hunting Dress and requisites of every description.

TAUTZ'S CELEBRATED KHAKI TWILLS AND CANTOONS FOE BIDING
SUITS AND BREECHES FOR INDIA AND COLONIES.

Vide the "FIELD," May 23, 1885.

*' All an intending Queensland Colonist needs to purchase in London are
several pairs of Tautz s Twill Riding Breeches."

INDIAN WHIPCORD CLOTH (Speciality) The best and most

durable ever made. Light in texture, combined with immense strength for
Eiding Suits and Breeches for India and Colonies.

COTSWOLD TWEED. For Riding Breeches and suits for winter.
Perfect and Unique.

LONDON, W. (Only Address.)

HVTo. 3633.

Advertisements.

TELEGRAPHIC ADDRESS ' : HARK FORWARD, LONDON."

J. DEGE d SON,

SPORTING TAILORS

AND

BREECHES MAKERS,

BEG to draw attention to their Kegistered Improved NOEFOLK JACKET for Shooting or
Fishing, made on entirely new principles, obviating that resistance to the free action of
the arms which has so long been an objection in the ordinary shooting coat.

Vid* the "Field," Jan. 1(>, 1891.

"SIR, In your last week's issue I read several letters in answer to your correspondent
Fairly Puzzled,' and think 'Sexagenarian' hits the mark when he attributes his missing
everything to the thick clothing worn in winter. This at least I found to be my experience
when, at the commencement of the cold weather, I changed my usual jacket for a heavy
winter one. The result was, I shot below and behind everything I aimed at, and, being sure
that the gun was not to blame. I named the subject to a neighbour with whom I was shooting,
and he advised me to get one of DEGE and SON'S patent shooting jackets, one of which I have
tried, and cannot speak too highly of. It is specially adapted to all who find the gun quite
heavy enough without being incumbered with an unsuitable garment, preventing them getting
on quickly and causing them to miss everything. MIDDLE-AGED."

HUNTING, POLO, RACING, SHOOTING, AND LEATHER BREECHES,
KNICKERBOCKERS, LEGGINGS, AND GAITERS,

RIDING TROUSERS AND OVERALLS,

HUNTING, DRIVING, AND COVERT COATS,

SHOOTING AND DRIVING SUITS OF EVERY DESCRIPTION,

& sonxr

13, CONDUIT STREET, LONDON, W.

Advertisements.

THOMAS AND SONS,

Sporting Tailors and Breeches Makers,

32, BROOK STREET, MX.

(Corner of South Molton Street.)

***>

Vid<

TESTIIVIONI AL.

The Field," January 1O, 1883.

' SHOOTING CLOTHES. In reply to ' Tartan,' when having shooting clothes
made, let me advise him to try THOMAS & SONS' Knickerbocker Breeches, as-
advertised in The Field. They form the most comfortable garment for the legs
ever invented. Whilst giving the same freedom at the knee that ordinary
knickerbockers do, they give firm protection and warmth below it. Everyone
who wears them knows what a nuisance knickerbockers are if one has occasion
to ride when having them on. Now, THOMAS'S way of making them renders-
them equally comfortable for riding or walking." OMNIBUS.

HUNTING, RACING, AND POLO BREECHES,

PERFECT IN STYLE AND FIT.

Separate Department for Ladies' Riding Habits,

THOMAS & SONS, 32, BEOOK ST., W

(Goxn.ex* of Soutli IVIolton. Street.)

Advertisements.

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Advertisements.

The Best Tent for Africa is

BENJAMIN EDGINGTON'S

DOUBLE-ROOF RIDGE TENT

Made in various sizes, of COPPER ROT-PROOF

CANVAS.
Proof against mildew and vermin.

AS SUPPLIED TO

Mr. H. M. Stanley.
Sir F. de Winton.
Major Wissmann.
Mr. H H. Johnston.
Captain Stairs.
Imperial British

Africa Company.
Government of the

State.

AND MANY OTHERS.

East
Congo

Extract from Mr. Stanley's book IN DARKEST AFRICA."

" Messrs. EDGINOTON and Co., Duke-street, London, took charge of our tents, and made
them out of canvas dipped in a preservative of sulphate of copper, which preserved them for
three years, notwithstanding their exposure to three hundred days of rain. For the first time
in my experience in Africa, I possessed a tent which, after arrival at Zanzibar in 188'.), was
well able to endure two hundred days more of rain."

SPORT

IN THE CONGO FREE

See the Field, May lo, 1886. Centurion.

STATE.

" For African sport or exploration, provide yourself with one of B Edgington's improved
trestle cots, with a waterproof sunshade, a camp table, camp chair, a portable canteen, thick,
strong mosquito curtains, an indiarubber bath and bucket, AhD A LIGHT TENT. B. Edgington
has supplied so many of the above to agents of the International Association that he can be
thoroughly depended upon, and his prices are very moderate."

BEDSTEADS. CHAIRS. HAMMOCKS.

Camp Furniture of all kinds.

TheTRESTLE COT,

Light, Simple,
Strong, and Compact.

This Cot can be detached instantly
from the trestles and be sus-
pended from beams, or ceiling,
or used as a Litter.

PRICE LISTS AND PARTICULARS FROM

BENJAMIN EDCINGTON, Lim"

2, DUKE ST., LONDON BRIDGE, LONDON, S.E.

Advertisements.

DR. COLLIS BROWNE'S

CHLORODYNE.

THE ORIGINAL AND ONLY GENUINE.

, olos, Jlstfjma,

DR. J. COLLIS BROWNE'S CHLORODYNE

IS THE GREAT SPECIFIC FOR

Cholera, Dysentery, Diarrhoea.

THE GENERAL BOARD of HEALTH, London, REPORT that it ACTS
like a CHARM, one dose generally sufficient.

Dr. GIBBON, Army Medical Staff, Calcutta, states: "Two Doses com-
pletely cured me of Diarrhoea."

DR. J. COLLIS BROWNE'S CHLORODYNE

RAPIDLY CUTS SHORT ALL ATTACKS OF

EPILEPSY, SPASMS, COLIC, PALPITATION, HYSTERIA.

DR. J. COLLIS BROWNE'S CHLORODYNE

IS THE TRUE PALLIATIVE IN

Neuralgia, 'Gout, Cancer, Toothache, Rheumatism

IMPORTANT CAUTION.

The immense sale of this remedy has given rise to many unscrupulous imita-
tions. N.B. Every bottle of Genuine Chlorodyne bears on the Government
Stamp the Name of the inventor Dr. J. CollJS Browne.

Sold in Bottles, 1/lJ, 2/9, 4/6, by all Chemists

SOLE MANUFACTURER

', 33,

J. T. DAVENPORT, 33, Great Russell Street, W,C.

Advertisements.

Life's but a walking shadow ; a poor player, That struts and frets his hour upon the

stage, And then is heard no more."
But we must be content to believe in the future shore. Shall we SAIL or DRIFT ?

NOBILITY OF LIFE.

"WHO BEST CAN SUFFER,
BEST CAN D0."-Milton.

The Victorian Eeign is unparalleled in the History
of Great Empires for its Purity, Goodness, and
Greatness ! !

ABOVE ALL!!!

A fearless devotion to duty and unflinch-
ing truthfulness!

THE QUEEN'S PRIZE!

The Conditions laid down by the Queen for the Prize
given by HEE MAJESTY to the Marine Boys are

these :

Cheerful Submission to Superiors; Self-respect
and Independence of Character ; Kindness and
Protection to the Weak ,' Readiness to Forgive
Offence ; a Desire to Conciliate the Differences
of others ; and, above all, Fearless Devotion to
Duty and Unflinching Truthfulness.

" Such principles, if evoked and carried into action,
would produce an almost perfect moral character
IN EVEEY CONDITION OF LIFE." SMILES.

TT A TrTPRPTT 1 A "RTT (" Come the corners of the world in arms,
JS.A.iiJ!, J And we Bha]1 shock them . nought 8hal]

AND DOTY. 1 IF ENGLAND TO HEESELF DO EEST BUT TEUE/

THE PIVOT OF DUTY Sterling Honesty of Purpose; without it Life is a Sham.

What Higher Duty can Man attain, than Conquest over Human Pain I

TN THE BATTLE OF THIS LIFE ENH'S " FRUIT SALT " is an impera-
J. tive hygienic need or necessary adjunct. It keeps the blood pure, prevents and cures
fevers, acute inflammatory diseases, and removes the injurious effects of stimulants, narcotics
such as alcohol, tobacco, tea, coffee, by natural means ; thus restores the nervous system to
its normal condition, by preventing the great danger of poisoned blood and over-cerebral
activity, sleeplessness, irritability, worry, &c.

BILE-LA.DEN BLOOD. HEALTHY BILE. When the liver is not making
healthy bile, or insufficient quantity, the Blood becomes impure, the ground- work of
disease, and produces Constipation, Dyspepsia, Biliousness, Headaches, Moping, Melancholy,
Gout, Bheumatism, and nearly every form of disease. ENO'S "FfiUIT SALT" is the
simplest and best remedy yet introduced. It also prevents Diarrhoaa and removes it in the
early stages.

SUPERIOR TO ALL OTHER SALINES. "Dear Sir, Having taken your
1 FEUIT SALT ' many years, 1 think it right to tell you that I consider it a most in-
valuable medicine, and far superior to all other saline mixtures. I am never without a bottle
of it in the house. It possesses three most desirable qualities pleasant to the taste, prom
efficacious, and leaves no unpleasant after-effects." A DEVONSHIRE LADY. Jan. 25, 1889.

THE SECRET OF SUCCESS STERLING- HONESTY OF PURPOSE :
WITHOUT IT LIFE IS A SHAM.

CAUTION. Examine each Bottle, and see that the Capsule i marked ENO'S "FRUIT SALT."
Without it, you have been impoxed on by a worthless imitation. Sold by all Chemintf.

3?reparecl only at

ENO'S "FRUIT SALT" WORKS, LONDON, S.E.,

By J. C. Eno's Patent.

Advertisements.

ROWLAND WARD & CO., LIMITED.

PRACTICAL and ARTISTIC TAXIDERMISTS,

^ Designers of Trophies of Natural History, Preservers and Adapters of
all Specimens of Animal Life. Natural Features of Animals adapted in
Original Designs for Decorative Purposes and everyday uses. Furriers and
Plumassiers and Collectors in Natural History.

ESTIMATES FOR WORK AND UTILISATION OF TROPHIES. Mr. Rowland
Ward will be happy 1 1 advise personally as to the preservation, the possible
arrangement, and the utilisation of trophies, and to estimate for the probable

cost of dealing with collections, free, where necessary. Note : It is important that
such consultation with Mr Rowland Ward should be taken as soon as possible
after the arrival in this country of the specimens, so that the best advantage
may be gained of Mr. Ward's exceptional skill and experience in these matters.
NOTICE. Rowland Ward, F.Z.S., is the only member left in the profession
of the Ward Family, long unrivalled for their accumulated experience and their
in Praclical Taxidermy, especially in its artistic department.

SPORTSMAN'S HANDBOOK to PRAC-

TICAL COLLECTING, PRESERVING, and ARTISTIC SETTING UP
of TROPHIES and SPECIMENS. With a Synoptical Guide to the Hunting
Grounds of the World. By ROWLAND WARD, F.Z.S. Price 3s. 6d., by
post 3s. 9d. Fifth edition.

ROWLAND W-A.RD & CO.

(LIMITED),

166, PICCADILLY, LONDON, W.

189

Catalogue of Books

RELATING TO

Singling, Boating, Cricket, farming, ffiarfcnttug, Hunting,
footing, Eennte, JCrabel, f|arf)ting, &c + ,

USEFUL FOR

COUNTRY GENTLEMEN,

TRAVELLERS, ETC.,

PUBLISHED BY

HORACE COX,

"THE FIELD" OFFICE, BREAM'S BUILDINGS,
LONDON, E.G.

*#* Orders for any of the following- works, with postage stamps or post-office
order (payable at the Money Order Office, Chancery Lane, W.CJ for the amount,
should be sent to HORACE Cox, Publisher, at the above address, or the books may
be obtained by order of any bookseller.

AGENTS IN AUSTRALIA:

E. A. PETHERICK & Co., 333, George-street, Sydney ; and 380 and 382, Bourke
street, Melbourne, Victoria.

AGENTS IN INDIA: TRACKER & Co., Limited, Bombay.
9/91

IfcT O T X O IE.

HHHE attention of Country Gentlemen, Travellers,
Sportsmen, Farmers, and others is called to the
works described in this Catalogue. Each volume is
written by an author who is well known and an acknow-
ledged authority on the respective subject.

The illustrations have been intrusted to competent
artists, and neither pains nor expense have been spared
to make the works as complete as possible.

HORACE COX,

Publisher.

CATALOGUE OF BOOKS

PUBLISHED BY

3E COX.

SECOND EDITION, GREATLY ENLARGED.
Royal 4/0., bevelled boards, gilt edges, price 15^., by post \$s. gd.

PHEASANTS:

THEIR

NATURAL HISTORY AID PRACTICAL MANAGEMENT.

BY W. B. TEGETMEIER, F.Z.S.,

(Member of the British Ornithologists' Union.)
AUTHOR OF "THE NATURAL HISTORY OF THE CRANES," &c., &c.

Illustrated with numerous full-page engravings drawn from Life by

T. W. WOOD.

DAY'S BRITISH AND IRISH FISHES.
In 2 vols., imperial 8vo., cloth, price 2 guineas, by post 2. 3.$-. 6d.

THE FISHES OF GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND,

BY FRANCIS DAY, F.L.S., F.Z.S., &c.

The Standard Work for Zoological Students, Fishculturists, Fishermen, and
the Public. The value of this grand work is much increased by nearly Two
HUNDRED PLATES and WOODCUTS.

Mr. Day has personally delineated every Species from Nature, and incorporated
many discoveries of recent times.

DAY'S SALMONID^I.

In i vol., imperial %vo., cloth, price i guinea, by post 2is. 6d.
With 1 2 Coloured Plates and many Woodcuts.

British and Irish Salmonidae.

BY FRANCIS DAY, C.I.E, F.L.S., AND F.Z.S.

This work is an exhaustive treatise on the Salmonidse of the British Islands
and will be interesting to the Fisherman, as well as a text-book to the Scientific
Ichthyologist. The reduced price will place it within the reach of all.

A Few Copies to be had, beautifully bound in Whole Calf, Full Gilt, price 35s,

OFFICE, BREAM'S BUILDINGS, LONDON, E.G.

4 A CATALOGUE OF BOOKS

SEVENTH EDITION NOW READY.

Super-royal %vo., price 2$s., or by post 26s.

A MANUAL

YACHT AND BOAT SAILING,

By DIXON KEMP,

Associate Institute Naval Architects (Member of the Council).

AUTHOR OF "YACHT DESIGNING" AND "YACHT ARCHITECTURE."

(The Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty have ordered this work to be supplied to
the Libraries of the ships of the Royal Navy.)

This Edition is largely re-written, and contains a great number of new subjects,
and the lines of many boats never before published, the total number of Plates
exceeding 100, besides more than 350 woodcuts in the text.

Now ready, Second Edition, Super-royal 8vo., price 2 2s., by post 2 35.

YACHT ARCHITECTURE

By DIXON KEMP,

Associate of the Institution of Naval Architects and Member of the Council.

'T'HIS WORK enters into the whole subject of the laws which govern
the resistance of bodies moving in water, and the influence a wave
form of body and wave lines have upon such resistance.

It also deals comprehensively with the subject of STEAM PROPUL-
SION as applied to yachts.

An easy SYSTEM for DESIGNING is provided, and every necessary
calculation is explained in detail.

The latter part of the work is devoted to YACHT BUILDING, and
engravings are given of every detail of construction and fitting, including
laying off, taking bevels, &c.

The List of Plates (exclusively of over thirty devoted to the elucidation
of the text, and nearly two hundred woodcuts) exceeds fifty, and comprise
the LINES of some of the most CELEBRATED YACHTS AFLOAT
by the most successful builders and designers.

V - (T

& "THE FIELD" OFFICE, BREAM'S BUILDINGS, LONDON, E.G.

PUBLISHED BY HORACE COX.

Price 2s. 6d., by post 2s. lod.

THE

YACHT EACING CALENDAR
AND REVIEW

FOR 1890.

KEMP, A..IJST..A..,

AUTHOR OF "YACHT AND BOAT SAILING" &c.

CONTENTS:

Calendar of Races Sailed. Table of Y.R.A. Rating of Yachts.

Review of Yacht Racing in 1890. Cruising Customs, and Incidents
Table of Prize Winners, 1890. relating to ; Logs, &c.

General Review of Subjects relat- Launches, Trial Trips, Yachts Built
ing to Yachting. in 1890, &c.

Reviews of Books.

Yacht Racing Rules; Yacht Racing

Designs of Boats (Illustrated), Fit-
tings, Equipment, &c.

Association, &c. Obituary.

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I. Introductory.

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III. Principles of Feeding and

II. Breeding and General Management,
"rinciples of Feeding and Val
Kinds of Food.

CONTENTS.

THE CATTLE OF GREAT BRITAIN.

I XII. Galloway Cattle. By Gilbert Murray.

XIII. The Angus-Aberdeen Cattle.

ue of Different XIV. The Ayrshire Breed of Cattle. By Gilbert

Murray.

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XX. The JerseTBreed of Cattle. By John M.

XXI. The 3 Guernsey Breed of Cattle. By "A
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By T. Duck-

IV. Buildings and the Management of Manure.
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Davy.

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XI. Norfolk and Suffolk Red-Polled Cattle. By
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THE SHEEP OF GREAT BRITAIN.

IV.

VI.

VII.

VIII.

IX.

XI.

XII.

XIII.

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The Management of Ewes up to Lambing.

Preparations for and Attention during

Lambing.

Management from Birth to Weaning.
From Weaning to Market.
On Wool.
Leicester Sheep.

Border Leicesters. By John Usher.
Cotswold Sheep.
Long-Woolled Lincoln Sheep.
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Romney Marsh Sheep.
Southdown Sheep.

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Sheep. By E. P. Squarey.
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Pringle.

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Mo

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THE PIGS OF GKEAT BRITAIN.

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Large White Breed of Pigs.

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VII. The Black Dorset Pig.
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CAMP LIFE, TRAVEL, AND EXPLORATION.

W. B. LORD and T. BAINES.

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INTRODUCTION.

Chap.

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II. Boats, Rafts.and Makeshift Floats.
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IV. Huts and Houses.
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XVI.

XVII.

XVIII.

XIX.

XX.

XXI.

XXII.
XXIII.

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History.
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Introduction.
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The North Warwickshire.

The Woodland Pytchley.
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The Meynell. [Hunt.

The Bicester and Warden Hill

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Lord Portman's.

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The Cleveland.

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TOGETHER WITH THE NEW RULES AND SCALES OF PROOF

PASSED BY THE SECRETARY FOR WAR, AND

COMMENTS THEREON.

A TABLE of CALCULATIONS for use with

-"- the "Field" Force Gauge for Testing Shot Guns. Also an Illustration and
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SIXTY-SEVENTH HALF-YEARLY ISSUE.
THE COURSING CALENDAR, for the Spring

-* Season 1891, contains Returns of all the Public Courses run in Great Britain
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Judges, Slippers, and Trainers, with List of Waterloo Cup Winners, Greyhound
Sales, &c. Edited by C. M. BROWNE (" ROBIN HOOD"). .Price IQS. 6d.

Official Edition of the Laws of Lawn Tennis.

Now ready, price 6d., by post jd.

LAWS of LAWN TENNIS for the Year 1891,

issued under the authority of the Lawn Tennis Association.

Official Edition of the Regulations for the Management of Lawn
Tennis Prize Meetings 1891.

Now ready, price 6d., by post jd.

"REGULATIONS for the MANAGEMENT of

** LAWN TENNIS PRIZE MEETINGS and INTER-COUNTY and INTER-
CLUB MEETINGS, issued under the authority of the Lawn Tennis Association. 1891.

In crown 8vo., with Thirteen full-page Plates, price 2s. 6d., by post 2s. gd.

The Swimming Instructor:

A TREATISE ON THE ARTS OF SWIMMING
AND DIVING.

By WILLIAM WILSON,

Author of " Swimming, Diving, and How to Save Life," " The Bather's Manual,"
" Hints on Swimming."

"THE FIELD " OFFICE, BREAM'S BUILDINGS, LONDON, E.G.

A CATALOGUE OF BOOKS

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VALUATION OF PROPERTY

(CORPOREAL AND INCORPOREAL).
BY CHARLES E. CURTIS, F.S.I,, F.S.S.

Professor of Forest Economy, Field Engineering, and General Estate Management
at the College of Agriculture, Downton, Salisbury"; Member of the American

Academy of Political and Social Science ; Consulting Forester to the Right Hon.
Lord O'Neill, Shanes Castle, Antrim, Ireland; Author of " Estate Manage-
ment" "Practical Forestry" &c.

CONTENTS.

Valuation of Land.

Valuation of Leaseholds and Reversions.

Valuations for Probate and Succession

Duties.

Valuation of Copyholds.
Valuation for Mortgage.
Valuation for the Purpose of Parochial
Assessment.

THIRD EDITION. In demv 8vo., price IDS. 6d., by post us.

ESTATE MANAGEMENT:

a practical HJanfcbooft for ILanfclorlig, Agents, ant

BY CHARLES E. CURTIS.

WITH A

LEGAL SUPPLEMENT BY A BARRISTER.

Extract from Preface. " He who intends to qualify himself for such interesting and
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of a country life, and that all needful information will be picked up by the way."

Chap.

I. Letting and Leases.
II. Farm Valuations.
III. Forestry.
IV. Underwood.
V. Fences.
VI. Grasses suitable for Woods and

Plantations.
VII. The Home Farm.

Chap.

VIII.)

> Repairs and Materials.

X. The Blights of Wheat and other

Cereals.
XI. Accounts.

XII. Useful Rules of Arithmetic and
Mensuration.

In crown 8vo., price is., by post is. id.

CATECHISM OF ESTATE MANAGEMENT.

SECTION I.

LETTING AND LEASES.

BY CHAS. E. CURTIS, F.S.I.,

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MANURES :

Their Respective Merits from an Economical Point of View,

By A. W. CREWS,

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CONTENTS.

PART I. Definition of the Word "Manure" Nature's Modes of Applying
Fertilisers History Classification.

PART II. The Value of Ploughing Down Green Crops Weeds Sea-weed
Straw Sawdust Tanners' Bark Wood Ashes Peat Rape Cake Hemp Poppy,
Cotton, and Cocoa-nut Cakes Bran Malt Dust Brewers' Grains Coal Soot
Charcoal.

PART III. Dead Animals Fish Blood Animalised Charcoal Bones Horn
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In crown 8vo., price 2s., by post 2s. 2d.

THE POTATO AND ITS CULTIVATION.

By A. W. CREWS,

Author of " Guano : its Origin, History, and Virtues," " Manures : their Respective Merits," &c.

CONTENTS.

Derivation History Constituents Varieties Sprouting Soils Planting
Manures Earthing up Disease Scab Storing Forcing Producing New
Varieties Substitutes for the " Potato" Miscellaneous Information.

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Price lOs. 6d., by post lOs. LOd. each

Vol. V., 1877; Vol. VI., 1878; Vol. VII., 1879; Vol. VIII., 1880;

Vol. IX., 1881; Vol. XL, 1883; Vol. XII., 1884;

Vol. XIII., 1885; Vol. XIV., 1886; Vol. XV., 1887; Vol. XVI., 1888;

Vol. XVII., 1889; Vol. XVIII., 1890.

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THE

PRACTICAL SURVEYOR:

A TREATISE UPON SURVEYING.

SPECIALLY ARRANGED FOR THE GUIDANCE OF PUPILS,

STEWARDS, THE SCHOLASTIC PROFESSION, AND

INTENDING EMIGRANTS.

By THOMAS HOLLOWA"*

COlsTTEiTTS.

CHAP.

I. The Man and his Outfit.
II. The Chain Cautions to Beginners Best

Figure for Chain Surveying.
III. Boundaries.
IV. Setting-out Lines by the Eye and passing

Obstructions.

V. Division of the Circle and Use of Box
Sextant Chain Angles Condemned Cross
Staff Condemned The Optical Square-
Measuring Inaccessible Distances.
VI. The Theodolite Setting-out Lines with the

Theodolite.

VII Reduction of the Measure of Undulating
Ground to Horizontal Measures and Table
of Vertical Angles
VIII. Measuring Lines The Offset Staff and

taking Offsets.

IX. To Prove the Correctness of Observations
taken with the Sextant Single Fields
Measured with the Chain and Optical
Square, so that the Areas can be directly
Calculated.

X. To Set-out a Right Angle with the Chain-
Figures of the Lines of Measurement best
adapted to Irregular Fields.
XI. Equalising Boundaries, and Drawing a

Triangle equal to a given Figure.
XII. Computation of Arrears of Irregular Fields.

CHAP.

XIII. Example of a Survey of several Fields

together, and the Field Book.

XIV. Reference Numbers to Maps To put
Detached Buildings in correct Positions
on a Plan by Means of Unmeasured
Lines Lines Measured on the Work
Making Stations.
XV. Plotting Selection and Management of

Paper Inking In.
XVI. Surveys made for the purpose of Dividing

Land into Stated Quantities.

XVII. Setting-out Allotments and Building Plots.
XVIII. Angles and Bearings, and Use and Adjust-
ment of Circular Protractor.
XIX. Traverse Surveys.
XX. Trespass.

XXL Quality Lines Superstructures and Works

Underground Harvest and Coppice

Work Reducing Plans from a Large

Plan to a Small One.

XXII. To Copy a Map Colouring, Penmanship,

&c. '

XXIII. Commencement of a Parish Survey Sur-
veying to a Scale of Feet.
XXIV. Town Surveying.
XX V. Testing the Accuracy of a Survey General

Remarks.
XXVI.-In Memory of the Past.

SECOND EDITION. Price 2 . 6d., free by post 2s. 8d.

CONTAINING 1O8 MENUS, AND 584 RECIPES.

By "The GJ-. C.,"
AUTHOE OF " BOUND THE TABLE."

4 It is difficult even for a literary critic to read a cookery book straight through, but we have tested a few
of the recipes, and those have been very good." Athenaeum.

" To those who wish to rajse gastronomy into a fine art, the suggestions of the author will be acceptable,
for if the everyday fare of ordinary mortals is to be prepared by 'The G. C.'s ' recipes, the result will be a
repast suitable to the palate of Lucullus. A variety of new savouries are also given." Morning Post.

Quite up to the level of a good cook's respectful attention, or an epicure's critical regard .....
Reducing fine cookery to the understanding of ordinary intelligence. From all reproach of ignorant
pretension this manual of plain directions is free ..... The reader will find in these pages a choice of
dishes, not one of which is inadequately or erroneously formulated." Daily Telegraph, April 28, 1887.

NINTH YEAR OF PUBLICATION.
Fcap. 8vo., price is. 6d., by post is. gd.

THE LAWN-TENNIS CALENDAR

FOR 1891.

EDITED BY B. C. EVELEGH (OF "THE FIELD.").

THE FIELD" OFFICE, BREAM'S BUILDINGS, LONDON, E.G.

(te^qj,

A CATALOGUE OF BOOKS '

In crown 8vo., price %s. 6d., by post 3^. yd.

ANGLING REMINISCENCES,

By the late FRANCIS FRANCIS.

CONTENTS.

A Christmas Retrospect ; Luck ; Loch Tay ; The Angler's Wish ; Spring Salmon
Fishing; Grayling Fishing ; Barbel Fishing; Cover Shooting ; Fly Fishing for
Ladies ; Saint Mayfly ; My First Salmon ; The Mayfly Mess ; A Month in the
West ; Trout Fishing ; In and Out Dales ; Up and Down ; Tom Bowers's
Christmas.

FOURTH EDITION. In demv 4to., on toned paper, and in fancy cover, price 25.,

by post 2s. 2d.

THE BOOK OF DINNER SERVIETTES

CONTAINS

A New Introduction on the Decoration of Dinner Tables, and
General Directions for Folding the Serviettes*

There are Twenty-one different kinds given, with Ninety-two Woodcuts illustrative of
the various Folds required, and the Serviettes complete.

In ^to., printed on toned paper, with plates, price 55., by post 5-J. ^d.

HISTORICAL AND DESCRIPTIVE ACCOUNT OF THE HAND-
MADE ANTIQUE LACES OF ALL COUNTRIES.

By L. W.

This work contains the whole of the series of articles on Antique Point Lace which
have been published in " The Queen." It will prove an invaluable guide and book of
reference to ladies interested in Antique Lace, and, with its highly ornamental
embossed cover, will form a handsome ornament for the drawing-room table.

Post free, 6d., cloth gilt.

RULES OF THE GAME OF HOCKEY

AND OF

THE HOCKEY ASSOCIATION.

"THE FIELD" OFFICE, BREAM'S BUILDINGS, LONDON, E.G.

PUBLISHED BY HORACE COX. 25

\
Price One Shilling, by post is. ^d.

SPORTSMAN'S ILLUSTRATED CALENDAR FOR 1891.

Articles on the following" Subjects are included in the List of Contents :

THE PAST RACING SEASON.

LIST OF HUNTS, THEIR MASTERS, &c.

CANINE MATTERS IN 1890.

DOG TRIALS IN 1890.

LISTS OF OTTERHOUNDS AND DOG CLUBS.

SHOOTER'S READY RECKONER.

BREEDING HEAVY HORSES.

CIDER MAKING.

HARVESTING CEREALS.

THE BEST VEGETABLES.

POULTRY REARING.

RATS AND THEIR DESTRUCTION.

THE LEADING CRICKET COUNTIES IN 1890.

AUSTRALIAN CRICKETERS IN 1890.

CONSTRUCTION OF TENNIS COURTS.

BICYCLE SPEED RATES.

DRIVING TOURS AND THEIR EXPENSES.

YACHT RACING IN 1890.

STALLIONS FOR BREEDING BLOODSTOCK AND HUNTERS

(List of about 300 Stallions, with their Pedigrees, and Fees for Thoroughbred
and Half-Bred Mares).

ALSO SUMMARIES, TABLES, RECIPES, &c., viz.,

Angling close seasons ' Dog clubs, list of j Racquets, Scho9ls challenge cup

Athletic Championships and Foxhounds, packs of ' Running, best times

Records.

Beagles, packs of
Bicycling, best times on record
Boat-races, Oxford and Cambridge
Cambridgeshire winners

Cesarewitch winners i Otter hounds, packs of

Close seasons for game ; Public Schools athletics in 1890

Derby winners 1 Races of 1800, dates of

Game, legal season for killing
Harriers, packs of
Huntsmen, changes of
Jumping records
Oaks winners

St. Leger winners

Swimming, best amateur records

Sennis, University matches
njversity athletic sports
University boat-races
University racquet matches
University tennis matches
Walking, best times.

THE FIELD" OFFICE, BREAM'S BUILDINGS, LONDON, E.G.

A CATALOGUE OF BOOKS

In crown 8vo., price 55., by post 55. ^.d.

BOAT-RACING;

OR,

The ARTS of ROWING and TRAINING,

EDWIN DAMPIER BRICKWOOD.

(EX-AMATEUR CHAMPION OF THE THAMES.)

COlsTTElsTTS.

ROWING.

CHAP.

I. Introduction : Past and Present Condition of

Boatracing.

II. Racing Boats : Their History and Fittings.
III. The Sliding Seat: Its Invention, Adoption,

and Theory.
IV. How to Use an Oar, and Sculls.

V. Faults and Errors : What to avoid.
VI. Steering : Coxswain and Non-coxswain.
VII. Teaching Beginners.

VIII. Coaching for Races, and Selection of Crews.
IX. The Varieties and Conduct of Boatraces.
X. The Laws of Boatracing.

CHAP.

XI. The Qualifications of Amateurs.
XII. Boat" Clubs : Their Organisation and

Administration.

XIII. Historical Records, A.D. 1715 to 1838.
XIV. A.D. 1839 to 1855.

XV. A.D. 1856 tO 1875.

TRAINING.
XVI. Its Principles.
XVI I.-Its Practice.
XVIII. Prohibitions, Ailments, &c.
APPENDIX. Rules for Betting.
INDEX.

Published Annually, price is., by post is. id.

THE ROWING ALMANACK AND OARSMAN'S COMPANION

For 1891.

Edited by E. D. BRICKWOOD

(EX-AMATEUR CHAMPION OF THE THAMES),
Author of "Boat-Racing; or, the Arts of Rowing- and Training"

COUSTTIEIfcTTS.

A Calendar with Space for Memoranda and High

Water Table, with a Table of Tidal Observations.
Rules and Regulations of Punting.
Record of all Regattas and principal Club Races,

with a copious Index.
A Review of the Rowing Season.
An Itinerary of the River Thames from Oxford to

Putney, showing all the points of interest, with

Hotels, &c.

A Rowing Directory.

The Lengths of the different Racing Courses.
The Laws of Boat Racing.
Boat Racing Legislation.
The Championship of the World.
The Rule of the Road on the River.
Thames Navigation Rules.

Tables of Winners of all the principal Races and
Regattas.

SECOND EDITION. Price 2s. 6d., by post 2s. 8d., in limp cloth.

RABBITS FOR PROFIT AND RABBITS
FOR POWDER.

A Treatise upon the New Industry of Hutch Rabbit Farming in the Open, and upon

Warrens specially intended for Sporting purposes ; with Hints as to their

Construction, Cost, and Maintenance.

j~_

ZPIR/ICIE.

v~>

THE FIELD" OFFICE, BREAM'S BUILDINGS, LONDON. E.G.

PUBLISHED BY HORACE COX.

Price One Shilling ; by Post, is. 3d.

THE QUEEN ALMANAC,

AND

LADY'S CALENDAR, 1891.

AMONG ITS CONTENTS WILL BE FOUND

A CHROMO-LITHOGRAPH PLATE OF DESIGNS

FOB EMBROIDERY ON SATIN, &c.

A SUPPLEMENT OF DESIGNS FOR BENT IRON OR BRASS WORK,
AND BURNT WOOD WORK, WITH INSTRUCTIONS.

Artistic Furniture and Fittings ; Floral Arrangement for Table Decorations ;
Gesso and Embossed "Work in Metal and Leather ; Old English Needlework ;
Decorative China ; Artistic Arrangement of Furniture ; Artistic Jewellery in
Renaissance and Rococo Styles ; Suggestions for Fan Painting.

TWENTY-SEVEN PORTRAITS :

H.R.H. Prince Adolph of Schaumberg-Lippe, H.R.H. Princess Victoria of
Schaumberg-Lippe, the Countess of Zetland, the Duchess of Rutland, the late
John Henry Cardinal Newman, the late Canon Liddon, the late Dowager
Marchioness of Ely, the late Mr Browning, Mrs Crawford, Mrs Humphry
Ward, the late Sir Richard Wallace, Mr and Mrs Stanley, Miss Ethel M.
Smyth, Miss Julia Neilson, Mrs Earnshaw, Miss Mary Redmond, Mrs Fawcett,
Miss Philippa Fawcett, the late Mary Louisa Whately, the late Miss Naden, the
late Miss Marianne Hughes, the late Miss Stephanie Wohl, the late Miss Lydia
Becker, the late Mrs Pfeiffer, the late Charlotte Moscheles, the late Mrs Bright

Lucas.

ALSO

Children's Comforts in Knitting and Crochet Opera Cloaks, New Jackets, and
Bodices Morning and Evening Bodices and Jackets Fashionable Furs and
Hats Winter Capes and Fur Hats and Boas Children's Costumes Children's
Fancy Dresses.

Full information is given relating to The Royal Family ; the Royal House-
hold ; the Government ; British and Foreign Ambassadors ; Lords Lieutenant
of Counties in the United Kingdom ; Irish and Scotch Representative Peers ;
Peers who are Minors ; Peeresses in their own right ; Alphabetical List of the
Surnames of the Peers Temporal ; Complete List of the House of Peers, with
their Surnames and Titles, and the Titles of their Eldest Sons ; Jewish Calendar ;
Bank of England ; Post Office Regulations ; Eclipses in 1891 ; List of Charities,
Associations, &c. ; Obituary of Ladies of Distinction during the Past Year.

Fashionable Moulds Recipes for Hors d'CEuvres Menus and Recipes for A
Little Luncheon, A Quiet Dinner, A High Tea for Tennis Party Recipes for
Soups Various Ways of Cooking Chickens, &c.

THE QUEEN " OFFICE, BREAM'S BUILDINGS, LONDON,

A CATALOGUE OF BOOKS

INDEX TO BOOKS.

PAGE

Angling 13

Angler's Diary 12

Angling Eeminiscences 24

Annals of Tennis 13

Archer's Register 18

Art of Skating 16

Betting Rules 16

British and Irish Fishes 3

Boat Racing 26

Cattle of Great Britain 6

Cattle, Sheep, and Pigs 7

Coursing Calendar 19

Catechism of Estates 20

Collie or Sheep Dog 10

Country House 5

Dinner Serviette Book 24

Dogs of the British Islands 8

English Game of Cricket 12

Estate Management 20

Essays on Sport 6

Fox Terrier 10

Game Register 15

Gipsy Tents, and How to Use Them 18

Golfing Annual 9

Hints on Hawks ... 6

Hockey Rules 24

Horse Breeding 18

Hot Pot 13

Hunting Countries 17

Hunting Register 21

Idstone Papers 8

Judging Books 21

Kennel Club Stud Book 22

Lawn Tennis Laws 19

Lawn Tennis Score Book 16

Lawn Tennis Regulations 19

Lawn Tennis Calendar

Manures ,

Management of Fisheries

Modern Sportman's Gun, &c., Vol. I.
Ditto Ditto Vol. II

Modern Wildfowling

Pheasant Book

Pheasant Rearing

Potatoes

Practical Dinners

Practical Surveyor

Proof of Guus, Notes on

Public Shooting Quarters

Queen Almanac

Queen Lace Book

Rabbits

Rothamsted Experiments

Rowing Almanac

Rural Almanac

Salmonidae

Science and Art of Training

Sheep and Pigs

Shifts and Expedients of Camp Life.,

Silos

Silo Experiments

Sporting Sketches

Sportsman's Vade-Mecum

Swimming Instructor

System of Figure Skating

Table of Calculations

Training, Science and Art of

Twenty-six Years, &c

Valuation of Property

Yacht and Boat Sailing

Yacht Architecture

Y acht Racing Calendar

PAGE
23
22
18
10
11
14
3

15
22
23
23
19
19
27
24
26
21
26
25
3

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