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hand he battered Bruin between the eyes, and with his feet kept up a most vigorous cannonade against his bread basket. The bear constantly shifted his hold from one arm to the other, but the iron knuckles of his antagonist prevented him from retaining his gripe long enough to break the bones, and at last both fell together, Bruin uppermost. The gallant resistance which the major had hitherto made was now getting more feeble; he felt the hot breath of the bear blowing on his face, as his grey muzzle was thrust forward endeavouring to seize him by the head, which he defended as well as he could by repeated blows on the brute's nose. In the scuffle they had both rolled to the edge of the raome, and the final act of the tragedy seemed approaching, when the major gathered himself up for one last effort, hit right and left at his friend's head, and at the same moment drawing his knees to his chin, kicked out with such strength, that he fairly canted the bear into the nullah, and had the satisfaction of seeing him roll to the bottom. Upon rising and shaking himself after so

MR. EDITOR,

extraordinary an engagement, Major R- found that he had escaped with much less damage than he expected: his arms were terribly torn, but he was able to walk some distance to his palankeen, and is now perfectly recovered.

As to Bruin, although the cross buttock which decided the day might have been rather a rough one, I do not suppose that he suffered much, at least he was never more seen or heard of.

Extraordinary and almost incredible as the above statement may appear, there is not the slightest doubt of its truth: it certainly sounds like a traveller's tale, but I pledge myself for the veracity of the principal facts, although perhaps I may not be perfectly correct in some of the minor particulars. I feel that an apology is due to Major R-- for publishing this account without his permission, but it ought to be made public, if it be only to show that a good heart and strong arm may save a man's life when a seven-barrelled rifle has failed.

Dharwar, February 7th.

WILDFOWL SHOOTING.

Excuse my troubling you with these few lines, as, being somewhat addicted to shooting, I cannot refrain from giving my opinions on that branch of it which in Great Britain we call punting, and to which the wildfowl shooting of this country so widely differs. A small canoe, from 15 to 20 feet long, hewn out of the trunk of a tree (generally the Mangoe), in most cases supplies the place of a punt, and will hold three persons comfortably, two

D.

working it along and the sportsman at the head, clad in a dark dress, and a good substantial gun in his hand; in this manner, with a little caution, easy access may be obtained to the wildfowl of India. In large tanks which are partially fordable, as is sometimes the case, I have frequently known sportsmen wade above their middles for half a day together after the birds, a practice which I have myself followed, but can in no wise recommend for getting access, for comfort, or for health.

Instead, however, of the common canoe used by the natives, I beg to suggest to those who are in a duck shooting country, a craft of a more portable nature, in fact, a mere framework covered with hides, painted or tarred, and outrigger to keep it steady in the water; this might be carried to any distance by four coolies, with little or no extra expense, and

would be found a most useful appendage to a sportsman's establishment.

I cannot conclude these remarks without reverting to such points as I consider very material to the wildfowl shooter regarding the best sized shot for duck, as I strongly suspect that most of us have been and are greatly

SIR,

deceived in shooting with No. 5, which I am bold enough to affirm is at least four sizes too small. It is upon trial alone that I ground this assertion, that having for some time past discontinued No. 5 for No. 1. B. B. and even slugs, I have since made much longer and better single shots than formerly; and although it is probable that half-a-dozen grains of the smaller size may reach the object, still at long distances (as in duck shooting), to bring it down they are wanting in strength that which a single grain of shot of a larger size will easily accomplish.

Yours faithfully,

Dooab, February 28th.

QUERY.

Doubts having arisen as to the particular mode for measuring a Race-course correctly, whether the inner ring itself should form the measuring line or if any distance from it should be taken, I shall

RAMROD.

feel obliged to any of your sporting friends who can inform me on this point, and if there are any general rules laid down, and where they are to be found.

Yours,

BO PEEP.

ON THE DISEASES OF HORSES, AND THEIR REMEDIES.

MR. EDITOR,

I am forwarding you my last letter. I have tried the Croton and Pullas Papra purgative on six or seven horses, and invariably with good effect; the dose I now am led to prefer is as follows:

Croton beans whole, five.

Pullas do., from ten to fifteen, according to the size and strength of the horse.

The advantages of this purgative are, 1st, certainty of operation in from 7 to 30 hours.

2nd. Facility of administering,

as it requires no balling iron, but may be given by any horsekceper as a common mussalla, and, as I before stated, if mixed up with coarse sugar or jagrey, the horse will generally eat it with plea

sure.

3rd. It does not bring on spasm, which aloes and calomel sometimes do; and 4thly, which is no trifle, Mr. Editor, in these hard times, the dose may be made in every village for about one anna at most.

One tablespoonful of bhung, with as much pounded ginger,

will stop the purging, and bring the horse to his food.

RUNNING THRUSH.-I was once about to send above a hundred miles for tar and turpentine, the usual remedy with Europeans, when a native horseman observing my anxiety, laughing, told me he would with my permission cure the whole four diseased feet in less time than the medicine I required could be sent me. I had cut away the rotten parts of the frog; he applied for the first two days the fine prepared slack lime or chunam, as sold by the Tumooleys or beetul sellers, mixed into a thin paste with sweet oil; this appeared to cleanse the frog without materially checking the discharge. On the third and subsequent days the chunam was mixed up with water to the consistence of cream, and applied by pressure with a blunt-pointed stick, well into the part; on the seventh or eighth day I considered the horse perfectly cured, and put him to work.

This remedy I afterwards found useful in sores, at least such as required dry healing applications.

Teak wood tar, or the oil extracted from the red hearts and knots of well grown and partially seasoned teak, is another native remedy for thrush, wounds, sores, and cracked heels; this is, I understand, obtained in Malabar, in a very pure state. In the Moo

DEAR MR. EDITOR,

fussil it is generally prepared by previously soaking a quantity of well selected chips in sweet oil for some days, and afterwards put in a large earthen pot, the mouth well stopped and Îuted with clay, in the bottom of which a small hole is left; a fire is then made round the sides of the vessel, and the oil is received in a lota placed in the ashes under the hole. A medical gentleman to whom I showed some of this oil mistook it for real tar; the natives use it in Burzauttee. I know its value in cracked heels and as a hoof ointment.

BURZAUTTEE.-A very intelligent native farrier declared to me that he had been most successful in the treatment of this disease by using the knife boldly and dressing the sores with about nine parts of the teak wood oil, with one part of croton oil; internally he gives blue stone slacked in lime juice and rubbed for several hours in an iron mortar until it forms a glutinous paste; he commences with half a tola, and gradually measures the dose to three, carefully watching the effect; he thinks the disease caused by animalculæ, as in many of the large pieces of fungus he cut away their existence was manifest.

I am, Sir, yours, &c.,

MEERUT RACES.

When your Magazine was first established I was very much

afraid it would soon have fallen to the ground, from the lack of matter sufficiently interesting to fill its pages, but glad am I to find you have so many staunch supporters of your valuable and interesting little work, and I trust

HUBBEEB UL HISSAN.

they will still continue their contributions; and although you may not at present stand in need of a Maiden Contributor, nevertheless should you think the accompanying account of the Meerut meeting of January, 1831, worth inserting, it is very much at your

service.

The Meerut meeting was on

the whole much better than had been anticipated, but several screws loose prevented so full an entry of horses as there otherwise would have been. Mr. Bacon's horses ran under great disadvantages, they having just arrived from Cawnpore, a distance of between three and four hundred miles, whereas Mr. Houston's were trained on the spot and kept quite fresh for the meeting; however, notwithstanding the disadvantages under which Mr. Bacon's horses laboured, I must say they appeared in much better form than any

other horses that were brought to the post, and to which circumstance he must attribute his winning the Civilians' Cup on the third day, for condition, and condition alone, carried Bustard through that race; bad training and still worse riding lost it to Mr. Houston.

Hoping you may never be in want of contributors, and wishing your little periodical every success, believe me, your constant reader, and well wisher,

FAIR PLAY, Not 100 miles from Meerut. January 31st, 1831.

FIRST AHMEDABAD MEETING OVER A
NEW COURSE.

The increase to the European population consisting of many known sporting characters, held out great expectations of an interesting meeting, to see the first Course cut up at Ahmedabad. A strong and successful stable arrived just in time for the soup, and the dessert containing some titbits, though the season was too late for ices, promised to finish the entertainment in good style. Most of the horses of the different stables looked in excellent condition, and several matches, trotting and others, were on the tapis amongst the sporting lieges, although some of these, from the evaporation of nocturnal spirits, so common on these. occasions, ended in smoke. Some conversation took place between Matilda and Doctor O'Toole, but the lady got nervous (we suppose) at the doctor's extraordinary appellative, and, in spite of the additional incentive afforded by an offer of 2000 Rupees, jilted him the night before the match.

The hopes of connoisseurs were in some measure damped by the illness of two of the best of the

southern horses; but the meeting nevertheless opened well, and was carried on throughout with spirit and interest. The time is as good as our neighbours have ever accomplished, and, although the lateness of the season precluded anything like elasticity of turf, gives a fair promise of improvement. There was no such thing as the "Bull-in-china-shop" system, as of late too much the case, and on the occasion of one of the first plates being decided in a different manner from what had been expected, the very pithy observation from an old sportsman was elicited of, "at all events, none of that money goes to P-a.”

Both the stands were full each day, and the course was crowded with the native population from the city; so that the only thing wanting to complete the scene was the encouraging presence of the fair sex, to whose approving smiles the owners of winning horses cannot be altogether indifferent.

The Ball (as the Morning Post has it) opened with a Maiden Sweepstakes, which brought out

three different ones, and of these Bustle, a small nag out of the Poonah stable, was the best. A fine looking horse, with an extraordinary name, was the favourite at starting, and it was supposed by some that he would establish the superiority of a milk and water diet over the old-fashioned system of hay and gram. But it turned out vice versa.

Two old horses, Postboy and Wildrake, next contended at whim weights. Wildrake has a temper of his own, but in this instance the appearance of a huge hunting whip in his immediate vicinity overruled his objections to the turf. He won the first heat in a common canter, and could have won the second at a walk had he been so inclined. Postboy landed at the stable door dead lame.

Another maiden race was run on the second day, and brought before the public a name once bright in racing annals, but in the present instance not likely to immortalize the owner, having only beaten two that were proved on Monday to be barely worth beating. Red Jacket cut a sad figure, and was a long, long way behind.

A good heavy plate, three mile heats, was contested by Paul Pry and Wildrake, and won easy by the former in 6m. 4s., although Wildrake was in the best of humours. One Dragsman started too, but found one round as much or more than he could manage; 6m. 4s. was not a pace at all suited to his capacity.

The third day brought in contact the winner of the first maiden; Lunatic, a very stylish new one, and Minstrel, a musician who started to the tune of "Off she goes," but was unable to be present at the post to greet the winner with "See the conquering hero comes." If our bard cannot keep

better time than this, he should stay at home; he might turn the hurdy gurdy to a bear, but I doubt he will never contrive to play first fiddle.

The Hunter's Plate with eleven stone up was won by Oomrah, who contrived to get through his work in 4m. 13s., beating Regent, who had once or twice cut a fair figure on other courses. Infidel, whether from want of faith or want of ability to proceed, shut up after the first heat.

Decidedly the best race during the meeting was for the Cup given by the Turf Club, and various speculations were afloat, why Paul the Great (and the good also) was not forthcoming when it was a race involving reputation. Oomrah, who had been claimed by the owner of Paul Pry, on his winning the Hunters, was his proxy, and won the first heat, though by no means the favourite at starting. Lunatic, concerning whom reports of his being a kill-devil were abroad, was backed by many at evens to win, and his coming in second the first heat lengthened several faces. He was first the next time, and the very contented face of a veteran in the art proclaimed that "Rum had riz." He could not do the trick, however, and the race was carried by one that was thought very poorly of at the beginning, but proved beyond doubt that the knowing ones were out of their know.

There was no other race of interest until it was announced that Goblin Grey, of illustrious Bombay memory, who had won the great Sweepstakes last year, at the Presidency (and not that alone, but half the other Plates besides), was again to show forth. Without an expectation of the sort, however, he was beat, and only those who knew he had been wrong, very wrong, when he ar

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