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MY LIFE AS SOLDIER
/\ND SPORTSMAN

Hy J. ROBSON SCOTT

3 9090 013 418 864

Webster Family Libran; of Veterinary Medicine
Cummings School of Veterinaiy Medicine at
Tufts UnivGi'sity
200 Westboro Road
North Grafton, MA 01536

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MY LIFE AS
SOLDIER AND SPORTSMAN

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MY LIFE AS
SOLDIER AND
SPORTSMAN

BY

J. ROBSON SCOTT

Major, late 3rd Hussars

I

WITH SIXTEEN ILLUSTRATIONS

LONDON
GRANT RICHARDS LTD.

ST MARTIN'S STREET

MDCCCCXXI

Printed in Gueat ]5kitaim by the Riverside Press Limited

£dinbuk(;h

CONTENTS

CHAPTER

I. SOUTH AFRICA: SOME REMINISCENCES
II. INDIAN REMINISCENCES

III. FAMOUS GENERALS AND HORSEMANSHIP

IV. THE STORY OF A GREAT DUEL
V. HUNTING

VI. FISHING AND PHILOSOPHY

VII. RACING ....

VIII. CONFORMATION

IX. MORE RACING .

X. THE GRAND NATIONAL

XI. THE PEDIGREE AND COLOUR OF GRAND
NATIONAL WINNERS

XII. THE NATIONAL HUNT STEEPLECHASE

XIII. THE CJRAND MILITARY STEEPLECHASE

PAGE
13

68

75

81

121

140

156

174
207

221
227
237

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

THE AUTHOR ...

LORD KITCHENER ON DEMOCRAT .
BADGER DIG .....
LORD LONSDALE ....
CAPTAIN F. FORESTER ON CHRISTMAS DAISY

Frontispiece

FACINC. PAGE
72

84

90
96

CAPTAIN F. FORESTER, M.F.H. QUORN HOUNDS
MEET, KIRBY GATE

MR JOHN GAUNT

CAPTAIN A. L. CLIFFE

CLOISTER

TRACERY

MR ARTHUR YATES .

A STUDY IN CONFORMATION

DERBY WON BY ABOYEUR ON A DISQUALIFICATION

BLAKELOCK ....

PRETTY POLLY ....

FACSIMILE OF LETTER FROM LORD POULETT

MARE SHOWN TO THE HON. A. PARKER .

SOME REMOUNT OFFICERS .

100
114
118
142
142
152
162
192
194
202
218
246
246

PREFACE

When a mere layman writes a book it is
customary for him to inscribe a preface or, as
Izaak Walton would say, an "epistle" to the
readers. My original idea was to write and have
printed a few personal reminiscences of the days
and weeks I have spent in various sports, for the
young folks who may come after me ; in fact, I
contemplated writing a sort of boys' book. How-
ever, it came to pass that I met, and discussed
the subject with, Mr Arthur F. Meyrick who, like
myself, is getting on in years. He is a most
enthusiastic student of racing and other sports,
and in addition to suggesting that I should write
a larger volume, on more general subjects, he
volunteered to contribute to my book by supplying
details of the Grand National from Lottery to
Troytown.

Gradually, as the copy grew, so did the number
of new ideas. Thus it came about that causeries
on other sports suggested themselves to me.

When a young man, Mr Meyrick followed in
the footsteps of his father in the journalistic world,
and knew most of the celebrities of his time.
II

12 PREFACE

In his view, if a book is to have any chance of
being a success it must be one of three things —
interesting, instructive or amusing. If you can
command all three, success is assured. It must
be left to readers, after being caught, to decide if
my book can claim to possess any of these qualities.
Though it is customary to make apologies for
writing, I don't see that in my case any apology
is required, as I certainly have never aspired or
pretended to be a professional writer.

The Author.

CHAPTER I

SOUTH AFRICA

Some Reminiscences

A CERTAIN amount of satisfaction is to be
derived in recalling the pleasures of the
past, and there are, I expect, few of us
who do not reflect on bygone days. In the early
eighties South Africa was attracting a good deal
of attention. Cecil Rhodes was stirring things up
in that part of the Empire. The formation of the
British South African Company, a very grand and
ambitious project, was boomed and boosted to such
an extent that the shares actually rose to ^9.
Now in 192 1 they stand at 14s. and have never
paid a dividend, but no doubt in years to come
it will be proved that the country can support an
immense population.

Early in 1890 I joined the British Bechuanaland
Border Police, a force established to watch the
Boers on the Transvaal border, as for some time
they had been inclined to be restless and truculent,
ceasing to treat the British with respect. Some-
times they referred to us as "those Bloody
13

14 SOLDIER AND SPORTSMAN

Roinecks," in allusion to the red colour an English-
man acquired from being scorched by the sun on
his neck and face. Some of the sporting Boers
I met seemed real good fellows ; they had no
ill-will, and were excellent shooting companions.
One related how at Majuba Hill he with a few
other adventurous spirits climbed up the reverse
side of the hill just as the Boer force, believing it
to be impossible to put up a fight, were preparing
to trek. Having arrived at the top, they peered
over the edge of the depression where the British
force was camped for the night and discovered
that the sentries were posted in such a way that
they could not see over the hill. Needless to say,
when those Boer scouts fired a volley at the troops
a panic took place, and a helter-skelter down the
hill changed the whole feature of the operations.
This same man also related how, when hunting
elephants, he came on two lions in deadly conflict.
When asked to describe the fight he said : " I was
after ivory, not lions."

The British Bechuanaland Border Police were
commanded by General Sir Fred Carrington, a
man who had made his name in colonial warfare.
He was a ereat Englishman, and a born leader of
men, and the natives, who had nicknames for all
the officers of the corps, called him The Lion. He
had great expansive shoulders, deep chest, sandy-

SOUTH AFRICA 15

coloured hair, a hug^e moustache and a deep, re-
sounding voice. Another of the officers was dubbed
The Ostrich from the way he walked, and a third
The Giraffe because he was tall and slender. I
believe that my name was The Wolf, but I never
ascertained the reason. I must, however, point
out that there are no wolves in South Africa, but
the hyena is called a wolf.

Headquarters were at Mafeking, about a hun-
dred miles beyond the railway terminus. At the
General's request I had brought two couple of
foxhounds to augment the pack already there. I
do not recommend that part of South Africa as
a hunting country. The only time suitable for
hunting was a few hours in the morning, for
when the sun had dried the dew the scent
vanished. Moreover, we lost several hounds from
snake-bite. The black mambra, the most aggres-
sive and venomous snake in the veldt, was fairly
common. One day when the General and I were
shooting and his pointer bitch came to a point
close to an ant-heap, the General went forward
to investigate what the game was, and I saw a
huge mambra, about nine feet long, fairly launch
itself from the heap. Quick as lightning the
General had his gun up to the shoulder and blew
the snake's head off. Carrington in his young
days had been a great boxer and it seemed to

i6 SOLDIER AND SPORTSMAN

me that the quickness he acquired in practising
that sport stood him in good stead on that
occasion.

I have read that animals become hypnotised by
snakes, and no doubt this may occasionally happen.
The only case I ever witnessed was in England,
when I saw a frog hypnotised by a common adder.
The remedy for a snake-bite is alcohol in large
doses. Major Forbes, one of the officers of Colonel
Pennefather's expedition, then moving in Rhodesia,
was bitten by a mambra, and his brother officers
took it in turn to walk him about all night, he
meanwhile consuming nearly a bottle and a half
of brandy.

Mafeking was the place where prospective
troopers were put through their facings, the only
men accepted being those who could ride and shoot.
Some strange yarns were spun by them. One
stated that he had been huntsman to the Belvoir
(pronounced as spelt) for five years, another had
been first whip to the Cottesmore, but on trying
these two fellows it was obvious that neither had
ever been on a horse in his life.

About three miles from Mafeking there were
several vleys (swamps), which at certain seasons
literally swarmed with water-fowl. The guns
would be got into position and the natives sent
to the different vleys to get the birds on the

SOUTH AFRICA 17

winj; ; the bag was limited only by the number
you wanted to kill. We counted one hundred after
one shoot and found there were eight different
species of duck amongst them. Again, too, on
an island in one of the vleys, that I had waded
out to, eggs of all sizes were lying so thick that
I exploded two or three at every step ; so far as
I could judge they were all rotten, as they went
off with a pop when stepped on.

It was when I was at Mafeking that a Belgian
gentleman, a great naturalist, arrived. He was
collecting birds, specimens of the rarer sort, to
stuff, and on one occasion he joined our party
for a shooting expedition. We took him to where
small game, such as bush pheasants, partridges,
etc., were plentiful and one of the party shot a
small white hawk which the Count asserted was
extremely rare. It was only winged ; so, by way
of killing it without spoiling the plumage, a pin
was pushed through the skull into the brain and
the bird placed in a net swung at the back of the
cape cart. While we sat at luncheon the hawk,
which had meanwhile recovered, fluttered out of
the net, and before a shot could be fired the bird
had gradually pulled itself together and was gone —
an instance of the remarkable vitality of the hawk
tribe.

The most expeditious mode of travelling In those

B

i8 SOLDIER AND SPORTSMAN

days was in the mail cart — a light wagon drawn
by trotting bullocks. Generally a span of eight
oxen was sufficient. In front of these ran the
vore looper, a native who was replaced every
four or five miles by another, that being about the
distance a man could comfortably keep running
at a pace of eight miles an hour. These primi-
tive veldt paths twist about in an extraordinary
manner, and it was astonishing that very few
accidents occurred. On one occasion when we
were travelling in the mail the bullocks shied off the
road. I stopped the cart to investigate the reason
and, about twenty yards from the pathway, found
the corpse of a white man, far gone in decay.
What added to the sadness of the discovery was
the body of a dog lying beside him, probably a
mongrel greyhound. The case of course was
reported and a decent burial on the spot given
by a file of men from the nearest camp. The
strange thing to me was that the bullocks should
have shied at the smell of a decayed human corpse
when they paid no attention to the rotting carcasses
of animals, of which there were many.

Shortly after arriving at the Maclonstie, one of
our camps on the river of that name, one of the
officers named Walford and I were riding together,
doing some topographical work, when we came
upon a group of eight young wart-hogs. Jump-

SOUTH AFRICA 19

ing off our horses we each secured one, and the
astonishinc;^ noise they made so scared our horses
that they at once galloped off. Quickly handing
my capture to Walford I set off in pursuit of our
mounts, but I did not come up with them till they
had reached the camp. On my immediate return
to Walford I found him nearly exhausted, struggling
manfully with the two little pigs. On getting back
to camp it was almost dark and, in trying to put
our captives under an inverted box, one escaped.
The other, however, became a most interesting
pet, and eventually was deposited in the London
Zoolos^ical Gardens. About eicjhteen months after
he had become an inmate of the Zoo I went to
the gardens, and getting leave from the keeper
entered his den, and found he recognised me
at once, rubbing himself against my legs and
squealing with pleasure.

At one of the camps, Fort Gaberones, where I
was for some time, we had a pet ostrich, a hen
bird. To anyone who paid attention to her and
gave her food she became most attached. She
was a regular camp scavenger. Bits of hide or
leather to her were dainty morsels. It was my
intention to send her to England, but when the
mating season began she disappeared and never
returned. In all the camps there was always a
collection of pets, the diuker gazelle being the

20 SOLDIER AND SPORTSMAN

commonest. They, however, never lived long, as
they seemed to lose their natural instinct in the
way of food, and would eat or swallow anything,
even bits of iron and tin.

There was an immense variety of birds at
Maclontsie. The hut I occupied was built under
a vachtum beachy tree, or the "Wait-a-bit Thorn,"
thus called owing to the thorns growing the reverse
way to the branch. On this tree were the nests
of eighteen or twenty weaver birds. They always
built at the extremity of the branches, with the
entrance to the nests underneath, no doubt as
a protection against snakes. There was also a
small woodpecker's nest in a hole in the trunk
of the tree, and every morning when I gave a
tap, one of the pair would pop its head out, give
a knowing nod, and retire. I have counted seven
different varieties of birds engaged in a scuffle,
every bird in the neighbourhood joining in, until
this living fluttering mass of birds formed a ball
two feet in diameter.

In this part of the country there is a species of
ant named the Matabele, about half-an-inch long,
and black. The males or soldiers have enormous
jaws ; when they get a grip you have to pull their
bodies in half before they let go. Some of these
could sting as well as bite. One great colony had
their headquarters at the foot of a large tree, about

SOUTH AFRICA 21

one hundred yards from the camp. When they
came out on a foraging expedition the column
was about two hundred yards long, the soldiers
being well away on each side — a regular military
formation with scouts in front. On one occasion
I happened on them just as they were leaving their
nest, and on scattering the front rank of the column
with a stick the whole lot turned on their tracks
and hurried back to shelter — similar to the thugs
of India, who always relinquished their intended
raid after an inauspicious start. Their raids were
chiefly in search of white ant nests : I have seen
them returning, each ant, excepting the scouts,
carrying an egg. Ants are supposed to have
great sagacity ; but I have watched ants of all
sorts, and if they met an obstruction, such as a
strong blade of grass, they would, even when laden
with some morsel of food, climb up one side and
down the other instead of going round. Individual
intellieence both in ants and bees is not of a
high order, but their communal intelligence is
marvellous.

There is a species of milliped common in these
parts which, when mature, measure about nine or
ten inches. On one of their forages the ants
came across a full-grown specimen, and a great
struggle ensued. The milliped, with several ants
hanging on to each leg, fought valiantly, twisting

22 SOLDIER AND SPORTSMAN

itself into every contortion imaginable ; but it was
only a few minutes before he succumbed, and
about ten more before only the skeleton remained.
And now came the interesting part of the pro-
ceedings. The ants that had fought, conquered
and broken up the milliped composed only a
comparatively small portion of the entire raiding
party. They waited until the rest of the column
had passed on. Then each ant, well laden, fell
into its place in column, escorted by the necessary
number of scouts, and proceeded homewards.

Sir Harry Johnston relates how in some districts
of Western Tropical Africa enormous tracts of
country are absolutely devastated by incredible
armies of ants — a species measuring about an
inch in length, black and armed with enormous
jaws. These ants will clear the forests of every
living thing. Birds, insects and animals, of the
largest size, even elephants have to clear out, or
else succumb.

Althoueh the British Bechuanaland Border Police
was by way of being a mounted corps, with a nominal
strength of one hundred and fifty horses, sickness
among the latter made it impossible to keep the corps
up to the mark. About seventy-five per cent, of re-
mounts succumbed annually. The only thing known
at that time concerning this dreadful scourge was that
the germ producing the sickness was either bred in

SOUTH AFRICA 23

dew or that the dew was the vehicle of introduction
to the horse, such being either drawn up through
the nostrils into the lungs or entering the stomach
when the animal was feeding. It was obvious
then that horses should not be turned out to
graze until the dew had evaporated ; even with
this precaution a large percentage acquired the
disease. If by chance a horse did recover, he
was termed " salted " — that is, immune from any
further attack. Yet orood "salted" horses were
very scarce ; consequently a large number of un-
salted horses had to be purchased annually.

On referrinof to the article on dew in T/ie
Encyclopcadia Britannica I find that for hundreds
of years this phenomenon has been the subject of
research and investigation. The ancients believed
that dew was shed from the stars, and was of a pure
and celestial essence ; they also believed that it
possessed the power of extending the duration of
life and that the external application of it corrected
any disposition to corpulence.

Dew of course rises from the earth, and it
brings with it in some cases poison from soluble
metals. In Derbyshire, in the vicinity of Mat-
lock, domestic farm stock are affected if they
are permitted to graze or feed when the dew
is on the ground, acquiring a disease called
belland, or lead poisoning. I believe in South

24 SOLDIER AND SPORTSMAN

Africa horses can be bred with impunity at a
height of 4000 feet. Below that level the scourge
has a serious effect on the development of the
country.

When I was at Maclontsie Camp two men
arrived named Strombone and Ware. They
claimed to have discovered not only a preventive
but a cure for horse-sickness. They obtained per-
mission to try their medicine, and lived in the
camp for some months, being confident of securing
the bonus of j£ ^0,000 promised by the Government
to anyone who could discover a certain preven-
tive ; all to no purpose, however, as just as big a
percentage of horses died after their treatment as
before. Ware's rig-ht le^ from the knee to the
ankle was bent in the form of a bow, and his story
concerning this deformity is worth repeating. When
returning from prospecting for gold in the neigh-
bourhood of the Shashi river a lion sprang on to
his horse, throwing it down, with Ware underneath.
He then proceeded to drag the horse away, but
during- the scuffle Ware's leg was broken. Fortun-
ately, he managed to crawl to a tree up which a
native, who was with him, had climbed and who
could not be induced to come down until daylight.
Meanwhile Ware, who had stuck to his rifle, which
he twice fired at two other lions prowling round,
had to remain sitting with his back to the tree for

SOUTH AFRICA 25

something like ten hours before assistance arrived
from the camp. Here his leg was bound up in the
position it was in when at Maclontsie, as crooked
as a bow.

Shortly after going to Maclontsie there arrived
a party on a shooting expedition, the Marquess
of Winchester,t hen known as J. Paulet, and the
Hon. J. Murray, Master of Elibank, en route for
Mashonaland. These g-entlemen were our o-uests
at the camp for about ten days, during which time
we put in two or three shooting excursions. In
one of these we camped close to a swamp on the
Monopololi river. Here duck and spur-winged
geese were plentiful. We had only just turned
into our blankets for the nigrht when we were
suddenly roused by awful howls coming from a
pointer who had managed to reach a ham intended
for breakfast, which had been hunor as we thought
well out of reach of marauders, and to which the
pointer was found hanging suspended on the hook.
After releasinof the unfortunate dosf we turned in
again, shortly to be disturbed by the cook, who had
been stung in the neck by a scorpion. I believe
the proper treatment for a sting from these insects
is to rub in ammonia, but of this we had none.
Still, with the external and internal application of
whisky, we got the patient well enough to carry
out his duties. I believe some animals are immune

26 SOLDIER AND SPORTSMAN

from the sting of scorpions. I remember meeting a
celebrated naturalist in Algiers, who provided me
with a sponge bag and a pair of collecting tongs,
asking me to put into the bag every manner of
insect or creature I could find. I brousfht him
some curious collections ; one of these comprised
scorpions, centipedes, a frog, two toads and a
mouse. These he turned into a basin to see if
there was a specimen amongst them worth keeping,
but the mouse and the frog did not appear a bit the
worse, yet it is certain they must have been either
bitten or stung. The only animal I obtained for
Anderson of any value was a lizard. We were in the
verandah of the hotel at Hammam Rhirha, Algiers,
when I cauorht a small lizard. On Anderson ex-
amining it, he pronounced it to be a specimen of great
value, and it is still referred to in natural history
as Anderson's Lizard. Among the guests in the
hotel at the time were the late Sir Richard and
Lady Burton. Sir Richard was then in poor health,
but I was never more impressed with the personality
of a man than when I met him. Indomitable re-
solution and consistency were stamped on every
feature. I regard both these characteristics as the
most important attribute in the mind of man.
No person ever rose to distinction without them.
There never was a great leader of men who was
not consistent. Sir Richard Burton was one of the

SOUTH AFRICA 27

great pioneers in surveying and exploring ihe
continent of Africa.

Amongst others who passed through the camp at
Maclontsie was the Hon. Maurice Gifford. On one
occasion he and I had ridden out some fifteen miles
from camp to a salt pan frequented by koodoos,
where he wounded one ; neither of us took any
particular notice of our direction as we went on in
pursuit, and eventually we lost track of the koodoo
in the thick bush. As it was getting towards sun-
down we thought it time to be making tracks for
home ; so taking a view of the situation, Gifford
pointed in a certain direction, saying he thought
the camp lay that way. I differed on the point,
maintainincj that the route we ouoht to take was
almost exactly the reverse to the way he proposed,
and according to Lord Fisher in a letter to The
Times, September, 19 19, " It is only damned fools
who argue." However, we agreed to differ, with
a mutual : "You can 00 to the devil, I am Sfoinof
this way." And so we parted. I had ridden on
my line for about an hour, and the sun looked like
sinking in a few minutes, so in order to have a last
look round I moved towards a small kopje. When I
had got within about one hundred yards of it I saw
my friend Gifford also making for the hill. We
met with the most friendly greetings, spent the
night at the bottom of the kopje, and resolved to

28 SOLDIER AND SPORTSMAN

say never a word of our want of veldt craft. At
daybreak we found a native cattle post and pro-
cured a guide back to camp.

Gifford was one of the most prominent of the
officers who took part in the Matabele War. He
received a wound which necessitated amputation
of the arm. This took place not far from the scene
of the magnificent stand made by Wilson and his
gallant band, until they were overwhelmed and,
with exception of one man, killed. Gifford was
a brother of Lord Gifford, who did some excellent
work in the developing of the country.

Khama, the chief of the Bechuanas, who had his
headquarters at Palapsnye, was a great supporter
of the British pioneers. The Matabele had made
more than one attempt to acquire territory in
Bechuanaland gallantly frustrated by this tribe.
King Khama showed us a scar, the result of a
wound, of which he was very proud : he had re-
ceived it in a personal encounter with Lobengula,
the Matabele chief.

Khama paid a visit to England, and was the
only man of sufficient intelligence who could
assimilate the grandeur and the power of England.
Some time after Khama had visited England, Mr
Cecil Rhodes sent two of the Chief Indunas of the
Matabele to England so that they might realise
what a great country it was. On returning to

SOUTH AFRICA 29

their lULtive land they were asked what impressed
them most, and they repHed that the beautiful
pictures on the houses in the city and on the
travelling wagons, alluding of course to adver-
tisements, filled them with astonishment and awe.
They had witnessed military reviews, in fact all
the pageantry of war, and their minds could only
grasp the trivialities — so much for trying to educate
the black man in a hurry.

One of the small excursions I made from
Maclontsie was to, and along the borders of, the
Kalahari Desert. This time I took what we
called a Scotch cart, with a half-bred bushman
named Wilson and a couple of greyhounds. I
had always been anxious to see how they would
perform against the larger antelope.

The hartebeest antelope is in my opinion the
fastest animal that lives, for a short distance ; to
prove this I made several attempts to slip a couple
of greyhounds at one of these beautiful creatures.
To have a fair trial, the veldt should be sufficiently
clear of bush and the going good, and it should
be arranged that the dogs be brought into view
together ; also one should manoeuvre to get close
enough to the hartebeest before the dogs are
slipped. I had my camp about a mile from a
vley where the grass was just beginning to grow,
while the veldt all round was almost clear of scrub.

30 SOLDIER AND SPORTSMAN

One morning, about an hour after sunrise, Wilson
came in with news that five hartebeest were
feeding in the vley. We therefore went out to
reconnoitre the situation, and when I had chosen
a position for a view, he went back to camp for
the dogs. Everything turned out as we had hoped.
Wilson managed to crawl up to within one hundred
and twenty yards of the antelope before they seemed
to be thoroughly alarmed, and when he slipped the
dogs at them, they raced up together and got to
within about twenty-five yards before the antelope,
who seemed more curious than frightened, began to
move. When they did, they got clean away from
the greyhounds, every now and again halting and
allowing their pursuers almost to reach them, and
then spurting away again with the greatest ease.
In fact, the dogs had no chance, and after going
about a mile and a half they seemed to have had
about enough of it. Jumping off my horse I there-
fore took a flying shot at the bull of the herd,
breaking his leg above the hock, and with this
handicap I made sure we would soon bring him
to hand. It was, however, about four hours later
before I got close enough to fire a fatal shot.
Meanwhile the dogs had dropped out of the hunt.
I followed on, sometimes on the spoor, sometimes
in view, dismounting and firing when I got near
enough, without putting in a fatal shot. Infamous

SOUTH AFRICA 31

marksmansliij), I will admit^ — but when the bull
was eventually killed, I found that altogether he
had been hit five times. Throuirhout the chase
I had taken no notice whatever of the direction
in which we were going, nor of any landmarks.
Consequently when I came to think of making
my way back to camp I found I had not the most
remote idea of where it was. I had given no
instructions to Wilson, but I came to the con-
clusion it was better to remain where I was and
trust to my man following the spoor of the horse.
About an hour before sundown I had taken up a
position on an ant-hill, the highest bit of ground
near, and I confess to a feeling of relief when I
spotted the half-bred bushman. He was coming
along evidently on the spoor, for he leaned over
his mount now and again to get a better view of
the horse's footprints. When we met I asked
him where the cart was, and he pointed in the
direction without the sliohtest hesitation — three
hours' ride.

The hartebeest was a very fine specimen, and I
should say weighed between four and five hundred
pounds. The head we cut off and fixed in the fork
of a tree out of the way of marauders, as we in-
tended to fetch in the carcass the next day.
However, a shower of rain in the night obliter-
ated the spoor, consequently I was not able to

32 SOLDIER AND SPORTSMAN

recover the head. It was long after dark when
we got back to camp, and the dogs had not re-
turned. One, a black bitch, was a real good one,
who had won a small stake in England before
she was imported to the General in South Africa,
and had helped me on several occasions with
wounded buck. The other was a cross-grained
brute, but game. During the night I was awakened
by Nellie, the black bitch, licking my face. She
must have followed us as far as she could. I can
picture her, uncertain whether to continue the hunt
or return to camp. She must have used her nose
successfully when she made up her mind to come
back, otherwise she would never have reached
camp. There are people who say greyhounds
have no noses and are almost devoid of scent,
but I don't agree with them.

The other dog never turned up, so I expect he
was killed by lions.

About this time, as a guest we had Father
Schomberg Kerr, a kinsman of the present Lord
Lothian, who had been a commander in the
navy. It is strange that ultra-enthusiasm or ultra-
religionism runs in some families, notably the
Scotch and Irish. Father Kerr on leaving the
naval service became a Jesuit, and if a man can
go through the period of probation and instruction,
lasting for six years, he has proved himself of

SOUTH AFRICA 33

exceptional quality, for to attain the dionity of
Father in the Creed he must have conquered the
World, the Flesh and the Devil.

We had arranged a special camp, a spacious
tent with fittings, the best procurable, for his
residence whilst with us, and I have watched him
on several occasions standing facing the east in
what appeared to me to be a state of trance,
erect, with his arms crossed over his chest. At
such times, however, no one went near him. It
would have been sacrilege to interrupt his com-
munion with the spirits, but I often noticed a
dozen or two black faces peering through the
bush that surrounded the clearing. No doubt
they regarded him as a great medicine man.

The Jesuit missionary I have profound respect
for : his methods of civilising are so very different
from those of his Protestant confrere.

The Protestants, as a rule, used to begin opera-
tions by erecting a building of some sort, to which
they invited or inveigled the native inhabitants.
Then, by way of introducing Christianity, hymns
were sung to the accompaniment of an organ.
As a rule these natives of Bechuanaland are born
musicians. They love music, and the number of
converts to Christianity under these circumstances
are, it is very easy to imagine, most satisfactory.
My view of the Protestant Missionary Society is
c

34 SOLDIER AND SPORTSMAN

that there is quite enough, and perhaps more, for
them to do at home before they tackle what they are
pleased to style the "heathen " in foreign countries.
The civilising of coloured people in all lands by
means of missionaries has proved a ghastly failure.
In a few years the state of the unfortunate people
tackled by missionaries is infinitely worse than
when the Christianisingr commenced. Its results
are the utter deg^eneration of the unfortunate
people. The introduction of spirits and the Bible
confuses them beyond belief, and ends in physical
degradation.

The Jesuit methods are entirely different. They
leave the spiritual part alone, and endeavour to
improve the general status of the natives, showing
them how to improve their manner of cultivating
crops, instilling thrift and cleanliness, etc.

The experience gained or taught in some
hundreds of years proves beyond question that
attempting to civilise the black races is labour
spent in vain. I draw a distinction between
christianising and civilising. To attempt the former
is worse than futile ; the latter should be confined
to instilling discipline enough to make the natives
useful to the white man.

Harking back to sporting in South Africa. The
Cape hunting dogs were often to be heard at the
camp at Maclontsie. I believe they never give

SOUTH AFRICA 35

tongue except when in pursuit of game. The
lycaons are among the most ungainly of animals,
and one would never believe from their appearance
that they are capable of pulling down some of the
swiftest antelope in the veldt. Sir Percy Fitzpatrick
in Jock of the Bush Veldt describes their method.
They first scatter widely over the chosen area where
game is located, then one buck is chosen as the
easiest victim, and cutting it out from the herd
they follow that one, and that alone, with remorse-
less, invincible persistency. One or two of the
pack take up the chase, giving their victim no
moment's rest for breath, from time to time
emitting their peculiarly weird call. Others of
the pack, posted afar, head the buck off, to turn
it back again ; the fresh ones then take up the
chase and the first pair drop out to take a rest
and wait. Once a buck is selected he is doomed.
Their method is something akin to the remorse-
less pertinacity with which a stoat hunts a rabbit.
I have followed a stoat hunting a rabbit and seen
him pay no attention to other rabbits passed
close by in the chase ; curiously, these rabbits
appeared to take no notice of him. When the
hunted rabbit realises that there is no escape
he gives in, and with pitiful squeals awaits his
pursuer. If he would only stop and fight, a
different tale could be told, as a stoat finds out

36 SOLDIER AND SPORTSMAN

to its cost when it tackles a rabbit with a nest
of young.

A native once brought me a half-grown lycaon pup.
A more uninteresting pet could not be imagined.
Under captivity his natural intelligence seems to
evaporate, and nothing takes its place. These
wild dogs rely on numbers to enable them to
obtain food, and I expect that when the bitches
lie up with whelp many succumb to starvation.
Single-handed they could capture nothing. Their
numbers, so far as I could ascertain, had decreased,
as those of all carnivorous animals do as the game
becomes scarce from being disturbed or shot. I
think the wild dog of South Africa is now a dis-
tinct species and has probably evolved from a
cross between the common semi-domestic dog
and a hyena, taking after the latter in appearance.
The fact that he is called the Cape hunting dog
suggests that the most southern tract of South
Africa is the birthplace of the tribe.

The year 1891 was a great one in the develop-
ment of Mr Cecil Rhodes' imperialism. The
British Bechuanaland Border Police formed part
of the mechanism which was to open up a con-
siderable part of the continent of Africa. A rail-
way to unite the two extremities of the Cape and
Cairo was the grand inspiring call of a gigantic
scheme. It brought the British nation into

SOUTH AFRICA 37

direct conflict with the Boers on one side, and
with the various tribes of aboriginals on the
other. The most southern races, the Zulus, the
Pongos, the Basutos, etc., had already been dealt
with. It remained only to deal with the Matabele
and various independent races farther north. The
Bechuanas, with their chief, Khama, had already
given their support and allegiance to the British.
In the year of grace 1891 the chiefs of our execu-
tive— including Cecil Rhodes and Lord Randolph
Churchill — decided on a tour of inspection —
viz. a trip from Cape Town to Fort Salisbury,
comprising a distance of some 2000 miles. The
principal antagonists to British occupation were
the Boers. Colonel Pennefather was leading an
expedition through Mashonaland which practically
forestalled the intention of the Boers. According
to Lord Randolph Churchill, " in men, mines and
animals in South Africa," the main object of the
threatened trek into Mashonaland by the Boers
was to put pressure upon the High Commissioner
in the matter of Swaziland. "If you will redeem
your promise of giving us Swaziland, we will drop
the trek" — so said the Boers. Lord Randolph
Churchill on his travels northwards had journeyed
through the Transvaal, and his wonderful power
of observation and discernment is trenchantly ex-
pressed thus : "I speak of the nation of Transvaal

38 SOLDIER AND SPORTSMAN

Boers, as a whole, as I think I have seen it. I
turned my back gladly on this people, hastening
northwards to lands possessed I hope of equal
wealth, brighter prospects, reserved for more
worthy owners, entitled to happier destinies. I
rejoiced, after all I had seen in the Transvaal,
that the country and the people of the Matabele
and the Mashona had been rescued in the nick of
time owing to the genius of Mr Rhodes and the
tardy vigour of the British Government from the
mortal and withering grasp of the Boer."

It was at Tuli, the first fort of the Mashonaland
Police, that I had the privilege of meeting Lord
Randolph Churchill, Mr Cecil Rhodes and Dr
Jameson. These three distinguished men had to
pass through remarkable vicissitudes of political
fortunes, and none lived to see complete realisation
of his schemes. All died comparatively young :
Cecil Rhodes was forty-nine. Lord Randolph
Churchill forty-six and Dr Jameson fifty years of
age. From all accounts they overtaxed their
strength, mentally and physically. The years lying
between forty and fifty ought to see the zenith of
a man's capabilities. Wellington and Napoleon
were forty-six, so were four of Napoleon's generals,
when the battle of Waterloo was fought. Historians
of that period suggest that Napoleon on that day
had lost the forceful energy and magnetic influence

SOUTH AFRICA 39

which had hitherto, in battles, been the equivalent
ot an additional division to his army. He of
course failed to realise his ambition. No man can
become greatly distinguished without ambition.
That word has a purely political origin : its real
mcaninor is "oroincj round to solicit votes for an
election to a civic office among the Romans."
Napoleon's ambition was certainly in its first
inception entirely selfish. It was power he wanted
and he unquestionably gained it. His dictum that
" knowledge is power" was vindicated to the full in
his marvellous career, in his intuitive knowledge of
war and organisation, and in his unfailingly correct
judgment of men and his alertness in making
the best of every situation that presented itself.
Absorbing wisdom day by day, assimilating and
digesting every lesson that life could teach him,
he developed an intellect unequalled among men.
His wonderful career was compressed into about
twenty-five years of his active life.

All biographers who have written of Rhodes
draw analogies between him and greatly dis-
tinguished men. Sir Lewis Michell compares
him to the Caesars, Napoleon and Clive.

Mr Gordon Le Suer, one of his biographers,
says: "There was a strange facial resemblance
between Rhodes and some of the Roman Caesars."
Thus it seems that physiognomy and phrenology

40 SOLDIER AND SPORTSMAN

must have a i^reat deal to do with the character
of a man. Rhodes beHeved in this, for it is said,
when inspecting classes of boys or young men, he
would make comments as to which he considered
were likely to become distinguished.

Lavater says: "Whether they are or are not
sensible of it, all men are influenced daily by
physiognomy. There is not a man who does not
more or less the first time he is in company with
a stranger observe, estimate, compare and judge
him according to appearances."

My impression of Mr Rhodes was that he was
one of the most remarkable men I had ever met.
His conversation was always on matters connected
with his schemes ; he asked questions of everyone,
and then he would lapse into silence for some time,
before another string of questions came pouring
out. He appeared to take no interest whatever in
animals ; so unceasingly was his brain at work that
he seemed to have no time for eating and drinking.
He swallowed his food almost without masticating"
it, and he gulped his drink down with I should
think serious detriment to his digestion. Even
Gladstone descended to the discussion of the
process of eating, and, it is said, subjected every
mouthful of meat to thirty-two bites before swallow-
ing ; he regarded this habit as absolutely necessary
for those who aspire to a long life.

SOUTH AFRICA 41

The views or opinions of great men on the
matter of religion are interesting, and, according
to Mr Gordon Le Suer, Rhodes did not care about
discussing it. Yet on one occasion he said : " Let
a man be a Buddhist, a Mohammedan, a Christian,
or what you will. Let him call himself what he
likes, but if he does not believe in a Supreme Being
he is no man ; he is no better than a dog."

Napoleon is said to have had no belief in a future
life, but gave it as his opinion that some sort of
religion was a necessity to humanity. Great army
captains do not as a rule bring into their dispatches
the name of the Almighty ; yet Lee, the Southern
commander in the American Civil War, did so.
He began his dispatches with fervent thanks for
victories already achieved and supplications to the
Deity for further assistance, very different from the
blunt trenchant dispatches of his opponent Ulysses
Grant, by which it would seem that Napoleon's
dictum proved correct — viz. that Providence is on
the side of the biggest and best-led battalions.

Dr Jameson was at Tuli, and my first meeting
with him was for medical advice. Just previous
to leaving Fort Gaberones, where I met General
Carrington, to accompany him in the capacity of
Staff- Officer, I had been thrown sky-high from a
newly arrived remount, and pitching on my head
received a knock that resulted in severe concussion

42 SOLDIER AND SPORTSMAN

of the brain. When we arrived at Tuli, the
General, on meeting Dr Jameson, asked him to
go and see me. The doctor prescribed complete
rest and darkness, and confinement to my tent.
Eventually, he sent round a small bottle of eau-de-
Cologne, a bottle he had brought up for himself. I
felt deeply grateful for his attention. The doctor
had just returned from Fort Salisbury, and I was
told that he had been the means of saving the life
of Mr Rutherford Harris. This gentleman, after
bathing in a pool in one of the rivers up there, was
seated drying himself on a rock when a crocodile
seized him by the small of the back, lacerating it
severely. The doctor up there had ordered Mr
Harris continually to bathe the part with hot water
and bandage it ; so frequently was he advised to
do this that the injured part looked like becoming
gangrenous. Dr Jameson at once altered the
treatment, and in a fortnight the patient had
recovered.

Kindness and sympathy seemed to me the chief
attributes of Dr Jameson. I would never have
imaorined him as a leader of an almost forlorn
hope, as the Jameson Raid was.

General Carrington had intended to proceed
to Fort Salisbury, the destination of Mr Rhodes,
Dr Jameson and Lord Randolph Churchill, but
at Tuli he changed his plans, having obtained six

SOUTH AFRICA 43

months' leave to England. Instead of going north
we started for the south, I remainincr at Maclontsie
in temporary command of the corps, whilst he
proceeded to England.

The war dance of the Matabele tribe, an annual
function which is in reality a harvest festival,
was to begin about a couple of months after I
had taken charge. The distance from Maclontsie
to Bulawayo is about two hundred and forty miles.
By way of breaking the monotony of camp and
making myself acquainted with the country, I
obtained from the High Commissioner at Cape
Town fourteen days' leave for the purpose of
shooting. Another officer in the corps, also
seconded, was equally as keen as myself on wit-
nessing one of the historic functions in the life
of the most powerful nation in that part of South
Africa. We therefore arranged that two separate
routes should be taken, and a survey made of
each. Captain (as he then was) Sitwell, now a
Major-General, had originally been in the 5th
Battalion, Northumberland Fusiliers, Militia, as I
had myself, likewise Major (now Sir) Rawleigh
Grey and Colonel Carr Elison, all Northumber-
land men, who had joined the Militia previous to
entering the army. It was rather a strange coin-
cidence that four men from the same county should
have become members of the British Bechuanaland

44 SOLDIER AND SPORTSMAN

Border Police, all serving with it at the same
time.

At Bulawayo were Mr Colenbrander, represent-
ative of the Chartered Company, and Mr Renny
Tayleur, the latter trying to obtain a concession from
Lobengula. It was in Mr Tayleur's compound that
we made our headquarters.

The dance is a harvest festival. All the fiofhting-
members of the nation, forming " Impis " or regi-
ments, from the outlying kraals, assemble at
Bulawayo to pay homage to the King and take
part in the festivities. No woman, or lad not yet
entered as a fighting man, dare show up. Old
Loben held his court in his kraal, and there was
at that time only one wagon in the country ; this
was utilised as a sort of forum from which the
King received the homage of his subjects. As
each "Impi" arrives the chief of it comes forward
in a stooping, crouching gait, the left shoulder
depressed by the weight of the shield and assegai
which he carries. Each man as he approaches
chants verses in praise of the King. I was told
that on one day during the festival, and on one
day only, the women are allowed to sally out, and
that every man, woman and child bathes in the
river. I did not see this performance, but believe
it to be a fact, a custom of ancient origin from the
Jews. When the festivities are coming to an end,

SOUTH AFRICA 45

a great number of oxen are turned loose and the
warriors show their skill in slaughtering them with
the assegai ; a bad bungle is greeted with ironic
cheers and shouts, and a general scramble takes
place to avoid the charges of the wounded ox.

When the functions come to an end the Impis
parade en tnasse in the presence of the King,
chanting a song and stamping their feet on the
ground in unison with the tune. Then the King
descends from his wagon, takes an assegai in
his right hand and casts it with a mighty throw
in the direction of their supposed enemies. A
huge feast ends the performance.

Mr Colenbrander took me up to be presented
to His Majesty. On seeing me he said, "The
white man is very thin," and immediately ordered
food and beer. The food consisted of a huge
steak, which I did not eat, but after one of the
witch doctors had tasted the beer, a custom to
show it was not poisoned, I took a good drink
of it. It is made from millet seed, and requires
to be drunk often before one relishes it. On
the following day Captain Sitwell was taken by
Colenbrander to interview His Majesty, and an
incident happened which might have had serious
consequences for all the white folks there.

On leaving the King's presence Sitwell took a
pipe from his pocket, closing the case with a snap

46 SOLDIER AND SPORTSMAN

before puttincr it back. He and Colenbrander had
proceeded only about two hundred yards when a
messenger from the King hastened after, summon-
ing them back to the kraal. It appeared that one
of the witch doctors, who had been watching opera-
tions, imagined, or chose to believe, that the case
contained a pistol and that Sitwell had actually
pointed it at Lobengula. Mr Colenbrander had a
difficult job to persuade the King to the contrary,
and the last words old Loben said were : " If the
white man had presented a pistol I would have
made a dust round the white man's kraal." In
fact, all the whites would have been killed, and
the rebellion that broke out some eigrhteen months
later would have been precipitated. This incident
was not made light of when Colenbrander reported
our visit at Bulawayo, and the result of that report
by no means lightened the responsibility that I
undertook, first of all, in taking over command
of the corps, and in the next place, leaving the
command of it to an officer who was not what
was called "Imperial." This officer was Captain
the Hon. Charles, son of the present veteran Earl
of Coventry, a most gallant gentleman, who has
had the unique experience of seeing the inside
of a Boer gaol, as well as a Turkish one. It will
be remembered that Captain Coventry was taken
prisoner along with several squadrons of mounted

SOUTH AFRICA 47

troops when we suffered a reverse in the neighbour-
hood of Gaza.

On the day of this incident I had ridden out
some ten or twelve miles from Bulawayo. On my
return I had arrived within three miles of Bulawayo,
my horse burdened with the extra weight of a paw
or bustard (some of these birds reach a weight of
about thirty pounds), when I came upon one of
the Impis, or regiments of fighting men, who had
gone to headquarters to participate in the festivities.
For some real or imasfined breach of the unwritten
law of the IMatabele they had been sent home in
disgrace. There are no minor punishments for
evil-doers ; one only — and that is death ! There
are no such anomalies as "unwanted babies." If
a girl gets into trouble in this way there is short
shrift both for herself and her lover, as they are
both put to death.

Some years previously this particular kraal had
incurred the King's displeasure, and all the women
of the kraal that were enceinte were assembled
close to a small hill, adjacent to the kraal, and
then slaughtered, few escaping. It was the
descendants of this same kraal that were in
trouble again, and it was the disgraced crowd
of warriors that I met, all in their war paint,
picturesque and truculent, some with monkey skins
and some with leopard skins round their waists,

48 SOLDIER AND SPORTSMAN

with their headgear adorned with ostrich feathers,
each man carryint^ a shield and assegais. I came
on them somewhat suddenly on topping a rise in
the ground ; on seeing me they broke into a run,
tapping their shields and shouting in deep guttural
tones. My first impulse was to gallop off, but
realising that my horse was just about cooked, I
merely edged off the path and rode stolidly on.
I had my rifle ready, and when a man came too
close I brought it up menacingly. Eventually I
got past the crowd, numbering about one hundred
and fifty, with a feeling of intense relief.

On reaching Bulawayo I went straight to Colen-
brander to make inquiries concerning this infuriated
mob. Colenbrander's reply was :

" You actually met these fellows and are still
alive and well ! "

" I am here, that is clear enough," I replied.

"If you had shown the slightest sign of fear you
would have had a hundred assegais into you before
you could wink."

Some three days after this episode Colenbrander,
Renny Tayleur and myself were discussing the
situation. The former's opinion was that the
sooner I departed the better for all. He said
by an old custom the Matabele regarded their
harvest festivities as one at which no spectators
should be present, and that my presence was

SOUTH AFRICA 49

acting as a very disturbing clement. Then a
message arrived, sent by Captain Coventry by
native runners, suorcrestinor that I should return to
Maclontsie with all haste, as inquiries concerning
me were being pressed from Cape Town.

Colenbrander was strongly of the opinion that I
should leave at once, but should follow a route differ-
ent from the one I had come by for the first ten miles,
thus avoiding two of the principal kraals. After
dark the next night, in company with Lynman, a
trooper in the corps and a first-class veldt man,
who had accompanied me from Maclontsie, we
started for Tati, where a man named Farley had
a store, and where I had stopped for a night on
my northward trek. The distance was about one
hundred and twenty miles, and we each rode one
horse and led another, riding them by turns. This
distance we covered in twenty-seven hours. When
we arrived within a few hundred yards of Tati, and
could see a light in Farley's hut, I missed hearing
the footfall of the horses behind me. On e^oinof
back I found the trooper lying on the ground fast
asleep and the horses standing by him, so I pulled
him out of the track, propped him against a tree,
hitched his horses up, and rode on to the store.
Farley was not in, but as I thought he would be
back shortly, when I intended to go back and fetch
in my servant, I lay down on a bench couch in the

D

50 SOLDIER AND SPORTSMAN

room and went to sleep. Next morning at day-
light Farley woke me up. On discovering that
the man had not come in I hurried off up the road
with Farley, as hard as we could go. There, to
our inexpressible relief, we found the man and
horses exactly in the same position as I had left
them some hours previously.

I cfot to Maclontsie late the followincr nio^ht, and
I found that indeed so far as I was concerned "the
fat was in the fire " and frizzling with uncommon
vigour. To make matters worse, a paragraph
appeared in Tritth to the effect that "Captain
Scott, in temporary command of the Bechuanaland
Border Police, had taken the opportunity of going
into forbidden country to witness the war dance of
the Matabele, etc." Sir Frederick Carrington and
the officers on leave had been recalled, and alto-
gether I got myself thoroughly disliked. In the
meantime I was to consider myself under arrest.
However, when the General arrived in Cape Town
things were soon smoothed over.

It happened that Lord Randolph Churchill was
at Fort Gaberones, and on his return from
Mashonaland I was there awaiting Sir Frederick
Carrington's arrival from England. I had gone
for a ride with him across the border, and when
I explained that we were in Transvaal territory
he said :

SOUTH AFRICA 51

" I think we had better get back, as if the Boers
have seen what I have said about them in my
letters home they will be after me."

This was in jest, of course, but there is no doubt
that they were becoming- unbearably truculent and
insolent. His opinion of them has already been
quoted.

That evening Lord Randolph's meal consisted
of a poached egg and a bottle of champagne ; he
was unable to eat more from fatigue. The main
object of his travels in Africa was to regain at
least some of his fast-declining health, and I well
remember his saying that the climax of a some-
what overtaxed brain was reached when he was
preparing his Budget speech, 1886; shortly after
this he resigned the appointment of Chancellor.
About a year after my return to England I
happened to be a guest of the Hon. R. Burke,
who had taken Lord Mayo's residence in County
Kildare. It was here that Lord Randolph had
been staying when he was preparing the speech,
and the room which was put at his disposal was
shown to guests as a sort of memorial of his in-
defatigable capacity for work. As Lord Randolph
himself said, he never recovered from the terrific
strain of that all-niorht sittinQ-. Durinor these hours
he had smoked over a hundred cigarettes and
consumed large quantities of whisky and soda.

52 SOLDIER AND SPORTSMAN

I believe that all men who work the brain to
excess require artificial stimulants. Some require
alcohol in some form, others narcotics. The fact
remains that very brilliant men have short lives.
Without artificial assistance, they would probably
not achieve brilliancy.

Lord Randolph was quite the most brilliant man
of his time. It is, however, interesting to record
that his first attempt to pass the entrance examina-
tion into Oxford was a failure. Other grreat men,
notably the Duke of Wellington and Lord Rosebery,
have shown that early failure in scholastic affairs is
by no means an indication that their future will be
undistinguished.

Lord Randolph spent two or three days at
Gaberones, and amongst other interesting incidents
of his expedition to Mashonaland he recounted
various adventures with lions. Very few men who
go on sporting expeditions to South Africa have
the luck to see lions, even though they be in a lion-
infested district. I believe it is Mr F. Selous who
says that he was two years in the country before
seeing one, and his object was to find and shoot
game of any sort ; but extraordinary luck befell
Lord Randolph in this respect. He describes how
he, in company with Mr Hans Lee, one of the
expert hunters of that time, came on a group of
lions, eight to ten in number. Confronted with

SOUTH AFRICA 53

such an alarming sight as this, many experienced
hunters might have thought twice before going
right into the midst of them, but Lord Randolph
says :

" Trooping and trotting along ahead of us like a
lot of enormous dogs, the great yellow objects offered
such a sight as I had never dreamed of. My horse,
untrained to the gun, would not allow me to fire
from his back. I therefore stuck close to Lee,
determined to let him do the shooting, unless things
became critical, as his aim was true."

It appears that only one, a lioness, was bagged.
Lord Randolph then goes on to describe that, dur-
ing the process of searching for another wounded
lion, he thought it wise to climb a tree, thereby
procuring a good view of the field of operations.

Truth in its Christmas number of 1893 pub-
lished a cartoon depicting the Evolution of Lord
Randolph.

Lord Randolph gave great praise to the
Bechuanaland Border Police. Writing of the
Headquarters he says :

" No traveller can fail to be struck by the exceed-
ing cleanliness and order as well as by the excellent
construction of the quarters of the officers and men.
It would be difficult to speak too highly of this
force. No drinking, no idleness, no slovenliness

54 SOLDIER AND SPORTSMAN

can be detected. In this lonely spot far away from
civilisation, day after day throughout the long year,
the members of this force manage to occupy all
their time, to keep themselves in an irreproachable
condition of efficiency and smartness. No duty or
errand is repugnant to the Bechuanaland Border
Police. A private will start off to ride two or three
hundred miles throucjh the bush with nothino; but
a haversack containing biscuit, tea and coffee and
a small patrol tin. A wonderful esprit-de-corps
animates them. Two of the officers had returned,
when I arrived, from a ten days' prowl all by them-
selves right into Lobengula's country, entered upon
partly for survey purposes, partly for the obtaining
of information, a service by no means devoid of
peril, performed in the most light-hearted but
effectual manner."

This is a great tribute to the organising power of
the man who raised the corps and commanded —
viz. Sir Frederick Carrington. The two officers he
refers to were Captain Sitwell and myself; our
adventures I have endeavoured to describe.

The following lines from Dryden appear so apt,
on recalling the pleasures of the past, I make no
apology for quoting them here :

Happy the man, and happy he alone,
He who can call to-day his own —

SOUTH AFRICA 55

He who, secure within, can say :
" To-morrow do thy worst, for I have hved to-day.
Come fair or foul, or rain or shine.
The joys I have possessed, in spite of fate, are mine.
Not Heaven herself over the past hath power !
But what has been has been, and I have had my hour."

Drvden.

CHAPTER II

INDIAN REMINISCENCES

SOLDIERING in India fifty or sixty years
ago was probably nothing like so strenuous
as it is at the present time, and I recall with
pleasure the two and a half years I had the privi-
lege of serving with my regiment at Mhow, Central
I ndia.

The first few months were spent in learning drill,
instruction in the riding school, etc. The Adjutant,
who was a great sportsman, instructed me in jungle
craft as well as in professional detail, and as a con-
sequence we became great friends. A most vivid
recollection comes to my mind of his untimely
end.

About a week before the tragedy I am about to
relate he and I had gone out to shoot quail. The
Adjutant was driving the tonga, the most primitive
vehicle possible — really a board on two wheels
attached to a couple of ponies. He and I were
in front, a man with a gun and spaniel behind.
We had left the road, making for a clump of
trees to obtain shelter from a storm. Just as we
bumped over a small watercourse a terrific clap

56

INDIAN REMINISCENCES 57

of thunder with a simultaneous flash of Hghtning
caused the ponies to jump the obstacle. The pole
of the tonga broke, and the body of it turned
completely over. My friend gave a scream, and
when I had picked myself up, and could view the
situation, I found my companion lying senseless.
My first impression was that he had been struck
by lightning, but fortunately this was not the
case, and the native servant and myself managed
to tret him home. I would not recall this incident
were it not for the tragic result. Exactly a week
later I found my friend, whose name I do not
wish to mention, writing- letters in his bunoralow.
The curious expression on his face drew my at-
tention, but I could oret no inkling of what was
in his mind. It struck me as strange, however,
when he offered to make me a present of his
spaniel, a dog I had many times heard him declare
he would never part with. We were to dine with
the Colonel that night, and during dinner I thought
I had never seen the Adjutant in better spirits —
in fact, any misgivings I had had as to what might
be his intentions vanished. Next morning he
was absent from parade, and while we were at
breakfast his servant came to summon me to the
bungalow. Pointing to the bathroom he said :

"The Sahib is in there."

Sure enough, we found him lying full length on

58 SOLDIER AND SPORTSMAN

the floor. The mirror in the room was spattered
with powder, and it was clear he had looked in
it when putting the revolver to his mouth.

Strangely enough, it has happened that I have
three times in my life been principal witness in
suicide cases. In each instance evidence threw no
light upon the reason for self-destruction. I have
many times heard it argued as to whether such
is the act of a brave man or a coward, and I
incline to the opinion that it must require a vast
amount of resolution to do the final act. The
letters my friend wrote the evening prior to his
death were to bid good-bye to various friends.
What passed through my mind was, if he had
not written those letters, would he have thought
better of it ? Having written them, he may have
thought that it would be cowardice to refrain from
committing the final act. If that is so, then the
deed was that of a brave and resolute man. I
have no doubt it was the shaking his nervous
system received from the accident when driving
a week previous to the tragedy that upset his
mental equilibrium.

During the hot weather season of 1879 the late
Colonel Walker (who later commanded the regi-
ment) and myself spent our long leave on a shooting
trip to the jungles skirting the Narbudda. The bag
at the end of the trip consisted of seven tigers, and

INDIAN REMINISCENCES 59

several bears and deer, but I came to the conclusion
that tiger shooting was an indifferent form of sport.
The best part of the fun was tracking the tiger to
his lair and marking him down. This is done by
the native shikarees. I usually accompanied them,
and most fascinatino- it was to watch them following
a track in difficult ground, such as the dry bed of
a river, where perhaps the displacement of a pebble
here and there was the only sign of an animal hav-
ing been on the move. Once the tiger is marked
down, positions are taken up by the guns and the
drive begins. We had the use of four elephants,
and these used as beaters were enouMi as a rule to
cause the tiger to break ; if the guns were well
placed it was seldom that we did not account for
the orame.

On one occasion a tiger broke back without
having a shot fired at her, and the guns were
immediately mounted on the elephants and we
went on in pursuit. The jungle was very sparse
and bare, and two or three times we got a view.
Eventually she was bagged, when we found that
the thick coating of skin on the pads of her feet
had blistered and peeled off and the wretched
animal must have been for some time in intense
pain. We also ascertained that it was only a
matter of days before she was due to lay up with
cubs. It is such unfortunate incidents that happen

6o SOLDIER AND SPORTSMAN

now and again which sadly diminishes the pleasures
of the sport.

Anyone who has been close to a tiger is aware
of a somewhat curious smell this animal has, both in
captivity and in the wild. It happened one day that
Walker and myself were moving along the banks
of a deep nullah to take up our positions for the
drive. When we were close to the " beat " I re-
marked to Walker that I winded a tiger. As we
were talking, one of the shikarees ran up to us, and
seemed intensely astonished that we had not met
the animal, as it was only a minute since he had
been seen going in our direction. From investiga-
tion it appeared that he had passed beneath us
three or four yards away, hidden by some long
o-rass and scrub. It is remarkable how a tisrer can
slip through the jungle without being seen, taking
advantage of every blade of grass and crouching
low to the ground. Under such circumstances, a
full-p;rown animal will look no bioraer than a cat.
Very different if he has to cross a patch bare of
cover ; no need to try to hide himself then. He
stands to his full height, and is one of the most
beautiful animals in creation.

A somewhat curious incident happened one day
when I went alone with the beaters to hunt up a
panther, said to have his abode in a deep nullah.
I had taken up a position on the top of a pile of

INDIAN REMINISCENCES 6i

rock and stones, close to one side of the ravine.
The beaters had not succeeded in getting the game
on foot and were all collected round where I was
sitting. I had taken the cartridges out of the rifle,
and was about to enjoy a smoke, when one of the
beaters said : " I know where the panther is."

He followed up his remark by climbing up a few
feet of the bank opposite to where I sat. Just
above his head was a hole which appeared to be
the opening of a small cave. He had no sooner
put his head to the hole than the panther sprang
out, knocking his turban off and alighting on the
heap of stones where I was, two yards away. For
about ten seconds the panther glared at me, and
very thankful I felt when he turned and jumped
to the ground.

Sitting over water where animals come to drink
at night is a most fascinating sport. A great
variety of game visit these pools in dry weather,
and although I do not recollect having been suc-
cessful in obtaining what I always went for, either
tiger or leopard, there was great enjoyment in
watching the various animals. The dead stillness,
always more noticeable before sundown, seems to
give a certain amount of confidence to the animals
of the wild when they are approaching a locality
which instinct tells them is full of danger. About
three miles from our camp there was a water-hole

62 SOLDIER AND SPORTSMAN

said to be a favourite spot for the thirsty folk of the
jungle, and on inspecting the ground one evening
about two hours before sundown it was evident
from the tracks of all sorts of animals that it was
well frequented. My shikaree and myself pro-
ceeded to rig up a small shelter, in which we took
up our position. The first arrivals were four
peacocks. So silently had they come forward,
apparently taking advantage of every little bit of
cover, that they seemed to burst on our vision as if
they had risen from a hole in the ground. As they
approached the water, only moving a few steps at
a time, they were the embodiment of alertness and
suspicion. When they got to the edge of the pool
only two at a time dipped their heads to drink.
Whether this plan was by arrangement I cannot
say, but when two were drinking the other two
scanned the view in every direction. When they
had drunk their fill they moved away in the same
stealthy and cautious manner.

The next to visit the pool were a herd of about
twelve wild pigs. As they descended a game
path from the top of the nullah leading to the
water, I had a good view of them as they moved
in single file, a few steps at a time, then a simul-
taneous halt, then a few steps forward — every
motion depicting intense caution, trusting, I should
say, more to their sense of hearing than of sight.

INDIAN REMINISCENCES 63

As they came near the pool either I or my man
made some shght movement — so sHght that I was
not aware of it — and in a flash the pigs swung
round on their tracks and disappeared.

Following the pigs, there came a small gazelle.
That, like the peacocks, struck on the vision as if
a fairy hand had placed it there. As it approached
the water with steps both timid and dainty, a most
pathetic expression in its eye, it seemed to me
that Nature is cruel in her scheme of life. A fight
or struororle for existence is a law so stern and
unflinching that the slightest slacking of eternal
vigilance may cost an animal its life. As the little
thing was about to drink, a swirl of sand rose with
astonishing quickness, and caused a pillar of dust
and sand to rise several feet in height, obscuring
for the moment the presence of the gazelle. When
the swirl subsided the animal was still there, but
I fancied I could see it tremble. Its nerve was
gone, and in three or four graceful bounds it was
out of sight.

So far very few of the thirsty folk of the jungle
had been able to satisfy their thirst, and I won-
dered whether the animals that came to drink were
rendered more cautious than usual by the fact of
my man and self being there. I think this is more
than probable. However, as we waited, a half-
grown porcupine passed behind us, apparently

64 SOLDIER AND SPORTSMAN

quite indifferent to any possible danger. But I
take it that very few animals will tackle these
creatures, hence their confidence when abroad.

The sun was just about to set, so we left our
shelter and proceeded homewards.

I have before mentioned that the scent of a tiger
is readily discernible. We had gone only about
a quarter of a mile along the game path when I
stopped and said to my shikaree : "I smell a
tiger." His response was a yell so sudden that
it broke on the stillness like the bursting of a
shell.

"That will frighten him," said he.

The following morning we went to the spot and
there, right enough, were the tracks of the tiger
over ours, and the marks where he stirred the sand
on the path when he jumped on hearing, I suppose,
that dreadful yell.

When we returned to headquarters the live
stock collected during the trip comprised a bear
cub, a panther cub and a young Indian dog.
The panther eventually arrived at the Zoological
Gardens in Bombay, but it was never an interesting
pet, being surly and unsociable. The temperament
of animals varies just as much as the temperament
of human beings.

The variableness in the latter can be accounted
for. Yet it is not easy to find the reason that

INDIAN REMINISCENCES 65

causes one animal to be unsociable and stupid
and another of the same breed to be the reverse.
The bear cub was very different from the panther.
He was delighted with anyone that paid him at-
tention ; by means of bribing him with sugar my
native taught him all sorts of tricks. The wild
dog puppy, about two months old when I got him,
lived only ten months. I have never seen one
in any zoological collection that I have visited.
Flood, the keeper of the carnivora house in Dublin,
says he managed to keep one alive and well for
about three years, and gave it as his opinion that
it was a record. I do not think, however, a great
deal is known about them. They were said to
be fairly plentiful round about Mhow and Indore,
Central India, but I managed to see only two. It
is said they are true dogs. They hunt in small
packs and will not eat carrion like jackals. The
puppy I had for eight months. It became very
tame and was very fond of a fox terrier I had,
the two playing together every day. The Indian
dog" orot into bad health after about six months,
developed an enormous belly and had an insatiable
appetite. He seemed to be more fond of bread
and milk than anything else.

It is strange that the animals allied to " canidai "
should be more difficult to tame and manage success-
fully than almost any other species of wild fauna.

66 SOLDIER AND SPORTSMAN

The wild red dog of India and the Cape hunting dog
of South Africa are equally averse from adapting
themselves to the conditions of captivity, so it may
be that they have evolved from a race of animals
which is not allied to the dog tribe at all. The
functions of mating in these two species are
different from those of the true dosT.

The time for long leave in India is during the
hot weather. Those officers having sporting tastes
generally spend their leave in the jungles, but
a proportion must remain to carry on the work.
Barrack life in India at that time was apt to cause
boredom. A good part of the afternoon was spent
in sleep. Card games and gambling instincts also
had a fine opportunity for being developed, and a few
instances of what happened may prove interesting.

There was an officer in our regiment who was
a most inveterate gambler. He would bet on
anything, even as to how long a fly would sit on
a lump of sugar. In his bungalow he had a rough
wooden table, and when he could collect two or
three genial souls together, the game was for
each man to have a lump of sugar about two
feet away. From the edge of the table was laid
a train of gunpowder to the sugar, and the pool
was scooped by the man who killed the largest
number of flies by igniting the train. About
eight miles from Mhow there was a hill called

INDIAN REMINISCENCES 67

the Sugar Lodl, Iroin ils resemblance to one.
It was covered for the most part with thick
scrub, but had some fair tj^razinrr for cattle on
the top. Our friend made a bet with another
officer that he would not run up the hill and back
in a certain time. It looked good odds that the
man who took the bet would win. However,
when he came to tackle the job he found that
the only paths to the top were so hampered with
cattle, carefully driven up with the object of
blocking these paths, that the specified time had
long expired before he completed his task. What
put the cap on this fellow's trickery was as follows.
One of the officers passing the ante-room windows
of the mess bungalow saw Mr X. measuring the
legs of the card-tables. Guessing what was afoot,
he waited till the measuring was finished and the
coast clear. He then got a saw and shortened
the legs by an inch. Sure enough, the conversa-
tion at mess turned on the height of the tables.
Large bets were made, and an adjournment to
the ante-room took place, where the tables were
measured. Captain X. failed to settle and within
three days was on his way back to England.

CHAPTER III

FAMOUS GENERALS AND HORSEMANSHIP

I HAVE referred to several of our present-time
generals as being more than capable horsemen ;
but good horsemanship was not a characteristic
of some of the most brilliant generals of years gone
by. In discussing this subject with a friend, he
told me of a fact that does not appear in Sir
George Arthur's book — viz. that Lord Kitchener,
in the procession on the occasion of the Coronation
of King George, rode the New Zealand bred
winner of our Grand National, Moiffa, who was
kindly lent to Kitchener by Major- General J. F.
Brocklehurst, now Lord Ranksborough. It was to
him that King Edward made a present of the
gelding after he had failed, 'neath royal colours, to
repeat the Liverpool victory he had scored in 1904
for Mr Spencer Gollan, I make mention of this
because there are some folks who believe that if
a horse has been trained and raced he is too apt
to become unsettled and nervous and require a
good horseman to ride him. This view, however,
is very fallacious. In fact the reverse is actually
the case, for the more experience a horse has

the more knowledgeable and sensible he becomes.

68

FAMOUS GENERALS cS: IIORSEMANSTTTP 69

Lord Kitchener was no horseman. I have
known men as tall and much of the same build
as that great general who when riding looked like
part of a horse ; but K. of K. had an ugly seat
and never appeared to be very comfortable when
mounted. He had, of course, to take part in many
processions, and I understand he looked best and
enjoyed himself more when he was on the back
of Democrat, an American bred and a remarkably
well-named racer, being by Sensation out of Equality.
I believe this horse was brought to this country by
the late Lord William Beresford and eventually
became the property of Richard Marsh, the King's
trainer. It was Marsh who made a present of him
to Lord Kitchener, who rode him in the Delhi
Durbar Procession of King Edward VI L

Lord Kitchener was rather doubtful about
accepting Democrat even to take out to India as
a charofer, though he had the assurance of Marsh
that he was very quiet and that he had often been
ridden on Newmarket Heath by that trainer's
daughter. K. of K. played for safety in accepting
the invitation of the Duke of Portland to send
Democrat to the riding school at Welbeck Abbey
before shipping him out to India. Lord Kitchener
eventually grew more than proud of his race gift,
and though he never raced him, Democrat took
many prizes at the horse shows, and was finally

70 SOLDIER AND SPORTSMAN

chosen by his lordship as a model for the statue
erected in commemoration to this crreat soldier in
Calcutta.

Under all the above circumstances I was sur-
prised to read in Sir George Arthur's memoirs that
while in Cyprus K. of K. acted as whip to a pack
of hounds. On an Arab mare, which he had
brought from Sophia, and which he himself trained,
he actually won the steeplechase at Nicossin in
1882. The cup which he here carried off was such
a treasured trophy that it was seldom missing from
his lordship's dinner-table in Calcutta, Cairo or
London.

Lord Kitchener was not a society man, and dis-
liked ballroom antics, looking as uncomfortable
there as he did on a horse. I believe the Press did
not forget to dilate on his dancing, which perforce
he had to indulge in when opening a State ball.

Recalling an incident of a similar situation, it is
said that a high cleric, when visiting Sandringham,
was commanded by the Queen to open a servants'
ball. The parson's son was an eye-witness.
Knowinor his father's dislike to such unaccustomed
frivolities, he remarked to a friend : " Just look at
dad, he must be in awful agony. No doubt he
wishes he was in his old pulpit." To which the
friend replied : " Surely his dancing can't be worse
than his preaching."

FAMOUS GENERALS & HORSEMANSHIP 71

Lord Kitchener, indeed, was not an outdoor
sportsman, as billiards was his chief recreation.
Sir George Arthur says he cared nothino' for racin^y
but a great deal for horses, though he could not
ride them. He was well aware of this, as were
those of his friends who stood round him when he
paid a visit to Elkington in Waterloo Place to
inspect the model the artist had made for the
proposed Calcutta memorial. When uncovered,
the model certainly appeared a pretty piece of
work. It showed the Field-Marshal on a horse
prancing on his hind legs, with his hocks low to the
ground ; his neck and head were well arched and
his front legs pawed the air. On looking at the
model for a second, the Field-Marshal said : " No,
no ! Not on a horse like that ! " He at once re-
ferred to the well-known painting by Lady Butler
of the officer comingr down the line in The Roll
Call. He added : " I want to be put on a quiet
horse like Democrat, the one I rode as a charger in
India."

The model of the statue was then reconstructed
and a portrait of Democrat obtained from Clarence
Hailey of Newmarket.

Democrat was a great two-year-old. He was a
good performer on our race-courses, winning for
Lord William Beresford eleven races, includino-
the Ascot Coventry Stakes, Hurst Park Foal

72 SOLDIER AND SPORTSMAN

Stakes, National Breeders Stakes (Sandown),
Doncaster Champagne Stakes, Rous Memorial
(Newmarket), and the Middle Park and Dewhurst
Plates at Newmarket. Democrat in all the above
races was ridden by Tod Sloan.

When the ereat statue of Lord Kitchener was
completed he was not quite pleased with the
depiction of his style in the saddle.

At the time of the sad calamity in which K. of K.
and his A.D.C., Captain Fitzgerald, met their end,
I recollect that some person, seeking an appropriate
epitaph, sent the following suggestion to The Times.
As I have never seen the same since in print, I
reproduce it here :

5n /IReniors of
VISCOUNT KITCHENER OF KHARTOUM

B or 71 June 24/// 1850
Died June c^th 1916

"and say to all the world,
that was a man."

The happy sun said he will rise again,

Who twice victorious did our Navy see.
And I alone must see him rise again in vain,

Without one ray of all his star for me.
Yet like an English General will I die.

And all the ocean make my spacious grave.
Women and cowards on the land may lie,

The sea's a tomb that opens for the brave.

Drvden.

I.i.Kli Kill 111; NKR (>1 KllAKlolM ON • • 1 )i:MO(K A I '

FAMOUS GENERALS & HORSEMANSHIP 73

In referring to great generals of the past and
present as horsemen, it is well known that
Napoleon was a most indifferent rider, and it is
said he had all his chargers tested for their nerve
and complacency by means of pigs. If they could
not stand the compulsory squealings and antics of
a pig they were not passed as suitable chargers for
the great Napoleon.

Again, the Duke of Wellington was a very poor
horseman. He had no hesitation in telline stories
against himself, and in describing the falls he sus-
tained. The Duke of Wellington was also inclined
to be blunt and uncompromising in his dispatches.
During the Peninsular Campaign he became sadly
short of staff officers ; the authorities at home, in
sending one to join his staff, enclosed a letter
saying : ** We are sending you a man with brains."
" Damn your man with brains," was Wellington's
reply ; " I want a man with guts ! "

Biographers of this great man are inclined to
comment on what might be called a cold-blooded,
unsympathetic nature. They said Wellington
could be roused from sleep, sign the warrant of
death for a man and in two minutes be sound
asleep again.

The story, too, of the Quartermaster in General
Picton's brigade, as given in dispatches, is an
example of iron discipline on the batde-field.

74 SOLDIER AND SPORTSMAN

This Quartermaster had received orders to pro-
cure rations of all sorts for the brig'ade. This
he found to be almost impossible. On telling
General Picton of his difficulties, the General
said: "If the rations are not forthcoming by a
certain time I will have you shot." Away went
the Quartermaster to Wellington, saying that
General Picton declared he would have him shot
if rations were not forthcoming, to which Well-
ington replied : " I know General Picton to be
a man of his word. My advice to you is to have
the rations there." And they were.

CHAPTER IV

THE STORY OF A GREAT DUEL

IT happened the other day that I had an op-
portunity of seeing a shield which held,
amongst other relics of old times, the rapier
alleged to have been used by the then Duke of
Hamilton in the famous duel with Lord Mohun.
The former and his predecessors up to about
the year 1850 had been possessors of Ashton
Hall, in Cheshire, and it is interesting to note
that the park in which the house stood must
have been a fairly good training ground, although
not of the velvety nature of the Wiltshire and
Berkshire Downs as in the years 1 786-1 787-1 788.
The Duke respectively then won the St Leger
with the following^ — viz. Paragon, a bay colt (by
Paymaster out of Calash) ; Spadille, a bay colt (by
Highflyer out of Plora), and Young Flora, an
own sister to the last-named, all bred by his lord-
ship, who also won the race in 1792 with Tartar
by Florizel out of Ruth by Eclipse. All these
four winners, it may also be noted, were ridden
by John Mangle, and only once since has the
St Leger been won three years in succession —
75

76 SOLDIER AND SPORTSMAN

viz. in 1827, 1828 and 1829, with Matilda by
Comus, The Colonel by Whisker, and Rowton by
Giseau, owned by Mr Petre, who had previously
also succeeded in 1822 with Theodore by Woful.

However, to this famous and most sanguinary
duel which took place in Hyde Park and which is
linked with a wealth of romance. Henry VIII.
was the monarch who, having vested it from the
Westminster Abbots, ran a fence round the Park
which embraced about six hundred acres, and
was used for many years by royalty as a hunting
ground and game preserve. However, Cromwell's
Parliament, requiring State funds, sold it for
^19,000, but with the Restoration came also the
restoration of the Park to the nation, but with
a curtailment of the extent by two hundred acres.
The name Rotten Row is merely a corruption
of Route de Roi ; it originally formed the route
followed by royalty from Westminster to the
royal forests, and no commoners were admitted,
with the exception of the Duke of St Albans.
It may, too, not be generally known that the
present holder of the title has every year to
drive once down the row to maintain his privilege
as Hereditary Grand Falconer.

Near to the Receiving House of the Royal
Humane Society, on the north side of the Ser-
pentine, is the Field of Blood, so called because

THE STORY OF A GREAT DUEL 77

it was selected as ihe place fur many bloody duels
common at that period. Typical of these was the
savage encounter between the Duke of Hamilton
and Lord Mohun, fought near Prince's Lodge in
Hyde Park, London, on 15th November 171 2.
Both combatants were fatally wounded. The
seconds were Colonel Hamilton and General
M'Cartney, who also fought.

BALLAD OF DUKE HAMILTON

Duke Hamilton was as fine a Lord,

Fal lal de ral de re O,
As ever Scotland could afford,

Fal lal de ral de re O,
For personal valour few there were

Could with his Grace the Duke compare ;
How he was murdered you shall hear,

Fal lal de ral de re O.

Lord Mohun and he fell out of late,

Fal, etc.,
About some trifles of the State ;

Fal, etc..
So high the words between them rose,

As very soon it turned to blows,
How it will end, there's nobody knows,

Fal, etc.

Lord Mohun, who never man could face,

Fal, etc.,
Unless in some dark and private place,

Fal, etc. {twice)
He sent a challenge unto his Grace,
Fal, etc.

78 SOLDIER AND SPORTSMAN

Betimes in the morning his Grace arose,

Fal, etc.,
And straight to Colonel Hamilton goes ;

Fal, etc.,
Your company, Sir, I must importune.

Betimes in the morning and very soon,
To meet General M'Cartney and Lord Mohun,

Fal, etc.

The Colonel replies, " I am your slave,

Fal, etc..
To follow your Grace unto the grave,"

Fal, etc.,
Then they took coach without delay,

And to Hyde Park by break of day,
Oh ! there began the bloody fray,

Fal, etc.,

No sooner out of coach they light,

Fal, etc..
But Mohun and M'Cartney came in sight,

Fal, etc. {twice)
Oh ! then began the bloody fight,

Fal, etc.

Then bespoke the wain Lord Mohun,

Fal, etc.,
I think your Grace is here full soon,

Fal, etc.,
I wish your Grace would put it bye.

Since blood for blood for vengeance cry,
And loath I am this day to die,

Fal, etc.

Then bespoke the Duke his Grace,

Fal, etc..
Saying go find out a proper place,

Fal, etc..

THE STORY OF A GREAT DUJLL 79

My Lord lo mc the challenge you sent,

To see it out is my intent,
Till my last drop of blood be spent,

Fal, etc.

Then these heroes' swords were drawn,

Fal, etc.,
And so lustily they both fell on,

Fal, etc.,
Duke Hamilton thrust with all his might,

Unto Lord Mohun thro' his body quite,
And sent him to eternal night,

Fal, etc.

By this time his Grace had got a wound,

Fal, etc.,
Then on the grass as he sat down,

Fal, etc..
Base M'Cartney, as we find

Cowardly as he was inclined,
Stabbed his Grace the Duke behind.

Fal, etc.

This done the traitor ran away,

Fal, etc..
And was not heard of for many a day,

Fal, etc..
In Christian land, let's hear no more.

Of duelling and human gore.
The story's told, I say no more,

But fal lal de ral de re O.

Recently I referred to an old sporting magazine
and learned that the Duke was unlucky in not
establishing a clear record of four consecutive
victories of the St Leger, as, following his third

8o SOLDIER AND SPORTSMAN

victory in 1788 with Young Flora, referred to
above, his black colt by Laurel out of Mourpout
by Marske (also ridden by Mangle) came in first,
but was disqualified for "jostling" and the race
awarded to Lord Fitzwilliam's Pewett. Again,
following the disqualification, it has been pointed
out to me that in 1790 Lord Hamilton finished
second to Mr Goodricke's Ambidexter with a bay
colt, brother to Restless (Mangle). In 1791 he had
no starter, and Tartar, as before said, won the next
year. His lordship therefore in all was successful
in four Legers, was disqualified once, and second
once, all in seven years. To that splendid record
it may be added that when Paragon won in 1786
it was the first occasion Lord Hamilton ever had
a representative in the race.

CHAPTER V

HUNTING

NO one will cavil at the suggestion that
hunting and all that that term implies
has had a vast inlluence in moulding
the character of the British race, and in keeping
alive the hereditary instincts of our ancestors,
however remote, who had to hunt in order to live.

It is interesting to comment on the love of
sport that is innate in most British-born people.
It is specially to be observed in the upper classes,
probably because they are more or less associated
with a country life and have maintained a purer
strain of heredity from the feudal lords and landed
gentry of the past. It is this strain or breed of
the population that is an influential factor in
sustaining the physical and moral stability of the
British race. People bred for a few generations
under the conditions incidental to lar<re commun-
ities and towns inevitably deteriorate. One of
the best means of promoting health physically
and morally is to encourage sport by every
possible means. Yet there are many people
who would put down hunting as cruel, racing as
F 81

82 SOLDIER AND SPORTSMAN

immoral, football and boxing as brutal, etc. It is
not easy to analyse the mentality of such creatures,
but racing enthusiasts and those who go in for
the chase should be on the alert to combat any
symptom whatever of the spread of such a mania.
There are probably not one half of the number
of hounds in the country at the present time
compared with pre-war days, and as it takes a
lifetime to breed a pack of hounds, it will be
many years before the most fashionable hunts,
where large numbers of hounds are kept, can
reach their former excellence. There are, I sup-
pose, in every hunt anti-sport individuals, such
as poultry breeders, who air their views in some
of the more Radical papers, and these are not
slow to take such matters up, referring, it may
be, to hunting as "a classy sport," and so on. It
is evident that if a hunt cannot meet its liabilities
for damagfes to fences and stock it will auto-
matically come to an end.

In this year of grace 192 1, when the war is
over, it is wonderful to consider that hunting has
survived the terrible years of devastation in lives
and money, and no small credit is due to the
ladies who assisted in carrying on the sport of
kings. Strange to say, there has been little
shrinkage in the list of huntinsf establishments.
There are still going fairly strong about a

HUNTING 83

hundred and scvenly packs of foxhounds in
England and Wales ; Irchuid can boast of Iwenty-
four or twenty-five, and Scotland ten. In face
of such conditions the existence of these hunts
should be accepted as a monument to the de-
termination of the British nation to maintain
their cherished privileges.

Hunting and point-to-point racing have been
for many years associated one with the other,
and eventually it has come to pass that the
arrangements made by individual hunts for point-
to-point races have had to be referred to the
Master of Hounds Association, which has drawn
the National Hunt Committee into the net of
discussion. It seems that some Masters of Hounds
wished to be empowered with authority to punish
fraud or malpractices, which are alleged to be
not uncommon. My view is that the Master
of Hounds Association is de trop. Hunting be-
comes each year more and more a matter of
money. If a man establishes a hunt with, of
course, the consent and ""oodwill of the land-
owners and farmers, it is his business and his
alone. If the members and people connected with
that hunt wish to hold what are called point-to-
point races, there is no reason why they should
not do so without consulting anyone. I do not
see, if the conditions of each race run are properly

84 SOLDIER AND SPORTSMAN

drawn up, that there can be any opportunity for
fraud ; if any such practices are detected, the
Master and Committee surely do not require
outside authority to punish the evil-doer. I
believe the prospects of hunting for the future
would be brighter than they are if there had been
no interference by associations. The very fact
of there being a sort of higher tribunal to appeal
to has encouraged discontented farmers and the
anti-sport fraternity to ventilate many supposed

grievances.

Many books have been written on the science
of hunting hounds. No theoretical knowledge
can ever teach a man how to handle a pack of
hounds, or even dogs of any sort, unless he is
born with the intuition indispensable to the job.
Hence the pinnacle of glory attained by some
notable huntsmen, and the adverse and almost
contemptuous criticism passed on those who fail.
Of those great huntsmen the late Tom Firr stands
foremost. It is said that he had such extra-
ordinary control over his hounds, such a far-
reaching yet melodious voice, that he did not
require the assistance of whippers-in. Hounds
had such confidence that they would fly to his
cheer or his view-holloa. Professional huntsmen
are generally credited with superior skill in handling
hounds, but many gentlemen have tackled the job

HUNTING 85

with great success. Of those of recent times the
names of Lord Lonsdale and Captain F. Forester
will probably rank amongst the highest for all the
attributes that go to make a first-class huntsman —
namely, horsemanship with ability to gallop over a
country, added to an intimate knowledge of hounds
and their manasfement.

The photograph facing p, 84 shows the venerable
Harry Houghton, now well over the seventies,
and some of his terriers. For upwards of forty
years he officiated as earth stopper to the Quorn
Hounds. What he does not know about foxes
and badoers is not worth knowings. Until com-
paratively recent years the complete natural history
of the badoer was in doubt ; but Mr Houohton,
some years ago, kept a badger sow in captivity
as a pet. Eleven months after her capture she
gave birth to two cubs ; this fact proves that the
badger in captivity has the faculty of retarding
gestation, the natural period being nothing like
eleven months.

Harry has had an enormous number of terriers
through his hands, and is of opinion that only
a small percentage of pedigree or bench-bred
terriers turn out well. When put to the work
required for foxes and badgers, that class of
dog is apt to be neurotic, crazy and impetuous,
seldom learning caution and method from experi-

86 SOLDIER AND SPORTSMAN

ence, and getting so severely punished that he
becomes cunnino- and unreliable. This fact leads
me to suggest that all dogs of the terrier class,
after two years of age, should have a certificate
of working capabilities in the field before being
shown on the bench.

It is only in comparatively recent years that two
practices have come into vogue which seriously
militate ao-ainst fox-huntinor — viz. drainino; the
land and the use of artificial manures. With re-
gard to the former, the greater portion of the
midland counties, forming some of the best cattle
and sheep grazing in England, had until about
the eiofhties remained in the old condition in
which farmers of previous generations had left it.
However, a sequence of wet seasons set the scien-
tific agriculturists to improve the stock- bearing
capacities, so some parts of the country were
drained. The experiment proved a success ; other
areas were similarly treated, and eventually the
greater part of the midland counties was treated
in the same manner. No doubt in a sequence
of wet seasons this treatment of the land was
beneficial ; on the other hand, when two or three
dry seasons followed one another it was proved
that the stock-bearing capacity of these lands was
reduced.

Scent may be a difficult subject to deal with,

HUNTING 87

but one thing is certain, that without plenty of
moisture there will be but little of it — that is to
say, not sufficient to enable hounds to pick it
up if they are going at any pace. When it is
suggested that sport has depreciated owing to
the hounds not being up to the mark, it may
be that there is no scent. Captain F. Forester
says, that on an average, in the Quorn country,
a really good scent can be recorded only two or
three times in the season.

When a fox has been found, unless the hounds
are smartly got together on to the line, and con-
sequently in a position to press him at the start,
the chances of killing him are small. Perhaps
Captain F. Forester is the best exponent of this
art. An artist will get his hounds together and
away without loss of time. It is only to a man
who loves his hounds and is beloved by them
that they will run when they hear his cheer or
holloa. On leaving cover a fox goes off at his
best pace, possibly covering the ground at the
rate of a mile in four minutes ; that fact demon-
strates how absolutely necessary it is that no
time should be lost. In years gone by there
were not nearly the same number of stock in
the fields as there are at present, the use of
artificial manures was unknown, and the fields
were not so large; in fact, fox-hunting to-day

8S SOLDIER AND SPORTSMAN

has so many disadvantages as compared with
former years that it is not surprising that dis-
paraging remarks are made about its present
condition. A considerable number of fox-hunting-
folk seem to claim a privilege to talk always in
a condemnatory way on a subject of which they
probably know little.

Even in the wild and mountainous countries
of Wales and the Scottish borders a certain
amount of draining has been done, probably not
to an extent sufficient to interfere with scent,
but it has had a serious effect on the rivers and
streams. They become flooded much more quickly
than in former days and subside with equal
rapidity ; this affects the welfare of sporting fish,
especially trout, disturbing the spawn before it
has been fertilised and thereby lessening the
future hatch of ova.

Dogs in remote ages were used by man merely
to assist him in capturing his food. As time
rolled on other methods were employed. Various
weapons were contrived for killing game, and so it
came to pass that dogs became less necessary
for the capture of wild animals. At the present
time sporting dogs are bred chiefly as an ac-
cessory to sport, but it is of deep interest to
trace and follow the evolution of the species.

"Dog" was the name given to an animal

HUNTING 89

descended from the wolf or the jackal after he
had become the assistant of man. In fact, there
is no such thin^r as a wild orii>"inal door. His
evolution was contrived by man. In European
countries the process must have taken place tens
of thousands of years after man had established
himself. Thus it is that the origin of the door
is lost in obscurity. Probably the Chinese were
the first people to discover the usefulness of
animals in assisting them to capture wild animals
for food ; they were the first to utilise the hunt-
ing instincts of the wolf or the jackal.

The claims of the fox as a progenitor of the
dog can be dismissed for several reasons. First,
he is a nocturnal animal, endowed with the oblong
eye and contracting lenticularly similar to the
characteristics of the cat tribe. The fox is also
of a solitary habitat and, so far as experience
goes, almost impossible to train from a utility
point of view. The only animals that can be
really domesticated are those having gregarious
or social instincts. Again, there is no authentic
instance of a cross between a fox and a doe.
Therefore it is too improbable to suggest that
the fox was the dog's progenitor. The Cape
hunting dog may be evolved from the cross of
some semi-domestic dog that had become wild,
and the hyena. In appearance he certainly takes

go SOLDIER AND SPORTSMAN

after the latter, and the physical relation of the
sexes pertain more to the hyena than the dog.
The wild dog of South America is unquestion-
ably a cross between the wolf and some domestic
or semi-domestic breed of dog which escaped into
the wilds. The dingo of Australia is a pure dog,
but a reversion to type, conspicuous in the un-
failing stand-up ears of the wolf or the jackal.
The wild dog of India is probably a direct
descendant of the jackal, and the classification
of him under " canidas " is sup^o-estive that at some
remote period he was in a sense domesticated
and utilised by the people of that time. Amongst
the artistic productions of the cave men of the
reindeer period there are no records of depic-
tions of the dog. Some twenty thousand years
later the Mycenacons (Mycenae, at one time capital
of Greece, and the birthplace of Mycensean art)
show the dog in the attitude of the flying gallop.
It is said that that style was followed by artists
of all nations, in depicting the horse galloping,
right up to the time when instantaneous photo-
graphy demonstrated the erroneousness, not to
say the impossibility, of that particular pose.
Thus it seems that only about five thousand
years ago dogs were first mentioned in Europe
as companions to mankind.

Countless ages must have passed in the evolu-

i\

Photoi;rath ■ >' M. Ailtms

LiiKli LoNsDAl.i:. M

HUNTING 91

tion of the q\o^ before breeds were specialised,
probably by the Chinese. The foxhound, no
doubt, was originally descended from a composite
breed that showed adaptability for work in packs.
England was the country in which to establish
and improve the type, and in the modern fox-
hound we have a branch of the species that
stands out by itself in canine history. No other
breed can compare with him as regards courage,
intelligence, stamina and tractability. The show
bench in his case has helped to improve and
continue points of conformation, very different
from the effect the show ring has had on many
breeds — viz. fox terriers and bull-dogs. Men who
have to use a large number of terriers, such as
earth stoppers and rat catchers, aver that bench-
bred dogs are seldom of much use. Breeding
to points alone without testing the characteristics
of a breed will inevitably lead to its decadence.
One of the chief attributes of the foxhound is
his docility ; without this attribute it would be
well-nigh impossible to work hounds in a pack.
What other established breed would stand the
discipline and training necessary to bring him
to concert pitch without losing his courage or
his character ?

One can imaoine what the result would be
of attempting to handle bull-dogs, retrievers or

92 SOLDIER AND SPORTSMAN

pointers as a pack. The foxhound stands alone
in his amcnableness to discipHne ; he can stand
the strain of rigid training without losing anything
of his courage and eagerness. Offshoots from
the true foxhound, such as the Welsh hound, fail
as a pack. Either from timidity or sulkiness, they
will not stand a "rating," nor will they attempt to
thread their way through a field of horses when
left behind in cover after a find.

It was somewhere in the seventeen-forties that
hunting was seriously taken up and became part of
our national life. As standards of excellence do
not remain stationary, the question arises, Have
hunting and all the matters connected with the
sport gone back or progressed during the last
two centuries ? Some of the best authorities
aver that the art of conditioning hounds has been
lost ; consequently, fewer foxes have been killed in
the open than was the case five or six decades
ago. Others contend that if the sport indicates
a falling off in this respect it is due to the fields
being too big and unwieldy, and the fact that
there are too many foxes about. Whatever may
be the true explanation, condition should be the
chief object of a huntsman, although attention
to minute details in other matters is absolutely
necessary. Unless hounds are in the best of
health and condition they can never catch good

HUNTING 93

foxes. It is only logic to presume that, with all
the care and knowledge bestowed on the breeding
and management of hounds, they should have
improved in pace and general hunting ability.
But the question is, Have they? In old hunting
chronicles one reads of runs extending to twenty-
five and thirty miles, or even more, when every
hound would be at the kill, or when the fox was
accounted for in some other way. Of course,
everything depends on the time taken before we
can judge whether these tremendous runs were
good or otherwise, and possibly the old-time
chronicler was not very accurate. Beckford says :
" I never wish a chase to be less than one hour
or to exceed two."

It is a curious fact that the fox of the present
day is identical with his predecessor of a million
years ago. He has not increased in stature or
in any way changed his appearance or habitat.
Foxes vary in size considerably according to
locality, and may weigh anything from nine
pounds to twenty. But it is not always the
case that the big fox stands up longest before
hounds.

Too many foxes inevitably spoil sport. Foxes
that have survived their third year of existence
are apt to become rather a nuisance. After being
hunted a few times a fox becomes incredibly

94 SOLDIER AND SPORTSMAN

cunnint^, and as a rule the last thing he will do
is try his stamina by making a good point.

*

In endeavouring to obtain reliable information
as to the period when dogs of sorts were first
put together and hunted as a pack, a deal of old
sporting lore must be studied. Probably it was
after a breed had been discovered amenable to
discipline, and showing courage and scenting
power, that the term "hound" was adopted.

About two hundred and fifty or three hundred
years ago a hound that was known as the Talbot
was acclaimed the best. He was used for hunting
the wild boar and the wolf, and apparently had
long drooping ears that "swept the morning dew,"
a great expansive head giving scope and power of
brain, and extraordinary scenting gifts. It may be
interesting to comment on the fact that, although
folk on the Continent were the first to use dogs
of all sorts to hunt as a pack, it was in England
that they were brought to their present state of per-
fection. It is said that when British hounds are sent
to other countries, even where climatic conditions
are similar to those of our own, they deteriorate.

HUNTING 95

It is to r^ no land that all nations come when
they want to improve their breed of horses,
hounds, cattle and sheep. Time has so far
separated the present type of hound from its
ancestors that the original Talbot hound has
altogether disappeared, as have the animals he
hunted — namely, the wild boar and the wolf. In
his place we have a type of hound adapted to
the requirements of the present day — that is, a
dog of much greater speed and possibly less size.

The family of Forester appears to have been
identified with the sport of hunting from the year
12 1 5, as it is recorded in that year that a Hugh
Forester was appointed by King John as warden
over certain royal lands and forests. The office
of forester was much coveted by our ancestors,
and it is possible that the name was selected and
adopted by an ancestor of the present family who
displayed the qualities of adventure and sport.

In Heraldry the definition of the Talbot is a
dog with a turned-up tail, and the only member
of the peerage who has the Talbot above the
crown in the coat-of-arms is Lord Forester.

Talbot Passant (indicating movement) appears
on the left, Wyvern on the right — an animal
with wings like a bird and a tail like a serpent,
mythical, but suggesting sporting proclivities. The
motto is Semper Eadem (Always the same). Thus

96 SOLDIER AND SPORTSMAN

the family follows the line of their ancestors in
that they are interested in the pursuits of a
country gentleman. The date 1821, when the
Talbot appears on the arms, was long after the
time that that particular breed of hound had
proved himself the best of the period for practical
use in hunting ; he no doubt was the basis of
the breed now known as the foxhound, with the
evolution of which the famous Squire of Willey
Park, Salop, had much to do.

* *

The original painting of Captain F. Forester on
Christmas Daisy, by Mr Hayward Hardy, from
which the photograph facing this page is taken,
is, I venture to say, a very remarkable one. The
extraordinary vividness of detail in the photo-
graph pays abounding credit to the original.

It does not often happen that a horse of high-
class merit as a racehorse settles down and proves
a first-class hunter with perfect manners and is able
to look after himself when galloping over a natural
country. Christmas Daisy won the Cambridge-
shire two years in succession ; previous to this
the Doveridge Handicap of 1000 sovereigns. He

HUNTING 97

was trained in the famous Druid's Lodge establish-
ment, whose phenomenal successes were due chiefly
to the wizardry of John Fallon, and the wonderful
perspicuity of Mr W. B. Purefoy, known amongst
a vast number of friends and admirers as " The
Nut." He is a man with exceptional knowledge
of horses, both as regards conformation and breed-
ing. When Christmas Daisy achieved this dual
success he was owned by Mr A. P. Cunliffe,
agreed by all to have a wonderful intuition in
placing horses. With such a combination of
brains, the extraordinary success of that once
famous establishment is not surprising. Christmas
Daisy, be it noted, is a half-brother to Eremon,
a high-class winner of the National.

Of the breeding of Christmas Daisy it may
interest some of my readers to learn that he was
the fourth foal of Daisy, 1905, and was got by
Vitez by the Derby winner Melton (Master Kildare
and Violet Melrose) out of Killawake (Sterling and
Seagull). Daisy, his dam, was by Lord Gough
by Gladiateur, Derby winner, out of Battagalia by
Rataplan, her dam Carol being by the St Leger
winner Ossian, out of Carnaby by Hubert or
Theobald out of Vilna, Again, too, it may be
forgotten by many that Christmas Daisy, like the
majority of Daisy's colt foals, was unsexed, as will
be seen by the last volume of the Stud Book.

G

98 SOLDIER AND SPORTSMAN

Here, too, it will be seen that the first of the
produce was Eremon by Thurles, winner of the
Grand National. During Daisy's fifteen years at
the stud she was barren on no fewer than eiofht
occasions, twice when revisiting Vitez, by whom
she had three other foals.

The bitches on the right of the picture are
Beeswing (from the Dartmoor kennels, adjudged
to be a model of a foxhound), Guidance and
Revenue.

The two hounds on the left are Rambler and
Revel, the two moving on the left, Belvoir Gaylad
and Venom.

Be hounds ever so fit, their pace will be
influenced by the style of country over which they
run. Those best qualified to judge agree that
hounds run fastest in countries where the fields are
lara"e and have an abundance of grrass, and where
there are no fences of the banking sort. The best
of Leicestershire and Northamptonshire, comprising
some of the Ouorn and the Pytchley countries, is
an example of a first-class hunting country, where
if hounds run a man must go with a rattle at his

HUNTING 99

fences, and where hounds swing' throuL^h or over
obstacles. I fancy a modern twenty-five minutes'
gallop with the Ouorn would compare favourably
in style and speed with a similar gallop of a century
ago. These remarks refer to pre-war days.

Some very brilliant gallops were recorded during
the mastership of Captain F. Forester, and as he
hunted hounds in both England and Ireland his
views concerning pace are worth listening to.
During the period when he hunted the Limerick
country some very excellent runs ending with blood
are recorded. In his opinion, hounds do not run
so fast in Ireland as in England, the reason being
that in a banking country, with some comparatively
small fields, hounds cannot swing over or through
the obstacles as quickly as they are able to in most
English counties. The foxes are not so stout, and
do not as a rule run so straight ; consequently,
horses do not require to be up to the standard of
the Leicestershire type. A well-bred cob or pony
can live through a good hunt in Irish counties, but
would soon be out of a real fast thing in the shires.

It may be interesting to comment on the different
styles adopted in riding to hounds. Some men
seem always to be in a hurry, doing all they can,
while others appear to be going well within them-
selves : it is ii^ood odds on the latter cjettino- to the
end of a smart gallop a long way in front of the

100 SOLDIER AND SPORTSMAN

hustler. A good start is a great factor. There is
a huge difference between galloping with hounds
and catching them. Some people aver that hounds
can beat the best of horses ; but that is not the
view of those best qualified to give an opinion.

In some countries it is the custom for terriers to
take part in the drawing of a covert early in the
season ; this practice is condemned as being apt to
cause hounds to shirk their work, as they wait for the
terriers to do the rough and tumble. Once a hound
has learned such tricky habits, he will probably
never lose them. On the other hand, where there
are several cubs lying close, they might be missed
altogether in the absence of terriers. Here there
is something to be said on both sides.

It will be obvious to all who have studied human
nature that the mind of the true sportsman is the
sanest, cleanest and most akin to Nature and
her laws of any type of mind. What title is
more revered than that of "An English Gentle-
man " ? — a term which conveys so many qualities
and which is not far removed from the title of
"An English Sportsman." The daily Press now
and again invites discussion on knotty points ; a
much-favoured one is "The Best Definition of a
Gentleman." It would require the pen of Thackeray
to sum up all the qualities requisite to entitle a man
to be called a gentleman. Whether satirically

HUNTING loi

or not, Thackeray styled Georqc IV. the " First
Gentleman of Europe " ; and H.R.H. believed it to
be true. In olden days, unless a man of the aristo-
cracy displayed an aptitude for field sports and
lived freely and well — unless he could take his
share of wine and displayed a pretty taste for the
fair sex — he hardly qualified for the term under
discussion : and, no doubt, a man who took his
liquor freely put himself to a severe test. The old
saying, ''In vino Veritas" or, translated into English,
"Drunk but still a gentleman," contains much
truth. When a man is in drink he usually shows
the worst or the best of his character and disposi-
tion. Many a man has lost his qualification to
be called a gentleman by one night's debauch.
The reason is, of course, when he has shaken his
mental equilibrium he cannot dissemble, and the
truth is out. Alcohol has very different effects on
different subjects ; some become cheery and ex-
hilarated, others morose and quarrelsome. The
gambler becomes reckless, the amorous individual
offensive, but, be he a chimneysweep or a lord, the
o^entleman will never be offensive. Then the Xo^nc
is : to find out whether a man is a gentleman or
the reverse — make him drunk. In olden times no
man was a gentleman who had not the spirit of
adventure in him, whether in sport, war or love.
There is no race on earth that does not pay homage

102 SOLDIER AND SPORTSMAN

to courage. The men who made the greatest
Empire the world has ever seen were those to
whom danger and difficulties were the breath of
life, and risky adventures a pastime. To fulfil one
of the qualifications of a gentleman, a man must
also be a sportsman. It will be a bad day for
England when the instinct for sport, and especially
for hunting, is a thing of the past.

I have read somewhere that in "no situation
are the faculties of man more displayed, more real
society observed, from the peer to the peasant, than
in the hunting field." Then, again, the Rev.
Mr Paley says : " I never met with any sportsman
who could tell me in what the sport consisted,
resolve it into principle and state that principle."
Here you have an example of a man who has lost
touch with nature and all connected with it.

Some parts of Ireland — e.g. the counties of
Meath, Louth and Limerick — comprise a country
second to none for carrying an average good
scent for those following. The ground is never
heavy, and most of it is light, springy turf. I
cannot help recalling a great hunt in County
Limerick, in the days when the Hon. Walter
Nugent hunted the hounds, assisted by his
brother Charlie.

How I came to participate in that great hunt
is as follows.

HUNTING 103

I could not be at the meeting in the morning,
owing to duty in barracks ; but I did know that
a certain cover, which I beHeve is known as the
Black Hill, was to be drawn in the afternoon.
I had taken the precaution to send a hunter on
to a certain spot, on the south-west side of the
hill. Just as I arrived at the spot, and when
hounds were drawing, I spotted a fox slip over
the bank on the south side ; out of sight he was
for a minute or two, when suddenly he topped
the bank in the shelter of which I was lying
"doggo." This was quite three hundred yards
from the cover. Then I heard a oreat crash of
music. Making up my mind that there was likely
to be only one fox at home, I went off, following
the line of this good fox, who, it may be said,
was by no means a big one. My surmise as to
the fox proved correct, as a glance over my
shoulder showed the whole pack, carrying a great
head, going for all they were worth in pursuit
of myself and the fox. Very soon I pulled a bit
to one side, and never did hounds settle down in
more determined style to cover an eleven-mile
point, almost without a check as far as I could
judge.

For three miles or more, with never a moment's
hesitation, the hounds ran almost mute, with a
breast-high scent. I am inclined to think that

104 SOLDIER AND SPORTSMAN

with such exceptional atmospheric conditions, and
the scent lying a foot or two above the surface,
hounds do not require to stoop to it ; all their
energy is concentrated on driving forward ; there
is no time to waste, no need to throw their tongue.
About half-way in this good hunt came a most
horrible-looking obstacle, the only one in the total
distance, a Board of Works drain quite impossible
to jump. Fortunately, the span of water at the
bottom was only some five or six feet ; by a
stroke of luck, the shelving of the drain at the
spot I came to was not quite perpendicular. I
pressed the mare, and she slithered and slid to
the bottom, making a lucky scramble across the
water ; I then slipped off her back, gave her a
a touch with the crop, and a gallant scramble
landed her on the top of the far side. By this
time the hounds had drawn away quite three
hundred yards, when fortunately the first check
occurred, but it was of such short duration that
before I got up to them they were off again.
For the next three or four miles the hounds ran
in the same relentless style, and the wonder was
that they did not run into their fox. I was at
this time most devoutly hoping that they would,
as the mare I was riding was not in first-class
fettle, and she was rapidly tiring.

Then hove in sight a domain, which proved to

HUNTING 105

be Sprini^ficld Castle, the sent of Lord Muskerry.
I made sure a tired fox would make for the first
possible haven of escape he had met since leaving
cover, and although the hounds were not heading
direct for the domain I made straicrht for it. But
the last fence proved too much for the mare, who
landed with a souse into the field. I ran on, on
foot. As I was climbins: over the domain fence
I spied the run fox crawling along the bottom of
a dry ditch. Meanwhile the hounds, now throw-
ing their tongues well, swung round to the east
side of the domain. I waited where I was, never
doubting they would get on the line of their fox.
As luck would have it, they pushed another on his
legs, and the last I saw or heard was some two
couple of tail hounds going to the faint cry of
the pack, as they went out at the top end of the
domain. Very shortly, up came Charlie, humble
and crestfallen as he realised what the situation
was. With a "By God, what blinking luck!" he
went off on what turned out to be a hopeless
pursuit of the hounds, as the majority of the pack
were out all nioht.

One or two other riders shortly turned up :
amongst them were Miss Gavin and Cecil Cliffe,
a brother officer. Those that did get to the end
of this great hunt had to leave their horses at
the castle for the night. I never told Charlie

io6 SOLDIER AND SPORTSMAN

how I pinched a start, or how near I came to
wrecking one of the best hunts on record in
County Limerick.

The name of CHffe recalls many sporting in-
cidents. For many years it had been the custom
of regiments quartered at Ballincolig, County
Cork, to take over the hounds that hunted the
county west and north of the barracks. The
first year of our sojourn there. Captain F. Forester
was Master and Huntsman. On his leaving the
regiment the job was handed over to me, and
my friend Cliffe was good enough to become my
assistant in the field : most enthusiastic he proved,
and very helpful. In a very closely fenced country,
as that party of County Cork is, foxes are apt to
run short and twisty ; in fact, one expected such
conduct ; but there were a few outlying covers,
so that if a fox took a right line the hounds
would run over a country second to none. This
did not happen often ; so sometimes, instead of
drawing a cover, we first tried to get the varmint
on foot by sending three or four men into the
cover for the purpose of making as much noise
as possible. Meanwhile Cliffe would go well out
in front, on rising ground if possible. After a
signal from him, up I would bring the pack, hot
foot on the line, and these tactics turned out
successful several times. In order to scout like

HUNTING 107

that a man must have not only a good eye for
the country, but extra quick sight.

My friend, after leaving the service, lived only
a short time, dying from the result of a chill
caught while hunting with the County Limerick
hounds — then under the Mastership of Captain
F. Forester. My friendship with Cecil Cliffe led
to one with his brother, Mr A. L. Cliffe, of
Bellevue, County Wexford, who was kind enough
to be my " best man " when I married. My wife
and I spent our honeymoon at Bellevue, Cliffe
then beinor Master of the Wexford Hounds.

I recall an incident which I have not yet
made up my mind whether I regret or not. It
happened that the day of my wedding was the
2 1 St December 1899, the month which saw the
commencement of the Boer War. As I have
stated, Mr Cliffe was my "best man," and claimed
to be in personal charge till all functions of the
ceremony were over. In the afternoon a wire
arrived for me : " Will you take command of a
squadron, Devon and Somerset Yeomanry.** If
so must join at once." This was from Colonel
Richard R. W. Challoner, now Lord Guisborough.
Cliffe, as my "best man," said: "I will reply to
this. It is impossible for you to accept." I
certainly was in doubt what to do, and my
friend's assertive talking settled the matter, the

io8 SOLDIER AND SPORTSMAN

reply being : " I am sorry. I have married
a wife therefore I cannot come." Lord Guis-
borough, should he ever read this causerie, may
remember the incident. I believe his comment
on receiving the reply was : " I did not know
until now that Scott knew his Bible so well."
I lay the soothing unction to my mind that I
(as everyone did) believed the war would be
ended in a matter of days. However, I made
up for my want of patriotism by doing some
remount work later.

I have already alluded to the great influence
that ladies had in keeping fox - hunting a very
live force during the war ; and County Wexford
was lucky in having as the wife of the Master,
Captain Toby Lakyn, late nth Hussars, a lady
who managed to carry on somehow (a wonderful
word, that) during the war. Everyone must
remember, when the fleet of tanks sailed into
action, the famous signal : " England expects
every Tank to do its damnedest." Toby Lakyn
was a very live member of that fleet, and report
has it that he hoisted the signal. Whether that
is true or not, I am unable to say.

County Wexford suffered more than any county
in Ireland in losses from "killed" during the war;
but they are made of good stuff in that county,
and I have often heard the refrain :

HUNTING 109

" Ireland was ould Ireland, when England was a pu[),
And Ireland will be Ireland yet, when England's beggared u[)."

In the British Natural History Museum, London,
there is to be seen a fox's skeleton reputed to be
a million years old. This can be compared with
one of the present day, and the strange fact is
that they are identical. When we take into
consideration the evolutionary process, not diffi-
cult to observe in domestic and semi-domestic
animals and birds, as regards structural changes
that take place even in the few years that the
longest lived of human beings have the oppor-
tunity of observation, it appears strange that
the fox should be one of the few species of the
wild fauna of the world in which the process is
apparently retarded.

It points to the suggestion that throughout
this long period the fox has never been forced
by circumstances to change his habits, and
being of a solitary nature has never become
sufficiently numerous (although his habitat is
almost universal) to cause him to be hunted by
other and stronger animals in quest of food, or
by man, anxious to punish him for depredations

no SOLDIER AND SPORTSMAN

such as wolves commit. Thus he has been able
to live the life of his ancestors for millions of
years. Throughout the world there are several
varieties, showing a difference from the British
fox chiefly in size and colour ; they all retain
the cat-like attribute of the vertical contraction
of the pupil of the eye when facing a strong
light. Hence the fox is fitted by nature for
night work. He is nocturnal in his habits. And
in observing the British species it will be seen
that apparently his great object in life is to see
without being seen.

One thing is certain, no one who has ever
attempted to tame and train foxes for domestic
or semi-domestic use has succeeded in doing so,
except to such a limited extent as hardly to be
termed practical. This is not due to want of
intelligence on the part of the animal, as he is
extraordinarily cunning, but rather to the im-
possibility of overcoming instincts handed down
for millions of years, and to the fact that his
habits are nocturnal. Of all British wild animals
the fox is the most wily, and that makes him
the finest quarry, not only in England but in the
world. His speed, staying power and cleverness
in taking advantage of all conditions likely to
foil the scent are remarkable. All these qualities
increase his chance of escaping from the best

HUNTING III

pack of hounds, and there is no sport in the
world in which the suggestion of cruelty is more
unwarranted.

There are plenty of faddists in this world who
condemn as cruel all forms of sport, especially
when dogs or hounds are employed. These folks
merely parade their ignorance of nature. Accord-
ing to my views, the laws of Nature are remorseless
in their process. Cruelty is a difficult word to
define, because if there is cruelty in one animal
hunting and destroying another, then all nature
is cruel. So that those who condemn sport where
dogs or hounds are used condemn the laws of
Nature under which we all live.

Nature gives the lead in this cruelty. There
are no living animals on earth that do not destroy
life to supply their own. When young, immature
things meet with an untimely end, the psychic
and physical development is so undefined that
probably neither pain nor the fear of death is
strongly felt. In death they really suffer very
little. Then again mature animals that are hunted
until they are so fatigued they can go no further
feel little or no pain when caught and killed
because the extra rate of breathing gives the
blood a preponderance of oxygen, and acts some-
what after the style of lau''hinor eras. A mild
form of asphyxiation takes place, by which the

112 SOLDIER AND SPORTSMAN

senses are dulled to an appreciable extent. Any-
one who has received a severe blow when the
blood is circulating freely has noticed that the
pain following the blow is considerably less than
it would be were it received in cold blood. Thus
it follows that whether Nature has arranged that
such should be the case to lessen the pain and fear
of destruction, or merely that it is a physiological
accident, the effects are the same.

Cunning and intelligence are not very far re-
moved from one another, but it is a high-class
form of either that will make a fox when hunted
go straight to where he knows another is kennelled,
push him out, and coil himself up in the spot just
vacated. That not infrequently happens. A fox
that has been hunted a few times seems to acquire
an uncanny knowledge regarding scent ; on a bad-
scenting day foxes will lie very close, trusting to be
overlooked, and when afoot it is a difficult matter
to get them to break cover. At full stretch a fox
can cover the ground at an extraordinary pace for
his size. This can be noted by the footprints when
discernible in snow ; they indicate a mode of pro-
gression somewhat different from most other fleet-
footed animals. Thus, all the footmarks are at an
equal distance the one from the other, and are in an
exact line, identical with the prints of a galloping
horse.

HUNTING 113

1 1 is different witli a li;irc, a nihbit and a do;^.
When a fox is i;oini^ his best pace the movement
is more of a run than a gallop ; he keeps all the
time curiously near the ground, whereby two ob-
jects are achieved — viz. economy of movement, and
security from observation by using every bit of cover.

To keep animals in such captivity as destroys
their happiness in life is, in my opinion, cruelty.
When, however, they are kept as a means of in-
struction— as, for instance, in zoological collections
— there is some excuse, some mitigation of the
charge of cruelty. But if a wild animal is captured
with a view to making a pet of it, every attention
should be given to it, and the loss of its own kith
and kin made good by the care and companionship
of its captors. Only those people who have time
to spare should attempt the training of wild
animals. Only under such conditions can they be
studied and become interesting as pets.

With reference to the photograph of John
Gaunt with his terriers and a tame fox. Gaunt is
now over seventy years of age, having lived nearly
all his life in a trim little cottage, with a paddock or
two attached for his dogs, foxes and poultry. The
cottage lies just off the road from Ambergate to
Belper. The attention of passers-by is invariably
attracted by the beauty of the garden, the old man
having for years taken First Prize for Cottage

H

114 SOLDIER AND SPORTSMAN

Gardens. Below the cottage runs the Amber river,
where, with the floating fly, he shows his skill to
anyone who wants a lesson in the gentle art.

He holds the appointment of rat-catcher to the
Midland Railway Company, and is one of the few
people who can claim to have trained foxes to be
of some economic use. The old man has had a
great number of foxes through his hands, but
only a few have turned out to be amenable to
the training. They must have a sufficiently docile
temperament, and in this respect they vary greatly.
As rat-catchers in cellars and dark sheds, old John,
however, affirms that they are a long, long way in
front of the best of terriers. Their quickness in
nabbing a rat is astonishing. They never shake
a rat, and it appears to be their method in seizing
it that puts it out of action instantly. The old man
has to be handy in taking the rats from the fox, as
their instinct is to hold them in the mouth.

Gaunt has known a fox to kill five rats and hold
them all in his mouth at the same time. He has
never managed to train a fox to lead satisfactorily
on a chain in daylight ; so he carries them in a
sack, although in the dark he can manage with
a lead. All his best foxes have shown a great liking
for beer ; and one of them would drink beer if it
were offered him until he became drunk.

The two best foxes he has had both met with

Mk. John Gaim

HUNTING 115

untimely ends, one being killed by dogs, whilst the
other met a still more tragic fate. Once, when
hunting rats at Bedford station, the catch of the
lead to which the fox was attached got loose, and
the fox, becoming alarmed at some strangers who
were participating in the sport, went off. Some
three weeks later a gamekeeper, when going his
rounds about a mile from the old man's house,
came across a fox and shot him. On picking up
the body he discovered a collar, which he recog-
nised, and be it said it was with orreat sorrow that
he went and informed the old man of the affair.
There is no doubt the fox was making his way
back to his home and his master, and if that
assumption is correct, it indicates a homing instinct
that foxes are not generally credited with.

John Gaunt has kept terriers and foxes for over
twenty-five years, and he has never succeeded in
obtaining a litter of half-bred puppies or cubs, and
gives it as his opinion that he never will.

I believe it is very seldom that wild animals of
the same species engage in a fight to a finish, so I
relate an incident that happened in Ireland. In a
small cover, of about an acre in extent, two vixens
lay up with cubs, one selecting a shallow earth under
the roots of a tree, the other a mere excavation in
the bank that formed a fence round the cover. Both
litters arrived about the same time; then, apparently.

ii6 SOLDIER AND SPORTSMAN

the vixens quarrelled, but neither would shift her
cubs. When the cubs were able to play and run
about, one was found dead. Later on another was
found in the same condition, and this went on until
the fourth and last cub of the litter was destroyed.
The other vixen was then left in sole possession of
the cover. The following year, early in February,
the keeper when going his rounds one night heard
a tremendous scuffle in the small cover. On visit-
ing the place next morning he found a vixen lying
dead, doubtless killed in a fight, and a good fight
it must have been from the punishment the body
showed. A post-mortem showed that the dead
vixen would have shortly laid up to cub.

Foxes are said to be inordinately fond of fruit,
their favourite being the blackberry. Although
varieties of the fox are found in almost every part
of the world, he must surely be natural to a cold
region, otherwise why should Nature have provided
him with such an equipment against cold ? I do
not know if the brush is a necessity for perfect
health in a climate like that of Great Britain, but
I do know that stumped-tailed foxes are apt to
become subterranean dwellers, seldom found by
hounds, and, when on foot, very difficult to
catch.

There are men of the poacher class who deal in
live foxes, and the most approved method of catch-

HUNTING 117

ing them is by inccins of dogs, or nithcr a single
dog. The best cross is that between a greyhound
and a coIHe, and he is all the better for a dash of
bull-terrier blood in him. When a fox finds
himself absolutely outmatched for speed he will lie
down and make the best of the situation. These
dogs are trained to race up to a fox and make him
surrender without fighting ; they stand guard till
their masters come, when the quarry is quickly
popped into a bag.

In the way of food very little comes amiss to
foxes, if short of it he will feed on the carcass
of a long-dead sheep. They are not provident,
but will kill for the sake of killing ; not so vixens,
however, who are lying up with cubs. It is said
with regard to the latter that they prefer to go
far afield for their prey, rather than in their im-
mediate neighbourhood. A vixen may catch and
kill three or four rabbits and collect them in one
place ; before she proceeds to carry them off, she
seizes them by the neck and throws them across
her shoulders.

It is interesting to note that almost all wild
animals have pricked or stand-up ears. It is
obvious that this formation increases the sense
of hearing, as they must be always on the alert,
on the look-out either for enemies or food. The
life of the wild is one of constant vigilance.

ii8 SOLDIER AND SPORTSMAN

Nature permits of no luxurious mode of exist-
ence amongst the active inhabitants of the world.
Of course, in the lower forms of life, such as
turtles, tortoises, etc., a natural protection is pro-
vided, but surely at the expense of happiness and
enjoyment.

Many interested in the remaining wild fauna of
Great Britain take the view that before many de-
cades are past fox-hunting and all that appertains
to it will be up against a very serious antagonism.

In its favour are many beneficent results. One
of such, and not the least, is that fox-hunting
keeps alive the instinct of our forefathers in seek-
ing an exciting and healthy recreation which pro-
motes self-discipline and independence of character.
It is almost an education for the soldier, for it
develops his eye for the country, and gives him
skill in horsemanship. In fact fox-hunting should
be considered a national asset, bringing, as it does,
millions of pounds sterling into the country, and
promoting and developing the best qualities in
man and horse.

The fox has qualities with which it is certain
those of no other English wild animal can com-
pare. Combined with cunning it possesses re-
source, and with speed and endurance it has
audacity and intelligence of no mean order. It
is probable that to these qualities must be at-

Photograph : Bassauo

Capt. a. L. Ci.ifi-e, BEi.i.Kvn;, Co. Wkxfori).

FOR MANV YEARS MASTER OF WEXFORD HOUNDS

HUNTING 119

tributed the absence of evolutionary change noted
in an earHer portion of this book. So well
have they served their owner that Mother Nature
has not found it necessary to introduce any
noticeable chansre in the structure or habits of
the little red rascal, in spite of such adverse
factors as the increase of the human population,
reclamation and enclosure of land, preservation
of game, and the improvement in agriculture.

Once, at a meet of the Badsworth Hounds near
Ackworth, a small spinney at the summit of the
railway cutting was drawn — and drawn blank.
A goodly company was present, and after this
failure the hounds, followed by the field, moved
off down an old lane which had a fallow field on
its left. Their departure was watched by the
writer, who was waiting for a train. Standing
on a wall to obtain a better view, the writer
noticed something in a furrow of the aforemen-
tioned fallow field distant less than two hundred
yards. Said he to a railway porter standing
near: "That looks remarkably like a fox coiled
up in the furrow." The porter, after prolonged
gazinor, thoucrht it was a labourer's jacket, but
volunteered to o^o and see. He went down the
adjoining hedge side, and arriving opposite the
suspicious object shouted out: "It's th'owd var-
mint, reight enough." He threw a clod of earth,

120 SOLDIER AND SPORTSMAN

and up jumped the fox and made straight for
the spinney. We then formed in Hne with sticks
in our hands to dispute his entry ; but he came
boldly on, and dodging between two of us grinned
his defiance with upturned lips which showed a
dental collection of enviable whiteness. He went
to earth, which he was quite aware was unstopped.

CHAPTER VI

FISHING AND PHILOSOPHY

" A ND though this discourse may be hable
/\ to some exceptions yet I cannot doubt

X \. but that most readers may receive so
much pleasure or profit by it as may make it
worth the time of their persual, if they be not
too grave or too busy men. Concerning the
merit of what is here offered to their considera-
tion and censure, and if the cast prove too severe
as I have a Hberty, so I am resolved to use it
and neglect all sour censures . . . yet the whole
discourse is, a picture of my disposition, especially
in such ways and times as I have laid aside
business and gone a fishing."

Never was there written such a classic " Epistle
to the Reader" as the above. It is a quotation
from Izaak Walton's The Complcat Ang/cr, and
no apology do I offer for placing it at the head
of this chapter. It may be that young folk who
come after us may not be aware of the beauties
of the writinors of Walton until some of these be
pointed out to them. At any rate, my humble
endeavour is here to show that the pleasure to be

121

122 SOLDIER AND SPORTSMAN

obtained from angling may be enormously enhanced
by close observation of the beauties and mysteries
of nature.

As for the art of angling being taught theoreti-
cally, although Walton's avowed object to instruct
the "man that was none, to be an angler by the
book," I doubt if his charming dialogues are of
any practical value as lessons in the gentle art.
He admits that angling may be said to be so
like the mathematics that it can never be fully
learned. With this last theory every man will
agree, not only as regards angling but in relation
to most subjects. He will learn something new
each day of his life. There is an enormous
amount of literature on sports of all kinds, litera-
ture ofoino- into minute details, all interestino-
and to a point instructive ; but, in my humble
opinion, experience and practice, added to a
natural instinct for sporting proclivities, are the
only means of becoming proficient in any sport.

Now is the time,

While yet the dark brown water aids the guile,
To tempt the trout,

But let not thy hook the tortured worm
Convulsive twist in agonizing folds.

(Thomson : The Seasons.)

It is evident from these lines that Thomson was
not a worm fisher. He implies that it is a doubly

FISTTING AND PHILOSOPHY 123

cruel business, cruel to both worm and fish, as he
continues :

Which, by predaceous hunger swallowed deep
Gives, as you tear it from the bleeding breast

Of the weak, helpless, uncomplaining wretch,
Harsh pain and horror to the tender hand.

I believe it was Byron who characterised fishing
as a solitary vice, and severely criticised Walton
for upholding the use of live bait ; but apparently
he had a poor opinion of all fishermen, as he says :
"They may talk about beauties of nature, but the
angler merely thinks of his dish of fish. He has
no leisure to take his eyes off the streams, and
a single bite is to him worth more than all the
scenery around." As for cruelty, I suggest it is
somewhat hypocritical to discuss the subject, for
there is no sport in the nature of hunting in which
there is not a spice of cruelty.

But the laws of Nature as regards livinq; animals
are not free from what we call cruelty. A cat with
a mouse is an example. There is no species of
living creature that does not in some way or other
destroy life to support its own. Even sheep kill
countless numbers of snails, etc., as they graze, and
as no one knows to what degree a worm and a fish
are capable of feeling, and some experts believe
their sense of feeling is poor indeed, it is absurd to
apply the term "cruelty" even to worm fishing.

124 SOLDIER AND SPORTSMAN

No writer on fishino- has described in more instructive
or more beautiful language than Thomson, fishing
with the wet fly. He says :

Just in the dubious point, where with the pool

Is mix'd the trembUng stream, or where it boils
Around the stone, or from the hoUow'd bank

Reverted plays in undulating flow.
There throw, nice judging, the delusive fly ;

And as you lead it round in artful curve,
With eye attentive mark the springing game.

Straight as above the surface of the flood
They wanton rise, or urg'd by hunger leap.

Then fix, with gentle twitch, the barbed hooks :

Then when he has hooked the " Monarch of the
Brook " —

With yielding hand.
That feels him still, yet to his furious course

Gives way, you, now retiring, following now
Across the stream, exhaust his idle rage.

Till, floating broad upon his breathless side,
And to his fate abandon'd, to the shore

You gaily drag your unresisting prize.

I am at a loss to know why the fly fisher should
look down on the man who fishes with worms.
Concerning the latter, there is a great difference
between the man who baits a pool and sits down to
watch his float, and the man who fishes up-stream
in clear low water. This class of fishing is probably
more deadly than any other, but it requires just as
much skill as angling with the fly ; moreover, it is
more strenuous, as, to be successful, wading is a

FISHING AND PHILOSOPHY 125

necessity, and the rod must be stiffen and lonj^er,
and of course heavier. And a man who has fished
all day will become aware of the difference in using
a rod a few ounces less in weight than another.

There is no doubt that fish, and especially trout,
have the sense of smell well developed. When
a pool is baited, fish are drawn from below upwards
by the smell of the bait, and not by particles of
whatever is beino- used comincf in view of the fish
as they are carried down-stream. A Nottingham
bait fisher, one of the champions of his club, took
such care that no scent of any kind should touch
his bait when affixing it to the hook that he always
carried a pair of very thin kid gloves. He used
these if he had been smokino;-, or if his hands had
touched tar, or any such smelly stuff used for fenc-
ing. I feel sure if a man attaches a fly to the gut
when he is smoking, or just after having smoked,
that the fly is likely to be tainted. This may
possibly be the cause of trout coming short ; when
he comes sufficiently near the fly to appreciate the
taint of the smoke, it causes him to turn away
sharply, and leave the angler under the impression
that he has had a rise.

In olden days, anyway, they believed in oint-
ments for giving certain odours to the bait, such as
solution of ivy, powdered bones from a corpse, etc.,
which were put in the bag holding the bait.

126 SOLDIER AND SPORTSMAN

Coarse fish, such as the carp, and those whose
habitat is in slow-running water, or ponds in tropic
or semi-tropical countries, can readily be drawn to
a high-smelling bait. During the Nile Expedition
of 1 884- 1 885, part of what was called the Desert
Column — i.e. troops mounted on camels — after
failing to reach Khartoum in time to save General
Gordon, spent some months at Korti, on the Nile,
and both officers and men had plenty of opportunity
for trying their hands at catching fish. The best
bait was pieces of flesh, no matter how far gone in
corruption. Some curious creatures were captured,
and said to be fairly good eating, although personally
I never tasted a Nile fish.

It was the custom of several of us to strip in
the camp, walk up the river three or four hundred
yards, go into the water and swim back. On one
occasion, just as we were about to enter the water,
we spotted some two hundred yards farther up
a huge crocodile, basking on a sandbank : so
instead of indulorin^ in a swim we ran back to
camp, got rifles, and, securing the assistance of a
couple of sergeants of reputed markmanship, went
back to where the crocodile was. After some
manoeuvring we got within about eighty yards of
him. Then, lying down, we took aim, and I believe
it was Lord Belleu, then known as Buldoo, of the
loth Hussars, who gave the "one, two, three" and

FISHING AND PHILOSOPHY 127

"fire." The result of the volley was that the
crocodile slid i^^ntly back into the water. A week
after this exploit the carcass of an enormous croco-
dile was dragged ashore at Korti, some forty miles
south of Dengola. He was eighteen feet in length,
and the half of a full-grown donkey was found in
his stomach. Major Vernon, an officer in the 6th
Rifles, made a sketch of him. I believe eighteen
feet to be nearly a record.

I also recall an incident which is worth relatino-
although it has nothing to do with fishing. I had
been sent down from Dengola to Korti to fetch up
ammunition in one of the Nile craft, a rough sort of
dahabeeyah. At Dengola the medical arrange-
ments were not so good as they were at Korti, so
on the return journey a sergeant of Engineers was
put on board in order to get better treatment in
the hospital at Korti. Athough not much time was
occupied in sailing down, it took the old boat some
three days to get back ; consequently we had to
moor up by the bank at night. The swarms of rats
that came aboard from the shore were amazinor •
in fact so great that my batman and I had to re-
main below, taking our watch in turns, to ward off
the rats that were endeavourino- to attack the un-
fortunate sick man. He actually did get a few
bites. Anyhow, when we arrived at Dengola, what
with the stifling heat of the cabin by day, and the

128 SOLDIER AND SPORTSMAN

rats at night, he expired a few hours after entering
the hospital.

Fishing on the Suir, County Tipperary, some
years ago I chanced to come on a man putting
his rod together. He was "yoking up," as the
old farmer, in whose premises we stalled our
horses, explained to us. A stranger to me, I
was rather astonished when he greeted me with :
"If you are a true fisherman, you have achieved
a triumph. You have succeeded in one of the
greatest endeavours of life — obtained happiness."
Such sentiments coming from a stranger, so
different from the usual topics of weather, flies,
etc., made it clear to me that I had come upon
a philosopher. I took little notice of this strange
meeting until I happened to read a pamphlet on
Fishing and Recreation by Lord Grey of Falloden.
In it I learn that there is more in sport than
recreation: "sport is a philosophy of life." He
emphasises the fact that the sport indulged in
must be of such a nature as to cause undoubted
happiness. Happiness has many definitions, and
according to Hamilton it is the complement of
all the pleasures of which we are susceptible.
There are degrees of happiness, such as glad-
ness, joy, etc. Thus triumph is joy, a sort of
exaggerated mental feeling of pleasure, usually
of a temporary nature. My view is that com-

FISHING AND PHILOSOPHY 129

pletc and histinq happiness is quite unattainable,
but that it is mure nearly achieved in s[)ort than
in any profession, such as politics, arms, law or
literature.

For instance, the ambitious man can never attain
hap[)iness. No matter how successful he may be,
there is no limit to his endeavours ; no matter how
many successes he has won, he looks for more.
Napoleon, the greatest man that ever lived, could
never curb his insatiable ambition, which was part
and parcel of his being-, and, in the end, his un-
doing. No one can believe that Napoleon was
a happy man. The doctrine of the Greek phil-
osopher Aristippus was that happiness was, or
should be, the chief object of man. I suggest
that the only way to obtain even temporary
happiness is to come in touch with nature, but
Lord Grey implies that a feeling of content can
be brought about by knowing that you have
been a worthy citizen, that you have pursued a
moral standard of action, and achieved happiness
with family and friends. The late President
Roosevelt, a friend of Lord Grey, says: "He
is not fit to live who is not fit to die, and he is
not fit to die who shrinks from the joy of life or
from the duty of life."

To emphasise the fact that the love of sport is
foremost in the inclinations of the British officer,
I

130 SOLDIER AND SPORTSMAN

the following story is told. Long before 19 14
the Germans had gone to Wei-hai-wei to see
what fortifications had been put up by the new
owners, what work had been done in the military
zone, and whether the big guns had been mounted.
They were warmly welcomed by a British officer,
who pointed out proudly to them the only work
his men had done was to make a cricket pitch.
Yes, indeed, there is more in sport than recreation ;
it is a philosophy of life. Probably not many
people give thought to the fact that what we
call "sport" is the putting into action of an in-
clination to gain recreation and to break away
from social habit, to taste again the pleasure of
a healthy struggle with opponents, to come into
touch with nature, to obey an instinct inherited
countless ages ago from our ancestors.

Few people realise that primitive man was just
as much interested in the problem of invention
as the civilised population of the world at the
present day. But the primitive man was most
closely in touch with nature. The joy of his life
was the hunt and the fight. I quote from Sex
and Society, by William Thomas : " The man of
science works at problems and uses his ingenuity
in making an engine in the laboratory in the
same way as primitive man used his mind in
making a trap." The man who is successful in

FISHING AND PHILOSOPHY 131

all outdoor sports, such as hunting and fishing,
must have the gift of " intuition," a difficult word
to define, but perhaps "constructive imagination,"
or " a natural readiness in perception," comes near
enough.

Intuition is a sine qua non in many matters besides
sport. A professional medical man or a veterinary
surgeon without the gift of intuition will be apt
to make mistakes in diagnosing diseases ; and this
faculty, inherited from our primitive ancestors, is
gradually becoming suppressed or inactive in the
vast majority of mankind. Another definition of
intuition is "a quick and comprehensive per-
ception of a situation or of circumstances which
must be acted on at once." Intuition, I venture
to suggest, is the key which opens the door of
success, provided that the situation, having been
grasped, is followed up by action.

During the last thirty years the number of trout
fishers has increased twentyfold and a very large
number of fishing clubs have been instituted, with
the result that the sport at present obtainable is
nothing like so good as was formerly the case,
except, of course, in private waters. Trout, it is
said, have become educated and are shy of the
artificial fly. Some people say that this shyness
is the result of evolution — i.e. a breed of fish has
been produced in which the instinct of caution

132 SOLDIER AND SPORTSMAN

has been developed. That, I venture to say, is
a wrong theory. It is more Hkely that the educa-
tion has been brought about by over-fishing and
the fact that so many fish are returned to the
water because they are undersized. However,
whatever may be the right theory, trout are un-
doubtedly more difficult to catch now than in
years gone by. This has led to a vast amount
of interesting literature on the various forms of
fishinor. Yet I suQi^grest that to ijain knowledcre
as the result of experience, supported by observa-
tion and intuition, is the only way to become an
expert angler.

There are many perplexing problems that present
themselves. For instance, why trout on certain
days rise freely, but will not take either natural or
artificial fly. Do fish "sport".-* I think they do.
I have watched one rising to every fly that passed
over him without seizing a single one, but merely
poking them with his nose. The performance of
this particular trout is very different from what is
termed "coming short" — a term which, I take it,
implies that trout when rising like this are satiated
and lazy. It may also be that when they make a
closer inspection of the fly they discover it is not
the one they are looking for, and what is sup-
posed to be a rise is merely the trout breaking
the water as he turns away dissatisfied. The true

FTSHTNCx AND PHTLOSOrHY 133

fisherman is not out to catch fish and nothinj^ else.
He will be confronted continually with difficulties,
such as a drag on the fly when casting across
running water ; another time he may have to
switch the tly under an overhanging branch of
a tree to throw the fly so that it may land on
the far side of a stump or tussock beside which
a trout is lying. All these obstacles go to make
the sport of dry-fly fishing the best of all forms
of angling. To watch for a rising trout, to "spot"
the fly he is taking, is in itself a most interesting
preliminary to the business of fishing ; obstacles
should only add to the determination to per-
severe. There is no finer school of patience and
self-discipline than this, for it teaches one to
make light of disappointments. Surely there is
nothing like it to soothe a ruffled mind. To
listen to the sound of running water imbues the
man on the river bank with a feeling of peace-
fulness. Peace and happiness are inseparable.
The sonor of birds, the hum of insects, all tell
the tale of the joy of life. When the water is
low and clear the fisherman must keep both
eyes and ears open. He must be alert to catch
each ripple of a rising trout, or the flop of one
that has risen screened by the branch of a tree.

Books dealing with the art of angling have
been written by many expert authors, and doubt-

134 SOLDIER AND SPORTSMAN

less help many beginners to become successful
fishermen. I have, however, known men who
refused to try a difficult rise, for fear of losing
a fly. It appears to me that there is no logic
in fitting oneself out with an expensive rod and
tackle and then to hesitate to cast or not to cast
at all for fear of losing a threepenny fly. The
practice and efficiency gained in casting under
adverse conditions will sooner or later bring its
own reward. Keeping out of sight and casting
so that the movement of the rod may not be dis-
cernible to the fish are most essential points in
the tactics of the dry-fly man. Again, he should
never cease trying, and should go through every
fly in his book, as long as the fish is rising. I will
venture to say there are few anglers that are not
lovers of nature, and thus it comes that the fisher-
man is not dependent on successful endeavours in
order to spend a happy and, maybe, an instructive
day on the river.

The water-vole is one of the commonest folk of
the wild that he will meet on the river. It was
not until the other day that I was aware that the
common brown rat is an inveterate enemy of his.
As I sat by the side of the Derbyshire Wye, not far
from Bakewell, a vole seated himself on a stone
close by. He stayed there some time, until a brown
rat which had evidently just emerged from a hole

FISHING AND PHILOSOPHY 135
above, sprang- to catch the vole, who was just a
shade too quick, and sHppcd into the water with
the rat after him, both swimming under the surface.
On reaching the far side the vole ran along for a
few yards, then dived back into the water, pursued
by his enemy, came out of the water on my side,
ran a few yards, and dived into the water a second
time. As far as I could see, the brown rat was the
faster swimmer of the two. The third time the
vole entered the water the rat was almost up to
him, and on reaching the far side he caught him.
In the struggle they both fell back into the pool,
and the rat was the first to come to the surface.
The reason of that, I suppose, w^as because he was
not able to stay under water so long as the vole,
who apparently was not any the worse, as he made
for the opposite side again. And so ended an
unsuccessful attempt at murder.

Anyone who has closely watched a vole swimming
will have noticed that his mouth opens and shuts
with great rapidity, keeping time with his strokes.
Noticing this, I came to the conclusion that the
vole does this to keep his lungs full of air in case
he has to take a hasty dive.

On another occasion, when fishing in one of the
North Country rivers, I met a vole carrying a young
one. Spotting me, she stopped only for a second
and dropped the young one into a small pool left by

136 SOLDIER AND SPORTSMAN

the receding flood. 1 picked the Httle thing up and
placed it on a bunch of grass. On my return journey
some hours later the little vole was still where I had
placed it ; this seemed to me to show a want of
maternal care on the part of the mother.

Different from the behaviour of the vole was that
of a stoat I once saw on the Wyly river. As I
walked down-stream I saw a stoat swimmine
across some fifty yards lower down. On reaching
a spot opposite, where she was about to land, she
must have viewed me, because she turned and
came tearing back, the light of battle glittering in
her eyes. Coming out of the river a yard or so
from where I stood, she made a spring which I
warded off with the landinof net. Then she turned
and commenced nosing about in the grass, putting
four young ones on their legs. In my endeavours
to catch one, she charged again, and it was clear
that if I was to capture a young one it would be
over her dead body ; so I merely followed and
watched her herding her flock as a collie herds
sheep. Soon they reached a hedge and disappeared.
My friend on whose water I had leave to fish was
a shooting man, and I did not tell him of the
incident.

On another occasion I witnessed a fiorht between
a common rat and a weasel. They had been fight-
ing apparently in the long grass on the bank, for

FISHING AND PHILOSOPHY 137

when they rolled into view neither seemed to have
a proper hold. However, when they disengaged,
the rat raised himself on his hind legs and awaited
the attack of the weasel. They then fought for
about two minutes, after which the weasel made for
the long grass, with the rat after him, so I was
unable to see the end of a most interesting contest.
I was, however, subsequently assured by a keeper
that such fio'hts between rats and weasels generally
ended in favour of the former.

A curious incident with regard to a terrier and
fox cubs was once described to me by Captain
George Maher of Ballinkeen, County Wexford.
Captain Maher was walking by the side of a river
closely accompanied by a terrier. It was his
custom to go to a certain place to watch four fox
cubs, who had their earth on the opposite side of
the river, playing with each other. To his astonish-
ment he saw the terrier, who had crossed over, join
in play with the cubs, and he assures me that, hav-
ing broken the ice, so to speak, with the cubs, the
dog paid regular visits to the earth. This terrier
was famous for being a first-class worker when put
to orround for foxes and badgers.

A friend of mine, Mr Montague Murphy, of
Derby, related an interesting incident in connection
with the brown rat. I give his incident in his own
words :

138 SOLDIER AND SPORTSMAN

" Fishing on the Derwent, I had taken a scat
on the bank to dispose of my midday sandwich.
Opposite me, about ten yards off in mid-stream,
was a small island. Presently a brown rat appeared
at my feet running along the strand ; under-
neath its chin and clins^inor to its mother was
a young one about ten days old. The mother
apparently had hold of it by the breast with her
teeth, while the little one clung round her neck and
head. On reaching a spot exactly opposite the
island, she slipped into the water, swimming across
submerged, evidently to avoid being seen. Hav-
ing gained the island, she disappeared for a few
minutes among the grass and scrub ; then she
appeared again without her burden, and swam
across, this time on the surface, to the spot where
she had entered the water and went off in the
direction whence she had come. When she re-
appeared, she had another young one. She repeated
the performance three times. Some minutes after
the third young one was safely across a full-sized
stoat came loping along hot-foot on the tracks of
the rat. He halted just where the rat had entered
the water, sniffed about, and apparently satisfied
that he had lost the scent of his intended meal,
turned about and went back."

Until this incident was related to me I had no
idea that the brown rat would remove its young

FISHING AND PHILOSOPHY 139
ones out of the way of danger. It is intcrestino- to
note that the young rats were able to accommodate
themselves to the exio-encics of the situation —
firstly, during the submergence, and, secondly, in
aiding the mother by clinging to her during the
transportation.

CHAPTER VII

RACING

FROM my boyhood racing and steeplechas-
ing have perhaps been the greatest of my
many recreations. At any rate, during a
period now extending well over half-a-century,
it has been my pleasure and delight to observe
the very many changes that have occurred in
both branches of the sport, always with a true
and keen interest in its welfare. Breeding and
racing in my time have certainly not been marked
with a lack of improvement. On the other hand,
I think it must be generally admitted that both
racing and steeplechasing were never more ably
managed than they are in the present era. The
recent war may be here mentioned as the best
of tests. It is true that for the time beinor it
shook the very foundation of horse breeding, as
it did others of our great industries. The war
over, however, mark the result: 191 9 gave us a
year of records not only in racing but in general
history — the record of peace after a record war ;

140

RACING 141

a record strike declared and ended in a week.
It is worthy of notice also that the Government
ill Irekmd issued an order prohibiting racing
owing to the Coal Strike in England ; but in
spite of the order racing went on as usual.
Then we had record crowds and record prices
for yearlings. In spite of the alleged bankruptcy
of the nation, more money has been circulated
and more money spent on racing than ever be-
fore. In face of incredible difficulties in travelling
and transport, the sport-loving Britisher managed
to satisfy his unquenchable instinct. At a Man-
chester meeting the first race of a Victory New
Year was won by a horse belonging to Mr
Bottomley, and never on any race-course was
an owner more heartily cheered. It was an ac-
clamation of the extraordinary hold that the Editor
of Jo/m Bull has over the British sporting public.
There is no nation in the world that has such a
love for horses and sport ; no doubt this inherited
instinct has had a great influence in forming the
character of the race. Sporting men have made
history as surely as seamen, soldiers, financiers
and politicians. It is the sporting instinct that
has made the British the pioneers of adventure,
and has established their prestige for honourable
and fair dealinors with all the nations of the
world.

142 SOLDIER AND SPORTSMAN

II

Captain Machell

Three or four decades ago Captain Machell was
regarded as one of the kings of the Turf. He
brought the brains of an extraordinarily astute and
observant man to concentrate on Racing in all its
aspects. I remember his telling me that when at
college he bought a horse for eight pounds. He
then wrote to his father, informing him of the fact,
and asking for money for the purchase of a saddle.
His father's reply was :

"If you can buy a horse you can buy a saddle."

From that time he cut out his own line, and
what between winning some matches with the
eight-pound horse, and athletic events, he soon
blossomed out into an owner of good horses,
and eventually was enabled to repurchase family
estates.

Captain Machell's idea of a horse that would
prove useful over fences and hurdles was a speedy
five-furlong animal. His argument was that with
a short quick stride a horse comes at a fence
collectedly, whereas a long-striding horse is apt
to come unbalanced at his fences. This view
was not borne out by Cloister, one of the best
steeplechasers of all times, as he had an abnor-
mally long stride and never steadied himself or

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Cl.OlSTKR
THE liEST STEEIM.ECHASE HOUSE Ol' AI.I. IIMI

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RACING 143

shortened his stride when coming to a fence ; in
fact, sometimes he took off at an incredible distance
from a fence. When this horse was being trained
at Bishop Sutton by Mr Arthur Yates I rode
him several times, and used to wonder how he
would negotiate the Grand National course with-
out a mistake. Cloister's hocks and knees were
placed very low. His canon-bone was very short,
and the distance from the hock to the pastern
unusually so. This conformation seems to be
adapted for carrying weight, but most high-class
race-horses have the reverse conformation. This
is well illustrated by observing the framing of the
descendants of St Simon. This horse's hocks and
knees were extraordinarily high placed and nearly
all of his descendants exhibit the same tendency.

To give his full name, Captain James Octavius
Machell was indeed an astute and an acknowledged
authority on both racer and steeplechaser. His
wonderful career started in the early sixties, and
extended as far as iith May 1902, when close
upon five and sixty years of age. He died at
Hastings, and a few days later fitly found his last
place of rest at Newmarket, where his name is
still green. He was notable in the history of the
British Turf not so much for what he personally
accomplished as for the shrewdness and ability he
displayed in advising his many patrons.

144 SOLDIER AND SPORTSMAN

It has long since been said that in the Derby
of 1875 Galopin alone stopped King Edward VI I. ,
then Prince of Wales, from participating in the
sweets of a Blue Ribbon through more than an
ordinary interest with Lord Aylesford as the
nominator of Claremont. Again, in the Grand
National the following season I have good reasons
for saying that when Joseph Cannon victoriously
wore Captain Machell's colours on the highly
bred Regal, by Saunterer out of the Oaks heroine
Regalia, H.R.H. had more than a finger in the
result of that close and exciting contest, in which
Regal beat Congress by a neck.

As the sporting world knows, Captain Machell
preceded the success of Regal with two other
victories by the aid of Disturbance and Reuguy,
and as an army man was naturally very proud, sub-
sequently to Regal, in seeing Lord Manners to the
fore on the Bedford Cottage trained Seaman when
the Guardsman just pipped that excellent amateur,
Mr Tommy Beasley, a head on Cyrus. Through-
out the Captain's great career there is plenty of
evidence of his displaying quite as much keenness
in steeplechasing as he showed in connection with
the more important branch of our national pastime.

Unfortunately, he never had the good fortune to
see his own colours to the fore in any of our classic
events, although the results of such races testify to

RACING 145

the success of his efforts in astute inaiiaLreinent.
Allusion is liere nicide to such horses as Hermit,
Petronel, lielphoebe, Pilgrimage, Seabreeze,
Harvester, Kilwarlin and, last but not least, that
triple crown winner Isiiv^lass. Among his many
great and influential [)atrons were Lord Chaplin,
the Duke of Devonshire, Lord Calthorpe, Sir
Charles Legard, the third and fourth Earls of
Lonsdale, Colonel Owen Williams, Captain Prime,
Lord Hastings, Lord Gerard, the Duke of Beaufort,
Lord Strathnairn, Lord Aylesford, Mr C. J. Blake,
Lord Rodney and Colonel Harry M'Calmont — all
of whom, with the exception of Lord Chaplin,
are, like the Captain himself, now in the Great
Beyond.

The master of Bedford Cottacfe could never be
accused of beincr fickle in his attitude towards his
helpmates. His keen eye early rested upon Mr
J. Mansell Richardson. First Joseph Cannon and
then James Jewitt succeeded his earliest selection,
G. Bloss, the recognised trainer of Hermit, who at
the advice of the Captain was purchased at Middle
Park for the then Squire of Blankney as a yearling
for a thousand guineas. I have heard it said that
Captain Machell also tried to obtain Marksman, the
next lot to come 'neath Mr Tattersall's hammer to
Hermit. Marksman, however, at a like price, was
bought by Mr James Merry.

K

146 SOLDIER AND SPORTSMAN

The winning of the Derby by Hermit brings out
in full force the astuteness and resource of Captain
Machell. The horse started at 66 to i by reason
of his having burst a blood-vessel some three weeks
prior to the race. With the exception of Captain
Machell, all connected with the horse vowed it was
impossible to get him fit and were striking him
out. Not so the Captain. I well remember his
telling me he could keep him going in sufficient
work to get him fit, notwithstanding the possible
chance of his breakingr another blood-vessel.
Accordingly Hermit did all his work on the western
side of the Newmarket course ; this gallop, going
the reverse way, is down-hill. Here Hermit com-
pleted his preparation, doing mile work each day,
and after every spin was walked back to the top
of the hill. It is said that the Captain won
upwards of ;i^6o,ooo.

I don't imagine that even the Captain's best friend
would insinuate that he was a sfood horseman
himself. When in the army he more than once
aspired to military race riding honours, and suc-
ceeded in winning events at Aldershot and other
places. His aspirations carried him so far as an
effort to win the Grand Military Gold Cup in 1863
on a mare called Jealousy by The Cure out of
Jewess, who had thrice run for the Liverpool Grand
National, being once a winner, in 1861, when ridden

RACING 147

by Joe Kendall. It was about a week after
Jealousy had been un[)laced behind Emblem in
1S63 that she carried Captain Machell in the
Military Gold Cup, then decided over the old
Rugby pastures. Thanks to the Editor of The
Field I am able to give the appended interesting
details of that contest :

GRAND MILITARY, RUGBY, 1863

Gold Cup. Three miles

Capt. Park Yates' (ist Royal Dragoons) Rifleman by

Red Robin, 12 St. 10 lb., . . Capt. Riddel! i

Mr Justice's (55th Rcgt.) Jealousy, i3st. . Capt. Machell 3
Mr Featherstonehaugh's (13th Hussars), Windsor, 12 st.

Owner 3
Mr T. S. Starkcy's Cannibal, 12 st. . Mr Lawson o

Major Wombwcll's (12th Lancers) My Mary, 12 st.

Owner o
Major Wombwell's (12th Lancers) Emily, 12 st.

Mr Stephenson o
Capt. Fletcher's (12th Lancers) Glen Aros, 6 yr., 12 st.

Mr Steele o
Mr Delacour's (nth Hussars) Redwinga, 13 st.

Capt. Tempest o
Mr Dakin's (Carbineers) Tukerman, 12 st. Owner o

Mr Dakin's (Carbineers) Frank, 12 st. 10 lb. Capt. A. Smith o
Capt. Coale's (Carbineers) Doubtful, 12 st. Capt. W. Peel o
Mr Higgin's (13th Hussars) The Nabob, 12 st. 10 lb.

Owner o
Mr John Stone's (Grenadier Guards) Hazard, 12 st. 5 lb.

Owner o
Capt. Blundell's (Rifle Brigade) Elsiiam, 12 st. Owner o

148 SOLDIER AND SPORTSMAN

The confidence the Jealousy connections dis-
phiyed in the mare's chance caused her to start a hot
favourite at 5 to 4. Cannibal and Windsor were
second in demand at 6 to i each ; Frank was
backed at "seven," and 10 to i freely offered
on others. The Field tells that this Gold Cup was
not one of the Captain's happiest sporting days.
At the fall of the flag Jealousy settled clown with
a clear lead. On passing the stand the first time
the Captain, in order to avoid the deep furrow,
took a line a little too high up the side of the hill.
This brought him upon the strongest part of the
fence and Jealousy refusing lost fully twenty lengths.
Hazard and Inkerman were away in front, and
it was not until the brook was reached that
the righted Jealousy took close order with the
leaders. Both Emily and My Mary fell. To cut
the story short, there was a long tail when Jealousy
and Rifleman came to the last fence, from which
an exciting struggle ensued. The Captain was
first over, but Jealousy was unable to hold her own
up the winning field hill and eventually lost by
three lengths. Windsor was a bad third, Elsham
fourth. Hazard fifth, Cannibal sixth. The Field
in consolation says that Jealousy, but for the refusal
and the ground she had to make up, ought un-
doubtedly to have brought off perhaps the first of
Captain Machell's manysubsequently planned coups.

RACING 149

The Captain, however, did not long remain in
the army. He was in the 55th Foot, and I have
heard it said that this early resignation was due to
a refusal of leave to witness a race for the St
Legcr. However, the subsequent knowledge he
gained in Ireland of racing and steeplechasing
added greatly to his early sporting instincts, although
when later he entered Newmarket with a single
horse called Boniface, by Claret out of Mona, that
he had brought with him from the Sister Isle, and
which won him his first race at headquarters, few
could have anticipated the great career that was to
follow. He certainly did not turn out the adventurer
some of his early critics anticipated at the outset.
His always popular white and dark blue cap
was as early as 1863 registered at Old Bur-
lington Street, and there remained until his death
in 1902, when the colours were transferred to
the name of Mr J. Mamsell Richardson, always
a great and favourite sportsman, who till his
demise never ceased to sing the praises of the
Captain.

Mr Richardson was one of those undergraduates
at Cambridge who used to spend such pleasant
week-ends at Bedford Cottage, and there " The
Cat," as J. M. R. was so often alluded to by his
intimates, learned many of his finishing riding
touches ; in fact, in later years Mr Richardson

150 SOLDIER AND SPORTSMAN

oft declared that, whatever race-ridincr deHsfht he
gained in the Liverpool Grand National, first on
Disturbance and the next year on Reuguy, on the
last afternoon at Epsom, in 1872, when Fordham
won the Oaks for Mr Lefevre on Reine, that
mount the Captain gave him on Lord Lonsdale's
Bickerstaffe in the Welter, where amateurs and
professionals were opposed to each other on the
old Bibury lines, made him equally as proud as
either of those Liverpool victories, as he found
himself well round Tattenham Corner, and in the
straight, holding in safe-keeping sixteen opponents,
the best of which proved to be his Majesty's now
trainer, Richard Marsh, who divided him from
that prince of Corinthians, the late Mr William
Bevill. Bickerstaffe won by half-a-length, and
besides Marsh, who I think was one of Captain
Machell's earliest helpmates at Newmarket, other
professionals Mr Richardson then had against him
were Custance, Tom Cannon, J. Morris, R. Wyatt,
Parry, and Jem Goater, all noted jockeys of that
period. Again, curiously enough, a recent peep
of that Bickerstaffe's race, there is the reminder
that my old friend Mr Arthur Yates was among the
other amateurs who rode in that six-furlong Oaks
Day Welter contest. That, I am told, was not
Mr Richardson's first sweets of victorious ridine
on the Surrey Downs, for in the spring of the

RACING 151

same year on similar lines he had had a more
comfortable ride on Lincoln and beat Tom
French on the favourite Douglas a couple of
lengths.

Most people find what may be termed a melan-
choly satisfaction in recalling the pleasures of the
past. There is still a fair number of military
men who at some time or other were quartered
at Aldershot ; those of them who aspired to win
steeplechases of sorts found their way sooner or
later to Bishop Sutton. As a school for military
riders and chasers, Mr Arthur Yates' establishment
had no equal. Not only was he guide, philosopher
and friend, but a man of such personality that he
did not fail to influence those of whom he saw
much. He discountenanced betting ; a coup engin-
eered by the Bishop Sutton stable was a thing-
unheard of. Sport was the keynote applied to
the entire business.

It was in the early eighties, when my regiment
was quartered at Aldershot, that I made a most
useful and pleasureable acquaintance with Arthur
Yates, who first saw daylight in the year 1S41.
He is still hale and hearty, and if retired from
the sport he so long and honourably followed,
yet keeps up his favourite hobby — viz. collecting
and studying birds and beasts of every description.
When I was last at Bishop Sutton I discovered

152 SOLDIER AND SPORTSMAN

that his interest in horses and training was beinor
supplanted by his zoological collection. His good
health and longevity are due not only to the
great moderation in his manner of living but
also to the never-dying interest he takes in
animals.

I can recall the open house he kept for the
officers at Aldershot in the days when first we
met. Everyone was welcome, whether he was
an owner or merely a friend of one. There is
the old adaofe, " That which is bred in the bone
comes out in the flesh," and that applies to Mr
Yates and his love of steeplechasing. His father
had shares with Mr Elmore in Lottery, the winner
of the First Grand National, 1839, and he can
remember how when a small boy he was taken
down to Neasdon by his father and saw Jem
Mason ride the old gelding over the luncheon-
table, spread with viands, on the lawn. Singularly
enough, although he rode the winner of 460 races,
he never succeeded in riding the winner of the
Grand National or National Hunt Steeplechase.
In traininsf he was successful in the former with
Cloister, and as a trainer also took great honours
in preparing no fewer than four winners of the
Grand Military Gold Cup. The first three of
these were in succession. The four winners were
Scorn and Standard respectively ridden by Mr

Mk. Akiih k \aii:s

Reproduced hy f'C*'i"'^^i<^" <\f " I'f'i'ty I'nir"

RACING 153

Barton and Mr T. Hone, the property of Captain
Childs, and Dalesman, belonging to Captain Fisher,
owner up to 1885-86-87, and lastly Mr H.L. Powell's
The Midshipmite, with Major Burn Murdoch in the
saddle. All these were won at Sandown, with the
exception of Scorn, his race being run at Aylesbury,
when Mr Barton defeated Roddy Owen by a head
in the smallest field — namely, three runners — on
record for the race.

So numerous are the officers and others who
benefited by Arthur Yates' tuition and counsel in
the sport that to give the names of all would fill a
book ; but those I well remember include Captain
Childs, Colonel F'isher, General Broadwood, Lord
Binning, Mr Hanbury, Colonel Reggie Howe and
Major Hughes Onslow. Of all the horses that
passed through Arthur Yates' hands, he says
Defence was certainly the best horse he ever
rode. Harvester the best he ever owned, and
Cloister the best he ever trained. But there
were two chasers whose names will always re-
main green in the memory of Bishop Sutton :
the one bears the name, as Mr Yates is always
pleased to call him, of Dear old Crawler, and lies
buried on the lawn alongside Harvester ; the other
was Harold, the horse that after a fall at the
water at Croydon was caught and remounted by
the aid of his tail, thereby not only bringing Mr

154 SOLDIER AND SPORTSMAN

Yates home a gallant winner, but raising a poet,
who promptly sent the following to the plucky
owner. It is oft quoted, but is worthy of repetition :

In racing reports it is oft-time said

A jockey has cleverly won by a head,

But Yates has performed, when all other arts fail,

A' more wonderful feat, for he won by a tail.

Anent Harvester, a son of Stockwell-Gretna,
this horse ran unplaced in the Two Thousand
Guineas the year that Formosa and Moslem ran
their famous dead-heat. Mr Yates thinks he
would have won the Grand National in 1872, Cassa
Tete's year, had he not been interfered with and cut
into. The race that year was attended by more
than the usual number of casualties,

Mr Yates' all-blue colours were often in evidence,
especially at South Country meetings ; indeed he
was so frequently seen in the saddle that to the
uninitiated he was like a circus artist, a fact that
did not escape the observation of Queen Alexandra,
who was heard to say that "the butcher boy seems
to have a ride in every race." That remark caught
the ear of King Edward. When Arthur was in-
vited to spend a week-end at Sandringham, the
King, it is said, introduced him to his consort
as follows : " Let me present Mr Arthur Yates,
the butcher boy about whom you have often
asked."

RACING 155

As before stated, Mr Artliur Yates' total of
winning mounts stands at 460, of which 67 proved
his best year, 54 being won in England and
13 on the Continent — a great record of a great
Enolishman.

CHAPTER VIII

CONFORMATION

THE following discussion of the race-horse,
especially with regard to the purchasing of
him as a yearling, is not meant for the man
who has by experience and observation acquired
expert knowledge ; but there are, it is to be hoped,
many of the rising generation who will keep the
game going, and these may perhaps derive some
satisfaction and perhaps instruction in reading what
follows.

First of all it is proved beyond all doubt that
animals that have gone successfully through the
mill — i.e. the test of the race-course, which
quickly sifts the good from the bad — are those most
likely themselves to beget good performers. The
test of the race-course is one of the factors that
has made the British thorouQrhbred the foremost
breed in the world. Thus, in scanning a pedigree,
we look for a line of good-class winners, especially
on the side of the sire. Many a controversy has
been indulged in as to which is the most potent
in transmitting its qualities to the next generation
— the sire or the dam — -and there is no doubt facts

156

CONFORMATION 157

point to the sire. They even suggest that the
proL;eny of first-chiss mares are disappointing if
mated with inferior-class stalHons. The stock bred
from winners is more Hkely to turn out well than
that bred from failures, however fashionably bred
the latter may be.

There are several reasons for failure — inability
to gallop fast enough, or to stay, unsoundness and
lack of nervous force — which may show itself in
various forms. As these failings are hereditary, it
follows that in time the line of failures eventually
jjets left in the back<xround.

The placing of the knees and hocks with refer-
ence to race - horses is a point which invites

arcrument.

Take St Simon, a horse which many people now
alive had the opportunity of seeing. He stood with
knees and hocks unusually high, and that trait is
marked in many of his descendants. Some experts
on equine excellence maintain that St Simon as a
race-horse never had his equal ; certainly he was
never beaten. Comparisons of horses running at
different periods, although very interesting, can
never be very satisfactory. The capabilities of
race-horses in general ought to progress with all
the increased care and knowledge bestowed on
their breeding and training. Thus it is probable
that St Simon would have met his match in later

158 SOLDIER AND SPORTSMAN

days, but at the time of his performances he was
the best up to date.

The horse with low set-on hocks — i.e. with a long
tibia — is analogous to the long, leggy man, the
length between the latter's heel and his knee
representing that between the stifle and hock of
a horse. Long-limbed men have not as a rule
the same staying power as shorter-legged men.
Whether this comparison between horses and men
is of any value or not, the fact remains that some
of the most brilliant race-horses have stood with
hocks and knees well off the ground. For speed
only there is no doubt that such a conformation is
good, but from the point of general utility, weight-
carrying, etc., the argument is not so easy to prove,
as many first-class steeplechase horses and weight-
carrying hunters have had knees and hocks low
set on.

Some members of the antelope tribe, more
especially the hartebeest, have terrific speed for a
short distance. Their hocks and knees are extra-
ordinarily high. The speed of the Hartebeest is
much greater than that of a greyhound, and the
speed of both a greyhound and a horse for a
hundred yards is nearly the same — viz. about four
and a quarter seconds.

hi looking over a prospective purchase there are
so many essential points to be noted that in making

CONFORMATION 159

a categorical sequence it must not be inferred that
one is more important that another. The old
axiom, "It is the weak link in the chain that
gauges the strength of the whole," must be borne
in mind, and to find that link must be the object of
the purchaser.

It may often happen that the first inspection may
be in the auction yard. It is obvious, then, that no
opportunity will be afforded of seeing the colt or
filly except on the lead, walking, or, at the best, at
a slow trot. No satisfactory opinion can be formed
as to the action.

It has been proved that the action of a yearling
when playing or galloping about is no certain
indication of what the animal may eventually turn
out to be, as best movers when at play not in-
frequently become the worst race-horses. Never-
theless a good deal can be inferred from the general
movement, carriage and expression ; the points to
look for are good balance, power and courage.

A small head, comparatively, without good ex-
pression is never the attribute of a good horse, no
matter how taking the general conformation may
appear. The greater the width between the eyes,
and the greater the depth and space between the
jaws, the better. The latter formation is one of
the most essential points. The setting on of the
head is of little less importance ; if it joins the neck

i6o SOLDIER AND SPORTSMAN

in such a way as to cause discomfort to the animal
when the breaking" tackle is put on, the result will
be unsatisfactory. A bad mouth and general un-
handiness are serious defects when it comes to

racmg.

Symmetry — i.e. a due proportion of the several
parts of the body to each other — or the want of it,
will be apparent to the eye almost at the first glance.
Without symmetry, of course, a horse can be of
no value for racing. It requires no artist to dis-
criminate between a well-made and well-balanced
animal and one that is not. Then, again, it is
interesting to observe what are the well-marked
points that enable one horse to go faster than
another.

An oblique shoulder, going well into the back,
with foreleo^s set well forward and straifjht, describes
what is known as a good forehand. This con-
formation is absolutely necessary to enable a horse
to stay — that is, he will when tired still be able to
gallop almost automatically without shortening his
stride.

The term "staying" is almost paradoxical. For
instance, a horse that tires before he has accom-
plished five furlongs at racing speed may, if set to
go a mile, beat the horse that has conquered him at
five furlongs. If the skeletons of these two horses
were measured it would be found that the winner

CONFORMATION i6i

at a mile was the better shouldered horse of the
two. The knees should be in proportion to
the body and the bone (known as the piscis) at the
back should stand out prominently. It is to this
bone that muscles and tendons are what may be
termed hinged, and if there is not sufficient room
for them to work with ease, the effect is that
a horse tires quickly or breaks down.

Other points to be especially noted are, first, the
ribs should be strong and well sprung — i.e. they
should give no suggestion of being flat ; also
lengthy quarters are just as necessary as a lengthy
forehand, and the tail set on high rather than low.
Most important, however, are the hocks. Whether
placed high or low, they must be strong and have
good width. It is from these joints that the pro-
pelling power is derived, and bent or faulty hocks
condemn almost any kind of horse. It is essential
that the bone be carried down straight and level
from the hock to the pastern joint. I have heard
American judges specify the need of a prominent
stifle as giving extra leverage. As the whole weight
of a horse is carried on the pastern joints and feet,
it is obvious that, without strength in the former
and correct shape in the latter, the most perfect
conformation in other respects would be of no use.

The pasterns of horses appear to differ consider-
ably, but in first-class horses they are never on the

L

i62 SOLDIER AND SPORTSMAN

long side. In fact, long pasterns are detrimental
to balance and speed.

By kind permission of Sir Theodore Cook,
(Isaac Bickerstaffe of The Field) this very interest-
ing article is reproduced from that newspaper,
where it appeared on 25th December 1920.

When on the subject of conformation, I have
endeavoured to prove that for purposes of speed
only {i.e. not general utility) a short tibia, and
a long femur, giving the appearance of high-
placed hocks and knees, which is an attribute
of the Galopin line of horses is demonstrated in
studying the skeletons of Eclipse and Persimmon.

Eclipse and Persimmon

" The appearance of the skeleton of Eclipse
beside that of Persimmon in the British Museum
(Natural History) in the Cromwell Road sug-
gests some interesting facts and a few valuable
comparisons.

" Taking the statistics from the first race up to
1906, all the Derby winners, with four exceptions,
traced to Eclipse, Herod, or Matchem, and two
out of these four traced to the sire and grandsire
of Eclipse respectively. Eclipse's descendants also
comprised in Donovan and Isinglass, the two
horses that had won most money in stakes ; in
Stockwell and St Simon, the two most valuable

PERSIMMON SKELETON

ECLIPSE SKELETON

A Study in conformation

Reproduced hy permission front Sir Theodore Cook's article in " T/ie Field'

FXLIPSE AND PERSIMMON 163

sires ; in Flying Fox, the race-horse sold at the
highest price at public auction ; and in Sceptre,
the only yearling that had ever cost /" 10,000.
The record times for the Two Thousand (1902),
Derby (1906), and St Leger (1906) were also
among the achievements which Eclipse blood
could claim ; and there is small wonder that it
has slowly been established as the best, not in
this country alone, but in Europe, the United States
and elsewhere.

" An exact comparison between the skeletons of
Eclipse and Persimmon ought to produce certain
facts of value to the trained biologist, if he can only
be induced to make it. The difficulty in this, as in
so many kindred matters, is that the man of science
rarely appreciates exactly what the horse-breeder
wants to know, and the man who writes with know-
ledge about racing is too often completely ignorant
of the essential elements of science. The mere
fact, already mentioned, that this comparison, when
completed, will be actually the first of its kind is
significant enough. The most enlightened and
broad-minded of modern celebrities might legiti-
mately object to our digging up his great-great-
grandfather in order to compare that ancestral
framework with his own ; nor would the operation
lead to much even when the problems involved
were merely physical ; but inasmuch as the brain is

i64 SOLDIER AND SPORTSMAN

by far the most important factor in human develop-
ment the difficulties of the investigation would be
almost insurmountable. Among animals, the case
of Eclipse and Persimmon is, as far as I am aware,
unique, though records of the breeding of some of
the Brocklesby hounds can be authenticated for
as far back as 1 746 ; greyhounds will soon have
pedigrees that will be almost as valuable to our
descendants ; and John Millais, son of the famous
artist, collected some very valuable facts on the
breeding of dogs before his death. But parallel
companions such as those reproduced in these
pages have never been properly studied, and it
may fervently be hoped that they will lead to
results more valuable and permanent than I can as
yet produce from them.

" Few would be likely to imagine my first difficulty,
for it is at once too simple to believe, and too
fundamental to neglect. It is this. No accurate
system for the scientific measurement of bones has
yet been devised, and I shall be forgiven for ex-
pressing my confidence that this extraordinary
hiatus in research has only to be mentioned to be
promptly filled. A bone has an irregular though
a beautiful and intelligible outline. In the case of
a horse's fore and hind legs, with which we are at
present chiefly concerned, some bones have pro-
jections at one end and depressions at the other.

ECLIPSE AND PERSIMMON 165

It will not do to place a bone of this kind on a
sheet of glass between perpendiculars and measure
the distance from one perpendicular to the other ;
yet if you choose one projecting point as your point
of departure, your scientific friend is certain to
choose another, and his scientific friend may be
confidently betted on to choose a third ; and if
none of your friends are strictly scientific the
differences will be even more marked. After
taking counsel from the best biological authority
now living, I am inclined to recommend that when
a cup exists at one end of a bone, the deepest point
in the depression should be chosen ; and when
bosses exist, as in a ball joint, the highest point of
the ball should be selected. The lenoth of the
bone will then be the imaginary line running from
one of these points to the other, whether that line
leaves the actual margin of the bone at any point
in its length or not. It also seems preferable to
take the canon-bone (in both fore and hind legs)
as the unit or standard of comparison for the length
of the other bones. Vial de Saint Bel took the
22 in. of the head of Eclipse as his standard of
measurement for the whole body ; but, as we are
not told how he took his measurements, we really
get no further.

" It must, however, be borne in mind that nothing
can be affirmed with regard to such points as the

i66 SOLDIER AND SPORTSMAN

inclination of the shoulder-blade or scapula to the
upper arm-bone, or humerus, or with respect to
the relative position occupied by the latter bone
in the living animal, unless casts of the relative
positions of these bones were taken on the carcass.
The relative position of the humerus in Persimmon
can, of course, be more nearly described than in
the case of Eclipse, though the wonderful measured
drawing from which Stubbs did all his pictures
must be a remarkably faithful likeness of the older
stallion. In the matter of height, it is again un-
doubted in the more modern animal, and has prob-
ably been faithfully preserved in the setting up
of the skeleton ; but in Eclipse there are elements
of uncertainty. His height, when alive, is nowhere
accurately stated, and as his feet were foundered
before death, we probably have his skeleton look-
ing lower than it was in life. In spite of this, it
is certain that he must have been at least a hand
less tall than Persimmon, and in view of this it
is sio-nificant that the relative sizes of their limbs
show far less difference than might have been
expected. Persimmon's skeleton stands a trifle
over sixteen hands high. Eclipse's is an inch
over fifteen hands.

" With the reservations already explained, the
following measurements may prove interesting : —

ECLIPSE AND PERSIMMON 167

Persimmon

Stockwell

Fclipse

(1S93)

(1819)

{1764)

Scapula .

152

15.1

15

Humerus .

13?

13J

14

Radius

'5

15

15

Fore-canon

io|

io\

10

Femur

18^

17

18

Tibia

14I

15

^5l

Hind-canon

■ i^i

I2.\

I2i

"Knee" to gi

ound

17I

17

^5i

"As regards the relative proportions of the limb-
bones, it will be apparent from the table that the
length of the lower arm-bone, or radius, is the
same in all three skeletons, while there is also
very little difference in the length of the corre-
sponding bone in the hind limb, or tibia. On
the other hand, it will be noticed that the pro-
portionate length of the humerus to the scapula
in Persimmon is normal, or practically the same
as in Hermit, as recorded on page 157 of Eclipse
and O Kelly. The difference in the lengths of
these bones in Eclipse is much less pronounced,
and in Ormonde they are stated to be nearly
equal. Stockwell occupies a somewhat inter-
mediate position in this respect between Persimmon
and Eclipse.

" The most remarkable feature in Persimmon's
skeleton is the great length of the thigh-bone, or
femur, as compared with that of the lower leg-
bone, or tibia, the difference between the two

i68 SOLDIER AND SPORTSMAN

being no less than 4 in., whereas in Eclipse
it is only 2J in., and in Stockwell 2 in. A
long- femur is a valuable feature in connection
with speed, enabling a horse to tuck his legs
well under and increase his stride. The cases
of Eclipse and, more especially, of Stockwell
indicate, however, that it is not an absolutely es-
sential feature in connection with speed. Possibly,
in the case of Eclipse the shorter distance of the
middle of the knee from the oround, which is
believed to be indicative of greater speed as com-
pared with Persimmon, may have compensated for
the shortness of the femur. In Stockwell the
distance from the knee to the ground is nearly as
great as in Persimmon, but this may be largely
due to the articulator.

" As regards the number of ribs and the com-
parative shortness of the ribless interval, very
little difference is apparent between Persimmon
and Eclipse : and much the same seems to be
the case, so far as can be judged by comparison
of the photograph of the latter, with regard to
the relative breadth of barrel. Touchstone's
skeleton shows an extra rib, but whether it con-
tributed to his pace or not, I cannot say. He
certainly threw his legs very wide behind when
galloping, and it will be remembered that a grey-
hound's hind legs considerably overlap his fore

ECLirSE AND PERSIMMON 169

legs at full speed, both being off the ground at
once. This points to the conclusion that a long
femur ending in a low, well-developed and mus-
cular stifle-joint, turned well outwards, as in Bendigo,
is a speedy conformation. Some of the greyhound's
pace is also attributed to the joint which corresponds
to the horse's knee being near the ground, and that
is one reason why short canon-bones are often
noticed to accompany high form in a thorough-
bred. The lengths of the radio-ulnar bone (in
the fore leg) and of the tibia (in the hind leg)
are therefore important when compared with the
fore and hind canon-bones ; and I am now inclined
to think that the comparisons instituted by Sir John
Hills between the scapula and humerus are not
so valuable, because the scapula is embedded in
a mass of muscle and cannot either move or in-
fluence movement to the extent shown by a bone
more freely situated. It is, however, true, as Sir
John Hills pointed out, that the relative length
of the humerus to the scapula increases in certain
animals in proportion to their speed, and in the
swiftest animal of all, the lynx, it is much longer.
In horses it is usually shorter, and the fact that
it is the same length as the scapula in Ormonde
may be one explanation of that horse's pace. If
the humerus is not only long, but also as nearly
perpendicular as possible, to give a swing like a

170 SOLDIER AND SPORTSMAN

pendulum, it is also more likely to produce a
speedy action.

*' As to heiofht, Admiral Rous's greneralisation that
horses have increased an inch every twenty-five
years since the eighteenth century will stand the
test of experience and research ; and it remains
to be seen whether the further prophecy of
Captain Hayes, that the limit height is 16*3, will
prove to be correct. All we know now is that
small horses usually last a distance better than
big ones ; that most of the flyers for a mile have
been big ones, with plenty of heart room ; and
that, other things being equal, a good big one
will beat a good little one, as The Bard (i5'i)
found to his cost. It is also true that our fields
nowadays run to a much greater average of height
than they ever did when Sampson (i5'2) was
considered a giant by the connoisseurs of 1745.
One hundred and fifty years afterwards Zinfandel
was a whole hand taller, though his measurement
round the leg, below the knee, was exactly the
same as Sampson's.

"One feature in which the skeleton of Per-
simmon differs markedly from that of Eclipse is
the much greater height of the spines of the
vertebrae at the withers, of which the fifth
dorsal forms the summit of an arch. The bow
withers and high croup of Eclipse formed, in-

ECLIPSE AND PERSIMMON 171

deed, one of the few unsatisfactory features of
that horse.

" Finally, an interesting point arises in connection
with the diseased condition of the left side of the
pelvis and the left femur in Persimmon's skeleton,
for if this necrosed condition had developed when
the horse was three and a half years old it would
account for his rather sudden falling off after his
Derby. Although this is a question on which
veterinary experts are alone capable of giving an
opinion worth having, it may be permissible to
mention that the severe character and lars^e ex-
tent of the necrosis seems to indicate that the
disease was of long standing previous to the
accident which led to the death of the horse,
and not a result of that accident.

" Indeed, when you consider that more is known
about the performance and conformation of his
ancestors than about any other animal, man in-
cluded, the scarcity of accurate knowledge about
the horse is surprising. His speed has most
decidedly increased. Ascetic's Silver did the 4
miles 856 yards of the Grand National, with thirty
fences, in 9 min. 34 2-5 sec. in 1906, a far greater
pace than was ever shown for that distance over
the flat a hundred years ago. At shorter courses
the improvement is just as marked. In the Coro-
nation Cup of 1905 Pretty Polly did the Derby

172 SOLDIER AND SPORTSMAN

distance in 2 min. ^^ 4-5 sec, a wonderful per-
formance. In 1900 Caiman did a mile in i min.
^;i 1-5 sec, and three horses in 1903 did five
furlongs in 56 2-5 sec None of the eighteenth-
century cracks could touch these figures, and it is
safe to say the great Eclipse himself never ap-
proached them, though it is unfortunately the fact
that we have Colonel Andrew O' Kelly's word for
it that he was never timed.

" If greater pace is the one thing we want, why
have we not yet discovered the exact points of
structure which seem likely to produce it, and done
our best to breed them ? The answer is twofold ;
it is first, because no standard system of bone-
measurement has yet been accepted ; and second,
because we are still almost completely ignorant of
what the results of any union will be. Even when
a particular sire and dam produce a particularly
successful winner, that winner's own brother may
be worthless, and has several times been proved
to be so. Age, therefore, and climate, and many
subtle natural causes, seem to enter into this obscure
calculation. We cannot even say exactly what we
mean when we speak of an offspring (AB) being a
'blend' between two parents (A) and (B). Is the
resultant AB composed of half A and half of B ?
If so, is it a chemical or a mechanical mixture.'* Is
it only the visible qualities of A and B which

ECLIPSE AND PERSIMMON 173

furnish the constituents of the blend, or does the
union rouse to sudden activity those latent virtues
inherited by A and B respectively from various
more or less remote ancestors ?

" But I have asked quite enough questions. The
fact that most of them cannot yet be answered will
be quite sufficient excuse for the reproduction of
the photographs which accompany this article. If
they stimulate the authorities of the great museum
in the Cromwell Road to continue and complete the
collection of equine celebrities which was so wisely
begun and set in order for them, I shall be more
than satisfied. The science of biology will benefit.
The b'-eeder will learn more about his business.
The racing man will appreciate a little more about
the beauty of the animal he loves. All that will be
to the good ; and a beginning may well be made
with the authoritative creation and acceptance of a
scientific standard of measurement for bones, and
the collection in one place of at least four skeletons
of the most famous thoroughbreds."

CHAPTER IX

MORE RACING

RACING may be said to be part and parcel
of a soldier's life. Few are the officers in
any branch of the service who have no taste
in that direction, nor is it possible that too much
encouragement can be given to it by all concerned.

A man who, by close observation of the horses
in his own stables, either for hunting or for steeple-
chasing, has gained a practical knowledge of them,
will be more likely to take them through a campaign
with a minimum of the sore backs and field ailments
inseparable from campaigning than a man whose
orders and regulations are his only guides. There
is no recreation for keeping body and mind in health
equal to that of riding or tending horses.

In 1887 the writer found himself at Mhow,
Central India, an ideal station for a man fond of
sport — a small garrison composed of one battery
of artillery, one infantry battalion and one cavalry
regiment. There was a gfood race-course on which
prospective race - horses could be exercised and
many were the trials which took place there. What
drew the entire English society was a weekly

174

MORE RACING 175

gymkhana. The course encircled the polo ground
and was about three-quarters of a mile in circum-
ference. Every week each man pulled out his
horses or ponies for a race or two, and handicaps
were so adjusted that every horse or pony, however
poor, had a chance of winning in his turn. A race
was instituted, but gradually died out for want of
support, distance one and a quarter miles, to be
ridden on numnahs,^ and whilst in vogue it created
much amusement, as falls were numerous.

Twice I had the good fortune to win it, both
times on a pony, Prince Charlie by name. I paid
;^2 5 for him, and this price was considered to be
most exorbitant, a contrast indeed to present-day
prices, when good ponies cost as much in India as
they do in this country. The height for polo ponies
was then 13*2 hands; nowadays it is 14*2, an
increase which, along with the fact that high-class
ponies are difficult to get, places polo a little
beyond the reach of a poor man.

My experience of racing in India was entirely
with Arabs. A high-class Arab is one of the
most beautiful animals in creation, one outstanding^
characteristic being the exquisitely shaped head,
with an expression suggesting gentleness and
courage, set on the neck with perfect symmetry
and grace. Nearly every thoroughbred horse has
^ Numnah : a felt saddle-cloth without stirrups.

176 SOLDIER AND SPORTSMAN

a similar setting on of the head ; when scrutinising
a yearling it is one of the most important points to
look for. Without breadth across the forehead,
depth and width of jaw, and wide nostrils typical
of the Arab, a horse is not likely to turn out a good
racer. This characteristic inherited by the thorough-
bred horse from Arab ancestors appears to be less
prevalent as the years go by. In India, where
climatic and ground conditions- are to be depended
upon, great store is put on the time test, which no
doubt under certain conditions is a reliable one.

I remember discussing the subject with the late
General Beresford, father-in-law of Captain Harry
Greer, now known to the racing world as the
manager of the National Stud at Tully, County
Kildare. The General, with a long and successful
experience of Indian racing, was indeed a man to
listen to. He was a great believer in running
horses in blinkers. As a proof of satisfactory
results, he used to declare it would frequently
happen that a horse, say 14*2 hands, that could
always be relied on to gallop half-a-mile in sixty
seconds would be beaten by a bigger and longer-
striding horse which, in his gallop against the clock,
would take many seconds longer to compass the
same distance. General Beresford's explanation of
this was that by reason of the smaller horse gallop-
ing stride for stride, unconsciously lengthening it to

MORE RACING 177

keep up wiih his op[)onent, he overreached his
noriiicil action and consequently j^ot overtired.
For this reason the General used to run his horses
in blinkers. In this country when a horse wearing
blinkers shows improved form, the improvement
may be accounted for by this theory.

Some years ago, when hunting with the Cotswold,
my mount was one belonging to the late Mr Bob
Chapman, the famous Cheltenham horse-dealer.
On this day, when the field was on one of the hills
overlooking the town, a dense mist fell and became
so thick that it was impossible to see the head of
one's horse. There was nothinor for it but to make
our way home. General Beresford and I were
together, and I remember saying: "This is one of
Bob Chapman's horses — he is sure to know his
way home." So when we started I left my mount
to himself; the General, carefully guiding his horse,
followed. After a rather uncomfortable descent I
looked back, to find my friend was not there.
Never doubting that he had found a better way
than myself, I proceeded home. Next day we
heard that the General's horse had fallen into a
pit or quarry, with the result that the General had
sustained a bad fracture of the leg. I was doubly
distressed to hear this news, as it seemed to me
that as he did not arrive at the bottom of the hill
with me I ouL>ht to have trone in search of him.

M

178 SOLDIER AND SPORTSMAN

Cheltenham appears to have always attracted
fraternity of the best. Lindsay Gordon, well
known in the Cotswold country before he left for
Australia, did not forget to mention some of the
ancients when he wrote his By Flood and Field.
The district also bears the reputation of being the
scene of his famous poem, How ive beat the
Favourite. In the latter you find mention of
Stevens, none other than the record rider of five
Grand National winners. In the verse I here quote
from Flood and Field, Bob Chapman and Tom
Oliver are mentioned among his celebrities :

I remember the lowering wintery morn,

And the mist on the Cotswold Hills,
Where I once heard the blast of the huntsman's horn.

Not far from the seven rills.
Jack Eskdale was there, and Hugh St Clair,

Bob Chapman and Andrew Kerr,
And big Ned Griffiths on Devil may Care,

And Black Tom Oliver.

Although Bob Chapman was one of the most
successful dealers, he himself admitted that he was
one of the worst judges. He never attempted to
buy young or untried horses, and the late William
Holman, father of the well-known Cheltonions
bearing that name, chd that part of the job for
him. When he was on their backs, however, no
man was a better judge than Chapman. He
used to say some horses jump and some dive

MORE RACING 179

over their lences. Personally, 1 cannot stand a
"diver."

To be successful in horse-dealing a man, amongst
other requisites, must have a large capital if he is
trading on a big scale, and he must be able to give
unlimited credit. On one occasion when I was
having luncheon with Bob at his club he was
called away. On returning, he showed me a
;^5000 cheque, saying: "That's about one-third
of what is due from Mr ."

I have remarked that Chapman was a bad judge
of a horse till he was on its back. The opposite
was the case, however, in regard to the late Mr
James Daly of Liffey Bank, Dublin, a most suc-
cessful Irish dealer. For the greater part of his
life he never mounted a horse, but he was a
wonderful judge "on the ground." At one time
he had the great Cloister in his possession, and he
used to say that a more careless and worse hack
than Cloister could not be found. Even with a
man on his back when going to exercise, there was
another man to lead him until he got on the grass
in Phoenix Park close by. I am no believer in the
old maxim that a horse that walks well will gallop
well. A friend of mine bred a horse called Barney
III. who amonost other races won the Scottish
Grand National. He was a brilliant hunter once
you got him to the meet. So often had this horse

i8o SOLDIER AND SPORTSMAN

fallen on the road, three times cutting his knees,
that his original owner sold him and he became the
property of Mr Adam Scott. After the horse won
at Ayr, Mr Scott declared he would win the
National. He subsequently came to grief through
slovenliness.

About the time of that visit to Cheltenham it
was the custom to give a horse longer and more
severe gallops than is done nowadays. I well
remember seeing Jupiter Tonans, a Grand National
candidate, do a seven-mile gallop. Jack Jones,
the Epsom trainer, was another who believed in
very strenuous work. I used often to go over to
his stables and watch a horse called The Scot doing
his 1884 National preparation; he would gallop
from three to four miles almost every day. This
horse started favourite, and was the first horse to
carry the royal colours in the National. He was
ridden by Jack Jones, the Prince of Wales' trainer,
who although successful as a steeplechase jockey
was not in my opinion a good horseman. He used
to ride with his stirrups so long that he could only
just reach them, and his legs were so straight that
he gave one the idea he was clinging to the saddle.
In consequence, he kept an upright position,
equivalent to many pounds' increase of weight. It
is possible materially to alter the form of a horse
by girthing the saddle well back from the withers.

MORE RACING i8i

I tliink Fred Webb was the most graceful of
flat-race riders I have ever seen, and the late Major
Roddy Owen the best and most graceful amateur
or professional who rode over fences. Speaking
of Fred Webb, it may be remembered by some
that once he had a mount in the Grand National ;
singularly enough, it was on the above-mentioned
horse, The Scot, three years before Jack Jones
failed to win on him in 1884. That year he fell,
but he gave Webb a beautiful ride, and if memory
serves me correctly he finished close up to Tommy
Beasley on Woodbrook, Jewitt on Regal and Dick
Marsh on Thornfield, who finished in the order
named. The Scot, a high-bred horse and a top-
priced yearling by Blair Athol out of Coimbra, was
in 1 88 1 the property of Mr J. B. Leigh.

It was at the end of 1879 that we embarked at
Bombay for England. After a ten years' sojourn
in India a regiment is apt to get a little rusty ;
so we went to Aldershot, the centre of military
efficiency, to brush away the cobwebs of an easy
time abroad. The steeplechase course at Aldershot,
with plenty of gradients and well-constructed fences,
was then a really good one on which to test a
hunter. In those days at Balls Hill we finished in
the bottom and not at the top, as is now the case.
The alterations there were splendidly carried out
and the terraces on the mount are much appreciated

i82 SOLDIER AND SPORTSMAN

by the soldiers and their friends. By the way, it
was in the first or second year of the change that
King Edward VII., when Prince of Wales, won his
first steeplechase. It was a very bad day for
weather, but there was a large company, which
included the Princess and the Duke of Connaught.
The winner was the late Captain Wenty Hope
Johnstone, who then wore the royal livery on
Leonidas ; it was an easy win, but matters might
have been very much closer had Captain Annesley
on Pixie not made a mistake at the water jump.

Recently the style of riding has changed.
" Hands," however, must always remain one of
the great factors in successful horsemanship. It
is surprising what power can be brought to bear
in handlino- a horse. Like successful o^enerals,
jockeys are born and not made. No doubt too
much attention paid to sport, such as steeple-
chasing and hunting, by an officer, may lessen
the interest he should take in military duties, but
several of our most distinguished generals have
given considerable promise as riders ; among
these I might mention Gough, Haig and Rawlin-
son. Lord Haig, I notice, is still enthusiastic ; he
was much interested at the last Grand Military
Meetinof. He showed considerable enthusiasm
in his subaltern riding days and it may have been
forgotten by many that at the 7th Hussars chases

MORE RACING 183

at Aldershot in 1885 he certainly had a good
day in the saddle, for on his own horse Cambus
he was second to Tommy Hone on Ranger in
the Subs Challenge Cup ; third on Lampas to
Lady Helen for the Regimental Challenge Cup ;
unplaced on Lampas in the Hussars Cup and
later in the afternoon on Cambus succeeded in
makino- a dead-heat of it with Mr Hone on The
Scout in the Welter Cup and the stakes were
divided. I wonder did he feel a bigger man that
day, or on the day when he realised that the tide
of battle had turned for the Allies.

Besides eood hands a man must have orood
"nerve" to become a successful jockey, no matter
whether it is on the flat or over jumps. I would
define "good nerve" as that "will-power" which
keeps the normal balance of the mind. I have
heard of good jockeys who have thrown a race
away, having been promised a large present in
the case of success. I have known men who if
they had, say, ;!^50 on their mount became hope-
lessly nervous. There was one soldier jockey of
his time who had a perfect nerve — Captain Percy
Bewicke, late of the 15th Hussars. I have known
him to have as much as ;^iooo on his mount and
never turn a hair.

Myttons Maid was a useful soldier's animal I
owned, as at two miles one could make pretty

i84 SOLDIER AND SPORTSMAN

sure of her winning against the class of horses
in miHtary races. After she was done for racing
I gave her to Mr W. B. Purefoy. Her end was
tragic. She was gored by a cow when in foal.
Mr Purefoy said it was a good lesson for him,
and since then he has never had horned cattle in
the same field with horses.

On one occasion Myttons Maid was entered for
a ^200 hurdle race at Sandown. As I could
not ride the weight, Billy Morris of the 7th Hussars
accepted the mount ; in a previous race in which
he was riding, however, he came to grief and there-
fore could not ride her. The substitute engaged
by his advice brought disaster. Myttons Maid
had a ewe neck, and horses with that conforma-
tion never have good mouths. The rider's in-
structions were to let her go at her own pace and
not to try and steady her. In the preliminary
canter he did exactly what he was told not to
do, with the result that she came to the hurdle
with her head in the air and took such a bad fall,
injuring her shoulder, that she was never much
o^ood aofain.

In 1882 I became attached to the 19th Hussars
with the army that went under Wolseley to mete
out retribution to the Khedive. I recall with
pleasure that campaign in Egypt, 1882, and in the
Sudan, 1 884-1 885, when hardships were almost nil.

MORE RACING 185

In 1887 the recriment was sent to Ireland, head-
quarters at Cahir, with a squadron at Limerick,
one of the finest hunting counties in the United
Kinu^dom, and one where some great horses were
bred. When I was there I managed to pick up
some real good ones, of which one purchased at
a fair for ;!^40 stands out prominently. I named
him Wellington. There was no pedigree to
follow for nomenclature, but he had the look
that Ascetic stamped on his stock and I ex-
pect that he was his sire. He was registered as
my first charger, and I mention this Hict as there
was a reoimental order that first charo-ers were
not to be steeplechased. As he proved himself a
good horse, having won point-to-point and regi-
mental races, I hoped that no exception would be
made to running him at Punchestown. Previous
to that meeting the late Colonel Crichton had
placed at our disposal his private steeplechase
course at Mullaboden. Here we held our reoi-
mental races, where I was fortunate enough to win
three events, Wellington winning two of them.

Having so far escaped censure from the CO.
for infrinofinor his rule, I entered Wellinoton for
the Irish Military steeplechase, three and three-
quarter miles, worth ;^i50, at Punchestown. A
week before the races I was informed by the
Adjutant that the Colonel had instructed him that

i86 SOLDIER AND SPORTSMAN

I would not be permitted to run the horse at
Punchestown. It required all my persuasive powers
to alter his decision and obtain permission. I was
not yet out of the wood, however, as the day before
the race an officers' ride (first chargers) was ordered,
no exception to be granted. Wellington, I need
not say, was not improved in steadiness after a few
gallops on the Curragh. However, I managed to
eet throuorh the ride.

fc> o

The entries were eiorhteen in number for the
Irish Military, and included at least two good
horses — viz. Chivalry and a mare ridden by Captain
Hughes Onslow (known as "Junks"), about the
best of the soldier jockeys of the time. These
two started first and second favourites, Wellington
at sixes,

A new loop in the course had been made and
the first fence was an upstanding bank. We started
with our backs to the wall, and Wellington, a very
headstrong animal when extended, soon put a lead
of some lengths between him and the rest of the
field ; and without steadying himself one bit, took the
bank in his stride. The course then turned rather
sharply to the right, but before I could get a pull
he was well past the turn, and I just managed to
stop him by running into a big bullfinch fence. By
the time I eot back on the course the rest of the
horses were at least 250 yards away, and I did not

MORE RACING 187

get on terms with them again till they reached the
double on the far side of the course. In jumping-
this I touched Huo;hes Onslow's mount on the
quarters, with the result that she fell. The chief
danger was out of the way, as I thought, but
Chivalry, Captain Bald up, was still four or five
lengths to the good. As we came to the wall his
horse may have hesitated for a second, as we jumped
it side by side ; but from then on it was plain sailing,
and I won by three lengths.

I weighed out all right, but my troubles were not
yet over. Wellington had won a point-to-point
race in County Kildare, and regulations then in
force were that a certificate by the Master of
Hounds, Major St Leger Moore, should be lodged
to the effect that the races had taken place. This
by some inadvertence had not been clone, so an
objection was lodged, but was fortunately over-
ruled. The result was satisfactory to all who had
supported my mount, but perhaps what gratified
me more than anything was that shortly after
the race I happened to meet the late Mr John
Watson, who said : " I never heard a louder cheer
at Punchestown."

As I consider this Punchestown successful ride
the red-letter day in a long association with steeple-
chasing, I may be excused from here inserting the
official return of that Irish Military.

i88 SOLDIER AND SPORTSMAN

KILDARE AND PUNCHESTOWN, 1895

Tuesday, 2yd April. — The Irish Military Hunters Plate
OF 150 Sovs. 3| Miles

Major Scott's Wellington, ped. unknown, 6 yrs., 11 st.

3 lb. . . . . . Owner i

Capt. F. E. Bald's Chivalry, 4 yrs., 11 st. 4 lb. Owner 2

Mr A. Kennedy's The Kitten, 5 yrs., 11 st. 4 lb. Owner 3
Capt. Barclay's Lady Alice, aged, 12 st. 9 lb.

Capt. Hughes Onslow o

Capt. Cole's Katherine, 6 yrs., 11 st. 13 lb. Owner o

Major. B. Creagh's Silvermere, aged, 11 st. 13 lb. Owner o

Major Fisher's Tramore, aged, 11 st. 13 lb. Mr Curzon o

Capt. Fielder's Outlaw H., aged, 11 st. 13 lb. Owner o

Mr R. K. Farrant's Lady Nell, aged, 11 st. 13 lb.

Capt. Bidgood o
Capt. Murray's Queen of Diamonds, 6 yi-s., 12 st.

Mr Elley o
Mr T. Pitt's St George, 5 j^rs., 11 st. 4 lb., carries 11 st, 8 lb.

Owner o

Mr G. Weldon's Honey, 6 yrs., 11 st. 13 lb. Owner o

Mr F. H. Wise's Gamester, aged, 12 st. 9 lb. Owner o

Betting 3 to i against Lady Alice ; 5 to i against
Chivalry; 6 to i against Wellington

Won by five lengths. Bad third

I believe most men can look back on some achieve-
ment consummated not by luck, but against it. I
recall the case where Paddy Fowler's son pulled
the match playing for Eton v. Harrow out of the
fire by a display of nerve and batting that is a by-
word at Eton to this day. I forget the score as it
stood when young Fowler went in, but well over a
hundred was required ; these runs he put up with

MORE RACING 189

extraordinary rapidity and nerve, and Eton won.
I remember talking to his uncle, Captain F.
Featherstonehauoh concerning this event, and he
remarked : "If the boy lives to rise to the top of
the tree in any profession he may take up he will
never feel such a proud man as he was the day he
pulled the match out of the fire for Eton."

In these days to obtain realisation of anything
worthy of celebrity, money is essential. To acquire
a rjerby winner an outlay of considerable capital is
necessary. Even with unlimited resources in that
respect, how few achieve their ambition ! One of
the luckiest deals I have ever heard of was when
the late Sir James Miller purchased Sainfoin from
an owner in John Porter's stable. The late Colonel
Gough, commanding the 14th Hussars, recounted
to me how when holding office in the orderly room
Sir James Miller showed him a telegram saying
that he (Sir James) could have Sainfoin for ;^8ooo.
"Of course you will have him," said the Colonel.
" Right," said Sir James, and the deal was effected.
John Porter never believed that the horse would
win, but he did, and that fairly easily from Le
Nord and Orwell. This was, I should think, the
cheapest "ready to hand" Derby horse of modern
times. Spearmint fetched only ;!^300 as a yearling,
but expert judges, when he was at that age, vowed
that he would never stand training. This horse,

190 SOLDIER AND SPORTSMAN

as we know, was trained by Mr Gilpin. Mr Gilpin
purchased the pet colt Delaunay for something
like ;^200 from Mr E. Kennedy, and recently
Comrade, a Grand Prix de Paris winner, for jC^5-

Following the military steeplechase came the
Kildare Hunt Cup, won by Sir Hugh, ridden by
Mr D. M. G. Campbell of the 9th Lancers, who
in the following year, 1896, rode the Soarer to
victory in the Grand National for the present Lord
Wavertree. It was Lord Wavertree who presented
the country with Tully Stud Farm and inmates,
incidentally initiating the first Government venture
of the kind.

General Campbell distinguished himself as a
cavalry leader in the late war, thus proving the
value and importance of fox-hunting and steeple-
chasing in the training of an officer. It is not out
of place to mention the names of several very
successful cavalry officers in the late war — Generals
French, Haig, Allenby, Gough and Home. I
believe that the late Lord Wolseley preferred
infantry officers, and, when he could, gave pre-
ference to them in choosing his subordinates. This
may account for the paucity of distinguished cavalry
officers during the Wolseley era.

Looking back five and twenty years at that
Punchestown Meeting, it is pleasing to note so
many still in the land of the living. Besides the

MORE RACING 191

already referred to General Campbell, there figured
in the fighting line such turf celebrities of to-day as
Captain Dewhurst, l\Ir Atty Perssc, Mr J. Ferguson,
Major Malcome Little of the amateurs, and Anthony,
the rider of Ambush II. and trainer of Troytown
in the Grand National.

I have been told that for sheer imperturbability
under circumstances which to most people would
be a terrific strain, Mr Robert Sievier takes the
cake ; he vies with the late Lord Hastings, who
could lose tens of thousands of pounds with
marvellous complacency.

**1* *l^ ^U «k 4# ^ ^2<•

*f* ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^* ^*

Mr Sievier's appeal from the Court decision in
the late libel case reminds me of a story in which
a man (a loser in an important law case), meeting
his opponent, said : " I am not satisfied, and shall
take you to the Court of Appeal." " I shall be
there," was the reply. "If that does not do, I'll
take you to the House of Lords." "I'll be there,"
reiterated the fellow. Exasperated, his opponent
continued: "If that does not do, I'll take you to
hell." "Very good," was the reply, "my lawyer
will be there."

192 SOLDIER AND SPORTSMAN

A well-managed stable will always pay, but to
achieve success a very high class of intelligence
must be brought to bear on the management. In
the period from 1 895-1 91 2 the most successful
stable was under the management of Mr W. B.
Purefoy, at the Druid's Lodge ; their successes
were phenomenal and, as the Press had it, the
mantle of Captain Machell as a racinor enorineer had
fallen on the shoulders of Mr Purefoy. Among
other winners were Hacklers Pride, Lally, Un-
insured, Charles O'Malley, Christmas Daisy,
Templemore, Ypsilanti, Ulster King, Tender and
True, and last but not least Aboyeur, a batch of
good fortune seldom equalled.

At the period when doping horses was not
prohibited two American trainers gained great
kudos. They improved the form of some horses
in the most astonishing manner, and no doubt many
English trainers also tried their hand in that direction.
Mr Purefoy, however, always maintained that doping
was more likely to do harm than good, to say
nothing of permanently injuring the constitution of
a horse. The practice was eventually condemned
and very properly prohibited.

In 1 9 10 Mr A. P. Cunliffe, one of the four
fortunate winners in the Netheravon stable,
purchased three Desmond colts, and when they
arrived in Ireland I happened to see them let loose

y.

c

y.

C

MORE RACING 193

into a field. As the last was released, I said :
"There goes the Derby winner." I recall this
incident as I made up my mind, there and then, to
back him when the time came. On that rather
memorable P2psom day I was in company with a
gentleman who trained in the stable ; as we were
looking over the Derby horses in the paddock we
came to Aboyeur. I again expressed my intention
of backing him. He, however, put me off by saying
that on his trial he had proved that he had no
chance whatever. The odds against him were a
hundred to one, and some bookmakers offered
a hundred and fifty. As the world now knows,
Aboyeur won, after an objection instigated by the
stewards and not by Mr Cunliffe. From the ac-
companying photograph it appears to me that
Aboyeur was the culprit and not Craganour, the
horse that was disqualified.

In well-managed stables the idea of stopping
horses, or running them when unfit, with a view to
getting them well handicapped, is not tolerated,
and I very much doubt if it proves successful where
it is practised. To stop a horse by pulling him is
a dangerous business, and requires a very good
horseman to do it effectively. Of course, very few
high-class jockeys would risk it. To run horses
many times when they are unfit is apt to make
them sour and ungenerous. But, taking all things

N

194 SOLDIER AND SPORTSMAN

into consideration, the Turf is much more clean and
wholesome than anti-sportsmen would like to make
out. Caiptain Machell used to say that the only
finesse permissible was to run a horse out of his
distance. For instance, a five-furlong animal might
be run in races over a longer distance, and vice versa.
Even then a clever handicapper would not be hood-
winked by such methods. Captain Machell's theory
was that if a man was sfoinfj to back a horse he
should first satisfy himself that the animal had a
stone in hand ; a sound proposition, no doubt, but
in handicaps no such chances present themselves.
The great triumph of a handicapper must be to see
the top and bottom weight first and second, or better
still, a dead-heat. I believe the basis in making
a handicap is as follows. Assuming there are two
horses that will run a dead heat, at even weights
at different distances —

Penalise one horse i lb. at 2| miles, he will lose by 2 lengths

2 miles, ,, i| „

„ „ if miles, ,, I length

j> >> ^2 miles, ,, -g- ,,

„ ,, I mile, „ a head

In later years the class of steeplechase horses has
certainly improved, and recently we had such horses
as Poethlyn, Waterbird and Pollen, all able to hold
their own on the flat. Of Poethlyn it is worth
recording that, as a foal, he was sold for ;^8, and

Kl AKKI.OCK

IlAV HV WHIIELOCK — ROSALIMI
FOAI.ED IN 1814

MORE RACING 195

repurchased as a two-ycar-old for ^^50. It must
be presumed that his appearance when immature
must have been poor. There is no need to go into
his exploits, but he has proved himself one of the
best chasers of all times ; no small credit for this is
due to his trainer, Escott, for keeping him up to the
scratch without overdoing it.

Waterbird was regarded as a very useful horse on
the flat ; Poethlyn and he ran a dead-heat. Pollen
ran second in the Chester Cup. Take at random
a few old chasers like Why Not, Frigate and Old
Joe, all winners of the Grand National, the latter
by six lengths, carrying 10 st. 9 lb. I do not think
they could have won a decent-class race on the flat.
The folly of trying them, to say the least of it, was
exposed when Old Joe ran the same year, 1886,
in the Cesarewitch, weighted 6 st. 3 lb., and was
not in the Abingdon dip when Stone Clink caught
The Cob and beat him a length. There is a story
of a man who went to see a friend in an asylum.
The conversation got on to racing, and the visitor
mentioned that he had backed Old Joe for the
Cesarewitch.

" Hush ! " said the lunatic ; " don't let anyone hear
you. There are men in here for less than that."

Old Joe was originally one of the Hunt horses
of the Duke of Buccleuch's hounds, but he was
such a poor performer that he was sold for ^40 to

196 SOLDIER AND SPORTSMAN

go to the Dumfriesshire Hunt. His first perform-
ance in racing was to win a point-to-point. He
was then tried at the real game and no doubt
proved himself a useful horse.

Why Not, when the property of Mr D. J. Jardine,
and managed by Mr C. J. Cunningham, had several
attempts before he was successful in the hands
of Arthur Nightingall. His previous pilot, Mr
Charlie Cunningham, was one of the best cross-
country riders, either over a country or in the
hunting field, that ever lived ; but he was too long
in the leg, and if his horse did not jump clean the
animal was to some extent hampered by his rider's
feet, brushing through the fences, acting as a drag.
It was partly owing to this that he never won a
National.

The year (1889) that Why Not ran second to
Frigate with 1 1 st. 5 lb. on his back, Charlie
Cunningham had in his stable a horse called Sir
Herbert. This horse and Why Not were tried
not once, but twice, at even weights, Sir Herbert
winning both times by many lengths. The last
trial, however, was one too many for Sir Herbert,
as he broke down and never ran again. His
weight in the National was 9 st. 12 lb. Had all
concerned been satisfied with one trial, what a
fortune might have been made !

Why Not was made of iron, as he continued to

MORE RACING 197

retain his form until he was fifteen years of age.
It was a wonderful test of constitution and sound-
ness to stand two trials, full distance of the National
course, and then run second. I recall an incident
in the National Hunt Steeplechase, 4 miles, run at
Malton, 1SS6, when I had as mount a horse called
Corny Black. In jumping the water the latter
made a mistake, with the result that I was thrown
on his neck, the stirrups getting slung behind the
5 lb. saddle, and for a mile or more I was unable to
recover them. My horse meanwhile tore along
without help, establishing a long lead. As will be
seen below (p. 198), we finished third, and but for
this mischance might have had a chance of winning.
There are several factors necessary to enable a
horse to stay. I do not think I have ever heard
the word " staying " defined. Sir Charles Nugent's
idea is that in order for a horse to win a National
he must be such a fool as not to know when he
is tired. My view is that conformation has a
great deal to do with it. A horse, however
speedy, cannot stay if his shoulders are faulty,
as, when he is tired and the driving power de-
creases, his action will change ; the stride will
shorten and the gait will become laboured. In
fact, to stay he must be able to continue galloping
automatically, and of course be constitutionally
sound. I believe many horses dubbed as rogues

igS SOLDIER AND SPORTSMAN

fail for the reason that they have some constitu-
tional weakness, either lack of sufficient nerve
force or some undetected physical disability.

NATIONAL HUNT. MALTON, 1886

Thursday, lith March. — The National Hunt
Steeplechase of ^^277. About 4 Miles

Mr D. J. Jardine's bay Why Not by Castlercagh out of

Twitter, 5 yrs., 12 st. 5 lb. . Mr C. J. Cunningham i
Mr J. H. Stock's Canteen, 5 yrs., 12 st. i lb.

Mr Wilmot Smith 2
Mr W. Wilkins' Corny Black, aged, 12 st. 10 lb.

Capt. Scott 3
Mr J. M. Brooks' The Captain, 4 yrs., 10 st. 10 lb.

Mr VVatkins 4
Lord Cholmondeley's The Fawn, 4 yrs., 10 st. 10 lb.

Capt. Jones o
Mr Robinson's Sky Blue, 5 yrs., 12 st. i lb.

Mr W. R. Brockton o
Mr Iguigue's Sasunnach, 4 yrs., 10 st. 10 lb. Mr Kennedy o
Mr C. Archer's Orcadian, 5 yrs., 12 st. i lb. Mr Brooks o

Betting 3 to i each against Why Not and Orcadian,
4 to I against Blue Sky, and 8 to i others

Won by distance. Bad third

In 1899, on the outbreak of the South African
War, I had made arrangements to join the staff
of the correspondents of T/ie Daily Telegraph, and
wrote to this effect to my friend, Mr Peter Purcell
Gilpin, wishing him good-bye. He was then
training at Lan^ton, near Blandford, and wired:
" Come and see us before you go." I accepted the

MORE RACING 199

invitation, with the result that, instead of .s^oinor to
Africa, I agrreed to q-q and orjve him a hand at
Langton, doing odd jobs, and, as he ironically
said, giving him tips as to training. I was well
aware that what he did not know about horses
was not worth knowing. It was generally be-
lieved that the South African War would be
finished in a matter of three months, or less.
We certainly made a bad guess as to the duration
of that war, but a much worse of this last one.
"It is never safe to prophesy unless you know."

I can conceive no occupation more alluring or
more interesting- than the training, breeding and
development of the thoroughbred horse, albeit
disappointment and blighted hopes are more pre-
valent in everything connected with horses than in
any other industry. I have heard a distinguished
owner say when he purchased a yearling : "Ah, more
trouble ! " Even so, with certain disappointment
and trouble staring one in the face, one cannot
shake the sporting Britisher in his taste for horses.
Some thousands of yearlings come up for sale
annually, and the majority are purchased ; every
buyer is convinced that he has succeeded in ac-
quiring a winner ! What a game it is ! What a
glorious triumph when success is acheived !

During the year and a half when Mr Gilpin
was at Langton I had many opportunities for

200 SOLDIER AND SPORTSMAN

studying men and horses. Shakespeare says,
"The proper study of mankind is man," and the
man in any business whatever must agree with
Shakespeare. There is no greater factor in suc-
cess than the successful selection of subordinates ;
a good staff is quite as important as a good head.
A trainer's job is not, as many people imagine it
to be, a matter of rule of thumb ; far from it. It
requires deep and original thought.

No man, for instance, could ever become a
successful trainer by theory only. He should
make it his business to ascertain the character
of every individual employed by him and to find
out the peculiarities of every horse in the stable.
Apart from adopting practical methods, he should
have intuitive knowledge, a gift hard to define,
but of the first importance for a man who bets.
I believe Mr Gilpin had all these, and many other
qualifications, and that is why he has proved so
eminently successful. I can recall one instance of
mistake in judgment. Five weeks previous to
the Kempton Jubilee, Mr Gilpin being detained
in Ireland, I was left to look after and supervise,
according to instructions, the work of the various
horses. Sirenia was in the Jubilee with 8 st. 6 lb.,
not by any means a weight that, had she been
fit, would have stopped her winning. But just
before Mr Gilpin left for Ireland she went

MORE RACING 201

amiss, and there seemed no hope of (^ettino- her
ready. Consequently, when we met at Kempton,
the mare having- been sent there on instructions
from the owner, Mr L. Neumann, I told Mr Gilpin
that his instructions as to work had been strictly
carried out, but expressed my misgivings as to
the mare's chance. I believe the only bet
taken by Mr Gilpin was 1000 to 30, and that
was, I believe, on behalf of the owner. Sirenia
won by a short head after a great set-to with
Merry Methodist, hailing from the Druid Lodge
Stable and substantially backed down to 6 to i.

Here is a case of an animal like Sirenia re-
quiring very little work. Mr Gilpin had several
by Gallinule in his stable that were good winners
and ran best when, apparently, as fat as bullocks.

I am a firm believer in conformation, and I give
the names of three animals that in my opinion
ought never to have been classic winners ; these
are Jeddah, Tagalie and Pretty Polly. The latter
is the only one of the three worth commenting on.
When I say that she had many faults, I know I
shall stand alone in my opinion. She had a broad
chest, faulty shoulders, a neck that looked bur-
dened with flesh and not very well coupled, and
an all-round want of quality. What saved her
was superb action — a long reach with a quick
recovery. But the fact remains that when she

202 SOLDIER AND SPORTSMAN

met good stayers in the Hay Presto and Bachelors

Double she was beaten.

I must hark back to the days when my regiment
was quartered at Colchester. About twenty miles
from there yet lives a great sportsman, Sir Claude
De Crespigny, one of the hardest men who ever
lived ; I would back him to walk, box, swim and
ride against any man of his own age. He had a
private steeplechase course on his estate at Cham-
pion Lodge. Early in the spring of 1881 Sir
Claude placed this course at our disposal, and
there we held our first regimental races after
eleven years' service abroad. At this meeting
I managed to win three events with two animals
that came under the designation of "screws." A
screw is a class by himself, and the stand-by of
the poor man's stable — never quite lame and
never quite sound, and if he makes the " least
bit of noise you know." So much the better,
for he will cost less, and, judiciously ridden, he
will prove satisfactory enough. At the end of
the season you will find a screw, although he
has probably done twice the work of the "sound
clean young horse," just as well as when the
season began ; the latter, however, looks dejected
and careworn, for he is qualifying for the screw
stage. When he has reached that stage he will
be a hunter.

I'KKIIV I'ol I V
A MAKK UK I UK HKiHEST CLASS. < >N I onKS SllK SHoll.ll SDI HAVK UKKN A KACFHuKSE

MORE RACING 203

I never was a sprinter, but I recall witli great
satisfaction winning an impromptu hundred yards
race, for a Cup presented by Lady De Crespigny,
between the rival cricket teams, Champion Lodge
V. 3rd Hussars, in which every man in each team
had to compete. A race with twenty-two runners
is "some field." I put down my being able to
win to the fact that I had partaken meagrely of
the excellent repast provided by our hosts.

Anyone who can remember Ascot and Epsom
in the early eighties, and compare the scene with
the present time, must surely have a feeling akin
to sadness. The Grand Parade of four-in-hand
coaches is a thing of the past. Instead of the
picturesque array of well-appointed coaches, a
gloomy mass of smelling motors assails both eye
and nose. Coaching among the mounted branches
of the service was part and parcel of racing. The
Regimental Coach was an institution and invariably
attended all races within drivinor distance, well
provided with refreshments. Officers could then
repay a willing tribute for hospitality received,
a tribute in many cases impossible to offer under
other conditions. To drive a team in style is by
no means such an easy job as it looks. I believe
every regiment had its crack whip who could drive
a team instead of "toolinor it." As coaches swune
into the enclosures at Ascot, and sprang the hill

204 SOLDIER AND SPORTSMAN

at Epsom, many critical eyes were there to take
stock. There was only one officer in the regi-
ment in my time who could do the thing in style,
and that was the present Lord Gisborough : pre-
vious to taking that title he was Dick Chaloner,
and before that was known as " Sammy Long."

The breeding and development of the thorough-
bred is, indeed, a most fascinating enterprise.
Thousands are spent annually in the attempt to
breed classic winners, and it seems strange that not
more than two, or at the most three, absolutely first-
class horses are bred annually. Take the annual
entries for the Derby — say a hundred and fifty —
every animal with the bluest of blood in his veins ;
yet as often as not it turns out there is only one
top-class horse in the lot. What is the explanation
of this? If that explanation could be found, first-
class horses could be as numerous as Platers. The
very best land can be acquired ; the management
of the breeding stock, as near as can be, reaches
perfection ; the treatment of the youngsters by the
bulk of the trainers is unquestionable ; and still
only one or two first-class horses is the result. I
venture to suggest that, unless "luck" is on his
side, a man may strive to achieve success in any
undertaking and fail. "Luck" — i.e. fortune for
good or for evil — is an enigma that confounds
logical definition or explanation ; it is nevertheless

MORE RACING 205

a fascinating theme, and the why and wherefore
must present itself to the ordinary man many times
a day.

Napoleon put great store on luck. He says :
"Good fortune, what a factor it is — what may it
not lead a man on to do?" He preferred a lucky
general to a good one. Putting " luck " on one
side, I am inclined to think that close in-breeding
is conducive to more failures than successes. The
conformation of both sire and dam should be taken
into consideration — i.e. deficient points in the mare
might be compensated for by a prominence in these
points in the horse, without regard to the so-called
"nicking" of blood. I remember Mr Allison,
Special Commissioner of The Sportsman, starting
a very interesting discussion as to what horse
(classic) should be acclaimed as the best-looking.
I forget now what animal was selected, but I
suggest that there were never better-looking horses
bred than St Simon, Bend Or, Ladas and Bayardo
for expression, power, symmetry and balance.

Old age deprives us of many pleasures, alters us
in many ways, but the sporting instinct lives as
long as life lasts ; nor surely does the love of horses
ever die.

The poets of Australia seem to have realised
this even better than those of our own land.
A. B. Paterson, most popular of Australian poets

2o6 SOLDIER AND SPORTSMAN

since Lindsay Gordon's day, voices it in his poem,
Old Pardon, the Son of Reprieve, of which I may
perhaps be allowed to quote a verse :

. . . But he's old — and his eyes are grown hollow;

Like me, with my thatch of the snow ;

When he dies, then I hope I may follow,

And go where the race-horses go,

I don't want no harping nor singing —

Such things with my style don't agree ;

Where the hoofs of the horses are ringing

There's music sufficient for me.

CHAPTER X

THE GRAND NATIONAL

IN discussing llat-racing and steeplechasing no
man of knowledge and experience can say the
latter is conducive in any way to the improve-
ment of the breed of horses. To begin with, mares
that have been used for racing for a long period are,
with very few exceptions, failures at the Stud ; this
is true more particularly of those that are proved
stayers and that have gone through the strenuous
work necessary to fit to cover long distances.

I recall the successes of a great line of jumpers
bred by the late Mat Maher, for many years a
member of the Irish Jockey Club. Schooner,
Frigate and Shannon Lass, all admirable jumpers,
bred fairly good animals, but none that came up to
the standard of their own excellence. Then very
few entire horses have been successful. Grudon,
however, was an exception. Trained and owned
by Mr Bletsoe, at Elms Denton, Northampton, and
ridden by Arthur Nightingall, Grudon won in 1901,
with Drumcree, a subsequent hero, second, the
winner carrying ten stone. But I have not noticed
that Grudon at the Stud ever got stock as good as
207

2o8 SOLDIER AND SPORTSMAN

himself. This appHes to the two later entries,
Ascetic Silver and Covert Coat.

It is satisfactory to know Mat Maher s brother,
Captain George Maher, carries on the Stud formerly
owned by Mat. George Maher, for some years in
the 7th Dragoon Guards, figured in the Sporting
Press as one of the best men to hounds in
Ireland.

By far the greater majority of horses that are
put to jumping are geldings. The reasons for this
are obvious. They require less work than entire
horses, are much more amenable to discipline, and
are less inclined to be tricky and unreliable. Com-
paratively few mares are put to the game, hence
we have to go back as far as the second year of the
present century to find the gentler sex successful.
That occurred when Shannon Lass scored a very
popular win for Mr Ambrose Gorham, who still
owns and likes to talk of that heroine's victory.
In all, however, since Lottery won in the inaugural
year, 1839, only ten mares have been successful.
Of these, Emblem and Emblematic were own
sisters by the 1851 Derby winner, Teddington, and
successive heroines.

Here are ofiven the ten mares who have
been Grand National winners, with particulars
of their owners, riders, pedigree, full age and
weight :

THE CxRAND NATIONAL 209

1852. Mr T. v. Mason's bay Miss Mowbkav by J.ancasti iaii —

Norma, aged, lost. 4 lb. (Mr A. Goodman.)
iSbo. Mr C. Capcl's bay Anatis by King Dan — Johnstone

Lass, aged, 9 st. 10 lb. (Mr Thomas.)
1861. Mr J. Bennett's brown Jealousy by The Cure — Jewess,

7 yrs., 9 St. 12 lb. (J. Kendall.)
1S63. Lord Coventry's chest. Emblem by Tcddington — Miss

Batty, 7 yrs., 10 st. 10 lbs. (G. Stevens.)
1864. Lord Coventry's chest. Emblematic by Teddington —

Miss Batt3^ 6 yrs., 10 st. 6 lb. (G. Stevens.)
1872. Mr E. Brayley's chest. Casse Tete by Trumpeter —

Constance, 7 yrs., 10 st. (J. Page.)
1880. M. Ducrot's chest. Empress by Blood Royal— Jeu

des Mots, 5 yrs., ii st. 7 lb. (Mr T. Bcasley.)
1883. Prince Kinsky's chest. Zoedone by Miss Oswestry — Miss

Honiton, 6 yrs., 11 st. (Owner.)
1889. Mr M. Maher's bay Frigate by Gunboat — Fair Maid of

Kent, II yrs., ii st. 4 lb. (Mr T. Beasley.)
1902. Mr A. Gorham's bay or brown Shannon Lass by Butter-
scotch— Mazurka, 7 yrs., lo st. i lb. (D. Read.)

The Grand National is a unique race, in that
the Aintree course w^ith its bio- fences demands
special qualities from horses racing over it.

Willie Moore, who trained Manifesto, maintained
that it was the style in which a horse jumped that
made him able to nei^otiate obstacles with a mini-
mum of energy. If one watches a steeplechase
carefully the difference in the style of jumping of
competing horses is easily noticeable.

If when coming to a fence a horse does not time

it in his stride — that is to say, put " a short one in "

— he loses balance. Practice, of course, can improve

an animal in this respect, but some horses never

o

210 SOLDIER AND SPORTSMAN

become as efficient as others. A sfood chaser will
never jump a hair's-breadth higher than is necessary,
and will land so that he gets into his stride without
losing an inch of ground.

It has been my good fortune to see a goodly
number of " Nationals," and when one compares
moderns like Ascetic Silver, Sunloch and Troytown
with Frigate, for instance, it makes one wonder
whether size has much to do with carrying weight.
Symmetry is not often combined with great size,
yet they are blended perfectly in this really mag-
nificent specimen of a chaser — viz. Troytown.

On the other hand, Sunloch was a curious type
to be a winner of the chase, he being very distinctly
on the leg, seventeen hands high, and by reason
of his previous performances seemed an unlikely
horse to win. This was not the opinion of his past
owner and trainer, Mr Tom Tyler of Loughborough,
one of the old sporting sort ; he was so confident of
the success of his horse that he actually spent the
time the race was being- run in writing teleo^rams to
that effect to his friends. Tom had sold half the
horse to a ruffianly adventurer, and it happened
that this fellow was in gaol on the day of the race.
Tyler, however, previous to saddling the horse,
had consulted the stewards, and explained the
situation to them ; but no rule could be found by
which an owner, or part owner, of a horse who

THE GRAND NATIONAL 211

happened to be in "durance vile" was liable to
disqualification.

Ascetic Silver was another weight-carrier. He
was ridden and trained by the Hon. Aubrey Hastings
at Wroughton. Wild Man from Borneo was another
type of the small wiry sort, up to about 10 st. 7 lb.
with hounds.

The great Cloister was noticeable in that his
hocks and knees were remarkably near the ground,
yet he had the best of shoulders and great muscular
development in his second thighs. As my old
friend Arthur Yates used to say : " It is action and
wind that win races." More comparatively small
horses have these characteristics than bigr ones.

Further to accentuate the fact that the Grand
National is a unique race, it may be pointed out
that some extraordinarilylow-priced horses have won
at times. For instance, we read that Mr Elmore
bought Lottery, its first winner, at Horncastle
Fair for ^120; then Chandler, the record 2i1 feet
Warwick jumper, and the hero at Aintree in 1848,
was purchased for ;^20. Again in later years I can
recall Old Joe, originally sold iox £i\o out of the Duke
of Buccleuch's Hunt. Then Rubio, I believe, cost
only a ten-pound note. Roquefort was purchased
by Colonel " Bobby " Fisher for ;^28 ; Poethlyn cost
^8 as a yearling. Sunloch went begging for ;i^ioo,
before twice that money secured him, and I have no

212 SOLDIER AND SPORTSMAN

doubt many others, bought for low prices, could only
show their excellence when put to the big job.

And although most of these horses are in the
Sttid Book, with the exception of Roquefort, none
of them was trained until four years or upwards ; in
fact, if we go over the winners for years past, it
will be seen that successful Nationals are not always
recruited from the misfits of flat-racino-.

It is my humble opinion that prospective National
horses should not be trained early in life. The
strain, especially on the heart, is too much if the
horses are put to work before they are mature.

When my helpmate, Mr Meyrick, sent me the
list of the only ten mares that have won the
National, he also kindly enclosed a full record of
the entire horses who have been successful in
this race. These total seventeen. The first was
Wanderer, 1855, and the most recent Covert Coat,
1 91 3, the last of the late Sir Assheton Smith's three
winners. It maybe noted that The Lamb, 1 868-1 871,
and The Colonel, 1 869-1 870, were winners on two
occasions, as were also the geldings, Peter Simple.
1849-1853; Abd-el-Kader, 1850-1851 ; Manifesto,
1 897- 1 899, and lastly Poethlyn, 1 9 1 8- 1 9 1 9, Poethlyn
standing as the third successive double with Abd-el-
Kader and The Colonel, if it be correct to include
the triumph of Mrs Hugh Peel's great performer at
Gat wick. And why noti* — seeing that Mr Topham

THE GRAND NATIONAL 213

not only made the handicap at Gatwick, but kindly
gave a trophy with the transfer of the title ; although
the official yearly Steeplechase Calendar in its
statistics singularly enough do not recognise such
substitution.

Here is Mr Meyrick's list of successful entire
horses :

The Entries

1855. Mr Dunn's bay Wanderer (h.b.) by Verulam, aged,

9 St. 8 lb. (Hanlon.)

1856. Mr W. Barnett's brown Freetrader (late John Bright)
by The Sea out of Miss Cobden, 7 yrs., 9 st. 6 lb,
(G. Stevens.)

1859. Mr Willoughl<y's brown Half Caste by Morgan

Rattler, 6 yes., 9 st. 7 lb. (C. Green.)
1862. Vis de Namur's bay Huntsman by Tupslcy dam of

Young Augustus, 9 yrs., 11 st. (H. Lamplugh.)

1865. Mr B. J. AngeU's chest. Alcibiade by Cossack out of
Aunt Phillis, 5 yrs., ii st. 4 lb. (Capt. H. Coventr}.)

1866. Mr E. Studd's bay Salamander by Fire Eater, 7 yrs.,

10 st. 7 lb. (Mr A. Goodman.)

1868. Lord Poulett's grey The Lamb by Zouave dam by
Arthur, 6 yrs., 10 st. 7 lb. (Mr Edwards.)

1869. Mr Weyman's brown The Colonel by Knight of Kars
out of Boadicea (h.b.), 6 yrs, 10 st. 7 lb. (G. Stevens.)

1870. Mr M. Evans' brown The Colonel by Knight of Kars
out of Boadicea, 7 yrs., 11 st. 12 lb. (G. Stevens.)

1871. Lord Poulett's grey The Lamb by Zouave dam by
Arthur, 9 yrs., ii st. 5 lb. (Mr Thomas.)

1873. Capt. Machell's bay Disturbance by Commotion out
of Polly Peachum, 6 yrs., 11 st. 11 lb. (Mr J. M.
Richardson.)

1874. Capt. Machell's bay Reugny by Minos out of Reine

Blanche, 6 yrs., 10 st. 12 lb. (Mr J. M. Richardson.)

214 SOLDIER AND SPORTSMAN

1877. Mr F. G. Hobson's chest. Austerlitz by Rataplan out
of Lufra, 5 yrs., 10 st. 8 lb. (Owner.)

1878. Mr John Nightingall's brown Shifnal by Saccharo-
meter out of Countess Amy, 9 yrs., 10 st. 12 lb.
(J. Jones.)

1901. Mr B. Blctsoe's brown Grudon (h.b.) by Old Buck out

of Avis, II yrs., 10 st. (A. Nightingall.)
1906. Prince Hatzfcldt's chest Ascetic Silver by Ascetic

out of Silver Lady, 9 yrs., 10 st. 9 lb. (Hon. A.

Hastings.)
1913. Sir C. Asshcton Smith's bay Covert Coat by

Hackler out of Cinnamon, 7 yrs., 11 st. 6 lb. (P.

Woodlands.)

It is worthy of note that not one of the above
when at the Stud produced a colt or filly that won
the Grand National. It also can be said of the
mares that so far they have yet to produce a hero
or heroine of great renown, much less a National
winner.

Most of the oldest of living experts regard
The Colonel and The Lamb as the finest entries
of modern history. Both those horses, singularly
enough, ended their careers in Germany. How
true it may be I cannot say, but when the Colonel
left England after his Liverpool defeat in 1871 he
was used for Imperial Stud purposes; so was The
Lamb, the only grey to score in the Grand National.
However, the Stud return show of both was quite in
character with other famous National winners, as from
The Colonel we never heard of any great results,
while The Lamb had a fatal fall in a steeplechase

THE GRAND NATIONAL 215

at Baden-Baden soon after his arrival in Germany.
I cannot recall what the Germans paid for The
Lamb, but at Tattersalls in April 1870, barely a
month after his second victory, The Colonel was
sold for 2600 guineas.

All this is astonishing- to remember when we come
to the days of Sir Assheton Smith, who, Mr Gore
will tell you, subsequent to the days of Cloister,
spent no less a sum than ;!^50,ooo in the purchases
of such horses as Jerry M., Covert Coat, Sunloch,
Cackler, Holy War and others. However, after
Cloister, Jerry M. and Covert Coat had triumphed.
Sir Assheton was more keen on Aintree's spoils
than ever. AlthouQ-h then thrice a winner, he was
anxious to top a similar record held by Mr Elmore
and Captain Machell ; he therefore purchased
Sunloch after he had won for Mr Tyler. A fourth
victory, however, was not to be, for death took this
great patron of steeplechasing from our midst, a
circumstance rendered the more traoic from the
fact that his son Robin met his death in the war
soon after his return to the front from attending
his father's funeral.

Sir Assheton was both impetuous and enthusiastic.
Perhaps his greatest blow occurred in connection
with Aintree's chase in 1894, when Cloister met
with an accident in a school at Bishop Sutton.
He was handicapped at 12 st. 7 lb., was a well-

2i6 SOLDIER AND SPORTSMAN

backed favourite, and was expected to repeat his
great performance of the previous season, when he
made all the runnings and won by forty lengths in
the then record time of 9 min. 321- sec. The fall
referred to not only caused him to be scratched, but
created universal disappointment, and although
handicapped at 13 st. 3 lb. in 1 895-1 896, he ran in
neither year, and his career in the National really
ended with his 1893 popular and gallant victory.

So far the Liverpool record tells us that no
horse has ever been thrice successful, but Cloister
with the least bit of luck might have accomplished
that feat, as prior to his victory, when carrying the
colours of Lord Dudley, he was second to Come
Away in 1891, and in a like position in 1892, when
Father O'Flynn and Captain " Roddy " Owen came
sailing home well ahead of him when in receipt of
no less than i st. 12 lb.

Of the double winners Abd-el-Kader, 1 850-1 851,
owned by the late Mr Joseph Osborne, is the first
on record, his feat being sandwiched between the
two successes of Peter Simple, 1 849-1 853, a bay
horse by Patron even now oft confounded with the
grey Peter who earned the sympathy of all Lincoln-
shire on no fewer than half-a-dozen successive
occasions just prior to the bay Peter coming
successfully on the scene. The nearest the grey
Peter got in his six attempts was, firstly, in 1841,

THE GRAND NATIONAL 217

when he ran third to Charity ; he was in the same
position the next year to Gaylad, and second in
1845 to Cure All, who, like the grey Peter, hailed
from the Fen country. The bay Peter's opening
victory was in 1849, the "first time of asking."
He ran in both Abd-el-Kader's successful years,
and again was beaten in 1852 (Miss Mowbray's
year), before scoring a second time in 1853, finally
breaking down badly in the off fore leg the next
year, when Bourton was successful. The bay
Peter therefore ran in seven successive Liverpools,
just one more than the grey.

To my way of thinking a grey in a steeplechase
always attracts great public interest, and the nearest
I can recall to The Lamb's dual victory in the
history of the Liverpool, apart from the already
referred to Peter Simple, is Fosco, who in 1863
was fourth to Emblem, Sultana in a like position
to Austerlitz in 1877, Downpatrick third to Empress
in 1880 and again fourth in 1883 to Zoedone, and
lastly the French horse Trianon III, who in 1914
was second to Sunloch.

And now for some brief remarks about the
amateurs and professionals who have gained much
distinction in the National.

For many years the famous Tom Oliver's three
wins out of nineteen, the largest number of rides of
either amatuer or professional in the chase, was the

2i8 SOLDIER AND SPORTSMAN

next best record to Stevens' five successes out of
fifteen until Mr T, Pickernell tied Oliver's record
with Amatis, i860, The Lamb, 1871, and the
Pathfinder, 1876. The Lamb's success was fore-
told in a dream.

Personally, I do not believe in dreams, but the
truth of the following- incident is, I believe, proved
by documentary evidence. In a dream Lord Poulett
saw his horse. The Lamb, win the Grand National
a second time, with Mr Pickernell in the saddle.
Before the entries had closed he wrote to " Tommy "
relating his dream and engaging him to ride.
The gist of that letter has often been quoted, but
the original until now has never appeared in print.

Superstitious people may like to hear of another
dream, which occurred to Fred Webb. This,
however, did not concern the Grand National
(in which in 1881 he had a mount on The Scot and
finished fifth when Woodbrook won), but a more
important event — the Derby of 1873, the only time
he was ever successful in that race. When Webb
arrived at Epsom on the Monday before Derby
Day he had no prospects whatever of a mount, but
durine the niorht he dreamt that he had won that
contest. On the downs at exercise the next morning,
however, Robert Peck, casually meeting him, at
once secured his services, with a victorious result.

Harking back to the Grand National's winning

•;Cr^ /^^^^ ^^^^^^ y;^^_^^^

4^ ,X^v A^^^^ _

*-5

Kacsimilk oi' Lki ii;k kkdm I.okh I'liri.KTT

THE GRAND NATIONAL 219

riders, Mr Tommy Beasley, like Mr Pickernell and
Mr J. Anthomy, was thrice successful, twice in
succession — on Empress in 1880, and on Wood-
brook in 1880; the third time was on Frigate in
18S9, after that mare had had five failures. Of
the professionals, Arthur Nightingall and Ernest
Piggott so far are the only two to get on equal
terms with Tom Oliver.

Of the amateurs and professionals to have ridden
two winners, it will be seen below that only Mr
J. M. Richardson, Mr E. P. Wilson and Mr Alex.
Goodman are of the former, and Johnny Page and
Percy Woodlands of the latter. The best average
is that of Mr Richardson's two consecutive wins.
Disturbance, 1873, and Reugny, 1874, out of four
mounts, if of course the " one ride one win " of
Captain Henry Coventry, Alcibiade, 1865, Mr
"Freddy" Hobson, Austerlitz, 1877, and Lord
Manners, Seaman, 1882, are not considered in this
statistical reckoning. The appended table gives
the winning and placing of the leading half-dozen
amateurs and professionals :

Amateurs

IVhi

2nd

V-d

Unplaced Total

Pickernell, Mr T.

3

• •

2

12 17

Beasley, Mr T. .

o
o

2

I

6 12

Anthomy, ]\Ir J. R.

3

. .

4

7 14

Richardson, Mr J. M.

2

• •

• •

2 4

Wilson, Mr E. P.

2

I

• ■

13 16

Goodman, Mr A.

2

I

I

7 II

220

SOLDIER AND SPORTSMAN

Professionals

Stevens, G.

IVin

5

2nd

■ •

3rd

I

Unplaced

9

Total

15

Oliver, T. .

3

3

I

12

10

Nightingall, A. .
Piggott, E.
Page, J. .
Woodlands, P. .

3
3

2
2

I

I

I

4

2

I

7
7
7
7

15

12
II
10

A wonderful

eaturc of the

Grand

Nationn

lI is

that almost from the date of its inception the

name of Topham has fitrured at the head of the

management, the present officials E. and W. being

grandsons of Mr Edward Topham, who, we read,

succeeded Mr Lynn, the original founder. At any

rate praise has always and justly been given to

Aintree's affairs. What a poet wrote some years

ago of the grandfather is, it is pleasing to add,

applicable to the grandsons :

Arous'd once more from winter's nap
As trees respond to quick'ning sap.
Or spendthrifts start at bailiff's tap.

The Muse resumed her lay :
O Topham ! great through all the land
With chase intrinsically grand
Undimmed by that of south band
Your hand ;

Again 'tis Aintree's day.

CHAPTER XI

THE TEDIGREE AND COLOUR OF GRAND
NATIONAL WINNERS

FROM Lottery to Troytown the winninfr^
horses number seventy-five ; of these half-
a-dozen were twice successful, thus making
in all eighty-one races. A brown (Lottery) was
the hero in 1839. His jumping capabilities are
historic, and need no praise from my pen. In the
pictures of the first National he is depicted going
like great guns on the flat and making very light
even of the stone wall which in those days was
built in front of the stands.

Whilst writing of Lottery's jumping qualities, I
must mention the longest recorded jump at Aintree
— that of 23 feet — which some maintain was over
the wall ; reference to the file of Bell's Life, how-
ever, makes it clear that the leap took place at one
of the two hurdles then in vogue after landintr on
the course a second time.

Following Lottery were eleven browns, if I include
Shannon Lass, a doubtful brown or bay. The
winning bays total forty-three, of which, so far as I
can discover, Charity was the first (1841). I am

unable to trace the colour of Jerry, who won the

221

222 SOLDIER AND SPORTSMAN

second year of the contest. The bays also include
Abd-el-Kader, the first of the six dual winners.
The chestnuts, although numerically larger than the
browns, have no dual winner among their total of
sixteen. The only dual grey winner was The
Lamb — that is, if he could be called a grey, for he
really had a beautiful black skin flecked with white.
He ha 1 not whitened when he ran his last race in
England over the Droxford course prior to leaving
for Germany, where, as mentioned elsewhere, his
career ended fatally at Baden-Baden. Regal and
Playfair are the only two black winners.

The horse that most frequently took part in the
Grand National was Manifesto. The great hero's
career at Aintree is worthy of being recorded here.
Incidentally, it may be mentioned that his skeleton
is to be found in the Natural History Museum at

Liverpool.

Manifesto and his Grand Nationals

Yeav

Rider

Weight

Result

Winner

i«95

Kavanagh

II St. 2 lb.

Fourth

Wild Man from
Borneo

1896

G our lay

II St. 4 lb.

Fell

Soarer

1897

Kavanagh

II St. 3 lb.

Won

Manifesto

189S

Non-Starter

• •

. .

Drogheda

1899

G. Williamson

12 St. 7 lb.

Won

Manifesto

1900

G. Williamson

12 St. 13 lb

Third

Ambush II.

1901

Non-Starter

• •

• •

Grudon

1902

E. Piggott

12 St. 8 lb.

Third

Shannon Lass

1903

G. Williamson

12 St. 3 lb.

Third

Drumcree

1904

E. Piggott

12 St. I lb.

Unplaced

Moifaa

Summary — Won, 2; Third, 3; Fourth, i ; Unplaced, 2; Total, 8

PEDIGREE AND COLOUR 223

Manifesto, who was a bay gelding by Man-of-
War out of Vae Victia, was seven years old when
he made his debut in the Liverpool in 1895, and
consequently was sixteen years old in his last effort
in 1904, when the New Zealander Moifaa won.

The nearest to Manifesto's eight efforts are
seven each — viz. The Liberator, Frigate, Game-
cock and Why Not — and a single run and winning
effort alone rest with Gaylad (1842), Discount
(1844), Wanderer (1855), Half Caste (1859),
Salamander (1866), Austerlitz (1877), Seaman
(1882), Come Away (1891), Drogheda (1898),
Shannon Lass (1902), Eremon (1907), Rubio(i9o8),
and Troytown (1920).

Bays

*Abd-el-Kadek (1850-1851) by Ishmael — English Lass . 5
Ally Sloper (1915) by Travelling Lad — Sally in our

Alley . . . . . .5

An AXIS (i860) by King Dan — Johnstone Lass . . 4

fBALLYMACAD (1917) by Laveno — Ballymacarney . 2

BouRTON (1854) by Drayton — Trifle's dam , . 3

Charity (1841) by Woodman — dam unknown . . 3

Cloister (1893) by Ascetic — Grace II. . . .3

Come Away (189 i) by Cumbuslang — Larkaway . . 1

Covert Coat (1913) by Hackler — Cinnamon . . 3

Disturbance (1873) by Commotion — Polly Peachum . 2

Drogheda (1898) by Cherry Ripe — Eglantine . . i

Drumcree (1903) by Ascetic — Witching Hour . . 5

Emigrant (1857) by Melbourne — Pandora . . 2

Eremon (1907) by Thurles — Daisy . . .1

Note. — Those marked * are double winners ; t war substitutes at Gatwick.
The figures indicate the number of times of starting.

224 SOLDIER AND SPORTSMAN

Father O'Flynn (1892) by Retreat — Kathleen .

Frigate (1889) by Gunboat — Fair Maid of Kent

Gamecock (1887) by Revolver — dam by Liglitfoot

Gaylad (1842) by Brutandorf — dam unknown .

Glenside (191 i) by St Gris — Kilwimnit

Grudon (190 i) by Old Buck — Avis

Huntsman (1862) by Tupsley — dam by Young Augustus

Jenkinson (1910) by Hackler — Playmate

Jerry M. (1912) by Walmsgate — dam by Luminary

Liberator (1879) ^Y ^^^^ O'Connell — Mary o' Toole

Little Charley (1858) by Charles XH. — Petworth

♦Manifesto (1897-1899) by Man-of-War — Vac Victia

Matthew (1847) by Vestris — dam unknown

Miss Mowbray (1852) by Lancasterian — Norma

Old Joe (1886) by Barefoot— Spot

Pathfinder (1875) by Mogador — dam unknown.

*Peter Simple (1849-1853) by Patron — dam unknown

Pioneer (1846) by Advance — dam unknown

*tPoETHLYN (1918-1919) by Rydal Head — Fine

Champagne ....

Reugny (1874) by Minos — Reine Blanche
Salamander (1866) by Fire-Eater — dam unknown
Seaman (1882) by Xenophon — Lena Rivers
Shaun Spadah (7921) by Easter Prize out of Rusialka by

Bushey Park ....

Shifnal (1878) by Saccharometer — Countess Amy
Soarer, The (1896), by Skylark — dam by Lurgan
Sunloch (1914) by Sundorne — Gralloch .
Vanguard (1843) by Old Advance — dam unknown
•j-Vermouth (1916) by Barcaldaile — dam by Bushey Park 3
Wanderer (1855) by Verulam — dam unknown .
Why Not (1894) by Castlereagh — Twitter

Chestnuts

5
7

7

I

2

3

3

4
2

7
5

8

2
3

6
3

3

3

I

I

2

4
3
2

2

I
7

Alcibiade (1865) by Cossack — Aunt Phillis . . 5

Ascetic Silver (1906) by Ascetic — Silver Lady . . 3

Austerlitz (1877) by Rataplan — Lufra . . i

PEDIGREE AND COLOUR 225

Casse Tete (1872) Trumpeter — Constance . . 5

CoRTOLViN (1867) by Chicken or Cheerful Horn— Dairy

Maid . . . . . .2

Discount (1844) by Sir Hercules— dam unknown . i

Emblem (1863) by Tcddington— Miss Batty . . 2

Embli- MATic (1864) by Teddington— Miss Batty . . 2

Empress (1881) by Blood Royal— Jeu-dcs-Mots . . i

Ilex (1890) by Rostrevor — Rostrum's dam . . 3

KiRKAND (1904) by Kirkham — dam by Perizouius . 4

Lutteur hi. (1909) by St Damien — Lausanne . . 3

RuBio (1908) by Star Ruby — La Toquera . . i

Wild Man from Borneo (1895) by Decider— Wild Duck 4

WooDBROOK (1881) by The Lawyer — Doe . . 2

Zoedone (1883) by New Oswestry — Miss Honiton . 3

Browns

Ambush H. (1900) by Ben Battle — Miss Plant . . 4

Chandler (1848) by Dr Faustus — dam unknown . 3
♦Colonel, The (1869-1870), by Knight of Kars —

Boadicea . . . . . .3

Freetrader (1856) by The Sea — Miss Cobden . . 3

Half Caste (1859) by Morgan Rattler — dam unknown . i

Jealousy (1861) by The Cure — Jewess . . .3

Lottery (1839) by Lottery — dam unknown . . 5

Moifaa (1904) by Natator — Denbigh . . .2

Roquefort (1885) by Winslow — Cream Cheese . . 5

Troytown (1920) by Ziria — Diane by Ascetic . . I

Voluptuary (1884) by Cremorne — Miss Evelyn . 4

Bay or Brown

Shannon Lass (1902) by Butterscotch — Mazurka . i

Black

Playfair (1S88) by Ripponden — dam by Rattlebones . i

Regal (1876) by Saunterer — Regalia . . .6

226 SOLDIER AND SPORTSMAN

Iron-Grey
*TiiE Lamb (1868-1871) by Zouave — dam by Arthur . 3

Unknown Colour

Jerry (1840) by Cattcrick — dam unknown . . i

CuREALL (1845) by Physician — dam unknown . . 2

CHAPTER Xll

THE NATIONAL HUNT STEEPLECHASE

AS a preface to a complete list of winning
owners, riders, and the heroes and heroines
of the National Hunt Steeplechase, it may
be interesting: to record the fact that this longr
popular event was originated by a party of noble-
men and gentlemen who, at the end of the fifties,
found that the Jockey Club had neither time nor
desire to shape their rules to fit hurdle and steeple-
chasing. It therefore became necessary to form
a similar guardianship solely to take over the
management of our jumping affairs.

Steeplechasing at that time had sunk to a low
level, but the situation was at once saved by that
never-to-be-forgotten good sportsman, Mr B. J.
or " Cherry Angell," as he was always referred
to by his friends. As was anticipated, this move
made by Mr Angell quickly found a following
of the right sort. There, however, are not many
livinsf who can recall that oreat set-off in i860 at
Farndon, about a mile and a half outside Market-
Harborough. This was decided over four miles of
a beautiful hunting country through which ran
227

228 SOLDIER AND SPORTSMAN

a natural brook which, if its width did not set
the notorious Skittles at defiance, brought many
of the opposite sex to grief when taking part in
the great contest. The thirty-one starters here
constituted a record until 191 1, when, at the pre-
sent Cheltenham home, it was broken with the
seven and thirty that followed in the rear of Sir
Halbert, who belonged to Captain Frank Grissell,
an old 9th Lancer amateur steeplechase rider.

It is sino-ular that among- Sir Halbert's backers
was the Earl of Coventry, now President of the
New Club at Cheltenham ; moreover, his lordship
was one of the above-mentioned party of noble-
men and gentlemen to flock round Mr Angell in
the formation of our National Hunt Committee.
Among others in that party were Lords West-
morland, Poulett, Suffolk, Grey de Wilton, Sir F.
Johnstone, Captain "Josey" Little of Chandler
fame. Captain Henry Coventry, Mr George Payne,
Mr W. G. Craven, Mr A. Sumner, Mr C, Carew,
and last but not least. Lord Chaplin. Concerning
the last-mentioned, few are aware that when known
as "the Squire of Blankney " his lordship suc-
ceeded in placing his name thrice as the winner
of the National Hunt Steeplechase : first with
his Emperor, Mr A. Goodman, at Wetherby
in 1865 ; another called Emperor III., Captain
Henry Coventry, at Bedford in 1867, Hermit's

THE NATIONAL HUNT STEEPLECHASE 229

year, and lastly Schiedam, with Mr J. Al. Richardson
in the saddle, at Cottenham in 1870.

It was not, however, until the National Hunt
chase had been decided twiceinsuccession at Market-
Harborough and a third time at Rugby that as
a governing body the newly formed Committee was
really firmly established. Once since, if memory
serves me correctly, it underwent reconstruction,
but since 1863 Messrs Wcathcrby's offices have
always been its headquarters. Mr Cherry Angell
stands out prominently as the winning owner of
the first two, first with Bridecrroom and then with
Oueensferry, both of which were ridden by that
good, all-round sportsman, Mr E. C. Burton, who
was Mr Anorell's fidus Achates in the manasrement
of his steeplechasers. Mr Burton rowed in his
Eight for Oxford, where he hunted the Drag ; he
was a good athlete, and subsequently became a
legal luminary. His legal experience served him
well when on many occasions he filled the chair at
National Hunt Committee meetino-s. Out of office
there was, however, plenty of geniality about him ;
but as they used to say of the late Lord Brampton,
Mr Burton was quite a "terror and no error" when
in office.

Of the many National Hunt winners, it has oft
been said that few of them have turned out high-
class chasers ; such is really the case, as Why Not,

230 SOLDIER AND SPORTSMAN

who succeeded in 1886 at Malton, stands out as its
sole Grand Nationed hero. In its earHest of years,
however, Bridegroom came very near to doing the
trick ; for after winning the National Hunt in i860,
he finished fourth to Jealousy in the following year,
being ridden by Mr FitzAdams, an assumed name
for Mr H. Blundell, a relative of Mr Burton. In
1862, with what they then called Young Ben Land
in the saddle, there was only the winner Huntsman
to stop the way. It may not be generally known
that it was in the Aintree event that Brideeroom
ran unplaced in i860 before making successfully all
the running in the National Hunt Steeplechase.
At Liverpool he was the mount of Mr Ekard, an
assumed name for none other than the Rev. Mr
Edward Drake, as Mr Burton's weight did not
permit the mount at Aintree.

But as the Rev. Cecil Legard used to say when
talking of his own earliest of steeplechase saddle
days, " Of course that was before I took Holy
Orders," and such was no doubt the same with
Parson Drake and his i860 Grand National mount
on Bridegroom.

In the National Hunt list of winners. Major
Tempest's name is seen against the National Hunt
hero Pickles at Bristol, as far back as 1873, when
he defeated Mr Arthur Yates a head on Cardigan
after as grand a set-to as one could wish to witness.

THE NATIONAL HUNT STEEPLECHASE 231

With reference to the love of iniHtary amateurs
for the National Hunt Steeplechase, no even short
review of the history of that chase would be com-
plete without reference to the successful doings of
Captain Arthur, or " Dogie," Smith, as he is more
familiarly called by his many yet admiring friends.
Captain Smith for riding winners of the National
Hunt Steeplechase goes very near the great record
of the late Mr E. P. Wilson, who is credited with
five wins, all of which, curiously enough, were won
on four-year-olds, long since debarred from taking
place in the contest. Of Mr Wilson's five victories
four were successive : Pride of Prussia, Four Oaks
Park, 1 88 1 ; Llantarnam, Derby, 1882, in which
Frigate made her debut in England ; Satellite,
Melton, 1883; and Equity, Leicester, 1884; these
were preceded by The Bear, Cottenham, 1877.
But Captain Smith runs this great score very close
with four wins at much wider intervals : Game
Chicken, Melton, 1864; Daybreak, Burton, 1871 ;
Lucellum, Aylesbury, 1874; and New Glasgow,
Liverpool, 1880. In the last, however, only three
horses ran, the smallest field ever to take part in
the chase. In its movable days, curiously enough,
that was the only time the Hunt Committee paid
a visit to Aintree. It is further recorded of Captain
Smith that the New Glasgow win was not scored
without a fall. One of Mr Wilson's five also was not

232 SOLDIER AND SPORTSMAN

attained without grief. Allusion here is made to
Satellite at Melton, where he won after a fall and
a desperate race, finishing on a broken saddle.

The various vicissitudes of the National Hunt
are fully mentioned in the appended table, but all
these changes have long since appeared a thing
of the past. The Grand Military permanently
pitched their camp at Sandown in 1 887 ; the National
Hunt Committee since 191 1 have become more
than wedded to Cheltenham.

The National Hunt Steeplchase no. of

Starters

i860 Market-Harborough — Mr B. J. Angell's b, g. by
Smallhopes, aged, dam by Charley Boy out of
Sovereign Lady, 12 st. (Mr E. C. Burton.) . 31

1861 Market-Harborough — Mr B, J. Angell's Queens-

ferry, pedigree unknown, 5 yis., 12 st. (Mr E. C.
Burton.) . . . . . • i?

1862 Rugby — Mr FitzOldaker's br. m. Fidget by Prize-

fighter, aged, 12 St. 7 lb. (Mr J. Skipworth.) . 10

1863 Market-Harborough — Hon. F. (afterwards Lord) Cal-

thorpe's ch. g. Socks by Connaught Ranger, aged,

12 St. 10 lb. (Mr A. Goodman.) . . .5

1864 Melton — Mr T. Behren's ch. h. Game Chicken, pedi-

gree unknown, aged, 12 st. 7 lb. (Capt. A. Smith.) 28

1865 Wetherby— Mr H. (now Lord) Chaplin's ch. g.

Emperor by Orpheus, dam by Record, h. b,, aged,

12 St. 10 lb. (Mr A. Goodman.) . . .29

1866 Crewkerne — Mr E. Studd's b. h. Shangarry by

Confessor, dam by Greatheart, h. b., 5 yrs., 12 st.
(Mr A. Goodman.) . . . -17

1867 Bedford — Mr H. (now Lord) Chaplin's b. g.

Emperor IH. by Cock Robin, dam by Record,

6 yrs., 12 St. 6 lb. (Capt. H. Coventry.) . . 16

THE NATIONAL HUNT STEEPLECHASE 233

1668 Bedford — Mr S. Wclfitt's br. g. Tathwell by Canute
out of Imagination by Lancrcost, 6 yrs., 12 st. 6 ib.
(Mr W. R. Brockton.) . . . .7

1869 — Not decided owing to the lamentable York and
Ainsty Hunt Accident ....

1S70 Cottenham — Mr H. (now Lord) Chaplin's Sciieidam
b. g. by Amsterdam out of Miss Fowler, 5 yrs.,
II St. 8 lb. (Mr J. M. Richardson.) . . 15

1871 Burton (Lincoln)— Mr J. H. Houldsvvorth's b. g.

Daybreak by Zouave out of Twilight, 5 yrs.,

II St. 8 lb. (Capt. A. Smith.) . . -13

1872 Abergavenny — Mr J. Sankcy's ch. g. Red Nob by

Nevill, dam unknown, 6 yrs., I2st, 3 lb. (Capt.
Holyoake.) . . . . -9

1873 Bristol — Mr Robertson's b. m. Pickles by Carac-

tacus out of Lalage, 6 yrs., 12 st. 10 lb. (Capt.
Tempest.) . . . . -13

1S74 Aylesbury — Mr H. F. C. Vyner's br. h. Lucellum
by Vertugadin out of Lucy, 5 yrs., 12 st. i lb.
(Capt. A. Smith.) . . . .12

1875 Sandown Park — Mr Smyth's b. m. Gazelle by The

Drake out of Lady Lawrence, 4 yrs., 10 st. 10 lb.
(Mr Flutter.) . . . . -19

1876 Irvine (Scot.) — Mr Ballard's b. g. Burfokd by

St Albans out of Lady Dar, 5 yrs., 12 st. i lb.
(Lord M. Beresford.) . . . -9

1877 Cottenham — Duke of Hamilton's b. h. The Bear

by Pace or Vancresson out of Berthe, 4 yrs., 10 st.

10 lb. (Mr E. P. Wilson.) . . .6

1878 Hereford — Mr Friend's b, g. Filbert by Nutbourne

out of Mademoiselle, aged, 12 st. 10 lb. (Owner.) 8

1879 Derby— Mr H. F. C. Vyner's ch. h. Bellringer

by Rataplan out of Bonny Bell, aged, 12 st. 10 lb.
(Mr A. Coventry.) . . . .16

1880 Liverpool — Mr A. Peel's b. g. New Glasgow by

New Oswestry out of Corbeillc, aged, 12 st. 10 lb.
(Capt. A. Smith.) . . . .3

234 SOLDIER AND SPORTSMAN

1881 Four Oaks Park— Mr Talbot's b. g. Pride of

Prussia by Crown Prince out of Shipwreck, 4 yrs.,

10 St. 10 lb. (Mr E. P. Wilson.) . . .8

1882 Derby— Mr W. H. P. Jenkin's ch. f. Llantarnam by

Black Cat out of Columbine's dam, 4 yrs., 10 st.

10 lb. (Mr E. P. Wilson.) . . .6

1883 Melton— Mr E. Tritton's ch. g. Satellite by

Siderolite, dam by General Sale, 4 yrs., 10 st. lu lb.
(Mr E. P. Wilson.) . . . .13

1884 Leicester — Mr R. Howctt's ch. f . Equity by Vander-

decken out of Duchess of Edinburgh, 4 yrs., 10 st.

10 lb. (Mr E. P. Wilson.) . . . • n

1885 Lincoln — Mr Saurin's ch. m. Lady Tempest by

Ingomar out of Sheet Lightning, 5 yrs., 12 st. i lb.
(Mr W. Beasley.) . . . . -7

1886 Malton— Mr D. J. Jardine's b. g. Why Not by

Castlereagh out of Twitter, 5 jts., 12 st. 5 lb. (Mr

C. J. Cunningham.) . . • .8

1887 Derby— Major Meysey-Thompson's ch. g. Monks-

hood by Uncas out of Abbess, 6 yrs., 12 st. 10 lb.
(Capt. E. R. Owen.) . . . • n

1888 Sandown Park— Mr E. Jay's (Lord Gersey) Glen

Thorpe ch. g. by Glendale out of Lady Danthorpe,

4 yrs., 10 st. 10 lb. (Hon. J. Lambton.) . . 11

1889 Cardiff— Mr B. Robson's b. g. Nap by Napsbury

out of Lady Linton, 4 yrs., 10 st. 10 lb. (Mr C.
Thompson.) . . . • .6

1890 Irvine— Mr T. G. Arthur's b. h. Innisfail by

Rostrevor out of Mavourneen, 5 yrs., 12 st. i lb.
(Owner.) . . . . . -4

1891 Hurst Park— Mr W. Low's ch. g. Impeyan by

Sterling out of Kathleen, 4 yrs., 10 st. 10 lb.
(Mr Crawley.) . . . . .17

1892 Derby— Mr T. Cannon's br. g. Royal Buck by

Edward the Confessor out of Antelope, 5 yrs.,

12 st.i lb. (Mr Yorke.) . . . .12

1893 Sandown Park— Capt. Crawley's b. g. Van der Berg

THE NATIONAL HUNT STEEPLECHASE 235

by Dutch Skater out of Yurata, aged, 12 st. 10 lb.
(Sir C. Sladc.) . . . . .12

1894 Derby— Sir S. Scott's ch. g. Philactery by Philam-

mon out of Elaine, 6 yrs., 12 st. i lb. (Major
Ricardo.) . . . • .10

1895 Sandovvn Park— Mr J. Arnold's Fin-ma-Coul II.

ch. g, by Ballinafad, dam by Lothario, 5 yrs.,
12 St. I lb. (Mr F. B. Atkinson.) . • 15

189G Hurst Park— Mr C. P. Shrubb's b. g. Ludgersiiall
by Privateer out of Lady Caradoc, 5 yrs,, 12 st. i lb.
(Mr H. M. Ripley.) . . . .19

1897 Newmarket — Vicomte de Buissere's ch. g. Nord

Quest by Gamin out of La Vague, 4 yrs., 10 st.

10 lb. (M. Morand.) . . . .12

1898 Gatwick— Mr F. P. Lysaght's b. g. Real Shamrock

by Primrose League out of Erin Dear, 4 yrs., 10 st.

10 lb. (Mr E. P. Grundy.) . . .16

1899 Hurst Park — Mr W. Hall Walker's (now Lord

Waver tree.) Glen Royal by Glenvannon out of
Royal Naiad, 5 yrs., 12 St. I lb. (Mr J. Fergusson.) 22

1900 Kempton Park — Mr T. Bayden's b. g. E6os by Strat-

ford out of Dawn, 5 yTS., 12 st. i lb. (M.A.Gordon.) 10

1901 Melton — Mr Barclay Walker's b. g. Friar John by

Ascetic out of Miss Anne, 5 yrs., 12 st. i lb. (Mr H.
Sidney.) . . . . • .17

1902 Warwick— Mr J. J. Maher's br. g. Marpessa Har-

MiTON out of Grecian by Xenophon, 5 yrs., 12 st.

I lb. (Mr H. S. Persse.) . . . .23

1903 Warwick — Mr F. Bibby's b. g. Comfit by Butter-

scotch, dam by Clanronald, 5 yrs., 12 st. i lb.
(Capt. R. H. CoUis.) . . . .18

1904 Cheltenham— Mr W. B. Parbridge's bl. g. Timothy

Titus b}' Timothy out of Precipice, 6 yrs., 12 st.

10 lb. (Mr Ivor Anthony.) . . .18

1905 Cheltenham- Mr D. Faber's ch. m. MissClifden H.

by FitzClifden out of King Furze's dam, aged, 10 st.

12 lb. (Mr H. M. Ripley.) . . .13

236 SOLDIER AND SPORTSMAN

1906 Warwick — Mr W. Charter's ch. g. Count Rufus

by Wise Count out of Arraby, aged, I2st. 3 lb. (Mr

A. Gordon.) . . . . .28

1907 Warwick — Mr H. G. Farrant's ch. g. Red Hall by

Winkficld, dam by Cairo, aged, 12 st. 3 lb. (Owner.) 27

1908 Warwick — Capt. J. F. Laycock's ch. g. Rory

O 'Moore by Royal Meath out of Vandale, aged,

12 St. 3 lb. (Mr P. Whitakcr.) . . .28

1909 Warwick — Mr R. Cartwright's b. g. Wychwood

by Sir Modred out of Dixianne, aged, 12 st. 3 lb.
(Mr P. Roberts.) . . . . .26

1910 Warwick — Mr E. P. Steinman's ch. m. Nimble Kate

b}/ Morion, dam by St Michael, aged, 12 st. 3 lb.
(Mr P. Roberts.) . . . . .20

191 1 Cheltenham — Capt. Frank Grissell's br. g. Sir

Halbert by Hackler out of Duchess II., aged,

12 St. 3 lb. (Mr A. Smith.) . . .38

1912 Cheltenham — Mr E. Piatt's The Rejected VI. b. g.

by Toussant out of Katie Hermit, aged, 12 st. 3 lb.
(Mr G. E. Cotton.) . . . .31

1913 Cheltenham — Capt. S. Yates' br. g. Kransfugl by

Missel Thrush, dam by Gulliver out of Birthright,
aged, 12 St. 3 lb. (Mr R. H. Hall.) . . 30

1914 Cheltenham — Mr H. F. Malcomson's b. g. War Duke

by Sterling out of War Bird, aged, 12 st. 3 lb.
(Mr H. Usher.) . . . . .27

1915 Cheltenham — Major J. H. Purvis' gr. g. Martial IV.

by Harvest Money out of Majesty, aged, 12 st. 3 lb.
(Owner.) . . . . , -25

From 1916 to 1919 inclusive no race owing to the

Allies war.

1920 Cheltenham — Mr J. Daly's b. g. Prudhomme by

Pam out of Prudence, 5 yrs., 12 st. 3 lb. (Mr C.
Brabazon.) . . . . .29

1921 Cheltenham — Mr H. Brown's ch. g. Bugler by
Fugleman out of Marie Louise, aged, 12 st. 3 lb.
(Capt. Bennet.) 22

CHAPTER XIII

THE GRAND MILITARY STEErLECIIASE

STATISTICAL matter at the best of times
is rather dull readino-, but so much space
has been taken up with the Liverpool and
the National Hunt Steeplechases that it would
be unfair to leave the Grand Military out in the
cold. It cannot be denied that from the earliest
days of "steeple to steeple" our soldiers have
made the sport one of their greatest recreations ;
indeed we find them so engaged long before the
days of the Crimea, as will be seen in the appended
list of winners. In this list one looks in vain for
the name of a Grand National hero or heroine.
Yet we find that the military were early on the
war-path at Aintree with winners such as Carlow,
Brenda, Boxkeeper and The Roarer. The latter,
with Jem Mason up, started favourite in 1847, when
Mathew won.

Subsequently to the Crimea, pedigree and class,
however, showed a marked improvement in the
chase. In 1868, for instance, there was a horse
called King Arthur who so readily scored in the
Grand Military at Rugby that he had the market
237

238 SOLDIER AND SPORTSMAN

call at Aintree the year Cortolvin won for the
late Duke of Hamilton. Singularly enough, King
Arthur belonged to Major General Brabazon, at
the time of writing the oldest living winning
owner of the Grand Military Gold Cup. He is
yet proud to tell of the tall pedigree that son of
The Cure and Miss Agnes possessed, and very
justly so, seeing that Polly Agnes, the dam of
Lily Agnes, was King Arthur's own sister, and
Lily Agnes' alliance with Bend Or produced the
mighty Ormonde.

In chases like the Grand Military one does not
expect to find high classed sires among its winners,
but in the horses figuring in the list below there is a
happy sequence worthy of mention — Lady Sherwell
by Oxford in 1875, Standard by Sterling in 1886,
and County Council by Isonomy in 1898. Again, if
its list of winners never contained a Liverpool
hero or heroine, it may be said that either before
or subsequent to their victories at Aintree such
horses as Cloister, the Soarer and Ambush II.
had been defeated in the Military Gold Cup.

Few living can recall two occasions, first at
Windsor in 1871, and then at Rugby in 1872, when
actually a Grand Prix de Paris winner in Fervacques
was in the Military fighting. He, however, was a
failure, for at Windsor with Captain Magennis up he
jumped right into the middle of the brook, and the

GRAND MILITARY STEEPLECHASE 239

next year did no better in the hands of Captain
Wentworth Hope Johnstone at Rugby. Later in the
season he eave us a bit of his old form on the flat at
Ascot by winning the Visitors' Handicap, although
in the Oueen Plate he made no fight of it with
Corisande and Dutch Skater. But Fervacques
was not Captain Hope Johnstone's only Grand Prix
association in the chief military steeplechase, for
the second of his three wins was landed for the
present Viscount Downe on Earl Marshall, who
was a son of The Earl who won the Paris Grand
Prix in 1868. He, like Fervacques the year pre-
viously, was ridden by Fordham, who, the records
say, " won by a nose " after a dead-heat with
Patricien. Of these two Grand Prix winners,
The Earl by Young Melborne, it will be remem-
bered, played no mean part in connection with
"the Spider and the Fly" 1868 classic scandal.
It may be added that, after winning the Grand
Prix, Fervacques some three weeks later came
over to Eno-land and won the Northumberland
Plate, a race in which his sire Underhand had
been thrice in succession successful. All the
above is here eiven because some of the modern
school are apt to think the horses of the Grand
Military were nearly all of the hunter and charger
type.

Mention has been made above of Major-General

240 SOLDIER AND SPORTSMAN

Brabazon beincr the oldest winning owner of the
Gold Cup with King Arthur, ridden by Col. Knox,
who, like Major W. H. Johnstone and Major Hughes
Onslow, stand out with three wins each as its record
riders. This trio of celebrities is now of the
Great Beyond. Colonel Harford, who rode King
Arthur when he was favourite for the Grand
National, is not the oldest living officer to have
a mount in the Gold Cup ; that distinction is
possessed by Major Tempest. In 1861, when
the chase was decided at Cheltenham, Major
Tempest had only the Hon. F. G. Ellis on Innis-
killing to stop the way. Major Tempest was un-
lucky with his Grand Military, and more so with
his Grand National mounts, but if he missed
both these, there was some compensation in his
just defeating Mr Arthur Yates on Cardigan in
the National Hunt on Pickles at Bristol.

In conclusion it may be added that the late
Major Roddy Owen is the only military rider to
be credited with a victory in the Liverpool, the
National Hunt and Grand Military Gold Cup.
That eallant rider was on the back of Father
O'Flynn when he won the Liverpool in 1892, the
Grand Military fell to his share on St Cross in
1889, and he won the National Hunt of 1887 for
Colonel Meysey-Thompson on Monkshood,

Appended is a full list of Gold Cup winners :

GRAND MILITARY STEEPLECHASE 241

No. of
Starters

1841 Northampton — Sir J. G. Baird's (loth Hussars) b. g.

Carlow, aged. (Owner.) . . . .20

1842-1843 No record.
1844 Wetherby — Capt. France (Carbineers) b. m. Rrenda,

aged. (Owner.) .....
1S45 Brixworth — Capt. Coles' gr. g. Boxkeeper. aged.

(Owner.) . . . . . .26

1846 Warwick — Capt. Powell's b. ni. Cinderella.

(Owner.) . . . . . • 17

1847 Warwick — SirE.Poore'sTHE RoARER.'aged. (Owner.) 8

1848 Warwick — Capt. Dyson's (3rd Dragoons) Master

Robin, aged. (Owner.) . . . ,11

1849 No record.

1850 Warwick — Capt. Dyson's Hawksworth. (Owner.) . 9

1851 Warwick — Col. Shirley's b. g. Fugleman, aged.

(Mr Fraser.) . . . . -15

1852 Warwick — Capt.Tremayne'sPALMERSTON, list. 3 lb.

(M. Hutchinson.) . . . . .12

1853 Warwick — Capt. Thornton's ch. m. Minna by

Napier out of Cauronch dam, 5 yrs. (Mr Berkeley.) . 14

1854 Warwick — Mr P. Cook's Torrent. (Mr Wilkins.) . 12

From 1855 to 1857 inclusive no race owing to Crimean War.

1858 Brixworth — Vicomte A. Talon's b, g. Young

Magnet by Magnet, aged, 12 st. 5 lb. (Owner.) . 8

1859 Birmingham — Capt. J. Hunt's ch. g. Goldsmith by

Black Prince, dam by The Saddler. (Owner.) . 9
i860 Northampton — Capt. Anderson's The Hermit by
late General Havelock by Cowl, aged, 12 st. 5 lb.
(Owner.) . . . . . -9

1861 Cheltenham — Hon. Capt. F. G. Ellis's Inniskilling

by Tupsley, aged, 12 st, (Owner.) . . 12

1862 Warwick — Capt. F. Wombwell's ch. m. Fanny,

pedigree unknown, aged, I2 st. 5 lb. (Owner.) . 13

1863 Rugby — Capt. Park Yates' Rifleman by Red

Robin, 12 St. 10 lb. (Capt. Riddell.) . . 14

242 SOLDIER AND SPORTSMAN

1864 Rugby — Major F. Wombwell's Bell's Life ch. g. by

Hurworth, 6 yrs., 12 st. 10 lb. (Capt. A. Smith.). 10

1865 Rugby — Mr Stevenson's Glencairn by Kingfisher,

6 yrs., 12 St. (Owner.) . . . -9

1866 Warwick — Col. Knox's Ironside br. g. by Defiance

out of Emulous, 13 st. (Col. Knox.) . . 10

1867 Liverpool — Mr George named Tally Ho b. g. by

Come Away, dam by Willingham, aged, 12 st.
(Mr Gerard.) . . . . .6

1868 Rugby — Capt. (now Major-Gen.) Brabazon's br. g.

King Arthur by The Cure out of Miss Agnes,

6 yrs., 13 St. (Col. Knox.) . . .10

1869 Rugby — Capt, Coleman's Juryman bl. g. by The

Coroner out of Flower Girl's dam. (Mr Pritchard.) 12

1870 Rugby — Lord Charles Innes-Ker's Knockany br. g.,

pedigree unknown, 6 yrs., 12 st. (Col. Knox.) . lo

187 1 Windsor — Mr R. H. Ray's ch. g. Donato by Fan-

dango, dam by Young Barefoot out of Lawyer's
dam, aged, 12 st. (Mr Pritchard.) . . 10

1872 Rugby — Major Byrne's b. h. Charleville by

Tonnerre des Indes — Czarina (bred in France), aged,

13 St. (Mr H. Browne.) .... 8

1873 Rugby — Mr Heron Maxwell's ch. g. Revirescat by

Cheerful Horn, dam unknown, aged, 12 st. 10 lb.
(Mr W. H. Johnstone.) . . . .16

1874 Rugby — Capt. Ray's br. h. Marie Antoine by Fitz

Gladiator out of Christiana by Lanercost, 6 30-5.,
I2st. (Col. Harford.) . . . .10

1875 Rugby — Col. Byrne's b. m. Lady Sherwell by

Oxford out of Defamation, aged, 12 st. (Mr W. H.
Johnstone.) . . . . .5

1876 Rugby — Vis. Downe's b. h. Earl Marshall by The

Earl out of Frangipana, 5 yrs., 12 st. 10 lb. (Mr
W. H. Johnstone.) . . . .3

1877 Sandown — Capt. A. Paget's br. h. Chilblain by

Jack Frost out of Grand Duchess, aged, 12 st. 7 lb.
(Mr W. B. Morris.) . . . .10

GRAND MILITARY STEEPLECHASE 243

1878 Sandown — Capt. A. Paget's br. h. Chilblain by

Jack Frost out of Grand Duchessa. 13 st. 7 lb.
(^Ir W. B. Morris.) . . \ .7

1879 Sundown- -Mr H. Fenning's, b. g. Boyne Wati:k by

Salon out of J^yra, aged, 13 st. (Mr Hartigan.) . 9

1880 Rugby — Mr H. S. Dalbia's ch. g. Cymrw by Benevcni

out of Taffy's dam (bred in France), aged, 11 st.
7 lb. (Owner.) . . . . -9

1S81 Sandown — Mr F. Waldron's b. m. Lobelia by
St Florian out of Sister to Geologus, 6 yrs., 12 st.
3 lb. (Mr Lee Barber.) . . . .8

1882 Sandown — Lord Manners' b. g. Lord Chancellor

by The Lawyer out of Fair Play, 6 yrs., 13 st. 7 lb.
(Owner.) . . . . . .8

1883 Sandown — Col. Murray's b. h. Beaufort by Lord

Ronald out of Breda, aged, 12 st. 7 lb. (Mr Lee
Barber.) . . . . , 6

1884 Sandown — Major Tidwcll's b. g. Larva (late Paddy

Griffy) by Vulcan out of Marchioness Rose, 5 yrs.,

II St. 7 lb. (Mr J. Burn-Murdoch.) . . 9

1885 Aylesbury — Capt. Childe's b. g. Scorn by Kyrle Daly

out of Disdain, aged, 12 st. 7 lb. (Mr A. Barton.) 3

1886 Alder shot— Capt. Childe's br. h. Standard by

Sterling out of Strategy, aged, 12 st. 7 lb. (Mr T.
Hone.) . . . . . '9

1887 Sandown — Capt. Fisher's b. h. Dalesman by

Beauclerc out of Lady Millicent, 6 yrs., 11 st.
(Owner.) . . . . . -9

1888 Sandown— Mr H. T. Fenwick's b. f. Bertha by Sky-

lark out of Amiabelle, 4 yrs.. 11 st. (Mr Hughes
Onslow.) . . . . . .8

1889 Sandown — Mr B. Alexander's b. h. St Cross by

Quits out of Vera, 6 yrs., 11 st. (Capt. E. R.
Owen.) . . . . • .8

1890 Sandown — Lord Annaly's ch. f. Lady Sarah by

Aeronaut out of Lady Harkiield, 4 yrs., 10 st.

7 lb. (Capt. Little.) . . • .11

244 SOLDIER AND SPORTSMAN

1891 Sandown — Capt, A. E. Whitaker's b. h. Hollington

by Barcaldine out of Junket, 4 yrs., 10 st. 7 lb.
(Capt. C. Lambton.) . . . .11

1892 Sandown — Capt. A. E. Whitaker's eh. g. Ormerod

by Edward the Confessor out of Lady Carew,

4 yrs., 10 St. 7 lb. (Capt. Bewicke.) . . 7

1893 Sandown — Mr H. L. Powell's b. g. Midshipmite

by Torpedo, dam by New Oswestry out of Miss
Piggott, aged, 13 st. 7 lb. (Major Burn-Murdoch.) 7

1894 Sandown — Capt. M. Hughes' b. g. ^sop by Chippen-

dale out of Fable, aged, 11 st. 12 lb. (Sir C. Slade.) 8

1895 Sandown — Mr Eustace Loder's Field-Marshal by

Border Minstrel out of Rouge Gaqne, aged, 12 st.

3 lb. (Capt. Crawley.) . . . .11

1896 Sandown — Capt. J. Orr-E wing's b. m. Nelly Gray

by Ben Battle out of Peace, aged, 11 st. 7 lb.
(Mr D. M. G. Campbell.) . . . .5

1897 Sandown — Col. G. H. Gough's b. m. Parapluie

by Juggler out of Parable, 6 yrs., 11 st. 7 lb.
(Mr D. M. G. CampbeU.) . . . .11

1898 Sandown — Major Fenwick's ch. h. County Council

by Isonomy out of Lady Peggy, aged, 11 st. 7 lb.
(Major Hughes Onslow.) . . . .11

1899 Sandown — Capt. Murray Thriepland's b. m. Lambay

by Royal Meath out of Lambthorpe, 6 yrs., 12 st.
(Owner.) ......

From 1900 to 1902 inclusive no race owing to South

African War,

1903 Sandown — Major Eustace Loder's br. g. Marpessa

by Marmiton out of Grecian by Xenophon, 6 yrs.,

12 St. 7 lb. (Major Hughes Onslow.) . . 4

1904 Sandown — Mr H. E. Brassey's Dunboyne by

Quidune out of Connie, 5 yrs., 11 st. (Major
Ricards.) . . . . . -9

1905 Sandown — Rear-Ad. Lambton's ch. h. Ruy Lopez

by Simontault out of Mouche, 5 yrs., 11 st. (Capt.
Stackpole.) . . . . .8

Mark ^iiown i<i riii: Hon. A. Pakkf.k a r S. I.oiis. U.S.A.
12^ IIA\|i>. I ^ I \v r.

SoMK kl.MolNI ()llirKK>. 1 1) 1 6. Si. I.i'll-. I'.S.A.
.\kmsin<im;, a. takkkk. hki.i.anv, scoi I, I'Akkkk. i;i:ii>

(MU. IIICI.I.ANV rl KCHASKI) o6,IXlo HciKSKS)

GRAND MILITARY STEEPLECHASE 245

1906 Sandown— Mr R. F. Eyres' ch. g. Royal Blaze

by Royal Exchange out of Searchlight, 6 yrs., 12 st.
(Capt. L. S. Denny.) . . • • 13

1907 Sandown — Mr C. Bewicke's b. or. br. g. Old Fairy

House by Hackler out of Circe, 5 yrs., 12 st.
(Owner.) . . . . • -9

190^ Sandown — Capt. G. Paynter's b. g. Mount Pros-
pect's Fortune by St Oris out of Lady Childers,
6 yrs., 13 St. (Owner.) . . . .10

1909 Sandown— Mr E. Christie-Miller's b. g. Sprinkle

Me by Rapallo, dam by Hackler, aged, 12 st. 3 lb.
(Capt. C. W. Banbury.) . . . -7

1910 Sandown— Capt. E. Christie-Miller's b. g. Sprinkle

Me by Rapallo, dam by Hackler, aged, 12 st. 7 lb.
(Capt. C. W. Banbury.) . . . -7

1911 Sandown— Mr Dermot MCalmont's Vinegar Hill

b. or br. h, by St Aidan out of Phoenix Park, 6 yrs.,

II st, (Owner.) . . . • -7

1912 Sandown— Hon. E. H. Wyndham's br. g. Another

Delight by General Symons out of Annie's Delight,
aged, 12 St. 7 lb. (Owner.) . . .8

1913 Sandown— Hon. E. H. Wyndham's br. g. Another

Delight by General Symons out of Annie's Delight,
aged, 13 St. (Owner.) . . . .10

1914 Sandown— Capt. G. Paynter's bl. g. Jack Symons

by General Symons, dam by Cullodcn H., aged,

13 St. (Owner.) . . . . -14

From 1915 to 1919 no race owing to the Allies war.

1920 Sandown — Rear - Admiral Hon. Lambton - Meux's

gr. h. White Surrey by Nabob out of Dejeuner,
aged, 12 St. (Major Walwyn.) . . -9

1921 Sandown— Mr W. Filmer's ch. m. Pay Only

by Walmsgate - Teddie HI., aged, 11 st. 10 lb.
(Owner.) . . ... 12

Webster Family Library of Veterinany Medicine
Curniriings School cf Veterinary Medicine at
Tufts University
200 Westboro Road
North Grafton, MA 01536

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