ciples. We may be allowed to guard against certain causes and their effects, but even then only to a certain degree; for instance, we can shelter him from the inclemency of the weather, but we cannot entirely exclude him from the changes of the atmosphere: we can supply him with the best description of food, and in ample quantities; whereas, in a wild state, he must at times partake of that which is rough and scanty: we can regulate his labours, so that his limbs and constitution are not overpowered by too much exertion; but we cannot always tell where to draw the line-in other words, "when to stop"--but, anxious to improve his power beyond what nature has limited it to, we give him one extra gallop, one additional sweat, and, in doing so, the bow, which has already been strung to the utmost pitch, snaps, and the expenses, anticipations, hopes, and fears which have prevailed for months are destroyed in the brief circle of a moment, leaving the disappointed owner to exclaim "I survive, To mock the expectations of the world!" The instant any symptoms of weakness are detected in the joints or sinews, it is advisable to give the animal rest, because, the injury being at that period of a trifling character, it will, in all probability, submit to suitable remedies and a very brief cessation of labour. This question, therefore, arises-Is it not better to forego an engagement or two, the winning of which must be very problematical under such circumstances, than to persist in working a horse when the chances are ten to one against his being able to withstand the ordeal? When a horse does not feed as usual, it may be considered a certain proof that his digestive faculties are not in that vigorous state they ought to be. It will not require a very great share of investigation to pronounce the cause as arising from debility, which must evidently be increased by a diminution of sustenance: one wise ordination of Nature is very evident-that, without digestion, there cannot be appetite, otherwise animals and even men would fill themselves to such a state of repletion as to destroy life. The appetite failing, and that from an assignable cause-namely, too great an excess of work-how much more rational it is to avert the cause, when it is reasonable to presume the effect will cease, and thus, by reducing the excess of work which has produced the evil, terminate its existence, than to endeavour to palliate the difficulty by presenting remedies which are at all times exceedingly uncertain in their operations! For this latter purpose tonics are frequently resorted to; but when it is remarked that they will, by constant use even for a short time, cease to have any effect, their benefits cannot be calculated upon, and rest must be sought as the alternative at last, when frequently its aid arrives too late, or becomes imperative, at a period when the utmost disappointment is produced. If the legs and feet have suffered from an excess of work, nothing can equal a cessation of that which produced the evil. No horse can run to the utmost of his physical ability unless his legs and feet are fresh and in good order. Is it not, therefore, better policy to bring him out for a few races when he is well in every respect, with a great probability of his winning most of them, than to run him everlastingly with little prospect of his winning at all? In consequence of over-exertion, and sometimes from the effect of cold, the muscles and sinews become so rigid that horses lose their action. Similar symptoms will likewise arise from exhaustion in sweating, by which process the quantity of fat required to supply the muscles with its lubricating power is dissipated too extensively: in these instances rest is essential. There are numerous examples of horses having shown some running at one period; but, having trained off, as it is termed by which expression it is to be understood that they have lost their action and speed-they have consequently been sold at low prices, and having on several occasions fallen into the hands of those who have indulged them with moderate rest, by means of proper treatment and a judicious portion of exercise, they have recovered their action and vigour, and have run very successfully. Such examples prove how much nature will do in restoring faculties which the abuse of man is calculated to destroy. SNIPE SHOOTING. BY J. W. GRYLLS. To give a separate account of sport, in pursuit of each of the feathered tribe of India, it would be necessary in the first place to write an "Ornithological Natural History;" for few, if any, of the winged creation are there that are not denizens of the Asiatic fields, hills, or forests, from the majestic "bird of Jove" down to the moping "fowl of Minerva." We will, therefore, proceed at once with Snipe Shooting, an amusement, of all others of its kind, that finds most favour with the Indian sportsman, both from the sport it affords in the field, and the culinary excellence that "the victim" possesses afterwards, when metamorphosed into curry or stews. There is no part of India, I believe, that is not more or less frequented by the snipe, even to within a few gunshots of the government house of Calcutta; and in the proper season, viz., the cold months of the year, the rice fields may literally be said to be alive with them. Every one who owns a gun, or can borrow one, from the nabot civilian to the tailor's apprentice, then turns out to take the field in one common war against this little bird; and bad, indeed, must be the shot, or rather say, bad indeed must be his luck, who, if he really "lets his gun off" a certain number of times, does not bag enough snipe for his own curry for breakfast, after a morning's work; so some idea can be formed from this fact of the havoc that a decent shot might make in half a dozen hours. In company with a brother sportsman, I have sacked, for no bag could contain so many, no less than one hundred and twenty couple! and have, consequently, enabled all my friends who were not sportsmen to subsist on snipe curry as long as they pleased. Now, innocent and harmless as the snipe may naturally be supposed to be, its victims are a hundred-fold in proportion to those that fall to the tiger, or the more savage game of India! And it is for this reason the snipe is only to be found in the paddy or rice fields, the soil of which consists of a very liquid solution of mud and water, about two feet in depth; or, more generally, perhaps, it consists of a foot and half of water, with a foot of mud as a stratum, and through this it is necessary that the snipe shooter should wade "from morn to dewy eve," his head and shoulders being exposed to a broiling sun, whilst his nether man is kept as "cold as charity;" consequently, if a man has not been sufficiently long in India to have had all his blood dried up, so much as is left in him flies at once to his head, and a coup de soleil "brings him down" as cleverly as he would his victim, thus teaching him a "great moral lesson," to do unto others only what he would have done to himself. But, in spite of this, snipe shooting will have its followers; and if those followers escape with their lives, ninety-nine out of every hundred contract all the "incipients" of rheumatism, lumbago, et il genus omne malorum, which make them remember their snipeshooting days to the last hour of their existence. I have a good reason for recollecting the sport, having nearly met with a most inglorious death upon one occasion, merely from having been obliged to kill, in self defence, a very sacred animal in Hindoo's eyes-a pugnacious cow, which thought fit to dispute with me "the right of ground." A friend and myself, having paid two rupces, two annas, and some pice, for news of an untouched piece of snipe ground, one fine morning sallied out from Fort William in expectation of mighty slaughter; and, having reached our ground, we proceeded to scour that part of the country, which is generally done in this wise:-The shooters stand a gunshot apart, and the space between them is occupied by two or three beaters, so that it is impossible for any birds to escape, and as many as rise before you, or on your left, are your own; but beware of encroaching on your neighbour's side, as, ten to one, he'll never forgive you. On killing a bird, the whole line halts, and the shooter loads again, never picking up his bird until he reaches it on the line of march, for fear of disturbing others. Everything had been thus arranged, and we had plunged into the anything but "limpid" stream, when shortly the birds began to rise and fall fast around us on either side. The fatigue of wading through the soil, which, by the bye, requires no slight physical exertion, and, from the rocking-horse sort of motion it imparts to the body, throws one completely off one's balance, until practice hath made perfect in the art, had caused us to take frequent pulls at a pretty stiff mixture of brandy and water--the snipe-shooter's sine quâ non-both to quench an intolerable and incessant thirst, and to give him stamina to support the necessary exertions; and at the expiration of four hours we counted some fifty couple or so that had fallen during our excursion over half of the "promised land." Now, to gain the other half it was necessary to cross a small dry field, and in this field was a cow. Whether or not this Hindoo divinity took me for a wild beast, or took a dislike to me from an intuitive perception that I was no worshipper of his, I never found out; but he had no sooner looked at me twice than down he came on me sans ceremonie, and before I was well aware of it, was within "butting" distance. At that moment, beginning to imagine that he might be in earnest, I pulled the trigger of my gun in hopes to frighten him away, but it was of no use; and on pulling the second, over rolled cow, gun, and self in "one confounded heap." On coming to life again, for I was kilt complately," as the Irish say, I found my antagonist dead-killed by a load of snipe shot!-which had entered at his eye, and, reaching his brain, converted him at once into "beef." However, I soon recovered from the effects of this novel mode of warfare, and, having reloaded my gun, proceeded onwards. 66 Again the snipe began to fall "like bricks," and everything seemed to indicate that the 100 couple would be soon made up, when a dingy host of Philistines, uttering the most horrible yells, appeared in sight. At first there were about fifty, and what on earth they were after was a perfect riddle to us; there was evidently no good intended. We thought at last of the infernal cow, so agreed to have a run for it; and run we did, harder than we ever ran before or since. The shouts of our pursuers brought out the inhabitants of each village through which we passed, until at last no less than 300 people were after us, thereby affording us a practical illustration of the difference between hunting and hunted, for most assuredly would our lives have paid forfeit for that of the cow, had that gentleman's worshippers overtaken us. After a terrible chase, during which our niggers had thrown away all our game, in order to use their limbs more freely, and after many a "Xaos aveons" had whistled by our heads, we reached the high road, and made for the spot where we had left our buggy. No coach-horses, when it was the fashion to travel fourteen miles an hour, including stoppages, were ever "put to" in double the time that our vixenish, man-eating, country-bred mare was tied to the shafts, for there was no time for harnessing, and at the same time that we jumped in our buggy, out came the mob of niggers, armed with sticks, pikes, and every lay-hold-able weapon! One, more valiant than the others, seized the mare's head, for which he paid dearly; for the animal, enlisting on the weaker side, seized him by the naked shoulder with its teeth, and tore him like a tiger! It was now a matter of life and death to us. Our guns were loaded and cocked, and on the first offensive blow of any kind, four niggers would have proved the efficacy of cow worship in "kingdom come. But, although they surrounded us, each was afraid to strike whilst we were armed, and plying the lash into the mare's sides, we determined to make a gallant charge; and, thanks to the mare, we succeeded. One or two fellows attempted to lay hold behind, but two or three well-directed blows with the "butt end" soon laid them sprawling, and we reached our quarters with whole skins, but minus our game. Now, reader, what think you of snipe shooting in India? H H 1786 Lord A. Hamilton's Paragon........ Betting as to Winner 28 subs., 12 started 7 to 4 agst. |