445. In other parts of India the natives chase the wild hog with a coarse dog of the Polygar breed. The dog is taught to seize the hog between the hind-legs when he has turned his head to meet some other assailant, and to retain the hold until the hunters come up.

446. Talking of India, however, I cannot help digressing. Why should not more Europeans residing in that country, have dogs as well-trained for birds as the Natives have for the bear and hog? I have often thought what much finer sport I should have enjoyed, when I was serving there, if I had then gained as much experience in dog-breaking as I now have. As too many young fellows, belonging both to the Queen’s and Company’s service, frequently complain of their inability to kill time—(time which so soon kills them!)—it is a pity more of them do not take to the innocent amusement of dog-breaking. The broiling sun[86] makes all game lie so close in India (except very early in the morning, and towards the close of day) that the best beaters, unless the number be unusually great, leave nearly a dozen head of game behind them for every one that is sprung, especially in jungly ground. The evil is partially, I allow, but very partially, remedied in grass-land, by attaching numerous little bells to the long cord carried by the line of beaters. I have heard of this plan being pursued in England in the absence of dogs, or when the scent was unusually bad.

447. The object at that time of my especial envy was a nondescript belonging to an officer of the Company’s service, with whom I used occasionally to shoot near Belgaum. The animal had, I fancy, some cross of pointer in his composition; so little, however, that he never pretended to point. He used just to “feather” feebly when he happened to get near any game; and as he was a wretchedly slow potterer, and never strayed (for hunting it could not be called) far from his master, all that he did put up was well within gun range. His owner thus got nearly twice as many shots as any of his companions. How much his sport would have been increased had he possessed a good dog!

ANGLO-INDIAN DOGS.

448. Now there are some native dogs[87] in India with not a bad nose (those, for instance, which are employed to hunt the porcupine at night), and a breed from them with an European pointer[88] would, doubtless, prove extremely useful. Their strength of constitution would compensate for acknowledged inferiority in every other respect. A cross with the Spanish Don would probably be the best, and the easiest broken in, as he is so steady and full of point. But the Hidalgo would be of little service out of the kennel. From his natural inactivity and weight, he would soon knock up under an Indian sun. Three or four pups would be enough for the dam to rear. Those most like the sire should be preserved; and they might be kept in good health, if they were occasionally treated to a little calomel overnight, with castor oil in the morning, and allowed full liberty to run about for an hour every morning and evening. I knew some greyhounds of a purely English breed, but born in the country, which were thus maintained in capital health. They belonged to the only litter that the mother ever had. The climate, which is generally fatal to England-born dogs, killed both the parents within a year after their arrival in India. It is best that the pups should be whelped in the latter part of the year, as they would then acquire some strength before the setting in of the hottest weather, and be of an age to commence hunting at the beginning of the following cool season. The companionship of dogs in the jungle adds much to the security of the pedestrians. A timid yelp or a clamorous bark gives timely notice of the vicinity of every disagreeable, dangerous neighbour, and enables the sportsman to take a cool deliberate aim, instead of having to make a hurried snapshot at some stealthy panther or tiger, or the far more formidable foe, a solitary buffalo. The habit of placing the fore-finger alongside the stock, and not letting it touch the trigger, until the moment of firing, proves very valuable in these critical circumstances. Many a barrel has gone off, even in the hands of an old sportsman, before he properly covered some vital part of his first royal tiger. The certainty of ignition afforded by a detonator gives great confidence to the present generation of sportsmen. Even in the wettest weather, the waterproof caps manufactured by Eley and others, seem to insure an instantaneous fire.

449. Great presence of mind in moments of unforeseen, sudden peril is undoubtedly a gift; but calmness and self-possession, fortunately for sportsmen seeking “large game” (burrah shicar), as it is technically termed in India, can be acquired by reflection and habit.

450. A friend and old fellow-passenger of mine, one of the Colonels K——g,—a name that will long be remembered at Hythe—evinced in 1816 as much coolness as I ever heard of. He was then on the staff at Ceylon, and used, while accompanying the Governor on his annual tour throughout the island, to have magnificent sport in places rarely visited by Europeans. Indeed, his character as a slayer of elephants was so fully established that he was often called “elephant-king.”

ROGUE-ELEPHANT.

451. On the party arriving one morning within the Mahagampattoo district, the Governor said to K——g, “Surely you will not attack the desperate brute that lately killed those villagers and the two letter-carriers?” The sportsmen modestly replied, “I cannot say, sir; perhaps I may.” Now it is well known that a rogue-elephant is always a formidable animal; but one recently driven from a herd by a stronger bull is particularly dangerous. In his malignant rage he often wantonly attacks whatever he sees; and there are several instances of his having displayed extraordinary patience in waiting for imprisoned men who had climbed into trees, or retreated into caves, to avoid his fury.

452. The elephant the Governor referred to was, at that time, the terror of the surrounding neighbourhood; for when maddened by jealousy and rage at being expelled after a severe conflict from the harem, and smarting from the blows and wounds inflicted by his more powerful rival, he had ventured to attack an unfortunate labourer, and finding how slight was the resistance offered, he had since sought opportunities for wreaking his vengeance on man, of whom he had now lost all his former instinctive dread.