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 REMINISCENCES OF INDIA
 
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 FIFTY YEARS' 
 REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 a IRetrospect of Gravel, Boventure anfc 
 
 Sbifcar 
 
 BY 
 
 COLONEL POLLOK 
 
 Madras Staff Corps 
 AUTHOR OF 'SPORT IN BURMAH,' ETC. 
 
 ILLUSTRATED 
 
 EDWARD ARNOLD 
 
 JJuMtshcr to the Enbia (QSicc 
 
 LONDON NEW YORK 
 
 37 Bedford Street 70 Fifth Avenue 
 
 1896
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 The only apology the author has to offer for the 
 publication of these reminiscences is the hope of 
 amusing and instructing those who may be thinking 
 of taking to sport in earnest. 
 
 The love of hunting is stronger in Englishmen 
 than in any other nation in the world, our cousins in 
 America perhaps excepted. Our large possessions 
 give us opportunities which are denied to other people, 
 and, as Thackeray wrote, ' The jungle is the battle- 
 field of play-hours ; it leads straight to the Red Ribbon 
 and the Victoria Cross. Subject your young hopeful 
 to the discipline of the saddle ; put him on pony- back 
 almost as soon as he can walk ; do not check the in- 
 stinctive longings of boyhood after the workmanship 
 of Purdey and Manton. For a soldier there is rough 
 work before him, for which he will need a true eye 
 and a steady hand — a strong nerve not to be acquired 
 in the schoolroom and the cramming-shop. Do not 
 fret yourselves if you find that he takes more kindly 
 to the stable and the rabbit-warren than to Euclid and 
 Eutropius. When the struggle comes, as come some 
 day it will, for dear life, what will avail him that he
 
 vi PREFACE 
 
 can demonstrate the Pons Asinorum or recount the 
 labours of Hercules ? But that true eye, that steady- 
 hand, that firm seat in the saddle, with all the cool 
 courage of the hunting-field, these are the aids which 
 will find him out in the hour of trial, and help him to 
 the front in the grand Indian career.' 
 
 The above was written of James Outram, the Bayard 
 of India, than whom there was not a more accomplished 
 shikarie, sportsman, and legislator to be found in our 
 annals, rich as they are with the names of distinguished 
 men. The author, when he went out to India, had 
 the privilege of coming across such good sportsmen as 
 Shakespear, Nightingale, the Orrs, and many others, 
 and has recorded some of his reminiscences connected 
 with them, and of sport in various parts of the world, 
 in which either he or those well known to him had a 
 part.
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Scottish descent — My great-grandfather — Settles in Wiltshire — 
 My grandfather is disinherited, and enters the service of the 
 East India Company — My father embarks in the Kent, 
 which is burnt in the Bay of Biscay — He is again wrecked, 
 and finally, after two years, reaches India — Is appointed to 
 an irregular regiment in the Nizam's contingent — My child- 
 hood and early recollections — My initiation in wild sports 
 — Love of the sepoys of that day for their officers — What 
 led to the Mutiny of 1857 — The old officers compared with 
 the new — Dangers of travelling in India from 1830 to 1S40 
 —Our detachment attacked by Rohillas — At attempt at 
 dacoity — Result of kicking over an idol — A tiger chase in 
 the Caves of Ellora — A happy childhood — Death of our 
 parents — Sent to Madras to embark for England — Con- 
 signed to an officer of the Veteran Battalion — Our treat- 
 ment by him — Our voyage home — Cape girls — Cape horses 
 — Arrive in England — -Am sent to school — A mean guardian 
 — School life— A Chinese school-mate — Get a nomination 
 for Woolwich — Our crammer — The two Gordons, Chinese 
 and Adam Lindsay— Lose my nomination for Woolwich — 
 Am offered appointments to Sandhurst and Addiscombe — 
 Choose the latter — Death of my grandfather — Get a direct 
 cadetship — Embark for India - - - 1 — 24 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 CADET DAYS. 
 
 Sail from Southampton — Egypt and the desert — Disastrous news 
 from India — Aden — Adventures on shore — The prettiest
 
 & 
 
 viii CONTENTS 
 
 I'AGE 
 
 girl on board — Her sad fate — Madras — Our messmates — 
 Horses purchased — -The Veteran officer attempts extortion 
 — Sad accident — Two of us tried for our lives and 
 acquitted — My first experience of Bangalore — A runaway 
 horse and a smash — A swearing General— Permanently 
 posted — Ordered to Secunderabad — Generous behaviour 
 of our brother officers — Our Commandant — Hospitably 
 entertained at Kurnool — An eccentric officer and his 
 pranks — Secunderabad — A boyish-looking Adjutant - 25 — 42 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 SECUNDERABAD. 
 
 Secunderabad in 1849— Nightingale— ' Master not fight fair '— 
 An obstreperous Captain — How to manage natives — Sad 
 death of an Adjutant — Mole Alley races— Amusements- 
 Gambling— Regiment ordered to Samulcottah — My stud — 
 Am appointed to the sappers and miners — Difficulty of 
 getting to Burma — Rangoon — Employed on field-service 
 — Miraculous escape of two drunken gunners - - 43 — 6: 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 BURMA FORTY YEARS AGO. 
 
 Rangoon in 1853— Voyage up the Irrawadie— Prome— Famine 
 —Sad sights— Death of Maddigan and Latter— Cruelty of 
 Burmese — Construct a stockade — Officers, gallant and 
 otherwise— Carpet knights on service— Burmese tactics — 
 Ramghur Irregular Cavalry— Dacoits— A girl outraged and 
 murdered— Lord Dalhousie— Gallantry of Engineer officers 
 — Loot — Bengal troops compared with those of Madras 
 —Red-tape in Madras— The Sappers— Am transferred to 
 the Engineer department — A boxing-match — A British 
 soldier hanged— Attempts to proselytize sepoys — Injudicious 
 officers - - - - 6 3~ 9 1
 
 CONTENTS ix 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 BURMESE LIFE. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Failure of missionaries among the Burmese — Their success 
 among the Karens — Matrimony in Burma — Relation of the 
 sexes — Origin of the Burmese — Their freedom from caste — 
 Their manners, customs, and characteristics — A romp in 
 the river — Burmese fondness for children — Their courtship 
 — Their priests — Roman Catholic nuns — The Buddhist re- 
 ligion — Karens — Burmese theatricals and dancing girls — 
 The Assamese — Half-breeds — The Kachens — Fires in 
 Burma — An affray — A soldier punished for doing his duty 
 — Sir A. Phayre — ' Dismal Jemmy ' — -His treatment of me 
 — A gallant Brigadier — One of another kind — Anecdotes — 
 How the two Brigadiers left Tongo — Our chief engineer- 
 Roguery of subordinates — Public works — Abandonment of 
 Namyan — Sir Trevor Wheler astonishes a Burman — 
 Gallantry of ' the Sweep ' — A mad doctor - - 92 — 125 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 PIG-STICKING. 
 
 The first sport in the world — My first hunt — Hunting over an 
 enclosed country — Extraordinary speed and endurance of 
 wild-boar — How to ride a pig — Chased — A fall — Thirty- 
 five minutes from start to finish — Another chase— Struggle 
 for first spear — Not always to the fastest — A fighting boar 
 — Narrow escape of a horse — Particulars of my first hunt — 
 My comrade falls into a dul-dul — Kill the boar — A hunt 
 near Guntoor — A good thrust — How to meet a charging 
 boar — Spearing under difficulties — A horse killed - 126 — 141 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 ELEPHANTS. 
 
 Two varieties of Indian elephants — -How to kill them — Game in 
 the Prome district — Purchase of two rifles — Burmese 
 shikaries — Their dislike of Europeans — Mosquitoes — How 
 to circumvent them — My first elephant hunt — Tree-leeches
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 —Native cookery dying out — Bag my first elephant — A sad 
 disappointment — D'Oyly and Moung Goung Gye's state 
 elephant — Gallantry of a young sowar — Habits of elephants 
 ■ — Anecdotes — Elephants do not breed in captivity — 
 Difficulty of finding a good shikar elephant — Mahouts 
 — Their duties — Death of Wedderburn — Necessity of 
 elephants for shooting tigers — Their furniture — Battery for 
 sport — How to manage elephants — A pitched battle 142 — 182 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 BUFFALOES. 
 
 Wild buffaloes more dangerous than tigers — Very difficult to kill 
 —Plentiful in Burma and Assam — How wild bulls appro- 
 priate herds — D'Oyly and his pony tossed — Archie Camp- 
 bell's elephant overthrown — His critical position — I am 
 called to his rescue — A savage encounter — A runaway 
 elephant — Meet a tiger — Encounter with a bull which 
 fights desperately — A pugnacious herd — Charged by a 
 couple of bulls ... - 183 — 192 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 INDIAN RHINOCEROS. 
 
 Erroneous ideas as to the impenetrability of a rhinoceros' hide 
 —Generally harmless, but dangerous when wounded — 
 Herd with elephant and buffalo — Meet them first in 
 Burma, then in Assam — Elephants indispensable — Diffi- 
 culty of obtaining them — My first Indian rhinoceros — 
 Make a sad mess of others — Rhinoceros-shooting in cold 
 weather — Size of horns — Their value — A savage charge — 
 Just in time — Charged by two rhinoceroses- - 193 — 199 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 SPORT IN THE NORTHERN DISTRICTS, MADRAS PRESIDENCY. 
 
 Discovery of the Bison Hill— The islands of the Godavery — 
 Abundance of feathered game — Linga Reddie, the free-
 
 CONTENTS xi 
 
 PAGE 
 
 booter — A stiff climb — Lovely scenery — Abundance of 
 game — Dreary life at a single station— Tatapoodi — Cossi- 
 pooram — Ascend the ghauts — Change of flora and climate 
 — Galicondah — Heavy rain — Go after gaur — Go to a distant 
 jungle — Disgraceful shooting — Indian and Burmese gaur 
 compared — Kill a tiger - - . 200 — 217 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 SPORT IN THE HILLY DISTRICTS, NORTHERN CIRCAS, MADRAS 
 
 PRESIDENCY. 
 
 Start for Daraconda — Brinjarie hunters — Salt-licks — Scene at 
 daylight — Variety and abundance of game — Bear-shooting 
 — A hunting chita — Porcupines — Firing the grass — On the 
 table-land — Tigers, bears, and deer — Buffaloes and swamp 
 deer — Four tigers — A mixed bag on Christmas Day — 
 Camp in the forest — Twenty-one days' sport— Return to 
 the coast ------ 218—247 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 MAN-EATERS AND BUFFALOES. 
 
 Co to Bustar— How to live well in the jungles — Bengal humps 
 —My shikaries — Toddy — Escape of the man-eater — Nine 
 people killed — Move camp — Sand-grouse — Miseries of 
 night-watching— Shoot a tiger — Another beat — A woman 
 killed — The man-eater killed by buffaloes — Spotted deer — 
 A panther — Bears — Fail to bag one out of eight — Jungle 
 fowl — Dummape — Abandon carts — Share ponies — A hunt 
 with dogs described — A tigress — Teak forests — Mahseer- 
 fishing in the Godavery — Sironcha — Large game in Bustar 
 — Vicious charge of buffaloes — Shots at a sambur and tiger 
 — Encounter between buffalo and tiger — Salt-licks — A mad 
 gaur converted into beef — Send for camp — Two bears with 
 sore heads — Brinjari dogs — Four-horned antelope — Camp 
 at last — Cause of delay — A bullock killed — I am tossed — 
 Carried to the coast - - 248 — 303
 
 xii CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 ADVICE TO SPORTSMEN GOING ABROAD. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Advantages of medical knowledge — Native idea of Europeans — 
 Precautions against the sun — What to wear — Underclothes 
 — Clothes — Boots — Socks, etc. — Shoes for stalking — Water- 
 proofs — Sleeping on the ground — Fever — Trestle-cots — 
 Mosquito-curtains — A list of articles to take — Tents — 
 Natives — Men and women — Tree-leeches — What to wear 
 to keep them out — Buying a gun — Selling it again — Gun- 
 powder — To harden bullets — Best bullets for different game 
 — What size shot to choose — How to keep your health — 
 Total abstinence — Stimulants — Night-shooting — How to 
 make the foresight visible — How to obtain fire — How to 
 make soap — Sanitary precautions and cleanliness - 304 — 320 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 Simple Recipes for Use in Travelling - - 321 — 341
 
 FIFTY YEARS' 
 REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS. 
 
 Scottish descent — My great-grandfather — Settles in Wiltshire — My 
 grandfather is disinherited, and enters the service of the East 
 India Company — My father embarks in the Kent, which is burnt 
 in the Bay of Biscay — He is again wrecked, and finally, after 
 two years, reaches India — Is appointed to an irregular regiment 
 in the Nizam's contingent — My childhood and early recollec- 
 tions— ^My initiation in wild sports — Love of the sepoys of that 
 day for their officers — What led to the Mutiny of 1857 — The old 
 officers compared with the new — Dangers of travelling in India 
 from 1830 to 1840 — Our detachment attacked by Rohillas — An 
 attempt at dacoity — Result of kicking over an idol — A tiger 
 chase in the Caves of Ellora— A happy childhood — Death of 
 our parents — Sent to Madras to embark for England — Con- 
 signed to an officer of the Veteran Battalion — Our treatment by 
 him — Our voyage home — Cape girls — Cape horses — Arrive in 
 England — Am sent to school — A mean guardian — School life — 
 A Chinese school-mate— Get a nomination for Woolwich — Our 
 crammer — The two Gordons, Chinese and Adam Lindsay — 
 Lose my nomination for Woolwich — Am offered appointments 
 to Sandhurst and Addiscombe — Choose the latter — Death of 
 my grandfather — Get a direct cadetship — Embark for India. 
 
 My great-grandfather was the scion of an old Scottish 
 family, an ancestor having been created a Baronet in 
 
 1
 
 2 REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 1634. He settled in England about 1 760, and married 
 the daughter and sole heiress of the then Postmaster- 
 General, purchased a living in Wiltshire, and resided 
 at a place called Girdlestone Hall. He had a family 
 of two sons and seven daughters. The eldest lad 
 entered as a cornet in the Scots Greys, rose to be a 
 Major in that distinguished corps, and died unmarried 
 of wounds received at the Battle of Waterloo. 
 
 The second son, Tom, was educated at Winchester 
 and Oxford, and it was intended that he should take 
 Holy Orders, and succeed his father in the living, 
 which was worth some ,£1,500 a year; but prior to 
 ordination, as was the custom in those days, he made 
 the Grand Tour, resided for two years in Germany, 
 learned several languages, became a proficient in 
 music, and imbibed latitudinarian ideas ; on returning 
 home he refused to enter the Church, left his home 
 disinherited, after a stormy interview with his father, 
 and never saw him again. 
 
 He was just twenty-two, stood six feet in his socks, 
 had received a first-rate education, and was well con- 
 nected, so when he presented himself before the Chair- 
 man of the Court of Directors of the Honourable the 
 East India Company, and offered himself as a volunteer 
 for service in India, he was at once accepted, and joined 
 the Cadets' Company in Madras in 1790. He saw 
 much active service in those troublesome times, was at 
 the taking of Seringapatam, served under Wellington 
 at Assaye, accompanied the gallant Gillespie to the 
 relief of Vellore, and had risen to the rank of a field- 
 officer when the officers' mutiny broke out. His 
 superior education (for officers in the East in those
 
 MY GRANDFATHER 3 
 
 days were not noted for their attainments) and com- 
 manding position led to his being one of the ring- 
 leaders, and one day he and some dozen other officers 
 were summarily dismissed the service. They appealed 
 to Parliament, and after three years' struggle he and 
 several others were reinstated. 
 
 In the Mahratta and Pindarie war of 1 816-18, he 
 commanded a brigade under his old friend Doveton, 
 and he, his leader and a few other officers were created 
 C.B.'s in 1823, being among the first of the Company's 
 officers to receive a decoration from their Sovereign. 
 
 He married a lady who was related to our great 
 national hero, Lord Nelson, and by her he had two 
 sons and one daughter. The elder son died of cholera 
 soon after joining his regiment in India. My father, 
 the second son, held for a short while a commission 
 in the Austrian Army, but at his father's urgent request 
 he resigned it for a cadetship in the East. 
 
 He embarked in the East Indiaman Kent, which 
 was burned in the Bay of Biscay. The directors 
 gave him a fresh outfit and a free passage in one 
 of their vessels, but ill-luck again attended him, as the 
 day before the fleet was to sail a terrific storm wrecked 
 nearly every vessel in Plymouth Sound, and the cadet 
 lost again everything but his life. His masters again 
 provided him with a new kit, and this time, there 
 being luck in odd numbers, he arrived in Madras in 
 the Undaunted, Captain Coffin commander, in 1827, 
 just two years after his first attempt to leave old 
 England. 
 
 Through the interest of my grandfather, who was 
 then commanding the Hyderabad Subsidiary Force,
 
 4 REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 my father, after passing in the native languages, which 
 he had never quite forgotten, was appointed Adjutant of 
 an irregular corps. He married early, and of his three 
 children I am the only son and second child. How 
 distinctly I remember my childhood ! Pay was good 
 and living cheap in those days ; my father had also 
 inherited some considerable property from one of his 
 aunts. His only sister had married the leading mer- 
 chant in Madeira, and used to send him out a butt or 
 two of madeira and malmsey wines every year, and 
 he and his brother officers kept open house and lived 
 luxuriously. 
 
 We had a large retinue of servants, a couple of 
 elephants, a dozen or more horses, ponies, dogs, hunt- 
 ing chitas, etc. In the days I am writing of I may 
 say that every officer in the Nizam's service was a 
 sportsman. The country swarmed with game. Hog- 
 hunting and tiger-shooting parties were of frequent 
 occurrence. We often accompanied our father into 
 camp ; I had seen many a tiger bowled over, and 
 seven or eight boars laid out in a row before the mess 
 tent, before I was six years of age. 
 
 I lived in the open air, and there was not a tat, 
 vicious or otherwise (and most of these Mahratta 
 ponies had tempers of their own), that I could not 
 ride. I was allowed to enter into all the sports and 
 games with the lads belonging to the regiment. India, 
 in the days I allude to, was a very different place to 
 what it is at present. There was more camaraderie 
 between the European officers and their men. The 
 native officers and sepoys loved their commanders, 
 and it was not thought infra dig. for the English lads
 
 THE COMPANY'S SERVICE 5 
 
 to compete with the sons of the commissioned, non- 
 commissioned officers, and privates belonging to the 
 native regiment. The Europeans and natives also met 
 in friendly rivalry in tent-pegging and other games re- 
 quiring skill, a correct eye, and considerable strength. 
 There was not a man in the corps who would not have 
 laid down his life for his sahib or any of his family. 
 Alas, what a difference twenty years made ! Very 
 many of the descendants of those faithful men lost 
 confidence in their British officers, joined the muti- 
 neers of 1857, and helped to kill the very men, women, 
 and children their fathers would have died to save ! 
 
 When India was closed to all Europeans save the 
 servants of the Company or those holding permits, 
 the natives believed in us. But when the country was 
 gradually thrown open, and the stringent and whole- 
 some orders of the Company were relaxed, loafers, 
 demagogues and missionaries flocked into India, and 
 the natives, coming into contact with an altogether 
 different class to what they had been accustomed to, 
 began to lose faith in us, until distrust culminated in 
 the terrible events of 1857-58. 
 
 Our old masters used their patronage judiciously. 
 The greater part of the civilians and cadets were the 
 sons or near relations of either themselves or of 
 those who had served in their employ in Hindoostan. 
 Thus, the history of nearly all who went to the East 
 was known, not only to their brother officers and 
 civilians, but also to the natives, and all old names 
 were welcomed. Since the Company ceased to exist 
 the changes have not been for the better. Anyone 
 can now enter the Indian service, provided his people
 
 6 REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 can afford to have him crammed to pass the com- 
 petitive examinations. More than half the men who 
 thus get employment are not what they ought to be. 
 Book-learning by rote does not turn out efficient 
 officers. 
 
 Whilst of the men who formerly entered the service, 
 either through Addiscombe or by direct commissions, 
 very many rose to eminence, such, for instance, as 
 Malcolm, the Lawrences, Edwardes, Broadfoots, 
 Nicholson, Neil, and many others too numerous to 
 name, who has come to the front under the new 
 regulations ? Men have doubtless done their duty, 
 but none have distinguished themselves like the de- 
 spised nominees of the old John Company. More- 
 over, it is a mistake admitting men into the service in 
 India whose parents have not occupied any social 
 position. I don't mean to say that, because a man is 
 the son of people in trade, he is therefore an inefficient 
 officer, but send as few of this class as possible to 
 India ; the natives are great judges of what con- 
 stitutes a gentleman, and if they perceive that a man 
 appointed to command them comes short of what they 
 have been accustomed to, they will not hold him in 
 the same respect as they did those of the old regime. 
 
 India should be ruled by a department independent 
 of Parliamentary control, and the appointments should 
 be given principally to the sons and relations of those 
 who have served, and perhaps died, in that country, 
 provided, of course, that the applicants have been 
 properly educated and are physically fit. 
 
 Although slavery had been abolished in our terri- 
 tories, it still existed in my childhood in the indepen-
 
 ATTACKED BY ROHILLAS 7 
 
 dent native States, and our ayahs and most of the 
 domestics were all slaves, though not treated as such, 
 and there was not one, from the highest to the lowest, 
 who was not proud to belong to a sahib's house- 
 hold. 
 
 The country was then and for many years after- 
 wards in a very disturbed state ; gangs of Rohillas and 
 Arabs, Dacoits and Thugs, wandered over central 
 India, where, sheltered by the interminable forests, 
 they bided their time, sallying forth now and then to 
 pounce down, not only on travellers, but even on small 
 detachments of soldiers. 
 
 I remember once our camp was pitched in a tope of 
 trees. Our detachment consisted of a company of 
 infantry and a troop of cavalry, escorting treasure, and 
 we were something like halfway between Hingolie 
 and Jaulnah. An hour or two before daybreak a band 
 of Rohillas fell upon us. The ropes were cut, and the 
 tents fell upon their inmates. Dire was the confusion. 
 We were asleep in palanquins, ready for a start at 
 daylight, and were awakened by the frightful yells 
 and screams of the combatants, and more than half 
 smothered by the fallen canvas. When Greek meets 
 Greek, then comes the tug of war ! Our cavalry con- 
 sisted then, as it does even now, of a large admixture 
 of Pathans, Rohillas and Arabs, closely allied in blood 
 to our assailants. The infantry consisted principally 
 of sturdy Mahrattas. The first surprise over, our 
 men rallied ; a stubborn fight took place, and discipline 
 told. After considerable slaughter on both sides the 
 marauders were driven off and the treasure saved. In 
 the melee my father received a severe sabre-cut across
 
 8 REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 the forehead, the mark of which he carried to the 
 grave. 
 
 A year or so afterwards our regiment was quartered 
 at Aurungabad, a large struggling cantonment. Our 
 bungalow was on the very outskirts. It had an upper 
 story, very unusual at any time in Indian houses in the 
 Mofussil, and quite unique in those days. Our com- 
 pound was an extensive one, surrounded by a mud 
 wall some four feet high. A spy brought intelligence 
 to our Commandant that our house, containing as it 
 did the regimental treasure-chest, would be attacked 
 on a certain night, after the receipt of pay, by a band 
 of robbers. Our usual guard consisted of a naigue 
 and three sepoys. We were quietly reinforced after 
 dark by some of the irregular cavalry, who were hidden 
 away in the outhouses. 
 
 About two in the morning the Dacoits, some fifteen 
 in number, well mounted and well armed, came on the 
 scene. Some dismounted to force an entrance, when 
 the gates were thrown open, and my father and his 
 men fell upon them. The thieves were taken by 
 surprise, and at first ran for their lives, but on being 
 overtaken turned to bay. The moon was at its full ; 
 we children hurried into the veranda of the upper 
 story and watched the struggle. It did not last long. 
 Eight of the robbers were killed, and the remainder 
 captured. On our side we had two killed and three 
 wounded. 
 
 So in my very young days I had not only seen 
 much sport, but had witnessed two free fights. Whilst 
 at Jaulnah a picnic was got up, and a large party of 
 ladies and gentlemen visited some native temples.
 
 ELLORA 9 
 
 My father very thoughtlessly and very foolishly 
 spurned an out-lying idol with his foot, and upset it. 
 The priest looked daggers, but said nothing. Those 
 present chid my father for committing such a repre- 
 hensible act, and bid him beware of the vengeance 
 of the priests, who, they said, would probably do 
 something in retaliation. The culprit was very sorry 
 for what he had done, picked up the idol, replaced it, 
 and expressed his great regret to the priest for his 
 thoughtless act, and thought no more of it, never 
 thinking for a moment that the mild Hindoo would 
 do anything in revenge. But he was mistaken, for 
 within a few days three of our best horses died, and 
 several others were very ill. Leaves of the Nux 
 vomica were found in their fodder, placed there doubt- 
 less by the agency or instigation of the priest, or some 
 of his followers. 
 
 On another occasion we were visiting the famous 
 caves of Ellora. My sister and I, with our attendants, 
 somehow got separated from the rest of our party, in 
 some of the many intricate passages which intersect 
 these wonderful subterranean shrines, which, excavated 
 out of solid rock, are sacred to the Hindoo deities. 
 Our torch-bearer suddenly threw down his flambeau 
 and fled, crying ' Bagh, Bagh !' (Tiger !). We and 
 our two ayahs, both young girls, ran hither and 
 thither for our lives, not knowing which way to turn, 
 and expecting every moment to have the brute pounce 
 upon us. Our cries attracted the attention of the 
 remainder of our party, who wen* not far off, and who 
 hurried to our assistance. We were sent back to camp, 
 rifles and guns were procured, a novel tiger-chase by
 
 io REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 torchlight took place, and although the beast's pugs 
 were visible here and there, the passages were so 
 numerous and intricate that the animal escaped. 
 
 On our birthdays we were decorated by the natives 
 with wreaths of jasmine and other flowers. The 
 amount of cakes and sweetmeats given us would have 
 stocked a pastrycook's shop ; if we had eaten a tenth 
 part of the good things thus lavished upon us we 
 should have been no doubt seriously ill, so all the 
 elephants belonging to the officers and regiment were 
 collected and regaled on the surplus of our goodies. 
 At other times the chitas would be taken out after 
 antelope, but even as a child I thought it rather a 
 tame sport. 
 
 Our childhood was a happy one, but we were early 
 deprived of our parents. In 1838 our father, whilst 
 hog-hunting — a sport in which he excelled, and to 
 which he was devotedly attached — lost his helmet, but 
 continued the chase bareheaded. It was a frightfully 
 hot day. He killed his boar, but received a sunstroke, 
 and was found lying on the plain insensible by a 
 brother officer, who had been following a pig in 
 another direction. He was taken home in a dhooly, 
 but never recovered consciousness, and died during 
 the night. 
 
 The events that followed are as vivid as if they 
 had occurred but yesterday. The room in which our 
 father's remains lay was thronged by sepoys crying 
 and lamenting the death of one who had endeared 
 himself to them by many acts of kindness, and he was 
 followed to the grave by not only every European, but 
 by every native in the place.
 
 ORPHANS ii 
 
 Misfortunes never come singly. To add to our 
 misery, our mother followed her husband to the grave 
 very shortly, and we were left orphans indeed, and at 
 that time we had not a single relation in the country. 
 
 A brother officer, Captain J., took charge of us, 
 and, indeed, was as good as a second father to us. 
 Telegraphs and steamers were unknown then. Com- 
 munications were few and far between England and 
 her great dependency, and it was nearly a year before 
 a reply came as to our disposal. 
 
 We were five or six hundred miles from Madras, 
 and had to get there the best way we could. I need 
 not describe how sorrowful we were when we left our 
 kind friends, especially Captain J., and the rank and 
 file of our regiment. 
 
 We were sent in charge of a pensioned havildar, 
 who had been our grandfather's orderly during the 
 Mahratta war, and three ayahs and two girls who 
 were but little older than ourselves, and had been 
 playmates since we could remember. We travelled in 
 native carts fitted up for our accommodation. It took 
 us some three months to reach our destination. On 
 the way we put up in dak bungalows, where such 
 existed, otherwise in choultries, built more for the 
 use of native travellers than for Europeans ; but go 
 wherever we might, our name was well known, and we 
 met with the greatest kindness, especially from the 
 pensioned sepoys in charge of the bungalows, and 
 from natives of all creeds and conditions. 
 
 We were consigned to the care of an officer of the 
 Veteran Battalion, to whom considerable sums had 
 been remitted on our behalf. In his younger days he
 
 i2 REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 had received much kindness from our grandparents, 
 and he had been at one time a most promising officer, 
 but whilst on furlough he had contracted a most un- 
 fortunate marriage with the daughter of a lodging- 
 house-keeper. 
 
 Hitherto we had met with nothing but kindness 
 from friends and strangers alike, but we now learned 
 what unkindness and neglect could be meted out to us 
 by those who ought to have been the most friendly, as 
 they had been most liberally paid to look after us. 
 We were put into a dilapidated bungalow, little 
 better than a godoivn. We were all but half starved ; 
 indeed, had it not been for the kindness of a few 
 Europeans and many natives — many of the latter very 
 poor themselves — who, hearing of our treatment from 
 our attendants, gave food and even money to our 
 ayahs for our use, we should have been in a sad 
 plight. 
 
 Vessels left India at fixed dates and at long intervals, 
 and generally formed a convoy. I do not remember 
 how long we were in Madras ; it seemed to us an age. 
 But for the parting with our two sable attendants, I 
 think we would have welcomed even death itself. 
 
 Our grandmother, who had made all the arrange- 
 ments, had directed that a stern cabin of an East 
 Indiaman should be secured for us, and that two of 
 our ayahs should accompany us home ; but at the 
 last moment the wretched Veteran and his wife 
 pocketed the passage -money for one of the natives, 
 sending only one on board to look after three children, 
 the youngest only two years of age, pretending that 
 the other had run away at the last moment, thus
 
 VOYAGE HOME 13 
 
 leaving us in a great measure to the tender mercies of 
 perfect strangers. 
 
 A day before we sailed a young and attractive 
 widow, who had lost her husband but a few days 
 before of cholera, appeared on the scene, and we were 
 placed nominally under her charge. When she came 
 on board she was apparently heart-broken, but before 
 she had been a fortnight at sea her grief had 
 evaporated ; she became the gayest of the gay, and 
 flirted with the male passengers in a manner that 
 drew unfavourable comment from the other lady pas- 
 sengers. Before the month the widow turned us out 
 of our cabin, appropriating it for herself, while we were 
 bundled into a miserable side-cabin. The stewardess 
 was a kind-hearted soul, and did all she could to help 
 our ayah to make us comfortable and happy. A 
 clergyman on board took charge of the boy passengers, 
 of whom there were several beside myself, and taught 
 us to read and write. We touched at the Cape, and a 
 resident, who had known our people when they spent 
 a couple of years there on furlough, took us on shore 
 and bought us a lot of toys and playthings. 
 
 In the early part of this century, the Court of 
 Directors discouraged their officers from taking fur- 
 lough to England, but allowed them instead two years' 
 leave either to the Cape or to its east, on full pay 
 and allowances, of which indulgence very many officers 
 availed themselves. Those were the halcyon days of 
 the Cape. The officers spent their money freely ; 
 many brought back, as wives, pretty Cape girls who 
 were half English and half Dutch. These girls were a 
 decided acquisition to Indian society, for they were not
 
 i 4 REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 only young and pretty, but most of them could ride 
 like Centaurs, dance and flirt ; they were not so 
 strait-laced, but quite as virtuous as [their English 
 cousins. Great attention was paid to horse-breeding 
 at the Cape, and the nags were in great demand in 
 India for hunting, and as remounts and chargers. 
 Australian horses were all but unknown in those days. 
 Few Indian officers go to the Cape now ; the Cape horse 
 is all but unknown in the Presidencies. Mores the 
 pity, for its substitute, the waler, is but a poor beast 
 compared to the other. 
 
 A few days after leaving the Cape, a storm scattered 
 the fleet ; several vessels sank ; we escaped with the 
 loss of various spars and sails. After a voyage of 
 little more than three months, considered very speedy 
 then, we arrived at Plymouth, and were met by our 
 dear old grandmother. A kindlier and nobler soul 
 never breathed. We journeyed with her by coach to 
 London, and until her death we lived within sight of 
 Lord's cricket-ground. The locality was then almost 
 in the country, and not surrounded, as it is now, by 
 streets. Our grandfather was abroad, and beleaguered, 
 I believe, in Antwerp during the siege of that town, 
 and we did not see him for two years. His wife died 
 in December, 1842, and we children were at once sent 
 off to school. By that time I had forgotten the native 
 dialects, and, strange to say, when I returned to India 
 they never became as familiar to me as they had been 
 in my childhood. 
 
 Our grandfather was seldom in England, and as we 
 inherited some property under the will of our grand- 
 mother, she appointed three guardians to look after
 
 OUR GUARDIANS 15 
 
 our interests. One was a cousin, Mr. A. ; another, 
 Sir George S., Governor of Sandhurst, an old Penin- 
 sular and Waterloo veteran ; and the third General B., 
 a retired Indian officer. 
 
 Our guardians left Mr. A. to look after us. He 
 was very well off, but very close-fisted. Money was 
 his god. He certainly took care of our money, but 
 never spent a farthing of his own on us, although he 
 owed his success in life entirely to his aunt, our grand- 
 mother. When he resigned his trust, years afterwards, 
 I was greatly amused by coming across such items as 
 the following : ' Gave W. half a crown pocket-money ;' 
 ' Paid sixpence for a chop for W.,' etc., and he actually 
 charged us for board and lodgings the few times he 
 ever asked us to his house ! His wealth did him little 
 good ; he quarrelled with his only son, as fine a fellow 
 as ever lived, and I believe I might have had the 
 greater part of his money, had I fallen in with his 
 views and married a girl I had never seen. But I 
 was an independent fool in those days ; I wrote back 
 that he ought to leave his money to his son, and not 
 dower a girl in no way connected with him. This 
 gave him dire offence. When he died, he left his son 
 only ,£2,000, to us not a penny, and the rest of his 
 large fortune he left to strangers who had toadied to 
 him in his old age. 
 
 Sir George S. came to see us now and then, and 
 tipped us freely, and when he died left us legacies, in 
 return, as he said, for kindnesses shown to him in his 
 youth by my people. 
 
 Of General B. I remember very little. We saw him 
 occasionally, but that was all.
 
 1 6 REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 On a cold raw day in January, 1843, I was taken to 
 Hanwell, and deposited at Dr. Emerton's collegiate 
 school. It was during the vacation, but I found 
 myself one of six youths who, having no parents in 
 England, had to reside at school all the year round. 
 What this means only the initiated can tell ; can there 
 be a greater cruelty than leaving a boy at school when 
 all his mates are going to kind homes and friends and 
 relations ? But I must say that at Hanwell we were 
 treated more as members of the family than as pupils ; it 
 was the nearest approach to home, though not a home. 
 At that time Dr. Emerton's eldest sister superintended 
 her brother's house ; he was then a widower with three 
 little girls. He married soon afterwards a lady related 
 to a distinguished officer, still living and occupying 
 a very high position. 
 
 The academy consisted of a junior and senior depart- 
 ment ; the former was presided over by Miss Emerton 
 and Mr. Burton. I entered in the lower form, but 
 soon passed into the senior. The house was very 
 large ; it had been built expressly for academic pur- 
 poses, and stood in its own most extensive grounds. 
 We had a gravelled yard for use in winter ; a large 
 covered-in shed for play during inclement weather ; 
 we had extensive fields for cricket and football, and 
 the meadows were bounded by a rivulet, in which 
 during the summer months we were allowed to bathe. 
 We were taught fencing, boxing and single-stick. We 
 had also the finest gymnasium I have ever seen, and 
 one of Angelo's assistants came every Saturday to 
 drill and instruct us in all manly exercises. Our food 
 was ample and good. The principal, his sister and
 
 SCHOOLDAYS 17 
 
 the masters, sat down at the same tables, and partook 
 of the same food as was served out to us. We were 
 instructed in Latin, Greek, French and German, draw- 
 ing, mathematics, history, geography and chemistry ; 
 a wholesome spirit of emulation was kept up amongst 
 the scholars by pitting the two ablest in a class, 
 and by giving numerous prizes half-yearly to those 
 who proved themselves the most proficient in the 
 different subjects taught. There was no cramming ; 
 the education imparted was thorough. We were well 
 grounded in everything. I had a good memory, 
 could learn rapidly, and remember afterwards. I was 
 generally first in history and geography, forward in 
 mathematics, but failed in all languages ; but as I was 
 never ill and most of my class-mates suffered one 
 quarter, to my own amazement I figured first in Latin, 
 French and Greek, whereas my knowledge in those 
 subjects was inferior to that of many other boys. I 
 had been first in Divinity, and, never doubting the 
 result, one term examination I sat between two lads 
 and helped them both considerably. When the prize 
 was called out, I was getting up to receive it, when I 
 heard the names of the boys I had assisted called out 
 as first and second, whilst I was only third ! After 
 that I took good care to keep my knowledge to 
 myself. 
 
 We had to pay a medical fee of a guinea a quarter 
 whether well or ill, and as I invariably enjoyed robust 
 health, I did not see why I should not get something 
 out of the medico in return. So periodically I pre- 
 sented myself for vaccination, though lymph in those 
 days was somewhat expensive, and after this operation 
 
 2
 
 18 REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 we were excused lessons for some days. As a child 
 I had had small-pox severely, but not a single mark 
 was visible. The doctor was ignorant of this, of 
 course, and wondered why the vaccination had no 
 effect on me ; I took good care not to enlighten him 
 till I was leaving, when I told him. He was very 
 angry, and used bad language. I was and am fond 
 of reading, and used to read up history, etc., of an 
 evening ; but if wet during our play-hours I used to 
 practise single-stick, fencing, and boxing, and I may 
 say that in the first no one in the school could touch 
 me. When fine I was always running, jumping, or at 
 gymnastics ; there was no boy anywhere near my age 
 who had a chance with me in running from a hundred 
 yards to three miles. I never lost but one race, and 
 that to a boy I had often beaten, but I was suffering 
 from chilblains at the time of my defeat, and held my 
 adversary too cheap. During the holidays we were 
 allowed considerable liberty ; we used to play at hare- 
 and-hounds, and I have often run from morn till dusk 
 with but a short rest during the heat of the day. 
 I fancy the out-door life I had led in India conduced 
 to give me a good constitution, and constant practice 
 in all school games helped to consolidate and strengthen 
 my spare but wiry form, and enabled me to exist in 
 deadly climates for over forty years without any very 
 serious illness. I have to thank that school for a fair 
 education and for pleasant memories of my school- 
 days. The greater part of my school-fellows were the 
 sons of gentlemen ; we had others of a lower grade, 
 but these were in no way inferior either in sports, 
 intellect, or conduct to those born socially above them.
 
 A CHINESE SCHOOLFELLOW 19 
 
 One of the pupils was a Chinese. The story ran 
 that he was a protege of our Queen, that during one of 
 our wars with China this lad was the sole survivor 
 in a city taken by us by storm, and that, although 
 almost a child at the time, he had informed our General 
 that, before evacuating the place, the Chinese had 
 poisoned all the wells. Anyhow, he was sent to the 
 school by the Government of the day. He dressed 
 on weekdays like the other pupils, the only difference 
 being his long pig-tail ; but on Sundays he appeared 
 in full mandarin costume, and was placed in a most 
 conspicuous position in church. He was a passionate 
 lad, and had to stand a good deal of chaff from his 
 playmates, but on the whole he was liked. After 
 leaving Hanwell I lost sight of him for three years ; 
 but just before leaving England for India, I was 
 walking down Baker Street, not far from Madame 
 Tussaud's, when I saw my Chinese friend driving 
 down towards me. He was evidently a swell, as he 
 had a page or tiger behind him, but he had not dis- 
 carded his pigtail. Directly he saw me he pulled up 
 sharp, jumped off, and ran up to me with open arms. 
 I must own I should have preferred our meeting to 
 have taken place in a more secluded spot. In such a 
 thoroughfare we were soon surrounded by a crowd, 
 who chaffed and laughed at us good-naturedly, asking 
 if my friend was the Emperor of China, and so on. 
 My friend took it as a matter of course, for he, poor 
 fellow ! was used to such mobbing ; but I was cad 
 enough to wish myself far away, and was not sorry 
 when Johnny wished me good-bye, remounted his 
 trap, and was off. I do not know what became of him,
 
 2o REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 but I think I did hear that he had been admitted to 
 our navy as a midshipman. He was not half a bad 
 fellow. 
 
 Occasionally 1 was asked to spend a holiday at the 
 home of some boy ; at other times I was left at school, 
 or I visited my grandfather, but as he was a martyr 
 to gout, and was very irritable, I was not sorry to get 
 away. 
 
 Early in 1846 the Master-General of the Ordnance 
 gave me a nomination to Woolwich. I was then 
 removed from Han well, and sent to a crammer's at 
 Shooters Hill, who had undoubtedly the best repute 
 for successfully passing his pupils into the Academy. 
 How such a man got together such a school is 
 a puzzle to me. He had been, it was rumoured, 
 originally a carpenter, and was self-educated and a 
 good mathematician. Many of the older boys were 
 very unruly, and there used to be frequent rows 
 between him and them, after which he used to retire 
 to his bed and not appear for two or three days, for 
 which we were duly thankful. Although his fees were 
 double what I had to pay at Hanwell, we were not half 
 as well fed. Our lives were a burden to us during our 
 meals, as he used to catechize us the whole time, ask- 
 ing us questions out of Euclid, geometry, etc. But he 
 thoroughly understood the art of cramming, and his 
 boys all passed well. 
 
 He cared little for general education ; all he thought 
 of was that we should learn enough of such subjects as 
 were required to pass into the three military colleges 
 of Woolwich, Sandhurst, and Addiscombe. When I 
 went there first, he examined me and told me I knew
 
 THE TWO GORDONS 21 
 
 enough history and geography, that I need not study 
 them longer, but devote myself to mathematics, plan- 
 drawing, fortification, surveying, and civil and military 
 engineering. He had the examination papers of the 
 three colleges for the past ten or twelve years, and 
 used to make us go through them time after time, 
 ' For,' said he, ' many of these questions are sure to 
 be set again.' It would have been odd if the boys 
 from our school had failed to pass into Woolwich, for 
 three or four of our tutors were the examining masters 
 at the Academy, and they were not likely to ' spin ' 
 their own pupils. In those days a lad was only allowed 
 one chance ; if he failed, he could not go up again. 
 
 Many of my schoolfellows from that school have 
 risen to eminence, but the most distinguished were 
 the two Gordons — Charles, better known as Chinese 
 Gordon, and Adam Lindsay, commonly called the 
 Australian poet. Charles was a quiet, chubby-faced 
 boy that everybody liked. As a lad he did not give 
 one the idea that he would become the hero he did. 
 He was not a brilliant boy in any way, and he did 
 not excel either in the schoolroom or in the play- 
 ground. He was more plodding than studious. After 
 entering the Academy, most of his class-mates got 
 their commissions in two years, but Gordon studied 
 on for four years until he was pronounced qualified 
 for the Engineers, on which he had set his heart. 
 Knowing him as I did intimately for three years, I 
 can only say he differed but little from the other boys. 
 We corresponded off and on at long intervals, and the 
 last time I heard from him was when he was to 
 succeed Stanley on the Congo, where I was then
 
 22 REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 serving ; he then expressed the great pleasure he 
 should have in meeting me again after all the years 
 that had passed, but at the last moment he accepted 
 the fatal mission to Khartoum. ______ 
 
 Adam Lindsay Gordon, no relation of his distin- 
 guished namesake, was also the son of an officer. 
 When he came to us he was a little over twelve ; he 
 had outgrown his strength, and was a long, lanky, 
 narrow-chested, short-sighted lad. He was not clever 
 in the general acceptation of the word, but as a 
 romancer, and more particularly as a poet, he excelled. 
 Give him a theme, and he would write page upon page. 
 Many of his tales written before he was twelve were as 
 thrilling and exciting, and much on the same lines, as 
 'The Mysteries of Udolpho' or 'The Castle of Otranto.' 
 But the difficulty was to induce him to stick to any one 
 thing long. He would begin a dozen tales and poems, 
 and leave them all unfinished. I was somewhat older, 
 and had some influence over him, and tried to induce 
 him to finish a poem he called ' The Disinherited ' ; he 
 had completed some ten cantos when I left, but I fear 
 that he never got further, for it is not amongst his 
 published works. It commenced : 
 
 ' On Royston stood the Castle fair ; 
 Its banners floated in the air.' 
 
 I had quite a collection of his tales and poems for 
 years, but lost them in Burma, with the greater part of 
 my kit. 
 
 Hunt, our classical tutor, was madly fond of poetry, 
 and used to walk about tossing his arms, spouting 
 Tasso and other Italian poets, quite oblivious that
 
 I OBTAIN A CADETSHIP 23 
 
 twice thirty-five eyes were watching his antics. He 
 would spin round and catch us grinning at him, and try 
 to look as unconcerned as possible. It was as good as 
 a play to watch, first, his disgust as the greater part of 
 us stumbled through our portion of Virgil, and then his 
 delight as Gordon would spout his in classical verse, 
 of which neither Dryden nor Pope need have been 
 ashamed. We fully expected that Adam would fail to 
 pass the medical examination for entrance into the 
 Academy owing to his defective eyesight ; but he was 
 equal to the occasion, and, when asked what he saw on 
 the road near the Rotunda, replied, ' A cart and horse.' 
 The medico looked, but could see nothing ; but Adam, 
 no way abashed, said, ' Oh, they were close to the 
 corner, and must have turned it.' The surgeon, not 
 knowing his defect, and suspecting nothing, passed 
 him. I have read in an illustrated sporting paper of 
 the wonderful feats of strength performed by the poet, 
 and of his excelling in boxing and in athletic exercises; 
 all I can say is, that up to the end of 1848 he was 
 weakly for his size, and did not shine then in any 
 sports, and as for boxing, he had not an idea of how 
 to use his fists. 
 
 Soon after going to Shooters Mill my nomination to 
 the Academy lapsed through the death of the Master- 
 General of the Ordnance. Sir George S. then offered 
 me an appointment to Sandhurst, but my grandfather 
 preferred that I should go to India. Sir James Lush- 
 ington, the Chairman of the Court of Directors, first 
 gave me a nomination for Addiscombe, but after the 
 death of my grandfather, in February, 1848, he very 
 kindly gave me, at my request, a direct cadetship. My
 
 24 REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 cramming was not altogether thrown away, because, 
 before I had forgotten what I had learned, I passed in 
 surveying, and civil and military engineering, and was 
 pronounced qualified to serve in the Department of 
 Public Works. 
 
 Before leaving England, my guardian, Mr. A., gave 
 me a bundle of papers containing receipts for remit- 
 tances to Madras on our behalf when children, and 
 correspondence between our grandmother and the 
 Veteran to whom we had been sent, telling me to be 
 careful not to lose it, as several demands had been 
 made after the old lady's death by those unscrupulous 
 people to extort money under various pretexts. But 
 he said that of late years he had heard nothing further, 
 as he had threatened to proceed against them for 
 attempting to levy blackmail ; adding, however, that he 
 fully expected other endeavours would be made by 
 them after my arrival in India, which proved to be 
 correct, as I shall relate hereafter.
 
 [ 25 ] 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 CADET DAYS. 
 
 Sail from Southampton — Egypt and the desert — Disastrous news 
 from India — Aden — Adventures on shore — The prettiest girl 
 on board— Her sad fate— Madras — Our messmates — Horses 
 purchased — The Veteran officer attempts extortion — Sad acci- 
 dent — Two of us tried for our lives and acquitted — My first 
 experience of Bangalore — A runaway horse and a smash — A 
 swearing General — Permanently posted — Ordered to Secunder- 
 abad — Generous behaviour of our brother officers — Our Com- 
 mandant — Hospitably entertained at Kurnool — An eccentric 
 officer and his pranks — Secunderabad — A boyish looking 
 Adjutant. 
 
 I was just sixteen years and two months old when I 
 left Southampton in a Peninsular and Oriental Com- 
 pany's steamer. How different a passage was in those 
 days compared to what it is at present ! We had 
 1 20 passengers, many of them officers hurrying to join 
 their regiments, then engaged in the Punjaub with the 
 gallant Sikhs, who, not content with their defeat in 
 1845-46, again tried the arbitrament of war. 
 
 There were a great many cadets for the three 
 Presidencies — thirteen for Madras alone. The pas- 
 sage-money cost ^120, against ^60 as at present, but 
 then wine, beer, and all liquids were supplied gratis 
 Even champagne was served out twice a week, and an
 
 26 REMINISCENCES OE INDIA 
 
 excellent table was kept. When the weather per- 
 mitted, the band played of an evening, while those who 
 pleased danced to their hearts' content ; and during the 
 day there were all kinds of games. 
 
 We had a rough time of it in the Bay of Biscay. 
 We did not see much of Gibraltar, but spent a day at 
 Malta, and went back laden with sacks full of oranges. 
 On arriving at Alexandria we had half a day to see the 
 sights, being obliged to mount donkeys bearing the 
 most aristocratic and distinguished names. There 
 were Palmerstons, Johnny Russells, Wellingtons, 
 Bluchers, B rights, Cobdens, etc. Indeed, there was 
 scarcely a man of note in Europe who had not an 
 asinine representative — at all events in name. We 
 visited Cleopatra's Needles — one is now on the Thames 
 Embankment, and the other in the United States — and 
 also Pompey's Pillar; and we also had our first experi- 
 ence of a Turkish bath. We then embarked on large 
 barges, and were towed up the Mahmoodie Canal 
 until the Nile was reached, when we were transferred 
 to a small steamer which took us up to Cairo. There 
 our stay was just long enough to enable us to visit 
 the Pyramids, to have a chat with the homeward-bound 
 passengers who had just arrived, and to hear of the 
 disastrous battles of Ramnugger and Chillianwallah, 
 where two schoolfellows of mine were killed, one over 
 the dead body of his father. One of our cadets was 
 looking forward to meeting his father, the Adjutant- 
 General of the Bengal Army, but the first news he 
 received after landing at Calcutta was that his father 
 had been killed at the crowning victory of Goojerat. 
 
 Our journey across the desert commenced at dusk.
 
 ADVENTURE AT ADEN 27 
 
 There was a bright moon. Each van held six pas- 
 sengers, which was rather a close fit in such a con- 
 veyance for such a long, tedious trip ; but I know that 
 I for one thoroughly enjoyed myself. I was seldom 
 inside ; I either ran alongside or mounted on a small 
 step outside and did ' conductor,' leaving more room 
 for the others. We saw a few gazelles and sand- 
 grouse, and visions of future sport flitted before our 
 eyes. Even at that time of the year the sun was very 
 powerful, and at some of the halting-places it was no 
 uncommon sight to see a fowl spin round and round, 
 and then drop down dead, to be speedily converted 
 into ' spatch-cock,' which in the East is generally 
 termed 'sudden death.' 
 
 We had many spinsters on board. We cadets saw 
 very little of them, as they were monopolized by our 
 seniors, but of course we came to know most of them. 
 There was a pretty little girl, Miss G., bound for 
 Aden to join her sister, who was married to a doctor 
 on the Bombay side, attached to the European regiment 
 then quartered there. We reached the port rather late 
 at night, so late that passengers were forbidden to land 
 until next morning, as the captain, an officer of the 
 Indian Navy, said it was not safe to venture on shore 
 during the dark, as there were many bad characters 
 about. 
 
 But Miss G. wanted a letter taken to her sister, so 
 I volunteered, and with another cadet slipped into a 
 boat that came alongside. We were not seen, and got 
 ashore all right. We did not know a word of Arabic 
 or Hindoostani, or anything of the place, but we simply 
 trusted to luck. We found a few donkeys ready
 
 28 REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 saddled, mounted a couple, and rode along a road 
 which we presumed led to the cantonment. We found 
 it much further than we had bargained for, and it was 
 past midnight when we reached the main guard, and 
 how the sentries permitted us to pass I do not know, 
 for we knew neither parole nor countersign ; but we 
 got in somehow, and commenced to inquire where 
 Dr. D. lived. To do this, we had to knock up several 
 individuals, w r ho, not pleased at being disturbed at that 
 time of night, told us to go to a place even hotter than 
 Aden. What to do we did not know. It must have 
 been close on 3 a.m. We began to despair, and thought 
 of dismounting and lying down somewhere, but deter- 
 mined as a last forlorn hope to try once more. We 
 went boldly up to a small house, and there we found 
 a sapper officer, P., who good-naturedly sent his ser- 
 vant with us to point out the medico's domicile. 
 
 Dr. D.'s astonishment may be imagined when we 
 presented him with a letter at 3.30 a.m. But he was 
 hospitality itself. We were pressed to eat and drink ; 
 beds were improvised for us, on which we threw our- 
 selves, and were fast asleep in a few minutes. At day- 
 light, after a refreshing bath, we accompanied the 
 doctor to the steamer, and returned again to his house 
 with the fair spinster. The captain pitched into us for 
 disobeying orders, but all's well that ends well ; we had 
 had our spree, and were none the worse either for our 
 journey or his jobation. We spent a very pleasant 
 day with Dr. D. and his family, and my comrade was 
 so smitten with the charms of the young lady that he 
 confided to me his intention of returning and marrying 
 her. There were fifty-two regiments in Madras then,
 
 A FAITHLESS LOVER 29 
 
 only one of which was stationed at Aden, so the 
 chances were greatly against his returning there — and 
 he was of the mature age of sixteen ! Strange to say, 
 he was posted to that very regiment, the 3rd Native 
 Infantry ; but when he reached that Gibraltar of the 
 East, he found his fair one already the bride of the 
 very man who had assisted us to find Dr. D.'s house 
 the night of our adventure. 
 
 Amongst the young ladies there were two sisters, 
 bound to Madras. They were both very good-look- 
 ing, but the younger was almost beautiful, decidedly 
 the belle of the ship, and of course received a great 
 deal of attention. A certain officer won her affections, 
 and on our arrival at Madras there was a very painful 
 scene. The poor girl lost all control over herself, and 
 lay fainting in his arms, for he was bound for Calcutta. 
 He tried to soothe her, and swore he would return 
 and marry her. The elder sister married very soon, 
 and well. The younger remained a spinster, refusing 
 many offers which she received. For ten years nothing- 
 was heard of her lover, beyond that he was trans- 
 ferred from one staff appointment to another. But on 
 being promoted to a field-officer he was ordered to 
 rejoin his regiment, then stationed at one of our 
 frontier stations in Burma, where the poor girl, still 
 unmarried, and worn to a mere shadow of her former 
 self, was living. He got as far as Rangoon, and 
 then, hearing whom he was likely to meet on joining, 
 took leave on urgent private affairs, and exchanged into 
 another regiment ; and thus was sacrificed the life and 
 happiness of as pretty and as good a girl as ever lived, 
 through board-ship flirtation.
 
 30 REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 It was almost dusk when we anchored off Madras. 
 A sergeant came on board for the cadets. We were 
 put into palanquin coaches for conveyance to Pala- 
 veram, the cadets' headquarters. These wretched 
 traps are called skigram poes (go quickly), for the 
 reason that they crawl along. It must have been 
 close on midnight when we arrived, wild with delight 
 at getting on shore again. We were hungry, and 
 clamoured for food, and fortunately there were the 
 remains of a repast provided for another party, 
 which the native servants soon prepared and placed 
 before us. 
 
 There were but seven cots for thirteen of us, but by 
 putting them alongside of one another we found we 
 could manage till next day. While these arrange- 
 ments were being carried out, one of the cadets began 
 dancing on a bedstead, and in fun kicked off the butler's 
 turban — an insult so flagrant as to astonish even that 
 ancient official ! He, however, gave a reproachful 
 glance at his assailant, picked up his head- gear, and said 
 quietly : ' Master young gentleman not know better.' 
 
 The matey* was a character. He had been many 
 years there, and had been taught by various cadets to 
 sing English songs, most of them of a very question- 
 able character, without understanding a word of them. 
 He would repeat them like a parrot, amidst the laughter 
 of his audience. 
 
 Next morning we were inspected by Wilder, our 
 Superintendent. There could not have been a fitter 
 man for the post. He knew how to combine fortiter 
 in re with suaviter in modo. He belonged to the 
 
 * A subordinate native servant.
 
 MY MESSMATES 31 
 
 mounted branch of the service, and had been a noted 
 pig-sticker and an all-round sportsman, and though no 
 longer young, he had not forgotten his youth, or what 
 boys are made of. He put no undue restrictions upon 
 us, but in the most gentlemanly way told us what we 
 could and what we must not do, and he was thoroughly 
 obeyed. We not only liked but respected him. The 
 Quartermaster-General of the Army, had known my 
 people, and he was most kind to us all, inviting us 
 to dine with him at his bungalow, situated on a high 
 pinnacle at Palaveram, near our quarters. 
 
 It is time I said a few words of our messmates. 
 One of them, B., was a fine-looking, manly, power- 
 ful fellow, very good company, who could sing a 
 good song, and spin yarns of sport which made our 
 mouths water. Unfortunately he was mauvais sujet, 
 but not to us. He never did us out of a penny, or 
 allowed us to be imposed upon in his presence. He 
 had at one time been orderly officer at Addiscombe, 
 but getting into money difficulties, he had retired to 
 France for a while, where he had picked up a pretty 
 little girl with a moderate dot, which cleared him of his 
 difficulties for the time, and enabled him to return to 
 India. She was really very nice and lady-like, but she 
 knew little or no English, and only one of us 'griffs ' 
 could converse with her in her own language, so I am 
 afraid she led rather a humdrum life. 
 
 There was also a subaltern officer in command of a 
 detachment of Native Infantry. He was married, and 
 had a sister-in-law to dispose of, whom he would not 
 have objected to hand over to any of the griffins, had 
 anyone shown the least inclination that way. He was
 
 32 REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 not a nice character. He had a broken-kneed horse, 
 which he swore was a first-rate pig-sticker ; but I 
 strongly suspect he was some cast horse from either 
 the Cavalry or Horse Artillery, which had been bought 
 lor a rupee or two. He was generous enough to offer 
 each of us an old worn-out rifle, which he declared had 
 slain numerous tigers. These estimable goods were to 
 be disposed of for the ridiculous sum of 400 rupees 
 each. 
 
 He was also kind enough to take off our hands as 
 gifts certain under-clothing and knick-knacks, for which 
 he assured us we should have no use. In appearance, 
 ways, and means, he reminded one greatly of Soapy 
 Sponge, without the manliness of that character. If 
 B. was present, this gentleman was mute ; but in his 
 absence he used to brag greatly of what he had done. 
 Wilder knew his man, and cautioned us to have 
 nothing to do with him or the goods he wished to 
 dispose of, but more particularly to avoid any entangle- 
 ment with the ' spin.' Wilder was reputed to be the 
 best judge of a horse in the Presidency, and the stable- 
 keepers in Madras were only too glad to receive an 
 order from him to send up some forty or fifty horses for 
 his inspection. Each nag was critically examined and 
 ridden, and he purchased for each of us a fair one, 
 which cost us about 250 rupees. We had nothing to 
 do, so spent our time in shooting and riding. I had 
 numerous letters of introduction, but did not use one 
 of them, as they were generally termed tickets for 
 soup — that is, when you presented one, you were 
 asked to dinner, and there the acquaintance probably 
 ceased.
 
 ATTEMPTED EXTORTION 33 
 
 I had been in India only some ten days or a fort- 
 night, when I received a letter from the wife of the 
 Veteran I have before mentioned. She commenced 
 by recalling herself and her husband to my recollec- 
 tion, enumerated the many acts of kindness lavished 
 upon us by them, mentioning that they were heavily 
 out of pocket owing to the inadequate remittances 
 sent to them from England, and that she felt con- 
 fident she had only to mention the amount due to 
 them for me either to pay it at once, or, if I was 
 unable to do so, to make arrangements for its liquida- 
 tion — she could introduce me to a sowcar, who would 
 advance me the money ; and wound up by saying 
 that she would not have pressed for payment, but that 
 they were so hard up. 
 
 She little guessed that I had documents proving that 
 not only had every farthing due to them been paid, but 
 that they had failed to account for nearly ^300 out of 
 the money received by them. 
 
 I replied that I considered her and her husband a 
 couple of swindlers, and that I would not only not pay 
 them a pice, but would take legal proceedings to recover 
 the amounts embezzled by them. To do the Veteran 
 justice, I believe he had no hand in the attempted 
 extortion. What she told him I do not know, but she 
 worked him up to forward my letter to the Com- 
 mander-in-Chief. I got a letter through Wilder from 
 the Adjutant-General, calling for an immediate retrac- 
 tion and apology for the strong language I had used, 
 and stating that but for my youth and experience his 
 Excellency would have brought me to a court-martial. 
 Wilder asked me what it was all about. I laid all the 
 
 3
 
 34 REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 papers in my possession before him, and explained the 
 treatment my sister and I had received at their hands 
 when we were children. 
 
 That evening Wilder and I dined with the 
 Quartermaster-General, and we told him the whole 
 story. He told me I should have consulted Wilder 
 before sending such a reply, as its tone was unjusti- 
 fiable when addressed to a senior officer ; but he asked 
 me to leave the papers with him and he would lay 
 them before his Excellency. I heard nothing more 
 officially on the subject, but the Quartermaster-General 
 told me the Chief had ordered the Veteran up to the 
 Adjutant -General's office, and had walked into him 
 handsomely, and that but for the abject apologies he 
 made, laying the whole blame on his wife, and plead- 
 ing his ignorance of the attempted blackmail, he would 
 have been placed under arrest and probably tried. 
 
 C. told me it was not likely that I should be annoyed 
 or molested again, but advised me to lay all the cor- 
 respondence before the leading solicitor in Madras, 
 who told me any claim I might have had was barred 
 by the law of limitation, which also applied to the 
 Veteran as well, and that from the papers I had given 
 him there was no doubt they had no claim on me, but 
 if they ever wrote to me again I was to refer them to 
 him. I never heard anything more from them, nor 
 did I meet them in any society. 
 
 I have now to relate a sad accident. Word was 
 brought one day that a couple of hyaenas had been 
 marked down on some rocky hills about two miles 
 distant. I went after them in company with a fellow- 
 cadet. We beat all the likely places, but not finding
 
 A FATAL ACCIDENT 35 
 
 them, commenced to fire at a small earthenware pot 
 suspended on a stalk of a Palmyra palm for the 
 purpose of collecting the juice, which is commonly 
 called by Europeans toddy. 
 
 Beyond this tree, which was one of many forming a 
 tope, there were visible only boulders of rocks and hills 
 seemingly uninhabited, and we never dreamt that 
 there could be the least danger to anybody from a 
 stray shot. We had each fired several times, when 
 there arose suddenly a great outcry, and the men with 
 us declared someone had been shot. In a few minutes 
 hundreds of excited natives turned up as if by magic, 
 armed with latties (formidable staves), threatening us 
 with blows, and attempting to disarm us. It was I 
 who had fired the last shot. We discharged our 
 remaining barrels into the air, and on a peon appearing, 
 we surrendered our weapons to him and were marched 
 back to Palaveram, taken before Wilder and charged 
 with wilful murder. Wilder at once assembled a court 
 of inquiry, took down the evidence, and ordered us to 
 our quarters under arrest. The proceedings were sent 
 to army headquarters, and by the verdict we were 
 acquitted and released. But the newspapers, more 
 especially the native ones, were very bitter against us, 
 and kept showering accusations upon us. So Wilder 
 received orders to take us before the sessions judge, 
 that the case might be thoroughly investigated in 
 court. So on the appointed day Wilder drove us to 
 the residence of the judge (who, by-the-by, bore 
 an extraordinary likeness to the Great Duke). We 
 breakfasted with him, and then were marched off to 
 the court, tried for our lives and honourably acquitted.
 
 36 REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 It was proved that the fatal shot had glanced off the 
 stalk of the palm, struck a stone a hundred and fifty 
 yards away, and, ricocheting, had hit a man stooping 
 down planting out paddy, and caused almost instan- 
 taneous death. As the shot immediately before the 
 accident was mine, I accepted the blame, and by 
 Wilder's advice I paid the widow 300 rupees, and 
 allowed her 7 rupees a month for life. Directly this 
 was known, women sprung up by the dozen, all claim- 
 ing to be the real widow, and all with innumerable 
 children, and I believe nine-tenths of the married 
 women would have consented to become widows on 
 the same terms. But Wilder arranged everything ; the 
 pension was paid for about two years, and then lapsed, 
 for the claimant ceased to appear. Whether she had 
 died, or remarried and gone far away, I never knew. 
 
 After a short residence at the cadets' quarters, we 
 were appointed to do duty with various regiments, and 
 the greater part of us were sent to Bangalore under 
 charge of an officer of the Madras Fusiliers, who had 
 been a fellow-passenger with us. W T e had a delightful 
 march. The stages were easy. The cold season was 
 not quite over, and as duck, teal, and snipe abounded, 
 we expended much ammunition, and if we did not slay 
 much, we enjoyed ourselves greatly. The regiment I 
 was sent to was the 14th Madras Native Infantry, com- 
 manded by a certain Major who had come out in the 
 same steamer with us. One of the officers of the corps 
 was also a brother of him who had taken charge of 
 myself and my sisters on our father's death, and all the 
 officers were a particularly nice set, and showed us 
 much kindness.
 
 OUR BRIGADIER 37 
 
 I shall not forget my first drive in Bangalore. 
 After reporting my arrival at the brigade office, I was 
 hunting about for a suitable house to live in. My 
 conveyance was the usual shigram po. The horse 
 took fright and ran away ; charged a high mud wall, 
 and was killed on the spot ; the driver was sent sprawl- 
 ing over the wall, and I was left deposited without a 
 bruise amidst the debris of the carriage, which was 
 completely smashed. The 14th were armed with the 
 flint musket, and I learned my musketry exercise 
 with that ancient weapon. Our Brigadier was very 
 unpopular ; he was a great martinet, and frightfully 
 given to cursing and swearing at officers and men 
 on parade. Some years ago the Gilbert court-martial 
 caused a great sensation. Something very similar 
 occurred in Bangalore when I was there. The 
 General was swearing at and abusing an officer of 
 H.M.'s 51st King's Own Light Infantry, who stepped 
 out of the ranks, sheathed his sword, saying, ' Sir, I 
 did not enter H.M.'s service to be sworn at by you,' 
 and walked off the ground. Of course he was put 
 under arrest, but was never tried. He went home on 
 furlough and the thing blew over, but I believe the 
 General caught it well from the Commander-in-Chief; 
 and afterwards, whenever he wanted to vent his spleen, 
 he used to swear frightfully at his horse, and add, 
 'Captain (or Mr.) So-and-so, you know what I mean.' 
 
 The late Sir Thomas Peyton was our Adjutant, and 
 a right good officer he was, too ; like the rest of his 
 family, he excelled as a whip, and used to drive four- 
 in-hand. Bangalore was a very pleasant station, but not 
 a very moral place for a lot of youngsters to be sent to.
 
 3 8 REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 We soon passed our drill, and made some little 
 progress in Hindoostani. At last we were posted 
 permanently to native regiments. Mine was at 
 Secunderabad, some three hundred miles distant. 
 Our Colonel told us never to borrow money from 
 native sowcars, but if ever we were hard up for a 
 few rupees to go to him. We received our marching 
 orders, although the monsoon had not quite ceased. 
 After all our liabilities had been paid, it was a toss-up 
 which of us was in the most impecunious state. I 
 know I had only 7 or 8 rupees left. I did not like to 
 ask the kind old Major for help, so I was all but a 
 beggar when I left. 
 
 We had reached our first stage, and were wonder- 
 ing how we should manage, when an orderly arrived 
 with a note from one of the senior Captains of the 
 regiment, saying he had heard of the state of poverty 
 we were in, and sent 200 rupees to be repaid when 
 quite convenient, as they were in no hurry for it, it 
 being a joint contribution of himself and brother officers. 
 Here was a godsend ! What an act of consideration 
 and kindness ! Very few would think of doing such 
 an act nowadays, but the old Indians were very 
 different then to what they are now. I was able to 
 repay the amount within three months, as I wrote to 
 my guardian for some funds, which he remitted with 
 many a grumble. 
 
 As two of us were going to Secunderabad, we kept 
 150 rupees, and gave 50 rupees to one who was only 
 going to Bellary, but he grumbled and growled at my 
 not giving him more. 
 
 An officer of the 5th, who had charge of us, was a
 
 PRACTICAL JOKES 39 
 
 big, strong fellow, under thirty, who had some time 
 before been badly mauled by a bear, but was then 
 sound and well. We had a very pleasant march. 
 The rivers were in flood, and we had great trouble 
 in crossing some of them, especially the Toomboodra. 
 On arrival at Kurnool, we were the quests of the 
 mess of the 5th Native Infantry. The rains recom- 
 menced, and Armstrong, a Captain in the corps, 
 persuaded the Commandant to detain us until there 
 was a lull. We had no officer going on with us. We 
 knew nothing of the country or of the languages, so 
 as the roads were nearly impassable, the difficulties 
 forward were very great. The officers would not 
 permit us to become honorary members ; they insisted 
 on our being their guests, so we lived in clover for a 
 fortnight or more without being put to any expense. 
 
 Armstrong was a noted character. He played more 
 practical jokes on his seniors than any other man 
 would have dared to do, but he was known to be a 
 first-rate officer, and was allowed great latitude. On 
 one occasion he was ordered to take up six or 
 seven griffins, and leave them at a station commanded 
 by an old enemy of his. The Brigadier was as bald 
 as a vulture, and very touchy. Armstrong provided 
 himself with a wig. On nearing the station, on some 
 pretence, he left the carts containing the ensigns' 
 uniforms, etc., behind, but took good care to have his 
 own kit handy. He had written to friends to lay out 
 a dak for him. Directly he reached the headquarters 
 of the brigade, he reported his arrival and departure 
 at the office. He then returned to the dak bungalow, 
 sent for a barber, and in front of his proteges had his
 
 40 REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 head shaved, and told them it was by order of the 
 General, and that they too must undergo the same 
 operation. They, thinking it was a bona-fide order, 
 and trusting to the example set them, submitted to the 
 operation. Armstrong departed with his bald head to 
 call upon the General, but took care of course to put 
 on his wig before he got there. In a brief interview, 
 he explained that the young gentlemen would pay 
 their respects next day, as the carts with their uniforms 
 had not arrived. He then took his leave, returned to 
 the bungalow without his wig, and, alleging that he 
 had received orders to leave at once, bade the griffs 
 adieu, warned them to be at the General's at 1 1 a.m. 
 on the morrow, got on his horse, and, picking up his 
 relays, was far beyond the General's jurisdiction 
 before daybreak. At the appointed time the seven 
 griffs called and were shown up to the reception-room, 
 the General then being busy in his office. There 
 they sat in a row facing the door. When the mighty 
 official entered, he saw before him seven scalps more 
 bald than his own! He swore, he raved; would 
 listen to no excuses, banged the door to, rushed to the 
 Brigade Major, and bade him confine the cadets to their 
 quarters under close arrest. That official went off to 
 execute his unpleasant task, wondering what in the 
 world was the matter ; but when he saw the lads with 
 their shaven crowns he went into roars of laughter, 
 and asked them what they meant by appearing in such 
 a guise. They explained matters, and were told to go 
 home and not to show themselves to the General 
 until their crops had grown again. When the right 
 version was told to the General, he was doubly furious,
 
 SECUNDERABAD 41 
 
 and sent off an orderly to bring back Armstrong ; but 
 that astute individual was beyond recall. The General 
 then complained to the Commander-in-Chief, who only 
 laughed when he heard the story ; but Armstrong was 
 admonished not to play such pranks again. 
 
 I duly reached Secunderabad. It was a holiday, 
 and very early in the morning. I was directed to the 
 Adjutant's quarters, and I found he was in bed, so I 
 sat down in the veranda to await his appearance. All 
 the Adjutants I had seen had been fine, big men. 
 Ours had passed as interpreter in some four languages, 
 and somehow I pictured him to myself as of the same 
 build as the others ; but my amazement may be 
 imagined when a boyish-looking, small-built individual 
 appeared on the scene. Poor Mac ! He was a good 
 fellow ; he had not sought the appointment, for which 
 he was quite unfit. His ambition was to get into the 
 commissariat, and having no interest, he kept passing 
 in language after language till the authorities were 
 forced to give him what he required, and he was the 
 commissariat officer in after-years in Tongho whilst I 
 was executive engineer. He was afterwards drowned 
 in the Bay of Bengal in the Persia, which was never 
 heard of after leaving Rangoon. 
 
 He and the Major were living together, and they 
 very kindly put me up until I found quarters for 
 myself. 
 
 I was introduced to my brother officers, who indi- 
 vidually were nice enough, but collectively did not get 
 on well together. There had been rows in the regi- 
 ment, and one of the senior officers had been tried by 
 a court-martial and suspended for six months. He
 
 42 REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 was the cause of all the squabbles. The immediate 
 cause of his suspension was egging on two young- 
 officers to fight a duel, which had then been strictly 
 forbidden. It is true that a few duels occurred in the 
 army after I joined, but they were known only to 
 the combatants and their seconds. That duelling was 
 occasionally abused there is no doubt. Still, it had a 
 deterrent effect, and for some injuries was the only 
 mode of obtaining satisfaction, and it is a pity that it 
 was altogether abolished.
 
 [43] 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 SECUNDERABAD. 
 
 Secunderabad in 1849 — Nightingale — 'Master not fight fair' — An 
 obstreperous Captain — How to manage natives — Sad death of an 
 Adjutant — Mole Alley races — Amusements — Gambling — Regi- 
 ment ordered to Samulcottah — My stud — Am appointed to the 
 sappers and miners — Difficulty of getting to Burma — Rangoon — 
 Employed on field-service — Miraculous escape of two drunken 
 gunners. 
 
 In 1849 Secunderabad was a jolly place. We had a 
 large force, and each regiment had its band, billiard- 
 table, and its swimming-bath, and we were all on the 
 most friendly terms. Some of the native regiments 
 had good elevens, and in the cold weather cricket was 
 frequently played. The 40th Native Infantry, com- 
 monly called the ' Forty Thieves,' could hold their 
 own at our national game against most European 
 corps. The artillery gloried in a lot of reckless riders, 
 and in one steeplechase four of the officers were lying 
 in a ditch, and the others jumping over them and over 
 the obstacle, a strong four-foot fence. They were a 
 capital set of fellows, but regular madcaps. There 
 were many officers who had known me as a child, and 
 I received the greatest kindness from them all. We 
 had many famous soldiers and shekaries — Shakspear,
 
 44 REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 Nightingale, the two Orrs, Wedderburn, Wyatt, 
 Clougstoun, and many others. Frank Vardon, one of 
 the early pioneers in South Africa, who had been a 
 friend of my father's, asked me to visit him, and showed 
 me much sport. 
 
 I had been a short while in Secunderabad, when 
 there was a grand field-day. As a griff I was a mere 
 looker-on. Standing near the flag-staff, I noticed a 
 particularly handsome man in a gorgeous native 
 costume talking to the Brigadier, James. He was 
 fair, with blue eyes, jet black hair, whiskers and beard 
 parted at the chin, and brushed up towards the ears, 
 with a long drooping moustache ; I don't think I ever 
 saw a finer or a handsomer man. He was superbly 
 mounted. From his dress, I thought he was some great 
 man from the city, and was astonished at his talking 
 in fluent English ; so I asked a bystander who was 
 the native who was conversing with the General. He 
 replied, ' What native ?' I said, ' The one in the 
 gorgeous costume, with blue eyes and black beard.' 
 He burst out laughing, and said : ' Why, don't you 
 know who that is ? Why, it is Shakspear, of the 
 Nizam Irregular Cavalry.' I was astonished. Familiar 
 as must have been the uniform to me in my younger 
 days, I had quite forgotten it, and had not, since my 
 joining my regiment, met any of the Bolarum men. 
 His cousin, H. W. Blake, was very like him, and 
 both were first-rate shekaries. 
 
 Nightingale was not a handsome man ; he had high 
 cheek-bones and a ragged, nondescript beard. He 
 was a splendid horseman, and had probably no equal, 
 unless it was Frank Simson, as a hog-hunter. When
 
 NIGHTINGALE 45 
 
 he was mounted he invariably carried a hog-spear, 
 and would prod a leaf here and a twig there, and 
 seldom missed his mark. He had means of his 
 own, and good pay from Government. He had 
 seldom less than a dozen horses in his stable. He 
 obtained them from Bombay with the remounts for 
 his regiment, made thorough hunters of them, and by 
 the sale of two or three paid for the rest. He could 
 sing a capital song and accompany himself on the 
 piano. He was also a bit of a poet in his way, and 
 wrote some good hog-hunting songs. He was un- 
 doubtedly a great sportsman, but was not a pleasant 
 companion in the field, as he was inclined to be 
 jealous. He had great influence with his sowars, and 
 they would have obeyed him to the death. 
 
 He and the Orrs constantly hunted together, and 
 had frequent rows, and the wonder is they did not 
 come to blows, for the Orrs were probably the most 
 passionate men in India, and ' Bulbul ' used certainly 
 to try their temper. I heard the following story : 
 There had been a hard fight for first spear, which, as 
 usual, fell to Nightingale. His opponent rode up to 
 him, boiling with rage, and said : ' Sir, I think during 
 
 the run you called me a ' ' Well, that is odd !' 
 
 replied Bulbul, as cool as a cucumber ; ' I never 
 opened my lips during the run, and how you have 
 divined my thoughts I do not know ; but although 
 I said nothing, I have often thought you one !' The 
 audacity of the reply tickled the other's fancy to 
 such an extent that he burst out laughing, and for 
 the time being they were on speaking terms again, 
 which did not happen often.
 
 46 REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 Nightingale had a lot of very savage Polygar dogs ; 
 they had got used to one particular boy, and he and 
 he only could manage them ; a stranger they would 
 have torn to pieces. This lad was absolutely neces- 
 sary to Nightingale, yet he often maltreated him. 
 The poor wretch stood it as long as he could, and 
 then asked for his discharge, which Nightingale re- 
 fused with a kick. The native, driven wild, appealed 
 to his brother, a cook-boy in H.M.'s 84th Regiment, 
 to help him. Now, very many of these low-caste 
 Madrassies are very powerfully built, and only require 
 tuition and training to become nasty customers in a row. 
 European soldiers were hard pushed for amusement in 
 those days, so the Tommy Atkinses, to pass away the 
 time, used not only to pit these cook-boys against each 
 other, but would take a turn with them themselves, 
 until the Peramootoos, or whatever their names might 
 be, learned not only to use their fists, but to stand 
 a good deal of punishment ; and as they were kept 
 constantly in training they got as hard as nails and 
 as strong as brewers' carmen, and became no mean 
 proficients in the art of self-defence and attack. The 
 brother came to Nightingale's quarters and asked very 
 respectfully for his brother's discharge. Nightingale, 
 astounded at the man's impudence in daring to 
 interfere, gave him a clout on the head and told 
 him to go about his business, and that if he dared 
 to show his face again he would thrash him within an 
 inch of his life. The native took the cuff without 
 flinching, and coolly saying, ' Master do that business, 
 I do same,' commenced to strip. Nightingale saw at 
 once he had caught a tartar. The man's muscles
 
 RULE OF THE ROD 47 
 
 stood out like balls of whipcord, and the way he held 
 up his maulies proclaimed that he was no novice at 
 the game of fisticuffs. A terrific fight took place. 
 Nightingale was severely punished, and, but for his 
 extraordinary length of arm and always being in good 
 fettle, would probably have had the worst of it ; but 
 finding the native too strong and skilful for him, he 
 trusted to his great reach, and hit out whenever he 
 saw a blow coming, and countered without receiving 
 much punishment after the first few rounds, during 
 which the native had had a long way the best of it. 
 I heard Nightingale describe it as the hardest fight 
 he had ever had in his life. At last English pluck 
 and endurance, aided by length of arm, won the day, 
 and Nightingale knocked his opponent down senseless; 
 when he recovered, I am sorry to say, Nightingale 
 was in such a rage that he gave the man an unmerci- 
 ful thrashing, and feared he had almost overdone it, 
 so he sent the cook-boy to the Brigade Major, with 
 the following letter : 
 
 1 My dear A., 
 
 ' This nigger has been most insolent. Please 
 punish him.' 
 
 A. replied : 
 
 'My dear N., 
 
 ' The less you say about it, the better. I think 
 the man has had sufficient punishment for any offence, 
 however great.' 
 
 Talking of natives sticking up to Europeans, the 
 following I can vouch for :
 
 4 S REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 H., of the 30th, had struck his matey boy in the 
 presence of witnesses. The native took out a sum- 
 mons against his master, who was fined by the canton- 
 ment magistrate. Such a thing as a native hauling 
 up his master for a blow was unheard of in those 
 days, and H. bided his time ; he said nothing, and 
 kept the boy on as if nothing had happened. One 
 day when his servant brought him his early cup of tea, 
 H. jumped out of bed, and, fastening the door, said : 
 'You infernal blackguard! I'll teach you to haul me 
 up before a magistrate ; there are no witnesses, and 
 
 I'll give you a d d good thrashing.' The man 
 
 pretended to cry, wiping his eyes on his sleeve, and 
 blubbered out : ' Master sure no witnesses got ?' 
 ' Quite sure,' replied H. 'Then,' said the matey boy, 
 dropping all pretence, ' I give master one big hiding,' 
 and, to his astonishment, walked into him in fine 
 style. H. had not a chance ; his boy was far stronger 
 and a far better bruiser, and knocked his master into 
 a cocked hat. H. was on the point of crying peccavi, 
 when he bethought him that he had on a pair of 
 stout shoes, so, as a last resource, he kicked up, caught 
 the man in a very tender part, and doubled him up. 
 Just then two of us came up to see H. ; the door was 
 burst open, and a native rushed out writhing in agony, 
 howling, ' Master not fight fair ; done kick me there !' 
 As for H., his mother would not have known him, 
 and we could scarcely distinguish one feature from 
 another. He had to go on the sick-list. His boy, 
 who, we learned afterwards, had been a cook-boy in 
 a battery of artillery, disappeared ; and in after-life, if 
 we wanted to get a rise out of H., we had only to
 
 A GOOD COLONEL 49 
 
 stoop with our hands low down and whimper ' Master 
 not fight fair,' to drive him nearly mad. 
 
 Our Colonel, who had lately joined, had been in 
 the Commissariat and Mysore Commission over thirty 
 years. The late Commandant thought more of horse- 
 racing than of military matters, and the corps was in 
 a very disorganized state ; it was generally thought 
 that one who had been in semi-military, semi-civil 
 employment for so many years was not exactly the 
 man to choose to put matters straight, and one or 
 two of the officers presumed on that supposition to try 
 and thwart him, and to do as they liked. But our 
 new Colonel soon showed that he was fully competent 
 to command, and that they must obey. He was cer- 
 tainly the best commanding officer I ever served under. 
 Religious himself, he did not obtrude his opinions on 
 others, but sought to rule more by example than by 
 precept. He was most consistent, and showed neither 
 favour nor affection to one more than to another. He 
 soon effected a chanoe for the better. The man who 
 opposed him the most was a captain, who had been 
 tried by a court-martial as before mentioned. He 
 had lately rejoined, and did his best to set us all at 
 loggerheads, and to ignore his commanding officer, 
 who, however, continued on the even tenor of his way, 
 and, whilst enforcing discipline, took no notice of the 
 many acts, petty in their way, by which attempts were 
 made to annoy him. 
 
 The native regiments wore sandals, and after a 
 field-day the parade-ground would be strewn with 
 these apologies for shoes. The Colonel had a few 
 pairs of ammunition boots made, and distributed them 
 
 4
 
 50 REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 amongst the non-commissioned officers and a few of 
 the men, and talked to them of the advantages of 
 being properly shod. But the natives are very averse 
 to change ; their forefathers had worn sandals, they 
 said ; the boots would cost more, they cramped the 
 feet, it was against their custom, besides other objec- 
 tions to the contemplated change, and I fear that 
 they were encouraged to rebel by M. But the 
 Colonel allowed a thorough trial of the boots he had 
 issued, and then ordered a parade. He talked to the 
 men in their own dialects, for he was equally at home 
 in Hindoostani, Tamil, and Teleego, pointing out the 
 advantages of boots over the native slippers, and 
 promised that if they were adopted the price of the 
 first issue should not exceed that of the sandals, and 
 that one pair of boots would last twice as long as the 
 others. He commenced with the right-hand man of 
 the Grenadiers, and asked if he would wear them. 
 The man refused. ' Make a prisoner of him,' said the 
 Colonel. Then he asked the next man, and so on, to 
 the end of the line, and there was not another refusal. 
 Our regiment thus became one of the first to be 
 properly shod. The officer already referred to then 
 took to putting scurrilous advertisements in the 
 Madras papers, one being : ' Old boots, old boots ! 
 Apply to the Colonel commanding N.I., Secundera- 
 bad.' This having no effect on the Colonel, the 
 company commander thought he could play other 
 tricks with equal impunity, so he refused to pay his 
 subscription to the billiard fund, to which he had 
 belonged for over twenty years, and accompanied his 
 refusal by writing that the Colonel had no more right
 
 A CONSIDERATE GENERAL 51 
 
 to levy this tax upon him than he had to put his 
 hand into his pocket and pick it. The Adjutant 
 was sent to him with a written order to attend the 
 commanding officer's quarters at once, and then, in 
 presence of the Major, the Colonel gave him such a 
 lecture that he left in a very humble state, applied 
 for six months' leave on urgent private affairs, and 
 never joined us again. Through family interest he 
 was pitchforked into some staff employ, where he 
 could do little harm. We were well rid of him, and 
 the tone of the corps improved day by day. 
 
 I had been reported duly qualified, and had just 
 fallen in with the regiment, when our Commander- 
 in-Chief came up to inspect the troops. In open- 
 ing out to quarter-distance column, I did not calcu- 
 late the distance exactly, and in wheeling into line 
 there would have been a gap had not two of the 
 rear rank men promptly stepped to the front. It was 
 so well done, I did not think anyone had noticed the 
 error ; but the old chief, who was a Peninsular and 
 Waterloo veteran, galloped up at once, and said : ' 1 1 
 won't do, young fellow ; I have done that trick too 
 often myself to be deceived.' ' Mark those men for 
 extra drill !' thundered out our Colonel. ' Do nothing 
 of the kind,' said the kind old General ; ' they were 
 quite right to try and save their officer.' 
 
 A very sad occurrence took place soon after I 
 joined. The Adjutant of the 3rd Madras Cavalry was 
 shot dead whilst at dinner with his young wife. His 
 back was towards the door, which was ajar to allow the 
 servants to bring in the dishes ; his wife was seated 
 opposite to him ; she heard a report, and saw her
 
 52 REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 husband fall forward. He was dead— shot through 
 the back. A trooper was tried for the offence, and 
 found guilty ; but there were great doubts as to 
 whether he was the real culprit, although no doubt 
 he was in the swim and knew all about it, so he was 
 not executed, but transported, which was to him far 
 worse than death. Beyond being somewhat strict, 
 there was nothing against the officer, and it has ever 
 been a puzzle why the dastardly crime was committed. 
 There was much sport to be had in those days in 
 the Nizam's dominions, and I learnt to shoot fairly, 
 and to hold my own across country. Once a year the 
 great horseracing meet took place at Mole Ally. The 
 saturnalia lasted a week, but the races were only on 
 alternate days. A week before the meet, the plain 
 round the course would be covered with tents of all 
 s l zes — the modest bichoba of the subaltern, the mess- 
 tents of the different regiments, and the gorgeous and 
 palatial structures erected for the Resident, the Prime 
 Minister, and other native notabilities from the city. 
 The scene, whilst it lasted, was most gay and enjoy- 
 able. The Princes and the officers of the Irregular 
 Cavalry vied with one another in sumptuous array, and 
 even they, grand as they were, were put somewhat into 
 the shade by the nautch-girls, who appeared in public 
 ' for that occasion only.' As a rule, they never left the 
 city. Many of them were the favourites of the rich 
 nobles, and were themselves very wealthy, covered 
 with jewels worth many thousands of pounds. These 
 girls alone were worth going many miles to see. 
 Young in years, pretty, perfect in shape, they all 
 belonged to one profession, which in the East is not
 
 SOME NOTED SPORTSMEN 53 
 
 held in abomination as it is in the West. Many of 
 these girls were very fair ; they never ventured into 
 the sun except in enclosed palanquins ; they take as 
 much care of their complexions as many a Court 
 beauty, and as for their figures, their equal is not to 
 be found in Europe. They resemble living Galateas, 
 as perfect as any of the finest representations of Venus 
 in Greek statuary. 
 
 One of the most noted horses of those days was 
 XL., originally bought by Child of my corps for a 
 mere song ; but Child was no rider, and the horse a 
 very violent one ; he ran away with his rider one day 
 over the Maidan, and Bucksee B., of the 40th, a racing 
 man, noticing what a stride the horse had, offered 
 500 rupees for him, which his owner gladly accepted. 
 He was put into training, and for two or three years 
 he won all the principal races and put many thousands 
 of rupees into the pockets of the lucky purchaser. 
 
 The two best jockeys were Major Hughes, of the 
 47th Native Infantry, and Captain Phillips, of the 
 3rd Madras Cavalry. There was not much to choose 
 between them, but on the whole I think Hughes won 
 more races ; he was a keen sportsman, and is said to 
 have killed five hundred tigers ; but how far that is 
 true I do not know. Whenever he was off duty he 
 donned a scarlet coat, and with his dogs hunted either 
 a fox or a jackal. 
 
 At times caged leopards, and now and then a bear, 
 would be let loose on Mole Ally, and be speared from 
 horseback. It was on one of these occasions, many 
 years after the time I am alluding to, that Nightingale 
 met with his death. He had just speared a leopard,
 
 54 REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 was seen to reel and fall off his horse, and was picked 
 up dead of heart disease. A sad ending for a man 
 who had braved death in every shape for years, who 
 had served with distinction throughout the Mutiny in 
 Central India, had killed scores of tigers, speared 
 several thousands of hogs and hundreds of bears, and 
 was certainly an accomplished sportsman and soldier. 
 
 There was not much gambling in those days. 
 There was a retired Major, who could turn up the 
 king at ecarte whenever he liked, and belonged to a 
 fraternity of professional sharpers and gamblers. He 
 was well known, and generally avoided. But the son 
 of a grandee, who had won some 4,000 rupees at a 
 race-meeting, and had an idea he could play cards, 
 foolishly challenged this gentleman, who declined at 
 first, as he said he had learned the game in France, 
 and was probably too strong a player ; but his 
 opponent thereon became doubly pressing, so the 
 Major, chuckling inwardly, consented. They played 
 for high stakes, and at first the youngster kept 
 winning ; the stakes were doubled and trebled, and, 
 as might have been expected, the result was that he 
 not only lost all his winnings by racing, but a very 
 large sum besides, which his father had to pay. 
 
 I spent two or three years very pleasantly in Secun- 
 derabad, and then my regiment was ordered to a single 
 station in the Northern Division. We marched by wings ; 
 I was in the left, but accompanied the right as far as 
 Oopal. I was riding a great brute of a horse I had 
 lately bought from an officer. Seeing some antelopes, 
 I put him after them ; he pitched on his head, threw 
 me some distance, dislocated my right arm, and at the
 
 OUR NEW GENERAL 55 
 
 same time cut both knees badly, and I was glad to 
 send him to an auction and sell him for a few rupees. 
 J obtained three months' leave on sick certificate, and 
 was left behind. As soon as I recovered the use of my 
 arm, I left Secunderabad, and wandered about the 
 country shooting and hunting. I had three horses and 
 a Mahratta pony and a good battery of guns and rifles, 
 and if ever there was a man madly fond of sport it 
 was I. I travelled leisurely and got to Samulcottah a 
 day or two before the expiration of my leave. During 
 the next two years I spent a good deal of my time 
 on detachment duty at Condapilly. I liked the life 
 and its independence. It was rather solitary, it is true ; 
 but when the weather did not permit of my going out 
 hunting and shooting, I found ample solace in reading 
 and drawing. I had some capital pig-sticking, too, as 
 will be related further on. I got on well with my 
 brother officers, and flatter myself I was rather a 
 favourite with our old Colonel. 
 
 Early in 1853 a new Commander-in-Chief arrived. 
 He had known my great-uncle and was intimate with 
 Lord Raglan, at whose request he promised to do 
 what he could for my advancement in the service. 
 Soon after his arrival I got a letter from his military 
 secretary, asking in what way his Excellency could 
 serve me. I had only passed in the vernacular to 
 qualify for holding a company, but had neglected to 
 pass the higher examination which qualified for staffem- 
 ployment. In fact, I was the greatest duffer possible 
 in learning languages, and although as a child I 
 believe I spoke three dialects as well as any native, I 
 never could master them again after I returned
 
 56 REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 to India. Although unqualified for the general staff, 
 I was eligible for employment with the Sappers and 
 Miners, whose headquarters were generally at Mercara, 
 a noted place for big game, but the whole regiment 
 was at that time employed in Burma. So I wrote back 
 thanking his Excellency, and asked to be appointed to 
 the Sappers and Miners, and was duly gazetted on 
 March 31, 1853. But I had to remain at my post 
 until relieved ; then the only steamer plying along 
 the coast, the Hitgk Lindsay, broke down, and I was 
 told to find my way across to Rangoon the best way I 
 could. I sent off a letter to a friend at Cocanada to 
 know if there was any vessel leaving for Calcutta, and 
 got back a reply to go at once, as a ship would be 
 leaving in a few days. I daked there, only to find that 
 the destination of the vessel was changed, and that a 
 schooner, the Zapiia-Paneah, would start in a day or 
 two for Pondicherry, touching at Madras. Besides 
 myself, there were three other passengers, viz., 
 Colonel Clarke, of my corps, who had been appointed 
 Brigadier at Aden ; Dent, of the 1 ith, going home on 
 furlough ; and Tyrrell, of the 18th. The skipper agreed 
 to land us at Madras for 150 rupees each, and said he 
 thought we should get there in three days at the most. 
 So we paid our money and embarked, but no sooner 
 had we started than the south-west monsoon com- 
 menced, and we had to tack against it. At the expira- 
 tion of fifteen days we were apparently no nearer to 
 our destination than when we left. We were heartily 
 sick of the vessel ; all the live stock, beer and wine 
 were expended ; salt junk we did not admire, and all 
 were anxious to get to the journey's end. I asked the
 
 UNDER ORDERS FOR BURMA 57 
 
 captain when we should get to Madras. ' Oh,' he 
 replied, ' I am halfway between it and Pondicherry, 
 and as the port dues are very heavy, I shall be a con- 
 siderable loser if I touch there, so I shall go on to 
 Pondicherry, and you can dak back to Madras.' 
 
 I was astounded at his impudence, but our agree- 
 ment was only a verbal one, and we were entirely in 
 his power. I spoke to the Colonel, and he was equally 
 disgusted, and said, ' If it is a case of money, find out 
 what he wants, and I'd rather pay it myself than 
 be kept longer in this vessel.' The skipper asked 
 100 rupees, to which we agreed at once. The 
 Colonel wished to pay the whole, but we three paid 
 50 rupees, whilst he paid the other moiety ; the ship 
 was put about, and by dark we were at anchor in the 
 roads. We landed early next morning, and it was the 
 only time I have seen that coast free of surf — for a 
 wonder, the sea was as smooth as a mill-pond. 
 
 I duly reported myself in person at the Adjutant- 
 General's office. ' Why, what brings you here ?' was 
 the query. ' We sent you orders at Masulipatam to 
 cross over in the Feroze with the — Regiment.' ' I 
 never got the order, sir,' I replied. ' Well, it can't be 
 helped now ; but a vessel will be leaving with detach- 
 ments for Rangoon in a few days, and you can cross 
 over in her.' So ' more haste, the less speed ' was 
 verified in my case. The regiment I ought to have 
 crossed with arrived at Moulmein on June 30 ; it never 
 moved out of the station or heard a shot fired, but got 
 both the batta and medal. But I, who, owing to the 
 dilatoriness of the post, lost that opportunity, and 
 reached Rangoon on July 2, got neither, although for
 
 58 REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 two years I was actively engaged on the Irrawadie 
 side, because Lord Dalhousie had declared that the war 
 was to cease on June $o, after which all Burmese found 
 with arms in their hands were to be treated as Dacoits. 
 This was a sop to the ' peace-at-any-price ' party at 
 home, but the war continued for fully two years more. 
 It did not lessen our action against the enemy, or put 
 a stop to their struggle against us, and only deprived a 
 few of the medal and batta who had earned them 
 better than many of those who got them. 
 
 I received an order to embark on the Teaser. 
 When hostilities broke out with the Court of Ava, this 
 vessel had been offered to our Government for sale for 
 80,000 rupees, but it was declined, and the vessel was 
 chartered by the month, and I was assured by one of 
 the owners afterwards that by the time her services 
 were dispensed with the owners had cleared 150,000 
 rupees, and still had the vessel in hand. 
 
 The detachments for Burma consisted principally of 
 artillerymen to replace those who had died or been 
 killed in action. The officers at the Mount took that 
 opportunity of getting rid of all the worst of the bad 
 characters, and a more shady lot than those who 
 paraded for embarkation were, I believe, never seen. 
 Every man was drunk, and a disgrace to the very 
 name of a soldier. 
 
 As I had not been appointed to do duty with the 
 troops crossing- over, I did not see the need of appear- 
 ing in uniform, especially as the day was very rough, 
 and the surf mountains hio-h, and we were sure of a 
 ducking. I waited on the beach until I could find 
 room in some boat. The staff officer who had to see
 
 I SAIL FOR RANGOON 59 
 
 to the embarkation of the troops was not in the sweetest 
 of tempers — small blame to him ! — for the behaviour 
 and appearance of the men would have driven an angel 
 wild. It was no use his swearing at the drunken crew, 
 and perceiving me, he asked gruffly what I was doing 
 there. I told him I was going across in the Teazer. 
 ' Why are you not in uniform ?' he thundered. I 
 replied that I was not appointed to do duty with the 
 troops, but was crossing over as a passenger to join 
 the Sappers. He was beginning to vent his wrath on 
 me, when there was a fresh outbreak on the part of the 
 gunners, and he rushed off to curse them and their 
 officers, and I seized the opportunity to jump into a 
 boat and to get on board ship without prolonging my 
 interview with the irate official. Johnson (brother of 
 Sir W. Johnson, a Canadian and an old schoolfellow of 
 mine), two other officers and two medical officers, 
 formed the party on board. We started about mid- 
 night, and early in the morning a half- naked black 
 native came into the saloon and announced himself as 
 the skipper ! On shore he would have been taken for 
 a common coolie, and we were astonished at his appear- 
 ance ; but when we came to know him better, we found 
 he was not a bad fellow at all, a capable officer, and 
 kept a good and liberal table. 
 
 A few days after we left the anchorage cholera 
 appeared an board. We lost many of the crew, some 
 of the artillerymen, and several of the Eurasian clerks. 
 Our first mate, a very powerful Highlander in the 
 prime of life, had been on deck nearly forty-eight hours, 
 drenched to the skin the whole time, for we were 
 caught in a cyclone as well, and, being fagged out,
 
 60 REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 asked permission to go to his berth, which was at once 
 granted. But the poor fellow never left it alive, as he 
 died of cholera before daybreak and was buried at sea. 
 No sooner had we shaken off the epidemic and got rid 
 of the cyclone than a terrific storm overtook us off the 
 Andamans, and some seven or eight of the Horse 
 Artillery horses, worth 700 rupees each, were knocked 
 about the decks, where they had been picketed, with- 
 out even a box to hold them, and were so damaged 
 that we had to shoot three and throw them overboard. 
 The others were useless for army purposes, and were 
 sold off as ' casters ' shortly afterwards. Whoever 
 shipped those valuable horses ought to have been 
 severely punished. The monsoon was well on, and 
 any fool ought to have known the weather we must 
 encounter in crossing the bay, yet not a horse-box had 
 been provided. 
 
 It was a most unfortunate voyage altogether. The 
 day we entered the mouth of the Rangoon branch of 
 the great Irrawadie River, the stream was running like 
 a sluice, the periodical freshes being well on, and just 
 at dark there was a great hubbub : the gunners had 
 broken into the ship's stores, and were very drunk and 
 riotous. We had to go down armed with handspikes, 
 and to knock down and put in irons the greater part of 
 the men. Whilst this tumult was going on below, a 
 cry arose, ' Man overboard !' The night was as dark 
 as pitch ; the man was borne swiftly past by the cur- 
 rent, uttering the most heartrending cries for help — 
 these in a few minutes became fainter and fainter, and 
 at last ceased. Boats had been lowered as quickly as 
 possible, but the crew consisted of Lascars only, and
 
 MEN OVERBOARD 61 
 
 in the absence of Europeans, who were all below 
 quelling the mutiny, there was some delay in getting 
 the boats away. A quarter of an hour after the first 
 cry there was another : a second gunner, very drunk, 
 jumped overboard to save his comrade, whose cries 
 had ceased fully ten minutes before. There were no 
 more boats to launch, and his cries also ceased. The 
 boats got back with great difficulty, owing to the swift- 
 ness of the current, after searching about for two 
 hours, but not a sign of either man had been seen. 
 The river swarmed with sharks and alligators, and we 
 all thought that if the men had not been drowned, 
 they had been carried out to sea and devoured. No 
 one got to sleep that night till the small hours, and at 
 daylight, when I appeared on deck, I found the anchor 
 being weighed. I asked the captain if he did not 
 mean to have another search for the men by daylight ; 
 but he pointed to the stream, which was racing past us, 
 and against which our two anchors could hardly hold, 
 adding, ' What is the use ? The men must have been 
 drowned or devoured long ago ; but if you like to take 
 a party of gunners — I can't spare any of the Lascars 
 -you can have a boat, and I'll wait a couple of hours 
 for you.' 
 
 Just then Charlie Johnson, my old schoolfellow, ap- 
 peared. I asked him if he would come ; he replied, ' Cer- 
 tainly ;' we got hold of four of the best and most sober 
 of the artillerymen, and set out on our apparently hope- 
 less task. We had gone about a mile, skirting the eastern 
 shore, when we saw a sampan, manned by Chinamen, 
 coming towards us, and bringing with them the first of 
 the two men who had gone overboard. A junk was
 
 62 REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 anchored about two miles below us, and the crew, 
 hearing cries, nobly put out in a boat, and were just in 
 time to save the crunner. He, ungrateful brute! was 
 not quite sober even then, and cursed us and his 
 rescuers most impartially. Telling the Celestials to 
 take him to the Teazer, we pulled towards the right 
 bank, with the expectation of finding the body of the 
 second man. 
 
 We had gone probably three miles, when a human 
 being rose out of the water close to the bank, as red 
 as a lobster. It was the second man. The tide had 
 taken him along and had cast him ashore, but he was so 
 punished by mosquitoes that he had gone back and laid 
 down in the water to avoid them. He was a wretched- 
 looking object when we picked him up. I had taken a 
 flask containing some brandy. I offered it to him, and 
 a good nip considerably revived him. He was naked 
 as on the day he was born ; but he tied the turban off 
 my hat round his loins like a nigger, and my coat 
 afforded his shivering body some warmth, and I told 
 him to take an oar and pull for his life. We got back to 
 the vessel, and found the skipper in rather a temper 
 at being detained so long, but when he saw the man 
 and heard our explanation he was pacified. Although 
 both these men escaped death for a time in a marvellous 
 manner, I heard that they died shortly afterwards of 
 fever, brought on by intemperance and exposure.
 
 [ 6., ] 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 BURMA FORTY YEARS AGO. 
 
 Rangoon in 1853 — Voyage up the Irrawadie— Prome— Famine — 
 Sad sights — Death of Maddigan and Latter — Cruelty of Burmese 
 — Construct a stockade — Officers, gallant and otherwise — 
 Carpet-knights on service — Burmese tactics— Ramghur Irregular 
 Cavalry — Dacoits — A girl outraged and murdered — Lord 
 Dalhousie — Gallantry of Engineer officers — Loot — Bengal 
 troops compared with those of Madras — Red-tape in Madras — 
 The sappers — Am transferred to the Engineer department — A 
 boxing-match — A British soldier hanged — Attempts to proselytize 
 sepoys — Injudicious officers. 
 
 Rangoon in 1853 was about as filthy a place as can 
 well be imagined. The English had held it for about 
 a year, but very little had then been done to improve it. 
 Soon after my arrival I had been dining on board a 
 vessel in the river, and on returning to shore about 
 10 p.m., I found a Chinaman fishing in a drain which 
 had lately been dug. It was a bright moonlight night, 
 and I watched his proceedings, wondering what he 
 was trying to catch. To my surprise, I saw him haul 
 up bandicoots (huge foul-feeding gutter rats), one after 
 another, knock them on the head, and string them, 
 much as a fisherman might do fish. I asked him what 
 he was going to do with them. He replied he would 
 make them into pies, and sell them next day, adding,
 
 64 REMINISCENCES OE INDIA 
 
 ' They very good eating ' ; but I'll be bound he 
 neither partook of them himself nor would he inform 
 his customers of what the pies were made. The 
 Chinese and Burmese are omnivorous ; but although 
 they will eat even the carcase of a pony that has died 
 of glanders, or putrid elephant's flesh, they draw the 
 line at these gutter rats. But there is a rodent very 
 similar in appearance, called the bamboo rat, which is 
 a pure vegetarian, and I believe is very good eating. 
 
 Rangoon is now one of the finest cities in the East ; 
 the streets are broad, and laid out at right angles 
 with one another, and planted with trees. This was 
 commenced in 1858, whilst I was officiating as Execu- 
 tive Engineer. Knowing nothing of botany, I had 
 still kept my eyes open, and seen natives plant various 
 trees from cuttings, etc., so had an idea how it ought 
 to be done. The Forest Department official was absent 
 on one of his inspecting tours, but his wife, who really 
 knew as much of the subject as I did, and no more, 
 and had nothing to say to our department, used to 
 inundate me with letters, suggesting that such a tree, 
 or some other — all with long Latin names ending in 
 grandiflora — should be planted in one street, and 
 another grandiflora in the next, and so on, until the 
 correspondence became a nuisance. I was then living 
 with an Engineer officer, and showed him the lady's 
 letters. ' Why,' said he, ' she knows nothing of what 
 she is writing about. Wait a bit, and we will pay her 
 off in her own coin.' So we concocted fearful words, 
 all ending in grandiflora* saying that, although such 
 and such a tree as she proposed would doubtless do 
 when facing east or west, it would die if planted
 
 RANGOON 65 
 
 north or south, as the case might be ; but — here we 
 used fearful words, the like of which had never been 
 heard of by botanists, but which sounded grand — would 
 answer better. For every letter containing a dozen 
 learned names, we, in my name, sent her twenty-four, 
 until she shut up, and told people she had no idea I 
 was so well up in botany. 
 
 My stay in Rangoon was very short, for the head- 
 quarters of the sappers and miners were at Prome, so 
 I embarked on a steamer belonging to the Irrawadie 
 flotilla, which also towed up a huge flat. We had to 
 pay the skipper 8 rupees a day for table expenses, 
 and it was an extraordinary fact that our progress 
 would be in the inverse ratio to the number of 
 passengers on board. The general excuse was the 
 heavy fogs, but one day, when it was quite bright, and 
 there were no signs of our moving, one of us asked 
 the cause of the delay. ' Oh, I am waiting to see if 
 the fog will get up,' replied the commander. 
 
 A trip up the Irrawadie is always pleasant, and ours 
 would have been very enjoyable had it not been for 
 the multitude of the mosquitoes and the virulence and 
 persistency of their attacks. In the Panlong Creek 
 they were in tens of thousands ; the current was very 
 swift, and our progress very slow. The artillery horses 
 kicked, screamed, and bit at one another ; the gunners 
 swore worse than our army were said to have done in 
 Flanders. Those who had good curtains, and retired 
 inside them betimes, did not fare so badly. 
 
 Owing to the war against us, and the levy en masse 
 of the male population, very little of the country had 
 been cultivated, and the greater part of the alluvial 
 
 5
 
 66 REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 country had been left fallow. The Burmese, being an 
 improvident people, had stored up no grain for times 
 of scarcity, and a terrible famine struck the land. As 
 we steamed slowly up, the river banks in the vicinity 
 of towns and village would be lined by men, women, 
 and children, beseeching alms. We carried rice for 
 distribution, but what was the amount aboard amongst 
 so many? Hundreds of cattle could be seen, fat 
 and sleek, grazing on the deserted fields ; but the 
 rigid Buddhists would not deprive these animals of 
 their lives even to save themselves from starvation. We 
 had no such compunctions, and shot several, and no 
 sooner was life extinct than the people would rush at 
 the animal like wild beasts, tear it asunder, and devour 
 great pieces of the flesh — raw ! 
 
 The Government gave grants, and all, from the Com- 
 missioner down to the smallest drummer-boy, contri- 
 buted to a general fund to alleviate the wants of the 
 very poor. Work was provided for the able-bodied ; 
 yet it was not an uncommon occurrence to hear of the 
 bodies of men, women and children being found dead 
 of starvation round about Prome. 
 
 When the organized forces of the King retired, 
 men of influence carried on an internecine war. They 
 did not attempt to meet our men in the field, but 
 harassed our outposts, burnt towns and villages, and 
 made it as unpleasant as possible for all who had 
 submitted to us, thus rendering a settled form of 
 government and the collection of taxes impossible. 
 No man's life was worth a straw. 
 
 The Burmese, by their religion, are forbidden to 
 take life ; they will not tread upon a worm if they can
 
 CRUELTY OF THE BURMESE 67 
 
 help it, yet will butcher men, women, and children with 
 the most revolting cruelties. Whilst barracks were in 
 course of erection, the officers and men were billeted 
 in kyoungs and zyats, which were fortunately very 
 numerous in all the suburbs of the larger towns. Many 
 attempts were made to assassinate the European 
 officers, and it is a wonder there were not more victims. 
 Poor Maddigan, of the 84th, was cut to pieces in his 
 tent. Latter, the Deputy-Commissioner of Prome, one 
 of the bravest of men, was murdered by a party of men 
 dressed up as women. The Quartermaster-Sergeant 
 of the Horse Artillery, sleeping- in a tent next to mine, 
 was stabbed, and barely escaped with his life. If 
 these so-called Dacoits could pounce down upon any 
 native official appointed by us, they would tie him 
 down, bore holes through him with red-hot irons, and 
 inflict other cruelties too disgusting to mention. Once 
 we were marching between Pounday and Tapoon, 
 along a narrow path, and came upon a lot of poor 
 wretches who had been crucified, impaled, ripped open, 
 and partially burnt, all arranged in a row, their only 
 crime being a suspicion that they had given us some 
 information. As they had been dead some two days, 
 the effluvium was dreadful and the sight sickening, 
 for birds of prey had been at them, and many of our 
 men fell out and vomited. 
 
 The Burmese, individually, are plucky enough, but 
 collectively they are useless, as they are too impatient 
 to bear control or to be disciplined, and fail to support 
 one another in action. Every man fights for himself, 
 and if he gets the worst of it, runs away, believing 
 that it is better to live to fight another day.
 
 68 REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 I was in command of the Sappers on an expedition 
 into the interior. We came to a large town with a 
 strong stockade, protected on three sides by a con- 
 siderable river. The ford was pangied ; that is, it had 
 spikes of bamboo driven into its bed. The bridge 
 had been broken down in the centre. The stockade 
 was well loopholed ; a musket protruded out of each 
 opening, muzzles of cannon could be seen on the salient 
 angles, and we thought we were in for a stubborn fight. 
 The troops were ordered to seek shelter, and to line 
 the fringe of jungle along the river face ; the guns un- 
 limbered, but the orders were given not to open fire 
 until the enemy fired the first shot. The word was 
 given ' Sappers to the front to repair bridge.' So 
 whilst all my comrades, most of whom had undergone 
 the baptism of fire many a time in the Sutlej and 
 Punjaub campaigns, and were well used to being 
 fired at, were under shelter, I, poor devil ! just twenty- 
 one, having heard but a few shots fired in anger, had 
 to go on to the bridge to see what was required to 
 render it passable, and to remain there until I could 
 pronounce it passable for the troops. 
 
 The muskets out of the loopholes swayed to and 
 fro, looking as if they covered me every movement, 
 yet not a shot was fired. The tension was almost 
 more than I could bear. But for the disgrace of the 
 thing, I verily believe I should have fairly cut and 
 run. I should have preferred if the enemy had opened 
 fire ; I could have then retaliated, for I was well armed ; 
 but to stand there looking down those barrels, and 
 expecting every moment to be potted, was not pleasant. 
 The Sappers soon cut down some trees ; we repaired
 
 WE CAPTURE A FORT 69 
 
 the gap, and at last I was able to roar out that the 
 bridge was passable, only too pleased to take a part in 
 the rush that took place, in preference to remaining an 
 idle spectator. We made a dash at the stockade, and 
 were clambering over the walls, when someone called 
 out that the place was undermined, and a momentary- 
 pause took place ; but the hesitation only lasted for a 
 second, and the next we were scrambling over and 
 jumping into the stockade, wondering why the enemy 
 did not fire or resist, to find that the place was deserted ! 
 There was not a living creature in. The muskets and 
 cannon were dummies, slung by canes from the inside, 
 and, as every breath of air swayed them to and fro, it 
 gave them an appearance of being pointed at us. 
 After it was all over, how I was chaffed ! 
 
 It was the worst quarter of an hour I ever spent in 
 my life. I have often been in far greater danger since, 
 as on that occasion I was as safe as if I had been in 
 bed ; yet, as anticipation is far worse than reality, I 
 found that it was not pleasant to stand inactive within 
 fifty yards of a row of muskets, believing them to be 
 loaded, and to be in the hands of the enemy. Whilst 
 in action you have no time to think, and you are 
 animated by a spirit of destruction. Passive inaction 
 is very different ; in the one case you do not think of 
 danger, and in the other you do. 
 
 After the occupation of this place I was ordered to 
 demolish the old stockade and to construct a new one 
 on more scientific principles at a turn of the river, so 
 as to command the reaches on either side and pre- 
 vent Burmese war-boats from ascending or descending. 
 Whilst constructing this defensive post there used to
 
 7o REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 be a most abominable smell, which we put down to 
 the natives using the ditch for latrines ; no filth was 
 visible, but the stench continued. I had left a 
 splendid tree, which afforded a grateful shade, in- 
 side the stockade. In a storm a branch of this tree, 
 covered with flowers, was blown down, and the 
 odour from its blossoms was most overpowering, so 
 it was condemned and hewn down ; but a small 
 tamarind-tree on the opposite side of the river was 
 spared, as it was not in our way, and the sepoys 
 were very fond of its astringent fruit. About a year 
 and a half afterwards I again visited the locality (I 
 was then surveying for a line of road between Prome 
 and Rangoon, which has since been adopted for the 
 railroad). I found no stockade on the original site, but 
 half a mile inland, where it was of very little use, and 
 badly constructed. On visiting the officer in com- 
 mand I asked why the stockade had been moved 
 to its present useless site. ' You are a nice fellow to 
 construct a fort !' he replied ; ' you left a tree on the 
 further bank of the river, up which the Burmese used 
 to climb at night and fire down upon us, so we moved 
 the stockade.' ' Would it not have been easier to cut 
 down the tree ?' I asked. ' By Jove !' replied my 
 friend, slapping his thigh, ' we never thought of 
 that.' 
 
 Burma was considered very sickly in 1852-53. The 
 change from a hot, dry climate to a damp one affected 
 very many of the senior officers ; commands frequently 
 fell vacant and had to be filled up. One of the finest 
 fellows in Prome was Cotton, of the 67th Bengal 
 Native Infantry, who so greatly distinguished himself
 
 A COWARDLY OFFICER 71 
 
 afterwards in the Mutiny. When Armstrong, who 
 commanded the 4th Sikhs, was so severely wounded 
 in the final attack on Mea Toon's stronghold, and had 
 to leave on sick certificate, Cotton ought to have got 
 the temporary command. But one of another corps, 
 who had the reputation of being a drill-sergeant sort 
 of officer, was preferred, and was put in as officiating. 
 He was ordered with the gallant Sikhs into the in- 
 terior, and told to establish stations and to harass the 
 Burmese whenever he heard of any of them collecting- 
 together. M., of the 2nd Bengal Fusiliers, a strong, 
 plucky fellow, accompanied the regiment. Somehow 
 he doubted the personal courage of his Commandant, 
 and worked on his nerves by telling him frightful 
 tales of Burmese cruelty and pluck, warning him to 
 beware of every bush in a jungle, as Burmese sharp- 
 shooters lurked there and picked off the commanding 
 officers. They reached Tapoon, and only a few shots 
 had been fired at them ; this M. accounted for by 
 saying the whole Burmese force was concentrated in 
 the teak forest between that place and Pounday. The 
 wretched martinet, rather than encounter this force 
 (which existed in M.'s imagination alone), pretended 
 to commit suicide, and when the troops fell in next 
 morning to move on, he was found in his bed covered 
 with blood. He had stabbed himself harmlessly in 
 many places with his penknife, so the second in 
 command assumed his place, and sent him back sick 
 to Prome. A court of inquiry was held, and he was 
 directed to send in his papers. 
 
 During the first attack on Mea Toon, which was 
 a failure, a certain Major was in command of the
 
 72 REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 troops ; he had been private secretary to a Lieutenant- 
 Governor for many years, and had forgotten his drill. 
 A party of blue-jackets was to accompany the force, 
 under command of a distinguished naval officer. 
 ' Do you or I take command ?' asked the gallant 
 sailor. ' You, by all means !' said the soldier. ' Then, 
 follow me !' said the sailor, and off he dashed, 
 followed by his men. He fell into an ambuscade, was 
 shot down with many of his men, but was carried off 
 the field by the survivors. The troops fell into con- 
 fusion, and would, I believe, have been annihilated 
 had not M., of the 67th, taken command and covered 
 the retreat with the rifle company of his regiment. 
 Young Boileau behaved gallantly, but was killed with 
 two other officers in the second attack. 
 
 The second Burmese War opened the eyes of the 
 authorities to the difference between ornamental and 
 practical soldiers. Great things were expected of two 
 or three of the Madras officers who had written learned 
 books on the art of war, and were the pets of the 
 ladies in the drawing and ball rooms. These men 
 were gallant enough and theoretically good men, but 
 they seldom braved the inclemency of the climate, and 
 when called upon to fight for their country they 
 succumbed at once to the heat, and were struck down 
 by the sun. To qualify himself for service, a man 
 from his entrance should accustom himself to the 
 sun, and to brave the hardships attendant on a 
 campaign, which comes easiest to those fond of wild 
 sport. Doubtless many die, but the fittest survive ; 
 and our most successful Generals have always pre- 
 ferred sportsmen to carpet knights as leaders of men.
 
 A BRUSH WITH THE BURMESE 73 
 
 Moreover, in following wild beasts, men get accus- 
 tomed to danger, learn to act promptly, and have their 
 wits about them. They acquire a quick eye, and in 
 moments of peril do not lose their heads. If they 
 have hunted with their men they learn to know them, 
 and the soldiers learn to know and have confidence in 
 their officers. 
 
 The Burmese seldom attacked us by day ; when 
 moving through vast prairies, they once or twice set 
 the long grass on fire, but we too burnt in our turn, 
 and cleared spaces to which we could retire until the 
 conflagration had exhausted itself, when we resumed 
 our march. Twice these flames came rather un- 
 pleasantly close, and we got somewhat scorched. 
 
 But on one occasion some eight or nine Burmese 
 who had lain in ambush could not resist firing into our 
 column, which was marching along quite unconscious 
 of danger. After blazing into us, they apparently lost 
 their senses, for they attempted to escape by running 
 across some dry paddy-fields towards the forest 
 beyond. Some dozen sowars of the Ramghur batta- 
 lion were after them at once. The paddy-fields in 
 Burma in the dry season are as slippery as ice, and as 
 full of cracks as the cotton soil of India, and anything 
 but pleasant to ride over. But the Pathans are 
 reckless on horseback, and went full pelt after the 
 Burmese ; a few fell, but the rest overtook the enemy 
 and speared them one by one. One Burman, seeing 
 escape impossible, pulled up ; he had loaded his gun 
 as he ran, and, facing round, waited for his adversary. 
 The sowar did not deviate an inch, but rode as 
 straight as a dart. It was a toss-up which would
 
 74 REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 conquer, but the Burman had the advantage. When 
 the horse was within five or six paces, the Mongolian 
 levelled his gun and fired. We saw a bit of the 
 sowar's turban fly off, and the next moment the 
 Buddhist lay dead, with a spear-thrust through him. 
 These fellows received a well-merited cheer on their 
 return. Several of our men had been hit by the 
 discharge, for the enemy fired at a distance of some 
 twenty paces off; these were soon attended to, and 
 we continued our advance, taking greater precautions 
 in future. In all these expeditions the Sappers were 
 hard worked. They marched in heavy marching 
 order, carrying their entrenching tools in addition to 
 their weapons, and it was a constant cry of ' Sappers 
 to the front !' to clear the road of trees felled across it 
 to retard our progress, or natural obstructions impas- 
 sable for artillery. We had a couple of guns of the 
 Madras Horse Artillery with us. 
 
 Going from Rangoon to Prome by steamer, we had 
 some adventures on the way. About 4 p.m. we 
 reached a considerable town, Meannoung, afterwards 
 the headquarters of the Pegu Light Infantry, and saw 
 some men attempting to crucify another in the veranda 
 of a house alongside the river. The steamer was run 
 into the bank and moored ; a few of us jumped on 
 shore and fired a shot or two, and released the man, 
 and then we rushed after the would-be murderers. I 
 don't think we had a spare cartridge between us. 
 Presently we came upon a pagoda, with a parapet 
 built round it and full of armed men, and we prudently 
 retired ; but why the Burmese did not sally forth and 
 cut us to pieces I do not know. Probably they
 
 MOUNG GOUNG GYE 75 
 
 thought we had a force at our backs. Not satisfied 
 with our demonstration, the skipper must needs 
 remove several valuable bells, which was contrary to 
 orders. This was reported to the Commissioner, and 
 he was removed from the command of his vessel. 
 
 Further on, near Ka-in-gain, or some such name — 
 a large town where we had a detachment — we found 
 Moung Goung Gye in force ; he was burning all the 
 villages, and had such a large force with him that the 
 few troops we had there were almost useless. As we 
 had a detachment of Horse Artillery on board, we 
 were asked to co-operate, and we blazed into the 
 jungles right and left, the Dacoits firing at us from 
 the elephant grass. Our commander and some three 
 of us stood on the paddle-boxes, and fired shot after 
 shot with arms of precision at the rebels, but I only 
 saw one man hit. We found their fleet, consisting of 
 several hundred boats, destroyed some, and sent the 
 rest adrift ; but we heard afterwards that the Burmese 
 had swum off and rescued the greater part Some of 
 the poonghie houses were full of the insurgents, and 
 the artillerymen made some very pretty practice, and 
 sent a shell or two into them. The people inside 
 rushed out like a swarm of bees, but the projectiles 
 failed to burst, and but little damage was done. Find- 
 ing the enemy too numerous to be satisfactorily dealt 
 with, our skipper received orders to go off post-haste 
 to Prome for more troops. But before the reinforce- 
 ments arrived, Goung Gye had the audacity to make a 
 night attack on our troops ; he was beaten back with 
 loss, but we lost a few men. Before the new force 
 could act, the rebels had disappeared like so many
 
 76 REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 will-o'-the-wisps, only to reappear miles and miles 
 away. 
 
 Directly Latter heard our news he got into a loung 
 (a fast Burmese boat), and went off to the scene of the 
 disturbance. On arriving at Meannoung he sent for 
 the myo-oke, or head-man. He swaggered up, accom- 
 panied by a numerous retinue of armed men, and 
 stood erect, instead of squatting down in accordance 
 with Burmese customs ; for no inferior must stand 
 before a superior, but grovel down as a sign of 
 humility. Latter had only three or four peons with 
 him ; he did not hesitate a second, but seized his im- 
 pertinent subordinate, tied him up to a post of the 
 veranda, and gave him fifty lashes ; the men who had 
 accompanied their chief, and had doubtless intended 
 to brave the Deputy-Commissioner's authority, if not 
 to murder him, went down on their knees, begged for 
 mercy, and at once came over to the side of order and 
 authority. Had Latter been a less determined man, 
 he would have been killed there and then, as the 
 people of that town, thinking our power on the wane, 
 had sided with Goung Gye. 
 
 Numerous attempts had been made to murder this 
 fearless and most able officer. He was more dreaded 
 at Ava than any other member of the Commission, 
 and a large reward was offered for his head by the 
 King of Burma. Unfortunately, his partiality for the 
 fair sex was taken advantage of. Three men were 
 sent down from Umrapoora to murder him. After 
 dining at the mess of the 4th Sikhs, he and I went 
 a part of the way together ; we then separated. He 
 went on to his own house (a kyoung), and I got on to
 
 MURDER OF LATTER 77 
 
 my pony and rode out to N amy an, five miles off, 
 which was my headquarters. It was very late ; Latter 
 had drunk as much wine as was good for him, but he 
 was perfectly sober, though doubtless a little sleepy. 
 The sentry over his quarters had orders not to inter- 
 fere with any of the fair sex visiting them. The 
 three men, dressed like women, had been waiting 
 under the poonghie house for his return. A Jew 
 named Cohen had heard that some men had come 
 down to murder Latter, and went twice to his house 
 to warn him, but found he was out, and was seeking 
 him elsewhere, when Latter returned home and at 
 once went to bed. About an hour after the three 
 disguised men went into his bedroom ; the sentry 
 heard a crash, but thought nothing of it ; then he 
 heard groans, and called out ; receiving no answer, he 
 lifted the curtain and found the Deputy-Commissioner 
 leaning on one elbow, with the blood pouring from 
 his throat. He gave the alarm, but before a medical 
 officer arrived poor Latter was dead and the murderers 
 escaped. 
 
 Every Burman carries a sharp-pointed knife, about 
 six inches long. This is used for cutting up food, or 
 for stabbing in brawls. The favourite spot for a blow, 
 and one perfectly deadly, is a downward thrust at the 
 junction of the two collar-bones ; bleeding takes place 
 internally, and the person dies of suffocation in a few 
 seconds. 
 
 I was out once shooting at Shoaydoung ; I heard a 
 girl crying, and should not have thought anything of 
 it had it not continued, so I made my way towards 
 the place, but it was some time before I could find the
 
 78 REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 means of crossing over a deep, muddy nullah. When 
 at last I came upon the remains of a bridge, I found 
 but one plank, about nine inches broad, spanning a 
 stream some hundred feet broad and about fifty feet 
 deep, a ticklish place to cross over, and I took some 
 little time in doing it. When I got across, I found a 
 poor girl, in the first bloom of womanhood, weltering 
 in her blood. The brute had probably seen me, and, 
 fearing the girl would give information which would 
 lead to his capture, had stuck his knife into the fatal 
 spot, and she was barely dead when I found her. I 
 searched for that monster everywhere, and had I come 
 upon him I think I should have shot him like a mad 
 dog. I gave information to the native judge, but the 
 culprit was never found. 
 
 The Burmese are most expert thieves. They used 
 to steal the muskets from the quarter-guards of the 
 European regiments. I was once in a very large 
 poonghie house : my bed was in one corner ; in the 
 centre, on a table, was a light, and a sentry was 
 walking up and down. The sides of the house lifted 
 up and down, and there was a veranda, surrounded 
 by a railing, three feet high, the floor being fully eight 
 feet off the ground. I awoke one night with a sense 
 of danger, and thought someone was trying to steal 
 my guns from under my cot ; I called out to the 
 sentry to bring me a light, but he said, * It is nothing, 
 sahib, only rats.' I listened for some time ; as the 
 noise was not repeated, I got out of bed, with a 
 revolver in my hand, ascertained that my gun-cases 
 were all rieht, and then went into the bath-room. 
 Whilst there I heard a crash, and rushed back, only
 
 BURMESE THIEVES 79 
 
 to find that a box, which had been on the floor at the 
 foot of the bed, had been dragged by someone 
 inserting his hand underneath the jambs ; but, as the 
 veranda was a foot lower than the main floor, the 
 box had slipped over and caused the noise. I was 
 out in a moment, but could see no one ; but, on exam- 
 ination, I found that a good English blanket, which 
 had been resting, folded up, on the lid of the box, had 
 been walked off with. 
 
 These fellows used to insert their hands inside and 
 drag out the uniforms of the sepoys, cut the buttons 
 off, and walk off with the coats. My boy was a 
 capital cook, and used to convert a number of young 
 cocks to capons. These thieves had the impudence 
 not only to steal, but to kill and pluck them, and once 
 they even cooked some a little way off. 
 
 Men pretending to sell precious stones used to go 
 about to spy out the nakedness of the land, and then 
 rob right and left. They stole horses from the artillery, 
 but would not touch our elephants, which, they said, 
 did not understand their language. Every officer in 
 Shoaydoung was robbed. 1 lived about a couple of 
 miles off. My domicile was an open zyat, and, as I 
 had a sentry and a strong guard, I did not think it 
 was possible for anyone to loot me, for the sentry 
 could see right through the house, yet I awoke one 
 morning to find that I had been cleaned out. I lost 
 my grandfather's presentation sword, my father's, and 
 my own, and property worth some seven or eight 
 hundred rupees more, and never recovered a farthing's 
 worth, nor did I get any compensation. One officer 
 thought he would catch the robbers. He ostenta-
 
 8o REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 tiously strapped down a box with chains (first filling; 
 it with stones), as if it contained valuables, and, sure 
 enough, one night two men entered his apartment 
 and made for the box. He was out of his bed in a 
 moment, and rushed at them, but, quick as he was, the 
 robbers were quicker ; as they ran out, followed closely 
 by the proprietor, they flung back with all their force 
 the massive teak door, which caught their pursuer fairly 
 in the face, and floored him. Robberies were so fre- 
 quent, and the detection of the criminals so rare, that 
 the Deputy-Commissioner told the myo-oke if he did 
 not put a stop to them he would be dismissed. Still, 
 not a night passed without some house having been 
 entered. The native magistrate, driven to despera- 
 tion, got up about midnight, and, with a couple of 
 peons, took up his position under a bridge I had 
 constructed on the new road, about two miles from 
 Shoaydoung, and lay in wait there. About 4 a.m. 
 the party heard voices, and saw several men coming 
 towards them ; when quite close they stepped out and 
 shot a couple dead, who, by the merest chance, turned 
 out to be noted robbers, with stolen goods on them. 
 The gang, thinking they had been betrayed, dispersed, 
 and for some time there were no more thefts in that 
 neighbourhood. It was lucky for the official that he 
 shot the right people ; they might have been innocent 
 travellers. 
 
 So clever and audacious were the thieves at 
 Thayetmyo, that a cordon of sentries had to be 
 formed round the station at dark. One nig-fit some- 
 one ran amuck ; the sentry, one of the 8th Irregular 
 Cavalry, challenged, but as the individual still rushed
 
 A FATAL MISTAKE 81 
 
 on, he gave him two cuts that laid open each shoulder 
 so that the lungs could be seen, and to his horror found 
 he had cut down a man of the 2nd Bengal Fusiliers. 
 Great was his grief, for the Europeans and sowars 
 were the best of friends, at finding what he had done ; 
 but the whole native regiment subscribed handsomely, 
 and, wonderful to relate, the fusilier partially recovered 
 and was pensioned. 
 
 The Ramghurs, who had done good service, were 
 very badly treated. When they returned to India, 
 their horses — their own property — were sold by 
 auction, and as there was no demand for them, they 
 realized only a few rupees each. I bought three. For 
 one I gave 5 rupees ; she was a perfectly black mare, 
 with good points and quite young. For a gray I gave 
 1 rupee, and for a roan 2 rupees. The mare I sold 
 for 50 rupees within a few days. I gave away the 
 gray, but the roan I kept, and rode him out twenty- 
 six miles the next day. I used him for a year, and 
 was then offered 100 rupees for him ; but I gave him 
 to an officer of our 19th, with whom I was living at 
 that time in Rangoon, and he became afterwards the 
 property of Dr. B. 
 
 This poor fellow met with a sad death. He was 
 going out to dine, and his young wife, being very near 
 her confinement, stayed at home. He asked her to 
 leave out a couple of pills for him to take on his 
 return. ' But where shall I find them ?' asked the 
 poor girl, who had not been married a year. ' In my 
 looking-glass drawer,' he replied. So she put out the 
 first two pills she saw : B. swallowed them and died. 
 He had quite forgotten that in that drawer he had put 
 
 6
 
 82 REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 some strychnine pills which he had prepared for killing 
 pariah dogs. 
 
 The Ramghurs were replaced by the 8th Bengal 
 Irregular Cavalry, commanded by R., who so distin- 
 guished himself at the taking of Mooltan. They were 
 a very fine set of men, and were as much pampered as 
 the Ramghurs had been the reverse, nor had they the 
 same chances of distinguishing themselves as the corps 
 they relieved. They got quite out of the Governor- 
 General's good books by refusing to serve longer in 
 his pet province when their term of service had 
 expired, and were ordered to march back to Bengal 
 by the Tongoop road before it had been half com- 
 pleted. 
 
 Lord Dalhousie, perhaps the ablest man who ever 
 ruled India, could not bear anyone to differ in opinion 
 with him. When he visited Prome, he asked our 
 chaplain what he could do for him. ' Take me out 
 of this province, your lordship,' incautiously replied 
 the divine. This angered his lordship, and he would 
 not speak to the chaplain again. He was very fond of 
 Major Fraser, R.E., our chief engineer, and with good 
 reason, for a finer fellow never lived. Old as he was, 
 he looked older, owing to a long white beard which he 
 wore, yet he led the assault on the White House 
 picket at the taking of Rangoon, when the assaulting 
 party of the 51st temporarily hesitated, owing to the 
 death of their leader. He and some six engineers 
 rushed forward, and, calling on the Madras Sappers to 
 follow them, erected the ladders, and took the place 
 by escalade before the other troops had recovered from 
 the confusion into which they had fallen. I remember
 
 BURMESE BELLS 83 
 
 his saying, at mess, he should have considered it an 
 insult had anyone seized him by his long beard, but 
 that when Lord Dalhousie had done so, in a late inter- 
 view, he had felt anything but offended. He was a 
 dear old man ; he came to the front during the Mutiny, 
 and died Acting Lieutenant-Governor of the North- 
 West Provinces, a post never before or since held by 
 a military man. 
 
 I don't know how it is, but most of the old Indian 
 Engineers were fine fellows. Cunningham, who suc- 
 ceeded Fraser, was almost as much liked as his pre- 
 decessor. W. Trevor ought to have had the Victoria 
 Cross for Burma, only it had not then been established, 
 but he afterwards got it for Bhootan. All the engi- 
 neers were well to the front in every fight. Opposite 
 to Prome, the hills are seven or eight hundred feet 
 high. On one there were several superb bells, one of 
 which Sir J. C, our leader, greatly admired ; but the 
 looting of them had been forbidden by the Commis- 
 sioner, as he wished to conciliate the people. One 
 engineer — I forget his name for the moment — who 
 also had an eye on that bell, took a company of 
 Sappers with him in broad daylight, brought the bell 
 down, packed it up and sent it off before anything had 
 been said on the subject, because everybody thought 
 it had been taken by the General, and disposed of it, 
 I heard, for ^"800. The General and Phayre were 
 furious when they heard of it, but the culprit was 
 away, and they could not bring it home to him. For 
 cool audacity, that beat most things. 
 
 The Burmese, when they build their pagodas, bury 
 a lot of images of Gaudama just underneath the bell
 
 84 REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 part. In building barracks, we had to remove very- 
 many pagodas, and many Engineer and Sapper officers 
 made good hauls ; but I, who had the demolishing of 
 perhaps more pagodas than any man of my time, had 
 very bad luck, or the Sappers were too sharp for me, 
 for although I got thousands of small images of thin 
 veneered silver and lead, I only got one of gold, which 
 my agents disposed of for, I think, 300 rupees. 
 
 With the exception of the Sappers and Horse 
 Artillery, the force on the Irrawadie consisted of 
 Bengal troops. There has always been a great deal 
 of jealousy between the troops of the two Presidencies. 
 In the earlier part of the century the greater part of 
 the fighting fell to the coast army, but for very many 
 years, except during occasional fighting in petty out- 
 breaks within the limits of the Presidency, and now 
 and then in China, the Madras Army saw little or no 
 service. We played at soldiers. There was too much 
 red-tape. A junior officer ran the risk of being put 
 under arrest if he differed from his senior, even on 
 a matter of weather. I was once reprimanded for 
 appearing at mess with my neckerchief tied once 
 instead of twice round the neck, although such became 
 the universal custom very shortly afterwards. Just 
 after the Crimean war, the rules regarding infantry 
 officers wearing moustaches were relaxed ; before that 
 only the Cavalry and Horse Artillery were entitled to 
 them. One day a divisional order was circulated that 
 it had been brought to the notice of the General 
 that some officers had permitted those under them to 
 grow the objectionable hirsute ornament, which was 
 contrary to General Order so-and-so, and directing a
 
 BIG BENGALIES AND SMALL MADRASSIES 85 
 
 discontinuation of the practice at once. So we had 
 all to shave. But a fortnight afterwards the same 
 General issued an order that, having vindicated his 
 authority in a divisional order, he was now graciously 
 pleased to cancel the same, and that in future mous- 
 taches might be cultivated. At mess we were as 
 strictly under discipline as on parade. 
 
 The Hindoostani we learned was Dekhani- — very 
 different from the pure Oordoo of the Bengalies — who 
 spoke the language far better than we did, because 
 they were forced to learn it thoroughly, whilst in 
 Madras every other native spoke or understood 
 English. In time, as the Bengal Presidency increased, 
 the Bengalese troops vacated several Southern stations, 
 and Madrassies were sent to replace them. The con- 
 trast between the Poorbiahs and the short Madras men 
 was great. The former were a tall, handsome, broad- 
 shouldered race, and possessed of a martial bearing. 
 Our men looked pigmies beside them. The Bengal 
 troops were well dressed and accoutred ; our men were 
 the very reverse, and with their ridiculous headdress 
 were the laughing-stock of the officers of the greater 
 Presidency. The Madras officers, jealous of the better 
 appearance of the Oude men, sought to recruit them 
 too, but only succeeded to a very limited extent ; and 
 the few men we had in the Madras regiments from the 
 other Presidency were invariably the best men, and 
 made the best native officers. But the Oude men did 
 not care to go so far South, so, as they could not be 
 got in sufficient numbers, the commanding officers 
 looked about them ; those who had been stationed in 
 the Northern Division noticed that the Talenga men
 
 86 REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 were taller, and if dressed in uniform would look 
 better on parade than the Southern Division men, who 
 were short, but came of the fighting castes of Southern 
 India. 
 
 It was acknowledged by all Generals that the Madras 
 Sappers and Miners were second to no troops in India ; 
 they had done splendid service from Afghan down- 
 wards, and from Abyssinia and Persia to China ; they 
 were of the pure Southern fighting castes. But the 
 men of the Northern Division were a long-legged 
 race, without fighting traditions, and more fitted to 
 carry palanquins and to be fishermen than soldiers ; 
 but because they looked better on parade, they were 
 enlisted freely, and the fighting castes left out. To 
 such an extent had this mania spread that the only 
 reliable troops we possessed, viz., the Sappers and 
 Miners, were very nearly being ruined ; their head- 
 quarters were moved from Merkara to Dowlaish- 
 warum, and the long-legged Talenga enlisted. But 
 the new element was not found equal to the old. 
 Time proved the uselessness of the new recruits, and 
 before very much harm had been done the Sappers 
 were removed back to Mysore, and the old class of 
 men re-enlisted. To show what these sturdy little 
 fellows could do, when the first Chinese war broke out 
 two companies of Sappers marched from Merkara to 
 Madras, some three hundred miles, in a week, eoimr 
 almost day and night. In Burma some of the com- 
 panies suffered terribly. My own company landed 
 103 strong, and I think only three of the originals 
 went back alive. 
 
 In the final advances on Mea Toon, a nullah had
 
 LIFE IN PROME 87 
 
 to be crossed, and rafts were being constructed by the 
 Sappers ; but the fire from the opposite side was so 
 heavy that the European Sapper sergeant discontinued 
 the work. Jemadar Appiah stepped to the front, 
 lantern in hand, tested each knot, and, though exposed 
 to the heaviest fire, did not desist till the raft was 
 ready, and then stepped on shore and reported all 
 complete. 
 
 In 1853 we, the few Madrassies, amidst a great 
 number of Bengalies, had to stand a good deal of chaff 
 from our more fortunate brethren ; but I liked the 
 Bengal officers and men very much. It is true that 
 the discipline in the ranks was laxer than ours, but on 
 service they had always fought well, though there was 
 a little too much caste about the men. Their messes, 
 too, far inferior to ours in organization, kit, plate, etc., 
 were pleasanter than ours, and more like well-regulated 
 clubs, free from undue restraint. All met on equality, 
 and I never saw but once, and that only when the 
 necessity arose, an officer rebuke another at the mess 
 table. This was a very agreeable change from the 
 stiff routine of similar establishments in Madras. 
 
 Our mess in Prome consisted of the Engineers, 
 Sappers, and staff officers, and a very jolly time we 
 had of it. The Bengal and Madras Artillery had a 
 mess to themselves, but on service the Artillery and 
 Sappers messed together, unless invited to become 
 honorary members of the mess of some regiment, 
 which was generally the case. 
 
 On various expeditions into the interior, I had 
 helped to map out the country. I passed in survey- 
 ing, civil and military engineering, and was offered an
 
 88 REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 appointment by Sir Arthur Phayre in the Department 
 of Public Works. For some years I carried on the 
 duties of a sapper and also of a civil engineer, and as 
 my duties led me into remote districts, and I had also 
 to survey from Prome to Rangoon, I began to dis- 
 cover the whereabouts of game, whence my career as 
 a sportsman may be said to have commenced. I was 
 always fond of sport. My experience as a child may 
 have strengthened a natural inclination that way, and 
 living as I did often for months and months together 
 in the jungles, blessed with youth, a good constitution, 
 and almost total independence, I lost no opportunities 
 of hunting the wild beasts of the East. 
 
 I got a bad attack of fever marching down to 
 Rangoon, and had to go to Moulmein for a change. 
 The scenery round that town is lovely, and I enjoyed 
 my month's stay there greatly. At the mess one night, 
 P., of the 30th — a fine, well-grown young fellow — 
 began to lay down the law on boxing, maintaining that 
 no small man had a chance against a bigger one in 
 boxing. 'Why, P.,' said I, 'come and breakfast 
 with O. and myself to-morrow, and I'll bring a man 
 of the 2nd Bengal Fusiliers, much shorter than your- 
 self, who will lick you into a cocked hat in half an 
 hour.' I asked Paddy C. to come over ; the room 
 was cleared, the gloves put on, but poor P. was 
 ' nowhere.' All the officers of the 1st and 2nd Fusiliers 
 were expert boxers, and by constant practice had be- 
 come adepts at the noble art of self-defence. In a few 
 minutes C. had P.'s head in chancery, and O. and I 
 cried with laughter at the unequal combat, which was 
 conducted on both sides with the greatest good temper.
 
 A SAD CASE 89 
 
 After that I never heard P. brag again. One day two 
 tigers strayed into the hills inside the town, and after 
 an exciting chase we accounted for them both. 
 
 One of the saddest of my reminiscences of Burma 
 is one connected with the execution of a soldier of 
 H.M.'s 29th Regiment by hanging. The man un- 
 doubtedly deserved death ; he had deliberately stabbed 
 a comrade. They had been drinking, and then played 
 cards. The man lost, left the table, procured a knife, 
 and returned and killed his late opponent. 
 
 This occurred in 1857, about the time the great 
 Mutiny commenced. He was tried and sentenced to 
 death by a general court-martial. For some reason 
 or another the proceedings went backwards and for- 
 wards between Calcutta and the headquarters of his 
 regiment, then at Thayetmyo. Before the sentence 
 was confirmed fully a year had elapsed, during which 
 the man had lingered in gaol. During the interval 
 India was convulsed, and our power all but paralyzed 
 by the Mutiny. We required the services of every 
 available white man, and the culprit, then a reformed 
 character, who had heartily repented him of his crime, 
 begged to be sent to the front to meet a soldier's 
 death, fighting for his country, and not to be hanged 
 like a dog. The man he had stabbed was dead, and 
 could not be brought to life again. The chaplain and 
 all his officers interceded in his behalf, but one day 
 the order came for his execution. The first difficulty 
 was to erect a scaffold. Directly the Burmese car- 
 penters found out what it was for they struck work ; 
 the Chinese also refused. Sir T. W., the executive 
 engineer, had the greatest difficulty in getting the job
 
 9 o REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 finished in time for the carrying out of the sentence 
 of the law. He had to engage Indians and Europeans 
 of the Artillery at exorbitant rates, and then the 
 scaffold was not completed till 6 a.m. A hollow 
 square was formed ; the 29th faced the gibbet, the 
 two sides being formed by the Artillery, Sappers, and 
 Native Infantry. The condemned man, a strong, 
 sturdy fellow in the prime of life, appeared with his 
 hands tied in front of him ; his coffin was borne just 
 ahead, and the chaplain accompanied him, reading the 
 prayers for the dead. The man showed neither fear 
 nor bravado, but bore himself as a soldier, ready to 
 meet his death. I, as a Sapper, was the closest to the 
 place of execution. He was marched round the three 
 sides of the square ; as he came in front of his own 
 regiment, several of the men and an officer fainted. 
 When he came to the scaffold, he ascended without 
 help ; he begged the sergeant of the guard to adjust 
 the rope round his neck, as he objected to being 
 touched by the native sweeper. The cap was drawn 
 over his face, the bolt withdrawn, and he fell some 
 six feet. The troops were then marched past the dead 
 body, still suspended, and all was over. I cannot help 
 thinking that, however necessary an example as a 
 deterrent to others may at times be, under the peculiar 
 circumstances of the case his life might have been 
 spared, and his wish to die for his country, fighting 
 against the mutineers, been gratified. 
 
 In the days when the East India Company had 
 unlimited sway over India, no missionaries were 
 allowed into the country ; but we are a meddlesome 
 people, and can never let well alone. Gradually the
 
 INJUDICIOUS MISSIONARIES 91 
 
 powers of the ruling body were relaxed, and mission- 
 aries admitted, but, though the greater part of them 
 had the sense not to attempt to interfere with the 
 religion of our mercenaries, still, the small end of the 
 wedge was introduced. The old officers were fighting 
 men, devoted to their profession ; the greater the dare- 
 devil, the more he was worshipped by his men. But 
 for a few years before 1857 several officers, who had 
 evidently mistaken their vocation, took to preaching, 
 not only to the outside natives, but to their men, and 
 a few were injudicious enough to show favour and 
 affection to a pervert, or convert, whichever you 
 please to style the renegade from the religion of his 
 fathers. This unsettled the minds of the high-caste 
 Brahmin and Mussulman sepoys, and led them to 
 believe anything said to our detriment. Had the 
 proselytizing officers been publicly dismissed, as they 
 ought to have been, confidence might have been 
 restored ; but when the Enfield rifle was introduced, 
 with its greased cartridges, the men were only too 
 ready to believe anything the disaffected told them 
 about our intentions to destroy their caste. The 
 Hindoos were told the cartridges were greased with 
 the fat of cows, the Mussulmans that pig's fat was 
 being used ; the men became the dupes, and broke 
 out in rebellion. When will the subsequent horrors 
 ever be forgotten ? or how can the violation and 
 murder of so many of our countrywomen and children 
 ever be expiated ?
 
 [ 92 ] 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 BURMESE LIFE. 
 
 Failure of missionaries among the Burmese — -Their success among 
 the Karens — Matrimony in Burma — Relation of the sexes — 
 Origin of the Burmese — Their freedom from caste — Their 
 manners, customs and characteristics — A romp in the river — 
 Burmese fondness for children — Their courtship — Their priests 
 — Roman Catholic nuns — The Buddhist religion — Karens — 
 Burmese theatricals and dancing girls — The Assamese — Half- 
 breeds — The Kachens— Fires in Burma — An affray — A soldier 
 punished for doing his duty — Sir A. Phayre — ' Dismal Jemmy ' 
 — His treatment of me — A gallant Brigadier — One of another 
 kind— Anecdotes — How the two Brigadiers left Tongo — Our 
 chief engineer — Roguery of subordinates — Public works — 
 Abandonment of Namyan — Sir Trevor Wheler astonishes a 
 Burman — Gallantry of ' the Sweep ' — A mad doctor. 
 
 It is very well to attempt to convert the heathen, but 
 there is plenty of work to do among the ungodly in 
 our own country. Why invade a country like India, 
 which had religions of its own long before the dawn of 
 Christianity ? The Hindoos do worship idols, but 
 the Mussulmans don't. As for the Buddhists, their 
 religion is very similar to ours, only much older. 
 Him whom we call Christ they designate as Buddha. 
 Many of the sayings attributed to our Saviour in the 
 New Testament are but copies from the sayings of 
 Buddha, written down in Pali seven hundred years
 
 CONFLICTING CREEDS 93 
 
 before the Christian era. No one can convert 
 high-caste Brahmins, or Mussulmans, or Buddhists, 
 who understand the tenets of their own faith. Preach- 
 ing the Gospel in India only unsettles the minds of 
 the natives, and makes them doubt our good faith. 
 I remember a lamentable case in a Sikh corps. The 
 Commandant converted a man, and showed him 
 every indulgence. He was allowed a small tent to 
 himself, but not a soul in the ranks would speak to 
 him, or eat or drink with him — his life was a burden. 
 His comrades used to defile his tent, and the poor 
 fellow had to act as his own sweeper, and clear 
 out the garbage every morning. His life was a long 
 misery. Very many of these proselytizing officers 
 were no doubt sincere and consistent, but all were not 
 so. In India you cannot sneeze without its being 
 known all over the bazaar, and what must the natives 
 have thought of some of those Christians who privately 
 led impure lives ? 
 
 There was an officer of our Artillery who had a long- 
 standing feud with the principal medical officer of the 
 station ; they detested one another. One day I met 
 him at dinner at the house of a common friend, with 
 whom I was then living. After dinner, B., the officer 
 in question, said, ' D.,' addressing his host, who was as 
 thorough and as good a Christian as ever lived, ' shall 
 we read a chapter ?' Then, turning round to me, he 
 added, ' That is, if Pollok does not object.' ' Don't 
 mind me,' I replied ; 'goa-head.' B. produced a huge 
 Bible ; each page had but one or two verses of the 
 Holy Scriptures ; the rest was a commentary in very 
 small type, by somebody who evidently thought God's
 
 94 REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 word needed explanation, and that he was better 
 qualified to interpret the sayings of our Lord than 
 either He or His disciples. B. commenced, ' The 
 man who hateth his brother hath committed murder 
 in his heart.' I forget the exact words. He then 
 put down the Bible, and said, in a sanctimonious and 
 self-satisfied tone, ' Well, thank God I was never 
 guilty of that' 'Come, come, B.,' said I, 'what about 
 the late Superintendent Surgeon ? I am sure you 
 hated him enough.' ' No, no,' said B., ' I did not hate 
 him, but I must own I disliked him very much.' 
 ' Well,' said I, 'we will call that manslaughter. Go 
 on.' But somehow B.'s power of elocution failed him, 
 and after praying for the souls of regenerate sinners, 
 amongst whom I have no doubt he included me, he 
 took his departure. 
 
 Very many of the missionaries, in Burma especially, 
 were from America ; they were scarcely the class to 
 prevail with such a fastidious race as the Bhuddists 
 of that land. Many of them were of exceedingly 
 humble origin, who had tried their hands at many 
 trades in their own country, and, failing- in all, fell 
 back on teaching the acutest people on earth the 
 doctrines of a faith which they themselves scarcely 
 understood. 
 
 Whilst the missionaries amongst the Burmese all 
 but starved on their small stipends, unless they did a 
 bit of private trading, which many did, those sent to 
 convert the Karens lived in clover. These people had 
 no fixed religion, but they cherished a legend that the 
 true faith would be revealed to them through a people 
 ruled by a woman. The missionaries, knowing this,
 
 BURMESE CUSTOMS 95 
 
 claimed to have come from our Queen, and these 
 ignorant people accepted the Gospel blindly in batches 
 of fifty and more. 
 
 The missionaries no doubt have done good among 
 the Karens, but they have not had a like success 
 amongst the Burmese. At one large town, where 
 there was a large school for the education of Burmese 
 and other girls, the only abandoned females were found 
 there. The Burmese are not immaculate, but they 
 look upon it as shameful to visit any man for money ; 
 they will do so readily enough if there has been any 
 affection between them, and do not think that de- 
 grading ; but as for professional profligacy, it was 
 unknown in those days. 
 
 Matrimony is a light bond in Burma. A couple 
 who live together publicly are recognised as man 
 and wife, but the tie can always be dissolved at 
 pleasure. Marriage, as it exists among them, is a 
 matter generally of free choice, and is attended by a 
 good deal of courtship on the part of the man, and 
 coquetry on that of the girl. As long as a woman is 
 well treated, she is generally faithful ; but if she has 
 had a lover before marriage, she considers that he has 
 a prior claim on her, and will not hesitate to renew 
 relations with him, if he wishes it. In ordinary life 
 she is her husband's equal, and vastly his superior in 
 the house, for she buys and sells at pleasure, mixes in 
 all society, goes about unshackled, and leads a happy, 
 contented life. So bounteous is Mother Earth in Burma, 
 that poverty is all but unknown there ; by labouring 
 for three months a family can subsist in idleness for the 
 remaining nine. Fish is to be had in plenty, and
 
 9 6 REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 some of it — for instance, the hilsa — is even superior to 
 salmon. Many of the coarser kinds of the finny tribe 
 are converted into gnapee, a favourite dish of theirs. 
 It is composed of fish pounded up with salt, and then 
 preserved ; the odour is most offensive, and the very 
 thought of it nearly makes me feel sick. 
 
 The Burmese have no caste. They are of Tartar 
 origin, have high cheek-bones, and the broad faces, fiat 
 noses, and slanting eyes peculiar to the Mongolian race. 
 
 A Burman is not wanting in pluck ; he is generally 
 under the middle height, slightly but compactly built, 
 possessing considerable strength. He is fond of wrest- 
 ling and boxing, in which kicking is permitted, and 
 plays at football, which is also in vogue in the neigh- 
 bouring countries, and in Malaya and Siam. But by 
 nature he is indolent, and will not work unless forced 
 by necessity, and then he will labour like a slave, pro- 
 pelling a heavy boat up-stream all day. He learns to 
 smoke and to swim before he is weaned from his 
 mother's breast, and is tattooed from the waist to a 
 little below the knee as a sign of manhood. He is a 
 born gambler, and will bet his bottom rupee on a boat- 
 race, a main of cocks, or a spurt on ponies. He is a 
 daring and expert robber, fond of raids by day or night ; 
 when his evil passions are not aroused, he is kind- 
 hearted and as merry as a cricket. He is very cleanly 
 in his person, and delights in gorgeous apparel. He 
 is also affectionate to his offspring, seldom possess- 
 ing more than one, or at the most two wives, for the 
 women are jealous and do not care to share a man 
 between them. His complexion is fair for an Eastern ; 
 he shows marks of respect by sitting down unbidden,
 
 BURMESE CUSTOMS 97 
 
 instead of standing up like most Orientals. He is a 
 capital pedestrian, but will seldom walk if he can ride 
 or get a lift. Indolent and averse to all exertion as he 
 is generally, he can exert himself if he chooses. He 
 will sit up night after night, listening to one of their 
 interminable pooays, or theatrical performances. He 
 smokes incessantly, and does not object to a tot of 
 grog. Should he take service, he will freely help him- 
 self to his master's tobacco, tea or sugar, and not con- 
 sider this pilfering. 
 
 He is proud of his hair, which is very long, luxuriant, 
 and worn tied up in a knot at the top of his head, with 
 perhaps a gaudy handkerchief coiled round it in lieu of 
 the customary turban. His ears are pierced, and the 
 holes in the lobes extended until he can insert a good- 
 sized cheroot therein. Unless very poor, he con- 
 descends to wear nothing but silk putsoos, a cloth 
 which is tied round the waist, hangs down to the 
 knees, and is then drawn up tight between the thighs, 
 the end beinof inserted in the waistband behind. In 
 lieu of a coat he wears a long flowing jacket. He 
 excels as a carver of wood and in carpentering gene- 
 rally, and shows considerable architectural skill and 
 taste in the construction of his monasteries or poonghie 
 houses. He is charity itself — never accumulates wealth, 
 unless it be in the ornaments he lavishes on his wife 
 and children. If by a stroke of luck he realizes a 
 fortune, he forthwith spends it in works of charity, and 
 in building kyoungs for his priests, and zyats, or resting- 
 houses, for the weary. Along all the roads, at intervals, 
 there are small elevated sheds in which are daily 
 deposited pots of water to refresh the traveller.
 
 9 8 REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 Every lad is taught to read and write his own 
 language. Every village and town has its monastery, 
 wherein each boy is taught free of charge. School 
 commences about an hour before daybreak. Sud- 
 denly every boy commences to shout out his lessons 
 at the top of his voice, and a babel commences which, 
 to say the least of it, is startling to one unaccustomed 
 to it. I know, the first time I heard it, I thought it 
 was an attack by Dacoits, and jumped out of bed and 
 quickly dressed to repel the marauders. With the 
 exception of the very poor, who bury their dead 
 because they cannot afford to cremate them, the 
 Burman burns his, and has a grand ceremony over the 
 event. When a member of a family dies, professional 
 women howl the death-chant over him or her, the 
 coffin is constructed in the street outside the house, 
 and a pyre is prepared as near as possible ; the defunct 
 is carried there, and reduced to ashes amidst the cries 
 and lamentations of the relations. 
 
 But in the case of a priest, especially if he is of any 
 note, the remains are embalmed. The body is de- 
 posited in a house built expressly for that purpose, 
 with bamboo tubes to convey the gases from the body 
 to the earth. The corpse is kept there for a year, 
 carefully guarded by neophytes. The whole popula- 
 tion then turns out. Many dummy coffins are made, 
 besides the one containing the defunct, and neatly 
 arranged in a cluster in an adjoining plain. The 
 principal pyre is conspicuous from its greater size 
 and the gorgeousness of its surroundings. Some time 
 before the day fixed for the final scene booths are 
 erected, hundreds of carts with their living freights
 
 BURMESE FUNERALS 99 
 
 assemble, the people camp out, and a regular fair is 
 held. On the appointed day, the car containing the 
 dead is drawn in state to its final resting-place. When 
 near its destination, ropes are attached to the car, front 
 and rear, and a mock struggle takes place, one 
 party propelling and the other retarding the coffin. 
 Generally it is only a farce, but at times the two sides 
 get excited, the car is upset, and its ghastly contents 
 are thrown out. At last those holding back give in, 
 and amid deafening shouts the deceased is placed over 
 the pyre which has been prepared for him. This is 
 constructed of the most inflammable materials, and has, 
 moreover, some gunpowder hidden in it. Long hori- 
 zontal ropes are stretched, and to them rockets are 
 attached, and all endeavour to set it on fire, for whoever 
 first succeeds is deemed most fortunate. All this time 
 a brisk trade is carried on. Every man, woman, girl, 
 and child is dressed in holiday costume. There is 
 nothing but mirth around. No stranger would dream 
 that it was a funeral of a high-priest. The hubbub 
 and noise are deafening, the dust fearful. The ground 
 is covered with flagstaffs, flags, banners, and general 
 jollification is the order of the day. 
 
 At last the pyre, with a slight report, as a rocket 
 goes home to the magazine, is alight, the fire quickly 
 spreads, and all the adjacent structures, as well as the 
 one containing the coffin, so tastefully got up at a 
 considerable cost, are burnt to the ground ; in half 
 an hour nothing is left but ashes and smoke from the 
 smouldering ruins. The crowd disperses ; the priests 
 collect the charred remains of their defunct brother, 
 and put them into a small shell of silver or gold, which
 
 ioo REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 they either bury in the bosom of Gaudama or deposit 
 in the tumulus in a pagoda. The scene, however re- 
 pugnant to our feelings, is a very gay one whilst it 
 lasts. The apparel of the men and women, the numerous 
 emblems displayed, and the beauty of the flimsy struc- 
 tures so gaily painted and resplendent with tinsel, silk, 
 and gold and silver leaf, help to light up what ought 
 to be a sombre scene. 
 
 As I have before said, the Burmese are inveterate 
 gamblers, the women beingf as bad as the men. 
 During their sports they all mix together freely, and 
 bet right and left. Their excitement at a close race, 
 especially in a boat contest, cannot be imagined by 
 anyone who has not witnessed one ; the people go 
 wild, backing one side or the other. They will bet 
 everything they possess, and more. Many a girl, after 
 losing all her jewellery and what money she pos- 
 sessed, will, if attractive, stake herself against what 
 she considers her value, and, if she loses, will follow 
 the winner (she generally, on such an occasion, takes 
 good care to bet with a bachelor not unpleasing to 
 herself), and becomes his wife or concubine, for the 
 two are synonymous in Burma. 
 
 The Burmese, unlike the natives of Indre (who 
 delight in marrying children), prefer their wives to be 
 full-grown and matured, and capable of bearing healthy 
 children. A Burman is a man of contradictions ; his 
 good qualities about balance his bad, but, with all his 
 faults, I prefer him to a native of Southern India. As 
 for the women, they are not pretty ; at first their peculiar 
 features detract from their charms, but when one gets 
 used to their physiognomy, they are very taking.
 
 BURMESE WOMEN 101 
 
 They are small, but perfectly formed. They have 
 not the voluptuous forms of the best of the Hindoo 
 girls, but are well knit together, and until they become 
 mothers, none could be better moulded in proportion 
 to their height ; their busts, arms, and feet might 
 serve as models to the most exigent of sculptors. It 
 is considered exceedingly improper for a girl to expose 
 her bosom, but directly she has a child she thinks 
 nothing of nursing in public. They are the quint- 
 essence of cleanliness, and always bathe once, generally 
 twice, and in the hot weather even three times a 
 day. The hair of the head is their glory ; they 
 take the greatest care of it, and dress it a la 
 Ckinoise, with a garland of sweet-smelling flowers 
 entwined. 
 
 The unmarried girls wear an under-jacket, which 
 fits tight to the figure and supports the bust, and a 
 flowing jacket over ; for show, a gaudy scarf hangs 
 down on either side over the shoulders, partially 
 concealing the perfect contour of the bosom. From 
 the waist downwards they wear a silk tamien of 
 most elaborate pattern, which exposes the inside of 
 the right leg halfway up the thigh, or a loongee, 
 which is more of a petticoat, exposing no part of the 
 person. The lobes of their small and shapely ears are 
 distended like the men's, and in them they insert 
 elongated amber earrings or costly gold ones. Their 
 fingers are covered with rings ; their pretty arms and 
 necks are covered with as many bracelets and necklets 
 as they can get together. Their love for finery is, like 
 that of the rest of the sex elsewhere, inordinate. They 
 all smoke, and chew betel-nut and saparie, but have
 
 102 REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 nice, white, even teeth. They can all swim, and de- 
 light in dabbling about in water. 
 
 On their New Year's Day, which corresponds with 
 our April i, the girls go about with pots of water and 
 drench all they meet. On one occasion, knowing 
 the custom, Worsley, of the 47th Bengal Native 
 Infantry, and I, donning the shabbiest garments we 
 possessed, mounted our ponies and rode into the town 
 of Prome. We told our syces to keep close. We 
 had not gone far when a bevy of girls, who were 
 drawn up on either side of the road we had to pass, 
 doused us. We were off our ponies in a moment, and 
 after them like lightning. The girls, finding us over- 
 taking them, took to the river ; there were vast rafts 
 of teak timber moored alongside the bank, and as we 
 plunged in after them, they tried to dodge us amongst 
 the logs. But Worsley and I were then only about 
 twenty-one ; we could both swim and dive as well as the 
 best amongst the girls, and we soon caught and ducked 
 them well. At first they were very wroth, as it is not 
 usual to take reprisals on these occasions, but finding 
 that we did it only in fun, they retaliated, and some 
 dozen of them setting on us at once, ducked us in 
 return, and for a good quarter of an hour I never had 
 greater fun in my life. We were fighting, as it were, 
 for bare life against many. In the scrimmage the 
 slender raiment of the girls, which was but wrapped 
 round them and looped loosely across the bosom and 
 at the waist, soon got adrift, and there were we sur- 
 rounded by a merry crew of as beautifully made 
 sprites as one could wish to see. A great, crowd had 
 assembled on the beach enjoying the fun, and when
 
 BURMESE WOMEN 103 
 
 we thought we had taken our revenge, we helped the 
 girls to collect their garments and to clothe them. 
 We all landed like so many half-drowned rats ; but a 
 wetting in the East, especially in April, does little 
 harm. We soon found a booth kept by a Madrassie, 
 who sold hot coffee and tea, and a few cups of the 
 fragrant infusion soon diffused warmth into the bosoms 
 of our fair opponents and ourselves. The Burmese 
 are the only people, except the Chinese, in the East, 
 who understand or appreciate a joke. They are merry 
 by nature, and the least absurdity will tickle their 
 risible faculties. 
 
 When we first occupied the country, the greatest 
 favour you could confer on a girl was to give her a 
 cake of soap. They had an idea that the white lather 
 helped to make Europeans fair. They greatly admire 
 a white, healthy skin, especially if accompanied by 
 dark eyes and hair and a hairless face. They do not 
 admire hairy men, as they say they remind them of 
 apes. The Burmese as a race never cultivate hair 
 about their faces or their bodies— in fact, they are 
 nearly devoid of all hair except such as grows on their 
 heads. 
 
 Burmese women and girls are free to visit European 
 families ; a bevy of girls will not hesitate to visit even 
 a bachelor, just to show themselves off and their orna- 
 ments, and perhaps to attract an admirer, for these 
 little women have no objection to accept a kala (a 
 foreigner) as a husband according to their laws and 
 customs — and very good wives they make, too. The 
 Burmese men are not unduly jealous of their women. 
 They say if a woman wishes to be unfaithful, nothing
 
 io 4 REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 will prevent her — all the watching and prying- in the 
 world will be thrown away — and it is therefore better 
 to trust them than to be always doubting them. 
 
 A girl's great ambition is to keep a stall in a bazaar. 
 It is her introduction into society, and is equivalent to 
 our own girls being brought out, and a sign that she is 
 of a marriageable age. During a courtship, if a girl 
 lights her admirer's cheroot, giving it a few puffs her- 
 self, it is a sign that she is willing to accept him, but if 
 she refuses, he had better gfo elsewhere. 
 
 There is not a prettier sight in the world than to see 
 a crowd of Burmese on a gala-day, as they go in pro- 
 cession to one of their shrines ; their gay dresses, pretty 
 figures, smiling faces, banners flying, flags streaming, 
 make a display difficult to beat anywhere ; add to 
 it the beauty of the surrounding scenery, the elegant 
 proportions of their shrines, the architecture of their 
 kyoungs, and the merry voices of the young, and you 
 have a scene difficult to match. The sides of the 
 roads along which they march are covered with booths 
 containing offerings for the gods, or as propitiations to 
 the nats (evil spirits) ; there is not a dull moment until 
 the apex of the hillock on which the pagoda stands is 
 reached. Then there is a solemn silence : they kneel 
 down in groups, and with upraised, clasped hands they 
 supplicate the deity. The women cannot read or write, 
 as their priests are not only forbidden to teach them, 
 but must not speak to them, or even look at them. 
 
 A priest cannot possess any property. He is a 
 genuine mendicant, dependent for daily food and 
 raiment on the charity of his flock. Lads dressed in 
 yellow, with bowls suspended round their necks or on
 
 BURMESE PRIESTS 105 
 
 their breasts, go round daily. They do not supplicate 
 alms, but the people put into the bowls such offerings 
 as they can spare, and the mendicants then silently 
 pursue their course till every house has been visited. 
 
 The priests can eat but once a day, and drink 
 nothing but water, and lead strictly moral lives. There 
 are no nunneries near their abodes, but what struck 
 me as the height of cruelty was seeing young, comely 
 girls exported as Roman Catholic nuns to the Gaboon, 
 a climate deadly enough for males, but certain death 
 to these poor creatures, who linger a year or so, die 
 out, and are replaced by others. As they do nothing 
 towards the curing of souls of the African heathens, 
 there can be but one reason for locating them in such 
 a pestilential climate. 
 
 The Burmese priest is perforce condemned to 
 celibacy, for no woman could be induced to permit his 
 addresses. If such a thins: occurred and was found 
 out, not only would she be killed, but every one of her 
 relations would expect to be tortured in their several 
 places of punishment after death for generations. 
 After a man has become a priest, if he tires of the 
 sacred calling, he can throw off his sacerdotal garb, 
 resume the ordinary dress of a Burman, and become 
 a layman. Very few, however, ever do so, and no 
 one who had once thrown off the oarb would ever be 
 allowed to resume it again. 
 
 The Buddhist religion, if acted up to, is as pure as 
 most doctrines, and more comforting than many in 
 some respects. It teaches belief in a Supreme Spirit, 
 which created and creates all things, Buddha being his 
 impersonification on earth. There is no eternal punish-
 
 io6 REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 ment ; no one is pure ; there is innate sin, which must 
 be expiated, and this is done by the transmigration of 
 souls. People are punished in accordance with the 
 sins they committed when on earth, and are gradually 
 purged thereof. Eventually, when they have expiated 
 their sins, they are again absorbed in the godhead 
 whence they sprung, which is called Nibban. This 
 does not mean annihilation, but simply an absorp- 
 tion into the Power which originally created. The 
 doctrines of Buddha were preached fully a thousand 
 years before the commencement of the Christian 
 era. The pagodas at Rangoon and Pegu were 
 in course of construction when Remus jumped over 
 the walls of Rome, and very many of the sayings 
 attributed to our Saviour are to be found in Buddhist 
 books, written some hundreds of years before His 
 advent. The Buddhist priests laugh when a Pro- 
 testant missionary tries to convert him, and say, ' You 
 call Him Christ, we call Him Buddha — same person. 
 Your religion,' they remark, 'is only copied from 
 ours. You stick to your version, and we will stick to 
 ours.' I look upon it as impossible to make a sincere 
 convert of either a Mussulman, a Brahmin, or a 
 Buddhist, because their religions suit them ; they 
 thoroughly believe in them, and under them they have 
 thriven very many thousand years. 
 
 The Karens who lived on the highlands on the 
 borders of Burma are quite a distinct race, more 
 closely resembling the Cossyahs and the Jynteahs on 
 the confines of Assam, whilst the Cacharies of the 
 plains of Assam are no doubt the descendants of the 
 Burmese, who overran the valley of the Brahmapootra
 
 HILL TRIBES 107 
 
 for many years. The hill tribes are a fine, manly 
 race, possessed of great bodily strength, and capable 
 of carrying as heavy weights as the hernials of Con- 
 stantinople or of Syria. 
 
 Their loads are supported by means of straps hooked 
 on to the shoulders and a band across the forehead. 
 Their dress somewhat resembles the tunic worn by the 
 ancient Romans. The women, especially those of the 
 Darjeeling Terai, are credited with being able to carry 
 heavier weights even than the men. There is a legend 
 that a gentleman, wishing to have a piano carried up 
 to the station, showed it to a porter, who tried the 
 weight, shook his head, and said, ' Although I cannot 
 take it myself, I think my sister can,' which it is said 
 she did. The women are massively built, but with 
 Christianity they have not imbibed the habits of cleanli- 
 ness. Unless caught young, and trained in the house 
 of a European, they are too filthy to look at ; but with 
 the ayahs of Shillong and the Karen attendants on 
 missionaries in Burma cleanliness has become a habit, 
 and many of the young girls are passably pretty and 
 well made. 
 
 Feuds are common amongst the savage Karens, 
 who are divided into white, red and black. Their 
 war-gongs are peculiar, and are greatly prized, and 
 the secret of their manufacture has almost died out. 
 They are cylindrical in shape, made of metal, and have 
 only one head, on which metal frogs are soldered. 
 Those with a ring of single frogs can strike a note that 
 can be heard over one range of hills ; those that have 
 a row of two frogs, one on the top of the other, can be 
 heard over two ranges ; whilst those with three, which
 
 10S REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 are very rare and proportionately prized, are good to 
 give warning over three ranges, and have been the 
 cause of many feuds, the tribes fighting amongst them- 
 selves for the possession of one. 
 
 They are given to raiding ; the buying and sell- 
 ing of boys and girls, and slavery in a mitigated form, 
 are prevalent. The Karen country is principally 
 valuable for its teak forests. At times all these hill 
 people have given us a good deal of trouble ; they 
 erect strong stockades and pangy the approaches. A 
 pangy is a small bamboo stake driven into the ground, 
 with the point an inch above ground. This point is 
 hardened by fire and barbed, and will go through the 
 sole of an ordinary ammunition boot. These obstruc- 
 tions they cover over with leaves, etc., and they make 
 most formidable defences. 
 
 None of the Burmese think it immoral for one of 
 their women to live with a European, as she is con- 
 sidered his wife by the custom of the country. If her 
 protector dies or leaves the country, the girl soon finds 
 a native husband. She has generally accumulated 
 some property, has jewellery, and perhaps a house 
 has been given her. She is considered, like many a 
 widow at home, a decided catch. If there be a child 
 or children by the European, it is no bar to her in 
 marrying again. These children are taken care of 
 fully as well, if not better, than any children she may 
 have by her second venture. The women especially, 
 but also the men, are very fond of children whiter 
 than themselves. But somehow the progeny of the 
 pure European with any of these races does not come 
 up in comeliness to those born of Moguls, or traders
 
 DANCING GIRLS 109 
 
 from the Persian Gulf, or even to the offspring of 
 a Chinaman and his Burmese wife. 
 
 The stigma which attaches to dancing-girls in India 
 does not extend to Burmese girls taking a part in a 
 pooay. The Burmese are far more musical than the 
 Indians, have sweet voices both in singing and in 
 speaking, and their musical instruments are all tuned 
 and graded like our own, though outlandish to look 
 at. A celebrated actress (and all the girls are born 
 actresses), who had a great name in Burma, was per- 
 forming a shoaydung before a large audience. There 
 were many of us looking on. Amongst other things, 
 to show the pliability of her body, she had to stand on 
 a mark. A small coin was put a foot or so behind her 
 heels, and she had to go over and pick it up with her 
 teeth. Whilst in this position, in which it looked as if 
 she would break in two, a big officer of the 2nd 
 Fusiliers stepped forward, put his hand under her, 
 and, with a movement of his hand and arm, tossed 
 her on to her feet. She performed, of course, a com- 
 plete somersault, and was taken quite unawares. In- 
 stead of being angry or disconcerted, the moment she 
 lit on her feet she went on dancing in her most 
 approved style, and fairly brought down what should 
 have been the house, only that we were in the open 
 air. 
 
 The Assamese are probably the most debased and 
 effeminate race under our control in India. The young 
 girls of the better class in Assam are often pretty and 
 well made, but frightfully immoral. 
 
 About eighteen miles from Gowhatty, there is a 
 celebrated shrine called Hazoo. People of all creeds
 
 no REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 —even Mussulmans, who abhor idols — crowd thither. 
 The Bhootians, with their praying wheels and their 
 baggage animals (sheep), assemble there ; but I 
 believe it is more to worship at the shrine of Venus 
 than to perform religious rites, for, with the exception 
 of the priests, no men are allowed to live there per- 
 manently. The three villages consist of women, girls, 
 and children only. These women are remarkably well 
 made and good-featured, and dress more like Madrassies 
 than Assamese, and are all courtezans. 
 
 Every Hindoo temple has its votaries in the shape of 
 very many dancing-girls, considered, like Mohammed's 
 houries in Paradise, perpetual virgins. The Cacheries 
 are a jolly, drunken race, but much oppressed by the 
 Mouzadars, who are all Hindoos, and who force them 
 to do all the porterage of the province. They are 
 pressed and taken miles and miles from their homes, 
 often without food, to carry the baggage of some 
 sahib, whilst the lazy opium-eating and spirit-drinking 
 Assamese are spared. The Cachins of Burma are 
 supposed to be the descendants of the original in- 
 habitants of the country. They were much oppressed 
 in former years by their conquerors, and fled into the 
 hills and other remote places. They tattoo the faces 
 of their women, and give as a reason that they were 
 so admired by the Burmese that periodical raids were 
 made by the stronger race, and their women carried 
 off on account of their beauty. What they may have 
 been in former days I do not know ; but an uglier set 
 it would be difficult to meet nowadays anywhere, and 
 the tribe may rest assured that no future raids for 
 wives will ever be made on them. The Garrowes are
 
 DACOITY 1 1 1 
 
 savages pure and simple, going about without a stitch 
 of clothing. 
 
 The women wear iron and brass rings in their ears, 
 and the lobes often reach to the shoulder. To show 
 how vindictive and determined the Burmese are in 
 avenging an injury, I may state the following : I was 
 living with an officer of the 4th Sikhs at Eeingmah, 
 twenty-seven miles from Prome. About half-past four 
 in the morning we heard the most dismal howling 
 from a village about half a mile off. Thinking it was 
 a case of dacoity, we hastily dressed, and, armed with 
 revolvers, made for the hamlet, sending orders to the 
 guard for a party of armed sepoys to follow us. We 
 found a man had been murdered, his throat having 
 been cut from ear to ear. He was sleeping between 
 his two wives, one of whom recognised the murderer 
 as he made off, and we learnt the following particulars 
 afterwards : About a year before there was a case of 
 dacoity, and the murdered man had given evidence 
 which led to the conviction of the murderer, who was 
 sentenced to be imprisoned in the Prome gaol for a 
 number of years. The night of the murder, this Dacoit 
 had clambered over the gaol wall, some fifteen feet high, 
 had walked out to his village, revenged himself on the 
 informer, and got off scot-free. 
 
 No one can realize a fire in a town in Burma, or 
 even the periodical burnings of the vast savannas, 
 without having seen one. In three years Prome, a 
 town extending along the river bank for fully three- 
 quarters of a mile, and over a quarter of a mile broad, 
 was twice burnt down, scarcely a single house escaping. 
 
 On one occasion Worsley, of the 47th, and I got to
 
 U2 REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 the Cutcherry with great difficulty ; the flames were 
 sweeping across the streets, igniting the opposite 
 houses. We had to run and dodge, and got to the 
 court-house to find the Deputy-Commissioner wring- 
 ing- his hands and saying that all his records would 
 be destroyed. 
 
 We climbed on to the roof, and with hands and 
 feet tore off the thatch, throwing it down. Flakes of 
 lighted combustibles constantly fell on our building, 
 and we had to rush to the place and cast down the 
 inflammable materials. We worked like slaves, and 
 could get no one to assist us ; they were not sala- 
 manders, they said. The thatch was at last off the 
 original wooden roof, for the building was an old 
 poonghie house ; but the mat sides, which had been 
 added by us, began to smoke, and we thought it was 
 all up with this palace of justice. The Deputy-Com- 
 missioner was still crying out what should he do. In 
 fun I said, ' Do ! Why, let it burn, and, as certain 
 commissariat officers were supposed to have done in 
 China after periodical fires, make your fortune.' 
 ' What do you mean ?' screamed the irate official. 
 'Why,' said I, 'when the records are destroyed, 
 pocket the money, and retire as a millionaire.' He 
 was speechless with rage at my supposing, as he 
 thought, that he was capable of such an act of in- 
 famy, and would not speak to me for some time 
 afterwards ; but our actions contradicted our words, 
 for if anything saved those records it was the joint 
 exertions of Worsley and myself, and we were after- 
 wards thanked for what we had done by the Com- 
 missioner. In these fires, cats, dogs, numerous tuck-
 
 AN AFFRAY WITH THIEVES 113 
 
 toos (large lizards), and now and then men, women, 
 and children would be burnt to death. I saw an old 
 woman who had been roasted alive, and her skin 
 crackled like that of a roast pig. But the people are 
 not much cast down by these conflagrations ; they pick 
 up the pieces, and set to work to rebuild without a 
 murmur. The only result is that the price of all 
 bamboos and thatching materials goes up a bit. 
 
 The Deputy-Commissioner was very consequential, 
 and thought no end of himself and his position. A 
 party of Sappers, under a naigue belonging to my 
 company, were marching along ; the cash-chest (empty) 
 was on a cart being dragged by a pair of bullocks. 
 The Burmese, recognising the box, and thinking it 
 was full of rupees, attacked. The naigue, after due 
 warning, gave the word to fire ; one man fell, and the 
 rest ran away. A complaint was lodged before the 
 Deputy, who, on the ex parte statement, sent me an 
 official order to send the ' murderers ' in. I replied 
 that I objected to any soldier being styled a murderer 
 until it had been proved that he was one ; that I was 
 astonished that he, who would have to try the case, 
 should thus prejudge it, and declined to comply with 
 his request under the circumstances, adding that his 
 letter and mine would be sent on to the General to 
 be laid before the Commissioner. I knew this would 
 drive him mad, for he considered himself infallible, 
 and stood a great deal on his dignity. 
 
 So I got on to my pony the next day and rode 
 straight up to his quarters. In came the Deputy with 
 his nose in the air, and greeted me with, ' My God, 
 man ! what do you mean by writing me such a letter ?' 
 
 8
 
 ii4 REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 ' My God, man !' I replied, ' what did you mean by call- 
 ing a man under my orders a murderer ?' So at it we 
 went, hammer and tongs ; but as I would not budge 
 an inch, he offered to withdraw his letter if I would 
 withdraw mine, and as I had written it with a view of 
 taking a rise out of him, I consented, and we break- 
 fasted together amicably. 
 
 The naigue was tried and sentenced by the Deputy 
 to imprisonment, but we appealed, and the Commis- 
 sioner said he should have acquitted the man had the 
 chest contained any money ; as it was empty, he thought 
 the act of firing unjustifiable, but commuted his sentence 
 to six months' simple imprisonment, and at the same 
 time made him officiating jemadar of the gaol, which 
 carried certain emoluments with it, so the naicrue was 
 rather the gainer. But I consider he only did his 
 duty when he repelled the attack, and I do not see 
 what the chest being empty had to do with it one way 
 or the other. When attacked a soldier should use his 
 arms, and to punish him for so doing is to degrade 
 him. 
 
 Our Commissioner was a fire-eater. He called out 
 two officers under him because they differed from him, 
 and he also challenged the General commanding the 
 division to a duel, who, instead of accepting this polite 
 invitation of pistols for two and coffee for one, reported 
 him to the Government. But the Commissioner was 
 too valuable an officer to be dispensed with, and he 
 was only reminded that the days of duelling were 
 over. This General was a Plymouth Brother, and, 
 unless report did him great injustice, he had been in 
 his youth as wild as he was now sanctimonious. He
 
 TWO BRIGADIERS 115 
 
 went by the name of Dismal jemmy. I suspected 
 him of doing what he could to prevent my advance- 
 ment, as he had once been put under arrest by rny 
 grandfather for some breach of discipline in his youth. 
 He kept me back when I received orders to take the 
 command of my old company, then under orders for 
 Persia, and whenever I was applied for he had some 
 excuse to give for not placing my services at the dis- 
 posal of the Civil Government. 
 
 The Brigadier I served under at Tongho was as fine 
 a soldier as ever lived. He had seen considerable 
 service, and had greatly distinguished himself in the 
 Kaffir war under Somerset and Sir Harry Smith. 
 He had been a noted athlete, a splendid shot, and a 
 good all-round sportsman, and everybody believed in 
 him. He was not long with us, and when he left on 
 promotion every soldier, European and native, went to 
 see him off. His successor bore a character the very 
 reverse. He had not distinguished himself in the 
 wars at the Cape. During one hot action, his Colonel, 
 not seeing him, asked where he was. ' I don't know 
 where he is,' said a soldier close by, ' but I think them's 
 his boots,' pointing to a pair just visible out of a dense 
 bush. ' By God, sir !' said the Colonel, ' this is not 
 the first time I have seen you show the white feather, 
 and if I live, I'll try you by a court-martial.' But 
 almost a moment after the Colonel was shot through 
 the head, and the person he had threatened, as the 
 next senior officer, took the regiment out of action 
 and got a brevet ! On another occasion the Brigadier 
 complained to a gallant Scotchman, then in command 
 of the regiment, that one of the officers had called him
 
 n8 REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 engineer. I made my draughtsman copy these out 
 exactly, and sent it in. It was returned scored all 
 over in pencil, with such remarks as ' most defective ' 
 here, and ' out of proportion ' there, all of which amused 
 me greatly. So I replied that, while I regretted 
 exceedingly that the plan was so defective, it was 
 a facsimile of one drawn by so-and-so, and erected 
 by so-and-so — both celebrated in their respective 
 professions. 
 
 But the chief engineer bore no malice. He and his 
 wife were staying with me soon afterwards, during one 
 of his tours of inspection. He was busy writing in a 
 room I had placed at his disposal ; his wife and 
 several other ladies and gentlemen were lunching with 
 us, and the conversation turned on official correspon- 
 dence. 
 
 ' Well,' said the engineer's lady, ' all the executives 
 say that when my husband has occasion to find fault 
 he does it in such a nice way no offence is ever taken.' 
 
 'The deuce he does!' said I. 'I never read such 
 blackguard letters as his in my life.' 
 
 Up she jumped, and ran into the next room, crying 
 out : 
 
 ' Chay dear, do you hear what Captain Pollok says 
 — that you write the most blackguard letters ?' 
 
 ' I dare say I do,' replied her husband, not the least 
 put out ; ' and he writes back the most impertinent 
 replies.' 
 
 Poor fellow ! He died a few years afterwards of 
 liver. He never would allow one of his officers to 
 be sat upon by anyone but himself. 
 
 Laughable incidents come to me as I write. There
 
 'OH YES, TELL ANOTHER!' 119 
 
 was a man very anxious to get into the Quartermaster- 
 General's department, who flooded army headquarters 
 with plans supposed to have been prepared from surveys 
 conducted under great difficulty by himself. He was 
 a very good draughtsman. We all knew that these 
 maps had been copied from the works of others. He 
 one day sent in to the draughtsman of the chief engineer 
 
 a map and its environs, surveyed and drawn 
 
 by . This was more than Harris, of the Bengal 
 
 Engineers, could stand, so he printed after the preamble, 
 ' Oh yes, tell another !' The copyist knew no English ; 
 he merely printed the inscription as he found it, and 
 the aspirant's indignation may be imagined when he 
 got the fair copy, with an addition he had not bar- 
 gained for ! He made a great fuss over the incident, 
 but the Engineers stuck together, and asked him to 
 prove what part, if any, he had actually surveyed. If 
 he pointed to a part, ' No, you did not,' one would say, 
 ' for I did that myself under heavy fire, and it is not 
 over-correct ;' and so on with every bit of it, with the 
 exception of a few yards along one of the main roads, 
 which they admitted he might or might not have 
 surveyed, as it consisted of a mere straight line of 
 an inch or two in length. In the end he had to 
 own that he had compiled his plan from the work 
 of others. 
 
 Softening of the brain was a common complaint for 
 a time in Burma. Many officers went off their heads, 
 and had to retire. One, a most upright, honourable 
 man, would insist that he had robbed the Treasury, 
 when there was not a farthing missing from it ; but 
 nothing would persuade him to the contrary. As is
 
 T2o REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 usual in such cases, a man who once gets this disease 
 seldom lives long, and he, poor fellow ! died persisting 
 in his self-accusation. 
 
 I was the first officer sent to lay out Namyan, which 
 was then to be the big station on the Irrawadie. The 
 place was covered with giant tamarind-trees ; their 
 leaves, most astringent, had fallen for a hundred years, 
 if not more ; nor had the sun reached the ground 
 beneath them for nearly as long. To build barracks 
 and to construct roads, these trees had to be cut down. 
 I had as many as a hundred saws at work cutting up 
 teak logs for timber required by the Engineer depart- 
 ment. These men were supervised by a sapper, who 
 put in the number of men employed daily in Tamil, 
 and the Burman headman put the numbers in in 
 Burmese, whilst the European overseer did so in 
 English. There was thus a nominal check, but it 
 required a great deal of inspection and knowledge of 
 the languages to compare all the figures. I had a 
 man, a private of one of her Majesty's regiments, 
 sent to me from across the river, from the Tongoop 
 road works, as overseer. He had not enough money 
 on his arrival to pay for his boat-hire across, and asked 
 me for it. I was very busy that month, and an officer 
 of Engineers had arrived, and was living with me. He 
 was superintendent, and I his assistant, in the con- 
 struction of the Prome and Rangoon road. At the 
 end of the month I told the clerk to make up the 
 accounts, and threw him the vouchers sent in by the 
 subordinates. He took a long time deciphering them, 
 and at last said he could make nothing of them, so I 
 examined them myself, and found the figures had all
 
 A DISHONEST OVERSEER 121 
 
 been altered, but so clumsily that the originals could 
 still be seen. I thus found an overcharge in the over- 
 seer's accounts of 1,000 rupees. Not bad for one 
 month's peculation ! I sent for the overseer, who, 
 suspecting nothing, came over. I astounded him by 
 demanding the key of his cash chest. He refused to 
 give it up, so I told the havildar of the guard to make 
 a prisoner of him. He then gave the key up, and 
 asked permission to go home and bring his account- 
 book. I sent a guard with him, and had the treasure- 
 chest brought over, and when the overseer returned 
 with his books there was an interpolation in ink, 
 scarcely dry, ' Deposited by Private S., one thousand 
 rupees.' The contents of the cash-box were counted 
 over, and we found in the box the exact sum which 
 had been overcharged, which would have been ap- 
 propriated in a few days, had I not by the merest 
 chance discovered his defalcation and taken prompt 
 action. I kept him under arrest, and sent all the 
 papers to Rangoon, but it was decided not to try him, 
 but order him back to his regiment. When he got to 
 Madras he had the impertinence to send me a lawyer's 
 letter : 
 
 ' Whereas it has been presented to us by our client, 
 Private S., of her Majesty's — Regiment, that you did 
 by force seize and appropriate a sum of 1,000 rupees, 
 belonging to the said private, and have retained it, you 
 are herewith directed to remit the same to us at once, 
 or we shall at once take proceedings for its recovery in 
 the High Courts of Madras.' 
 
 I took no notice of their letter, nor did I ever hear 
 again on the subject.
 
 122 REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 Another overseer was sent to me. He was a young 
 gunner, born in the country of European parents. He 
 had been educated in India, and not only spoke, but 
 wrote, all the native languages — in fact, he was a clever 
 fellow, and very prepossessing, and I rather liked his 
 looks, and found him very useful, speaking so many 
 languages. But it does not do to entrust these men 
 with large sums of Government money. The rains 
 were approaching, when all work had to be stopped, 
 and as heavy embankments were in progress, which, if 
 not completed, would be washed away by the floods, 
 work had to be carried on on Sundays as well as on 
 week-days. The new overseer had commenced well, 
 but he soon picked up Burmese, and took a girl of the 
 country as wife, and I found that he was lavishing 
 jewels upon her. The money for their purchase could 
 not have been honestly gained, but to pick a hole in 
 the accounts of such an accomplished man was not 
 easy. Every month I examined his chest and accounts, 
 and could detect nothing wrong, yet I knew he was 
 robbing right and left. I had to write to him to push 
 on works even on Sundays. He wrote back he was 
 not a heathen, and would not work on the Sabbath. I 
 told my havildar, Cawthan, to mount one of my ponies, 
 I got on to another, and in a couple of hours we most 
 unexpectedly arrived. ' Did you write that letter ?' I 
 asked. 'Yes,' faltered the man. 'Then, you are 
 relieved, and the havildar will take your place at once. 
 Hand over the keys and books.' The consternation of 
 the man was great ; he begged to be forgiven, but I 
 was obdurate, and on examining his books and chest 
 I found 1 50 rupees deficient, which he had taken only
 
 FEVER AT NAMYAN 123 
 
 that morning to buy his girl a necklet, and had not had 
 time to manipulate his accounts, so I sent him about 
 his business, and as there was due to him about 
 200 rupees, I deducted the deficiency, and sent him off 
 with the balance. His commanding officer was very 
 angry, because I wrote to him 'that Private K. had 
 been dismissed from the Department of Public Works 
 for dishonesty and impertinence,' and at first refused to 
 admit him back to his battery. What became of him 
 eventually I do not know. 
 
 Well, for two years we were hard at work at 
 Namyan, lacs of rupees had been spent, and no sooner 
 were the barracks ready than troops were moved into 
 them. Colonel Fraser, C.B., warned the authorities. 
 He said the place should not be occupied for another 
 year or two. It had been cleared too recently, and 
 malaria would prostrate the soldiers. But he was not 
 listened to. The mortality that set in was appalling. 
 Europeans died by the dozen, natives five and six a 
 day. In three months there would not have been a 
 single man of those who first occupied it alive, had not 
 the General at once removed all the men, and Namyan 
 was abandoned as a station. It was then decided to 
 remove all the public buildings, and to erect them 
 afresh at Thayet-myo. Officers had been put to great 
 expense in building, yet not a penny was given to any 
 of them in compensation. But one knowing man, 
 who commanded the 47th, sent in a bill for com- 
 pensation for removal of his house (not for construct- 
 ing it), and got it, whilst those who asked for some 
 reimbursement for the expenses they had been put to 
 for building quarters never got a penny. I was the
 
 i2 4 REMINISCENCES OE INDIA 
 
 first and last man in Namyan. I escaped the fever 
 till the very last, but then I, too, got a bad dose of it ; 
 but from twenty to twenty-five grains of quinine a day, 
 and a shift of quarters, soon drove it out of me. 
 
 Sir Trevor Wheler, of the ist Bengal Fusiliers, was 
 executive engineer at Thayet-myo. He was a wonder- 
 fully powerful man, though he did not look it, and a 
 first-rate bruiser. One day, in mustering the work- 
 people, a Burman was rather obstreperous, so Sir Trevor 
 gave him a push. The man turned round as quick as 
 lightning with dhaw upraised, but a blow straight from 
 Sir Trevor's shoulder sent him rolling head over heels. 
 It resembled more the effects of a shot in the head of 
 a rabbit than anything else. The man got up quite 
 dazed, looked at Wheler in amazement, and then ran 
 for his life. 
 
 We had a man called Smith, who was known by 
 the name of ' the Sweep.' He was a gunner, had 
 charge of the boats, and was a character. He wrote 
 to McMaster, the Brigade Major, ' when he should 
 have the bote ready.' Mac wrote back, ' Have the 
 boat ready at such an hour.' When he went down 
 with a party of ladies, he asked Smith how he spelt 
 ' boat.' ' Some people spells it b-o-a-t, but I spells it 
 b-o-t-e> he replied. 
 
 The roof of the building which held the ammunition 
 of one of the Native Infantry regiments caught fire. 
 There was a general panic, but ' the Sweep ' mounted 
 the roof, pulled off the thatch, poured buckets of water 
 as fast as they were handed to him over the flames, 
 and saved the magazine, as plucky a thing as it was 
 possible for a man to do, considering there was enough
 
 A MAD DOCTOR 125 
 
 powder in the place to have wrecked half the station 
 had it exploded. 
 
 Smith, like most Europeans, despised the natives. 
 Though tall, and as plucky as it was possible for a man 
 to be, he was not physically strong. Once in Banlong, 
 in attendance on our Brigadier during a shooting 
 expedition, ' the Sweep ' struck or pushed Shoagjah, our 
 best shekary. The Burman at once closed, threw his 
 opponent a fearful cropper, for, like most of his race, 
 he was a good wrestler, and considerably astonished 
 the gunner at the promptitude of his retaliation. 
 
 A party of Europeans was placed over a doctor who 
 had gone off his head. But madmen are very cunning ; 
 the lunatic got out of bed, said he wished to go into 
 the bathroom, and directly he came to a window took 
 a header through it, threw himself down a well, and 
 was drowned before he could be rescued. No blame 
 was attachable to the gruard over him. A court of 
 inquiry was held. The officer commanding the wing 
 was president, and he bullied and badgered the ser- 
 geant to such an extent that he lost all patience, and 
 
 said, ' Major , if you will tell me what you wish 
 
 me to say, I'll say it and be done with it.' Then his 
 commanding officer, after driving him to the verge 
 of mutiny, complimented him on his straightforward 
 evidence. So much for personal reminiscences. Now 
 for records of sport.
 
 I2 4 
 
 REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 first and last man in Namyan. I escaped the fever 
 till the very last, but then I, too, got a bad dose of it ; 
 but from twenty to twenty-five grains of quinine a day, 
 and a shift of quarters, soon drove it out of me. 
 
 Sir Trevor Wheler, of the ist Bengal Fusiliers, was 
 executive engineer at Thayet-myo. He was a wonder- 
 fully powerful man, though he did not look it, and a 
 first-rate bruiser. One day, in mustering the work- 
 people, a Burman was rather obstreperous, so Sir Trevor 
 gave him a push. The man turned round as quick as 
 lightning with dhaw upraised, but a blow straight from 
 Sir Trevor's shoulder sent him rolling head over heels. 
 It resembled more the effects of a shot in the head of 
 a rabbit than anything else. The man got up quite 
 dazed, looked at Wheler in amazement, and then ran 
 for his life. 
 
 We had a man called Smith, who was known by 
 the name of ' the Sweep.' He was a gunner, had 
 charge of the boats, and was a character. He wrote 
 to McMaster, the Brigade Major, ' when he should 
 have the bote ready." Mac wrote back, ' Have the 
 boat ready at such an hour.' When he went down 
 with a party of ladies, he asked Smith how he spelt 
 ' boat.' ' Some people spells it b-o-a-t, but I spells it 
 b-o-t-e, he replied. 
 
 The roof of the building which held the ammunition 
 of one of the Native Infantry regiments caught fire. 
 There was a general panic, but ' the Sweep ' mounted 
 the roof, pulled off the thatch, poured buckets of water 
 as fast as they were handed to him over the flames, 
 and saved the magazine, as plucky a thing as it was 
 possible for a man to do, considering there was enough
 
 A MAD DOCTOR 125 
 
 powder in the place to have wrecked half the station 
 had it exploded. 
 
 Smith, like most Europeans, despised the natives. 
 Though tall, and as plucky as it was possible for a man 
 to be, he was not physically strong. Once in Banlong, 
 in attendance on our Brigadier during a shooting 
 expedition, l the Sweep ' struck or pushed Shoagjah, our 
 best shekary. The Burman at once closed, threw his 
 opponent a fearful cropper, for, like most of his race, 
 he was a good wrestler, and considerably astonished 
 the gunner at the promptitude of his retaliation. 
 
 A party of Europeans was placed over a doctor who 
 had gone off his head. But madmen are very cunning ; 
 the lunatic got out of bed, said he wished to go into 
 the bathroom, and directly he came to a window took 
 a header through it, threw himself down a well, and 
 was drowned before he could be rescued. No blame 
 was attachable to the guard over him. A court of 
 inquiry was held. The officer commanding the wing 
 was president, and he bullied and badgered the ser- 
 geant to such an extent that he lost all patience, and 
 
 said, ' Major , if you will tell me what you wish 
 
 me to say, I'll say it and be done with it.' Then his 
 commanding officer, after driving him to the verge 
 of mutiny, complimented him on his straightforward 
 evidence. So much for personal reminiscences. Now 
 for records of sport.
 
 [ 1=6 ] 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 PIG-STICKING. 
 
 ' The boar, the mighty boar's my theme, 
 Whate'er the wise may say : 
 My morning thought, my midnight dream, 
 My hope throughout the day.' 
 
 Old Song by Morris. 
 
 The first sport in the world — My first hunt — Hunting over an 
 enclosed country — Extraordinary speed and endurance of wild- 
 boar — How to ride a pig — Chased — A fall — Thirty-five minutes 
 from start to finish — Another chase — Struggle for first spear — 
 Not always to the fastest — A fighting boar — Narrow escape of a 
 horse — Particulars of my first hunt— My comrade falls into a 
 dul-dul — Kill the boar — A hunt near Guntoor — A good thrust 
 — How to meet a charging boar — Spearing under difficulties — 
 A horse killed. 
 
 So long as the people of these islands hold their 
 supremacy in the East, never will the immortal verses, 
 one of which heads this chapter, be forgotten. A man 
 may have slain his hundreds of tigers, he may have 
 killed a hecatomb of big game in Africa and else- 
 where, but if he has not followed the mighty boar, he 
 has not tasted the delights of the most fascinating and 
 invigorating sport in the world. 
 
 Anyone may kill a tiger by potting him from a tree
 
 BOAR-HUNTING 127 
 
 or a machan, but it requires a man to ride down, and 
 spear, a boar. 
 
 The vicissitudes and dangers of the sport are many. 
 Man and horse are pitted against one of the most 
 plucky and savage of wild beasts. The ground is 
 generally execrable ; there can be no craning ; a hunter 
 of the boar must ride not only straight, but his hardest, 
 if he intends to try conclusions with his foe. 
 
 1 Firm hand and eagle eye 
 Must he acquire, who would aspire 
 To see the wild-boar die.' 
 
 There is everything in its favour, and nothing to be 
 said against it. There is jolly companionship, friendly 
 rivalry, a health-giving sport, just sufficient danger to 
 make it exciting, and a man must be past praying for 
 who, having once tasted its delights, will forget it as 
 long as he has life ; and 
 
 1 When age hath dimmed manhood's powers, 
 
 And every nerve unbraced, 
 The joys of the past will still be ours, 
 
 In memory's tablets traced. 
 For with the friends whom death hath spared, 
 
 When life's career is done, 
 We'll talk of the dangers we have shared, 
 
 And the tushes we have won.' 
 
 Alas ! when I think of the jolly days I passed in my 
 youth, and compare them with the humdrum existence 
 I am forced to undergo in this land of cold, mist, and 
 rain, in penury and old age, I am almost inclined to 
 quarrel with life, and to exclaim : ' Oh, why did I not 
 die like so many better men of my time in that sunny 
 clime, and in the days when I was happy and young ?'
 
 i28 REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 But repining is useless, and I will here endeavour to 
 recall some hunting scenes of the distant and irre- 
 vocable past. 
 
 I have already said that before I was six years old 
 I was familiar with hog-hunting as a spectator. I was 
 under eighteen when I took my first spear, which was 
 at Bedar, in the Nizam's dominions. 
 
 Some years afterwards a party of us went out about 
 fifteen miles from Bezwada, to beat a couple of isolated 
 hills ; in front there was an extensive but enclosed 
 plain, and in the rear and for some way on both sides 
 heavy jungle, reported to be full of pig and spotted 
 deer. All my comrades elected to use the rifle in 
 preference to the spear. I was the only one mounted. 
 Whilst they took up their positions on various rocks 
 near the foot of the hills, I ensconced myself, horse, 
 and syce with extra spear, behind a high hedge. 
 
 I have never seen a country similar to this in any 
 other part of India. Owing to the numerous hogs, 
 the cultivators had fenced in their fields with stiff 
 hedges made of wattles and bamboos interlaced, which 
 you either had to clear or come a cropper, for there 
 was no hope of their giving way before the weight of 
 man or beast. That they only partially answered the 
 purpose for which they were erected was evident, for 
 the fields of dhall and pulse showed signs of ravages 
 by the porcine tribe. To get at the grain, the hogs 
 must have sprung over the fences both in going in and 
 coming out, so I knew that if any pigs broke, the work 
 was cut out for me and my nag. Fortunately, I had 
 trained my three horses to clear hurdles, for during 
 my spare time in Condapilly I hardly knew how to
 
 A GAME BOAR 129 
 
 dispose of my leisure ; so they could all jump well, and 
 had a fair turn of speed. I had two horses out that 
 day. I was on a golden bay with black points which 
 a friend had got for me from Bombay ; the other, a 
 chestnut, was in reserve. About three-quarters of an 
 hour after the beat commenced, there was a great 
 rattling of stones down the hillsides, and a sounder 
 of fully twenty pigs broke, headed by a huge boar. 
 There was a second boar, not very much inferior to 
 the leader ; the party broke into two, each led by a 
 boar, and took across the open. As they did so, a 
 perfect feu d'enfer broke out, and the bullets whistled 
 unpleasantly close to my person. I was up and away, 
 as much to escape the missiles of my comrades as to 
 follow the pig. I was on the right side, and the boar, 
 followed by three lanky sows, took the fence, a good 
 four feet in height, like a bird. As he landed only 
 about fifty yards from me, I went for him, and thought 
 I should be into him before he could reach the next 
 hedge, but no sooner did he perceive me, with a 
 squint out of one eye, than he hesitated for a second 
 whether to come at me or to continue his course. He 
 was probably decided by seeing his wives rattling 
 across the fields, and with a grunt, as much as to say, 
 * Look out, I have not done with you yet,' he followed 
 them. 
 
 I was within two spears' length of him, but could 
 not get an inch nearer. He bounded over the next 
 fence, a particularly nasty one ; I had to steady my 
 horse a bit to enable him to negotiate the obstruction, 
 which he did right well, Hying over it, with a good 
 foot to spare. The boar had gained a couple of 
 
 9
 
 i 3 o REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 spears' lengths, and yet seemed to be going well 
 within himself at a long swinging canter. If you don't 
 press your pig from the very start you'll never catch 
 him. My horse required no spur to urge him on. 
 He was in his prime, about six, full of pluck, and hard 
 as nails, and we went fully a mile, jumping over 
 obstacles every hundred or a hundred and fifty yards. 
 The sows still led the way, the foam was dripping from 
 the boar's chaps, and his old eyes every now and then 
 looked at me out of the corner of the lids. He was 
 getting riled. I saw him stumble for the first time 
 over the next hedge, and knew he would not go much 
 farther ; as my horse flew over the same fence, the 
 sows were visible, but where was the boar ? I was 
 not left long in doubt, for he had lain close to the 
 hedge ; no sooner had my nag's hoofs touched the 
 ground than with a whoof, whoof! he thundered at 
 our heels. For the next three or four minutes I had 
 to use the persuaders to keep my horse from being 
 cut. Instead of jumping over the next fence, I 
 skirted it, followed by the boar not three feet behind 
 me. Finding I had the legs of him, I drew in the 
 reins and allowed my foe to get within a foot or so of 
 my steed's quarters, then, turning round in the saddle, 
 with a backward prod I stabbed the boar as hard as I 
 could in the head ; but the aim was not good, the blade 
 went in a little below the eyes, through the base of 
 the nostrils, glanced to the left, and it was as much as 
 I could do to withdraw my weapon. 
 
 The boar stood shaking his head ; the more he 
 shook it, the more blood he got in his eyes, and during 
 his indecision I wheeled round, and went at him as
 
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 SC
 
 THIRTY-FIVE MINUTES 131 
 
 fast as my horse could lay legs to the ground. Before 
 1 could close, he rushed, in his turn, at me. The spear 
 caught him in the neck, just below the withers ; the 
 blade bent like a reed, and, tough as it was, it snapped 
 in two, just saving me from being projected out of the 
 saddle, for the force of the collision had all but un- 
 horsed me. The broken shaft stuck upright, and with 
 this in close proximity to my quarter I had to gallop 
 off in search of another spear, the boar following me 
 the while. I did not attempt to clear the obstruction 
 I had already overcome, as my horse was getting 
 done, but circled round and round the field until my 
 syce, with the extra spear, should appear. At last I 
 saw his turban on the safe side of the hedge, put on 
 speed, seized the weapon, and making a circuit, I 
 charged the boar again, but he avoided the blow, 
 and with a stumble rolled over the next fence. My 
 horse rose at it too, but taking a deep breath as he 
 did so, his fore-feet caught in the topmost bar, and he 
 rolled heels over head. I fell clear and scrambled out 
 of the way, but was on my feet and had got hold of 
 the reins ere the horse recovered himself. 
 
 The boar had seen our mishap, and with another 
 ' whoof ' came at us. . There was no time to lose. I had 
 frequently practised jumping on to the saddle whilst 
 the horse was in motion, so taking a good hold of the 
 mane, I sprang into my seat just in time to avoid the 
 rush of the boar, who, however, was so close that the 
 broken shaft struck the quarter of my steed. The pig 
 was blown, so was my horse — his tumble had taken it 
 out of him considerably ; but he went with his ears 
 still cocked, and, as I circled round, did not shirk the
 
 i 3 2 REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 encounter. The boar almost sprang at me, but the 
 blade caught him under the jaws and came out through 
 the top of the neck, severing the spine, and he rolled 
 over. I had to let go the spear, and my horse sprang 
 clear of the foe. 
 
 I was glad the struggle was over. It had lasted 
 just thirty-five minutes. I was perspiring like a ' frog 
 on a log ' ; my horse could not have gone another 
 mile at the same pace. I was off him, loosened the 
 girths, turned his head to the wind, and carefully 
 examined him. Fortunately, when he went such a 
 cropper, he had fallen on his side, and his knees were 
 untouched ; but some of the splinters from the broken 
 shaft had penetrated his quarter and gave me some 
 trouble to extract.* My syce soon appeared, and went 
 back for coolies. I had to rest my horse, for these 
 fields had no gates as outlets. The natives clamber 
 over the fences at certain places, where holes for their 
 toes are left, and though it had been rather exciting 
 during the hunt, with a fresh horse, taking these 
 obstacles at a fly, it was very different in cold blood 
 and on a fagged steed. However, picking out the 
 lowest places, I negotiated them successfully, and got 
 back to camp to find that my comrades had killed a 
 couple of sows, and had breakfast ready. I did not 
 take long to pour a few chatties of cold water over me, 
 and then joined them at their meal. 
 
 In the afternoon I persuaded one of the Engineers 
 
 * Never leave a splinter from a bamboo in a wound. Some 
 years afterwards one of the nicest fellows in the 68th Queen's died 
 of lockjaw through a small splinter in his chin, which no one thought 
 anything of.
 
 A SPILL 133 
 
 to ride in preference to shooting. This time we sepa- 
 rated, the shooters going one way and we two another. 
 
 I think a sounder that broke was headed by the 
 second of the two boars we had disturbed in the 
 morning. He took across a plain covered with thick 
 prickly bushes, in which we lost sight of him several 
 times, but recovered him after a while each time. He 
 was making for the Kistna River, where there were a 
 lot of islands, densely covered with long grass, where, 
 if he once got in, he would be perfectly safe. I had 
 the legs of my companion, but in such ground we had 
 to ride at a moderate pace, for fear of overshooting 
 our quarry. So we were never far apart, and when 
 we got clear of the jungle, an uninterrupted plain, as 
 flat as a board and as smooth as a lawn, lay before us. 
 The boar was only a few hundred yards ahead. Here 
 we raced for the spear ; I got within prodding dis- 
 tance, my friend a few yards behind to my right. It 
 is a mistake to poke at the pig ; hold your spear 
 steady, in a line directly behind the shoulder-blade, 
 and let it go in with the impetus imparted to it by 
 the speed of your horse. My blade was within half 
 a foot ; in another second the coveted spear would 
 have been mine, but the boar turned at right angles. 
 I overshot the mark, but the Engineer met the boar ; 
 his spear went right through him and into the ground, 
 and such a cropper as horse, rider, and pig went over 
 I never saw. 
 
 I thought the man would be killed at least, and his 
 horse's back broken. The boar had broken the shaft 
 and was clear of the spear, the blade portion of which 
 was still sticking upright in the ground, and with a
 
 i34 REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 vicious glance around he made for my friend's pros- 
 trate body. I was round by that time and interposed, 
 giving the foe a good dig and withdrawing the spear, 
 on which he turned all his wrath on me. The beast 
 seemed to bear a charmed life ; the blood was pouring 
 in a stream from the hole made by the first spear 
 through his body. I had given him three thrusts well 
 in, but he was still full of fight ; in one headlong 
 charge my spear went in at the back, just missing 
 the spine, and came out between his hind-legs, yet he 
 ran up the shaft and cut the sole of my boot with his 
 left tusk as clean as if it had been done by a razor. I 
 withdrew my weapon, and, using it as the Bengalese 
 do theirs, I jobbed down, caught him just behind the 
 head, in the centre of the neck, and down he fell to 
 rise no more. 
 
 Whilst I was finishing the boar, my friend's horse 
 had recovered his feet, and seemed to be none the 
 worse for his spill. I found the rider stunned, and his 
 left arm dislocated at the elbow, but he soon came to, 
 and I got him into the saddle. Riding along the river 
 bank, I hailed a boat, and gave the men a couple ot 
 rupees to row the invalid back to Bezwada, where the 
 doctor soon put him to rights. Horse and rider had 
 rolled over the pig and had not a scratch. I led the 
 nag back, but my own stallion was rather inclined to 
 fight, so I was not sorry to see a syce coming my way, 
 to whom I consigned the waif. 
 
 My next hog-hunting adventure was at Bedar. I 
 was shooting with Henegan, of the Artillery ; the game 
 was principally antelope. As the ground was pretty 
 open, we took our horses and spears with us to run
 
 RACING FOR A SPEAR 135 
 
 down any wounded buck. We found that an antelope 
 even when wounded was not easy to overhaul, and all 
 but impossible to touch in an unwounded state. But 
 one day, just at daybreak, we came across a sounder 
 of pig". Changing our rifles for the spears, off we 
 went. We were fairly matched as to speed. I was 
 the lighter weight, and kept my horse's head close to 
 Henegan's girths, ready to rush in. 
 
 A native on horseback joined us, so we raced along. 
 The ground looked good : it was undulating ; the grass 
 was only a few inches long, there were no cracks in 
 the soil, the few rocks scattered about were easily 
 avoided, and the bushes offered no impediment, as they 
 were few and far between. We were pressing our 
 nags to their utmost, fighting for the spear. The 
 excitement was maddening ; Henegan leant forward, 
 hoping to draw first blood by a prick behind when 
 the boar turned suddenly. I made a mad prod, and 
 missed egregiously ; but whilst Henegan's horse went 
 on, mine turned like a dog. I heard a yell, but had 
 no time to look round. I expected Henegan would 
 be round every moment, and perhaps deprive me of 
 the advantage I had gained, but I heard no thundering 
 of hoofs behind me The native was also not in sight, 
 so giving my good steed the reins, I dashed alongside, 
 drove my spear well in, wheeled to the left, withdrew 
 it, and was just in time to meet the boar face to face. 
 He ran on to my outstretched spear, spitting himself. 
 I had to let go or be carried over the cantle of my 
 saddle. 
 
 There was no other spear out, and I was afraid the 
 quarry would escape us, when I was glad to see the
 
 136 REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 boar roll over on his side, the shaft broken in two, and 
 the beast at his last gasp. I did not think of Henegan, 
 or what had become of him, until my prize had breathed 
 his last, and, after admiring its grand proportions, I 
 looked about for my friend. I could see him nowhere. 
 The native was gesticulating, and off his horse ; so I 
 cantered back to see what had happened. Henegan 
 was up to his neck in a puddle, his horse on his side a 
 little on the right ; but, on my inquiring what was the 
 matter, the strange horseman said it was only a dul-dul, 
 or quicksand. The syces ran up fast ; we tied their 
 turbans together, threw the end to Henegan, who held 
 on whilst we hauled away with might and main, and 
 soon had the pleasure of seeing him on firm ground. 
 I told him to mount on my horse, and to ride back to 
 camp to cleanse himself of the filth that clung to him. 
 
 The syces soon collected a lot of brushwood, and 
 we were about to lay them on the surface to form a 
 sort of bridge, when I saw a vulture sweeping down 
 on to the boar. The horse seemed in no danger. I 
 was not going to allow my boar to become the prey 
 of these obscene birds ; so, before extricating the nag, 
 I made the syces drag the hog close to us. We 
 then found that only the hind-legs of the horse were 
 in the quicksand — his neck, fore-quarter, and head 
 were on the hard — and that the dul-dul was of small 
 extent. But he was a very large waler, not easy to 
 move ; and it took all our strength — and the strange 
 native helped us right well — before we got him on to 
 the solid earth. By this time the vultures had assembled 
 in large flocks, and seemed inclined to dispute with us 
 the possession of our quarry ; so I had to remain on
 
 HUNTING AT GUNTOOR 137 
 
 guard with a spear to keep them away, whilst the two 
 syces slung the boar on a stout bamboo, and carried 
 him to the bungalow. 
 
 A civilian whom we knew had a beat for hog near 
 Guntoor. There were seldom pigs there ; but occa- 
 sionally a sounder would take possession of a half-dried 
 tank, and commit depredations on the grain-fields. 
 News was brought in of a sounder, and that fifty 
 beaters would be ready next day to drive the pigs out. 
 Once clear of the marsh, they would have to go at least 
 three miles before finding any other cover, unless they 
 broke back through the beaters ; then there were a 
 few small hills covered with low shrub, and here and 
 there marshy places with long reeds and grass in which 
 a solitary pig might take refuge, which they would not 
 afford shelter to a sounder. It is the unforeseen that 
 often happens. There were only three of us out — T., C, 
 and I. T. was a civilian, a capital sportsman, and well 
 mounted. O. and I were subalterns not overburdened 
 with money. Our horses could go ; but our three, 
 when purchased, had not cost what any one of T.'s 
 had done. T.'s were pure Arabs, but the race is not 
 always to the swift. O. was one of the best riders I 
 ever came across, a light weight, and as good a fellow 
 as ever lived. We were kept on the move ; the sows, 
 many of them barren, kept breaking away, and we 
 chased several before we discovered their sex. There 
 is a boar attached to every sounder. If the sows are 
 many, there may be two ; but one is the master, and 
 the other, though keeping company, gives the larger a 
 wide berth. At last a great outcry and a scattering 
 of the coolies denoted something unusual, and waving
 
 138 REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 of arms and turban-cloths pointed the way we should 
 go. Skirting the bheel, we rode as hard as we could ; 
 but, quick as we were, the boar had been quicker, for 
 he was well ahead of us before we got clear of the 
 marshy ground. 
 
 He had half a mile start of us ; the hills were only a 
 mile and a half off, and we rode as if our very lives 
 depended on the result. But it was a hopeless task ; 
 the boar got into the scrub. However, we were not 
 far behind him ; and, instead of lying by or ' doing 
 'possum,' he crossed the low range, and made for some 
 marshy bits beyond. T. had led ; indeed, neither O. 
 nor I had attempted to wrest the lead from him. It 
 would be quite time enough to struggle for the spear 
 when we got closer. Across the open T. got on terms 
 with the boar, O. lying a length behind, whilst I had 
 been thrown out, having been misled by a sow which 
 broke away ; but finding out my mistake, I had cleared 
 a boulder on the hillside, and was making up leeway, 
 when, just as T. was within prodding distance of the 
 boar's side, his horse became rather restive. Hearing 
 O. thundering along behind him, T. made a desperate 
 lunge, cutting away a few bristles, but failing to show 
 blood. The boar jinked ; O. seized the opportunity, 
 and drove his blade well in, and the first spear was 
 won. 
 
 The boar now turned to bay, and as I had taken a 
 short-cut, and was then the nearest, he made for me. 
 O. and T. were then neck and neck, T. being not 
 overpleased at the turn affairs had taken. He generally 
 used to hunt alone, and had thus killed a fair number of 
 pigs. He did not like the Lieutenant taking the spear
 
 -a 
 
 S 
 
 
 bo 
 
 3 
 O 
 
 1-1 
 
 a.
 
 A PLUCKY SPEAR 139 
 
 from him. I met the boar fairly. I hoped to get my 
 blade into the chest ; but as the brute charged with 
 his head protecting his body, my spear went through 
 his brain, and he died incontinently. 
 
 The sounder with the other boar had been marked 
 down, and after tiffin we looked him up. Scarcely had 
 the beaters gone in, when there was a commotion, and 
 a fair-sized boar charged me without any provocation. 
 I had just time to urge my steed into a gallop (never 
 receive a hog at a halt ; charge at him), and speared 
 him. O. and T. were neck and neck. The boar made 
 for them ; O. speared over the reins, T. on the off 
 side, and they rolled the foe over, but both lost their 
 weapons. I came up hand over hand ; the boar, with 
 two long spears in him, made for me, and to spear was 
 impossible, for it was as much as I could do to avoid 
 the two shafts, which swayed about like pendulums, 
 and were heavily weighted at the butts. Then O. did 
 a plucky thing : nearing the boar, he rushed past him, 
 and, as the brute charged, cleverlv seized one shaft, 
 and though he got a nasty blow on the knee-cap with 
 the other, he withdrew the one he had seized, came 
 up from the rear, and, with a forward thrust, spitted 
 the pig from end to end. We had no further luck that 
 day ; T. was disgusted, and did not exert himself either 
 to show us more sport or to obtain it himself. So the 
 next day we wished him adieu, with many thanks for 
 the hospitality shown us ; but he never asked any of 
 us to join him in another hunt. He was very different 
 from Tom Prendergast, who preferred that his guests 
 should get the sport rather than that he should have 
 the luck himself.
 
 i4° REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 I will only give one more reminiscence : MacMaster, 
 of the 36th, a noted sportsman and naturalist, a good 
 shot and a clipping rider ; Gostling, of the Civil Ser- 
 vice ; Clerk, of my corps ; Weldon, of the Police, were 
 out with me in some difficult ground, where occa- 
 sionally a few pigs were to be found. We had fair 
 luck ; two boars had been killed, one spear falling to 
 MacMaster, and the other to Gostling, who won it 
 through the speed and bottom of his gray Arab (I 
 bought the horse there and then, and he was the best 
 for hog I ever rode). There was then an interval. 
 In the afternoon's beat Weldon got the spear, but 
 could not extract it again ; the boar charged him 
 before being touched, and over rolled man and horse. 
 MacMaster was coming from one way ; I was charging 
 down from the very opposite. The horse struggled in 
 vain to rise ; the boar gave him another gash, and 
 then went for his master, who was lying face down- 
 wards, apparently insensible. MacMaster and I both 
 drove our spears well in, the former on the outer, and 
 I on the inner side ; the boar fell right on to Weldon, 
 and Mac Master's horse cleared both. Just then Clerk 
 saw a large boar, and gave chase. Gostling hesitated 
 a moment whether he should come to our assistance, 
 or dispute the spear with Clerk ; he finally decided on 
 the latter, but Clerk was too near, and won. 
 
 Gostling having killed the boar in his charge, 
 MacMaster wheeled round, and we heard fearful 
 utterances. Weldon was struggling to get clear of 
 the incubus on the top of him, but could make no 
 impression on the huge mass. We dismounted as 
 quickly as we could, but it required all our strength to
 
 END OF A GOOD MARE 141 
 
 drag off the unclean beast (and unclean he was, too, in 
 more respects than one, for he had been wallowing in 
 the filthiest of mires). When our Irish friend got up, 
 he was very irate to see us both laughing, as he could 
 not see the joke of it. We prayed him to betake 
 himself to the tents and get clean, but Pat would not 
 till he had ascertained the fate of his beautiful mare ; 
 he had only owned her three or four months, and had 
 paid 600 rupees for her, which is a fair price for an 
 Australian, but she was past praying for. She had 
 been twice ripped, once in the hock, and once along 
 the abdomen, through which the entrails protruded. 
 Pat had tears in his eyes, and saying, ' Will one ot 
 you put an end to her? I can't,' went off. I had 
 already sent off for a gun, for I knew the poor creature 
 had received her death-wound. On its arrival, putting 
 the muzzle inside the ear, I pulled the trigger, and the 
 gallant mare gave up the ghost without a sigh or a 
 quiver.
 
 [ »42 ] 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 ELEPHANTS. 
 
 Two varieties of Indian elephants — How to kill them — Game in the 
 Prome district — Purchase of two rifles — -Burmese shikaries — 
 Their dislike of Europeans — Mosquitoes — How to circumvent 
 them — My first elephant hunt — Tree-leeches — Native cookery 
 dying out — Bag my first elephant — A sad disappointment — 
 D'Oyly and Moung Goung Gye's state elephant — Gallantry of 
 a young sowar — Habits of elephants — Anecdotes — Elephants 
 do not breed in captivity — Difficulty of finding a good shekar 
 elephant — Mahouts— Their duties — Death of Wedderburn — 
 Necessity of elephants for shooting tigers — Their furniture — 
 Battery for sport — How to manage elephants — A pitched battle. 
 
 There are two distinct species of elephant — the African 
 and the Asiatic ; but the latter are represented by two 
 varieties — the gondaks, or those having tusks, and the 
 mucknahs, or tuskless ones. The latter are found 
 scattered abroad here, there and everywhere, but are 
 principally to be found in Ceylon and Sumatra. There 
 are men, like Sir Samuel Baker, Rogers, Garrow, 
 Michael, and a few others, who can boast of having 
 slain their hundreds of these pachyderms, but the sport 
 is nearly a thing of the past in India. They are now 
 protected throughout our provinces, but not a year 
 passes that some rogue elephant does not take to 
 killing people and destroying their granaries, and the
 
 HOW TO KILL ELEPHANTS 143 
 
 collector of the district is only too glad to avail himself 
 of the services of any man who will go out to slay the 
 creature. It is as well, therefore, to know how to deal 
 with them. The natives of Burma and Assam fire 
 behind the shoulder, and I have seen many monsters 
 who have been so killed, but as a rule the European 
 confines himself to the head shots. There are six 
 vulnerable places : 
 
 First, the bump between the eyes, which should be 
 fired at from the front, low down and upwards. 
 
 Second, the temple, between the corner of the eye 
 and top of ear. This shot should be fired either from 
 the right or left half-face, from the front, slightly up- 
 wards and backwards, or in the centre of the hollow or 
 temple, equidistant from the corner of the eye to the 
 top of the ear. Of all shots, this is the easiest to kill 
 with, and the safest to the hunter, because, being on 
 one side, if the shot does not prove fatal, and the 
 elephant either charges or involuntarily rushes forward, 
 as most animals are apt to do on suddenly receiving a 
 wound, the sportsman will not be in the line of charge 
 or flight, and will be less liable to be trampled upon 
 than in firing the front shot. 
 
 Third, a spot just behind the ear at the junction of 
 the head ; but this is a shot one seldom gets. 
 
 Fourth, a shot fired from a moderate height down- 
 wards in a forward direction, striking the back of the 
 head close to the spine, when death will be instan- 
 taneous. 
 
 Fifth, straight across into the orifice of the ear. 
 For this shot the gun should be on a level with the 
 ear, and the ball should pass straight through.
 
 i 4 4 REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 Sixth, behind the shoulder at the point of the 
 elbow. Also, a shot fired into an upraised foot will 
 cripple the creature and make him an easy victim to 
 succeeding shots. 
 
 To hunt these animals successfully on foot is very 
 hard work, and requires a man not only to be in good 
 training, sound of wind and limb, but also to be 
 possessed of determination, undaunted pluck, a quick 
 eye, and very sharp hearing. It is no child's play to 
 slay these animals in their forest homes. Huge as 
 they are, no beast is easier to kill, if a hunter comes 
 across one on foot, and if he follow the directions 
 already given. Not only must the spot to aim at be 
 known, but the angle at which the shot is to be fired ; 
 one without the other is useless. Moreover, the distance 
 should not exceed twenty yards ; better if it be a good 
 deal less. Many men prefer smooth bores — generally 
 double eights, with hardened spherical bullets driven by 
 eight or ten drachms of black powder. I myself have 
 never used anything bigger than a ten two-groove rifle 
 or a '577 express; either will kill if held straight, charged 
 with six drachms of powder and a solid steel-tipped 
 conical bullet, hardened with a small alloy of quicksilver. 
 
 The first elephant I ever killed was at Eeing- 
 mah, which was my headquarters for some years. 
 I had seen a good deal of Burma by that time. I 
 searched for sport from the very day of my arrival in 
 Prome. I had soon discovered that the finest snipe- 
 shooting in the world was to be found in the country 
 between the middle of August and the end of October. 
 Other small game, such as hares, francolins, jungle- 
 fowl, and barking-deer, were plentiful about Namyan,
 
 MY BATTERY 145 
 
 and also at Eeingmah. But India and Burma differed 
 so much that, however expert a shikarie a man might 
 have been in India, he was no use in Burma. Now 
 Grant Allan, the Deputy Quartermaster-General, was, 
 or had been, a noted sportsman, and had brought his 
 battery of rifles and guns to Burma. He had travelled 
 more over the country than any other European, but 
 had seen no game worth mentioning. So in disgust he 
 offered me his whole battery for 500 rupees, though it 
 was worth treble the money. But I only took a Lang 
 double No. 10 two-groove rifle (which, having been 
 made by the celebrated Joseph Lang in 1839 for 
 Captain Gill, of Ellora fame, was in 1854 as good as 
 new) and a four - bore single rifle by Blanche, for 
 400 rupees — half their value. 
 
 My work consisted principally in surveying and road- 
 making. I had to explore the country to find out the 
 best routes for the proposed lines. For this purpose I 
 was provided with elephants, and in pushing my way 
 across country through the vast plains, I found that 
 deer were pretty abundant, especially on the borders 
 of marshy places or in quins (clearances surrounded 
 by tree-jungle, but no longer cultivated). But I could 
 get no Burmese shikaries to go with me ; there are 
 such men in plenty in the country, but it is their trade 
 to kill deer and sell it to the village people. They are 
 looked upon as outcasts for taking life, though that 
 does not prevent the people from buying from them the 
 spoils of the chase ; but they are not shikaries as we 
 understand that term in India. They do not like their 
 preserves invaded, fear Europeans, and think if one 
 was killed in a hunt they would probably be hanged. 
 
 10
 
 i 4 6 REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 Our sportsmen, with a very few exceptions, did not 
 understand the language. The Burmese were accus- 
 tomed to their own mode of sport, by torchlight and 
 with bells at night, and did not comprehend the niceties 
 of stalking or of shooting off elephants. I liked the 
 people, and lived in their midst without fear. I en- 
 couraged them to bring me in ktibber (news of 
 game), and by giving trifling presents to the women 
 and a little tobacco to the men I tried to conciliate 
 them. I knew all the influential people of both sexes. 
 There was not a village for miles around I had not 
 visited, and wherever I went I kept my eyes open, 
 behaved liberally, and begged them all to send me 
 news of any game to be found in their neighbour- 
 hood. 
 
 I generally sat on a pad behind the mahout, with a 
 Burman guide behind me, having no howdah then. I 
 occasionally came across deer. At first I missed 
 egregiously, for the knack of shooting off elephants is 
 not acquired in a day ; but now and then I made a 
 lucky shot, and keeping but a little for myself and 
 servants, I gave the greater part of the meat to the 
 people at work under me. 
 
 Every day of my life, when not searching for new 
 routes, I was up at daybreak, drank a cup of coffee, 
 mounted my pony, and remained on the works until 
 near sunset. I used then to pay the people, bathe, 
 dine, and go to bed. There was plenty of small game; 
 by going out for an hour or two I could always shoot 
 a few francolins and hares, and in the season I could 
 have lived on snipe. But my great ambition was to 
 slay an elephant. I had seen killed, or helped to kill,
 
 GAME IN THE PROME DISTRICT 147 
 
 everything else, but had never come across wild 
 elephants, rhinoceroses, or buffaloes. 
 
 My house was within a hundred yards of a nullah, 
 which, coming out of the Nawen Creek, near Prome, 
 went through the country parallel to the Irrawadie, and 
 formed the Tlein creek lower down. Once in the 
 rains, when the country was flooded and travelling 
 impossible by what ought to have been land, I 
 determined to reach Eeingmah by water. I was 
 assured it could not be done, as creeks did not join 
 the two streams together, but this was against common- 
 sense. From the contour of the land I knew passages 
 must exist, and after a great deal of trouble I got an 
 old Dacoit to show me the way on a payment of 
 20 rupees. I had a quantity of pickaxes, shovels, 
 spades, blasting tools, etc., to carry, and, as only 
 small boats could go, I engaged nearly fifty of 
 them, and with this flotilla reached my destination in 
 three days. I had to cut my way here and there, 
 as creepers had blocked some of the smaller creeks, 
 but it was not a hard trip, after all, and saved a 
 great deal of trouble and expense. The mosquitoes 
 in Eeingmah were so bad we could not have existed, 
 had we not found that they could not bite through 
 newspapers ; so we got suits of loose wrappers from 
 the soles of our boots to our necks, made of paper, 
 and with a vigorous punkah overhead we bid them 
 defiance, though the dinner-table would be at times 
 black with them. 
 
 One day a Burman came to me and said he had 
 seen an immense tusker elephant near the nullah, 
 about five miles below. Telling my havildar to look
 
 148 REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 after the works that day, and to pay the coolies 
 if I was late, I got into the Burman's boat, and 
 took nothing with me save my two weapons and 
 ammunition. 
 
 Instead of taking me five, the man took me fully 
 ten miles. We then landed, and walked through a 
 nasty swampy tangled jungle for a couple of miles 
 more, where leeches were very plentiful. We then 
 entered a forest of eein, or bastard teak. These trees 
 have huge leaves which are shed twice a year, decom- 
 pose, and form rich vegetable mould, which in places 
 is so deep that I have seen an elephant unable to go 
 through it. There is seldom much undergrowth in 
 these forests. We had trudged for an hour, and I 
 was getting heartily sick at seeing nothing of our 
 quarry, when presently the guide pointed out some 
 fresh elephant droppings, and we also noticed their 
 footmarks, which showed that the herd consisted of 
 some four or five full-grown beasts and two small ones. 
 As one track was much larger than any of the others, 
 I presumed one was a bull, and the others his wives 
 and children. 
 
 We followed the trail, which was plain enough, but 
 it seemed as if we should never overtake the herd. 
 We had started at 8 a.m. ; it was now 2 p.m. The 
 heat was suffocating ; there was not a breath of wind, 
 and the mosquitoes and horse-flies buzzed and hovered 
 round us ; worst of all, we got among the tree-leeches, 
 which, almost as fine as bits of thread, inserted 
 themselves down our backs, up our legs, and hung 
 about us in festoons, and with repletion soon swelled 
 to respectable proportions. I was in good condition,
 
 MY FIRST ELEPHANT HUNT 149 
 
 but more accustomed to ride than walk, and began to 
 feel pretty well dead beat. 
 
 I was cogitating whether I should give in, when the 
 trumpet of an elephant, apparently not far off, instilled 
 fresh life into me ; so on we pushed again. It is extra- 
 ordinary how far sound travels in a forest, and how 
 deceptive it is. We walked a good hour and a half 
 without sighting the herd. They were probably feed- 
 ing away from us. I was tired, so I suppose I did not 
 pick my footsteps with due care, for suddenly, right in 
 front of us, we heard a shrill cry of alarm, a terrific 
 rush, and the herd was off. We did not even catch 
 sight of them, but, from the noise they made, it was 
 evident they were thoroughly alarmed, and that we 
 should not see them again that day. When elephants 
 are not frightened, they go through jungle so quietly 
 that they make not the least noise. 
 
 What to do I knew not. It was getting towards 
 dusk, and we must have been at least twenty miles 
 from Eeingmah, and ten in a direct line from our boat. 
 The mosquitoes and sand-flies became very trouble- 
 some, and our position was anything but pleasant. 
 My knowledge of the language was very limited then, 
 but I knew a few phrases ; and telling the guide to get 
 back quickly, I followed him silently, and in time came 
 to a village, where it was apparent I must spend the 
 night. I was glad enough to rest my weary limbs ; I 
 had had no food all day, and the severe exercise had 
 made me very hungry ; besides, after the many miles 
 I had walked, tormented by leeches and other vermin, 
 I required a thorough rest. 
 
 The Burmese, as I have said before, are a hospitable
 
 ISO REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 race. They gave me a clean house to go into, and 
 commenced to rig up a bed for me ; but a glance at 
 the greasy pillow was enough — I preferred the clean 
 bamboo floor, and a log for a support for the head. 
 The village, a small one, was called Subaguay, and 
 was situated on a small rivulet running into the Way- 
 gheechoung. I was soon dabbling in clear fresh water, 
 which was too shallow for swimming, but nothing re- 
 freshes one so much as a plunge into cold water after 
 a hard day's fag. 
 
 An old woman soon cooked me some rice, and, 
 seeing some fresh fish hanging up, I got her to broil 
 me a couple. The people offered me messes of their 
 own ; but, as gnapee* predominated in them all, I de- 
 clined them with thanks. I had no table appliances. 
 My shikar knife was too large ; but the woman gave me 
 one of her own, and, using my fingers, I made a fair 
 enough meal. But what would I have not given for a 
 bottle of Bass ! Sleep was out of the question, for, 
 tired as I was, directly I dozed the mosquitoes settled 
 on me in myriads. I dislike their buzzing even more 
 than their bites, and had to do battle with them all 
 night, thankful to see daylight when it came. I rushed 
 into the rivulet, finding a deeper pool ; but it was 
 slightly muddy at the bottom, and I got a couple of 
 leeches on me. The gnabodeen fish also took a nip 
 or two out of me, but I felt greatly refreshed by the 
 immersion. These gnabodeens swarm in most rivers 
 in Burma. They are terrible pests. When taken out 
 of the water, they blow themselves out like a balloon. 
 
 * Gnapee is a decoction of fish pounded in a mortar with salt, 
 and is most offensive to Europeans.
 
 ON THE TRAIL AGAIN 15 1 
 
 The old woman who had taken me under her culinary 
 charge brought me a cup of tea, of which the Burmese 
 are very fond, drinking it plain, without sugar or milk. 
 I robbed a hen-roost of an egg, and broke the yolk 
 into the tea, stirred it well up, and put in a lump of 
 molasses, and I had as good a cup of tea as I could 
 wish for. 
 
 I told the guide to go back to Eeingmah, and, giving 
 him the small cannon, I followed him with the double ; 
 but I soon saw that he had no intention of doing as I had 
 bid him. He took me straight back to where we had 
 lost the elephants the day before. I did not like giving 
 up, for fear of never getting them to bring me news 
 of big game again, for this was the very first occasion 
 anyone in the country had volunteered to show sport. 
 I did not want them to think me a laggard, and I 
 myself was most anxious to slay Behemoth. I did 
 not know at that time that the Burmese prefer the 
 flesh of the elephant to all other, and thought the 
 man's anxiety for me to be successful in our chase was 
 due to his love of sport, whereas he was but hungering 
 and thirsting after the flesh-pots. 
 
 As there was nothing else for it, I girded up my 
 loins, and took up the trail afresh. We had started at 
 7 a.m., and toiled through interminable jungles till past 
 twelve, when I called a halt. I had not been troubled 
 with leeches to the same extent as on the day before, 
 for, seeing the Burman smear his legs over with their 
 crude petroleum, I did likewise, and it answered well 
 as long as it remained on ; but when the dew and wet 
 leaves had saturated my gaiters, the smell wore off, 
 and these pests soon found their way to my feet and
 
 152 REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 ankles, so that I had to stop now and then to extract 
 them. Another awful trick these leeches have is to 
 drop off the bushes as you brush past them, crawl 
 down your neck, and fasten themselves on to the small 
 of your back. 
 
 The Burman had brought food with him in the 
 shape of boiled rice, to which was added a little 
 molasses, the whole being- compressed into a bamboo, 
 to be pushed out from the bottom like a sausage, and 
 eaten. Natives will subsist on this for days. My 
 gfuide offered me some, but I declined it ; so while he 
 ate his breakfast I wandered off a little way, had a 
 ofood drink and a bathe. 
 
 We then resumed our tracking, and I was glad to 
 find the pachyderms had taken a backward course, 
 and were going in the direction of the village where I 
 had put up the previous night. We walked along as 
 fast as we could, consistent with making as little noise 
 as possible, for the least unusual sound in a forest will 
 send all wild animals off; not only are their olfactory 
 nerves acute, but their hearing is of the best, and a 
 man's footfall is soon recognised as something un- 
 canny. 
 
 We were tormented as usual, and we seemed to be 
 getting no nearer our quarry. So at 4 p.m. I again 
 called a halt, and this time I made the man understand 
 that he must take me back to the village, which he did 
 most reluctantly. We arrived there at sunset, I dread- 
 ing to have to pass another sleepless night, tortured by 
 mosquitoes, and with no bed and no beer. 
 
 My delight may be imagined when I saw my boy 
 waiting for me, my bed and curtains nicely rigged up,
 
 MADRAS CURRY 153 
 
 a small camp-table and chair arranged outside, a cold 
 hump, a lot of beer, wine, etc., covered with thick 
 quilted covers well sprinkled with water, hanging up 
 to cool, and perceived the delicious smell of a prawn- 
 curry, all but ready for the table. 
 
 To get a really good curry nowadays, even in India, 
 is difficult. The native cooks, than whom there are 
 no better in the world in learning to prepare what are 
 called ' Europe ' dishes, have to a great extent lost 
 the art of preparing their own national ones. But in 
 those days most Madras cooks would give you a 
 different curry at each meal, and continue to vary 
 them daily for a month. People at home must not 
 imagine that the apology offered them nowadays is a 
 good curry. It consists principally of turmeric and 
 cayenne pepper that scarifies the roof of your mouth 
 and tongue, and gives no pleasure in the eating. The 
 Madrassies are the only people in India who really 
 understand what a good curry should be. The in- 
 gredients should be fresh, differently apportioned for 
 each kind, and newly ground every day. Fresh cocoa- 
 nuts are also necessary. One of the commonest, yet 
 perhaps the very best curry in India forty years ago, 
 was an ordinary one in the Madras Club. It was made 
 of tender cubes of mutton that would almost melt in 
 the mouth, the ingredients were most appetizing and 
 delicious, and not at all hot. When I visited the 
 old haunts three or four years ago, the club butler did 
 not even know it, and I had forgotten its native name. 
 In a few dishes the Bengalies excel the Madrassies. 
 Their dalbat is very good ; beefsteaks, made out of an 
 old cock or a duck, are, I think, better than the juiciest
 
 i54 REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 steak obtainable in England ; but they have no idea 
 of a curry. When you consider that in camp a boy 
 will prepare a dinner fit for a king, his cuisine consisting 
 of a few earthenware pots, a tripod or two, a little 
 charcoal, and a few sticks, and that he will give you 
 a roast, side-dishes, soup, and fish if it is obtainable, 
 winding up with the inevitable curry and rice, and 
 poppadums, or Bombay ducks, it is a marvel how he 
 manages it. 
 
 A long residence in the East, especially the India of 
 old days, spoils a man for a life in Europe, where 
 there is nothing real ; everything is artificial. You 
 can never depend on two days being alike, to say 
 nothing of the blinding storms of snow, the bitter cold 
 winds, and the miserable wet weather, so often experi- 
 enced. In India we know exactly what to expect, and 
 are prepared to meet it. There we live a life of ease, 
 are not troubled with formalities or Mrs. Grundy, 
 have jolly companions at hand, can enjoy good sport 
 without troubling ourselves about game - licences or 
 ascertaining whether we are trespassing or not. I am 
 speaking of the India of old, before there were reserved 
 lands, and before native rajahs took to preserving game 
 and became expert sportsmen. Every old Indian finds 
 out when too late what a mistake he has made in retir- 
 ing to this detestable climate. Marriage has a good 
 deal to do with it, and were it not for the children, 
 few men would come home, instead of settling in 
 India. The old directors were wise when they dis- 
 couraged matrimony amongst their officers. But we 
 live and learn, and often thoroughly repent. 
 
 That night I was in very good case. After a good
 
 COMFORTABLE QUARTERS i55 
 
 bathe and a hearty scrub, I put on clean clothes, 
 enjoyed my meal, washing it down with a bottle of 
 cool Bass, a liquor which in those days was far superior 
 to what it is now. Before the overland route, thou- 
 sands and thousands of casks of, first Hodson, and then 
 of Bass and Allsopp Pale Ales, used to be sent round 
 the Cape. Whether the long voyage improved the 
 ale, I know not. Each mess had men specially 
 skilled in bottling beer, which, when cooled in salt- 
 petre, became nectar. One thing I do pride myself 
 upon, and that is my knowledge of what constitutes, 
 or does not, good ale. During a life, now, alas ! 
 getting on towards the seventies, I have never drunk 
 spirits, not because I thought there was any harm in 
 doing so in moderation, but because I had no taste for 
 them ; nor did I ever take to smoking, but I should 
 like to have all that beer has cost me ! 
 
 My people at Eeingmah, alarmed at my not returning 
 by the evening of the day I had left, made inquiries 
 the next day, and ascertained that I was at Subaguay, 
 for boats were constantly passing both ways, so my 
 man put my traps into my boat, and brought every- 
 thing I required. I had not given him credit for so 
 much sense, but he was an exceptional native, and 
 about the best servant I ever had ; at the end of four 
 years, however, he got home-sick, and would go back to 
 his own country. Both he and his son, who was my 
 chora, or dressing-boy, picked up Burmese, and spoke 
 it almost as well as the natives of the country. Through 
 him I learned that some Burmese, watching their paddy- 
 fields, had seen the elephants during the night and 
 early that morning ; that they were in a tree-forest
 
 i 5 6 REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 bordering on the cultivation. So carefully cleaning- 
 out both rifles, I reloaded them. The great drawback 
 to muzzle-loaders was the difficulty of extracting the 
 charges prior to cleaning. To fire off heavily-charged 
 weapons was to alarm the whole jungle, and it was 
 not always easy to draw a bullet from a grooved tube. 
 Mine were belted bullets that fitted so perfectly that I 
 could easily pull them out with a stout loading-rod, 
 but what a comfort breech-loaders are now ! The less 
 noise you make in camp, especially after dark, so much 
 the greater chance of sport. 
 
 I took the double rifle ; the guide carried the single. 
 Not knowing how long we might be out, I took an 
 extra hand, and made him carry some breakfast for 
 me. On reaching the paddy-fields, it became evident 
 that the watchers had spoken the truth, for a great 
 deal of the corn had been eaten, and more trampled 
 underfoot ; and as the forest, consisting of trees and 
 bamboo, was close by, and they had not been molested, 
 I felt sure the elephants would not be far off, so took 
 double precautions, and advanced with the greatest 
 care. About 10 a.m. we first heard them, and advanced 
 up-wind on them, as if our very lives depended on our 
 caution. The breakfast coolie was left behind, and 
 the guide and I crept on from tree to tree and bush 
 to bush in the direction the animals were feeding, 
 for we could hear them tearing down the young 
 bamboo shoots. Even now the elephants were not 
 nearly as close to us as we thought. Crawling along, 
 with every sense stretched to the utmost, momen- 
 tarily expecting to come upon them, we had to con- 
 trol our impatience for fully half an hour, when at last
 
 ELEPHANTS IN SIGHT 157 
 
 the herd appeared in sight. We could distinguish 
 several females browsing on the young bamboos, but 
 the male was nowhere visible. The beasts were 
 somewhat scattered, and the Burman kept urging 
 me to fire at the nearest. I wanted the bull, not 
 a female that carries no trophies, but, never having 
 then killed an elephant, I was very eager, and did 
 not require much persuasion to make up my mind to 
 kill one if possible. As for the guide, all he wanted 
 was the meat, and the carcass of a female would be as 
 good to him as that of a male. It is far easier to 
 approach elephants when they are browsing in a bamboo 
 jungle than anywhere else, for, if the wind be favour- 
 able, they themselves make such a noise in tearing 
 down the young shoots, which snap with reports re- 
 sembling pistol-shots, that they are not nearly so 
 likely to hear a footfall as in other jungles where they 
 themselves make less noise. 
 
 Having made up my mind to murder the nearest, a 
 plump young female, I crawled up to within twenty 
 yards of her, and squatted down under a bamboo 
 clump, till she should afford me a shot at the proper 
 angle and in the right place ; for though I had never 
 tired at an elephant in my life, I had read, I think, 
 every book written on sport, had examined numerous 
 skulls, consulted many sportsmen, and was pretty 
 confident where and how the ball should strike to 
 kill. 
 
 Whilst thus waiting patiently, I heard a slight noise, 
 so slight that at first I paid no attention to it, but hear- 
 ing it repeated, I looked round, and there, gradually 
 approaching me, with his ears cocked and trunk raised,
 
 15 s REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 was a fine tusker. It is one thing to stalk an animal, and 
 quite another being stalked. I suppose the animal had 
 got a taint, though a very slight one, of me, and could 
 not make out what it was, so was carefully approach- 
 ing to ascertain who had dared to come between the 
 wind and his nobility. He would stop every second 
 or two, throwing his trunk about in every direction, 
 scenting the air, but refraining from giving the warn- 
 ing cry. Perhaps the very fact of my being behind 
 the clump of bamboos, lying flat on the ground, while 
 his trunk was raised so high, prevented his scenting 
 me thoroughly. From his previous eagerness, I pre- 
 sumed the attendant with the four-bore was close by 
 me, and wishing to give the tusker a taste of my 
 quality, I held out my hand for the single rifle, but 
 both man and weapon had disappeared. He had left 
 me in the lurch. Not that it mattered in the least, for 
 I was perfectly safe, the clump was dense enough to 
 resist a cannon ball, and much too low for an elephant 
 to charge underneath it, so I waited for the brute to 
 come close enough with the utmost coolness. The 
 elephant kept gradually advancing, halting, intently 
 listening, using its extraordinary olfactory powers to 
 the utmost, yet it was puzzled : perhaps the variable 
 currents of air balked him, I cannot tell, but at last 
 he halted not more than six or eight paces from me ; 
 he seemed disgusted and dissatisfied, and put down 
 his trunk to strike the warning note on the ground. This 
 was my opportunity ; the temple was exposed, though 
 not quite at the exact angle. If he had been a couple 
 of feet more forward it would have been better, but at 
 such close quarters I knew the bullet, hardened by a
 
 DEATH OF THE TUSKER 159 
 
 mixture of quicksilver, and driven by six drachms of 
 Pegou and Wilkes' best rifle powder, would go through 
 and through, and penetrate the brain ; so, taking a quick 
 but steady aim, I let drive. The monster rushed for- 
 ward a pace, and fell head foremost in a clump of 
 bamboos. I was so delighted at my luck that I quite 
 forgot to fire the left barrel at the cow, and although 
 the Burman appeared as if by magic, and thrust the 
 cannon into my hand, I never dreamt of using it, or 
 firing at any of the others, though they were so dum- 
 founded by the report of the rifle, and the fall of their 
 lord and master, that they clustered together, and I 
 might have killed one or more had I used the weapons 
 at my command. 
 
 The Burman was disgusted at my not exterminating 
 the herd. I did not understand the ins and outs then ; 
 but the more I had slain, the more he would have got 
 from the villagers for the flesh. The ^uide went off 
 to get people to cut out the tusks, which were very 
 thick, but not long, and I sat down not far off and 
 breakfasted. In a very short time the inhabitants of 
 the neighbouring villages turned up armed with dhaws 
 and knives. They had a long palaver, and apparently 
 high words, with my shikarie, finally rushing upon the 
 carcass, weapons in hand, hacking and cutting away, 
 each trying for certain tit-bits which are found in the 
 inside only, and endeavouring to collect together as 
 much meat as possible. This was a sight I could not 
 endure, so I walked back to the village, packed up my 
 traps, and returned to my headquarters in my own 
 boat. 
 
 It was not till some time afterwards I discovered
 
 160 REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 that the shikarie had sold the carcass of the elephant 
 I had shot to the villagers by auction, getting not only 
 his share of the meat, but some 50 rupees, by the 
 transaction. That was the palaver that preceded the 
 rush for the meat, and I have seen the same scene 
 reacted on several occasions afterwards. 
 
 Having told of a successful hunt, I will relate the 
 story of one very much the reverse, when I was at 
 Lepangyoung, on the Pabay Choung, north-west of 
 Tongho, where several elephants had been killed. 
 This was a capital locality for sport, as not only 
 elephants, but gaur, sambur, tigers, and leopards were 
 fairly abundant. Starting early one morning, we got on 
 the fresh trail of a solitary elephant. As he fed as he 
 went along, and showed no signs of being in a hurry, 
 I was in hopes we should soon overtake him, but we 
 walked a good fifteen miles before we sighted him. 
 He was standing in the bed of a small rivulet, pulling 
 down and eating the stalks of wild-plantains. The 
 wind blew directly from him to us, so I crawled up 
 within twenty yards and sat down. His huge quarter 
 was staring me in the face, and I could not see any 
 vulnerable spot, but occasionally, as he swung his 
 immense head about to flick off the flies, he exposed 
 a splendid pair of ivories. I must have watched 
 him more than twenty minutes ; he had eaten all the 
 esculent morsels in the front, and to get at others he 
 would have to present his broadside. So with both 
 barrels on full cock, and finger on trigger, I bided my 
 time. Suddenly, without the least warning, he spun 
 round facing me. I threw up the rifle in a hurry ; a 
 drooping bamboo struck the barrel ; the rifle exploded
 
 o 
 o 
 
 x> 
 
 B 
 
 O 
 
 o 
 
 <u 
 
 T3
 
 MOUNG GOUNG GEE 161 
 
 in mid-air ; I had made a clean miss. Before I could 
 use the left barrel all the vulnerable points were safe 
 under cover, and I was not cruel enough to fire at his 
 carcass. Thus this monster with most splendid tusks 
 got away untouched. The memory of that wretched 
 miss rankled for many a day in my bosom, and even 
 now my mouth waters when I think of the trophies 
 that ought to have been mine. 
 
 In 1854 Colonel Cotton, C.B., sent a force out 
 from Tapoon, which, travelling all day and night on 
 elephants, surprised Moung Goung Gee, the rebel 
 leader, and his camp. It was just upon dusk; the 
 Burmese bolted one way, our force the other. The 
 enemy left everything behind. Some men of the 
 o-allant 2nd Bengal Fusiliers found, as they thought, 
 ingots of lead, and scattered them about the jungle ; 
 but one or two of the old stagers who kept some 
 found out that they were pure silver. The officer in 
 command, though personally brave enough, was not a 
 man of decision, and allowed himself to be swayed by 
 an officer who afterwards in India got no end of a name 
 for gallantry, but who on this and other occasions in 
 Burma was not conspicuous for that quality. He urged 
 the Commandant not to remain in possession of Goung 
 Gee's camp, as it was surrounded by jungle, from which 
 the Burmese would pepper us all night, but to retreat 
 to more open ground some miles to the rear. D'Oyly, 
 who was political officer, combated these views, but 
 without avail. A disgraceful retreat was decided upon. 
 D'Oyly then begged to be left with only a company 
 to follow up the day's success, but even that was 
 denied him. He, however, recaptured two of our 
 
 11
 
 i6 2 REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 Artillery horses, which the Burmese had stolen ; but 
 a huge tusker, Goung Gee's state elephant, escaped. 
 The Burmese, on our retreat, repossessed themselves 
 of their camp and goods, and were nowhere to be 
 found the next day. 
 
 In 1855 Colonel David Brown was Deputy- 
 Commissioner of Tharawaddie, with powers of life 
 and death. D'Oyly was his assistant, and Twinam 
 in command of the forces. These officers stood no 
 nonsense, and made no retrograde movements ; 
 they followed the enemy day and night, soon broke 
 up the whole gang, caught the chiefs eldest son, 
 hanged him, and restored the province to peace and 
 quietness. But the state elephant, a magnificent 
 brute with splendid tusks but of very uncertain 
 temper, as he had killed several mahouts, again 
 escaped. D'Oyly determined to capture him if 
 possible ; if not, to destroy him. He took one of our 
 best mahouts and a plucky Burman with him, and 
 thinking to find him in the neighbourhood, he started 
 with only a biscuit or two in his pocket, and armed 
 with his fowling-piece, an old Joe Manton No. 17 bore, 
 loaded with a spherical bullet and two and a quarter 
 drachms of powder. 
 
 The elephant, an old wanderer, had walked off a 
 long way. For two days and nights his pursuers 
 stuck to his trail, subsisting on what they could get 
 in the jungles, before they came upon him. Their 
 endeavours to catch him were futile ; neither the 
 keddah -jemadar""" nor the Burman could do anything 
 with him ; he charged them all round, and they had 
 
 Keddah-jemadar — man in charge of the elephant establishment.
 
 D'OYLY'S ADVENTURE 16 
 
 o 
 
 very many narrow escapes. At last, thoroughly worn 
 out, and despairing of capturing the beast, D'Oyly 
 determined to shoot him. He had never fired at an 
 elephant in his life, but he was perhaps the only man 
 I ever met who was totally fearless. He did not 
 know what fear was, and at the same time he was one 
 of the most modest and unassuming of men. The 
 animal charged down on him across a shallow nullah. 
 Kneeling down, D'Oyly waited until the elephant was 
 within a few yards of him, and fired for the bump 
 between the eyes. The first bullet struck a little too 
 high, and did not check the animal's career for a 
 moment, but the second, fired a little lower down, 
 penetrated the brain, and the monster fell dead at his 
 feet. 
 
 Talking of D'Oyly, I must here relate a narrow 
 escape he had of his life. He and I were encamped 
 at Pounday — he employed on his civil duties, and I 
 on surveying. Information was brought to him that 
 some of Goune Gee's lieutenants were in a deserted 
 poonghie house, a few miles off. He asked me if I 
 would like to go too, but I declined, for I had had 
 enough of such expeditions ; and it was a common 
 dodge for the Burmese to bring in false intelligence 
 with a view of sending us on wild-goose chases, while 
 they attacked and looted villages near our camp. 
 D'Oyly himself, having undergone such experiences 
 many a time, was not sanguine of success, but, having 
 nothing particular to do just then, thought he would 
 ride out and have a try once more. He was going 
 totally unarmed. With some difficulty I persuaded 
 him to take my shikar knife, the only available weapon
 
 1 64 REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 we possessed between us, for our revolvers were in 
 Prome, and he would not be bothered with a gun. 
 He started at 5 a.m., followed by about eight sowars 
 of the 8th Irregular Cavalry, which had only just 
 arrived in Burma to replace the Ramghurs, who had 
 returned to India. The poongJiie house turned out to 
 be, not a few miles, but a good eighteen from Pounday, 
 and the track lay over paddy-fields for the greater 
 part, which in Burma are particularly nasty to ride 
 over, as when they dry up after the rains the surface 
 is as slippery as ice, and full of cracks. 
 
 D'Oyly led the way, guided by a man also mounted 
 on a Burmese pony, and they soon left the escort 
 behind. On arrival at their destination, D'Oyly 
 jumped off his pony, and rushed into the house, to 
 find himself confronted by four Burmese fully armed 
 with their formidable dalwels, or two-handed swords. 
 Nothing daunted, D'Oyly stood in the narrow door- 
 way, with the shikar knife as his only weapon. His 
 resolute bearing had its effect on the rebels ; they 
 hesitated a moment before rushing in upon him, and 
 that second proved his salvation, and the destruction 
 of two of the Burmese. A shot was fired — a man 
 fell dead ; a hop, skip, and jump, the flashing of a 
 tulwar, and another man fell headless, whilst the 
 other two took headers out of the outer veranda into 
 the long grass below and escaped. So prompt was 
 the rescue that the danger was past before D'Oyly 
 had time to realize it. A gallant young sowar, little 
 more than a lad, outstripping the others, had ridden 
 up just in time to see his leader's jeopardy. To 
 unsling his carbine, shoot one man down, to bound into
 
 ELEPHANTS 165 
 
 the house, sword in hand, and to account for another, 
 was with him the work of a few seconds, and lucky it 
 was for D'Oyly that he had such a gallant and prompt 
 follower, or his career mi^ht then and there have 
 ended. This sowar, a Pathan, one of the most war- 
 like races of India, did not think he had done anything 
 out of the common, though it was probably the first 
 time he had drawn his sword in earnest. The report 
 D'Oyly made of his conduct ensured his immediate 
 promotion, but whether he remained faithful to his salt, 
 or whether he was led astray during the fearful crisis 
 in 1857, I know not. I have forgotten even his name, 
 but a finer fellow never graced the ranks of the Bengal 
 Irregular Cavalry, rich as that branch is in gallant 
 soldiers. I trust he still follows our standard ; but 
 whatever his subsequent conduct or career may have 
 been, surely that one gallant deed will be recorded in 
 his favour at the Last Day. 
 
 Elephants are at all times a wandering race. They 
 consume so much, and waste so much more, that no 
 single forest would long suffice for their wants. 
 During the rains in Burma, when they cannot well be 
 molested, owing to the swampy nature of the country, 
 they are especially destructive to the paddy crops. 
 After the harvest they retire to their hill fastnesses, 
 subsisting on wild cardamoms and plaintains, long 
 grass, bamboos, and the leaves of various trees, which 
 are all very plentiful in many parts of Burma. 
 
 Colonel McMaster, a well-known sportsman and 
 naturalist, writes as follows : ' Those who only think 
 of elephants as they have seen these domestic giants 
 working at any of the innumerable tasks on which
 
 166 REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 these almost reasoning- slaves may be employed, can 
 hardly imagine how puzzling a matter it is to distinguish 
 them amongst the dark shadows and irregular outlines 
 that fill up any portion of a landscape in their forest 
 haunts. I was for some moments, it seemed to me 
 hours, waiting in long grass and reeds within a few 
 feet, not yards, of the head of a fine elephant, without 
 being able to get a satisfactory shot at him, or even to 
 see more than an indistinct dusky outline of form, or a 
 dark shadow, as his trunk was raised aloft, when the 
 mighty beast, a magnificent tusker, suspected that he 
 scented mischief. Having - at length made sure that 
 there was something uncanny near him, he uttered a 
 shrill cry, and wheeled right round on the very spot 
 on which he stood, without exposing any more vulner- 
 able target than his enormous hind-quarters, at which 
 it would have been wicked and wanton cruelty to fire, 
 rushed down the hill, followed by his family (eight or 
 ten unwieldy wives and sturdy children), whose pro- 
 gress, as they crashed through the dense underwood 
 and undergrowth of long grass caused a noise sufficient 
 to startle anyone whose nerves were not tightly braced, 
 and which my pen is certainly too weak to describe.' 
 
 The height of an elephant is equal to double the 
 circumference of the fore-foot as it rests on the around. 
 These gigantic mammals differ much in size — one ten 
 feet high is very rare ; but there is a skeleton of an 
 elephant in the Calcutta Museum eleven feet three 
 inches in height. The African variety is taller, and 
 probably stronger, than the Asiatic, but not so hand- 
 some or graceful. In habits, too, they are dissimilar— 
 the Indian species dislikes too much of the sun, and
 
 VARIETIES OF ELEPHANTS 167 
 
 retires to forests during the heat of the day ; not so 
 the African, of which both males and females have 
 tusks. 
 
 The two varieties of Indian elephants seldom herd 
 together, and are readily distinguishable. The goonda 
 has a broader expanse across the forehead ; the 
 hump between the eyes and at the root of the trunk 
 is more prominent ; but the hollow between the eye 
 and ear, commonly called the temple, is less marked. 
 Its countenance is more pleasing, its eye brighter and 
 kinder-looking ; it seldom reaches the height or bulk 
 of the other. 
 
 The mucknah has the head much longer and 
 narrower, the temple very much depressed. The trunk 
 is longer and very ponderous, possessing immense 
 strength, as if to compensate the animal for the want 
 of the formidable tusks possessed by its rival. Although 
 the mucknah is styled tuskless, that is true but of few ; 
 for the majority have rudimentary tusks, like those of 
 the females, growing downwards, with which, by jobbing 
 down, they can inflict fearful wounds. Its eyes are 
 small and sleepy-looking, and its general appearance 
 morose ; even when quite young it has an old look. 
 Mucknahs are taller and more bulky, as a rule, than 
 goondas. These peculiarities are not confined to the 
 males, but extend to the females. The two varieties 
 interbreed, no doubt, and perhaps this accounts for the 
 difference perceptible even amongst goondas. Some 
 animals of huge size have tusks, but not as good as they 
 ought to have ; these are a cross, I should say, between 
 the goonda and the mucknah. The true goondas have 
 far better tusks, the true mucknahs only rudimentary
 
 [68 REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 ones. If Nature has not given intellect to these 
 animals, it has given them a remarkably keen instinct. 
 One has only to hunt them in their wilds to learn how 
 wonderfully Providence has taught them to choose the 
 most favourable ground, whether for feeding or en- 
 camping, and to resort to jungles, where their ponderous 
 bodies so resemble rocks or the dark foliao-e that it is 
 difficult for the sportsman to distinguish them from 
 surrounding objects, whilst their feet are so made that 
 they can tramp over any kind of ground, whether hard 
 or soft, thorny or smooth, without causing a sound. 
 Some of their encamping grounds are models of in- 
 genuity, surrounded on three sides by a tortuous river, 
 impassable for ordinary mortals by reason either of 
 depth of water, precipitate banks, quicksands, or en- 
 tangling weeds ; whilst the fourth side may be pro- 
 tected by a tangled brake or a quagmire. In such a 
 locality the elephants are perfectly safe, for they cannot 
 be attacked without due warning being given them. 
 To get within this enclosure, they will scramble down 
 the bank where the water is deepest, and then, either 
 wading or swimming up or down stream, ascend the 
 opposite bank a half-mile or more above where they de- 
 scended. Their instinct is wonderful, and their memory 
 must be most retentive. There may not be an elephant 
 within fifty miles or more of a place ; but when certain 
 trees there produce a fruit to which they are partial, 
 they will return thither at the exact time year after 
 year. 
 
 Elephants have not bred with us in captivity ; but 
 wild-elephants are soon tamed after capture, and there 
 are still thousands available in Burma, Assam, and other
 
 HOW TO RIDE THEM 169 
 
 countries, to supply all our wants for the next thousand 
 years, and probably much longer. A thoroughly trust- 
 worthy elephant for all kinds of sport, and at all times, 
 does not exist. The best of them show the white 
 feather at times without cause. I remember when 
 Jung Bahadoor bought an elephant at Burpetta, and 
 gave 18,000 rupees for him, for the Duke of Edin- 
 burgh's shikar in the Nepaal Terai, it was looked 
 upon as a monstrous price ; but since the rich Princes 
 and zemindars of India have taken to sport, and strictly 
 preserve all game in their territories, far larger prices 
 have been paid, and I have no doubt that there are 
 many elephants now in the possession of native chiefs 
 which they would not part with for double the sum 
 paid by Jung. There is splendid sport to be had in 
 Burma and Assam ; but without elephants it is much 
 wiser not to go to those remote provinces for shooting, 
 for without these necessary slaves you can neither see 
 nor approach the localities where game abounds. 
 
 Always stick to the same mahout if possible. Every 
 horseman knows how differently a horse behaves at 
 different times, and that his behaviour is but a reflex 
 of that of the man on his back. So with the elephant, 
 only he is more timid and more impressionable than 
 a horse, and therefore less to be depended upon. 
 Do not keep a cowardly mahout ; he will ruin your 
 beast. But mahouts, as a rule, are plucky. It must 
 be remembered that the sportsman in the howdah 
 runs or incurs little risk, whilst the mahout, sitting 
 on the elephant's neck, with his legs dangling down, 
 is in considerable danger from a charging tiger. 
 He is unarmed, save with his driving-hook, and the
 
 I/O 
 
 REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 frequency of accidents proves that his berth is not 
 a sinecure ; moreover, the friction caused by sitting 
 on the animal's neck, perhaps for a whole day, is 
 excessive. He also gets bitten by numerous gadflies 
 and mosquitoes, is exposed to the sun all day, and 
 he has, perhaps, to take off and readjust the howdah 
 several times during the journey, if it gets out of the 
 perpendicular, as is too often the case. Take a howdah 
 ladder with you, such as may be got in Bombay, and 
 with one as a pattern, any carpenter will manufacture 
 more for you. When folded, the rungs fit into a 
 hollow, and the whole is about eight feet long and 
 under a foot in circumference, and lies alongside the 
 howdah on the gudclie until required for use. Making 
 the elephant kneel down constantly is very apt to 
 disarrange the howdah, and to make it lopsided. 
 
 In the management of his beast a mahout should 
 not be interfered with too much. More can be done 
 by firmness and judicious treatment than by bullying 
 or nagging, but, when necessary, do not hesitate to 
 make a severe example of a man who wilfully disobeys 
 your orders or takes advantage of your kindness. 
 Many of the mahouts enter into the spirit of the chase, 
 and like a successful sportsman for a master. At the 
 end of a trip I always divided all the Government 
 rewards amongst them, the one on my riding-elephant 
 getting rather more than the rest. Usually this more 
 than doubled their pay for the time they were out, and 
 instilled greater zeal, for the more dangerous beasts I 
 killed, the more they got, and without the hearty co- 
 operation of your mahouts, more particularly of the one 
 with you, you will get little or no sport.
 
 A ROGUE 171 
 
 As a rule, domesticated elephants are timid, quiet 
 and inoffensive ; but in the wild state, when wounded, 
 or in a state of must, their fury knows no bounds. 
 
 It behoves men when in chase of the wild denizens 
 of the forest to have common prudence. If a sports- 
 man possess coolness, good nerve, quick eye and 
 hearing, and has been in the habit of handling his gun 
 and rifle, he need fear nothing that roams the jungles 
 of any country. Every hunter must be plucky, but he 
 need not be foolhardy. Wedderburn, of our 37th Native 
 Infantry, was one of the best shots in Southern India; 
 in his first essays at elephant-shooting he was pheno- 
 menally lucky, flooring many an animal right and 
 left. Yet on one occasion, having failed to kill as 
 easily as had been his wont, he lost his head and his 
 temper, and met with his death. At Teppacadoo news 
 was brought to him by some Corumbers (jungle people 
 of the Wynaad) that there was a rogue elephant in the 
 neighbourhood. Wedderburn took the field, accom- 
 panied by Oocha, a celebrated shikarie and plucky 
 tracker, himself the slayer of many elephants, and a 
 stanch gun-carrier, and by a dog-boy also noted for his 
 steadiness in elephant-shooting. He soon came across 
 the rogue, a huge mucknah, and floored it ; it got up 
 again, and was again knocked down. Still it would not 
 die, and a running fight ensued, which was kept up till 
 all Wedderburn's ammunition was expended with the 
 exception of one barrel of his rifle, a double Purdey. 
 The dog-boy had been sent back for more ammunition, 
 but had not returned. The mucknah, though weak, 
 was irate to a degree, and made up its mind to die 
 fighting, or to beat off the foe. Retiring to an open
 
 172 REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 space, the animal stood at bay. Wedderburn proposed 
 to Oocha to accompany him into this glade, but 
 that experienced shikarie said, ' Sahib, I have never 
 known any elephant take so many bullets. He is a 
 shaitan [a devil]. We are in bad luck to-day — leave 
 him alone. He has no tusks, and, besides, he is sure 
 to die. You have but one barrel loaded — my rifle 
 is empty ; there is not a tree near, and the janivar 
 means fighting.' 
 
 Wedderburn, who ought to have known better, for 
 the old man's courage was proverbial, and he had been 
 the best shikarie of Michael (the great elephant shot of 
 India in those days), called him a coward, and said, 
 ' Well, stay here, and see how I will kill him,' and 
 rushed on to his fate. The rocjue allowed Wedder- 
 burn to get close up to him, and then wheeled round 
 to the charge. Wedderburn fired, failed to stop him, 
 turned to run, and, though the sward was as smooth 
 as a lawn, he tripped and fell. Before the smoke 
 cleared away, his body was a shapeless mass of clay. 
 The beast was found dead the next day with twenty- 
 two bullets in him, any one of which Oocha declared 
 would have killed an ordinary animal. 
 
 For tiger-shooting in the plains of the East elephants 
 are a necessity, and to make the best use of them it is 
 of importance that the furniture should be of the best 
 and lightest compatible with strength. Now that 
 breech-loading rifles and guns are in universal use, 
 double howdahs are no longer required. Even in 
 former days, when there was some excuse for them, 
 they were a nuisance, for a man behind you often 
 interfered with a shot at a beast in full chase after your
 
 ELEPHANT EQUIPAGE 173 
 
 steed, and I have often saved my animal from being- 
 cut by turning round in the howdah and dropping a 
 beast when close to the elephant's quarter, which I 
 could not have done had there been a man behind. 
 Besides, the less weight you have on your riding 
 beast's back the better ; therefore get a howdah made 
 as light as possible. The portion of the howdah which 
 rests over the elephant's spine should be hollowed 
 out. The weight should be equally distributed on 
 either side of the spine longitudinally, with the bars 
 resting on the pad, which should be specially made and 
 fitted for each elephant, and stuffed with pith, which 
 can be got in almost every marsh. Under the pad 
 there should be a well-stuffed guddelah — wool is 
 better than cotton for stuffing — and another similar 
 one above the pad, on which the howdah rests to pre- 
 vent it from slipping. The longitudinal bars have iron 
 rings through which ropes with pieces of leather 
 softened by elbow grease are attached, and passed 
 under the throat and tail — securely tied — to prevent 
 the howdah from shiftino- backwards or forwards. The 
 floor of the howdah should be raised at least four 
 inches above these longitudinal bars, to keep it clear of 
 the pad. I prefer planking the bottom of a howdah, 
 for then the motion is not so much felt, though some 
 people dispense with it ; but if you stand on the pad, 
 you will feel the motion of the elephant far more than 
 if you stand on a boarded floor. Round the sides of 
 the howdah nail strong char-sootie cloth, which can be 
 bought in any bazaar, and give it two coats of green 
 paint, which renders it waterproof, and prevents rain 
 drifting on to your guns and tackle. To protect your
 
 *74 
 
 REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 guns further, sew two strips of waterproof cloth on to 
 the top iron bars, to serve as flaps to be thrown over 
 the guns in case rain comes on. The lower portion 
 should be weighted by lead, to prevent its being blown 
 off. By taking this simple precaution I have kept my 
 weapons perfectly dry in the wettest weather. The 
 front of the howdah should not be too high, and should 
 suit the height of the sportsman, allowing his elbows 
 to be clear of the highest portion. A howdah made 
 for a man six feet two inches would not suit a man 
 of five feet eight inches, and vice versa. The back 
 should be about a foot less in height than the front. 
 But the most essential part is the height of the seat 
 from the floor : it should fit exactly inside the bend of 
 the knee of the rider. If lower, should the elephant jerk 
 suddenly forward, the rider is apt to go backwards out 
 of the howdah ; if higher, the constant friction against 
 the back of the thigh is very annoying, and is apt to 
 throw one forward — whereas if fitted as recommended, 
 your body sways to and fro, and you acquire the swing 
 so necessary for correct shooting. Four guns in a 
 howdah are ample — two on each side. Racks are 
 fitted on which the rifle stocks rest, and the closer and 
 tighter they fit, the better; the bar in front on which 
 the barrels rest should be of wood, and the notches 
 for the barrels should be cut just large enough 
 and no more, and lined with felt, so as to avoid the 
 least rattling. In front there should be a long box 
 with compartments for cartridges, also lined with felt. 
 To avoid confusion, have your weapons of the same 
 bore, with perhaps one exception, and that a 'S77 ', 
 but the cartridges for an express are easily distinguish-
 
 DIET OF ELEPHANTS 175 
 
 able from all others. I think No. 12 bores are pro- 
 bably the best, as cartridges of that calibre can always 
 be got almost everywhere ; the rifles should weigh 
 twelve pounds, and the gun eight pounds. The gun 
 should be cylindrical, or, better still, a ' paradox,' which 
 is equally suitable for ball or shot. If you are short of 
 elephants, you can have a compartment under your 
 seat, for carrying your breakfast or lunch, but the less 
 you have on your own elephant, the better. Very few 
 beasts, in a country where elephants are used, care for 
 the noise one of these animals makes in forcing his 
 way through the long grass, because they are 
 accustomed to such noises, but if in addition they hear 
 the rattling of plates or guns, they soon make them- 
 selves scarce, for they know such noises are unusual, 
 and caused by their enemy — man. 
 
 If your elephant takes to eating earth, stop his grain 
 food, and in a few days he will pass a quantity of bots 
 or worms. Never picket your elephants in the same 
 place long, for the foul ground will soon soften or rot 
 the soles of their feet, which, though apparently 
 spongy, ought at the same time to be as hard as 
 ivory. Mahouts can generally treat the ailments to 
 which their charges are liable, and it is better if you 
 have a stud to keep a headman, or jemadar, and make 
 him answerable for their medical treatment ; but it is as 
 well for you to see them fed personally, otherwise the 
 temptation to steal some portion of the rice will prove 
 too strong for the men. Generally, a seer* per foot of 
 height for each elephant per diem is enough, but if 
 working them for many hours daily, you will not be 
 
 * Seer — two pounds.
 
 r 7 6 REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 wrong if you give each double. Thus, an elephant 
 ten feet in height will get daily ten seers in camp, but 
 when hunting daily twenty seers, in addition to his 
 charah* which should be varied as often as possible. 
 Feeding elephants always on the same fodder does not 
 answer. 
 
 Never give an elephant a sore back ; it not only 
 incapacitates him for the time being, but renders him 
 less stanch afterwards. Lancing the back of an 
 elephant to let out the pus certainly helps to deteriorate 
 him and to lessen his courage. Never allow your 
 elephant to make a football of a fallen beast ; it is apt 
 to make him vicious. Naturally, one of these giants 
 would not hurt a worm, but he can be taught anything, 
 and for hunting purposes I would sooner own a coward 
 than a vicious beast. 
 
 One of the narrowest escapes I ever had was at 
 the foot of the Yomahs. We had been following up 
 tsinc,\ and were entering a tunnelled space, with a lot 
 of bamboos on one side and a huge buttress-tree on 
 the other. We were not expecting elephants ; indeed, 
 we had seen no footmarks of them the whole day. I 
 had the double Lyell in my hand, and Shoay Jah had 
 the Lang, when with a fiendish shriek a large tusker 
 charged us suddenly. I always carry my weapons on 
 full cock ; the rifle was a very handy one with short 
 barrels, No. 10 bore. I had just time to fire a right 
 and left, and to throw myself over a buttress, and 
 the shikarie followed suit. The impetus of the 
 brute took him on fully fifty yards. The bullets 
 
 * Charali — green food for elephants, 
 t Tsine — wild cattle.
 
 A DANGEROUS BEAST 177 
 
 were well placed ; the first, in the bump between 
 the eyes, would have killed him had I been kneeling 
 down, but not having time for that, I fired from the 
 shoulder standing up, at a distance of only five or six 
 yards. The left shot was higher, and over the left 
 eye. The blood pouring down did not improve his 
 vision ; the smoke, too, hung, and enabled us to 
 crawl round and to get behind a regular bulwark of 
 buttresses.* This fiend of an elephant regularly 
 hunted us ; but the oil-trees were close ; in his half- 
 dazed and half-blind state he was rather abroad, 
 and I gave him several shots. None of them, how- 
 ever, were at the proper angle, and finding that he 
 could not get at us, he retreated. Upon this we 
 took up his footsteps, and seeing a space where huge 
 bamboos grew without undergrowth, we ran ahead, 
 and took up a position behind a clump of male 
 bamboos, of which the stems are far stronger than 
 those of the female or hollow kind. I waited patiently 
 until he afforded a temple shot, and then the Lang- 
 brought him down dead. 
 
 Whilst in the Bassein district, I was asked to shoot 
 a must mucknah, and I followed his trail for five days, 
 tormented to death by mosquitoes, leeches, and ticks. 
 This elephant was credited with having killed some 
 dozen men. He had been a tame elephant belonging 
 to a mozadar,t but had escaped, and had become the 
 terror of the district. He had lost all fear of man, 
 
 * These are trees yielding an oil which the natives greatly prize ; 
 their roots are often five feet high, and run considerable distances 
 at right angles. 
 
 t Mozadar — a native official. 
 
 12
 
 i 7 8 REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 and three shikaries, who on different occasions had 
 gone after him for the sake of the reward offered — 
 200 rupees — had never returned. At last the officials 
 could not induce any of the natives to go after him. 
 He used to go great distances at night, and to destroy 
 immense quantities of grain, not only in the ear but in 
 granaries. It was the monsoon, and although D'Oyly 
 and I had tried elephant-shooting in the rains with 
 signal failure, the poor people were so urgent that I 
 broke through my resolve not to hunt at that season, 
 and taking a few Karens with me to carry my baggage, 
 I crossed over to Dalhousie, whence by devious paths 
 I was taken to Cape Negrais. Foot-marks of elephants 
 were plentiful, but none of them belonged to the one 
 we were in search of. On the morning - of the third 
 day we entered a ravine, full of rocks and water- 
 courses, where the leeches were enough to drive one 
 frantic. Here we first came upon the homicide's 
 trail. There was a little cultivation belonging to some 
 Karens about four miles away, and the poor people 
 had blocked every pass but one, and that was too 
 wide. They were going to cut a deep ditch across it, 
 when I arrived, but I told them not to do so, as I would 
 take up my post on a bare granite rock, fully fifteen feet 
 high, with scarped sides, except to the rear, where, as 
 it sloped a bit, we could climb up by means of bamboo 
 ladders. I chose this spot because, being a sheet of 
 rock, there were no leeches on it, and I had already 
 suffered so grievously that with a few more such in- 
 flictions I should be unable to put foot to the ground ; 
 for these pests get into every part of one's body, but 
 seem more particularly to prefer taking up their abode
 
 HE MEETS HIS DOOM 179 
 
 between the toes, and to fasten in festoons on to the 
 ankles. From this rock there was a narrow track, 
 which went down fully two hundred feet into a gully, 
 and it was up this pathway the monster used to wend 
 his way to the cultivation. He had been fired at 
 innumerable times, but the native guns were not 
 powerful enough, and the bullets had done little more 
 than just sting him ; however, with my heavy battery, 
 it would be a different tale. His habits were nocturnal, 
 and he was back into his lair before daylight, so for 
 two days, although he took his usual constitutional, I 
 had failed to get a sight of him, and the exposure had 
 landed me in a sharp attack of fever. During the day 
 I had attempted to find his whereabouts, and had 
 totally failed. I could not stand this much longer, and 
 told the men with me I should remain only two days 
 more. 
 
 One day three men went down into the gully before 
 daylight whilst I watched from my perch ; but the 
 elephant must have passed before they went down. 
 One of them came back and reported that the other 
 two were following him up. I was thinking of de- 
 scending and having a try too, when there was an 
 appalling yell, and the monster appeared scrambling 
 up the ravine face. The man with me was so excited 
 he all but fell backwards as I opened fire. Shooting 
 down from the front was useless, but I trusted to his 
 turning and exposing the back of his head. Bullet 
 after bullet struck the immense head ; the hathi seemed 
 only to get more frantic, and attempted to get at us ; he 
 even pulled down a couple of trees ; but all his efforts 
 were vain — we were impregnable. I fired at least a
 
 i8o REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 dozen No. 10 belted bullets into his head without much 
 effect ; but when the second tree gave way, and he fell 
 backwards, in scrambling up he exposed the junction 
 of the head and spine, where a ball from the Joseph 
 Lang caught him a crack which resounded through 
 the jungle. Next moment he sank down on his knees 
 -dead — but not before he had killed one of the two 
 men who had followed him. 
 
 Marching from Prome to Rangoon, surveying, as I 
 went along in the Hensada district the people com- 
 plained bitterly of the damage done to their crops. 
 Having been pretty well disarmed by Colonel D. Brown, 
 the Deputy-Commissioner, they complained that they 
 were now helpless, and that, if the herds of elephants 
 were not driven off, they would lose all their paddy, 
 and would have to starve. They had heard from my 
 interpreter that I was very fond of shooting : would I 
 come to the rescue ? I told them I had no time to 
 spare, as I had to meet Scott, of the Engineers, in 
 Rangoon on a certain day ; and besides, if I did kill an 
 elephant or two, it would not avail them much, as they 
 seemed to be in herds, judging by the marks they had 
 left. 
 
 'Not so, Tuckin,'* they said; 'the leaders are two 
 tuskers, the image of one another ; they are the prime 
 movers, and do not fear man ; they are close by ; if you 
 will shoot them the rest will run away.' 
 
 ' What do you call close ?' I asked. 
 
 'We will take you up to them in a couple of hours,' 
 they said. ' These two always remain together and apart 
 from the rest ; if you will kill them we can drive the rest 
 
 Tuckin — the equivalent of ' my lord.'
 
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 Cm 
 CU 
 
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 STALKING ELEPHANTS 181 
 
 away : they are all either females or young males and 
 little ones. We don't fear them, but the tuskers we 
 cannot manage. ' 
 
 I had not much to do that day, so I agreed to go 
 with them, never thinking that I should see those 
 elephants, or any others, for these old rogues know 
 how to take care of themselves ; but at the same time 
 a walk would do me no harm, and I heard some 
 Burmese partridges calling. I took the two Lang 
 rifles, the men leading the way across a plain towards 
 some knolls and a forest of trees ; and, true enough, 
 within a couple of hours I saw two magnificent tuskers 
 standing on a teelah (a small hillock) under the shade 
 of a couple of trees. The wind was favourable ; there 
 was a huge tree, and, keeping it between me and my 
 prey, I advanced rapidly, followed by one of the men 
 carrying the extra rifle. There was a kind of pool 
 between me and the hillock on which the elephants 
 were reposing, and the trunk of the saul-tree afforded 
 a capital rest. I got to within fifteen yards, when the 
 nearest lifted up his trunk to scent us ; the other went 
 on feeding, but exposing the temple. A careful shot, 
 and down he went ; the left barrel caught his comrade 
 a crack, but as I fired he threw up his head, and the 
 ball missed the brain. As he spun round I got hold 
 of the other rifle, and gave him two shots behind the 
 shoulder, but he went on. The man with me touched 
 me and beckoned me to follow him ; he went almost at 
 right angles, dived into a small nullah, ran along it 
 until he came to another which fell into the one we 
 were in at an acute angle, up which I followed him 
 hurriedly. Leaving the dry rivulet, my guide clambered
 
 i8a REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 up a hillock, and scrambled along a narrow path till I 
 was quite blown. I was right glad when he halted in a 
 very narrow ravine and ensconced himself behind a huge 
 rock, giving me opportunity of a much-needed rest. 
 
 ' He will pass this,' the man said, so I waited 
 patiently with both rifles on the full cock. Presently 
 the elephant appeared, looking very dismal, and letting 
 him get opposite, and distant only about six paces, I 
 put both balls into his ear, and he too dropped dead
 
 [ i8 3 ] 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 BUFFALOES. 
 
 Wild buffaloes more dangerous than tigers — Very difficult to kill — 
 Plentiful in Burma and Assam — How wild bulls appropriate 
 herds — D'Oyly and his pony tossed — Archie Campbell's elephant 
 overthrown — His critical position — I am called to his rescue — A 
 savage encounter — A runaway elephant — Meet a tiger — En- 
 counter with a bull which rights desperately — A pugnacious herd 
 — Charged by a couple of bulls. 
 
 I would sooner meet a tiger on foot in the open than 
 a buffalo. I look upon buffaloes, either in the East or 
 in Africa, as the most savage of all objects of chase. 
 Sometimes they are easy enough to kill, but far more 
 frequently they seem to bear a charmed life, and the 
 more they are riddled, the more lively and savage 
 they get. They are fairly plentiful in Burma, but 
 swarm in Assam. In Southern India they are only 
 found in a wild state in the northern Sircars, near 
 Daraconda and in Bustar. 
 
 The ordinary buffaloes in bondage, except on the 
 Neilgherries, are poor-looking, half-starved brutes, 
 bred in and in. But across the Bay of Bengal the 
 people keep no tame bulls, and turn out their numerous 
 herds into the vast prairies, and trust to the wild bulls 
 to keep up the supply. A wild bull takes up with ten
 
 1 8 4 REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 or fifteen cows. At first he is shy, and only associates 
 with them during the day, but gradually he loses all 
 timidity, and accompanies them to the place where 
 they are tethered at night, and hovers about them 
 until they are released at daybreak after milking, 
 when he retires to graze with them during the day. 
 In time he cares so little for the people that he won't 
 allow the keepers to go to their cows, and has then to 
 be killed, for to drive him off is an impossibility. The 
 people resort to many devices to effect his death, and 
 mostly succeed ; but if there be any European sports- 
 man about, they seek his aid. Although I dislike the 
 Assamese very much, yet I have often rid them of 
 this nuisance, more willingly because these bulls are 
 generally the pick of a wild herd, and carry good 
 heads. 
 
 There is very little difference in size and ferocity 
 between the domesticated and the jungle buffaloes in 
 these countries. Both in Burma and Assam a tame 
 cow will go for a European, whilst she will allow the 
 smallest native lad to drive her about and to whack 
 her to his heart's content. Whilst snipe-shooting, I 
 have been chased many times and escaped with 
 difficulty. D'Oyly, of the Commission in Burma, 
 thinking to intimidate one, charged her on horseback, 
 but she tossed him and his pony, and did for the latter. 
 Archibald Campbell, in Assam, had a very narrow 
 escape. He was out shooting on a smallish elephant 
 on a pad ; he wounded a bull which charged and 
 overthrew the elephant, and kept prodding it viciously 
 whilst it lay on the ground ; this enabled Campbell to 
 crawl away. It was in the old muzzle-loading days;
 
 CAMPBELL'S ADVENTURE 185 
 
 he and his powder-horn became separated. He had 
 fired both barrels, and had only his empty gun in his 
 hand, but he made off at his best pace towards a 
 solitary tree in the distance. 
 
 His horror may be imagined when, on looking back, 
 he saw the bull with his nose close to the ground follow- 
 ing his footsteps much as a bloodhound might have 
 done. He availed himself of every little cover he 
 could find ; he plunged through morasses, forced his 
 way through patches of high grass, yet the avenger 
 was surely and rapidly gaining on him. Between him 
 and the tree he was making for was an open plain, 
 perhaps two hundred yards in breadth ; the bull was 
 only about half that distance behind. Campbell took 
 off his coat and hung- it over a bush, and then ran as he 
 never had run before for his life. The bull charged 
 the decoy, trampled it under foot, but finding that he 
 had been deceived, took up the scent and followed at 
 a gallop, for now he could see his enemy, and he 
 bellowed with rage, snorting a kind of view -holloa. 
 Campbell got to the tree, and scrambled up only just in 
 time, for less than a second after the trunk received a 
 blow that shook it to its roots. He held on like grim 
 death ; again and again the monster butted. The 
 tree was not very large, and at times almost bent 
 over; but it was Campbell's only hope. In the 
 meantime the mahout recovered his elephant. Odd 
 to say, though he had been overthrown, too, and had 
 sought refuge in a clump of grass close by, the bull 
 took no notice of him, but pursued his master, so the 
 man on his dilapidated elephant hurried back to camp 
 and related what had happened. Campbell's followers
 
 1S6 REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 did not know what to do, or whether their master was 
 dead or alive. There was not a gun ; of the two with 
 Campbell, one had been left where the encounter had 
 taken place, and the other he had dropped at the 
 bottom of the tree in which he had taken refuge. 
 
 I was about eight miles off, superintending the con- 
 struction of a bridge. Campbell's elephant was badly 
 hurt, and the others had gone for their fodder ; but 
 a couple of men set out on foot with the mahout, and 
 reached me about 3 p.m. with the news that Campbell 
 had been killed. I got on to my elephant as quickly 
 as I could, mounted two of the messengers to serve 
 as guides, and made for the scene of action direct 
 across country. Fortunately Campbell's mahout was 
 a Cacharie, who knew the country and guided me 
 straight ; but I had many nasty nullahs to cross, and 
 it w r as close on six before I got to my destination. I 
 had no difficulty in following the trail ; the bull had 
 left marks of blood behind him, and soon I had the 
 pleasure of seeing my friend perched on the tree, 
 and the bull on guard over him. I was on a large 
 elephant, generally stanch, and notwithstanding the 
 shaking of the head and the pawing of the ground, 
 all denoting hostile intentions, I made straight for the 
 bull. When I was about fifty paces off, he came for 
 me. At first he carried his nose well up in the air, 
 moving at a canter, with his massive horns thrown 
 back over his broad back ; but as he got closer his 
 pace increased, and when less than ten yards of! he 
 lowered his head. This was the opportunity I had 
 been waiting for. As I fired, my elephant wheeled 
 round ; he had been so steady hitherto, I had not
 
 A WOUNDED BULL 187 
 
 anticipated such a move on his part. My bullet took 
 effect, but not in a mortal part, and the next moment 
 the elephant's quarter was acting the part of a buffer, 
 into which the bull drove his mighty horns with all 
 the force at his command. After the first blow my 
 elephant was in full flight, but the bull easily kept up 
 with him, prodding him behind as a gentle hint not to 
 slacken his pace. 
 
 In the meanwhile, finding the coast clear, Campbell 
 had called out to the people on my spare elephant to 
 come to him, and he mounted it off the tree. As we 
 passed the place where he had been overthrown, his 
 mahout had picked up his spare rifle and powder-flask, 
 and he lost no time in recovering the one he had 
 dropped, and followed in chase. I had not been idle ; 
 the beast I was on was very rough, and whilst going 
 at full speed it was not easy to shoot correctly — to 
 reload far harder, for mine were all muzzle-loading 
 guns — but I gave him a stinger or two, which made 
 him shake his head in great disapproval. Directly he 
 heard the approaching footsteps of the other elephant, 
 he left off following me, and hid behind a clump. I 
 yelled out to Campbell to look out, for the beast was 
 close at hand ; and it was as well that I did so, or he 
 might have been taken unawares, for where we now 
 were there was grass sufficiently high to hide even 
 the colossal body of an ami (buffalo). 
 
 Campbell was seated on the pad just behind the 
 mahout, and in front of the guides. It is not 
 easy to shoot off a pad excepting to the left front. 
 When the bull charged from the right, Campbell used 
 his rifle like a pistol, firing both barrels without effect.
 
 1 88 REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 The bull closed, and struck the elephant on the 
 shoulder, the horns going- on either side of the fore- 
 leg, grazing the skin of the belly and chest only. 
 The blow fairly staggered the elephant, but for a 
 wonder she turned and butted her assailant, knocking 
 him clean down. I was coming back as fast as I 
 could, but the infuriated bull, not a bit abashed, picked 
 himself up, receiving a shot from Campbell as he did 
 so, and bore down on me as fast as he could in his 
 enfeebled state, for he had at least seven or eight 
 bullets in him. Calling out to my mahout that I 
 would flay him alive if he allowed his beast to turn, I 
 opened fire ; I had four double rifles, but had managed 
 to reload but two. Campbell turned his elephant, 
 so that he could fire also. My third shot caught the 
 buffalo fairly in the spine of the neck, and over he 
 went, a complete somersault, his huge quarters alight- 
 ing on the ground within a foot of my elephant's 
 trunk. This was more than the beast could stand, 
 and, notwithstanding all the exertions of the mahout, 
 he turned tail, and would not pull up until he reached 
 my camp, having crossed many very nasty nullahs at 
 full speed and in the dark, for at the conclusion of the 
 fight the light of day had passed away. Campbell 
 turned up about an hour afterwards, and spent the 
 night with me. Next day we went back and re- 
 covered our quarry. Campbell took the head, the 
 finest but one I have ever seen ; the horns were very 
 massive, and measured from tip to tip and across 
 the forehead twelve feet three inches, which for a bull 
 is enormous. The cows have the longest horns, and 
 the best head I ever saw was thirteen feet eight inches
 
 A BOLD TIGER 189 
 
 along the horns and forehead and six feet six inches 
 between the tips. 
 
 The shooting in Burma was very uncertain ; no one 
 could tell what we should come across during the day. 
 We left at daylight, and having settled beforehand 
 the direction we were to go, we beat steadily across 
 country. I had a house built at Myetquin, about eight 
 miles inland ; the nearest inhabited spot was a small 
 Karen village consisting of about six or eight houses. 
 They do a little shooting, wandering a good deal, thus 
 soon learning their way about the jungles. They 
 informed me that if I would go due west for six 
 miles I should come across plenty of buffaloes and 
 other game, and that I could not fail to find my way, 
 as I had only to go towards a peak of the Yomahs 
 which could be seen from our camp. So one day, 
 directing the leading elephants and the shikaries to 
 follow with a couple of the Karens, to whom I pro- 
 mised plenty of meat, I started in the dark, wishing to 
 secure a good specimen of the thamin, which graze in 
 the open in the early morning, but retire into the 
 forests during the heat of the day. I had passed the 
 marsh, gone through the belt of forest which surrounded 
 the quin, or open space, and was advancing slowly 
 and straining my eyes in search of a good stag. 
 Passing a heavy clump of grass, I heard a rustling, 
 and the next moment a tiger came at me open- 
 mouthed, uttering his guttural roars. Why he came 
 at me I cannot imagine, but it was evident he was 
 'spoiling for a fight.' I was on an elephant that did 
 not care two pins for a tiger, but who would fly for 
 her life at the sight of a pony cantering towards her.
 
 i 9 o REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 She stood as steady as a rock, so I was able to put in 
 a right and left, and the beast rolled over, almost 
 touching the hind- legs of my elephant, who let out at 
 him with one foot, and sent him flying. He was not 
 dead, and tried to charge again, but a couple more 
 pills settled him. When my people came up, they 
 brought important letters which had just arrived, and 
 I had to go back to Tongho at once ; but I returned 
 with two others in a week, and then visited Gna-Eein. 
 I had killed much and varied game before I came 
 across buffaloes in Burma. The truth is, during the 
 months which we devoted to sport, the bubali were in 
 the marshy lands in the Yomahs and other hilly dis- 
 tricts ; they only came into the plains when the rains 
 commenced, just as we were leaving off shooting. 
 Thus, although anything but scarce, we seldom saw 
 them. I had been shootino- with two officers of the 
 69th — Boyle and Madden. We had wounded a very 
 large gaur, and in following him up we started a young 
 bull, and as he went away with his tail in the air I 
 brought him down. Just then a herd of buffaloes put 
 in an appearance, and off we went in chase, but soon 
 lost them. After hunting about for some time — I was 
 ahead of my comrades — I saw a very large bull buffalo 
 about fifty yards off, unconcernedly browsing. I 
 beckoned to those behind to hurry up, and when they 
 came up we all opened fire. The bull was hit, but he 
 turned and ran through a belt of forest. Whilst my 
 companions followed him, I jumped off to load, as I 
 was on a pad and it was raining. Whilst ramming in 
 my bullets I heard the other two crying : ' Come here ! 
 come here !' As soon as I was loaded I remounted
 
 A MISS-FIRE 191 
 
 and followed ; I found the bull had charged, and had 
 all but floored one of the elephants, and neither it nor 
 its comrade would budge an inch except to retreat. I 
 was on a very slow female, but she was very steady, 
 too apathetic to move if she could help it. I soon got 
 within fifty yards or so, and opened fire ; ball after 
 ball went into the bull's ribs, but he took no notice. 
 At last he entered a very heavy patch of grass, and 
 there waited for me. 
 
 As we approached, when not more than twenty 
 yards separated us, I could just see his form ; I stood 
 up on the pad — a very dangerous thing to do — and 
 fired down on the enemy ; he came round like a shot. 
 I had just time to throw myself down in a sitting 
 posture on the pad when he closed. In vain I told 
 the mahout to drive his animal into the open : she 
 would not budge an inch, but stood there roaring 
 every time the bull drove his horns into her. He was 
 fully six feet high, only a foot less than my elephant, 
 and at one time he came close in front and looked 
 up in my face. I touched his forehead with the 
 muzzle of my ten-bore rifle and pulled the trigger ; 
 alas ! it missed fire, a thing it had never done since it 
 came into my possession. The elephant was being 
 cruelly punished ; neither of my friends could come to 
 my assistance, because they could not induce their 
 animals to move in my direction. At last, after five 
 minutes of severe mauling, we got the elephant into 
 the open, badly wounded, with some dozen deep stabs 
 in her quarter and about her shoulders. I got on to 
 another elephant, went back, drove the bull out and 
 laid him low ; he had some thirty-five bullets in him.
 
 i 9 2 REMINISCENCES OE INDIA 
 
 His horns were not very long, but twenty-seven inches 
 in circumference at the base ; and in bulk I never saw 
 his superior. 
 
 Buffaloes seldom charge in a body, though in- 
 dividuals do so frequently when wounded. I was 
 looking about one day for a wounded tigress in some 
 marshy ground near the Kullung River, when two bulls 
 jumped up and charged straight at me — they must have 
 been twins, I never saw two so alike. I waited till 
 they were within ten yards, and gave them a right and 
 left, threw down that rifle and picked up another (a 
 breech-loader this time), and firing right down, I 
 dropped one dead, but the other struck my elephant, 
 which, however, did not run away ; the bull backed, and 
 was about to rush forward again, when I seized another 
 weapon and gave him two more pills. This seemed 
 to sicken him, and he retired and lay down beside his 
 dead comrade. I reloaded all the guns before re- 
 suming the offensive ; he only shook his head as the 
 shots struck him, but did not move or attempt to 
 get away. At last, with a convulsive struggle and 
 straightening of the limbs, he gave up the ghost. 
 
 Readers of the ' Reliques of English Poetry,' by 
 Bishop Percy, may remember how he described the 
 behaviour of the Dragon of Wantley, just prior to 
 breathing his last. The symptoms of a large animal 
 stricken to death are there most accurately described. 
 The verses, however, are too graphic in detail to be 
 repeated here, and I must refer the curious reader to 
 the poem itself.
 
 [ 193 1 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 INDIAN RHINOCEROS. 
 
 Erroneous ideas as to the impenetrability of a rhinoceros' hide — 
 Generally harmless, but dangerous when wounded — Herd with 
 elephant and buffalo — Meet them first in Burma, then in Assam 
 — Elephants indispensable — Difficulty of obtaining them — My 
 first Indian rhinoceros — Make a sad mess of others — Rhinoceros- 
 shooting in cold weather — Size of horns — Their value — A savage 
 charge — Just in time — Charged by two rhinoceroses. 
 
 The resisting power of the skin of rhinoceros against 
 powder and ball has been much exaggerated. The 
 hide on the living animal offers no greater, if as much, 
 resistance as does that of a buffalo ; a heavy charge of 
 powder and a hardened projectile are required, not to 
 penetrate the outer cuticle, but to go through the mass 
 of animal matter lying between the skin and the vital 
 organs. I have seen an ordinary shikar knife driven 
 to the hilt by a blow behind the shoulder ; and have 
 killed, and seen them killed, by a lucky shot behind 
 the ear from a smooth-bore loaded with a spherical 
 ball and three drachms of powder. But for all that, 
 let the rhinoceros-hunter have good weapons and 
 plenty of them, for though, if left alone, these beasts 
 are perfectly harmless, yet when wounded they are 
 very savage, charge home and inflict fearful wounds, 
 
 13
 
 i 9 4 REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 not with their horns, like their African congeners, but 
 with a sharp tusk, not as long as a boar's, but far more 
 massive and equally keen. With one blow they will 
 cut an elephant's leg to the bone, and when they fight 
 amongst themselves they score one another all over. 
 
 Elephants and buffaloes at certain seasons become 
 very dangerous, lying in wait and charging without 
 provocation man or beast, but I never knew, or heard, 
 of a rhinoceros in India doing so. They are found in 
 the remotest jungles, far away from the haunts of man, 
 and consequently inflict little or no injury ; but should 
 anyone, attracted by the richness of the soil, cultivate 
 a patch of ground within reasonable distance of their 
 haunts, and they find it out, they will soon invade it. 
 The African boreli often charges on getting the scent 
 of a human being, but the Indian rhinoceros takes 
 no heed. He herds in company with elephants and 
 buffaloes ; there is no rivalry between them ; there is 
 sufficient food and to spare for them all, and they graze 
 near each other without quarrelling. I have seen 
 buffaloes and rhinoceroses wallowing in the same pool. 
 Mounted on an elephant it is not difficult to get near 
 them, if your beast will only approach them, but, 
 somehow, tame elephants have the greatest dread of 
 the rhinoceros, and if they get its wind or hear the 
 peculiar cry it makes, ten to one they make a bolt to 
 the rear. 
 
 The great ambition of my youth was to slay an 
 elephant. When I had accomplished that, I longed 
 to undertake a campaign against the rhinoceros. 
 There are plenty in Burma, but it is almost impossible 
 to get at them, as they take up their abode in such a
 
 RHINOCEROS-SHOOTING POOR SPORT 195 
 
 boggy country that elephants cannot travel over it. 
 To follow them on foot is equally impossible ; to pot 
 them at night is not sport. I had helped to kill the 
 two-horned variety in this way near Cape Negrais, 
 in Burma, but never meant to repeat the experi- 
 ment. 
 
 Running home on short leave, after eighteen years' 
 uninterrupted residence in India, I found amongst the 
 passengers a very nice fellow, who had been an 
 assistant in a tea-garden in Koliabar, and thinking 
 that some day I would take leave and visit Assam on 
 a shooting trip, I got him to give me all the informa- 
 tion he could, little imagining that about that very 
 time I had been transferred to that province, and that 
 I should remain in it over seven years. 
 
 I will here relate some instances of the killing of 
 these beasts, but not in consecutive order nor in great 
 detail ; in truth, there is not much sport in the slaying 
 of these inoffensive pachyderms. I killed forty-four 
 to my own gun, and must have helped to kill, or been 
 present at the death of, fully sixty more. I shot them 
 in various parts of the country. At one time I had 
 the districts of Nowgong, Tezpore, Goalpara, and the 
 Cossyah and Jyntiah hills under me, and these beasts 
 were fairly distributed over them all. Along the foot 
 of the Terai was the best place, but none of the others 
 were bad. The lesser rhinoceros, which is perhaps a 
 foot less in height than the larger, is found more in 
 the churs* of the Brahmapootra and towards the 
 Garrow Hills. It differs from the other in the 
 arrangement of the folds, but the horn is often longer 
 
 * Churs — islands in a river.
 
 I9 6 REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 than in the other variety. The habits of both are 
 similar. 
 
 Loquaghat, opposite Tezpore, was a favourite 
 locality for them, and Sir Charles Reid, of Delhi 
 fame, shot two there with me, with one ball each, 
 with a small-bore rifle. I killed many there after- 
 wards. Once in the Dooars with Bowie, of the 
 Police, one very cold misty day, either in December 
 or January, when the whole valley was wrapped up in 
 heavy fog, we had been hunting these pachyderms. I 
 had killed two, to the great disgust of my comrade, 
 who was a jealous sportsman, and rather a disagreeable 
 fellow to be out with. There was a low depression. 
 Bowie was on his elephant, standing on a natural 
 bund* and I had beaten through the long grass with- 
 out seeing anything, though I knew there ought to be 
 a rhinoceros there. We had been enveloped in this 
 mist, but it was clearing away. Without the slightest 
 warnine I heard a movement in the o-rass, and close 
 to me appeared the form of a rhinoceros ; he was in 
 heavy grass, and did not present a vulnerable spot for 
 a certain shot, but Bowie and I fired almost together. 
 There was a squeal and a headlong charge at me ; my 
 elephant Lutchmee, generally fairly stanch, took to 
 her heels. I made the rhinoceros shake his head at 
 the visitations he received from my heavy weapons, 
 and he then went for B., whose elephant did not wait 
 for the onslaught, but bolted through a tangled brake, 
 upsetting B.'s guns, and all but causing the howdah to 
 be dragged off by the pendent vines. She did not 
 stop until she got to the bed of a considerable stream, 
 
 * Bund — corresponding to our word ' dam.'
 
 be 
 
 O 
 
 
 a. 
 
 M
 
 VALUE OF HORNS 197 
 
 whence she was taken, with great difficulty, back to 
 camp. I got Lutchmee turned round, and went back ; 
 but the rhinoceros, though bleeding, had gone fully 
 two miles before I came upon him. Here he essayed 
 to fight again, though he would have had no chance if 
 my elephant had remained steady ; but she was very 
 fractious that day, and it was only by taking snap- 
 shots that I mortally wounded the foe at last. He 
 turned and ran into heavy grass, and his stertorous 
 and peculiar breathing (which, when the animal is in 
 articulo mortis, once heard, can never be mistaken or 
 forgotten) soon proclaimed that all was over. I took 
 off the horn, which was a good one, about ten inches 
 long, and, as a sop to my companion, I allowed him to 
 have it, for I really did not care for them as trophies 
 at all, and had already several far finer. It was not 
 till loner afterwards that I took to selling the small 
 horns, and thereby recouping myself all expenses, 
 which were rather heavy. Many of these trips, with 
 three or four guests, cost me as much as ^100, and I 
 was then not as rich as I had been before, or even 
 then I should not have resorted to selling ; but the 
 Assamese put a fictitious value on these trophies, 
 which are to us of no value. They will give as much 
 as 45 rupees a seer* for a fair horn, and many weigh 
 close on three seers. 
 
 On another occasion Barry, a tea-planter, and I were 
 in the Dooars. I wounded a very large male, but in 
 following him up I found that the right barrel of my 
 No. 10 breech-loading rifle, for which I had paid ^64, 
 kept missing fire ; I put in several shots with the left, 
 
 * A seer is equivalent to 2 lbs.
 
 i 9 8 REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 but the brute would not drop. I was getting very 
 angry ; I had over and over again killed them with 
 one shot each, but this one declined to die. At last 
 he went a short way into a very heavy patch of grass, 
 and when I got near, out he came for me, his mouth 
 wide open, the upper lip curled back, and uttering the 
 cry elephants so much dread. I tried the right barrel 
 once more ; it missed again ; the left failed to stop 
 him. My elephant wheeled round, and went off at her 
 best pace ; but fast as she ran, her pursuer was gain- 
 ing. I dropped the breech-loader, and seized my 
 trusty two-groove muzzle-loader; leaning over the 
 back seat, I took a snap-shot downwards. To shoot 
 otherwise was impossible at the racing speed we 
 were going at, and only a man long accustomed to 
 an elephant's back could have fired at all ; but I had 
 almost lived on elephants, had acquired the neces- 
 sary swaying of the body to balance myself, and 
 could generally hit a moderate-sized mark at short 
 distances without requiring my beast to halt. As the 
 mouth of the rhinoceros was not a foot from my 
 beast's quarter, I was afraid she would be cut and 
 ruined for life ; but my aim was true. I caught my 
 pursuer just at the junction of the head and neck, and 
 over he went, squealing fearfully ; he tossed his 
 mighty head about, but otherwise he was paralyzed. 
 As soon as we had pacified Lutchmee, we got her 
 back, and a shot behind the ear did for mv foe. On 
 examining my rifle, I found the nipple had got 
 partially unscrewed, so the striker could not give the 
 necessary blow to the cap of the cartridge to explode 
 it ; it was put to rights in a moment, but ever after-
 
 A RIGHT AND LEFT 199 
 
 wards I took a nipple-wrench as well as a turnscrew 
 in the howdah with me. 
 
 Near Doobrie, on the left bank, I fairly ran a lesser 
 rhinoceros down on Lutchmee, and killed it in two 
 shots. 
 
 On one occasion, when in company with another 
 officer of the Police, near the Manass, two rhinoceroses 
 charged me out of the dry bed of a rivulet. I must 
 have interrupted them in some love scene at a critical 
 moment. I had not fired at them — indeed, did not 
 know they were there — when they came at me open- 
 mouthed. I dropped them both, right and left, dead. 
 These were as pretty a couple of shots as I ever made.
 
 [ 200 ] 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 SPORT IN THE NORTHERN DISTRICTS, MADRAS 
 
 PRESIDENCY. 
 
 Discovery of the Bison Hill — The islands of the Godavery — 
 Abundance of feathered game — Linga Reddie, the freebooter — 
 A stiff climb — Lovely scenery — Abundance of game — Dreary 
 life at a single station— Tatapoodi — Cossipooram — Ascend the 
 ghauts — Change of flora and climate — Galicondah — Heavy rain 
 — Go after gaur — Go to a distant jungle — Disgraceful shooting — 
 Indian and Burmese gaur compared — Kill a tiger. 
 
 Very many years ago, Colonel Cotton, R.E., and 
 others under him, ascended a steep hill, overlooking 
 a gorge of the Godavery, about forty miles above 
 Rajahmundry. They found that the plateau was a 
 favourite resort of numerous herds of gaur, commonly 
 called by Indian sportsmen the bison. It ever after- 
 wards went by the name of the Bison Hill. In the 
 early fifties, when I was but a youngster, Joe Cotton, 
 of the Civil Service, at that time Judge of Rajah- 
 mundry, Dansey, of our 30th, and I, hired a paddle- 
 boat from the Anicut works, Dowlaishwarum, and 
 determined to try our luck. These boats were very 
 small ; we were packed like sardines, and our rate of 
 progress was but slow. Leaving Rajahmundry about 
 three o'clock in the afternoon, by daybreak we found 

 
 JUNGLE FOWL 201 
 
 ourselves about twenty miles up the river amidst a lot 
 of lunkas or churs (islands), and halting at a village to 
 purchase milk, eggs, and other comestibles, a native 
 offered to show us several bears. Although our time 
 was limited, as we had to be back on the fourth day, 
 we could not resist the temptation, so, enlisting quite 
 a small army of beaters, we proceeded to beat several 
 of the smaller islands. We were well posted, and it 
 was agreed that we were to fire at nothing save bears. 
 Directly the beaters commenced their infernal din, 
 myriads of jungle fowl (G alius ferrugineus) and pea- 
 fowl flew over our heads in a continuous stream. I 
 have never seen so many game birds in my life in the 
 air at once as on that occasion. I am sure that no 
 preserve in England could have shown a greater head 
 of winged game. The sight to a young sportsman 
 like myself was most tantalizing ; it was with difficulty 
 I refrained from letting fly at the rocketers overhead, 
 all well within shot. Various spotted deer, too, broke 
 close by, but not a bear showed itself. 
 
 We beat five or six lunkas, each one swarming with 
 game, and I am sure I am within the mark when I 
 say that we saw fully a thousand jungle fowl and 
 several hundred pea-fowl — many of the cocks with tails 
 close on six feet long— and perhaps a score of spotted 
 deer — many of them noble bucks ; yet none of us fired 
 a shot. We neither saw any bears nor any signs of 
 them ; I am under the impression none existed on 
 the churs, and that the natives only held them out 
 as an inducement, thinking that doubtless, when we 
 did not find bears, we should fire at anything, and 
 reward them by giving them some of the game in
 
 202 REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 addition to their pay. About twelve we breakfasted, 
 and then decided to fire at anything, bird or beast, 
 that showed itself. But, incredible as it may appear, 
 we beat several islands without putting up a feather, 
 nor did we get a shot until close upon four o'clock, 
 when Cotton broke the leg of a spotted doe, which 
 took to the water and was captured. This was the 
 only result ; we had wasted valuable time, so, 
 thoroughly disgusted, we resumed our journey, and 
 reached Linga Reddie's village, situated at the foot of 
 the Bison Hill, just before daybreak. 
 
 Linga Reddie in those days was a sort of Rob Roy, 
 or freebooter, nominally subject to us, but in reality 
 independent. He broke out into open hostility during 
 the troubles of 1857-5S, was caught, and, I believe, 
 hanged, and since then there have been many troubles 
 in the Rampa country ; but at the time of our visit 
 Linga was very civil. Cotton was a burra sahib not 
 to be sneezed at, so the chief gave us guides to take 
 us to the hunting-grounds, and procured for us 
 ample supplies. We started soon after sunrise, and 
 after a terrible climb of four hours, reached the 
 plateau. The hill is about two thousand three 
 hundred feet above the sea-level. There are various 
 hills, all very similar, being nearly flat on the top. 
 The formation is laterite, and anything moving over it 
 causes a reverberation, which can be heard a long way 
 off. Generally the hillsides are perpendicular, steep 
 as a wall for thirty, forty, or fifty feet, with a slope or 
 shoulder at long intervals, leading to a valley below, 
 while another similar path connects it with another 
 hill presenting much the same appearance. The
 
 A FINE GAME COUNTRY 203 
 
 valleys are covered with forests, but the plateaux are 
 only partially wooded, and partly covered with long 
 grass, with here and there clumps of bamboos. Some 
 portions of the scenery on these hills are lovely : un- 
 dulating ground, covered with a rich grass about three 
 feet high, studded with self- planted trees, either 
 singly or in groups, rivalling any device of a modern 
 landscape gardener ; while some two thousand feet 
 down below the Godavery rolls on through a narrow 
 gorge, said by the natives to be unfathomable. On 
 this plateau, in the early morning, gaur and various 
 deer can be seen feeding about. Tigers, bears, 
 panthers, and wild-hogs also exist. 
 
 On reaching the top we agreed to separate. There 
 were two guides ; Cotton was to have one, Dansey 
 the other. I, as the youngest, had my choice of 
 accompanying one or the other, and I elected to go 
 with Cotton. The whole hill-top resembled a farm- 
 yard ; its surface was covered with the droppings of 
 the numerous gaur. Getting into a dense wood, we 
 wandered round and round and saw nothing. We 
 had got hold of a coolie who did not know the ground. 
 Dansey was more fortunate ; his man took him over 
 the open. He saw many gaur, wounded several, but 
 secured only one — a cow. We could not on this 
 occasion remain any longer, so, after taking the head 
 and skin of the gaur, we walked down to the boats, 
 embarked, and after dinner went down the stream, 
 reaching Rajahmundry next day. So ended my first, 
 but by no means last, visit to Bison Hill. 
 
 Shortly afterwards I obtained two months' leave, and 
 determined to visit Daraconda, in the hilly districts of
 
 2o 4 REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 the Northern Sircars. Tom Prendergast was in those 
 days collector of the district, one of the finest fellows 
 who ever lived, who has but lately joined the majority. 
 He had been very kind to me, and, as I was fond of 
 sport, told me to apply to him whenever I wanted 
 purwannahs* to help me along. So I wrote to him, 
 telling him of my wishes and intentions, and anticipated 
 a budget of stamped orders on various officials to give 
 me help. My disappointment may be imagined when 
 I got back a letter, not only refusing to help me to 
 visit those localities, but saying that he would throw 
 every hindrance in my way. He stated that he ac- 
 companied a field force there some years ago ; that 
 very many of the party died, everyone suffered from 
 jungle fever, some were invalided, and others, like 
 himself, only recovered after years of suffering. ' If 
 you want to commit suicide,' he added, 'or die, you 
 had better go to Burma, but you shan't go to Dara- 
 conda if I can prevent you.' 
 
 I little anticipated then that within a few months I 
 should be sent to Burma, and live there for thirteen 
 years, and that eventually, when past middle age, I 
 should wander over the very district to which Tom 
 Prendergast would not allow me to go when I was little 
 more than a boy. 
 
 During thirteen years' residence in Burma and seven 
 in Assam, with an occasional visit to the Neilgherries, 
 Wynaad and Ana Mullies, I had exceptional oppor- 
 tunities of indulging in the very best of sport. I had 
 acquired experience, and possessed a capital battery. 
 
 * Punvannahs — official orders from either a collector or other 
 official on the native officials of his district.
 
 VIZIANAGRAM 205 
 
 Leading an active life all these years, I had suffered 
 little in health, and, though no longer young, I was 
 just as fond of sport as I had been five -and -twenty 
 years before. 
 
 In 1876 I was stationed at that dreary place, Vizi- 
 anagram. It is only about eight miles from the sea, 
 but as it is situated in a hollow surrounded by bare, 
 rocky hills, it is at all times very hot and sultry. There 
 was very little to amuse one in the station, thanks to 
 the introduction of the irregular system into the Madras 
 Army ; for the officers of the regiment had been reduced 
 from thirty to six, not one of whom even possessed a 
 fowling-piece. We had no swimming-bath, no billiard- 
 table. The Rajah was a splendid specimen of a man, 
 and excelled in most things ; but at that time he was 
 ailing, and died some time afterwards. Life there, to 
 one like myself, was dreary to a degree, so I took the 
 first opportunity of obtaining leave, and, though the 
 season was most inclement, on July 8 I was off on a 
 ten days' trip into the adjacent hills. I had my camp 
 pitched at Tatapoodi, fifteen miles distant. There 
 used to be gaur at the foot of these hills some twenty 
 years ago, but they had long been driven away. 
 Swamp deer (Rticervus duvaucelli) also had once 
 existed here, but the last of its race had been killed 
 some ten years ago, and now only spotted deer and 
 small game were to be found. 
 
 On July 9 I started for the hills ; I sent the servants 
 round by the road, but, expecting to find spotted deer, 
 took an unfrequented pass through the hills. I heard 
 a few peacocks and saw one sand-grouse, but nothing 
 else, whilst my servants came across several herds of
 
 2o6 REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 spotted deer returning from their nightly raids on the 
 native cultivation. I was too early for them. I 
 reached Cossipooram at 7.30 a.m., but my baggage 
 cart did not arrive until 9 a.m. It took us some time 
 to get coolies, for the cart could go no further, and 
 I finally made a start at noon. The first portion 
 of the road is pretty good, winding about amongst 
 cultivation. The ascent then commences. Some years 
 before there had existed a good, well-made road up this 
 ghaut, but it had become nearly obliterated in many 
 parts, and in some places it was so bad as scarcely to 
 be passable even for my pony. This animal, which had 
 been lent to me by H.H. the Maharajah, was such a 
 screw that I was glad to get off its back and trust to 
 my own legs. I had been, and was still, suffering 
 from severe diarrhoea, and I was not in a condition to 
 undergo much fatigue ; but the higher I ascended, the 
 pleasanter became the climate. 
 
 The flora changed from that of the plains to what 
 I had been accustomed to in the Cossyah and Jynteah 
 Hills, which have an elevation of between 4,500 and 
 6,500 feet, whereas I was, at the most, then only 
 about 1,200 feet. I noticed the same terrestrial 
 orchids, flowering shrubs, and trees with which I had 
 become familiar in the hilly country beyond the 
 Ganges. At first they were scattered here and there, 
 but the higher I ascended the more plentiful they 
 became, and on looking back the plains of Vizian- 
 agram, with tanks and bheels dotted about, reminded 
 me somewhat of the plains of Sylhet as viewed from 
 Cherra Poonjee. My destination was a deserted 
 coffee plantation, called Annatagherry ; but as it was
 
 HIGH GROUND 207 
 
 getting dark I halted on the top of the first consider- 
 able range, at a small village called Railwal. My 
 aneroid barometer showed an elevation of 2,400 feet 
 above Vizianagram. I pitched my bechoba tent, but 
 did not put up the kanats, or slides, and I awoke in 
 the night feeling bitterly cold. Fortunately, I had 
 brought with me a large blanket to sleep upon, in lieu 
 of a mattress. This I cut into two, covering myself 
 with one and sleeping on the other. Thus within 
 twelve hours' easy journey of Vizianagram there was 
 a delicious climate, necessitating blankets over one ; 
 whilst in that vile hole the heat was so great that 
 sleep was all but impossible even under a punkah. 
 
 This portion of the hills is very pretty ; it is but 
 slightly undulating, with patches of different kinds of 
 cultivation, in various stages of ripeness, which add a 
 peculiar beauty to the surrounding higher hills and 
 dense forests. At this elevation, too, the water, which 
 is abundant and rippling from many a spring, is de- 
 liciously cool. 
 
 Next morning I was up at 3.30, and got under way 
 by 5 a.m. The road, with the exception of a bit here 
 and there, is very fair, showing engineering skill in 
 its formation. What a pity it has been allowed to fall 
 into such a state of disrepair ! for if these hills were 
 easily accessible, they would be such a boon as a place 
 of resort during the hot months for those grilling a 
 few miles off. I reached Annatagherry at seven, 
 and pitched my camp in a nice open plain, a few 
 hundred feet square, on the banks of a mountain 
 stream, at an elevation of 2,800 feet. Immediately to 
 the front and to the right were far higher hills, par-
 
 2oS REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 tially covered with coffee bushes painfully struggling 
 for existence with the fast-growing second growth of 
 jungle, which is always far worse than the first, 
 originally cleared away when the coffee plantations 
 had been made. Walter Fane, of the Civil Service, 
 and some others, had formed about seven extensive 
 gardens, where the coffee did very well, but labour was 
 difficult to get. Coolies imported from the plains died 
 off, and gradually the gardens were abandoned. I 
 found them fast relapsing- into jungle, and I expect 
 by this time there is not a trace left of the cultivation 
 on which so much money was spent. 
 
 Here the climate was really lovely, cooler and 
 pleasanter than at Shillong, in the Cossyah Hills, at 
 the same season. This time I took care to put up the 
 kanats, and made myself comfortable. My servants 
 were well supplied with kumlies, or native blankets, 
 and were in a shed expressly built for them. Villagers 
 had been warned of our coming, so supplies were soon 
 brought in, and we were told some shikaries were out 
 tracking. Six miles beyond where we were encamped 
 is Galicondah (Hill of Storms), 3,500 feet high. It 
 arises abruptly in a valley, through which nightly 
 wind rushes down in a perfect tornado, to take the 
 place of the exhausted air of the plains, and all who 
 sleep within its influence are sure to contract a deadly 
 jungle fever. Many years ago it was tried as a sana- 
 torium, but it failed for the reasons above stated. It 
 was also extensively cultivated with coffee, and there 
 was then still existing a considerable garden in some 
 sort of working order ; but it was left entirely in the 
 hands of natives, who took but little care of it, and
 
 INDIFFERENT CULTIVATION 209 
 
 seldom put a hoe to the ground, so very many plants 
 have died out, and more have run into jungle. 
 Annatagherry, though much lower, is away from the 
 influence of this pestilential wind, and, I believe, is 
 perfectly free from fever other than that which anyone 
 is liable to get from a sudden chill, or from not taking 
 ordinary care of himself. 
 
 Soon after pitching camp heavy rain set in, and 
 continued for several hours. The trackers returned 
 about twelve, and reported having marked down a 
 gaur some two miles off. So about two I started, 
 feeling very weak and out of sorts. We had a good 
 deal of going up and down hills, the highest point 
 reached being 3,300 feet. The coffee we passed 
 through had not been pruned, nor the ground hoed, 
 or the jungles cleared away, excepting a bit here and 
 there, just to satisfy the Maharajah's agent when he 
 visited the spot, which he did about once a year. 
 The coffee seemed to have had once a vigorous 
 growth, but the ground showed no signs of a rich soil, 
 as it was covered with stones and rocks, and looked 
 very indifferent. The hillsides were covered with 
 thorny creepers and bushes, and as the ground was 
 covered with loose stones, differing in size from an 
 ordinary football to a marble, noiseless stalking was all 
 but impossible. 
 
 We went fully two miles over hill and dale, and as 
 we were descending into a densely-wooded valley, 
 halfway up the side of the opposite hill, under the 
 shade of a few scraggy trees, a gaur appeared, chew- 
 ing the cud and lazily flapping off the flies with his 
 tail. We were fully six hundred yards off; the wind 
 
 14
 
 2io REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 was blowing from him to us, and as he did not move, 
 we hoped we had been unseen and unheard, so we 
 went right-about, intending to make a long detour to 
 enable us to get within shot under cover of some 
 bushes. However, we had not gone far when the 
 gaur slowly began to ascend the hill. I wanted to 
 retrace our steps, and endeavour to get ahead of him, 
 but nothing I could say would induce the shikarie to 
 carry out my views ; he insisted on following in the 
 beast's wake. I knew it was folly to do so, for we 
 must then give him our wind ; but as this was the 
 first time I had been out with these men, I let them 
 have their own way ; and, though I knew it was a 
 useless fag, I followed the brute up and down hill for 
 two hours. I only got a sight of him for a second, for 
 he was on the qui vive, went off at a trot, and I never 
 saw him again. I was dead beat, and glad to get 
 back to camp. A good hot bath soon restored me. 
 Notwithstanding my blanket, I was very cold all 
 night. Next day I was up and dressed by 4.30, 
 but the shikaries, or guides, did not come till 5.30. 
 We went over much the same ground as yesterday, 
 but did not see a living thing. I returned to camp, 
 and sent men out to track ; these returned about 
 3.30 p.m. with fresh droppings of sambur and gaur, 
 and reported having marked down a herd into some 
 jungle near a village called Soba. 
 
 An hour later, just as I had bathed and made myself 
 comfortable, a villager rushed in, saying that a gaur 
 was feeding in a clearance amongst the coffee, not half 
 a mile off. So I donned my shooting garments, and 
 went for him. There he was, sure enough, feeding
 
 DRIVING BUFFALOES 211 
 
 quietly ; so, leaving some of the people who had 
 followed me to watch him, I took one man to carry a 
 spare rifle, and made a long circuit to get above him, 
 and to approach him over the crest of the hill under 
 cover of some bushes. This took me nearly an hour 
 to do, and when I reached the place where he ought 
 to have been he was gone. I took up his tracks, but 
 as he had gone down hill and wind and through the 
 most tangled places, I did not follow long, and went 
 home. 
 
 I started next day with one guide at 5 a.m., leaving 
 the other to follow with the beaters, for finding 
 stalking did not answer, I determined to try a beat, 
 though, as a rule, I do not believe in that mode of 
 sport. It disturbs the country, and the chances are 
 the game goes away by any pass rather than the one 
 you are posted at, or it breaks back. I had a good 
 six-mile walk, and descended fully five hundred feet. 
 The country, though not so pleasant to live in, looked 
 more favourable for sport. The beaters did not arrive 
 till 8 o'clock. I was posted halfway up the side of a 
 hill, and men were sent to guard other exits. The 
 coolies entered a densely wooded ravine, and beat 
 towards us. After an hour's din we heard a rustling, 
 and looking over the bushes which we had erected as 
 a screen, we saw three gaur within twenty yards of 
 us, crowding together, hesitating whether to advance 
 or retreat. I took a careful shot at the breast of 
 the nearest ; on receiving the ball it fell on to the 
 one next to it, which exposed its shoulder and re- 
 ceived the contents of my left barrel, a shell. The 
 two floundered about and seemed about to fall, when
 
 212 REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 they recovered sufficiently to run down the hill. I 
 took the express, and again hit one, but whether it 
 was the sound one or one of those already wounded 
 I don't know. The three broke back, two of them 
 apparently very groggy. As the beat continued, a 
 gaur ran along the foot of the hill. I tried to cut him 
 off, but failed, and he got away without a shot. 
 
 As the coolies objected to enter the patch of jungle 
 in which the wounded gaur had taken refuge, I went 
 down and took up the tracks, along which the blood 
 lay in pools. I even picked up a bit of liver, as I 
 believe ; but the bison charged back through the line 
 of beaters, and got into very heavy jungle. We had 
 to advance through this very cautiously, for a wounded 
 gaur is a formidable brute, and can charge viciously ; 
 but these, being too badly hit to be dangerous, allowed 
 us to pass, and then broke away. I was too weak to 
 follow them up, so sent the shikaries to mark them 
 down. The beaters refused to enter the jungle, as 
 they were afraid of the wounded beasts ; and, to make 
 a long story short, I lost the game for the day, though 
 two were brought to bag afterwards, being found dead 
 by the villagers. How I failed to kill all three, and 
 with one ball each, I don't know, for I had splendid 
 shots within twenty yards. I was perfectly cool, but 
 I fancy my shaky state of health made my shooting 
 very inaccurate. It commenced to rain heavily, and 
 I was glad to crawl home, much disgusted with myself. 
 
 Although there are no painted partridges in the 
 plains about Vizianagram, in these hills they were 
 very plentiful, and the country reminded me very 
 much of that about Nongpoh, on the way to Shillong.
 
 DRIVING BUFFALOES 213 
 
 I started next day in the pouring rain for Soba, to 
 hunt up the wounded bison. We found the trail 
 easily enough, and at one time I could hear a beast 
 moving about with difficulty within fifty yards of me, 
 but could not get a sight, owing to the density of the 
 jungle. Presently it lay down, and I was going to 
 crawl in after it, when one of the beaters ran back and 
 told me there was a large herd of gaur close by, and 
 if I stationed myself higher up the river, they would 
 beat the game towards me. So, thinking the wounded 
 one would remain where it was, off I went. In the 
 first beat the coolies failed to move the herd. I then 
 shifted my quarters, but that didn't answer, and for 
 two hours I was running backwards and forwards 
 endeavouring to guard three passes, until I was 
 nearly dead. At last, losing patience, I went straight 
 into the jungle where they were, and just as I got to 
 an open spot a good-sized young gaur ran out and 
 stopped for a moment. I fired a shell into its shoulder, 
 low down. On receiving it she ran back ; but a herd 
 of eight broke. They were so mixed up — cows, 
 calves, and one bull — that it was impossible to pick 
 out one worth shooting at until they were some 
 way off. I then picked out the bull, and firing well 
 forward, my ball struck the ground close in front of 
 him, and as he swerved he all but fell. The herd 
 got into the forest, and I saw them no more. The 
 wounded one brought up the rear at a considerable 
 distance, and, after staggering about a bit, fell down 
 and expired. 
 
 After trying two more fruitless beats, I went after 
 the wounded one of the previous day ; but the rush of
 
 2i 4 REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 the herd and my shots had disturbed it, and its tracks 
 were overrun by those of the others, so I lost both 
 them and him for the time being. I then went back 
 to examine the dead gaur ; it proved to be a cow 
 about four years old, and certainly the smallest I had 
 ever killed. Those in Burma were perfect monsters 
 in comparison, and I noticed marked differences be- 
 tween them ; the nose of this one was not nearly so 
 arched, the head far shorter, the dorsal ridge not so 
 prominent, and not extending so far back — in fact, it 
 ended nearly in the middle of the back, whereas in 
 those in the primeval forests of Burma the ridge 
 reaches to within a span of the hip-joint. It was 
 altogether a prettier, but far smaller, animal. 
 
 Some years ago I wrote on the subject of there 
 being two varieties of gaur* distributed over the 
 forests of India, Assam, Burma, and Malaya, and 
 Mr. Carter (' Smooth-bore ') says that although I 
 was the first person who mentioned the existence of 
 two varieties to him, he was sceptical until, visiting 
 the Calcutta Museum, he asked Dr. Anderson, the 
 curator, what he thought about it. 'Why, of course,' 
 said that gentleman, ' Pollok is quite right. Come 
 with me, and I will show you skulls of the two,' and 
 he did, to ' Smooth-bore's ' satisfaction. 
 
 At one time gaur must have been common all over 
 India and Ceylon ; at present they are extinct in the 
 latter country, but are found here and there all over 
 India proper and the trans-Gangetic provinces, down 
 
 * Lately a planter in Travancore wrote that there were two distinct 
 varieties of gaur, one called katu madoo, and the other katerimg ; 
 one with a well-developed dewlap, and the other having little or none.
 
 DISTRIBUTION OF BUFFALOES 215 
 
 to the extremity of the Malayan Peninsula, but they 
 do not extend to the neighbouring islands. On the 
 west coast of India, gaur are found all along the 
 Syhadi range on the western ghauts, both in the 
 forests at the foot of the hills and in the upland forests 
 and woody country beyond the crest of the ghauts. 
 They are found on certain hills near Vellore, and are 
 plentiful on the Anamullies, Neilgherries, Wynaad, 
 Coorg, the Bahabooden Hills, the Mahableswar Hills; 
 in the jungles on the Taptee River and its neighbour- 
 hood, north of the Nurbudda, on the Vindhean Hills ; 
 in the Pulneys, Dindigul, Shandamungalum range, 
 the Shevaroys, and on the borders of Mysore, near 
 Warungul, in the eastern ghauts, from the Rampa 
 country to near Cuttack, Midnapore, and Rungpore ; 
 in Central India, especially in the Satpura range; in 
 the Himalayan Terai ; in the Darjeeling Terai, from 
 Sikhim to Rohilkund ; in the Bhootan Hills and 
 Dooars ; in the hill ranges bordering the Brahma- 
 pootra, and other localities extending to the Irrawadie 
 and beyond to the frontiers of China ; throughout 
 Assam, Sylhet, Cachar, Chittagong, Arrakan, and 
 Burma. Nowhere are they finer and in greater 
 numbers than in the last-named country, where I have 
 shot them fully twenty-one hands in height, fair 
 measurement. On one occasion I saw a herd of 
 about sixty, consisting of immense bulls, graceful cows 
 and pretty little calves of various ages. 
 
 As my leave was now all but expired, I sent on my 
 camp, telling my people to halt at the foot of the hills ; 
 and starting about half an hour before dawn, I strolled 
 into the jungle, telling my shikarie to follow with the
 
 216 REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 extra rifle. I did not anticipate getting anything, but 
 about two miles inland, on the left of the descent down 
 the ghauts, I had noticed a nice rivulet, which ran 
 down a steep incline, on the borders of which I noticed 
 numerous foot-marks of sambur, and I determined to 
 go there on the chance of getting a shot. Just as 
 daybreak made objects a little visible, I reached the 
 stream, and soon heard a sambur belling. The wind 
 was favourable, and the brushwood just sufficiently high 
 to make stalking possible without being so thick as to 
 obstruct my passage. I looked to see whether the 
 shikarie was in sight : not that it mattered much, for I 
 had plenty of cartridges with me, and the only game 
 I expected to see was either a sambur, a chital, or a 
 four-horned antelope. 
 
 I judged from the peculiar bell of the sambur that it 
 was a cry of fear, and thought he might have seen a 
 leopard or a wild -dog, traces of which I had seen in 
 this neighbourhood some time back. The river was 
 not deep, but very swift, and running down an incline ; 
 it caused a considerable noise, for it dashed over stones, 
 rocks, fallen debris and the like, so my approach was 
 not noticed as I drew nearer and nearer ; the light 
 became better, and at last I got a glimpse of a fine 
 pair of antlers, which were thrown back, and the 
 bellowing was incessant. Although the head and 
 neck were visible, the body was obscured by some 
 long grass, and I was just going to fire at the neck 
 near the head, when, not ten paces from me, I heard 
 a slight noise like that made by the twitching of a 
 feline tail. I immediately looked in that direction, 
 and partially hidden, but still visible, I could make out
 
 A TIGER BAGGED 217 
 
 the form of a crouching tiger. The beast had seen 
 me, and when our eyes met it attempted to spring 
 across the stream, but my right barrel caught it fairly, 
 a little in front of the ear, and over it went with a 
 splash* into the water ; as the deer rushed forward I 
 gave him the left barrel, but he stumbled only, and, 
 recovering himself, bounded magnificently across the 
 river and rushed down hill. The tiger was borne 
 down by the current, rolling over and over, and I 
 yelled out for the shikarie to come up sharp, as I did 
 not want to wade into the water and get wet. There 
 was no reply for a minute ; then there was a shot some 
 way off in the jungle, in the direction taken by the 
 sambur. I again called out — following the course of 
 the stream. Presently the body of the tiger was 
 caught in some creepers and anchored there. I now 
 fired off a shot, and in a few minutes the shikarie came 
 up. I pointed out the slain, and bid him drag it ashore. 
 He had little on besides a lungooty, a slip of cloth 
 between his legs, tucked into a band across his waist ; 
 as he waded in, he called out that he had shot the 
 sambur, which had rushed almost on to the top of him. 
 We dragged the body on to the beach ; I sent the 
 shikarie back to the camp, telling the people to remain 
 there for the day, to send men at once for taking 
 off the pelts of the victims, and to secure sufficient 
 meat for our followers and the marrow bones for my- 
 self. I then made two forced marches and got back to 
 the cantonment, shooting a spotted deer on the way.
 
 [ «s] 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 SPORT IN THE HILLY DISTRICTS, NORTHERN 
 CIRC AS, MADRAS PRESIDENCY. 
 
 Start for Daraconda — Brinjarie hunters— Salt-licks — Scene at day- 
 light — Variety and abundance of game — Bear-shooting — A 
 hunting chita — Porcupines — Firing the grass — On the table- 
 land — Tiger, bears and deer — Buffaloes and swamp-deer — Four 
 tigers — A mixed bag on Christmas Day — Camp in the forest — 
 Twenty-one days' sport — Return to the coast. 
 
 In 1878 I took a coasting steamer to Cocanada, thence 
 by boat through the canals to Rajahmundry, where I 
 only stayed a day or two, then daked out to Jugumpeta. 
 I had letters, from a native of influence, to the head- 
 man there, and he procured for me ten Brinjarie pack- 
 bullocks, who were to proceed with me on a three 
 months' tour, and then go on to Kamptie, whilst I 
 returned across the Godavery to Warungul, thence to 
 Secunderabad and to Bombay to embark. I bought a 
 fair tattoo, or native pony, really good of its kind, for 
 125 rupees. I had, of course, my own saddle, bridle, 
 etc. My battery consisted of two twelve-bore double 
 rifles, an express '577 and a smooth-bore, all of them 
 having been made to order for me by a leading 
 Birmingham maker. My retinue consisted of a cook, 
 a dressing-boy, a maty-boy and a kalashi, or tent-
 
 A SPORTING TOUR 219 
 
 pitcher. I had a bechoba tent, with an inner fly, which 
 I had added myself, and a rowty for the servants. I 
 had a camp cot and table and two chairs. I took with 
 me only flannel underclothing, and not much of that, 
 as it could be washed daily if necessary. I took two 
 strong suits of native-made cloth, dyed brown, four 
 pairs of strong English shooting boots, thick woollen 
 socks, and a good helmet. Three bullocks carried all 
 my personal impedimenta, five carried provisions, and 
 two were set apart for the servants and Brinjaries. 
 
 We started for Rampa on November 18, and reached 
 it late at night after a long, weary march. I killed a 
 couple of pea-fowl and a partridge on the way, and 
 allowed the Brinjaries to hunt, as we were far from 
 where I wished to hunt myself. They brought in a 
 spotted doe and a small buck, a portion of which I 
 purchased for a few charges of powder. 
 
 From Rampa we went to Sunampadu ; thence to 
 Maradupali, Edkur, and Ukalur, passing over most 
 difficult country, and shooting but little game by the 
 way. At Ukalur I was told gaur and sambur were 
 plentiful on the hills ; swamp-deer and buffaloes in the 
 marshes to the south-east, where several small rivers 
 met. Very few indeed of the inhabitants had ever 
 seen a European, and I was stared at most of the day ; 
 but my Brinjarie fellows were well known, and of great 
 assistance to me, for by their influence I obtained 
 guides to show me the neighbouring jungles. Supplies 
 were very difficult to get ; there was but a little coarse 
 rice, and fowls and eggs were decidedly' a rarity, and 
 the nearest village was twenty miles off. However, I 
 had brought a good supply with me, having purchased
 
 220 REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 all I could get from the few villages we had passed 
 through, and as I had knocked over pea-fowl and 
 jungle-fowl daily, I had not drawn upon my own 
 supplies. The Brinjaries had also killed something 
 for their dogs every day, which sufficed for them and 
 my retinue. 
 
 Two of the Brinjaries offered to act as gun-carriers, 
 and I gladly availed myself of their services. Our 
 first hunt commenced on December 2. It was decidedly 
 chilly in the early morning ; I had to be up and 
 away an hour before daybreak, for the ground where 
 we expected to find sambur and gaur was fully five 
 miles away over very rough ground, and in order to 
 find the finest animals we had to be at our posts by 
 daylight. In the forests it was pitch-dark, and we 
 stumbled over many roots and out-lying rocks. The 
 Brinjaries knew the ground, but two villagers also 
 accompanied us. 
 
 In all these hills there are salt-licks, the favourite 
 resort of all kinds of game, and we came upon the 
 first at dawn. The men hid themselves after station- 
 ing me beside a huge tree. The so-called salt-lick 
 consisted of a depression, perhaps thirty yards long by 
 ten broad, heavily fringed with jungle. It was swampy, 
 and consisted of a whitish earth, strongly impregnated 
 with salt. I was about the middle, and could easily 
 command both ends. The bed of the hollow was 
 about ten feet below where I sat, so nothing could 
 get at me direct, and my flanks were protected by 
 buttresses, whilst the trunk of the tree, some five 
 feet in diameter, covered my rear. My men were 
 ensconced in various shrubs of no great height, but
 
 SUNRISE AT A SALT-LICK 221 
 
 of dense foliage. As the light became clearer, several 
 splendid peacocks strutted out into the clearance, drink- 
 ing from a little pool, and then scratching up the ground 
 at the edge in search of grubs, ants, or anything that 
 they could find. Then followed several peahens, and 
 one old cock displayed his tail-feathers, erecting them 
 into a huge fan for their special admiration. 
 
 Presently several jungle-fowl and cocks came on the 
 scene. Close on sunrise I heard the belling of several 
 sambur, and a few timid does made their appearance, 
 and after a while a magnificent stag stepped into the 
 arena. He was only about fifteen paces from me, and 
 I could have killed him at any moment ; but it was 
 very interesting watching the various game as it ap- 
 peared, heeding no danger, and utterly unconscious 
 that their arch enemy, man, was so close to them. 
 For fully a quarter of an hour nothing else appeared ; 
 then a sounder* of hog, consisting of one huge boar 
 and several sows, entered the marsh, and wallowed in 
 a miry bit. In about five minutes more there was a 
 distant low, and a herd of five or six gaur, all cows, 
 accompanied by several calves, entered the clearing, 
 and, standing up to their knees in the soft, yielding 
 soil, began to eat the earth. These were at one end, 
 the sambur at the other, and the pigs at the middle, 
 right opposite to me. It was as pretty a scene as one 
 could wish to contemplate, and I was in no hurry to 
 disturb it. It was very chilly, and my position was a 
 cramped one, as I dare not stir hand or foot ; but I 
 waited patiently, in hopes that something nobler would 
 turn up — nor had I to wait long. Without giving the 
 
 * Sounder — a herd of wild pigs.
 
 REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 least warning', an immense bull gaur stood at the edge, 
 peering about suspiciously ; but, finding everything 
 serene, he took heart of grace, and boldly splashed 
 into the opening. 
 
 My three rifles, fully cocked, were at hand, and I 
 must own I was not as eager to slay as usual, for it 
 was very like murder, firing at such a colossal beast 
 within ten paces, and from such a coign of vantage ; 
 for, even if he wished it, he could not possibly do me 
 any injury. The deer had fed round, and the stag 
 was within six or seven paces of the bull. Taking 
 the express, I dropped the bull in his tracks, and 
 severely wounded the stag. For a few seconds there 
 was a perfect babel of frightened beasts fleeing for 
 their lives, and almost tumbling one over the other. 
 The peacocks flew away, uttering their most dis- 
 cordant screams ; the pigs grunted, and, with the 
 jungle fowl, scampered away, all except the boar, who 
 stood at the edge champing his tusks, as much as to 
 say, ' I wish I could see you ; I'd teach you to disturb 
 my morning meal!' It was a tempting shot, and I 
 coveted his ivories ; so, taking up one of the twelve- 
 bores, I put a ball through his head, and he subsided 
 without a groan. The o-aur was dead, but the stag- had 
 disappeared ; so as soon as my followers made their 
 appearance, I bid the coolies, or villagers, cut off the 
 bison's head, which they refused to do, saying it was 
 sacred. But the Brinjaries had no such compunctions, 
 and one of them said he knew some Dangurs — men of 
 low caste — who would be glad of the meat, and help 
 him to skin the animal ; so I sent him and one of the 
 villagers back to fetch them. I examined the bull ;
 
 ANOTHER TIGER 223 
 
 he was very massive, and about eighteen hands high, 
 with shortish, very thick horns, but of the same de- 
 scription as those I had killed in these hills before. 
 The Brinjarie and villager, each carrying one of my 
 twelve-bores, and I with the express, took up the slots 
 of the sambur. There was not much blood ; but he 
 had not followed the does, and had gone through short 
 scrub. At first it was easy enough following him, but 
 after a while I found it necessary to enlist the services 
 of the villager as a tracker. Our progress was very 
 slow, but the man followed the trail like a blood- 
 hound. 
 
 We were going along a track evidently used by 
 wild beasts, and, on turning rather a sharp corner, 
 the man doubled abruptly back, stooping low, with 
 every sign of fear, and passed me at a run ; the 
 whole thing did not occupy a minute. I advanced 
 very cautiously, with the express fully cocked. The 
 Brinjarie stuck to me like a man. I had gone but a 
 few paces, when I came upon the sambur lying in the 
 embrace of a huge tiger. The brute had his fore-feet 
 round the deer's neck, whilst his mouth was fastened 
 on the neck. I could hear him gurgling down the 
 blood. His head was away from me, and distant 
 about five or six paces. I put up the rifle, and, aiming 
 for the junction of the head and neck, fired. There 
 was scarcely a movement — the head, perhaps, sank an 
 inch or two lower ; then slowly the drops of blood 
 began to ooze down his neck from a small hole at the 
 back of his head. 
 
 The noble beast was stone-dead. 
 
 The villager now came up, and wanted to pull out
 
 224 REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 the tiger's whiskers, and was much disgusted at my 
 preventing him, as he said it was a necessary opera- 
 tion, otherwise the tiger's spirit would haunt us. It 
 was as much as our united strength could do to separate 
 the two animals which lay dead, but we managed to 
 drag away the royal beast, who proved on measure- 
 ment to be nine feet seven inches in length ; but his 
 tail was very short, being only two feet nine inches 
 long. He was massive and very fat. The sam- 
 bur, too, was a prize, as he had a splendid head, 
 only inferior to one or two in the possession of that 
 veteran sportsman, Douglas Hamilton, who in his day 
 probably killed more game than any man in the 
 Madras Presidency, except, perhaps, Nightingale and 
 Mitchell, and certainly had the finest sambur heads in 
 his collection at Ooty I ever saw. I sent the villager 
 back to get help, while the Brinjarie and I flayed the 
 two animals, and before we had quite finished our task, 
 six or eight wild-looking fellows came up ; these took 
 the small breastbone of the tiger as a charm, and some 
 of his fat, which they said was a cure for rheumatism 
 if well rubbed in. 
 
 The men told me about two miles further there were 
 some bear-dens, and if I liked they would smoke the 
 bears out. But I proposed going there later in the 
 day to sit over the caves, as I wanted to see the tiger's 
 skin well pegged down ; besides, I knew if my back 
 was turned for a minute the beast's whiskers would 
 disappear, so I accompanied the men with the spoils 
 of the chase back to camp. On the way I heard a 
 muntjack (small deer) barking, and going in that 
 direction, I saw him in a state of excitement, and
 
 BEAR DENS 225 
 
 should have peered about for its cause ; but as the 
 little animal's horns were rather good of their kind, 
 I foolishly fired at him, and on the report a beautiful 
 leopard bounded away. I only saw his spotted hide 
 for an instant, and took a snap-shot, but unfortunately 
 missed, my ball crashing into a tree just above where 
 he had disappeared. The Brinjarie took up the deer, 
 and we got back to camp about half-past ten. 
 
 Whilst I had my bath, all hands were busy preparing 
 bamboo pegs, and after breakfast I superintended the 
 stretching out of the pelts. The tiger's skin, when 
 pegged out, measured close upon thirteen feet. The 
 sambur's and the gaur's and other heads were boiled in 
 earthenware pots, care being taken that the horns were 
 not submerged. This process loosens the teeth, but 
 renders the skulls beautifully white and free from all 
 offensive smells. There was ample meat for every- 
 body ; the people pretty well gorged themselves, and 
 when I proposed to start for the caves, none of them 
 seemed willing to move. 
 
 The dens were a long way off, so, taking my express 
 and accompanied by a Brinjarie with the shot gun, I 
 went through patches of cultivation. I soon changed 
 the rifle for the smooth-bore, and had capital sport, for 
 jungle fowl, partridge and spur fowl were plentiful, lay 
 well, and gave easy shots. I went back with seven 
 brace and a half of sorts. At night I had the skins 
 covered over with brambles, and huge fires lit to keep 
 off hyenas and jackals. I was up and away with my 
 followers at 4 a.m. It was so dark we took torches 
 to show the way. We did not follow the path of the 
 previous day, but took a short-cut, which was infinitely 
 
 15
 
 226 REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 worse. We went up hill and down dale, through 
 nasty-looking ravines, crossed several small streams, 
 and eventually climbed up a very rocky hill almost 
 destitute of vegetation. 
 
 It was still dark when we got there, but the morning 
 star was well up, and by the time I was posted, dawn 
 began to appear. There are but few inhabitants in 
 these parts, so the wild beasts remain out rather 
 late, as they are never disturbed ; it must have been 
 fully seven before I saw anything. Then two bears 
 went into a cave out of shot. I saw two or three 
 others wandering about, which disappeared, but nothing 
 came to my cave until past eight. 
 
 The men told me it was the largest den, and that 
 there was a whole family of bears who lived in it, 
 the male being particularly vicious, and that several 
 villagers had been chased by him. They had posted 
 me there as they wanted him killed ; the others, they 
 said, did them no harm. It was getting late, and I 
 was thinking of trying to smoke out some of the bears 
 I had seen, but the men begged me to remain a little 
 longer, to which I consented. 
 
 Close upon 9 a.m. I saw five bears coming my way. 
 I was lying on the top of the cave, over the entrance. 
 There were huge rocks and granite slabs about. The 
 bears seemed in no hurry ; they stopped here and 
 there turning over stones, and devouring various 
 beetles which they found underneath. At last on the 
 top of the crest appeared the ugly mug of the old 
 bear. I gave him a shot, and he fell on the top of 
 a large female, and immediately pitched into her, and 
 they rolled downhill. The other female, followed by
 
 RIGHT AND LEFT AT BEARS 227 
 
 two cubs, made for the entrance at a gallop, but I 
 killed her with a ball through the head, and the little 
 ones nestled up close to her. Descending, I went 
 down to the scene of the conflict, the Brinjarie follow- 
 ing close on my heels, and it was lucky he did so, 
 for directly the combatants heard us they charged 
 viciously. I gave each a shot, but they would have 
 been on me had not the man put the spare rifle into 
 my hand. I dropped the express, and firing from the 
 hip, the ball went into the open jaws of the male and 
 out through the back of his head, making him drop at 
 once. The female stood up and struck at my face 
 with her muscular arms, but, dodging the blow, I fired 
 into her chest, the muzzle actually touching her when 
 I pulled the trigger. The ball went right through 
 her, breaking her back, and she rolled down the hill, 
 uttering most dismal moans, and biting her paws 
 through and through. I had to go down to give her 
 her quietus. 
 
 On returning to the cave, we determined to catch 
 the cubs, and found the villagers' kumblies (native 
 blankets) most useful, for the little brutes scratched 
 and fought like fiends. The two natives suffered 
 somewhat, but in the end we secured the two 
 youngsters, who were as large as good-sized spaniels. 
 We left two men to skin the slain, one in charge of 
 the cubs, and with two Brinjarie and three natives I 
 tried to smoke out the two bears I had seen enter in 
 the early morning ; but there were two many passages, 
 and after wasting two or three hours in futile attempts 
 we had to desist. We tried several other dens, but 
 only succeeded in driving a hyaena out of one of them,
 
 228 REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 which I shot. I then sent the villagers to help the 
 others, and to carry the spoils to the village, and, 
 accompanied by the Brinjaries, I walked along the 
 summit of the hill. 
 
 I had gone some way, when one of the men touched 
 me, and pointed to a rock, saying in Telegoo, ' China 
 puli.' I looked, but could see nothing. I wanted to 
 advance, but the man held me back, and still pointed, 
 and seemed astonished that I could not see what was 
 so plain to him. At last the very slightest movement 
 on the part of the beast revealed him to me. It was 
 a Felis jubata, or hunting chita, lying flat on a rock 
 watching something below. It was the first at which 
 I had ever had a chance, for though they are not at 
 all rare, being distributed over considerable portions 
 of India, I had never come across one in the jungles. 
 This one was only about forty paces off, so I had 
 no great fear of failing to bag him. I changed the 
 charge in the express, substituting the shell for the 
 solid conical, and firing behind the shoulder, he fell 
 over the rock, and we found him stone-dead. His 
 full length, tail included, was a little over seven feet. 
 I was very well pleased at getting this specimen for my 
 collection. It did not take us long to flay him and to 
 cut off his head, and by the time we had finished it 
 was getting towards mid-day. We walked back to 
 the village. We saw some doe sambur, but, as there 
 was plenty of meat in camp, did not fire at them. 
 
 I did not go out in the afternoon, but super- 
 intended the pegging out of the skins, and had a rude 
 cage made for the bears. Milk was not very plentiful, 
 but we got just sufficient to keep the little ones alive,
 
 PLENTIFUL GAME 229 
 
 and they gave us great trouble in feeding them. They 
 only survived three days ; then they managed to get 
 out somehow, and were killed by the Brinjarie dogs. 
 
 I had various luck here, killing three bull gaur, five 
 sambur, one leopard, two four-horned antelope, and 
 then on December 10 I went in light marching order 
 to the Pendakoonda range. These hills are about 
 4,500 feet high, with tableland at the top. It took me 
 three days to get there, through the most abominable 
 country I ever scrambled over in my life. We followed 
 the partially -dry bed of a watercourse which led to 
 the range. We saw much game, or, rather, heard it, 
 for moving about was not easy work, and the noise 
 we made effectually drove away all the animals ; but 
 by halting and going some way up the rivulet, and 
 stationing myself behind rocks, I did get several shots 
 towards evening, when the deer came down to drink. 
 In this ionoble manner I killed four sambur, three of 
 them being does and only one a stag. I also got two 
 peacocks and a porcupine, the latter being very good 
 eating if properly cooked. 
 
 On December 14, after one of the most fatiguing 
 climbs I ever had in my life, I reached the plateau. 
 The grass was very high, but I tried my old dodge of 
 a bamboo ladder, and by planting it against trees saw 
 much game. One old gaur gave me much trouble ; he 
 was badly hit — would run and hide, and then charge 
 out fiercely. I must have fired fifteen or twenty shots 
 at him before I laid him low, and many were the 
 narrow escapes we had from this savage old bull. 
 After the first day I determined to try and burn the 
 long grass ; there had been no rain for a considerable
 
 a 3 o REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 time, and though there were heavy dews at night, the 
 heat in the day was considerable. There was no 
 scarcity of old rotten wood and bamboos about, and 
 we collected a lot and made heaps of them here and 
 there, and about i p.m. on December 16 we fired them 
 simultaneously. At first the grass would not burn, 
 but as it dried it caught fire, which rapidly spread 
 about 4 p.m. 
 
 It was a grand sight ; the whole surface was alight, 
 the bamboos bursting with reports like pistol-shots. 
 It continued the whole night and next day. Within 
 thirty-six hours fully as many miles in length, and 
 perhaps a mile in breadth, had been burnt. The 
 valleys were all but untouched, and for three days I 
 wandered about in the most lovely forests I ever saw ; 
 the sun was scarcely ever visible. The conflagration 
 had disturbed the game, but I got two gaur and one 
 sambur. 
 
 On December 2 1 we moved camp, following the 
 plateau, which lay in a north-westerly direction. The 
 fire had done its work, and the surface was nearly bare, 
 only a clump of grass here and there having escaped. 
 Marks of game were plentiful ; their slots were scattered 
 over the ashes. We started very early, taking our 
 chagul (leathern bottles) filled with water, for stream- 
 lets were only met with here and there, far apart, and 
 some way down the hillsides. We saw many langoors 
 (monkeys) busy turning over the stones in search of 
 beetles ; they swore at us in their own language for 
 disturbing them. Our progress was very slow, for all 
 our traps had to be carried by men, and there were no 
 paths other than those made by wild beasts. We did
 
 VIRGIN GROUND 231 
 
 not come to our halting-place until close upon 5 p.m., 
 and all I had shot were three spur fowl. We had gone 
 some fifteen to eighteen miles over an uninterrupted 
 plateau, nearly flat, with but very slight, long un- 
 dulations. The men had an ample supply of rice and 
 dried meat with them. 
 
 The next day I stirred camp at 3 a.m., and we got 
 off an hour before dawn. I went ahead with the two 
 Brinjarie gun-carriers, and bid my men make as little 
 noise as possible, for these were virginal hunting- 
 grounds. Even the villagers had never been over 
 them. They only knew that three days' journey in 
 this direction we should come to a small village, which 
 was connected with theirs by a narrow path through 
 winding valleys. I had only one servant with me. 
 My whole camp, with the exception of what I had 
 with me, I had sent on from Ukalur to Nulkamindi, 
 with directions to the Brinjaries to burn the jungles on 
 the top of the plateau. These plateaux are all con- 
 nected, and run nearly parallel to one another, and 
 after the jungles have been burnt you can travel over 
 tableland for sixty or seventy miles. Nulkamindi is at 
 one extremity, and Daraconda at the other. The valley 
 and swampy plains swarm with game ; but we were at 
 the wrong season. Towards the end of March, April 
 and May are the best months for sport, and then the 
 jungles have been burnt and the young grass sprung up. 
 
 Marching along in the dark, we disturbed several 
 deer and porcupines, but only got a glimpse of the 
 latter. These porcupines are a great nuisance ; they 
 burrow under the loose stones ; if you step upon one 
 of these stones it tips up and catches you a crack across
 
 232 REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 your shins, and you don't bless the fretful creatures, the 
 cause of your agony. It was just dawn ; objects were 
 still indistinct, when I saw something black moving 
 along across us at about twenty or thirty paces. I 
 stopped to get a better look, when one of the Brinjaries 
 said, ' Pedda puli,' which means tiger. I had heard of, 
 and indeed seen, black panthers, but did not believe in 
 the existence of a black tiger ; but in the dusk this 
 animal had the shape of a tiger, and was certainly 
 black. It was moving along leisurely, and, aiming as 
 well as I could, I let fly. There was a bound and a 
 roar ; I took a second and snap-shot, with what result 
 I could not tell, as the next moment the object dis- 
 appeared down the hillside. 
 
 I immediately called a halt, determined to search for 
 the creature, as a black tiger was not to be met with 
 every day. As soon as it was light enough I took up 
 the trail. The beast had bounded along, digging his 
 claws into the ground, a sure sign of its being hit, and 
 in a passion. Over the crest there was a little grass 
 and short jungle, so I had to advance very cautiously, 
 for in such a place a tiger is a very dangerous animal, 
 as it can hide where one would think there was not 
 sufficient cover for a hare. I traced him step by step 
 down hill for a quarter of a mile ; then I could see 
 some grass moving backwards and forwards, and knew 
 that the tiger was at bay. 
 
 My bamboo ladder, which a man carried behind me, 
 came in very handily. I bid the men make themselves 
 scarce, whilst I climbed up the nearest tree. I could 
 not see the animal, but fired several random shots into 
 the grass. After every shot the movement ceased for
 
 A BLACK TIGER? 233 
 
 a moment, then the tail was swayed about as usual. I 
 did not want to waste ammunition, but how to get at 
 the animal I did not know. I then tried a shell, and 
 this, bursting close by, made the tiger move. I got a 
 momentary glimpse and fired ; the thud told me I 
 had hit, and the brute left me in no doubt, as, before 
 I could reload, he charged and clawed at the trunk of 
 the tree. He was so immediately below me that I 
 could not fire ; but one of the Brinjaries had the sense 
 to throw his puggaree from a tree close by towards 
 the tiger, which immediately rushed at it, and I bowled 
 him over with two shots. My disgust may be imagined 
 when I found him to be but an ordinary tiger ; but he 
 had been rolling in the burnt grass, and in the dim 
 light looked black. He was a fair-sized animal, nine 
 feet four inches in length, and massive. We lost no 
 time in skinning him, and then resumed our march. 
 
 When we got back to the plateau, we saw by the 
 footmarks that our people had gone on, and we hurried 
 after them ; but they had a good two hours' start, so 
 we did not overtake them until past two o'clock, and 
 camped soon after. Our people had seen several gaur 
 and sambur, and certainly their spoor was plentiful. 
 These animals eat the ashes when they cannot get at 
 the white earth which they are so fond of. During 
 the night two bears were busy digging out a white 
 ants' nest. I was half asleep in my tent, when I heard 
 their inhalations as they sucked up the white ants. 
 Looking through the window of my tent, there were 
 the bruins, sure enough, busily engaged. I seized the 
 rifle, and gave them a right and left. They both ran 
 off; but I saw one fall, and heard the other floundering
 
 234 REMINISCENCES OE INDIA 
 
 about in some bushes. The camp was alarmed, and 
 it was three o'clock. I bid the boy get tea, and whilst 
 it was being prepared, I went towards where the bear 
 had fallen ; he was not quite dead, but seemed paralyzed, 
 so I put him out of his pain. I had a long march 
 before me. I had only that day's rations for my men, 
 and I wanted to kill some game before reaching the 
 village ; so I did not wait for morning, but, leaving 
 one of the Brinjaries and a villager behind, I told 
 them I thought they would find the other bear dead 
 about a hundred yards down the slope at daylight. 
 But when they joined me, they declared they could not 
 find it — I doubt whether they had looked for it : for 
 though I had left one of my rifles with them, they were 
 not accustomed to firearms, and, though undoubtedly 
 plucky, had no confidence in their own shooting, and 
 were not likely to run into danger without their dogs 
 being close by. 
 
 I started at 4 a.m. with the other Brinjarie, and 
 certainly I had a glorious day's sport. Gaur so far 
 away were worthless, unless carrying unusual heads, 
 especially as my coolies would not eat the flesh ; so 
 though I saw several old bulls, I did not fire at them. 
 About half an hour after dawn, I heard most unusual 
 sounds ; and hurrying forward, on turning round a 
 clump of bamboos I saw two splendid stags engaged 
 in mortal combat, whilst some six or seven does were 
 looking on in a most unconcerned manner. The two 
 were well matched, and although I was within fifty 
 yards of them, I hid myself to see the denouement 
 without having been perceived by any of the denizens 
 so near. The two stags were wild with fury, their
 
 A BATTLE ROYAL 235 
 
 nostrils dilated, their eyes flashing fire, and first one, 
 then the other, drove its antagonist backwards. For 
 at least ten minutes no real harm was done ; there 
 was a great deal of butting and thrusting, but beyond 
 a score or two upon their hides where the hair had 
 been torn away by the sharp-pointed antlers, no blood 
 had been drawn. The two were well blown, and their 
 panting sides showed that the fight could not last much 
 longer, and that one or the other must soon give way. 
 Their horns were interlaced, and for a minute or two 
 there was scarcely a movement ; they were evidently 
 taking breath. The one nearest me gradually drew 
 back very quietly, until one of the tips of his horns 
 touched the extremity of his adversary's basal antlers ; 
 then suddenly lowering his head, and dodging a vicious 
 prod made at him, he threw himself with a scream 
 upon the other. A few rapid passes were made — so 
 rapid that I could not follow the movements for a 
 minute or two, and then both were bleeding : the one 
 furthest from me from a prod in the shoulder, and the 
 other from a thrust in the chest. They had evidently 
 got their second wind. They separated, and then 
 rushed one upon the other. The horns seemed in- 
 extricably interlaced, and both fell over upon their 
 sides. The one furthest from me first recovered his 
 legs, and as the other was rising rushed upon him, 
 drove his horns well into his side, and then, borne 
 forward by the impetus of his rush, turned a complete 
 somersault, and lay there unable to rise. My Brinjarie 
 ran forward, and in a second the poor stags were 
 dead. The does scampered away as soon as they saw 
 the man. One head measured forty-two inches, and
 
 236 REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 the other forty-four. The ones I had secured the first 
 day were an inch or two longer, but not so massive. 
 The heads were soon severed, some meat cut off and 
 given to the coolies when they came up, and we 
 resumed our journey. 
 
 In about an hour the plateau began to slope down- 
 wards ; there was more grass about, for the fire had 
 been very partial here, and clumps of bamboos were 
 scattered about. The aneroid showed that we were 
 3,900 feet above the sea — 600 feet lower than the 
 highest point of the plateau. I was skirting a bamboo 
 clump, and came upon a bull gaur face to face. Had 
 he charged, I should have been in an awkward fix ; but, 
 fortunately, he wheeled round, exposing his shoulder, 
 and I gave him the contents of both my barrels. He 
 ran off; but I heard him fall, and found him on his 
 back, his legs up in the air, resting against a clump 
 of immense female bamboos, stone-dead. The coolies, 
 who were close by, said the village we were bound for 
 was not far distant, and that the people there ate bison 
 or any flesh, having no caste ; so we hurried forward. 
 In another hour we had descended nearly a thousand 
 feet, and there for the first time we came upon some 
 spotted deer. 
 
 There must have been some twenty or thirty does 
 and several bucks ; they jumped out of a patch of 
 grass about three feet high, ran some fifty yards, and 
 then faced round staring- at us. I secured a buck and 
 a doe. Hanging them up to the bamboos, we went 
 on, and reached the village — Peddachurla, elevation 
 2,200 feet — about eleven o'clock. Some dozen men 
 started at once for the meat of the gaur, and to bring
 
 AFTER BUFFALOES 237 
 
 in the spotted deer. Whilst breakfast was being pre- 
 pared, I had a talk with some of the villagers, the 
 Brinjarie acting as interpreter. They said game was 
 plentiful. They had two old muskets in the village, 
 but no powder or lead. They killed various animals 
 with cross-bows and arrows, and by means of pit-falls, 
 which they set in pathways made by wild beasts. 
 They said that, if I liked to stop a few days, they 
 would show me buffaloes, gaur, and two or three kinds 
 of deer. I got rice for the people here ; but my own 
 supplies were running short, so I said I could only 
 remain two days with them, as it would take us at 
 least five days' hard marching to reach my camp at 
 Mulkamindi, but promised them some powder, lead, 
 and shot if they showed me good sport. As an earnest, 
 I gave one of the village shikaries a few charges, and 
 he went away well pleased, reappearing at 3 p.m. to 
 show the way. He took us downhill, and through 
 some horrid jungles to a flat, marshy valley covered 
 with long grass fully ten feet high. My bamboo ladder 
 was all but useless, for there were but a very few trees 
 scattered about, and a long way apart. We had to 
 move along narrow paths made by wild animals. The 
 man told us that buffaloes were fairly plentiful, and I 
 soon saw from their spread-eagle footmarks that the 
 bubali were here. Now, I had seen a great deal of 
 buffaloes and their ways, and had shot very many of 
 them in Assam and Burma, and knew that there was 
 not a more savage beast, or one more difficult to kill, 
 in the world than one of the ami, and I did not at all 
 like the prospect of meeting one on foot in the sort of 
 jungle we were in. It would have been an admirable
 
 238 REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 plain for work on elephants ; but the grass towered 
 over our heads, and we could not see beyond a yard 
 or two at the most. However, as the native with his 
 old Tower musket walked on at his ease, I, who was 
 well armed and used to all sports, did not like to lag 
 behind ; but, at the same time, I devoutly wished that 
 we might not see any buffaloes on such ground. 
 
 As we advanced, the grass became higher and more 
 dense ; then suddenly before us appeared a vast 
 marsh, covered with aquatic plants and short grass, 
 with here and there clear water spaces, which were 
 literally covered with wild-duck. Peering about, the 
 man pointed to a spot about a quarter of a mile away, 
 and there a herd of buffaloes were feeding ; they were 
 within fifty yards of the belt of long reeds with one 
 solitary tree. Leaving the Brinjaries here, and telling 
 them to scramble up into some of the stunted trees, I 
 gave the villager an extra rifle to carry, and drawing back 
 into the long grass, we made for the solitary tree, which 
 was our landmark, and was to be our coign of vantage, 
 by tortuous wild-beast paths. It took us more than 
 half an hour to get there. The tree was easy to 
 climb, and soon I was up in the topmost branches, 
 with my sable companion beside me. The buffaloes 
 were seven in number, not counting the calves. 
 There was one old bull with thick massive horns. 
 The villager was anxious to try the powder I had 
 given him, so I took the extra rifle from him and 
 hung it by its sling to a broken branch close to me, 
 and, pointing out a large cow, told him to fire at it 
 whilst I fired at the bull ; they were only about 
 thirty paces away, and presented an easy shot. The
 
 SWAMP DEER 239 
 
 native took some time to aim, and as soon as I saw 
 he was ready I fired at the bull. The shikarie's gun 
 went off with a bang like a 24-pounder, and he was 
 almost thrown from his perch ; but his cow dropped 
 dead, whilst my bull only fell on his knees, then 
 recovered, and would doubtless have got off had not 
 my second shot caught him in the neck and rolled 
 him over. The remainder of the herd ran some 
 fifty or sixty yards, then halted for a second, and with 
 the extra gun I broke the fore-leg of another, and with 
 three more shots killed it. 
 
 It was getting on for evening, so, having secured 
 the tongues only of two, we hurried home, as it was not 
 a nice country to wander over in the dark, intending 
 to return for the head of the bull on the morrow ; as 
 it was, we did not get to the village till an hour after 
 dark. I was up and away before dawn, and, sending 
 some men to the dead buffaloes, I skirted the marsh 
 and got a little beyond it ; the grass was not so high 
 there, and the walking much better. We were trudging 
 along, when close to us some deer, which we did not 
 see, bounded away. We went along as silently as we 
 could, and presently came on a herd of swamp-deer feed- 
 ing on aquatic plants, up to their bellies in water. One 
 of my principal objects in coming to these regions was to 
 ascertain whether this deer did exist here, as reported by 
 the villagers, and sure enough there they were. I shot 
 a stag, a noble brute with eighteen points, but missed 
 another with the second barrel. Within the next two 
 hours I put up several more, and killed another stag 
 and two does. 
 
 We then went round to the first marsh, and found
 
 240 REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 our men perched up in the trees. On asking the 
 reason, they tolcl us they could not approach the 
 buffaloes, as there were several tigers tearing at the 
 bull when they came. I soon joined them, but could 
 not see the ghost of a tiger. The men said they had 
 retired into a patch of grass close by, and if I waited 
 quietly some of them would be sure to come out into 
 the space to drink. 
 
 The hind-quarter of the buffalo had certainly been 
 well eaten, and as I intended to move on the morrow, 
 I thought I might as well try and get a shot at the 
 tigers. I had some biscuits and potted meat with me, 
 and a flask of wine, so I took it easy. Further up the 
 marsh several buffaloes showed themselves from time 
 to time, but were far out of shot. The skv was clear 
 and the sun very hot, and I was getting tired of being 
 perched up there, and wanted to go home ; but the 
 people begged me to remain a little longer. I was 
 getting scorched myself, and the patient natives, 
 eating only a little parched rice, looked like so many 
 statues. At last a man touched me, and pointed in 
 the direction of the buffalo. There was nothino- 
 
 o 
 
 visible but the swollen body, but on looking about I 
 saw just the slightest movement in the grass. There 
 was a little clear water about twenty yards beyond, 
 and it was evident that some animal was making for 
 it. In about five minutes a tiger walked into it and 
 lay down ; then followed a tigress, which commenced to 
 drink. After a slight interval two three-parts-grown 
 tigresses showed themselves, but kept apart from the 
 others. These three presented easy shots ; but the 
 tiger, by far the largest, had only his head above
 
 THREE TIGERS BAGGED 241 
 
 water. The men urged me to fire, and I was sorely 
 tempted to do so, but determined to give them a little 
 more grace. After slaking their thirst, the three 
 came to the buffalo and commenced to tear at the 
 flesh. The male probably thought they were eating 
 more than their share, for he, too, got up, and, dripping 
 wet as he was, commenced his repast. 
 
 The tigress and tiger were close together, almost 
 touching. I had some of my Assam cartridges left 
 for the twelve-bore ; they each had six drachms of 
 powder and a steel -tipped conical ; so, changing the 
 express for the larger weapon, I waited until the two 
 heads were close together, and firing at the junction of 
 the neck and head, I rolled over the two with one shot. 
 It passed clean through both, and my left barrel caught 
 one of the youngsters in the stern, as she bounded 
 away, and disabled her. The tigress was stone-dead ; 
 the tiger showed some signs of life, so I put an express 
 bullet into his head, and then, dismounting, I had no 
 difficulty in killing the third, for she was unable to 
 move, the conical having entered high up the buttock, 
 traversed the body, and gone out by the chest, smash- 
 ing the fore-quarter to atoms. Thus both the hind 
 and fore quarters on the same side were crippled, and 
 all she could do was to flounder about in the mud. 
 
 We removed the three dead bodies to a dry spot, 
 cut off the buffalo's head, and went back to the village, 
 all but the native shikarie, who said he would sit up, 
 as the fourth tigress was sure to return. I certainly 
 thought he was a fool for his pains, but he knew the 
 animals better than I did, for she came back just at 
 sunset, and he shot her dead with one ball, and reached 
 
 16
 
 242 REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 camp in triumph at about eight o'clock. The truth 
 is, the wild beasts are so seldom disturbed here that 
 they do not know what fear is, and do things in this 
 remote locality which they would not dream of doing 
 in a more populous district. The people begged me 
 to remain another day, and as my time was my own, I 
 consented, provided they would take me to some fresh 
 ground, for I did not care for shooting buffaloes in such 
 a country on foot. We were busy till late, staking out 
 the skins, and I found that the whiskers of two had 
 been removed. I threatened to withhold the bucksheesh, 
 but of course only said this to frighten them ; the poor 
 ignorant brutes knew no better, and it is an article of 
 faith with them always to deprive a tiger's skin of its 
 hirsute adornments, otherwise they firmly believe that 
 something dreadful will happen to them. 
 
 Next morning, Christmas Day, I was up and away 
 at about 3.30 a.m. We went back over the route we 
 had come by for about two hours. Then we found the 
 plateau had a branch which went to the west, and by 
 following it the men said we should reach the Godavery 
 a little above Buddrachellum, without having to ascend 
 or descend above one hundred feet or so. They said it 
 was a maidan* the whole way, but the elevation was 
 2,375 feet. There was still a great deal of grass, for 
 the fire had burnt the crop there but very slightly. I 
 fancy it had reached this after heavy dew had fallen, so 
 had not had much effect. In parts the grass was very 
 heavy, in others only about three feet in height. The 
 natives, who turned out in numbers, sent me ahead, and 
 then silently walked through the long patches, hitting 
 
 * Plain.
 
 NIGHT ON THE UPLAND 243 
 
 the trunks of the trees with their daks* It was an 
 admirable way of beating, and I should be afraid to 
 say the number of beasts I saw. I had a long day's 
 work. We had some fifteen beats, and went pro- 
 bably twenty miles on end. I got two gaur, five 
 sambur, three four-horned antelope, one spotted buck, 
 and one doe. I saw a leopard too, but he was far too 
 quick, and directly he perceived I had seen him, he 
 sneaked behind a bush, and though I ran forward to 
 cut him off, I never saw him again. I might have 
 doubled my bag, but I chose only exceptionally fine 
 beasts, and only shot the doe for the pot. When we 
 ceased shooting it was too late to return to the village, 
 so we cleared away a spot in a heavy bamboo tope, and 
 the men rigged up a shed in no time. I had no servant 
 with me ; but the savages cut up the meat in thin 
 squares, and, sprinkling it with salt, strung it upon long 
 bamboo skewers and roasted it over the hot embers. 
 They also cooked some young bamboo shoots, and 
 when eaten hot they are excellent. I had a few 
 biscuits left, and a little wine, so did not do so badly, 
 after all ; my servant, knowing it to be our great day, 
 was going to prepare a great feast, but it would keep 
 till next day. 
 
 The natives lit huge fires, for it was very cold. I 
 had no wraps, and I must own I did not sleep much 
 that night. Taking only the Brinjaries and one villager 
 to show the way, I started at 3 a.m., reached the camp 
 at 11 a.m., and, after a good breakfast, took a long 
 sleep. The villagers returned in the evening laden 
 with meat. I had my traps packed up, ready for a 
 
 * Dahs — large two-handed knives, used for felling trees, etc.
 
 244 REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 move in the morning. The people were really sorry 
 that I was going. I was the first sahib who had ever 
 stopped at their village ; but I told them I must be 
 moving, and that I was bound for Daraconda via 
 Nulkamindi. ' But why go to Nulkamindi,' they said, 
 4 to get to Daraconda ? We c&n take you a short-cut 
 to the plateau which will save you thirty or forty miles.' 
 ' But all my traps are there,' I said. Four of the 
 villagers offered to go off at once, marching day and 
 night, and would bring my traps after me, and probably 
 be on the appointed spot on the plateau as soon as 
 myself; their only reward was to be two canisters of 
 powder, some shot, and lead. The people here are 
 not afraid of tigers (there are no man-eaters) ; but 
 they do dread bears, and at night move about with 
 torches. 
 
 We did not get away ourselves until daybreak, and 
 then were followed by fully twenty adults, and some 
 six or seven youngish women, who were very useful 
 in bringing water, etc. We went across paths only 
 known to these people, I going ahead with a couple of 
 men to shoot game, of which there was plenty. In 
 three long days' marches I reached Guntira, having 
 shot one buffalo, three gaur, and two sambur en route. 
 Here I halted for a day, for I was worn out ; my pony 
 was with my camp at Nulkamindi. Many of the men 
 and women had gone back laden with meat, and there 
 were only some six or seven left when we started from 
 the plateau ; but several of the men and women from 
 the new village also joined my camp. For the next 
 four days we had a good deal of climbing. At first 
 we went along undulating ridges, then descended into
 
 A MIXED BAG 245 
 
 a densely wooded valley, up a steep hill on to another 
 plateau, and along it for some twenty miles, then down 
 again, and at last reached the tableland, which is, on 
 an average, 4,200 feet above the sea-level, and which 
 extends uninterruptedly for fully seventy miles in a 
 north-westerly direction, with connecting spurs, with 
 others running parallel. The rainfall is considerable, 
 and there are many watercourses separating the various 
 plateaux. I was glad to see that the grass had been 
 burnt some days, for the new grass had commenced to 
 spring up. 
 
 During those three days I had shot three marsh- 
 deer, two sambur, and four gaur. I had seen bears, 
 but had not got a shot. Tigers' pugs* were frequent, 
 but I did not see the animals themselves. We moved 
 on to a watering-place some five miles above where 
 we had struck the plateau, and at least two miles 
 before I got there I saw signs that people were about, 
 and I guessed that my camp had arrived, which proved 
 to be the case. They had been there nearly three 
 days ; they had stockaded the pony, as they said tigers 
 and panthers abounded. Lower down the Brinjaries 
 had used their dogs, and had killed several deer, and 
 had seen much game. They had procured sufficient 
 rice to last us a month by going long distances from 
 village to village, exchanging salt for grain. I was 
 pretty well tired, and rested for two days, shooting 
 only pea-fowl and spur-fowl for the pot. At night 
 many gaur came to drink, and one or two passed right 
 through my camp. 
 
 All the villagers had left us, carrying off an ample 
 
 * Pugs — footmarks.
 
 246 REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 supply of biltong, except two men and three women, 
 who proposed to go with us to Daraconda, and on to 
 Buddrachellum, should I decide on going that way. I 
 need not give the results of each day's journeyings. 
 For twenty-one days I wandered over a lovely country, 
 finding game everywhere, and killing fifteen gaur, two 
 buffaloes (on the last day, close to Daraconda), seven 
 sambur, one barking deer, and three or four four-horned 
 antelope ; these were killed for the pot only. At last, 
 after wanting to visit these localities for twenty-five 
 years, I had accomplished my purpose. The country 
 lower down was far better for game than Daraconda 
 itself, but I had had enough of sport for the time. 
 I went out twice near Daraconda, and killed three 
 buffaloes, four marsh-deer, and one sambur, and then, 
 dismissing the villagers with a good gratuity each, I 
 altered my plans, and went back. 
 
 I had kept only six of the best gaur-heads, three 
 buffalo-heads, four sambur, and four marsh-deer, two 
 barking deer, three four-horned antelope, and all the 
 tiger, and bear, panther, and leopard skins and heads. 
 I allowed the Brinjaries to hunt every day after leaving 
 Daraconda ; they used to pick out a small hill, place 
 men, with a couple of dogs each, at intervals, and then 
 slip three or four couples. These soon started game, 
 and as it attempted to break other dogs were let loose, 
 and in a short time deer of all kinds were run down 
 and killed. 
 
 I was nearly four months in these hills, which have 
 such a deadly repute. I only took ordinary care of 
 myself. I lived as well as I could, but could not afford 
 to carry sufficient beer for the trip with me. I had
 
 PART WITH THE BRINJARIES 247 
 
 two three-dozen cases with me on starting, and I treated 
 myself to a bottle now and then after extra fatigue ; 
 but I had sufficient sherry to afford to drink two or 
 three glasses a day when I could not afford to drink 
 beer. I might have killed much more game, but too 
 much slaughter palls upon one. I picked out the 
 animals best worth killing, and as I had many mouths 
 to feed, not a scrap of meat was thrown away. The 
 Brinjaries finally left me with the remoter villagers at 
 Antarla, and I trust they all got back safe to their 
 homes.
 
 L 2 48] 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 MAN-EATERS AND BUFFALOES. 
 
 Go to Bustar — How to live well in the jungles — Bengal humps — 
 My shikaries — Toddy — Escape of the man-eater — Nine people 
 killed — Move camp — Sand-grouse — Miseries of night-watching 
 — Shoot a tiger — Another beat — A woman killed — The man- 
 eater killed by buffaloes — Spotted deer — A panther — Bears — 
 Fail to bag one out of eight — Jungle fowl — Dummape — Abandon 
 carts — Share ponies — A hunt with dogs described — A tigress — 
 Teak forests — Mahseer-fishing in the Godavery — Sironcha — 
 Large game in Bustar — Vicious charge of buffaloes — Shots at a 
 sambur and tiger — Encounter between buffalo and tiger — Salt- 
 licks — A mad gaur converted into beef — Send for camp — Two 
 bears with sore heads — Brinjari dogs — Four-horned antelope — 
 Camp at last — Cause of delay — A bullock killed — I am tossed 
 — Carried to the coast. 
 
 I had long intended taking a trip into the Bustar 
 country, and a friend advised me to go there via 
 Rajahmundry, and through a part of the Nizam's 
 country to Sironcha, as he said there was good shoot- 
 ing en route, and the country was not so unhealthy as 
 it was in the northern circars ; so I sent on my camp 
 ahead, and leaving Cocanada at 2 a.m., I reached my 
 camp at Pedda Pungadie, on the right bank of the 
 river Godavery, at 9 p.m. I lost no time in throwing 
 off my dust-stained garments, and poured over me the 
 contents of a lot of earthenware pots filled with de-
 
 INDIAN FARE 249 
 
 liciously cool water. These chatties* are porous when 
 new ; if filled overnight, their contents cool rapidly, 
 owing to evaporation, and nothing refreshes one in the 
 East so much as a bath, especially after a long ride or 
 dak journey. I was soon arrayed in light, airy costume, 
 and whilst partaking of the meal prepared for me, I 
 called for the shikaries, who had been sent on a 
 fortnight ahead, and asked what kubbttr they had to 
 impart. 
 
 Now let me give the reader an idea of what con- 
 stitutes a dinner in India, as prepared by an ordinary 
 Madras cook, as exemplified in my case. First there 
 was mulligatawny soup, then a fish with anchovy sauce 
 and oysters (tinned, of course), a capon and a Bengal 
 hump, chicken cutlets, curry and rice, poppadums (thin 
 wafers, only prepared in the East ; very delicious if 
 properly made), cheese and rusks. Now, a properly- 
 cured hump off a good Brahminee bull is unequalled, 
 but it is difficult to get ; ordinary ones are common 
 enough, for all the cattle in the East are humped, but 
 there is as much difference between them and a real 
 high hump off a sacred bull as there is between chalk 
 and cheese. Wilson, in the palmy days of his hotel in 
 Calcutta, was the only man who could be depended 
 upon to supply them, as he had a large farm of his 
 own, and reared these cattle expressly for this greatest 
 of all delicacies, but now they are not easy to get. 
 Brahmins especially, and all Hindoos, object not only 
 to ordinary cattle being killed, but more particularly to 
 the slaughter of these bulls, which in parts of Northern 
 India roam about at will and are never molested, even 
 * Chatties — earthenware pots.
 
 250 REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 if they commit great damages. In the Mutiny we had 
 a rare time, for then, somehow, these bulls came fre- 
 quently to grief, and their humps, tongues and marrow 
 bones formed a common article of food among- the 
 troops. 
 
 But to return to my tale. The head shikarie was 
 Elapah, a tall, thin Hindoo, very wiry, and far tougher 
 than he looked. He bore the marks of several en- 
 counters with wild beasts ; he had been nearly scalped 
 by a bear and ripped by a boar. He was no longer 
 young, but a man thoroughly to be depended upon 
 under any circumstances. As a gun-carrier he was 
 all but unrivalled, and as a tracker he had few equals. 
 He had been in my employ for very many years. 
 Before he took service with me he had been a pro- 
 fessional slayer of tigers and other of the ferce 
 nature? for whose destruction Government give a 
 reward, but as I gave him a wage of 15 rupees a 
 month, shikar clothes, when he condescended to wear 
 them, besides the greater part of all sums I received 
 for dangerous animals destroyed, he was content to play 
 second fiddle, and to help me to kill, instead of slaying* 
 beasts himself. For a wonder, he never drank to excess, 
 but had no objection to a tot of grog, and if we came 
 to a tope of date or Palmyra palms on a grilling hot 
 day, he would be up a tree like a squirrel, bring down 
 the pot containing the toddy, and, after his master had 
 taken all he required, help himself liberally to the 
 remainder. Now, this toddy, when unfermented, is 
 not only most palatable and refreshing, but most 
 wholesome; but there is toddy and toddy. You never 
 get it alike from any two trees. I do not think I ever
 
 MY SHIKARIES 251 
 
 got what I call delicious palm wine above twenty times 
 in my life, and twice out of the lot was in Africa. 
 Generally it is only so-so, better than nothing on a hot 
 day ; but a draught from a really good tree is a drink 
 for the gods. 
 
 Ramiah, the second shikarie, was a head shorter 
 than Elapah, but very strongly built, and better for 
 small game than for big. He was always in scrapes, 
 for he not only drank, but was a great admirer of the 
 fair sex, and was constantly running after them, irre- 
 spective as to whether they were already appropriated 
 or not. If their lords and masters objected, he 
 «-enerallv thrashed them, for he was not onlv very 
 muscular, but a dab with his fists, having in his 
 younger days been attached to a European regiment, 
 and taught the noble art of self-defence. 
 
 Such were the two men who came in, and bidding 
 them squat down, I asked Elapah the news. 
 
 He said that owing to the chota bur sot (small rains) 
 having partially failed, and the intense heat of the 
 weather, there was a great scarcity of water, that the 
 pools were few and far between, and that many of 
 them were filled rather with liquid mud than water ; 
 consequently deer were plentiful only in certain locali- 
 ties in the vicinity of three of the principal tanks, 
 or bheels. In the smaller tanks large sounders of 
 hog were wont to wallow nightly, but they had not 
 been able to examine the neighbouring jungles 
 thoroughly, because of a man-eating tiger which was 
 the scourge of the country. Seven men, he said, had 
 been killed in the last fortnight, and they had been 
 solicited by the villagers to sit up for and to attempt
 
 252 REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 to destroy this animal, but that, being my servants and 
 expecting me daily, they had declined. 
 
 ' A man-eater !' I exclaimed ; ' when was it last 
 heard of?' 
 
 4 It killed a young woman only two days ago, about 
 two coss (four miles) from this, as she was collecting 
 withered sticks for firewood, but it has not been heard 
 of since.' 
 
 'Well,' said I, 'before going on to the Nizam's 
 country I will remain here for a few days, and see if 
 I can't bag the beast. But it is late ; be off to bed, 
 and in the morning I'll go with you to the village to 
 ascertain if there be any fresh intelligence.' 
 
 I was up next morning at 5 a.m. After the usual 
 bath and chota hazarie, which in my case never ex- 
 ceeded a cup of coffee, I mounted my pegu — Burmese 
 or Shan pony. Handing a couple of rifles to the two 
 attendants, and slinging my own smooth-bore over 
 my shoulders, we started for Ananteepore, the hamlet 
 in question. We got there soon after daybreak, but 
 could obtain no news of the game I was in search of. 
 After a long palaver, three of the villagers accom- 
 panied me, and led me through a nice tree forest, 
 where they said spotted deer were fairly plentiful, but 
 we must have gone fully four or five miles without 
 seeing a living thing, with the exception of a few 
 squirrels. We then came to an open glade, in the 
 centre of which there was a fair-sized tank. I got 
 off the pony and carefully examined the margin of the 
 bed, which contained very good water. The marks of 
 spotted deer were plentiful, with a few of sambur and 
 pig, and innumerable traces of pea-fowl, jungle-fowl, and
 
 NEWS OF A MAN-EATER 253 
 
 sand-grouse, while at its further extremity there were 
 the pugs of a large tiger, which the people declared 
 were those of the man-eater. This trail we followed 
 up, and marked him into a dense thicket in the midst 
 of the forest. Presuming- that he would lie up there 
 during the heat of the day, the shikaries and I re- 
 mained on guard, and sent the villagers to collect 
 coolies, with orders to brinsf them back as soon as 
 possible ; but the hamlets were small, scattered, and 
 far apart, and the inhabitants few, so I knew that a 
 considerable time must elapse before the requisite 
 number of men could be collected. 
 
 I sent my pony with them to be picketed in the 
 nearest village, and to await my return. I was not 
 altogether a stranger to these jungles ; I had hunted 
 here years before, and had met with some success by 
 sitting up at the pools ; but since the completion of 
 the Anicut the country had much changed : the various 
 irrigation channels had made a howling wilderness 
 into something resembling civilization. However 
 beneficial this might be to the revenue or to the 
 people, it was not a blessing to the sportsman, and I 
 greatly preferred the former state of things. 
 
 I always take something to eat and drink with me 
 when I start on an expedition ; all I required was 
 prepared overnight, and put into a haversack, which 
 Ramiah had to carrv. So I took a snack about 
 eleven, and washed it down with a pint of pale ale. 
 In the meanwhile my two attendants carefully and 
 noiselessly scrutinized the country round the brake 
 into which we had traced the feline ; there was no 
 doubt that it had entered the patch and had not left
 
 254 REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 it, so, hoping" for the best, I chose three trees, one 
 for myself and two others for the shikaries, so as to 
 guard every outlet. My object was to rid the country 
 of its scourge. Sport I could get in plenty elsewhere. 
 But what a weary time we had of it ! Hour after 
 hour passed, yet no beaters. The men with me had 
 brought a little parched rice, and munched it as they 
 sat like a couple of statues on their perches, but their 
 chagul (a leather bag) of water was soon exhausted, 
 for the heat was most oppressive, without a breath of 
 wind. The men were afraid to go singly to the tank 
 for a fresh supply, and I did not like the two to vacate 
 their posts, for fear that during their absence our prey 
 might sneak away, for a tiger, especially a man-eater, 
 is most cunning, and will crawl away unseen in a most 
 marvellous manner. At last the patel (head man) of 
 the nearest village appeared with about twenty men, 
 five of them carrying tom-toms, and two cholera horns. 
 No time was lost in arranging them, and at a given 
 signal the most discordant noises burst forth. For a 
 proper beat, we ought to have at least fifty men ; but 
 we had to do the best we could with the few at our 
 command. I had armed the shikaries, one with my 
 twelve-bore rifle, and the other with my smooth-bore, 
 which, being cylindrical, carried ball fairly well, whilst 
 I myself retained my pet .577 express. The beat did 
 not last long, and ended without a sign of the tiger 
 having been seen. I got down, and walked into the 
 thicket, and carefully examined it. Sure enough, under 
 a bush, there was the impression of a beast having 
 reclined — the grass was pressed flat ; but there was 
 not the ghost of a sign how it had escaped.
 
 THE MAN-EATER AT WORK 255 
 
 As it was then close on half-past five, and daylight 
 ceases in the East at 6.30, we commenced to retrace 
 our footsteps. I told the patcl, if he got any news of 
 the tiger, to let me know at once ; and on reaching 
 the first village I mounted my pony, and got back to 
 my camp about 7 p.m. 
 
 I could not have been asleep more than a couple of 
 hours, when I was awakened by most discordant noises, 
 and the light of many torches, and, hurrying out, 
 found a posse of some dozen men, and nearly as 
 many women, the latter chanting their dismal cries for 
 the dead. On inquiring what had happened, I was 
 told that, a couple of hours after my departure from 
 the village, the patel had wandered just outside the 
 hamlet, and had never been seen again. On being 
 missed, he was searched for, and shreds of scanty 
 clothing with which he had been attired were found 
 fixed to thorns here and there, proving that he had 
 been dragged away. There was little or no blood to 
 be seen. The people were afraid to penetrate far, and 
 had at once organized a party to communicate the sad 
 intelligence to me. As nothing: could be done until 
 daylight, I told the people to come again at 4 a.m., 
 and in the meanwhile to find shelter in the village, and 
 not to venture out until I could accompany them, and 
 that I would endeavour to avenge the death of their 
 head man, whom they seemed to have respected. 
 
 Although I was up and dressed a little after four, 
 none of the people turned up till past five. The early 
 hours of the morning are the favourite time for man- 
 eaters to seize their prey. So great was the fear en- 
 tertained by the people, that, though they had ventured
 
 2 5 6 REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 through the four or five miles of forest and jungle 
 which lay between their village and my camp during 
 their excitement in the middle of the night, they were 
 afraid to start back, even in my company, before day- 
 light. We had no difficulty in tracing the unfortunate 
 man, and we found his remains within a mile of where 
 he had been seized and carried off. The tiger, after 
 sneaking away during our hunt for him, must have lain 
 in wait in a small clump of bushes within a couple of 
 hundred yards of the village, and revenged himself on 
 the leader of the gang which had attempted to help us 
 to destroy him. The remains of the village official 
 were removed to be cremated, and we took up the 
 pugs, and followed them as far as a neighbouring tank, 
 where the tiger had slaked his thirst, and on to the 
 skirts of the jungle beyond ; but there all traces were 
 lost. The shikaries and people were of opinion that 
 he would now go further inland, and advised me 
 to move my camp to a village called Settapilly, and 
 there wait further events. Sending orders for my 
 people to move as proposed, I searched about the 
 jungle with Elapah, shooting a spotted deer, a couple 
 of jungle-fowl, and a peacock with a tail close on six 
 feet long, and got to Settapilly long before the arrival 
 of my traps. 
 
 In the evening I sat in a mart (a circular pit) close 
 to the edge of a small tank, and shot several sand- 
 grouse when they came for their evening drink, but 
 retired to my tent at dark, and went to bed early. 
 The night passed quietly enough, and, mounting my 
 pony at daylight, I went off to a jungle, distant about 
 eight miles, trying for sambur, but had no luck, and
 
 THE MAN-EATER AT WORK 257 
 
 got back at twelve. I was lying down on my cot 
 reading the last Field, when my boy told me there 
 were some villagers who wished to see me. My tent 
 was pitched under a splendid tamarind-tree, and I was 
 soon outside, seated on a camp-stool, and listening to 
 their tale. They came from a village about three 
 miles to the north of my last camp, to report that a 
 girl who was collecting firewood had been seized and 
 carried off by a tiger at eight o'clock that morning. 
 What to do I knew not. The brute seldom returned 
 to a kill ; he preferred fresh meat, and was here, there, 
 and everywhere. If I went back, he would probably 
 kill someone at or near Settapilly, and I should have 
 to tramp back. If I stopped where I was, I might 
 lose a chance of a shot ; but, after due consideration, 
 I came to the conclusion that the day was too far 
 advanced for me to go to such a distance, and that I 
 had better remain where I was in the hope of hearing 
 of the beast at closer quarters. On further cross- 
 questioning, I ascertained that the body of the girl 
 had been recovered and removed, and, as it had been 
 untouched, it seemed as if the poor wench had been 
 killed more out of devilry than for the purpose of 
 satisfying the cravings of hunger. The men went 
 back much dissatisfied because I would not accompany 
 them, as they said they had sent to all the neighbouring 
 villages for coolies to collect for beating the jungle 
 where the man-eater was supposed to be ; but I told 
 them to have patience, and I would rid them of their 
 enemy, if I devoted the whole of my leave for that 
 purpose. 
 
 I amused myself shooting small game, and for two 
 
 17
 
 25S REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 days I heard nothing of the man-eater, and was thinking 
 of moving on, when it was reported that two people 
 had been killed far apart, but only about four miles 
 from my camp. What was I to think ? Were there 
 two tigers preying on man, or could the same animal 
 have slain two men two or three miles apart within an 
 hour or two ? I was soon on my pony investigating 
 the cause of death. We found the first body almost 
 intact, only a mouthful or so having been taken out of 
 the buttock ; but this was accounted for by the beast 
 having been disturbed by a party of travellers. We 
 then went to the second kill, and found it had been 
 dragged into the jungle, and nearly demolished. We 
 traced the fell destroyer a long way, but eventually 
 lost all traces, and returned to camp, fully convinced 
 that both men had been destroyed by the same beast. 
 As I did not think the tiger would remain in that 
 neighbourhood after killing two men there, and after 
 such a heavy meal, I thought he would lie up nearer 
 water, so I moved further inland to a small group of 
 huts. They could scarcely be said to form a village, 
 and its name, if it had one, I have forgotten ; but the 
 camping-ground was good, and there was a small tank 
 in the jungle, which was heavy, about three miles off, 
 where it was said tigers, bears, and deer came to drink 
 at night. So I thought I would take my chance of 
 getting a shot at something or other whilst waiting for 
 news of the man-eater, or perchance the beast itself 
 might put in an appearance. 
 
 I had a pit constructed, and went down to it about 
 an hour before sunset. In remote and isolated places, 
 especially where there is a scarcity of water, wild beasts
 
 NIGHT-SHOOTING 259 
 
 often come to drink just before dark ; it is well, therefore, 
 to be early, so as not to throw a chance away. I took 
 Ramiah with me to sit up, and three villagers to return 
 with the syce and pony, for there was no knowing 
 where the dreaded man-eater might be. Elapah I 
 sent to a village further off to obtain news. I had 
 been ensconced in my pit about a quarter of an hour, 
 when I heard the bell of a sambur ; but only a brocket 
 and a couple of hinds came to drink, which I let alone. 
 Although I detest night-shooting, I resort to it 
 occasionally, and the most interesting times to me are 
 just at sunset and at dawn, for then every variety of 
 bird-life, especially, comes to the water to slake its 
 thirst, and can then be closely watched. After the 
 sambur had departed, some spotted deer appeared on 
 the scene, and the whirr of wings, particularly of the 
 sand-grouse, was incessant. There are three varieties 
 of these birds in India ; the largest and commonest 
 fly in flocks. Water seems an essential to them ; but 
 it is difficult to understand how they get on in Africa, 
 where they are called Namaqua partridges, and are 
 often found in the centre of vast saharas or sandy 
 deserts far from any known water. The other varieties 
 in the East are found only in threes or fours, and the 
 very smallest, generally called painted sand-grouse, 
 from their beautiful plumage, consort in pairs only ; 
 they are in size equal to a Californian quail. On 
 this occasion sand-grouse, pea-fowl, jungle-fowl, spur- 
 fowl, and a few common red-legged partridges, ap- 
 peared, some settling near the water's edge only a 
 few yards from my hiding-place. About three-quarters 
 of an hour after sunset, just as objects were becoming
 
 2 6o REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 almost indistinguishable, a sounder of pig came down, 
 and whilst some wallowed in a shallow and miry part 
 of the tank, others dug up roots with their snouts along 
 the margin, and kept up a constant grunting and squeal- 
 ing. I was sorry, and at the same time glad, to hear 
 the din they created — sorry, because it showed that 
 they were in the habit of feeding there undisturbed and 
 unmolested by either tigers or leopards ; and, on second 
 thought, glad because their grunting might attract 
 some midnight marauder. 
 
 The moon rose about half- past seven, and it was 
 only a day or two past the full. At first the shadows 
 cast by its slanting rays deepened the gloom, but as 
 it got higher these gradually faded away, and about 
 ten I could have almost read a book by its light. 
 There was not a cloud about ; yet it is almost im- 
 possible to distinguish the fore-sight of a rifle by 
 moonlight. I had tried many dodges to overcome 
 this difficulty, but none had answered. I was now, 
 for the first time, trying luminous paint, and con- 
 gratulated myself on the result, for I was enabled to 
 cover several of the pigs as they wandered about, some- 
 times coming within a yard or two of my cache, and at 
 others disappearing in the far distance. About twelve 
 I wrapped myself up in my kumblie (native blanket), 
 bade the shikarie keep a bright look-out, and, with a 
 clod of earth for a pillow, I was soon fast asleep. But 
 such slumber is always fitful ; mosquitoes revel on the 
 sleeper, and their buzzing is far more irritating to one 
 than their bite. You dare not make a noise by slapping 
 at them ; the pit is but shallow, and any sudden move- 
 ment of arm or body might reveal your presence to
 
 A BEAR 261 
 
 some beast hovering about the outskirts of the sur- 
 rounding jungle ; for before venturing into the open, 
 every animal scans the space in front carefully, and 
 the least noise or movement on the part of the hunter 
 would frighten it away. Those who live in the jungles, 
 and are given to sport, sleep but lightly, and the 
 moment they are awakened they are on the alert, and 
 have their wits about them. There is no yawning or 
 stretching of limbs ; as the eyes open the hand silently 
 grasps the rifle, the body is carefully raised, and the 
 hunter, who was unconscious but a moment before, is 
 wide awake now and ready for action. 
 
 About three o'clock Ramiah touched me, and just 
 then the moon was somewhat obscured by a passing 
 cloud ; but peering about, I saw a bear some way off, 
 too far for a certain shot at night, so I waited my time. 
 After drinking, he commenced to turn up with his paws 
 clods of earth and the few stones scattered about — in 
 search of beetles, I believe. To my left there was a 
 white-ants' nest, which attracted the attention of the 
 bear : he shambled towards it, uttering a peculiar cry as 
 he did so, and soon he was joined by a comrade. The 
 two between them soon began to demolish the cone 
 to get at the nest containing the larvae, which I knew 
 it would take them some time to get at, for it is always 
 at the very base of the ant-hill in a series of cells, and 
 although the newly -built portion is easily crumbled 
 away, the older gets baked by the sun, and is as hard 
 to break through as a brick wall. There was no hurry, 
 the bears were not likely to leave until they had got at 
 the hidden delicacies, and, telling the man to wake me 
 again, I turned round, and should have been asleep in
 
 26-- REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 another moment but for a touch from my attendant. 
 Looking up, I saw him intently gazing in a direc- 
 tion diametrically opposite to where the bears were at 
 work. At first I could distinguish nothing-. I flatter 
 myself I have very good eyesight, but natives are 
 phenomenally acute in their vision, and although in 
 broad daylight I would not have owned much in- 
 feriority, yet at night I was nowhere in comparison, 
 so it took me some little time to distinguish what he 
 was staring at. The two bruins still continued their 
 work of destruction ; the shikarie bent his head towards 
 my ear, and whispered ' Bagh !' (tiger). I silently 
 cocked both barrels, hoping and praying it might be the 
 man-eater, and afraid to breathe almost ; the next few 
 moments seemed an eternity, they appeared to pass 
 so slowly. 
 
 I hate suspense, and if it is continued any time I 
 get quite nervous through excitement. If this had been 
 an ordinary tiger I should not have been so anxious, 
 but — why, I do not know — I jumped at the conclusion 
 that it must be the man-eater, and was doubly anxious 
 to slay him. I had been lucky enough to kill over 
 two score of tigers, but very few given to homicidal 
 propensities. 
 
 In less than five minutes, which I could have sworn 
 were an hour, I saw the outline of a magnificent tiger 
 stealthily creeping along towards the water. The 
 bears must have scented him — they could not have 
 seen him, for their bodies were half buried in the 
 centre of the ant-hill ; I could hear them sucking in 
 the succulent morsels, and lapping up the ants' eggs 
 with their long tongues. Suddenly they desisted, and,
 
 A TIGER 263 
 
 with a grunt of disgust and despair, scampered away 
 towards the jungle. The tiger took no notice of them, 
 but taking advantage of a place less muddy than the 
 rest, went up to the tank and began to lap the water 
 right in front of me, and not twenty yards off. I have 
 noticed that there has been considerable discussion as 
 to whether a tiger laps like a dog or a cat, or whether 
 he sucks in water with his lips without a movement 
 of the tongue. All I can say is, that I have seen 
 over a dozen tigers drinking, and that certainly they 
 lapped. 
 
 The broad side of the tio'er was towards me. Rest- 
 ing the rifle on the earthen rampart in front, I took a 
 careful aim and fired. There was a splash and a 
 series of half-growls, half-roars, for he had fallen into 
 the water, and whilst struggling and endeavouring to 
 get on his legs, he was being half suffocated. He 
 managed to get to the edge, and there he lay lashing 
 himself with his tail, and uttering roar after roar. 
 
 I soon perceived that his back was broken, and that 
 he was helpless. I would willingly have put him out 
 of his pain, but shooting at night is very uncertain, 
 and I did not want to spoil his skin. I did not like to 
 go up to him to administer the coup de grace, for one 
 never knows what a wounded tiger can do with a last 
 expiring effort, and, as it was then close upon five 
 o'clock, I waited for the first glimpse of daylight before 
 I fired again. I could not account for the bad, at the 
 same time lucky, shot I had made. My rifle had a 
 very low trajectory. I had fired at the point of the 
 elbow, but it must have carried very high to have 
 broken the tiger's back ; but this was soon accounted
 
 264 REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 for, for I found one of the flaps of the back sight had 
 accidentally been raised. 
 
 The tiger's moans, groans, and roars were dreadful 
 and incessant, and I was only too glad when I could 
 see sufficiently distinctly to put a ball through his 
 head. 
 
 Ramiah and I with great difficulty managed to drag 
 him out of the water, and after washing off the mud 
 which clung to him, we found that he had a most 
 lovely coat, and was a beast of the largest size. 
 
 About half-past six my syce, with the pony and half 
 a dozen villagers, turned up. I told them that I had 
 at last destroyed the man-eater, but on examining the 
 defunct animal, one of the villagers shook his head 
 and said : ' That, sahib, is not the adme-kha-na-wdllak 
 [man-eater] ; this is far too large, and he has evidently 
 been feeding on a sambur, for here are some of the 
 hairs sticking to his mouth, but the man-eater kills 
 and eats only us.' 
 
 On cutting open the beast to enable us to remove 
 the body more easily, we found inside him pieces of fresh 
 venison with the hide adhering, proving that he had 
 but lately killed and eaten a deer. Any tiger is better 
 than none, and I still hoped against hope that this 
 might yet prove the beast I had been after all these 
 days. But I was soon convinced such was not the 
 case, for that very afternoon, as I was superintending 
 the pegging out and curing of the skin by having ashes 
 of burnt bamboos well rubbed into it, four men from 
 Ananteepore, distant fully fifteen miles off, came re- 
 porting that at five o'clock that morning a tappal 
 runner (postman) had been carried off by a tiger. It
 
 THE MAN-EATER AGAIN 265 
 
 was evident the brute kept near the river, and never 
 wandered far inland ; so, leaving Elapah, who had just 
 returned without any news of importance, and two 
 men in charge of the tiger's skin, and forbidding them 
 to allow the whiskers to be burnt or singed off, as 
 natives are so fond of doing, I took a short cut, and 
 got back to my former encampment at dusk. There 
 was no news next day, and as the beast seldom killed 
 twice running in the same locality, I moved back to 
 Chotamundry. 
 
 The next day I was told the tiger had attempted to 
 carry off a herdsman tending buffaloes on the sands of 
 the Godavery, but had been driven off by the cattle, 
 who had charged and chased him for a considerable 
 distance. For two more days we heard nothing of 
 him. Then it was reported he had killed a boy some 
 seven miles south, and had been traced and surrounded. 
 I lost no time, you may be sure, and in a couple of 
 hours I was in a machan* and fifty men in a line beat- 
 ing towards me. They formed a half moon, and I 
 saw no means by which the beast could get away 
 without exposing himself; but I was not half ac- 
 quainted with the resources of the animal I was after. 
 The very thicket he was in was known ; the people 
 were exasperated, had collected in great force from 
 every village within a radius of twenty miles, and as 
 they kept well together, the din they made with 
 shouting and yelling, and beating tom-toms and blow- 
 ing cholera horns, was terrific. I had my eyes on the 
 thicket. I was not twenty yards off it, with my rifle 
 on full cock, expecting every moment that the quarry 
 
 * Platform built on a tree.
 
 266 REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 would break. The line was within forty, then thirty, 
 then twenty yards ; yet not a movement betrayed that 
 there was any living thing within the bushes. The 
 coolies halted for a moment, redoubling their diabolical 
 noises, and then, thinking that perhaps the beast had 
 decamped, with a sudden impulse, and in a compact 
 body, close together, almost touching, they rushed at 
 the spot to which he had been traced. When they 
 were almost into it, there was a roar, a striped body 
 sprang at the nearest man, and in spite of a heavy 
 blow from his victim, and numerous whacks from the 
 heavy latties carried by the men nearest at hand, he 
 bore the man to the ground, gave him one dreadful 
 crunch, which nearly sickened me, and then dis- 
 appeared. 
 
 I was helpless. I could not fire, for the men 
 clustered almost round the beast in their excitement, 
 and the man-eater of Chotamundry had again escaped. 
 
 One would imagine that after his narrow escape the 
 brute would have been quiet for a few days, or have 
 gone far away, but the very next day he killed a man. 
 I was out after other p*ame, and was not far from where 
 the murder took place, and as the body had been 
 untouched, I persuaded the villagers to let it remain, 
 and sat over it. The man killed did not belong to 
 that village, otherwise they would not have given the 
 requisite permission, for these men, greatly disliking 
 anyone using a dead body as a lure, always remove 
 it at once and burn it. However, the man-eater did 
 not put in another appearance here, but killed a woman 
 near the river bank some two miles higher up. I had 
 tried to circumvent him in every way for the past ten
 
 CLOSE QUARTERS 267 
 
 days. My leave was dwindling away ; I had a long 
 journey before me if my original intentions were to be 
 carried out, and in hunting this man-eater I was losing 
 all sport ; yet I did not like to go away and leave this 
 creature to prey on the poor unarmed people. 
 
 As soon as I returned to the village from my night's 
 vigil, I went off to view the body. It was scarcely 
 cold. For some reason or another the tiger had not 
 completed his work ; the girl had bled to death from 
 the wound he had o-iven her. It was not then eight 
 o'clock. For two consecutive days the beast had 
 been interrupted in his meals ; I thought he must be 
 hungry, and that he was probably lying near, and, if 
 not disturbed, would return to make a repast off the 
 body. It was with the greatest difficulty I could 
 persuade the people to go away for a while, and leave 
 me alone with the corpse. I hid myself in a crevice, 
 well sheltered by thorny bushes, and within fifteen 
 yards of the body. There were a few other bushes 
 scattered about. I had not lain there long when, 
 taking my eyes off the corpse for a moment, attracted by 
 a noise I had heard in another direction, I found, when 
 I looked again, that the body was gone. The brute 
 had taken advantage of that momentary inattention on 
 my part to snatch his victim away. Although alone, 
 and at a disadvantage in such ground, consisting as it 
 did of inequalities and heavy bush, I hurried forward, 
 determined to 'do or die.' The ground was so dry I 
 could trace no footsteps, and the body had not been 
 dragged along, or some mark must have been left. 
 The beast must have carried the woman in his mouth, 
 much as a cat does a mouse, and have turned down a
 
 2 6S REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 dry watercourse, of which there were very many about. 
 So, although I ran along some way, I failed to find a 
 trail ; but just ahead of me I saw a herd of buffaloes, 
 headed by a very large bull. The tiger was not likely 
 to have gone towards them, for these animals, when 
 together, act in concert, and do not fear a tiger. 
 
 I got hold of the gwalas (herdsmen), and promised 
 them 20 rupees if they would drive their herd as I should 
 indicate. The men took the cattle right across the 
 place where the girl's body had lain, and no sooner did 
 the bull smell the blood and the scent of the tiger, than 
 with a bellow, lowering his head, he galloped forward, 
 followed by the cows and young bulls, tracing the scent 
 much as a pack of dogs might have done. I ran my 
 best, hoping to get a shot, but the ground was covered 
 with trailing vines, over which I kept stumbling, and 
 finally came a cropper. By the time I got on to my 
 feet again, the buffaloes had overtaken the tiger ; the 
 bull rushed at him, and I saw a brindled mass thrown 
 high up. It had barely reached the earth again, when 
 it was again sent flying. The tiger roared, clawed, 
 and bit, but he had fully twenty beasts on him ; I could 
 not put in a shot ; if I had rushed in amidst the in- 
 furiated herd, I stood more than a chance of being 
 hoisted myself. The cattle formed a phalanx round 
 the tiger, and what with tossing, prodding, and knead- 
 ing, they soon deprived the scourge of the country of 
 its life. The buffaloes were in such a state of excite- 
 ment that even their attendants hesitated to go in to 
 drive them off ; the bull in particular would not leave 
 his prey : when driven off, he would make a detour, 
 return to the charge, with eyes flaring almost out of
 
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 TIGER AND BULL FIGHT 269 
 
 his head, nostrils blowing like a grampus, and furiously 
 assail the dead body again. I promised the men 
 ten rupees more to get him away, as I did not wish to 
 have the skin ruined. They succeeded at last in doing 
 so, and as soon as the coast was clear, I found the 
 tiger stone-dead, beaten, or rather kneaded, into a 
 
 jelly- 
 Considering the length of the horns, the pointed 
 
 tips, and the vast strength wielded by a buffalo, I was 
 
 surprised at the little damage done. There were a 
 
 few prods, but only one serious one — in the chest, 
 
 which had gone in a good foot or more ; otherwise 
 
 the tiger met its death more by being pounded than 
 
 by stabbing. The body of the girl lay close by, un- 
 
 mutilated by the tiger, but somewhat trampled upon 
 
 by the herd. The brave old bull showed some ugly 
 
 scratches, and his nostrils had been nearly torn in 
 
 two ; one cow had a severe bite near the shoulder, 
 
 and she it was, I fancy, who had thrust her horn so 
 
 deeply into the chest. Three or four had been 
 
 scratched, but not seriously. The young bulls had 
 
 behaved gallantly, and taken their share in the affray ; 
 
 none had suffered, to speak of, but they were so many 
 
 that the tiger had no chance of fastening on one, for 
 
 they were all on him together. Thus, after all my 
 
 trouble, the famous man-eater escaped my rifle, but 
 
 met a deserved death from the horns and hoofs of a 
 
 herd of buffaloes. 
 
 I got 100 rupees reward for the death of this beast, 
 
 which I distributed amongst those who had lost 
 
 relations. The gwalas got their 30 rupees, and were 
 
 glad their animals had been blooded, because in future
 
 270 REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 they would be less afraid of tigers when herding 
 their cattle. I remained three days longer ; but con- 
 fidence had been restored, the people went about as 
 usual, no more deaths took place, so, feeling sure that 
 the dreaded man-eater was no more, I resumed my 
 journey towards the hilly district of Bustar. 
 
 The road, not of the best, and out of repair, was 
 passable for country carts as far as Dummapet. There 
 I should have to hire pack bullocks to carry my goods. 
 I was told there were generally Brinjaries there who 
 would let out cattle and accompany me wherever I 
 wished to go. I was not far from Tallapudi, and by 
 making a forced march I got to Golpalpuran late next 
 day. In the evening I visited a tank, and bagged 
 sufficient rock-pigeons and sand-grouse for the pot. 
 There were numerous traces of spotted deer and pig 
 about. 
 
 Starting two hours before daylight, I got to Koyela- 
 gudem, eight miles, soon after 7 a.m., and, under the 
 guidance of a local shikarie, scoured the jungles for the 
 greater part of the morning, but saw nothing worth 
 shooting. During the heat of the day I rested under 
 the grateful shade of a banyan-tree, on the bank of the 
 Bayana River, and in its waters I managed to cool a 
 bottle of Bass. After the mid-day lunch I took a nap, 
 and about three we set out again, keeping for some 
 time along the banks of the river, where, to my sur- 
 prise, I saw the two varieties of Indian jungle-fowl — 
 Gallus Sounerati and ferruginetts , the latter being 
 the bird so common throughout India, Burma, and 
 Assam ; the former found oftener in Mysore and 
 South-western India. I would not then fire at these
 
 SPOTTED DEER 271 
 
 beauties, although I did want to collect the hackles of 
 some of them, because I saw there were spotted deer 
 about, and meat was badly wanted. After following 
 the stream for two or three miles, the man led me away 
 from it, through heavy jungle, and eventually brought 
 me to an open glade, and bid me be very wary, as it 
 was a certain find for the speckled beauties. 
 
 After searching about carefully, at last I espied the 
 tips of a fine pair of antlers, though no part of their 
 owner was visible ; but, from the position of the horns, 
 the animal must have been staring in my direction. 
 Knowing that I had been discovered, I did not attempt 
 to get any nearer — the distance was probably one 
 hundred and twenty yards. The stag was standing 
 in a patch of grass surrounded by low jungle, and 
 between me and him there were a lot of stalks through 
 which I should have to fire, and I was more than half 
 afraid that, before reaching the deer, the bullet would 
 strike some of them, and be deflected. Taking a 
 careful aim, two and a half feet below the only mark 
 visible, I gently pressed the trigger. I saw three or 
 four stalks fall asunder, but the deer never moved ! I 
 quickly put in the left ; the chital gave a bound, and 
 ran straight towards me. I reloaded as fast as I could, 
 but before he had gone twenty yards he commenced 
 to rear and plunge, sure signs of a wound in the lungs, 
 and in less than two minutes rolled over dead. 
 
 The shikarie and I went leisurely towards him, and 
 when within two yards of him I saw the eyes of a 
 panther, which was standing just beyond the carcass. 
 My attendant was stooping down, and had not seen it, 
 so he was startled by my firing close past him, and
 
 272 REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 greatly surprised to find a splendid leopard dead. I 
 had aimed straight between the eyes ; but the beast 
 was crouching-, his head had been lower than his 
 withers, the bullet went a trifle high, caught him in 
 the spine, and dropped him dead. He measured seven 
 feet three inches. We had not time to skin him, so, 
 after having gralloched the two, we slung them on a 
 stout bamboo, and between us carried them by short- 
 cuts to the camp, where we arrived at 7.30 p.m. My 
 shoulder, unused to the exertion, was not only swollen, 
 but was perfectly raw ; whilst my attendant, a far 
 frailer man than myself, and with no covering, had not 
 a mark to show. 
 
 I had the two beasts skinned, and their pelts pegged 
 out to dry, and determined to halt there for a day, for 
 every bone in my body ached from the unusual ex- 
 perience I had undergone. My boy tied a plantain 
 leaf over the sore, and when I awoke the next morning, 
 I felt so much better that I consented to visit some 
 hills about five miles off, where bears were said to be 
 very numerous. These beasts are nocturnal feeders, 
 retire to their dens soon after daybreak, and remain 
 there sleeping till close on sunset, when they sally 
 forth again. So, taking it easy, I read until 4 p.m., 
 w r hen I set out with a local shikarie, Elapah and 
 Ramiah, together with a couple of men to act as torch- 
 bearers, for I knew we should not be back till long 
 after dark. 
 
 Reaching our destination half an hour before sunset, 
 we carefully, silently, and quickly examined the locality, 
 for we had no time to spare. There were many caves, 
 and, judging by the marks, every one of them was
 
 A BUNGLE WITH BEARS 273 
 
 tenanted. So, choosing a central rock somewhat 
 higher than its fellows, I took up my position. I kept 
 the two shikaries with me, but sent the rest some 
 distance off, but within call. Hardly had we settled 
 down, when sundry growlings and grunts denoted that 
 Master Bruin and his family had awoke from their 
 siesta, and were probably yawning and stretching 
 themselves. Within five minutes, two large and one 
 small bear emerged from a den some way off, and 
 began to turn over stones, searching for beetles, etc. 
 These were a little too far off for a certain shot, and 
 as I could hear others right under us, I would not fire. 
 But those I was waiting for did not come out as soon 
 as I had anticipated, and before they did appear, the 
 first three had wandered away some distance. A 
 fourth bear now put in an appearance, and I was 
 just going to fire at him, when two others emerged 
 from a cave not fifteen yards from me, and presented 
 the easiest of shots. I gave them a right and left, 
 and, seeing them roll over, seized another weapon, 
 and poured its contents into the third. 
 
 When the smoke cleared away, all three bears were 
 rolling over each other, and fighting with the utmost 
 fury. Although it was not quite dark, yet it was 
 dusky ; I could see a struggling mass of black fur, and 
 I quickly poured in four barrels, and beheld the first 
 three animals, and two new ones, all hurrying back to 
 their dens. I fired at the new-comers without partiality 
 or favour, but whether I hit I do not know. There 
 was a perfect pandemonium — all eight bears were 
 engaged in a general scrimmage ; I again emptied my 
 battery into them, and before I could reload, every 
 
 18
 
 274 REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 beast had got back within shelter, where they continued 
 their moaning and groaning. By this time it was quite 
 dark, so I gave the caves a wide berth, descended the 
 hillock on the opposite side, lit the torches, and got 
 home by 8 p.m., expecting to find several dead in the 
 morning. 
 
 I was up again next day at 4 a.m., and on the 
 rocks by 5.30, and sat there till past seven ; but we 
 heard no noises, nor did any bears appear. We then 
 descended from our coign of vantage, and carefully 
 examined the ground. There was plenty of blood 
 scattered about, but the whole of the bears had de- 
 parted. Thinking there must be some dead inside 
 the dens, I had them carefully examined, but not one 
 did we find. How I made such a mess of this affair 
 has always been a puzzle to me. I was perfectly cool, 
 in a safe position, and well armed ; yet I failed, after 
 some fifteen shots, in bagging even one bear out of 
 eight at close quarters. My shoulder was sore, it is 
 true ; but that would not account for such execrable 
 shooting. I then went back to the river Bayana, and 
 bagged three brace of Gallus Somierati, and one of 
 the other variety, which were all carefully skinned 
 when I got back to camp. 
 
 The next day we started at daylight. The road 
 was so bad we could not get under way earlier ; but 
 we reached Jangamreddigudum at 9 a.m., breakfasted 
 and rested under shade till 2 p.m., when we inspanned 
 again, and got to Rantagudum, nine miles, a little 
 before sunset. This was the last halting-stage within 
 our territory ; the next march would take us into the 
 dominions of his Highness the Nizam.
 
 BRINJARIES 275 
 
 By starting early, and making a forced march, we 
 got to Dummapet at twelve — a good-sized place, with 
 plenty of supplies available. Here I had to dismiss 
 the carts, and to engage bullocks. I found the head- 
 man very civil, and on notifying to him my wants, he 
 promised to procure all I required. About four he 
 returned with five or six Brinjaries, who agreed to 
 accompany me, wherever I chose to go, for six weeks. 
 They demanded eight rupees a month for each bullock, 
 and for themselves, four men, fifteen rupees each, and 
 I was to give them all surplus meat not required for 
 the use of myself and servants, and permission to hunt 
 if we ran short. 
 
 These men are allied to the gipsies. Before the 
 introduction of railways, they were the principal carriers 
 throughout the length and breadth of the land, and 
 have been, and are still, noted for their honesty and 
 trustworthiness. Their occupation is gone, to a great 
 extent ; but even now, in more remote places where 
 the iron horse has not penetrated, the merchants would 
 fare badly were it not for these useful people. The 
 men are a sturdy race. In comparison with their 
 women, they are almost ugly. But the females of 
 these nomads are probably the most comely and well- 
 made of the Indian races ; as a rule, when young, 
 they are unrivalled in form and features. But for their 
 dusky complexions, many would be reckoned beauties 
 in either Europe or America. Wonderfully well made 
 as are the Hindoo, Mussulmanie and Burmese women, 
 the Brinjarie, when young, surpass them, if that be 
 possible. Moreover, these women remain chaste in a 
 country where most of their sex are frail. The great
 
 276 REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 drawback to them is that, whereas the Burmese women 
 are superlatively cleanly in their persons, as the Hindoos 
 are also in a slightly less degree, these gipsies, when 
 married, do not follow the example set them by their 
 Arian sisters. A young girl may be cleanly enough ; 
 but when she marries she dons her bridal raiment and 
 lives in it day and night until it no longer suffices for 
 purposes of decency. She then washes and changes 
 her clothes, perhaps for the first time since her nuptials, 
 and puts on raiment which she continues to wear for 
 years. Thus, three or four dresses suffice for a woman 
 during her lifetime, and a married gipsy of a few years' 
 standing is never an inviting object to look upon. 
 
 From Dummapet to Sironcha eight bullocks sufficed, 
 for provisions could be purchased on the journey ; but 
 beyond that I should require a lot more, as no supplies 
 were procurable between Dummapet and Jaggadur; but 
 the head Brinjarie told me he could get them from his 
 brother when he reached the Godavery. These grain- 
 carriers are noted sportsmen — poachers in their way, 
 but very successful hunters, all the same. They have 
 a fierce breed of large hounds, which they would not 
 part with in my day. 
 
 My camp now consisted of two boys, a cook and his 
 wife, a water-carrier, two shikaries, four male and six 
 female Brinjaries, a syce, grass-cutter and my pegu 
 pony. A word about these ponies will not be amiss. 
 They are called Burmese, but are bred and reared by 
 the Shans, who live on the confines of China. For 
 their size- — they vary from twelve and a half to thirteen 
 and a half hands high — they are the finest nags in the 
 world. There is a strong dash of the Arab in their
 
 A BRINJARI HUNT 277 
 
 blood, Shan traders having in years gone by purchased, 
 whenever they could, pure Arab stallions from officers 
 resident in Moulmein. No dealer ever brings down 
 either an entire pony or a mare (unless she be barren) 
 for sale. For polo they are unrivalled ; they have the 
 best of tempers, a fair turn of speed, and can jump like 
 deer. 
 
 I halted a couple of days at Dummapet, resuming my 
 march on April 20. Nine miles beyond Dummapet 
 we got into rough and hilly country. The Brinjaries 
 proposed a hunt with their hounds, to which I in no 
 way objected. Telling the boys to camp at Kapee- 
 Gaugawaram, then six miles distant, we turned off into 
 the forest, leaving a couple of spare bullocks under 
 charge of two of the oldest women to remain there 
 till required to carry on the spoils of the chase. The 
 paths wound round the hills, and in a couple of hours 
 we arrived where the men proposed to hunt. Elapah 
 carried the "577 rifle, and I was armed with the 
 'Paradox.' These men have firearms, but are often 
 out of powder, and they trust to their dogs and knives 
 to procure them all the meat they require. I was 
 stationed on a commanding position, more as a spec- 
 tator than as an actor. The men separated, going 
 about one hundred yards or so apart, each accompanied 
 by two hounds in a leash. When the furthest point 
 had been reached, the hunter let his dogs loose, and 
 followed them as closely as he could, knife in hand, 
 very much in the style described by that prince of 
 travellers and sportsmen, Sir Samuel Baker, when he 
 was a young man in Ceylon. These hounds soon 
 struck off a scent, and ran it, giving tongue only now
 
 278 REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 and then. They had either been well taught or their 
 instinct was uncommonly good, for they endeavoured 
 to drive the game towards the next relays of dogs, who 
 again took up the running ; thus, in a very short space 
 of time, six powerful dogs, followed closely by their 
 masters, brought an animal to bay, and whilst the dogs 
 attacked in front, a man crawled up and drove his 
 dagger in behind the shoulder. 
 
 In about two hours we had three does and one 
 stag, which we thought ample for our wants, for game 
 abounded everywhere ; we had only to hunt it to secure 
 all the meat we wanted. Whilst one of the men went 
 back to bring up the spare cattle, we had one more 
 beat. This time a sounder of pig, headed by a huge 
 gray boar, broke. Now these gipsies particularly affect 
 the flesh of the swine. The boar disdained to run far, 
 and was soon, with his wives, brought to bay. As the 
 men were afraid he would kill or rip up some of their 
 dogs, they asked me to slay him. No man has greater 
 respect for a wild boar than I have, provided he 
 lives on the borders of a ridable country, where he 
 can show sport to mounted men ; but here, in this in- 
 terminable jungle and an amphitheatre of hills, hogs 
 were of no account for hunting, so I shot him to please 
 the men and murdered a fat sow for myself. Venison, 
 especially of the axis deer, is not to be despised, and 
 would be better if it could be kept a day or two, but a 
 long course of venison palls, so I thought a nice pork 
 chop would be a desirable change. The bullocks 
 arrived, and were duly laden, and the game killed was 
 as much as they could carry. 
 
 Leaving the gipsies to bring in the spoils, the
 
 A TIGRESS 279 
 
 shikaries and I walked on ahead. I found my pony- 
 waiting for me ; I got on him and rode on without 
 delay, getting to our camp at 5 p.m. I found the 
 village very insignificant, and no supplies procurable, 
 but as the next stage was only six miles distant I 
 halted there till past 2 p.m., to enable the men to jerk 
 a good deal of the meat. We reached Gopalraopet in 
 good time before dark, and moved on to Naganienpalli 
 the next day. This is a good-sized village, and nearly 
 opposite to Bhadrachellum, a large town. Having 
 plenty of meat, I only shot a few jungle-fowl. On the 
 23rd I reached Ashwapur, a small village, and the 
 Brinjaries asked permission to hunt, which I readily 
 accorded, and in the evening they brought home two 
 spotted does. On the 24th we marched for Managur; 
 we had to cross six unbridged nullahs, with steep 
 banks and muddy bottoms. About half-way we saw 
 the fresh pugs of a tiger, and tracked her to her lair 
 in the bed of a dry ravine. Out of this she was soon 
 turned by my men and their hounds ; she passed me 
 close, and as she endeavoured to sneak along, I killed 
 her with a couple of shots. To my great regret, I 
 found she would have been a mother within a month 
 or six weeks — but the deed was done, and could not 
 be helped. 
 
 We came upon teak forests here, and on the 25th 
 reached Karpairawarum, having been considerably 
 delayed by having to cross four unbridged nullahs. 
 On the 26th we got to Rajupet. The Brinjaries 
 killed a couple of sows and a doe chital on the march. 
 On the 27th we camped at Mangapet, the country 
 open and villages numerous. I laid in a stock of
 
 2 8o REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 fowls and eggs, and advanced next day to Nagaram, 
 the country being good, and the road running along the 
 right bank of the Godavery. 
 
 On April 29 I reached Pargrapur, where is no 
 village, but as game was reported to be plentiful, I 
 determined to halt there. Early next morning I went 
 out stalking under a guide from a neighbouring village. 
 We saw numerous marks, but had no great luck, and 
 as I had promised, if unsuccessful, to be back early to 
 enable the gipsies to hunt, I turned homewards about 
 nine. When passing a ravine, densely covered with 
 grass and jungle, I heard a peculiar noise, something 
 like that made by telegraph wires on a windy day. I 
 paused for a moment to listen, and the shikarie, point- 
 ing downwards, said, ' A bear asleep sucking his paws.' 
 There was little or no undergrowth on the edges of 
 the crevice ; peeping down, I thought I could dis- 
 tinguish a dark object curled up amidst a lot of dry 
 fallen leaves and withered grass. Telling the man to 
 stand close by with the "577, I let fly the right barrel 
 of the ' Paradox.' The next instant, the bear, after one 
 heartrending yell, came at me open-mouthed ; the 
 bank was very steep, but he scrambled up, and when 
 he was within a couple of feet of the muzzle of the gun, 
 I discharged the contents of the left barrel down his 
 throat. He gave one gurgling sound and fell back- 
 wards, dead. On examining the body, I found the 
 roof of the head all but blown off, so destructive is a 
 charge of buckshot, driven by four drachms of powder 
 at close quarters. I then hastened home, and sent 
 back the shikarie with men to bring in the slain. 
 When it arrived, I found it had been mutilated. The
 
 MAHSEER FISHING 281 
 
 penis and sheath had been cut off. It is well known 
 that this portion of a bear differs from that of all other 
 animals. It is not altogether gristle, but a portion of 
 it is bone, which natives greatly prize, as they think if 
 they pulverize it, and partake of it, it will rejuvenate 
 them, and give them renewed vigour, which they have 
 lost either through old age or excess. 
 
 This portion of the beast was, of course, useless to 
 any sensible person ; but if you allow an inch, natives 
 will take an ell ; they will singe off the whiskers of a 
 tiger or leopard, which ruins the appearance of the 
 pelt as an ornament, so I told the Brinjaries I would 
 stop their hunting if the missing portion was not 
 given up. It was found in the possession of an old 
 villager who had lately taken to himself a young wife, 
 but although I could not help laughing at the anxiety 
 displayed on his countenance, I made him burn it 
 before all the people. In the evening the gipsies 
 returned, bringing a pig and a fine sambur, and said 
 they had seen the pugs of a tiger and of two 
 leopards. 
 
 On May 3 I reached Chinnur. My tent was pitched 
 on the bank of the Godavery, a fine clear stream. 
 Towards evening I got into a light 'dug-out,' and 
 trolled for mahseer. My bait was a large spoon ; it 
 was almost immediately taken, and the fish went off 
 with a rush, taking fully fifty yards of line, and when 
 I checked him, he threw himself clean out of the 
 water, exhibiting grand proportions, with enormous 
 scales varying in hue from gold to silver, and as tough 
 as tin. My tackle was Farlow's best, new and strong, 
 so I gave him the butt ; he came back to me at such a
 
 282 REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 rate that it was as much as I could do to wind up fast 
 enough to keep the line at all taut. When he got 
 within twenty yards of me, he altered his direction, 
 and took a header for the bank ; fortunately there were 
 no snags, weeds, or rushes, and I soon drew him back 
 into mid-stream. Seeing a shelving sandy beach a 
 little lower down the stream, I told the men to take 
 me there and fasten the boat ashore ; I landed and 
 played the fish, which was still full of fight, and two or 
 three times he tried to break the tackle by springing 
 into the air, more like a salmon than the barbel which 
 he really was. It was getting dark ; I retreated until 
 I was no longer visible from the water's edge and 
 gradually drew my victim into shallow water. As the 
 back fin became visible, one of the boatmen crept in 
 behind, and inserting his fingers into the gills, cast him 
 ashore, high and dry, and a few knocks on the head 
 with a large stone soon deprived the mahseer of 
 life. 
 
 I then fished on for another hour and a half, and 
 caught three more fish, weighing nine, fourteen, and 
 seven pounds, till a monster took away the whole of 
 my cast of treble gut, spoon and hooks, and as it was 
 getting dark I left off. I kept the smallest fish for 
 my own eating, and gave the rest to my followers. 
 On May 4 we moved to Dewalwara, eleven miles, in 
 the morning, and crossed over the river in the after- 
 noon to Sironcha, and I put up in a bungalow just 
 then unoccupied. The officer commanding offered to 
 give me a room, but I preferred being independent. 
 Here I found a lot of papers and letters awaiting me, 
 and I was very busy the next two days in answering
 
 SIRONCHA 283 
 
 correspondence and seeing to the arrangements for 
 my further progress across an unknown country. I 
 was assured that only lightly-laden cattle could travel 
 over these hills, so ordered extra bullocks. I also 
 found here my stores of wines, beer, and preserved 
 provisions waiting for me, which I had to open and 
 repack into bundles suitable for transport by cattle 
 instead of in carts. 
 
 The officer in command of the detachment thought 
 I was mad to go into such a country without being 
 forced to do so ; but then he was no sportsman. I 
 cannot help thinking that a man who cares nothing 
 for sport is unfitted for service in the East. During 
 peace, unless one is fond of outdoor amusements, time 
 hangs heavily on one's hands. In out-of-the-way places, 
 like Sironcha, there is no literature to be had. The 
 ordinary routine of military duty in garrison does not 
 occupy one above an hour morning and evening. 
 What can a man find to beguile time if he cares 
 nothing for the sports of the field ? He probably 
 passes more than half the day in sleep, and when 
 called upon to serve on a campaign, is unable to under- 
 go the necessary hardships and exposure, and has to 
 be invalided, thus proving a hard bargain to his em- 
 ployers. Now, in most single stations, particularly at 
 Sironcha, game is plentiful, and shooting- or fishing 
 affords a pleasant recreation to the solitary European 
 condemned to reside there alone for six months or 
 more on end, with nobody to associate with. I tried 
 to persuade my acquaintance to take even to fishing, 
 and offered to give him tackle ; but he said he could 
 not swim, and was not going to trust himself in a
 
 284 REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 cockle-shell for the pleasure of catching a fish which 
 he could buy for a few pence in the bazaar. As for 
 shooting, he did not even possess a gun. His was a 
 hopeless case, and, I fear, not a solitary one, for very 
 many of those who obtain commissions under the new 
 rules are bookworms, and but poor at that ; for the 
 more a man is crammed, the sooner he forgets in after- 
 life all that has been driven into him in his youth with 
 the view of passing a certain examination. 
 
 I engaged a couple of extra shikaries. I had to 
 send Ramiah back, as his propensity for running after 
 the fair sex had already caused several rows, and how- 
 ever virtuous the Brinjaries may be as far as Europeans 
 are concerned, it was more than half suspected that my 
 follower had found favour in the eyes of one of the 
 gipsies, and if the intimacy was found out there would 
 be murder, for these men know no law but lex talionis, 
 and would not have hesitated to put a knife into 
 Master Ramiah's carcass. 
 
 Although I had never been in the Bustar country, 
 I have hunted in the districts somewhat south, near 
 Daraconda, and have had famous sport. In these hilly 
 regions buffaloes, gaur, sambur, chital, four-horned 
 antelope, barking deer, bears, tigers, and leopards 
 abound. 
 
 On May 7 I made a forced march to Assarelli, 
 twenty miles. I had a train of thirty cattle, fourteen 
 Brinjari men and women, my own servants, and three 
 shikaries. Next day I sent on the greater part of my 
 camp to Madnair, thirty-six miles, and taking a week's 
 supplies, I went north-east about fifteen miles, and 
 encamped on the Indravati river. Two of the gipsies,
 
 THE BUSTAR HIGHLANDS 285 
 
 three of their women, and eight hounds, accompanied 
 me. We camped in an open space in a bamboo forest, 
 and cutting down a lot of canes, we soon improvised 
 a chevatix de /rise round us to keep off wild beasts, 
 which were said to be rather numerous. We were 
 getting short of meat for the dogs, as the biltong was 
 almost exhausted. We heard tigers calling, this being 
 the time the females were generally in season, but 
 none came our way. 
 
 We were up and away before daybreak. The 
 Brinjaries followed with their dogs in leashes, and we 
 made for certain salt licks, which were said to be 
 found about three or four miles away. The country 
 was very hilly and densely wooded, with fearful thorny 
 undergrowth. Had it not been for the paths made by 
 wild beasts, we should not have been able to move 
 at all. 
 
 Unfortunately I had broken my barometer, so could 
 not tell the elevation of the country ; but the hills 
 range from 2,000 to 5,000 feet, and with even higher 
 peaks. The Bustar country is a mass of hills upon 
 hills, for the most part unexplored. There are a few 
 stations which have been fixed by members of the 
 great trigonometrical survey, and during disturbances 
 a few civil officers, accompanied by small forces of 
 military and police, have penetrated here and there by 
 the few native paths which exist ; but so bad is the 
 repute of this district for fever, that no one ever 
 ventures into it unless forced to do so on duty. I 
 believe I was the first to enter it of my own free will, 
 and I did it for the sake of sport only, and because I 
 did not fear jungle fever, having suffered from it
 
 286 REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 severely many years before, and been free of it ever 
 since. I had become ' salted,' as they say in South 
 Africa. We moved in single file. I led the way with 
 my '577, of which the cartridges carried six drachms 
 of powder and a hardened solid projectile ; then 
 followed Elapah with a twelve-bore double rifle, also 
 heavily loaded, and a local man brought up the rear 
 with the ' Paradox.' The gipsies with their hounds 
 kept well behind ; their orders were to loosen the 
 dogs only in case of a scrimmage. 
 
 We had gone fully three miles ; we had not heard a 
 sound ; not even a tree-cricket chirped — it was a silence 
 that could be felt. At last a faint glimmer of a 
 reddish tint became visible over the tops of the hills 
 to the east, and we hailed the approach of morn with 
 delight, for the gloom of the forest was depressing. 
 Ever on the qui vivc, I heard a slight movement in 
 the bed of the river, which lay about a hundred and 
 fifty yards to our right. Holding up my arm — a 
 gesture taken up by each follower in succession — we 
 halted. Hearing the noise repeated, I cautiously 
 advanced, followed by the shikaries. We were in a 
 bamboo forest, free of undergrowth ; the fallen leaves 
 had rotted and formed a rich mould over which we 
 could advance silently, the little noise we occasionally 
 made by stepping on to a broken twig being drowned 
 in the ripple of the stream. I kept a large clump of 
 bamboos between me and the spot I was making for, 
 whence I thought the noise had come. I did not 
 hurry, as I wanted a little more light for correct shoot- 
 ing. The noise, I guessed, proceeded most probably 
 from some buffaloes lying down in the river. When I
 
 BUFFALOES 287 
 
 reached my objective point I found I was too far 
 below, for I could see some buffaloes in the water up 
 the stream some way from where we were ; so retracing 
 our steps, we made for another clump nearer the game. 
 
 By the time I got there objects had become more 
 visible, and I found myself within ten yards of four 
 buffaloes. I took a careful aim at the bull, and fired 
 at the junction of the ear and head. He fell over ; the 
 cows sprang up, and I gave them three shots ; two 
 were hit, but got to the main bank and rushed into 
 the jungle. 
 
 Leaving a Brinjarie and one of the shikaries to 
 decapitate the bull, as he was a very big one, and had 
 a good spread of horns, I followed up the others ; not 
 that I wanted them particularly, but I make a point 
 of killing all wounded animals if possible. It is in- 
 cumbent on every sportsman to inflict as little pain as 
 possible on the game he hunts. These buffaloes are 
 not to be compared to those in Burma or Assam either 
 in size or ferocity, yet they are nasty customers. They 
 are probably the descendants of tame cattle run loose, 
 and become feral in time. We found blood on two 
 spoors ; the third apparently had gone away un- 
 wounded. The tracking was easy enough at first, but 
 when we came to a dry rivulet, up the bed of which 
 they had gone, following them was not pleasant. 
 The channel was very narrow, full of boulders of 
 rocks, loose stones, and thorny bushes, which were 
 bespattered with blood. On either side the banks 
 were high, sloping up, and forming the bases of two 
 hills, which ran parallel to one another. It was about 
 as nasty a place as ever I saw.
 
 288 REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 I told two men to get on to the banks, where they 
 would be safe, and to go ahead, and as soon as they 
 saw the quarry to give warning by striking the trunk 
 of a tree. As each man had a couple of hounds, I 
 told them if the bubali charged to lay on their dogs, 
 but not otherwise. I cursed my folly for having fired 
 at the cows at all. I got covered with blood, and my 
 advance was necessarily slow, but I came upon the 
 beasts sooner than I expected. Their wounds had 
 probably stiffened, and hearing us approach, they made 
 up their minds to die fighting. I heard a warning tap 
 given by one of the men, and put my rifle on full cock 
 only just in time, for one of the beasts with a snort 
 was down upon me. I fired into her face when the 
 horns were all but round me, and threw myself aside, 
 just escaping being trampled upon, for the second 
 charged close behind the first. Whilst on the ground 
 I put in the second barrel, and had the pleasure of 
 hearing one of them topple over amongst the loose 
 rocks. Two of the dogs had followed these, and two 
 took after the third, which went on up the nullah. 
 Unfortunately we followed this one, and after half an 
 hour heard it at bay ; but before I could get within 
 shot, the beast sent the dogs flying, and went off full 
 score again. As both these hounds were hurt, and 
 we ascertained we had been following the unwounded 
 one, we gave up the chase. 
 
 The wounded dogs were carefully attended to, and 
 we retraced our steps. The men tore out the liver of 
 the cow just killed, and fed their hounds on it. 
 
 Leaving them to flay the beast, and promising to 
 send back more men to help in transporting the meat
 
 A TIGER MISSED 289 
 
 (to be jerked), I wended my way homewards. When 
 I got to within a mile of camp I heard the bell of a 
 spotted deer, some way to our right, and knowing that 
 these deer are silent during the day unless frightened 
 by some beast of prey. I hastened towards the sound. 
 The jungle varied a good deal — here and there teak, 
 then bamboo, now and then magnificent mango-trees, 
 and the mohwa-tree with the blossom lying thick on 
 the ground. In this jungle I came across a circular 
 pond of clear water, a portion near the edges being 
 covered with aquatic plants, whilst in the centre was a 
 patch of long grass and reeds. On the further side 
 stood a noble spotted stag gazing at the clump of 
 grass, and now and then uttering a peculiar cry which 
 is generally called belling. I ought to have recog- 
 nised the fact that there must be something there 
 that attracted his attention, but, like an ass, without 
 thinking, I fired at his chest. On receiving the bullet 
 he spun round and went off at his best pace, whilst a 
 splendid tiger bounded out of that very bit of grass 
 and dashed through the water, giving me the easiest 
 of shots, yet, disgraceful to say, in my anxiety to bag, 
 I fired in too great a hurry, a little too far forward, and 
 missed him clean. He did not even favour me with a 
 growl, and before I could seize my other gun or re- 
 load, he was gone. Whilst inwardly abusing myself, 
 my shikarie informed me that he had heard the deer 
 fall against a tree ; we took up the trail, and found him 
 stone dead. His head was well worth preserving, the 
 length of the horns being over thirty-one inches, thick 
 in proportion and with a splendid burr. Cutting off 
 the head, I gave it to Elapah to carry, whilst I slung 
 
 19
 
 2 9 o REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 the extra rifle over my own shoulder. We reached 
 camp without further adventures. Elapah and two 
 Brinjaries went back for the meat of the deer and his 
 marrow-bones, whilst the others went for the beef to 
 be jerked for the use of the dogs, and the tongues, 
 which are capital eating, for my own use. 
 
 The men made two trips, and the last time they did 
 not return till very late, and reported that they had 
 heard the noise of some beasts fighting in the direction 
 taken by the wounded buffalo, and thought she had 
 been attacked by a tiger. Telling them to be ready 
 for a start an hour before daybreak, I retired to rest. 
 The dogs were very restless all night, barking and 
 moving about. I got up twice, but could see nothing 
 outside our fence, but one of the men on watch told 
 me he had seen a couple of bears prowling about, and 
 he thought that hyaenas or leopards had also been 
 present, attracted by the meat in camp. We were 
 well on the way by a little past five, and when we 
 approached the carcass of the first cow, something 
 bounded off it, but it was too dark to distinguish what 
 it was. Proceeding a little further, we halted until 
 daybreak, and then the men led the way towards 
 where they had heard the disturbance the previous 
 evening. In half an hour we came upon the spot, 
 where there had evidently been a great struggle. 
 The ground was torn up, the bushes beaten down 
 and covered with blood, and we had not to go far to 
 ascertain the cause. We soon came upon the second 
 cow, not dead, but hamstrung. The poor creature 
 tried to get up to do battle with us, and I put a ball 
 through her head to put her out of pain. A little
 
 ANOTHER TIGER KILLED 291 
 
 further on, as I approached a bush, there was a 
 growl, and, with a roar, out came an immense tiger 
 at us, meaning mischief; but his rate of progress 
 was slow, and he dragged one hind-leg behind him. 
 I gave him the left barrel, but failed to stop him. 
 Elapah, as usual, stuck to me well, and handed the 
 other gun quickly. I fired the right barrel when 
 the brute was only two or three yards off; then, 
 jumping on one side, I gave him the contents of the 
 left barrel in the shoulder at less than a yard distant, 
 and he collapsed all in a heap. Although game to 
 fight us, he had had enough of the buffalo, though if he 
 had renewed the attack she must have fallen an easy 
 victim. In the affray she had driven her horn right 
 through the tiger's thigh high up, and I very much 
 doubt whether the animal would have got over the 
 wound, for many die from less severe inflictions owing 
 to mortification. She had driven her left horn up to 
 the hilt, and it was covered with blood and pieces of 
 flesh and skin. The men declared it was the same 
 tiger that I had missed yesterday. 
 
 Leaving a couple of men to take off the skin and 
 to cut off the tiger's head, I went on. The amount of 
 climbing up and going down hills I underwent the 
 next two hours was a very severe experience. When 
 at length I reached the plateau, I was dead beat, so 
 sat down and fortified the inner man. The men 
 became very impatient at my resting, and pointed to 
 a long row of trees, which they said fringed a nearly 
 dry watercourse, where the white clay, of which all 
 animals are so fond, was to be found. They declared 
 that, unless we made haste, we should arrive too late,
 
 292 REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 as directly the sun was well over the horizon these 
 animals retired to their lairs in such dense brambly 
 thickets that there was no s^ettino- at them. As soon 
 as I recovered my wind, we went on, and got to the 
 desired locality about 8 a.m., and as there were no 
 human beings but ourselves within a radius of twenty 
 miles, I did not think the wild cattle would be so 
 shy and retire thus early. But it turned out that I 
 was wrong. Footmarks were plentiful, and we saw 
 more than one place where the earth had just been 
 gnawed or scooped out, forming shallow caves in the 
 sides of the nullah, but there was not the ghost of a 
 gaur anywhere. I was in no hurry. I had ample 
 provender with me to last through the day ; I knew 
 from their footmarks that these beasts were numerous, 
 and if not there they would be found elsewhere. So 
 on we went, following the course of the stream ; in 
 places it narrowed considerably, in others it spread 
 out more like a marsh than a river's bed. These 
 depressions were covered with grass, bushes, here 
 and there a tope of trees, and every now and then 
 huge blocks of stone. It was just the sort of place 
 for animals to retire to during the heat of the day, 
 as there was in places sufficient foliage to afford them' 
 shelter. 
 
 What I wanted was to get, if possible, a solitary 
 bull, to compare him with his brethren in Burma. 
 The shikarie touched me, and pointed to what I may 
 almost call an island, about sixty yards away, and 
 whispered ' Jungly gooroo ' (Wild cattle), but I could 
 see nothing. It turned out that he had seen the tips 
 of the horns of some cows, which, with their calves,.
 
 TIFFIN INTERRUPTED 293 
 
 were lying down chewing the cud ; but as I was look- 
 ing for an animal six feet high, it is no wonder that I 
 failed to see the objects pointed at. Determined to 
 come to close quarters, I began to descend the bank 
 by an existing path. Whilst so doing, I inadvertently 
 stepped upon a loose stone lying under some fallen 
 leaves, which gave way beneath me, and I all but fell. 
 The noise disturbed the herd, which bounded up and 
 scampered away, their stampede frightening a herd of 
 sambur, which also went off full score, a fine stag 
 bringing up the rear. My men wanted me to fire, but 
 as there was plenty of meat in camp, I refused. 
 
 The sun was well up now, so, leaving the nullah, I 
 struck across the tableland to another and further belt 
 of forest, which formed, the men told me, the extremity 
 of that plateau, beyond which was a deep dip which I 
 should have to negotiate before I could ascend to the 
 next. As there was water and shade in that valley, I 
 made for it, intending to have my breakfast there and 
 to rest under the trees, and try my luck later on. We 
 got to a lovely glen, which the sun never penetrated, 
 and, strange to say, amongst the giant wild mango- 
 trees, I came across a dwarfed one that had not only a 
 few of the fruit ripe, but quite edible. Elapah was 
 soon on the branches picking out the best. I lay 
 down on a shelving bank, and whilst my bottles of 
 Bass were cooling, my tiffin-basket was spread out 
 before me. I soon made a hearty meal, and, pending 
 the return of Elapah, who had gone with the Brinjaries 
 to look for spoor, was lying alone, sucking a mango, 
 when I heard the dogs giving tongue not very far off, 
 and evidently chasing some animal through the glen
 
 294 REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 in my direction. I jumped up, seized the nearest 
 weapon, which turned out to be the double twelve, 
 and QT>t behind a laro-e trunk of a tree. There was a 
 great rattling and scattering of stones along the hollow, 
 and a huge gaur tore down upon me. My tiffin-basket 
 attracted his attention. Lowering his head, he rushed 
 at it, and, as he tossed it, the pepper and salt went full 
 into his eyes and up his nose, and for a second or two 
 I could not fire for laughing at the extraordinary antics 
 of the bull. That he was partially blinded there could 
 be no doubt, for, in his struggles to rid himself of the 
 condiments, he butted several trees with great force. 
 
 As soon as I could steady myself, I gave him the 
 contents of both barrels, but they seemed to have little 
 effect on him. The four hounds were tearing at his 
 heels, and he was kicking, pawing, and plunging like 
 an Australian buck-jumper. In reloading, I got hold 
 of the wrong cartridges, and whilst I was fumbling 
 about for stray ones in my pockets, the bull partially 
 recovered his eyesight, and came at me. I jumped 
 behind a tree, and the bull struck it such a blow with 
 his massive forehead that I wonder he was not stunned : 
 the tree had far too great a girth even to be shaken. 
 He then tried to get round, and I dodged him, and 
 one of the largest hounds sprang and pinned him by 
 the nose. How he did bellow, to be sure ! But the 
 mighty beast, with a toss of his head, sent the dog 
 flying through the air, leaving a portion of the cartilage 
 of his nostrils in the tenacious jaws of the hound. Just 
 then I found one solitary cartridge, and, with the 
 muzzle all but touching him, I fired behind the shoulder, 
 which sickened him, and he sought refuge in flight.
 
 A FINE BULL 295 
 
 But the good hounds stuck to him. I ran to where 
 the express was lying, picked it up, and had no difficulty 
 in giving the great bull his quietus. The whole scene 
 did not last five minutes, though it has taken some 
 time to tell. When it was all over, my followers ap- 
 peared on the scene ; but during the scrimmage they 
 had judiciously taken up positions behind trees. 
 
 On examining the prize, he turned out to be as fine 
 a bull as is generally found in India, but far inferior 
 to those I have shot in Burma. As nearly as I could 
 tell, he measured nineteen and a half hands high, and, 
 judging from the ridges on the base of the horns, he 
 must have been at least thirty years of age. Across 
 the water, an old bull of his age would have been a 
 hand or more higher, and would have had a far finer 
 head ; but the tips of the horns of this one had worn 
 down. He was by far the finest I ever got in India 
 proper. The men told me they had wandered some 
 way up the valley in search of mohwa-trees, and had 
 come upon the gaur unexpectedly, and, with a view of 
 driving him towards me, they had set the hounds on 
 him. I told them their doing so was contrary to 
 orders, for the baying of a hound disturbs the country 
 for miles around, and I had over and over again told 
 them only to loosen the dogs in the event of a melee. 
 However, the beast was bagged, and the damage done, 
 so it was no use saying much. 
 
 Having come so far, I thought I might as well have 
 a look at the tableland beyond. It was no easy task 
 for my followers, heavily laden as they were, and 
 climbing up from the valley was very fatiguing ; but 
 when we reached the top, the view fully repaid us for
 
 296 REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 all our trouble. The surface was nearly flat, with 
 undulations so slight as scarcely to be perceptible : 
 fully ten or twelve miles long by five or six broad, 
 with clumps of trees dotted here and there. There is 
 seldom water on the top ; of course, in the valleys 
 which separate these plateaux there is almost always 
 a little water in the dry season, whilst in the monsoon 
 they are raging torrents. Sometimes a tiny stream of 
 water trickles down the hillside from a natural spring. 
 
 But on this tableland there was a slight depression 
 in which there was still some water left, and the 
 numerous marks showed that it was the resort nightly 
 of all kinds of game. I was so taken with the place 
 that I determined to halt for a few days. Choosing a 
 suitable locality under some clumps of bamboos, some 
 of them nearly a foot in diameter, I told two of the 
 men to go back, and to bring my camp there. From 
 the top of this plateau I could see a mass of mountains 
 to the north, east, and south. To the south-west the 
 country was equally hilly, but here and there I could 
 get a glimpse of the Godavery, which at that distance 
 looked more like a silver thread than a mighty river. 
 
 We were on one of the highest of the hills. I could 
 only see three others, two to the north and one to the 
 south, that were higher than ours. As the men 
 collected the thorny brushwood, for which they had 
 to go some distance, I arranged it round us in a 
 circular form, and soon had a respectable defence 
 against intrusive beasts. I expected my people up 
 before dark, and as they did not appear, I made a 
 kabob out of some of the beef, and found it not at all 
 bad. A pint of beer, which had been put into the
 
 MORNING ON THE HILLS 297 
 
 running stream, had escaped when the rest of the 
 contents of my tiffin - basket had been scattered. 
 Elapah had a little salt, so I did not do badly. The 
 men found lower down the seed from a bamboo clump 
 which had flowered and would soon die. They 
 collected this, and boiled it as we do rice, and I found 
 it very palatable, and, with plenty of meat, they were 
 quite content. As no camp had arrived by 10 p.m. 
 I gave it up, lit a good fire, and was soon fast asleep. 
 It was very cold. We were at least 5,000 feet high. 
 There were no mosquitoes, however, which was a 
 blessing. At two I awoke, told the men to go to 
 sleep, and took my turn at watching, piling on the 
 fire-wood without stint to keep off the cold. 
 
 All was quiet until about 4 a.m., when I heard the 
 distant lowing of cattle, and was not sure whether 
 it was made by my pack-oxen or by gaur. There 
 were buffaloes in the country, but they were not 
 likely to climb up so high ; but now and then an 
 old bull does go up the highest hills, taking a short- 
 cut to some favourite feeding-ground. I had once 
 before come upon a bull on similar hills to these, 
 far away from any known habitation of the bnbali 
 but on this occasion our visitors turned out to be a 
 herd of gaur, consisting of cows, young bulls and 
 calves. They passed close by and went to the water, 
 and, after a good drink, continued their course along 
 the maidan. Just before daybreak, two bears made 
 the welkin ring with amorous parley, which I soon 
 converted into active hostilities by giving each a 
 bullet through its body, and, as usual, they set to and 
 had a round or two with each other. When they per-
 
 298 REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 ceived me, they made for me. The fence stopped 
 them a bit, and the largest, the male, stood up. He 
 seemed fully six feet high, and showed a set of 
 formidable ivories and most muscular arms. 
 
 He was only about five feet off, and I poured a 
 charge of buckshot out of the ' Paradox' into the horse- 
 shoe, and over he rolled right on to his mate. For a 
 moment she was undecided whether to fall upon him 
 tooth and nail, and was actually going for him, when, 
 finding him motionless, I fancy she realized that her 
 lord and master was dead, and determined to vent her 
 rage upon me. She made a dash at our fence and 
 broke through it ; but just then the dogs were 
 loosened, and fastened upon her quarter. She turned 
 round, whirling her arms about like the sails of a 
 windmill, but this was not the first bear these hounds 
 had tackled, for they seemed quite at home, and 
 avoided her blows with great agility. They were all 
 so mixed I was afraid to fire, but Elapah threw a 
 blazing log right into her face ; with a deep groan 
 of disgust at this unfair mode of fighting, she turned 
 to fly, and in so doing exposed her broadside, and a 
 right and left laid her low. 
 
 Leaving the bears where they lay, I consulted the 
 men as to the non-arrival of our camp. Then, taking 
 Elapah and going in the. direction pointed out by the 
 local shikarie, I took a stroll. I had not gone very 
 far when, looking down the hillside, I saw a couple 
 of four-horned antelope browsing on the bamboo-like 
 grass. Being above them, and walking over the 
 thick velvety turf in indiarubber soled shoes, I made 
 no noise, and got quite close just as the two were
 
 A FINE GAME COUNTRY 299 
 
 feeding side by side, and a solid conical out of the 
 express accounted for each of them. 
 
 By the time we had deported these to our temporary 
 abode, Elapah said he heard voices, and in a quarter 
 of an hour my boy appeared. I learnt I had to thank 
 the two bears for preventing my camp reaching me the 
 night before. The path my men and bullocks had to 
 traverse was a mere track along the edge of a ravine, 
 with a hill on one side and a deep hollow on the 
 other, off which they could not get, and just in front 
 of them were these two bears, billing and cooing in 
 their fashion, probably spending their honeymoon, 
 and do what my men would, the amorous couple 
 would not give way. So the men had to halt where 
 they were, and to light huge fires to keep them off. 
 Great was their rejoicing when they saw the dead 
 bodies of the two bears. 
 
 After a hasty meal I took two men and reconnoitred. 
 It was a splendid game country, but I had only two 
 months' leave, of which five weeks had expired, and 
 I was a long way from my headquarters, so could 
 not loiter long. To do this district properly at least 
 three months were requisite. So I determined to get 
 on and return another time. I saw much game, but it 
 was in the open, and I could not get at it, so I only 
 killed a sambur for the pot and got back to camp about 
 an hour before dark. I found that one of our cattle 
 having strayed had been pounced upon and killed by 
 a tiger. The carcass was just down the hillside, not 
 five hundred yards away. A machan had been pre- 
 pared, and as there was no moon, in order to get an 
 effective shot I must ' sit up ' at once and trust to
 
 3 oo REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 the brute putting in an appearance before dark. So 
 telling my boy to delay dinner till eight, I went down 
 and mounted into my perch. 
 
 I had not been there a quarter of an hour, when a 
 stealthy pit-a-pat warned me of the approach of some 
 soft-footed beast. There was just sufficient light to 
 distinguish objects ; the sun had not set, but we were 
 in a valley, and the deep gloom of the forest helped to 
 render objects obscure. A tigress trotted on one side, 
 whilst a tiger appeared on the other. The two, if not 
 lovers, were intimate acquaintances ; the female was 
 licking the face of the male, and neither seemed in a 
 hurry to commence operations on the dead bullock. 
 Every moment was to me precious. The shadows 
 deepened. I was very hungry ; so, taking the tigress 
 between the shoulder-blades, I fired down upon her as 
 she was almost beneath my machcui, and then, rapidly 
 shifting my aim, I knocked over the tiger. The first 
 never uttered a sound ; the second, on getting the 
 bullet, roared blue murder, but Elapah quickly handed 
 me the second rifle, and with it I gave him his quietus. 
 Getting down, I climbed up the steep hillside, and was 
 ready for my meal. This was the most wonderful luck 
 I ever had in wac/iau -shooting. I have been oftener 
 unsuccessful than otherwise ; but on this occasion I 
 had bagged a couple of tigers within a quarter of an 
 hour after sitting up. 
 
 After this my luck deserted me for some days. I 
 saw game in plenty, and killed enough for all our 
 wants, but got only a very few trophies worth carrying 
 away. So I went on to Madnair on May 13. On the 
 following day I moved to Pursagudem, a long, rough
 
 TOSSED BY A BUFFALO mi 
 
 _v 
 
 march of sixteen miles. I went off the beaten track, 
 but only got one good sambur stag. Passing a small 
 village, I met a native with a fresh leopard's skin. 
 I gave him the Government reward, and took the 
 pelt. 
 
 Next day, the 15th, I made a double march to 
 Mingachilla, twenty miles distant, and only picked up 
 a couple of pea-hens and a couple of jungle-fowls. On 
 the 1 6th I reached Bhyramghur, thirteen miles, getting 
 a barking deer on the way. On the 1 7th, letting the 
 camp continue its route, I as usual went in search of 
 game. The hills were very steep ; we had left the 
 tableland behind us. Coming to a stream called 
 Daukani, which falls into the Indravati River, I was 
 some way ahead, and had my rifle slung over my 
 shoulder. Taking out my flask, containing Crabbie's 
 ginger-wine, I put some into the cup, and stooped 
 down to fill it up with water out of the clear running 
 stream. I heard a shout, but before I could straighten 
 myself, something rushed down the steep bank, tore 
 through the water, lifted me high up, and tossed me 
 with great violence on to the opposite bank, which, 
 fortunately for myself, was fringed with heavy grass 
 and clumps of bamboos. My rifle was sent flying. 
 When I alighted on the ground, I attempted to get up, 
 but could not. I was in no pain, only benumbed, and, 
 although I could move my arms and legs, I could not 
 move my body, so I lay still. The buffalo, a rogue, 
 after playing at shuttlecock with me, made for my 
 men ; but these, as nimble as monkeys, were up trees 
 in a moment. As soon as he was in a safe position, 
 Elapah opened fire. He had my twelve-bore, and
 
 302 REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 plenty of cartridges. The buffalo seemed impervious 
 to pain, and paid no attention to his wounds, until a 
 shot broke a fore-leg ; he then bellowed for the first 
 time, and at last the shikarie, with a good shot, killed 
 the monster. 
 
 They lost no time in descending and picking me 
 up. I was quite conscious, but paralyzed. My right 
 thigh was double its usual size ; from the groin to 
 the knee there was a deep welt, the skin, though 
 furrowed, being not much broken, only a little here 
 and there, through which a little blood had oozed. 
 My strong shooting-breeches were cut through, but 
 the whole surface of the inside of the thiofh was 
 blackened. The brute had struck me with his full 
 force in the abdomen ; the concussion had jarred the 
 spine, and rendered me incapable of any movement. 
 The men improvised a litter, and, after recovering 
 my valuable express rifle, carried me to the camp at 
 Nilguda. All my followers behaved splendidly, sent 
 word ahead for relays of coolies to be ready at each 
 village, and, going day and night, carried me to 
 Jagdalpur. There I found a native dresser, a hospital 
 assistant, who, after examination, said no bones were 
 broken, nor any permanent injury inflicted, but that I 
 must lie up for three or four months. I underwent 
 no medical treatment ; in about two months the 
 numbness began to wear off, and in three months I 
 was able to get about again. I sent Elapah back 
 afterwards to try and recover the head of the beast 
 who had tossed me ; but he said that when he got 
 there the horns were worm-eaten, and not worth the 
 removal. So I did not get a souvenir of the urus
 
 UNPLEASANT SOUVENIRS 303 
 
 who had behaved in such an unfriendly manner to 
 me. 
 
 Although, apparently, I got all right again, my back 
 has never been as strong as before ; now and then it 
 almost gives way, and I am in agonies for hours. 
 But many years have passed, and I am still alive 
 and fairly well in health, and still able to undergo a 
 day's fatigue in search of game.
 
 [ 3°4 ] 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 ADVICE TO SPORTSMEN GOING ABROAD. 
 
 Advantages of medical knowledge — Native idea of Europeans — -Pre- 
 cautions against the sun — What to wear — Underclothes — Clothes 
 — Boots — Socks, etc. — Shoes for stalking — Waterproofs — Sleep- 
 ing on the ground — Fever — Trestle-cots — Mosquito-curtains— A 
 list of articles to take — Tents — Natives — Men and women — Tree- 
 leeches — What to wear to keep them out — Buying a gun — 
 Selling it again — Gunpowder — To harden bullets — Best bullets 
 for different game — What size shot to use — How to keep your 
 health — Total abstinence — Stimulants — Night-shooting — How 
 to make the fore-sight visible — How to obtain fire — How to make 
 soap — Sanitary precautions and cleanliness. 
 
 If a man wishes to become a second Livingstone, or 
 to emulate the travels of Stanley, let him walk a 
 hospital, and learn how to treat ordinary diseases, to 
 amputate a limb, and to perform other simple opera- 
 tions, which can all be learnt in six months. He will 
 find such knowledge far more useful to him than 
 money. All natives, whether of Africa or Asia, firmly 
 believe that a white man must be a medical man, and 
 the more nauseous the medicine you give them, the 
 better they are pleased or contented. I myself believe 
 in going to the East when a man is still in his teens ; 
 very few public schoolboys, accustomed to cricket, 
 football, and other field-sports, suffer from the sun if
 
 OUTFIT 305 
 
 they take simple precautions. The first thing to think 
 of is a suitable head-dress. I commenced my novitiate 
 in India with a soft felt round wide-awake, with the 
 addition of a turban wound round it, and felt no ill 
 effects. But, doubtless, a good pith hat is an improve- 
 ment. It can be purchased for a rupee, now worth 
 is. id. ; but it does not last any time. A heavy, 
 soaking rain soon spoils its shape, and it becomes 
 useless ; but solar helmets can be purchased in England. 
 They cost up to a guinea, but last for years, so are 
 probably cheaper in the long-run. It is well to wear 
 flannel next to the skin, for it absorbs perspiration, 
 and prevents sudden chills. Unshrinkable flannel 
 should be chosen. It is dear, but the material supplied 
 by a good firm will last a long time, whilst the ordinary 
 flannel, after a couple of washes, becomes so attenuated 
 that it is useless for anybody but a child. I do not 
 care for woollen socks. I prefer good merino, with 
 double heels and toes, which can be bought for under 
 2s. each pair. 
 
 For India and Africa well-dressed deer-skin is the 
 best material for clothing, as it is impervious to thorns, 
 but failing that, Burbury's gabardine is probably the 
 most suitable. Take a pair of the best binoculars with 
 you ; those of aluminium are the lightest and best, but 
 rather expensive. Shirts of a mixture of silk and 
 flannel are most comfortable. Good roomy knicker- 
 bockers are the best for breeches, and then you must 
 encase your legs either in stout gaiters, which are a 
 nuisance to button, or, what is decidedly better, a pair 
 of ' Field ' boots, originally made by Dean, of the 
 Strand, but now for sale in every store. If you go to 
 
 20
 
 3 o6 REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 Africa for an extended trip, take at least four pairs of 
 these boots, and three pairs of stout shoes, besides 
 slippers. The knickerbockers should be long in the 
 leg so as to fasten close to the ankle-joint, and to fit 
 the leg accurately. Of course, your dress must be 
 similar in colour to the vegetation amongst which you 
 intend to hunt. Three shades of khakie are sufficient 
 — brown, light dirty brown, and light green. For the 
 higher hills, which are covered with snow, white is the 
 best. For stalking in forest, take shoes with serrated 
 indiarubber soles ; you will find them a great comfort, 
 as they are nearly noiseless and damp-proof. Be sure 
 that your boots and shoes fit you easily, for the feet 
 swell in hot climes, and nothing is so unpleasant as a 
 boot that pinches. 
 
 You can get very nice boots to look at, made in 
 India, for a few rupees, but avoid them, as the leather 
 is little better than brown paper. About Nagpore 
 excellent sambur skin, well tanned, can be procured. 
 This, when made up for riding-boots and gaiters, is 
 capital. It is a pity it cannot be obtained in England. 
 A waterproof coat and leggings, and a cap to fit on to 
 the helmet, should also form part of one's kit for the 
 tropics. Remember never to sit in damp clothes, or 
 allow them to dry on you in the wind. Change if 
 you can at once. If you cannot, then put on either 
 a wrap or a waterproof. If you don't follow this advice 
 you will get fever to a certainty. A little timely dis- 
 comfort and precaution may avert serious consequences. 
 Never sleep on the ground. Trestle-cots made by 
 Edgington, of Duke Street, with an extra large water- 
 proof sunshade, with a couple of mosquito-curtains,
 
 OUTFIT 307 
 
 one net and one muslin, are out and out the best. 
 Have a razzie* to put under you, and an air-pillow for 
 your head ; but take a light hammock as well. 
 
 List of Articles Required for a Trip. 
 
 If you wish to be comfortable and enjoy sport you 
 must live well, and had better be provided with all 
 that is requisite : 
 
 6 flannel shirts, unshrinkable. 
 
 4 shirts of flannel and silk. 
 
 8 Indian gauze vests. 
 
 8 pairs good merino socks, with double heels and toes. 
 
 2 pairs knickerbocker stockings. 
 
 2 pairs long, closely-woven silk stockings, greenish 
 
 tint. 
 6 pairs of pyjamas, and 6 night jackets, all very loose. 
 1 8 pocket-handkerchiefs. 
 
 1 leather suit complete, with plenty of pockets in the 
 
 coat. 
 
 3 suits of gabardine,t one brown, one khakie, one 
 
 green. 
 
 2 pairs light ordinary trousers. 
 
 2 double-breasted coats, light material. 
 
 2 pairs braces. 
 
 1 broad leather belt. 
 
 1 shikar belt, fitted by Thornhill. 
 
 2 helmets ; Ellwood's for choice. 
 I soft wide-awake. 
 
 * Razzie — a quilt lined with cotton. 
 
 t Gabardine — procurable from Burbury of Reading.
 
 3 o8 REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 4 pairs Dean's field boots, rather large, as feet swell in 
 
 the tropics. 
 2 pairs ankle-boots. 
 2 pairs leather gaiters up to the knee ; 2 flints, and 
 
 steel and tinder. 
 
 2 pairs easy slippers ; i pair stout ditto. 
 
 3 pairs of shoes with indiarubber soles. 
 
 i light waterproof- coat, leggings and cover for helmet. 
 
 A large, long-handled umbrella for use in howdahs. 
 
 i canvas hold-all, containing combs, tooth-brushes, 
 razors, a strop, soap, needles, thread, buttons, 
 scissors, penknife, a knife with corkscrew. 
 
 1 2 towels — large ; 4 large Turkish towels for scrub- 
 bing after bathing. 
 
 2 pairs bathing-drawers. 
 
 1 2 napkins ; 2 tablecloths. 
 
 1 Berthon's collapsible indiarubber boat and oars. 
 
 6 inflated rubber supports for those unable to swim to 
 cross rivers. 
 
 200 yards of thin but very strong cord. 
 
 6 balls of twine. 
 
 4 waterproof sheets with eyelets, from 8 feet to 1 2 feet 
 
 square. 
 Pack-thread and sail- maker's needles. 
 Rockets and other fireworks. 
 A good magic-lantern with dissolving views to astonish 
 
 natives. 
 If you can learn a few conjuring tricks so much the 
 
 better. 
 A photographic apparatus and dry plates. Learn its 
 
 use thoroughly. 
 A camera lucida for use, if unable to sketch from nature.
 
 OUTFIT 309 
 
 i good saddle with Ds, saddle-bags, holster-bags, 
 cartridge-bags, a small chagul (a leather water- 
 bottle), and a valise for putting behind saddle. 
 
 A good-sized chagul for yourself ; 50 others for your 
 followers. These can be procured from any firm 
 of saddlers in Cawnpore. Water kept in these 
 is always cool — they cost but little. Take also 
 hobbles and knee-halters. 
 
 2 bridles and head-stall, with fringe coming over the 
 eyes. 
 
 A good revolver. 
 
 6 spear-heads, laurel-leaf pattern. 
 
 6 skinningr-knives. 
 
 A dozen bill-hooks. 
 
 6 felling axes (American bush-wood ones). 
 
 2 hand axes. 
 
 1 pair hunting-spurs. 
 
 1 case of carpenter's tools in box. 
 
 2 medicine-chests. 
 
 If you are subject to gout or acute rheumatism, take 
 some bottles of Laville's mixture. It is a patent 
 French medicine, and acts as a charm if taken 
 when the first twinges are felt. A teaspoonful in 
 a glass of any wine three times a day, but do not 
 continue taking it too long. 
 
 Tents in accordance to your party — one for each. 
 
 Tents for your servants. 
 
 Enamelled drinking cups and glasses. 
 
 6 pocket filters. 
 
 Wine and some beer as a treat, occasionally whisky. 
 
 6 camp buckets. These are often made of stout 
 canvas.
 
 3io REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 Camp tables and chairs. 
 
 Washing-stand and rubber basin. 
 
 An indiarubber bath. 
 
 A set of block-tin saucepans, to fit one inside the 
 
 other. 
 i frying-pan, removable handle. 
 4 block-tin pots on Warren's principle, to be clamped 
 
 together. One pot rests within the other, there 
 
 being a space for water between the two. 
 Tins of biscuits. Milk or water. 
 Tins of condensed milk. 
 Tins of cheese (cheddar). 
 An extra watch or two. 
 A clock with alarum. 
 
 Trestle-cot, sunshade and curtains, my pattern. 
 Lea and Perrin's Worcester sauce. 
 Tins of mushrooms, black Worcestershire being the 
 
 best. 
 Tins of baking-powder. 
 Carving" knives and forks. 
 Plated ware for table use. 
 
 Block-tin plates of various kinds ; teacups, etc. 
 A Carson's salting-machine. 
 A small meat-saw. 
 A pestle and mortar. 
 Tins of sultanas, raisins and currants. 
 Tins of sugar, tea and coffee, cloves, cardamoms, 
 
 coriander seed, pepper, salt, almonds, saffron, 
 
 turmeric, dried chillies, cinnamon, peppercorns, 
 
 garlic, green ginger. 
 Barrie's Madras curry-paste, Mulligatawny paste, and 
 
 lime pickle.
 
 OUTFIT 311 
 
 Tins of veal cutlets and tomato-sauce. 
 
 Wilson's Chicago beef. 
 
 Strasburg potted meats. 
 
 Oxford sausages in tins. 
 
 Bacon in square tins, thin, painted yellow — for break- 
 fast, as prepared by Crosse and Blackwell. Re- 
 ject all thick tins. 
 
 Small hams ready cooked, in tins. 
 
 Ox tongues. 
 
 Irish stew in tins. 
 
 Vegetables of sorts in tins. 
 
 Tins of oxtail-soup. Don't forget a tin-opener or two. 
 
 Lamps, candles, court-plaster, diachylon plaster. 
 
 Papier fay ard is invaluable for cuts. 
 
 Holloway's pills and ointment. 
 
 Black draughts for natives. 
 
 Blue pills, mustard-plasters. 
 
 Take extra powder, shot and bullets, wads and caps. 
 The battery is mentioned elsewhere. 
 
 Each gun and rifle should have its waterproof case 
 and sling. I consider hammerless weapons the best. 
 A good shikar knife is essential. All rifles should 
 have the lowest trajectory possible, and be finely 
 sighted and well tested. Judging distances is very 
 difficult ; more animals are missed through mistakes 
 in this respect than from any other cause. It is a 
 difficult knack to acquire. Every rifle should carry 
 point-blank up to two hundred yards, or as near that as 
 possible. Have the sights of your rifles, after testing, 
 screwed into the rib. 
 
 If you drink fresh toddy either from the date,
 
 3 i2 REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 Palmyra or cocoanut, it is wholesome and refreshing. 
 Avoid it when fermented. 
 
 If you run short of clothing made for you in Eng- 
 land, you can get very fair shikar clothes from the 
 Basil Mission in Cannanore, but they do not wear very 
 well. The native tailors are very clever, and if sup- 
 plied with a pattern will copy it exactly. A Mr. J. J. 
 Meyrick, writing- in the Shooting Times, recommends 
 trousers of very finely woven English corduroy as 
 impenetrable for the tree-leeches, and it also resists 
 the barbs of the seed of spear-grass. This I have not 
 tried, but charsoottie, which he recommends as almost, 
 if not quite, impervious to both leeches and spear-grass, 
 I have tried many times, and my experience of it is 
 not the same as his. I have never found anything 
 that could keep out the tree-leech for any length of 
 time. He says also that he found if he saturated his 
 socks with salt water, the leeches avoided them ; but 
 I have tried that and the crude petroleum. Both 
 answered for a time, but in walking through grass 
 reeking with dew the ingredients were washed out, 
 and the leeches soon found their way in. 
 
 For guns and rifles I have already recommended a 
 battery. There are so many makers of repute that it 
 sounds invidious to recommend one in preference to 
 another, yet it is only fair to speak of a firm that has 
 served one well. There is scarcely a maker of note 
 whose guns I have not had. In buying a gun remem- 
 ber you may wish to part with it again some day, and 
 the name of a favourite maker carries great weight. 
 It may cost you more in the first instance, but it will 
 also realize more than a gun perhaps equally as good.
 
 OUTFIT 313 
 
 but by a maker less known. In days gone by guns 
 and rifles made by Sam Smith had a great name, 
 especially in India, and realized their full value ; but 
 that renowned firm is no longer in existence. Purdey's 
 are unrivalled for excellence, but the price is pro- 
 hibitive. Old Joseph Lang is no longer in the land 
 of the living, and his sons have parted with their 
 business. Holland and Holland have made a great 
 name for themselves. Of all the old firms, the weapons 
 constructed by Westley Richards, Limited, fully keep 
 up their reputation, and no one could do better than 
 go to them for a battery and cartridges. Their guns 
 are almost in the same favour in India as Sam 
 Smith's were fifty years ago (and even longer), and 
 their top lever snap action is certainly the best, 
 Purdey's the second, and Greener's the third best in 
 the world. Be measured for your weapons. No two 
 men are built alike ; the length and bend of stock that 
 fits one will not suit another, and although in time a 
 man given to shooting can learn to kill fairly well with 
 any gun, he is heavily handicapped by having a gun 
 that does not suit him. Discard black powder ; 
 rifleite and other nitro powders can be used in rifles 
 as well as in guns. I must say that of all the nitros 
 none is superior to Schultze's. I have used it since its 
 introduction, and wish for nothing better ; but it is 
 not yet adapted for use in rifles. E. C. is almost as 
 good ; in fact, there is very little difference between 
 the two for sporting purposes. Adopt the ' Field ' 
 loading. Have your cartridges for dangerous shoot- 
 ing loaded either by Eley Brothers or by your gun- 
 maker. Take extra cartridges, powder, shot, bullets,
 
 3M REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 wads and caps with you, but trust to the loaded 
 cartridges principally. These should all be in air- 
 tight cases, not soldered down, each case to weigh 
 not more than fifty pounds. 
 
 A solid leaden bullet is the best for the larger game. 
 For pachyderms, such as elephants, rhinoceroses, 
 hippopotami, and buffaloes, use hardened bullets. 
 Quicksilver is the best to use for that purpose, but 
 don't put in more than a twelfth-part, and don't keep 
 it too long in the molten lead, as it quickly evaporates. 
 This adds to the weight of the bullet, whilst a mixture 
 of tin lessens it. If you add too much quicksilver the 
 bullets become brittle, and fly to pieces on impact. 
 For deer, use hollow expansive bullets fired out of an 
 express. The most useful gauge is No. 12, because 
 shells of that calibre can be got almost everywhere in 
 our colonies. I myself, for small-game shooting, prefer 
 a sixteen-bore top lever snap action. In France and 
 abroad generally cartridges of this bore can be got 
 now more easily than the larger, but in India and 
 Africa it is different. For snipe and quail, when they 
 lie well, I use No. 10 shot ; if they are wild, No. 8 ; 
 for hares and partridges, No. 6 ; for duck, guinea-fowl, 
 and tlorikan, No. 4 ; for bustards and geese, No. 2 ; 
 for woodcock and teal, No. 7. Most weapons shoot 
 small shots better than big, but the shot must be in 
 proportion to the size of the game fired at. 
 
 In India tents can be purchased which are more 
 suitable for the climate than those made in England, 
 because they resist the heat better. Those made at 
 Jubbulpore are the best, but they are very heavy. As 
 there are always topes of trees for pitching a tent
 
 MANAGEMENT OF HEALTH 315 
 
 under, I should advise the order being given to 
 Edgington, who has had great experience, having 
 supplied travellers and sportsmen for years past in 
 Africa, and his are lighter and more waterproof than 
 Indian ones. 
 
 Men in robust health prefer for bathing purposes 
 the coldest water they can get, but if you are at all 
 inclined to be unwell, or are getting on in life, use 
 tepid water. A tub is a necessity in all hot climates, 
 but it need not be overdone. Keep your head cool, 
 your feet dry, and your bowels open, is a very good 
 precept. I detest all medicines, though one is forced 
 to take a dose now and then, but the less you take 
 the better. Moderation in eating and drinking, with 
 plenty of outdoor exercise, will keep most men in 
 health. We read of nostrums that are supposed to 
 cure every ill a man, woman or child is subject to ; 
 but common-sense will prove the absurdity of such a 
 theory. We hear of pills worth a guinea a box which 
 are retailed at a shilling. Does anybody suppose that 
 these are better than the thousand similar nostrums 
 advertised daily? A man has only to advertise. If 
 his pills are but bread covered with a coating of some 
 noxious drug, he will find fools to purchase them and 
 to believe in their efficacy. Effervescing citrate of 
 magnesia is a good mild aperient, not unpleasant to 
 take. 
 
 I do not believe in blue ribbonism for the tropics ; 
 total abstinence is as bad as excessive drinking. No 
 man can undergo excessive exercise day after day 
 without stimulants of some kind. The water pro- 
 curable is generally bad, and in it are germs of various
 
 316 REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 diseases, the very worst being- the guinea-worm. Beer, 
 especially lager, is the best for the tropics, but it is too 
 bulky to carry about. Whisky is the best and most 
 wholesome of spirits. The Karens make excellent 
 shamsho out of rice, which is just as pleasant and as 
 wholesome as whisky. 
 
 For night shooting, if you must resort to that mode 
 of slaying or trying to slay game, use luminous paint. 
 I have tried every dodge, but none succeeded so well 
 as the paint. Do what you will, even by the brightest 
 of moonlight, the fore-sight if left alone is invisible, but 
 by using the luminous paint you can see it. If you 
 have a stock of fire-flies, and can stick one on the 
 fore-sight with the tail end uppermost, gumming the 
 beast on to its back, the flickering light will be a good 
 guide ; but when you want these insects you cannot 
 always find them ; they don't keep alive long in con- 
 finement, and once dead are useless. But night 
 shooting under the most advantageous circumstances 
 is most uncertain. The disadvantages are great ; far 
 more beasts are missed or wounded than killed, and 
 you are very liable to contract fever. The mosquitoes 
 devour you all night, and you dare not move a limb to 
 drive them off. It is poor work at the best, but has 
 to be resorted to at times as the only means, perhaps, 
 of ridding the neighbourhood of a pest. 
 
 Take matches, but not too many, for fear of com- 
 bustion. Take two kinds — one that will strike on 
 anything, and the other that ignites on the box alone ; 
 this is to astonish the natives. If an African sees you 
 ignite a match by rubbing it along your trousers, tell 
 him it is jado, or magic. Give him one of the other
 
 TO MAKE SOAP 31 7 
 
 kind, and when he finds he cannot ignite it, he will 
 believe you to be a great magician ; but, of course, 
 this will not go down in India. 
 
 Take a very powerful magnifying-glass with you for 
 obtaining fire where big game abounds in Africa and 
 India ; by focussing- the rays of the sun, a piece of 
 tinder can at once be set on fire. I have seen Burmese 
 procure fire by friction, rubbing two pieces of bamboo 
 together ; but I never learnt how to do it myself, 
 though I have tried often enough. 
 
 If you run out of soap, the following- is the mode 
 adopted by that great traveller and sportsman, the late 
 Sir S. Baker, for manufacturing that most useful com- 
 modity : 
 
 ' We had a large supply of various kinds of fat, 
 including that of elephants, hippopotami, lions, and 
 rhinoceros ; but our stock of soap was exhausted, 
 therefore I determined to convert a quantity of our 
 grease into that very necessary article. 
 
 ' Soap-boiling is not so easy as may be imagined ; 
 it requires not only much attention, but the quality is 
 dependent upon the proper mixture of the alkalies. 
 Sixty parts of potash and forty of lime are, I believe, 
 the proportions for common soap. I had neither lime 
 nor potash, but I shortly procured both. The hegleck 
 tree {Balanites Egyptiacd) was extremely rich in potash ; 
 therefore I burned a large quantity, and made a strong 
 ley with the ashes ; this I concentrated by boiling. 
 [If the hegleck tree, which bears a small fruit some- 
 what like a date, be not procurable, potash can be 
 made from the stalks of the plantain : open it by 
 layers, thoroughly dry it, then burn it, and boil the
 
 3 i S REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 ashes.] Tinder can be made from inside the bark of 
 the wild fig-tree, dried and pulverized. There was 
 no limestone, but the river produced a plentiful supply 
 of large oyster-shells that if burnt would yield excellent 
 lime ; accordingly I constructed a kiln, with the assist- 
 ance of the white ants. The country was infested 
 with these creatures, which had erected their dwellings 
 in all directions. There were cones from six to ten 
 feet high, formed of clay so thoroughly cemented by a 
 glutinous preparation of the insects that it was harder 
 than sun-baked bricks. [These ant-hills are plentiful 
 all over Africa and India.] I selected an egg-shaped 
 hill, and cut off the top, exactly as we take off the slice 
 from an egg. My Tokroories then worked hard, and, 
 with a hoe and their lances, they hollowed it out to 
 the base, in spite of the attacks of the soldier ants, 
 which punished the legs of the intruders considerably. 
 I now made a draught-hole from the outside base, at 
 right angles with the bottom of the hollow cone. [A 
 similar kiln can be made in clayey soil on the side of 
 a hill by scarping it, and otherwise doing as recom- 
 mended by Sir Samuel.] My kiln was perfect ; I 
 loaded it with wood, upon which I piled about six 
 bushels of oyster-shells, which I then covered with 
 fuel, and kept it burning for twenty-four hours. [Any 
 shells or coral will make excellent lime by burning.] 
 I commenced my soap -boiling. We possessed an 
 immense copper pot of Egyptian manufacture, in ad- 
 dition to a large copper basin called a "teske"; these 
 would contain ten gallons. The ley having been 
 boiled down to great strength, I added a quantity of 
 lime and the necessary fat. It required two hours'
 
 GENERAL RULES 319 
 
 boiling, combined with careful management of the fire, 
 as it would frequently ascend like foam, and overflow 
 the edges of the utensils. However, at length, having 
 been constantly stirred, it turned to soap. Before it 
 became cold, I formed it into cakes and balls with mv 
 hands, and the result of the manufacture was a weight 
 of about forty pounds of most excellent soap of a very 
 sporting description — savon a la bete feroce. We thus 
 washed with rhinoceros soap ; our lamp was trimmed 
 with oil of lions ; our butter for cooking purposes was 
 the fat of hippopotami ; while our pomade was made 
 from the marrow of buffaloes and antelopes, scented 
 with the blossoms of mimosas.' 
 
 If you run out of candles, procure beeswax, to be 
 got everywhere in Africa and the wilds of India ; 
 make wicks out of cotton-threads or scrapings of cloth 
 spun together. Suspend these from a height into 
 hollow bamboos, the upper part being open, and a 
 small aperture only in the joint below to keep the 
 wick in the centre ; pour in the melted wax, and you 
 will have very serviceable candles. I have had these 
 made for me by Karens in out-of-the-way parts of 
 Burma when my servants have either forgotten to 
 bring a sufficient supply with them or lost what they 
 had. 
 
 If you wish to preserve your teeth, use daily a 
 silver tongue-scraper. Clean your teeth morning and 
 evening, using either camphorated chalk or the finest 
 charcoal passed through fine muslin or a very fine 
 sieve. 
 
 Accustom yourself to go to bed pretty early. All 
 healthy men find a few hours' uninterrupted sleep ample,
 
 3 2o REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 and they will feel fresher if they then get up on waking 
 than if they turn over and sleep on for a couple of 
 hours more. To enjoy life in the tropics, you should 
 be up an hour before daybreak, and start for a ride or 
 for a walk or stalk at the first glimpse of daylight. If 
 you can get fresh toddy (juice of the palm), drink it 
 early, daily. Never touch it after fermentation. Many 
 of the Africans make a very good substitute for beer 
 from plantains and other native produce, whilst, as I 
 have said elsewhere, the shamsho made by the Karens 
 and Shans from rice distilled is as palatable and as 
 good as the best whisky. When hunting, vary your 
 food as much as possible ; eat vegetables when you 
 can get them. Indians make delicious curries from 
 vegetables alone. Do not be afraid of the sun, with a 
 good covering to the head. Mansfield Parkins says 
 that, during his seven years' wanderings in Abyssinia, 
 he wore no covering to his head, excepting the scanty 
 head of hair God had given him, and an occasional 
 pat of butter when he could get it. That may do for 
 the highlands of Ethiopia, but not for the plains of 
 India or Africa.
 
 [ 321 J 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 SIMPLE RECIPES FOR USE IN TRAVELLING. 
 
 It is almost as easy to live comfortably as to rough it, and 
 far more conducive to health. Most Indian cooks are adepts, 
 but very few Africans can do more than spoil a roast or a 
 boil ; they can be taught, however, and it will repay the 
 traveller to instruct those with him in the culinary art. 
 
 Do not go to second-rate firms for tinned goods. Messrs. 
 Crosse and Blackwell are not only one of the oldest, but one 
 of the best of the firms dealing wholesale in all provisions ; 
 and I can strongly recommend Messrs. Moir, of Aberdeen. 
 In ordering hams and bacons from Messrs. Crosse and 
 Blackwell, get small hams ready cooked and soldered down 
 in tin, but ask the firm not to over-boil them, as is too often 
 done. For bacon get their square yellow tins of breakfast 
 bacon, the thin streaky belly parts and no other ; their veal 
 cutlets with tomato sauce are also very good. Wilson's 
 Chicago compressed beef is also useful to fall back upon in 
 an emergency, but tinned meats should be avoided as 
 much as possible, and only resorted to when there is nothing 
 fresh procurable. Take plenty of tinned vegetables. In 
 India you can get plenty of native vegetables, in Africa 
 scarcely any. Take only Patna rice ; it is out and out the 
 best. The only good currie-paste and mulligatawny paste 
 is that made by Barrie and Co., of Madras, and sold by 
 Messrs. Crosse and Blackwell. Bombay ducks are a relish ; 
 they only require to be toasted. Poppadums, pickles, and 
 other Indian relishes, are sold by Messrs. Stembridge, of 
 33, Leicester Square, London. If in the East, it is better to 
 
 21
 
 322 REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 buy the ingredients and let your cook prepare the condi- 
 ments, by which means you will get a new curry daily 
 instead of having to stick to one kind only. 
 
 Giblet Soup. 
 
 Scald and clean the giblets of a goose or a pair of ducks, 
 stew them in water — a pint for each set — till they are quite 
 tender, or with a neck of mutton, or a couple of pounds of 
 gravy-beef, three onions, a bunch of sweet herbs and 4 pints of 
 water. Stew them until the gizzards are quite tender, then 
 remove and set aside ; add more stock if necessary to the 
 soup. Flavour with mushrooms, or Harvey or Worcester 
 sauce, and a little butter rolled in arrowroot or flour to 
 thicken it. The gizzards of all game-birds will answer. 
 
 Ox-tail Soup. 
 
 One tail is sufficient to make soup for four or five persons. 
 Divide the tail at the joints, and soak them in warm water ; 
 if the bones are partially sawed across, they will give more 
 strength to the soup. Put into a stewpan the slices of the 
 tail, and fry them a little ; then add a few cloves with a 
 couple of large onions, a bunch of sweet herbs, some black 
 pepper and a blade of mace. Cover the whole with water, 
 and as it boils, keep removing the scum whilst any rises ; 
 then replace the cover close, and set the pot on the side of 
 the fire to simmer gently for two or three hours until the 
 meat is tender, when remove and cut into small pieces, lay- 
 ing them on one side. Strain the broth through a cloth or 
 sieve, add a glass of wine with a couple of spoonfuls of mush- 
 room-ketchup or Harvey sauce, or one of soy ; return the 
 meat into the soup to give it a boil up. If you wish the 
 soup to be thick, take a couple of spoonfuls of the clear fat 
 that has been removed, mix it into a paste with flour, and 
 add the warm broth by degrees, stirring it quite smooth, and 
 let it simmer for a short time ; or add a little arrowroot with 
 the wine and sauce. Have ready some nicely-cut carrots, 
 turnips, and small onions (tinned ones will do), prepared 
 and boiled previously, which add to the soup a minute or 
 two before serving. Two or three slices of bacon or ham
 
 RECIPES 323 
 
 laid at the bottom of the stewpan with the meat will increase 
 the flavour of the soup. The tail of any wild bull or deer 
 will do. 
 
 Chicken Broth. 
 
 Clean and divide the chicken into quarters, after having 
 removed the skin and rump. Add a blade of mace, a small 
 onion sliced, and ten white peppercorns, with a quart of 
 water. Simmer till the broth be sufficiently reduced and of 
 a pleasant flavour ; remove the fat as it rises ; season with 
 salt. A little chopped parsley may be added. This broth 
 may also be made of snipe, quail, partridges. 
 
 Sauce for Game, Duck, Snipe, etc. 
 
 Take half a pint of clear gravy, cut into it the thin peel of 
 a lime, a few leaves of basil or sage, with a small sliced 
 onion. Let it boil until the gravy is flavoured, then strain it 
 off. Add the juice of the lime, some cayenne pepper, a 
 glass of red wine, pepper, and salt. Send it up hot. 
 Savoury herbs must be taken ; they can seldom be got in the 
 wilds. 
 
 Steak-pie. 
 
 Cut the steak off a rump or any other good part of the 
 beef (beat it with the rolling-pin), fat and lean together, 
 about half an inch thick ; put over it salt, pepper, and 
 parboiled onions, minced or grated bread seasoned with 
 pepper, salt, and pickled cucumber minced ; roll it up or 
 pack it neatly into the dish, or lay the beef in slices ; 
 add some spoonfuls of gravy and a teaspoonful of vinegar. 
 Cover with a puff paste and bake it for an hour. In Devon- 
 shire slices of apple and onions are added, when it is called 
 squab pie. The flesh of the sambur or of any deer will 
 answer as well. 
 
 Marrow-bones. 
 
 Saw the bones even, so that they will stand steady; put a 
 piece of paste over the ends, set them upright in a saucepan, 
 and boil till they are done enough. A beef marrow-bone 
 will require from an hour and a half to two hours. Serve
 
 324 REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 fresh toasted bread with them. Bones from the gaur, wild 
 cattle, buffalo and sambur, and most large deer, answer 
 admirably. 
 
 Pickle for Beef, Ham or Tongue. 
 
 Boil together for twenty minutes 2 gallons of water, 
 3 pounds bay salt, 2 pounds common salt, 2 pounds coarse 
 sugar, 2 ounces saltpetre, and 2 ounces black pepper, bruised 
 and tied in a fold of muslin ; clear off the scum thoroughly 
 as it rises, pour the pickle into a tub or a deep earthen pan, 
 and when it is quite cold lay in the meat, of which every 
 part must be perfectly covered with it. Better use a 
 Carson's syringe and saturate the meat. 
 
 Salting. 
 
 Meat preserved with Carson's salting machine will keep in 
 proportion to the strength of the brine with which it is 
 impregnated. If it be required to keep for a month, use the 
 recipe marked No. 1 ; if for two months, No. 2 ; if beyond 
 that time, No. 3. Meat pickled with No. 1 will preserve the 
 character of fresh meat, and No. 2 corned meat ; so that by 
 this instrument and process persons on a voyage may have 
 provisions nearly fresh for a good length of time, as by 
 forcing a little salt-and-water (for example) to the bone, 
 particularly when there is a joint, and around the pope's eye 
 in a leg of mutton, the other parts will remain sweet without 
 salt for many weeks if hung in an airy place. 
 
 To making Pickle or Brine. 
 
 No. 1. — Take of common salt 5 pounds, molasses | pound, 
 water 1 gallon. Mix together, and allow it to stand quiet 
 for half an hour (or longer) ; then pour or strain off the 
 clear liquid, taking care that no particle of salt or other 
 substance pass into the machine. This is very important, 
 as such particles may stop the hole in the nipple ; but should 
 a particle of salt or fat get into it, if the nipple be placed in 
 hot water the salt will be dissolved, and the fat can be 
 blown out. 
 
 No. 2. — Take of common salt 6 pounds, saltpetre \ pound, 
 molasses \ pound, water 1 gallon. Dissolve as above.
 
 RECIPES 325 
 
 No. 3. — Take of common salt 7 pounds, nitre or saltpetre 
 f pound, water 1 gallon. Dissolve and use as No. 2. 
 
 No. 4. — Take of common salt 7 pounds, saltpetre h pound, 
 coarse sugar j pound, water 1 gallon. To be used the same 
 as No. 2. If the ham, tongue, bacon, etc., is to be cured or 
 smoked, it is only necessary to add to each quart of the above 
 pickle a tablespoonful or more of Hackin's essence of smoke. 
 
 Fried Liver and Bacon. 
 
 Cut the liver (any deer's liver will do) rather thin, but not 
 too thin, so as to harden in the frying. Chop a quantity of 
 parsley, season it with pepper, and lay it thick upon the 
 liver. Cut slices of bacon and fry both together ; add a 
 little lemon pickle to the gravy, made by pouring the fat 
 out of the pan, flouring, and adding boiling water. 
 
 Chops. 
 
 Cut your chops and trim them ; dip them into hot melted 
 butter or warm ghee. Cover with grated bread mixed with 
 chopped parsley, a little sweet marjoram, salt and pepper ; 
 then dip the chops into the yolks of eggs beaten up, and 
 sprinkle them with crumbs of bread. Fry them in butter, 
 and serve with a thickened gravy. All deer and antelope 
 give excellent chops. 
 
 Broiled Kidneys. 
 
 Cut the kidneys down the centre, and remove the skin 
 that covers them ; then keep the two sides open with a small 
 skewer of wood. Dust them well with pepper and a little 
 salt ; dip them into melted butter. Broil the side that is cut 
 open first ; then turn them that they may retain their gravy. 
 Have ready some chopped parsley mixed with fresh butter, 
 lemon-juice, pepper and salt ; put a little over each kidney, 
 and serve on a hot dish. 
 
 Roast Fowl and any Game-bird of a Large Size. 
 Clean the fowl nicely ; mix a little butter with lime-juice, 
 pepper and salt, and put it into the inside. Cut off or turn
 
 326 REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 up the rump. Fix it to the spit by skewers, and cover it 
 with paper ; when nearly done, unpaper, froth, and give it a 
 nice brown. Fowls and all game-birds may be stuffed with 
 a farce and larded, or the bodies filled with a ragout of 
 mushrooms or oysters, served with bread, egg, or any other 
 sauce. A large fowl will take from a half to three-quarters 
 of an hour roasting. 
 
 Buttered Eggs. 
 
 Beat and strain ten or twelve eggs ; put a piece of butter 
 into a saucepan, and keep turning it one way till melted. 
 Put in the beaten eggs, and stir them round with a silver 
 spoon until they become quite thick. Serve them on a dish 
 with buttered toast. They may be eaten with fish, fowl, or 
 sausages. 
 
 Country Captain. 
 
 Cut a small or large fowl, or any other bird fit for the 
 table, in pieces ; shred an onion small, and fry it brown in 
 butter. Sprinkle the fowl with fine salt and curry-powder, 
 and fry it brown ; then put it into a stewpan with a pint 
 of soup. Stew it slowly down to a half, and serve it with 
 rice. 
 
 Partridges and Francolins. 
 
 Both black and gray are best boiled ; the former are in 
 season from October until May, the latter from September 
 to February. Clean the birds and truss them as chicken. 
 Have ready a large vessel of boiling water, into which place 
 the birds, keeping the water at a boil ; they will be done in 
 ten or twelve minutes. They are also very good stewed with 
 some butter and a small quantity of water. Place them in 
 a stewpan or conjurer over a brisk fire ; look to them occa- 
 sionally, and constantly turn, to prevent them being burnt in 
 the bottom of the pan, and as soon as the gravy begins to 
 ooze from the birds and mixes with the butter, they are done 
 enough. Serve with bread sauce. Quail, snipe, rock or 
 green pigeon, may be dressed in the same manner, only 
 the two latter should first be skinned and dressed in vine 
 leaves.
 
 RECIPES 
 
 327 
 
 A Luxurious Quail Pie. 
 
 Take twelve quail, nicely pluck them, and 2 pounds of steak. 
 Put a spoonful of pate de foie gras inside each bird, and wrap 
 it in a slice of thin bacon. Add a small tin of truffles, half 
 a bottle of black Worcestershire mushrooms, six hard-boiled 
 eggs, each cut in half, some Worcestershire sauce (Lea and 
 Perrin's) ; fill in with rich stock. Cover with good crust, 
 and bake slowly. 
 
 To dress Quails. 
 
 Pluck and draw your quail ; cut a piece of lemon or lime 
 the size of a dice and cover with a sprinkling of cayenne, 
 then wrap the dice in a very thin slice of bacon. Have 
 boiling water handy ; take it off the fire, drop the quails into 
 the water, leave them there three minutes ; then take them 
 out, insert in each the lemon wrapped in bacon ; fry them 
 nicely in breadcrumbs, and serve on hot buttered toast. 
 
 Partridge Pie. 
 
 Four young partridges, 1 pound rump steak, half a dozen 
 oysters, a tin of Worcestershire black mushrooms, a cup of 
 stock, proper seasoning ; cover with good crust and bake. 
 
 Salad Sauce. 
 
 Take the yolks of two fresh eggs boiled hard, mash in a 
 plate with a silver fork, then add a saltspoonful of salt, and 
 two spoonfuls of mustard ; rub the whole well together ; 
 add by degrees three spoonfuls of sweet oil or fresh cream, 
 then two of good vinegar, stirring it well the whole time 
 until quite smooth ; a small spoonful of anchovy sauce is 
 sometimes added, but is no improvement if the salad is to 
 be eaten with cold meats, though it may be with fish, 
 prawns, or lobsters. 
 
 Salmi of Game, Meat, etc. 
 
 Take a pound of any under-roasted meat, hare, turkey, 
 game, goose, or duck, and cut it up into convenient pieces ; 
 put them into a saucepan ; bruise the livers, and should it
 
 328 REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 be snipe or woodcock, bruise the trail ; squeeze over them 
 the juice of two lemons and the rasped zest of one or two 
 bitter oranges ; season with salt and the finest spices in 
 powder, cayenne, and mustard prepared with flavoured 
 vinegar and a little white wine or claret ; put the saucepan 
 over a lamp or fire, and stir it constantly, that it may all be 
 incorporated with the sauce. It must not boil, and should 
 it attempt it, a stream of fine oil must be poured over to 
 prevent it, or diminish the flame, or keep it up a little higher 
 and stir it two or three times ; it is then ready to be served, 
 and must be eaten very hot. 
 
 To grill Mushrooms. 
 
 Take those of middling size, skin and wash them very 
 clean, if necessary strain and dry them in a cloth ; put a 
 little butter over the inside of each ; sprinkle some salt and 
 pepper, and grill or fry until tender. Mushrooms are very 
 plentiful at times in certain seasons in India, in Burma, and 
 Assam. 
 
 Mushroom Omelette. 
 
 Prepare and cook the mushrooms in butter, pepper, and 
 salt, and mix into a plain omelette. 
 
 To devil Legs of Poultry or Game. 
 
 Score the legs of a roasted turkey, goose or fowl, or any 
 game ; sprinkle them well with cayenne, black pepper, and 
 salt ; broil them well and pour over the following sauce. 
 Take three spoonfuls of gravy, one of butter rubbed in a 
 little flour, one of lemon-juice, a glass of wine (port or 
 white), a spoonful of mustard, some chilli vinegar or two or 
 three chopped green chillies, a spoonful of mushroom catsup. 
 Warm up, and serve in a boat. 
 
 Omelette. 
 
 Break four eggs into a dish, with a little pepper or 
 chopped green chillies, a small quantity of fine salt, with a 
 teaspoonful of milk or water, merely to dissolve it ; beat 
 the whole well to a froth, then put a tablespoonful of
 
 RECIPES 329 
 
 butter or ghee into a frying-pan ; when it is hot, throw the 
 mixture into the pan, holding it a little distance from the 
 fire ; keep shaking it, to prevent its burning and sticking to 
 the bottom of the pan ; it takes about five minutes to dress. 
 Gather up one side with a knife, and roll it equally before 
 you dish it. Chopped parsley, onions, minced ham, or 
 kidneys, may be added, and a variety given by grated hung 
 beef, dried tongue, anchovy paste sauce or chopped oysters. 
 
 Indian Ramekin. 
 
 Take equal quantities of flour, butter, and pounded or 
 grated cheese, with an egg to each spoonful of the other 
 ingredients. Mix all well together and bake in moulds or 
 cases ; serve with toast, made mustard, pepper and salt. 
 
 Macaroni au Gratin. 
 
 Break 4 ounces of macaroni into lengths of about a 
 couple of inches ; wash it in water, and then boil it in white 
 broth or milk with a little salt until tender ; rub up in a 
 mortar 4 ounces of dry double Gloucester or Cheddar 
 cheese, and add to it the well-beaten yolks of two eggs, a 
 couple of spoonfuls of cream, with four of the broth the 
 macaroni has been boiled in ; butter a dish large enough to 
 contain the whole, in which place the macaroni with the 
 cheese custard poured over it, and bake in a quick oven. 
 
 Devilled Mushrooms. 
 
 Take fine dry mushrooms with red gills, peel off the outer 
 skin, and see that they are perfectly free from sand or dirt ; 
 spread a little butter over the inside, and sprinkle plenty of 
 black pounded pepper over them, with a little cayenne and 
 salt ; broil them on a gridiron over a clear fire. If the 
 mushroom peels easily, you may almost be sure it is edible. 
 
 Bombay Pudding. 
 
 The yolk of an egg, one tablespoonful of sugar, and half 
 a seer (one pint) of boiled milk, to be beat up and boiled 
 together ; when thick enough, lay it in a plate to cool, cut it
 
 33° REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 in pieces, and fry them in a frying-pan ; make a syrup of the 
 white of the egg, with a little sugar and lime-juice. 
 
 Rice Pudding with Dry Currants. 
 
 Take a small basin of boiled dry rice, mix it with half a 
 pound of currants, two tablespoonfuls of sugar, one of butter, 
 and a beaten egg ; boil it in a floured cloth or mould for 
 nearly an hour. 
 
 Boiled Rice Pudding. 
 
 Wash and pick 4 ounces of rice very clean. Soak it in 
 water half an hour, then tie it up in a cloth, with 8 ounces 
 of picked currants or raisins ; leave room for the rice to 
 swell, and boil it nearly two hours. Serve with melted 
 butter, sugar, and nutmeg. 
 
 Plantain Pudding. 
 
 Take some plantains, and have them fried in their skins ; 
 when done, you must peel and cut the fruit in slices ; add 
 sugar to the taste, the juice of two or three limes, the peel 
 of one cut into small thin pieces, a glass of white wine, half 
 a teaspoonful of pounded cloves, with a little butter. This 
 is to be put into a paste, and boiled as an apple pudding. 
 Cream, or lemon and sugar with butter, is a great improve- 
 ment. 
 
 Plain Pancakes. 
 
 Light plain pancakes are made of a thin light batter of 
 milk, eggs, and flour, with salt and sugar ; rub the frying- 
 pan with a buttered cloth ; sift sugar over them as they are 
 doubled or rolled and dished ; serve with limes. 
 
 Pineapple Fritters. 
 
 Pare and core a pineapple, cut into slices, and stew them 
 with a little water, sugar, and lemon-peel. When soft, add 
 a little white wine and the juice of half a lime, with a bit of 
 butter. When cold, make a batter with three spoonfuls of 
 fine flour, two spoonfuls of cream, a glass of wine, some 
 sugar, and four eggs. Beat it all together very well ; put 
 first butter or pure ghee in a frying-pan, throw the fruit into
 
 RECIPES 331 
 
 the batter, take it out in spoonfuls, and fry them one by one 
 to a nice light brown ; put them on a sieve before the fire to 
 dry, and serve, with plenty of pounded sugar over them, on 
 a white napkin. 
 
 Mango Fool. 
 
 Add cold milk and sugar to the pulp of green boiled 
 mangoes in such quantity as the maker chooses ; the milk 
 must be added by a little at a time, stirring it well with the 
 mangoes, otherwise the fool will not be smooth. 
 
 To preserve Mangoes. 
 Take any quantity of the finest unripe mangoes, peel, and 
 divide them in half, stones and all, removing the seeds ; then 
 weigh the mangoes ; to each pound allow a pint of water 
 and a pound and a quarter of sugar-candy ; put the whole 
 into a stewpan, and boil gently, removing all the scum as it 
 rises. When the mangoes appear clear and sufficiently done, 
 remove from the fire, and let it stand until cold ; then put 
 into bottles or jars for use or keeping. 
 
 Mango Jelly. 
 
 Peel and cut any quantity of unripe mangoes free from 
 stone ; put the slices into a preserving-pan, with a sufficient 
 quantity of water to cover them, and boil gently till quite 
 soft ; strain the contents through a jelly-bag or cloth. To 
 each pint of juice add a pound and a half of good sugar, 
 pounded, and when it is dissolved, put it into a preserving- 
 pan, set it on the fire, and boil gently, stirring and skimming 
 it the whole time till no more scum rises and it is clear and 
 fine ; pour into pots while warm, and when cold cover it 
 down close. 
 
 Milk Punch. 
 
 Put the rinds of thirty limes, pared fine, in a bottle of 
 rum ; let it stand twenty-four hours ; then take three bottles 
 of water, one bottle of lime-juice, 4 pounds of powdered 
 sugar, two nutmegs grated, and six bottles of rum, arrack, 
 or brandy ; mix all together ; add 2 quarts of milk boiling 
 hot ; let it stand two hours ; then strain it through a flannel 
 bag.
 
 332 REMINISCENCES OE INDIA 
 
 Fish Curry. 
 
 The native way is to cut 2 pounds of fish into slices, dip 
 it in a little oil, and rub it with pounded raw grain ; let it 
 remain a short time, and wash it off; then partially fry 
 it in ghee, with a sufficiency of salt, eight or ten dried 
 chilies, and a pinch of fenugreek seed and nala zeera ; then 
 mix a few dried pounded chilies, some turmeric roasted, 
 coriander-seed, fenugreek, and nala zeera, with some sliced 
 onions and a clove of garlic pounded ; cover this well over 
 the fish, and place it again into the ghee with the fried 
 chilies, adding sufficient water to dress it. An acidity may 
 be given with tamarind-juice, green mangoes, vinegar, or 
 lemon ; vegetables may be added in the same way as directed 
 for vegetable curries, putting in a layer of vegetables, and 
 then a layer of fish, shaking the saucepan to prevent the 
 fish from breaking and burning. The vegetables usually 
 added to the fish curries are cauliflower, fennel-mother, 
 mooringu pods and leaves. 
 
 Fowl Curry. 
 
 Take and cut the fowl by joints, and add to it some sliced 
 green ginger, black pepper, salt, and coriander-seed, all 
 ground well ; hash the nabool chunnali, and boil it in a 
 little water till it becomes tender, and put it to the fowl ; 
 strain the gravy into a saucepan, and mix the curry stuff well 
 with it ; give a baghar to it in ghee with cloves. Put the 
 fowl into a stewpan with some ghee, and fry it ; then pour 
 the gravy over it ; let it simmer for a short time, and serve 
 it up. The right proportions of curry ingredients are as 
 follows : 
 
 Ghee ... ... ... | lb. 
 
 Nabool chunnali ... h lb. 
 
 Onions ... ... h lb. 
 
 Coriander-seed... ... i tolah. 
 
 Salt ... ... ... 2 tolahs. 
 
 Cinnamon ... ... 2 mashas. 
 
 Cloves ... ... 2 mashas. 
 
 Cardamoms ... .. 2 mashas. 
 
 Black pepper ... ... i masha. 
 
 Green ginger ... ... i tolah.
 
 RECIPES 
 
 333 
 
 Fowl Pullow. 
 
 Put the mutton, cut in slices, with four whole onions into 
 6 quarts of water ; boil all this together until reduced to 
 one-third ; take it off the fire, wash the meat in the liquor, 
 strain through a towel, and set it aside. Take 8 ounces of 
 rice, wash it well, and dry by squeezing firmly in a towel. 
 Put half a pound of butter into a saucepan and melt it ; fry 
 in it a handful of onions sliced lengthways ; when they have 
 become of a brown colour, take them out and lay aside in the 
 butter that remains. Fry slightly a fowl that has been pre- 
 viously boiled ; take out the fowl, and in the same butter add 
 the dry rice and fry it a little. As the butter evaporates, 
 add the above broth to it, and boil the rice in it ; then 
 put with it the cloves, cardamoms, peppercorns and mace 
 (be cautious not to put too much of the latter) ; add narcy 
 pank leaves and salt with the green ginger ; cut into thin 
 slices. When the rice is sufficiently boiled, remove all but a 
 little fire from underneath, and place some on the pan-cover ; 
 if the rice be at all hard, add some water to it and place the 
 fowl in the centre to imbibe a flavour ; cover it over with 
 the rice, and serve up garnished with hard-boiled eggs, cut 
 either in halves or quarters. The dressing is as follows : 
 
 Onions 
 
 5 or 6. 
 
 Eggs ... 
 
 3 or 4. 
 
 Mutton 
 
 1 lb. 
 
 Fowl ... 
 
 1 lb. 
 
 Rice ... 
 
 8 oz. 
 
 Butter 
 
 \ lb. 
 
 Black pepper ... 
 
 10 or 12 corns. 
 
 Mace ... 
 
 4 blades. 
 
 Cloves 
 
 10 or 12. 
 
 Green ginger 
 
 1 tolah. 
 
 Salt ... 
 
 1 dessertspoonful 
 
 Narcy pank leaves 
 
 2 or 3. 
 
 Cardamoms 
 
 10 or 12. 
 
 Fish Kitcherie. 
 
 Take any cold fish, pick it carefully from the bones ; mix 
 with ateacupful of boiled rice 1 ounce of butter, a teaspoonful
 
 334 REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 of mustard, two soft-boiled eggs, salt and cayenne to taste, 
 and serve very hot. The quantities may be varied according 
 to the amount of fish used. 
 
 Chupaties 
 
 Are made by mixing flour and water together with a little 
 salt into a paste or dough, kneading it well ; sometimes ghee 
 is added. They may also be made with milk instead of 
 water. They are flattened into thin cakes with the hand, 
 smeared with a small quantity of ghee, and baked on an iron 
 pan over the fire. 
 
 Breakfast Dishes. 
 
 Rice, if properly boiled and drained, will keep good for a 
 few days. When required for use, all that is necessary is to 
 pour boiling water over it, and to again drain it. A few 
 slices of fried bacon cut up fine, a couple of eggs boiled only 
 three minutes, pepper and salt mixed with the rice, will 
 provide a palatable dish quickly prepared. 
 
 In travelling, when hurried, a meal can be quickly prepared 
 by carrying with one cooked meats, but they are apt to go 
 bad unless curried. Natives of India, by cutting meat into 
 squares and saturating them with condiments, can preserve 
 them even for a year. 
 
 Get some good mutton or veal free of bone and gristle, 
 cut into cubes of about £ inch each face ; get some good 
 butter or ghee, melt it ; add some good stock. When it 
 has simmered for some time, add liberally a quantity of 
 Barry's Madras curry-paste, about two and a half tablespoon- 
 fuls of the condiment to every pint of gravy used. Cover the 
 ingredients up, and then let them simmer slowly for at least 
 two hours, stirring gently. When the meat is thoroughly 
 saturated, pour it into a jar with an air-tight screw top, and 
 put it by. When required for use, take as much as is 
 required, put it into a frying-pan, and place over a charcoal 
 fire, if possible, until it is thoroughly heated, and then serve 
 with rice, either freshly boiled or warmed up, and you will 
 have a good meal ready in a quarter of an hour.
 
 RECIPES 335 
 
 To preserve Fish. 
 
 In hot climates all fish should be split down the back and 
 then laid open ; they should then be salted, and should lie 
 for a few hours to drain, after which they should be hung 
 over the smoke of a dry wood fire. This treatment renders 
 them delicious for immediate use, but if required to keep 
 they must be smoked for a couple of days, and then be 
 highly dried in the sun. If you have a bottle of pyro- 
 ligneous acid, give the fish a couple of coatings with a soft 
 brush. No flies will then settle upon the flesh, and the 
 flavour will be improved. 
 
 To preserve Skins with the Hair on. 
 
 Soak the skin in water for one day ; clean it well of fat ; 
 take alum 3 pounds, rock salt 4 ounces, and dissolve in as 
 much water as will cover the skin in a tub or vessel ; then boil 
 the solution, and when lukewarm put in the skin and soak it 
 for four days, working it well with the feet or hands several 
 times ; take it out and dry it in a warm place, but not in the 
 sun. Boil up the water again, repeating the same process 
 with the skin ; wash it well, and beat it with a wooden 
 mallet till quite soft, after which dry it in the shade, rubbing 
 it between the hands at intervals. By this means it will be 
 as soft and pliable as doeskin. 
 
 To take Rust out of Steel, 
 
 Cover the steel well with sweet oil and let it remain for a 
 couple of days ; then use unslacked lime finely powdered, 
 and rub with it until all the dust disappears. 
 
 To destroy Ants, Red and Black. 
 
 After having discovered the aperture of their nests, surround 
 it with soft clay formed into the shape of a funnel, and pour 
 in boiling water. Where they are in the habit of infesting a 
 floor or room, lay down thin slices of raw meat or liver, upon 
 which the ants will soon congregate. Let a person go about 
 with hot water in a basin, and throw in the meat as it is 
 covered ; then shake it dry and put it down to collect more.
 
 336 REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 To prevent ants getting on a table, bed, etc., tie round 
 the lower end of each leg or post a thin slip of flannel 
 dipped in castor-oil — they will not pass over this ; or place 
 the legs in pans of water. 
 
 White Ants. 
 
 To secure boxes from their depredations, the best plan is 
 to place them on glass bottles laid lengthways, and if kept 
 free from dust they cannot ascend. They have a great dis- 
 like to indigo, and will seldom touch cloth dyed in it or 
 saturated in a solution of corrosive sublimate. The propor- 
 tion of i pound to 4 gallons of water is sufficient. They also 
 dislike salt, which may be mixed up with the mud or gober 
 that is sometimes spread over the floor or wall. Though 
 this is not an effectual remedy, it is as well occasionally to 
 adopt it. 
 
 To destroy Bugs. 
 
 Wash every part, crevice or corner where they can be 
 secreted with a strong solution of alum-water boiling hot, 
 of the strength of as much pounded alum as the water will 
 dissolve ; this is an effectual remedy. Or wash every part 
 of the bedstead or furniture with a strong solution of corrosive 
 sublimate ; or dissolve the sublimate in spirits of turpentine, 
 with the addition of water. It is almost impossible to prevent 
 these insects from getting into your beds and furniture where 
 there are native servants in attendance ; the utmost cleanli- 
 ness is requisite, by continually taking down the curtains, 
 removing the bedsteads out in the sun, and pouring boiling 
 water all over such parts as the insects can harbour in. If 
 the bugs are in the walls of the house or anywhere else 
 about, you may prevent them getting up the posts of the 
 bedsteads by placing each leg in a vessel or tin saucer filled 
 with wood ashes from the kitchen ; they will not pass over 
 this, and for children's cots nothing can be better. It is 
 preferable to water, into which the clothes from the bed 
 might fall ; besides, domestic animals often lap the water, 
 and servants forget to see that the pans are refilled. Never 
 allow the dhobies to lay out the clothes on the bed when
 
 REMEDIES 337 
 
 they bring them home from the wash, as they may have 
 some of these insects amongst them. 
 
 Ticks on Dogs. 
 
 These vermin may be easily removed by rubbing the dog's 
 ears, or wherever they have fixed themselves, with sweet or 
 castor oil. Fleas will not remain on dogs or animals that 
 have powdered butch rubbed over them, or if washed with 
 an infusion of the same ; rubbing them with train-oil is also 
 an effectual remedy. 
 
 Eye-flies. 
 
 These little insects are very troublesome to persons read- 
 ing, working, etc. Curled slips of paper or cotton thread 
 suspended to the wall-shades will attract them, where, if 
 undisturbed, they remain. It is said that they have a great 
 aversion to the milk-hedge, also to the ghee-gowan, a small 
 spotted green and white, aloe-looking plant which, if hung 
 about the room, prevents the flies entering ; this practice is 
 adopted by the natives. 
 
 Tooth-powder. 
 
 No. i. — Take common close-grained charcoal ; pound it 
 very fine, and sift through muslin. Add a little salt, or 
 roast the betel-nut until it has become charcoal ; then grind 
 it up fine and add some salt. This is a great favourite with 
 the natives. 
 
 No. 2. — Take powdered cascarilla bark i ounce, cream of 
 tartar \ ounce. Mix both well together, and use as any other 
 dentifrice. 
 
 Bite of a Venomous Snake. 
 
 First apply a ligature, or bandage, tightly a few inches 
 above the part bitten, and wind it round the limb till it is 
 brought near the wound, when either suck the wound or 
 apply a cupping-glass. Cut out the part with a knife, or 
 burn it with a hot iron, or apply lunar caustic, or wash the 
 parts bitten with eau-de-luce or spirits of hartshorn. At the 
 same time give the patient a teaspoonful of spirits of sal 
 volatile or half a teaspoonful of eau-de-luce in a claret-glass 
 
 22
 
 33 8 REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 of water, or camphor and ammonia with cayenne pepper. 
 If liquor arsenicalis is procurable or at hand, give I drachm 
 with ten drops of tincture of opium, a tablespoonful of lemon- 
 juice in sufficient peppermint, or strong brandy-and-water to 
 fill a wineglass, and repeat this every half-hour until improve- 
 ment takes place, when a purgative should be administered, 
 the wound well fomented with warm water, and a poultice 
 of mashed boiled carrots and onions applied to the part. A 
 bottle of madeira may be taken in draughts at a few minutes' 
 interval, or any equally large dose of spirituous and fermented 
 liquor. Keep the patient walking about, and do not allow 
 him to lie down to sleep. Should the wound exhibit numerous 
 punctures in two parallel lines, it may be considered that the 
 snake was harmless; but when there are only two small punc- 
 tures, they have been inflicted most probably by a poisonous 
 one. 
 
 Note. — Poisonous snakes have conical, tubular fangs, but 
 only one row of teeth on each side of the upper jaw, whilst 
 the harmless tribe have two. Also, in the former, the scales 
 decrease in size as they approach the head, while the reverse 
 is the case in the latter. 
 
 Cure for the Sting of a Scorpion or the Bite 
 
 of a Centipede. 
 
 Apply a ligature above the part, if possible, making a 
 strong pressure over it with a watchkey, or cut down on the 
 spot and apply lime-juice and salt, or a warm poultice of 
 ipecacuanha-powder, or the root of a thistle ground and 
 rubbed into a paste and smeared over the wound, or lint 
 dipped in hartshorn or eau-de-luce. If the pain continues, 
 a glass of brandy taken occasionally will relieve it. A remedy 
 lately recommended is to drop a little pounded burnt alum 
 into the eye. 
 
 Mosquito-bites. 
 
 To allay the itching in the first instance, wet the part 
 either with eau-de-Cologne, sal volatile, lime-juice, salt and 
 water, or a solution of opium and water ; but if ulceration 
 has taken place, a poultice may be necessary, or keep the
 
 REMEDIES 339 
 
 sore bathed with Goulard's Extract, sufficiently diluted, in 
 the proportion of a teaspoonful to a pint of water. Olive-oil 
 is also a useful external application. 
 
 Burns and Scalds. 
 
 Bladders arising from burns and scalds must never be cut 
 or opened. In all accidents of this nature it is necessary to 
 employ an immediate remedy, such as immersing in cold 
 water, or surround the parts with fine cotton, and apply a 
 bandage over the whole. Spirits of turpentine is also a 
 useful remedy, the sore to be kept constantly wet by soak- 
 ing lint or rag in it and applying to the part ; this is an 
 effectual remedy. Or take equal parts of lime-water, linseed, 
 olive, or castor oil, and mix together ; smear this over the 
 burn or scald, applying the same frequently. 
 
 Guinea-worm. 
 
 While the tumour is in a hard state, apply a warm poultice 
 twice a day, made of the pounded leaves of the prickly pear, 
 until it breaks, and the head of the worm protrudes so far as 
 to be laid hold of with ease, either by a piece of cotton 
 rolled up like a quill, or by a thin bit of bamboo with a slit 
 in it, so as to hold the end fast ; this, as it advances, is to be 
 daily twisted gently round until the whole is extracted, 
 which will be greatly facilitated by pouring cold water above 
 the part, whilst the worm is being twisted. No force is to 
 be used when the worm can be drawn ; do not apply the 
 poultice again until the next attempt at removal is made. 
 
 Cholera Mixture with Opium. 
 
 Solution of ammonia ... 9! drachms" 
 
 Essence of peppermint ... 5 ,, 
 
 Tincture of opium ... 19 ,, 
 
 Brandy 19 ounces, and ... i6£ ,, 
 
 Mixed, 
 
 N.B. — Of this mixture, 1 ounce contains 20 minims of the 
 solution of ammonia, and 25 minims contain i£ minims of 
 the solution.
 
 340 REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 When you can, eat the fruit that is in season. Mangoes 
 are only procurable in India in May and June, but all the 
 year round on the east coast of Africa, and at Lakoja on the 
 Niger. Custard apples are ripe in September and October, 
 and are delicious. Some people swear by the alligator pear 
 {Laurus Persea), but I can't say that I like it. Apricots 
 are grand in some parts of India, but the best come from 
 Caubul. Some of the finest peaches I ever saw were 
 grown in Assam. The bhcre, or bear fruit, grows wild ; 
 when ripe it is not unpleasant. The bilimbi is an angled 
 fruit, of which there are two kinds, sweet and acid. The 
 blackberry is found in Mysore. The breadfruit grows to a 
 large size in Bombay, and is occasionally found in the 
 Deccan. Bullock's-heart, a species of custard apple, but 
 very inferior to that fruit, grows everywhere in India. 
 
 The Cape gooseberry (Phy salts Peruviana), better known 
 as the tipparic, grows luxuriantly in a good soil, is self- 
 planting, and soon spreads. I think it is the most delicious 
 of all the fruits, whether for the table or for preserving. 
 Vashen nut (Anacardium occidentale) grows almost in a wild 
 state. Figs also are delicious and plentiful. Grapes only 
 thrive in certain localities in India ; those from Aurungabad 
 equal the best hothouse grapes of Europe. There are two 
 kinds of guava, red and white, more fitted for preserves than 
 for the table. 
 
 The jamoon is a wild plum, with a rough, astringent flavour. 
 The leicltie, originally from China, grows in India, but does 
 not equal that from its original habitat. Lemons and limes 
 flourish everywhere, also sweet limes. Loquat thrives in the 
 Deccan, and mangosteens have been introduced, but I have 
 never seen the fruit in perfection. The dorian grows in 
 Burma ; it is much appreciated by the natives and by some 
 Europeans, but the smell is most disagreeable, and the taste 
 an acquired one. 
 
 There are many kinds of jack-fruit ; the best are not bad 
 eating if previously soaked in salt and water. Oranges grow 
 in the hilly districts, but the most delicious are those from 
 Burma and Assam. The papoia is also a favourite fruit of 
 mine ; I prefer it to the melon. The musk-melon and the
 
 FRUIT, ETC. 341 
 
 water-melon are grown in the sand}- beds of rivers, and are 
 sometimes very good. The citron and the pumple-nose also 
 thrive. Pineapples will do well if looked after ; the fruit 
 should be allowed to ripen on the plant. Pistachio nuts are 
 grown, but the best come from the Persian Gulf. Plantains 
 and bananas, of which there are many varieties, grow every- 
 where, but nowhere so well as in Burma, where there are some 
 thirty-seven varieties. Pomegranates, of which there are two 
 varieties, also abound. Soursop, a variety of the custard- 
 apple, tastes something like black currants, and is not a 
 favourite dish. Strawberries, apples, pears, etc., flourish on 
 the hills, but do not thrive on the plains. The tamarind 
 grows wild, but do not encamp under one, for the drippings 
 from the tree will rot your tent. It is most wholesome to 
 drink a decoction of tamarind daily ; it keeps off fever, and is 
 most refreshing. 
 
 Thirst-balls for Travellers. 
 
 Mix depurated nitre with an eighth part the quantity of 
 transparent or Oriental sulphur, and make it into balls, one 
 of which, being kept in the mouth when parched with thirst, 
 will afford great relief. 
 
 THE END. 
 
 BILLING AND SON Si PRINTERS, GUILDFORD.
 
 .
 
 October, 1896. 
 
 MR. EDWARD ARNOLD'S 
 
 London: 37 BEDFORD STREET. 
 New York : 70 FIFTH AVENUE. 
 
 THE ADVENTURES OF MY LIFE. 
 
 By HENRI ROCHEFORT. 
 
 The authorised English edition, revised and specially arranged by M. 
 
 Rochefort, and translated under his personal supervision by 
 
 E. W. Smith, editor of the Daily Messenger in Paris. 
 
 In two volumes, large crown Svo., 25s. 
 
 In this work M. Henri Rochefort tells the amazing story of his adventurous 
 life. Among the more important episodes are the author's personal narra- 
 tive of the French Commune, his subsequent transportation to the penal 
 settlement of New Caledonia, his marvellous escape, his numerous duels, his 
 residence in England, and his deeply interesting journalistic ventures. 
 
 The work is appearing in five volumes in French, but M. Rochefort has 
 decided to prepare a special and, in many respects, original version in 
 English for sale in this country ; he has reduced the bulk of the work to two 
 handy volumes, by omitting much that is of purely local interest, and select- 
 ing only such of his adventures as will appeal to English-speaking readers. 
 Apart from the value of the matter, the brilliance of M. Rochefort's style is 
 notorious, and his strong personality penetrates every page of the work. The 
 translation is being undertaken in Paris by Mr. E. W. Smith, editor of the 
 Daily Messenger, in daily communication with the author.
 
 Mr. Edward Arnold's List. 
 
 THROUGH UNKNOWN AFRICAN COUNTRIES. 
 
 The First Expedition from Somaliland to Lake 
 Rudolf and Lamu. 
 
 A Narrative of Scientific Exploration and Sporting Adventures. 
 
 By A. DONALDSON SMITH, M.D., F.R.G.S., 
 Hon. Member of the Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia. 
 
 With nearly 30 full-page Plates and a large number of smaller Illustrations, 
 
 drawn from the author's Photographs and Sketches by A. D. 
 
 McCormick, Charles Whymper, etc. 
 
 Large 8vo., One Guinea. 
 
 The body of the work is occupied by the narrative of the expedition, and 
 its valuable scientific results are given in a series of Appendices to be 
 contributed by such eminent specialists as Dr. Bowdler Sharpe, Dr. Giinther, 
 Dr. Gregory, Mr. Boulenger, Mr. Pocock, Dr. Holland, and others. 
 
 Dr. Donaldson Smith arrived at Berbera, on the coast of Somaliland, 
 about Midsummer, 1894. During a previous expedition undertaken for 
 sporting purposes in Somaliland, he had conceived the plan of penetrating 
 into the unknown interior of the Dark Continent and forcing his way to 
 Lake Rudolf. The present volume tells how he was enabled to achieve his 
 object after just a year's march, beset by constant dangers and difficulties 
 that would have proved fatal to a less hardy or persevering explorer. From 
 Lake Rudolf Dr. Donaldson Smith made his way to the east coast at Lamu, 
 by which time he had marched no less than four thousand miles. 
 
 Dr. Smith found it necessary to take with him the considerable force of 
 eighty armed men, for self-defence in case of attack by the savage tribes of 
 the interior, and on more than one occasion the force was called into action 
 in a most exciting manner. The party experienced all kinds of hardships 
 and perils, but nothing was allowed to interfere with the scientific objects of 
 the expedition, although sport, both for its own sake and for purposes of food 
 supply, filled an important place in the plans. 
 
 Valuable collections were made of plants, birds, insects, geological speci- 
 mens, and ethnographical curiosities, by which the great museums of America 
 and Europe have been sensibly enriched. Dr. Donaldson Smith discovered 
 a town in which there were stone houses and beautiful shrines, in regions 
 where only mud huts were supposed to exist. He came into prolonged 
 contact with the warlike Abyssinians, and was even the recipient of an 
 autograph letter from the Emperor Menelek. His journey took him through 
 some of the loveliest scenery in the world.
 
 Mr. Edward Arnold's List. 
 
 IN AND BEYOND THE HIMALAYAS. 
 
 A Record of Sport and Travel in the Abode of Snow. 
 
 By S. J. STONE, 
 Late Deputy Inspector-General of Police, Western Circle North- West Provinces of India. 
 
 With 16 full-page Illustrations by Charles Whymper. Demy 8vo., 16s. 
 
 The author of this work has spent many years in India, and gives the 
 record of several expeditions made for purposes of sport and exploration 
 combined. He travelled through a great deal of practically unknown 
 country in the Himalayas and borders of Tibet, and gives much valuable 
 information about the scenes and people met with in the course of the 
 journeys. The sporting incidents are exciting and graphically described, 
 including the successful chase of nearly all the varieties of big game to be 
 found in the regions traversed. 
 
 The book will be splendidly illustrated by Mr. Charles Whymper. 
 
 FIFTY YEARS' REMINISCENCES OF INDIA. 
 
 By LIEUT.-COLONEL W. POLLOK, 
 
 Late Madras Staff Corps, 
 Author of ■' Sport in B/irmah,' etc. 
 
 With 16 full-page Illustrations by A. C. CORBOULD. Demy 8vo., 16s. 
 
 Colonel Pollok's reminiscences go back as far as the old ' Company ' 
 days, when he first went out to India as a cadet. All through his long 
 career he has had a succession of exciting adventures by flood and field, and 
 has witnessed an immense variety of interesting and amusing episodes. He 
 is a good hand at telling a good story, and the book fairly bristles with 
 anecdotes. Considerable space is allotted to sporting recollections, and the 
 author has had such hair-breadth escapes and such excellent luck in his 
 pursuit of big game that he presents a record difficult to surpass. 
 
 THROUGH THE SUB-ARCTIC FOREST. 
 
 A Record of a Canoe Journey for 4,000 miles, from Fort Wrangel 
 to the Pelly Lakes, and down the Yukon to the Behring Sea. 
 
 By WARBURTON PIKE, 
 
 Author of ' The Jarre// ('.rounds of Canada.' 
 
 With Illustrations by Charles WHYMPER, from Photographs taken by the 
 Author, and a Map. Demy 8vo., 16s.
 
 Mr. Edward Arnold's List. 
 
 THROUGH THE SUB-ARCTIC FOREST— Continued. 
 
 Mr. Pike is well known as an explorer, and in the journey now described 
 he traversed some completely unknown country round the Pelly Lakes. P"or 
 many months he supported himself entirely by hunting and fishing, being 
 absolutely cut off from any chance of obtaining supplies. Such a journey 
 could not fail to be productive of many exciting episodes, and though the 
 author treats them lightly, the hardships he went through form a fine test of 
 the true explorer's spirit. 
 
 The Sportsman's Library. 
 
 Edited by Sir HERBERT MAXWELL, Bart., M.P. 
 
 This series will consist of a selection from the best works of past writers 
 on sport, carefully chosen either on account of their literary merit, of the 
 light thrown by them on the habits and resources of a bygone age, or of their 
 permanent value as contributions to knowledge of the various subjects 
 dealt with. 
 
 The volumes will be issued at the rate of two or three a year. They will 
 contain in every instance an introductory chapter by the Editor, and such 
 notes as may be necessary to explain or correct the author's statements. 
 
 Illustrations in the original works, when of sufficient merit or interest, will 
 be reproduced in facsimile, supplemented with new ones by the modern 
 artists best qualified to deal with the various subjects. Among the artists 
 whose co-operation has already been secured are Messrs. G. E. Lodge, 
 J. G. Millais, A. Thorburn, C. Whymper, G. H. Jalland, A. C. Corbould, 
 P. Chenevix Trench, etc. 
 
 The size of the volumes will be a handsome 8vo., and special care will be 
 bestowed upon every detail of paper, print, and binding. The following will 
 be published this season : 
 
 THE LIFE OF A FOX. 
 
 By THOMAS SMITH, 
 Master of the Hambledon and Pytchley Hounds. 
 
 With Illustrations by the Author and Six Coloured Plates by 
 
 G. H. Jalland. 
 
 Large 8vo., handsomely bound, 15s. 
 
 Also a limited Large-paper Edition, two guineas net. 
 
 This volume will contain both of Smith's published works — 'The Life of a 
 Fox' and 'The Diary of a Huntsman.' The author's reputation as a hunts- 
 man, as well as his gift of literary expression and his skill as a spirited 
 draughtsman, made these books exceedingly popular in their day, and they 
 have now become very rare.
 
 Mr. Edward Arnold's List. 
 
 The Sportsman's Library — Continued. 
 
 A SPORTING TOUR THROUGH THE NORTHERN 
 
 PARTS OF ENGLAND, AND GREAT PART OF 
 
 THE HIGHLANDS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 By Colonel T. THORNTON, of Thornville Royal, in Yorkshire. 
 
 With a selection from the original illustrations by Garrard, portraits of the 
 Author, and new plates by G. E. Lodge, F. C. Bennett, and others. 
 
 Large Svo., handsomely bound, 15s. 
 
 Also a limited Large-paper Edition, two guineas net. 
 
 This work, published in 1804, and reviewed the next year by Sir Walter 
 Scott in the Edinburgh Review, has never been reprinted. It is extremely 
 interesting, not only on account of the graphic descriptions of shooting, 
 hawking, and angling, but because of the author's shrewd observations on 
 the state of society and manners, and his sympathetic description of scenery. 
 
 THE SPORTSMAN IN IRELAND. 
 
 By COSMOPOLITE. 
 With numerous illustrations and coloured plates by P. Chenevix Trench. 
 
 NEW AND CHEAPER EDITION. 
 
 A LITTLE TOUR IN IRELAND. 
 
 By 'OXONIAN' 
 (The Very Rev. S. Reynolds Hole). 
 
 With nearly forty Illustrations by John Leech. 
 
 Large crown Svo., 6s. 
 
 This famous book being now entirely out of print, a new edition, containing 
 all the original plates, has been prepared, and will be issued at a popular 
 price, in order that it may take its share in the good work of promoting a 
 better acquaintance with the charms of the Emerald Isle. John Leech and 
 his friend 'Oxonian' could not, it is true, foresee the birth of the Irish 
 Tourist Association : but the inimitable pencil of the artist and the genial 
 pen of the Dean of Rochester have helped in no small degree to familiarize 
 the English public with the numberless attractions of Ireland and its 
 laughter-loving people.
 
 Mr. Edward Arnold's List. 
 
 THE CHANCES OF DEATH; 
 
 AND OTHER STUDIES IN EVOLUTION. 
 
 By KARL PEARSON, F.R.S., 
 Author of ' The Ethic of Free Thought] etc. 
 
 With Illustrations and Diagrams. Demy 8vo., 16s. 
 
 This is the first substantial work published by Professor Pearson since his 
 well-known ' Ethic of Free Thought ' appeared some years ago. The volume 
 contains several scientific essays dealing with Chance in various aspects, 
 from the Chances of Death to so-called Games of Chance, and points out 
 how far mathematical theory corresponds with actual results. Another 
 series of papers discusses problems of deep interest in connection with 
 Woman and Labour, while a third section deals with important problems of 
 modern political progress. 
 
 HABIT AND INSTINCT. 
 
 A Study in Heredity. 
 
 By C. LLOYD MORGAN, 
 
 Author of ' Animal Life and Intelligence,' ' The Springs of Conduct,' etc. 
 
 Demy 8vo., 16s. 
 
 In the winter of 1895-96 Professor Lloyd Morgan delivered the series of 
 ' Lowell Lectures' which form the basis of this work. The subject is one 
 which has been the author's special studv for many years, and in the present 
 volume he has given the mature result of his researches. 
 
 Summary of Contents. 
 
 I. Preliminary Definitions and Illustrations — II. -IV. Observations on Young Birds. 
 — V. Observations on Young Mammals. — VI. On the Relation of Consciousness to 
 Instinct and to Habit. — VII. On the Relation of Intelligence to the Acquisition of 
 Habits. — VIII. On Imitation. — IX. On the Emotions in their Relation to Instinct. — 
 X. On some Habits and Instincts of the Pairing Season. — XI. On the Instincts of 
 Nest-building, Incubation, and Migration. — -XII. On the Relation of Organic to 
 Mental Evolution. — XIII. Are Acquired Habits inherited 1 — XIV. On Modification 
 and Variation. — XV. Habit and Instinct in Man. 
 
 THE RELIGIONS OF INDIA. 
 
 By EDWARD WASHBURN HOPKINS, Ph.D. (Leipzig), 
 Professor of Sanskrit and Comparative Philology in Bryn Mawr College, U.S.A. 
 
 Over 600 pages, demy 8vo., 8s. 6d. net. 
 
 This is the first volume of an important series entitled ' Handbooks on the 
 History of Religions.' Among the other volumes now in course of prepara- 
 tion are those dealing with the religions of (ii.) Babylonia and Persia, (iii.) 
 the Ancient Teutons, (iv.) Persia, (vi.) Egypt, (vii.) Israel.
 
 Mr. Edward Arnold's List. 
 
 THE PLANT-LORE AND GARDEN-CRAFT OF 
 
 SHAKESPEARE. 
 
 By HENRY N. ELLACOMBE, M.A., Vicar of Bitton, 
 
 Author of ' In a Gloucestershire Garden,' etc. 
 
 Fully illustrated by Major E. Bengough Ricketts. 
 
 Large crown 8vo., handsomely bound, ios. 6d. 
 
 This is a new edition of a book originally issued for private circulation, 
 which has now been long out of print. It was spoken of by the Spectator as 
 'a work which is entitled from its worth to a place in every Shakespearian 
 library,' and efforts have been made in the present edition to give the text 
 an adequate adornment. 
 
 The volume is a complete and standard work of reference on the plants 
 mentioned by Shakespeare. Canon Ellacombe takes each plant separately, 
 and gives interesting particulars of its life-history and its place in legend and 
 poetry. The illustrations by Major Ricketts are very beautiful and charac- 
 teristic of the work. The artist has made a special visit to Stratford-on-Avon 
 to sketch the scenes of Shakespeare's Garden-Lore, and has also depicted 
 many of the plants named with great skill. 
 
 A BOOK ABOUT ROSES. 
 
 By the Very Rev. S. REYNOLDS HOLE, Dean of Rochester, 
 Author of ' A Book about the Garden,' ' A Little Tour in Ireland,' etc. 
 
 Illustrated by H. G. MOON and G. Elgood. 
 
 The Presentation Edition, with coloured plates, etc., handsomely bound, 
 ios. 6d. ; Popular Edition, with frontispiece, 3s. 6d. 
 
 The call for a fifteenth edition of this popular work has enabled Dean 
 Hole to thoroughly revise and largely to rewrite the book, bringing the infor- 
 mation in it well up to date. Advantage has also been taken of the oppor- 
 tunity to respond to the frequently-expressed wishes of many admirers of the 
 book for a more handsome and illustrated edition ; it has, therefore, been 
 reprinted, and beautifully Coloured Plates have been drawn by Mr. H. G. 
 Moon, while Mr. G. Elgood contributes charming black-and-white pictures. 
 There is also a facsimile of a sketch by John Leech given to Dean Hole, and 
 never before published. 
 
 The book will be issued in two forms : (1) with the coloured plates, etc., 
 at half a guinea ; and (2) with frontispiece, at 3s. 6d.
 
 8 Mr. Edward Arnold's List. 
 
 OLD ENGLISH GLASSES. 
 
 An Account of Glass Drinking-Vessels in England from Early Times 
 
 to the end of the Eighteenth Century. With Introductory Notices of 
 
 Continental Glasses during the same period, Original Documents, etc. 
 
 By ALBERT HARTSHORNE, 
 
 Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries. 
 
 Illustrated by upwards of 50 full-page Tinted Plates in the best style of 
 
 Lithography, and several hundred outline Illustrations in the text. Super 
 
 royal 4to., price Three Guineas net. 
 
 The plates and outline illustrations are prepared for reproduction by Mr. 
 W. S. Weatherly and Mr. R. Paul respectively, from full-size or scale 
 drawings by the author of the actual drinking-vessels in nearly every 
 instance. The text will be printed in the finest style, and the lithographic 
 work executed by Messrs. W. Griggs and Son. The volume is now in the 
 press, and will, it is hoped, be ready for delivery before the end of the year. 
 The First Edition will be limited to One Thousand Copies at Three Guineas 
 net. 
 
 Note. — A full prospectus, giving a complete account of the principal contents of this 
 elaborate caul magnificent work, which treats of a subject never before comprehensively 
 undertaken for England, can be had post free on application. 
 
 A TREASURY OF MINOR BRITISH POETRY. 
 
 Selected and arranged, with Notes, by J. CHURTON COLLINS. 
 
 Crown 8vo.. 7s. 6d. 
 
 In compiling this volume Mr. Churton Collins has been influenced by a 
 desire to form a collection of poetry containing many charming pieces hitherto 
 ignored in similar works. It is believed that compilers of anthologies have 
 confined themselves too much to a few standard authors, and that there are 
 a number of less-known writers who have composed one or two poems quite 
 as fine as anything by the great masters. The present selection will reveal a 
 mine of hitherto unsuspected treasures to many lovers of English Poetry. 
 
 EARLY ENGLISH FURNITURE. 
 
 An Account of the Famous English Cabinet-makers, 
 
 With numerous fine Illustrations of their Work. 
 
 By Mrs. Warren Clouston. 
 
 1 vol., crown 4to.
 
 Mr. Edward Arnold's List. 
 
 THE CRUISE OF THE 'ANTARCTIC 
 
 TO THE SOUTH POLAR REGIONS. 
 
 By H. J. BULL, 
 A Member of the Expedition. 
 
 With frontispiece by W. L. Wyllie, A.R.A., and numerous full-page illustra- 
 tions by W. G. Burn-Murdoch. 
 
 Demy 8vo., 15s. 
 
 'The book is one of adventure in another besides the commercial sense, and as a 
 record of Antarctic exploration one of the most attractive in print." — Daily News. 
 
 ' In reading his narrative we feel none of the ennui and worry of the voyage. The 
 author's fun lightens up in a most welcome way a tale which has in it much that is 
 intrinsically interesting. ' — Scotsman. 
 
 PERSIA REVISITED. 
 
 With Remarks on H.I.M. Mozuffer-ed-Din Shah, and the Present 
 
 Situation in Persia (1896). 
 
 By General Sir T. E. GORDON, K.C.I.E., C.B., C.S I., 
 Formerly Military Attache and Oriental Secretary to the British Legation 
 
 at Teheran, 
 
 Author of ' The Roof of the World,' etc. 
 
 Demy 8vo., with full-page illustrations, 10s. 6d. 
 
 ' A book replete with first-hand knowledge, and one that must for the present be 
 regarded as indispensable to an adequate acquaintance with the condition and 
 prospects of Persia.' — Aberdeen Free Press. 
 
 THE EARLY CHARTERED COMPANIES, 
 
 A.D. I296-185S. 
 
 By GEORGE CAWSTON, Barrister-at-Law, 
 
 AND 
 
 A. 11. KEANE, F.R.G.S. 
 
 Large crown 8vo., with frontispiece, 10s. 6d. 
 
 ' Mr. Cawston claims to have lighted on an almost unexplored field of research, and 
 it must be conceded that his volume furnishes a great deal of interesting information 
 which without its aid must for the most part have been sought for in sources not 
 accessible to ordinary readers.' — Daily News.
 
 io Mr. Edward Arnold's List. 
 
 THE EXPLORATION OF THE CAUCASUS. 
 
 By DOUGLAS W. FRESHFIELD, 
 Lately President of the Alpine Club, and Honorary Secretary of the Royal 
 
 Geographical Society. 
 
 With Contributions by H. W. Holder, J. G. Cockin, H. Woolley, M. De 
 Dechy, and Prof. BONNEY, D.Sc, F.R.S. 
 
 Illustrated by 3 Panoramas, 74 Full-page Photogravures, about 140 Illustra- 
 tions in the text, chiefly from Photographs by Vittorio Sella, and 4 
 Original Maps, including the first authentic map of the Caucasus specially 
 prepared from unpublished sources by Mr. Freshfield. 
 
 In two volumes, large 4to., 600 pages, Three Guineas net. 
 
 1 We can only say, in a word, that a more interesting, more vivid, more conscientious, 
 more exhaustive, and in parts more thrilling, account of a region as yet comparatively un- 
 known has never come before us. No record of exploration has ever been published in 
 this country in so splendid a material form, and, beyond contradiction, no pictures of 
 mountains to illustrate the exploits of climbers have approached the very numerous photo- 
 graphs of Signor Sella.' — Daily Chronicle. 
 
 ' Mr. Freshfield's work on the Caucasus is not merely the most important mountaineering 
 book of the year, but probably the most important that has been published since the time 
 of Tyndall and Ball. Every part of Mr. Freshfield's book is solid, and will remain perma- 
 nently valuable. It brings within two volumes the record of everything that has been done 
 and the substance of everything that has been learnt during the first twenty-eight years of 
 Caucasian exploration by expert climbers.' — Manchester Guardian. 
 
 ' Two superb volumes. No book of travel or exploration within our remembrance has 
 disclosed such a wealth of illustration as the one now before us, in which are depicted 
 every Caucasian range and mountain of any moment with perfect clearness and sharpness. 
 There is not one blurred photograph or drawing in the whole collection. Nothing has 
 been omitted that could impart completeness to this magnificent work.' — Daily Telegraph. 
 'What singles these magnificent volumes out on a very brief inspection from all climbing 
 literature is that for once the illustrations are worthy of the text. If the publishers had 
 done nothing beyond giving us these magnificent reproductions from the cameras which 
 Signor Sella and others have carried upwards of 16,000 feet above the sea, they would still 
 be entitled to our praise and gratitude. Mr. Freshfield has given us truly one of the most 
 delightful and inspiring works upon the "everlasting hills" which any library can hold, 
 and it is produced and illustrated with a sumptuousness which it is a pleasure to find so 
 well bestowed.' — Birmingham Post. 
 
 'The two volumes are "great," not only from the prosaic standpoint of measurement 
 and avoirdupois, but pre-eminently so in the more meritorious sense of representing infinite 
 labour in the amassing of materials at first hand, and high literary and artistic skill in 
 blending letterpress and photography in a way calculated to extort the admiration even of 
 the most stoical reader.'— Liverpool Post. 
 
 ' A princely example of British scholarship.' — Glasgow Herald. 
 
 ' Enough, perhaps, has been said in recommendation of these volumes, which are instruc- 
 tive without being didactic, full of novel information without any suggestion of guide-book 
 literature, which contain most graphic descriptions of the scenery, without ever descending 
 to word-painting, and which contrive to impart freshness even to the well-worn theme of 
 mountain and glacier expeditions. It would be difficult to praise too highly the map. 
 Only a few in this country will be able to appreciate the geographical knowledge and the 
 infinite labour that the construction of this map must have cost. For the first time the 
 topography of this great mountain-chain from Elbruz to Kasbek is laid down in its entirety 
 with accuracy, and the extent of the glacial system is clearly demonstrated on a scale of 
 about 2.\ miles to one inch.' — Mr. Clinton Dent, in The Daily News.
 
 Mr. Edward Arnold's List. n 
 
 FOURTH EDITION. 
 
 FIRE AND SWORD IN THE SUDAN. 
 
 A Personal Narrative of Fighting and Serving the Dervishes, 
 
 1879-1895. 
 
 By SLATIN PASHA, Colonel in the Egyptian Army, formerly Governor 
 and Commandant of the Troops in Darfur. 
 
 Translated and Edited by Major F. R. WlNGATE, R.A., D.S.O., 
 
 Author of ' Mahdiism and the Egyptian Soudan,' etc. 
 
 Fully Illustrated by R. Talbot Kellv. 
 
 Royal 8vo., One Guinea net. 
 
 ' Whether Slatin's work is more important and attractive as a powerful exhortation 
 on a subject of the greatest political importance and of special national significance 
 from the noble English blood spilt in the Sudan, or as a chapter of human experience 
 wherein truth far surpassed fiction in hair-breadth escapes and deeds of daring beyond 
 what seemed possible, it would be difficult to decide ; but the whole result is one that 
 places this volume on a shelf of its own, not merely as the book of the day, but as the 
 authority for all time on the great Mahommedan upheaval in the Sudan, which was 
 accompanied by an amount of human slaughter and suffering that defies calculation.' 
 — Times. 
 
 ' It would be hard to name a fictitious narrative of more thrilling interest than this 
 true story of Colonel Slatin Pasha's captivity in the Sudan and escape from the terrors 
 which have marked the rule of the atrocious Khalifa Abdullahi.' — Standard. 
 
 ' Here is a work on matters of contemporary fact, which for romance, colour, adven- 
 ture, and complexity and intensity of human feeling, outdoes many a novel by the 
 masters of the art of fiction.' — St. James s Gazette. 
 
 ' Absolutely unique. Were we to try to extract, or even notice, all the striking 
 things in this book, we should fill our paper. ' — Spectator. 
 
 ' Told with a vividness and vigour that will carry you away.' — Truth. 
 
 'The story told in this work is one of enthralling interest. In the whole modern 
 literature of travel and adventure we cannot call to mind a work so absorbing as this.' 
 — Manchester Guardian. 
 
 'An exceedingly fascinating and engaging book, which is not surpassed in interest 
 by any other of the kind that has been published for many years. It is written with 
 rare ability and force. The narrative throughout is vivid, graphic, and picturesque, 
 abounding in dramatic incident and striking character.' — Leeds Mercury. 
 
 ' One of the most interesting books of the year, or, indeed, of the past decade.' — 
 Daily Telegraph. 
 
 ' The story of the experiences of Slatin Pasha as a ruler, a soldier, and a captive in 
 the Sudan is one of the most striking romances of modern times. The return of this 
 distinguished officer, after a disappearance of eleven years and more, from what 
 Father Ohrwalder with bitter recollections calls a " living grave," and the perilous 
 incidents of his escape and flight, form in themselves an extraordinary tale. But the 
 interest of the book is much increased by the importance which, in the minds of 
 English people, attaches to the melancholy events in which he bore a part, and by the 
 narrative in which this witness risen from the dead reopens the story of the great 
 tragedy of Khartoum.' — Speaker.
 
 12 
 
 Mr. Edward Arnold's List. 
 
 WAGNER'S HEROINES. 
 BRUNNHILDA— SENTA-ISOLDA. 
 
 By CONSTANCE MAUD, 
 Author of ' Wagner's Heroes.' 
 
 Illustrated by J. W. Maud. Crown 8vo., 5s. 
 SECOND EDITION. 
 
 WAGNER'S HEROES. 
 
 PARSIFAL-TANNHAUSER— LOHENGRIN-HANS SACHS. 
 
 By CONSTANCE MAUD. 
 Illustrated by Granville Fell. Crown Svo., 5s. 
 
 ' Miss Maud has done for the Shakespeare of music what Charles Lamb once did 
 for the real Shakespeare.' — Daily Telegraph. 
 
 ' Constance Maud has elected to convey into simple language the histories of 
 "Wagner's Heroes," and has succeeded admirably.' — Black and White. 
 
 NEW AND POPULAR EDITION. 
 
 SEVENTY YEARS OF IRISH LIFE. 
 
 By the late W. R. LE FANU. Crown Svo., 6s. 
 
 ' It will delight all readers — English and Scotch no less than Irish, Nationalists no 
 less than Unionists, Roman Catholics no less than Orangemen.' — Times. 
 
 FIFTY LUNCHES. 
 
 By COLONEL KENNEY HERBERT, 
 
 Author of 'Common-Sense Cookery,' etc. 
 
 Crown Svo., cloth, 2s. 6d. 
 
 FANCY DRESSES DESCRIBED. 
 
 By ARDERN HOLT. 
 
 An Alphabetical Dictionary of Fancy Costumes. 
 
 With full accounts of the Dresses. About 60 Illustrations by Lillian 
 Young. Many of them coloured. One vol., demy Svo. 
 
 A TEXT-ROOK OF NURSING FOR HOME AND 
 
 HOSPITAL USE. 
 
 By C. WEEKS SHAW. 
 
 Revised and largely re-written by W. Radford, House Surgeon at the 
 
 Poplar Hospital, under the supervision of Sir Dyce Duckworth, 
 
 M.D., F.R.C.P. Fully illustrated, crown Svo.
 
 Mr. Edward Arnold's List. 13 
 
 NEW FICTION. 
 
 A RELUCTANT EVANGELIST, 
 
 AND OTHER STORIES. 
 
 By ALICE SPINNER, 
 Author of ' Lucilla,' 'A Study in Colour,' etc. 
 
 Crown 8vo., 6s. 
 
 INTERLUDES. 
 
 By MAUD OXENDEN. 
 Crown 8vo., 6s. 
 
 THE BAYONET THAT CAME HOME. 
 
 By N. WYNNE WILLIAMS, 
 Author of ' Tales of Modern Greece' 
 
 Crown Svo., 3s. 6d. 
 New Work by the Author of ' Into the Highways and Hedges.' 
 
 WORTH WHILE. 
 
 By F. F. MONTRESOR, 
 
 Author of ' Into the Highways and Hedges,' ' The One who looked on,' etc. 
 
 One vol., crown 8vo., cloth, 2s. 6d. 
 
 'Two most pathetic and beautiful stories make up this little volume. The writer is 
 to be congratulated on the delicate beauty of her stories.' — Liverpool Mercury, 
 
 Both the stories in this volume are of very superior quality. The characters are 
 distinctly original, and the workmanship is admirable.' — Glasgo~a< Herald.
 
 14 Mr. Edward Arnold's List. 
 
 RECENT WORKS OF FICTION. 
 
 (See a Iso p. 23.) 
 
 A New Story by the Author of ' The Red Badge of Courage.' 
 
 GEORGE'S MOTHER. 
 
 By STEPHEN CRANE. 
 
 Author of ' The Red Badge of Courage,' etc. 
 
 Cloth, 2s. 
 
 ' In his latest work Stephen Crane scores heavily. It is a swatch torn from the 
 great web of city life, a picture in which every touch reveals the true literary workman. 
 Its pathos grips the heart close ; its characters are to the life, and here and there are 
 caught gleams of humour that complete the symmetry of the pages. The already 
 enviable reputation of the author of "The Red Badge of Courage" will be heightened 
 by this small volume.' — Aberdeen Free Press. 
 
 HADJIRA. 
 
 A Turkish Love Story. 
 
 By 'ADALET.' 
 
 One vol., crown 8vo., cloth, 6s. 
 
 'Certainly one of the most interesting and valuable works of fiction issued from the 
 press for a long time past. Even if we were to regard the book as an ordinary novel, 
 we could commend it heartily ; but its great value lies in the fact that it reveals to us 
 a hidden world, and does so with manifest fidelity. But the reader must learn for 
 himself the lesson which this remarkable and fascinating book teaches.' — Speaker. 
 
 ' One of the best stories of the season.' — Daily Chronicle. 
 
 By the Author of ' The Apotheosis of Mr. Tyrawley.' 
 
 A MASK AND A MARTYR. 
 
 By E. LIVINGSTON PRESCOTT, 
 One vol., crown 8vo., cloth, 6s. 
 
 'A story which, once read, will never be forgotten.' — Manchester Guardian. 
 
 'This is an undeniably clever book. A picture of self-sacrifice so complete and so 
 enduring is a rare picture in fiction, and has rarely been more ably or more finely 
 drawn. This singular and pathetic story is told all through with remarkable restraint, 
 and shows a strength and skill of execution which place its author high among the 
 novel-writers of the day.' — Westminster Gazette. 
 
 THE BONDWOMAN. 
 
 A Story of the Northmen in Lakeland. 
 By W. G. COLLINGWOOD, 
 
 Author of ' Thor stein of the Merc,' ' The Life and Work of John Ruskin,' etc. 
 
 Cloth, i6mo., 3s. 6d. 
 
 ' As for the thrilling details of the plot, and the other sterling charms of the little 
 work, we must refer our readers to its pages, especially those of them who may be 
 touring, or contemplating a tour, in Westmorland and Cumberland.' — Leeds Mercury.
 
 Mr. Edward Arnold's List. 15 
 
 NEW BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE. 
 
 (See also p. 26.) 
 
 HOW DICK AND MOLLY SAW ENGLAND. 
 
 By M. H. CORNWALL LEGH, 
 
 Author of ' Hon: Dick and Molly went Round the World.' 
 
 With numerous full-page Illustrations. 
 Crown 4to., 5s. 
 
 TWO NEW BOOKS BY KIRK 31 UN ROE. 
 
 SNOW-SHOES AND SLEDGES. 
 
 A Sequel to 'The Fur Seal's Tooth.' 
 
 By KIRK MUNROE. 
 
 Finely Illustrated, 5s. 
 
 RICK DALE. 
 
 By KIRK MUNROE. 
 Finely Illustrated, 5s. 
 
 TWO NEW VOLUMES OF THE CHILDREN'S HOUR 
 
 SERIES. 
 
 THE PALACE ON THE MOOR. 
 
 By E. DAVENPORT ADAMS. 
 With full-page Illustrations, 25. 5d. 
 
 TOBY'S PROMISE. 
 
 By A . M . HOPKINSON, 
 With full-page Illustrations, 2s. 6d. 
 
 Other Volumes in the Children s Hour Series. 
 
 MASTER MAGNUS. 
 
 By Mrs. E. M. FIELD. 
 With full-page Illustrations, 2s. 6d. 
 
 MY DOG PLATO. 
 
 By M. H. CORNWALL LEGH. 
 With full-page Illustrations, 2s. 6d.
 
 1 6 Mr. Edward Arnold's List. 
 
 TWO NE IV VOL UMES OF THE CHILDREN'S FA VO URITE 
 
 SERLES. 
 
 Each fully Illustrated, price 2S. ; gilt edges, 2S. 6d. 
 
 MY BOOK OF HEROISM. 
 MY BOOK OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 NEW AND CHEAPER EDITIONS. 
 
 GREAT PUBLIC SCHOOLS. 
 
 Eton. Harrow. Winchester. 
 
 Rugby. Westminster. Marlborough. 
 
 Cheltenham. Haileybury. Clifton. 
 
 Charterhouse. 
 
 With nearly One Hundred fine Illustrations by the best artists. 
 
 Large imperial i6mo., cloth gilt, 3s. 6d. 
 
 ' As to the suitability of the book for prize or present there can be no two opinions. 
 We cordially recommend it to the notice of headmasters.'— Educational Review. 
 
 TALES FROM HANS ANDERSEN. 
 
 With over Thirty original Illustrations by E. A. Lemann. 
 A beautiful volume, 4to., 3s. 6d. 
 
 ' Miss Lemann has entered into the spirit of these most delightful of fairy tales, and 
 makes the book specially attractive by its dainty and descriptive illustrations.' — 
 Saturday Review. 
 
 ' A very enchanting gift book for young people, Hans Andersen's delightful and 
 ever-new stories being illustrated with rare grace and charm.' — Lady's Pictorial. 
 
 THE SNOW QUEEN, 
 
 And Other Tales from Hans Andersen. 
 
 With over Thirty original Illustrations by E. A. LEMANN. 
 
 Uniform with the above volume, 3s. 6d. 
 
 ' The success which attended the publication, last year, of the first series of Hans 
 Andersen's Fairy Tales, has led to an issue of a fresh series, illustrated by the same 
 artist. So we have again a most exquisite book.' — Spectator. 
 
 THE BATTLES OF FREDERICK THE GREAT. 
 
 Extracted from Carlyle's History of Frederick the Great, and Edited by 
 
 CYRIL RANSOME, M.A., 
 
 Professor of History at the Yorkshire College, Leeds. 
 
 With numerous Illustrations by ADOLPH MENZEL. 
 
 Square 8vo., 3s. 6d. 
 
 ' Carlyle's battle-pieces are models of care and of picturesque writing, and it was a 
 happy thought to disinter them from the bulk of the " History of Frederick." The 
 illustrations are very spirited.' — Journal of Education.
 
 Mr. Edward Arnold's List. 17 
 
 TRAVEL, SPORT, AND EXPLORATION. 
 Balfour— TWELVE HUNDRED MILES IN A WAGGON. A Nar- 
 
 rative of a Journey in Cape Colony, the Transvaal, and the Chartered Company's 
 Territories. By Alice Blanche Balfour. With nearly forty original Illustrations 
 from Sketches by the Author, and a Map. Second edition. Deiny 8vo. , cloth, 16s. 
 
 ' A charming record of a most interesting journey.' — Spectator. 
 
 Beynon— WITH KELLY TO CHITRAL. By Lieutenant W. G. L. 
 
 BEYNON, D.S.O., 3rd Goorkha Rifles, Staff Officer to Colonel Kelly with the Relief 
 Force. With Maps, Plans, and Illustrations. Second edition. Demy 8vo., 7s. 6d. 
 
 Bull— THE CRUISE OF THE ANTARCTIC. {Seepage 9.) 
 Colvile— THE LAND OF THE NILE SPRINGS. By Colonel Sir 
 
 Henry Colvile, K.C.M.G.,C.B., recently British Commissioner in Uganda. With 
 Photogravure Frontispiece, 16 full-page Illustrations and 2 Maps. Demy 8vo. , 16s. 
 
 ' One of the most faithful and entertaining books of adventure that has appeared since 
 Burton's days.' — National Observer. 
 
 Custance-RIDING RECOLLECTIONS AND TURF STORIES. By 
 
 Henry Custance, three times winner of the Derby. One vol., crown 8vo., 
 cloth, 2s. 6d. 
 
 Freshfield— EXPLORATION OF THE CAUCASUS. {Seepage 10.) 
 
 Gordon— PERSIA REVISITED. {Seepage 9.) 
 
 Hole— A LITTLE TOUR IN AMERICA. By the Very Rev. S. 
 
 Reynolds Hole, Dean of Rochester, Author of 'The Memories of Dean Hole,' 
 'A Book about Roses,' etc. With numerous Illustrations. Demy 8vo., 16s. 
 
 Hole— A LITTLE TOUR IN IRELAND. {Seepage 5.) 
 
 Maxwell— THE SPORTSMAN'S LIBRARY. {Seepage 4.) 
 
 Pike-THROUGH THE SUB-ARCTIC FOREST. {See page z.) 
 
 Pollok — FIFTY YEARS' REMINISCENCES OF INDIA. {See 
 page 3.) 
 
 Portal— THE BRITISH MISSION TO UGANDA. By the late 
 
 Sir Gerald Portal, K..C.M.G. Edited by Rennell Rodd, C.M.G. With an 
 Introduction by the Right Honourable Lord Cromer, G.C.M.G. Illustrated from 
 photos taken during the Expedition by Colonel Rhodes. Demy 8vo. , 21s. 
 
 Portal— MY MISSION TO ABYSSINIA. By the late Sir Gerald 
 
 H. Portal, C. B. With Map and Illustrations. Demy 8vo., 15s. 
 
 Slatin— FIRE AND SWORD IN THE SUDAN. {Seepage n.) 
 
 Smith THROUGH UNKNOWN AFRICAN COUNTRIES. {See 
 page 2.) 
 
 Stone IN AND BEYOND THE HIMALAYAS. {Seepage 3.)
 
 iS Mr. Edward Arnold's List. 
 
 AMERICAN SPORT AND TRAVEL. 
 
 These books, selected from the Catalogue of Messrs. Rand McNally & Co., the well- 
 known publishers of Chicago, have been placed in Mr. Edward Arnold's hands undet 
 the impression that many British Travellers and Sportsmen may find them useful before 
 starting on expeditions in the United States. 
 
 Aldrich— ARCTIC ALASKA AND SIBERIA; or, Eight Months 
 
 with the Arctic Whalemen. By Herbert L. Aldrich. Crown 8vo. , cloth, 4s. 6d. 
 
 AMERICAN GAME FISHES. Their Habits, Habitat, and Pecu- 
 
 liarities ; How, When, and Where to Angle for them. By various Writers. Cloth, 
 10s. 6d. 
 
 Hig-g-ins— NEW GUIDE TO THE PACIFIC COAST. Santa Fe 
 
 Route. By C. A. Higgins. Crown 8vo., cloth, 4s. 6d. 
 
 Leffing-well— THE ART OF WING -SHOOTING. A Practical 
 
 Treatise on the Use of the Shot-gun. By W. B. Leffingweli.. With numerous 
 Illustrations. Crown 8vo., cloth, 4s. 6d. 
 
 Shields— CAMPING AND CAMP OUTFITS. By G. O. Shields 
 
 ('Coquina'). Containing also Chapters on Camp Medicine, Cookery, and How to 
 Load a Packhorse. Crown 8vo., cloth, 5s. 
 
 Shields— THE AMERICAN BOOK OF THE DOG. By various 
 
 Writers. Edited by G. O. Shields ('Coquina'). Cloth, 15s. 
 
 Thomas— SWEDEN AND THE SWEDES. By William Widgery 
 
 Thomas, Jun., United States Minister to Sweden and Norway. With numerous 
 Illustrations. Cloth, 16s. 
 
 HISTORY AND BIOGRAPHY. 
 
 Benson and Tatham— MEN OF MIGHT. Studies of Great Char- 
 acters. By A. C. Benson, M.A., and H. F. W. Tatham, M.A., Assistant Masters 
 at Eton College. Second Edition. Crown 8vo., cloth, 3s. 6d. 
 
 Boyle— THE RECOLLECTIONS OF THE DEAN OF SALISBURY. 
 
 By the Very Rev. G. D. Boyle, Dean of Salisbury. With Photogravure Portrait. 
 1 vol., demy 8vo. , cloth, 16s. 
 
 Cawston and Keane— THE EARLY CHARTERED COMPANIES. 
 
 [See page 9.) 
 Fowler— ECHOES OF OLD COUNTY LIFE. Recollections of Sport, 
 
 Society, Politics, and Farming in the Good Old Times. By J. K. Fowler, of Ayles- 
 bury. Second Edition, with numerous Illustrations, 8vo. , 10s. 6d. Also a large-paper 
 edition, of 200 copies only, 21s. net. 
 
 'A very entertaining volume of reminiscences, full of good stories.' — Truth.
 
 Mr. Edward Arnold's List. ig 
 
 Hare— MARIA EDGEWORTH : her Life and Letters. Edited by 
 
 Augustus J. C. Hare, Author of ' The Story of Two Noble Lives,' etc. Two vols., 
 crown 8vo., with Portraits, 16s. net. 
 
 ' Mr. Hare has written more than one good book in his time, but he has never produced anything 
 nearly so entertaining and valuable as his latest contribution to biography and literature.'— Saturday 
 Review. 
 
 Hole— THE MEMORIES OF DEAN HOLE. By the Very Rev. 
 
 S. Reynolds Hole, Dean of Rochester. With the original Illustrations from 
 sketches by Leech and Thackeray. New Edition, twelfth thousand, one vol., 
 crown 8vo., 6s. 
 
 'One of the most delightful collections of reminiscences that this generation has seen.' — Daily 
 Chronicle. 
 
 Hole— MORE MEMORIES : Being Thoughts about England Spoken 
 
 in America. By the Very Rev. S. Reynolds Hole, Dean of Rochester. "With 
 Frontispiece. Demy 8vo., 16s. 
 
 ' Full alike of contagious fun and mature wisdom.' — Daily Chronicle. 
 
 Hopkins— THE RELIGIONS OF INDIA. {Seepage 6.) 
 
 Kay— OMARAH'S HISTORY OF YAMAN. The Arabic Text, 
 
 edited, with a translation, by Henry Cassels Kay, Member of the Royal Asiatic 
 Society. Demy 8vo., cloth, 17s. 6d. net. 
 
 Knight-Bruce— MEMORIES OF MASHONALAND By the Right 
 
 Rev. Bishop Knight Bruce, formerly Bishop of Mashonaland. Svo., 10s. 6d. 
 
 'To review this book fully is impossible, as there is not a single page devoid of interest, and all 
 those who take an interest in South African affairs should not fail to read it. The concluding chapter 
 of the Matabele War is quite as good as the previous or.es.'— Pall Mall Gazette. 
 
 Leeky— THE POLITICAL VALUE OF HISTORY. By W. E. 
 
 H. Lecky, D.C.L., LL.D. An Address delivered at the Midland Institute, reprinted 
 with additions. Crown 8vo., cloth, 2s. 6d. 
 
 Le Fanu— SEVENTY YEARS OF IRISH LIFE. {Seepage 12.) 
 Macdonald— THE MEMOIRS OF THE LATE SIR JOHN A. 
 
 MACDONALD, G.C.B., First Prime Minister of Canada. Edited by Joseph Popk, 
 his Private Secretary. With Portraits. Two vols., demy 8vo., 32s. 
 
 Milner— ENGLAND IN EGYPT. By Sir Alfred Milner, K.C.B. 
 
 Popular Edition, with Map, and full details of the British position and responsibilities, 
 7s. 6d. 
 
 Milner— ARNOLD TOYNBEE. A Reminiscence. By Sir Alfred 
 
 Milner, K.C.B., Author of ' England in Egypt.' Crown 8vo., buckram, 2s. 6d. ; 
 paper, is. 
 
 Oman— A HISTORY OF ENGLAND. By Charles Oman, Fellow 
 
 of All Souls' College, and Lecturer in History at New College, Oxford ; Author of 
 1 Warwick the Kingmaker,' 'A History of Greece,' etc. Crown 8vo. , cloth, 4s. 6d. 
 net. 
 
 'This is the nearest approach to the ideal School History of England which has yet been written.' 
 — Guardian.
 
 20 Mr. Edward Arnold's List. 
 
 Pilkington— IN AN ETON PLAYING FIELD. The Adventures 
 
 of some old Public School Boys in East London. By E. M. S. Pilkington. Fcap. 
 8vo., handsomely bound, 2s. 6d. 
 
 Pulitzer— THE ROMANCE OF PRINCE EUGENE. An Idyll under 
 
 Napoleon the First. By Albert Pulitzer. With numerous Photogravure 
 Illustrations. Two vols., demy 8vo., 21s. 
 
 Raleigh— ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON. By Walter Raleigh, 
 
 Professor of English Literature at Liverpool University College. Second edition, 
 crown 8vo., cloth 2s. 6d. 
 
 Ransome— THE BATTLES OF FREDERICK THE GREAT. (See 
 page 16.) 
 
 Rochefort— ADVENTURES OF MY LIFE. (Seepage i.) 
 Santley— STUDENT AND SINGER. The Reminiscences of 
 
 Charles Santley. New Edition, crown 8vo., cloth, 6s. 
 
 Sherard— ALPHONSE DAUDET: a Biography and Critical Study. 
 
 By R. H. Sherard, Editor of ' The Memoirs of Baron Meneval,' etc. With Illustra- 
 tions. Demy 8vo. , 15s. 
 
 ' An excellent piece of journalism, the kind of personal journalism which is both entertaining 
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 Tollemache-BENJAMIN JOWETT, Master of Balliol. A 
 
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 Twining-— RECOLLECTIONS OF LIFE AND WORK. Being 
 
 the Autobiography of Louisa Twining. One vol., 8vo., cloth, 15s. 
 
 LITERATURE AND BELLES LETTRES. 
 Bell— DIANA'S LOOKING GLASS, and other Poems. By the 
 
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 Bell— POEMS OLD AND NEW. By the Rev. Canon Bell, D.D. 
 
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 Most of these little plays have been adapted from the author's ' Petit Theatre,' the 
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 Mr. Edward Arnold's List. 21 
 
 Colling-wood— THORSTEIN OF THE MERE : a Saga of the North- 
 
 men in Lakeland. By W. G. Collingwood, Author of ' Life of John Ruskin,' etc. 
 With Illustrations. Price ios. 6d. 
 
 Colling-wood— THE BONDWOMAN. (Seepage 14.) 
 
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 Cook— THE DEFENSE OF POESY, otherwise known as An 
 
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 fessor of English Literature in Yale University. Crown 8vo., cloth, 4s. 6d. 
 
 Cook— A DEFENCE OF POETRY. By Percy Bysshe Shelley. 
 
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 Davidson— A HANDBOOK TO DANTE. By Giovanni A. Scar- 
 
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 Ellacombe— THE PLANT-LORE AND GARDEN-CRAFT OF 
 
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 Goschen — THE CULTIVATION AND USE OF IMAGINATION. 
 
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 GREAT PUBLIC SCHOOLS. (Seepage 16.) 
 
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 Hole — ADDRESSES TO WORKING MEN FROM PULPIT AND 
 
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 ' A book of great interest and great excellence.'— Scotsman. 
 
 Hudson-THE LIFE, ART, AND CHARACTERS OF SHAKE- 
 
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 22 Mr. Edward Arnold's List. 
 
 Hudson. - THE HARVARD EDITION OF SHAKESPEARE'S 
 
 COMPLETE WORKS. A fine Library Edition. By Henry N. Hudson, 
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 Hunt— Leigh Hunt's ' WHAT IS POETRY ?' An Answer to the 
 
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 Maud— WAGNER'S HEROES and WAGNER'S HEROINES. (See 
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 Morrison— LIFE'S PRESCRIPTION, In Seven Doses. By D. 
 
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 Schelling— A BOOK OF ELIZABETHAN LYRICS. Selected and 
 
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 With Contributions in Prose and Verse by Old Wykehamists. Demy 410. , cloth, 
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 Mr. Edward A mold's List. 23 
 
 FICTION. 
 
 SIX SHILLING NOVELS. 
 
 A RELUCTANT EVANGELIST. By Alice Spinner. (Seepage 13.) 
 
 INTERLUDES. By Maud Oxenden. (Seepage 13.) 
 
 A MASK AND A MARTYR. By E. Livingston Prescott. (See 
 page 14.) 
 
 HADJIRA. By Adulet. (See page 14.) 
 
 TOMMY ATKINS. A Tale of the Ranks. By Robert Blatchford, 
 
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 ORMISDAL. A Novel. By the Earl of Dunmore, F.R.G.S., Author 
 
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 THE TUTOR'S SECRET. (Le Secret du Precepteur.) Translated 
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 THREE SHILLING AND SIXPENNY NOVELS. 
 
 THE BAYONET THAT CAME HOME. By N. Wynne Williams. 
 (Seepage 13.) 
 
 ON THE THRESHOLD. By Isabella O. Ford, Author of 'Miss 
 
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 THE MYSTERY OF THE RUE SOLY. Translated by Lady 
 
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 DAVE'S SWEETHEART. By Mary Gaunt. One vol., 8vo., cloth, 
 
 3s. 6d. 
 
 MISTHER O'RYAN. An Incident in the History of a Nation. 
 
 By Edward McNulty. Small 8vo., elegantly bound, 3s. 6d. 
 ' An extremely well -written satire of the possibilities of blarney and brag.' — Pall Mall Gazette. 
 
 STEPHEN REMARX. The Story of a Venture in Ethics. By the 
 
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 Church Mission, Bethnal Green. Twenty-Second Thousand. Small 8vo., elegantly 
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 LOVE-LETTERS OF A WORLDLY WOMAN. By Mrs. W. K. 
 
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 8vo., cloth, 2s. 6d. 
 
 ' One of the cleverest books that ever a woman wrote.' — Queen.
 
 24 Mr. Edward Arnold's List. 
 
 FICTION— Continued. 
 THAT FIDDLER FELLOW : A Tale of St. Andrews. By Horace 
 
 G. Hutchinson, Author of 'My Wife's Politics,' 'Golf,' 'Creatures of Circum- 
 stance,' etc. Crown 8vo. , cloth, 2s. 6d. 
 
 TWO SHILLINGS. 
 GEORGE'S MOTHER. By Stephen Crane. {Seepage 14.) 
 
 COUNTRY HOUSE— PASTIMES. 
 Ellacombe— IN A GLOUCESTERSHIRE GARDEN. By the Rev. 
 
 H. N. Ellacombe, Vicar of Bitton, and Honorary Canon of Bristol. Author of 
 ' Plant Lore and Garden Craft of Shakespeare.' With new illustrations by Major 
 E. B. Ricketts. Second Edition. Crown 8vo. , cloth, 6s. 
 
 Hole-A BOOK ABOUT THE GARDEN AND THE GARDENER. 
 
 By the Very Rev. S. Reynolds Hole, Dean of Rochester. Second edition. Crown 
 8vo., 6s. 
 
 Hole— A BOOK ABOUT ROSES. (Seepage 7.) 
 
 Brown— PLEASURABLE POULTRY-KEEPING. By E. Brown, 
 
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 Brown— POULTRY-KEEPING AS AN INDUSTRY FOR FARMERS 
 
 AND COTTAGERS. By Edward Brown. Fully illustrated. Second edition. Demy 
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 Brown— INDUSTRIAL POULTRY-KEEPING. By Edward Brown. 
 
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 Brown— POULTRY FATTENING. By E. Brown, F.L.S. Fully 
 
 illustrated. New Edition. Crown 8vo. , is. 6d. 
 
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 to the County Councils of Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, etc. Fully illustrated. 
 One vol., crown 8vo., cloth, 2S. 6d. 
 
 Gossip— THE CHESS POCKET MANUAL. By G. H. D. Gossip. 
 
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 Cunning-ham— THE DRAUGHTS POCKET MANUAL. By J. G. 
 
 Cunningham. An Introduction to the Game in all its branches. Small 8vo., with 
 numerous diagrams, 2s. 6d. 
 
 Kenney- Herbert — COMMON -SENSE COOKERY: based on 
 
 Modern English and Continental Principles, Worked out in Detail. By Colonel 
 A. Kenney-Herbert (' Wyvern'). Large crown 8vo., over 500 pp., 7s. 6d. 
 
 Kenney - Herbert — FIFTY BREAKFASTS : containing a great 
 
 variety of New and Simple Recipes for Breakfast Dishes. By Colonel Kenney- 
 Herbert (' Wyvern '). Small 8vo., 2s. 6d.
 
 Mr. Edward Arnold's List. 
 
 Kenney - Herbert — FIFTY DINNERS. By Colonel Kenney- 
 
 Herbert. Small 8vo. , cloth, 2s. 6d. 
 
 Kenney - Herbert — FIFTY LUNCHES. By Colonel Kenney- 
 
 Herbert. Small 8vo., cloth, 2S. 6d. {Seepage 12.) 
 
 Shorland— CYCLING FOR HEALTH AND PLEASURE. By L. 
 
 H. Porter, Author of 'Wheels and Wheeling,' etc. Revised and edited by F. W. 
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 8vo. , 2s. 6d. 
 
 SCIENCE, PHILOSOPHY, ETC. 
 Bryan— THE MARK IN EUROPE AND AMERICA. A Review 
 
 of the Discussion on Early Land Tenure. By Enoch A. Bryan, A.M., President 
 of Vincennes University, Indiana. Crown 8vo., cloth, 4s. 6d. 
 
 Burg-ess— POLITICAL SCIENCE AND COMPARATIVE CONSTI- 
 TUTIONAL LAW. By John W. Burgess, Ph.D., LL.D., Dean of the University 
 Faculty of Political Science in Columbia College, U.S.A. In two volumes. Demy 
 8vo., cloth, 25s. 
 
 Fawcett— THE RIDDLE OF THE UNIVERSE. Being an Attempt 
 
 to determine the First Principles of Metaphysics considered as an Inquiry into the 
 Conditions and Import of Consciousness. By Edward Douglas Fawcett. One 
 vol., demy 8vo. , 14s. 
 
 Hopkins— THE RELIGIONS OF INDIA. (See page 6.) 
 Ladd-LOTZE'S PHILOSOPHICAL OUTLINES. Dictated Portions 
 
 of the Latest Lectures (at Gottingen and Berlin) of Hermann Lotze. Translated 
 and edited by George T. Ladd, Professor of Philosophy in Yale College. About 
 180 pages in each volume. Crown 8vo. , cloth, 4s. each. Vol. I. Metaphysics. Vol. 
 II. Philosophy of Religion. Vol. III. Practical Philosophy. Vol. IV. Psychology 
 Vol. V. ^Esthetics. Vol. VI. Logic. 
 
 THE JOURNAL OF MORPHOLOGY. Edited by C. O. Whitman, 
 
 Professor of Biology in Clark University, U.S.A. Three numbers in a volume of 
 100 to 150 large 4to. pages, with numerous plates. Single numbers, 17s. 6d. ; sub- 
 scription to the volume of three numbers, 45s. Volumes I. to X. can now be obtained, 
 and the first number of Volume XI. is ready. 
 
 Morgan— ANIMAL LIFE AND INTELLIGENCE. By Professor 
 
 C. Lloyd Morgan, F.G.S. , Principal of University College, Bristol. With 40 
 Illustrations and a Photo-etched Frontispiece. Second Edition. Demy 8vo., 
 cloth, 16s. 
 
 Morgan-HABIT AND INSTINCT. (See page 6.) 
 
 Morgan— THE SPRINGS OF CONDUCT. By Professor C. Lloyd 
 
 Morgan, F.G.S. Cheaper Edition. Large crown 8vo. , 3s. 6d. 
 
 Morgan-PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS. By Professor C. Llon i , 
 Morgan, F.G.S. With a Preface by J. G. Fitch, M.A., LI,. I)., late one of H..M. 
 Chief Inspectors of Training Colleges. One vol., crown 8vo., cloth, 3s. 6d. net. 
 
 Young— A GENERAL ASTRONOMY. By Charles A. Young, 
 
 Prolessor of Astronomy in the College of New Jersey, Associate of the Royal Astro- 
 nomical Society, Author of The Sun, etc. In one vol., 550 pages, with 250 Illustra- 
 tions, and supplemented with the necessary tables. Royal 8vo., half morocco, 
 12s. 6d.
 
 26 Mr. Edward Arnold's List. 
 
 ILLUSTRATED GIFT BOOKS, ETC. 
 
 * ¥r * For further particulars of books under this heading see special 
 Catalogue of Gift Books for Presents and Prizes. 
 
 WINCHESTER COLLEGE. Illustrated by Herbert Marshall. 
 
 With Contributions in Prose and Verse by Old Wykehamists. Demy4to., cloth, 
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 GREAT PUBLIC SCHOOLS. Eton — Harrow — Winchester — 
 Rugby — Westminster — Marlborough — Cheltenham — Haileybury — 
 Clifton — Charterhouse. With nearly a Hundred Illustrations by the best artists. 
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 A LITTLE TOUR IN IRELAND. By An Oxonian (the Very Rev. 
 
 S. R. Hole, Dean of Rochester). With nearly forty Illustrations by John Leech, 
 including the famous steel Frontispiece of the ' Claddagh.' One vol., large crown 
 8vo. , 6s. 
 
 WILD FLOWERS IN ART AND NATURE. By J. C. L. Sparkes, 
 
 Principal of the National Art Training School, South Kensington, and F. W. Bur- 
 BIDGE, Curator of the University Botanical Gardens, Dublin. With 21 Full-page 
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 BOOKS FOR THE YOUNG. 
 SNOW-SHOES AND SLEDGES. By Kirk Munroe. Fully illus- 
 
 trated. Crown 8vo., cloth, 5s. 
 
 RICK DALE. By Kirk Munroe. Fully illustrated. Crown 8vo., 
 
 cloth, 5s. 
 
 ERIC THE ARCHER. By Maurice H. Hervey. With numerous 
 
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 THE FUR SEAL'S TOOTH. By Kirk Munroe. Fully illustrated. 
 
 Crown 8vo. , cloth, 5s. 
 
 HOW DICK AND MOLLY WENT ROUND THE WORLD. By 
 
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 HOW DICK AND MOLLY SAW ENGLAND. By M. H. Cornwall 
 
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 DR. GILBERT'S DAUGHTERS. By Margaret Harriet Mathews. 
 
 Illustrated by Chris. Hammond. Crown 8vo., cloth, 5s. 
 THE REEF OF GOLD. By Maurice H. Hervey. With numerous 
 
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 BAREROCK ; or, The Island of Pearls. By Henry Nash. With 
 
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 gilt edges, 5s.
 
 Mr. Edward Arnold's List. 
 
 27 
 
 THREE SHILLINGS AND SIXPENCE EACH. 
 
 TALES FROM HANS ANDERSEN. With nearly 40 Original Illus- 
 trations by E. A. LEMANN. Small 4to., handsomely bound in cloth, 3s. 6d. 
 
 THE SNOW QUEEN, and other Tales. By Hans Christian 
 
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 bound, 3s. 6d. 
 
 HUNTERS THREE. By Thomas W. Knox, Author of 'The Boy 
 
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 JOEL : A BOY OF GALILEE. By Annie Fellows Johnston. 
 
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 THE MUSHROOM CAVE. By Evelyn Raymond. With Illustrations. 
 
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 trated. Crown 8vo. , 3s. 6d. 
 
 HARTMANN THE ANARCHIST ; or, The Doom of the Great 
 
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 ANIMAL SKETCHES : a Popular Book of Natural History. By Pro- 
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 TWO SHILLINGS AND SIXPENCE EACH. 
 
 THE CHILDREN'S HOUR SERIES. (Seepage 15.) 
 
 FRIENDS OF THE OLDEN TIME. 
 
 in History at Newnham College, Cambridge. 
 8vo., 2S. 6d. 
 
 By Alice Gardner, Lecturer 
 
 Second Edition, lllustraled. Square 
 
 TWO SHILLINGS EACH. 
 THE CHILDREN'S FAVOURITE SERIES. A Charming Series of 
 
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 young readers. Handsomely bound, and designed to form an attractive and enter- 
 taining series of gift-books for presents and prizes. The utmost care has been taken 
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 taining and interesting reading. Price 2s. each ; or sfilt edges, 2s. 6d. 
 
 My Book of Wonders. 
 
 My Book of Travel Stories. 
 
 My Book of Adventures. 
 
 My Book of the Sea. 
 
 My Book of Fables. 
 
 Deeds of Gold. 
 
 My Book of Heroes. 
 
 My Book of Perils. 
 My Book of Fairy Tales. 
 My Book of History Tales. 
 My Story Book of Animals. 
 Rhymes for You and Me. 
 My Book of Great Inventions.
 
 28 
 
 Mr. Edward Arnold's List. 
 
 PICTURES OF BRITISH WILD ANIMALS. For Decoration and 
 
 Object Lessons. An entirely new and beautiful Series of Pictures in Water-Colours, 
 specially painted by Mr. William Foster. 
 
 The following is a list of the Series : 
 
 1. Hare. 
 
 2. Rabbit. Weasel. 
 
 3. Rat. Mouse. Bat. 
 
 4. Hedgehog. Snail. Slug. 
 
 5. Otter. 
 
 6. Dormouse and Adder. 
 
 Spider. Worm. 
 
 7. Deer. 
 
 8. Snake and Mole. 
 
 9. Bees. 
 
 10. Water-rat. Frog. 
 
 11. Squirrel. 
 
 12. Fox. 
 
 Toad. Newt. 
 
 The size of each plate is about 15J by io§ inches. The plates are supplied singly at the 
 following prices : Unmounted, gd. ; mounted on boards, with metal edges, 15* by 21 inches, 
 is. 6d. net. ; framed and mounted (unglazed), 3s. net. 
 
 PICTURES OF BRITISH FISHES. For Decoration and Object 
 
 Lessons. This is an entirely new and very beautiful series, designed by Mr. Charles 
 Whymper, the well-known artist. Great care has been exercised in selecting repre- 
 sentative types of the fish that are found in the rivers and seas of the British Isles, and 
 it is confidently believed that such accurate and faithful pictures of them have never 
 hitherto been exhibited. 
 
 The following is a list of the Series : 
 
 1. Herring. 
 
 2. Cod. 
 
 3. Haddock. 
 
 Sprat. 
 Mackerel. 
 
 4. Plaice. Lobster. Crab. 
 
 5. Salmon. Trout. 
 
 6. Pike. Stickleback. Minnow. 
 
 7. Eels. 
 
 8. Bream. Perch. Roach. 
 
 The size of each plate is about 15A inches by io§. The plates are supplied singly at the 
 following prices : unmounted, gd. net ; mounted on boards with metal edges, about 15* 
 by 21 inches, is. 6d. net ; framed and mounted (unglazed), 3s. net. 
 
 PICTURES OF BIRDS. For the Decoration of Home and Schools. 
 
 List of Coloured Plates : 
 
 Blue Tit. 
 
 Thrush. 
 
 Chaffinch. 
 
 Bullfinch. 
 
 Swallow. 
 
 Yellowhammer. 
 
 Skylark. 
 
 Blackbird. 
 
 Sparrow. 
 
 Waterwagtail. 
 
 Starling. 
 
 Robin. 
 
 The Pictures can be supplied in the following styles : Unmounted, 6d. per Plate ; Set of 
 12, in envelope, 6s. Mounted, Single Plates, mounted on boards, 12 by 15 inches, eye- 
 letted and strung, is. each ; Sets of 3 Plates, mounted together on boards, 34 by 15 inches, 
 eyeletted and strung, 2s. 6d. each. Framed, Single Plates, mounted and framed, 2s. each ; 
 Sets of 3 Plates, mounted and framed together, 4s. 6d. each, 
 
 All the above prices are net. 
 
 WILD FLOWER PICTURES. For the Decoration of Home and 
 
 School. Twenty-one Beautifully-coloured Plates, issued in the same style and at the 
 same prices as the ' Birds.' 
 
 Honeysuckle. 
 
 Forget-me-Not. 
 
 Convolvulus. 
 
 Hawthorn. 
 
 Lychnis. 
 
 Harebell. 
 
 Daisy. 
 
 Poppy. 
 
 Cornflower. 
 
 Iris. 
 
 Rose. 
 
 Buttercup. 
 
 Heather. 
 
 Water-Lily. 
 
 Foxglove. 
 
 Cowslip. 
 
 Bluebell. 
 
 Primrose. 
 
 Violet. 
 
 Daffodil. 
 
 Anemone.
 
 Mr. Edicard Arnold's List. 29 
 
 THE INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION SERIES. 
 
 THE INTELLECTUAL AND MORAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE CHILD. By 
 
 Gabriel Campayre. 
 TEACHING THE LANGUAGE-ARTS. Speech, Reading, Composition. By B. A. 
 
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 THE PSYCHOLOGY OF THE NUMBER, AND ITS APPLICATION TO METHODS 
 
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 THE SONGS AND MUSIC OF FROEBEL'S MOTHER PLAY. By Susan E. Blow. 
 
 6s. 
 THE MOTTOES AND COMMENTARIES OF FROEBEL'S MOTHER PLAY. By 
 
 Susan E. Blow and H. R. Eliot. 6s. 
 
 HOW TO bTUDY AND TEACH HISTORY. By B. A. Hinsdale, Ph.D., LL.D. 
 
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 FROEBEL'S PEDAGOGICS OF THE KINDERGARTEN; or, His Ideas concerning 
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 SYSTEMATIC SCIENCE TEACHING. By Edward G. Howe. Crown Svo., 
 
 EVOLUTION OF THE PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM IN MASSACHUSETTS. By 
 
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 THE INFANT MIND; or, Mental Development in the Child. Translated from 
 
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 ENGLISH EDUCATION IN THE ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY SCHOOLS. 
 
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 EMILE; or, A Treatise on Education. By Jean Jacques Rousseau. Translated 
 
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 Mr. Edward Arnold, having been appointed Publisher to the Secretary 
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 concerning them on application. 
 
 INDIAN GOVERNMENT MAPS. 
 
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 Mr. Edward Arnold's List. 
 
 31 
 
 3nfce£ to Hutbors. 
 
 Adams. — The Palace on the Moor 
 Adderley. — Stephen Remarx 
 Aldrich. — Arctic Alaska 
 American Game Fishes 
 Animal Pictures . 
 
 PAGE 
 
 • 15 
 
 • 23 
 . 18 
 . 18 
 . 28 
 
 Balfour. — Twelve Hundred Miles in a 
 Waggon . . . . . .17 
 
 Bell, Mrs. — Kleines Haustheater . . 20 
 
 Bell (Rev. Canon). — Sermons . . 20 
 
 ,, Diana's Looking Glass . . 20 
 
 ,, Poems Old and New . . 20 
 
 Benson. — Men of Might. . . .18 
 
 Beynon. — With Kelly to Chitral . . 17 
 
 Bird Pictures 28 
 
 Blatchford. —Tommy Atkins . . 23 
 Boyle. — Recollections of the Dean of 
 Salisbury . . . . . .18 
 
 Brown. — Works on Poultry Keeping . 24 
 Bryan. — Mark in Europe . . .25 
 Bull. — The Cruise of the 'Antarctic' . 9 
 Burbidge. — Wild Flowers in Art . . 26 
 Burgess. — Political Science . . .25 
 Butler. — Select Essays of Sainte Beuve 20 
 
 The Early Chartered Com- 
 
 • 9 
 
 • 23 
 16-26 
 
 Cawston. 
 
 panies 
 
 Cherbuliez. — The Tutor's Secret 
 Children's Favourite Series 
 
 Children's Hour Series 
 Clifford. — Love-Letters 
 CLOUSTON. — Early English Furniture 
 Clowes. — Double Emperor . 
 Collingwood. — Thorstein 
 
 ,, The Bondwoman . 
 
 Collins. — A Treasury of Minor British 
 
 Poetry 
 
 Colvile. — Land of the Nile Springs 
 Cook. — Sidney's Defense of Poesy 
 
 Shelley's Defence of Poetry 
 Cosmopolite.— Sportsman in Ireland . 
 Crane. — George's Mother 
 Cunningham.— Draughts Manual 
 Custance.— Riding Recollections 
 
 Davidson. — Handbook to Dante 
 Dun more. — Ormisdal 
 
 8 
 
 27 
 21 
 
 14 
 
 17 
 21 
 21 
 5 
 14 
 24 
 17 
 21 
 23 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Ellacombe. — In a Gloucestershire 
 Garden ..... . 24 
 
 Ellacombe. — The Plant Lore of Shake- 
 speare ....... 7 
 
 Fawcett. — Hartmann the Anarchist . 27 
 Fawcett.— Riddle of the Universe . 25 
 
 Fawcett. — Secret of the Desert . . 27 
 ,, Swallowed by an Earthquake 27 
 
 Field.— Master Magnus. . . .15 
 
 Fish Pictures 28 
 
 . P'leming. — Art of Reading and Speaking 21 
 Ford. — On the Threshold . . .23 
 Fowler. — Echoes of Old County Life . 18 
 Freshfield. — Exploration of the Cau- 
 casus 10 
 
 Gardner. — Friends of Olden Time 
 Garnett. — Selections in English Prose 
 Gaunt. — Dave's Sweetheart . 
 Gordon. — Persia Revisited 
 Goschen. — Cultivation and Use of the 
 
 Imagination .... 
 Gossip. — Chess Pocket Manual 
 Great Public Schools 
 GuMMERE. — Old English Ballads 
 
 Hadjira . 
 Hans Andersen. 
 
 27 
 21 
 
 23 
 9 
 
 . 21 
 
 • 24 
 
 l6, 26 
 
 . 21 
 
 -Snow Queen 
 ,, Tales from 
 
 Hare. — Life and Letters of Maria Edge- 
 worth ....... 
 
 Harrison. — Early Victorian Literature . 
 Hartshorne. — Old English Glasses 
 Hervey. — Eric the Archer 
 Reef of Gold . 
 Higgins. — New Guide to the Pacific 
 
 Coast . . . 
 
 Hole. — Addresses to Working Men 
 Hole. — Book about Roses 
 
 Book about the Garden 
 Little Tour in America 
 Little Tour in Ireland 
 Memories . 
 More Memories . . . . 
 
 HOLT. — Fancy Dresses Described . 
 Hopkinson. — Toby's Promise 
 
 14 
 16 
 16 
 
 19 
 21 
 
 8 
 
 26 
 
 26 
 
 18 
 21 
 
 7 
 24 
 17 
 
 5 
 
 19 
 19 
 12 
 
 i5
 
 32 
 
 Mr. Edward Arnold's List. 
 
 Hudson. — Life, Art, and Characters of 
 Shakespeare 
 ,, Harvard Shakespeare 
 
 Hopkins. — Religions of India. 
 Hunt. — What is Poetry ? 
 Hutchinson. — That Fiddler Fellow 
 
 India Office Publications. 
 International Education Series . 
 
 Johnston.— Joel ; a Boy of Galilee 
 
 Kay. — Omarah's Yaman . 
 
 Kenney-Herbert. — Fifty Breakfasts 
 ,, ,, Fifty Dinners 
 
 ,, ,, Fifty Lunches 
 
 ,, ,, Common-sense 
 
 Cookery ...... 
 
 Knight-Bruce. — Memories of Mashona- 
 land ....... 
 
 Knox. — Hunters Three .... 
 
 Knutsford. — Mystery of-the Rue Soly . 
 
 Lang. — Lambs Adventures of Ulysses . 
 
 Lecky. — Political Value of History - 
 
 Le Fanu. — Seventy Years of Irish Life . 
 
 Leffingwell.— Art of Wing-Shooting . 
 
 Legh. — How Dick and Molly went round 
 the World 
 
 Legh. —How Dick and Molly saw Eng- 
 land 15, 
 
 Legh. — My Dog Plato . . . . 
 
 Lotze. — Philosophical Outlines 
 
 Mathews. — Dr. Gilbert's Daughters 
 Maud. — Wagner's Heroes 
 
 ,, Wagner's Heroines 
 
 Maxwell. — The Sportsman's Library 
 McNulty. — Misther O'Ryan 
 Milner. — England in Egypt 
 
 , , Arnold Toynbee 
 
 Montresor.— Worth While 
 Morgan. — Animal Life . 
 
 ,, Animal Sketches 
 
 ,, Habit and Instinct 
 
 ,, Psychology for Teachers 
 
 ,, Springs of Conduct 
 
 Morphology, Journal of . 
 Morrison. — Life's Prescription 
 MUNROE. — Fur Seal's Tooth . 
 
 ,, Rick Dale 
 
 ,, Snow-shoes and Sledges 
 
 Nash. — Barerock .... 
 National Review 
 
 21 
 22 
 6 
 22 
 24 
 
 3° 
 29 
 
 27 
 
 19 
 24 
 25 
 12 
 
 24 
 
 19 
 27 
 23 
 22 
 
 19 
 12 
 
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 26 
 15 
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 26 
 12 
 12 
 4 
 
 ■ 23 
 
 • 19 
 
 • 19 
 
 • 13 
 
 • 2 S 
 
 ■ 27 
 . 6 
 
 • 25 
 
 ■ 25 
 
 • 25 
 . 22 
 . 26 
 
 15, 26 
 15, 26 
 
 . 26 
 
 • 30 
 
 Oman. —History of England 
 Oxenden. — Interludes . 
 
 PAGE 
 
 • 19 
 
 • 13 
 
 6 
 
 30 
 
 3 
 20 
 
 Pearson. — The Chances of Death . 
 Philosophical Review 
 Pike. — Through the Sub-Arctic Forest . 
 Pilkington. — An Eton Playing-Field . 
 Pollok. — Fifty Years' Reminiscences of 
 
 India . . . . • . . .3 
 Pope. — Memoirs of Sir John Macdonald . 19 
 Portal. — British Mission to Uganda . 17 
 ,, My Mission to Abyssinia . 17 
 
 Prescott. — A Mask and a Martyr . . 14 
 Pulitzer. — Romance of Prince Eugene . 20 
 
 Raleigh. — Robert Louis Stevenson . 20 
 Ransome. —Battles of Frederick the Great 16 
 Raymond. — Mushroom Cave . . .27 
 Rochefort. — The Adventures of My Life 1 
 Rodd. — Works by Rennell Rodd . . 22 
 
 Santley. — Student and Singer . . 20 
 Schelling. — Elizabethan Lyrics . . 22 
 ,, Ben Jonson's Timber . 22 
 
 Shaw. — A Text Book of Nursing . . 12 
 Sherard. — Alphonse Daudet . . . 20 
 Shields. — Camping and Camp Outfits . 18 
 Shields. — American Book of the Dog . 18 
 Shorland. — Cycling for Health and 
 Pleasure . . . . . .25 
 
 Sichel — The Story of Two Salons . . 22 
 
 Slatin.— Fire and Sword in the Sudan . n 
 
 Smith. — The Life of a fox . . .4 
 
 ,, Through Unknown African 
 
 Countries . . .... 2 
 
 Spinner.— A Reluctant Evangelist . . .13 
 Stone. — In and Beyond the Himalayas . 3 
 
 Tatham. — Men of Might . . .18 
 
 Thayer. — Best Elizabethan Plays . . 22 
 
 Thomas. — Sweden and the Swedes . . 18 
 
 Thornton.— A Sporting Tour . . 5 
 
 Tollemache. — Benjamin Jowett . . 20 
 
 Twining. — Recollections of Life and 
 
 Work 20 
 
 White. — Pleasu lt .ole Bee-Keeping. . 24 
 Wild Flowers in Art and Nature 26 
 Wild Flower Pictures . . .28 
 Williams. — The Bayonet that came 
 Home ....... 13 
 
 Winchester College . . .22, 26 
 
 Young. — General Astronomy . . .25 
 
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