be-terminated controversy between Jactans v. Hokey Pokey, to be denied a place in your valuable little Magazine, its quarterly appearance would be more anxiously

looked forward to. Flints and Detonators; Throwing and Poking!!! so much of individual taste and prejudice must exist on those subjects, that all and any attempts at convincing any one that his mode was not the best must be fruitless, and as "De gustibus non est disputandum " is a truism known centuries ago, why should we not acknowledge and bow to its truth now? But to return to my track, from which I have somewhat digressed; be it known that I should not have ventured on the old beaten subject of these remarks, had not a tragico-comico adventure occurred, presenting an unanswerable, irresistible argument, and, "confirmation strong as proof of holy writ " of the substantial benefit and superiority of bottom. Not many weeks ago, and within one hundred miles of Rajcote, myself, with two or three others, one of whom, for distinction sake, I shall designate my fat friend, were employed in the neighbourhood of Junaghur, and usually in changing ground used to separate considerably on the march, in order to multiply our chances of sport. We had proceeded thus one morning out of sight of each other to within a short distance of our encampment, when suddenly the distant clattering of a horse at speed reached my ear. I quickly mounted a little rising ground in that direction, and then discovered my fat friend in full gallop, but no bag, no game visible in front, and as he neared me, the sun shining full upon the polished surface of his unhatted pate, put me forcibly in mind of Johnny Gilpin's situation when "away went hat and

wig," and proved my friend to be not quite at ease. The whole was ludicrous, nor was the comic effect entirely removed when the tragic cause of such hot haste became evident in the shape of a fine panther seated on the horse's quarters, and firmly grasping my friend " friend "just in the place where honour's lodged."

To gallop to his assistance was the first impulse; but ere I could reach him I had the pleasure to see this disagreeable companion quietly drop from behind, and make for a patch of thick jungle, perfectly satiated with his morning's repast, nor did my friend pull rein until he reached in safety the breakfast tent, which had already appeared in sight.

As the jungle was too thick to hope for success with the spear, the animal was left there, for a little after-breakfast sport, and was then, after showing much game, shot. By moderate calcu

lation, the distance he must have ridden over was upwards of three miles. My friend's account of the rencontre was that he first saw the animal making off through some grass, and being always for sport in whatever shape, he pursued him with his spear, threw and missed, and threw and missed again, until in turn the panther became the assailant, and fixed himself as above related. The only inconvenience my friend experienced from his morning's exertion was being somewhat weak and pale for a few days, but he is now well at his mark again, and thanks his stars that he's endowed with something substantially better than speed, and to this day glories in the fundamental superiority of Bottom.

Goondul, March, 1831.

Q. E. D.

"Now will I sing the valiant falcon's fame,

Aerial flights, where no confederate

brute

Joins in the bloody fray, bird with bird
Jousts in arid air.-SOMERVILLE.

This sport, once so enthusiastically pursued in England by highborn dames, princes, and knights, and still kept up in the East, not having as yet been touched upon in your pages, I am in hopes the accompanying, collected from the notes of Mr. E., a well-known sportsman in the Dooab, who has long been master of falcons, will tend to diversify the oft-told, but well-told, tales of the fierce tiger and the bristly boar.

The falcons employed for the sport are of several kinds, and are flown each at separate quarries. The finest is the byrhee, *found on the East coast, about the time of the Dussera, or the month of September. It is caught by a race of people called Yurkeles, who sell them at from 8 to 10 Rs. each. The mode of training it is blinding the eyes and watching; it is lured by the figure of a bird and the voice to its food, being slipped first a short distance with a string, which is gradually lengthened, and at last let loose altogether.

The byrhee flies at herons, the black stork with a white neck called kalee, the large tantalus with curved yellow beak, called by falconers dokh, the two species of crane, kurkurees and koolungs, or kulums, as they are generally called, and which are found on the black plains bordering the Keishna, Nougbudra, &c. These

Our correspondent has written the names in his letter so illegibly that it is utterly impossible to do anything but guess at them.

two last are the most difficult to strike, the flight of the kurkuree being very swift, and the koolung being a large heavy bird, weighing sometimes upwards of 10lbs. The heron is found on the banks of tanks, and as soon as he takes away from the water, the falcon is unhooded, and in a glance seeing the quarry, shoots after him with the rapidity of lightning; nearing the heron, he hovers over him for an instant, and, stooping, strikes down upon him with his talons, seldom failing to knock him down. The riders in the meanwhile must be well up to aid the little hero, or his long-legged foe may mar the day's sport by laying open his breast or injuring him in some way with his claws. The byrhee sometimes, in striking, fixes its talons with such force into the heron, that (as happened on one occasion to Mr. E.'s) both heron and falcon came tumbling down from an immense height, grappling each other in mid-air, and both were picked up dead, on the spot where they fell.

The shaheen and suggur come next in rank, and are natives of India. These are trained to strike floriken and partridge at what is called the "standing gait," which is reckoned by European falconers as the most difficult attainment in that noble science. They are lured like the byrhee, but instead of being allowed to seize the food, the lure is jerked suddenly while they are in the act of stooping at it. By continual practice they are brought to circle round and round the falconer's head, hovering at a considerable height, as they do in a state of nature. As soon as the game has been marked, they are unhooded and "put," hovering

showed great promise, and at a twelvemouth would never let a hare or fox escape him on tolerable ground. His master assures me that on three different occasions he has known "Hector" pick up a hare and fox at one slip, the hare getting up just where the dog had killed his fox. He was so bold and powerful, that when he was eight years of age he would kill a jackal single handed, and that without much difficulty. He was often matched against firstrate dogs, both English and Arab, but until he attained his sixth year he never was beaten. He was affectionate to a degree, and had one peculiarity very uncommon in his caste, that of following his master wherever he went. experiment which Lieut. B. once made to try how far Hector would carry his fidelity deserves to be recorded. Lieut. B., when on detachment on the Nerbudda, set off to visit two outposts, each distant from camp about ten miles, and situated about eight miles from each other. Previous to starting, he gave particular orders to his dog-boy not to let the dog loose till at least two hours after his departure. By the boy's account it was at least three hours before he let Hector go. He searched the camp and its vicinity, but not

An

finding his master, suddenly disappeared, but was seen at the first outpost about an hour after his master had left it, and the second just as Lieut. B. had departed. He was offered food at both places, but refused it, proceeding immediately in the direction Lieut. B. had taken, and, according to the account given by the officers at each outpost, seemed to make the tracks of his master's horse his guide. He overtook Lieut. B. about a quarter of a mile from camp. It ought to be mentioned that during this journey the dog had to cross the Nurbudda twice, with a strong current, it being during the rains, and he must have travelled altogether a distance of eight and twenty miles. He killed some fifty or sixty fawns during his lifetime, and died of old age on the 30th of Jan., 1830, ætat 10 years. The only one of his numerous progeny now living is at present in Lieut. B.'s possession, but very sickly. There are many of your sporting readers, Mr. Editor, who will no doubt recognize old Hector, and can vouch for his performances, extraordinary as they may ap

pear.

Your Obt. Servant,

T. P.