Sport and Travel Papers

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SPORT AND TRAVEL PAPERS

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SPORT AND TRAVEL
PAPERS

H. MELLADEW

LONDON: T. FISHER UKWIN
ADEIPHI TERRACE • MCMIX

Jl^

{Tar PritiaU Cimiltliai)

L,',zcc;..C00gIC

(ia righti rmrvid.)

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To
COLONIiL R F. T. GASCOIQNE, D.S.O.

HT OOHFANION IN BEVEBAL OF

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PREFACE

rSSE aitides, with the exoeption of Nob. I. uid 11., wan
written immediately after the erents denoribed in them
had occurred — ^in the year grran abore each — aa a short record
of trarel and sport intended in old age to amuse and recall
to my mind many delightfiil scenes then perhaps faded or
forgotten.

They are now ooUeoted and printed prirately to be offered to
my friends, althongh I greatly fear that what I — it being part of
my liio — find interesting they might think the lererse.

As a oomfvomise, therefore, I hope to proTide an attnetiTe
cover.

Some of the articles having alreat^ been published, my sinoere
thanks are offered to the Editors of £aify'< Magagine, FiM,
Land and Water, and QIatgow Heraid for permiBaion to reprint
them.

4, Down SisnT, W.

M313058 »",CoogIc

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CONTENTS

H. A HKKTOH Cf AK INSUH JUHOIJI. 1867 . 6

m. PlOfl Dt ALBANIA. 1876 . .15
XV.-Vm. BKBTOaiB IS TBB BOttDAK. 1883—

^) OK TBB MABOB .... 30

^ THB ABAB VILZiAOl . .33

(iii) DATS AT KBBBH ... 16

(ir) A DAT ra TKi rasQiM . .67

(v) A TBIP nraO " TBBSA IHOOOmTA " 68

a. A UOM BTOBT. 1882 . .83

X. BOASBIDB BKBTOOBtl Dt QDATUULA. 1884 93

XL A BID! FBOIf THK FAOIPIO TO UXIOO OITT. 1886 . 190

XII. ANQUHO rOB TIOBBS. 1888 ... 129

Xm. THB BBOOnHS-BOOr'B LiMBNT. 1890 . . 186

XIV. BBS UAJBBTT'B U8BI0N TO HATABBLBLAHD. 1890 liO

XV. A BOtKiB loramr. 1891 .... 168

XVI. IB THB sown BUBB. 1891-1892 .160

xm. PUT HOT YOITB TBU8T IB OWLB. 1893 168

XVm. ARHB VmSINIAB DBBB. 1898 . . . ■ 173

XIX. IN TBB HBABI OF THB HOOBB OOTTVTBT. 1884 160

XX. cHBimua-niiB in fodb ooNmiBiiTa . •167

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xii CONTENTS

rAcn

XXL MO LOOK— UOOSB. 1895 .... 304

xxn. „ — «AfiiBOO. 1696 .... 909

xxm. wooDOOOK nt ntBLAMD. 1896 . 914

XXIV. IN HBW SBUNSWIOS. 1897 .... 391

XXV. VAKOOITTBB iSD BBTOHS. 1897 . . 235

XXVI. OOAT8 AND BBBBF IB THB BOOK? HOUNTAIHB. 1S97 . 330

xxvn. THB -303 AND BBUta. 1898 . . . 336

XXnn. KOBB ABODT BBABB IN THl BOCSISS. 1899 . 343

XXIX. A STALE OM SOABBA. 1900 350

XXX. TABFOH IN PLOBIDA. 1901 .... 358

XXXI. " 'lOO LATH " — LAFFLAHD. 1901 . 366
XXXn. IN OAMF IN NBW KBALAHS — FiaHINO. 1902 . 373

xxxm. „ „ — STALsntG. 1903 . 377

XXXIV. m HosxAiDo (tbzo). 1903 . . .363

XXXV. A VISIT TO KOBHA. 1903 . 3^

XXXVI. TIBHINQ WITH OOBHOHAmS. 1903 . . 397
XXXVn. THB DUOE DBOOT AT TOKYO. 1902 801
XXXVm. FLOOD, BAUfON, AND STABLISaB. 1901 . 306

XXXIX. A BA1> SBABON m NOBWAT. 1905 . 316

XL. "THB DAYS THAT WBRB." 1906 . , . 321

BBTBOSPBOT ..... 836

SPOET AND TEAVEL PAPERS

A REMINISCENCE

THE lOtli of December, 18 — , was a great day for the Tillage
of Q., eitoated in the nortbent part of Oerman; ; for were
not the adjoming ooverts to be shot, aod were not all the young
men enHeted bb beaters, and the old cnrionfl to know what the
bag woold be ? — a matter already discnflsed and talked over for
many an evening in the faroiirite beerhooBe, orer nnmexoua
passes, and many a pipe.

The train from the neighbonring town had jnat come to a stop
at the little atatioD where the TiUagers were aBsembled to watch
die arrival of the shootere, who, wrapped in enormooa fur coats
— for it woB very oold — were slowly descending from the
earriagea. The keepers having taken chai^ of the several gnns,
all earefolly cased in leathern covers, and of an eqoal nomber of
those now old-&8hioned carpet-baga, then so strikingly worked
in wool, with designs of varions animals of the chase, or with
gorgeons wreaths of flowers more or len tne to natnre, or
devices sooh as "safe voyage," See., the party walked to the
Station inn, attended by an admiring crowd of villagers, to leave
coats and get ready for the serioos woA before it. The bnxom
landlady with the latest baby in her arms, and her sleepy-looking
husband in shirt sleeves and wooden shoes — with the month-
piece of a long German pipe between his teeth — greet the
amvab, as host and hostess should, and nsher them into the
parionr ; this voy stnfFy apartment has a sanded floor, a bar in
one oomer and iron stove in the other, and two or three tables
uid wooden benohM ranged along the wall. Heavy coats are
2 1

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2 SPORT AND TRAVEL PAPERS

now taken off, while the l&ndlord, never letting go of his faithfol
pipe, the capacions china bowl of which is adorned by a brilliant
painting of a lady's cnily head, talks abont the weather, the
prospect of sport, the resolt of the last potato crop, &o., poaring
out at the s&me time a glass of " Schnaps " for everybody to
ke^ the cold oat and for Int^ ; then were the last praparations
made before taking the field. Game-bags, with long roomy nets,
closed by flaps eitiiet worked in wool in likeoesB, complimentary
or otherwise, of fox, deer, or dog, or made of the skin of either
of the two former, are slnng over the right shoulder by means of
embroidered straps — Christmas presents, no doubt, from the
" fraoen " — balanced by powder-horn and shot-bag over the
other. Wads are safely stowed away in one pocket and caps in
another, for this, of coarse, was long before breechloaders had
oome into ase here.

It was a great event for me, boy as I was, for although both
partridges and hares had already finllen to my gnn, I had never
Bhot anything as big as a fox — ^reader, banting was here utterly
nnknown — or roe-deer, both of which, with Inck, I was to see
and perhaps even kill for the first time. It was indeed a great
day for me — a day on which I intended to show the world what a
mighty hnnter I was. How long the minntes seemed before at
last eveiy one was ready to start, before the slowest had filled
his pipe, finished bis "Schnaps," wiped his spectacles, settled
his accoutrements satisfactorily, and paid the last compliment
to the pretty landlady ! I, of coarse, had nothing to get ready,
nothing to do except to throw off my coat, under which every-
thing reqoired had at home already been arranged to the
smallest detul, ready to do battle at once with the beasts of the
field. At last, to my intense satisfaction, a start was made ; all
were very warmly clothed, with long boots, some with ftar coUara
and cuffs, fiir caps, one or two even with moffs, or fur gloves
Bospended from the neck by a cord. The gons, provided with a
strap, were slnng ovw one shoulder, cigars and pipes were in
fall blast, and a good deal of chaff went the rounds, more par-
tioolarly at the expense of a very stout, short-sighted, and
spectacled individual, who trudged along with both hands deeply
buried in a muff, upon which a fox's head was worked in the
brightest colours, with the pinkest of noses and the bluest of
eyes. Now at these annual shoots, to which the neighbouring

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A BEMINISCENCE 3

brndownen and their friends were inTited, ootain nKolfttioiu

prevailed to vhioh, unwritten thon^ they were, ereij one bowed,

inelnding eereral fines, which, howerer, were not always euj to

eollaot. There were penaltieB for migaing mad Dmitting to shoot

when game wm sufficiently dose to the gnn to mkke killing »

reasonabie certainty — a diffionlt point to prore, and likely to

lead to a good deal of dispate. The fines for miaaing or not

firing at a hare were of eoniBe small, bat tiiey rose when it

eame to a fox or a loe-deer. Only the hooka of the lattor were

allowed to be shot ; to kill a doe was not only riaited by the

highest penal^, bat waa also, and Tory natarally (the deer being

scarce), considered a great disgrace. Howerer, the possibility

of mistaking a hannless doe for a homed bock never entered my

head when walking to the first covert along a road which, in my

yoathfdl impatience, appeared endless, as the pace at which we

mored seemed to reaemble that of a fiinenl procesaion. And

then half-way we stopped to load, that long and tedioos pro-

oeeding which, thank goodness, breechloaders have long smee

done away with. It always took a long time, commencing with

the snapping of caps, the end of the barrel being held against a

bit of grass, whioh showed by its reeoil whe^er the nipples

ytexe clear or otherwise. As everything most end, so at last the

loading also was completed ; bat I, of oonrse, had finished first,

and bad not forgotten to add to the shot a pellet fbnnd a week

before in a roasted partridge, and therefore considered a certain

hitter ; this pellet, after very nearly breaking my tooth, had

since been carnally treasured in the waistcoat pocket, whence it

now was disinterred once more to be despatched on its deadly

errand. At last we arrived at a belt of yoong firs and larches,

beeehes and various shnibs, and were posted by the keeper with

strict injonotions on no aoconnt to leave our places, and then

the drive commenced, prodnoing nothing, however, bot a few

hares, one of whioh I slew, and a woodcock, at whioh every one

fired, to the great dangn of everybody else. Next we went to a

thick covert, part of an extensive wood, the remains of a forest

which once had covered the whole of the country, where roe-deer

were known to be. We were soon again in onr places, mine

being in a very thick patch of yonng firs and low oak sorab,

flowing nnder some higher birch and beech-trees, itiiere I could

see n^ nei^boor on either side. My mind waa terribly oeeapied

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4 SPORT AND TBATEL PAPERS

ftboot the roe-deer, praying that a buck might oome and not a
doe, I having anndry nuBgivingB as to being able to tell one from
the other in the thiok underwood at the pace the; wonld prob-
ably oome. After hiding myself as thoroughly as pouible
behind a tree, I had juBt foll-oooked my gon when the cries and
afaontfl of the beaters began to be heard, becoming lender and
loodw every minnte, the magic word "deer "being dietisctiy
andiUe. I well remember how intense was now my excitement,
reaching its cnlminating point when I heard something heavy,
which I knew mast be a deer, come galloping straight to where
I was ; alt at once something brown flashed past, risible for a
moment only among some bashes. There was no time for
thought of bnok or doe, or of the direction of my neighbomr—
that was a matter altogether of secondary consideration — up and
off went the gon, eomething heavy come down with a crash
among the scrnb behind me, and — it was not my spectacled
friend ; he, no donbt, scenting the mortal danger he was in, had
had the sense to retire behind his tree. A Cow hares, a fox, &e.,
were shot at, missed, or killed, and the drive was over. Foil of
coriosi^, tiiongh my cariosity bad a etrong leaven of anxiety as
to the sex of my victim, about which, ever since the shot, the
gravMt misgiving had troubled me, I, with several others, went
to look for it, when, to my horror, some inconsiderate bmte pro-
claimed to the world that I had shot a doe I That moment I
shall never forget ; my pride at having killed something big, and
vrith considerable skill, too, was ntterly crushed ; I prayed to
sink into the ground, to be wafted thousands of miles away, and
wished other impossibilitieB which people desire at similarly
disagreeable moments. The excuse of youth, made for one who
already considered himself a man, made me forioos, and when,
at the next beat, somebody suggested smilingly that I should
shoot no more does, I could have killed him. However, for this
I had my revenge before long. As the deed was done and no
amount of talking could bring the unfortunate doe to life again,
we were presently in our places onoe more, the short-sighted
man who had offered me the above advice, and whom I therefore
cordially hated, being posted on my left. In front of as was an
open grassy space with a hedge on the farther side. I was the
right-hand gon, " Bpeotaoles " next to me, and beyond him the
gong were placed along the edge of the covert. First came a

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A REMIKI80EKCE 9

hare slowly loUoioiig tiong towards me, whieh I preseoUy bowled
over. I hope 70a are a female, 70a brute ! I thought, for I was
angry -with the sex. My neighboor shot another, nearlj' ginng
me ttie opportunity to fine him for omitting to fire when engaged
with M pinoh of snuff. I missed a woodoo<A, but rolled orer two
more hares in gallant style, while a good deal of shooting went
on all along the line. It was a long beat, and produced no
more roe but something &i heavier than any deer, this time
added to the bag of my neighbonr. The beat was nearly orer,
when * ' speotaeles " e^ied sometiung more behind the hedge on
his left front ; although very short-sighted, he oame to the oon-
olnsion that it was a hare, and fired — with the most extrs-
ordinary result. A frif^tfnl yell was the first intimation that
" spectaoles " had hit his maA, followed by the most wonderfiil
contortionB and paa-de^etd danced on the other side of the
hedge by one of the gnns in a most peculiar dithabUis, calling
Btrongly to mind one of the tc^ figures which, on pulling a
string, throw their arms about, dancing all the while madly with
Hieix legs. This was aooompanied by some of the strongest
langoage, levelled at the horrified author of the entertainment.
Of coarse every one at once went to the assistance of the un-
fortunate man who was holding on with both hands to a certain
pMt of his person as if afraid it would drop off. If the pain had
not visibly been so severe, the spectacle would have been a moat
laughable one, for it was soma time befora the victim could be
pereuoded tiiat standing still would be less painfiil than jumping
about — poor devil — he could not sit down ! The accident was
partly his own &ult, for having left his post ; but he bad tried
to hide himself behind the fence, though not succraafnlly
altogether, for " spectacles " spotted him and held straight. I
eoold not resist asking the latter afterwards not to shoot any
more people, in revenge for his request to me (which had so
nnieastmably got my blood np) to leave the does alone in fiitnie.

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A SKETCH IN AN INDIAN JUNGLE

EIGHTEEN ;eara ago, just before sanrise, and not a thousand
miles from Caloatta : in the immediate foregronnd a swiftly
roahiug and beautiftiUy clear monntain stream, coisil; BpUshin^
here and Uiere against an immense boulder, and lashing itself
into foam and spray on its well-worn snr&oe, as if in anger at
the obstacle which it itself had brought there during its fiercer
moods when, swollen by the rains into a powerfol torrent, it had
swept eTetything before it — ^rooks, trees, and whole clomps of
bamboo, anything and STerything in the greatest oonfasion,
down through the narrow v^leys and moantain go^B on its
way to the great rivers of the plains. Only a small stream now
remains in place of the raging torrent of the days when it bad
cnt the high bank on this side so sharply, and hollowed it oat so
deeply ; and when it ran its mad course over that wide expanse
of rock and stone-ooTered sand which now stretches away dry on
the other side as far as the edge of the forest — that long dense
belt of high tree jungle opposite, which gradnally rises to clothe
the lofty monntains of the lower ranges of the Himalaya.

Now, in the early mom a whitish mist still oovers the valley
as with a shroad, and heavy clouds rest upon the higher peaks ;
soon these begin to lift, and the mist to disperse with the first
rays of the rising son. The effect is almost magical as the snn
god appears ; tiie damp mist, highly soggestive of malaria,
rheumatism, and other unsatisfactory ailments, is gone at once ;
the heavy clouds speedily retire to the higher ranges ; Uie snnny
line creeps downward steadily, and widens quickly, covering
with its golden h^ a sea of jungle of infinitely varied green.

:,zcc;..C00gIc

A SKETCH IN AM INDIAN JUNOLE 7

The hills facing west are still dark and gloomy, while everythiiig
oppomte IB already bright and sparkling in a flood of light, nnder
a aky of the deepest blae. Even the stream appears to rejoice
at the retnm of day ; it seems to splash more noisily, and is as
dear as crystal down to ita stony bed ; the surface glassy, except
where tiie wareleta msb ronnd a rook or boulder, which still
throws a deep shadow across its pellnoid depths.

As &ir a landscape as one coold wish to see was spread oat
before the two tents pitched upon the bank in a small clearing,
closely hemmed in on all sides bat that of the rirer by doise
forest— fewest which stretches almost nninterraptedly to the Bay
of Bengal and Borma on the one hand, and to the Persiao
Gulf on tiie othw. Gloomy, bat exceedingly grand, it hides in
its recesses ererytJiing that banter conld desire ; bat, thanks to
its almost trackless solitode, it is all against him and in favoar
of the game ; besides the danger from elephant, tiger, or rhino-
ceros, another awaits him here in a rery deadly garb — the sabtle
and treacherous poison of malaria. With the first rays of the
warm morning light all nature seems to awake ; the prowlers of
the night are already Ux from the river, where, daring the dark
boors, they bad come to drink, feeding their way slowly back
along the narrow paths made by thunselves to their silent
jttng^e homes far away ; the cicadsB cease their monotonoos
diddsg, the barking deer's hoarse ciy becomes less freqaent
and more distant, jungle cooks crow oTcrywhere like their tame
brothers at home, to welcome the new day ; the cooing of doves
and pigeons now come, from almost every bash ; parrakeets rush
aboat once more in their rapid flight, screeching with re&eshed
energy; sqiiirtels ron aboot and jnmp from branch to branch,
and at last there is some movement among the coipse-like bodies
stretched out at foil length and covered from head to foot with a
white cotton sheet or dirty blanket, very much like a shroud,
ranged parallel to each other, and closely packed on some
matting and leaves under a bamboo shed near the tents. Pre-
sently a very dirty face appears, and then another, followed by a
still mo]% dirty body clothed very scantily in, if possible, still
more filthy rags. Shivering and yawning the men at last turn
out — coolies who had been hired as baggage carriers, messengers,
and trackers. Soma of these are inhabitants of the swampy
plains at the foot of the hills — deadly to other people ; tall.

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8 SPORT AUD TRAVEL PAPERS

well-bnilt men, very dark in colour, closely allied to the Ben-
galee whom the; greatl; resemble ; their only garment is a
cotton cloth round the loins ; their hair is everywhere shaved
except on the very top of the head, where tiiie few remuning
locks are tied in a knot. Some of these men bad bot yesterday
arrived) each bringing two large black earthenware jars, filled
with dhey — cnrdled buffalo milk — suspended from the end of a
long bamboo balanced across the sbonlders.

Then there are some Kepanleae — Ghoorkas — ^those broad-
sbonldered, etnrdy little hill men, sallow eomplexioned, with
their fiat &cea and noses and small eyes, always ready to do
hard work, especially when there is also sport to be had ;
splendid trackers, nntiring as they are brave and fearless,
evEffy one of them armed with the national weapon, carried
in its leathern scabbard in the waistcloth, the heavy, curved,
broad-bladed kookrie.

The Mongolian type of ooontenanoe is, however, still more
apparent in some of their neighbonrs, men from Sikkim, a
Himalayan province bordering on Thibet. There stands onr
head-man in that dark bloe thick woollen sort of loose coat,
reaching from the shoolder to the knees, and fastened round the
waist by a cord. Not only has he the oblique eyes and high cheek-
bones of the CMnaman, but a long pigtail descends from the
back of his head, carefully plaited and embellished with a red
tassel at the end. His head is covered by a porkpie hat with a
black velvet rim, a yellow headpiece, in the centre of which is a
bright crimson knot. His naked l^s, and the one shonlder and
arm withdrawn from the sleeve, display his massive form; a
long gword-like knife, protected by a bamboo sheath, hangs
from the belt ; in his hand he carries a lai^e crimson umbrella,
and be is frirther adorned by a necklet of beads and charms. A
picturesque garb, which all the richer men affect snob as this
one who is pnt in authority over a gang of bis poorer brethren,
whose powerinl frames thoroughly fit them for the hard wc^
asked of porters in a mountainous country like their own. The
garb of these coolies consists of the thickest layer of dirt, care-
fully nursed since birth, for they never wash — a layer which is
gufuded from external injury by a coarse woollen coat with wide
sleeves, one side overlapping the other in front over the waist,
where it is retained by a rope. The ooat opens over the neok

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A SKETCH IN AN INDIAN JTJNOUS 9

md diest, ind the poaches formed by its loose folds kud the
mui's Bkin contain all tiie coolie's worldly goods — tobacco, meat
(cooked or uncooked), and any other thing to eat good or bad,
money (if he has it), a bottle of ^irita (if he has been abste-
mions enough to keep any in it eren for a moment, which is Teiy
rare), his pipe — in fiust, ererything which he can possibly beg w
■teal — rests sno^^ in that waim oomer against his brawny
bosom. The Bomeiy aronnd is certainty magniflceot, and fresh
and besotifnl during the yonng hours of the day. The erer-
p w e c nt, beaotifally shaded green is only broken and set off by
the silTery stream and its yellow shore, now spaAling in the
meaning son, as its rays catch the sand and broken qnarta atiU
wet with dew. The larger trees are teak and sil chiefly, witb
here and there a silTery barked gigantic cotton>tree, its leafless
branches now one mass of bright crimson flowers, Uie resort
of coontless long-tailed, noisy parrakeets. The gracefol tree
tern with its delicately cnt dark green leaves, and the fredier
oolonred plantain with heavy banehes of green fruit, raise them-
selves proudly above the dense underwood — an impenetrable
interwoven network of eanes, rattan, and creepers of eveiy
description.

How peacefolly, almost noiselessly, the water glides past us as
we walk up the rough bed of one of the smaller streams ; so tiny
is the rivulet now that it is difScult indeed to imagine how ever
it oonld have been the mighty torrent which but lately had the
strength to move those enoimous boulders scattered about every*
where, when, all powerful, it had swept them down in its mad
eonrse like so many pebbles, far away from down the mountains,
swept them down with resistiess force, and then, by constant
friction as it nuhed past, had gradually smoothed Uieir rough
edges and polished them and even hollowed them out. There is
a patch of giant " elephant " grass, 12 feet high and more, now
dry and yellow, so thick that only the heaviest animals can force
their way through. Then the mountains on either side approach
each othor more, and the valley oontracta rapidly into a narrow
gorge, into irttioh the sun, except at noon, cannot send its warm-
ing rays. The air here is laden with moisture, there is a chilli-
nesB about, and, as a fit guardian to saoh a place, an immense
snake slowly ^des away at our approach. The v^etation is
more loxnriaot, and those shmbB and trees which nfjoioe in

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10 SPOET AND TRAVEL PAPERS

swampy groimd, and ferns, from the lorel; tree fern to the
delicate maidenhair, are rer; freqaent. Instead of the bright
yellow bed of sand, we now tread on soft, wet black mod, into
which the foot sinks deeply. Bnt onrs are not the only feet
which have left their mark here ; every inch of the black
mad is trodden over in every direction by apparently every
kind of animal which roams about in these vast forests. Here
are the deep oval impressions of the mighty elephant's foot,
there those of the three-toed rhinoceros ; here the deft hoof of
the bnffalo, there the soft paw of the tiger ; pig had wallowed
here, deer of every Bpecies, pea and every other fowl and bird
had fbnnd their way to this bog and trampled it into deep holes
half filled with black ooze. So y&j recent seemed all these
marks that we looked aronnd in expectation of seeing some
of the {^anto of (be forest standing around angry at onr intm-
sion and determined to resent it ; bat none were visible, and we
were allowed to examine into the reason why this spot, so for-
bidding to OS, should have such very great attractions for the
beasts of the jangle. The reason was soon foand. The black
water and mad were stron^y impregnated with salt, the springs
which here issaed from the soil brought with them that condi-
ment which is as necessazy to animals as it is to man, and, with
their nsnal sagacity, here they had discovered it, and to it they
no doobt came for miles and miles around, to lick the mad and
wallow in the bog.

What a place for a hunter to watch at — to wait, well hiddes
in die bushes around, the advent of the quarry be was espeoially
anxious to secure I The tborongfa hiding seemed the only diffi-
culty to overcome, for, radiating in every direction from the salt-
lick, were the hard-trodden paths made and used for generations
probably by the beasts of the forest, having only thin strips of
bosh and jangle between them, where, but partially concealed,
the hunter would have only a very poor chance of remaining
undetected by the sharp sight and acute smell of the animal he
wished to slay. Thus the chance which promised best was to
fijllow the freshest spoor, until pursuer and pursued met face to
face, g^erally in the deepest part of the forest, where during
the heat of the day the latter either fed its way slowly along or
was enjoying its siesta.

Uniortunately at the time I am q>eiAing of circumstances had

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A SEETCB IN AM INDIAN JUNGLE 11

prerented cntr beiog provided with mieh WMpona m would hxn
giTen lis « ehanoe agaisnt the largest game ; ^et a puticnlu^
fresh rhiDooeros spoor, pronuBiiig ui euAy opportnni^ of seeing
the ponderous besst at home, was too tempting to pass by, so
with a gun only, and on no deadly thon^^te intent, we followed
it in single file.

The spoor was deeply sonk at first in the deep mod, the holes
half filled with water ; then the homy toes had sharply eat the
smoothly-stamped oval fiwtmarlcs of an elephant, crossed and
reeroBsed here and there hy those of many a deer speeies, ht&at
it had entered the forest on one of the many haid-trodden narrow
paths. Boon a coolie called attention to the very recent spoor of
three other rhinoceros which hare had joined oar path bom
another direction, followed it £» a ahort distance, and then had
left it again to seek other pastnres.

On we went, sometimes hsTing to stoop and sometimes almost
to creep onder the thicfc tangled bashes throngh which the
animal had forced its way, scratching and soraiong its bach
against the woven mass, leaving every branch covered with the
mod which, when rolling in the morass, had adhered to the
ponderons creature's bach and sides. A little farther on it had
had another roll in a pnddle by the way, tiie benefit of which we
soon got when following it, sometimes on oar hands and knees,
and poshing oar way throngh the jangle until the clothes were
covered with mod. Suddenly, when taming the comer of a
thick boah, withont the slightest warning we came npon and
almost slipped down the greasy hank into a smaU round pool,
in irtiich no less than four immense rhinoceros were lying,
showing only their heads and backs. There they were, within
two yards of as ; bnt there they did not long remain, for appa-
rently, as startled as we by the sodden rencontre, oat they
mshed with a snort like that of a wheesy steam engine and
any amount of splashing, and np the bank they bounded with
a speed which woald have seemed impossible to an animal
a]^>arently so unwieldy. There was only just time to jimip
aside, daring which decidedly hasty retreat I oaoght my foot
in a root and fell headlong behind a tree luckily beyond the
path, my gun being projected some distanoe furthw. Up rushed
one rhinoceros along the path we had jost (pitted, snorting
fdriously, the others going in different direetionsT but all passing

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12 SPOBT AND TRAVEL FAPEBS

8om« of oa almost within tooohing distance. A startled rhi-
noceros vill nearly always rash along a path in prefierenoe to
crashing straight through the thick jnngle, differing tbns from
the elephant, and will seldom torn except when wonnded, so
once ont of the path one is generally safe. The whole affiur
was bnt of a moment, and when we had scrambled ont of oar
several hasty retreats, a bear^ laugh finished the adTentnre, in
which it would have been difficalt to say whether we or the
rhinoceros had been startled the meet. From all directions
paths opened on to this fovonrite bathing resort ; the gronnd
around was as hard as iron, and the banks dean cnt, and
polished almost where the bathers had rested and rubbed
their homy hides against it.

HaTing thoroughly disturbed the &mily party at ito siesta in
the cool water, we started back to the tcoit to have onr mid-day
rest and a badi in ^e tittle stream, taking as usoal one of the
paths made by some of our four-footed friends. A ^oomy damp
forest it was, with thick underwood and high trees excluding the
son's cheering and drying influence ; immense, apparently eed-
lesB, rope-like rattans and creepers hung in festoons everywhere,
long beard-like silveiy grey lichen, and here and there brilliantly
coloored and fontaatioally shaped orchids adorned the giant
stems, the only bright colour in the monotony of shades of
green, except when a go^eonaly coloured parrakeet flashed past
screeching, or a more sober-coloured tree dove flew startled from
its hiding-place. Sometimeswe meta party of laughingthmshes,
chuckling to themselves as if over some very good joke, never
qniat fbr one moment, perpetually bosUing about from branch to
branch. They nearly always attend a large company of jnn^e
fbwl, the anoMtors of our domestic bird, under the leadertdiip of
that most magnificent potentate, the jungle cock, who stmts
abont in his brilliant plumage armed with his long spnrs, and
makes the forest echo vrith his defiant crow. Startled by our
approach, vrith a crowing and a cackling off &ey go, making for
the nearest bnsh or tree, upon the branches of which they settle,
bnt not before they have contribated their share to oar larder.
The young birds ore very good eating, the old ones will only just
do fbr eonp of the thinnest nature. But we have also paid toll
to the in^bitante of the forest — « toll collected in nothing leas
preciona than in onr own life-blood, inexorably exacted, in apite

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A 8EET0H IN AN INDIAN jmrOLE 13

of ftll preMntioD uid eare. Tlte onm of theM damp ftt rort i
tin keeli — is the Ux-gatherer, and, do what one will, then ii no
eaoKpuig him. Tiny little eoAaciew-like enatoKM wait for tbs
trHrcller erefywheFe, irtandiTig op eieot and twiatiiig their
attenuated head extremity about, constantly feeling about for
aomething to fiwten upon. Almost thread-like, half-Btamd,
and hideous, they dispnte the pasaage through the jongle paths,
and eling to any lining thing tjiat may paas. Notiiing will keep
them ont with their needle-like head ; they wotk their way
throng any stocking, thronj^ the smallest opening in boot,
gaiter, or garment, and very soon thc^ are hard at wcnk gorging
themselTfis nutil they drop from sheer repletion and weight
leaving, howevar, the wonnd still bleeding. The leeobes are
horrid creatnres ; and not only is the attack made from below,
bat tiiey find their way down the nape of one's neek brushed
from the leaves and branehes on the road. The natives, who
generally go aboat bare-legged, diaoover the bloodaneker before
he has done much damage ; bat the European, with his more
elaborate clothing, has to wait patiently and soffer ontil he
ean remove it and wieak his vengeance on these peats of the
jan^e.

In that same year two poweifnl stimolants were administered
to me, and having proved the efficacy of both I ean strongly
teoonmtend their trial in oases of a similar argent nature. An
expedition bom oar fort was suddenly ordered into tiie hills
beyond to disperse a gathming of hostile natives, a trip which
entailed mnoh severe climbing and heavy woik generally, at
a time when long-continoed semi-starvation rations of generally
mooldy food had redoeed us all to a oondition least able to
stand mocfa exertion. Owing to bad health and oonseqnent
great &tigae, I one day collapsed altogether on the march,
folly convinced that my last hour had struck and anxioas on]^
to be left alone to die. Instead of bidding a long farewell, the
eommanding officer aaked me bb a last and personal favour to
take his pipe and smoke it. Now tobacco had never agreed
with me, to say the least of it, and the sight and small of that
black pipe seemed to rob me of the little remaining strength.
However, what did it matter ? — to die that way was probably
easier than to be slowly drained by leeches and mosqaitoes or
made a meal of by some jungle beast, so orders as nsoal wer«

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14 SPORT AND TRAVEL PAPERS

obeyed, and thftt raekmg {npe found its wa; to my lips. After
the first Tftloroos dr&v a feeling altogether indescribable passed
through me, throogh erery part of my body, an intensely
Tivifying coirent, the late horrible sense of otter ezhanstion
changing swiftly to a most exhilarating sense of returning
strength and spirits. The time — but a few moments — seemed
to me like a beaatifdl dream during whiah new lifis had been
giren me. I was a man once more, well able to share the
fatigues and disoomibrts of my fellow-soldiers. An extra-
ordinary case, difiQonlt to believe, of oerre stimulation and
respontdTe muBcnlar system. No doubt it was fortunate that
I had not been a smoker.

Not very long after this dysentery and a severe attack of
jungle fever bronght me into the 'Officers' hospital in Fort
William, where I was taken from Sn hotel in a state of coma.
After a long illness, and as a last chance when almost given up,
they carried me on board a steamer bound for Enghuid. Far
too weak to do anything for myself, I was at onoe put into a
bunk and found myself alone in the cabin. My attention was
presently called to a conversation evidenUy between a passenger
and the chief steward in the saloon. The former had not
a berth apparently, bat reiterated the remaA that he must
have one, while the latter assured him that there was not
one vacant, the ship being absolutely fbll. The passenger
still insisting, the steward at last said — ^I felt oonvinoed point-
ing to my door — "Well, then, you can have that in a day
or two, for the present inmate cannot last mnch longer."
I there and then made up my mind to keep that passenger
out, and selfishly did so, very tfaankfdl to him and to my
friend the steward for the stimulant administered and given
in a fall dose.

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PIGS m ALBANIA
1878

THEY were lovely momingB, thcwe on wfaioli we i
ap bhe Bntrinto KiTer bomtd for the faTonrite luimtB
of the Albanian wild boar, ooTerte and marghee said bj oar
Corfa beaters to bo "more better" than any we had yet
Tisited. "We made bnt alow progreas againat the itrong
stream which roBbed swiftly down the narrow river, the outlet
of the la.'ke above, and the Uonch had a hard toak to tow
the yacht's boat deeply ladea with as many beaters and dogs
u oonld be got into it. Following the sigzaf! ooniBe of the
river as it ran tbioo^ the low marshy ooontry, the nnwonted
noise of our hard-working engine distorbed many a doek
and water-fowl in their reedy retreat, and oanaed them to
seek sa&ty in flight or in the farther reoeaaea of some weed-
covered swamp. Now we heard the " oheep," " cheep " of
a anipe, then a bnnch of dncks flew quacking over oar heads ;
we disturbed coots and cOTmorants at breakfast, and lovely
kingfishers anzionsly watching for theirs from some branch
overhanging the river. A gigantic pelican tried to race as
on the water, but hod soon to take to his wings and seek
refiige oa the lake beyond. We passed a well-preserved old
Yenetian fort, which in the great days of the great Bepablio
had safeguarded the entrance to the river, then the pictnresqoe
mina of another perched npon a solitary grey rock, commanding
at that time the approach to the lake. Beyond thia inland
sea, the home of ereiy variety of water-fowl which fband
shdter and food within its reedy ahores, lay the great chain
of the Albanian monntains, its snow-coTered peaks rigiDg hr

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16 SPORT AND TRAVEL PAPERS

inta die deep bine eky, dazzling white as the snn Bhone on
them. Below, the hilla were clothed with forest, except
where here and there a white Tillage clung to the precipitotu
side, built against the rock in tiera of streeta and hoases.
Behind na, that most lorely island, Corfa, confined the view,
with its beantiMly gteea hills and valleya, lofty San Salrator,
crowned by its monastery, towcoing over all. A stake dam
spanning the river near another old Teoetian castle stops
our progress for a while, but a small snm to the fishenoes
opens the way throng, and the guard of Torkish soldiers
stationed hen lend a - helping hand, their services being
rewarded by a present of tobacco. Slow ahead ia once mora
the word, mitil the heavily-weighted boats ran agronnd ; there
is no help for it but to get oat and tow them into deeper
wat«r; then on again through high reeda, whwe we hear
docks splashing about and qoacking everywhere thoo^ we
cannot see them, to the hike. Where not water, the plain
at the foot of the monntains is marsh and awamp, a few
Bolitai; hills rising here and there, each snrmonnted by a
house or even a small village sometimes, bnilt there to be
ont of reach of malaria. Some of the marsh is covered with
thick scrabby coverts, as are also the valleys as they ran
down from the momitata-aide. These coverts and swamps
are the home of the boar, and at one of the fonoOT we
commenced operations.

Onr two head beaters are Greeks from Corfu, who know
every inch of this coast, visiting it aa they do with their
emplc^ers every year ; we have brooght with as also a number
of Albanians, dirty-looking ruffians, clad in grey woollen
garments with open sleevea, baggy trousers and tight gaiters.
One or two are armed with antiquated gnns, all with an
arsenal of pistols and knives in their capacious leathern bdts,
which also contain tobacco, tinder, powder, and anything else
of valae. Thdr big, shaggy, and very ferocioos sheep doga
are dangeroos to meddle with, and object to strangers very
strongly, bat they are of the greatest use at a boar htmt.
Onr road now lay throngh the low oak serab, which, we
sincerely hoped, might shelter many an old tusker, and we
were presently posted at some likely spots, where we made
onrselves as comfortable and as little oougpicaooa as possible

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PIOS IN ALBANIA 17

behind a tne or bnsh uid on & hutily improriBed Mat« It
was delight&il in theae woods on gloriooB days Uke tkeae.
Onoe eBtabliahad in one's lair there was plen^ of time to
examine the BoironsdingB and to Bettle in one's mind and to
one's own satiafiustion where the mnch-to-be-desired boar
wonld be most likely to appear, and to make oeitain that no
obstmoting branch or other object would interfere with the
aim in any direction. The report of the head beater's pistol,
the signal for the men to advance, was soon followed by
Bonnds from the tax dutanee of the shonta of the men koA
the clatter of their sticks against the trees. The noise qniokly
became louder, and cries of " Fataro " and " Hi poi^ " aze
mingled with it. Some heavy animal approaches galloping
noisily over the dry leaves, pntting the nearest rifle on the
qui vice ; however, it is only a dog chasing a jaokaL But now
the load barking of dogs and deafening iboots of the men
proclaim Uiat a pig has really been moved. A pistol or two
fired by the beaters gets the game well nnder weigh ; once
more the clatter over the diy leaves is heard rapidly approach-
ing, and a fine old boar appears, going well a long way in
front of the dogs. He is rolled over or only wounded, or
even missed altogether — for sooh things do happen occasion-
ally — and the beat is over. The beaters, greatly excited, go
to where the shot fell, and so do all the other gnns, and woe
to the nnfortnnate man if the pig be not there to show. He
is treated with siloit contempt, especially if the boar passed
closely — for the mm have a disagreeable habit of looking at
the animal's fbotjffints and making remarks as to how close
it most have been and what an eas^ shot it most have offered.
Well do I remember one day we spent in the woods on the
further side of the Butrinto Lake. I enjoyed that day above
all others, althon^ the total bag consisted of bat two boars ;
and why ? — because it was I who killed both, neatly and in a
business-like style, and because the others missed everything
they shot at and got nothing ; but then they had every excuse,
they said. Nothing is more ei^oyable than success over one's
neighboor, especially in anything connected with sport. Hy
chances certainly had been undeniably good, and non-soocess
wonld have been simply disgraceful. Invisible to my neigh-
boors as we were posted, would I not also have made every
8

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18 SPORT AND TBAYEL PAPERS

kind of exoBBO had the balletfl not gone trne? A tree wirald
probably have bera in the way, or something wrong with the
rifle, or — "How that pig got away I am snxe ia perfectiy
impoaeible to nnderBtand, for I certainly hit him ! " Comfint-
ably aeated npon a big gtone, the beat being in fnll swing,
throats, stioks, pistols, eveiything at work, I saddenly saw a
big pig galloping straight towards me. Letting him pass to
avoid firing towards the beaters, I roUed him over — head over
heels — with a bullet in the shoulder. Daring the next beat
another pig gave me a broadside (dLanee, and never moved
after the bnllet strHok him. Several shots had been fired
fortiier down the line, bnt I alone coold produce a pig, or
rather two. I was the hero of the day and fear that my
oompanioua were not thonght mooh of by the beaters, who
always take a miss more to heart than the shooter hin>iifllf-
The greatest rivalry exista between the varioos head-men, and
whoever can show the biggest bag at the end of the season is
the lion of the year. Too late fbr woodoook, everybody tamed
his attention to " big game," by which high-sonnding title this
Bomewh&t poor sport was honoured. The grolloching of the
pig, always a disgusting performance, was here particularly
BO ; the Albanians and their dogs quarrelling and fighting for
the smoking intestines, the latt^ swallowing what they could
on the spot, the former stowing away what remained either
in the many folds of their loose garments or the big square
bag they all carried, which bag would probably contain our
next day's luncheon.

I will conclude with two recipes taken from a most »tnnffing
little book published in 1822, entitled " Essays — ^Moral,
Philosophical, and Stomachioal — on the Important Sdenoe of
Good JUving," by Launcelot Stni^etm, Esq. ; they refer to the
pig and the woodcock, the two chief attractions to the sports-
man in Albania: —

No 1. " Strongly recommended to the Society for the
Conversion of the Jews" : Portuguese method of dressing a
loin of foik. " Steep it during an entire week in red wine
(claret in preference), with a strong infusion of gariiok and
a little spice ; then sprinkle it with fine herbs, envelope it in
bay leaves, and bake it along with Seville oranges and
fiqiUe* de gvrofle"

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FIGS IK ALBAXIA 19

No. 3. *' Mix eqaal p«tta of fine wtlt, eajeaas fnpfet, uid
came powder with doable the qnmntitf of powdered trafflee;
dissect, ucvndum artem, a brace of woodcooka, rather nnder-
roasted, split the heads, subdivide the wings, &e., &o. ;
powder the whole gently over with the mixture; enuh the
trails and braiiu along with the yolk of a hard-boiled egg, a
small portion of powdered mace, the grated peel of half a
lemon, and half a spoonfiil of soy, until the ingredienta be
broa^t to the eonsistence of a fine paste ; then add a spoonfdl
of oatsnp, a fall wineglaaafol of Uadeira, and the jaice of two
Senile oranges ; throw this aaaee, along with the birds, into
a eilTcr stew dish, to be heated with spirits of wine ; cover
close np, light the lamp, and keep gently Bimmering and
oocaaionally stirring nntil the flesh has imbibed the greater part
ot the liquid. When yon have reason to soppoee that it is
completely saturated, poor in a small quantity of salad oil, stir

all onoe more well tether, put out the light, and then I —

ssrre it rrand instantly."

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rv

SKETCHES IN THE SOUDAN

I. — Oh thb Maboh

G'S shout, "Untid the camels!" cots short m; didama —
• dreams in which onrionaly confiding lions and rifles which
would not go off at the critical moment had been strangely
mingled — and another day of oar African camp life has begnn.
One more quarter of an hoar for meditation between the warm
blankets is very pleasant, for the Ban has not yet risen; it
is chilly in the early morning, and sTerything is wet with dew.
The stars have disappeared, but the pale crescent of the de-
clining moon is still vidble through the OTerhanging feathery
btanobes of a juniper-tree. It is a truly Eastern scene the one
now before and around me. Our camp lies in the sandy bed of
a river which at tiiis season of tiie year is perfectly dry ; the
banks are covered with jumper and oUier trees and bushes, their
trunks and branches interlacing into a dense mass, the dark
green of the juniper being relieved by the blister and fresher
shades of a luxuriant creeper, which in its very Inxurianee
envelops like a mantle everything within its reach, or by the
delicately leaved and gracefol tree acacia. The camp fire,
nearly out, is soon brought into a blaze again by the Arabs,
who, having slowly unrolled themselves from the folds of
a cotton sheet, their sole garment by day and only covering
by night, eagerly crowd round the flame, ^vering in the chilly
hour which precedes sonrise. The cook resumes his labours
at another fire, and as the camels, which have been gravely
lying in a circle round the fire with their heads towards it, are

:,zcc;..C00gIc

BEETCHES IS THE SOUDAN 21

being one after another nntied, th^ slowly rise and stalk off
tovsrds Bome speoiaUy inviting branch on the green river bank
in search of breokfiwt. Onr &ctottim, the dragoman, is bosy
with his ablations, consiHting of washing his bxe, foet and
huidfl — ablations which most precede his morning prayot
aooording to the tenets of the Mohunmedan religion. There is
abnndanee of water left in the skins, and we shall reach wells
again to-night, so there is enoagh for erery one, otherwise sand
or earth woald have to do instead, with which, in the absence of
water, an Arab rubs his hands, afterwards passing them over his
face. Thos cleansed, the worshipper, after spreading his mat, or
smoothing the sand in front of him, tarns to the east, standing
bolt npright with naked feet ; he slowly ruses his hands,
tooohes with the finger-tips the top of each shoolder, and then
lets his arms fall again to the side, exclaiming, " Allahn
Akbar ! " — God is great 1 — the opening sentence of his wonhip.
The Mohammedan's prayer is not a prayer in oar sense of the
word, it is adoration and praise of the Deity ; prayer with
tiim woald be aseless, his fate is analterably fixed and nothing
he can do can change it.

Saleiman Ayoob, a native- of Berber on the Nile, and drago-
man in Cairo, is an excellent man in every way ; he never shirks
hard work and speaks English extremely well. A most devoat
follower of Islam, and a violent opponent of the abolition of
slavery, he had a great objection to tiie vicinity of wild bewts in
general and of lions in paiticalar, and at night woold fyaee
ronnd his angareh — ^native bedstead — by a barricade of all onr
boxes, carefully filling np every crevasse, while two men, whom
he had constitnted his own special gnards, slept at his Bide with
shield and spear. "We had engaged him in Cairo, and having
already accompanied a shootiog e^>edition into the Soadan, he
was conversant with every detail and proved a most valuable
head-man.

Q. and I in the meantime had completed oar toilets, for which
hot little time is reqoired, and are already basy with breakfast.
That over, the boxes are packed, corded, and tiie camels sent
for. Every one as it comes in is made to lie down between two
boxes, its destined load, which boxes are soon slnng, one on
each side, by means of cords aoroM the saddle. The loaded
camel rises, and, if the boxes are properly balanced and every.

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22 SPORT AND TRAVEL PAPERS

thin^ IB rif^t, is ftttaebed, 1^ means of a rope tied roand die
lower jaw, to the tail of aootlier in front of it until the caravan
is complete. One camel oarrieB nothing bnt water-skins, now,
however, ne&rl; empty, for we shall Micamp near wells to-ni^t ;
two others are retained for G. and me, provided with comfortable
riding saddles, to which are attached our rifles and gnns, water-
bottles, Sm. Everything being now ready, the word is given to
march, we jump into our saddles, np rise the camels, a goide
takra the head of the oararan, and with shonts of " Bismillah ! "
— In the name of God — we start.

We follow again to-day, at all events daring the first few
hoars, the sandy bed of the river, which has already been oar
road for more than one week. Oar par^ is not a large one — G.
and I, ten camels, the dragoman, cook, goide, and foor camel
men. These latter we engaged at oar starting-place on the Bed
Sea with excellent characters, which characters three of tiion
did most certainly not deserve ; one we have nicknamed the
"minstrel," onacconnt of his singing at all hoars of the day
and night the most monotonoas and dreary airs; love-songs
I am told they were, bat certainly they soanded more like
funeral dirges to oar perhaps onappreciative ears. He never did
more work than absolately obliged, and always had to be driven
to do tiiat ; he never prayed like other Mohammedans, except
when ander the inflaence of drink, when the spirit moved him,
tiie prayers generally ending in a fight with bis oompanions.
He was a good tracker, however, and very keen after meat, which
he and his companions consamed in incredible qaantities, and
animal food not luaally forming part of their repast daring their
ordinary life, the excess was followed by great sofferingB next
day, a complaint they were pleased to call " snake in the
stomach, " Two others also were town Arabs, and therefore
not worth mnch. To protect them &om all danger they had a
namber of charms cased in leather sospended on their arm
above the elbow. The fourth was a native of the eoontiy, and
made ap in excellence for the defects of all the others. He wore
his hair, as all the real Arabs hereaboats do, mop-Uke, in
a dense mass on the top of the head, with long plaited ringlets
hanging down all ronnd to his shoalders almost. Away &om
towns this is the only mode in which hair is worn ; the dressing
it is a long and vary peculiar procoBS, which we shall have an

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SKSrOHSS TS THB mVl>AS 23

OfpcabEidtj <ii viiaomng Hub evtaang. All the men euiy vpean,
wm^ted whli iron at the Imtt, buYes, uid Bome of them Bhields,
irith bU the wandeiing tribes made of buffalo or giraffe hide.

The rtrer, a wide expanse of white fumd, fringed thiddy with
jnnipez boBhes on the banhs, winds a good deal ; now and then we
p88B an enormons granite rock, cropping np ont of the mer-bed;
here the whirlpool formed b; the river beating against and mah-
ing round the booldeo' daring the wet season has made a deep
hollow at its base where evea now the sand ia wet and water
within easy reach. This is well known to all animals, who,
■wbea no more faTonrable spot is within reach, will dig and
Bcratoh here, and, rewarded, find the wh^iewithal to quench
tiieir thirst. £Ten now we have just distmrbed a ilook of guinea-
fowls dnring their morning drink, \riiieh, frif^tmed, half fiying,
half rnnning, seek the shelter of the thick bashes. Monkeys
and pigs are often sorprised at tiien qmiIb boii^ seeing the
lefreahing dran^t; bntterflies, beee — ^in fact, every animal wbidi
walks, fliM or creeps — assemble here in qnest of water, which at
this teaaaa is searoe and not always within reach of the deeper
wells. Here and there the river-bed widens and divides into
two or more arms which encircle a sandbank thickly overgrown
with deep^preen, shiny-leaved nabbnk and laorel-like bashes,
with jnniper, and the pale, greyish-green eocalyptos plants.
Tbeee Utter are very common, and ezode from their evevy part a
thick milky flnid which is liighly poisoDons.

How fatigning and ndBing to <»e's tender th«M long marches
on • ba^age-eamel are I Its jolting motion is very trying to
one's spine, which apparently divides into two parts, connected
together by a painful hinge in the small of one's back. When
for the moment somewhat more comfortable, having eased the
more painfiil parts, the brate will suddenly stop, curl its head
and neck under its stomach to brash and blow the flies away
which have settled th«e ; the jerk nearly sends the rider on
to the gnrand, as everything in front of the saddle has tem-
porarily disappeared. Believed of the flies for the moment, a
herb in the river-bed tempts bis appetite, and he stops with a
jei^ to pluck it ; or he rashes up to a thorny mimosa bush, of
which a oamel is partiealariy fond, brushing one's legs through
the branohea, and then, when vigorously rebuked, probably as
pnmptly bee down well into ihe baah, when things become still

byGoogIc

24 SPORT AND TRAVEt PAPERS

worse. It will walk imder oro-liuigiiig bnneheB, and if not on
his guard, broBh the rider off like a fly, and go thronglL all kinds
of gynmastio exeroises, patting one's bones in jeopardy ; but ail
this is a trifle ^ett oompared with what one goes throngh when
the oamel trots. It is no use trying to talk ; one's teeth are
knocked together, with the probability of seeing half of one's
tongne roll into the sand ; the bumping is terrible ; one's
intOToal organs seem to jolt together in hopeless and painful
confosion, and then yon have to hold cm to yonr saddle, to yoor
goDS, to yonr hat, to your erfflTthing, not to oilarge apon the
aromatio breeses which tiie oamel wafts into one's &ee direct
from the laboratory of his stomach. No ; somebody has truly
said that the difference between the motion of a hygeen-trotting-
oamel and that of a baggage-camel is as great as that between
a thoroughbred hack and a carthorse. We were not able to obtain
hygeens, so had to be content with the best of our baggage-
camels, which, in spite of all their roughness and the many
annoyances they caused us, were tu less tiring than horses
would have been, as we afterwards found, on these long marshes
in the deep sand of the rirer-bed. These jonmeys seemed very
long and monotonous ; there was little variety in the scenery ;
the same green banks, high, arid mountains in the distance, and
lower hills covered with mimosa bnshea spproaching the river, or
some very black volcanic rooks, whose hntastic shapes were
often very remarkable. We Bometimm met a few natives,
armed with spear and shield, who never &iled to greet us with
the usual "Salaam aleikonm" — May Qoi protect you — whiidt
kindly wish we returned with " Aleikoum salaam." Tbui fol-
lowed the customary shaking of hands, and mutual inquiries
after one another's health, which it is the correct thing to repeat
as often as possible, in order that each party may be thoroughly
convinced of the excellence or otherwise of the other's health.
Then, perhaps, a long string of camels would pass laden with
dhoira, native com, in large mat bags made of the plaited palm
leaf; or we would meet some black soldiers, looking very black
in contrast to their white tnnio and trousers and red fez, retom-
ing from ooUecting taxes among the villages further south.
These are, as a rule, very tall, often very powerful men, who
take great pride in ttieir arms, and often, no donbt, have very
difficult ta^ to peifbim in sqneenng tribute out of the wil^

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BKETGHK8 Df THE SOUDAN 25

The blsek favops «re ill Ubented slsTes, ehiefl; from
tiae White Nile ; the libented female sUvea are given them for

WITM.

Onines-fbwl and floriean were pleatifdl akoig the march, and
the common gaselle and ariel were Been erery day, and one or
two ahot, for we had no other meat to lire npon, and a good
many nuraths to feed. Oninea-lbwl are most readily shot in the
euly morning, or abont annset, when they drink, bat dnring the
day they remain in the dense jon^ and are very diffionlt to
find. Floriean feed all day long on the rirer-bankfl, especially if
these are roc^ and denuded of bnahes, bat covered with dry
grass; we used to shoot these handsome and delicioas birds
from oar camels. Gazellea generally feed close to the rirer
dnring the early hoars of the day, on the yoong shoots of the
mimosa bashes, or the aromatio herbs which are sometimes
foond in the riTer-bed. Sometimes singly or is twos and threes,
Bometimefl in large herds, they woold generally reqnire careM
stalldng, but the knowledge that one's dinner depended npon
hilling made the aim all the more stea^. The larder supplied,
one coald watch these graoefiil animals without Hpecalating on
which woold make tiie best soap, or prodnoe the tmiderest steak
or cutlet, and admire their perfect shape and morraients.
Directly a gazelle or antelope has fidlen, the Arabs rash up
to it and cut its throat " in the name of God," before death has
actually taken place, (or not otherwise would a strict Moham-
medan be allowed to eat of it. We had made a mle nerer to
kill more than we required, whereby all waste and onsportsman-
like slaughter was prevented.

Oar only water supply daring the last fortni^t had been
obtained from wells dog in the river-bed; at first these were
scarce, but as we went higher up the river, and approached the
tableland towards the Abyssinian mountains, they became much
more frequent, and the miter, which at first had been at a great
depth, then came nearer the surface. To prevent the wells from
frilling in, the walls are lined with branches cut from any trees
at hand ; yet, after having been unused fbr some time, a great
deal of sand had drifted in, which required to be removed before
tite water could be reached. It was, as a rule, fit to drink,
though not, perhaps, very clear; now and then, however, its
taste and smell were so strong, the result of rotting vegetable

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26 SPORT AND TRAVEL PAPERS

mfttter, either firom the green insnehes ased to Bnpport the walls
or from thftt contaioed in the wmd, that no amooDt of filtering
or boiling would get rid of it. Cloge to these wells are tronghs,
mada of wet sand and earth hardened by the sun, whereat, when
filled, the flooks are watered. At one of these wells we now
make oar mid-day halt, for the son has beoome very hot, and
rest for an hour or so is very gratefal to mac and beast. The
camels are unloaded and march off to seek their fsTonrite food ;
we lie down under shelter of some OTerhanfflng tree and eat onz
lunch, while the cook lights a fire in preparatiMi for the nsaal
cup of coffee. To-day we are not alone, for a large herd of
female camek, kept for stnd pmposra, is being watwed at the
well; tii^ are in m^iifioent condition, as sleek as possible,
with enonnons homps, beantifdl akin, and some with tiiiok,
heavy manes. Most of them are followed by a young one,
which, if a camel oan be pretty, are certainly so, gambolling
abont uronnd their mothers, who now, howerer, crowd together,
anxioosly waiting for tiieir torn at the water. The men are a
wild-looking bt, with the nsoal mop-like hair, irhow only gar-
ment is a piece of leather tight^ wound round the loins. Some
draw the water from the well by means of leathern buckets,
which they empty into the trough, chanting a m<Hiotonous song
alt the while ; others are fully occnpied in keeping the thirsty
camels back, who are ranged in <ttder preparatory to approaching
the water : age first, and impndenoe after. The men almost
entirely live on the milk, hence are the teats of the oamda
ti^tly wound roond a small [dece of wood, thereby preventing
the yonngsters from appropriating the whole supply.

Our siesta finished, our camels, which look poor and lean
indeed compared with their tmt sisters, are collected, loaded, and
then off we go once more. It is still very hot ; for, not only do
we Ceel the full fi»ee of tiie sun's rays from above, but also the
heat reflected from (he sand ; still, refreshed by the rest in
the shade, we plod on towards our intended halting-place fiir
the ni^t, which is but a few miles distant. Suddenly, when
turning the b^nd of one of the amu of the river, we came upon
running water, a ngbt so unwonted that its reality seemed diffi-
cult to believe in at first. But there it was, running as clear as
possible between beantifdlly green banks ; under some rocks
grew lovely fienu, high tee^y gnuH luxuriated in the wet nil

byGoogIc

SEET0HE8 IN THE SOUDAN 27

here end titen, birds wwe nnging, and on » fai^ took wen

some noisj monkeys rolling down stonas at as. It wm as •pnA^
a plaee aa the sight of the coed, oleu water waa refreahing, bat
onfbitonately it proved as short a pleamre as it was an ei^t^abla
one. The water, welling np from some spring in the riTer-bed,
was soon loet again in the sand, and the lision of oamping that
night at nmning water, with baths to follow, had soon Taniahed.
We now leave the river for awhile, to cat off a eomer, and mareh
serofls a very stony plain, covered with thorny mimosa shmbs,
Btaae now leafless, a few brown pods alone remaining on the bare
branches, others covered with their beantifnlly green and deli-
cately shaped leaves, and exhaling a dalightfol pecfnme from '
their little yellow ball-like flowers. Their thorns an vary Itmg,
straight, and sharp, bat they are greedily eaten by eamela, who
strip them, tt^ther with the leaves, from off the branches, and
by goats, whidi earefdlly pick the leaves oat from between the
thorns. It seems enzions that ahuoet every tree and shrab is
here provided with thorns, and Natore seems to have expended
a very great deal of ingenai^ in devising them in their most
objectionable shape. With what object it is indeed difficoh to
guess; that the^ are the caose of freqnent bad language is very
certain. If once in contact with a kittar bosh, the worst of all,
witii its carved, doable, fish-hook-like instnunenta of tortare, the
attempt to disentangle oneself by undoing the thorns in torn is
simply oselesa ; if free from one, another catches only the more
firmly, antil the entanglement seems otteriy hopeless. The
only way then is to screw np one's coorage, make a rash, bear
the pain, and leave patches of clothes, sUn, and blood behind.
Katives, thanks to the simplicity of their clothing, are naturally
in great dread of these thorns, bnt have a simple way of avoiding
them when passing the thorny bosh ; with their etudes they raise
the daogeroDS branch, and press it against tiie one above ; there
it catches, and is held oat of the way by its thorns, thos leaving
the passage clear. These plains, covered with mimosa bnsh, are
the &voarite haunt of gaseUes, who also are very fond of the
Boccolent leaves ; and here th^ are, thanks to the cover, more
easily stalked. Camels naturally dislike this gronnd, covered as
it is with loose, sharp atones, which hurt their feet and cause
them to stumble — the latter a most onotnofortable sensation to
the rider. Soon we once mrae see the green banks of the river

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28 SPORT AND TRAVEL PAPERS

in the diatanee — a welcome sight, for there, where we Bholl
strike it, are the walls, and there is oar camping-groond for the
night. We arrive earlier than oanal to-da;, the son is high,
and some shepherds are still bn^ watering a flock of goats as
we reach the welt. A beautifully shady spot is chosen on the
liTer-bank, under a large spreading juniper-tree, and places
fixed apon for O. and me, for the kitchen, and for our followers.
We obtain aome milk from the goatherds, simple-minded
ereatores, who, when offered money, refosed it, saying that
they had no ose for it, and did not know what it was ! These
were the first people we had had the pleasnre to meet who
refused money, and none have we met since, sad to relate. A
little dhnrra they asked for, their only food besides milk.

While busy arranging our paraphernalia a small party of Arabs
arrived, who, after shaking hands with us and exchanging the
oostomaiy salutations, asked permission to remain near as for
the night, which request was, of course, granted. On their way
to a vill^ some distonoe off, they had been no doubt tempted
to stay with as by the display of meat in our camp, • great
luxury to them. We constantly remarked the magnificent
carriage of these wandering Arabs ; they are as straight as the
staff of their own spears, and cany their heads and walk as
proudly as very lords of the soil. With the white, sheet-like
garment fastened round their loins, and graceMIy thrown over
the shoulders; the shield hanging over their hack; the richer
carrying a large cross-handled broadsword, the wooden scabbard
of which is carefully wound round with long strips of cotton ;
others, with the long double-edged apear, but all with the short,
thick stick slightly curved at the end, which is held in the ri^t
hand, the curved part resting against the right shoulder; often
some strings of beads hanging round their bare necks, and
generally charms above the elbow, they present a very pictur-
esque appearance. These swords are very much valued, and are
handed down as heirlooms from &tber to son. Some are said to
be centaries old, able easy to cut tbrongh a rifle barrel, and not
parted with on any consideration. Uost, however, are of later
date, and manufoctured at, and exported from Sollingen, in
Germany, in large quantities. The sticks are about a yard
long, some prettily veined, and all highly polished by use.
They are made of the sacred " beshem " wood, sacred becaose

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SEirrcHES us the SOITDAK 29

Ifohuumed oaiiied sticlu made of that tree. A stem of tbe
teqniied thioknesB is out down and Uid orer a fire, which miden
it pliable. The end ia then best alightly, and kept in that
position by means of string ; after a few dayn this is dispensed
witii, and the stick cnt to the desired length, the grej batk
peeled off, the hard wood polished with grease and hmnd-mbbing.
No Arab ever is without one, aren boya carr; it, thoo^ one of
smaller size. Its nses are man;; by placing the two ends on
the gronnd with the conTex side np, the Arabs use it as a pillow
or as a seat; they acquire considerable dexterity with it in
knocking down their beloTed dome-palm nnts, and no donbt
many a guinea-fbwl and florican &lls a victim to it ; it is very
BBefnl in poshing aside the branches when passing through a
tiiomy jnngle ; and at discosBions, when the Arabs aqoat round
in a e^cle on the ground, the stiok plays an important part,
being constantiy in motion wnphasisiog words and assisting to
explain the orator's meaning by drawing hieri^lyphics and
{octores in the sand. The dandies hsTO rings on their mib
and fingers ; the stick of their spear is embellished with brass
wire, the handle of their sword perhaps inlaid with sUver, and
their thick chevelwe white with tat and dripping with melted
batter — the more the quantity the better is the man dressed;
the nune it drips the mora thoroughly is he satisfied, and the
prouder is he of his appearance. This, to us Europeans, dis-
gusting fashion, for not only does it look filthy, but the resulting
odoun are most trying when anywhere to leeward of such a
fimtre, entails a great deal of painstaking labour on the part of
the hturdreaaer, and patience on that of the individaal onder-
going snoh a long and tedious process. It so happened that
one of onr men had procured some white soet-like fat, a soarce
artidd ; and another having nndraiaken the task of beautifying
him, we had a good opportnni^ of watching the whole not very
appetising proceeding. First of all the long, thin stick, resem-
bling a greatly magnified hairpin, which every one carries stuck
u his locks, is taken out, and with it every ringlet uid every
curt oarefolly undone and separated into its component parts. '
Then commences a thoroogh and minute hunt for any little
animal which may creep, hop, or run in the dense preserves,
a hunt which lasts long and is apparently rewarded by good
bags. While fingers and stick are thus busily engaged and

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30 SPORT Ain) TRAVEL PAFEBS

macb game hunted down, the man operated npon is not idle,
hot hard at woA ohewing the hard bt to redaoe it to a Boft
pomatnin-like oonaiBtenoe. Only when thoron^y tritorated and
made into a palp by teeth, tongae, and saliTa, is die material fit
to be applied to the now disentangled and Btraightened-oat hair.
Whra everything ia ready, small qoantities of it are taken from
the ohom, but replaced by more rongh material, and wo^ed by
the fingers of the operator into the hair, oarefally, ao that no
part shall be without. This completed, the hair is onoe more
divided, with the aid of the stick, into small masses, and made
into ringlets to hang down from the woolly clump on tiie crown
of the head, which has been worked np also and greased, to the
shoulders. Then follows anotiier coat of fat over everything and
the task is done, with a resolt of the startling nature of which
both aiay be eqoally prond. Hair thos dressed resembles a very
fall onrly white wig, or more, perhaps, a mop tiiickly powdered
with floor, and is all the more remarkable in contrast wiUi the
daA Inown face it sorronndB and adorns. The son, however,
soon begins to act opon this charming arrangement, thns oom-
pleting the process to the thoroogh Batishotion of the delighted
Arab ; the fat melts, little glistening drops form and presently
ran down the ringlets and &11 on to the shoolders, which are
soon covered with a shining layer of grease; only thns thoronghly
anointed is he quite comme U faut. Clarified batter, resembling
the " ghee " of India, is most fireqnently osed, simply, however,
becaose it is more readily obtained. When an animal is killed
and cut op, every little scrap of &t is poonced npon wherevca*
discovered and hidden away, generally in the waist folds of the
cotton garment, nntil wanted to adorn the hair. The fat^
matter is sapposed to kill and prevent oertain insects making
permanent settlement among Uie hair ; bat whetiier it can always
be depended npon seems doubtful. The smell of this randd
batter is most disagreeable to any one anaecnstomed to it, and
when closely following a native who has lately been in the hair-
dresser's luoids, almost sickening. The dense mass of hair, so
great a protection from the son, where no other covering to the
head is worn, retains the smell long after all the oily matter has
ran oat and nothing remains bat pieces of fibre, in the meshes
of which it was contained.
Some sport among the sand-groase at the well at doak,

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SEST0HB8 IN THE SOUDAN 31

dhuMt, whidi tlmijt eoBnited of wiooi airsagementi of
gomea-foirl, florioio, Bud-gioiue, uitet(^, or gkHlle. * Ulk
about the moiroVs programme, aooompanied b; a little tobaoeo,
wonnd ap the da; as osnaL

At the water-hole mantioned above, I afterwards U; ont a
nif^t in wait for litma, bat, as usual on siudi oooaciona, aaw
nothing larger than a hyena, bo retmned grambling and stiff
in the mwning. Two of ou: Arabs aoacmipuued me, and before
annsetwe airanged oorselTea and oar things as oomfiniabljas
the stony, ooeTeD groond woold pomit. The Arabs had Imragfat
with them a small basket, neatly made of palm-lea'ros, filled wiUi
dhnm, boiled in water for sn^ter, whioh sis^tle meal I had to
dure with th«n ; then followed their evening devotions, and
hardly bad they finished these, when, immediately before dnik,
" cheep," " eheep " was heard overiiead, and ^e first aand-
gnmse arrived, whioh, after iriieeling onoe roond in their rajnd
fli^t, darted down to the sandy bed of the river to settle, from
which, on aeooont of the resemblance in ooloae, it is veiy
diffienlt to distingoish them. " Cheep," " cheep " is now heard
everywhere, as covey after eovey i^dly aniTea. They come in
hnndreds and thousands until, as in tiiis ease, the bed of the
river, from the water right across to the other bank, and I don't
know for how many yards on either side, was literally oovered
with birds, bo thickly crowded tiiat a pebble oonld not have been
placed anywhere on the sand vrithont tooching somd of them.
With inoessant oties they gradually run towards the water, those
behind piuhing tiuae in front, until at last each iudividaat bird
f^ that dense living mass is able to reach the edge of the fOtA
and quench its thirst. This accomplished, after a great deal of
Bbngj^ing, the birds fly away as suddenly and rapidly as they
came, and befive darkness all have disappeared and are im the
vray to their homes on the etony, uid wastes, where they remain
during the day. It is an extraordinary si^^, this sudden arrival,
geoexal aeramble, and sodden departure of these sand-grouBS in
so very many thottsands ; they always punctually arrive jnst
before dusk, and leave before darkness baa set in, while in the
morning th^ drink at dawn. These beaatifidly plomaged birds,
though somewhat dry, are excellent eating ; their fleah is white
in, and brown outside. After their departure night rapidly set
in, and then we took it in turn to watch ; but though I sat out

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32 SPORT AND TBAVEL PAPERS

several times, of coniae always dnring moonliglit oights, I never
saw anyUung worth shootiiig at, and, disgasted, eventoally pre*
fisrred to spend my nights in bed. The sport, if, indeed, it
deserves that name, seemed never to my liking. I was, how-
ever, very anxious to shoot a lion, so, as I never could find one
by looking for him in his own jangles, I hoped to be more
soocessM by waiting for hi"' to come to me. G-. was more
fortunate ; he saw several lions, and killed an elephant white
sitting ont at one of these water-holes at night Yet this watch-
ing at night in the tropics has a very great charm. The clond-
less, etaiiy sky — and nowhere seem the stars so iai^, or are
they so bright as in the tropics ; the river-bed lighted op as
brilliantly as by day almost by the radiant silvery moon, except
where sharply defined and grotesque shadows are thrown across
it by some immense mass of granite cropping ap here and there,
or by the dense fringe of jungle on the bank, beyond the outline
of which, perhaps, stretch the feutostically grown branches of
some huge baobab, clearly depicted on the almost snowy sand,
like the uncanny arms of some giant ootopos ; while the jungle
opposite la strongly illuminated by the rays of the powerful moon,
BO that almost every leaf becomes visible and stands oni distinct
from the darker shadows beyond.

All nature is hushed and silent, except when some night-bird
flies past, uttering his shrill note, or some wandering hyena or
jackal in search of water or food comM trotting along, apparently
terrified by his own shadow. It is a very enjoyable scene ; one
is always on the qvi vive, always longingly expecting the game
to appear, speculating upon what it will be, whence it will come,
if alone ; whether it will, when it does come, present a &ir shot,
if that shot will really kill, &o., &c., and so on, nntil the ^e,
disappointed by not seeing anything worthy of powder and lead,
at last refiises to keep open any longer ; then the next in turn is
aroused to take his watch, and with rifies within easy reaoh one
is soon in the land of dreams. My slumbers were always undis-
turbed ; nothing ever came, as verified fay the want of spo<» in
the soft sand next morning, so I always returned disappointed to
camp. Breakfast followed, then boot and saddle, and so off for
another day in the jungle.

byGoogIc

SKETCHES IN THE SOUDAN {amttnuedi

n. — Thb AbaB TlUiAOB

EN marcluQg along the liTer-bed, G. snd I fraqiMiitl;

Bepanted and lode b; oorecdTes, generally in front of tlu
oarsTan, on the look-ont for aDTthmg which might afford sport.
One day I followed an arm of the river, whioh made a longer
detour than expected, and when I Htruok the main river again,
the carsTBo wsa not Tisible. Thinking that it mnst be bcliind
me, I dismoonted from my camel and waited for an hoar in vain
— BO Bigna of anybody. Concluding, therefore, that the others
moat be ahead, I started off once more at the best pace of n^
came), expecting ereiy torn of the mer to see the rest of (he
par^ ; but no, it had vanighed. We had arranged that monung
to march to the main river and to encamp when we should strike
it, BO, knowing the direction, I rode on iiy myself towards the
appointed place of meeting. After leaving the bed of the
bibataiy stream in whioh our last camp had been, I oroesed an
extensive pleateaa, bare and stony, covered here and IJtere with
mimosa shmb ; a long, nninteresting ride, at the eaii of which I
at last saw in the distance, like a green ribbon winding along
over the sterile country, the dome-palm fringed banks of the
main river, oar intended resting-place for the night, and soon
after rode dovm a steep incline into the sandy bed, to find a
large village established there, bat not a sign of onr caravan.
Thinking tiiat it woold arrive very shortly, I dismounted and let
my oamel feed on the bashes and grass about. My arrival was
soon noticed, and before long about a dozen Arabs had sat down
in the sand aronnd me, after pTi ^V'n g hands in the most friendly
manner and inquiring several times after the state of my health.

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34 SPORT AND TRAVEL PAPERS

Tborooglily satiBfied on that important point, my aTidienoe
natnrally wished to know where the solitary white man had
suddenly appeared from, what he wanted, and where he was
going. My Btooh of Arabic being very limited, oonsisting chiefly
of sach nsefal words and sentences as " stop," " give me the
gun," "where is water," "go on," " is dinner ready? "&e., was
hardly adapted for a lengthened conversation with a number of
strangers of a most inquiring tmn of mind, still, with the aid of
explanatory sketches in the loose aand, they at last compre-
hended that I belonged to a party whieh wonld shortly arrive,
and that it was bent on exploring and shooting in the country
higher np the river. Then they brightened np at once as the
idea of probable baobsheesh developed itself in their brains ;
they " were all most experienced hunters who knew the eonntry
well," and they would be onr guides ; elephants, lions, buffaloes,
giraflfes, oil "kabeer," " kabeer!" (enormoos), were there in
immense droves, in fact, jostled one another, like Paddy's trout
in the famous stream, and bis snipes in the Irish bog. These
mighty hunters were most anxious to he there and then engaged,
merely, though, on onr account, so that there should be no
chance of our losing their valuable eervioM, without which the
very idea of sport wonld be ridiculous. However much impressed
with all these unselfish offers of assistance, I preferred to await
the arrival of our caravan, even at the risk of losing by the delay
part of this high talent so self^denyingly placed at onr disposal.
During the above conversation su^estions had been several
times made that I should see the sheikh of the village, but it
seemed best to await G.'s airival. Evening was now, however,
not far distant, and the prospects of passing the night, should
the othera not turn up, in the sole companionship of my camel,
near a jungle known to harbour more than one limi, not very
agreeable, I at last accepted the pressing invitation brought by
the sheikh himself of food and lodging in his hospitable village.
Led by my sleek host, who was clothed in a apoUees white gar-
ment, and smelt strongly of butter, thanks to the grease vrith
which his curly lo<^ had been plentifolly adorned, I passed
through the opening in the thorny fence of the sereeba ; followed
by my camel and a large crowd of inqnidtive villagen. Arrived
at the sheikh's hut, he and I seated ourselves upon an angareb,
native bedstead, placed in front of it, while my rifles, gnns,

byGoogIc

SKETCHES IN THE SOUDAN 35

mter-botUes, and eTetything else was Uken from the Mmet-
saddle and placed in an empty hat elose 1^. Then, of eonne,
followed the tedioos inqturies after each otiier's healtii, so -per-
BiBtently repeated as greatly to try one's temper. Ab one after
another the chief man of the Tillage arrived this handshaking,
&e., had to be gone through before tbe^ seated thamselres on
mats or squatted on their heels at (he foot of the angareb.
Coffee was now handed round and sipped, and then the company
became more confidential. My well-fed friend, the sheikh-in-
ohie^ showed me with great pride a rerolTcr which had been
[nwBented to him by some wandering Englishman, and was
astonished to see that I did not carry one also. I had to jm>-
dace my rifles and ammnnition, and hand ererything ronnd for
general inspection, with explanattny pantomimea, feeling greatly
reliered when nothing w&s asked for as a j^eeent. Many were
the inqniries after the number of our camels, of onr fbUowers,
gnns, &o., and as to the probable length of onr stay. The
sheikh seemed disappointed with onr having so few camels, ibr
some atiier trsTellers had once oome that way with several times
that onmber, traTellers who had giTou him this, his friends that,
and ererybody something. It Boon began to dawn upon me that
this wily sheikh took perhaps more interest in onr things than
in G. and me, and that probably he also had a very Incid idea of
the meaning of the word " batjcsheesh." Nor was I mistaken,
as maitB proved. These Arabs belonged to the Bakheet tribe,
a division of the pastoral Beni Amer, who had pitched their
camp here on aocoont of the food fomid in the -rioinity for their
nomerons flocks. The village itself was divided into several
sabdivisions, each surrounded by a circular thorny fence, bnilt up
with mimosa shrab, to keep out wild beasts, which, especially
lions, were said to be very plentifril here, and daring. Placed
parallel with the inner edge of the protecting fence were the low
mat hots of the villagers, while the centre of the sereeba was
taken np by the mnoh larger establishment of the sheikh, con-
sisting of several more roomy hnts, also constrnoted of mats laid
over a framework of poles and sticks, with two or three horses
and camels picketed close by. The space in front of the sheikh's
hnt was evidently the place of assembly of the people, where all
the business of the community was transacted. Here at annset
prayer-mats were laid down, and after every one had complied

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36 SPORT AND TRAVEL PAPERS

with the ordained tblotionB of moath, hoe, liuidB, and feet, the
m^abers of the sheikh's family, women, of oottrse, exDlnded,
who alone pray privately, took np their positions harefixit on the
mats, the ahoikh himself in front, with his "bki " — h(^ man,
secretary, and general factotum — ^by his side, as precentor. The
Mohammedans have no priests, bat oonmmse direct with the
Godhead.

" Allahn Akbar ! " G-od is great 1 " There is no God bnt the
Lord, and Mohammed is His Apostle," the simple oonfession of
&ith of Islam, repeated by every one in rising and falling cadence
as the worshippers stand np or bend down to tonoh the ground
with their foreheads. They always seemed most impressiTe to
me, these daily devotions, Uie rapt meditation, the prostrations
into the very dnst, the tmly devotional demeanour of the woi^
shippers, and the melodious chant of &ith and praise with which
the simjde shepherd-folk of these village commnnities, led by
their sheikh, often accompanied the worship of their God.

The evening devotions finished and the sheikh once more
seated by my side on the angarefa, a large gourd dish was bronght
filled vrith very fat goat's meat, cut into small pieces, and placed
between ua. Into this we dipped oar fingers torn about and
made our evening meal ; it was not very appetising, for, mixed
vrith a great deal of white fot, it smelt exactly like the heads of
the people around ; however, I took my turn regularly for fear of
offending my host. At last I vras forced to stop, and placing my
hand over the region of my stomach, confess that I could do no
more ; then the dish was handed to the others, who, squatting
near ns with hungry eyes, had been looking on at our feast.
Some milk, which was excellent, followed, and then I, {deferring
the solitude and comparative warmth of a hut to sleeping on the
angareb outside, was allowed to retire into one of the mat houses,
and ocept in on all fours, for the entrance was very low. There
I fbnnd all my parapbemalia, and lying dovm on some matting
upon the ground, with a cartridge-bag for a pillow and the
saddle-mg for a blanket, I made myself at home, with the inten-
tion of hunting next morning for my lost companions, when a
messenger arrived from them. G. had made a longer midday
halt than usual, convinced that I must be behind him, but as
nothing was to be seen of me, had moved on eventually, and thus
not been able to reach the place originally agreed upon.

byGoogIc

SKETCHES m THE SOUDAN 37

I had been asleep Bome little time when a man awoke me,
who gnided my hand, for it vaa rerj daA in the hut, into a
veeael filled with broad boiled in &t bat now eold. It wna bj
no means an appetifdng dish, but, t^t^"^*! to the dailmesa, the
bringer was well BatisSed with my appanint af^etite, and haTing
retired aoon retomed with a largo goard of delioiona sour milk,
to which I did ample jnstioe. The remainder of the night paned
ondiBtorbed, exeept by the howling of the nomeroiu Tillage mm,
aronsed by some prowling hyena, jaokal, or eren lion. In the
nuiming I waa amke eariy, before any of the men lying on mate
outside my hat had nnrdiled thonmelTes from their white eotton
aheetfl. These hoaaetess and homeleea individoals were probably
baohelon, for Uie married men all had hnts, and ocenpied them
with their wivw. The lattw, who are almost iuTiiible, make
the nuts of which the huts are oonatnieted, Raiting them of
dome-palm leaf strips. Tbey are boaily employed at this weak
almost all day long, and luge qoantities of matting are sent
from these villages to other puts of the oomttty where the dome-
palm is onknown, or to the coast, where it is need for packing
grain and other merchandise for export The Tillage is now,
however, awake ; the men are squatting here and there per-
■ forming their ablntions, and bnaily Mnployed polishing their
brilliantly white teeth with the Arab's tooth-brash, a thin stick
cut, a span long, from a particnlar bosh which grows plentifully
abont. The stick by use soon nnravels and beoomes fibrona,
almost brnshlike, at the end. Then follows the moniing wor-
ahip, similar in erer; way to that in the OTening, and oeffee in
the nsoal tiny caps. Thns refreshed, the shoikh and I started
on onr camels to search for the absent caravan, which we soon
met on its way to the village.

A place for onrctunp was now chosen among the palms on the
opposite bank, and soon everything arranged for a stay of three
or fonr days, during which we hoped to engage hnnters and get
eveiything ready for our shooting trip towards the Abyssinian
frontier. Of coarse, before onr oamp was in anything like
order, men from the village, led by their sheikh, appeared, and
settled themselvos down tot the day, with the fixed purpose
of examining everything vre had, and begging everything they
saw. This went on daring the whole of oar sUy, or rather their
stay, for the village left before we did in searoh of freab piastarea

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38 SPORT AND TRAVEL PAPERS

for the flocks. It nov appeared that my host of the night
before did not belong here at all, bat as ooe of the head chiefs
of the Beni Amer tribe was simply o& a visit to the villages
collecting contributions towards his marriage expenses, tot he
was about to take onto himself another wife, so that instead of
one sheikh only, we had the honour of daily receiving no less
than three, with all their relations and hangers-on, who generally
arrived in the morning and remained nntil evening. They all
were very jealons of and hated each other cordially, and no little
diplomacy was necessary on the part of onr dragoman in making
a contract vrith one of them to supply us with hunters without
the others interfering. However, we soon became great friends
with all of them by the aid of nnmerous cups of coffee, various
presents, and promises of more. We also gave two dinner
parties to the sheikhs and two or three of their head-men, which
they seemed to enjoy very greatly. Curiously eoongh, on each
occasion the sheiks brought a poor relation with tiiem, who, to
judge from his appetite and capability of storing away food, had
probably not been fed for a long time. We always then had a
variety of dishes, soup, several meats, vegetables, birds, and
sweets, which everybody ate vrith hui fingers, while the conver-
sation was mainly carried on through the interpreter. The poor
relation was generally the first to clear bia plate, and he then
took to hunting among what remained on the plates of the other
gaests for anything which particularly took his fancy. His eye-
sight was very keen, and once fixed upon a tempting morsel,
down would swoop his fingers into the plate, and carry off
triumphantly the captured piece and place it in his month.
We, seeing this manoenvre, naturally wanted to refill the poor
relation's plate, but onr dragoman, who remarked our good
intention, and was better versed in the manners and customs of
the natives, objected, saying, " Let him dig, poor man, he likes
it best." So, seeing that those who were being despoiled took
it in good part, and were not likely to take defensive or offensive
measores, we let him dig, and he dug and was happy. None of
the sheikha smoked. When we rolled a cigarette for them they
took it out of compliment but never lighted it. Smoking alto-
gether was almost unknowD, and all were good Mohammedans
in the matter of strong drinks. All the Arabs wore their hair
in the nsoal mop-like &ahion. Sheikha carried a cross-handled

byGoogIc

SEETOHES IN THE SOUDAN 39

swOTd, the otfaera spear and ahield. The sfadkhs of these -riilages
are placed between two fires ; they have to pay tribate not only
to Egypt bat also to Abyssinia. The former cannot, or at all
events does not, protect them, and the latter threatens, in
de&mlt of payment, immediate descent npon them. In fact,
daring onr stay two enroys from the Abyssinian general com-
manding on the frontier arrived with the order that the village
sheikh moat either leave the country at onoe or go with them to
Al^ssinia and pay tribnte. Rather than give np the pastnras
for his nnmeroas flocks and seek others farther inland, he choee
the latter alternative and accompanied the envoys.

The bead sheikhs squeeze what they can oat i^ the minor ones,
these again oat of those below them. In this part of the oonntry
again tribate had to be paid to two govemmenta, while to add
still farther to the distress, now and then the principal sheikh of
the whole tribe, the Beni Amer, swooped down to collect what
he coold fat his own personal expenses :

" Big ■h*>tfcha hMn tOI^lAr nh^ifcha

Dptm theii taoka to bite '«m,
Al»d wo oa ad w(^ini»."

Here it seems best to be a poor man, for directly he gets on a
little, and owns a few cows or sheep, or a camel or two,' the
sheikh is down npon him at onoe, and makes him pay for every-
thing he has. People are naturally afraid to grow dhnrra, or
make any attempt at agrienltnre, knowing well that they woold
Dot be gainers by it, bat have all tiie proceeds of their laboor
taken from them. When a boy becomes a man he or his
parents pay to the sheikh, and the sheikh to goremment, five
doUan. The annn&l government tax on every ten goats or sheep
is one dollar, on every cow three, and on every camel four
dollars. The sheikh, however, extorts a good deal more from
the owners of live stock, and annexes the cattle altc^ther if
his demands cannot be satisfied. If the sheikh, on the other
hand, &ilB to pay the government tax, he and his cattle are
muched off to Uie ne&reet garrison town, and there the latter
are sold by auction or straightway afrpropriated by the ruling
power.

The sheikhs are well-to-do, and live on the best of the land.

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40 SPORT AND TRAVEL PAPBIES

The shepherds work yotj hard, live on nothing bat mUk, with
occamonally perhaps a little dhorra, and get nothing for it.
The women in these villages are busy all day long mat-makiDg,
and DO doubt earn some money for their hnsband, henee the
more wires a man has the more dollars he makes, and the more
ia afterwards sqneesed oat of him by his sheikh. Everything
pnrchased from an Arab has to be paid for through the sheikh,
who of course retains part. Only a small share of our hnnters'
wages reached them, and even baeksheesh given for game found
and killed had to be given up afterwards to the individual who
certainly deserved it least. In name these men are not slaves,
but I doubt wheUier anywhere greater tyranny exists than in
these small village eommnnities.

The Books belonging to some of the villages are enormous.
I have often watohed them being watered, from sunrise to sunset
sometimes without intermission, and not at one well only, bat
at six or eight at the same time, provided each with at least one
mud tank constantly kept filled. At early dawn shepherds,
naked but for a small leathern apron, in twos and threes, would
go to the wells, one descending into it to fill the leathern budket,
the others polling it up by its long rope and emptying it into
the basin made of baked mud, accompanying their heavy task
with a monotonous aiug-song. Their work lasted during the
whole day, and it must indeed be no easy oiatter to keep the
reservoirs filled when thirsfy animals, closely packed, are
crowding round them without intermission slaking their thirst —
thirst which thety can satisfy but once in the twenty-four hours.
Soon after sunrise the fiocks come down into the river-bed,
where the wells are always sunk, from both sides and by various
tracks, always led and held in check by their shepherds, and
accompanied by one or two others. Herds of goats, sheep,
cows, and camels arrived one after another. Some were driven
at once to a well, others had to wait until some drinking-place
would be vacant. The men seemed to have great control over
their numerous ohaiges, and marshalled in compact bodies
would keep them quieUy lying and waiting in the sand. It was
always a very picturesqae scene, the nnmeroos flocks and herds
of every kind of domestio animal almost, some drinking, others
waiting, some arriviug, others leaving ; the spears of Qia shep-
herds stuck apright into the sand near the wella, and their

byGoogIc

SKETCHES IN THE SOTJDAK 41

flhieldfl luuigiog bom than, while their omen wen p«r-
fimning their ablntioiia or their derotiiHis, uid their eommdM
ware hagj heeping the mod tutka filled to the Beroi: oeanng
vooal kooompuiiment. Herds of kids and Umbs were tinjt
kept Mpwate, general^ under the oommuid of bojs. All iMj
kmg nuMMingiy thejT osiDe ftud went, and it ia no wonder that
these Tillages have -rary frequently to be ahifted, fbr enrything
green within posidble reach of the wells mnat reiy rapidl; be
deroored by bo many himgry months. The shei^wrd never
leaTOB his flook, and liTea entirely on the milk and a little natire
eom. With their primitire hatchets they ent down any btanehea
oot of reach of tiieir charges, and at night they drive these into
a thorn fenoe endosnre to protect them from wild beasts, fre-
quently lighting fires aronnd as an additional ^eoaotumary

The milk is sent into the lillages, made into batter 1^ means
of constant shaking in a (leathern) girba, and then sent in
afcinB to the ooast, whence it is exported in large qoantities to
Arabia. We sometdmes were presented with goords of eonr
milk, and, thongh at first a little afraid of it, soon liked it so
mnob that we nerer conld get enough. It is simply enrdled,
tery refreshing and nutritions, of eonrse, and sgrees ezeellentiy
well with the stomach, indeed far better than fresh milk, which,
nndergoing the curdling process after being swallowed, is almost
obtain to bring on a severe fit of indigestion, whii^ the sour
never does. This, excepting (me lean goat, was the only present
we ever receiTed from the sheiks, and that not generally without
the strongest hints, and sometimes on^ on payment even ; with
thonsandn and thousands of cattle the difficulty of obtaining milk
was not easy to understand. The rillsgers complained greatly
of the number of their beasts slain l^ lions, and no doubt with
reason, fbr they were there in the jnngles. One would therefore
natorally expect to find the men only too glad to assist those
who ware so anxious to relieve them of some or all of these
tobbwB, and that they wonld do ereiything in their power to
beat the tvnsbwood, as Indians certainly would have done, to
get the lions oat ; but no, they had not the -energy. " In<
shallah 1 if the cattle were to be killed they would be ; what
wonld be the nae, thereftore, of troubling oneself about it?"
The ofier of backsheesh wonld, perhaps, tempt one man to

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42 SPORT AND TRAVEL PAPERS

acoompas; qb in searoh of the royal beast, bnt there was no
energy about it, and therefore it Hlways proved fruitleBS. The
women, of coarse, had to do all the heavy work, staggering
under ponderous waterskius, which it was their dn^ to fill at the
well and carry back to the village. The young children ran
aboat naked, bat afterwards wear a loincloth, or a cotton eheet
woond tound the loins and thrown over their shoalders, accord-
ing to the condition in life of their parents. The children's
beads are always shaved on both sides, leaving a narrow strip
of hair across the crown of the shall ; this is sapposed to be a
preventive against ophthalmia.

Why does this popalation not increase more ? These villogea
have, no doobt, existed a great many oentaries, and are probably
no bif^^ now than they were long, long ago ; nor does it seem
likely that their number has increased, or is increasing, judging
from the enormous tracts of country utterly deserted, and without
a sign of a village or any human habitation. Probably the
fevers raging here during the wet season, when the whole district
becomes a swamp, kill off a great number of the children, and
of the grown-up people too ; for, although at that time the
villages are moved up on to the hills and plateaux, the malarial
poison claims many a victim. It is a favourable thing, however,
that the population does not increase to any very appreciable
extent, for, living as it does simply aud solely on and by the
flocks, withoat any iudustiy and with no trade, it is very necea-
sary that there should be plenty of space to allow of these large
flocks to be frequently shifted about, a Htu qud turn where food
for them ia bo very scarce, oonsisting, as it does, solely of the
scanty foliage of trees and bushes, scattered sparsely over the
parched country.

On the third morning after our arrival the village was on the
move in search of fresh pastures to a place a few miles higher
np the river. This shifting of the community is a very simple
affair ; the hats are rapidly taken to pieces, the matting is rolled
np, the stic^ and poles tied together, and then everything is
ready for removal on some beast of burden, camel, ox, cow, or
donkey. The fiemiUe members of the sheikh's &mily travel in
gaily decorated " shugdoofs " on camels, and are attended by
several servants on foot. A " shugdoof " is simply a mat hat
placed upon a camel, in which the fair occupant reposes, ahel-

byGooglc

SKETCHES IN THE SOUDAN 43

tend from the son snd coiitnis people's piTing e]res. Conmder-
able expense is moimed in deeoretiiig thefle ambulant nbntiB,
and with a Terj pictoreBqoe effect generally. Bright aoariet,
yellow and black clotb prettily embroidered with cowrie Hhella
hangs down on all Bidea in Eutoons, oTer taatefolly worked and
▼arionsly eolonred fine matting, while here and there red Sags
flatter, and siiq>ended braaa tinMing beUa give notice <4
Mrs. Sheikh's approach. Sereral camels are required to oan;
tiie several ladies of the sheikh's fiunily ; for fear of qnaiTelling,
I snppose, they all travel alone in eolitaty grandeur. The otbw
members of the female commonity have to walk, bnt their honse-
hold goods are carried on animals, which, heavily laden, drag
wearily along in the deep sand, nrged on by stick or strong lan-
gnage, or both. The men, of oonrse, leave most of the work to
their ladies, and swa^er along in front aimed with spear and
shield. The sheikha are moonted on their small bnt good-look-
ing horses, and, to show off their horaemanship, rush about
fruitieaUy every now and then in foil gallop, and suddenly pull
thur horses on to their haonches by the terribly severe Arab
bit. Naked little children, whose only article of dress often is
a necMace of oolonred beads, and many half-starvod ours accom-
pany the caravan ; the aged and helpless have to get on as beet
they can — they are of no nse to any one, and therefore nobody
cares for them.

Men have already been sent on in advance to the new oamp-
ing-gronnd to dig wells and prepare the drinking-tronghs. The
beaeta of borden, after arrival, are soon nnloaded, and in a very
short time the village is once more boilt ap and protected by
the nsnal drcnlar fence of thorny mimosa shmb against the
attacks of wild beasts.

These villagers, being so often on the mon, have no time or
opportunity, even if the energy were there, to grow oom, and
are therefore dependent for their sappUes of dhorra npon the
grain-growing conntry forther west. Dhorra — Soi^hnm vnlgare
— food for man and beast, seems to be of three kinds — red, white,
and brown ; horses will not eat the latter, bat men prefer it on
aoconnt of the la^er sise of the grains. Dhnzra is eaten either
whole boiled in water, with or witbont meat, or soaked for many
days in soar milk, or, gronnd into a coarse floor, in the shape of
Icead. G. and I had porridge made of it, which, very noorish-

byGoogIc

44 SPORT AND TRAVEL PAPERS

ing and palatable vhen eaten with milt or honey, formed the
chief constitnent of oar breakfast. It ia the women's task to
grind the dhnrra, not by any meane an easy one, for the grains
are very hard, and the only mills at their diapoaal consiat of two
stonea, of which one is worked by hand over the other. The
flonr IB then made into a paste with water, and afterwards divided
into masses of sofKoient size either to make small but thick
loaves, or lai^e circular very thin pancake-like bread, greatly
resembling the Indian " chapattie." The latter are baked on a
heated iron plate, the former in the interior of a large earthen-
ware pot, which, similar to an oven, has previously been heated
by means of ooala inside.

Bread ia ^bo made of the powdered resinoas envelope of the
nnt of the dome-palm, a tree which supplies as many wants of
the natives as does the bamboo in India. Mats are made of the
leaves; the Y-shaped division of the stem fbrma the main
rapport of the mat hnt, for which the leaf-stems famish the
framework ; the top interior of the yonng shoots ia eaten boiled
as a vegetable ; the frait is eagerly sought after, and its eatable
portion devoured by young and old ; lastly, threads are obtained
from the fibrous interior of the leaf-stem, and these threads
twisted together form excellent ropes.

The youthful members of the sheikh's family, of course, do
nothing, but the sons of those who are not bom in the pnrple
are soon sent ont to tend the flocks, their first duties being
generally with the lambs and kids. The girls, also, are not long
left in idleness^ bat commenoe their life of drodgeiy ear^ by
collecting firewood and fetching water from the wells, under the
weight of which, carried in ghirbas on their baok, they stagger
along morning and evening. Schools in these pastoral villages
are naturally unknown, bat when encamped some time before
near a stationary settlement, G. and I visited the village school,
which appareoUy was well attended. The scholars were taoght,
besides a little reading and writing, to recite verses from the
Cor&n. These versra were written in ink prepared with gam
and the black from the oatside of a cooking-pot, upon flat oblong
tablets of wood, about 12 in. 1^ 4 in., whitened over with
chalk, and made of the trunk of the eucalyptus. Mohammed is
sapposed to have said that anything written upon the wood of
that tree settles more easily in the human brain.

byGoogIc

SKETCHES IN THE SOTTDAK 45

To the htmtiiig ahelUi mentumed sbore I gare my rerolTer on
lesTiog the soontr? ; it ms in its brown leather eue, with
imtisla and regiment on the flap. On the Gordon relief expe-
dition, three years later, I carried a simiUr reroher mailed in
the same way.

One day, when talking to G., my late eompanion near
AbyBsinia, in the mod fort at Onbat, on the other side of
the Bayooda desert, one of Qordon's solders passed with what
I thought looked like my rerolT^r strapped on to his belt. Mine
had been left at my asnal sleeping-jdaoe near the rirer, and
there I thought the Sondanee had annexed it, bat that was
not the case. When sent for the man told me that his
nmhet bad been giren to him by a sheikh on the Abyssinian
border, and that it had done good work nnder Gh>rdon twice. I
at onofl reoc^nised it as my old rerolTer, and regretted greatly
that it was not able to tell its own story, which, no donbt, wootd
hare been highly intarestiiig.

byGoogIc

W"J

SKETCHES IN THE SOUDAN (eotdiatieSi

m. — DjIts at KaaBH

1 had been over Uiroe weeks on the maroh from Saakim,
irith the diy sandy beds of the Baraka and Anseba riveTs
for oar road, when at last Fort Taohabab, on a hill of the same
name, rose before oa. It was noon, bo we decided to rest awhile
on the river-bank at the foot of the hill fort, and thenoe to send
oar interpreter on to Eerm, only five miles distant, to arrange
abont quarters, for it was oni intention to make a stay there of
several days in order to rest oar camels, and bay ponies, &o.,
for an expedition into the ooontiy bordering on Uie north-weat
frontier of Abyssinia. Bo the camels were nnloaded, and aoon
basily engaged with the green branches of some janiper-trees on
the banks of the river-bed, which everywhere showed signs of
the water being bat a very little way below the sorfaoe, for
small exoavationa, made by man and beast, were plentiful, all
being partially filled with water, at which birds of every hoe
were drinking. The deeper water-holes had been taken pos-
session of by soldiers from the fort, who were busily engaged
washing themselves or thdr linen, throwing water over their
black, shiny bodies, while their only garments were drying
spread ont upon the sand. Most of these Egyptian negro
soldiers are very fine and tall men, and every opportunity of
judging of their physical development was given as they
squatted or lay upon the sand, waiting ontil the sun should
have dried their skin and their linen. They are all liberated
Blavea, chiefly from the White Nile regions, who, in return for
their release from slavery, have to serve the government as
soldiers, which, farther to increase their happiness, generonsl;

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SKETCHES IN THE SOUDAN 47

givefl tham th« liberated female elavM for urns. Tliair bath
OTer, the; eame to see ns in vartooB negligi oortomeB, some
vith onl; a eloth nmnd their loins, othOTS olad in their whits
tunic, ottiera again enreloped in an enonnona bine overeoat with
hood, all with a taiboosh in a Tarie^ of ahades of red, to aak
where we eame from and wjiat we wanted. We always found
these blaok Boldiers very good-faamoared, and with the aid of
a little tobacco or ooffee, made many friends among them.
These men formed part of the garrison of Fort Tsohabab, one
of the Egyptian outposts against Abyssinia, from the frontier of
which it is bat a very few miles distant, the mighty momitains of
the Habesh approaching qnite closely. The fort orerlooks the
Anseba riTer, whence it draws its sapply of water, and is in
oommnnication with Keren and Maasowah by telegraph. After
a short rest G. and onr dragoman start off en route to Keren,
while I grt the camels together, load op, and follow at a slower
pace. Poor bmtes ! they have become very slim lately, and are
heavily laden, for the loss of two camels on the jonmey has pnfc
extra weight on the backs of the smriTors. However, <ni the^
plod onoe more, soon leaving the bed of tiie Anseba for that of a
small tribntsry in which the sand ia very wet, and here and there
even hidden by running water. As we approach the platean on
which Keren lies the road aaoends rapidly, winding along the
river-bed, which daring the rains most be that of a swift
moontain torrent, and peMntly a delightfol sight refreshes
onr eyes as we oome to, and pass between, channin^^y green
kitchen gardens on the high river banks, belonging to variona
inhabitants of Keren. We have not even seen any green
vegetables daring onr long march, so the beds of Inxoriantly
growing lettuces, carrots, cabbages, onions, artichokes, and (^
varions kitchen herbs, are very pleasing to the eye. In each
little garden men are at work, Bome raising water by means of
levers and leathern backets from the deep wells in the river-bed
at the fiwt of the perpendicnlar bank and ponring it into a
reservoir, whence it finds its way into all the little channels
which intersect the beds in all directione, while others are
bnaily mgaged planting or weeding. While meditating npon
the delights of fresh salads in the future, we rapidly ascend the
Keren plateau, and soon find ourselves sairounded on every side
by high moontain ranges, covered bnt sparsely with broshwood,

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48 SPORT AND TRAVEL PAPERS

with here and there some giant, manf-armed, oanddabra-Iike
oaotns, or la^ dicnlar pjlee of white stooeB marking the
grsTes of BheikhB. These dome-ehaped moondB are in Ter;
oonepicnona poaitions on the hill slopeB. Ab we approach
the capital of the "Bogofs province, formerly Abyssinian bat
now Egyptian, &b rood beoomes more lively; we meet many
boys and girls staggering along under enormoos ghirbaa filled
witii water, very severely trying their strength apparently ; we
see donk^ carrying water also, a few camels, a caravan bound
for Massowah with matting ; we pass several Bheikhe' graves by
the roadmde, ornamented with white sparkling qnarts, and red
and white 0ag8 gaily fluttering in the breeie ; and then sud-
denly the town lies before as, Borroonded on all sides by hi^
monntains, and overlooked &lso and gnaided by its smidl bat
apparently strong hill fort. Onr road to the market-place,
where we hope to meet Q. and the dragoman, paases close
under it and then nms between rows of be^T»>like reed hats,
most of which seem occupied by soldiers, who, scattered abont
in groaps, show a good deal of interest in oar caravan. Oar
envoys have already procmwd na an empt^ house belonging to
a Greek merchant, oonnsting of a room and a kitchen, with a
fenoed-in ooortyard for onr oamels attached. So we soon onload
and make oarselves at home, once more onder a roof. O, and
Saleiman, who, in the absence of the governor had gone to
the commandant, bad there had their patience severe^ Ixied,
patience— tiie most important necessity for Eastern b^vel —
for, on entering the hoose this high fanotionaiy was discovered
busy washing his feet, after which he pat on no less than three
pairs of stockings, prayers, lasting exaotly twenty minates,
following. Altbon^ highly edified, no doabt, by this interest-
ing glimpse of everyday life at Keren, the viBit(»B were greatly
pleased when at last, the devotions over, coffee was ordered,
without which nothing can be settled and nothing can be done.
While regretting greatly that the " palace " was too full for oar
accommodation, he sent G. down to a Greok merohant, and the
tesnlt was a hoaae to oarselves looking oat on to the most
fuhionable part of the capital, the market-place. Standing
at the door of ooz one-roomed, one-storied, fiat-roofed, window-
less hoose, we obtain a very good idea of the two townleta whioh
make ap what is, since the Egyptians became masters here

byGoogIc

SKETCHES IN THE 801TDAN 49

•boot eetea jewra ago, eaU«d Beolisife. Wboi the Hftb«ab
ra{(ned only that part on oor riglit, Kerm proper, existed;
tinee than an £gyptuB ooloDj hu been added snrroonding
the hill fort, and divided from the other by a tobaeoo field,
which oolonj ia called Tantaroa, while the whole ia " Senheit."
One ie a garrieon town — Egyptian, therefore Mohanunedan ;
the other still a purely Abyaainian Ghnstian Tillage, ooosisting
entirely of beehive-like reed hats aorrormded by high stake
feoeeB and a few oastor-oil plants, and watehed over, like a
shepherd watehea hia flock, by the stone-bmlt French Catholie
miasion-hoase ; while the Egyptian town nestles under the pn>-
teoting gnns of the frat, which ausloaea in its walla the reaidenee
(^ the goTenor, the pnblio offieee, and some Jtry large wattle
hats for soldiers, strengthened with clay and neatly arranged
in rows <hi each side of the path leading from the gate to the
"palace." Enterprising Qreeks have boilt a row of stone
honaea on one side of the maAet-place, which are used aa
shops and stores, and, as in our ease, by any chance taireller
in Beareh of lodging.

The goremor also holds the important post of oonunander-in-
ehief on the Abyssinian frontier, a post which most entail a'
great deal of anxiety, jadging from the frequently current
romonm of an imme^te outbreak of hostilities between tite
two countries. The garrison was said to oonsiBt of three thou-
sand men, nearly all black troops ; the few lower Egyptians
among them serve here as a punishment for crimes committed
elaewhare. Those soldiws now loafing aboat in the market-
plaoe seem on the beet of terms with the well-ahaped, jn-etty
Abyssinian girls who sit Iboot here and there selling bread and
firewood. This bread, of which we had already laid in a store,
as a pleasant change from the everlasting, hard, almost stone-
like bisouit, on which, to the great danger of our teeth, we had
lately subsiated, is made of the coarse flour of wheat, dhurra, or
dooohen (millet), in large flat circular, but very thin cakes.

All our honse contained in the way of fomitnre were two
native bedsteads. These we removed for entomological reasons,
fiimiahing our apartment instead with our own camp bedsteads,
table, chairs, in. After dinner we soon turned in, but not to
sleep, for apparently all the ours in the town had collected near
our iota, and the howls they set ap were Ux too piercingly loud
&

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50 8P0BT AND TRAVEL PAPERS

uid oonBtant to allow of sleep. SometimflS there was a paase,
and we both settled oaiBelves into as comfortable poaitione aa
possible to court Morpheas, when some brate in the distance
gave tongne, and instantly ever; oar in the place did his atmost
to ontbark his neigbboar. This infernal din lasted nearly all
night, and many times did we tow to thin their nambers by
£Bir means or foul in the morning. If they had only stayed
oatside, bat they entered oar chamber through a door we coald
not shnt, drank our milk, and then affectionately and thankfully
licked oar faces. This wonld bring forth eome very strong
language, followed by a handy missile, which, even if it did
not hit the intruder, at all erente was snocessful in making
one's neighbour wideawake, at which, curiously enough, he was
not always best pleased. The early morning was very chilly, for
£ereQ lies 4,469 feet above the sea, so we did not get up until
long after the very pretty Egyptian r^eilles had sounded. The
air is remarkably taking, and is played on a dozen or more
trumpets and key-bngles, the men marching np and down the
while. After breakfast, it being too early to call upon the
goremor, we paid a nsit to the convent, the seat of the French
mission, which existed here long before the Egyptian sway
extended as fiu- as this. Crossing some tobacco-fields on
which now only the short stomps of the roote remained, we
reached the Abyssinian hats, and soon after the conrtyard of
the mission-honse, and were presently most kindly receiTed and
welcomed by the bishop, and shown over the establishment,
school, printing-press — ^Amharic, the language of the Habesh —
and workshops. I fear, however, that thie mission and the
other near Massowah, of Protestant Swedes, have a very
Dphill task ; not only are the Egyptians against them, bat
the Abyssiniane also put every ol»taole in their way; even
now, after they have forced them to qait their territory, the;
educate Abyssinian orphan children with the view of their
afterwards returning to their country and giving their conntry-
men the benefit of ttieir knowle^e. But lately the Abysmnians
have taken the very strongest measures to prevent these scholars
entering the coontiy ; and the French bishop, when lately on
a tonr in Abyssinia, after being robbed of everything he pos-
sessed, was kept in chains for a considerable time. Some
time ago a Catholic mission arrived in Abyssinia with the

byGoogIc

SKETCHES m THE SOUDAN 51

viali to establlBh itself there, and had an aadienee of the king,
who, when told its object, pnt the aomewhat pouliiig qiwBtum
to the Bpokesman, " Why do yon Catholic missionuies come
to my kingdom, one of the oldest Catholic coontries on earth ?
Ton tell me that yon travelled through Egypt to get here ; did
it not strike yon that it would have been mnch mwe saitaUe
for yon to have remained there to oonTert the Mohamme-
dans, than to hare come here to na who have the aame
faith ae yoa?"

The DUBsiink on aniTal of the Egyptians wag allowed to
remain, and is now the centre of the old Eeron, the Abys-
sinian quarter of Senheit. The children, boys and giria, who
all looked very happy, are tau^^t the Bible and a vatiefy of
trades, while the Amharic translationB of the Seriptnies are
sent into Abyssinia for distribotion. The five or six members
of the mission were kindoess itself to us, and presented na
sereral tunes with baskets of fresh r^^etables, a Talnable pre-
sent which we most thoroughly appreciated. Tisite to tiie
goTemor and to the commandant followed, which commenced
with coffee and cigarettes, and after nomeroos questions as to
our late and future movements, came to an end with cigarettes
and coffee. These visits became very monotonous, tor directly
after we had been viewed into oar den all the officials came one
after another in qaest of news, tobacco, and coffee — and, me-
thinks, I also heard whisky mentioned, bat there my ears most
have deceived me.

Then we take a walk to the public square, where again the
" fair " Abyssinian bread vendors are sitting abont with their
wares on trays in &<mt of them. And very pretty these young
girls are — in &ct, so mach so that G-. soon lost his heart alto-
gether, and now at all hours of the day bays bread, a little at a
time, but often ; and well can I snderstand it, for their figures
and carriage are perfect ; they always seem happy, always
joking and laoghing, displaying their dassling white teetii.
The arrangement of their hair is a work of art, and must
entail an immense amount of trouble; it is divided into
innumerable small narrow plaits, which, extending from the
forehead to the back of the neck, are neatly arranged side by
side and then fixed tiieie. The rich brown skin is set off by a
blue bead necklace, or bracelets or anklets, or by all three, and

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52 SPORT AND TRAVEL PAPERS

a good thiek Ia;ei of batter by way of pomade completes the
oharming tout etuembU. The trayi npoo which the bread ia
broaght are well worth locAdng at. Tb^ are made of the rery
finest basket-work, plaited in Tarions eolonrs, some in very
pretty patteme. Water TesBels are made of tbe same material,
rendered watertight by means of the juice of the enoalyptos, or
perhaps even by a mixture of oow-dnng and oUy.

Soldiers are lolling about everywhere, and a sentry paces up
and down in front of a guard-twit in the market-place in his
neat white uniform, cotton trousers and tunic with brass buttons
and red tarboosh, contrasting moat vividly with hie jet black
&oe and hands. These soldiers seemed to take the greatest
pride in their arms, which are always kept as bright as it is
possible to make them. Some bashi-basouks were not so neat,
bnt swaggered about with their belts foil of cartridges, alto-
gether not a very pleasant-looking crew. AU the water has
to be brought from wells in the river-bed, a very long way
down, and strings of little boys and girls are constantly on
the road frightfully overloaded with ghirbaa, which, often sur-
passing in wei^t that of the carriers thonselves, are borne OD
the back supported by a rope across the forehead. It always
seemed to ns downright cruelty, fbr the road was up-hill and in
parts rery steep ; still they struggled on oheerfblly and full of
ohafT and fim.

The tobacco grown on this plateau is out in September,
having been planted out from beds in June ; now the leaves ware
being dried undw long sheds. It is of fair quality, and owned
by the Chreeks, in whose hands the whole trade is. The shops
uid stores of groceries, wine, ^., here, as in other towns in
Kubia and along the Bed Sea, are nearly all kept by Greeks,
who, commencing in a very small way, B0<ni extend thdr bnsi-
nesB and amass a good deal of money. The Abystunians, being
Christians, have no religious scruples about the nse of intoxi-
cating liquors, nor do aU Mohammedans always adhere strictly
to water, as we saw illustrated by two of our camel boys, who
one evening got very dmnk and qoairelsome, drew their knives,
and, bat fbr the prompt interf^ence of our dn^man, would
have calmed each other's excitement by a little nsefnl blood-
letting. However, that operation not having been allowed, the
next beet remedy seemed to be the prison, so vre had the onlprits

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BKETGHBS IN THE SOUDAN 53

maiebed off there with tha idea (hat a little eonnter-initetioii
(m the Boles of their feet next mmung might prove of benefit.
Dnring an interriew with tiie militaz; magistrate in the hot of
jnatioe thia therefore was soon arranged, and the jnrisonen pro-
dnoed and qneetioned. They wrae, ttf eooree, fall of ezeoBee.
One even pointed to his fiery eyes, aaying that the lednees me
doe to a blow from the dragoman, but jortioe whispered
*' araki," and deoreed the bastinado. After eoffee and
dgaiettee had been handed to as the eriminali were, with-
ont more ado, each in his torn placed upon bis bad, their
feet pnt into loops attaohed to a pole held by a man at eaeh
end, while a third meted ont the pnniahment upon the soles of
the raised feet with a eonrbateh, nntil we oried "£non(^."
We then finished onr ooffee, thanked the jadge, and so jns-
tiee was satisfied. The soles of an Arab's feet are very hard
and homy, and the pouishment, which to a EnropeaQ wonld
be a terrible one, is in moderation not moch thonght of by
an Eastern.

The pasha bwe is a great soldier and a Teiy hard-wotUng
man. The troops are eonstantly employed in strengthening
the fort or in making roads — the latter with great snooess, as
ve fonnd on our mareh firom here through the magnifioent
moontain-gorga of Eshideera. He personally saperintends his
working parties, and is then always attended by bis body-gnard
clothed in bri^t eoarlet tnnios ; he frequently had field-days,
while his staff was bn^ making most excellent maps, ot
employed in teaching the men signalling and iotrenohing.
The ration beef, part of which the soldieni were only too
glmd to sell US, was very good indeed ; the garrison botcher
reeeiTes u pay the hide and head of every animal he kills.
Several moles were bnmghfe to ns for sale, bat in consequence
of the ridieoloos prices aaked only one was bought. This was a
" real " mnle, wbo, when he suddenly took it into his head, eould
kick hi^er and back harder than would have seemed possible
for any animal to accomplish. Sometimes when walking along
in ^vparently the most amiable of moods, this interesting
creature woold, for no other reason apparently than that of
pmn mischief, suddenly commence kicking and bnddng in so
determined and aecomplisbed a manner, his head disappearing
ahogetber between his forel^, that preaetitty, after a struggle

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54 SPORT AUD TRAVEL PAPERS

or two, hiB rider bad to exchange the e&ddle for the hard
gronnd ; bat sot aatisfied with that feat, Mr. Mule would in
a few more kicks disembarrass himself of bis saddle also by
slipping it over his head, without nndoing tiie girths, and then
qnietly walk to a bnsh as if looking for applause, and com-
mence feeding. "Pride of Keren" was a moat aocomplished
mnle, and would hare been a valuable addition to a cirens
while in his kicking mood. In good temper he did his
work well, woold eat acything, but when his liver was oat
of order, or something eUie had gone wrong, he bad a will of
his own, to which his rider bad to bow eren down to the very
groond.

One day "we received an invitation to an Ahyseinian wedding,
80 in the evening, about nine, we followed our condactora to the
Christian Keren, where the marriage festivities were then taking
place. Soon after leaving oar mansioD the marriage bells, or
rather tom-toms, became audible, and as we drew nearer other
musical, if not melodious, sounds began to mingle with them.
Entering a large sereeba and pasung one or two huts, now dark
and deserted, we soon found onrselvet! in the centre of, ap-
parentiy, a very happy, certainly a very noisy crowd. In front
of a very lai^e hut, or "ieaa " dosed all round, the abode of the
bride, were the mtudcians seated on the gronnd, and aroond
these, standing or walking abont, a lai^e number of goests
assembled to do honour to the bride and sing the praises of tite
bridegroom. Outside the but all belonged to the male sex, bat
inside the bride sat in state, surrounded by an admiring circle of
female friends only. The Boene certainly was most picturesque.
The musicians formed the inner circle, sitting round an oblong
space kept clear of the crowd, upon which only two or three boys
were allowed, whose duty it was to tend the few oil lamps which
(mly partially lit up the dark faces and the white garments of
the men around. The musicians, all old men, certainly worked
bard, as if their lives depended upon making as mnch noise as
possible. Some of them plied tom-toms without intermission,
while others beat time on a laiger dmm snq>ended from the neck
by a cord; a few, again, made "music" on a long wooden
flnte-like instniment with a reed mouthpiece and a bell mouth,
the resulting hamming Bounds minting in ddightfijl " harmony "
with others produced by a string instmment like a guitar played

byGoogIc

8EETGHSS IN THE BOUDAN SS

vith the fingen. A monotonoiu chant, joined in by eTerybody,
Moomponied these instrnmentB, and was anBvered from within
the bower b; the bride and her attendants. This singing seemed
at fint Tery pretty, bnt being withont any Tariety or intermiasion,
soon became rery monotonoos. Every now and then a man,
moffltiian or not, stepped into the ring and danced a piu-de-4eiil,
singing the praises of the bridcf^room the while ; this also wonld
be prettily answered from within. Oooasionally one of the fair
ones nm ont from the " dass " aa if to escape the crowd, bnt in
vain, for she was soon captured by the amorous swains. The
lady had then to join these tuAent voleru, generally the latter
apparently, in s very oniqne slow dance, in which all the men
crowded ronnd her so closely that the damsel bad scarcely any
room to breathe, and certainly none to ezecate herself any of
the simple steps of the very simple measure.

The men as Abyssinians all wore the national "quarry,"
a Ii^e white ootton toga, having at one end a deep crimson
broad stripe. This end is thrown over the left shoulder, leaving
the right arm free, and gives the dress a very picturesque
appearance. The red stripe is worn, I believe, in memory of
the wound inflicted \fj the lance in the side of our Saviour. All
wear a blue cord ' round the neck to show that Uiey are
Christians.

We ware introduced to the bridegroom, and, of course, wished
him everything which could possibly add to his happinesa. He
was a very fine>Ioaking man indeed, with beautifnlly frizzled,
curled and buttered hair, heavy silver braoelete, beads round his
neck, and the usual croaa-himdled sword over the shoulder.
Expressing his regrets that he had no European drinks to oStx
us, he sent for some native beer, " marisi," made by the aid of
fermentation from a mixture of bread, flour, and water. The
thick, greyish liquid was presented to us in a cow's horn, bnt to
my mind bad a very disagreeably nauseous taste. Nevertheless,
we drank bis health, wished him many children, and said
" (goodbye." The singing and dancing in front of the bride's
hnt was continaed nntil momiug, similar festivities going on
at the same time near the bridegroom's home. The actual
wedding was fixed for the next day, so in the morning the
bridegroom started for the father-in-law's house, mounted upon
a horse and accompanied by all his friends, who danced

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56 8P0BT AND TBATEL PAPERS

fittntioallf aboat in front, behind, and all animd him, shoating,
rattling their spears against their shields, firing off gnnii,
pistols, Sec., &e. After the final oeremooy, which I did not
see, at her bther'a hat, the bride was taken to her hoaband's
home enreloped in a saok carried like a bale in the arms of one
of her husband's friends, who was every now and then reliered
by another. This procession also is aooompanied by mnsioiana,
men with i;^s, &o., and attended by a great deal of ahonting
and dancing and jumping abont.

But we had oUier -risitora besides our Egyptian friends —
Tisitora which we could not get rid of, do what we would ; we
tamed them out ignominiously I don't know how many times ;
we kioked them, stamped upon them, poured water on them,
threw ashes on them, hot and cold, took them np bodily on
a spade and threw them out of the door ; we made oorselres as
disagreeable to them as we possibly ooald, bat no, nothing would
prevent their return; so eventually they ended by turning ns
out. These were white ants, who, having fbond oat that the
generally empty room was once more occupied, arrived in
millions. Befiare attacking our property they built for them-
selves a house of little mosses of olay, brought up by legions of
workers from below the floor ; they then ran up in an incredibly
short time, another, and then another, oonnecting oil by covered
passages, steadily pushing on their outworks towards any object
on or near the floor, capable of being devoored or destroyed —
anything, in fact, but metal. The oonioal honses all had an
i^>emng at the top leading down to the base, an air-hole, the
intraior of which felt qnite hot to the finger. As all oar
offensive and defensive tactics failed, and oar enemies steadily
and rapidly increased the area of their operations, the room soon
became too small for as all ; we had to retire before them, and
were only triumphant so far that we saved onr baggage from
destruction, and deprived the ants of their expected feast.

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G.

SKETCHES IN THE SOUDAN <(»n«mhmQ

IV. — A DiT IK THB JUHQIiS

AND I wate already mounted, with onr ezpresB riflaa shmg
OT0r the Bfaonlder and water-bottle banging on the saddle,
waiting until it ahoold please onr hantem to atait. It was
ahrays hard work, and required a good deal of strong langoage,
freely translated by onr dragoman into equally forcible Arabie,
to get these laiy men to moTe, men of whom we had expected bo
moflh and who bo soon proved to be snob otter failmes. At last
they are on their horses, and eaeh baring been joined by a
tradcer on foot, eome after us, one set going with Q., the other
aecompanyiug me, and carrying oar heavy rifles across the
saddles in front of them. Socm after leaving the camp our
puties divide, each going in a different direction so as not to
interCere with one another's fspori. These " sword-hunters," on
their good-lookiiig, well-fed horses, certainly look like -woA, hot
nnfortanately their looks belie them. When, some time ago, we
angaged them after a great deal of diffionlty from thdr very
plaosible sheikh, to take ns into an entirely new country — ^new,
at all events, to Europeans — we, remembering the feats
performed by those brilliant sportsmen, the sword banters ot
Sir Samuel Baker, feats so graphically dasoribed by him ; and
when the agreement, offering them so much for every elephant,
buffalo, lion, giraffe, and ostrich we should kill, was drawn up,
and looked so well on paper, tiien, indeed, we had great
expeetationa of most i^lendid sport — expectations in which, alas 1
we were doomed to disappointmmt. Not only did the men torn
oat almost worse than useless, bat the game had been driven
from the promised land by native honters, agenta of the Cassala

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58 SPORT AND TRAVEL PAPERS

collector of wild animalg. The tracker, who leads the way, U
a tall, powerfiil man ; hia immense mam of cu-Iy hair is well
greased, and has the long wooden hairpin Btnck throogh it ; be
is naked except roond the loins, which are scantily eorered with
the folds of his cotton garment ; a pair of sandals, a charm
or two abore the elbow, and the nsnal spear, complete his outfit.
On he strides in front of his moonted comrade, who looks very
bnsiness-like on his glossy-ooated horse, and who ooght to be
able to *show na good sport. His on^ garment also, is a
loin-cloth, his weapon a broad cross-handled aword, which, in its
wooden scabbard, is oarried nndemeath the left thigh, between
it and the saddle flap, its sling being attached to the high
pommel in front. This weapon, with which Baker's famons
" aggageers " did saoh wonderfol work in single combat with all
the most formidable animals of the jtmgle, I never saw nsed, it
might jnst as well have been left behind ; not even oonld I get
oar wretched men to show tiieir jHrowess with it when a badly
wonnded elephant gave an excellent opportonity. Fastened to
the saddle behind, and lying npon the horse'a back, is carried
a large ghirba, foil of water, and both O. and I constantly
remarked the enormons quantities of water which these men
consumed. We had long sinoe aoonstomed ourselves never to
touch our bottles before noon, having foond that early drinking
only increased thirst to an almost nnbearable extent. We often
retomed with oar bottles half foil of cold tea — the beverage
taken — having hardly felt the want of anything at all, thongh
out in the hot sun all day. How enjoyable, then, was the firet
good drink after arrival in camp I Thus, in single file, we three
rode and walked over an immense platean, extending as tax
as the high Abyssinian mountains in the far distance, covered
chiefly with low, thorny mimosa shrub, overlooked here and
there by higher boshes, with a few giant baobab-trees towering
over all. The ground generally was bare, but in some parts
thickly covered with dry golden-yellow grass, from which we pat
np many a quail, gainea-fowl, and sand-gronse; gazelle and
antelope also were plentiful, sometimes allowing us to approach
qoite close, as if well aware that we shonld not molest them for
fear of distorhing the bigger game, which we had hopes of
finding. Tracks there were many of antelope, gazelle, ostrich,
and giraffe, also of elephants, thongh these woe old, dating

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SKETCEES IN THE 80T7DAN 59

[ffolwbl; from the Uat Tain; seuon. Fiodiog • particslarlj
fresh spoor of a giraffe, the impressions of whose Iar|^ hoo& are
always so clearly cut, we followed it, as I had nerer yet seen
these animals in their wild state. On we went, frequently
having to make a detonr, thanks to some particularly dis-
agreeable kittat bosh, bnt nothing was to be seen anywhere ; so
we made for a baobab-tree, in the hope that from the npper
branches the honter mi^t see something of oar game. The
gigantic tranks, alb^ether ont of proportion with their* height,
often over 80 feet in oironmference, are very soft and spongy,
freqoently hollow, and oooacdonaUy the habitat of bees and
therefore an object of interest to the uatire. The tmnk grres
off few, bnt gigantic, brancheB, on which no leaves now re-
mained, bnt here and there a fndt was still hanging by its long
stem. This froit consists of an almost pear-shaped, gr^sh-
green hard envelope, in which are contained, packed away like
sweets in a bonbon box, between layers of fibre, a great nnmber
of seeds, each of which is thickly covered with a white substance,
whieh soon crombles into powder, bnt is sweet and veiy
pleasantly acidulated and therefore very refreshing, either when
allowed to dissolve in the month or as a drink mixed with
water.

The tracker had now climbed op to the top branches, violence,
no donbt, a very extensive view coold be obtained, and to onr
anxious inquiries he at last made signs that some giraffes were
within sight. We rode to a hillock, where the stalk was to
commence ; arrived there, we took a peep over the brow of it,
and abont five hnndred yards off, feeding on some bnshes, stood
two giraffes — enormoos they looked even at that distance.
TTnfbrtnnately there was hardly any cover, nothing hat low
mimosa shmb, above which they towered like lighthonses. The
diance of bong able to approach them within reasonable
distance was very fiunt ; still, I started off on hands and knees,
a most uncomfortable, painful, and disagreeable stalk ; for not
only were the low bnshes covered with thorns, bnt the ground
also, only to be just in time to see the game trot off beyond
range. In this low cover it is almost imposeible to get near
these wary animals ; their enormous height renders their area of
vision most extensive ; at the slightest sign of danger they start
off with their peooliar trot, and do not stop again until far away.

byGoogIc

eO SPOET AND TRAVEL PAPEB8

Disappointed, ve lode on, paasing the old Edte of on OBtrich's
n«8t, marked now only by broken egg-sheila, and saw nothing
more until the tneker, who was in front, snddenly pointed in
a very ezoited manner to the right, where six ostriohes, startled
by seeing as, were half ronning, half flying, going away at a
great pace, and, onfortimatety, a long way off. Two rapid shots
had, apparently, no resnlt ; it was a Tflry pret^ sight, thongh, to
see these enormooa birds afa'mming oTer the ground ; they were
soon lost to view, and the only ones I ever met with.

About noon we saw, throngh a narrow belt of dome-palms,
Uie sandy bed of the rirer below ns, and walking along it,
cropping here and ih&te a bit of grass or some herb which
grew in the moist soil, nellnt, and ariel, and doroas gaeelles.
After watching them for a short time, delighted with the, to
a sportsman's eye, most attractive pictore, we rode down the
steep bank, and soon discovered a reason for the presence of so
much game. The water here wag evidently qoite close to the
snrface — in fact, in one part the soil was swampy and covered
with grass, on the fresh shoots of which the gazelles bad been
Ceeding. Here and there were shallow exoavations in the sand
made by varioos animals, filled partially with water ; a little
farther on, at the foot of some rocks, a large pool sparkled in
the son, and yet another higher ap, with innumerable tracks of
every kind of gaaelle and antelope, of hyenas and jackals,
leading np to and from them. But a mightier STii'nal than say
of these had been in the habit of qoenohing its nightly thirst i^
these shallow reservoirs, for winding along the river-bed was the
deep, hard-trodden path of elephants, which in stately single
file had np to lately marched along here in qoest of the now
rare and preciona dranghta. However, a few days ago there had
been s sadden atop to these visits ; the elephants had come once
too often, for, taking advantage of their nightly habit, a ikative
honter had ensconced himself one evening on a rook above the
pool, aaccessfnlly hiding behind some dome-palm leaves, and
waited patiently with his smooth-bore nntil one of the thirsty
herd gave him the chance of a saoceBsfol shot at close
qouiers. The victim, mortally wonnded, only went a tew yards
farther ; there lay its skeleton near the bank, and deqwiled
of teeth, hide and flesh, the carcase was now guarded l^
some hnngty vultures and buszards. The country around

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8KST0HE8 IN THB SOUDAN 61

bkd been, uid wMi one (tf the bTonrite honting-gromds
of lutiTe hnnten, who, agests of eolleeton of wild wimalii
tot the difCeraat loologieal gudenB, spend their liree in tiieM
jonglee, potBoing patiently the gime, ud avuting their oppor-
iamty nntil perhaps some night a mother brought its jonng to
the water-hole, when emu the olnmsy gan, loaded witii eoarse
powder and angular ball, aimed at a distance of a few yards
only, would alay the mother and leave the youngster at the
banter's merey. A sneoesBfiil night would thus pay him well for
many weeks' waiting, and eanse great rqcicing smong his
foUowen, for he nerer btmts alone. The iTory, althongh
small in this part of the oonntry, would fetch a eertam jtiee
among the tranllmg tcadeis ; the hide would eat np into many
sgnares to be afterwards made into shields, while the flesh, sUoed
into Bbips and hong up in feetoons on the boshes nmnd the camp
to dry, proTidee food for many a long day. The M is earefiilly
oolleeted and stored away, afterwards to adorn the heads of many
a native, while the yonng elephant, if delivered safe and sound
at Cassala, the agent's place of abode, will, I was told, fetch
one hnndred dollars. We afterwards met the slayer of this
partioalar elephant, a Bedaweeu from Arabia, a dirtier man than
it has erei been my &te to see, with flHhy matted hair, wrapped
in a long garment discoloured by age and dirt, and eontinoally
gmoking a short chibonqoe. It was diffioolt to understand how
any aninul eonld approach him without being long before warned
of his presence by the aromatic atmosphere snironnding him ;
hot either the sense of smell of the game must be blunted at
ni^t, ot the hunter had scnne means when lying out of oon-
^^fring tnd aionag the odours, wfaioh eerta^ily were always
partionluly powerAil in the morning, ^a train consisted of
fenr or five men, two donkey, which earned water, dhnrra-bags,
and other neoassaries, and a pony with a terribly sore back which
he himself bestrode. Thus they travelled throng the country,
making long or short halts, aceoidiag to the amoont of game
aboot, living by the lifie, a very antiquated weapon, and taking
to their employer anything likely to command a profit in the
Earopean mariiet, unless previous^ robbed of it and everything
tbey po osooo on the road.

This part of the river bad evidently been the &voarite resort
of large nnmbem of dephants. The green muddy bed of &

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62 SPORT AND TEAVEL PAPERS

email tribotaiy whioh entered close by was trampled over its
whole extent, the deep impressions of the ponderous feet were
everywhere ; bat eince one of their nomber had been killed, all
hope of meeting the noble game in this vicinitj was, of conrse,
gone ; once disturbed, the herd will travel for days and days,
and seek a haven of rest far, tar away.

The son was very hot, so we decided on resting for a short
time in the shade ; the horses were watered and then allowed to
grase on the coarse grass growing apon the banks. The men at
onoe set to work collecting the nnts of the dome-palm, a great
&voarite with them, and now ripe. This palm, which eveiy-
whwe here fringes the river bank, is at this seasoti of the year a
ooDstant sonrce of food supply to the Arabs, who kna<^ off the
fruit lnHiging down in bnaehes from the leafy crown with their
sticks. This fruit, about the size of a large apple, has a hard,
shiny, brownish-red covering, which, when cnt off with a knife
or the sharp edge of a spear, discloses a softer though very diy
fibrous Bubstance, tasting somewhat like gingerbread which has
lain in the sun for a considerable time. Inside this eatable part
ag^in ia a very hard kernel, enclosing an ivory-like seed, which,
after being soaked in water, is eaten by man and cattle. The
slender stem of the dome-palm divides at a certain height into
two branches, and these again, perhaps, into two others, always
forming a Y. The crown is a dense mass of fan-shaped leaves,
from which the fruit hangs in clusters of often as many as a
hundred nnts. When young the trunk is clothed in dead hang-
ing leavee, whioh gradually drop off, leaving it perfectly bare.
While the men were busily employed collecting and eatiug the
fruit, I had aonght the shelter of some overhanging rooks dose
to one of the pools, ourioua to know what thirsty creatures wonld
pay it a visit. Of course, the antelqtes and gazelles had long
since disappeared, and it being past noon others could hardly be
expected. Still, I soon began to wish that I was better versed
in ornithology, and knew ^e names and characteristics of the
great variety of feathered denizens of the jangle, which, at first
startled at my approach, soon retomed from all around in
Bwarms, of all sises and of every hoe, some displaying the most
gorgeons plumage. From their peroh on the adjacent trees and
rocks thc^ would dash down to the pool, hesitate for a moment,
and then walk to the edge of the water, chattering all the while,

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SEKTOHES IN THE SOXTDAN 63

dip Qiax bukfl in, nise their heads to lot the refreehing draoght
ran dowB their thirsty throats with an appearance of intense
mjoyment almost ladiorons. Then somethtng would frighten
the whole swarm of small birds at the water, and all with one
accord would soddenly fly to the shelter of the rook with a great
rush, many passing within eae^ reach of me, nntil oomage had
letntned and danger disappeared, when down again they flew
and noisily jostled each other at the water once more. I noticed
more particolarly a lovely little bird, with creamy elaret-coloued
head and body and a red beak, and another, a larger one,
faistnnis black, with yellow and bright red collar and head,
having a very long tail, apparently br too heary to cany. There
were doves of every sise ; green parakeets, with mauve oollar
and Icmg tail ; others with no tail at all; bUokbirds, with light
blae wings, shining in the son — ^in &ot, as lovdy an assembly
as evn ime eoold wish to see. Then there was a mstle above,
and down came a long-tailed, white-whiskered monkey, the
pioneer of several others, or a brilliant Uutrd would rash over
the glowing rocks to seek the shelter of a eool crevice. Two
laige vnltnres were busy picking at the skeleton of the elephant
higbrar up, while two others sat looking on half-asleep from a
rock above. Presently one of them majestically stalked towards
the water, very slowly, halting every now and then to recon-
noitre, evidently well aware that there was somebody aboot who
had DO bnsineBS to be there. He was a splendid fellow, with a
rich ohooolate-coloored body, wings, and tail, and lighter
coloured mff, blnisb-grey neck, and lif^t yellow bare head.
My slightest movement oansed him to retire, bat he soon
retomed stealthily and slowly, as before peering towards me,
stopping as if ondecided after every few steps, ontil at last thirst
overcame fear, and, plucking np conrage, he eventnally entered
the shallow basin, to the great disgust of the smaller fry, and
apparently eigoyed the dianght thoroughly. At a smaller water-
hole some gniaea-Cowl were assembled, and at almost every little
excavation in the sand either bird or butterfly was at work. In
some of these small holes, where the water has become ex-
haosted, birds and other *nim*1g scratch away until it again
appears, or dig their beaks in as de^Iy aa they can, to reach
the water, hidden only by a thin layer of sand perhaps. All
uiimalB di^lay woadwfnl Bagad^ in finding the place where it

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64 SFOBT AND TRAVEL PAPEBS

is to be obtuned, and generally viflit the same spot eroy day,
onleeB disturbed, until the Biipply of water fkils. ' These pools
and BDuJl water-holes boos di; up, and animals hsTO to seek
aome other source, the whereabonte of which is known probably
only to themselTes. Freqnentty, when passing the larger wells,
often 12 to 20 feet deep, a swarm of birds would flatter np,
startled firom the depths bebw, where, seated on the lowest twig
of the branches sapporting the walls, they had been drinking.
Li dte Ticinity of villages, where the mod tanks near the wells are
daily wed for watering the flooks, enoogh water remains in them
for all oomers ; florican and gninea-tbwl drink there at daylM«ak
before the flooks, small birds with them whenever an opportnnit;
offers, sand-groose after them at dosk; and then oome the
prowlers of the ni^t, jackal, hyena, and lion. It is a comical
and common sight to watch, dnring the mid-day heat, a nnmber
of thirsty orows, with their beaks wide open, mtting roond these
tanks, anxioosly awaiting their chance of a drink. When the
village shifts, however, these soon become dry, the wells sand np,
and then it seems to man a pnszle where the varioos uTiim^iff
find the necessary water. When making a long march np the
sandy bed of a river some little time before, we followed the
recent deeply-trodden path of an elephant for two or three days.
He had always visited the wells along the road, and tried to
reach the water with his tnmk, sometimes kneeling, sometimeB
standing np, at some of the shallower wells no doabt soocess-
fnlly ; bnt at others the side of the well had given way mider
tiie enormooB weight, and Mr. Elephant, after a fall, had bem
obliged to continoe his tramp, thirsty, and no doabt in a bad
temper.

Bat time was np, and a longish piece of road between as and
the camp, and antelope or gazelle had to be procared for food, so
the word was given to get the h<H«ee ready, and shortly after-
vrards we were once more riding in single file throng the thorny
mimosa bosh, following at first a well-nsed gaselle path leading
towards the water. CKraffe tracks again were plentifol, bat
nothing was to be seen of those wary animals. Some of the
lai^er mimosa boshes told a tale of elephants having passed
throngb here, probably during the late rains ; branches torn off,
some left hanging by a few fibres, others scattered about on the
ground, all dead. CrystalJike, almost transparent, masses of

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aEETOHES IK THE SOUDAN 65

gam Anhio woe veiy plentiAil on the injiired aokeias ; the
exuded Mp, hardened b; exponm to the air, had fbnned itself
into Bparklinj; maeeee, Tatying in size from that of a cherry-
atone to that of a small apple. The men were busily employed
all the way home in Booking pieces of this gam, and although
almost tasteless, they seemed to appreciate it greatly. In the
absence of bigger game, we now kept a sharp look-ont for some-
thing for the pot. A large herd of ariel, very wild and shy, gave
no chance ; bat aeon after I espied two dorcas gazelles feeding
on the yoang leaves of a mimosa bnah. This, to my idea most
beaotifol of the gaselle tribe, the very perfection of symmetry in
shape and of elegance in all its moramenta, with its daA
horisoutal stripe along the lower part of its ribs, is nerer fDond,
like the ariel, in la^ herds, bat generally in small parties of
two to three or foar among bw bashes, the young leares of
which supply it with its flavoarite food.

HoweTBT, there was no time now for admiration ; a saccessfbl
stalk and well-plaoed ballet, sapplemented by a oat across the
throat "in the name of Allah 1" soon provided as with the
needful lor to-night's dinner. The method of cutting up a
gazelle and rendering it more portable, without each injniy to
the skin as would make it oselese afterwards as a ghirba (water-
akin), is very ingenious, and well worth watching carefully. The
Arab makes a cut along the inside of each tund leg, from near
ihe foot to the top of the thi^ ; the skin is then stripped off as
&r as the toes, the bones separated at the hocks and taken out.
Then the upper ends of Uiese cats are joined together by a
bransrerse one, and the whole skin polled off over the body as
tax as the neck. The fore-lc^ are treated in the same manner
as the hind, and now the head is seTered at the neck. The
flesh is then divided and put into the bag formed by the skin,
the hole in the neok having previoosly been filled op by the head
pnabed into it &om within. Lastly, the strips of skins from the
l^s are tied together on each side, and the whole, slung over the
shoulder, is thus easUy carried. To prepare the skin for use as
a ghirba, it is buried in the ground, after which the hairs can
readily be removed ; then follows ita immereion daring eevera]
days in water, to which a lai^ quantity of the bark of a
mimosa or nabbnk-tree has been added. These bar^ contain a
la^e peroentage of tannin, so that the skin, after thorough
6

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66 SPORT AND TRAVEL PAPERS

soaking and daily mbbiiig and Bcrnbbitig with handfl and stDQds,
BOOH becomfls tborongUy tanned and fit for nae. All that now
remaina to be done is to sew up tbe cuts in Hie legs and between
the thighs, leaving the hole in the neck, however, which is closed .
by means of a leathern thong. The lower bones of the legs,
when taken out, are immediately broken between stones, and
the raw marrow greedily devonred ; this ie considered a great
delicacy.

While the gazelle is being dissected, nomerons birds of prey —
crows, buKzards, and vultures — arrive &om all points of the
compass, settling down on the gronud or some trees arotmd,
anxionsly waiting for the moment when we shall retire, and
they be left in sole possession of the gronnd and of anything
that may remain thereon. When lazily lying in some shady
spot while the men are busy cutting np the game, it has always
been most interesting to me to watch the arrival of these birds
of prey, and to decide to my own satisfaotion whether they are
led to the carcase by sight or by smell, a freqaently disputed
point. From constant observation in several different ways, I
have become most thoroughly convinced that Sir Samuel Baker*
ie right, and that it is sight and not smell which brings these
large assemblies together almost immediately after an animal has
been killed, and tliat his theory about the different strata in
which birds of prey fiy is also correct. When an animal is
stnick down in the open, has bled freely there, and is then cot
np so as to expose plenty of red flesb, vnltnres and their kindred
will collect almost iminediately ; where not a single bird wu
visible at one moment, tbe next scores and hundreds will be seen
circling overhead like specks at first in the clear air, but rapidly
increasing in size as they swiftly descend in fast-diminishing
circles, until one after another approaches the carcass. One
more round with half-tamed head, and brilliant eye fixed upon,
and closely examining the inviting sight below, and then, well
satisfied, down come the legs, and bird after bird takes np his
position in fiill view of the expected repast. On the other hand,
kill an animal in thick high grass, or under the dense roof of
overhanging trees, where it is hidden, it will be left undisturbed,
at all events by birds. Cut up the game in the open, bat be
sore to leave no trace of blood, and hide it under a tree, leaves
■ ' ■ Nil« Tribatariw," b; Bii Bamiial B»ker.

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SE£T0HE8 IN THE SOUDAN 67

or grass aftenrsTds, it will not be tonched, bat only on one ooa-
dition — that no orov or bnuard has prerionBly oanght a glimpse
of it. I haTB oovered the intestines of a grolloohed antelope or
gaxelle with a thin layer of sand well oat in the open, and
watched in vain for birds ; none came when it was thorooghly
hidden, and no keen eyes had been there to look on nnin-rited.
Birds flew over, but took no notice of it whatever, and yet only
a small part left exposed, they wonld have at once collected in
erowds. Now these birds always arrive in regular sncceBsion,
erowB first, then btuxards, followed by varions Tultnres, the
smaller ones first, the larger after, and lastly by the marabon
stork, as stated by Sir Samnel Baker. He thereon groonds his
theory that " every species keeps to its own partionlar elevation,
and that the atmosphere contains regular strata of birds of
prey"; who, "soaring in circles," are "watching with tele-
sec^io sight the world beneath " ; " and, although they are
invisible from the earth, there can be no doubt that thqr are
perpetoally hunting in circles within sight of each other. Tfaos; —
dionld one bird discover some object upon the aorfsoe of the
earth below, his sudden pounce wonld be at onoe observed and
imitated by every vulture in saocession. Should the vtdtnre
nearest the earth perceive a body, or even should he notice buz-
zards oollecting at a given poiut, he wonld at once become aware
of ^lej ; his rush towards the spot would act like s telegraphic
signal to the others, that woold be rapidly oommnnioated to
every vulture at successive airy stations. " This, no doabt, is
the true explanation of the interesting phenomenon of the mar-
vellously rapid assembly of birds of prey at a carcass ; nobody
who baa not witnessed the rapidity of their arrival after an
animal has been killed wonld believe it possible. The black-and-
white crow is nearly always, being nearest the earth, as Sir
Samoel Baker remarks, the first arrival. Should that species not
be in the vicinity, the bnzzaids will be the first ; but then, I
have noticed, more time has elapsed. Immediately after the
departure of man an attack takes place upon the offal, attended
by a good deal of fighting, pushing, and qnarrelling; the
smaller have to wait until their bigger brethren have gorged
themselves, when often those who were the means of bringing
Ute latter to the feast find but litUe left as their reward.

On we go onoe more, taking a strught line towards camp, I

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68 SPOBT AND TRAVEL PAPERS

walking ani the tnwker, vith the gaeelle along over hie shoulder,
leading my horee. The heat of the da; past, guinea-fowl had
left the shelter of their noonday retreat and were feeding in
flocks here and there ; we put np many sand-groase, bo very
diffioolt to see on the bare groond which they exactly resemble
in ooloor, and startled quail and florican oat of the long, dry,
yellow grass ; but as we never carried a gon on these trips, fowl
were safe from as. Coming snddenly from behind a thick bash
apon a small dry river-bed with steep banks, I saw the head of
a nelint, sormoonted by a splendid pair of horns, looking ap
startled at the noise of oar approach ; bat only for a moment,
for, seeing as, roand he flew and rnshed np the opposite bank,
never reaching the top, however, for a ballet in Uie shoulder
stopped him half-way. He was a very old gentleman indeed, to
the hunter's disgust withoat the promise of a particle of &t,
and covered with soars, for these bolls with their powerfdl and
sharply pointed horns are veiy qoarrelsome, and fight terribly
among themselvea. This is supposed to be one of the reasons
why so few ballfl are seen in comparison with the nnmber of
CDWB met with. The nellot * is probably the handsomest of the
antelope &mily, standing about thirteen hands high, of moose*
fptej colour with a long white stripe along the spine from head
to root of tail, from which stripe two or three others descend on
each side over the chest and flanks. The massive spiral horns
are very beantifol ; this pair measured 60 inches roond the ont-
side horn, 87 inches from head to tip straight, and 88 from point
to point, and was the largest I had the luck to bag. The cows
have no horns. We cat off the head and tied it on to my horse,
the remainder being left "till called for." Thns heavily laden
we soon afterwards arrived at our camp, after a very enjoyable
day in the jangle.

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SKETCHES IN THE SOUDAK (eontimudi
V.^A Tap DJTo " Tbbu Jjiooamu "

SOBELY •gainst the wuhes of onr cowardly hnntera w« had
now amved on the threshold of " the unknown," at least
what waa maAed "terra incognita " on the maps, and on an
open piece of gtoond oloee to the river immediately below its
bifiueation we had made our camp. A dense fringe of high reeds,
now dry and yellow, separated ns from the sandy ri-rer-bed,
while a high, steep bank closed in the gioimd on the other side.
Shrnbs of many kinds, mimosa and acaoia boshes, dome-palms,
and baobab-trees grew loznriantly everywhere, and altogether it
was a rery snog and oomfbrtable camp, althoogh the want of
space somewhat crowded ns together, for we nnmbered 14 men,
8 oamels (2 hired), 9 horses, tJu mole, and 8 goats. The latter
had followed onr fortnnee everywhere, and never &uled to sapply
ns morning and evening with most excellent milk.

Everything the six hunters and trackera ooold do or say to
prevent onr going to this Dembela frontier they had done and
said, bnt when their prophecies that we should have onr camp
robbed, and all be mnrdwed or both, by the savage tribes, that
ooi horses would die from the stings of some fly, which existed only
in their imagination, were disr^arded and laughed at, and they
saw that we were det^mined, rather than lose their pay the men
at last pnt their trust in fitte and eame on, bat most miwillingly.
When finally we had got to onr destination they absolutely
leAised to cross the frontier, constantly assoring us that there
waa certainly nothing to shoot, that they knew of a gloriona
country farther back, that there was no water here for animals
to drink at, be., Ae,, &o.

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70 SPORT AND TRAVEL PAPERS

UnfoTtanately for them, however, we hftd been told of the
existeoce of Bome tunnuig water & little across the frontier ; bo,
soon after the osmp was established, G-. and I bad onr horses
re-saddled and rode op one of the branches of the river to
explore. Snre enoogh, hardly had we gone half a mile when
the reeda on the river banks became green, tnfts of grass and
herbs grew ont of the sand which rapidly became moist and
moister nntil presently we came npon a stream slowly winding
its way between great granite bonlders and high banks, every
patch of moist sand showing the fresh spoor of almost every
animal from the elephant down. It was a refreshing sight this
clear, cool water, and a most grati^ing one, for here was the
promise of the best of sport. Very mnoh disgosted the hnnters
were to hear on onr retnm that we had foond the water, the
ezisteDoe of which the sconndrels had denied although well
aware that we were close to it, for they knew now that we would
remain at least some days in a spot they so mach dreaded.

Q. was very anxious to have a look at these Dembelas inhabit-
ing the " terra incognita," and to judge of the sport likely to be
had in what, although marked a swamp in the maps, was in
reality a hi^ monntainous country. This wish was quietly
oommnnicated to an Abyssinian boy, Wasa, who had followed
us from Keren ; he took another man from the same place into
his confidence, a man who had formeriy been a prisoner in the
Dembela ooontiy, who was anpposed therefore to know the road,
bat of whom onr Arabs had become more and more saspicioas
as we approached the frontier, calling him a traitor and bringing
forward all kinds of ezcnses to get him out of the camp. The
promiaed backsheesh soon smoothed all difficulties and the start
was fixed for the next day.

The plan was kept very secret, Q. giving out that he was
merely going out shooting as usual, though a little across the
frontier, knowing well that the hnnters would in that case refuse
to accompany him, and nothing was thought of it at the time.
He left provided with a few presents, an Arabic dictionary,
tobacco, and the best wishes, I remaining behind to look aftor
the camp, where tivpuble commenced directly the men discovo^
G.'s real errand. Instead of about one at the most he was away
over four days, and his prolonged absence made me very anxioosj
for stories of the savage Dembelas, the certainty of his having

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SKETCHES IN THE SOUDAN 71

been made priBoaer, ftnd the more than certain^ of an attack
on onr camp, were dinned into my ears daily. Daring the first
' two days I went ont shooting as osoal, was disappointed in big
game bnt got some antelope, bnt after that I was afraid long to
stay away from the camp, for fear of fin^JTig it deserted on my
retain. Any soggestion of mine to follow G. in a body fell more
than flat ; the bunters even refused to aooompany me ezoept in
the direction we had come, so, in order to annoy tbem a little, I
stopped their meat supply, and altogether onr relations, to say
the least of it, became severely strained, as the following extracts
from my diary will show : —

" Feb, lit. — The men have foond out abont Q.'a ride, and say
that the Dembelas will come down and war be the reanlt ; that
they mnst leave the camp and sleep in the river-bed, aa here
they conld not possibly protect (I) me. I asked them if it was
with a view to protecting ns that now the saddles were never
taken off their horses, it being known and almost avowed by
them that they meant bolting at the shortest notice, and told
them in pretty strong language — I hope translated by the inter-
preter into equally choice Arabic — ^that they might Bleep in the
river or anywhere else they pleased, bnt that their saddles and
kits mnst be left with me ; that no camel or anything belonging
to them sbonld leave the camp, and that if they made any sign
of running away my rifles would do their best to stop them. I
must keep the men here, for if they go it iB more than probable
that I shall be left altogether alone in my glory and the sole
companionship of onr boxeB.

"It now tnms cat that ear chief hnnter has killed flve Dem-
belas, and that some of the others are probably also blood-guilty,
which acconnts for their terror. This cruel border treachery was
of common occurrenoe until lately, but now it seems that the
Dembelas have acquired a great many guns and hence are onr
men afraid, perhaps not unnatnrally. They certainly seem greatly
terrified, and never leave their seat without spear and shield.

" Another man with ' snake in the stomach.' We'll see what
six ' Cockles ' will do.

" Feb. 2nd. — Shot some antelope, bnt no meat do the hmiters
get, which annoys them greatly. The men have come again to
me with the nsnal tale, excnsing themselves by saying that it
would not do for them to go into another man's country to shoot —

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72 SPORT AND TEAVEL PAPERS

which iB QoDBense ; that if attacked here in the hollow we should
have no chance — ^which is true ; that we oTight to move a little
higher np the riTer, &c., &c. By a Inoky stroke of fortnne, a
mac came in to-day from the sheikh, a man who has often been
into the Dembela country, the same individual who afterwards
was taken oat of onr camp by a lion. He also says that the
TiUa^ is only six hours ofT. Have arranged with him to follow
G. at once, to bring him back if possible ; if that be impraotio-
able, to find oat quickly what has become of him and how we
can help him. I am getting reiy anxioas. The hont^n have
encoeeded in frightening all the others, and the interpreter is
also keen for a more ; still I intend to wait another day here.
Had a hant after some elephants, hot they got a long way ahead
into an onrideable connbry. I folly expect the men to -bolt
to-night, bat keep a sharp look-ont on their horses, of which only
two at a time are allowed to go to the well. It ia a most dis-
agreeable state of things altogether, especially as Ot. and I are
tied to time.

" Feb. 8r<i. — ^No G. I almost fear that the banters are right,
and that he is a prisoner ; if the Tillage is only half a day's
march off, be oaght to have been back long ago. Pasted a look-
ont on the top of the bank, for this is a grand place for a Bnrprise.
The envoy having gone, I finally made ap my mind — as probably
best for iJl — to ^ift the camp three miles down the river, and to
await events there. We march at 10 to-night.

"Feb. ^h. — ^Nerer had the camels been so qniokly loaded,
nor had I seen the men in better spirits than they were last
night daring oar short march. It was very delightfal in the
moonlight, which made eveiTtbiog almoet as bright as day. No
Q, or messenger again this morning. Shot two ariel, and gave
the men some meat, which th^ don't deserve ; and got vaae
sand-gronse at a well close by.

" Feb. 5th. — This morning, while eating my nsnal break&st
of dhnrra-porridge, to my great delight G-. arrived with the two
men. The banters jamped on to their horses and roshed towards
him, brandishing theiz spears, and altogetho* there was joy in
oamp."

He bad had a very hard time; had lost his way, the road being
extremely difficult and the village a long distance off, instead of
dose by, aa we had been assnred. The " ahoom," head-man

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8EBTCH£S IN THE SOUDAN 73

of the village, who lud hoBpHably entertained Q., and four
others, had come down with him, bat not wishing to meet oar
men, had to be left at onr old oamp. There they now were,
waiting £» O. to retura with food, 3te. ; and presently he started
to join them, aecompanied by oar interpreter, the AbyssiniaD
boy, Wasa, and our minstrel camel-man — none of the others
daring to go. I went oat to kill the iatted calf, or rather book,
to celebrate G.'b arriTal, and foand him on my retain on the
point of starting for the second time to meet his Dembela friends,
lOOTided with Tarioae presmts, tobacco, handkerchieb, knivea,
scissors, whisky, &o. Q. had been asked to bring a Bible, as
the " shoam " (Abyssinian Christian) was desiroas to swear on
a that we were his friends, and that he would gnarantee oar
safofy in his territory fbr one fortnight, bat not for longer, as a
bmons bandit chief, now a long way off, orer whom he bad no
control, wonld jvobably retain to this part of the firontier after
that time had elapsed. Now, I fear, a Bible had not been.
iooladed in oar kit, so the shonm being very anxioas aboat the
matter, to which he seemed to attach great importance, some
other book had to answer the parpose. I think it was the second
Tolamfl of " The Ghannings " which was selected, and carefully
wrapped ia a red handkerchief to show its valae and the care
we took of it, to be afterward anfolded in the presence of the
shoam with all doe oeremony.

To pay a risit to the strangers I joined Q., and oa the way
he gave me an aocoant of his adventareB on the road. This is
aboat what he told me : —

" After leaving yon I rode ap the river-bed, past the water,
where I saw many t^tel and other antelope, and then we straok
across a flat, stooy plain, which eventoally ended at the foot of
some Inoken hills. While (onssing this plain one of the men
suddenly ezdaimed, 'fil' (elephant), pointing to a grey mass
abont fifty yards away, which certainly also seemed to me exceed-
ingly like one of those ponderous animals. For a moment or
two I thought I ooold eren distinguish the head and his big
ears ; hat, on creeping np to a bosh half-way, discoTered to my
disgost that what we had taken for an elephant was a coriously
shaped grey-ooloored rook. Haring been thus taken in, we
eontiuoed our way among low, roc^ hills, my guide twisting
and taniing in a scnnewhat remarkable manner, nntil at 1 poo.

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74 SPORT AND TRAVEL PAPERS

v« came upon a water-hole in the dry bed of a monntaiii stream.
This was evidently a favourite drinking-place for koodoo and
titel, of which Utter antelope we had at different times seen
three splendid halls ; although offering tempting shots, I had
refrained from firing, being terj anxiooB to avoid delay. On
one bank of the pool was a hunter's tiny reed hut, where, the
gnide told me, the Dembela sportsmen waited at night for any-
thing which might come to drink. Here we rested about twenty
minntes, had oar Imicheon and a good drink, and then crossed
an andnlating table-land, covered with a short, dry grass, and
ntterly devoid of any track. The route taken by the guide
gradually became worse and worse ; riding was quite oat of
the qaestion — indeed, already daring the last two hoars I had
walked and led the pony, as mnch more comfortable for both.
About 4 p.m. it became evident to me that the guide had quite
lost his vray, or that he was, perhaps, misleading me purposely ;
for we had made the complete circuit of a sugar-loaf hiU, whereby
we must have wasted at least two hours.

" We next climbed op a steep, stony slope for abont two miles,
and then followed a long descent down the dry bed of a mountain
stream, we stumbling about among huge boulders and great
rocks worn smooth and slippery hy the foaming torrent which
grinds tiiem together as it rushes down between them during the
rains, until we came to a narrow goige leading into the higher
mountain ranges. Here was fonnd the skeleton of a lately killed
elephant. Aiter crossing the goi^e we struck another dry river-
bed, which we followed until it apparently ended at the foot of a
precipitoos rock, some 60 feet h^h. By this time the sun had
set, and it was only with the very greatest difficulty that my
Abyssinian pony, sure-footed as a cat though he was, could
struggle up the bank on one side of this rock. Long ere this
it had become very apparent to me that all chance of reaching
the Dembela village that night had gone, and there seemed
avery probability of oar having to make what the American
bufiiEilo-hanterB call a ' dry camp.' At 7 p.m., however, whether
hy pore lack, or from previous knowledge of the ground, oar
guide brooght us to a pool, about 100 yards long, in the dry bed
of another stream, which he called the ' Mareb,' but which, no
doabt, was only a tributary of that river. Utterly tired out by
a most fatiguing march, we drank heartily of the anything bat

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SKETCHES IN THE SOUDAK 76

pore liquid, and then, Bnpperlees, laid oar wearied bodies down
upon an nnoomfortable bed of rongb, sharp stonea. On aoooant
of the posdbl; hostile Dembelas we did cot dare to light a fire.

"Hardly had I dosed off when a sharp tag at the pony's
picketing rope, the end of which I held in m; hand, awoke me.
Wasa, who was keeping goard on a roek overlooking the water,
exclaimed ' Lion 1 lion ( ' so, hastily snatching np my rifle,
I made for Wasa's rock. Just too late, howerer. A magnifi-
oent lion had walked from the other side down to the sandy
beach of the pool to take his evening drink, bat beariiig me
erawling np the rook, off he had gone before there was the
possibilify of a shot. Had I only been in Wasa's [dace the
lion wonld have given me a splendid chance as he stood on
the sand quietly drinking — fblly exposed in the bright light of
the beantifdl motoi. We watched for him eagerly for some
time, bot in vain — nothing oame, and the remainder of the
night was ondistnrbed. On again next morning at 6, after a
loxorioas breakfast on cold water fully impregnated with rotting
vegetable matter, and for six hoars we followed the ooorse of
a diy, winding river-bed, np a rapidly ascending valley, over-
looked on both sides by pictareeqae high moontains ; we were
now well within the huge moantain ranges which extend
throng Ab^ainia to the Bed Sea. At noon we reached a
small pool in a rocky basin, fall of small flsh resembling
minnows ; bat beyond this all advance seemed to be barred by
the most preoipitoas monntsin-ddes. Feeling tired out and
exhausted, for there had been nothing to see for twenty-foor
hoars, and we had had a very tiying march, I ordered the gnide
to ascend the nearest peak and try if he could discover the
Dembela village anywhere. After an hoar's absence he re-
tomed delighted ; from the top he had seen the village we were
in search of, adding the grati^ing iutelligenoe that it was not
very far off. Without food, and the country almost impractic-
able, I had made up my mind, diould there be no habitations
visible, to return to our last night's halting-ground, and the
following day to make for the standing camp ; but now, of
coarse, on we went at once. We ascended a very steep orag,
and from there my gaide showed me on the skyline of another
mountain what looked to me like rocks, but which be assured
me were the Dembela houses. Two bonrs or more were occnpied

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76 SPORT AND TRAVEL PAPERS

in flrofising some vet; steep Ba^-loaf liillB, ooTered witb dhiim
stabble ; then we met some DembeU girls, ataggering nnder
their heavy water-skins, a welcome sign of the proximity of the
TillRge, which, after tnming a sharp oomer, at last lay before
na weary traTellers. On meeting the ladies, Waaa, to show
that we were friends witb the best intentions, had at onoe
commenced singing Abyssinian love-Bongs at the top of his
voice, to the no amall aatoniahmeni of the fiur ones, who
evidently seemed greatly puzzled at onr sndden appearance.
In a few minates we reached the houses, somewhat doobtfdl
aa to the kind of reception which awaited ns.

"A oollectiou of about twelve substantially built low stone
honses lay before na, veiy different from the gipsy-like mat
habitatiooa of the Beni'Amer Arabs. Wasa immediately
entered into conversation witb some of the villagers who
flocked ont on onr approach, and who seemed exceedingly
surprised at the — ^to tiiem — novel si^t of a white man ; they
could not make out where we had come from, and stared at us
aa if we had dropped from the skies. We were told to go on
to another village where the ahoum-in-chief lived, and one of
the natives vras given us aa a guide. We toiled on for about
a mile over a very stony path, and seeing a village a little way
before ns, I asked if that was oar destination ; the guide said no,
that the sboom lived much farther off. As, however, we were
both tired and hnngry, I insisted on being conducted to the
nearest village. Arrived there we were told to wait and to sit
down under a big tree ju^t outside the little dnster of houses,
until some one could be found willing to receive me into his
house. After a few minutes' delay I was taken into the boose
of an old woman who was busy spinning, and who, by way of
welcome, gave me a bowl of delicious sour milk. Soon after-
wards the chief man of the village appeared, and oondnoted
me and my horse into the one room of his house, and qnickly
a basket full of freably-made black cakes of Abyssinian bread
was pot before me, to be washed down with more soar milk,
while a good feed of com was not forgotten for the pony.
The house was a roomy one, and reclining npon a mud platform
covered with cowhide, I held daring the remainder of the day
a oontinoal levie, all the inhabitants of the place coming to
see the strange being, male as well as female, for Abyssinian

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SKETCHES IN THE SOUDAN 77

1 do not ran amy or hide their &ces at the sight of a
sfarange man, aa is cnatomary among ArabB. They examined
my clothes and boots, my anna and saddlery, my helmet and
belts, but their astonishment was indeed great when I pulled
ap my sleeve and showed them the white skin of my arm with
the bine reins npon it, for never before had they seen a white
nun. The children as well as the grown-np people were
^oeedinf^y dirty. They were most in^usitive about ereiything
on and about me, and when I began to smoke, wanted to follow
my example; being totally unused to tobaoco, the cigarettes
I rolled for them only made them coogh liolently, at which,
however, they seemed highly pleased. At snnset a dinner was
set before me of pieces of white bread soaked in highly-peppered
melted batter, and, of oonrse, there was more ' tot' About
8 p.m., when completely tired out I had the best intention to go
to sleep, in came a party of shooms from the big village to
which the gnide had wished to take me. The chief brought
me a present of bread and some jam of ' marisi,' or native beer,
which my visitors qoiekly emptied. This beverage is made of
fermented bread and floor in water, and is naually drunk out of
a oowhom. The shonms had various firearms, but the others
oarried only the osuaJ Abyssinian shield and spear. They quite
filled the house, and seemed never to be going, or to get tired
of asking Wasa qaeations about me. Near midnight, to my
intense relief, they at last departed, and I lay down to sleep
on the cowhide in close proximity to my host, and surrounded
by a dosm or so of his calves, my pony, and some sheep.
Owing to the altitude the night was very chilly, and as the
eavee of the roof did not meet the wall on opposite sides of
the room, bat allowed a free current of air to pass, it was not
easy to keep warm without blankets. At three the next morn-
ing some women came into the bouse to grind com for the
day's oonsumption, but I got up only just before sonrise, and
on going outside was soiprised at the magniflcence and extent
of the view from Adnloni, for so the place was called. The
village was built on the highest point of the loA? mountain
obain, and ova4ooked several smaller ranges, it being in its
turn oTsrlocAed by many a lofty peak extending for away
towards the mighty mountains of Abyssinia proper. The hiU<
sides were more or less bare, and I saw at once that this was

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78 SPOBT AND TRAVEL PAPERS

DO gftm« eonntr; ; there were too many Tillages, ftnd too many
enltirated fields, so I decided to leare again on the retmn
joomey as soon as my host would allow.

" Bnt here come the diffionlty ; in spite of all Wasa coold
say, the shonms had the fixed idea that I was on Egyptian
q>y, and that therefore I onght to be forwarded on to Lola,
the Ab^sinion king's oommonder-in-ohief on the frontira,
who, they said, was then bnt two days away. The prospect
of this was, to say the least, annoying. Several consoltations
were held between the shonms, who had spent the night in
the village, as to what was to be done with me, bat to
my great relief Wasa'a eloquence in defence of my hormlees-
nesa at last preToiled, and abont nine we were allowed to
leave, accompanied by my host and fonr other villagers as as
escort, and to see me safe across the frontier. We parted
the best of friends, and the head shoum presented me with
a very handsome shield as a farewell gift. The Datives are
AbyssiDioDS in dress, manners, and oostoms ; all wear the
DatioDol * koarrie,' and appear well-to-do ; they grow a good
deal of com, oats, barley, and dhuira, and possess laige
herds of goats and cows.

" We left the village by quite a different roate to that by-
whioh my former guide had brought me, and for some hours
followed a very rough path along the saddle of a mountain
chain ; then came a very long descent dowD to the bottom
of a narrow valley, where under a big tree we rested, and
quenched our thirst from a water-hole no bigger thao an
ordinary soup-plate. Soon after we came to more level
ground, and mode rapid progress all through the afternoon,
the track always desoendiug. Thanks to my escort being
well acquainted with the road, the homewwd march was
very difierent to that of the two previous days. Once we
struck the trail of a solitoty man, which considerably puzzled
my escort ; however, from the print of the sandal my com-
panions judged that the lonely wanderer belonged to a
friendly tribe. At sunset our party entered the nook of the
V-shaped plain I had previously traversed; here shorUy
afterwards my men wished to holt for the night, a little out
of the track near a water-hole. As I was very aiudoaB to
reach the camp that night I persuaded them to go cm, for

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SKETCHES IN THE SOUDAN 79

there Beemed no reason why they ahanld be bo tired, when
I also had walked the whole day and was able to proceed.
Eventnally, about 11 p.m., we reached the mnning water, and
a weaiy tramp of over two miles through the deep, heavy
sand bronght ns to camp. On approaching it my escort hong
back, and refhsed to meet oar Arabs. Wishing to sarfoise
yon and the camp, I alone crawled quietly throngb the belt
of high rushes which separated it from the river-bed, but
what was my astomshmect to see no fire and the camping-
ground entirely deserted ! Thinking that yon might perhaps
have moved np a little higher, I fired some shots from my
revolver, but, as no answer was returned, I knew that onr
wretched Arabs had forced yon to retire to a greater distanoe
from the dreaded frontier. It was very annoying, for where
was the snpper I bad looked forward to all day ? We had
no matches, bnt with the help of gunpowder and tinder a
fire was kindled; some flour, which we had Int^y bron^t with
ns, was worked into a paste with water, and then a round
stone previously heated in the fire enclosed in a very thick
laycar of the don^, and the whole baked in the hot ashes.
We made onr supper off this more or lees digestible heavy
black bread, quenching our thirst with some honey-water, of
which these men are very fond. It is simply the roo^
honey as taken from a tree mixed with water, and strained
— if the means are at hand — through muslin, or . some part
of a cotton garment. After this frugal repast we laid our-
selves down close to the fire, and soon forgot our troubles
in slee^, one or more of the Dembelas, who seemed anything
but happy, keeping watch all night. This morning early I
started with Wasa down the river in search of the camp,
leaving my guide to keep' the others company, to whom I
promised to return as soon as possible with presents and
food ; hardly had we got half a mile away when he came
running after us, afraid to trust himself alone among the
Dembelas. After an hour's rapid march I beheld, to my
great delight, your camp, and how I there enjoyed my weU-
earned breakfiut yon know almost as well as I do."

The traveller's tale ended we approached onr old oamp, and
presently saw one of the Dembelas watching us from behind
a bush, who, when satisfied as to our identity, shouted to

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80 SPORT AND TRAVEL PAPERS

his friends to fiom« forth, for ibtiy haA hidden themeelveB
when onr part; first came in sight. After the nsiial shaking
of hands all round, repeated more than onoe, we squatted
down in a circle, and handed over our presents, which they
at first refosed, bat afterwards took, begging ererything else
they saw besides. The men were of the general Abyssinian
' fype, clothed in short, tight canTas trousers, with " quarrie "
(national toga with red stripe), or canvas tnoic; two were
armed with rifies, the others with shield and spear. We
now heard that our minstrel oamel-bc^, who with the inter-
preter had been left with the Dembelas since morning, had
very nearly met with an nntimely end. The etnpid boy,
having foolishly twitted the Dembelas about their religion —
which is Christian in name — the insult had so roased them
that they had inslBted on his being shot then and ther&
After putting forward every kind of excose and apology, the
intwpreter had only with the very greatest difficulty prevented
this snmmaiy exeontion being carried oat, getting it commated
to a sonnd ttuashing with a ooarbatoh. The mifoitnnste oolprit
had jast been anlaahed from the whipping-post — the tronk
of a dome-pahn — and looked very piano, as if he never would
sing again those love-songa with which he was wont to wile
away many a long, weary mile. A glass of whisky all round
to cement oar friendship, and then the ahonm asked for
the book, and holding it in his hand swore that he would
answer for oar safety on the frontier for one fortnight, after
which we also swore something, bat what it was neither G.
nor I could ever make oat. The chief warned as not to go
to his village again without first letting him know, as with-
out an escort of his own men it would be very dangerooa
to do BO, and then we parted and left in opposite directions
for onr several homes. Next morning our camp was onoe
more moved down to the frontier, in the vicinity of whieh
we hunted with only moderate success for aboat ten di^.

The messenger whom Z had sent after G-. returned two days
later, having missed him on the road. Three weeks afterwards
this man' was taken out of our camp 1^ a lion, his injories,
however, being fully avenged by the death of the king of beasts,
as later told in BaUjf. It was getting too late in the season;
the big game, owing to the soaroit; of water, all the rivers being

byGoogIc

SEET0HE8 IN THE SOUDAN 81

diy to the north, h&d nurvdd further sooth into the Bud ooonti;
towsrdB the flowing Mareb uid Bettit. Bofhlo uid elephants
h»d viflited the piece of nmning water near our camp, and
lefreahed themaelreB at it on their way eonth, and no donbt a
month before onr nsit the sport there would have been rery
good, bnt now moat of the herds bad paesed on, and the gronnd
had been greatly distnibed by native hontetB, who had taken
advantage of it at the proper time, as the remains of rude
gheltars and hats at the most likely places showed. We only
saw elephants twice, of which one was bagged, bnt never bnffido,
although we followed their spoor for many a long mile.

On the parched plains to the north we ftiand nothing but
giraffe, variona kinds of antebpe, and a few ostiiobee. The
latter are sought after by native banters who follow their
employment singly, living for long perioda of time alone in
some part of the desert known to be frequented by those waiy
birds. Once I eame npon one of these men, and found him
ntting in a natural hot formed by a thickly overhangLog bosh,
bnaily employed in making his (wtrioh traps. These consist of
a ring, 9 inches or so in diameter, twisted from the split leaf
stem of the dome-palm, through which all ronnd, like the spokes
of a wheel, a number of pointed spikes of the same material are
passed, the tips almost meeting in the centre of the ring.
These traps are laid on the ground and lightly covered with
■and in places where ostriches are wont to congregate. Should
a bird step upon each a trap, his heavy foot in the loose sand
slips thronf^ the ring, the points cliMing again firmly upon the
leg, which, thus encumbered by the whole trap, makes the
ostrich a comparatively easy victim. Whether many are eaught
1^ this somewhat primitive contrivance I coold not ascertain ;
the banter, a bald old man, was a curious specimen of hia kind ;
his only nlnthing i narrow strip of leather round the loins, and a
few beadfi encircling his neck; bis sole companion a donkey,
vbo fetched his weekly snpply of water from the Cw-off water-
hole ; his only food some diy dhoira, his only arms a knife,
spear, and shield.

Another picture of jungle life and I have done.

One day, while stalking a koodoo with a remarkably fine pair

of hOTDB, I heard, on reaching the crest of a low hill, frequently

repeated plaintive cries approaching me rapidly. Wondering

7

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82 SPORT AlTD TRAVEL PAPERS

what thifl conld mean, I stood still, and preaentl; saw one of
those loTely little dik-dik antelopes galloping towards me for
dear life closely pnrsoed by a large hozEard. In a moment the
poor little thing, no higger than a large hare, had reached me,
ottering mtoeaaingly the most piercing cries of angnish, when to
my astonishment it eov«red down within a yard of my feet.
The bird, too intent opos the chase to notice me, was abont to
ponnce down apon his victim, when at last suddenly he dis-
OOTored me, and, startled, sharply wheeled and disappeared. The
little dik-dik, evidently in the last extremity of terror, qoickly
CoUowed his example, bat in the opposite direction, and was
soon out of sight among the nearest bnshes, the only gainer by
the rateontre, f(nr he had saved his life, irbSle the bind bad lort
his dinner, and I the ooreted koodoo hotna.

byGoogIc

IX

A HON STORY

TO shoot a lion liftd been tH along my great ambition, bat
week after week passed in fraitleas search after the king of
beasts. Leave was fiist nmning to a dose, bat no shot had I
flred at the noblest of game ; no, I had not aren seen a lion. It
eertainly was very disappointing ; there they were, I heard them
every night growling ronnd oar camp, bat never eoald I see
them. I followed their tracks every morning, bnt never eonld I
find them, and viaitB innumerable I paid to the " lions' village,"
a dense tangled jangle of dome-palms and most disagreeably
thorny bmshwood, bat the tawny monarch was never at home.
Katives assnred me that he had lately been seen in his " home>"
bat he was always oat when I called, and the most diligent
search even prorod fruitless. The native tracker, as a trnmp
card, would climb np a tree in the immediate neighboorhood of
bis sapposed lair, and imitate, in the moat perfect manner and
the most persaasif e tone, the low growls of a lion in love — growls
which, in lion language, doubtless meant protestations of the
most sincere and andying affection. Bnt no, not even that
bronght forth the jealous lover or the lovesick lady. The
native, disgosted and out of patience, woold then suddenly
change his love-song to abuse, and heap corses on the whole
lion family. That also was unsoocessfol. G. had seen three
and" wounded two, though without baling, but I had been
particularly unfortonate -, no lion came to the water to drink
when I was watching at night, although I sometimes provided
food in the shape of a goat for his majesty. Of the camel which
had been killed over nif^t, nothing remained but bones when I

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84 SPORT AND TRAVEL PAPERS

got there, Uie feastera probftbl; being mUee away. The ladies
and children of the TillagoB were always abstraoted when I was
oat of reach, and thoae lions which paid nightly risits to the
camp, and which were sometimes seen, were always jnst not
visible when I had tumbled oat of bed, roosed by the whisper of
" aaad " (lion) in my ear.

My torn was to come, howerer, and in a way which was net
desired by any of as, for it proved most disastrons to one of the
party. Still it ended in the well-deserred death of a magnificent
old UOD.

After a long, tiring march along the diy, sandy bed of the
Barka, we had made oar camp close to where a snull streamlet,
now also diy, joins the main river in a dense dome-palm jangle.
We bad already been encamped near the spot about two months
before, when the mat-village of the Bakhih tribe, a division of
the pastoral Beni-Amer, was established in the immediate
vicinity, which, on account of the numerous flocks, proved a
powerfid attraction to the genas " Leo." Lions then came to
look at OS ni^tly, bnt, thoagh the camp fires made as visible to
them, they were invisible to as. It is an onoomfbrtable ghostly
Boond, this stifled toar, or rather oat-like growl, roond the camp
at night, dose to one's bed I We had no tents. The know-
ledge of the immediate proximity of the animal makes one grasp
one's rife, and peer into the darkness, with a strong inward
desire to jump oat of bed, and get as near the fire as possible.
The men disliked it particularly, were all awake in a moment,
and noisily added fresh logs to the fire. It is diffleolt to
understand why some lions roar at ni^t. Is it a challenge,
or an invitation to their lady friends, for it wonld hardly help
them to eeonre their sapper? What object, though, could they
have in roaring when haunting onr camp ? If it was in q>ort,
to frighten the men, they saeceeded. That all lions do not
make themselves noisily heard when Intent upon appeasing their
i^ipetite this story shows, for my fature victim walked right
throagh the camp, examining every one oare&lly before he
finally made np his mind as to the most appetising morsel.
Tastes difier ; bat of this all in good time. The camp looked
very pretty that night, established among lofty dome-palms, at
the edge of the sandy river-bed ; the fires were burning brightly,
and as I watched it from my bed, was as picturesque as any

byGoogIc

A UON STORY 85

traTeller or himter eoold deain. The bmujUau, pilkr-Uk«
tnmks of the palnui, euTeloped in a mantle b; the drooping
giant dead leaTes about to be abed, whose monotonous brown
ma here and there relieved b; a bright winding oreeper seeking
the sunlight above, and the green orown of leaves overhead,
interiaoing with those of the neighbouring palms into a lovely
arehed roof, so thick that onl; here and there a star oould Io<^
throu^ — this lit up by the reddish light of the brightly burning
camp fire had an almost theatrical effect, seen from the com-
parative dailnesa in which, at a little diatance, Q-.'a hammock
waa slung and my bed was placed. Bound the larger fire lay
the camels, slowly chewing the end, gravely meditating the
flames. Cloae to them slept the men on their only bed and
mattress — a sheep or antelope akin — while the goats and horses
were tied op cloae at hand. Between the main fire and onr beds
waa the kitchen, where the cook had onried himself up in hia
blanket. Everything out of the immediate range of the light
waa pitoh dark, but the white sandy bed of the little stream a
flew yards off waa jnat vuible. It was a gloomy camping-place
by day, but when lighted np by the roddy ^ore of the fire it was
flheerfdl to look upon, especially from the comfortable folda of
more than one blanket, for it waa cold and chilly at night, and
we were just beyond the warming inflnenoe of the burning loga.
While listening to the monotonona aong of one of the men,
whose duty it waa to remain awake and attend to the fire, and
while watching the light aa it fiickered among the leafy palm
tope, aleep overcame na at last, which even a restleaa mule, who
would munch and rattle among the dry leaves, could not
prevent.

We hod been asleep probably about two honrg when a
horrible shriek anddenly aronaed ua from onr alnmbers, and
mode UH wide awoke in a moment. There were cries of " Lion I
lion I " and everything waa commotion in the darkness, for
sleep hod overcome the minstrel watchman and the firea were
all bat out. Natnrally thinVing — if there was time for tbonght
at aU — that a lion had carried off one of the horaes or goats,
I, suddenly started up into a sitting position in bed, had hardly
taken hold of my heavy rifle, which, loaded, always lay alongside
me at night, when Qi. said, " There he goea, in the bed of the
river t " And there am enough, just viaible ogainet the white

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86 SPORT AND TRAVEL PAPERS

sftDd of tlie rivw-bed, wfts the ahadow; form of & lion vaUdog
away from the oamp. It waa too daj^ to see the barrels, moob
less the sights of the rifle, but I took two rapid shots in the
direetiott of onr departing Tisitor, the second of which was
answered b; an angiy roar. The whole waa the affair of a
moment ; and having reloaded and disentangled ontselveB from
the blankets, Q, and I went to see what mischief the lion had
done, who, it now appeared, had not carried away horse or
goat, bat one of onr men. Seized by the feet when asleep
roond the fire, he had been dragged about fonr yards down to
the river-bed and there dropped by the lion, frightened probably
by the man's own ahriehs and the shonta of the others, and
thanks to the plncky and determined manner in which his
neighbonr had held on to the bmte's chosen morsel. All waa
coi^sion : the men had seized their spears and shields and
were roshing aboat here and there, thongh not leaving the safe
Ticini^ of the fire, rekindled now into an enormons blaze.
One man in his excitement set fire to the dead leaves of a
dome-palm, which burning np qoickly into a colnnin of flame
threatened a general conflagration. The nnfortnnate man who
had been bo mdely awakened from his sleep had both his feet
badly injored by the lion's teeth, the greater put of the sole
of each having been torn away, but leaving the bones, luckily,
intact. 8«ioas thongh no donbt his injories were, the man
had had a very Incky escape, for a more horrible death than
that which would have awaited him, if carried to the lion's
den, is difficult to imagine. He was an obstinate old man
too, and had little or no faith in EmYipean methods of treat-
ment, snch as thorough cleansing of the wounds and cold water ;
no, nothing but wood ashes and placing his feet as near the
fire as he ooold bear would do. Once we had nearly succeeded
in cleaning the wonnds bom sand and earth, but, to onr disgust
a short time after, the feet thickly covered with dirty ashes
were once more roasting before the blazing fire. The man
who ought to have remained awake and kept the flres up
was taken severely to task about bis n^ect of daty, but the
nanal exoose was: "Fate — it was written, and noUiing would
have prevented it." We did not then tell him that it was also
writtea that he should get a licking on the spot, or no meat
for some days — a worse punishment — an Arab's stomach being

byGoogIc

A UON STORY 87

more BessitiTe than Ub hide, nor did we act aooording to oar
iDterfffeUtioD of the law. The ii^aiy wu done, sod, frightened
ae all the men were, we mi|^t, fate or no &te, depend apon
titeir not forgetting the fire in fatnre. Not mooh sleep did
they get tiiat night, the popular and firm belief being Uiat the
lion, baTing onoe tasted hnman blood, would be certain to retom.
HoweYer, their feara proved groondleae, and the remaining
hoDTB till dawn were passed in peaoe. That I had in the
darkness hit the lion had never entered m; head, so my delight
was great when, soon after daybreak, one of the men disooTered
Uood near the river bank and more at the edge of the jangle
(q^oflite. However, bre^k&st first and search after the
woonded lion afterwards was the programme agreed apon.
While waiting for oar morning meal we examined the coarse
taken by the lion in his per^rinations throngh the camp, and oar
astonishment was great when we discovered the prints of two
enormons forepaws exactly one foot and a half from the edge
of my bed ; he mast have had his head right over me, and
examined me closely, or rather the blankets, for, saffering from
a slight cold, I had enveloped myself bom head to foot in a
sack blanket. This probably was my salvation, the lion not
earing to investigate the interior of a mysterioas sack ; at all
events he left me disgostad, and transferred his attentions to O.,
who was reposing peaoefolly in a hammock, dreuning, no donbt,
of all kinds of sweet things at home, and little enongh of tiie
noble animal so intently looking at him with a view to nltimate
digestion. A. sndden awakening for him or me when the lion's
nose was witiiin a fiew inches of, or perhaps even nearer, to oar
own nasal oigans, woold certainly been very startling, and
probably &tal. Kowerer, Q. was not to the taste of this
fastidioos monarch, or the netwoA of the hammock pazzled
and seemed ancanny to him ; at all events the lion continaed
his stadles of a hanter'a camp by examining the kitchen,
where his dainty appetite was not, Inckily for ns, tempted by
the cook or any other savonry morsel, bat where royal pro-
grees was inconsiderately barred towards the main camp fire
by some heavy boxes. Thence, therefore, he walked back into
the river-bed, closely passing a horse on his way, re-entering
onr camp opposite to where the men slept, and taking no notice
of two other horses who were tied to a palm, which horses

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88 SPORT AND TRAVEL PAPERS

he mazb almost have bruBhed with his mane. It Beems ao
extraordinary thing that the animals did not break away ; they
most either have been Tery fast asleep or palsied by Mght.
Arrired near the oamp fire, which had homed vety low, and
where everything was hashed in sleep, tide lion, so difBonlt to
satisfy, at last foond something to hia taste — whether guided
to it by sight or smell will nerer be known — the feet of an
Arab— not perhaps exactly what everybody woold have chosen,
bnt there is no accoonting for taste, certainly not for that of
a lion ! Having seized both feet, he dragged ttieir owner down
into the river-bed and only dropped hipi there when startled
by the noise of the ronsed camp. It was his last foray, fot,
onfbrtanately for him, a Inc^ ballet woonded him in the foot,
when, disappointed of his homan sapper, he walked into his
native jai^le, a woond which, bleeding well, led in a few hoars
to his death. The soft soil on which oar camp stood mode the
peregrinationa of the lion very plain to read.

Break&st was ready and soon despatched, as we both were
very keen to bring oar friend to book ; so with two trackers and
oar heavy rifles we took np the trail. Crossing the bed of the
stream oar party entered the dome-palm jangle beyond, and
soon foand a pool of blood and then another, the discovery gt
which considerably raised oar hopes, showing, as it did, that
probably the lion was serioasly woonded. The bloody trail led
oa to the main river, across it, and into the jangle beyond.
The pngs were very large, promising a noble lion ; the print of
the left forefoot being mooh less distinct than those of the
others, pointed at once to the seat of the woond. The jangle
which we had now entered was vny thick below, composed of
yoong dome-palms with their broad, feathery leaves, high grass,
and shrubs covered the most vicious thorns, the whole being
overlooked by the bare stems and leafy crowns of these asefal
palms which everywhere here fringe the river banks — altogether
not exactly the place one woold choose to visit a woonded lion.
On we went, when soddenly a noise was heard in the grass
ahead, and for a second we saw oor friend of the night before
disappearing throngh a bosh. He evidently was foil of life
still, bat the exertion made his woond bleed more profusely,
and, coming soon after on barer ground, this was very
apparent. Forcing oor way throngh some most disagree-

byGoogIc

A UON STORT 89

ably thorny bnshes, we after a tdme heard low, angry growla,
vhioh informed na thai tite game had become aware of our

As I had boen the flrat to wound the lion, he waa mine by
the nnwritten rules of woodoraft. I therefore had the poet of
honour in front, and was the first to see- him lying under
some orerhanging basheB. Only the hindquarten were, how-
erer, Tisible ; so, hoping to cripple him, I' fired at the hipa.
He wu np at the flaah, and charged with a terrible roar to
within two or three yards of us, and then disappeared tbrouf^ a
bush. My ballet not having had time to reach the spot aimed
at, passed, as we afterwards found, through the fleshy part of his
thigh,' and Q., who fired when the lion chafed, missed alto-
gether, the animal's change of direotion having been so very
sudden. Once more the search commenced, but did not last
long this time. Soon we heard the low gTowling again, and, ro-
ooniuntring his new positioo, found that the roaring came from a
dome-palm damp a little way ahead, with a piece of open
groond in front, which, with suob a savage enemy before as,
we hesitated to cross. The growls were so frequent, and
sounded so like those of an animal in his death agony, that Q.
and I, the trackers having retired to a. safe distance, decided
to smoke a cigarette at this extreme outpost and to wait a bit.
The roaring, however, becoming much stronger, and our anxie^
to bag greater, we threw oar cigarettes away and climbed ap a
high ant-hill close by, fr«m which elevated and safe position we
hoped to see the wounded lion. Nor were we disappointed ; O.,
first on the top, at once discovered the brute's head under a young
dome-palm bush, but not before the lion had become aware of
our new tactics — tactics of which he disapproved by loud angry
roars. His minutes were, however, numbered, for, finally rest-
ing the rifle, I sent a bullet into his forehead. His head
dropped at once, and, after a few convulsive movements, the
noble animal breathed its lost. Warned by the fate of other
sportsmen, we left him alone for some time, and then by
throwing stones at him made sure that no life remained before
we went up to him and examined our prize. He was a splendid
fellow, irith a beaatifdl mane and sieek skin. The moment of
standing over one's first lion is certainly worth a rery great deal
of roaf^iing, bard work, and frequent disappointment, and

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90 SPORT AND TRAVEL PAPERS

nothing can be compued with it — u tiie lion it the king (tf
beuts, so is lion shooting the king of sports.

T Tig meaanrements were : 9 feet from tip of nose to tip of tail,
measured with hia nose raised level with the back ; from top of
vithers to foot, 3 feet 11 inches ; 19 inches ronnd upper, and 16
ronnd forearm.

The fint bullet had broken the bones of the foot and torn a
large blood-ressel, thanks to which the tracking became so ess;.
M; last bnllet had entered the forehead, broken the lower jaw,
and then passed on into the chest. A camel was sent for, and
the skin and skull taken to camp. We oonld not find the
wanting pieces from the Arab's feet in tiie stomach. The death
of the lion, howoTor, was a source of great satisfaction to the
wotmded man, and, I trust, acoelwated his recovery.

We at once sent to his village to aoqoaiut his people with the
tmfortuiate accident, and in a day or two his wife and son
arrived with an enormoni ox, carrying a most nncomfbrtable
looking sort of pad for the transport of the wonnded man. On
to this he was hoisted, and, jnovided with meat and other
necessaries for the road, be started off comparatively happy,
taking one more look at the skin of his wonld-be mnrderer.
Though he did not carry Ms own skin away without a few extra
holes, be no doabt sbnddered when the fate which he bad so
hi^ily escaped was reoallad to his mind.

This was the only lion which I was destined to kill, or even
to see. A month or mora before the above adventnre, when we
first Entered the country honoured by the king of beasts, lion
ahooting had seemed so simple to me, though, unluckily, but for
one short night. G-. and I were asleep, as was our habit, at a
little distance from the camp fire, when I was awoke by one of
our men whispering the magic word " asad " (Hon) close to me.
Q,, first aroused, was already out of bed, and, rifle in hand,
followed the man at once. :bi less than a minute I heard two
shots in rapid soooession, succeeded by a great scrambUng as of
some beary animal on the bank overlooking our camp. Now
also wide awake, I was in the act of tomisg out, when G-.
returned saying, " Well, at all events there is one lion less in
Africa." How simple lion shooting then seemed I Bat, alas 1
next nu»ning we found that shooting did not necessarily also
mean bagging. Of course at daybreak ire were op, ej^>ecting to

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A LION STOET 91

see a msgmfieent lion dead on the bank ; bnt no, there was no
lion, only blood ; some Batie&ction at all events, for it gave
hopes of nltimate sncceBS. The woonded snimal had eridantl;
nude for some dome-pahn jangle, with Ter; dense onderwood,
and thick impassable clomps of dome shmb, which oommenoed
only a few jaxia from the spot where he had been shot, extend-
ing thence aa far as one coold see on the riTcr bank. The
prospect of a meeting with the woonded lion in this coTer, where
one coold see nothing whatever on tiie gronnd, was not very
pleasant ; still we entered it with some of oar men, who seemed
Tei; keen, thaoka to the prospect of backsheesh. G-., whose
lion it was, led the way into the jangle by a narrow path,
jMYtbably made and need by wild beasts, across which, a little
distance in, the trnnk of a dome-palm had fitUen, and was lying
a foot or more above the gionnd, resting upon bashes on either
side. Upon this 0-. got, so as to obtain a good view, and over
it the native backers climbed. They were just beginning to
examine the bashes on the other side when a load roar from the
immediate vicinity was heard, which made them mn back in the
greatest hnrry, thinking, aB everybody else did, that the lioQ
was opon them. In their haste they, however, fbigot the fUlen
tree, and one after another tumbled head over heels over it — a
most oomioal sight, tboagh probably nobody thought so at the
time, nor felt very inclined to laagh jast then at the involontary
header which evetybody took. Instead of taking the offensiTe,
the lion preferred seeking peace and qoietness elsewhere.
Though we found blood onder a dome-palm bash, where he had
been lying when soddenly disturbed by the attaching par^,
nothing more was seen of him. He had given us the slip, and,
thou^ we searched for him everywhere, we had eventoally to
retam to camp disappointed and lionleas ; also thoroughly con-
vinced that one most not ooout one's lion until he is actoalfy
bagged.

byGoogIc

ROADSIDE SKETCHES IN GUATEMALA

1884
Pabt I. — The " Tibrea Calibktb," ob Hot Zohb

AT daybreak we awoke ; tke Hteuoer'a screw had stopped,
and heavy surf was distmotly heard breaking upon the
eosst. Thus aroused, we were soon out of our berths to hare
a first look at St. Jos^ de Guatemala, our destmatioQ. There
lay the two grandly beantiM Toloanoes ; the double-peaked
"Fnego," clearly and distinotly defined against the morning
sky, little poffs of smoke rising slowly from its ragged crater ;
" Agoa," still hiding its lofty summit in a white nightcap of
olond, which Tanished only at the bidding of the morning snn.
There stood the giant monntains in their majestio beanty and
solemn grandeur, worth coming very Ar to see. The lower
mountain ranges were still wrapped in gloom and rising mists,
and separated from the surf-beaten shore by a belt of dense
topical fbrest, at the edge of which, built apon the golden
sand, are the few wooden houses occupied by those whose duty
keeps them at this undesirable spot. The giant chfun of the
Cordilleras runs throngh Ghiatemala from S.E. to N.W., and
from it the country gradually slopes down, on the one side to
the Atlantic, on the other to the Faoifio Ocean. It may thus
be divided into three sones, the hot near the coast, merging
into the temperate at an altitude of, say, 1,600 feet, while the
eold commenoes at about 6,000 feet. Ae we entered the ooontty
from the coast, we will begin our wanderings in the first, and
then gradually asoend to the top of one of the most beantifiil
of the many magnificent roleanoes which make t^ eoontry so

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ROADSIDE SKETCHES IN GUATEMALA 93

pictaresqne, where, even with the aid of great-ooate and fires,
it IB almoBt impossible to keep ont the intense cold. The short
railway from San Jos^, the Facifia port of Guatemala, nms
through a narrow lane ont in the thick jungle, a tangled mass
of tropical TOgetation, the nndenQwd of which was oorered for
long distances with a moat loxariant oreeper in foil bloom, a
large maave conrolTnlns. Here and there we passed a few
native hats of bamboo and thatohed with plantain or palm
leaves, in the centre of small clearings, the playgronnd of naked
ehildren, pigs, and fbwls ; then the coontr; became more open ;
we ran through a partly cleared oattle-ranoh, passed fields of
green sugar-cane, and at last oame to a stop at the very neatly-
kept station of Escnintia, the present terminus of the railway,
which will shortly be open as far as Chiatemala itself, the
capital, fbrl^-five miles distant. Here oar six moles awaited as,
which we had Inckily telcf^phed for firom the last port in Son
Salvador ; they were soon loaded with our baggage and en route
to the capital, while we took np our quarters for the night at
the hotel. The inn had two stories, nnlike almost all the other
houses in Guatemala, which, in consequence of frequent earth-
quakes, have only one. The rooms opened on to on inner
verandah and balcony, running ronnd the sqnare ooartyard, and
were fiiirly dean, though very crowded. It was Sunday and a
*' festa," and therefore everything was enfSte, and everybody en
grande teniae. We did as others did, we went to ohorch, attended
a cock-fight, listened to the military band on the plaza, to
the small cannon and Urge rockets let off on the cathedral
steps at evening Mass, I sappose to wake np the powers above,
ate "frqoles," bat we did not gamble at cards afterwards, or
indolge too largely in aguardiente. Very bright and pretfy
looked the madet-place on which, under giant mat umbrellas,
sat the Indian women sheltered &om the sun, selling their black
and white beans, melons, oranges, limes, plantains, &o. While
the women were busy in the market or at their devotions in the
somewhat dilapdated church, the husbands, attired in their best
eloUies, were occupied most of the day in winning or losing
money at the anoient national amusement of oock-fighting.
Attracted to the spot by the sounds of the marimba, we paid a
small fee at the door, and found the arena established in the
inner yard, and a large excited crowd assembled, busy with the

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94 SPORT AMD TRAVEL PAPERS

pnlimmaiy Brr&ngeiDeDtB for the next matdi. The birds were
cerUinly magnifioent uunuJs, in splendid coadition and perfeot
plamagd. There were coeks everywhere — some oarried under the
owner's ana, others standing abont on the ground, their liberty
restrioted by a string attached to one leg; there were many
more tied np all ronnd the yard, and the smroonding sheds
were Ml of them, each bird, however, confined in a cage or
fastened to the wall to prevent his indulging his fighting pro-
pensities on his own account, and before the ovmer's money had
gone on. A long time it always took to arrange a match; the
cocks had to be compared as to size and weight, they had to be
introdnced to one another in order to judge by their demeanonr
whether they would be likely to fight or not. At last, bowerer,
Qie preliminaries are completed, and the bets satisfactorily
arranged, the master of the ceremonies rings his bell and tiie
arena is cleared of everybody except the owners of the two oooks
about to fight, and the two individoals on whom the most
importuit task of tying on the spurs devolves. Great skill is
required for this, which but few oan boast of. The spun are
most murderous weapons, and nearly three inches in length
shaped like a scythe and sharp as a razor. They are kept in «
red velvet ease, and are, I believe, made at Birmingham. Afl«r
examining several at last one is chosen and tied on to the left
1^, over a leathern guard fitting over the pared-down natural
^nr. When this has been satisfactorily aceomplished, and the
blade goarded by a leathern sheath, the cook is placed in the
arena and his blood thoroughly aroused by means of thrusts
made at him by another bird held in the hand. At last every-
thing is ready, the sheaths are removed and the cocks fooe each
other. After a good deal of sparring and pretending to pick ap
grains of com in a perfectly unconcerned manner, while all the
time the birds edge towards each other, the attack is made, and
in much less than a minute all is over ; the weapons are so
murderous^ sharp that one stab suffices, the cruelty, therefore,
if indeed tiien be any at all, is vastly less than when in
En^^d, formerly, the birds, armed vrith a short spur only, bad
to inflict many wounds before death, generally from sheer
ezhaostion, at last put an end to the battle. During the
intervals between the fights the musicians played on the
marimba some veiy pretty airs, vrithout, however, veiy much

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ROADSIDE SEETCHSS Ut OUATEHALA. 95

nzfo^. This insfaniment, in shftpfl Uk« »d iioiDenae humoni-
flon, is peenliar to GoatemaU, uid (Utes from vet; long sgo.
It is oaed ai all natiTe featiTitieB, Tarios in siM, and ia aome-
times played b; two men, sometimeB, as in thia oase, b; aa
many as fire. The sweet, bell-like notes were Tery pretfy, and,
heard for the first time, took onr fancy greatly. The instromeBt
ooaststed of twenty-seren pieces of hard wood resting opon
sbingB immediately over Uie months of twenty-seren sqoare
wooden oif^an-pipes, partially closed at the bottom. Aa the
pieces of wood decreased in sise, so did the pipes below, in area
and length, the smaller when stmek by Hie stick piodndng the
higher, the Itxgex the deeper notes. At the hotel we were
introduced to the national dish, " frijoles," stewed black haricot
beans, which, with the onlesTened maiae oakea — " tortillas," to
be afterwards described — form the principal food of the natives.
After dinner extract of eoftee in bottles was handed romid, from
which everybody took a little into hu cap, to be dllnted with
boiling water according to taste. Here, in a great coffee-pro-
ducing country, one mif^t naturally expect to drink the very
best nnder the most faroorable conditions ; bnt no, the la^
natives, to save themselves troable, boil it down in large qnan-
tities to a strong extract, bottle it, and, of course, most if not
all the aroma has escaped long before the bottle is empty.
This [oractioe, excepting at some private hooses belonging to
foreigners, seemed nniversal. Another disagreeable costom is
the washing of plates and glasses with soap, the objectionable
smell of which always hangs abont, and can be detected at once
minf^ed with that of food and drink. Fonr o'clock next morning
foond as on the road to the capital, fifteen leagues away. Oar
moleteer before leaving with the baggage the day before hod
lent each of na one of his spozs, temariung, on our asking for
one for the other heel also, " One is enough ; if yon make one
half of the animal go the other is bound to follow." The road
was terribly bad, bat, thanks to the two hours' darkness before
snnrise, we did not see, though we felt, the worst and most
ftony part of it. Early though it was, the women were already
up and busy ; we could see them as we rode along sitting beside
the brightly burning fires grinding moiae-com and m^lPTig
"tortillas," preparing bread for the hosband who still slam-
hered in the dark part of the hut. This is the task of the

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96 SPORT AUD TRAVEL PAPERS

women, «nd a rery hard one it is. The com, in order to soften
the haid envelope, is put into water to which ft little lime has
heen added ; it ia then boiled for & moment and allowed to soak
in the same water for aboat twelve hours. It is now taken out
to be ground np on a flat stone by means of another shaped like
a rolling-pin, until the whole becomes a thick paste. A piece of
this ia then beaten between the two hands, and fashioned into
a flftt a&d roond and thin cake, aboat the size of a large soup-
plate. A few minutes' baking on a hot iron or earthenwun
plate, Rnd the tortilla is ready to be eaten.

As we do not intend to leave at present the " tierrg caliente,"
or to visit the capital of (}natemaU and the higher regions, we
will now change this rood to another, which is abont to bring us
to the little town of Sta. Lncia, sitnsted jnst above the low-
^7^^ jODgleB extending dovm to the Pacific shore. We have
had a very dusty and hot ride, our baggage mules are tired, and
mine is very lame b^des. Poor brute 1 little pify doefi he get,
at all events from the muleteer, who laughs derisively at every
attempt I make to ease the animal. Cruelty to mules he does
not recognise; if a mole goes lame hb must take the oonse-
quences of it ; he mnst be made to do his work all the same. The
spur, or whip, or both, are the only reoognised remedies, so the
"arriero" argnea, and hard words are the conseqnenoe, especially
as one's own temper is just a little irritable, ruffled as it ia by
the heat, the dost, and &tigue, and by the &eqaent stumbling of
tiio mule, while the absolute necessity for getting on, as one
cannot remain in the road, is ever before one's eyes. They are
wonderful animals, these mules, most patient, most enduring
and bard-working beasts ; they are the best abused, tot no word
is too bad for them in the vocabulary of the Spanish language ;
they are the most badly treated, and pity is never wasted npon
them when they have the bad Inok to be mck or hurt. They
will do enormous distances over the worst roads, carrying heavy
loads day after day, and yet their only food consists of dry maise
stalks, dry grass, with occasionally a little com. To everybody's
delight we at last turned into the coortyard of the little inn at
Sta. Lucia, which we found gaily decorated with flags, coloured
paper and lamps, the remains of the festivities of the day before
— a Sunday. After feeding the mnles and ordering oar dinnera,
we went to see the old toltea remains which are to be found in

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ROADSIDE SKETCHES IN OUATEUALA 97

the forest in the immediata vicim^ of the tovn. Little enongti
did we find, however ; nothing bnt a large carved stone figure of
a woman with her anna crosaed over her breast, lying npon tiie
graond, and enrronnded by heaps of paving-stonea of the same
material — grey granite, which had only lately been cat, I very
much fear, from others of these interesting and Taloable remains.
If oor SDrmises be trae, the desecration is directly against lately
passed and most stringent laws for the preservation of these
ancient monnmentB ; bnt, to say the least, it seemed snapicioos
to OS. Dnsk did not allow ns to continue our search for other
figures which are said to lie more or leas hidden in the dense
forest around ; on the prerions day we had, however, had the
opportunity of admiring a number of gigantic hnsts cut in
granite, at a large sngar estate on which they bad been found.
The c»lm repose of their stem features was most impressive, and
looking at them thoa, one's thoughts wandered to the terrible
scenes of homan sacrifice of which they no doubt were witnesses,
when the high priest, with a face as pitiless and unmoved pro-
bably as these cut in stone, slan^tered his victims according to
the bloody rites of the A^tec religion. On the way back we
booght some green ooooanuts and regaled onrselves with the
milk, most refreshing and agreeable to the taste. Onr dinner
consisted, as all dinners consist in all Guatemalan inns, of a
stew with tomatoes, black' beans and tortillas, and our room
contained, aa uaaal, several bedsteads, with sheets and pillows
veiy donbtfol in appearance, and suggestive of very small
laondiy bills. As we carried oor own beds and bedding we
were independent of those placed at onr disposal, but I mnst
say that IJiose insects, creeping and jumping, so well known in
most greatly more civilised countries, were noticeable only by
their absence, and thia we found, to onr delight and surj^ae,
to be the case wherever onr eig-Eag journeys took as, both in
Gtiatemala and Mexico. But something almost more fatal to
sleep diatnrfoed ns here, for hardly had we pot out the light by
throwing something at it, wh«i the most unearthly snoring
commenced. I may state, bnt only as a secret, that when the
tortillas at dinner had been especially tou^, the slambers of
my companion were not always as noiseless as they may have
been during his in&ncy ; so I at first thooght that he was the
culprit. But no, he presently began to move and utter some-

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98 SPORT AND TRAVEL PAPERS

thing that did not Boond like a bleBsing, and still the Bnoring
went on even loader than before, and apparently in oat room.
Without difficulty we traced it to a man, or woman, on the otiier
side of a very thin partition. This noise was not to be endared,
BO we tried eTerything, from load coughing, upsetting all things
within reach, indading table and portmanteaa, to hammering
against the wall. Nothing had the desired effect, the snorii^;
contioned ; it was truly wonderful ! Tired oat by oar nseless
efforts we at last dozed off, heaping blessings on the snorer's
head; hot when, at 2.20 a.m., we prepared to start and the noise
still continoed, fresh experiments -w&co made apon the indi-
▼idofd's heanng powers, and, at last, onr efforts were crowned
by sQccess. A man appeared at the door evidently entirely
ignorant of his own and onr performances, and instead of farions,
as we hoped and expected, he, to oar mortifioatioD, seemed
delighted at being awoke and thns enabled also to get an early
start. A glorioas ride followed, & ride by moonlight through the
dense tropical forest wrapped in deep ^oom below, bat above
lighted ap by the silvery moonbeamB, bright stars looking down
throogh the branohes of the giant trees. Althoagh flreflioB
in thoasands did their ntmost to light as on oar road, the track
at first was difflealt to see, bat the males found their way easily
and sorely, never making a mistake, wheUier going down or up
hill, over stones and rooks, or throogh the many watercoorses.
Then oame euly dawn, a faint rosy hase at first over the east,
rapidly deepening in colour to a golden crimson, against which
the trees cresting the hill close by stood clearly defined, every
branch, every leaf almost, disUnoUy marked ; then the crimson
changed to a yellower light, and presently the first rays of the
rising son stmck the topmost branches of tjie highest trees, and
steadily creeping down lighted np and displayed to oar view all
the beaaties of a tropical forest, that wealth of vegetation which,
in order to find room, covers even the trees themselves with a
dense mantle of every shade of green, forming a baokgroond
to enormons boaqaets of the deep crimson catleyas and other
gorgeous ondtids. Not only had we all this to admire, but
bright-ooloored birds and inseots darted aboat in all directions,
gorgeous scarlet maoaws and toucans and lovely humming-birds,
butterflies and beetles of every shade and hue. Many beantifal
glimpses we got when the son had dispersed the mist of the

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ROADSIDE SEXn^CHES IN GUATElfALA 99

oout ragion fu ont to the oeeu bejond. Althon^ ehQly in the
early moming, owing mainly to the heavy dew, it loon became
hot, and Tery glad we were, after six boora' riding, to halt for
breakfast and to nnload onr mules at the "oabildo" — police hat
— of a small Tillage. What a riew there was from here ! Behind
OS the forest throngh wbioh we had joat passed, before os al
least fonr magnificent Toleanoee raising their hifty crests tu
above the grand Cordilleras, and green foliage OTerywhere as
br as the eye oonld reach, beantifolly shaded among the deeper
Tslleys and passes of the monntains. The village butcher's irifo
prepared an excellent meal for ns hungry traTellera, to which we
did ample JTistioe, smronnded by Tsrions remains of a lately-
slaughtered sheep, Bet off by garlands of doahtfhl-looking
eaosages. The house, like all others, was oonstmcted of mnd-
bri(^ (adobe) and tbrtohed with plantain leares. In one oomer
the bnteher was stirring with a la^ stick a stew simmering
over the fire, and another was taken ap by pictures of the Viigin
and of seroal saints ; a third contained the sleeping aooommo-
dation for the family, while in the fourth oortomeis wwe
attended to. There was no place here to have onr nsnal noon-
day rest, the hat was too nnoomfortable, and no shelter to be
got elsewhere ; so when man and beast had been fed we made
anoih«r start, bnt the son was so hot that after eight miles we
eoold do no more, and had already determined to camp ont on
the first saitable spot, when we diseorered a solitary hnt in the
firaest, ooenpied by some Indians, who promised as " saooate"
for the males and a plaoe nndn a shed for onr baggage. It was
delightful in the shade of the glorious trees, and still more
delightfiil in the cool, swiftly-running stream dose by, most
•njf^ble after our hot and dosty ride. Then followed dinner
in the hnt, which was occupied by three families, each apparently
accommodated in a sepante eomer. Two of the wiTos, eridently
sisten, were rtary pretty, especially the younger one, who at-
tended to oor wants. They all wore the national dress, an
<H«nge and red Twy tightly fitting petticoat, a white loose
chemise, strings of blue beads round the neck, and green ribbons
plaited into the two long onrb hanging down to the waist. The
meat prorided consisted of boiled eggs stack into little lumps of
tortilb paste, a basin of black beans, some cheese, and a small
milk-jag fall of blaek ooffee, which the pretty l*dy stined for as

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100 SPORT AND TRAVEL PAPERS.

with an iron skewer ; of course, kniTes, forks, and spoons were
things nnknown. The three families took the greatest interest
in onr doings, knghing and ohattiog, and showing their white
teeth all the time, a happy, contented par^. There were sereral
children about, the youngest swinging in a hammock. Five
half-starred, hutgry-ltx^iiig dogs, and one cat, watched as wist-
fblly daring our repast, and I don't know how many fowls were
roosting among the bamboo rafters overhead. How everybody
stowed away in the bat seemed a pozile, for nearly one-tiiird
of the space was taken op by the fireplace. We did not stay
to see the problem solved, bat took np oar quarters ander the
shed, where sleep at last pat an end to an nnsaccaBsfal battle
with the mosqnitoes. Oar yoong hostess alone was up to give
OS coffee at three the next morning, the others being contained,
I sappose, in the several bandies lying aboot in varioos comers
of the hat. After this we made a long jonmey into the colder
regions, bat finally paid a visit to the lagoon coantry, a series
of lakes sarroanded by damp forests near the sea, and bat little
above its level. It was very hot here, tbon^ that was bear-
able ; bat the sandflies and mosqaitoes were not, and they &irly
drove as away on the second day of oar stay. They were terrible,
and never left as alone for one moment ; bat the former, the
tiny, almost invisible pests, fally deserved the prise. At work
all day long, they never ceaaed their attacks on all exposed
places at the same time, while the mosqaitoes commenced with
a will only aboat sanset, when one conld always retire for shelter
under the cartain aad thas more or less defy them. It is diffi-
cult to understand why these curses exist, and on what they live
when no unfortunate biped is about to feed them with his blood.
We took up our quarters under a laige tree overlooking a
lake, la the centre of whioh was an island inhabited by some
Indians, whose occupation oonsiBted in horse-breeding, and fish,
duck, and tortle curing. They ferried themselves across to
th«r island home in canoes hollowed out of the trunk of a
tree, spearing fish, with which the lakes abonnded, as they went,
by means of long three-pronged spears. They were wdl-built,
fine-looking men, splendid swimmers, and their dress was
oonspionous only by its absenoe. Dncks they shot, tortoises
they caught, dried, and smoked, afterwards to be sent to the
nearest market. This lagoon country is a perfect paradise for

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ROADSIDE SKETCHES IN GUATEMALA 101

a coUeotor of aqnatio birds, eqaoUy bo of mosqnitoea, sandflies,
and ante. Betnming from one of our exonrsiona in the erening
we saw several soarlet maoaws, those almost too gorgeooalj
feathered birds, settle in a lofty tree not far distant. Desiroaa ol
possessing a couple of those briUiant skins, and having noticed
that the birds idways flew about dosk in a certain direction, I
went on and asked my companion to go to the tree and start the
game. These macaws always fly in pairs, male and female
together, the most faithfdl and affectionate ooaplee to be fonnd,
of which wa were presently to have a most remarkable instanoe.
Well, I posted myself and expected eveiy moment to hear shonts
of " macaw OTor ; maeaw to the left " or " macaw to the right,"
but eTerything was qniet nntil a shot from the amatenr beater
broke the silence. Disappointed by his treaoheiy, I sat down
and waited, and presently he appeared with a atrnggling macaw
under his arm, bot minns a large piece of skin of the nose, and
pins a cat in the cheek, and with his hand tied up in a bloody
handkerchief. I was avenged 1 It would not perhaps suit eara
polite to tell the adventure in the language it was told to me
then, so I will oaiy say that on my friend firing at one of tjie
macaws tiie bird fell down winged, but immediately scrambled
np a yoong tree. The hunter's blood was up and he followed
the quarry, when suddenly the tree broke and both came
down on the ground together. Nothing daunted, althou^
bleeding from the face, he rushed through a bush after the
screeching bird, leaving part of his nose on the thorns, and
eventually seized the macaw, who immediately, not to be behind-
hand, buried his beak in his captor's finger. Thus attached to
one another the chase was over, and presently master macaw
was sitting in oar camp tied to the stomp of a tree. The other
bird, frightened at the shot, had flown away, but so strong was
the love for its mate, that next morning to our intense astonish-
ment it saddenly appeared in a tree close to the prisoner,
showing by its noisy demonstrations the distress and annoyance
it felt at the aj^wrent desertion of her husband. Our oamp was
a mile away firom the scene of the battle; was it wonderM
instinct or what that led it to discover the prisoner in the
depths of the forest 7 The macaw did very well ; for two days
he travelled with os on a mole, with its wing in a bandage, and
then seated upon a pole he was sent to the booae of a friend,

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102 8P0BT AOT) TRATEL PAPERS

Those renndah, howerer, lie wsa nerer deetiDed to tidora, for
ucording to the Indian by wliom be wsb carried, the bird died
on the rood. No doubt he did, for all that remained of the
nnfortnnate macaw on his amTol at his destination were a few
cooked pieces in the Lidian's stewpoi ; bnt I fear that a foul
mnrder, snggested probablj by fannger, will for ever rest npon
that Indian's bodL

Past II. — Thi Tbhpibitb Zon.

The "tierra templada" may be said to lie at an altitude
of between 1,600 and 6,000 feet on the Paoifio slope of the
Chutemalan Cordilleras. Its climate is delightful, its scenery
beautiful, thanks to the deep green clothing ererywhere the
picturesque mountains and hills of which it is composed, which
gradually rise higher and higher towards the grand central
chain of the Sierras, in its turn OTerlooked by the still loftier
Toloonoes. These, although they hare not lately destroyed
either liiie or property, show by the smoke which here and
there issues from some giant peak, and by the shocks of earth-
quake which now and then rattle doors and windows, that they
do not sleep, bat only slumber, and that the hidden power
which has of late been satisfied with uncanny noises and
mysterioos tremblings of tiie soil and of all that thereon is,
may yet once mom break forth in oil its fury, and enact orer
again those terrible scenes among which the old capital was
laid in ruins. Hence are all the towns composed of one-storied
houses, the rooms generally opening on to a rerondah running
ronnd on inner oouit open to the sby. Owing to the present
aj^oient security, houses of two stories have now been and
ore being built here and there in the larger towns, but these
are few and for betwe«t ; only the churches, with walls generally
rent and oraoked, rise aboTe the sea of low flat roofe. This,
and the regularity with which the streets are laid out in sqoaie
blocks, form a very noticeable feature of a Guatemalan town.
The present capitiU has in an extensiTe valley at an altitude
of about S,000 feet. Mountains are all around ; in a westerly
direction stand the Toleanoes of Pocaya, Agua, and Faego,
the first two dormant, the other oetiTe, raising thur migh^

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ROADSIDE SKETCHES IN GUATEMALA 103

peaks between the capitaJ and the Pacific. I do not intend
to give a description of the city, which has already so often
been described, bot we will pay a TiBit to the market, a soene
as pretty as it is intereating, giving at once an idea of the
productions of the country, and of the national characteristics
of the people. Like OTeiytbing else in the capital, so also does
the market open at a late hoar ; only at about noon is it really
in full swing, the distances the vendors have to bring their
wares being probably the reason. It is held in two squares,
connected by a passage, bnt enclosed nearly all ronnd by a
series of shops oonstmcted of stone. Articles of native clothing,
generally cotton in the brightest colours, iron ware, gigantic
Mexican spurs and cmel-looking bits ; rope made of the fibres
of the agave, mats of palm leaves, knives, from the small
European pooket-knife to the gigantic machete, &e., are exposed
for sale in the shops ; but the real interest lies not here, but
in the Indians who with their wares crowd the inner squares.
What a subject anch a market scene would be for a painter!
Everything is bright, full of colour and full of life. The
native women in their picturesque and most becoming dress
squat on the ground behind the mats or baskets wherein their
goods are displayed to the best advantage. We vrill take a
glimpse at the latter first, and stud; the ladies' diesa after-
wards. This woman here presides over several baskets, the
oentre one filled with bright green, that one with deep crimson
chillies, another with white or black beans, while potatoes
and onions lie in heaps around. That lady carrying a baby
in a shawl upon her back while she smokes her cigarette in
evident enjoyment is surrounded by huge piles of yellow
limes and golden oranges, plantains, green anonas, one out
in half to display its white creamy flesh, and alligator pears.
Here are baskets of Indian com of which they all make their
bread, of lentils, peas, and rice ; golden yellow jocota berries ;
yams, green vegetables of various kinds. Then more heaps
of fruits, and of fresh crisp salads, baskets fdll of eggs, and
Bo on, tiie some eveijwhere. Turkeys and fowls are tied up
in most uncomfortable positions in many jdaces; there are
stalla of meat and doubtful-lotting sausages; little heaps of
tobacco and dgarettes made with maize husk in neat bundles
of twenfy, price three cents. Sugar of various degrees of parity

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104 SPORT AND TRAVEL PAPERS

ia for sale here, coffee there. That lady whose long jet black
hair is bo indaBtrioDBly being hanted through by her friend,
who, while boB; with her fingers, holds Uie wooden comb
between her teeth, has a sweetmeat Btall, and is apparently
doing a good business with her tempting-looking pink and
yellow bonbons; she also provides thirsty people with Tarions
drinks, already prepared and displayed in ttunblerB by her side.
These are harmloBs, conaisting mainly of sugar and water to
which a little floor or some frnit-jnioe has been added. Now
we come to the pottery department, well supplied with earthen-
ware Teascda of every shape and size, some glazed and prettily
ornamented. Most of Uiese are made in the neighbouring
village of Chinaltla, in tho mtnt primitive manner and entirely
by hand. The larger jars are built up of day piecemeal,
very roughly at first, and tiien scraped down to the requisite
thickness by means of a cap-shaped calabash; having been
dried in the sun, the vessel is baked in a fire. Much of this
pottery is not only handsome in shape, but also in design ;
thus some water-juga intended for the table were tastefully
ornamented with fiowera, leaves, and &uit in relief. Some time
before leaving England I had seen ladies embellishing jars in
a aimilar manner by means of potty and paint ; at home it was
Bomething new, in Chinaltla probably the Indian women had
been thus employed hundreds of years ago. In the second
square waa established an open-air restaurant, the proprietor of
which seemed readily to dispose of his soups, meat and vegetable
dishes, supplied hot, direct from the fire. The small portions
were cheap, but did not look sufficiently tempting to invite a
trial. The life and colouring of this market are impossible to
describe, they require to be witnessed, and to a painter's eye
would be full of the greatest charm. Here we were particularly
Bfanck by the picturesque national dresa of the Indian women,
which in colour, manner of wearing, &c., difiiara with every
village. Look at that woman from Chinaltla selling those pretty-
shaped jugs; she wears her village tartan, a large check of
orange and crimson; that girl coming in with a basket of
plantains and oranges from the coast region is attired in a
petticoat of blue and black, her neighbour in one striped blue
and white, and so on. This petticoat (" enagoa ") is simply a
square piece of cotton doth wound ti^itly over the hips and

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ROADSIDE SKETCHES IN GUATEMALA 105

fitatened there by one end being tooked in under the oihts ; it
reaches nearly to the ankles, and fits very tightly roond the legs.
The "hmpeel," a very loose chemise, oorers the upper part of
the body. This is cnt very low in the neck, has short sleeves, is
made of cotton, and confined to the waist by the petUcoat and
by a narrow girdle (" cintoron ") woond several times ronnd the
body. Some women wear either across the shoulders or over
the head a long narrow shawl (" pen^e ") of varioos colours,
fringed at the ends. Lastly, there is an apron, and the bright
coloured ribbons which eterj woman wears plaited into the two
long carls, which either hang down the baok or are twisted like
a coronet round the head. The hair itself, eoarse, straight, and
black, is parted in the centre and behind. Necklets of coloured
beads often intermixed with silrer coins, and rings for the
fingers and ears complete the outfit. Women rarely wear
sandals, men always ; the ladies do not use handkerchiefs, the
sterner sex does. Not only does the colouring of the petticoat
vary in the different villages, but that of the girdle, chemise,
and apron also. The girdle is stoutly woven of cotton and
generally white, with red, black or blue longitodinal stripes;
the chemise, made of coarse white cotton, is nearly always em-
broidered with variously coloured thread, in some cases to such
an extent and with so much skill that it becomes a real work of
art. The thread is imported, hat worked on to the hnipeel
in most elaborate designs, often of fiowers, of birds and other
animals, by the women themselves in the villages, according to
the particular fiufaion which has there been in vogue, it may be,
fbr centuries. The most beautifiil chemises which we saw were
made with blue and red thread so thickly laid on that over the
chest and back almost none of the white remained visible ; others
were less elaborately embroidered in red, blue, green or yellow,
in a great variety of designs, fioss silk being used farther to set
off the varions patterns. Thus a well-dressed Indian vroman is
very pictaresqae, and lends great interest by her bright appear-
ance to the market scene, already so full of coloor, thanks to
the endless varie^ of fruit and vegetables with which the
ground is covered. The men are mach more soberly clad in
rough homespun cloth, which is woven in the Tillages on very
primitive looms, and they nearly always carry over their shoulder a
blanket of the same material — their only bed, mattress, and sheet.

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106 SPORT AND TRAVEL PAPERS

The mm daring the Ahy are geiidraliy absent from the
villages, employed as labomers on the plantations, on the rail-
vayB, conTeTing goods on mules, in oonntr; carts drawn by
oxen, or staggering under heavy burdens to and from the towns.
The goods, contained in a wooden framework covered with
netting, are carried npon the back, suspended by a band from
the forehead. The wives freqaently accompany their lords
with a load balanced npon the head, often a child slung in a
■hawl on the back, and walk barefoot. A great deal of drunken-
ness exists, and the loads once got rid of, various intoxicatiiig
drinks are indulged in, sadly interfering with the homeward
journey. The Indiaiu are very saperstitionB, of i^cb the
follow^ are a few examples : When a child is ill the mother
takes a drake, singes its tail feathers, and, muttering certain
words, passes it over the patient. A woman Cseda a parrot
with a few pieces of tortilla, and gives the child the cmmbs
whii^ fall firom the beak, as they will make it talk I Colic is
dae to the evil eye; in order to get rid of the disturbing
influence, the woman breaks four duck's ^gs into a basin,
and, having mixed them with me, places the whole under
the child's bed; if the compound be curdled in the moming
the spirit has departed. The Church refreshes its hold on
the Indians by means of innumerable "festas" — religions
holidays ; by terrifying their simple minds with the most
ghastly figures representing the Virgin and various saints,
placed in every conspicuous place in church; and further by
carrying these same saints in procession through the streets,
while tiny cannon are fired and rockets let off. These rockets
play a great part in the religion of Guatemala and other countries
around ; they are let off on all possible occasions, and as almost
evei7 other day is a festa, the amount of powder burnt must
be great indeed. As we approached the Indian village of Mixoo,
on the toad from the present «q»ital to Antigua, which, until
it had been repeatedly destroyed by earthquakes, was the first
dty in the land, rockets hissed through the air in all dizeo-
tions, the pyrotechnic display being, however, mailed by the
laight daylight in which it took place. The village, of course,
was en jitt, the main street thickly covered with pine branches ;
triumphal arches of the same were erected, and adorned with
ooloured tissue paper, while tiny flags hong over every door.

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ROADSroE SEET0HE8 IN 01TATBHALA. 107

Wa rode onr mnlea through the giilj decorated streets; tiiey
stepped proudl; over the green branobes and under the
trinmphal arohea ; we passed an arena where a orowd of
men was bnsy oook-fighting ; we crossed the Plasa, with its
enrioas old ohoreh and beantifhl fonntain, and presentiy met
a procession attended almost solely by women, the men being
better employed in testing the merits of their lespectiTe
champions in the ring. We, of eoorse, dismoonted and
made room. First came a noisy dram, then a figure in bright-
coloured garments rei^esenting the Virgin, attended by others
of vety nnhappy-looking saints, all bome npon the Moulders
of men ' in blaok European clothes ; a crowd of women
followed, everybody else kneeling as the procession passed.
On its arrival at the chnrch door bonehes of rockets were
let off, and the saints felt, I tmst, refreshed by their little
airing. Some of the women wore the moet beaotifhlly em-
broidered ehemisee, and had we not been aware of the certainty
of non-Boccess an attempt at a deal wonld have been made,
even at the risk of depriving the &ir one of her only garment.
A beantifal ride throogh forest scenery bronght ns to the late
capital, now called AAtigna, the old, a rained city, lying in
a lovely valley, and sorronnded by coffee, orange, and flower
gardens, at the foot of one of the grandest shaped moimtains,
the " Volcano de Agna," or water volcano, which rises in
stately beanty from Uie immediate oatekirts of the town. A
little farther off stands the destroyer of this once beaatifal
city, the doable-peaked " Foego," never at rest, always emitting
smoke, and often flame. Both are giants, for neither fidla
fiur short of 14,000 faet. In this dear atmosphere, which so
ahaiply defines their oatline, they seem mocb closer than in
reality they are; in fiuit, when standing on the I^ua, the
volcano of Agna seems to tower almost immediately above
GanromeiA Honse, formerly Ae palace of the Captain-General
of Spain. This volcano, in 1641, destroyed the first capital of
Chiatemala by water, which, nntil then a lake, confined in the
nxony crater, saddenly burst its banks, and in overwhelming
quantity and with stnpendoas fbrce swept the old city bodily
away. Antigna, the next capital, was then bailt at a little
distance from the site of its predecessor, but rains alone now
bear witnees to its former magnificence, tat the "Yoleano de

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108 SPORT AND TRAVEL PAPERS

Fnego" (fiifl Tolosno) this time, in 1773, wrecked it utterly.
It was rebuilt, but after repeated misfortaiiea the seat of
QoTemmeat was finally removed to a safer distance, to
where Guatemala "la Kaeya" now stands (1776). Onr
visit to Antigna was & most interrating one. The town
has now about 16,000 inhabitants living in honBea bnilt
among and partly with the rains of the old city. Once
away firom the fearfdl pavement it is very charming walking
among the many gardens, where coffee, oranges, rosea and
flowers innumerable flourish, and in the long avenuea of amate-
trees, where beautifully carved capitals of ancient pillars are
placed as seats; to wander among the old monasteries and
churches now in ruins, half overgrown with trees and
brushwood; to climb to the top of one of the cracked walls
and gaze upon the ntter desolation of what was once a
magnificent city vrith over fifty ohnrches. What a terrible
force it must be which shattraed these stout walla, ao aolidly
oonatracted of thin brii^ and unstinted mortar, and whioh
burled fiu- away those enormoua masses of solid masonry as if
they had weighed pounda instead of tons I People soon came
back after the catastrophe and built fresh houses with l^e dibrU
of the old, and now once more Antigna is a flourishing cit^ ;
but the destroyer " Fuego " smokes on, growls now and then
and makes the earth tremble, to remind the inhabitants of his
terrible power, as if they who live surrounded by ruina were
ever likely to forget it. The honaee whioh formed part of the
old capital were two-storied, those of the present city for
greater safe^ have bat one, low, flat-roofed buildings collected
in square blocks. The gardens around are fenced in with stone
wails, by rows of euoalyptas-trees or hedges of the prickly
chichicasta; everything looks green and &esh. Here and
there &om among the coffee or rose bnshes rise the white
walls of a ruined church in striking contrast to the rich
eolooring of all around. Veiy beautiful the ruins are even
in their utter desolation, rent and torn by many an earthquake.
In style, these monuments of the foreign dominion resemble
each other greatly, judging from some photographs in my
possesfflon ; it la said to be corrupt Italian renaissance with
hits of Moorish architecture brought from Spain, such as pointed
horseshoe arches ; most graceful " corkscrew " pillars are very

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ROADSIDE 8EET0UE8 IN GUATEMALA 109

freqaent also. Ter; striking axe the arohes still standing in the
mined monastery of San Francisco, and the vaolted passages,
thntngh which the monks walked long years ago to the refectory,
now a heap of mins thickly overgrown with bnah. The stncoo,
which coTers the solid walls, is embellished in relief with delicate
Uoe-work patterns, so also are the granite blocks chiselled,
which once formed door and window frames, bst which now
ue freqoently seen bnilt into the walls of modem hooses, and
eren form part of the trottoira in the streets. Some of the
ohaicbes are painted in cnrions trefoil patterns, dull red upon
the white gronnd. A most delightful and lovely place is Antigua,
which well deserres to be visited much more than it is at present.
Tbongh some eoffee is grown in the vicinity of Antigoa, and,
indeed, almost in the very streets, the coffee district — par excel-
lenee — lies at a lower altitude, between 2,000 and 4,000 feet,
oovering with a deep green the rolling bills amid most beantifol
moontain scenery. An excellent road, npon which parties of
Indians were still at work, took na down fKon the higher country,
at first through malse fields, divided by bank fences, npon which
grew gigantic agaves, many in fall blossom, hnniming-birds
hovering roond the bright yellow flowers. Then we entered
the tropical forest, a dense mass of vegetation on each side of
the road, the branches and tnmks of the trees adorned here and
there with enormons manve-crimson bonqnets of the CatUeya
SlanMTi; and so on to the plantations, or " fincas," as tb^
are here called. The ooffee-trees stretch away in rows over hill
and dale as &r as the eye can reach, with the utmost regularity.
Kow and then we pass the houses of a proprietor or overseer,
with drying terraces, machinery buildings, and labourers'
dwellings attached. The deep green foliage of the trees diow
off to great advantage the masses of white flowers with which
the brandies are covered, a fiur promise of a rich crop. Although
late in the season, Indians, men, women, and children, were still
busy in places picking the bluish-black berries, mounted upon
steps or armed with a hooked stick. Lines of t^ange-treee laden
wiUt golden froit formed the only fences for long distances
together. Now and then we passed outlying huts and sheds
used by the Indians working on the estates. On some of the
larger flnoas from 600 to 700 families are sometimes employed
during the picking season — September to November; most of

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UO SPORT AND TRAVEL PAPERS

these engage thfliDBelTea for the time only, bat a certus nnmbei
nnuun on the eetate more or leas pemunently. I hate already
eipluned in Part I. the difficolty there ia in ohtaining mffioient
labour, and the mauiB employed in keeping it when obtained.
The berries by Tarions prooeeses, aa soaking in water, ohnming,
diying in the son, and roUlng afterwards, are deprived of their
onter and inner ooTerings ; afterwards they are passed throngfa
large sieree worked by maohinery, thereby separating the small
from the larger berries, and finfJly packed in saeks for export.
The bosk is made use of for firing, the pulp and skin for manure.
The [oroprietor of a ooffee estate is the absolate master of the
labonmv employed npon it. They are in his debt, and as long
as that is not disoharged, his property; be dispenses jnstioe,
looks after them when ill, and finds wim for any one matoi-
monially indined. A man desirons of entering the holy bonds
finds a lady to his liking and applies to her nearest relatiTe,
who fixes a certain snm as her prioe. This, of oonrae, the
amoroos swain cannot pay ; he therefore goee to Uie owner of
the finoa and states his case. The relative of the girl is sent
for, the price at once redoced as exorbitant, which it generally
IB, and finally, after some baigaining, the master pays over the
som decided upon, and the wedding soon takes place amid
mnoh dancing, drinking, and marimba mosia. The proprietor
is minus so moob money, which is added to the debt of the
Indian who has gained a wife, bat lost his liberty more than
ever — ^it may be in more ways than one.

Past m. — Tbb Cou) Zonh.

At lunch in the verandah of a village school of Toliman. We
are both very hnngiy after oar hot morning's march of fifteen
miles, and lacky it is that we are, and that hanger is the best
sance, for otherwise the cnrions stei^ procnred from a neighbour-
ing hat, and the entrie at eggs and chilliea swimming in hog's
bt, woold have been most nninriting. One of the mole tranka
is oar table, onr ehair the other ; behind ns a score or so of
boya are noisily spelling throogh some simple sentences, all at
the same time, like so many parrots. The village pedagogue
every now and then leaves his charges to smoke a cigarrtte with

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ROADSIDE BEETGHES IN QUATBMAT.A 111

the slgnanlB at the polioe'hat opposite, when fint one boy, soon
followed by Beveral otliers, comes to the door to peep at the
strangen feedini;, the less eonrageons disciples remaining behind,
bnt doubling the noise in order to shield their inqnisittTe brethren.
Tied to the posts of the verandah are our moles mgnching their
dry maize stalks, before ns lies the beantifiil moantaiii-lake of
Atitlan (6,800 feet above the sea), bine and calm, a troe mirror
to the high mountains, which, almost completely encircling it,
leave bnt a narrow approach to the lake, that now immediately
in front of ns. We have a long march to do this afternoon, and
our arriero allows ns and onr mnles bnt little time for rest : how-
ever gladly we woold stay and enjoy a siesta, the order is
presently given to saddle and load, and on once more we go in
the hot snn, the heat of which makes ns even forget our late
onwholesome, greasy meal. Straight np the mountain-side
climbs the horribly dosty and stony road, np which we scramble
I don't know how many hundred feet. The wonderfol endurance
of the heavily laden mules is tmly astonishing, u^ed on as they
are mercilessly by whip and spar, and by the ehoioe but appa-
rently efTective language of Sei^r Felipe Gomes. His flow of
words was wonderfol ; he had some particular term of endear-
ment for each of his animals, bat when one of them wandered
aS the road and into the bxtshee his anger woold become terrific,
and his tongoe rattle oot wonderfol words, soch as are not likely
to be found in any dictionary. It is very annoying, when toiling
along in a hot son and on a dos^, stony, steep road, to have to
hont vip in the bosh, and to drive back into the road, a perverse
brote from which in chari^ one has dismounted in order to ease
it a little, and which thos returns kindness by causing trooble
and direct annoyance. Kindness to moles is wasted, that we
soon found out ; the only treatment possible is that to which
they are accnstomed — a severe one. After a hot, tiring ride we
at last reached the crest of a moontain, and were well rewarded
for oor exertions by the magnificent scenery all aroond as. No
less than six volcanoes were visible, rising above the sea of
moontains. Below ns lay the lake, a beaotifol sheet of water
in a mountain basin, the somewhat bare hills rising direct out
of it, with villages here and there dose to the water's edge.
After a long march op and down hill over the slope of tiie
moontains towards the lake, we passed throogh the Indian

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112 SPORT AND TRAVEL PAPERS

village of St. Antonio, a collection of mad bats apoD a bue
white soil, tot; tiTing to the eyes. A miserable place, Tetyhot,
nothing green anywhere, swarming with lean pigs and naked
children. We always firand that the poorer a Tillage the more
naiaerotis were the pigs, gaunt, more tbas half-starred-looking
swine, which rash aboat everywhere in the attempt temporarily
to pat off starratioQ. The people live mainly by fishing, partly
carried od in dng-oot canoes, partly in traps made of stakes and
branches near the shore. They also shoot dacks, which ore very
plentiful on the lake and apparently also rery tame ; these are
cleaned, dried in the son, and then sent to market. On the
other side rise the volcano of Atitlan, 11,860 feet high, and
the Cerro de Oro, immediately from the water, many mountains
tying on their flanks. The lake of Atitlan, probably the crater
of an extinct volcano, is sapposed to be without bottom ; rivers
enter but apparently do not leave it, though in reality they do,
through nnde^round channels, appearing afterwards as swiftly
moling streams mftViTig their way towards the ocean through
the b-opioal forest. A few more miles and then we descended
into a narrow bat most fertile volley, which owes its fertility to
a broad river here entering the lake. After oar ride ovw the
bare, scorched hills the beautifully fresh verdare of this spot was
very pleasing. It seemed a garden ; every hot stood in its little
endoBure, surrounded by various trees, by plantains and green
vegetables of many kinds. Water conducted from the river ran
in namerous channels all over the land ; thanks to the perfect
system of irrigation the little town of PalajachSl owns the
market-gardens which supply the surrounding country. We
were glad to rest here for a day after the hard marching of Uie
lost two days, especially as the posada was well kept, actually
possessing, and producing for oar benefit, a dean tablecloth.
We most thoroaghly ei^oyed bathing in the dear waters of the
lake, the lazy strolls among the gardens and up the vall^
towards a small sugar finca ; watching the market people
assembled in the Flaea was also full of interest. The women
wore a chocolate-brown chemise embroidered or striped with
crimson, a dark blae petticoat, blue uid crimson bdt, crimson
ribbons in the hair, and many red beads and rings. The men
covered their nakedness by means of a black and white striped
garment round the loins, a white shirt, bomespon jacket, red

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ROADSIDE BEETCHES IN GUATEMALA 113

kerchief ronnd the head, Barmonnted again b; a broad-brimmed
straw hat. On arriTal in the early morning they deposited their
heav; bnrdenB in the Plaza, and then, aided by their wives,
made a fire ; npon It was pat the earthenware eooking pot, eon-
taining water, ehillies, a small piece of meat perhaps, a fish, or
some &t only ; a few tortiUas which they brought with them are
warmed np, aod a plantain is roasted, and thos they make their
simple meal. The loads which these men carry upon their backs
supported by a band from the forehead are heavy indeed ; the
flat, square box is fbll of Tarions goods, and attached to it ont-
side hangs the mat whereon they sleep, rarions cooking pots,
calabashes of different shapes, perhaps a bnnoh of onions, tu.
After the morning meal the wares are displayed for sale ; earthen-
ware goods, raw wool, clothing, lai^ qnantities of onions,
bananas, &o. Having disposed of what was brooght, varioas
pnrohases are made, generally of fruit or regetables, the chief
prodnetions of this fertile valley, and presently men and women
toil back to their villages, straggling mider the heavy loads, np
and down the steep and stony roads. Dried dnoks, and fish and
small crabs from the lake, skewered npon sticks, are also exported
from here, as they are considered delicacies farther inland. Next
morning, daring oar short march, nearly always np-hill, to
Solaia, the capital of a district, we passed crowds of these men
and women laden with goods for the market there. Nearly all
were wrapped np in a rough jacket, for, owing to the aititade —
abont 7,000 feet — and a very piercing wind, it was extremely
cold ; we passed others carrying enormons earthenware pots and
jars npon their backs, bonnd from the Altos to the lower conntry.
The important maAet in the Plaza was well attended and very
interesting. The nsaal things were being sold ; one side was
set aside for the sale of raw wool, and roogh clothing made of
it, black or white, the colours of the highland sheep. An
immense variety of wares was displayed for aaie, but a good deal
of bartering went on also, e^;s, tortillas, &o., being exchanged
for other things. We noticed some very pret^ pale bine hoi-
peels embroidered in crimson, some chocolate and bloe shawls,
and a boy carrying abont in a box a small image of the Yii|^
embowered in gaudy flowers, which he ' offered to the mailet
women to kiss or only to tooch, they in return presenting him
with some small gift from their store. Being so hi^^ we eqoyed
9

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U4 BPOBT ANT> TRAVBL FAFE&8

s bMatifiil Tiev from Bolkls on to the Uke beloir, the TolosnoM
opposite, and the lofty moontuiui and peftke which lay aU
■nnmd, a panorama as fflttensiTe as it was beaatifnl. The town
itself was well kept and rery neat ; a flonriahing flower garden
Mnbellished the Flaaa, numing water sapplied the fooutaina,
and working parties wwe busy improving the road& The
algna iil s (policemen) attracted oar attention by their smartness ;
they wore white shirts wiUi sleeres striped witti red, short white
breeches, a grey homespon jacket, and black hats oTer a red
handkerchief. ' Both onr camp beds and blankets were very
neoessaiy in the wretched, dirty, and draughty hotel, which had
no reoonimendatioB whaterer — hardly that of affording snfi&cient
shelter. It was terribly cold at night, and heavy cloods were
eolleoting aaumg the higher peaks of the Bieiras, which wu not
at all inviting toi onr proposed expeditioo into that loffy region ;
so while wa shivered in the hotel, where neither doors nor
windows wonld shnt, it was determined nnanimonaly to strike ont
of onr pogramma the vidt to Qoichd. The two days' joomey
thither leads over a bleak, wild, and very cold plateau ; the rains
of the once royal palace and fortress of Qnichd, aocording to the
books of oar travelling library, are hardly to be reoognised, and
tiie hardships of the trip not likely to be repaid. Sic tmuU
0loria naindi I Before the Conqoeit the race of Qnich6 Lidians
was the prondest in Cloateniala, and held oat a long time against
the Spaniards. At last the country Call into the oonqoerorB*
hands, and now bat little ranains to mark the spot where once
the royal palace stood in all its splendour. So we read once
more the acooant of Qnich6 in Stephens's most interesting work
on Central Aioerica, and left next morning joat before daybreak
for Totonicapao, a town of about 36,000 inhabitants, A oon-
tinaons asoent over a atony track broo^t as to a high plateaa
where even fir-trees grew bat sparingly, and a very keen wind
told as nnmistakably that we were among the Altos — a bleak,
wild, desolato r^on. Some maize patches lay here and there
near the hato, which were few and tu betweeo ; some black or
white sheep wandered abont Caeding apon the wheat and barley
stabble which still remained on the stony fields. We passed
an enolosare where com laid apon the hard floor was being
brampled ont in the moat primitive manner by horses driven
over it. We eonld see I don't know how many voleanoee from

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ROAI>Sn>E SKETCHES IN GUATEMALA. 115

here; alBO the Pacific fiu away io the digtRooe. At bat, cm
tnnuDg the <Jomer, we rnddenly beheld onr goal many hnndnd
fMt below OS, a large town of tiled houses, with a very white
ehnreh, lying in ao extensive plain, now bare and yellow, for the
oom had long since been ont and nothing bnt the yellow stompa
remained. It would be impossible to ride down a steeper road
than that which took aa zig-zag down the monntain-side ; the
sli^test mistake of a mole would have precipitated him and bis
load many hnndred feet down into the valley. The loose stonea
and slippery groond made the trip somewhat trying, especially
when one's gallant charger was afOicted with huneness in the
forefftet ; but nothing happened, and presently we rode threng^
the gate of the Hotel de la Conoordia. The inn looked peaoeable
enongh then, but how lan^^able its name seemed to ns next
moming I The ooortyaid was prettily decorated with flowers,
the food &ir, our room looked comfortable, and we looked
fbrward to a good night's rest, bnt we were sadly disappointed.
The town is veiy r^olarly laid oat in square blocks of low
honses ; it has the nana] PLua and ehorch fitted np with the
nsoal ghastly figorea, a cabildo, fountains with nmning water
everywhere, and a well-to-do appearance altogether. Several
male and female friends were apparently staying with the
landlady of onr hotel, and nntil evening they all wandered
abont in the garden seemingly the best of friends. After
dinner, driven in by the cold, we retired to roost, bat not to
sleep ; for hardly had we settled onrselves among the blankets,
when sounds of the marimba began to be hewd in the next
room. It was a pleasare to listen to it, ao beautifully waa it
played, so pretty vera the aits, so varied the repertory. Bnt
when it had oontinoed without intermission for more than an
hour, we thought it time for tH good people to be in bed ; not
BO, however, the performers and their immediate audience ; the
playing w^it on and on with ever increasing energy, often
accompanied by loud laughter, and our hosts were evidently
bent on making a night of it. A guitar had next to do duty, to
give the marimba a well-earned rest, hut then, refreshed, the
players set to work again. The fan waxed fast and furious,
and sleep was totally oat of the question ; strong drink was
doing its work, yet the marimba played on, and the Marseillaise
vras aung con expreiMone. We were diagosted, tired yet sleepleas,

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116 SPORT AND TRAVEL PAPERS

neiUiOT oaring to join the ladino revellfirs in their oigie, nor to
suggest an adjoamment for fear of falling into s bomet's neat
Sounds of a general milee made ns open our door at daybreak,
when the jard of Hotel Concordia presented a corionB sight. A
kind of triangolar duel with finger-nails was going on between
some of the &ur ones, who, more or less en deihdbUU, were
terribly disherelled and evideDtl; the worse for drink, while the
speotators also had emptied many a cup, all showing the most
evident signs of having passed a very hard night. The dnel
mded in scratches and tears ; brandy was administered to the
wounded, who tied ap their beads, bathed each other's eyes, and
at last disappeared arm-in-arm, forgiving and forgiven, beyond
the doors of the revel chamber ; and so it all ended in " Con-
cordia." An early ride in the morning air soon freshened as
np, bat we sincerely hoped that at Qnezaltenango, onr next
stopping-plaoe, the marimba might be silent and Uie Marselluse
unknown. QoeEaltenango, the second largest city in the
repablio, lies at an altitude of about 6,000 feet, in the same
plun as Totonicapan, which, enclosed on all sides by monn-
tains, was now yellow and dried np, while, during the rains, it
is a sheet of green corered with maize and wheat, a fertile
plateau. Qnezaltenango, a town similar in appearance to all
the others, means the abode of the quezal, a bird first the
emblem of the royal house of Quichd, now that of the republic
of Qnatemala. A right royal bird it is too, TVc^on retpletul^ti,
fffobably the handsomeat that lives, with its bright metallic
green body, ^arkling crest, and long, green tail feathers, the
whole set off by a rich crimson breast. The town has a large
and very good hotel, a roomy market-place, well attended, a
governor who is doing everything he can to improve the town,
and a large garrison. It lies at the foot of two volcanoes ; the
nearest, called after the cil^, has its crater completely shattered
by an eruption, but still smokes on ; the other, that of Santa
Maria, 12,000 feet high, is a perfect cone. Several very hand-
some pablio buildings have lately been erected on the Plaza ; the
prison especially and the new police offices, constructed of sand-
stone from the quarries close by, do great credit to the architect
and the Indians working under him. Any money required for
the erection of pablio buildings is collected in the villages around,
uid probably the contributions are not always volnntary. The

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ROADSIDE SEETOHEB IN OVATEMALA 117

aoldiers looked amart in their white nnifomiB, with bine fiwingB
tnd collars and ctimson kepi, and eeemed to take great pride in
keeping their arms dean. A fiower garden has been laid oat in
the Flasa, in the centre of which is a bandstand, where a bir
military band performs two or three times a week ; new fbnntains
and reaerroirs for laundry work, well supplied with mnning
water, have been boilt in Uie oatakirts of the town, where the
Bwampy ground, lately drained, is corered with TegetaUe gardens
and the richest pasture. The best water also sapplies the foun-
tains and stone tronghs in the town itself; the sides of the latter
in some instanoes are worn by constant nse as mach as those
in Pompeii. The Cathedral, with side chapel attached, which
somewhat spoils its appearance, has the osoal stuccoed iafade
with niches containing figores of saints. A rery pleasant
excursion from Qoezaltenango is to the baths of Almolonga,
mtoated in a most fertile vall^ on the other side of the
nearest Tolcano. ' The water, which issues from the ground
almost boiling hot, is conducted into a series of stone haths.
For the use of tiiese private baths a diaige is made, but
the l&i^ pool close by in the open air is generally crowded
with Indians — men, women, and children altogether, who here
soak in the hot water, a supposed remedy for many and
varied ailments. Nor is Almolonga without its Bnssian bath
— a somewhat primitive contrivance, however. The steam from
the water, heated by volcanic fire, passes into long, narrow
channels cut into the rock ; into these the people creep to be
almost broiled, in the firm belief that thereby they will leave
all their rheumatio ailments behind them. Peculiar to Qnesal-
tenango &shion is a long, loose, sack-like shirt which Uie women
wear thrown over th^ head and shoulders, with -an oval opening
near the top, leaving the face alone uncovered. Though very
frugal in what they eat, the Indians are not very careful as to
what they drink, at all events as regards quantity. The vice
of drunkenness is, I fear, very genend. Cbicha, the favourite
beverage, and but sli^tty intoxicating in moderation, is con-
sumed basin after basin, in enormous quantities, until men or
women fall into a drunken sle^. It is ridiculously cheap and
prepared by fermentation from the coarsest brown sugar — panela.
Chicha, a dark brown liquid, is the least, aguadiente the most
intoxicating drink. There are also many different kinds of

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118 SPORT ASD TRAVEL PAPERS

"freseaa" pnpftred with Bitgu-,floiu-, and some frtiitjmoe. These
ue displayed for sale in most roadBide shops and are v&rj
refroahing. So is sIbo, and notmBhing besides, a drink called
tiste, foond in the lower oonntiy, where the cacao-tree grows,
made of parched maize flout, sngar, einnamon, and cocoa mixed
with water. Thie is very palatable at the end of a hot and
dusty ride. The highest point we reached in Guatemala was
&e snmmit of the volcano of Agoa, in the crater of which we
slapt at the respectable height of 18,670 feet or 14,000 feet,
according to different measniements. The Jefe Politico, the
gOTwnor of Antigna, to whom we had a letter, kindly sent a
messenger to the Indian village of St. Maria, 2,000 feet above
the town, situated on the elope of the moontain, with orders to
provide carriers for ns. These we fomtd ready on our arrival, bo
QOthing remained to be done bnt to settle the price, arrange the
loads, and proride onrBelves with water for the jomney. While
thus employed we were regaled with lemonade in the cabildo,
where the alcalde was wont to dispense justice nnder a crimson
canopy, emblazoned vrith the arms of Chiatemala — a greyish
white scroll, with t^e words " Libertad, September 16, 1824,"
gnrmoonted by a qnezal in proper colours ; Remiugton rifles and
swords crossed underneath the scroll and resting npon a double
lanrel wreath, the whole on a dark blue field. Our four sturdy
&idian carriers were soon ready and laden with their own thick
clothing, oar blankets, great-ooats, provisions and earthen-
ware jars full of water, and the road being practicable, we
rode our horses np the moontain-side nntil it became too
steep. Then the climb commenced through the forest, where
here and there the ground had been cleared and some
potatoes planted. Beyond the forest the ascent became
terribly steep and alippery on aooount of the long yellow
grass, and the air being very rarefied, breathing was very
difficult. One of the pari?, I won't say who, very nearly gave
it op ; it was awM work sorambling np on all-fonrs, and evei;
moment oat of breath, especially when it became dark, except
for the millions of stars which spaiUed in tiie beaveoB. At
last, when almost completely exhausted, vre stood npon the edge
of the crater, and then descended into the wide, de^ basin of what
was once a lake, until it borst its banks to sweep away the
first capital of Chiatemala. We found a hut of logs and branches

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BOADSIDE SEBTOHEB IS aUATEMALA 119

heit, idueh, ia the absenoe of anything elm to bom, Imd to
jffOTide OS with the-materiala for a fire, which wss soon in fiill
blue, ve mtting «s olowly H pouible round it, for it wm
terribly oold. The hot eofFee, eggs, end potted meftte mnnad
and refreshed the inner man, and then, hanng placed fresh logs
upon the fire, we wrapped our blankets round as and lay down
upon the ground, aheltered aa much as possible from the annoy-
ing draoghts which whistled through the skeleton walls of the
hut. We were in an immense oironUi cauldron, its extent not
to be judged in the dim U^t, bat its rim distinctly defined by
the brilliant stare above, among which a beantifnl eomet sparkled
in the pure atmosphere. Gaaing upon the glorious lights of
heaven we at last went to sleep in our lofty lodging, bat awoke
jost before dawn cold and shirering. A ran to warm ua, more
hot coffee, and then a dimb to the crater's edge. As the son
rose a marrelloas panorama deyeloped itself below us ; dtiea,
Tillagea, moontains, fields, lakes, the whole country lay spread
out like apoa a map, at first dimly then dearly d^ed in
erery particular, aa the sun's rays dispersed the mist which ontil
tbtn had lain like a white bhmket upon the mountain dopM,
in the Talleys, over lakes and rivers. On one side the high
plateau upon whidi stand Antigua and the new capital, on
the other the deuae kopioal forest and the Pacific beyond ; the
Toleanoes of Ban Salvador were dearly visible to the south, those
of Atitlui and Qoeaaltenanffl) to the north. We only now saw
tiie fall extent of the orater wherein we had passed the night,
the breadi in its side made centuries ago by the water on its
way to deal death and destruction to Quatemela vieja, and the
deep channels it had thai cut down the mountain-side. Close
by rose Faego, with its ragged crater emitting little poffs of
smoke ereiy now and then — the destroyer of the city whence
we had jost come and to which we soon afterwards retnmed.

byGoogIc

A. RIDE FEOM THE PACIFIC TO MEXICO CITY

TTEBY early one morning in Fflbrnaiy last the SB. Ormutda,
V belonging to the Pacific Mail Company, oast anchor in the
Bay of Aoapolco, in Mexico. She had bron^t as, my com-
panion and me, from Champerioo, Chiatemala, in fif^-nine boara,
Bteaming slowly in order to enter the narrow harbonr by daylight.
We had oonanlted several people as to the best road from the
Pacific coast to the capital of Mexico, and all the Tarioas rontes
from St. Blaa, Manzanillo, and Masatlan had their adTOoatea.
Partly to gain time, partly to save money — ^for Qie steamboat
£ares between the Tarions ports, thanks to the monopoly which
the Pacific Mail Company here enjoys, are ontrageonsly high —
we at lost settled to make oar start from Acapoleo and had no
reason to regret the choice. We were soon landed and installed
at the Hotel Louisiana, where the hostess, a lady from Kew
Orieans, and her daoghtera, did everything to make ns com-
fortable. An agreeable sorprise was in store for us here ; onr
expectatuns were completely n^atired. Instead of Acapoleo
be^ the dirty, anhealthy, fever'Strioken spot which in oni
imagination it had been, we found it qtiite the reverse ; it wore
a very oheerfdl aspect, the streeto were most carefoUy kept with
no heaps of refdse left about, its white-washed houses were
dazzling is their brightness, and the hotels, especially as to
bedrooms and food, left nothing to be desired. Indeed, the
contrast between the hotel Louisiana and the very many inns
in Chiatemala we had lately visited was very marked, and not
at all in favour of the latter. And how prettily the little
town ia situated on the beautiful, almost land-locked harbour.

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A BTOE FEOM THE PAOIPIO TO MEXICO CITT 121

with its doep-blne water and golden sandy shore, watched over
by the old castle, which is again orerlooked by bold monntaina
eloping in all round I It was boming hot oatstde, bat cool
within the airy roonu of the hotel, which, I fear, are not much
frequented by Tisitora, as but few people erei land here, most
bvTellera to the city of Mexico ohoosing another rente, and
there is almost no trade. Our wooden bed chamber, with
glasaless windows, was Tory airy ; at night a strong wind blew
from the monntains to the sea, taking onr room «n route, and,
onless seemed, the sheets, our only oorering, would not have
remained a eorering very long. We were lucky enough soon
after airiral to hear of a muleteer willing to take ns and
onr belongings to the city, or rather to the terminos of a railway
which extends a short distance from the capital, and which
is intended erentnally to complete the line connecting the
I^Uiiflc with the Atlantic. It already calls itself the "Inter-
oeeanie " nulway, bnt whether it will erer really deserve that
name is extronely doabtfiil. At present its terminna, Tantepec,
is distant 816 miles (by road) from the Pacific, and the
intervening coontiy appears utterly impracticable. The can-
didate for onr patronage soon presented himself, and was
vouched for by the United States Consul, who very kindly
interested hinwelf in onr behalf; the man had just brought
a Government official down from the city, and was the proud
possessor of three horses. Angostin hapez was soon engaged,
on eonditi<ni that he produced four serviceable beasts, mules
or horses, two for us to ride, two for the baggage. He proved
himself a hardworking, most willing and obliging arriero
very proud of his profession and most anxious to deliver as at
oar destination on a certain day, ao aa not to compromise
the proud name he had earned of always doing the journey
as rapidly as possible. His repute remained nntamished;
he kept us up to time, made ua travel as he wished, and
eventually delivered ns safe and sound in Mexico at the
hour fixed, but a good many ponnda lighter than when we
left Aoapnloo. His terms were soon agreed to ; twenty-two
Mexican dollars we vrere to give for eaoh animal, he to feed
them on tlie road and to anpply aaddles, &c. ; to start in
fim^-eight hours. Not veiy dear, when the terrible state of
tiie road over 816 miles of moat mosntainoos oonntry is

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m BPOBT AND TRAVEL PAFEBB

eooBideied. On going n«xt morning to inspoet our rteeds,
ve heard that one of the three had been stolsn or lovt daring
tite preceding ni^t, and found that the remaining two looked
exceedingly sorry for themselTeB, and were apparently totally
unfit to nndertake bo long a joomey. They would eeemin^y
hare afforded ralnable atodiea for Teterinsry stadesta of nearly
eveiy ailment to which horseflesh is heir ; bnt the owner
negatiTod our feara and promued to find two more by the
next day. This he did, a horse and an excellent grey mule
who did its work nobly and ontiringly.

At 2 p.m. on the 12th of Febrnaiy Angnstin appeared
with his animals at the hotel, and we decided to start at
once. While the two portmanteanz were being sewn op in
palm matting, we provided onrselT6fl eaoh with a hammock —
an absolutely indispensable article of kit — knlTee, fbrks, spoons,
and biscuits. The landlady ni^died ns with two bottles of
extract of coffee, a bag of sugar, and some bread. At 4.45
pju. we left Aoapnloo, the mnle carrying the portmanteaox
and onr bedding, the most donbtful-Iooking horse the light
ba^age, while the two others, prorided with Mexican saddles
and bits, bod the honour of being onr monnts. The road,
a mere track, rery stony, dnsty, and narrow, rose gradoally
as it left the coast, affording ns every now and then pretty
views of the town and harbonr. Soon after darii we arrived
at onr hahing-plaee fbr the night, La Tmta, a small village
composed of several low hnts oonstraoted of sticks and thatched
with paira leaves, open in front, where, mpported on poles,
the roof projected to a considerable distance. Here nomerooa
hammocks were already elnng, bat we found room for onrs also.
Presently the old Indian landlady, whose clothing was of the
scantiest natnre, provided us with son-dried strips of beef,
heated orer Uie fire on wooden skewers, and terribly tough,
frijoles (stewed black beans), eggs, and of coarse tortillas
(fiat maiie o^es). Onr horses were, witli many others,
feeding elose by on dry maise stalks, their only food with tlie
exoeption of a little Indian com.

The hammocks were soon all occapied, bat sleep was greaUy
inter&red with by baAing and ""'■^'"e dogs, which k^t op a
perpetoal and very noisy battle all night loDg, and by innomer-
able pigs on the prowl, attracted to the hat by the flesh of tms

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A BIDE FROM THE FAOOTO TO UEXICO CIT7 128

of their own bind Iktel; killed, whieli vu hmging in fertoonf
from the rsfterB all roond as. Soon after three next morning
we left our airy beds, and persuaded the landlady, who appeared
with bat a petticoat, the wauit part roand her neok, to boil ni
Bome oofiee. Thus regaled, we loaded the pack animalB, bade
adiea to oar " tait " hostess, and rode for seven hoars over a
Tety bad road, op-hill, down-hill, orossing ridge after ridge.
The trees and shrabs were all leafless, the moantains bare and
yellow, long years ago depiiTed of the Inzoiiant timber whitdi
onoe had dothed their nakedness. In the narrow valleys the
bnuhwood was still green, beautifiil hamming-birds hovered
near the bri^t flowers searching for insects hidden in their
honeyed depths ; the blae jays were calling among the trees,
noisily following as on the march, and a flock of parrokeets
rashed screeching across the valley. We passed a few small
Tillages, where the men lay lazily swinging in hammocks, uid
naked childrea played aboat with [ngs, dogs, and camberlesa
fowhi. We passed a caravan loaded with Cresh ooooannts,
bat there was bat little life aboat the coantry — ^it seemed Teiy
bare, dried np, and anprodactive — very different, indeed, &om
the wdl-watered, rich Guatemala, where everything is green,
whne the soil grows anything abondantly. At noon we arrived
at Los Arrc^OB (I vrill append a table of distances, Sm.), and
were soon resting in oar hammocks while the horses were fed
and oar own meal was preparing. ^ the afternoon we oovered
three hoars more of road as far as Los Altos, where we
stayed antil 4 a.m. There was nothing to be got here bat
9^a and tortillas, which, with the addition of stowed beans
and an occasional feast on dried, leathery beef, formed the
never-changing menu of oni two daily repasts. No wonder,
then, that we hated the very sight of all these things at the
end of oar joniney.

We soon got nsed to onr hammocks. Always very tired, we
minded not at what an^e onr wearied bodies lay ; vre sl^
Boandly, in spite of draaghts, pigs, fowls, ton^ tortillas, and
tonghw beef. Oar ablations mn generally performed at some
roadside stream, water beii^ scarce at the halting-places and
all oar time taken np by eating and sleeping.

The travelling was very bad indeed daring the entire jonm^ ;
very rarely were we able to trot even for a short distMuw. The

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124 SPORT AND TRAYEL PAPERS

track la; over the moat terribly stony conntry, ap steep hiUa,
often merely biire and slippery rock, then down again, stiimbling
among loose bonlders, or straggling op places where the nn-
fbrtnnate animals had to climb like cats. Thoagh we enjoyed
some magnificent viewa among thia sea of moontains, whioh
rises steadily from the coast in erer loftier chains until we
ap^oach the plateaa, 8,000 feet high, whereon stands the
capital, the beaaty of the soeneiy generally was marred by
^e nakedness and apparent barrenneas of the coimtry. The
Tillages looked poor and were few and &r between. There
was bnt little cultivated land besides the few patohes of maize
attached to erery hoase.

We arriyed at 11.80 at Tierra Colorado, a very neat village,
the white-washed adobe hoases of which are bnilt roand a large
open aqnare. Here some pork was pat before as, which we
coald not &ce after oar late studies on the life of the village
pig; bat there were also eggs and plantains. The people
Bera[ied very well to do. They were clad in the cleanest white
jackets and loose troosers; but apparently cultivated nothing
bnt maize. Oar afternoon march to Dos Caminos was short,
bat more enjoyable than the others. The road was better,
the Bceneiy pretty in a deep valley where eveiytbing was green,
and Milivened by birds, batterflies, and bronze-coloored lizards,
which sparkled in the ann as they lay on tiie bnming rocks.
The [dun was covered with mimiHa-treeB, nmbrella-shaped,
like those in the Soodan ; on the hillsides grew giant cacti,
in appearance like huge candelabra. Thoagh onr landlady
killed one of her toaghest hens for our repast, we woold gladly
have done withoat her own sweet company, for when not
smoking her cigar swinging abont in a hammock close to as,
she was smoking her cigarette leaning over the table among
onr dishes, in still closer proximity. We soo^t oar hammocks,
cdnng oatside, as soon as possible, and slept well in spite of
the howling of dogs, the sqaealing pigs, the crowing cocks,
the bleating goats, the lowing cows, and calling tarkeys.
What a farmyard the street was 1 Off at 4 a.m. again, we
soon after crossed a ridge, and then an extensive valley,
soiTOnnded on every side by monntains ; a few hoosea were
to be seen here and there, with the osoal maize fields.

The mist in the early morning was lying in dense masses

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A RIDE FROM THE PACIFIC TO MEXICO OITT 125

OTflr tiie bw oonntry, whieh thas reMmbled & lake, out of
which ftbrnptly rose the moontams, while the tops of the
emails hillB appeared like islands abore the Borfaoe of the
migty vapotur. The men we met on the road were all olad
in the white loose national dress, muffled np in a bright-
coloured serape, with broad brimmed huge Mexican hat, and,
of oonrse, never withoat a machete. We always exchanged
ft friendly greeting with any traTellem, and nerer did tbej
molest OS in the very least ; on the contrary, they alwa^
seemed glad to see one, and did all they oonld to affcnd
Bssiatacee in any way is their power. We had onr first trot
on this day orer » comparatiTely lerel country, until onoe
more the road took us among the moontains and into the
most grandly beaotifiil scenery, A magnificent panorama lay
before as when, after a laborions ascent, we reached the crest
of the pass ; nothing bat moontains ererywhere, peaks rising
behind peaks in the most piotaresqne confosion as &r as the
eye eoold reach. The nearest moontains were clad in bright
yellow grass, a golden backgronnd to the oloaters of deep
green pine-trees and their reddish-brown polished-looking
tnmks. The sierra beyond was coTored with dense forest
nearly to the top, where it was bare hot for some broshwood
which grew bat sparsely. Here and there la^ mosses of
datet-eoloored naked rook stood out boldly, contrasting
sharply with tile variegated green around. Mountains soc-
ceeded moontains, gradoally as the distance increased beooming
more and more bloe ; so did the valleys also, antil their
shading became deeper and more sombre at their lowest depths.
The blight clear atmosphere, the doodless sky, the sparkling
dewdrops still banging from the leaves, the bri^t-oolonred
flow^B, the bntteifiies and birds wfaidi gave animation and
lent colonr to the scene, completed the charming picture, the
bean^ of which it would be impossible to describe fitly. At
10.80 a.m. we arrived at Acabuisitla, a village in a small bat
Certile valley, snzrounded by high moontains and magnificent
gorges. A cane-mill here was still driven in the primitive
manner by eight horses. As twenty-foor miles still remained
to be done, we left again at 1.16, in spite of the terribly hot
sun ; the road was, as nsoal, very bad, the ooantry bare, hardly
ooTwed with dry grass even. We arrived at the hotel of

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126 SPORT AND TRAVEL PAPERS

ChilptuioiDgD, the capital of the province of Guerrero, at
7.80 P.K., tired oat oompletel;. Gladly would we, however,
hare ezdunged onr inn for saffioient room is a village to
swing onr hammocks, for nothing oould we get bnt wooden
boarda to aleep npon in a draughty poaaage — the few rooma
were all engaged — and bat little to eat, and nobody to make
coffee for aa in the morning before we left at foar.

Diagosted, we marched among bare hiUa oorered with
palmetto and stnnted palms and dense mimosa thickets over
• terribly tiring road to Zompango, a clean, well-kept, cheerful
village, where a moat civil landlady soon pat excellent coffee,
milk, and com bread before as, to which we did jnstioe with
travellers' appetites. As here the horses had to be shod, we
enjoyed a longer rest than usual, dotdng in a hammock or
watching the ma^t women ontside as they sold chillies,
orangea, beans, melons, herbs, soap, &o., all their wares neatly
laid oat in little heaps on a piece (^ matting in front of them.

At 10 a.m. we were off again, the road taking as throogh the
moat dreary scenery, along the sandy bed of a river meandering
among monntains covered with leafless mimosa, arriving at
Zopilote, a single lonely house, at 1 p.ia. As it was impossible
to reach the next place, thirty miles distant, befiwe dark, and
as no water or hoases exist on the road, we had to remain here
nntil 1 a.m., when we made a start for Mescala, jnst before
reaching which we had to be ferried across a broad river bearing
the same name. At 8 p.m. we arrived at Tonioapan, very tired
after a hot, fatigaing joam^ of fif^-one miles.

Aftw this we always left oar hammocks at 1 a.m., lighted by
the moon, which then was jost past foil, thereby completing the
major part of the day's task before the son had become very hot.
Y^ there always remained after the halt more to be done than
we oared aboat, for the heat daring the day was very great, as
were the distances, while tiie pace was very slow.

Very nice people took care of as at Tonicapan, and nnder a
roomy shed we slang onr hammocks, and loth were we to leave
them when the signal was given for the start at 1 a.m. We
crossed a platean of rolling hills covered with dry yellow grass,
and then desoended into a wide plain containing a large lake,
and the native Indian village of Igaala, baried among trees, and
BO on to PlataniUa on the opposite slope, where we recruited the

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A BIDE FBOU THE PAOQIC TO UEXXOO OFTT 137

inner man at • iMtdiida bat. Four houn' minli in the after-
uxm biOQipbi u io Yoito de la Nera, idiere we had to aling
oar bammookfl aknost in the itreet, with noiay mnleteen all
arormd db.

After Bereral hours' mareh in the early morning of Febmary
l&th we just before dawn created a hill, and saw below na an
immense pUin, still ahrooded in dadsieai. Abore the highlanda
beyond rose the giant Toloanoes of Fopooatapetl and Ixtaooibtutl,
their lofly peaks olearly defined against a erimson sky, so deep in
ootoor as to seem almost sapemataral. Below, in the daiA
plain an immanse fire was burning, only partially dispersing in
its immediate vioinity the misty dadiwss, while it deepened the
gloom of all alae aroond. A pleasant sight to os, for we almoot
■aw tiie end of onr joomey ; those two Toloanoea stood between
the railway terminos — onr goal — and tiie city of Ifexico,

At the Indding of the rising snn, the daiknesa resting npon
the plain dispersed, and we saw extensiTe maize fields, now
yellow and dry, with here and there bright green traots of sngar-
eane, plantation buildings, and a fisw honses. A hoinble road
bronght ns to a riyer, which we forded, finding coffee and eggs
in the village Amsousae, on the other side. Twenty minntes
were allowed for breakCut, and then m again, trotting orer a
▼ety good road to Fnente de Ixtla, passing a large angar
hadenda and sererol Tillages, whioh had now become more
freqoent. After a very greasy Inncheon at the inn of San
Antonio, the animals were saddled once more to cany ns to
Btanoaeca, where we aniTed at 6.15 p.m., taking np our
qnarters there &r the night. In a mnleteer's oonal we along
oar hammocks under a shed, tenanted on onr arriral by a
dronken old woman, a malformed tiny pig, and on oohappy-
loDking hen, adorned with a feather passed throogh the nogttils.
Straight-growing cacti are nsed here for enclosures, forming an
impenetrable wall.

The ten leagaes next moniing took as throngb a very fertile,
well-irrigated Tolley, oconpied by aereral lo^ sugar estates,
and orer a range of hills into another valley, where to onr delist
we at hurt saw the village of Yantepee, with the station hnildingB
of tiie railway to Mexico city. Yantepee. a tbriving little town,
is sorronnded by orange gudens and cane fields, and supplies
the cental with many kinds of froit and vegetables. Thus

byGoogIc

SPORT AlfD TRATEL PAPERS

when vfl diunotmted at tbe door of Hoz» Concordia our long
ride was orer. The horaeH had had more than enon^ bat our
friend Aagnstitt wae well satisfied.

We arriTed at Yantepeo one hundred and eighty-eight hours
after leaving Acapaloo ; of these we had spent eighty-six and
three-qoarters aotnall; in the saddle, jonmeying over one
hundred and five leagues, or three handred and fifteen miles,
at the rate of three uid two-third miles an hour. Next day,
by the Tery slowest train it is possible to imagine, we arrired in
Uexioo ci^ in the afternoon.

„ U. From

„ 14. From

„ IS. From

,, 15. From

„ 16. Ftmh

16. 1

„ 17. From

„ 17. Fiom

„ 16. From

„ 18. From

„ 19. From

„ 19. From

„ 19. From

„ 30. From

Aoapnloo to La Venta

Lk Tenta to Lot Anoyoa

Loi AzroyoB to Loi Altoe

Lo« AltOB to Tiem Oolonda ...
Tiarra'Colond* to Dos OhhIium
Doa Cunlnoi to AMhniaotU
AokhnUotl* to CbilpMieiiigo
Chilpmu^ngo to Znmpuigo... ...

Zanqaiigo to Zo^lote

Zo^k)te to Hwoak

UwoaU to Ton*UiM ... .» ...

Toiulapa to PlatajilUA

PUtaoUlk to Ventft de 1« Neia ...
Tenta de U Nera to AmooiuM ...
AmftooEM to Paente de Lrtla
Foente de Iztla to BUnoMoa ...
BlanoMOA to Tftotepee

byGoogIc

xn

ANGLZNe FOB TIGERS

HEBE eomes old " Cooch-n4," * aaya A. fretfoUy, as he sito
IrbiI; smokijig in complete toiUtU-de4it one ewl; morniiig
in our Bhooting camp in India. Old Goocfa-n6 was one of oar
Bhikaries, and bad w^ earned his sobriqnet ; being a man oi
few wordfl, his earl; report abont the tigers was always made in
those two short, bnt to as most expressive, monosyllables ; and
this had now happened on twenty-one mornings ont of twenty-
three of jnn^e life. We were told that no tiger hod taken onr
bollookB, and treqnently also that there were no "margs,"
Sahib I Oar patienoe had long since given way, and no wonder,
for no kill meant not only no boat that day, bnt a lazy, more or
less sleepy, and certainly most monotonotu existence in our
tents, witii books which we had already read over and over
again. Mo wooder, then, that we had long ago lost onr tempers,
and reoeiTod the shikaries with derisiTe shonts as they made the
nsnal report morning after morning. The mnoh-praised Job
may have been, and no doabt was, a very patient indiTidoal, bnt
even be woold nnder these circumstances have nsed strong
langni^, when, leave nmning short, all hope of a tiger had
again that day been dashed to the ground with this exasperating
Cooeh-nd report on the sixteenth oonsecntiTe morning 1 It
apset oar liTers and tempers, at all events it did mine, and we
were angry with ererytbing. The trip had promised so well,
thanks to friends who had chosen the best oonntty and engaged
the best shikaries for oar party. The knowledge that we had
all these advantages made as doably angry that those annoying

* KoQiing.

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130 SPORT Ain> TRAVEL PAPERS

tigere, of which there were many about, would oot kill the lovely
plamp yoong bnllocka we provided ao liberally for their break&st,
Oni eosdnct could not bare been more polite or oonBiderate, for
to aave his royal majesty all posBible trouble, we even fastened
what we hoped might prove an acceptable ^t to a tree, so that
it could not nm away, and near some shady spot where it might
be enjoyed and digested in peace, with rarming water to wash it
down dose at hand. What ooold a tiger want more? Bat
eridently there was something wrong, for many times bad tigers
closely examined om; bollocks, and even offered to play with
them — poor brutes 1 — and performed a pat-de-sevl for their edifica-
tion, to judge from, in shikari language, the " marga " around.
What coold be the reason of this behavioor, so fatal to our
tempers ? It was very puzzling, but at last we knew. A more
or less &ir damsel, clothed in most brilliantly gorgeous raiment
of every colour, loaded with rings in nose and ears, on wrists
and ankles, and learned in tiger lore, appeared one morning and
divo^ed the secret. This parti-colonred brinjarri ^psy) wood-
nymph at once explained the to us apparently extraordinaiy
behaviour of these tigers by calmly stating that their months
had not been opened ! How simple it was I Of oonree, no
animal can eat with its moath shut. " Poor tigers, how thin they
must be 1 " was feelingly remarked. However, on farther inquiry,
we found that the latter need not greatly distress as, for the
brinjarries, to save their herds, had dosed the tigers' mouths
against cattle only ; they were still at liberty to eat pork and
venison, but beef was forbidden. We pleaded that the tigers
might be allowed a more liberal and varied diet, and at last the
damsd offered, for a present, to see what coold be done. On
the following day, after old Coooh-od bad made his osoal report,
oor growling and gmmbling was suddenly echoed by a long wail,
fcdlowed by other heartrending sonnds from many throats,
becoming gradoally loader and more distinct as the vmces
slowly approached. Presently appeared a whole lot of brinjarrie
women all dothed in the brightest dresses, apparently made
from what I believe ladies would call remnants, and all
he-ringed, keeping step to a most monrofhl air more suggestive
of & Mineral than the dance they presently commenoed. " They
doing pocjah, to open tiger's month," explained onr boy. " He
certify would shut his ears were ha here to hear," irreverentij

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ANGLING FOR TIGERS 131

Boid B. The danoen eoDtinned their gyrations tintil his
majesty's jaws wrare said to be widely open, bat whether this
was HO or not, at all events the ladies retired ool; after a little
silTOT bad changed hands. It is wondrous the power of money I
That eren the sadly depreciated rapee had so mighty an
inflnenee on the appetite of a tiger and on the mechanism of
hifl jaws that it oonld force the royal beast to eat certain attioles
of food and leave others was troly wonderfhl I After this
impresBiTe oeremony we were bonnd to feel convinced that all
the tigers in the jmigles aronnd were roaming about open-
moathed seeking what they could devonr, which we sincwely
hoped might be beef, and nothing else for some time to come.
Bnt as too sodden a change of diet is good for no one, and
therefore presumably hm-tfol fo a tiger's digestion also, a day
OF two had yet to elapse before a kill was at last reported.

At oar first dinner in camp a cherry tart had snpplied the
means of taking a peep into the future, of foretelling Ute good o^
bad look in store for as with the tigers ; on religiously ooanting
the stones in fbors : borra bagh, obota bagh, cheeta, oooch-nd,*
we cnrioosly enough all finished with a bum bagh I Still more
carious to relate we did get a big tiger next day, and our faith
in cherries and their stones was rampant. Cherry tart was
voted a standing dish without dissentient voice, bat for some
unknown reason after the first evening the stonee seemed always
multiples of four, and we soon got to hate the innocent fruit and
the very somid of cooch-n6 echoed in&lUbly by the shikari next
morning.

I very much doubt if the particnlar method of shooting tigers
of necessity in vogue in this part of India (Decoan) troly
deserves the name of sport. It reminds one too strongly of
the Thames angler who patiently sits on bis box and apparently
spends his time in a sonmoleut condition with occasional lucid
intervals in which he baits his hook, and on rare occasions polls
out a fish. He, at all events, has the advantage of watching
the whole process from the bait entering the water to the fish
leaving it stroggling on the hook.

We tie our bnllodu to a tree at night, leave them there and

go in tha early morning to see whether we have had a bite ; if

not, as is neariy always the case, we nntie our bait and go home,

* Luga tlgw, littU ^gvt, Iwpud, ootUng.

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133 SPORT AND TRAVEL PAPERS

otu* ooeitpation gone for the day. We see nothing of the tiger's
nibble or the process b; which the bait is seised and carried off.
The interest lies solely in the vidt to the bnllocks in the eaiiy
honrs, and this rery soon palls when day after day the bait is
foond nntonohed and lively. The shikaiies T6ry natnraUy object
to disturbing the tiger jangle by going after other game, and
during the hot weather stalking deer, Jko., ia out of the qnestion^
the gronnd being thickly coTered with dry leares, rendering
silent walking totally impossible. Nothing remains bat to stay
in camp and spend iite hoars in sleep and reading, ontil, in the
afternoon perhaps, yoa shoot a daek or two on the bank, or
some snipe in the paddy-field, shonld either be near ; or yoa
accompany the shikaries and watch them bait their hooks,
a proceeding generally objected to as unnecessarily disturbing
the gronnd. I grant that when posted on a tree or rock, if the
former he not too sha^, or the latter too hot, it is a mogniff-
cent sight to see a tiger break cover and a glorious aatis&ction
to see him roll oTer to one's shot, bat the method of arriving at
Qiis desirable end is too mechanieal, and nearly devoid of all
that which constitntes real sport. When after many days'
weary waiting, perhaps ranning into weeks even, at last a kill
is reported, yoa are marched off to the jnngle and climb np into
a tree where yoa are perfecUy safis from the reach of a tiger.
The animal, sleepy and laiy after its heavy meal, is then beaten
towards yoa and, if lucky, yon kill it. Here ia none of the
excitement of tracking and that of following a wild beast into
its own jnngleB, of pitting yonr endarance and knowledge of
woodcraft against the sagacity and conning of the animal on its
own gronnd, with the certain element of danger when it comes
to the final scene. This which makes real sport so fascinating
is totally absent. The only danger which we encountered was
to my mind not so mneh from the wounded tiger which we
had to follow on foot to kill, but from the shikaries, who,
with Hie mnazles of the spare rifles at full cock in most nn-
comfiwtable proximity to one's spine, would follow immediately
behind us, not to mention the chance of tumbling out of the
tree.

However, as bad luck cannot last for ever, so before long we
got a bite and our bait was carried off. Even the shikari's
generally immobile featnres wore a smile and everybody was

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AlfOLING FOB TIOEBS 133

ddif^ted. The ohuioe of bagging a tiger woke ns all ont of oni
noimal lethargic condition.

After some difficulty about sixty beaters vere collected ;
those who had come withoat tom-toma or other means of
making faideooa noisea, were pronded with policemen'B rattles
to add Tariety to the mosia with which the sleeping tiger was
to be awakened, all received a gonwad, to be afterwards ex-
changed for pay. The sbikaries took a sapply of fireworks
made of the hollow rind of the bael froit filled with powder ;
gonboys flhooldered rifles, the luncheon basket and other
necessariea were not forgotten, and at last the procession
started, led by the village shikari in whose district we were.
This official's outfit consisted of a dirty puggree, a similar
loin-elotb, a long matchlock bonnd with brass and fiuther
adorned with rows of jackal teeth BarronodiDg the pan ; a
gazelle horn and a oocoanut covered with cheetob-skin con-
tained powder, a leather bag bullets; in hie hand he carried
a piece of smouldering oowdung wherewith to light the match
and fire his piece.

Met by our shikories after a long tramp, we were told that
the tiger hod not as nsnal lain ap near his kill, bat was taking
his siesta near the foot of a small hill to which he hod been
tracked. So on we went once more, cheered, however, by the
Urge "margs" deeply graven on the soft soil. At last we
leave our horses, and, after drawing lots with bits of grass for
places, go on alone with the shikaries, and a few men carrying
a ladder, spare rifles, &o. Three trees are chosen some distance
apart, and fiuung the hill about to be beaten, and, if not already
tenanted by red ants, are occupied according to lot by the three
woold-be tiger-slayers. Helped up by a ladder, we make
onrBelves as comfortable as the cramped, unsteady, and more
or lees d&ngeroos position will admit of. It being noon and
Uie hot weather, one has every opportunity to perspire freely
during the two hoars or more which are nsnally passed on these
lof^ perches. A long time elapses before the beaters get into
posititm behind the rocky hill, the base of which is hidden from
view .by bmshwood and low trees, the tiger's present sleeping-
plaoe we hope, so there is ample time to study the surroondinga.
Everything as yet is still and sweltering in the heat. A few
Inngoora sit in the shady nooks on the faoe of the hill, liuzda

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134 SPORT AND TRAVEL PAPERS

^ide DoifleleBsfy over the bnnuog rooks close by, and perhaps
a honey-auoker, Bparklii^ like a gem, paya yon a -riait in yonr
tree. The only BOtind which breaks the present almost painfdl
silence is the monotonoas " took, took " of the little copper-
smith calling from scmie adjacent tree-top, nntil Boddenly a most
flendisb noise startles the ear, and a long line of beaters appears
on the crest of the hiU. Battles, tom-toms, yells, and fireworks,
a most powerfdl qnartette, soffioient almost to waken the dead.
Bnt at first it only distnrba the meditations of a nmneroos
&mily of Inngoors, the members of which oome bustling down
helter-skelter, the babies oluiging to the mother's belly. A
peacock or two, gloriously splendid in the bright son, flies past,
and tiien apparently the jimgle is emptied of all animal life.
The beaters, however, wo^ harder than ever ; bmidles of burn-
ing grass are thrown down the &ce of the hill, firewotfa pop
off ia all directions, and tom-toms and rattles have apparently
gone mad, but nothing farther comes out. When almost all
hope has vanisfaed, a lai^e tiger suddenly leaves the covert at
a smart ran, and making for some bare rooks passes within
forty yards of C. Then rapidly three emotions pass in sucoes-
sion through C.'s mind, each one most vividly and acutely felt.
Admiration of the beauty of the royal beast as it mshes past ;
anxiety as to hitting it, and intense satisfaction if successful,
or intense mortification and misery if the shot be a miss. The
latter is to my mind the sharpest and the most lasting ; a miss
under those oircumstanoes is simply — no word is bad enough.
In this particular case a lucky bullet broke the tiger's spine,
and he fell at once and remained on the spot; but it some-
times happena that a tiger has been shot at by some one else
before it is bowled over by the next gan. Then follow some
trying moments, before it is finally settled who first hit the
animal, and whose tiger it therefore is. This is a delicate
arbitration, not always arranged to everybody's satisfiMStion.
The dead tiger brought in on an elephant always has a great
reception from the ^Uilagers ; he is aooompanied to the camp
by young and old, all beating tom-toms and shouting. As soon
as the tiger is on the ground the ladira touch the animal and
their foreheads, and make their children, however small, do
the same, thereby offering a prayer to the god of tigers to spare
them and their kind.

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ANGLING FOR TIGERS 135

The beaters aie paid, the Bhikariee receive their sheep and
brandy, there is feKsting in camp, and ever; one is happy, bnt
none so greatly aa he who, dinner over, pays another fiflit to
the tiger, perhaps his first, a trophy of which he may well he
proad. If it depended more on one's own exertion, and if one's
qnalities aa a shikari were tested more, and bronght into play
to arrive at his happy consummation, the enjoyment wonld be
vastly enhanced, bnt uufortnuately in the part of India spoken
of this is impossible.

byGoogle

0=

THE SHOOTING-BOOT'S LAMENT

1890

~VH t the base ingratitude of man ! His ntter disregard for
the feelings of old friends when these ore no longer of
use to him! After years of foithfdl serrioe, and serrioe rendered
to my master's complete satisfaotion, I am now, when old, and
when well-deaeryed rest should he mine, literally kicked off
and thrown to some servant, to know with him no peace ontil
the last thread which holds the sole to my body shall have
parted. Even then no decent bniial will be mine, bnt piecemeal
shall I be thrown aside, probably on some dnng-heap, parted
for ever from my faithfol friend who has been at my side all
through life. He and I were called into existence togethw,
and, constant companions daring life, we shared all hard knocks
and carried the same harden through all the rough vicisaitades
prepared for ub by fate. The base ingratitode of man to as,
his fiuthfol friends — a pair of shooting-bootB I Why should we
— I speak in the royal plural — not be rewarded after a life of
toil with a place of well-deserved rest in our old days in the
warm gun-room where all the old guns are kept, treasured up
and carefolly tended — guns many of which we have carried
nncomplainingly all day long, in all weathers, and over all
varieties of ground?

May oar saccessors, who, innocent of what is before them,
are even dow treading in our footsteps, avenge oa by findUig oat
those tender spots in their master's feet, which we, grateM for
the good treatment we received when still in the vigour and
beauty of our youth, took such pride in avoiding and carefully
guarding with oar very bodies.

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THE SHOOTING-BOOTS LAMENT 137

Our life oeitainly has been » hard one. ' But for the long
rest during half the year eren we, vith oar toagh oonstitntionB,
eonld not have stood it bo long. Ont for long, long d&ys, my
fiuthfiil companion and I, numstering to oar master's plearare
in wet and snow, chilled and soaked throogh and throng,
oar gldn knocked off by sharp atones, or torn hy those horrid
prickly shrabs, we, on retnm home, the tight lacing being at
once undone, were token off and placed in a nice warm place,
onr bent and sinking frames supported by wooden trees, and
we were fed with fat which soaked into onr very nature and
gare us new life and made as sleek and &ir to look npon.
Sometimes, though rarely, the man who took nd in chai^ when
we hod as usual done onr duty, anffering probably from bad
tonper or neglected education, woold almost roast as at the fire,
or gire ns bad and enl-smelling food. Then in revenge for such
Ul-deserred treatment we woold harden onr nature and shrink
into onrselTea, and afterwards give pain to oar master, in order
that he might visit his anger npon the careless serrant. Thia
never &iled, and it delighted ns to listen to] the lecture read,
although the language used was none of the best. After a time
we would recover our temper and smooth ont the wrinkles of
our displeasure, and everything wonld be forgiven and forgotten.
The more excuses were made about oar ctmdition the richer
woold become master's language, and we must say that he was
a profident in the art. When anything went wrong, if he shot
badly and some one else killed the birds he had missed, he
would stamp bis foot and shake our very soles, and perhaps
bruise our toes by vigorously kicking some onoffending stone
or anything that came in the way. We never could moke oat
why he should vent his rage on as, for never was it onr &nlt.
What we hated most, however — and then we really had a hard
time and suffered agonies — was when after a long day in roogh
oouutiy and little to ehoot, we were constantly knocked against
ever]' inequality of ground and tumbled into every hole, instead
of being taken lightly over every obstacle, as had been the case
in the morning. It was agony, and bruised us terribly. From
past experience we' would then long for a bird to get up, for
a suecesaful shot made master step carefiiUy once more, thereby
saving as many a bard knock and severe B^H^in. I remember
during one of my tre([Ufiat joomeya I was wrapped up in paper,

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138 SPORT AND TBAVEL PAPERS

embellislied with a largo illofltrated adTertiBemaat — abont oocoa,
I think. It was the picture of a barrister in wig and gown
drinking &om a cup, and entitled "A Refresher." I told m;
companion of it aft^wardB while we were warming oorselveB and
drying near the fire, and now we long for a refresher in the
shape of a bird when maater gets tired, and regardless of our
feelings stumbles abont and against ever; monnd and stone.
In spite of our little troables, we have always been food of our
owner ; have, I say — nntil now, when, worn ont in his service,
we can stand no longer straight, when oor nails have dropped
oat and oor heels are worn down, he has thrown ns aside to be
worked to rags, day after day, and smeared with some foul
eomponnd, the very nature of which is revolting. He used to
take such pride in us. Many & time has he praised ns, looked
at ns with pleasnre, and we have been photographed with him
on several occasions. We suited him admirably, and never hurt
him if we could help it. Dangers we have shared many, some
terrible ones, and many s time have we jumped wiUi fear,
pattioolarly when many rabbits were about, and a nei^bour's
gun pointed directly at us, instead of at the wretched, frightened
animal which came so near us. Master generally wore white
gaiters, to show his neighbonrs where we were, which
gaiters, though often our safeguard, we, however, greatly dis-
liked, for they shut out our view, and sometimes even pinched
UB. We always had a spite against them, so one day when they
got peppered by a sweeping shot up a ride down which we were
slowly walking, and we escaped, we danced for joy, but master
apparently took their part, for he shoated aloud and osed very
bad language — only audible to ns, however. Never shall we
forget the fright we got one morning, for our very lives were
in imminent peril. We had been shooting partridges when an
old gentleman, whom we afterwards heard called a long-winded
bore, singled out our master to tell him a story which appa-
rently had to be told at dose quarters. The others of the puty
stood aioond. The old gentleman had his gun und^ hia arm,
the muzzles only a yard from and pointed straight at ns, when
to our horror we saw that the feufal things were at full cock.
A cold shiver ran through us and we edged away ; but the man,
now thoroughly engrossed with his story, could only tell it
when directly facing master. Those horrid muzzles again

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THE SHOOTING-BOOT'S LAMENT 139

looked OB fbll in the face ; again my companion edged away.
I followed, tiey etill punned as ; the moTements of flight and
pnmiit became quicker nntil we began rapidly to rcToWe in
cirelea. The old creature, onoonBcionfl of the terrible dangor
threatening ns, went on with his tiresome story ; it was tempt-
ing pnmdenoe, and at last we ran away to look for some
imaginary coTey which was enpposed to have settled in an
ai^oiBing field. The others of the party seemed to enjoy it,
but we are not likely ever to fbrget those awful momenta. We
have never Been that old man since.

Master had another pair of ahooting-boots, bat during the
bnsy seasons we hardly ever met. We were ont one igy and
they were kept at home to reoover from their fatigues, and
vice vend. Bat when the shooting was over, we stood along-
side eaoh other and had many a talk together, while other
bootB and shoes, thin wretched looking things, made apparently
for show only, and not for hard work, were ranged around and
listened. The other ahooting-boots were yoonger than we ;
it was their first season, and everything was new to them, so
they enjoyed listening to as who had seen so mnch of the
world.

Now, alas 1 all is over ; life and its pleasures have ceased
for ns ; we have fonght a good fight, have carried off many a
voond in the service of oar master ; oar only reward, crippled
as now we are, anoeasing toil and suffering, autil the menial
whose flaet we at present Dover shall cast as off and fling oar
shattered bodies to some nnhallowed spot as even to him of no
farther nae.

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XIV
HEB MAJESTY'S MIS8I0K TO UATABELELAND

II haTing been decided to send » letter from Her Majesty
the Queen to Lobengola, King of the Matabelea, on behalf
of the British Bonth Africa Company, to which a Boyal charter
had jnst been granted, the choice of messengers fell npon two
officers, one warrant officer, and one trooper of the Boyal
B^iment of Horse Guards. In order the more to impress his
sable Majesty with the importance of the mission, the letter was
to be deli-rered by these delegates in full laree dress, with
cuirasses in addition. The letter advised Lobengola to pnt
his tmst in the agents of the British Sonth Africa Company,
in which Her Majesty had the greatest confldanee. Haying
made foil inqniriea into the proposed scheme of the Company,
and about the men intended to cany it oat, the Qneen had
seen fit to grant to it her Boyal charter. The officials ap-
pointed wonld relicTe Lobengnk of all troahle likely to arise
between the white people and the natiTes. The Rev. J. Q.
Moffat, who had already proved himself a friend to Lobengola
and to his people, woold remain in Matabeleland as the British
representative, and commnnicate to the King from time to time
the Qneen's words. A pleasant voyage to the Cape in that
most comfortable ship the Haaarden Cattle, five hours in
Cape Town, and thirty-two in the mail train bron^t as on
December 14th to the diamond <aiy, Eimberley, where, as
eveiywhere else, we were most hospitably received. Two days
later a four-wheeled coach, specially set apart for the mission,
and drawn by eight moles, stood ready at onr host's door,
gotgeonsly painted in red and yellow, and hononred by the

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HER MAJESTY'S MISSION TO MATABELELAND 141

lOTat " V.B." and orown in gold. It was eomewhat overioaded
with baggage, which had been arranged ronnd the aides, on
the roof, and behind, while a canteen danced nndemeath, is
happy ignorance of all the stnnipB and stones waiting to make
ImpressioaB npon it on the road. We started on onr long
journey to Bnlawayo, the Matabele ctqiital, 860 milea away^
with tiie good wishes of onr new friends, who all hoped that
we would soon shake down. This prooesa oonunenced at onoe
and eontiuaed for many days. It was very pleasant travelling,
and the climate most beantifdl, A cool breese tempered the
heat of the day, while the nights were delightfal, TimUng sleep
in the open most enjoyable. Onr road lay over the rc^^ar
pOBt-«art roate to Falapye, Ehama's Mangwato capital, 660
miles tram Eimberley. Dnring the first part of the jomney
we stopped tot meals at the regular haltiug-plaoes, gmeially
traders' stores, afterwards in the Teldt, where we prepared onr
own food and enjoyed it donbly, while the moles had a roll
and a feed on the then InxnTiant grass. The posi-oart takes,
according to the time-table, six and a half days' travelling with
rdays day and night, and did really do so at that time mider
Ute excellent management of Mr. Bamett. However, after-
wards onr ejqperieace was very different. We passed throogh
Vryborg, capital of British Bechnanaland, the seat of the
Administrator, Sir Sidney Shippard, K.C.M.O., a wretched
town of a flew scattered hoases, bat possessing a gold mine in
the hotel bar. ARex some delay we reached Mafeking, in the
Protectorate, six miles from the Transvaal border. Small at
present — it was only created daring Sir Samnel Warren's time —
this town is certain to have a great &tare before it w a
forwarding centre on the road north to the conntries abont to
be opened ont, Matabele and Mashonaland. It will be a station
on the new railway now being coDstracted from Kimberley
towards the Zambezi, of which the first section is abont to be
opened. Already large godowns are springing ap, and the
Standard Bank ot Sonth Africa has lately opened a branch
office; in fact, everybody is preparing for a very bnsy time.
An excellently supplied maAet is held every morning, every-
thing, however, being sent in fr^m the adjacent Transvaal.
There is an extraordinary want of enterprise, it seemed to us,
among the Emnpeans in Bechnanaland. Nowhere do they

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142 SPORT AND TRAVEL PAPERS

attempt to grow T^etsbles eren for thair own ose ; no, they
prefer almost to go vithoat, as is the ease at Viybiu^. It
is trae that water ia scarce in the whole of the coonti; ; rivers,
although swollen after rain, are soon dry again, and rain is
never abnndant. Tet water can always be obtained by digging ;
there is plenty at a reasonable depth — windmills would pomp
it up, dams would prevent the rain-water from being wasted,
and be of the atmost value to the gardener and settler. The
water scaroi^ has been a great bar to agricultural settlements.
Yet the coontiy is not drier than Australia, where, thanks to
weUs and dams, large sheep fanus flourish.

The whole country is covered with grass and hush, and
wonld be — ^with water — a magnificent field for Uie fnmer. At
present the veldt is only able to support the cattle, sheep, and
goats of the native tribes, and to grow barely soflScient com for
their use. Instead of being forced to import maiie and com,
a little enterprise would soon reverse the case. The native
cattle do very well ; they are used for food and waggon teams,
while their hides are sold to European traders. A heavy
impart duty of £Q was imposed on every head of cattle brought
into the Truisvaal, but during the late famine this prohitntive
tax was removed, with the tesnlt that cattle bought for £i in
Bechuanaland were sold at Johannesburg for £8. About seven
miles from Mafeking are Uie gold mines of M^m&ni. Although
not at present worked to any great extent,, some of the mines
are rich in gold, and the country around, being well supplied
with water, is very fertile — as, indeed, is all the northern part
of the country of the Boers. Leaving the native reserve of
the Baralong chief, Montsoia, near M&feking, we in sncoession
pass throu^^ the oapitals of three othet native chiefs all living
in security onder the protectorate of En^and — Batween, of
the Bankwaketse at Kanya; Seohele, chief of the Backwena
at Molopolole; and Linchwe, of the Backatla at Mochudi.
Living with each is a missionary, to whom to turn for advice,
i^iritnal and temporal, and a European trader, who from his
store supplies the people with all they may require — except
drink, which the chiefs themselves in their wisdom asked to
have excluded when they came under the protectorate. The
rocky hills upon which these capitals are built guaranteed them
security against their restless neighbours in former times — a

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HEB MAJESTY'S MISSION TO MATEBELELAND 143

measure now, of oontse, no longer neoeseaty. Chorohes have
been bnilt, mainly vith money anbacribed by the chieb ; they
are regularly attended by them and by more of their Babjeets
than they are able to accommodate. Batween eren, in his
religious zeal, allows no Snnday trarelling, the forfeit of part
of the oz team being the penalty for disobeying this law.
Trade is very limited, chieSy in hides exchanged for cloth,
knives, and other articles of clothing and of food. Poor Sechele,
now over sixty years of age, ia snffering from dropt^ of long
standing. We fonnd him lying in the verandah of his honse
bemoaning his helpless state. Linohwe was ploughing among
his people in the mealie fields. Bain was very much wanted
in this part of the country, and, this being the season, was
anxiously looked for. In some districts no grain could be
sown in the parched and baked soil, a most serions matter,
for the coontry had suffered most severely from dronglit only
the year before, when almost the entire crops had biled.
What would not dame and wells with a little extra energy do
here! The few windmills and ploughs are all American, as
also the hoes and spades; they are cheaper, I sappose, than
English ones, bnt what a pi^ that British articles should be
driven from the markets of oar own colonic. Although gold
is supposed to exist in various parts of British Beohoanaland,
and although concessions have been granted and companies
floated, we were informed that bat little had up to the present
been found. It is probably not a rich oonntry, except perhaps
for fiarming and cattle under different circumstances.

At last, on January 6th, we reached Palapye, the Mangwato
capital, the headquarters of the Bechuanaland Exploration
Company. This body holds a concession fbr trading and the
voting of any gold its agents may find in the territories ruled
over by the chief Khama. About eight months ago the capital
was at ShoshoDg, thirty miles away. There the pec^le were
crowded together, but, in an almost impregnable position, were
safe from the attacks of the dreaded Matabele. Since the
extension of the protectorate over Khama's country, and the
formation of a police camp near at hand — at Elebe, sixty miles
distant — ^the people have begun to feel more safe, so a g«ieral
move was ordered to their present most carefully ch<»en
quarters. While water was very scarce at Sboshong, it is in

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144 SPORT AND TRAVEL PAPERS

plenty here in wells and ronning atreams ; the arid tree and
grasfllsBB country round the old capital has been exchanged
for a lof^ platean covered vith trees, and overlooking an
immense plain stretching away as far as the eye can see.
The huts here are not crowded together ; every one has space
aroimd for a smaU garden wh«vis to grow a little com. It is
indeed a change fbr the better, which must be appreciated
by every one. Ebama is the bthei of his people, a most
thorough gentleman is every way. So moch has been written
in hu honODT that I can add nothing, except to say that no
one has exaggerated in ednging his praises. His right>hand
man ia his 'fiuthful friend and adviser the Bar. Mr. Hepburn,
and to him in an indirect manner are doe many of the benefits
the chief extends to his people. A thoroogii Christian, he
observes the Sunday strictly in his oafntal ; himself a teetotaler,
he allows no spirituous liquor of any description into his
country — not even native beer is allowed to be brewed or
drunk. He has done away with witchcraft, formerly very rife,
and with various heathenish rites and ceremonies. All luOion-
alities are safe in Ehama's country ; he is their btber, as be
is that of his own people. Almost all subjects of the chief are
living on the Falapye platean, only mealie fields and cattle
stations being in the plains below ; but as the feeling of secnrity
from Matab^ raids becomes more assured tiie people, no
doubt, will spread out more, and villages spring tq> where now
only temporary stations under bmhmen exist.

The trade with the natives consists mainly in hides and the
skins of leopards, jackals, deer, wild cats, ike, to be afterwards
made by them into karosses (rugs) for the markets in the
Transvaal and Cape Colony. The railway as it is gradually
pushed into these countries will doubtless be the means (^
developing their resonrces, and the natives will soon appreciate
the benefits to be derived from trade with Europeans, the
result being that the breeding of cattle will rapidly increase,
as also the prodoction of grain.

Afttt a fortnight's detention at Palapye, in consequence of the
non-arrival of some important despatch, the mission to Loben-
gula was at last able to oonmienoe the remaining stage of its
joomey, the last 900 miles to Bnlawayo. The road ran throu^
m'pani bush and high grass ; eveiything was green, and looked

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HEB MAJESTY'S MISSION TO MATABELELAKD 145

its best Qiuler the inflneooe of nun ftnd Bimsliiite. Bnt as the
nin had beautifled the ooimtr;, H bad made the roads wone
than ever, washed them ont, leaving great boulders which sererel;
tried the centre of grarity of our coaeh ; it had filled the great
mod-holes in the low-lying fields, into which our wheels sank
deeply, often necessitating the ase of spade and the nnlosding of
all the baggage. Farther, the trees on either side had not been
snffioiently cot away, and seTeral times oar boxes were swept
off by some strong projecting brani^, to the great danger of their
contents. And yet, against all expectation, the ooooh bravely
stood np and nerer npset, a wonderfdl performance. After cross-
ing the Shashi Biver, nmmng with beantiiolly clear water, we
entered the diapated territory, lying between that river and the
Matlontsi, both thbntaries of the Limpopo (crocodile). This
track of fertile oonntry, probably very rich in minerals also, is
claimed both by Lobengnla and Khama, though virtoally the
latter is left in nndistnrbed possession, his cattle stations being
scattered all over it. Belonging as it no doabt does to Ehama,
its mineral rights are part of the Bechnanaland Exploration
Company's concession, bnt for some politioal reasons and to
prevent complications they have not np to the present been
worked. TMb diepnted tmitory and its oonoession were the
canse of the late disagreement among the directors of (he
Exploration Company, followed as it was by the resignation of
those at the Cape. As a temporary measure a Port Elizabeth
firm undertook to carry on the work, bat before leaving the Cape
we were told that Ehama had cancelled (he eoDoesston — ^pro-
bably only the trading part of it.

Tad, jnst across the Matabele border, came next, lying in a
hollow between two plateaux, and therefore vet; onhealthy.
Hete are the headqaart^rs of the Tati Exploration and Gold
Mining Company. The settlement is snrroonded by rich gold-
fiehjs, none richer than the " Monarch." Very little work has
been or is being done op to the present, but meagnres are now
being taken to open np the last-named mine and to thoroughly
work (he others. The ooncesaioD was granted many years ago
by Lobengola, whose soldiers bare many a time tiireatened the
settlement and interfered with (he diggers— jealoos probably of
(he presence of the white man in their oonntry. Two envoys
of (he King were here awaiting our arrival, sent by Lobengola,
11

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146 SPORT AKD TRAVEL PAPERS

to oondoct the tniBBion safely to the capital. We arriTed Uiere
after a rongh journey tliroogfa -reij pretty hilly and fwtile oonntry
OD Janoaiy 27th, and put np in the " Boyal Charter " endosore.
The King waa staying at Enganine, seven miles to the soatb,
in one of the military kraals. His Majesty having fixed the
next day for oar reception, we, arrayed in foil nniform, were
driven over early in the morning. Lobengola waa sitting in a
large perambulator — be soffers &om gont — in an eztenaiTa cattle
kraal containing many oxen, and we were dnly presented to him.
A cnrions scene in South Central AMoa 1 We in out magnificent
nnifonn, the King clothed in nothing but a Boyal Navy cap with
a bine oertrich feather, and a small strip of monkey skin in front 1
He ia enormously &t, has a cruel, sensoal expression, small eyes,
very large lips, ,and altogether we were not at all impressed by
his ostensibly regal presenoe. Presents having been given, and
Her Majesty's letter read and translated, a large wooden dish
containing cooked beef was brought. After the ^ng had seized
a la^ piece of fat the dish passed round, and soon everybody
was busy devouring the excellent meat with the aid of fingers
and teettt. Presently a slave girl brought an immense tin vessel
fiill of native beer. After she had drank thereof — to lessen the
chance of its containing poison — it passed from moatii to mouth
until we could do no more. This beer, made from Kaffir com,
if not kept too long, ia very palatable. Of a thick, white con-
sistence, it is moat nourishing, hence the weight of all who drink
of it largely. The King has his own pot and special beer girl of
large dimensions, who shares with him the contents. During
the interview men were continnally coming and going, all
approaching in a stooping attitude shouting the King's praises —
the royal title, Kumalo, Son of the Bun, Eater of Men, King of
Kin^, &a., Sui. The proceeding was the same at all oar seven or
eight interviews with Matabele Majesty, each of which lasted
four or five hours. He took great interest in the onifotms, and
had everything explained to him. On our departure Loben-
gula was presented with a complete suit of uniform^whioh, by
tiie way, he will have to let ont considerably. Afterwards the
Bamangwato chie^ Khama, received a similar present, and thus
both were enrolled among the members of the Boyal Begiment
of Horse Ouarda. We had arrived at a most fortunate moment,
for in a few days the annual Matabele great war-danoe waa to

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HER MAJESTY'S MISSION TO MATABELELAND 147

commence, a sight which far exceeded oar expectBtions in its
magnitade and sarage pictoresqaeness.

The country in divided into fijor great diviaiona, all containing
a certain namber of military kraals ; in each is a regiment which
gives its name to the location. The King is absolnte head of
this military depotism ; the different indnnas, who are his
lieatenants, are answerable to him to the smallest detail. He
ia the rainmaker ; witchcraft and its agents rale the oonntry and
are almost entirely answerable for the dreadful horrors which are
perpetrated every year, wholesale slanghter of entire kraals and
horrid mnrdere of individnals and their familira. Talk to people
who had lived for many years in the oonntry, read the books and
writings of men who from personal knowledge of aotnal &ct8 can
be believed, and no one will doabt that these bloody massacFes
are of very freqnent occnrrenoe. The Mashonas, Indastrions
agrionltarists and workers in iron, have almost been extermi-
nated by the many Matabele raids, as also is the case with the
original inhabitants of the aonthran part of the conntiy — ^the
Makalakas. Few remain ; Uiose who do are hidden away in
rocky hills. It is qnite time, from a hnmanitarisn point of view,
that this omel military despotism inflamed by witchcraft was
broken. Snch destraction would be an nnmixed blessiag to
thonsands of aborigines of the soil oBnrped and ravaged by
Lobengnla's father and by himself. The British Soath Africa
Company, nnder its Boyal charter, has now taken over the oon-
cesBions granted 1^ Lobengola to individnals, and is about to
make a road into Mashonaland to work the gold which is known
to exist there in the greatest abondanoe. The King has given
his permission, and it is to be hoped that the somewhat onrnly
young soldier party will not pat obetaoles in tEe way. Maahona-
land lies 6,000 fbet above the sea ; its climate is very well suited
to Eon^teans, it is abundantly supplied witii ranning water, and
is very fertile, growing rice, com, and plen^ of timber, while
cattle thrive everywhere. All authorities, sach as Bainea,
BelooB, Taylor, Mandy, Sk., are agreed about the healthiness,
the richness in gold and iron of the oountiy now devastated by
Lobengnla's brutal soldiery. Matabeleland itself is traversed
by reefe of gold-bearing qaartz, but no one has dared to break
the King's law by meddling with it. The crops of mealies and
Kaffir com looked magnificent as we passed IhroQgh, and la^e

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us 8P0BT AND TRAVEL PAPERS

heidfl of oattle and goftts rouned ftmong the laxnriant herbage.
Lobengola has a great r^ard for EoropeaQS and trnstB them,
and no one has erer been permitted to harm one of them.
'Whether all the mdnnas and young soldiers are of the same mind
with their King in the step he has now taken in permitting the
Englishman to enter the eoontry to exploit the gold, in., remains
to be seen. The question will soon be Bolved,

Her Majesty's letter having been delivered, we began to look
forward to the annnal Matabele war-danoe, said to be one of the
two great sights in AMca, the other being the Victoria Falls on
the Zambesi. The little danoe precedes the big one, and had
already taken place. The latter eonunenoes immediately after
fall moon, when the first flroits of the fields are ripe — generally
vegetable marrow — a feast of thanksgiving really for the harvest.
Btill several days passed, but at last the mmonr was abroad
that the King would arrive at his capital on &6 morrow, and
early on that day the soldiers of the Bnlawayo Regiment, arrayed
in Uieir war.drees, went over to Enganine to fetch him. About
noon strings of queens — ^Lobengnla has 62 — slaves, and beer
girls, appeared io the diatanoe, shortly followed by warriors in
tiieii waving black ostrich plumes, shouting the King's praises
and marching all ronnd the wagon, which was drawn by twelve
black oxen ; in it His Majesty repoaed. The sable plumes, the
black teams, and alow pace of the proceaaion recalled nothing so
much as a funeral. Advanced parties of all the r^jfimants
destined to take part in the wai^dance had already arrived, and
were bnsily engaged in constructing temporary hnta of sticks and
grass in separate camps for their different corps. The King
being desirom that as mai^ men aa oonld be collected should
take part in the show, in order to make as great an imprewon
as prasible, the plain snrroandiDg the ridge upon which Bnla-
wayo stands soon became dotted with the various regimental
cunpB. Unfortunately, during all this time we had the foil
benefit of the rainy season, and the soldiers must have had a
most disagreeable sojourn in their leaky hnta.

During the next fonr daya the reg^enta poured into their
camps, bringing a nnmber of slave girls and a few head of oattle
with them, and we in the Royal charter enclosure had no peace.
All day long it was crowded with qneena and aoldiers, all intent
on presents, which were fireely given, so that we soon beeame very

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HER MAJESrrS MI8SI0K TO MATABELELAND 149

friendl;. The qaeens ooreted sveete and beada, the soldiers
knives, cloth, food, uid tinder-boxes. In the morning the
rcf[im«it8 want throng their drill, keeping np all the time a
monotoQOos song, with the following meaning probably — " Oive
ufl food, King, and beer, for our Btomaohs are empty." I had
better at onee describe the Matabele war-dress, which is yerj
handsome and most piotoresque ; it makes the men look very
broad and tall. A hood and cape of black ostrich feathers
oovera head and sbonlder ; oo the former wares a long bloc
crane feather, while from the point of the latter hangs a white
feather. A heavy kilt is worn in many folds, made sometimes of
bine monkey, sometimes of leopard-sk^, the loins being adorned
with rolls of bine cotton cloth and ooils of beads. A stiff white
frill made from the ends of oxen's tails is Astened above the
elbows and knees, while metal anklets enoirole the legs and ring
when the wearers dance. In his left hand the soldier carries an
ox-hide shield, 6 to 6 feet in height, and two assegais, in his
right a heavy stick or the dreaded knobkerry. A Matabele
warrior is yerj striking in his savage pictoreaqnenesB 1 The
shields vary in colour in the different dfrisions of the army,
some being black, othera black and white, white, or brown and
white. The royal shield is black with a small spot of white.
At the King's inritation we witnessed (me of his bther's old
regiments dance before him, the Mahl^enlele (Pioneers), and on
another occasion he called ont his bod^nard, the dreaded ImbisQ
regiment. This is the crack corps ; the men are all well-born
of the old Zola stoc^. It has a very bad name for bloodthirs^
cnielty, and is always sent whero dirty work is to be done. The
regiment takes the post of hononr in the body of the army when
drawn np for battle is the Znln half-moon formation. At these
entertainments the King sat in his perambulator in the primitive
oostnme already mentioned, his head being sheltered from the
son by an nmbrella gorgeona with every coloor of the rainbow.
We in onr thick oniforms had to roast in the ami, often a very
trying time. But now all the regiments had arrived, as also the
dance, witch and rain dootors, the most important people in the
kingd<Hn daring the week of the war-dance. The opening cere-
mony is the corn-dance, which took plaoe daring the afternoon.
Attached to every shield, and nmning throngh loops at the back
of it, is a stii^ carrying at its upper end a jackal's tail. These

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150 SPORT AIJD TRAVEL PAPERS

aticks, detached from the shields, vere borne aloft by every man
fts the regiments filed one after another into t^e King's presence,
and were moved in the air to resemble waving eara of com to the
accompaniment of a monotonons song and alow dance — a thanks-
giving for the harvest and request to the King for plenty of com
and food.

About nine o'clock on the following morning a messenger
arrived from Lobengola reqaesting the presence of the mission
at the big dance. Arrival in fall uniform, we rode stndght to
the King's house, a three-roomed shanty built of mud bricks.
His Miyesty had not yet risen, but asked us in ; he was lying on
some skin rugs on the ground, a dirty pillow on a gtmcase
supporting hia head ; a dirty blanket his only garment and
covering. Close by stood a large picture of our Queen, while
schoolroom coloured prints of lion, giraffe, rhinoceros adorned
the walls. Around lay sacks of grain, cases of tobacco, guns
and rifles, while a pet goat scrambled over all. His Miyesty
was in very good spirits, and attempted to count np his
queens, but had forgotten aU beyond the sixty-first.

The whole European community having assembled, we were
r^^led with beef and beer as usual, and thus fortified, walked
into the big encloaore where the dance was to take place, after
the King had been wheeled, dressed or undressed as before, into
the aacrod cow kraal. Here, attended by the witch doctors, he
carried out the rites of witchcraft, and when he appeared after-
wards his body was smeared over with some evil compound
prepared from crocodiles' liven and other ingredients. The men
were now rapidly collecting; regiment after regiment marched
into the vast enclosure in full war dress, sometimes preceded,
sometimes followed by a number of lads, soldiers that were to
be, in undress uniform, with only shield and stick, but attended
always by a crowd of young women. These ladies had followed
the corps from home — baggage animals of the army. Gradually
and quietly the regiments were got into their places nnti] at last
the army was drawn np in an enormous half-moon, very deep in
the body and gradually tapering otT in the horns. It was a moat
impressive sight — this Matabele anny in its picturesque dress,
11,000 to 12,000 men standing so close together that their
shields overlapped. We had taken np our position near the cow
kraal, where the King was still busy preparing witchcraft

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HEB MAJESTY'S MISSION TO MATABELELAKD 151

medicue, when b nuh, snddffli and onflxpeoted, was made b; the
whole army towards where Lob^igola was known to be. Not
thinlriTig it desirable to nm away, we stood our ground, and were
at onoe enveloped by the right wing, snrronnded many deep by
warriora waving their Btioks and Bhonting to the "King for com.
The behavionr of the men wae greatly to their credit — indeed,
on ffiuuaple to many a supposed ciTilised nation. The men did
their utmost to prevent oor being too mnch pressed npon ; they
did not amu^ as in any way, and when we joined in their cry
fbr eom seemed greatly amused. I cannot help wondering what
wonld have happened to two Matabele warriors in fall onifona in
the msh of a London mob, and greatly fear that bnt few of their
feathers wonld have remained on their backs, and that they
would not have escaped, as we did, almost natonohed. The
rush over, the men took np their former positions, singing the
monotonous bnt melodious song, beating time with their feet and
strikiBg their shields with the sticks. A procession of queens
sow appeared, led by Toskay, head qneen of the capital. Got
op is all their finery in every colour of the rainbow, goi^;eouB
bead aprons, coils of beads as anklets, bracelets, net^ets, and
hanging round the waist, which was further adorned with
coloured cloth, with orange kerduef (tiie royal colour) over the
shoulder, and dozens of bine jay's feathers stuck singly into the
hair, these royal ladies danced into the enclosure to a most
grotesque measure, two and two, smiling at first, presently
pnfBng and blowing — the most ridiculously comical spectacle it
is possible to imagine. The poor ladiw danced np to the troops
and in front of the ranks, like a fiight of brilliant bntterfiies
flattering from flower to flower. The chief indnnas every now
and then advanced towards the King, who now was sitting in
frtmt of the cow kraal, shouting his praises. A very heavy
thunderstorm in the middle of the day somewhat spoiled the
performance, for the drenehed and dripping warriors had lost
some of their ardour ; still they went en singing until late into
the afternoon. The King, unfortunately, did not don his uniform,
nor did be throw the assegai wherewith in former years he
notified the direction In which the armies were to march in
search of rapine, conquest, and plonder.

I>uring the following morning His Majesty was bnsily engaged
choosing the cattle to be slaughtered, and these were presently

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152 SPOET AMD TRAVEL PAPERS

killed by aaa^ai to the number of from 400 to 500. The
flesh, ant np, wu heaped up in Bereral hatB and left there in
order that daring the night the spirits of the Matabele fathers
ehonld take what they wanted. The King himself was rabbed
OTOT with gall, while his sons and daughters had to wear armlets
of intestines notil night. On the next day the meat is cooked
in 800 to 400 enormons earthenware pots, and divided among
the regimoits, who deyonr it during the following night and day,
qnenohing their thirst with large quantities of beer, bronght in
oalabasbra from every kraal in the conntry by strings of girl
slaTos.

All the meat eaten and beer oonsnmed, the regiments take
their departore, first setting fire to thdr hats. Owing to the
almost constant rain these woold not bom satisfactorily, bat
smonldered on for days.

Thus ended the big Matabele war-dance of nearly 12,000
men ; a brave show and wondrous sight, a powerful engine, and
in a sodden rash a dangerous foe. As the assegai was not
thrown this year it is to be hoped that the army will rest in
peace, and allow the people aroond to remain in peace also.
With the influx of the white men into the country even the
unruly war party may gradually settle down to rest, and as its
power gradually decreases, and with it witchcraft and its
attendant horrors, the now down-bxiddea remains of what was
once an indostrions agriculture people will rise once more.
Their lives and property assnred, they will gladly work for
wages under the white man, till the ground once more, and
derive great advantages from trade in cattle and com in
a market almost at their door. If the British Soutii Africa
Company accomplishes this it will indeed have proved a
blessing, and its reward should and will be great.

byGoogIc

XV

A ROUGH JOURNEY

1891

THE following is a sketch of a journey of abont 900 miles
from Bolawayo, Lobeognla's capital in MatabelelaDd, to
Eimbeiley, made early in Febraary, in the above year. It was
dnring the wet Reason, and although the ooimtry looked its best,
the roads were very bad, the rivere treacherous, and, above all, the
terrible horse-sickiieBe at ite worst. We left Bolawayo with onr
wagon drawn by six mules, all that remained, while my oom-
panlon and I rode horsM, though not for long. Both died on
the first day, but we borrowed another &om a friend at the
capital and bestrode him in turns. Nothing particular happened
to the wagon except that the mnlea bolted twice 'with the fbre
carriage leaving tiie body ignominionsly in the road, the jerk
sending the driverB into the mnd to where by right the centre
DtoleB shonld have been. The first time we straightened the
bent pin by means of fire and hammering with stones ; the second
time it broke and nothing remained to be done except to send
back to Bnlawayo for another. Then we straggled on again in
the black mnd, and on the third day were fortunate enoogh to
save a native's life by filling him with goat's flesh, bartered
shortly before tat beads. This man, onable to accompany his
former companions to Johannesburg on account of an injured
leg, was nearly dead from starvation, and began to devour the
goat's head, hair and all, immediately after the animal bad been
killed. At the Tati gold-fields (100 miles) we only stayed a
night, and left next morning for the Shashi River, near which we
met Ehama's son Sekomo with wagons, horses, hnnters, dco.,
ready to take us fbr a shooting trip into the bosh bordering on

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154 SPORT AND TRAVEL PAPERS

the Kalahari. We only baw and bagged a few eUod, being
obliged Tery Boon to give it np on aooooat of the great loaa in
horse flesh. Horse after horse died of the dread disease, which
in that year was most prevalent and deadly. A terrible thing it
ia to see a horse afflicted ; if loose he generally trots into camp
as if to ask for help ; fae looks frightened, the eyes are swollen,
his flanks more with hntried breathing. He is restless, Btamps
on the ground, snorts as if to dear his nose. As the disease
adTances thiok white fosm comes from the nostrils increasing
rapidly in qoantityj the horse is in an agony of soffocatiTe terror,
throws himself on the ground, as rapidly to bound op again,
and paralysiB of the lungs closes the painfdl soene. That it is
malaria tiiere can be no doubt, but no method of core has as
yet been proved. Avery few get over it and are then "salted";
these have always a dnll, lifeless appearance, but even they are
not absolutely safe from another attack.

The coont^ looked very fresh and green, the maize fields were
laden with golden fruit, and grass, many feet high and in bloom,
clothed hill and dale, relieved here and there hy patches of shiny
m'opani bush and giraffe mimosas with fragrant flower. The
rain had tnmed the country into a garden but made the roads
very heavy indeed ; the low-lying swampy meadows retarded
progress greatly, and mod-holes were abundant, into which the
wheels sank deeply, necessitating a great deal of hard work and
nnloading often to get the wagon through.

At last we arrived at Palatswie, the capital of Ehama, that
most ohoiming man and kind ruler of his people, the Bamang-
wato. Here were the headquarters of the Bechnanaland Ex-
ploration Company, who run a mail coach down to Eimberley —
660 to 700 miles — according to paper, in six days six hours,
travelling night and day. I believe it is done easily now, but
OUT memorable journey was made daring the rains and altogether
at a most un&vourable time, when horses and mules were dying
all along the road and the coaoh management was changing

The two-wheeled oart had a canvas roof and side curtains, and
contained three benches, one behind the other, each intended for
three persons. Thus, oonntiog the two drivers, the cart carries
nine^ieople, and when full, which luckily it was not in onr case,
there is absolutely no room to move, every one ia tight^

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A ROUGH JOURNET 155

jammed in, the shins beii^ in painM eontact with the dtup
edge of Uie bench in front. Add the constant jolting OTer
terrible roads, over stones and bonlders, np and down hill, the
flonndering throngh mad and rivers, and it is ess; to anderstand
that the jonrney ie a thing to dread. It is no doabt trying
enough when the cart arriTCS at Eimberley in the time named
in the paper, bat greatly worse was our case, when, owing to
roads rendered deeper than ever by almost incessant rain, and
the loss from horse-sickness of more than half the road teams,
we had to stro^le on for eight nights and eight days with
horses and mnles badly fed and worn to a shadow. The loss
of horsefle^ had not been made good — the Company had jnst
passed into different management, and the wretched »nin>ftl»i
had to he flogged on when hardly able to move.

All the moles being dead at Falatswie, we left that town at
6.80 a.m. with a team of six trotting oxen, frequently changed
for another, ontil we got males at the Crocodile Kver
(86 faonrs). The stations were aboat two honrs apart, given
good roads, bnt, of conrse, we took mnch longer before we got
a fresh team, or at least what ahonld have been one, for soarci^
of horses and moles sadly interfered with all arrangements, and
obliged the drivers frequently to take on the same team after
bat a short rest ; or if not the entire team at all events several
onits of it ! This happened all the way down to Eimberley ;
some horses had to do three stages and were only ontspanned
then to take the retnm coach back. It was troly a terrible
time for horses.

Daring these halts — halts jast long enongh to stretch onr
sore and stiffened limbs — we had our meals, at first hastily
prepared in the veld, afterwards ready for as in traders' hooses
or roadside hotels, and very gratefol these refreshing pauses
were. After a time we became more resigned to the cramped
position and perpetual jolting, we learnt to save oar shins flrom
the sharp edge of the seat in front by interposing a rng, and to
make a pillow by winding a coat round the iron support of the
roof; by holding on we dosed off every now and then, until
sharply awoke by a blow on the head, which important part
had probably got into some curiously abnormal position and
thereby into smart contact with either another head or with one
of the many sharp angles of the cart. It rained almost

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156 SPORT AST) TRAVEL PAPERS

oontinaooBly on the next da?, and tbe roads became, if poBsiUe,
voree than ever, and oni canvas loof and cortains proved an;-
thing bat waterproof The rain beat in everywhere and ran in
little stieama down onr baoks, bnt all attempts to dodge them
proved fatile. Towards ni^t it became more nnpleaeant still,
one of the horoes broke down, making his fellow useless ; it vnis
pitch dark and impossible to see or find the way through the
bnsh. We therefore polled np near a tree and remained there
for hours while it thundered and lightened, and rained in
torrents. How miserable everything looked ^en momentarily
lit np by the frequent flashes of lightning revealing the in^
pnddles and dripping grass, the shiny trees and miserable,
shivering team ! A scene of desolation avetywhere. There
was no getting away, so we also shivered and smoked and
slumbered.

At daybreak another start was made, all of ns very glad to
get away, and about noon we ontepanned at Molopolole, the
capital of Sechele, chief of the Baokwena. The rain continued,
but cheered and refreshed by a good meal we drove on vritbont
bss of time uid presently came to a river, which, owing to the
heavy storm, had become a torrent, CBaiyiDg with it trees and
bosh as it roshed madly along. As these rivers go down almost
as quickly as they rise we waited patiently on the bank, watch-
ing the rapid fall of tiie water, until distoibed in onr meditations
by the proposal of the driver to attempt the passage. With
grave misgivings as to the r^nlt, in we drove and got as fiir
as the middle of the river, when, without a moment's notice,
the leading mules were carried off their legs, then dragged the
oMitre pair with them and turned the wheelers down-stream.
Luckily, the latter kept their feet, and with the cart now
offered less resiBtanoe to the rushing water; but for this the
whole outfit would probably have been lost. We jumped ont
behind, and although hardly able to stand in the torrent, went
to the aasiatanoe of the rapidly drowning mules which were
hopelessly entangled in the harness. After some hard work
everything was fished oat, bnt landed, unfortunately, on the
bank from which we had started. Taught by this dunp lesson
to be more patient and careful in the fiitare, we made a big fire
and some tea and dried ourselves and all onr belongings. The
poor mules were in a bad state, brimfol of water, bnt they all

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A ROUGH JOUENET 157

reooT«red exeept one, who, too exbansted, eonld not get rid of
tiifl delnge inaidfl. He had to be tefk and once more we only
had two pairs to drag the IieaTy cart along. The odd male nuiB
alongside one of the other pairs, bat does no work. AAer AmA
we got safely to the other side, and lackily found at the next
statuJD a new team awaiting us.

Ctoflaing the Ejuiya hills and the white, gUstesing qaartz reefe
showing plainly ereiTwhere, we breakfasted laxorionsly soon
after at Mr. Williama' hospitable store in Batween's capital,
and then left, mach refreshed, for Mafeking, where we aiiiTed
next morning. All slept sonndly at Mr. Isaac's hotel, so
Bonndly that no noise woold ronse them. Determined, how-
ever, not to lose the rare chance of lying down for two or three
hoars, we at length disooTored a partly open window. Poshing
it ap we crept throogh without more delay, risking bravely the
possible disagreeable chances of being taken for bni^^ars. We
foond onrselyes in the dining-room and slept soondly, stretched
out on the long tables, ontil awoke by a startled maid not many
hours later. Break&st followed and mooh talk with the many
oflScers of the new British South Africa Company's Police, who
wen about to start for Maahonalaod, when about nine o'clock
onr oonveyaoGe appeared at the door. It was a newer and
slightly la^er oart than the last, but orammed fall and one
extra passenger, ten in all counting the drivers. My friend and
I who had already made the long journey from the north, and
were the only two going on, had choioe of seats, and, of oonrse,
took the back comers, and well were we kept Uiere, almost
immovably, by a very stout gentleman, who wedged himself in
between us and acted alternately as a battering ram and a
buffer. Ssch bench carried three, and the extra passenger
reposed on a sack of com among the drivers' legs in front.
Ontside and behind were laahed the heavy mail bags and any
little baggage there might be ; inside we were so tightly packed
that it seemed impossible that even an upset conld dislodge us,
about this, however, we afterwards changed our opinion.

No improvement took place in the teams ; we always had six
horses, but many of them had to do double stages, and all were
in a wretchedly poor condition. Here, again, no steps had
been taken to fill up the many vaoanoies caused by the sickness
and by overwork, and the food of these that were left was not

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158 SPORT AND TRAVEL PAPERS

by any meuifi what it shoold hare been. However, we
straggled on and arriTed at Viyboig (the seat of the
Admimsta^tor of British Beohnanaland) for break&st next
moToing. A wretched place of scattered houses and shanties
and muddy streets ; it has a well-boilt gaol and a bar, which
mnst be a gold mine to the proprietor. As soon as the mails
had been rearranged, we once again took oar places, and after
dining at the Taongs Hotel, came in for some heavy rain,
which mode the conntry a sea of mad and the rirers very
dangerons. In the night, which was very dark, we were
8totq>ed by one of these snddenly rising torrents, the roaring
of which had been aadible for some time. It was just light
enoogh to see the rashing water, while a flash of lightning lit
ap every now and then the slosh and mnd aroond. The mail
cart came to a stop ; to cross was too dangerous a venture in
the darkness, and as it rained harder than ever, we took the
horses out, and, dozing, waited patiently for dawn. We were
all very damp, bnt probably not as wet as an attempt to cross
the river woald have made as, and slomber, although in an
Dpright and cramped position, was thoronghly enjoyed, however
mnoh it rained. At length the downpour ceased, the river went
down, and at break of day we inspanned the dripping horses and
got safely across. A boose, building ss a store, near the then
future line of railway, supplied us with hot coffee, never so
much appreciated as after a damp, uncomfortable night. Thus
refreshed we jolted on, changing teams whenever possible, and
towards evening reached a stretch of particularly bad road,
thickly covered, as it was, with stones and great granite
boulders. Running full tilt against one of these latter, the two
drivers were jerked out and fell on to their foces on the ground, bat,
beyond a few braises, got ap nnhort. The jolting of the cart
was most uncomfortable over the loose stones, aod savage
growls and strong language became veiy audible, especially
when somebody's head had come in contact more forcibly
Qian osual with one of the many sharp corners in the cart.
K'esently, withont the least warning, over went the whole
machine with a tremendoos crash on to its side, and confusion
reigned sopreme as we ten straggled in the dark for an ootlet,
one on top of the other. One after another we grado&lly
crawled oot, all fortunately nnhurt excepting a few cuts and

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A ROUGH JOTJRNET 159

I»iiiBM, but hud wiffk it ma ia right the cart. The wheels,
luckily, were Boond, the rents and dents mattered little, and,
as we hoped to reaeh Kimberley earl; next morning, no time
waa lost in again getting nnder weigh ; bat there was no
improTement in the road, and the heavy mails having been
shifted by the npaet the weight behind waa all on one side.
This made the drire very uipleasant, for it was " even betting "
whether we tamed over whenever a wheel passed over a stone,
and being utterly tired out, every one had become highly
nervooa and very " jnmpy." It was indeed not to be wondered
at considering all the dangers by flood and field we had passed
thxongh ; the want of proper sleep, the terrible aching all over
and general sense of weariness after 180 hoora of almost
continoal jolting and hmnping, that oar nervoas systrans bad
become onstmng and sadly in want of rest and repair. After
one particnlarly narrow escape from another npset, ike moon
being at the time obscnred by doads, a deep sigh issued from
the dark interior of the ooach followed by a despairing oty,

" And now the moon has gone oat too I " The wail iras

BO intensely qnaint and so expressive' in its sense of ntter hope-
and helplessnms as to make ns all borst oat into roars of
laoghter. Too nervoBS to stay in the cart any longer, we all
got oat, preferring to walk to the next stage — Barkly West —
then not more than a mile distant. From there, with good
teams and a level road, it did not take long to finish the
joamey — the last 28 miles to Kimbertey — where we anived
at 8 a.m.

byGoogIc

IN THE KOWIE BUSH

THE Sovie bnsh extends from immediately below Grahams-
town in a direct line of about thirty miles to Port Alfr«d,
on the sonth coast of Cape Colony, the Sowie RiTer winding
throngb it, and running its tortnoas conrse to the sea in
lorely soenery, among monntaius covered with the densest
bnsh of most infinitely variegated green. Here and there the
bosh opening enoiioleB narrow Talleys and patches of high,
Inznriant grass, or small Kaffir fields of maise and melon ;
it closes thickly down to and overhangs the narrow river,
whose waters glide along in deepest shadow, silently some-
times, bnt more often mnrmming, swirling, and splashing,
as they angrily force their way between rocks which attempt
to bar the way. Here the river spreads out into a reed-girt
pool, the home of wild dnck and kingfisher; there it nms
past a high wall of rock, <m whose &oe small hnshea and
giant oandelabra-like eaphorbiaa find a most precarioos foot-
bold. From the snmmlt of one of the higher moontains the
Kowie biuh is seen stretching away like a broad green riband
to the sonth as it follows the course of the river, the more
open grazing lauds of various &rms meeting it on either
side. There the bush grows only in patches set in a golden
fiwme of ripening grass, patches mainly of bright green
mimosa aomb, covwed at the time of our visit with little
golden balls of fragrant flower.

The greater part of tiiia bush belongs to Government, who
joeserve the one or two herds of buffalo whose home it is.
Onoe the uoble Bob caffer roamed over the whole of Sooth

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IN THE EOWIE BUSH 161

Africa ; now, besides those m tbe Eovie, s few still ezist
in tbe Addo bnsh, but all others have long since been
extenoinated or driveQ, like most other game indeed, to the
&r north, to the Zambezi and beyond.

In an old book on the "Present State of the Cape of
Good Hope," translated &om tiie German of Peter Eolben
by lib. Medley, London, 17S1, is an aiiiole on the "Baffle,"
which ifl wotih transcribing ; —

" The Gape hofialo is enraged at the sight of red cloth and
at tbe discharge of a gnn near him. On those occasions he
roars and stamps and tears np the ground, and rons with
such fory at the offending party, that he beats down all
oppoeiticai that is weaker than walls, and will ran through
file and water to get at him.

" A laige body of Europeans at the Cape once chaced the
bofialo, and, hanng driTen him to the Water Place, as 'tis
called near the Cape Harbour, the bea«t tnmed about and
ran with all his fiiry at one of his pnnmers who was in a
red waistcoat. The fellow, giving him nimbly the go-by, ran to
the water-ade. The buffalo pursoed him briskly, and drove him
to Buoh a strait that, to save bis life, he was obliged to
plonge into the water. He swam well, and made off from
tiie shore as quick as he oonld. The buffalo plunged into
the water after him, and pnzsned him so closely, that the
fellow could only save himself by diving. The ox, by this
means having lost sight of him, turned and swam towards
the opposite shore, which was throe miles off; and he had
undoubtedly reached it if he had not been shot by the way
from one of the ships in the harboor. The ship's crew
hauled him on board and feasted jovially on him. His skin
was presetted to the governor, who ordered it to be stuffed
with hay and added to a collection he had made of snoh-like
corioeitieB."

PeimissioD having been obtained at Cape Town to shoot
two buffalo in the Ctovemment hush, and leave kindly given
by the fanners to go over their adjoining land, a start was
made one evcoiing in a Scotch two-wheeled cart drawn by four
oxen. These springless carts are very strongly and heavily
bnilt, well adapted to work over the hard, rutty, and stony
roads, and through the heavier bush. Having seen oars
12

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162 SPORT AND TRAVEL PAPERS

packed with all necesBKriea in the way of food, oookiiig
otensila, tent, and nigs, my companion and I took our placefl,
the foreloper charge of the leading oxen, and away we want.
Lying at fall length, level with the top of the cart, it was a
wonder that we were not shaken off daring that night's rough
joomey ; bnt, having travelled for eevetal ni^ts before, I,
after a short look at the brilliant stars above, was very soon
sleeping sonndly, only waking at daybreak on arrival at onr
friend's fimnhoose. Greatly refreshed, bat veiy wet from the
heavy dew, we were quite ready thoronghly to enjoy Qia hot
eoffee prepared by our kind hosts. The &rm was veiy
prettily placed on the slope of a hill, and surrounded by
la^ gardens and extensive orange plantations. The giant
trees were laden with golden fruit, and perfmoed the air far
and wide.

After a short halt the oxen were once more inspanned, and
we started down-hill to the Kowie River. This for ^e equili-
brium of the cart was a most trying journey; we preferred
to walk rather than risk the bumping over rocks and bashes,
very frequently on one wheel only. At last we arrived at
onr destination, and made a camp dose to the Kowie River,
in a small and heaatifnl green valley. Here another Scotch oart
joined as, bringing two bimere and their doga. A pack of ten,
in all sizes and every variety of breed, thc^ all were painfully
thin and hungry-looking, bnt s&id to be good at following and
rushing a herd of bnffalo, at gingUng out a hull and bringing
him to bay. He, when hard pressed, puts his hind qoarters
into a thorn bush and defends himself against any number of
dogs, thereby giving time for the rifle to approach. This, the
Bnpposed best and only method of hunting the buSalo here,
we were, unfortunately, not to see crowned with suooess.

My gon-eaxrier, a woolly>headed Kaffir picked up on the road,
whose uncovered looks often had to be disentan^ed from the
thorny bushes, was arrayed in an old sack with holes for anna
and neck, and trousers so wonderfully patched that to tell original
stuff from new additions was simply impossible. He was a great
smoker, and very keen, thanks probably to visionfl of glorious
feasts on buffalo steaks and other dainties.

A visit was first paid to some water-holes, far away in the
bnsh, to aaoertain whether they had lately been visited for drink-

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IN THE EOWIE BUSH 163

mg pnipoBes or to roll in, and hsving found a spoor mora freoh
•nd promiBiiig than otiiera, wa followed it. Bain wu badi;
wanted, there had been none for many a da; ; the ground waa
very hard, and tracking most difBonlt. New spoor almost im-
poi^ble to tell from old. It is no easy task to get throngh the
Eowie bosh, bat very hard and tiring work — a constant strag-
gling np the steep hills and climbing down again, a perpetoal
stooping and creeping onder the low bashes and stnmbling over
a tangle of monkey-ladders and other creepers. At one moment
one's hat is knocked off, the next, one's clothes seoarely oanght
and held by the ever-present and tiresome thorns, the disen-
tangling costing many scratches ; while the hot, mnsty, and
dose atmosphere in the bnsh adds its fdll qnota towards the
trial of temper and endurance, more particularly towards even-
ing, when, tired after a long day's tramp, the chanoe of ooming
tip with the buffalo has beoome very fiunt. After following the
difficult spoor for hoars np and down hill, the sharp bark of the
great baboon was heard, and off rashed the whole pack, makiTig
noise enough to scare all game for miles around. These baboons
are a great came to the baffalo banter, and more so to the &rmer,
who ruthlessly destroys them whererer and wheneTer foand.
Tb^ travel for miles in search of oaltiTated land, eat all they
can of the crop, and destroy the remainder. Chased by the
dogs, they ran np trees, not always withont first killing or
seriously maiming some of their pursuers, and are then shot
by the &rmer. The old males are formidable antagonists, and
many of our dogs bore long and ugly soars, the resolt of former
battles with the baboon tribe. As no buffaloes were thooght to
be in the vicinity, and as it was an impossibility to get the dogs
away or to stop their furioas barking, permUsion had to be given
to kill some of the baboons, as the only way out of the difficulty.
The hongry dogs, having vented their rage on their fallen enemy,
did not at all disdain to make a meal of him.

The tracker's opinion that no buffaloes were near proved false,
for hardly had we taken op the spoor again when it became
evident that a herd had been near when we anfortonately came
upon the baboons. The spoor became fresher and fresher as the
itriimftia had moved rapidly away, bat it was only after some
honrs' walking at oar best pace that one of the dogs gave
tongue. Away the whole pack rushed, and we after it, running

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164 SPORT AOT) TEAVEL PAPERS

M hard as ve ooold, np Bnd dovn hill, per^iring, stomblmg, oat
of breath, out of temper with the thoma, every now and then
tftofigxag to listen for a soond of die dogs, whose bark Boon
became inaudible. The speed of so heavy a beast as tiie boShlo
when hnnted is wonderfol ; his weight, of coarse, breaks a way
through evaiytiiing, but the pace with which he scrambles np
almost petpendioolar bills is mairelloos. Althos^ fall of hope
that the dogs woald bring one to bay, we were, as nsaal, disap-
pointed. All Boand was lost, and nothing remained bat to follow
■ tiie largest spoor. As the dogs retamed one l^ one, the chase
had towards evening to be given ap. And yet this is said to be
the only way of snccessfolly hunting the buffalo here, sitting ap
at one of the many water-holes affording too poor a chance.
These are too numeroas, and the river is always close at hand
wherever the constantly moving herd may happen to be. When
tracking vrithout dogs the buffalo, alvrays on the alert, is certain
to hear, and will probably see, the hunter in the thick bush long
before he himself is visible, and be gone where pursuit is hope-
less. Lack also here plays a prominent part. When going
home one evening through some thick bush close to the camp,
alone and without a rifle, whioh had been given to a Kaffir, I
suddenly came on a buffalo cow. It would be difficult to say
who was the more surprised at this unlooked-for meeting.
Luckily for me, she was not desirous of prolonging the inter-
view. The herds are very difficult to find, they roam about from
one end of the bush to the other ; it is only by living on the
spot and making certain of their whereabouts that the chance of
success would be improved.

There is some very valuable timber in this bush, more especially
sneesewood and olinia — both almost indestraotible to damp, and
therefore of great value for fencing. The bash, as a whole, is
low, bat thick, long festoons of beard-moss hang from the larger
trees, and a musty aromatic odour pervades the denser parts,
whither the sun's rays cannot penetrate. The paths cat throagh
the bash look vary pretty on these sunny mornings ; the ground
is thickly carpeted with luxuriant grass and many-oolonred
flowers; of every shade of green are the trees and shrubs on
eithfflr side ; all nature fresh and bright in the powerfiil sunli^t
and heavy dew, whiidi latter hangs like so many sparkling gems
fnmk the huge spider-webs suspended everywhere across the

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IN THE EOWIE BUSH 165

path. Here is brillunt BtmBhine and the freehest air ; a jaxd
irithin the bnah it is almost dark, the air stagnant and kden
trittt heavy odonhu Boshbok, dnjker, the loTely little bluebok,
jackals, wild dogs, baboons, wild oats, and leopards are found in
it. Once we came to a spot where one of the Utter had killed
a book; on following the trail a bnah-bnok was fbnnd, about
fifty yards away, imder some thick Bontb, one of the hannches
half-eateo. The remainder provided a welcome feast for oor
erer-himgiy dogs. Bird life in the bush was oonspicoooB by its
abaenee. Bee honters, armed with axe, spade, and backet, we
frequently met, their search for honey in hollow treM, old ant-
hills, and holes in the rook being apparently Bocoesafdl. The
bees, though small, made excellent honey.

The white tents on the green grass, and the curling smoke as
it slowly rose from oor pretty camp, formed indeed a pleasing
pictoze as we toiled home thoroughly tired oat — a promise of
test and ample refreshment. As the son disappeared behind the
moontains, and the moonbeams began to silver the higher trees
on the ridge beyond the river, the cooing of the nameroas doves
ceased, and the hoarse bark of the baboon and boshbok became
binter and fainter, as those animals retnmed, after visiting Uxo
river, to the deeper recesses of the bash. After we had enjoyed
oar frugal repast, and partially quenched the raging thirst witii I
dcm't know how many cups of tea or coffee, and then taken onr
places in a tent just lar^ enough to hold the foor, it was not
undisturbed repose which awaited us. This beauti&l spot,
doubly so during the bright moonlif^t nights, was cursed with
what are commonly called " ticks," in millions. Hardly had we
arranged our weary limbs on the rags, lit our pipes, and com-
menced to talk over the events of Uie day, when these brutes
appeared, crawling into the tent from every side, all fdUy intent
mi filling their expansive bodies vrith oor blood. How these
ticks live, and what they subsist on when no unfortnnate biped
or qoadrnped is near, is indeed a passle ; but let man or beast
lie down on, or even pass through any part of this country, where
maybe no one has been before, and withoat loss of time these
little pests, some so small as to be almost invisible, appear with
wonderfal speed, go straight for the intruder, and woik their way
to any anoovered spot. It is much more than any one can do to
intercept them all, even in the brightest daylight ; Uiey come in

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166 SFOBT AND TRAVEL PAFEBS

■wamui, one spparenUy Qalling the other, and no eoa; task it is
to kill them when caught — their bodies are bo bard and tough
and orach between the nails like some other well-known inseet.
It ia comical to aee them arrive ; all in a terrible hnrry ; all
apparently afraid of being too late for the feast. The; are
disgusting-looking animals at any time; hot particnlarly so
when gorged with blood, their enormously distended abdomen
then reBembling a tightly stretched bladder, out of propiHtion
altogether to their tiny head and thorax. When qoite fiill the
tick lets go his hold on man or beast, and remains wherever he
may &11 in a helpless state of engo^ement, with, it is hoped,
all the attendant horrora of indigestion and nightmare, nntil
empty and shrank to natural size. Then, once more fall of life,
and keenly on the look ont for another meal, ha lies in wait on
the ground, or hangs from the edge of leaf or grass, until his
hook-like hind feet oome in contact with a passing animal. The
ehances of getting a good blow-ont are therefbre exceedin^y
rare ; no wonder be makes use of the opportonity when it is
offered. Oar slombers were not altogether peaoefiil — one beard
a good deal of soratohing, tossing about, and strong language —
and at early dawn all hands were busy tiok-honting, with every
Booceas and great slaughter. But tiie most ludicrously woe-
begone oreatnrea were the dogs in the morning ; from th^ lips,
noses, and most parts of the body bong well-fed tioks — eepeoiaUy
were the eyelids adorned with them. The poor animals looked,
and were no donbt, most miserable, and gratefully acknowledged
oor efforts to tear off some of their uninvited goests. yfhea a
tick is full to bursting he drops off, bnt if before that shape has
been roaehed a small bole is made in his expanding body, lai^
enou^ to allow the blood as it is absorbed slowly to escape, he
will go on Bucking and sacking for ever, delighted and surprised,
no doubt, at his increased capacity for enjoyment This was
t(dd me as an absoluto Coct; but, unfortunately, my time in
South Africa was too short to finally settle this interesting
qoastian.

We tried oar luck with the Kowie buffaloes again and again;
bnt, in spite of very hard work, always unsaoceBsfnlly. We
approached quite dose to them more tiian once, but the dogs
never socceeded in bringing one to bay. We tried hiding near
water-holes, while others searohed the surronnding bosh, in the

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IN THE KOWIE BUSH 167

hope tlutt the diBtnrbed buffalo would come to the water; bnt all
to no purpose. There wEia ample apportnnity of watehiiig the
bnsy ants, the many bntterflies, the red and BteeUblne waaps, or
the doDg-beetleB, as with hind 1^;b th^ poshed their ball of
dung orer all and erery obstacle in search of a enitable spot to
leare it gnardiug the e^. Nothing else appeared, and vety
annoying it was finally to leave the Kowie bash without bagging
a bo&lo.

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PUT NOT TOUR TRUST IN OWLS

"TF dat owl hoot eight timea, we get big moose, dat sartiii,"
X said m; fiuthM Indian guide and banter aa we sat one
evening at the oamp-fire — somewhere in British North Ameriea.
It was a Bnperb night, magnificent alike in scenei; and oolonr-
ing, in its heant; as impossible to describe as in its gorgeons
tints to reprodnae b; brash.

Oar hage camp-fire was boming bristly on an eminenoe OTer-
looking a forest-girt lake, and lifted np the sprnces and pines
and cedars which crowded aroand, gilding the nearest stems and
branches and bringing them oat in sharp relief &om those in the
darker reoesses of the forest. Below as, doe weet, lay the beaati-
fdl lake, not a ripple distarbing its miiror-like snrface, which
reflected nvidly and futhfdlly the hills beyond and the inde-
scribably go^eoos colouring of a Canadian sonset in the " fall."
Black in deepest shadow lay the hills, and sharply drawn stood
the pine-trees on their crest against the rich red of the sky, the
deepest coloor gradoally shading ofT into orange and yellow
towards the clear bine above; a silvery orescent moon, only
a few days old, and innamerable stars, doably large and brilliant
in BO pore an atmosphere, completed a piotore h&lf reality, half
watery image, which rarely ooiJd be equalled.

The owl, hidden in its dark retreat among the sprooas, and
eridently pleased with oar appearance as we three sat in the
bright fireli^t, hooted, not eight times only, bat ten t The big
moose seemed as good as bagged; bat what did the bird of omen
mean by the two extra hoots? Did it promise ns an extra-
ordinary big head, or did it refer to the quarter of a oartain cow

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PUT NOT YOUB TRUST IN OWLS 169

moose which w« had slnady eaten ? The death of this lady was
entire^ dne to m; hunter. I should have let her go, bat the
latal word " meat " was whiq>ered into my ear at the critical
moment, and the thought of all the salt Ckt pork we had lately
eaten, and Tinons of all we were likely to eat in the fatnre nnless
Bomething was killed, roee np before me, and that cow died.
Then we had nothing bat moose at every meal ; we ate one
qnaiter of the cow, eqaivalent to two hoots of the owl, and gave
the remainder to some lambeiers working near. However, we
settled among ourselves that the owl had referred to the size of
the fntore boll, and, with thia happy solation of the problem,
tamed into oar blankets. The last thing I remember that night
VBB the ringing laogh of the loon (great northern diver), so
natnral and ho mooking as almost to shake my belief in onr
friend the owl.

Thia was the only cow moose fired at, to the disgast of my
gnide, who had an eye to skins and the oamber of moooasiiis to
be made oat of them ; but this r^ard for the sex cost me a bull
— the ball meant by the ten hoots of the owl. Mistaking him
tot a cow as he stood more than half hidden in thick birch and
balsam scrab, I reihsed to fire antil the momentary appearance
of one bom had decided the sex ; it was then too late, he had
seen or winded as and was off, the bnllet striking the twigs
which fbnued a screen. It was a terrible disappointment to
me after three weeks' hard work in the bash, especially as my
time was ap,thas losing the only boll we had seen, or rather only
partly seen. My banter also felt it grievoosly ; he got violently
iU in conseqaenoe, his stomach shfuply resenting the loss of
moose meat. I commenced the core with chlorodyne ; he
finished it saooesafiilly with a large Spanish onion fried in
pork fat I He was, and is still, I hope, a very fine specimen
of the genoB man, powerfolly bnilt, hard woridng, willing, and
a first-olaas tracker. Jn winter he hants for ; in sommer, I faar,
he poaches; and in the antmnn beoomes a gnide to moose
hnnters. It was not advisable to interfere with his wishes in
the kitchen ; he was an aatocrat there. Salt tai pork and salt
pork bt were his gods, and present in some shape three times
a day. Nothing wonld persoade him that tea might be drinkable
without boiling at least an hoar. No, " people in Canada like
their tea strong " ; and strong we got it. A recpiest for a stew

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170 SPORT AND TRAVEL PAPERS

as a ohange was met hj: " In dis oouutr^ only ole men witti no
teeth eat stoo." X said no more, but the fried moose steak that
night seemed very ton^j^.

It was a delightfdl life in so beantifol a ooimtry and climate ;
we trsvelled entirely by canoe, for lake sneoeeded lake with only
short portages between. Canoeing over these lovely waters,
surrounded by wooded hills on all sides, was most enjoyable.
Bright yellow birches and here and there a blood-red splash of
maple in its automnal garb relieved the dark, sombre fisliage of
pines, sprooes, balsams, and oedara. In some places the shores
ware erowded with golden-leaved birch, in others with venerable
spmoea and larches in primeval confasion, and in their old sge
covered with masses of grey lichen. We paddled past lovely
islands resplendcmt in the brightest colonrs of the " tall," and
reflected aharj^ly in the mirror-like sorfiuse of the lake. Some
of these lakes contained trout in abnndanoe, both gr^ and the
beantiM and delicions " Ibntinalis," which looked exceedingly
well on the table, or rather the log ; in others, nothing wcnld
persnade the fish (if any existed at all) to take the hook. On
onr arrival a camp was soon made in the recesses of the bosh —
firewood collected, piled op and lit by means of birch bark,
balsam branches out for mattress, and so on. And how delight-
ful it was in the dark forest to sit around the big camp-fire and
talk over tiie events of the day and make plans &r the morrow I

Bird life seemed soaroe ; the birds of passage had no donbt
already left for the sonth, and only the raven, owls, large and
small woodpeckers (the former with a gorgeous red crest), cross-
bills, loons, snow and moosebirds remained. The latter were
my favourites. Hardly had a oamp been established before a
pair of these delightful birds made their appearance, hopping
aboat from branch to branch and closely watching all prepara-
tions for a meaL WiUi head turned to one side they looked
exceedingly knowing, and are bo tame as to take scraps almost
out of one's band. With a constant and voracions appetite they
devour anything — even nnoooked salt mess pork — to any extent.
On this acoonnt Z should without the least hesitation award the
moose or meat bird the first prize for digestive power. Of part-
ridges there were a flew, ridiculously tame and stupid, very
different from those shy birds in districts where they are otm-
etantly hunted. The lively little squirrels went through thdi

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PUT NOT TOUR TRTJ8T IN OWLS 171

pret^ uitieB, Bkipping, ehftttering, and Btaring from log or
bruioli at tlifl new-comer with their Urge and IotsI^ ^es, boay
now oollecting Htores for the long winter before them. A few
Tdiy shy dnobB Tinted the lakes, hot the weird, moeking langh of
the loon was eommon on all.

Delightfiil pages are those in Nature's open book in the wilder-
nesa; the more attentively read the more engrossing they become.

ThoD^ rather late in the season, we first tried "ealling"
moose, bat in spite of eveiy effort and the most sednctiTe and
thrilling sonndB prodneed by my hnnter on his biroh-bark trampet,
no bnll could be persoaded to eome or even to answer. It waa
very impolite of him, to say the least, to the fair sex of the
moose kibe, for X am snre that the soands prodneed, though
not Tety musical, were all that maiden in distresa would stter.
Bachelor moose eridently existed not, or had been grieroosly
disappointed in their lore affairs, and therefore would have do
more to do with the gentler sex. We called in the lakes from
canoe both morning and evening ; we called near swamps, where
tracks were nnmerons ; we uttered soonds of love, drifting down
riTers from lake to lake, where moose had lately crossed, till we
nearly frose — but no, marriage had no charms for them. On
one of tiie latter occasions we met oar friend of the owl tribe
•gain ; be sat on a tree not twen^ yarcU away as we floated
past, watching ns and » mnsk-rat we had distnrbed. He did not
hoot this time, but seemed pleased when we had passed and
left him to prepare his supper, at which the mosk-rat probably
played an important part. Leaving our characters of love-sick
moose maidens, we took to tracking, bnt thia time it was too
early — ^we wanted two or three inches of snow, and no snow
came. The ground was thiokly eoYetei with dry leaves and dry
sticks, which rendered noiseless walking impossible ; a stormy
day after rain now gave the only chance, when sticks and leaves
were soft and the noise of the wind in the trees deadened that
evoi then made by one's footstep. Bnt even if the aonte hearing
of the moose does not catch any suspicions sound, his nose comes
to the rescue, and the slightest taint of man destroys all chance
of a kill. Id sammer moose lie in swamps and shallow waters
to escape the fly pest and to feed on the snccolent weeds ; in
winter they " yard " — take up their qoarters in a certain part of
the bush where food is good, to stay there, unless distnibed, nntil

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172 SPORT AND TRAVEL PAPERS

K&tnte'a sappli«s luTe oome to an end and the; are forced to
change quarters. There is no doabt that both in sommer and
in the deep snows (tf winter large numbeia of moose are killed in
nolation of all game laws and all tme sporting instinets, simply
for the sake of their skins ; bnt, nnfbitonatelj, in an immense
ooonti; like British North America no such laws can be striotl;
enforced. In the " &I1 " and early winter, when moose are
allowed to be shot, they are constantly on the move, and only to
be killed in two ways — either they most be bronght to the riSe
by " calling," or the rifle must go to them, by " creeping " ; and
this is only likely to meet with snecesa when sofficient snow has
fallen to make Uie bnnter's footstep noiseless and the spoor
easily followed. To any one fond of tme sport and Nature at
her best, nothing is more enjoyable than a stay in these glorions
woods is the "&11."
The owl was nearly right in ber prophecy, the loon quite.

byGoogIc

0"

AFTEB TIBOINIAN DEES

"^N a bright morning early in the month of Norember the
daily steamer took me and gnide vith osmp equipment from
the little town of Mattawa, in Ontario, up the Ottawa Biver to
Seven League Lake, where we joined two professional hnntera,
and I was to be initiated in the art of hunting the Yirginian, or
white-tailed deer. Mattawa as it ^^radnally receded from our
view looked very picturesque among wooded hills at the jnnotioD
of the Ottawa and Mattawa fiivera, with Its strngg^g honses and
qoaint wooden bridge spanning the latter stream. Formerly
simply a poat of the Hudson's Bay Company, it now has grown
into a town, constructed partly of wood and partly of stone, with
many a stately mansion on the outskirts, the whole being over-
looked by a well-built hospital and very handsome church. The
white houses and stores of the Hudson's Bay Company sur-
rounded by thdr white fences remain where they stood in the
days when the occupants of Indian lodges were their only
neighbonrs, and from here the deer and moose hunters, equipped
with everything necessary, make their annual start, after
thoronghly enjoying the kindly hcffipitality of the chief and
his family. Mattawa is now busy boilding a branch line from
its own station on the Canadian Pacific Bailway to lake Temis-
oamaing, to be oontinned perhaps to the far away Hudson's Bay,
and the traii» will nin along the Quebec shore of the river
Ottawa on a bed of very hard and ever-present ro(^, which is
being rapidly prepared by clearing the groond of trees and by
extensive blasting.

Our little steamer had a hard task to make headway against a

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174 SPORT AND TRAVEL PAPERS

strong vind and stream, handifl^iped as it was by the heavy barge
lashed on to one side, which barge carried two broad tramway
tmoks loaded with floni, pork, and other provisiona, eonsigned
to TarioQS ports and lumber oamps in the wilderness beyond.
The passengera, mainly lumbermen aboat to begin their hard
winter's work, were all more or less overcome by their farewell
oaronse in the last town they were likely to see for many a
month, bnt after a time they settled down nnder shelter of. the
tarpaulin which oovered the stores, to escape the keen wind and
to sleep. This steamer took as only to the first portage, near
whi^ stnmg rapids among huge bonlders stopped all navigation.
Here the tracks were ran across on a tramway and on to another
ba^ with steamer attached on the fiirthm: side, then on once
more ap the narrow river, whioh ran swiftly past the rooky
shores where hardwood scrnb, now leafless and shorn of ite
autumnal ^orira, fomid precarions foothold. Parties of men were
woiking here and there along the fiitare railway, blasting,
chopping down trees, building bridges, and throwing up ballast ;
still fdrtiker on small wooden stakes alone marked out the track.
The rattle and whistle of the trains, which will bring down grain
and lumber from the n<Ncth and thus may [oove a soocess
financially, will sound the death-knell to all shooting on this
river, whioh up till now has been the favourite resort of deer
hunters year after year.

We had three portages to cross, at the last of which was an
hotel with dinner on the table. Here we met the down
passengers, and, everybody being hungry, the scramble was
great for the good things provided, consisting, as at all country
inns, of salt pork, potatoes, cheese, bread and tea. At last,
there being nothing more to eat, we parted, and exchangiiig
steamers made another start. Leaving the long and dangerous
lapids, we steamed ap a wider reach of the river miscalled Seven
Leagne Lake. The Ontario side now was covered with pines,
spraces, and balsams and their varieties, young hardwood
clothing the opposite, or Quebec, shore, with higher forest
bey(md. Only white pine is ont for the great lumber market at
Ottawa, and farther and further have the lombermen to go in
search of trees large enongh to meet the demand, and harder
becomes the task of getting the logs to and down the river.
Here and there a bush fire bad swept over the oountry, leaving

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AFTER TIBGINIAN DEER 175

noUung but bUckeoed [one steniB, and causing enonooos loM
to the lumber compuiy. It is s ooiionB faot that after one of
the bnah fires in a needle-wood country no similar trees Efpiltg
ap ; brambles are the first to appear, and then hardwood Bomb,
oak, birch, poplar, and ash. On the other hand, should a
hardwood forest be destroyed by fire none of those trees are
fonnd among the new vegetation, nothing but pines, the Tarions
Bpraces, and balsams. No reason ean be given for this, but
fact it is, and an ondispnted one.

Aboat 6 p.m. the steamw arrived off a tent pitched on the
Ontario shore, and my guide and I with camp impedimenta
landed, the steamer going a few miles farther to the foot of Uie
" Long Boo," and the end of the long tramway which runs across
the portage as fiu as the soothem end of Temiscamaing Lake. We
were received by the owners of the tent, two professional men
from Hattawa, who spend two months of every " bH " in the
woods in quest of deer, and Irjr two clergymen on a short visit for
change of air and scene and in the hope of sport. It being dark
we did not pitch our trait hut accepted the hospitali^ offered by
the others in the shape of sapper and a ni^t's lodging. The
btrmer, made np, ae all meals are, of poA, bread, and tea,'Wafl
greatly appreciated ; not so the latter, for we six had to lie like
the proverbial sardines so closely packed together in the very
small tent that the least movement of one disturbed all the
others. The sheet-iron stove in our oaavas home need for
cooking and wanning purposes and generally red-hot, made the
atmosphere in the closed tent very trying to most of us ; we
gasped under our blankets and were not at all offended if a more
chilly neighbour seized more than his share ; towards the early
morning, however, when it was freezing hard outside and the
fire had long since gone oat, a fight oommenoed for every inch
of blanket, the tng-of-war oontinning until to everybody's satis-
faotion dayli^t appeared, and the danger, which every moment
had become more threatening, of shocking the parsons' ears by
some lenuak more expressive and forcible than polite, passed
amy. We were encamped close to the river in some hardwood
bush ; three deer were hanging np by the hocks, one buck and
two does, for in shooting for the market all was meat that came
before my friends' rifles. These besntifdlly shaped deer are
plentifdl on both sides of the river, and are hunted every year by

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176 SPOBT AND TRAVEL PAPERS

sereral distiiict partdes eocsmped at Tuioos points along tiie
Ottawa River. Of Uie tact that a deer, when hard-presBed by
dogs or other animals, makes for the nearest water and swims
across to rid himself of his paiBoers, is taken foil advantage, and
affords the only chanoe of filling the larder with Tenison, for it
wonld be easier to find a needle in a haystad than kill so
extremely wary and shy an animal as the white-tailed deer by
Htill hunting. The dogs generally need are large fox or blood-
hotmds, and are taken singly or in pairs into the woods away
from the river or lake, and released when a promising spoor has
been found. At this, the rotting season, the spoor of the back
is easily told from that of the doe, the points of his toes being
rounded off by the restless stamping and pawii^ of the excited
animal. The honnd or hounds jnmp away at onee, and giving
tongue all the while follow the buck or doe to the water, near
which the shooters are posted at various points, each one with
bia oanoe ready at hand. A deer having entered the river makes
straight for the opposite shore ; the canoe is paddled after him,
and an easy shot when the water is smooth, more dlfiBenlt when
ron{^, at as olose quarters as may be desired, finish^ the scene.
Poor sport, if indeed it can be called sport at all ; not only is the
standing about all day long and the waiting for a deer which
may never come mieerable work in the cold and often severe
weather, but the art of shooting requires no skill and brings with
it little or no excitement. Fawns are a great trouble and
annoyance to the hounds, as they osually run roond and round
in oirdee instead of making sbiaight for the water as their
parents do, but by these infantile maoceuvres they freqaently
escape the slaughter which would surely await them in the river.
H is said that bwns as long as they are dependent upon the doe,
and does until fawns are independent of them, leave no seent
and that therefore no dog or other animal can follow them by
nose ; if tone it is a beautifiil provision of Nature for the protec-
tioD of the young when not yet able to take care of themselves.
After remaining for some days at the same place we shifted
eamp further down the river and pitched our tents again among
some hardwood bush dose to a temporaiy lumber camp. The
men were patting up a shanty, their home that was to be daring
tiie winter when employed in losing the river, and afterwards in
helping timber down which other parties were catting in the

byGoogIc

AFTER VTBGINUN DEER 177

finesto beyond. They were housed in two tents uid in open-air
kitchen supplied them with food. It was a real pleasure to watch
these hungry men eat their several meals, they ate so heartily
and enjoyed their food bo thoroughly — ^pork, beans, potatoes,
pumpkin, oheese, bread, ^ymp, and tea disappeared with
marrollons &cilify and celerity, three, and sometiiQes four
times a day. We had many a meal together, and among the
Tariooa exoellent dishes whioh the cook, who was an artist,
prepared, I can highly recommend the white beans in the
morning after they had simmered all night long in the company
of pork &t in an iron pot buried among the hot ashes. A hardy,
fine set of men these lumberers are, who lead a very arduoos life,
especially during the extreme cold of a Canadian winter. After
the trees haTO been cheeped down and hanled orer the snow to
the river or lake, the men, when the ice has broken, have to pull
the heavy logs into the icy water and to push them into the
stream, often working ap to their hips in the half-frozen
river. VHnter supplies for the fdture ahanty were brought daily
from a neighbouring &rm on a &monB craft called the Beaver
but more commonly the Crocodile, names earned by her ability
to travel on land as well as on water. When desirous of leaving
her natural element, to have a ran on shore or perhaps climb
over a hill a mile long, a steel cable is fastened to the trunk of a
tteo on the road to be travelled over ; the wire rope is now
wound up by the machine on board and the CroeodiU slides
on her runners as &r as the hawser will allow ; this is now
hitched on to another tree further afield and the boat continues
her travek. She is naturally a very slow oraft both on land and
water — the latter fitct a sore point with her oaptain and hotly
disputed — yet her amphibious nature does away with a great
deal of loading and unloading. We passed onr long evenings
assembled in the largest tent, tales were told, a great deal of
tobacco consumed, and the &vonrite game of " Pedro " played
with immense enthoaiasm.

A great variety of timber grew near our oamp or lay as &dlen
trees or logs apon the ground, and one evening we found that
the camp-fire was made ap of no less than eif^t different woods
— ash, hard and soft maple, yellow and white birch, pine, cedar,
and poplar ; easily we might have added spruces, balsams,
tamarac, oak, and others to the blazing pile. A tent, although
13

byGoogIc

178 8P0BT AND TRAVEL PAPEB8

made of one fold of thin caht&b only, becomea » mrj oomforiAble
and wonderfoUy warm abode with a 1&^ fire baning in fix>nfe of
the entrance, even daring very cold weather. A few handfols of
baUam branches, laid on the ground prerioiiHly cleared of roots
and ineqaalities or snow, »a the case may be, eqnab a spring
mattress, while ite fragrance is very pleasant and soothing.
With the addition of blankets it forms a bed where sleep oomes
soon and soond, no matter whether it blows, rains or snows
ostside. Besides deer, a few of the ordinary and pretty sprace
partridge, there -was no game in this bnsh ; the woods at this
season seemed very deserted, for even tbe moose bird was scarce,
while the cry of the ntTon and loon were rarely heard. Ko fish
wonld take owe hooks whether oa a troll, adorned witit fiy, or
baited with pork or other dainty morsel, so we had to go withoni
ytiaX wonld have been a most welcome change from the somewhat
monatonoos &re of pork and bacon.

After a serere snowstorm I hnnted orer on the Quebec side —
Ontario was closed for all except deer — for moose, bat fonnd no
■poor. Very hard walking it was np and down the moontains
in the slippery melting snow, and harder etill to climb over the
many &llen trees which lay abont. Bnt nothing is more trying
and tiring on these ooeasions than an old lumber road, with its
peipetnal stombling over roots which are aa slippery as glass,
the frequent splashing into mad-holes, the balancing along &llen
trees, the stuping npon sharp stamps which seem to project
from ererywhere, and which to avoid is impossible, be one erer
so careful. The elippeiy moccasin finds no certain foothold, and
is for ever coming into violent and punfdl collision with every
sharp stone and every pointed stick.

In abont a fortnight we got thirteen deer of sorts, and onr
neighbours lower down eleven. With them we bad several dispntes
as to the ownership of certain deer, a qneetion which oonld only
be dedded on the appearance of the pursuing hound — the owner
of the hound was lite owner of the deer, no matter who had
killed it. On two oocaaiona, curiously enough, a deer jumped
into the water just as the daily steamer was passing. The
eaptain and all the passengers opened fire at onoe, to the
oonsidraable danger of eveiyhody on sluve and in canoe, for with
Winchesters there was no lack of bullets.

But after a time life on the river bank and tbe miserable sport

byGoogIc

AFTER VIRGINIAN DEER 179

beesme very monotfmoiiB, uid as no snow fell to make a moofle
huDt in the connti; fdrthar north lihely to be followed by Bnooess,
my cook and I at the end of a fortnight retnroed to Mattawa.

The la]^:est head had IS points, 6 and 7 ; lengths of hom, 14
inches, 6 inches ronnd base near skiill, and 6 from point to
point, bat veiy mnob larger ones are oceaaionally met with.

Three things no man has ever seen, bo say the hunters here.
The gall bladder of a deer, a bear in cub, and the nest of the
bloe jay. The two latter may possibly be veiy rarely mat with,
bnt bears and bine jays being in the woods, they no doabt breed
there ; the fwmer is trne, for deer are withont a gall bladder, as
also — BO it is said — the bear. The want of this important organ
ia sapposed by the Indians to make these animals proof against
every kind of poison.

byGoogIc

XTX

IN THE HEART OF THE MOOSE COUNTRY

TTTE had pitofaed our two bouU eotton teats im the top of a
VY tiny island in one of the many lakes in Canada. The

uland was of aolid rook and rose about iX) foot above water*
level ; bare evei^rwhere and worn by waves and ice except on the
Bommit, where a thin layer of mould gave a precarioiu foothold
to a faw atonted birch and apruce-trera. It was a charming
aiioation for a camp — gives fine and Btill weatfaw — Bach aa we
were then enjoying after all the poniing rain of the last few
days, and before all that was yet to come. A lovely Bpot, over-
looking aa it did the beaatifiilly dear water «hioh spluhed
inceeeantly against the rook ; beyond, wooded hiUa, now in their
aotnmnal garb, confined the view all aronnd, the dark pines,
cedars and sprooes, in different shades of green, throwing ont in
sharp relief the gorgeoos foliage of their neighbonrs, the goldMi
birches and the crimson maples.

Beaatifal was it by day, bnt greatly more so by night when
the tail moon had risen, and her silvery rays were playing with
the ever restless waves, lighting up parts of the forest while they
tiirew others into still deeper shadow.

To this islet we — I and my two Indians — bad oome in search
of moose after a hard and extremely wet oanoe journey of several
days, vrith many portages from lake to lake and many others to
avoid the frequent rapids in a long creek which meandered for
several miles throogb dense alder swamp and anaong low wooded
hills. It would have been a most enjoyable trip bnt for the
almost ceaseless lain whioh made the sitting in the oanoe
nnpleasant, while the tramps through the dripping boshes did

byGoogIc

m THE HEART OF THE MOOSE OOUNTBT 181

not «dd to our comfiHi. Nothing, however, seemed to damp the
BfiniB of the men, they were always cheery uid fall of chaff, but
as their speech was is Algonqoin all this was aufortiinately lost
to me. One of them woold rattle off some long sentence in a
peooliar sing-song Toioe greatly resembling the intoning of parts
of the Church service, to be answered by the other in the same
way, so that at first I thought they were imitatuig aomo English
clergyman they might have heard. It afforded them apparently
a great deal of amusement and they would go on in this poetical
manner for a long time together. It seemed to me as if the text
might be as foUows : —

F. Oh, you will see that unto us to-day moK rain will be
Tonchasfed.

T. Yes, but for this morning's son let ns be truly thankful.
F. It has dried our olothes a little, but our skins are very

T. We ahall soon have crops of fungi growing on our monldy
hide.

Or,

F. Be mindfiil that we get good dinner and prepare it to my
taste.

T. Whitest pork, no streaks of red, and firisaled in the
savoury &t.

F. Then add to that some fried potatoes, swimming in the
por^ grease.

T. And well-stewed tea to give our stomach rest and jt^ till
Bopper-time.

This wont on daUy, and when asked what it meant, the men
told me that the Eippewa Indians talked in that manner. What
a muflioal village theirs must be 1

My Indians deserved all praise ; they were always happy ; it
was impossible to tire them, however long the portages or heavy
the loads ; rain made no difference to them, or wet olothos, or
damp blankets, and damper ground at night or at any other
time. Plenty of pork and tea was all they required and that &t
and strong. A b^ lamp of tea-leaves at the bottom of the cup
meant a big moose, and I have more fiuth now in these firagrant
lumps than in the supposed prophetic hoots of my friend the

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182 SPORT AKD TRAVEL PAPERS

owl, on which another lodun on • former trip set so moofa store.
When the sun did appear the trip ap the creek became very
enjoyable ; the deep chocolate brown water reflected the bankB
and eveiything on them as in a mirror. The ^Iden yellow
birches, the sombre apmces and balsamB, the feathery larches — ■
tamarac — sometimes oorered as in a mantle by long trailing grey
lichens ; the olive-green cedars, now in antomn picked ont with
brown, were relieved by a splash of red here and there, while
near the water grew large-leaved ferns, now also tnming yellow,
and bri^t green mosses. Oral lotos leaves floated on the water,
sometimes taming np their crimson onder-sorface, and long hair-
like grasses. Here we disturbed a pair of blach diu^, or mddy
mergansers, there a mnsk-rat, but bird life in the woods seemed
limited to woodpeckers, titmice, and moose birds. It was very
attractive to a lover of natore, and more particolarly to us, for
every now and then we came upon onmistakablB signs of moose.
Two days after leaving the creek we arrived at " our " lake, and
the great advantages of oar position on the island very soon
became aiJ^nrent. Moose were veiy fond of visiting this lake in
the evening and daring the night, to bathe in its cool water and
feed OQ the roots of the yellow lilies and other water-plants ; the
Indian's "call" on his birch-bark trumpet from this elevated
and central spot echoed far and wide into the saironnding
coantry, and, if answered, we were enabled to locate the probable
whereaboats of the noble boll, laanch oar canoe, and silently
paddle to where he might be expected to leave the forest and
come down to the shore.

At first no lack attended as ; we saw a big boll splashing in
the- water and another walking along the shore, bnt did not get
either. One night we paddled dose np to two balls fighting on
the edge of the water, and heard their antlers clashing as they
fought their giant oombat close to heaps of dead trees piled np
along the shore by ice and stonns in inextricable confdsion.
Urged by the Indian, who probably saw them better than I, to
shoot as they suddenly stopped the battle and crashed into the
forest, my ballets whistled harmlessly past the flying shadows,
for they were nothing more to me. "Big bulls dat, nebber see
dem 'gin," in a despairing voice, was all my companion uttered
with a grant. I nrged the impossibility of seeing sights or
barrels even, of judging distance in the more than oncertain

byGoogIc

IN THE HEART OP THE MOOSE CWUNTET 188

light, and the erer restlesB otuoe as aoffieunt ezoasea. Still I
felt very depressed ftnd annoyed, did not enjo; the jonnie; home,
want Bb«ight to my blankets, and felt greatly irritated at the
long conversation which took place afterwards in the Indians'
tent, whiob I ooald not help thi'nfcing referred somewhat nn-
fevoorahly to my skill aa a shooter. It was not a happy

No lock whateTer had we at night We called on many
oceadons in the moosiest and swampiest of beaver meadows,
remaining out till morning. Oh t how cold it was in the early
dawn, when the white mist rose from the water, but no moose
did we eror see. These beaver meadows are yerj &eqaent, very
wet, and generally sarroand small lakes, where moose feed
daring the sntnmer, and by lying in the water escape their tiny
enemy the flies. Fresh spoor we fonnd everywhere, bat whether
the most wary animal, ^ftod with the most acate sense of smell
and hearing, scented onr presence or not, onr vigils remained
nndistarbed.

What, however, we failed to do at night we accomplished by
day in a mnch more sportsmanlike manner by tracking, and
when eventoally we b^an oar homeward jonmey, two large
moose-heads adorned the bows of the canoes.

On a beaatifiiUy clear frosty morning after calling nnsacoess-
folly near a beaver meadow some miles away from our camp, my
tradkfflr and I started off to see what we coald do by daylight.
The mist of the night before had frozen on the trees, shrabs,
and grasses, giving them ,a beaatifol silvery appearance, and a
thin coating of ice covered the water in the swampy meadows as
we floundered through in search of fresh spoor. Moose tracks
there were many but none very fresh, and it was some time before
the Indian seemed satisfied as he pointed to a lai^ spoor made
only that night. It led towards some high teee hills and we
followed it over these and many more, through alder swamps,
where the walking was simply terrible; we climbed over and
anda* fallen trees innamerable, walked along many more ^ la
Blondin, bad to make long detours to get the wind ri^t, until I
almost began to think that a little rest might not be amiss.
The spoor, however, became fresh and fresher, another crossed it
and we were poszled at first which to follow, Tbis settled, the
Indian soen after began to sniff the air whispering " smell boll."

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184 SPORT A17D TRAVEL PAPERS

In m; inezperienoe I Halt rather doabtfiil abont thia aad inelined
to back the mooae's noae and my man's leather breeches, whioh
apparently had done yeoman'a aervice, against his smelliiig
powers and the moose, bnt there seemed now no donbt bat that
the trail was getting very hot. All hlagae vanished, and shortly
afterwards ve heard the (to ns) most delightM sonnd — the
dashing of huge \iona against the bashes. The wind was
bloving strai^t from the soond to as. We crept np a little
eminenoe, and on the other aide stood a magnificent boll-moose
looking in onr direction. The first ballet was smashed to frag-
ments on his ribs, as we foand on removing the skin ,- the second
killed him dead. There he lay, my first moose, and what a
huge creature he wasl His magnificent antlers proved jnst
ander 6 feet across, were of a beantifal rich brown colonr, and
carried thirteen points on one side and eleven on the other. As
he lay the ball was 80 inches from top of withers to point of toe,
measored along the earvatnres of his body. I had now no longer
any donbt aa to the possibility of smelling a ball-mooae at this
season even at some distance, and still lees daring the skinning,
which we had for want of knives, &o., to defer to the next day,
when we all three retained and oarried off the head and skin in
trinmph. On seeing the enormons development of the nostrils
and tiie very extensive spread of the olfiu^iy nerves, together
with the sise of the hage ears, one cooid no longer wonder that
the moose is endowed with probably the most aoate senses of
smell and hearing of any animal, and this £act greatly enhanced
the Batis&ction of having seonred snob a trophy by fair
tracking.

It is a marvel bow the animal with his hnge antlers manages
to get tiiroa^ the woods, especially throagh the tiiieketB of the
terrible alder swamps, and at a ^Hop even as I have seen and
know him do, and for a long time together ; to get the 6-feet
horns over the varioos portages was no child's play, even when
the Indian who carried them ssed his aze freely to dear the way.
On the journey back we passed the recent battle-ground of two
large bolls, where brushwood was torn down, yomig trees broken
off and the bark of the larger ones deeply scored. What com-
bats Boch most be when each animal weighs from 1,200 lbs. to
1,400 lbs and more t This boll was one of the lai^[er variety
with widely spreading antlers, smaller palmation and laager

byGoogIc

IN THE HEAItT OF THE MOOSE COTTNTRT 185

pointa ; the other haTing Bmaller antlers inolined more npwardfl,
with wide nhoTels and shorter points. One moming, when
busily engaged with baooQ, home-made bread, and tea, at oar
earl; bret^&st on the island, the Indiana heard a distant Bplaah-
ing in the water. " Dat moose," said one, " Come, go," and
our eanoe was soon making good time in the direction of the
Boond. No moose was anywhere to be seen, bat on the sandy
beach at the end of the lake were the absolately fresh footprinta
of a big bull. He had eaten the roots of the water-Uly and
afterwards entered the woods. The Indian, after closely examin*
ing the spoor, thooght that the boll was probably making for a
la^e bay some distance off. So towards it we paddled, keeping
oloee to the shore. On roonding the point, there, near an old
ehanty, stood an enormons ball-moose, motionless as if oarred
oat of black stone like a beantifol statue. He flew roond qaiokly
as I fired snd disappeared in the bnsh. For some moments,
truly horrible moments, there was a sickening doubt io my mind
as to whether he was hit, when to my intense relief blood was
fbnnd on the shrubs, but finding blood and carrying off the head
of a moose do not alwa^ follow as a natural sequence. The
Indian took ap the trail, grnmbling about the very sli^t bleeding ;
bat we had not to go far before the bull lay dead before us.
How delightful it was thus to have all doabts remoTed, and the
eanoe bad two happy occnpanta aa it went back to the island.
This moose belonged to the species with smaller horns, the
shoTels being broader, bowerer, the pointa, five on each side in
this case, smaller and less numerous than in hia large antlered
relatives. He was almost jet black, and measured 78} inches
on the ground &xim top of withers to point of toe. This was
indeed a lucky incident in moose hunting, or was it due to the
sagaoitf of the Indian and his thorough knowledge of the babita
of the animal ? When the head was being cleaned the moose
birds, our only Tidtors on the island except flies, bad a great
(bast ; when completely gorged they oarried off all that remained
to some hiding-place in the forest as a pnmsion, no doubt, for
days of scarcity. Having now a grand specimen of each variety,
a piece of good fortune which probably does not happen to many
hunters on a three weeks' trip, we shortly after commenced our
homeward journey. Before, however, finally leaving the moose
country we had one more hunt, and struck the firesh track of a

^cbvGooglc

186 SPORT AND TBAVEL PAPEBS

very Urge bnll. It was torible mlkiDg ; th«re had heea eiteat.-
sive windflftlls and pleotifol indeed were the trem we liad to
climb Dver, and then those alder swamps 1 The; were fearfiill;
tiTing and tiring to get through. After a good deal of walhii^
we once more heard the welcome sound of antlers nibbing
against the boshes, and presently saw a boll looking in onr
direction and swaying his hoge boms from side to side. I fired
and hit him, bnt off be started at bis best pace, clearing in a
marrclloas manner every obstacle in the way, as we afterwards
saw to oar aatonisbment and regret. We followed the blood
spoor for some distance, bat it became slighter and slighter and
a very heavy thonderstonn washed it ont entirely. That walk I
shall never fo^^et ; the Indian followed the spoor aa &st as was
possible and I had to follow him, over and tmder fallen trera,
ap-hiU and down-bill, throo^^ swamps and alder bosh, until, as
the chase already seemed hopeless, I vras very glad when my
companion at last gave it ap. It is sincerely to be hoped that
the ballet inflioted a skin wound only &om which the bnll has
long since recovered. We returned to camp in pouring rain
drenched to the skin.

A long journey by a different route to that which had brought
us, yet differing but slightly from it as fu as the weather
was oonoemed, ended onr eqjoyable and moat snocesafdl vint
to the largest representative of the deer tribe in his native
banntB.

byGoogIc

CmUSTMAS-TIME IN FOUB CONTINENTS

I. Abu.

T1THEN Christmas oama in 1866, the pUins of Bhootui,
VV ft conntry lying between Assam and Sildm, in Noitb-
Eastem India, and — with the former — the wettest in the
world, had been just a year onder Ehiglish nde. In oonae-
qaence of perpetnal raids into British territory, the Bhooteas
h«d been deprived of their lowlying posseBsions, the &mons
Dooars, and turned oat of a nnmbor of bill forte, really robber
nrats, bnilt on the lower spurs of the Himalayas, with bat
sli^t opposition and loss. Fate had decreed that I sbonld
spend more than a year in oha^ of the British garrison of
one of these, Fort Daling. A tiny fort, a speck in a vast
sea of jungle, perched on the summit of a conical hill, it
was samnmded on all sides hat one by mach higher moontains,
all ooTsred with the densest vegetation of infinitely variegated
green. Towards the soath, when not obscnred by rain or
eloads, or mist, occasions most exceedingly rare, a distant
view ooold be obtained of the plains, the fertile but reiy
feverish Booars, which at this time were covered with water.
Only at one point ooold this little fort be entered, at all
others the sides of onr sngar-loaf hill fell away almost per-
pendioalarly from the tiiidt stone walls soiroonding the sommit,
against which walls the quarters of the garrison — a battery
of artillery, a wing of the Slst Ponjab Native Infantiy,
some Engineers, and odds and ends — were oonstrocted entiiely
of bamboo. It was a voy onunped place, in the eariy days
hardly able to accommodate everybody, bat by Christmas, when
nearly half of the old garrison had died, there was room in
plenty.

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188 SPORT AND TRAVEL PAPERS

What an ezigtenoe it was in that fort ! never to be foigotten
by any sarrinng member of its first garrison. Days and
months passed, we did not know how — ^poased as if in a long
sleep, hidden from all else by a dense cnrtain of mist and
olond which bat rarely lifted; holding no oommnnion, often
for weeks t<^ather, with the ontside world, cat off by flooded
ODontry, as we verb, through which eren d&k elephants oonld
not pass and in which many with onr mails were lost.
Now, at Chiistmas-time, it bad rained for some months :
the rain oontinniug for several more with short inteimpMons,
dnring which the whole oonntiy was enveloped in the very
dampest of mists. The resolt, in the bills around, was
a most loxnriant vegetaUon, among which tree-ferns and
bamboos excelled in feathery bean^. In the fort onr conditioD
was a wretched one; the poor Sikhs especially, acoostomed
to a perfectly dry climate, suffered terribly here where nothing
was ever dry, clothing and bedding always wet, rations monldy,
and the whole interior of onr leaking bamboo hats covered
with a rankly growing fstid fongns.

In this constant moisture thrived swarms of flies, large and
small, and mosquitoes — the plague — ^no doubt the " Bhoots,"
or evil spirits of Bhootac — was everywhere, in our food, in
our drink, in ears, nose and pockets; the insects crawled
up tme's sleeve and down one's neck reckless of fate but
maddening in their persistency, forbidding sleep except in the
middle of the night, when the tormentors themselves urgently
required reai ; they ran and fell into the ink and then dried
themselves on the pages of » newly written letter, official
and in the beat handwriting; they got caught between the
lids in their frantic efforts to examine the interior of one's
eye, went to roost in (he hair and cared nothing for punkah
or fan. No doubt it was a wretched place this Dalimkote —
sharing with Assam the highest known rainfall — daring this
apparently never ending wet season, and especially depressing,
as half the garrison was always on the sick list with dysentery,
fever, and scnivy, thanks^to the perpetual damp and monldy food.
There were no striking incidents to mark the time exeept
deaths, nothing to do outside the fort hut bury Christiana
and Mohammedans, and bum the poor dead Sikhs, not to
mention the slaughter of some jangle fowl among the faiUs

byGoogIc

0HBISTMA8-TIME IN FOUR CONTINENTS 189

■round. With the exception of one reeonnaiasanoe into the
monntaini to the north, there was no soldiering to be done
except gaiOBOn duty. No Bhooteaa eame near us to oar great
regret, nor did they distnrb the GoTemment coolies living
in the Tillage of Ambiokh, at the foot of oar hill. These
ooolies were natires of Sikhim and wore the piotnTesqne garb
of Thibet, pigtail and all ; very dirty, fbr they never wash
from the day Uieir eyes first behold the light to that on which
their spirit enters the Bhoddist Nirw^a ; they will sell
anything living or dead for ram and are most skilfol workers
in bamboo.

This lorely plant flonrishea exceedingly among the hills and
■applies almost all their wants, as it did most of onrg, Ont of
it, and oat of nothing else, is the whole house made and
all the fomitore, if that word can be applied to a bonk, rickety
efaair and table; cooking atensils, water veuels, pipes, needles,
thread, ladders, bows and arrows, and the scabbard for the evar-
present long knife. Visit at their hoases, which are always
raised veiy high above groond on piles, and the chatelaine,
who, by the way, belongs to several brothers in common, will
offer yoa boiling hot tea, largely mixed with native batter,
in a bamboo pot. When young these ladies are very pretty ;
they are bought according to their market value from their
parent by the fdtore hnabands, generally brothers, altboogb
two or three friends sometimes olab together to make ap
the necessary sum.

The only white people living ontaide the fort walls were
the political ofQcer and his wife, who had lately taken np
their qaarters on the spar of an immediately adjoining platean,
where they lived in a bamboo bungalow, at first not altogether
free from scares. Here the only European lady in all Bhootan
joesided at the dmstmaa dinner, to which the few officers
of the garrison had been kindly bidden. Considering the
place and time of year, and the &ct that we were then oat
off by flooded plains and raging torrents from oiviliaation below,
the dinner was a great sacoess, and spoke volumes for Hie
inventive genius of oar hostess. Everything, indeed, from
BOQp to dessert, with the exception of a brace of jungle fowl,
was extracted from tins, but it was novel and not mouldy.
The last wish ezpresaed 1^ every member of that pai^ was

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190 SPOBT Ain> TIUVEL PAPEBS

that we might all veaj soon leafa fort Doling and never see
it again.

HoweTer, April had come before we finall;r handed over
the fbrt to flome native police, with oar best wishes, long
after the Bhooteas had come to terms, when we crossed the
Teesta River on oar wa; to Jnlpigoree.

Although the fbreats aronnd the fort swarmed with every kind
of noble game, it went almost ontooohed by the garrison of
Dalimkote, owing to the want of proper rifles and permiBsion
to be absent from the fort at night. In less than a year
I was back on leave in those Dooars on shikar bent ; bat
although alephanta and rhinooeros were frequently met with,
I bagged notiiiog except the most pemioioas and intractable
fever, which eventoally necessitated my retnm to England.

n. EUBOPB.

On Christmas Day, 1870, a small party of six, five men
and one lady, all endowed vrith the best of appetites, took
their places at the dinner-table in the house of a doctor in
the village of Beaone-la-Bolande, Department Loiret, France.
Four of the party were anigeons attached to the ambolance
sent out by England in aid of the sick and wounded daring
the Franco-ProssiaQ War, the other two being the owner of
the house we were billeted in and his wife. The dinner
was a great saccess, all the more appreciated by as who had
lately been used to very rough &re. It had been prepared
onder the superintendence of the lady of the house, and
consisted of soup, a goose, which, in some miracnlons way
only known to itself had managed to escape the keen and
hungry eyes of both French and German soldier on the war-
path, at last to be rewarded by being the honoured and admired
dish on our Christmas table. A piece of beef of Anraican
origin, flanked by various vegetables, and then, to mown all,
a more or less successful plum-pudding a VAnglaite. The
many ingredients of the latter, with butter, cheese, &c., laxoiieB
here at the &ont, I had been able to collect during an expe-
dition with a wagon to a nei^boaring town, ordered to bring
in stores urgently needed for our many patients in the village.

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0HBI8TMA&-TIUE IN FOUR CONTINENTB 191

Some bottles of excellent wine of the oonntr; usisted in making
(he evening « yeay pleaauit one, for eooh a feast had not fiillen
to oar lot for some time. AU the more eiyoyable was it made
b7 the knowledge that we had been able to distribute some
fbw little extras among the nnfortnnate woonded, of which
ragars, cat up by them and made into cigarettes, were always
appreciated more than anything else.

We had been about a month in Beanne-la-BoIande in charge
of the wonnded, ot which the greater part had already been
eraenated farther to the rear, for sapplies ran short near the
front ; many others had died of their wounds, and only the
more seiioas and immoTable oaeea now remained.

The wonnded had passed through a terrible time, for they
were atriokea when the land was deep in mnd after several days
of rain. All the shelter available was in the town and a^jmning
Tillages, the booses of which, with few exceptions, had soffesed
Mverely from shot and shell doring the French onsaoeessfiil
attack on the (German position. However, now they lay in
ocmiparative comfort, instead of, owing to former want of apaoe,
piled one on top of another, as during the first days after the
battle, and reposed on mattresses, beds, ias., instead of the
bare floor perhaps covered with a little straw as long as that was
proearable.

Beaone-lft'BoIande, altogether, bad a woebegone appearance,
enveloped as it was in its mantle of snow and ice; for on
the evening of the 29th of November the weather suddenly
changed to frost. The baildiogs on the outskirts, loopholed and
CTMtdlated, were everywhere moAsd by ballets and partly
demolished by shell ; roofb were sadly in wont of repair, and
windows innocent of glass. Above iJl rose the church spire,
half shot away, so that it seemed wonderfkil that it still bore
itself erect ; while bat few tombstones in the small ehorehyard
were left standing or unbroken, for here also the fight had been
severe. Temporary graves with rouf^ wooden crosses to mai^
the spot, graves in which G«rman and Frenohman lay together,
all feelings of enmity gone, were plentiful around tiie village,
bat a white shroud of snow had long since hidden all other
evidence of the fierce fight which was fought here on the 28th
and 29th of November, 1670.

On the early morning of the former da; three brigades of

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192 SPORT AND TRAVEL PAPERS

the lOtb — CheTHum — Corps, imder General toq Toigfat-Bets,
were attacked by the vliole of the Frenoh 20tli and part of
the 18th Corps, under Anrellea de Faladioes, troops belonging
to Gambetta'a New Arm; of the Loire, with which the relief
of Paris wm to be aooompliBhed, so it was fondly hoped. Only
with the greatest difficoHy did the Genaans hold the village,
until, daring the afternoon, part of the dth and Ist In&ntty
Divisions came to the relief of the hard-pressed troops. Then
the Frenoh drew off nnder cover of the night, leaving on the
field more than 1,000 dead and woonded, and 1,500 prisoners
in the hands of the victors. The Germans, fearing a renewal
of the attack, took further steps to defend themselves in the
little town ; strong barricades and earthworks were thrown np
where streets opened into the country ; all ontboildings were
further loopfaoled, an ontlook plaoed in the ricke^ steefde,
while Uhlans, of oonrse, watched the enemy's movements.
Jn the meantime the French had retired to some low hills,
entrenehed themselves there, and were apparently content vrith
throwing an occasional shell into the town. The advent on
the 29th of farther German troops forced them, fighting, to
withdraw altogether in the direction of Orleans, which city
once again had a French -garrison, thanks to the strategical
retreat of the Bavarians.

When all was over, poor Beamie remained, a dilapidated,
severely stricken village, and evidence in abmidance of all the
horrors (tf war. All round the town lay the killed and vroonded
in pools of blood, coninsed heaps of dead and dying horees,
tentes d'dbria, cooking utensils, gon carriages, guns, rifles,
articles of clothing, <bo., &e., while the ground was deeply
scarred by shells, the s^pnents of which were sown thickly
everywhere. Parties of French prisoners were already on their
way to the rear, and surgeons and their staff searching every-
where among the heaps for those still alive. After a busy
time among those wounded which had already been bron^t
into the village, we went beyond the hooses, there where the
flght had been hottest, and a ghastly picture was here revealed.
It was taH moan, and almost as light as day. The Fnadk,
as they fell in their attempt to cany the village by st<»m,
lay actually in heaps, a horrible sight as the bright li^t lit ap
their white and blood-bespattered bees. A few had sought

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OHRISTMAS-TIME IN FOTTR CONTINENTS 193

Bhalter from the piflroing wind under some bosh, and tried to
reach theii woonds ; bnt although we examined all, none wen
still aliTe. Three Frenoh line battalions, recently arriTad from
Algeria — the 8id Zonavea, the 32nd, and 79tb — were the only
legnlar troops in Gambetta's New Army, whiah was, with these
exceptions, formed entirely of Qaardea Mobiles and Nationanx,
men who had never had any experience of real war. The
r^olar troops were therefore ordered to show, bo a woonded
Zooave told me afterwards, thdr rawer eomradea the way in
which a Tillage sfaonld be taken 1^ brare soldiers, uid nobly did
they obey their orders ; bat with the result that the whole
battalion of Zonaves was wiped oat, and the other two soffered
grioTons loss. Very plainly oonld this be proved on the groond.
Close to the faooses lay the Zonaves in heaps, then came the
dead 79th and 22nd, and after long intervals scattered Gnardes
Mobiles and Nationanx. Nobly indeed had the brave troops
set the example ; bnt, insufficiently sapported, their glorious
effort proved nnsnocessfal against stone walls and Prossian
fire.

Teiy hard work followed those days ; the wounded had to be
housed, attended, and fed, which, thanks to plentiful supplies
brought in the wagons, we were fortunately able to do.
Shortly afterwards the Germans sent their own wounded away,
and as their troops left the village for the second taking of
Orleans, the Frenchmen were handed over to our ambulance
altogether. Boon we were able to send convoys of them away
to hospitals further back, and when our Ghristmas dinner was
placed upon the table bnt few remained. Many of these
convoys of wounded prisoners have I taken, and a enriouB
experience some of tbsm proved. Thus, on one occasion we
left Beaune in ohai^ of five amhulanee wagons full of
woonded, with orders to leave them at Pniseaux. It was
already dark when I reported my arrival to the Oerman com-
mandant thoe, who, after telling me that every place was fiill,
ordered the convoy to be taken to Malesherbes and &iling
room tiiere to Fontainehlean. There being no way out of it,
I retomed to the wagons, which, to my horror, were empty;
the villagers, foil of pity, had in my absence taken their
woonded countrymen into various houses, there to regale them
with hot wine and bouillon. It was freezing hard and I was
U

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194 SPORT AND TRAVEL PAPERS

very nany for the poor ore&tnreB, bnt ordars were orden. Witii
the greAtest diffionl^, erer; obstacle being pnt in the way and
Tei7 bad l&ngnage osed at wh&t the temporal; hosts oonudered
downright inhumanity, the wonnded were collected and loaded
op onoe more into the cold and draughty wagons. Being
very anzione to retnm to the front as soon as possible, and
not to be sent still farther to the rear, I this time took pre-
eaations against a second mishap. A driver moouted on one
of the team horses was sent ahead with strict instractions to
go straight to the Maire of Malesherbes — where there was no
commandant — with the request that the aeoesaary accommoda-
tion might be ready on oar arriTal. This proved eacceasfal,
and the wonnded were soon comfortably housed. After the
Maire had receipted the list of wpnnded, we took the wagons
into the enormooe yard of an old-fashioned French coontry inn,
and rested the horses and refreshed ourselves with coffee.
Before daybreak we were on the road once more, with several
sacks of com which we had luckily been able to porchase from
the ohorming landlady.

Just after the second taking of Orleans I was sent to that
city to see whether room could be got there for our horses. It
was freezing hard and ice covered everything. On arrival I
rode into the courtyard of the largest hotel, and finding an
adjoining bam-like stable empty, tied up my horse there.
Enowing better by that time than to interview the landlord, I
went straight to his better half and stated my wishes. Sex
immediate response was a derisive lan^ ; " Oh, yes," she said,
"the stable is empty now, bot a PmssiaQ supply column is
expected and will fill it; it, as everything else, now belongs

to those Germans." She, however, gave me a huge loaf,

which I cut up and gave to my horse, who enjoyed it greatly.

After lunch at bMe d'hote, with a la^e party of German —
chiefly Bavarian — officers, I went for a walk in the town, and
on return, to my disgust, found my horse tied up outside and
the bam crammed with "train" horses. On complaiDing,
and explaining matters to the colonel, he had it pat back ai^
everything seemed right, until a little later the horse once more
stood shivering on the ice outside. Taught by experience,
I now got hold of the colonel's servant, who very soon discorded
an empty stall in his master's private stable. There the horse

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CHRISTMAS-TIME IN FOUR CONTINENTS 195

at last fbond en ondiBttirbed resticg-pUoe and squared matten
with the colonel hj doing himself tiioronghl; well oc his oats
daring the following twenty-four hoan.

How I thoroughly frightened and diBpersed the Town GonneU
of BbiB ie perhaps also worth telling : —

With orders to engage stahling for the horses, about 100
in number, of onr amhalaace, &d., 1 left Orleans for Blois soon
after noon on a very cold and snowy day. Snow lay thickly
everywhere and a long ride along that most depressing of all
roads, a French chaotic in winter, was not a pleasant prospect
fin my horse or me. We had started too late, the days tiien
were very short, and all chance of reaching Blois before night
was soon gone ; it was slow traTelling on the hard, frozen,
deedly mtted groond. Thanks to heavy snow olonds, night,
and a very dark one, oame on rapidly ; hoping, however, to find
some place to pnt up in we stumbled along, bat no lights
became visible anywhere. Presently, dose to the road, a hnge
bam loomed darkly and, any shelter being better than none,
I rode np to it and throngb the open door into the black
interior. The li^t of a match disclosed a vast empty space
and a floor deeply covered with straw. It certainly did not look
a v«7 comfortable quarter for a winter night, bnt there being
no choice I dosed the door and let the horse go to choose a
resting-place for himself; I did the same and was soon asleep
with straw and coat as bedding. Cold and hungry after an
apparently endless night, I barely awaited the first streaks of
dawn to continue my journey, and before noon entered Blois,
then one of the advanced posts of the German army. My
qnest for stabling for so many horses in a oi^ crammed fall
of troops was not likdy to be successful, yet the only way to
give it a chance was to explain matters to the Maire, and him
I found in session at the Mairie sarronnded by his coonciUors.
My request was received with derisive laugbtw — apparently all
their faonses were foU of the detested Prussian horses — but after
frutber conversation I was told of a bam on the other aide of the
Loire at Vienne, then empty bnt Ukely to be oooupied at any
moment by a German supply column. WiUi former experience
of these " trains " this information did not give maoh hope, still
it was the only cbtaoe.

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196 SPORT AND TRAVEL PAPERS

When about to leave the room, one of the ooonoillors uked
me abont the journey &om Orleans, and when told c^ my
qnarters of the night b^ore, he excitedly requested fiuthar
particulftm, and eveiybody else seemed atnmgely on the qui vice.
Wondering greatly I gave these, when with one aooord the City
Conncil jumped up as if horror-strack and made for the door.
Thinking that the people had suddenly gone mad, I shouted for
an explanation, and was given &om a distance the following
■olation of the riddle. The bam in which I had so peacefully
slumbered had only just been vacated by a large number ot
small-pox patients— heooe the bountiful supply of straw on the
floor which I had found so useful I

Small-pox then was raging along the Loire among the French
vomided, and my bam had been used as a temporary hospital.
It was a nas^ idea, and no wonder the oity fathers fled &om
me — but Aere were other things to think about than a possible
attadi of that terrible malady, and neither my horse nor I felt
any the worse in consequence.

Oats, so necessary for our horses, were very difficult to get ;
stores of them which still existed here and there in the country
were most oarefoUy hidden away in all sorts of ourioos places to
avoid a German requisition ; until fully convinced of one's mm-
Qerman nationality to ask for a grain was useless. It was
hidden in cellars, between double walls, in caverns, &o., 3te.
Even after repeated assurances that there really was nen-de-tout,
a good feed was often given to my horse but in the apron of the
landlady and the darkest corner of the stable into which no
uninvited eye could look. Articles of food, all drinks, live
stock, &c., were hidden before the German advance. In one
instance, to my knowledge, numerons bottles ftdl of the varions
carious liqueors, so dear to Frenchmen, were deeply buried in
the garden ot an inn. Shortly afterwards a German ourassier
noticing with his practised eye that the ground had lately been
disturbed, continued his researches and uncovered bottle after
bottle, greatly to his own delight, but not at all to that of the
landla^, who heaped every abase upon all ouirassiers in
particular and the whole German Army in general.

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OHEISTMAS-TIME IN POTJE OONTTNENTS 197

}i I AmBioA.

The ni^t of Deoember 28, 1888, proved a trying time for
those on board the Boy&l Mail steamer MoieUe, for the good
ship tnmbled aboat terribly on the Caribbean Sea to anger
roused by a strong north-east wind whioh had been blowing
steadily for some days. Poor MoteUe! Since then she has
been wrecked and now lies in peace below the waters nndis-
tnrbed by wind or weather.

Coming from Jamaica, we earned a laige nomber of coolies
on their way to labour at the Panama Cand. Deck passeiigers,
closely packed and railed off in the forepart of the ship, they were
indeed objeeta for pi^, for not only did Neptnne exact his feribote
in foil, bat they were wet to the skin firom spray and bine sea
whioh splashed frequently on board. The jonmey, however,
was then nearly over, for at ten next morning we arrired along-
side the wharf of Colon.

Oar first impression of Aspinwall was not a bTOnrable one,
nor indeed did it change for the better with farther expeiieuoe.
Everything was dir^ and fool, especially the yellow sea as it
washed against the filthy shore and filthier wharf, whereon stood
groups of ragged negro cooUm waiting for the agent to s^d
them in batches of ten to unload the vessel. The wooden
houses near the landing-place were built on piles over evil-
smelling swamps, the reoeptaolea of every variety of refuse from
the habitations above ; from the black mire rose large bubbles
of fool gases, and in it wallowed pigs and land tortoises, the
only scavengers of Colon, Although nose and eye were
everywhere met by evil smells and filthy refose, the ci^ was
very much en /He at this Christmas-time, and crowds of people
in their Sunday best had come to spend the hard-earned dollars
and celebrate to the full the holiday in this the nearest town to
the oanaL And what a crowd I All the Central and South
American Republics and the adjoining islands were here repre-
sented by the worst riff-raff from each, the whole collected by
offers of high wages for work on the deadly track of the Panama
Canal.

All had come now with the fiill intention to spend their money
gained by hardest toil and at constant risk vi death among the

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198 SPOET Airo TRAVEL PAPERS

terrible igthmns Bwamps in drinking shop and gambling hell,
of which the town seemed almost entirely composed. Bar ad-
joined bar, resplendent m night came on in it*ggling light
reflected by nomerona mirrors, all crowded with swarthy men
decked out in holiday attire, all armed and reckless, drinking,
gambling, qnarrelling, becoming more noisy and qoarrelsome
as eTsning went on.

At this festive season Colon, no doubt, looked its brightest
and best; the inhabitants and Tisitors tamed out in their
newest garments to see and to be seen, and to take the air in
the only respectable part of the town among the cocoa-palms
along the sea shore. Here, on the fashionable alameda stnitted
the sable ladies decked oat to their utmost satisfaction in every
shade of dazzling ooloor, truly goigeons, from marvellons hat
to dainty boot of golden bronze. Be-pluned and be-flowered,
head prondly thrown bach, they marched passed, ogling here,
and smiling there, vigorously bnning themselves all the while,
thorooghly well pleased with themselves and apparently well
content with all the world. Here, indeed, the ait &om Uie sea
direct was pnre, the only pore fating in all Colon.

Flags were flattering everywhere in the light wind, from the
ships in the harbour, the oonanls' hoases, and those of the many
shipping agents, the small lino of blae between broad stripes
of ydlow and red of the United States of Colombia being
natntal^ most conspicnons. Some nnkind people thus interpret
the colours of this flag : There is but a small chance of escape
from the tax greater chances of death from yellow fever, or
daring bloody revolation. Let those abandon hope who fall
into Uie hands of the soldiery here, for a more rufBanly-looking
lot than the Colombian men of war it would be impossible to
imagine, unless, perchance, the captive be able and willing to
pay handsomely for his release. The Minister of War appa-
E^tly has a standing contract with every old-clothes man in the
world for the supply of any cast-off uniforms to be picked up
anywhere, with a hat thrown in here and a boot there. No two
men are dressed alike, but they all have a cigarette between
theii lips and the same hungry, cnt-throat appearanoe. As a
means of awnning the crowd and reducing the population of
Colon, a mad bull was led into the main street, and, he not
liking the a^teaianoe of the ci^ and the people in it, made with

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CHRISTMAS-TIME IN FOUR CONTINENTS 199

the ntmoat celerity for the open conntiy, dragging the rope with
him and scattering the crowd in all directions.

Some holiday-makers in their terror songht the shelter of the
deep mud, others the raised trottoirs in front of the honses —
all had narrow escapes from the horns of the infuriated boll.
The scene afforded the greatest delight to the originators of this
noTel GhriBtmas entertainment, as also to those who were then
safe and able to langh at the comical spectacle presented by the
flying people.

As evening fell the streets became deserted, and probably
unsafe ; bat bars and gambling houses blazed in light, and were
crowded with thirty sools, all anzioos to spend their dollars
with the least possible delay. Noisy and noisier became the
saloons ; songs became yells aooentoated now and then by a
pistol-shot, as we sat on the deck of the steamer after oar Christ-
mas dinner on board, and continaed probably long after we had
retired for the last time to onr comfortable beoths on the MoteUe.

Evidence in plenty of the last night's orgie met na next
morning as we walked to the depdt of the Panama Railway to
make inqoiries about the trains to the Pacific side. We found
the station boilding and saw the cars on the rails which raided
shedless and ongoarded in the middle of the street. Bnt not
a living soul conld we discover anywhere to give ns the necessary
information. We searched the depdt eveiywhere, np and down
stairs, but all in vain, nntil at last, prcijecting beyond some com
sacks piled np in a comer of the npper floor, we espied a black
foot. Delighted at onr discovery, my companion and I after a
short oonsoltation got hold of the foot regardless of a probable
revolver behind the sacks, and pulled so sncoessfiilly that at last
the black foot was followed by a black man. He had only just
recovered sofflciently from his Christmas night's entertunment
to use some very vigorous langoage, bnt his eyes still refused
to open and &ce Uie daylight. Certain donbts as to the
advisability of crossing the isthmns on that day passed across
oar minds; if all the railway employees were in the aame
condition as oar ezhamed station official it aagnred badly for
oar trip across the swamps.

As the ship, however, was to leave the same day, and hotel
life in Colon did not offer snffioient charms for a prolonged stay,
we made ap oar minds to risk the jonmey. After a certain

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200 8F0BT AND TBAV&L PAPEBS

amount of trouble our bftggag« was passed through the Custom
House and taken to the depdt to be weighed. To eooape the
trouble of procuring change, onr station friend was quite content
to take five dollars instead of the six originall; ohargod for over-
weight. Although the train to Panama was crowded, m;
companion and I were the only passengers who paid the reoog-
nised fare — 26 dollars ; the fiict that we bad done so created
some amusement among onr fellow travelleis. Most of them
had paid the ooudnctor five dollars to let them off without a
ticket, while the others had joined the trun a mile outside
Colon, and only paid half the legal fare — at least, Bo we ware
told. Poor strangers in a foreign land — ^poor shareboldenil

rv. AnuoA.

Christmas Day in 1684 was spent on the banks of the Nile,
on that wonderfdl rirer which is as wide at Khartoum as at
Cairo, 1,600 miles awa; or more, running its course sluggishly
between sandy banks through stony deserts, except here and
there, where interfered with by rooks which ti; to bar the way,
it rashes swiftly and foams in anger. Stimetimes the few hntB
of a village are reflected in its muddy waters, now and then a
magnificent rain, but little affected by that pure desert air, wdl-
preaerred monuments through all the ages of the greatness of
former empires. Nothing else but these and fringes of date-
palms does Nature offer to our eye already so wearied by deaert
plains apparently endless and sandy hills, as we slowly ascended
the mighty river in our way, vid Ehorti to Khartoum, the
longed-for goal of everybody taking part in the Nile Eiqtedition
of 1884-66.

On this Christmas morning I had reached with my oamels,
carrying a part of the advanced field hospital, a point where it
beouue necessary to cross the Nile to a place called Bhabadood
on the left bank, about 1,000 miles south of Cairo. There to
my great delight I fbnnd temporarily encamped the Camel
Bemount Depot commanded by a brother ofBoer, a disooveiy
which promiaed a cheery Christmas evening. But m; camels,
men and ba^^e, had first to be got over to the other side,
for which purpose two country boats composed of palm planks

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OHBISTMAS-TIME IN FOUR CONTINENTS 201

luhed together were placed at my diapoBal. The shipmmt
of the camels proved no eaay matter ; gentle persaasion with
endearing epithets foiling to touch their heart, the Aden boys
had to drag and push them down the banh by main force and
then into the boats whieh were just large enongh to take three
at a time. Once in the boat the animals were mode to lie down
at right angles to the luel, two facing one way, the head of the
third in line with the tails of the others. The work was
attended by a good deal of swearing, spitting, biting, and
groaning on the part of the camels, and by thoronghly forcible
language on that of the men, bat the boats, bowever frail they
DO doabt were, did their daty wall, and before the aim set in its
desert glory the detachment was across without mishap.

Beyond the fringe of palms the depAt oameb, several hondred
in number, were picketed in long lines; a very intareating
spectacle, now when they were sleek and well fed and well
tended. All their hard work was to come ; exoesaive hardships,
added to severe privations daring the desert marches, caused
the death of almost all of them.

Full arrangements for the Christmas dinner had already been
nude, and when at last the supreme moment came six hungiy
people sat down at a table improvised of various boxes and of
anything upon which a plate could be put. The place next to me
remained vacant for some time, but presently the belated guest
approoobed with stately step and proud bearing, dork as a
native and clad in the long white spotless robes of a Moor.
My misgivings as to possibility of anything beyond the slightest
eoDvarsation with my neighbour were rapidly dispelled, for to
my surprise he wished us good evening in p^ect English.
It was Abdnl-Eodir, then a well-known personage, on English-
man by birth but really a Moor, for most of his life had been
passed in Morocco. Being thorot^^hly at home in the Arab
language and cuBtoms be had been sent up the Nile to get
letters through to Qotion, which be sQccessfdlly accomplished.
He proved on farther acquaintance a veiy interesting personage
and a cheerful companion on the long marches as be rode his
bigh-dasB cornel escorted by several negroes armed with the
long Arab spear and various other weapons. We saw a great
deal of him afterwards, especially near Matemmah on the other
side of the Bayoda desert, but on the return of the Expedition

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802 SPORT AND TRAVEL PAPERS

he saddenl; diB&ppeared, mTirdered witbont a doubt by hifl
attendants for the money he waa well knovn to have aboat him.

We had a very cheeiy al-freBeo dinner under the date-palms
and the gloriooB desert sky, crowning the feast with a Ghristmaa
pudding specially prepared by a soldier serrant, a feat on which
he greatly prided himself. After a little whiskey, which in
some mysterions manner had found its way np here, and tobaooo
of course, we retired to rest. Bat the pudding proved too much
tot mine ; a most vivid nightmare disturbed my slumben, a
nightmare many times repeated, in which I rode a monstrOTia
oamel, certainly not less than 60 feet high, along the \ofby
bank of the Nile which ran glittering in the moonbeams far,
£u- below. The camel, not content with its usual steady
pace, swayed to and &o like a ship in a beam sea, and every
moment a sudden descent into the cool waters seemed more
than probable. It was truly a terrible night, and never shall
I forget the plnm-pndding, or rather the consequences of my
Christmas dinner in 1882. It is sincerely.to be hoped that the
recipe of that pudding is lost for everl

We all were more or less overcome next morning, but ill or
well the day's march had to be done and the distance lessened
to Khorti, the place of araembly and of starting to cross the
terrible Bayuda desert.

Two other Christmas Days were passed in Africa, one north
of the Equator, the other south. The former was in 1881, when
a friend and I made a good march through very arid bumt-up
country and among sterile moontains along the dry bed of the
Baraha River en route from Snakim to the borders of Abyssinia.
Late in the afternoon we unloaded the camels near a disused
well dug in the sandy river-bed ; the water was very scarce and
terribly fonl, the taste of which neither tea, coffee, nor cocoa
could remove; we had, however, plenty of gazelle meat, so
everybody was content. Our own dinner oonsUited of antelope
Bonp and chops, gazelle liver, and a plum-pudding, which had
been brought from England specially for this night. And then
into the blanket, to sleep under the deep-blue sky illuminated
by myriads of the most brilliant stars which spaitied through
the feath^ foliage of the beautiful camel thorns under which
we slept.

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0HRI8TMA8.TIHE IN FOITB CONTINENTS 203

The other in 1889, when at the last hotel on our road sp to
Matabeleknd a Christinas diimer was given by the landlord
to all his gnests. It was a terj festive dinner with speeches
and toasts in pleu^, followed by a more than festive evening
and night, during whioh the eohoes of the little town were
severely tested and certain property grievonaly injured.

byGoogIc

XXI

NO LUCK

1896

MOOSB.

IN the hope of beating my moose head of last year, we, I with
two half-breed hont^rs, had made a temporary home in what
had onoe been the blaokamitfa's shop — the least dilapidated Ic^
shanty of an old Inmber camp is the Canadian forest. The
Borroanding bash, long eince despoiled of all pines of market-
able size, no longer echoed with the sound of the axe ; fresh
" limits " were now being worked farther and foither away, new
camps had sprung np where formerly only the hnnter or trapper
passed, and the old homes of the logger were left to their fate.
A few of the old shanties were still nsed as stables or stores on
the line of oommonioation and kept in some sort of repair, but
the majority, left to their fate, had soon become unfit as places -
of abode. The hage pine and cedar logs of which the shanties
are oonstroeted of coarse withstand the ravages of wind and
weather for an almost unknown time, bat the moss with which
the interstioes were secnrely filled soon loosens and falls oat,
particularly from the roof, when rain and melting snow find
ready ingress.

No doubt ours was the best shuity in that camp ; about
20 feet square, it had a door which required repair badly and
soon got it ; a paneless window which was at once covered with
boards and closed ; a lai^e 6 feet by 5 hearth of earth at
one end, with a 4 feet by 4 hole in the roof above it. At
first the place did not look particnlarly inviting, bnt a broom
made from the scrub whioh grew around more or less cleansed

byGoogIc

NO LTJOK 205

(he b^ floor, while a huge fire qoickl; kindled showed every-
thing in R more &Toiirftble light.

Snow ftnd ice having made canoes naeless we coold only get
feB far away from the railway as b hired eleigh woold take as ;
althongh I miBtnutdd the oonntry &om previons experience my
.men tiionght well of it and were glad to give it a trial. A
terrible disooreiy awaited as on nnpacking onr kit — cooking
utensils, drinking-oapB, and plates had all been left behind, and
left where they were altogether out of reach 1 Knives and forks
were also absent, but we all carried the former and after all
fingers were invented before the latter came into ase. Cold,
hungry, and tfairs^ after oor march in the snow things boked
serions; we had stores in plen^ bat nothing to make tham
eatable and drinkable. A thorongh search through the other
shanties and the immediately surrounding sorub was rewarded
by the fortnnate discovery of a long since discarded cast-iron
bean pot vrith a gaping crack across the bottom, another pot,
of tin this time, fbrtonately entire, and a washhand basin
which wonld then have been most osefol as a sieve. The
former, the bean pot, was the most valsable find ; by tilting it
on to one side it tamed oat most fragrant dishes of poA and
bacon, while as a means of baking bread it was nnrivalled.
The tin vessel made oor tea while we drank out of another
lucky find — an old jam pot — while the damaged tin washhand
basin quickly repaired with the aid of a ballet and resin did
doty in various usefnl ways. This part of our outfit was, .
however, soon perfected by the addition of a fiTing-pan, tea-
kettle, and caps, by knives and forks borrowed from a lumber
depAt, the nearest habitation to us. Boards and planks from
the long-deserted bunks in the adjoining shanties were con-
verted by ns into more or less comfortable bedsteads, into
tables and stools, and thns in a very short time onr house
presented a most home-like appearance, more particularly in
the evening when a gigantic fire blaeed on the hearth, warming
and illuminating the whole interior.

When after a long day's hunt in the snow-laden forest we
retained tired and with soaking clothes, the latter were soon
exchanged for dry ones, and suspended in pictnrMique varie^
from the beams of the roof ; the kettle fonnd its way on to the
burning logs ; baoon presently spluttered in the frying-pan, and

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206 SPORT AND TKAVEL PAPERS

thinga -nrj qoicUy wore a oheerinl aspect. The IndianB
prefetred to dry their garments on the body — partly beoanse
thc^ bad no change — ^by sitting close to the fire, almost hidden
in a olood of HtouQ ; Inokily for me the latter had a free and
nnimpeded exit throogh the large hole in the roof. Snppra
orer, and the elaborate " eerrioe " washed and cleaned ready
for the morning, the Indians lit their pipes, chatted in
Algonqoin, and played " spoilt five " on tbe bnnh, where they
afterwards slept in the olosest proximity between two blanheta,
dreaming, no donbt, of the happy bnnting-grotmds where all
fdr-bearing animals are pleutiiol, and pork, tobacco, and mm
are to be had for the asking. Until we had a sudden thaw,
nshered in with heavy rain, onr roof seemed perfect, bnt now
tbe water ponred in ereiywhere like through a sieve, and bonted
OS from place to place in sean^ of some spot less wet than
another. A heavy snowfoU, followed by a sharp frost, however,
came presently to onr assistance, and made the roof once more
as a respectable roof shonid be, bat spoilt for a time all chance
of tracking moose. We wanted fresh soft snow or rain, with
plenty of wind, and not the noisy crost which now overlay the
gronnd everywhere. Beveral other nnfortnnate cironmHtanoes
combined to make this trip a total tailnre as ftz m moose were
conoemed. The honter, Francois, who had proved so valnable
the year before, and who was now again engaged, bad taken to
drink jost before he was wonted, and, after e^terimenting on
tbe relative strength of an axe handle and his wifo's head, the
former winning easily, had songbt the retirement of the bnah,
and was nowhere to be found. The half-breed — Joe — ^who was
with me two years ago, a very indifferent banter, had to take his
place, and brongbt a friend as cook. The former was not worth
his two dollars a day, but the latter — Frank — proved, thongh
surly and bad-mannered to a degree, an excellent ehef. His
fifiatch-oooked partridge, broiled on a stick in front of the fire,
vras excellent, only to be beaten by a salmi of the same bird
i I'ogwm et an lard, prepared most artiatioally in our treasured
iron pot, tilted on one side as osnal. He, the cook, had looted
a po^etfiil of carronts somewhere on the way op, and these he
now and then ir^rodnced into the bread, bat»d to perfection in
that truly wimderfiil bnt sadly-cracked ntenoil. It was now
November, and although the large lakes and nmning creeks

^cbvGooglc

NO LUCK 207

were not yet frozen orer, the timbcx glide of the sdjoiniiig
lamber dsm wm heavil; coated with ice, and adorned with long
fringes of gigantio idolee. Snow bad fidlen, slightly thawed
and then frozen, making silent walking impossible ; the crost
broke underfoot, and the nnderlying leaves gave a hollow sonnd
to be heard a long way. A hea^ fall of snow soon afberwards
made the woods exceedingly beantifiil in their winter garb, bnt
Tery bad walking ; insnffioient for SDOw-shoes it yet bid every
obataole, and caused frequent &Ub, many bnuses, and mnob
bad language, while the powdery snow fell in dense showers
npon us as we forced oar way through the balsam thickets. It
was not by any means easy work this search after the ooyeted
moose head. Starting before daybreak always, while the stars
yet shone in the deep-bine heavens, and retnming only with
dusk ; ooDstantly slidhig and slipping abont, never certain of
onr foothold, snow fitUing down onr backs and filling our
pockets, it was no wonder tbat we were tired on arrival at onr
shanty, and glad to rest in the warm ^ow of tfae huge
log fire.

Exceeding stiUness reigned in these woods, bnt rarely broken
by perhaps a ravm's hoarse cry, or a partridge startled by oar
approadi from its shelter nnder a balsam bnsh, or the twitter
of a fiunily of blae tits eagerly searching for food. Most other
birds bad long sinoe left for the south.

Alas, no bull moose could we find; there were a few nn-
interesting tracks of cow and oalf hat, as my banter said, " all
too dam small." Moose were beginning to "yard" and oo
doabt difiScult to find, they did not now move about much
and were probably hidden in some dense balsam or cedar brake.
We, therefore, extended onr bips in anoth^ direction and
eventually found Qie tracks of a \Ag bull near a very dilapidated
shanty several miles distant from oar oamp. Too late to
follow them at once we determined to shift our belongings next
day in order to get more within reaeh of the coveted moose ;
but before our intention could be carried out a wagon arrived
loaded with oamp kit, two American hunters and their men,
the whole oatfit bound for " the shanty 1 " Of course we coold
say or do nothing, could only growt, and etiquette forbade oar
going near their ground. All chance of the hoped-for mooee-
skin gone, my hnnters used language sufficient to carl the hair

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208 SPORT AND TRAVEL PAPERS

of « brass idol ; it woa no good, howerer, we had to remain
where we were and try the old ground once again. At last
we gave it up in sheer despair, we did not want cows or
oalTds, and ballfl there were cone — the bant was a^jo™^^ ^
a year.

The Amerioans did get a moose, bnt not a bnll, only a
wretohed troidiyless cow I With my loeal hnntars I shonld
probably hare done better than they did with their States
trackers, new to the woods and new to the noble moose. At
all erents let me hope so.

byGoogIc

NO LUCK (continued)

1806

Caszboo

" TITOODMEN report cariboo plentafnl " was the pith of a
VY telegram reoeived from the BOTith-eaatem end of Canada
inx>per, which finally decided me to try that eonntt; in prefer-
ence to another north of the St. Lawrence, which had also been
Bnggcsted as a hnnting-gTotuid b; friends in Montreal. A
twenty-four hours' joomey by train brought me to BimonBki on
the Oalf ; it had been snowing heavily and freezing hard after-
warda, bo that the drive next morning to Father Point li^thonse
was a Teiy cold one and rough also in conseqnence of the snow-
drifts. Thence to St. Anneclet, one of those straggling Tillages
which join others in a string all along both shores of the St.
Lawrenoe River uid G-ulf — ^villages composed of wooden farm-
booses on small fenced-in patches of land, with a piotnreeqae
dinrch and priest's honse attached every nine miles. I pat ap
temporarily in qnest of sapplies at the honse of a well-to^o
&rmer, a French Canadian, of coarse ; be spoke a little English
and had consented to be my gnide and cook. The ground floor
of all these hoases consists of a day room into which open the
slewing apartments of the family, in this case consiflting of
eight. There was a large stove which also did the cooking, a
barrel of drinking-water with tin cap suspended above in one
comer, while highly coloured advertisement placards, a cmoiflz,
holy water, a rosary and pictares of saints adorned the walls.
Here we eoUeoted sapplies while the wife prepared an ample
repast of ezc^loit pancakes, and the more or less aromatic
19 „

bjGoogIc

210 SPORT AKD TRAVEL PAFEBS

ohildren stared at the Btmnger, insiBtiiig on exAmiiuBg his clothes
and baggage and anoceeding in making themselTeci generally
objectionable. The rooma, thanks to the hot store, the mass of
homani^ in it and the tightly^olosed windows and doors
became very Btnff^ and almost imbeaiably hot, so that when
about 6.80 the aleigb arrived I waa delighted to make a start
for the home of my bmiter that was to be, aome miles fortbei
inland. The sleigh trsTelled well on that still, beantifol eremng,
the bright moon lighting ap the pretty snow-oovered woodland
coonby and it seemed ail too soon when we stopped at Mr.
Briasou'a house, where, although unexpected, we were hospitably
reoeived by that bmons hnnter, by his wife and his nine children.
I may here state that the prond father of twelve is farther re-
warded by a generous Government with the free gift of 100
acres of land, and hope that my friend will soon be able to pot
in hia claim and thereby enlarge the extent of his property.
The usual aromatioally sta% and most trying atmosphere
markedly paraded this house also, crowded u it was by a
namerooB and not very olean^ family. Two small da^
chambers opened into the day room, in one comer of which
stood a large bedstead and at first it seemed a puzzle where all
woold find a resting-place for the night When the time came
the riddle was solved; the old>foshioned spinning-wheel and
weaving frame, whereon the homespun garments of the family
are made, had to make room for various matbeasea and blankets.
Into and on to these the yoongatera crept, the elder boys dis-
appearing into the loft, while the old people and the youngest
baby, the ninth, retired into the fiunily bed in the comer, after
I had been hospitably shown into the adjoining atate apartment,
cleared now of its asual occupant or oocnpants, the eldest
daughters no doubt. It was almost filled with a large bedstead
which at once inspired me with great miagivings; along the
wall were suspended various articles of female af^taiel bdonging
probably to the young ladies who now were mixed up in hope-
less confusion with other members of the family on the floor
next door. I did not dive into that mysteriona bed but covered
it carefully with a latge waterproof, then lying upon it wraj^ted
in an overcoat I blew out the candle and awaited events. To
my delight nothing disturbed my slumbers until called at 4 a.m.
to take my place at the breakfast-table, which I found supplied

byGoogIc

NO LUOK 211

with Bxoallent bread, prak, and tea sweetened with serHpiagfl
from B brick of maple sngar, the onl; sngar used in these
districta. The sap is collected from the maple-trees in the
Bpiiog in birch-bark pans, afterwards evaporated and the result-
ing sogar placed into moulds, in which it becomes hard and
brick-like in shape. It is Tery sweet and cheap, ten cents a
pound, and 8,000 cnts into the trees produce 400 pounds of
sugar. Monsieur Brisson, the best hunter, it was said, in the
district, haring agreed to follow my fortones, we left in our
sleighs long before daybreak for the shanty owned by a fishing
dob some miles distant, and well within the bush. French
was now the language spok^i, but somehow the Gallic tongue
has not the troe ring of sport about it The men talked aboat
"gibier," and the word "gibier" reminded so strongly of the
(hruBbes and small song-birds stalked by the gunner on the
vineyards and was so suggestive of blasts ftom some cor-de-
ehaite encircling the green-ooated and hunting-capped ohasseur
of la belle France. The men were anxious to bring a consider-
able quantify of rope, and when asked who this was intended
for, replied that here it was the custom to catch cariboo in
nooses arranged in the forest paths and to shoot the poor beasts
when struggling half-choked in those ghastly snares I Needless
to say we did not take the rope, bat dozens of deer-catching
contrivances did we find only wanting a noose to be complete.

After a very rough drive over bush-roade, with insufBcient
snow, we arrived at the picturesquely sitnated shanty built close
to a small lake, surrounded by dense fir and cedar woods.
Occupied every season by the members of a fishing — trout —
club, our future home was in excellent repair and proved very
comfortable indeed. In it we fbund four bonks and a useful
cooking stove; we borrowed, without asking the owner's per-
mission, various cooking, drinking and eating utensils, and with
bedding onpacked and placed in the cots, fire lit and bacon
frizzling in the pan, felt very soon thoroughly at home. As in
all snoh shanties, a bag of tea, another of flour, a box of
mateheB, and in this case a pack of cards also, hung from a
beam. Should a supplyless wanderer belated or lost in the
woods strike the hut, he would at once be able to make a flre,
tea and bread, and, if not alone, to finish up with a game of
cards.

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812 SPORT AND TRAVEL PAPERS

We hnnted throng that boBh every day from morning to
Digftit in Hie hope of finding oariboo. We visited nmneroos
froeea lakes, trosting to see them feeding on theii fitvoiirite
moBS, which grows close to the edge ; we went to all plaoet
where cariboo were said to have been plentifiil lately, and where,
aooording to the hunters, they ought to roam in herds now, bnt
nothing oonld we find. The total alwenoe of this, said to be
■0 oonunon, animal pnuled the men greatly — they oonld not
make it ont at all — it was traly extraordinary I It is very
disappointing this tramping aboat all day long and seong
nothing, not even old tracks mnch leas new ones, and so tiring ;
there is no excitement to make one fbrget &tigae, no Btimnlns
to torn on a fresh supply of nervous force. So raffling to one's
temper, too, to have it constantly dinned into one's ears Uiat the
game has never been known absent before, as if now it vren
elsewhere with the sole and only porpose of grieronaly anni^nng
yon.

We tried oar best, stnmbling and slipping about all and
every day in the snow; we crossed innumerable lakes all
snnoonded by dense bu^ where apparently the men mpe^eA
to find cariboo skating parties, and altogether we wasted no
time, but the game was no doubt &r, far away. Following
immediately behind the hunter I fervently hoped that no puff
of ur would blow from him to any cariboo whose nose might be
within reach, for that would immediately have been &tal to
any chance of a shot. One day he saddenly became very restless
and ft new odour of a struigely eompound nature stronf^y
pervaded the air ; with a cry he planged a hand into his
tronser pocket and drew forth a smouldering mass of misoel-
laneous articles, among which I can now only recollect seeing
a pipe, matches irttieh had oau^t fire, biscuit, tobacco, string,
a fishing-line and hook, a knife and a rosary.

We returned every evening very disappointed to onr com-
fortable shanty, and after sapper the men played cards with
0^ matches as prises ; a glass of hot grog finished the day.
Mr. BrissoD, who suffered daily from violent cramps in the
•tranaoh, due, no doubt, to frequent dran^ts of ice-water when
hot, at last gave it up as hopelera ; he declared that " la diasae
an cariboo est de la coohonnerie; ils en sont pas." We pat
our traps upon the jumper and returned trophyless to the

byGoogIc

NO LITCE 213

nilwa;. I was not in Inok'a my this year, that had baoome
veiy «ndent, and it would have been difficult to pietare m;
diqi;nat when on retam to Montreal I was Bhown six magnificent
flariboo heads jnat shot by a par^ in the veiy district which I
had given np for one considered by the cognoscenti to be the
better of the two I Thia was indeed bitter — so bitter that I
reeoiTed to try no more bat to hope for better lock next year.

byGoogIc

YVTn

WOODCOCK m IBELAKD

1896

" TF we conld onl; get some snow on those monntaiiw " vas
J- the wish expreeeed nightly &s we took our oandlesticks
to retire to roost. It was December in Southern Ireland, and
we were keen after woodcock. The most charming and favonr-
ably sitoated coverts and woods were there in abnndanoe, offer-
ing sedaotiTe seoliuion and ondistorbed midday rest to those
most " sporting " of birds, which indeed were in the country,
but scattered among the heather all over the mountains. We
wasted snow and frost instead of the osnal warm, wet, wetter,
wettest weather that bad prevaOed hitherto, which made even
the trees look wet through, and drove with its perpetoal " drip "
all birds oat of the woods. Snow fittm the monntain-tops to
the npper fringe of the coverts on their slopes was reqoired,
and earnestly wished for, to concentrate the birds into the
bosh, but none came, alas ! until the very day we had to leave.
Hard fate I and harder still, for the same thing had happened
two years ago. As onr train ran northward among those snow-
capped mountains, we looked longingly at the coverts and
thought of the shivering cook crowded there together for warmth,
and bemoaned our lack that we should no more bear the beater's
" hi ! ooflky-cock-cock 11" or see the glorious birds flash like
lightening across the all too narrow rides, or dart, the vision
of a moment, among the trees and bashes. To walk gun in
hand along these rides on the mountain-side while the men
are beating the woods is most enjoyable, especially on clear,
frosty mornings, whioh, however, were few and ht between.
The foot sinks de^ly into the soft carpet of bright green moss

:,zcc;..C00gIc

WOODCOCK IN IRELAND 215

uid BlLort gnsB utd ailTer-gn^ liobdn, thiokl; strewn with light
brown larch needleB; the whole sparkling in the sun as his
rays oatch the thawing frost. On each side larch plantations
or ooTerts of jonag oak, birch, and beech, now mostly bare
in their winter oakediieBs, from which stand ont in pleasing
relief bright green holly coTered with red berries, yoong Bpracea,
golden flowered gorse, fir and pine-trees. In the larch planta-
tions the ground is yellow with a thick layer of needles, patches
of cover of brambles and other shmbs flonrish here and there ;
in the oorerts a dense tmdergrowth of heather, bracken, broom,
and blaeberry bosh offers a warm shelter to woodcock —
"pheessnt," aa the Scotch keeper called it — or rabbit. Bnll-
flnohes and tomtits were very nnmerons in these woods, and
probably at home here for the winter. Above, the monntain-
top, now alas t without snow, below, a very extensive landscape,
a network of high banks enclosing very small gram fields ; here
and there a rnined aastle half hidden by a curtain of trees, and
fium^rs' cottages all coloared white and heavily thatched.

What stniok a visitor most when driving to and from the
Bhooting-gronnd was the small size of the fields, the great width
of the hnge fences dividing them and consequent loss of gronnd —
probably of no conseqaence here ; the never &iling position of
the cabin at the immediate foot of the mountain-slope, one end
being generally built into it, in a spot where all moistore must
infallibly drain into it ; the deep mire and foul slush, the home
of wallowing pigs immediately in front of the door, and the
extreme ugliness, the dir^, unkempt and poverty-stricken ap-
pearance of the people, who probably would not be happy under
any other oircumHtances.

The car rattled over the road which had lately been patched
in squares by means of stones thrown into the holes, passing
small two-wheeled donkey carts driven by women wrapped in
daik-browtt shawls, who, by dint of violent tugging at the
animal's month, aided by voice and stick, managed to get the
mooh maligned creature slowly along; the latter obstinately
preferring the wrong to the right side of the road. In the
morning the carts carried milk for the town creameries; on
their return journey buttermilk for the family and its beloved
pigs; while the men were at work on the moontain cutting
gotse to be afterwards chopped np and mixed with hay as food

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216 SPORT AND TRAVEL PAPERS

for eattle. Bawthoms, hea^; laden with red berries, grew
abncdaDtl; on the stone-faced banks along the road, and gorse
with golden Sowers; geese and dnoks waddled about in the
paddles and ditches; donkeys and oattle picked np what the^
oonld in the bare fields, while hobbled goats took their chanee
I7 the road-side.

The hindqaarters of onr ou horse were safely kept down
by the heaviest struts probably ever tamed ont of a saddler's
shop, bat those hinder parts were very nimble, had proved very
expensiTO in oars, and great agility, skill, and time were
required to properly adjust the ponderoos kicking-strap. When
onoe B&fely within the shafts, the animal had a rough time;
it was constantly whipped beeanse when cantering it did not
trot, and when trotting it did not canter, and treated to frequent
refreshen by violent tugs at the mouth. So, perhaps, its
decidedly e^ressed objection to the shafts was not altogether
incomprehensible. After escaping Tarioos dangers by road,
from roving pigs and hobbled goats and obstinate donkciys, we
at last arrived at onr destination and were received by the
Scotch keeper, attended by a wild-looking lot of native betters.
They were excellent men for this pnipose, however, and worked
willingly and well through the very thick coverts, undeterred
by brambles or gorse, stimulated, no doubt, by the certain and
glorious prospect of the Saturday night carouse with the mon^
earned by beating during the week. Porter, here the &vonrite
and universal drink, unlimited, or at all events snffieient in
quantity to make Paddy ineomparably happy, is the jost reward
tar work performed in the woods and among the heather. When
at last homeward bound from the shebeen, over roads which
move about unsteadily, are curiously rough and singularly con-
fssing by their number, and on treacherous knees which refuse
to oany so much extra wei^t, a body thus contented can
hardly be blamed if be stops short and follows the example
of his friend, the woodcock — source of all his enjoyment — and
hides among the ferns and soft surroundings of the nearest
ditch. He has thoroughly enjoyed the day's sport and his
beloved porter in the beershop at night, and, like a true sports-
man, is anxious and ever ready for more. Even the yoongaters
are very fond of sport, as the following incident will show.
Certain oovette were being beaten on a very mis^ morning;

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WOODOOOE IN IBELAND 217

a Ud from & neigliboiiniig oabin, who hod been looking on from
a distanoe, enddenly ruBhed up in Tiolent ezoitement to one
of the guns posted on the road, and pointed with great glee at
two men of the Boyal Irish Constabnlaiy who wore jnst emerg-
ing fr^im the mist. Intense longing written in his food, the
bo; exclaimed in an imploring whisper, " HaTe-at-em, SorrI
Havo-at-em, S<»t II" So glorioos an opportonity of bagging
two of the police to be thrown away was surely very hard and
no doabt a great blow to Hub Irish yoath, who retired dis-
■jipointed and took no farther interest in so low a form of
sport as woodcock shooting. In former days a good many
individnala, objeotionable to others, were ramored in this part
of the conntiy — not perhaps in the most "sporting" manner,
bat by stalking the game in the evening when alone and beyond
help from behind walls, banks, or hedges. The hooses of the
Tiotims now stand empty and &1I rapidly to rain ; no one will
lire in them, as the restless ghosts of the murdered are known
to Tiait their former abodes at night, natorally provided with
li^ts to avoid sharp oomers no doabt, and rotten floors.
Teoantless they are, and tenantleBS they will remain, memorials
of a time when landloid-shooting vras considered the king of
sports.

Nothing oan compare with woodcock shooting if the birds
are plentifol. Whui lying ont in the open heather, or low
scrab on the moantain or plain, as they do in warm weather,
they are easy enough to hit; but it is a very different affair
if oook are Sashed in thick and high coverto such as larch,
when they dart swiftly across the ride, unseen ontil high over
the gunner's head; or when rising in the more open woods,
among o&k, birch or beech, laureds and hoUy, they flit and
sigzag about, and generally succeed in putting the first tree
b^ween themselves and the gun. Shoot, however, and quickly,
it does not matter through how many trees, a pellet or two
may reatdt the bird, and it is easily killed. If you don't, the
bag at the end of the day will be light indeed.

It seems marrellons how qniokly a woodoock is on the wing
and at fall speed, twisting and turning ahont in a most be-
vrildering manner, among trees and foliage, however thick.
Its agility become more easily onderatood if we weigh the
bird and measore th« spread of his great wings. The former

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818 SPORT AND TRAVEL PAPERS

wBB fonnd to be 13} ozb., the Utter 26 inchea. A wild pheasant
shot on the same day, also a faBt-flying bird, as many people
have experieoced, gave the foUowing proportionB : Weight,
2 Iba. 15 osB. ; spread of wings, 80 inches. Tfans the latter,
although nearly foor times the weight, has wings bat little
larger than the former. The swift perplexing movements and
Taniahing power of the' woodoook are, therefore, not to be
wondered at.

Then, on the monntain-Bide, onlesB the light be very good,
a woodcock is not by any means an easy bird to see, bo
wondofiilly do the markings on and the general oolonring of
his ooat agree with the antnmn and winter tints of the aenb
orer which he flies. The formation and colour of the dead
bracken leaf almost exactly match the markings on the wood-
cot^'a wings and back; the dead pale browmgh-gr^ flowais
of the heather, the nnderparta of the body and wings ; while
dead leaves, heather scnib, bare twigs and dead grass make
np a backgronnd bo protectiye to the bird that a miss becomes
more exoasable than would at first eight appear. To find a
dead bird in each surroundings without a dog is almost im-
possible. To bag a woodcock in rides, cut through woods and
corerts, especially when the trees are high on both sides,
affords more satis&ction than success in any similar sport.
The surroundings are delightfo], one is always on the qui vice;
skill and quick shooting, and last, but not least, luck are
urgently required.

Thanks to the warm climate of this part of Ireland, the
moisture — if a stronger term wonld not be more appropriate —
and consequent term " softness of ground," and easy access to
an unlimited supply of worms, a great many woodcock stay
altogether, make apologies for nests almost anywhere, and
rear their four young. If later on the young brood be disturbed,
the mother Aim away with one of her little ones held with her
legs firmly against the body, while the others run into any corcor
near, keep so quiet and hide tfaemselTes so effectually, that to
disooTei their whereabouts is a most difficult task. In July
these home-birds disappear — 1896 was an exception to the
general rule — where to, is not known, returning in October to
tiieir old haunts. The big flights from the west travelling
probably vi& the Oitoeys, Shetlands, and HeDrides, aiiiTe on

byGoogIc

WOODOOOE IN IRELAl^D 219

the west eoftst of IreUnd in NoTamber. Gomiiig from the east,
they pass Heligoland in la^e nombers, but are much mora
abtmdant in the antonm. . If the weather is warm and calm,
with light sooth-eaaterly to Bontberl; winds and is snooeeded
by a stiff north-weeter, a great flight of woodcock is probable,
in which case the migration hosts are evidently onexpectedl;
Borprised dnring their flight by the stormy weather and large
numbers of them are driven to seek shelter on the ground.
On occasions of this kind the nomber of these birds which has
been found within the limited area of this island, covering barely
a aqoare mile, has almoet approached the marrelloas. On
October 21, 1823, the number of woodcock caught and shot
have exceeded 1,100, eighty-three of these were bagged by
Jacob Lassen and ninety-nine by Hans Probe, Most of the
ganners then used old infantry mnskets — the remains of a
cargo of a Dutch vessel which had rnn ashore ; its contents,
after lying for months at the sea bottom, had been fished up
during calm weather ; for measuring the charge of powder and
shot these old sportsmen naed as a rule the bowl of a clay
pipe. On October 18, 1661, about six hundred cock were caught
and shot here, five hondred of which I saw lying on the shop
floor of a dealer. The young migrate before the old birds.*

Some of these birds, no doubt, resume their journey eoath
(Spain?), but the great majority remain all the winter. In
February woodcock are said to be more numerous here than
at any other time, thanks probably to immigration from the
south. On the spot the beli«^ is current, however, that tiie
cook at that time collect from all parts of Ireland and rendez-
vous prior to the departnre northward of the greater number.
The birds are seen everywhere in that month "flying about
like owls all over ^e place."

To account for the great difference in size between the birds,
some authorities state that there are two distinct races of
woodcock, others that it is due to the supposed fact of the
female being heavier and bigger than its mate. Thus Morris
gives the average weight of the male as 11-12 oeb., that of the
female as 1&-15 ozs., and says : " The head on the sides about
tiie streak from the bill to the eye is darker than in the male,
and the small triangular-shaped specks are less defined ; the

• QMtlW.

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KM SPORT AND TRAVEL PAPERS

buk has less of the pale brovn and gre;; the first qnill
feather is irithoiit Bpots on the onter edge; appn tail oovetts
more red and less grey than in the male."

On the other hand, Goold states : " Man; I have dissected,
weighed and measured the moment after the; were killed, and I
mnst admit that at the end of a da;'s shooting I am still onable
to aa; with certain^ from their size which are male and which
are Cnnale. This ariaea partly from the oircnmstanoe of there
being two distinct raoes frequently intermingled in the same
eoTerts.

" In the ease of <the common snipe I have ascertained that
t^e male is andonbtedly the bigger bird, aod if there be any
difference between the sexes of the woodcoek, I believe it will
be the same as in that bird ; at the same time I most rematk
that dissection has proved many of the laige and long-billed
birds are females. Some sportsmen assert that they can dia-
tingoish the sexes by an examination of the outer primary,
affirm that those birds which have the external margin of that
faather pltun or devoid of tooth-like matkingB are nudes, and
those in which they exist are femalea. Bnt th^ are absent
in both sexes in very old birds."

Twelve male and twelve flemale birds measored gave greater
weight and length of wing to the former than the latter.

" I believe that the males generally have the shorter bill, the
longer wing, and the finer tail, while the mmp of diis sex is
more red, and the barrings of the under snr&ce of the body
more distinct."

The "Badminton Library" bdieves that "the male wood-
cock may possibly be distingiiiBhed from the female by its
smaller size and darker colour." Yarrell agrees with Morris
so &r that the female is the larger bird, bnt is of one mind
with Ckinld about the triangular marks on the outer web of the
first qoiU feather being rather the indioation of youth than of
•ex. " They are obliterated by degrees, and in snccesaion, from
the base to the end of the feather."

byGoogIc

IN NEW BBUN8WICK
1897

ASIULL Iftke deep in the Bolitndas of the CuitdUn foiert
Bet in ft fruae of manh, of spraoea, oedare, and tamarae.
The former, beaabfied by a denae covering of yellow grass, red
moss, cranberry scrab and willow, the latter, in their Bevnal
generations, the most ancient now but last cmmbling monld, a
soft bed for their immediate snccessorB, trees long Bioce bare of
bark and stripped of branahes, piled np as they have &llen one
on top of the other, often Btretching fitr ont into the lake. Of
those Btill standing many are now bot gaunt skeletons, others
show their great age by long beard-like masses of lichen whioh
hang from their dead and dying branches, while the younger
geoerationB, AiU of life and strength, hare poshed ont fresh
shoots in every direction. As I sit on an old log overhanging
the jdaoid mirror-like lake a woodpecker hammers most ener-
getimlly against a dead tree, a vigorons sommons to the jnicy
oocnpant to oome forth and Bnnender. From a Bpmoe branch a
mooeebird peers wistfully at me and no donbt considers the
likelihood or othwwise of any BcrapB for him when my Innoh
shall have been finished. ' A beantifol Bwallowed>tailed butterfly,
gorgeons in yeUow, black, red, and bloe, flutters past in the
bright sunshine, in which spaAles a lovely steel-blue dragonfly
as it settles for a moment os my Ic^. A la^ brown frog with a
deep bass voioe croaks at regular intervals in the marsh, and
several smaller ones, but in bright green eoats, put their heads
above water and with their big black eyes stare at the introder.
To complete this picture of nature undietorbed a bull moose
walks ont from the bush on the farther shore, enters the water to

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822 SPORT AND TRAVBiL PAPERS

have ft bath and rid himself temporarily of the fliea which at
(hia seaBon torment both him and man. After feeding on the
water-lilies, he lies down, has a roll, and then swims alowly
tecoea the lake, steps ont and r^ales himself with the yonng
maple shoots on the bank. Evidently pleased with his bath, he
retains to the wator, erosses the lake once more, and disappears
in the bnsh, totally unaware that he has been watched. By the
bath for a short while freed from the pest of flies, it is to be
hoped that he escaped a worse, that of the leeches which in&st
this lake, large olive green horrors, with orange stripes and
brows belly. They were not slow at all events to attach them-
aelvra to a finger held in the water — ^indeed, they ran races for it
—and so strange a thing as that most have been^to them a
startiing novelty and a new ezperienoe altogether.

Fonmt OH thb Will or a FtsmHa Hdt.

" + Salmon— MoBqaitoes=HeaTenly
+ Salmon + MoBqaitoeB=yery Enjoyable

— Salmon — Mosquitoes =Beiifable

— Salmon + Mosqnitoes = HeUish."

A long reach of a olear, fast-flowing river, between pictoresqne
banks, thickly covered with spmoe, cedar, ash, poplar, and birch
in every shade of green. The former are tipped with the pale
bine shoots of youth ; the cedars, no longer upright in their old
age, overhang the river and lean against each other for support,
and enveloped as they are in a dense grey mantis of lichen,
contrast sharply with the fresh green of their deciduous neigh-
bonre. Roots and trunks are deeply scarred by ice as it descends
in s[ffingtime, but are almost hidden by scrub, green grass, and
ferns, while irises, violets, marguerites, and bnttorcups grow
here and there in patohes, and give bright oolonr to the whole.
Above all is a clear, oloadless, deep-blue sky.

Three fishermen are intontly watohing the river ; one a man
fium a bark caooe, held in position by an Indian, casts his fly
jnst where the swiftly flowing water swirls round a rock, the
well-known resting-place £» salmon on their way to the
spawning-grounds above. The second, a black and whito king-
fisher from a dead branch over-hanging the river, is waiting for a

:bvGooglc

IN NEW BRUNSWICK 223

8mall6r fieh to come within range before he darts into the ayBtal
water after his prey. The third fisherman ia a l«ld-headed ea^
soaring aloft in gradually lessening oircles ; saddeuly olosing his
wings he descends like a stone and diving deeply ganerally
returns with the fiah which his marreUons eyesight had
rerealed to him fitr, &r below. The two latter probably
secure food sufficient for the day, the former not always — the fish
were there bat would bat rarely rise to the beantiinl flies so per-
sistently and in sach variety offered them morning and eveniog.
Not only was this annoying, bnt insects in -millions, yellow and
black flies, mosqoitoes and midges, were simply maddening — it is
to be hoped to one of the trio tmly. The winged fishermen had
at all events not to smear their &oefl with evil-smelling grease,
wear a veil or sleep in curtains, nor had, I tmst, bad language to
be pat to their blaok aoconnt — langnage which if ever was snre^
here excosable. The creature called man — ^whether black, red,
or white — is the greatwt sofferer ; colour makes no difference to
these flies, for was there not our odd man, black as a boot,
Charley, sitting on the bank watching the fishing with his head
well in the dense fames from the smudge-pot, a pipe of the
strongest tobaooo in his mouth to add still greater pungency to
tike already almost suffocating smoke ? Charley even in his tough
hide hated the flies with an intense hatred although they found
him most attractive, bat loved his smudge-pot ; the two always
went about together and were inseparable companions.

Barely those nighthawks which appeared abont sonset did not
realise how sincerely and heartily we wished them success and
the best of appetites as they circled round and round in their
hunt for supper and swooped open-mouthed through a doad of
our deadly enemies.

The following will show the fri^^tfa] tenacity of purpose and
brutal bloodthirstiness of the mosquito. That it really occurred
as related ia voutdied for on paper by three Americans and their
three Indian guides who fished some salmon pools below us. A
mosquito having settled on the bare arm of one of the former, a
man keen on scientific research, and found the location promis-
ing, soon got his saction apparatus into full working order and
began to fill up &st. Now came the American's turn, who with
a pair of scissors neatly snipped off the end of the rqitile's body.
Undeterred even by this cutting insult the mosquito sucked

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224 SPOBT AND TRAVEL PAPERS

harder than ever, being utoniBhed no doabt and delighted by ita
apparent extra oapacit; for the refreshing liquid. When ttie
blood taken in in front began to ponr ont behind the other
members of the part; were Bummoned to watch the phenomenon.
Drop after drop trickled from the wound in the moaqnito's body
until there was a blood trail down the ana 4 inohea long ; only
then did the disappointed animal open its wings and fly away,
humming strong language and deeply insulted no doulA at the
triok which had been [dayed on it.

byGoogIc

xxv

VANCOUVER AND BEYOND

ONCE more salmoD and three kinds of piBcatore, those on the
water, those in it, and those in the air, bnt the sea thia
time, Borrard inlet, the month of Vanoonver harbonr on the
Pacific. The corthem shore upon which stands an Indian
village or two rises gradoally towards some bright green
monnbains further inland; to the south is that most beantifol
natural park famed all oTer the world for its gigantic cedars and
Bprocds. To the west, now hidden by a dense veil of mist, lies
Vanconrer island with its monntains, while the harbour and Fort
Mood; rounds ofiF the landscape to the east. It is all very
beautiful — the sea, the eky, the thickly-wooded shores, hnge trees
and high motmtaine in the distance. As we — the fishermen — sit
in our boats waiting for the incoming tide, there is plenty of
time to enjoy the beauty of the scene, bathed as it is in the
bri^test sunshine, and to get our tackle ready— now fitted with
a spoon — for these west coast salmon are not to be taken in with
the fly. At last, and quite suddenly, the tide rolls in with a
rushing soand, forcing its way against the until then placid sea
and causes the boat to dance about on the warring waters and
become difficult to manage. And now what a commotion there
is all aronnd ns ; thousands and probably millions of salmon are
brought in on the tide, the sea is thick with them, they roll
aboat eveiywhue and hundreds jomp clear of the water as if for
very joy of living wherever one can look. But it is not all joy
which makes them thus momentarily leave their native element
and take a leap through the air, for there are deadly enemies
16 m

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226 SPORT AND TRAVEL PAPERS

behind, btr more deadly than the man with the spoon in th«
boat, pnraning them ri^t into the harbour — the seals. Eveiy
now and then there was a rush, dozens of salmon leaped hif^
out of the sea, and presently the romid head and blaoh eyes of
a seal appeared for a moment to vanish the next, well content
no donbt with its captnre. Bat the salmon had yet another
enemy which never left them — this time in the air — the oaprey.
These beantifol birds followed the rash of fish in great nambers,
swooped down now and then and diving deep into the green
waters reappeared with as big a fish as their wings would
permit them to cany. Poor salmon, they had indeed a bad time
on these to them inhospitable shores, hnt &r worse was yet to
oome higher np when the hnge nets of the many canneries were
reached, which, dnring the great ran of '97, had the beat season
on record. The oatohes were so immense that incredible
nnmben of fish had to be thrown away, for there were not hands
enongh to clean and preserve them, or months to eat those that
w«e left, a terrible and pitiful waste. Those who had fortunately
escaped all these dangers even then, in their greatly diminishttd
nnmbers, crowded the spawning gronnds in river and creek to
anoh an extent that there was not room £» all ; the stronger flah
poshed the weaker out of the water and on to the banks, which
were literally covered with dead salmon — the rivers simply oould
bold no more. Very red the fish looked then, their bodies raw
and braised ; all those beantifol silver scales had vanished, as
also from their back the rich dark metallic green which so
exactly matched the oolonriog of their ocean home. Stories
are told of the immense qnantities of fish making np a " ran " at
the height of a good salmon year ; how river steamers have been
stopped by their paddle-wheels becoming choked with salmon,
and how high water has been brooght about by the thronging of
fish to the spawning graond.

The Canadian Western Bwreation of May, 1897, states
tiiat these stories " tinge even the Siwash's " (Indian) opinion
of the troth of Biblical histoiy, for a jnoneer missionary of the
Methodist Chorch relates how sharply be was " called np " by a
grey-haired old Fillioom, to whom he had been describing the
passage of the Bed Sea by the children of Israel. " And so with
Moses at their head, they crossed over on the dry land," said
the teacher. " Hdo I " answered the Siwash, shifcng his grey

byGoogIc

VANOOTJVER AND BEYOND 827

looks with poutire oon'riotion — " Helo ! dry Und I BiyoQ Bftlmon ;
maybo they walk ovor thorn I "

Tkoaglit and talk bore ran on Balmon and gold and gold ud
salmon, and vuy littlo elw was disonsBed ; the wealth to huge a
run of fiflh wu to pat into the oanoeiy owners' pockets, and
those Ux greater riohea to be thawed and soraped ont of the
frosen ground in the lately diseoTered gold regions of the arctio
Klondyke.

Boats from Seattle and Viotoria fnv Alaska were crowded with
aangnine miners anxioas to have their share of the golden
harreet already being gathered by those hardy pioneers who bad
oroBsed the mountains and the Arctic wastes, packing on their
backs tiheii food and all worldly goods long before Dawson as a
" city " was thonght of. The boats stopped at Wrangel, a
heaven-abandoned spot, described to me by a fellow passenger
as consisting of two oeespools and an open drain, and Jonean —
with DoQglass Island opposite — home of the famons Treadwell
gold mines.

Here, in the Lynn Channel, in a most comfortable Treadwell
laonoh, we tried oar hands at halibnt fishing, oar non-saaoees
with the fish being amply made ap for by an excellent Treadwell
Innoh. There was plenty of enow and ice on the hills aroond,
and a good deal of floating ioe, which made it very oold for the
fingers holding the long deep-sea lines, which we hoped wcmld
attach themselYes to one of the 17t!-lb. monsters said to be
aboat in these seat. The captain's son, a little boy and keen
fisherman, alone had a pall, so suddenly and so forcibly that he
was only saved from joining the fish by the strength of the back
end of his trousers, which Inckily held under a very severe
strain.

Scagway, the terminas of the journey by sea to the gold
regions of the interior, had for some time been groaning under
the rule of an American outlaw and his band of ruffians, ably
wsisted by the United States Mardial, who preyed on those
going to the gold fields and on those coming out, frequently
adding murder to robbery. However, on the day bat one before oar
arrival the leader. Soapy Smith by name, had been killed by the
outraged citizens, whose patieoee had at last come to an end,
shot by the leader of the townspeople at an open-air meeting
which Smitii bad tried to break up, but not b^re the Utter had

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228 SPORT AND TRAVEL PAPERS

BKirUUy wonnded his chief opponent. Some of the band had
been githered into the ahanty prison, the remaindw having
retired into the hills to be preeentl; oolleoted and brought down
by niy host of the hotel as oaptain of the Civil Guards. Scagway
then oonsiated of rows of very piimitiTe wooden ahanties, mostly
drinking saloocs, supply depdta, and transport agencies, erected
among hnge stnmps d' trees, all that remained of the once
loimeval forest. Wonderfdl advertisemeats, gigantio in sise and
goqieooa in oolonr, were displayed everywhere, but one which
excelled all in beanty was punted on an enormons rock dose to
the hsrbonr recommending " criatallieed eggs " to one and all as
the best food for the whole of mankind. A hnge hen flapping
her winga and dancing a pat de-teul, in delight apparently at
having been safely delivered of a partioolarly good-looking and
nobly-shaped egg, the whole in colonr which would frighten any
domestio fowl and no doubt aid in the laying process.

Of course the White Pass and Yukon Railway was not then
built, and all supplies were taken to Lake Bennett by horses and
thence by boats ; the remains of 8,000 of these poor pack-horses
were even then scattered over the White Pass.

On Soapy Smith's removal the dtizms and visitors of Soagway
breathed freely once more; their lives and hard-earned gold
were no longer in continued danger, bat the news that the
dreaded band had been captured had not yet reached a number
of very rich miners who had crossed the Ghilkoot Pass and just
arrived at Dyea on their way home — ^pioneers who two years
before had packed in tbroogh snow and ice and discovered,
and now owned, some of the richest creeks on "Eldorado,"
"Sulphur," "Bonansa," &^. Having safely brought their
golden load so Car, they natnrmlly were very anzions to leave by
our steamer — there were not many boats tbui — but afraid to come
to Soagway a few miles away, on aooonnt of Soapy Smith and
his sconndrels. Oveijoyed at being reassured on this point by
the arrival at Dyea of the second officer in the steamer's launch,
they presently appeared at Soagway, about fourteen of them,
attired in their last remaining suit, which evidently bad done
noble duty, and carrying in their only blanket nnggets innumer-
able. They, mostly bish Americans, were a rough, hardy,
uik«npt-Iooking lot ; and no wonder, after two years of snoh a
life in aucb a dimate. Highly delighted at being sofo on boaM,

byGoogIc

VANCOUVER AND BEYOND 229

they ftll came into the saloon OAbine, and what a paiadise tiiat
mxat have been to them ! The; proved tboronf^hly well-behaved
and moat inteieBtiiig fellow passengers ; the; had brought oat a
great deal of gold — all the; ooald earr; in nutate — of all shapes
and sues, and larger enms in bank orders. The; owned the
best elaima on the best ereeks and were rich men one and all.
Often do I wonder, and mneh wonld I like to know, what has
sinoe happened to those fellow passeiigers of mine.

The; wne most gratefiil to the oaptaia for haying kept the
ship and sent for them to D;ea, and presented him with a large
and Ter; beantifol nngget and an address, composed after mneh
difflonlt; b; three of Uiem. This address, read oat after dinner,
was a great snooess ; part had evidentl; been copied from some
book — ^where it poetioall; hoped that the skipper, after all the
storms of life, wonld at last anchor in a haven of rest where
fi>gs, ice, or galea conld no longer reach and tnmble him. Ma;
the; one and all have foond soch a peaeefal spot, and — stack to
th^ richest

byGoogIc

OOATB AND SHEEP IN IHE BOCKY UODNIAINa
IMT

jUR outfit, wnnstiiig of three men, twdve hoises, time
tents, pronnoDB for six weeks, «nd «U the other neoessaiy
impediment* wen snpplied by Mr. T. E, Wilson, of Banff, a
station on the Canadian Paeifle Railway, and sent on to
La^an, foither np the line, to await onr arriTal. The head
man, Fred, a native of Montana, [ffored himself a first-dass
packer, for his loads, thanks to the exoellenoe of the "diamond"
hitch, rarely shifted even on the most diffioolt gnmnd, and a
ntonntaineer very trying to keep ap with. He ate tobacco
and thrived on it. No. 2, who hailed from onr Gomberiand,
was the bHe noir of onr party in more ways than one. We
took him in the belief that he was a hnnter, to which prond
title he, howerer, did not even aspire ; he was always olotiied
in black — a blot on the landscape — and when his moTith was
not enga^ in eating it poured forth the Tilest language, the
worst extract from his native slnms mixed with the choicest
American. Fred's conversation was indeed equally fordble,
bnt he averaged the strongest points with qnotations and
names from the Bible. Bat at the tail of the caravan No. 3
was very valuable ; when any of the pack-horses strayed off
the trail in the difKcolt country covered with windfalls, he
woold poor forth language unceasingly with ever-increasing
vigour until even the most awkward pony returned frightened
and cowed to its oompaniona. No. 8 was our cook, a young
Englishman, and just the right man in the right place.

It would be impossible to praise too highly our twelve Indian
ponies ; tiiey were simply marvellous in their snre-fbotedness,

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GOATS AND SHEEP IN THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS 231

whether orawling or jumping over the thousands of logs uid
b«es lying in intricate confosion on the ground and each
other; when traTelling over the long and dangerons dtone-
fllides -when a false etep would sorely have sent pony with
rider or pack tntnbling down into the valley or river far
below, or in fording the many rapid and deep streams with
a preoarioDS foothold of slippery boolders. In cor ignoranoe
we had not brought any dogs, and thanks to this ne^Eect
the bears, cinnamon and grissly, which withont donbt inhabited
sever^ of the valleys passed tfarongh, remained onseen, and
no snow flail at that time to render tracking possible. At
the last moment when made aware of the desirability of
having dogs (small foxhoonde or beagles would be best) we
annexed two ears, an Irish terrier belonging to a policeman
to whom we paid five dollars for the bmte, and a collie.
The former had, so the story went, gained a repntation as a
"bear" dog by having jnmped on to a grizzly soon after that
animal's doath, whioh showed at all events the dog's intelli-
genoe in so fiu- that he waited with his aerobatio feat until
quite certain that the bear was really dead. All oar pack
did, however, was to hant butterflies, and squirrels and mioe
when we had reached an altitude too great for the former
small game.

At the end of ^le seoond week in September we made a start,
orossing the Bow Biver, passing over some horrible oonntty,
miles and miles of windf^, and to say the least of it very
tiring, bnt with the aid of No. 2 in fall blast behind we got
well into the first valley by the afternoon. These valleys in
this part of the Canadian Rockies are vexy narrow and
drained by rivers now shallow but in the spring roaring
torrents. Beautifully clear and blue they are as the^ rush
over the many boulders and rooks which try to bar the way,
adding » great charm to Ae lovely scenery already so
lovely and grand. From the edge of the rivers rise the
monntains clothed on their lower half by a dense forest of
deep green s[nnceB and a thick Tmdergrowth of blackbei^,
blnebeny, and other ben; scrubs, ferns and grass ; grass,
herbs, lichen, and moss stretch away beyond to the hare rocks,
which, covered with snow, form the iofB of all these monntains.
These huge masses acted on by the bost easily break up and

byGoogIc

232 SPORT AND TRAVEL PAPERS

roll down in immense bodies into the vftlleyB, often filling them
oompletely. Upon the higher peaks snow lay thickly, and
lovely glaoiera were rery plentiful, the glistening pore white
BDOw oontraBting most Btrikingly with the pale blue of the
ice often hondredB of feet in thicknesB.

Feeding on the graBS jnst below the npper bare rocky
portion of the moantains the goats are generally foilnd, and
before many days were over there we discovered a herd
looking like tiny white dots from below. It beit^ then too
late tiie stalk had to be postponed ontil morning, when the
goatB had disappeared. As they, however, could not have
wandered very far, we scrambled np the steep moTrntain-side,
puffing and blowing terribly, to their feeding-groond
of the day before, only to find them after a lot of
spying on the almost perpendicnlar side of the monntain
opposite, a hnge glacier and moraine intervening. C. and I
had had enongh climbing, at least we thought so, bnt Fred,
anxioQfl to display hia qaalities as a moontaineer, volonteered
to try and get behind the game and drive it back, C. to
remain where he was, and I to climb down to the moraine
and scramble to the glacier. G. sat down contentedly and
smoked; I accepted the proposal as if delighted with the
proqwot— it was our first day among the monntains — and
started on the expedition getting safely to the bottom, bnt
not withoat great difficulty and many a slip on to the SO-fBet
high pyramidal ledge of loose stones at the foot of the ^aci^.
Fred did sncceed by lighting a fire and ebonting in driving
the goats back across the latter, but th^ took ap a position
on an overhanging ledge of rock high up on the mountain
on my side and altogether out of reach. The terrible fVed
having rejoined me answered my suggestion of home and
dinner by the horrible . propose of a climb up the moraine
with a chance of a shot from the top. Unable to suggest
this exploit to C, who still sat smoking hnsdredB of feet
above, I started with Fred, who had in the meantime refreshed
himself by eating more tobacco, np the very steep incline, a
mass simply of loose stones worn smooth by ice action all
ready to move at the slightest touch. We scrambled np on
hands and feet with many halts for breath, slipping down a foot
in every two and constantly &lling. As we got higher up the

byGoogIc

GOATS AND 8BEEP IN THE ROCS:t MOUNTAINS 233

goats became sUrmed and moTAd np on to a higher ledge,
dislodging on Uieir wa; many stoneB, which gathering impe-
tns SB ' the; descended whizzed and bonaded past as like
owmoD-balls. It was most enjoyable, the more so beoaose
when at last amred at a certain rock utterly beat, I blazed
away cartridge after cartridge without a single hit. 0., who
bad beud the fiunllade bnt ooold see nothing, naturally
thon^t ihat I had bagged at least a dozen, and was greatly
disappointed with my shooting I

During onr march farther np tiiis valley, which became
more and more pictnresqne as it narrowed, we saw several
more boncfaes of goats, which, however, always escaped us until
one day six fell to onr *808'b ; they had very good heads, bat
onlbrtnnately two were broken in the terrible &11 they got when
hit on to the rocks below. The Stony Indiana, who were
hauting in this valley when we again passed throngh on onr
retam march, had killed over for^ goats here in their wholesale
manner. If only game laws could be framed for and enforced
against Lidians generally, how much more plentifiil would game
of all kinds in Canada become !

We then crossed the Saskatchewan River and encamped after
several marches jast above the timber line at an altitnde of
over 7,000 £set and well in the sheep conntiy.

We fonnd these deer-like animals much more difBcnlt to
approach than the goats, &r more wary and ever watohfhl ; the
rams, snrronnded by ewes placed as vedettes all roond their lords,
-ween ever ready to give instant warning of danger, when the
herd would disappear as if by magic. They live among the
highest moantain ranges on patches of coarse grass growing
on the almost bare rock, coming down in winter with the snow.
Lovely views we hod of the snrronnding ooontiy, especially
from the " sheep " moantain, thns named because here we saw
onr fint herd. Aorosa a very narrow deep valley lay a huge
Racier aorronnded by lofty snow peaks, the glacier ending &r
below in a wall of deep-bloe ice several hundred feet thick into
which Nature had carved two lovely grottoes, birthplaces of tiie
Saskatchewan and Athabasoa Rivera, infonts here but soon to
become giant streams and flowing in opposite directions. The
weather had been perfect all the time, widi hard frost at night,
bat here the first snow fell which, however, did sot remain long

byGoogIc

SU SPORT AND TRAVEL PAPERS

OB the lower grotmd. Tbare were a few ptumigan not yet quite
white, otharwiBfi bird liie was noticeable only by its almost
entire absenee, eBpeeially in the forests below, whwe only a few
fiKilheos and mooBebiidB were to be seen on r&re occaaiona.

On oar first day in this appa valley we saw a flook of she^
foeding at the foot of a mooatain and tried to stalk them,
crawling on hands and knees and in varioae other snoomfitri-
abla attitodes, only to find that the on^Bts which we bad not
noticed, being almoBt the exact eoloor of the ground and
motionleBS, had giren the alarm — ^having first, no donbt,
watched the extraordinary antios of the bipeds below — and
dis^tpeared orer the crest of the mountain. We triad to eat
them off, bnt althongb we saw them again throngh our passes
and admired and ooreted the two splendid big-horns, they never
same within range. We bad several stalks after others, but
only got a small ram ; never sooceeding in getting above them,
it seemed impoasible to approach snffioiently near from bdow,
the males were fur too well gnarded.

On one occasion C. and I walked alone, one on each side of
A narrow vall^, which indeed had almost been filled np by hnge
blocks of rock fallen from the monntains forming it. Noticing
some very firesh sheep spoor I went on, and climbing np m to
one of the boulders saw a small marsh some way beyond and
toxa ewes and two rams feeding in it. Quietly slipping down
I wmt on very oaationsly to the last rook, folly satisfied that my
chance of a ^ot at a ram was at last about to offer, bat to my
intense diigost the swamp was empty iriien I peered roand the
boulder and the sheep already half-way np the mimntain
opposite. This was a great disappointaient, bat to attempt to
follow them across the marah was naeless and very nearly so to
try and approach them by scrambling over the long, noisy stone-
slide, at the further end of which they stood and where only an
oooasionel rock, lisiag beyond the others, offered a doobtfdl
hiding-place.

After a oonsoltation, C. and I agreed to attempt it, howevw,
and off we clattered and slipped and stombled over the field
of loose stones antil from a rock sofiBciently large enon^ to hide
OS we had a look around. There about 400 yards away lay tiie
big ram, and standing close to him the smaller one on Uie iook^
wA. They had not seen as bnt were intently w^ehing the

byGoogIc

GOATS AND SHEEP IN THE ROCKY MOTJNTAINS 235

place below near the swamp where I had lately been. The
j^eaence beyond of many ewes at onoe explained the emptineBS
of the manh, for those sharp-eyed Bentries had from their
higher position seen me and given the alarm. Not daring to go
ftirther, we decided to wait for the ram to rise, for as he lay half
his body was hidden by rocks. We ate our Innoh and shiTered,
became Uioroogbly cold and uncomfortable, for it was very
ohilly and snowing hard, but the ram took no oompassion on as
and did not seem to mind the cold and snow. Onr patience
at last exhansted, we toesed ap a eoin or a button for the shot
and C. won it, bnt not the big-bom's head, for that disappeared
orer the nearest ridge.

At last we had to give np sheep hunting ; snow begui to &11
heafily and we were nine long marches away from the railway and
did not wish to be snowed np. To keep the pot boiling we shot
a ewe or two — there was nothing else edible about — and we all
thought the goat's meat less " goaty " than the mutton.

In spite of the poor bag it was a most enjoyable trip, bat we
onf^t to have had a good hunter apieoe ao as to be independent,
and iffoper dogs for the bears.

byGoOgIc

0*:

xxvn

THE -808 AND BEABS

^N Mfty 3, 1898, 1 sRired in search of bean at Eelowna
(ladiao for grizzly), a Bmall town on the Okanagan Lake,
having prenonsly secured the Bervices of that well-known and
able guide and hunter, Aeneas MacDongall. Aeneas, if called
an Indian, would probably be greatly o£Fended, for bis grand-
mother had been a Frent^ Canadian, bat white blood seemed
scarce even in the veins of his &ther, while he himself has the
broad Mongolian &oe and dark coloming of a tme Biwash Indian.
The ikmily lives on a native reserve on the opposite shore of the
beaatifnl monntain-girt lake, and subsists by agrionltnre, fishing,
and trapping. The male membos take shooting parties in
spring and antnmn into the sturoonding conntry, and in retam
pocket goodly somH. Their name as reliable guides has long
since been made, and fees are correspondingly Urge.

We, Aeneas, hia brother as cook, I, and six horses, were
bonnd for the monntains drained by the Uisaion Creek which
enters Okanagan Lake close by a Mission station — the oldest
white settlement in the oomitry.

We passed many small ranches all doing well in this fertile
valley. We crossed a range of treeless hills and monnds over
which Nature had lavishly spread a gorgeous carpet of brilliant
gold, a sheet of dwarf marigolds in foil bloom, the blossoms so
close together as almost to hide entirely the silvery grey leaves
of the parent plant — a lovely picture in this brilliant sonahine and
a pasture greatly appreciated by our horses, who every moment
stopped to raise the flowers, but utterly disdained the leaves.
Indeed, our p<miM ei^oyed tiiemsdves thoionf^y daring that

:,zcc;..C00gIc

THE -303 AND BEARS 237

Biwingtime exoiinio& ; fresh, Inxnriant gnsa was ererprhere,
flow«n and sweet herbs in plenty, while later on when we
returned and the marigolds were dead, Inpins had taken their
place in extraordinary profusionr changing the oolonring of
Nature's o&rpet from richest gold to brightest blae. Than we
entered the bash, riding among spruces and pines, patches of
bright green tamsrac, balsam, and oottonwood, the green
mountains on either side sloping to the creek, which, filled
with snow-water, mshed noisily towards Okanagan Lake.
Lynxes had evidently been trapped here in plenty daring the
winter ; their sknlla, bones, and pads were hunging on many a
bosh — ^thankofferings to the Gbeat Spirit for the sncceBsfol
htmi— an ancient costom even now followed by the old-fashioned
Indian. In my small experience these offerings always consist
of that which ia absolately nseless to the giver, sach as bare
bones and pads, neTer of anything which is of any market
valne, or capable of digestion by an Indian's stomach. An old
Ojibbewt^ Indian, my companion in another part of the ooontry,
never foiled to transfix the paper wrapper of his lunch on one
of the hi^est boughs of an adjacent bush by way of offering
to the Spirit, but never until the last morsel of the contents had
been gratefully accepted by his own stcnnach.

After two marches Aeneas and I left our camp on the creek to
prospect the country for bear, finding on the vei^ first day fresh
marks of a grizaly, who apparently had made his home in the
thick brash which covered the mountain-top. But these bears
are very difficult to find, roaming as they do over a very large
area, and hiding in all sorts of impossible places. We therefore
left the caroue of a deer in an open spot — a card of invitation
for our friend to meet us. The deer was easly procured ; they
were in plenty, feeding on the sweet, new grass, and visiting
alkali spots here and there in quest of eeidlitz powders. After
securing the best parts for our larder, we left the remainder
to get " gamey," the better to attract Mr. Grizsly, who has
a powerful nose, and prefers his venison haut-go&t. This meat '
although, of coarse, out of season, was most acceptable in our
menu, which until then had consiBted of bacon and beans three
times a day.

The remains of many deer, dead from climate, ticks, or want
of fbod in winter or early spring, lying about on the mountain-

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238 SPOBT AND TRAVEL PAPERS

md« are visited by bears, wbo, fotil feeders as the; ue, piek op
any teet^ morsel, cruk ihe shin-bones, and lick oat the fostid
mizrow and the Bameroas beetles which this dain^ artiola
attraeta. Anything and eveiythiog ia food for bean, they ue
not partionlar ; their stomaob never rebels — happy oreatores 1

While the son was rapidly preparing the Tenison to brain's
liking we roamed over the moontains looking for other bears,
admiring as we went the beaatifol mormtain scenery, the bri^t
Terdnre of graea and herbs which framed the bright patohee
of ooloar of inuomerable wild flowers, the grand spraoes and
piqea with golden-brown stems. Black-tailed deer, now hom<
less, and still in their grey winter ooat, were remartwbly tame,
and nomerooB groond and tree-sqairrels busily dissected fir
cones, and here and there a oook bine groase strutted and
swaggered along the trank of a &lleo tree- A fine fellow thifl,
in a blnish-grey ooat ; his jet-black tail, barred with white on
the onder-soriaoe, is raised and spread out to the Aill like a fan ;
the brif^teat orange membrane above the eyes and beautiful
white collar are displayed to the utmost as, with head well up
and ludicroosly high step, he marches m^estically along,
every now and then shaking and rattling his opened wings to
attract the attention of his wife or wives — a proud monarch
indeed 1

At last, one afternoon oame Aeoeas's marching order : " I tink
deer stink now, we go," uid we went, climbing the moontain
near the top of which our bait lay upon a hoge rock overlooking
the steep slope. It was a &tigaing walk, but all btigue
vanished when, on approaching the spot, Aeneas's face widened
into a satisfied grin as he whispered the inspiriting words,
" Dere is grisaly ; he sleep." Unable at first to see (he bear,
my attention was soon drawn to a yellow patch near the end
of the rook — the bear's nose, nothing else was visible, and that
snout a hundred yards awsy, immediately above us. The inten-
tion to let sleeping bears lie until we should have got round and
above our friend was nipped in the bud; bruin had already
heard or smelt as, probably the Utter, for it was very hot, and
raising his head with a yawn, he lasily sniffed the air in all
directions. Now, although taught never to fire at a bear from
b^ow, grisalies were soaroe, and the probabili^ of this one
retiring to where he would at onoe become invisible was great)

byGoogIc

THE -303 AND BEABS 239

th«n again the ioTinoibilify of the '808 plus dam-dam bullet had
been so oonatantly dinned into m; ears that without Iobb of time
I gave it a trial, firing at the now exposed neok and aooring a
hit. Instead of dropping the griazl; at onee the shot had the
opposite effect ; he jumped like a flash from the ledge, gave two
hoarse, angry ooogbs, and rnshed down the sharply-sloping
ground stnught towards us at his very best pace, taming,
fortunately for our skins, sharply to the right when about fifteen
yards away. Here, on getting another bullet, this time in the
side, he stumbled badly and would have fallen had not a yoong
cotton-tree caught and held him up. We thought that he was
oars, but the griizly was of a different opinion ; he went oo and
on and very fast too, eventually crossing the mountain-top on
his way probably to a deep gulch on the other side. The cotton-
tree stem was thickly smeared with blood ; there was blood on
the trail which we followed until dark, but at last realising the
ease with which the bear had scrambled up the steep mountain-
side, ws* most unwillingly gave ap the pusnit — to be renewed
next day with no better result. It was a bitter dimppointment,
bnt the old bear hunter guide told me that be bad several times
seen the dam-dam ballet fail, and therefore, with bears, had
no confidence in it ; it appears to lose impetus when passing
thioogh the thick, hairy coat the animal carries, to bury itself in
the dense layer of ht, and it breaks no bones. The &t and
hair again quickly close the small external wound, making the
pursuit difKoalt and slow. The blood on the trail, abnndant at
first, became rapidly less and less, until all sign was lost ; only
on a tree here and there it still showed as the bear had bmsbed
against it in his flight. The nselessnesa of the dum-dum bullet
against these animals was evidenced still more decidedly in the
case of the black bear. Shortly after oar enoounter with the
grisely we found the £rash spoor of his black brother, and him
we also tried to coax to a savoury dish of venison, specially
prepared by us and the sun. The bear, however, outwitted us,
ate the bait during a dark, moonless night, and never showed
himself, although .we waited for him morning and evening ;
afterwards he left the country, our presenoe having probably
interfeied with his accastomed hoars for meals.

When climbing aV>nt one day on the mountain-side among
thick sorab we soddaoly came apon another black bear grabbing

byGoogIc

240 SPORT AND TRAVEL PAPERS

unong Bome roots. Altiiaugh hardly ten yards away, he seemed
kitogathsr nnawara of onr preaeuoe nntil his attention was
sh&rply drawn to as by the entiy of a dom-dnm bullet into his
right shoulder.' Instead of instantly tnmbling over as was to
be expected of a properly educated bear, he, to our intense
astonishment, ran away as if nntonched, and disappeared like a
bolt among Uie semb. We followed that blood-trail for ova
two miles ontil it ended in a dense cedar swamp. The &IIen
tree the bear had orossed to enter the thicket showed ample
blood smears, but beyond those all trace was lost. We went
round the swamp, which apparently he had not left, looked
through it that day and again on the next, but the wounded
bear was never found. The swamp, indeed, was an impossible
place to search properly ; huge cedars of many generatiouB lay
piled one on top of the other, the swamp itself being hidden
by dense aider and willow Bcnib, ferns, reeds and grass, by
everything likely to afford a secure hiding-place ; without dogs
there was no chance for us.

The muoh-belauded '808 was now, and deservedly so, in utter
disgrace; two bullets fired into a grizely, and a third into a
black bear sitting motionless only ten yards away, with the
sole result of making those animals travel at a pace they
probably bad never thought possible until then, up the steepest
monntcUD-side and through the thickest bush. This was too
disheartening!

Our confidence had gone, as had, no doubt, also any other
bears from the now disturbed country, and, as the main
river was too swollen to permit onr crossing to another and
promiung district, we tamed onr horses homeward, and arrived
at Kelowna bearless, bat determined never again to go bear
bunting with that wretched '808 or without dogs. A good
Indian cor would probably have secured us two beautiful

On this occasion I went to Canada vid New YoA in the
Campania, and, retoming to England by the Lueania, could
not help comparing these Toyagea in every comfort and lozuiy
with the discomfort of my first two trips across the Atlantic in
1863.

The steamer of 929 tons I then went over in belonged to

byGoogIc

THE -303 AND BEARS 241

Boma Meditemmeui Line and vaa chartered to take oat^ oat
to Canada and bring grain back. We had the bad lack to meet
the full force of the equinoctial galea, and had terribly bad
weather almost all the wa;. Most of the sails-^the boat was
Bqnore-rigged — were blown away, and most of the live-stock,
intended for onr food and carried in those days in coops
arranged on the deck, washed orerboard. Water splashed
abont in the cabins and saloon — it was decidedly uncomfort-
able. Then, of coorfle, all state-rooms w»b aft and opened
into the saloon, with an oil lamp in the partition between every
two cabins, which dim and smelly light was eztingnished by the
carpenter every evening at 10.80. There were about twen^
passengera all told, among them a then vcory well-known
American — G-. F, Train — whose tramway schemes in London
had Called and made him very bitter apunst England.

We left London on August 18th, and arrived at Bt. John's,
N.F., on September 4th, at Halifax fonr days later, and on the
17th at Montreal.

Loaded with loose grain up to the hatches, we left again on
September 24th, to meet another gale as bad as the other.
Water somehow got in among the wheat, which naturally
BweUed and threatened to burst the decks. By hard work a
sufficient quantity was got out and thrown overboard, thereby
greatly lessening the danger, still the trip was not particularly
enjoyable. Once more salt water found its way into the saloon
and carried off onr poor hens, docks, and pigs. We did not
reach Qravesend until October 15tb, after a very disagreeable
trip of twenty-two days.

byGoogIc

xxvin

MOBE ABOUT BEAB8 IN THE BOCEIEa

ue9

THE wuit of neeea but Tew with tibe bean only m»Aa bm
the keener to tt7 my fortane onoe more, and hanng heard
tint one of the most ezperieaoed beat hsnten wm tead; to take
me to "the best ooimtry in British Colombia" £» griseliea, I
■i once made arrangementa, and early in May joined my guide
"wuoevhere" on the Canadian Pacific Railway. Owing, how-
•ver, to the lateness of the season and the large amonnt of bdow
vhidi still remained on the monntain'tops, we had to pos^on*
oar start for nearly a month, uid then only with great diffienlfy
were we able to orosi a certain sommit and to get into the
adeeted vall^.

Daring the weary days of waiting at the hotel erery loafer
and proq>eotor had tales to tdl of penonal enooantws and
nndesired meetings with bears, which animals aeowding to the
nanators seemed, to say the least of it, Tery nnmerons and very
large and ferooions ; in bot, their nmnber, size, and feroci^
apparently intseased with the amonnt of whiskey in the atmo-
sphere, an ezperienoe, by the way, also recorded by some one

Well, at last we reached onr camping-gronnd in the prcooised
land, and pitched our tenta in a narrow valley formed by two
nearly parallel mountain ranges. Onr groond was farther
narrowed by a river on one side and hoge masses of snow on the
other, which still remained piled np at the foot of the monntainB,
the resolt of snow-slides in the early spring. It necessitated the
most perfect system of irrigation to keep onr tents dry from the

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MORE ABOUT BEARS IN THE ROCKISS 213

wkter wfaioh ran over oor groand in a ihooBuid fltreuw from
tiie now mdting mow towards the river.

Our putj (MmuBted of myBelf, t^e hunter, a Swede by birt^,
bat long reBide&t in Canada, with mo^ espwience in bear
hunting besides bong a charming companion, Fred Anderson
1^ name. The oooh, Sandy Fraew, although many years away
firom tiw land o' oakee, still |»oiidly wore his glengarry cap
adcanad with a alvei lion, an aitide of appard he had Iwonght
witii him from Sootlasd orer thirty years ago. His other garmentB
«eemed to date from a aimilar period. We had seven horBfle
and three "bear dogs," "Tim" and "Jumbo," oollies, and
" Jack," a mixtore of e(rflie ^d letrievo:, ^o had not eeeaped
vnaeathed from nnmerone meonnters with woanded bears. Ha
had a bnge sear on his ba^ and a brok^ hmd leg, which
luckily had mended w^ and now gave him no bauble ; nor had
lus wounds affected his nerve.

Jaek made a pretty pietwe what his keen Bose wanwd him
ef the jwesence of a bear. If not very near he wonld simply
eniff Hie air ; if doee, the d<^ trembled all over in tin greatest
ezcitemwit, tacked in his tail and drew ap (me forefoot, pointing
88 a pointer does at partridges. A qoi^, unploring look at his
master sud almost in words, " Please do let me have a hnnt."

From both banks of the swollen rivw rose tiie almost parallel
monntain ranges, that on the right abniptly, but leaving the
nanow skip m oar side wUch gradaally rose as it ^proached
tiie hills. With the exception of a Itmg, flwampy graes-grown
meadow in front of onr tents, the valley was <^tbed partly witii
spraoes of all ages and partly by a doise growth of willow 6 to
6 feet high, llie form« here and tiiwe ran ap tiie moantua-
aidee, bat kept w^ dear of wheve the hogs masses (4 sbow
riide down in ttie early sfwisg ; Ae latter, almost imp«M4rable to
man or beast, flowirii where {be sprvoes are not, at the edges
•od tfxA of the BBOw-slides, often extending as far as tiie riv«
buik and eadosing nnall patches of meadow where bears coold
frequently be eem feeding and digging ap roots. The snow-
slides now were bare rock or covered witii loose sbHies exeept
whcfe earth remained ; ^ere a laxoriant vegeAatkn had sprang
np on the disappearanee of tiie snow, of grass, herbs, flowers, uid
(iMns, Here again bean dig ap roots and tabers, especially
those of tiie wild potato and tmiaa, IraveUisg tbrosgfa Ae dense

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244 SPORT AND TRAVEL PAPERS

buBb from one alide to aooQier orer tlieir own well-woni tnik.
Daring oar visit beaTy snow still remained on moontain crest,
and at the foot of the slides it lay in hage massoB mixed with
trees and stones carried down from aboTo. The bears lie ap
daring the warm hoars of the day among the thick spraces close
to raiming water, and is the erening retiie to near the snow-
line in the higher regions. Bat they are restless creatoies,
especially in the loVe season when both males and females roam
aU over the eoontiy in search of a mate, the mothers biding <
their cobs when they go coarting. The qaest of food
also keeps them constantly on the move, grass, roots, tnben,
eknnk cabbage, game fresh or high, and, when all else frdls,
grophers, which they dig ont of their holes, often from a depth
of more than 6 f^t. Bears in a late spring when snow still lies
as a nile do not go &r away from their dens, bat feed close
ronnd and very difflcnlt it is to find out where they do feed.
This may be becaose the soles of their feet are then very tender
from long disase — too tender for forays far from home. In the
antnmn berries of all kinds — and they are jnnamerable in
Canada — are placed on the menu, bat the white dusters of the
red willow are the favoorited. Berries are eaten as medicine,
potatoes and roots to produce the large store of fat with which
they enter their winter dens.

Daring the first few days we saw any number of big bears,
brown, cinnamon, and silver-tip, and I readily agreed with my
banter that if this valley was not the best in British Colombia
it would be bad to beat. Here, apparently, was a bear banter's
paradise and we had visions of retaming to the railway with a
splended collection of the most beaatifal skins ; bat, alas ! it soon
beoame evident that seeing bears and bagging bears is not by
any means the same thing. At first they showed themselves
freely, bat soon became aware of oar presence and scared by
t^e smell of the fire and chopping and other noises in camp.
They then took to feeding all night and hid as much as possible
among the willows and spracee by day, probably laoghing at as
as we sat perched in most onoomfortable positions in trem over-
looking feeding-places, shivering with cold and the prey of
clonds of mosqnitoes. Although nearly a month in that valley
we only got two bears, a brown and a small cinnamon, the
former as he ran past me over a bare rook chased by a dog, and

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MORE ABOUT BEARS IN THE ROCKIES 245

the Utter as he left the thick aornh to feed on a patch of grass
which we were watohing from on ac^'aoent tree. We watched
the trails and feeding-pl&oes diligently bnt neyer had a ahot at
those maoh coveted Bilver-tipB, the biggest and most beautiful
of all, here called grizzlies, of which there were laany abont.
The willow scrab was too dense uid too perfect a cover, and
there was do bait obtainable to draw the game ont on to the open
patches of grass which we could watch. No deer were to be got,
no goats ; some of onr horses, especially an old bnckskin mare,
were indeed lool^ to leave the place alive.

In the " &11 " we went ont again and tried everything to get
within Bhot of bears of which freah signs were plentifol, bat lack
was not with as and we bagged nothing. We tied the cook to a
piece of meat by means of a long rope, which he trailed behind
him from where the bears had reoentiy been digging, a polite
invitation for them to join as near where the meat was
aabseqnently fiistened to a stake. A big silver-tip did appa-
rently take the bint ; we saw him slowly walking towards the
bait, his thick coat swaying to and fro at every step, when,
onfortnnately, a draught from a valley behind gave hitn oar wind.
The bear stopped suddenly, turned sharply, and disappeared
among the dense spnice scrub. Such is lui^ and the keenness of
a bear's nose I That bear, although anziously awaited morning
after morning and evening after evening, never showed himself
again; the bait, however, was taken daring the dark hours,
renewed and taken again, . After that he came no more at ni^t
hut actually carried off the next piece in broad daylight, a moB%
nnusaal time, when, of coarse no one was there to see. We
gave ap this gentleman after that, he was altogether too sharp
for OB I Unless a person stambles by accident upon a bear the
chance of getting close to him is very remote ; bait is the only
means of drawing him within shot, and then only if the wind be
right, for bruin has a most highly developed nasal organ. My
hunter told me that if yon rub dry bear gsU on your clothes no
bear will smell yoa — bat we had first to get oar bear t Chewii^
wild onion leaves is said to have the same effect with black
bears; we tried it, bat nothing came near us, and I don't wonder I

One is often told in those parts that so-and-so has shot a
great many bears, and no doabt the skins can be produced and
ballet holes shown, bat I have strong sn^cions that most of

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tU BPOBT AND TEUTKL PAPBRS

11mm bean wen firsi Mogbt ia ft rtefil tnp tnd thai dutt, tad
ihKt a clow ezamittation of the fore l«g8 would diow maika of
ipiksd jftWB. Bean always use oertain well-wom trailH tiizoo^
the brnali on the moantain-Bide and alMwbeie, and wonld be
yerj likel; to pat thwr foot into well-plaoed traps. Traps are
aftainst tbe law, uai so are g^mg gVM, a fiiot whioh does not
by any meaiu atop the aae of Mther, Hunters say that eveiy-
tfaing IB fur in dft>]'ng with a bear, as he ia certain to do yoa
if he oaa. And then, perhaps, Fraser (the oooliO was li^it
when he said, "Well, tiLere are many more killed in hotek
and BaloMis than were otw shot or protuibly have erer existed."
There is do doubt of tite wholesome Caar proq>eotorB and
hnnters hare of the large bears. The former generaUy oonfiass
that when met they have given than a wide bwth — the latter
are ehary about going after a wounded bear except with dogs.
0{MiiionB differ as to whether the big bean, woanded at on-
wonnded, will attack a man. Uy hunter atates tiiat he haa
never seen a grizaly — ailTer-tip — not go for him when wounded,
but only knows one instance of a bls4^ bear attacking nnder the
same oircumBtaDoes. Silver-tipa attack sometimes if unwoosded,
and men are known to have saved themselves by climbing a
toee, for, of eoorse, these and the big brown bean with their
straight daws cannot climb, but tbey can reach a long way.
Their oabs can climb, and do so if danger threatens. About
four jBon ago a big silver-tip killed two prospectors while asle^
in their camp. Nothing was found of them there exoept the
hat of one, some blankets and a featbev pillow ripped op«i.
The men had been carried away, partly eateo, and the remunder
buried, as bears, like dogs, will do with any surplus food. A
Mend who visited the place shortly after the tragedy was at
once ehased by tite bears, bat escaped up a tree with the loss,
however, of half a boot and one toe. The bear stood senby
over him for six honn, went away, oame back, bat eventnalty
gave it np and allowed the man to return to eamp. His eom-
rades now set a steel itaip, into which the bear pnt his foot ;
the latter was fonnd between the jaws but not ite late owner.
The bear's spoor, eamly reoognised by the stamp, has several
times been seen. Anderson, aboat four yean ago, shot four
goats near the top of a mountain on soooessive days, leaving
eaeh to be brought down the next day. In every instance was

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MORB AB0T7T BBAB8 IN THB BOOEIGB 217

the gMt removed and pftrtly bailed. When tX lut ibe enlioit,
a la^e ailTer^tip, ms foimd, he aX once attacked the moD, uid
was killed only ofiu a deeperate fight. The huater holds a
wonnded bear in the greatest respect. He knows by experienoe
how dangerons an animal he is, and never goes withoat hia
faithfiil doge, who ore only too keen to tackle any bear, however
big. On the other hand, my banter of 1898, a^ with a very
large experience, did not believe in bears attacking, and the few
I have seen wounded certainly did not. Bat in banting bears,
as all other dangeroas game, there is one golden rale whioh
ahoald never be forgotton — Take the greatest core that yoa
plaoe yoor first ballet in a vital spot I

Boosevelt, in his "Life of a BonchmaQ," thinks that the
griudy'g character has lately changed. Constant contact with
lifle-carrying banters for a period extending over many genera-
tions of bear life has taaght the grizily that he is his ondoabted
overlord as £u as fighting goes. Boosevelt bos only known
one instance of a griuly tnming on a man when onwonnded
and suddenly come apon and cornered. He gives two iostanoes
bom perstHial knowledge where a man has been killed by a
giisdy: (1) Woonded bear charged, gas missed. (2) Man
nearly stepped on an nnwoanded bear, there was no time to
fire rifle. " Any of the big bears we killed on the monntains
wonld, I think, have been able to make shni work of either
lion OT tiger."

Another man with large ezperienee says : " Grisilies are
not as savage as they were years ago when men were armed
mly with a single-barrel small-bore rifle, mnszle-loadar. The
dangers of bear hunting have greatly deceased with modem
rifles."

The stomachs and bowels of bears towards the end of antamn
ahrink greatly, and before laying ap the former are only aboat
the bIeo of two fists, while in sammer they resemble that of
R oaciboo distttided with gcaw. The digestive apparatos seems
to prepare itself gradaally for the long winter &8t. The only
anthorify apparently who notices this is T. O. Wood in his
"Nataral History." He is one of the few who agree with
my honter in that bears do not lose fat daring hibernation ; bnt
he makes the extraordinary statement that griislies eon climb
trees! There seems bat very little doubt that bears on leaving

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248 8P0BT AND TBAVEL PAPERS

tiiair holes an veiy fiit, bot they lose thdr condition npidlj

after egtiitg titie fresh spring grass on the moontnin-Hide.
Whether this also applies to she-boua, whose onhe are bom
four to ax weeks before the motiier leaves her den — ^in Mareh —
I do not know,

Dnring our visit to the valley in the spring we saw a great
many big bears, and one blaek, whieh (the former) seemed
to differ greatly both in size and oolonr. There were brown
bears, some taming grey, cinnamon, and, biggest of all,
silver-tips, several of which had white eoUars, and also vera
of various shades. These were "grizzlies" here, while on
the Faoifio slope and in some other parts the giey-brown
bear is the so-called " Old Ephraim," of the old fannters, and
tiiose delightfttl stories of Western life. Sir Bamnel Baker says
that that alone is the troe grizzly.

There most be a great deal of inter-breeding to accoont for
all these varieties, and Andersen tells me that blaok bears will
breed with cinnamon and brown, also that black and brown
cabs are often seen with the same mother. He says that silver-
tips only breed among themselves ; they are the biggest and live
near the snow-line, and the higher the bi^er Uiey are; the
older the greyer, and one has been seen quite white. After my
retom home I looked np the beet authorities on this sohjeet and
append the resolt : —

Apart from polar bears most anthorities only reeogniae two
species of befwa — the grizzly and the black; all others are
varieties of both species, and these are infinite and inclnde
all shades of oolonr, grey, brown, red, and reddish. They
differ not only in oolonr bat also in shape of skull and general
form. As Roosevelt remarks, the name of " grizzly " has
reference to its character and not to its colour, and should, he
sa[^>08«i, be spelt "grisly," in the sense of horrible. It is
80 spdt by Cavier.

Bears inter-breed like dogs, hence the varieties in oolonr,
size, and shape ; not only the big ones among thenuelves,
bat these also it is said by some with the very maoh smaller
black bears — nnless hunger prove stronger than love.

Most honters have seen bla<^ and brown onbs t(^;ether, and
Dr. Bainsford met with three cabs of one sow, one almost
yellow, one almost black, and one nearly grey, and notes

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MORE ABOUT BEARS IN THE ROCKIES 249

aDOther case of a blaek bear bow witli one-year-old grizzly onba,
shaped differently from the mother, and mmustakably owing
both their shspe and oolonr to the parentage of the male grizzly.
Theu nniona woold prodnoe the much smaller bears so often
met with — the small brown and cinnamon — which never seem
to become mttoh bi^^^ than the black bear. Of these I saw
three examples last spring, eridently full grown ; indeed one,
the oinnamoD, had two onbs.

Tomer Turner — " Three Tears' Hmiting in the Great Korth-
West" — however, believes that the caiise of bears in some
distriote so far exceeding in size similar speoies from other
parts of the same eonntry is greatly dne to olimate and
facilities of obtaining food. The huge bears of California
probably never hibernate at all, feeding steadily the whole year
ronnd, while the comparatively diminutive ones of the North-
West can only rely upon satdsfying their appetites for three
or fbnr months in the year, actnally spending five to seven
months in a torpid state wiUioat any food whatever.

The big bears, silver-tip and brown grizzlies, freqnent the
higher regions, and probably, aa my hnnter said, as a role breed
among themselves, while the smaller cinnamon and black and
brown oQOfl roam among the brush and forest of the lower ranges,
and no donbt do their best to avoid any dangerous familiarity on
the part of their bigger brethren. In our valley the beantifiil
eilver-tips &r ontnombered the brown and grey bears, as they
exceeded them greatly in size.

In his " Wilderness Hnnter " Roosevelt divides bears into
those which have long, straight claws and those with short, curved
ones, a mach better means of distinction than size or oolonr.

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A STALE ON SCAKBA
1900

IT wfts a inily porfoot day on Sowba. Bri^t, ^anoux
Bnnghina, the ui eleu and tnuiHparent ; no elood, bo
mist, nothing to mtarfera with the most extansiTe range of
TiBioo. All outlines ware sharply defined againat greui sea
or bine sky ; the monntain rangaa on the Argyllshire mainland,
those an Jora and Mull, as also the many smaller ialanda and
innnmerable lofiks, and not outlines merely, bnt details, stood
revealed dearly as though seen through a glaaa.

Soarba itself, a green mountain rising oat of the sea, tbrmB
a very pretty pioture as we a[^roach it from the mainland;
a pedestal of dark rock ooyered with yellow seaweed a ftvegroond
of bracken and grass, patches of oak, mountaiu-ash now oovered
profusely with scarlet berriea, of birefa and aldw, hawl and
larch, the remainder being filled in i^ the gently rising
monntun clothed in grass, heather, now in full bloom, giving
colour, ruahea, and mosa. The west eoast alone is precipitooa
and very roc^, and oarriee little Tegetation, thanks to Atlantic
gales, to the fall fury of which it is so frequently e^wsed.
This coast, inhospitable and wild as it is, ia the home of the
wild goata, deaoendanta of those mentioned by Tennant in
Lightfoot's "Flora Scotica " as long ago as 1777. Ongioally,
I believe, these were white, and many are so still, but several
black and brown goats having been imported long years ago
from Colonsay to strengthen the blood, the result is a great
variety of colouring. They are very wild, shaggy meatures,

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A STALE ON 80ARBA S51

with long ooata, in many euee toaching the gmtind, and horns
iriuoh either reeemble those of the trae wild goat or those of
the Angoras.

Bed deer in plenty roam all over the ialand, and, thanks to
the abundance and good quality of the grass, do exceeding welL
Venison being wanted, a stag had to be kiUed, and vhat oonld
be more' enjoyable than a stalk on a day like this and amid
soeh BsrronndingB ?

As the stalker and I leaTe tiie lodge, we pass some magnifl-
eant stags imported to imj^oTe the breed ; being fed here during
the winter, they are not afiraid of us and hardly move as we
approach them. The wind blowing lightly from the sonth-east,
we go at first in a north-wraterly direction, pass throsgh a larch
plantation, and gradnally ascending, oome to a ridge andhare
a good Itx^ aroond. Several yonug stags were graaing some
way off , all too small and not yet clean, bat close to them the
staler spied a pair of horns belonging to a sbootable beast.
Slowly and carefidly we lessen the distance, sometimes stoojnng
low, creeping sometimes on hands and knees, and presently
reach a small kuoU overgrown with heatiier well within tiiuA.
The young stags had moved farther down, bat the old one
was still in the same place and lying down in a cool peat-bole,
his body almost hidden by heather. He also was tormented
by midges and flies, and ctmstantly mofiug his head to brash
thwn away; the wind helped him, however, bat not ns, who,
in our tuding-plaoe, were entirely at their mercy, and the time
seined long indeed before he at last rose with the intention,
probably, of seeking some place higher ap and more exposed
to the wind. Bat bis intention, if saoh it was, was never carried
oat, for hardly had he risen when a ballet ended his life, and he
itU dead on the very spot where he had lately rested. An old
■tag, elaan, ten points, head gcnng back — jost the stag whieh
on^t to be killed in a forest.

As it still was very eariy, and I desired to get one of the wild
goats which aro generally foaud on the bluest and most roek^
westerly parte of the idand, we, having sent the stag home,
started on onr climb to search the apper regions first. Wild
indeed it was here, and the view on this most beaatifitl of days
magmfleent in colonring and extent — s glorioos panorama of
sea, ishinds, mountains, loobs, verdore, and bare rook. But of

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252 SPORT AND TRAVEL PAPERS

goats there ware none visible, so we contiDiied in & westerly
direotioD, and presently saw a few nannies and kida, bnt no
billira. All the deer on the island seemed congregated on this
fiMe, fidly exposed to the wind as it was, and all were moving
upward to lessen the plague of flies in the stronger breezes
abore — a pretty addition to the picture as tkej Used the ridges
and stood folly exposed on the skyline. They looked down
at ns, and no donbt wondered at our antics as we moTed slowly
and oarefolly on, spying frequently as we tnmed our &ces to
the south. At last we discovered a herd of eighteen, billies and
nannies, crossing the valley below towards a hill overlooking
the AUantio end of the f^ous whirlpool of Conyvreachkan
between Scarba and Jara. White and in vanoas shades of
brown and black, they had been feeding below as, bat startled
by some yoong stags which we had dietnrbed bnt not seen, were
now running up the hill at a very smart pace. With the aid
of a glass we saw among them a beauty, brown and white, with
a grand head, and at once made up our minds to try for him.
But what a long way off he then seemed 1 Fated to die, how-
ever, he himself helped ns as much as lay in his power. Love
led to his death — death which indeed he may have wished for
on seeing himself abandoned by his favourite wives. When the
herd which we were watching through the glass bad got half-way
np the hill oor friend and another very fine fellow suddenly
tnmed ronnd, trotted down again and disappeared. The lattw
presently returned with two nannies, which he drove at a sharp
trot after the others, butting at them all the while, and exceed-
ingly angry no donbt at their having stayed behind. The other
billy did not return, but went still farther back, also after two
white females who had made off in the opposite direction. After
a while he stopped on a high rook casting longing looks after
them, bat too proud fiirther to follow his &ithless loves, he
slowly tnmed to rejoin the herd, and was soon hidden from
view. This gave ns our chance. We ran, crept, and slithered
down the hill to cut him off, carefolly keeping out of sight, and
peeping over a ridge after a while saw our friend below ns
looking lovingly towards the nannies. It was quite touching
to watch him tear himself away at last and walk off; but in
taming he saw us and rapidly made off, the bullet, as we after-
wards found, only gracing his hind qoarters. A shaip ran at

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A STALE ON SOAREA 253

onr best pace down into the valley and np the other side brought
OB, vei; Bhort of breath, to the top of the hill. Gonoefjed
behind a roek we looked for the goat, and soon foond him
standing on a rooky ledge overlooking the sea. A little more
manaeoTring took as within shooting distance, and a ballet
ended the stalk. As we got nearer the odour became stronger
and atronger, and at last almost overpowering. Indeed, he was
most highly scented, bat a fine trophy, the home measaring
38 inches in length and 7 ronnd the base. His brown and
white coat was very long, some of the hair 18 inches in
length. The stalker carried the head home at the end of a
long stick, and I walked not behind as osnal, bat in front of
him. Thas ended one of the most enjoyable and Bnocessfdl
stalks of stag and goat on one of tiie most lovely days I have
ever seen.

Ever before as had been the whirlpool of Gorryvreachkan,
swirling in circling eddiea between oar island and Jara, now
calm in waltsing onrrents merely, bat a terrible place when
heavy Atlantic sea meets the tide in so narrow and rocky a
a passage. In the statistical accoimt of Ai^llshire the follow-
ing legend about this whirlpool is handed down : —

"According to a tradition still believed in the Hebrides,
Gorryvreachkan, or the canldron of Breachkan, received its
name from a Scandinavian prince, who, daring a visit to Scot-
land, became enamoored of a princess of the Isles and songht
her for his bride. Her wily fotlter, dreading the oonseqaenoes
of the connection, but fearfal to offend the King of Loohlin,
gave his consent to their marriage on condition that Breachkan
should prove his skill and prowess by anchoring his bark for
three days and three nights in the wUrlpool. Too fond or too
proud to shrink from the danger, he proceeded to Loehlin to
make preparation for the enterprise. Having consulted the
sages of his native land, he was directed to provide himself
with three cables, one of hemp, one of wool, and one of women's
hair. The first two were easily procured, and the beanty of
his person, his renown as a warrior, and the courtesy of his
manners had so endeared him to the damsels of his conntiy,
that they cat off their hair to make the third, on which his
safety was ultimately to depend ; for the purity of female in-
nocence gave it power to resist even the force of the waves.

byGoogIc

SM SPORT AND TRJlWL PAPERS

"tbaa profiled, the prioM set aul from LoohliB noA anehoted
in tfa« gtdf. The first day the hempea e»ble broke ; the sectmd,
tiie woollen oaUe pwiied. There BtiU remained ^e gift of tbe
dsnghtMV of Lochlin. The third day cune, tiie time had neuly
ei^ired; hia hopes were high; his tnnmphwas almost at^ered;
bat Bome &ir frail one hod oootribTited her flaxen looks; Afl
last hope failed, and the bai^ wu oTUwhelmed. The prinee's
body was dragged ashore by a frdthfal dog and earned to a save
that still bears his name, in whidb the old men point out a little
ewm where tradition says the body of Bieadikan was interred.
Fn»Q tiiat time, the leguid tells, the whirlpool was called
Conyrreaohkan. "

As we left the udand for tiie mainland, the sea semned tii'n
with enddies — a small white fish — tiisj were jumping about
in sho&hi. Terns, heiring, and block-baoked galls and eor-
moraots plnnged in among them, uid oecnred th«r sapper
witiLont txo&ble. A seal, no doubt tokii^ his share ^so, showed
his head erevy cow and then, and locked at ns with his lag
blaok eyes as we passed rapidly by. As the snn set behind aS|
its gold«i rays illumined salient features of the mainland hiUs,
lesying nntoQched the darit-blae oolooring of the deeper Y^leys ;
tite yellow light crept steadily npward, the shadows fallowed,
and, alas ! another day was 80«i to close.

Daring the last few days of NovMuber I was onoe mwe on
my way to Searba, this time tor the hind shooting, -viik ordws
to find and to kUi twMity-five old ladies whose chums wwe
no longer sncdi aa to make than desirable ooei^ants ef the
forest.

Means and ways of travdlu^ at this season differed from
^se i«onded daring satanD, vintw arrangementB had eonte
into fittce, and bo steaner ran b^ond Ardrishajg ; closed kbI
open postoarte, however, took ns in some tbrae hoars or mot*
to oeiiain aoss-Toads, and a prirate carriage thence to the
caatie. Seal throogh a misty rain, the scenery in its aatomnd
ooloQting was very flombre and dqireesing, and passen^fen,
laokily, were bat few. It was a fair day at Lochgilphead b<A
little going on ; a lame horse triad hard, bat apparently withont
soooesB, to find a new Blaster; a piper, dripping with ram,
marched stolidly np and down in front of a vrtiid^ey shop, making
sweet nwfliaasif his life — orwhi^ey — d^wnded on it, and there

byGoogIc

A STALK OV 8CARBA S&S

«u BO eaase for regnt when at lirt, the mails re-Boried, ordws
wwe giTflD for a atait.

A follow {NMsengar daring the next stage took an aggreEwivelj
affeotionate Eanc; for me — whiskey again, no doabt. He told
me all hi« fomil; secrets, at least so it seemed from the little
I was ^le to Duderstutd, but after a shilUng bad changed hands
for more whiskey wherewith to drink my bealUi, my friend
got oat to cany hia good intentions into effect withont tiie least
loes of time.

Soon idter daiA we airired at oar destination for the ni^t,
and east wind rain and cold were soon forgotten before a eheery
fire. How bare and deserted everything lodked now, how
different txtmi my last visit, when all was bii^ in beaotifiil
ftntomn weather 1 Thanks to a foir Iweese on a Inckily fine
morning aAw a stormy night, onr sailing-boat soon toadied
the shore of Soarba ; I made myself at hmne in the lodge, onee
agaia enjoying the beantifol view from there of sea and main-
land, of Jmra and the many other islands and rooks soattoed
aboot.

Soarba now was in its winter garb, and a complete study in
browns, pale greens, and yellows, of every conceivable shade.
Tb^e was tite pale yellowish brown of withered grass among
the heather, the ooarea kind in lovely crimson ehading wbii^
grew in swampy gronnd, Qia rich brown of dead bra<&en ; grey
brown larches contrasting with the porple tw^ of leafless
birches. The heatiier, though green itself, was half hiddm
ander its withwed pinky-brown blossom ; the grass, where
fltiU greoi, ran thnragh evray shade of colouring, as did the
radtes also; the firs, in tiieii dark green, alone were unchanged.
Indeed, so did the iaeft browse predominate nearly every-
where, Hiat daring tine asnid daric eloody weathw Hie general
eolonring of tiie groond so dosdy matched that of the darkw
hinds — tlwBa which we were after — tiiat to see tiiem clearly
iriien standing still among the iR^tekeQ was often very diffionlt ;
irhaa not watdiing tiie etalker their white stems alone gave
them away. The dark-brown badtgroond equally im>tect8 tiie
yoong, who in their first year are dark like the old ones, and
only get their lighter coats the following spring. Particalarly
Botioe«ble was tiiia one morning, when a very bright light
iUnniiked the horiwm, while Uack eloada covered ttie test of

byGoogIc

356 SPORT AND TRAVEL PAPERS

the Ay ; owing to the glare we found it almost impossible
elesriy to distingniBh tlio ontlines of deer, and diffienlt even
to see them at all on grotind which eo olo»ely nsembled them
in general colouring.

Although it raised only during one or two nighte, a most,
fortnnate proviaion for as on this nsn&lly Teiy wet coaat, the
Aj wae cloady all the time with one exception, when the hills
on the mainland, covered with snow, stood ont bri^t and
dear against the beantifol reds, oranges, and yellows of snn-
rise, the brilliant colouring below gradually passing into a deep>
bine sky above ; it did not remain so long, but was soon biddeo
by cloud curtains.

With Qie exoeptioD of a few of the younger ones, the stags
had now left the hinds, and more or less ragged had bnuohed
together, all jealousies forgotten, Tbey were apparently wdl
aware that it was not them we were in Iseareh of, they had
lost all their shyness, and stood calmly gazing at us aa we
passed, often within SO or 40 yards, or even less; slowly
taming, they walked away without fear and with full confi-
dence in us. Was this trusting friendship due perchance to
the hope that we might possibly kill certain mothers-in-law
who to them seemed de trop! But the wonderfdl instinct
which told the stags that at this season of the year we came
not as foes, had apparently also taught the hinds that danger
threatened them, for they seemed wilder now than the stags
in the autumn, and often more difficult of approach. There
were great sombers of them t(^ther, and perhaps only one,
or at the most two, shootable be^ts among them, if indeed any,
and these were not easy to get at, well protected as they were
by all the others. The deer generally were very restless,
owing to the abnost constant easterly winds, always on the move
and look-oat. The island was veiy wet, thanks to the late
rainy breather, and crawling about and sitting on the gronnd
when stalking and watching hinds became a very damp and
cooling entertainment, but we were out every day as long aa the
light allowed, searching all parts of the island for tiie old ladies.
The stalker's boots were provided with very inefficient laces —
already made a note of in the automn — which laces constantly
came undone. When the climbing was easy I did not draw
attention to them, but they always interested me and I watched

byGoogIc

A STALE ON SCABBA 257

them earefnllj; vben, howeTer, oq rare oecasioDB it seemed
adviBabla and inatnictiTe for a moment to admire the sceoer;
it was neeessary only to mention the hooUaoes to get what I
wanted and vithont giving myself away. The sport to me
seemed every bit as good as that of stalking stags, and was most
enjoyable; indeed, the fixed number — twenty-fiTe — was killed
all too soon. One hind, luckily only slightly wounded, towards
evening got away ; we followed it for a long time but never got
np to it ; a young stag kept it constantly on the move, prodding at
it all the time antil both entered a wood, sjLd we never saw them
again. Another, but much more severely wounded, also gave
ns a long chase, bat fortunately we fonnd it at last standing
dead'beat among some rocks near the sea, two miles about from
where it was shot. The bullet had traversed the abdomen from
end to end and torn the stomaob and bowels, the contents of
which were escaping externally. Yet the poor beast, followed
by a faithful friend which only left it at the last moment, had
gone all that distance and at a very good pace. The stalker,
who had the most extraordinary ideas about the recuperative
powers of deer in general, stated his firm belief that, left to
itself, this hind would certainly have recovered.

Bain frill heavily as we left the island with a foil ca^ of
hinds, which not only had afforded ezoellent sport, bst proved
the best of venison.

byGoogIc

w:

TABFON nn FLORIDA

1901

3 w«e flahing in &e " Boos (Grande," the deepest of tii«
aereral moathB of the twenty-five milea long Gh«riott«
Harbour, opening into the Ghilf of Mexico. The " harboor,"
a shallow ezpanBe of sea, extending to the town of Ponta
Qorda on the mainland of Florida, ia protected gnifwarda by a
line of "keye," or low mangrove and palmetto-ooTa«d ialanda,
and in the deep channel between the two larger ones, Qaspaiilla
and Petmoohio, was oar fishing-gronnd. The deepest part —
that most frequented by the tarpon, who passed through here
chiefly on the flood tide to the shallower feeding-gronnds or
flat^— is in the northern half of Uie " Booa," that adjoining
Oasparilla Lighthonse, and here at the torn of the tides, and
until these became too strong, were generally twenty-five or
thir^ boats, each oairying a keen fisherman and an equally
keen " guide " or rower — black or white.

About four years ago, when trolling superseded still fishing,
the Booa Orande became the Melton of tarpon fishing, for the
depth of its waters alone permitted the doahUess superior sport.
The fonner great resort for still fishing — the Captiva Pass,
south of Petruochio Island — is now almost deserted, only a very
few old-&shioned tarpon fishers still keeping to their ^voorita
haunt. Other Eomons fishing-graands of former days near
Punta Gorda and in the many inlets near Fort Myers have gone
out of favour owing to scarcity of fish ; where formeriy tarpon
abounded they are now rarely seen, banished, it is said, by great
imparities in the water resulting from working the phosphate
deposits near the coast.

:,zcc;..C00gIc

TASPOK IN FLORIDA 259

There ean be no donbt that trolling from a eonstantl; moving
boat mnet be mach more interesting and exciting thaoi Bitting
still honr after hoar in an anchored one with nothing to do but
to mtoh the ooils of line on the seat in the hope that they ma;
be mn ont by a fish. All keen anglers now collect in the Boca
Orande, making their temporal; home either on one of the
man; yachts or in Mr. Hn^ee' floating hotel aboat two miles
away. This gathering of kindred spirits is very delightfiil ;
the boats when fishing are elose togetiier, and during the limeh
honr, and when the tide nms too strongly, all oolleot at the
Lighthouse. Fish are measured, weighed and admired, and the
partioolars of the capture diseoBsed. A Btroll along the snow-
white Btnnd entirely formed of shells follows, when always
something new and beautiful is to be found, or among the
palmetto BOTnb near the shores where orange-Im>wn lantana and
pink and white periwinkles are in full bloom. Shark lines
are set from the pier — often snccessfiilly — and smaller fish
caught, like pomponeanx or sheep-heads, for the table. Tbaa
time passes pleasantly and quickly ontil the fleet puts to sea
once more.

It was a bad season that of 1901 ; in a good one, one hundred
fish have been landed in a month by one indiTidual, while twenty-
five was now the best score in eight to nine weeks. The scarcity
of tarpon was ascribed by the guides to the stormy weather ; it
always blew from the N.W., and the heavy swell made it often
very lively in the boats. We had several gales, lasting each
about three days, when fishing was totally out of the question.
Again, the heavy rollers of flood tide washing over high banks
carried a la^e quantity of sand with them and made the water
very thick and nninviting to the fish. Then tarpon like the sea
warm, but the temperatore, owing to the prevailing N.W. winds,
remained always below their bvonrite degree. The above
reasons were no doubt answerable to some d^ree for the
smallness of the bags, hot I fear others, and more serious ones,
contributed their share. Thus so very many tarpon have been
killed in this small extent of water since fishing began here, so
many others have been pricked and badly wounded and no
doubt made very shy of anything sospicioQS in the way of bait ;
they are probably kept away also by tiie large nnmber of sharks
whiob haunt tiie plaoe— shariu which oolleot here, beii^

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260 SPORT AND TRAVEL PAPERS

constantl; fed with de&d and dying fish thmm back into the
■ea, and with othen which they take off the hooki of the
prematurely jubilant fiBbermaii, who, when nearing Hib shore,
thinks his tarpon as good as landed. Whaterer the real
reason, the &ot that it was a bad season remains, nor did it
improTe in any way after April as it always had done before.

But for all that it was vety charming this life on the sea,
in ^orioos air and lovely sunshine, close to the palmetto-ooTered
islands framed in sUvery sand, and in company with so many
people all equally keen about the same sport. One or more
of dtem was sure to be playing some fish ; if not a tarpon,
perhajH a shark, a jewflsh, one of the rays, a channel bass or
gronper, red or brown — the latter indeed proving a nuisance by
oonstantly taking off the bait or hooking themselTes ; or a
kingflsh, the most sporting of all, each one as it toached the
book sending that well-known electric thrill through the
fisherman, to be followed by a moment of intense uncertain^ as
to what kind of fish had taken a fancy to the bait, or whether it
was or was ]not securely on the hook. Tarpon travel in schools,
and when one boat has a " strike," others near are likely to be
honoured also ; guides row to a strike of tarpon as miners rush
to a strike of gold.

A good goide in a good boat and the very best tackle are
necessities, aa also fresh bait cat from the silvery belly of a grey
mullet, and kept 1^ sinkers as near the bottom as possible,
6a there the ta^n feed on crabs and small fish. The " strike "
of a tarpon varies in kind, and depends on whether he takes
the bait from below or from above. When the former, the poll
is very light and ceases at once ; yon draw np the line in the
belief that yoa have missed anoUier grouper, then suddenly,
when least expected, the rod is almost jerked ont of your hand,
the reel rings and away shoola your tarpon. If the bait be
taken from above, a heavy jerk and continued heavy pull
necessitate a very firm bold on the rod and brake of reel ; in
both oases the line rushes out, however much you ixj to check
it, catting the water farther and fiirther away, until at last
out comes the glorious silver fish, jumping high and straight
out of the water, and shaking his head frantically like a bulldog
in his effort to get rid of the hook. His appearance above water
is received wit^ a joyous shont by your boatman, fbr only then are

byGoogIc

TARPON IN FLORIDA 261

yoD BOTO titat joTu fish ia a tarpon, and the other fisherman
envy yoa, bat edge away to give yon and your fish plenty of
room. It is a time of intense excitement. The moment yon
feel what seems to yon like the strike of a tarpon, yonr guide
pnlls for dear life in the direction away from the fi^ in tnrder
to put all possible Btrain on the line and drive in the hook,
whiie yon support his efforts by oheoking the whirling reel to the
best of your ability. After the first jnmp yon reel in as moofa
as eTer possible, in order to be ready for tiie next rush, which
is followed by more glorioas jnmps, and bo on until at last the
fish becomes tired, and allows yon to get him near the boat. It
has been a steady and rery heavy drag all the time, polling in the
line inoh by inch, giving only when absolutely obliged and yon
cannot hold the fish, whose rashes gradually become le^ and
less determined. Yonr arms ache, yon have almost lost the use
of your thumb, which presses against the brake of the reel ;
but when at last the beautiful tarpon Uea on hia side dose
to the boat, apparently tired out, yon have to hold him there
and drag him along while yonr boatman rows towards the beach.
There, perhaps, yon have another fight, bat with yonr remaining
strength you at last drag yonr prise on to the sand. He is now
quickly measured, a silvery scale taken, and away he goes
back into the sea. After such a battle, it always gave me great
pleasure to watoh the grand fish slip back into his native
element ; he had afiTorded plentry of exoiting sport and all the
bard work wanted ; he was not really much tiie worse, and lived,
one hoped, to fight another day. It seemed snoh a cruel thing
to see these tarpon lying dead and dying on the shore, only to
he thrown back into the water, food for sharks alone, for with
the exception of ihe crews of occasional sponging schooners, no
one would eat them.

But not l^ any means is every hooked tarpon landed ; indeed,
the great majority is not. So many accidents oeonr to saddenly
change joy on the flshemian's part to disgust and intense
disappointment. The interior of a tarpon's month is conatmoted
of plates of hard bone jointed hj ligamentous tissue, and covered
with a thin membrane. It is impossible to foroe a hook into
the bone, even by hand, and nnless, therefore, it catches in one
of the joints or in the lips the hook is certain to come away,
generally (daring the second jump, which seems the critical one.

byGoogIc

262 SPORT AND TRAVEL PAPERS

And then even the strongest line will aometimes break, or •
■hark swim off witii whst yon had already considered yonr own.
And yet, if jon jaaneU were dead out of look, and had been so
for days and days together, and others seemed to yon to get Ur
more than their share of sport, the battle fought by them and
their tarpon was very amoaing to watoh, and certainly &r less
ffttigning than fighting a fish yooraelf. It was rery interesting
also to look at the huge pelioana fluking morning and erening,
as they swooped down on to their prey from a hei^t and gobbled
the oaptored fish into their oapacions ponoh, tiieir meal being
often dispnted by some very preoocions goUs. Turtle, too —
the large yellow "loggerhead" — ^were yeiy nnmerons; they
frequently rose to Uie top to breathe, floated for a while on
the Borfaoe, had a good look ronnd with their large dark eyes,
and disappeared; porpoises rolled lasUy along; grotesque
whiprays flopped ont of the water like some huge bat, and now
and then a beautifol kingfish shot some 10 or 12 feet and
more into the air, apparently in pursuit of a small fish, which in
reality he had knocked out of the water in his lightning roah.

In oabn, warm weather sometimes tarpon came in with the
tide in hundreds, the sea literally seemed alive with them, all
playing aboat and tumbling oret one another on top of the
waves, in the bright sunlight a really glorious si^t, their
metallic green and blue back oontrastiug sharply with the
polished dilver on their aide. The sea was full of them, but not
one would look at bait or hook ; the fish were not feeding, only
at boisterous play. Their meals are taken in the depths below,
and there must Uie bait be inritin^^y displayed, for nowhere else
will they look at it. Well, I had landed eleven and was voy
desirous of comjdeting the doaen ; time was getting short and
strikes had lately become scarcer and scarcer. My best day had
produced three taipon, one of which took me over to the other
shore of the Boca, a mile away at least, where it was landed
after a long fight ; he weighed 111 lbs. by measurement. This
measuring gives the weight within a pound or two as was many
a time proved, the formula being : Square the girth, multiply
by the length in inches, and divide by 800.

The second fish on that day rushed at the bait from below,
earned it up to the surfiwe, and knocked the oar out of my
boatman's hand. At first I thou^t then was nothing on the

byGoogIc

TARPON IN FLORIDA 263

hook, all weight luving disappeared, until the guide's sttong
language told a different tale. Being well hooked the temporary
slaokness of the line was of no import and the fish was presently
landed. A day or so before I hod fought a h&rd fight witli a
tarpon when the line broke as he was lying exhausted on his
side dose to the boat. It was annoying, hut he had given me
plenty of fim and I only hope that the fiah reoovered thoroughly
before attacked by a shark, and that he soon got rid of hook and
line. Anotiter taipon qualified for a prize for jomping ; during
his first firastic rush he leaped clear over one of the boats,
passing luckily between the fisherman and his guide. As he
weighed probably well over 100 lbs. it would have been a aeriouB
matter had he hit either. Since luTiijiTig the eleventh a fish had
broken my line, and I had only had that one strike in two days,
and thto^Mfore became anxious about the twelfth. The weather
now was hot, and as most of the taipon were said to be on the
shallow flats feeding on crabs and basking in the sun, I gave still
fishing a trial at Palmetto Ke^, a number of small islands just
north of the CaptiTa Pass. The bait, a laige pieoe of mullet,
is thrown as Car aa possible &om the anchored boat, a oertaiu
amount of line ooiled up on the seat, and nothing else is required
but patience, and — a fish. If a tarpon moves away wiUi the
bait the line runs steadily out from the boat until the coil is
gone and he feels the atr^, when the fish will show himself by
jumping oat of the water. The hook having been swallowed he
is obtain to be landed if nothing breaks ; this misfortune, how-
evOT, happened in my case and in a curious way. Fart of the
line ran out and a taipon jnmped, not as nsual straight out of
the water, but curled up and wri^Iing violentiy. The line
stopped and came in broken when reeled up. The fish probably
had become entangled in and SQa[^>ed it when jumping. Twioe
afterwards the line was out by crabs, and, being valuable, we
gave np still fishing, but there were many taipon about and I
hope that they avenged me on the orabs. The next candidate
for the honour of completing my dosen was a splendid fish who
gave a glorious display of his jumping powers, showing his
beautifiil tana seven or ei^t times j being still on the hook
after so severe a test I was full of hope of landing him. But
no, when near the boat, within 6 or 7 feet, the fish gave
two more feeble jumps and out came the hook. A brave fighter

byGoogIc

264

SPORT AND TRAVEL PAPERS

who weU deserred his liberty. On the following day my twelfth
was broagbt on shore and, althongh I fished again, he proved
the last. Altogether I had battles with twenty-eight tarpon, of
whieh twelve were landed; the line broke three tunes, once
entirely due to carelessneas, and the others were insufficiently
hooked.

tub April ...

lotSS lbs
I0I66 „
lot»il „
I0I6O „
lotS4„
lolTS „

From now till the 1st of May I fished on enry possible day
bat got no strikes, owing greatly, no doabt, to a worse than
oseless guide — Black Joe by name.

1 ot 100 lbs
1 of 111 „
lot m„
lot TS „
lof 60 „
lot 8&i„,

With the bestKoide

there, Johnn; Bftinafi

(a Bootohnuui).

I am sore that snocess depends on the guide to a very great
extent.

My score compared favourably with that of others, and had I
not been obliged to employ a aeeless guide, the others being
engaged, from the 16th of April to the 1st of May, it probably
would have been greatly better. But the season was a very bad
one, the fish scarce and small. The latf^est killed weighed
171 lbs., but the v^y great majority scaled less than 100 lbs.
Every one went away disappointed but greatly impressed by the
E^rt and very eager to have another try as soon as possible.

Mbmb.

Get there l^ April 15th.

Engage the best guide long before starting.

Avoid a flat-bottomed boat.

Qei the very best taokle to be procured.

Fish deep (54 feet) with plenty of lead — two sinkers.

byGoogIc

TARPON m FLORIDA 265

On getting a strike bold the fish with every meBns aTailftble aad
do not pnt the rod into the socket^a leathern shallow
backet &Btened to your seat into which fits the batt-end of
the rod — until after the fish has jumped.

Never give the fish more line than yon can help.

Reel in wherever possible.

Be carefol of yonr line daring heavy jerks.

Let the fish go, iinleBs yoa want to preserve him, as sooa as
ever possible after dravring him on to the beaoh — of course,
be mast not be gaffed ; measnze instead of weig^iing him
and save his life.

byGoogIc

W'.

TOO LATE— LAPPLAND

1901

T£ iLftd landed from oni ouioe to prepare a midnight meal
on the nx^ bank of a wide river, somewhere — ^far within
the Atotic Circle. Opposite rose a high bank of bonldoB, gravel
and aand, eovered with a thin layer of monld, the whole
gradaall; but Buely emmbling awa; nnder the combined in-
fluence of mshing waters and ice pMsing in the spring. Beycmd,
and indeed all aromid, rose pictnresqne monntains, clothed
below in moss, heather, and birch scrub, but bare rock aboYe,
tiiose opponte bri^t and golden now as they reflected the
midni^t sun. Where we had landed, close to the ontfiUl
of a noisy monntain stream, a tiny valley descended from
the hilla; it was now beantifoUy green when all else lay
dried up, thanks to the moisture from the brook, and flowers,
blae, yellow, white, and red, flourished, and gave colour to the
scene.

Among the boulders dose to the river we lighted a fire and
cooked our coffee, the writer and his two boatmaa, Lapps,
excellent fellows and splendid men at their trade. Althon^
long after midnight it was as bright as day, for we were b^ond
the 70th degree of latitude and the sun never set. Fishing for
salmon, we bad tried tiie pools down from the hoose, leaving
there late in the evening when the sun no longer shone on the
river, and were now resting from oor, alas ! unrewarded labonis
before giving the fish another chance. Bat it was far too late
in the year, there could be no doubt of that ; we ou^^t to
have beem here three weeks befiare. An unnanally early season
wu followed by perpetual dear, doodless akiea and hotweath«:;

:,zcc;..C00gIc

TOO LATE— LAPPLAND 267

there vaB no snow left to keep up the river, whioh w«a lower
than bad been known for many, man; years. No rain, except
a thanderstorm, vhich did no good, fell daring onr stay; the
flflh which had come up had gone on, those waiting below oonld
not get OTcr a shallow part for mmt of water. A fortni^t
before onr arrival the fishing had been very good, bat it fell
off suddenly, and owing to want of rain and a steadily falling
river, never recovered. Soidk a year had not been known for
thirty years t How intensely annoying it is, and how often it
happens, after a long jonmey and very keen on the reasonably
to be expected sport, to find a season bad beyond all precedent.
Nothing is more exasperating when onder those ciroomBtanoeB
people will keep on dinning into yoor ears that they have never
known each a thing before. We had, indeed, arrived too Irte,
and were no donbt onrselves to blame, but then other people
in other years had reached the "fiske stne" aboot the same
time and got moat exc^ent ^rt. They had had rain and
floods, and snow had remained to melt and keep ap the river,
but there were no each blessLogs in store for ns — the droaght
was onprecedented, and remained so.

Bat the water in oar copper kettles, saspended over the fire
by means of slanting sticks, is boiling ; we add the coffee and
let the mixtare stand simmering on the coals, while I unpack
from my Norwegian box and my Lapps from their sealskin bag
oops, sugar, batter, and whatever tiiey contain in the way of
eatables. The men having grilled with the aid of a pointed
stick a piece of salted salmon, are now eating it together with
some flat cakes of very coarse brown bread pleutiMly spread
with butter; some dried reindeer meat, soaked in the eoffee,
follows as a second coarse; sugar and milk sweet or sour are
not fo^otten, and a thorou^y satis&ctory meal is made by all
hands, and very enjoyable it is in the beautiful sunlit, bat
starlMS, night. How doably enjoyable it would have been had
only the fishing approached ths lowest average even ; now that
honid word "blank" had bnt too often to be written in the
daily record, and landed fish were indeed few and far between.
The Lapps had done exceedingly well daring the first run and
bad fished, and ware fishing, the river to death almost. About
every hundred yards all Uie way up — 100 miles — ^were huge
stake and bag nets, with extensive tangles, more than a third

byGoogIc

268 8P0KT AND TRAVEL PAPERS

MTosa the rivw from each b&nk. A^ain, the natiTee fished all
the good poole — harling — ^with a long narrow spoon, two rods
in each boat, primitiTe afiairs certainly but effective, 6 feet
long birch sticks with loops of wire for rings ; a cotton line
woood roond a reel, often self-made, with a handle taken from
a coffee grinder. Many of tiiem are now, howcTer, eqnipped with
modem reels and tackle, which can be parehased at any of the
town stores. The population in these parts is entirely riTerine,
only twudeer herds were now in the interior ; all the males are
Sshermen, and CTerybody lives on salmon, supplemented by
Kondeer meat, bread, coffee, and milk. A few cows and sheep
graze about the scarce homesteads, the patch of grass, hopeless
though it is this year, near the house being kept for hay. The
surplus hay not required for boot stuffing is given to tiie eattle
in the winter, lai^y mixed with dried and salted refuse of fish,
all of which is oarefiiUy preserved during the fishing season,
and afterwards eagerly eaten by the eows.

Hy men — as all the Lapps on this river — ^wear their ftall
national costume; it is rather faded certainly with work, but
very picturesque for all that ; it has merely lost the brightness
of the Sunday dress. A loose, dark blue and woollen olotii
overcoat with high stiff collar, open at the throat, is confined
to the waist by a red and white embroidered sash. The coat
is trimmed round the neck and edges, across the chest and baok,
to half-way down the sleeves in front and behind, by red and
yellow braid ; the same colours are let into the seams. A pair
of tight white woollen trousers lose themselves in wide brown
leather boots staffed with hay, the uppers of which are secured
to the leg by a long and narrow white puttie, again embroidered
with red thread. A neckerchief, with pocket at each end,
containing tobacco, and a peculiar cap with large square top
and far projecting comers staffed with feathers over a broad
crimson band, completes the costume — ancient as it is pictur-
esque. A la^ knifa hangs from the girdle, and is put to
every possible use. The women wear short red and white
striped gowns and a close-fitting brilliantly red bonnet. These
Lapps up the river, not those miserable creatures who are to
be seen begging on the various steamboat landings, are splendid
feUoira and magnifleent boatmen, strong and enduring. They
will pole a heavy canoe up a rapidly running river from early

byGoogIc

TOO LATE-LAPPLAND 269

mora till Ute at nighi, itopping only now and then to oook their
eoffee.

But it is time to make a start, for we are going to fleh the
poola over again on the way back to the hnt, firat tiying the
M^oinisg one, into whieh the mountain Btream, now bat a
brodc, empties itself close to onr resting-place. The method of
fishing here for salmon is " harlisg " from a canoe ; these are
aH alike on this riTer, aboat 26 feet long by 8 feet wide, made
ot pine planks, and exoeUentlj well adapted to the work
required of them, especially in the rapids. The oaaoe is poled
np-stream by a man at eaob end, and rowed down by means
of short paddles from the bow, being steered by a rery broad
one in the stem. When fishing a pool, the eanoe is rowed
from one aide of the rirer to the other in sigsag fashion and
very narrow beats, more or less against the cnixent always, so
as to make the flies try every part of the water. The fisherman
sits on the floor of the canoe, near the middle ; a rod lying in
a forked stick fixed to the boat prqjeots outward on each side,
while the batts rest on the floor between the angler's legs.
About 40 feet of line is ont, and the akilfnl working of the
boat never allows it to be slack. A little line drawn from the
reel is coiled up and placed nnder a flat stone dose to the butt,
to be jerked out should happily a fish take the fiy ; the noise
wakes up the patient fisherman, and the jerk more firmly fixes
the ho(^ in the salmon's mouth. Just where the bubbling
rtream ran wedgelike into the river, one of the flies were taken
and the reel went merrily round. The Lapp in the bows
quickly took up the other rod, reeling in the line as fitst as
possible so as to get it ont of the way. But, alas I it was only
a trout — when salmon were scarce a great disappointment; a
very dark fish with big red qwts, in bad oondition, but weighing
abont 2} lbs. Well, we tried that pool from top to bottom
without another rise, and then a second and a third with the
same results, poling cp afterwards through some rapids to a
fourth. The river being vety tow allowed the larger rocks to
stand out clear, and the water rushed and swirled among them
M if angry at the many obstacles pat in the way of its peaceful
fiow. When near the upper part of the pool the coil of one
of the lines was suddenly jerked oat frttm below the stone, and
awaj the line w«it to the glorious mosic of the whining wheel.

byGoogIc

270 SPORT AND TRAVEL PAPERS

W« •ndantl; had got hold of m. aalmon this tim«, for the fish
no oot ft lot of line, then tuned uid came back towards the
boat, BO niddenl;, indeed, that when the line hang slaek I
had a terrible mimiring that fish and fly bad parted. What
a relief it waa on reeling rapidly in to feel ^e weight onoe moie I
The flah now made rtraif^t for a huge bonlder, and there he
apparently intended to remain. No tugging would more him,
and hafing already had a oast out against a rock, I began to
get nerrou aa to the lesnhs. Thwe was no morement what-
ever, the line seemed immoTab^ fixed, and it seemed aaiy too
probable that it was tif^tly wonnd zonnd the rock, poenbly
withoat a fish at the end. We pat the oauoe alongside the
bonlder, a Lapp took hold of the line to free it, when all doabta
Taniahed, and to my great delight the flah, tamed ont of his
lur, made a splendid rash down-stream. After tiring him ont
thoroo^y he was at last landed on a rooky bank, sealing 20 lbs.
exactly. There is nothing more glorious Uian the firet whin
of the reel, and nothing more heartbreaking than when after-
wards the hook oomes away for no i^parent reason or &alt on
the part of the fishuman. We fished all the pools homewards,
bat reanltleas, still the day, or rather ni^t, had not been, as
now so TBiy often happened, blank.

Iq spite of oar Tory pom sneoess with the salmon, the place
deoidedly came np to the Frenchman's idea of as Engliahman's
paradise; when yoa were sot bosy killing salmon, tront, or
giayUng, yon were fttlly employed in despatching mosqaitoea
to their last hq>py home. These tormentors, thanks to the
remarkably dry season, were not at their worst.

The gr^ling fishing was really good, and afforded excellent
wpari, especially near the month of and in a londy pool a short
way iq» the mountain stream which entered the river a little
bdow oor house. The pool, among huge rocks, was very deep
and as clear aa crystal, hot coloaied by reflection by the green
birahes, the greys, reds, and yellows of the rooks, ajii the blae
BJ^ and brilliant son above like the inside of a pearl maseel.
Hera the grayling could be plainly seen ; they ooald aa plainly
see the flaherman, and yet they took the fly greedily, and only
after a really good fight allowed themselves to be landed.
Orand fish Uiey were, lovely in colouring, i^ordiog exoellent
i^ort and eating. They were very noneroos also at the month

byGoogIc

TOO LATE— LAPPLAND 271

of the Btream, but here the Lapps cangfat all they could in
nets. Their then store of ealmon being short, they had to
SQpidement it with smallar fry to keep themselTes and their
cattle alire during the many months of dartnees and dreaty
winter.

byGoogIc

IN CAMP IN NEW ZEALAND
1902

Wi

\ joined the Napier-Taapo ooaoli at the fonna; town,
bound for the opper teadies of the BangitaiU lUver,
v^iieh, risLDg at the foot of Boapehn, crosses a very exten-
flire plain of pnmioe covered with low manuka somb. Forsaking
the ooacb at a small waTside ion, the regular stopping-place for
lunch of the travelling pablio, we entered a bnggy — ^here a four-
wheeled open vehicle drawn b; two horses — and leaving the
ooaoh-road drove aoroas country and at the end of sixteen miles
arrived at our eamping-plnoe, where we found a mors or less
permanent hut used by parties of fishermen for cooking and
eating poiposes. The horses were turned out into a paddock,
where on low-lying swampy groond better grasses grew among
Inxnriant bunches of flax ; then we put up the tents and our
first afternoon was spent in making onraelves thorooghly com-
fortable.

Man'<lr* somb properly arranged in layers on the ground
makes an excellent mattress, and here takes the place of the
balsam branches of Canada, which, if more fragrant, do not
make a more restful or comfortable bed. The same scrub, the
only fuel available, bums brightly and hotly and soon persuades
the watw in our billy into boiling. Bain has commenced
to &U heavily and our hut, though somewhat lea^, is greatly
appreciated, furnished as it is with table and bench. The
former is adorned with the carved outline of a noble trout of
8^ llw., the bl{s;e8t fish oaoght on the river and saiely brought

Dc;:,zcc;..C00gIc

IN CAMP m NEW ZEALAND 273

to bag by m; oompanioii two jears ago <m the reiy lightest
taeUfl. The plun is of tot; great extent, abont 800 feet above
aea-level, mostly flat but terraced and hilly here and there, the
whole densely covered with low mannka scmb, coarse tosaock
grass, mow and liohen. In oloody weather and from a dis-
tasce the coontty in its general appearance greatly reaembleti
a moor in Scotland in its purple-brown colouring, manuka being,
when not covered with white blossom, very like heather, although
higher and more grey-green on close inspection. The soil is
vety poor, almost entirely pnmice, for we are in the Botoroa-
Tarawera volcanic district, with bnt a very thin layer of mould
in whioh nothing bnt scrab and oo&rse grasa will grow. The
sceoery is desolate and wild, yet very piotnreaqne in its desola-
tion. On clear days the beantifiil snow-olad mountain Boapebn,
witli Tongariro and Nganraboe, "the smoking one," were
dearly visible in the fkr distance, uid opposite to them on the
horison rose Tarawera, the destroyer of the pink and white
terraces ; between the two to the north Monnt Tanpo.

The river, bom near the first-named volcano, nma a very
Dgug coarse throngh the plain and eventnally enters the Bay
of Plenty on the east coast. Comparatively a small and narrow
river near onr camp, it was not by any means always confined
to tta present bed ; it overran, no doabt, the plain to a vety great
extent, and its mshing waters then cat deeply into and throngh
any hill which barred the way, thns leaving those 20 or 80 feet
perpendicnlar cattinga which are seen in so many places. From
the tops of these many a fine fish may be watdied lying in the
clear water below, immovable but for a slight motion of the
tail, he is very shy and will dart away should he catch the
nterest glimpse of the observer, safe thongb ha is entirely oat
of reach of hook and fly.

We, Mr. C. and I, have come to the river for trout fishing,
and brought with us a Maori boy — Fold — to look alter the
horses, and last, but not least, " Rags," a fox terrier. Mr. C.
is the most expert flsherman, and very keen, knowing well every
inch of the river and the haunt of every big fish. He has always
taken the greatest interest in the Bangitaiki ; was instrumental
in stocking it twelve years ago, and onder his care it flourishes
exoeedin^y. The fish have done marvallously well, and afford
in the clear water the rery best of sport. As this part of the
19

byGoogIc

27i SPORT AKD TRAVEL PAPERS

mer is T«rj much out of the mj snd neoeBBiUteB k eunp outfit,
it ifl Dot OTerfished, md indeed only Tinted two or three times
ft seuos, by generally the Bune parfy, which party — ^fonr roda
— during last ChriBtmas week landed eighty fish, averaging
over 4 Ibe.*

We had very wet and oloody weather for some time, and I, in
my ignorance of looal afhira, fchooght a doll aky a &Tonral]le
eondiUon for fiahing, but this was not bo here. A bright, warm,
sonny, still day was what we wanted and the dearest watw ;
there were inBects abont then and none on dnll days ; one coold
easily see the fish, for no fiy is erer thrown here at haphaxard,
never ontil a deurable troat has been marked down. To see a
fish in the deeper water requires great practice-^it was an art I
&iled in miserably ; bnt Mr. G. and the Maori bey ooold find a
(root in almost ai^ anunmt of ena disturbed water. In some
parts the riTer ran between low banks bare of brush, and here
the fish was almost difficult of approach ; in others it mshed and
swirled among rocks and boulders, the white foam and spray is
lovely contrast with the deep and lighter blues of the dear
water, grass banks, which in such places, thanks to more
abundant moisture, were beautifully green, with flax, cabbage
palms, high manuka and other bush, toi-toi grass with its
waving plumes, tree and other ferns, a lovely variety of foliage,
and all sharply reflected in the river. The extreme shyness of
the fish in the dear water renders neoeesary the very finest
tackle, line, cast and fly, which entails nnfbrtimatdy the risk of
breaking with a big trout. The fish, indeed, have to be handled
with the very greatest care, and a fish hooked is not by any
means to be ooonted as already in the bag. Verily, there are
many troubles in store for the flsheiman, who, himself unseoi
behind the fish, must east upstream in front of the troat, and
most carefully ; the wind is bnt too often very troublesome ; it
will not allow the line to go out properiy, or cause it to splash
and so frighten the game, and the line or hook catches in bosh
or a rook in the river. A big spedes of manuka grows on the
banks, each branch of which at thia season of the year is covered
with dense rows of rongh beiries like peppercorns, a most
irritating vegetable, for it has the greatest affection for one's
line. To dear the latter is almost impossible. The more yon

byGoogIc

IN OAJfP m NEW ZEALAND 275

try to dJBentangle it the firmer it i» lield, and in the end yoa
have Dot only most decidedly lost yonr temper, bnt fly, and
probably cast as well. I have beard lan^piage on those oocasions
that would tnm a team of oxen !

Soon after break&st Mr. C. aod I got on to onr horses, euh
with a rod ready for action ; saddle>bagB, made oat of a sack
ooDtained waders, billy, Innoheon, &o., and oarried home the
oatch. Thtis we rode op or down along the river, through the
everlasting iriamika scmb, sometimes distorhing a hare or quail,
starlings, or a hawk, wild pigs rarely, bnt always bnnohes of
wild horses, each led by a stallion, and " shags," darters, a very
destmctive bird to the yonng tront. Prospecting the river as we
rode along, we tried for any decent fish discovered — and what
sport it was I On some days the tront wonld msh at the fiy as
soon as it tonched the water, while on others nothing wonld
tfflnpt them, even if the fiy was frequently changed and dangled
in front of their nosea, abnost for hours together. The fish
would quickly dart aside, bnt immediately return to bis former
position, and apparently never even notice the beautifiil governors,
claret hackles, and peverils so artiatioally displayed for Ms
approval. The first-named was the favourite fly, and took 90
per cent, of the fish landed. On one occasion I had already
oaoght three beautifnl trout with the same governor, and the
Maori boy was trying to get a fourth — a very lively fish — into
the landiog-net, when in the straggle my oast broke close to the
Hy. I exdaimed, " What a pity ; there goes my best governor t "
bat the boy, having secured the fish, answered, " Ob I no, here
it is in his month, and another one with it," a peveril, which
evidently had not long adorned the captive's lip. Difficult as
the fishhig is, the satisfaction of at last hooking a good fish after
repeated failures is veiy great, and the hamlling and landing
him afforded much enjoymesL On several occasions I took the
Maori boy with me, who was very keen and skilful at seeing a
fish in the water. He was an excellent boy, bat his costume
seemed somewhat pecoliar. Foki always wore a thick bine and
black striped woollen jersey and coat, however hot tiie day ; a
grey felt hat, terribly the worse for wear, with a once yellow
poggarie and crimson feathers. His trousers were badly rent
behind, the rent, however, generally filled by a casually providing
shirt-tail ; while bis boots threatened every mmnetit to separate

byGoOgIc

276 SPORT AST} TRAVEL PAPERS

fliully into their oomponmt parts. He was veiy brown, fall of
esthosiasm, and an eztraordinar? natural nmsioian, playing
almost an; tone with great aocnracy on his month harmoninm.

My best day gave seven tnmt landed, none nnder 4 lbs. ;
biggest 5^ lbs. ; a small one scaling 2^ lbs. was retnmed, and
three lost. We averaged altogether rather orei 4 lbs. than
nnder. Splendid sport, and what excellent eating they were I
Those which we conld not oonsome were salt«d for fatore nee,
and on the last day only eight fresh fish remained, when most
opportnnely a Maori &mily arrired, and bivouacked near as for
a night. We made them a handsome present of the fish, and
five of them devoured in that short time the whole lot, abont
80 lbs. of tront — tmly a marrellouB feat i Of coarse we were
delighted at their splendid appetite, for thus no part of oar catch
was wasted, and we conld go away with a clear consdenoe.

Dming a sabseqaent visit to New Zealand I got a good mtmy
big tront — brown and rainbow — bnt they were not as anxions to
come to the pot as those of Lake Superior as related in the
Naatical Magazine of July, 1901.

" In 1894 the ss. Selwyn Eddy, going down Lake Saperior,
had a 85-lb. tront vrashed on board by a heavy sea. It fuinished
a mess for the whole crew." The DetroU Free Pren, in com-
menting on his yam, points ent that the older Lake sailors oonld
remember instances of boats that rolled bo mnoh that the fish
nsed to be shot by the sea down the smoke-stack and come out
just nicely fried at the fire-box t

byGoogIc

IN CAMP IN NEW ZEALAND (cmttnuedi
1902

Staleino

liTY next camp was in a very different place, among the high
ilL moantaina of Wairarapa in the soath-east comer of the
Northern Island, and the object in view — one or more of the
big stags which are said to exceed those in other parts both in
size and weight. The camp had been pitched some time before
hj a professional hnnter, who was to act aa my guide, a man
who spends every season in these mountains bnnting tor big
heads, which he sells at high prices ; he, however, houses and
takes ont any sporting visitor, shoold snch a one ttH into his
dntohes. There are several such men abont who, I fear,
destroy an immense amonnt of game for their heads and head-
skins alone, for the meat is nneatahle, the shooting having been
fixed is the ratting season. So the headless caroaasfis are left
to rot, of no ose to any one except the many wild pigs which
roam ahoat in great nomber. Until this year a hunter was
allowed to shoot an nnlimited number, bat now the £1 licence
entitles each stalker to five only, the heads to have not less than
ten points. No applicant for a licence is reftised, and doubtless
even now onder the present laws be shoots as many deer as ever
he pleases, there is no control ; he caimot well bring into a tovni
more than five heads at one time, bnt he can hide any others in
the brash and await a more oonvonient opportunity. Large
onmbers of shooters come into the coantry and numberless
carcasses are left lying about to rot — a really horrible waste of
what vrould at any other time be the best of meat. No one with

byGoogIc

278 SPOBT AND TRATEL PAPEBS

any Bportmg instiBct voold dream of firing at any stag not
eanyiog a firet-daBs head and worth preaerving aa a trophy;
Bach a one, indeed, is but rarely Been, and the stalker prefers
therefore not to ahoot at all, losing thna a great deal of fan.
Onr ounp waa pitched oIobo to a creek — Cape — in a narrow
valley witii very steep sides leading to high motintains at a spot
beyond which horses were not able to go. The tents stood on a
high bank above the mountain stream and were hidden in thiok
bosh and under high trees, chiefly remo, plentifolly adorned with
"snpple jao^" in as damp a place as oonld well have been
chosen ; no mm did penetrate there, no wind to diy the gronnd.
Hy only oompanion was the gaide, a Tyrolese by birth, bat long
resident in the oonntiy, a bom moontaineer, ontiring, always on
the move and as keen a hunter — for himself — as ever lived. He
and his partner, now in camp some distance away, had hooted
in these parts for several years and shot most of tiie magnifioent
beads whioh adorn the walls of so many houses in the oolony.
Xhese grand trophies fetch big prices, and there may thus
perhaps be some excuse fbr a guide's jealoosy of any one who
seoores a really good head, also, it may be, for not doing all in
his power towards finding soch a one for others. The first red
deer, a stag and two hinds, arrived in New Zealand firom
'Windsor Park in 1862 ; they were Scottish, crossed with
HoQgarian blood, and now they are in their thoosands in
various parts of the colony. Thanks to the foreign strain, and
probably also to the limestone formatios of their adopted
eoootiy, the antlers are very heavy and nearly all carry a
heavy crown. Many people, and those men who ought to know,
assert that the heads are falling off in size and that they are not
now what they were some years ago ; nm" that any of those
extraordinary heavy antlers bristling with points of former days
are ever got. To judge from recent specimens and from those
shot years ago, this apparently is so, and two reasons for it are
fpven, firstly, that the corameca scrob, of whioh deer are veiy
fond, and whioh is supposed to greatly help the antler's growth,
is becoming very scarce in the moontains ; the second uid
jffobably the more probable cause is that owing to the too early
opening of the shooting season — before the stags have reaJJg
begon to rot — the big fellows, lightened by the many shots
fired tt deer and pigs, never come oot of the dense bosh at all to

byGoogIc

IN GAMP IN NEW ZBALANP 279

Tiidt the veiy nomerooH hinds roaming ftbont over the moie open
ooQiitT;, hinds which are thos left to mate -with young and less
perfect stags. With the exception now and then of a "iraTell«r"
there is no laok of truth about the local saying, that if yon want
a big stag yon mnst look for him in the dense hash on the high
monntains, and there it is not possible to find him unless he
roars fireqnently and during the day. These monarchs are, of
oooise, attended by binds, bat their sphere of isfioenee remains
limited. The reason for fixing the shooting in the mtting season
is, according to book, that oidy then do the big stags oome oat
of the bash and become nsible, a theory not, apparently, always
borne ont in praotioe. The season — March Ist to April 80th —
this year was a bad one, or my visit — March 20th to April 6th
— ^was too early, at all OTents the roaring was Teiy slight
and generally only in the early mormng in places too &r to
reach from camp in time, or after dusk when too late to be from
home in a cooutry so terribly rough ; daring the day rarely was
a roar heard and no good stag seen. The weather also remained
far too hot and moggy ; on bright frosty days only do stags roar
with a will. We did our stalking on G-ovemment ground on the
high mountains rising up to 4,000 feet, mostly densely covered
with forest and very thick undergrowth, here very green and
beantifbl, there desolation itself where forest fires had done their
work and left nothing bat blackened scrub and hollow and
branchless trunks, some still npright among the many fallen
ones. They were all black birch, these massiTe trees, rery black
where the charred bark still remained ; silvery white where that
had &llen off. Here the gronnd, being exposed to the son, was
dry and covered with coarse grasB, but very wet and swampy in
QtB adjoining heavy forest where flourished many varieties of
flams and a beantiful lichen brilliantly painted in pale yellow,
blue and grey. Marching with this Government gronnd are
several private she^ runs, hills and mountaius, mainly cleared
of bnsb and sown with En^^sh grasses ; on these deer are very
plentifol, bnt the stags do not attain the size and weight of
.those on Government ground, where they have better shelter.

A short distance np the shingly bed, bat a terribly rough
vralk, over slippery boulders and brush and hllen trees, took us
into the "basin" where several small valleys met, each one
providing a fl»eder to onr creek. Along this stream we waded

byGoogIc

280 SPORT AND TRAVEL PAPERS

uid splashed man; « tune, then sonunbled ap one of the very
stee^t spnn. generaUj thickly oorered with dense winebeny
Bcrnb, to tiie main ridge, in the hope of seeing something good,
a hope always disappointed ; only onoe did we get a ^impse of
a tail stag. He had seen or winded ns long before and was
making best pace up a ridge several hundred yards away, '^^d
pigs there were many of all aizes and colours, some wild cattle
and wild sheep, many hinds and small stags, but too small to
shoot, being nseless as food and with heads not worth carrying
away. Fortune did not smile on me, and although I stayed a
fortnight in those parts no stag worth a shot came within
reasonable distance. Other people got a few moderate heads,
very few certainly, but I not a ohance at even one. Our oamp
was too far &om the best groond. It certainly was veiy
beantifnl in those monntainB ; the views were Tsry lovely and
the time passed in watching was delightfdl ; all was green and
bright. Towards the end of my visit it b^an and continned to
rain heavily for days and nights together, the camp became a
swamp ; luckily a big fire of black pine under cover in the cook-
ing tent enabled ns to keep oar clothes more or less dry. At
last the vet monotony proved too disagreeable and I was glad
to get away.

The goi^ and I, however, had not been altogether alone in
onr retreat ; a pair of owls lived near us and every evening one
of them woke np and roused the other with a loud " hyah !
hyah ! " followed by cries of " mors pork, more pork," to be
presently answered in similar language by his mate. One,
evidently the lady, repeated in a minor key every cry of the
male ; when tired of " more pork " they would chatter away in
less intelligible language, one strictiy following the other's lead,
until " more pork " onoe again came under disoassion. They
would thus talk by the hour in a sweetly plaintive voice, to
which I need to listen with delight — it seemed such a very
interesting oonVersation of a very affectionate coaple. At last
these our friends also became tired of the perpetual downpour,
which had already continued for more than two days and nights,
and startled us in the middle of the day by a sudden single eiy
of " more pork " in a voice expressive of the greatest disgust and
indignant protest against that most diaagreeabk weather. Th^
were truly delightful owls t There was another dunning bird,

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IN CAMP IN NEW ZEALAND 281

the " fantail," a small creatnre like a tomtit, vho was not in the
least Bhj and always glad to see one. He hopped ronnd as near
as he dared, opening out to the foil his dark brown and irtiite
fantail and wings, and going through all kinds of antics, gave
the atrangar a most pretty welcome to his bushy home.

My hnnter, they told me afterwards, was some time ago
engaged by a large sheep station in the Soath Island to kill the
wild dc^ which had lately greatly increased in niunber and were
doing considerable damage to the stock, the man to be paid a
fixed smn for erery tail sent in. The nnmber of tails produced
and paid fbr was so great that my " friend " was oongratnlated
on his skill in so qniokly destroying the peata, when, nnibrto-
nately, reports got abont that a carious disease had broken oat
among the dogs of a neighbouring station, a disease of which
loss of tail was the chief symptom ; and, further, that from an
adjoining town several dogs had disappeared altogether, some of
which, however, had been afterwards foond, evidently dead of
the same myHterious ailment, for they also had parted with their
caudal appendages.

The pathology of this interesting canine afOiction was
probably best understood by my hunter, who, doubtless afraid
of catching the same disease, soddenly left for other parts.

byGoogIc

IN HOKKAIDO (TEZO)
190S

S » R beliaf in England tint to te^ a gnn to Japan is
I, as BO qmrt wcsth the tnrable is to be got there ;
thia, hawttm, ia a gnat "■■■t'V, at all ersntB aa far aa YeiOi
tlm Bortlun jhIimI, ib eonoenied. In the other islands sport
wilk tha gnn naed to bo good, but now, except periiaps dnring
tha m^iating Beaaons of woodcock, dock, or gooao, it has bUtoi
oS tamblf. What else indeed can be expected whsa in 1901
no len than S50,000 game lioeneea were taken ont in a popnla-
tku of 36,000,000, men, women and children? T"i""""«"

ol birds an killed bj anaree, neta, and other

But in Teio ifKj good qiort is still to be got ; snipe of four
kinds are ^attifnl in the riee-fields, woodeoek, dnoks of almoet
enaj vaiie^ breed in the manhea, and pass throogh in large
nambers daring the migratory season in the antnmn and spring,
as also geeee and swans ; there are willow groose, hares which
torn white in the winter ; pheasants, howerer, only inhabit the
other islands. For the riHe there are still some b^fs and deer,
hot both an beooming rery searee indeed. The season in Yeso
opens on Ootober 1st, in other parts of Japan on the ISth, and
fw pheaaaotfl a fbrtnifj^t later rtill.

Yeio being mooh wilder, less populated, and more oat of the
way, crffers good sport among the above-named birds for Uioee
who ean to seek it ; the toil, howerer, and diseomibrt is reiy
great ; the small road-side inns, the only places to stay in, are
very bad indeed. And wheoi a lake or marsh has been dis-
oorered — a my pa n dise fw birds — pvbably no boat is

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IS HOKKAIDO (TEZO) 263

proeoiable nor soy other meaOB of getting %t them. Where
roads exist a home on wheels, with tent, dnok pant, fa
collapsible boat attached, [would greatly help to get good sport
in October and November, and pack ponies with tents In the
roadless distriats, for thus only oonld the less frequented and
therefore the best oonntty be reached with any degree of comfort.
Howerer, the following trips with a gnn were most enjoyable,
all being within easy reach of Hakodate. A good ezonrsion
from there, the sontbem port, is to Yonohawa, distance abont
4^ miles, and object snipe, which here aboond in the rice-fields
with which the coontry is covered for miles. A tram line mns
all the way, for the hotels at Ymiokawa are popular sommOT
reeorte, and the natural hot springs moch frequented ; most
pleasant and enjoyable it was indeed after a day's shooting to
sit and soak in the hot water of the well'arranged baths. Bat
here, as indeed everywhere, a good dog is an absolate necessity,
and not owning one my bag was very small compared with that
of my friend who did. Indeed, in my case, " Allah was very
good to the little birds," as the Indian shikaree said. Simply
walking roond and ronnd the sqoare rice patches on the very
narrow bank divisions between tiiem — for to go into them now,
with the crops nearly ripe, would never do — is not suffioieot to
make the snipe rise, and to find them when shot not by uiy
means an easy task. The same applies to quail in the thick
weeds and grass, potato, and bean fields. Unless many snipe are
seen, the endless circling round rice patch after rice patch, ever
balaucingoneself onthe slippery paths between them, with fr«qaent
slides in to irrigationrillB, becomes vety wearisome and monotonOQSi
and these rioe-flelda extend for miles and miles. However, we
got a good many common snipe, hot only one of the large
" Austrian " variety, no others being met with. The latter pass
through earlier, the people say. Occasionally, but rarely, a jaok
or paiided snipe is seen. Sy religiously working each patch
with a good dog a very &ir bag can be made. Here and there
three or four patches have bees left unplauted, but remain full
of liquid mud; around them nets made of black string are
suspended from poles to catch any snipe atbraoted by the
glistening mad, while others are caught in them wh^i the fields
are driven in the early morning. Altogether the poor birds have
a bad time of it 1 Docks are trapped in the same manner and

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284 BFORT AND TRAVEL PAPERS

many tesi, so disd; indeed that they ooold be bongfat in the
markets for a few sen — fEurthings.

Gtaao in Japan mnst and does decrease Teiy rapidly, for
nothing is preserred ; eTerything is destroyed that can possibly
be got at. The migratoiy season alone affords good sport.
The same applies to the Japanese salmon; the netting is so
oonstant, so thorough and exten^ve at the month of the seraral
riTers in October, when they ran, that bnt few fish ever reach
the spawning beds. Again, the water of many riTers is poisoned
by lefose of lately-erected &otorie8 and hemp mills. Millions
of salmon are yearly imported from the Amor and other parts of
Siberia, and the need for more is inoreasingly felt.

Besides snipe, quail, dnck, plover, and geese, birch gronse are
frequent in the forests ; they are " called " by the natiTOs by
means of a small Ante, made of bamboo, or a chicken bone,
tree'd by a dog, and shot one after anoUier like the " parbridges "
in ont-of-the-way plaoesin Canada.

Woodcock, the same as that in Enrope, breed in Hokkaido
(Tezo) ; a few come ftom Siberia in the antnmn and pass Bonfli,
returning in the spring, curiously esoogh, in greatJy increased
numbers.

The shooting licence yaries from two to twen^ yen (foor-
shillin^ to £2), and is calculated on the amount of income
tax paid in the oooutry by the applicants ; foreigners pay
aboDt ten yen.

Deer, nootinally protected and formerly frequent, are now jety
scarce, having been ruthlessly killed wholesale. The landlord
of an inn told as in great glee that a few winters ago he bad
killed seven deer with a stick in abont as many minutes, the
unfortunate animBln being unable to move in the deep snow; the
slayer, needless to say, was on snoW'Sboes. The large brown
bear, still to be found in the dense forests of the island, is honied
during his winter sleep by the Ainu, who go into the dens after
him and bring a good many afeinn to market, selling them at the
ridiculously small sum — when the great risk to life and limb is
considered — of seranteen yen, or tiiirty-four shillings. Indeed,
the bears have a rough time in Teso ; not only are the old ones
killed wherever met, bnt any cub found in the den is a valnaUe
foise and is taken to the village chiefs house, to be &ete suckled
by a woman and played with by the children. After a time the

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IN HOKKAIDO (TEZO) 285

bear is pnt into a bamboo cage conBtrncted ontdde the honse
and kept until the aattmin of the following year, when, being
wlxang and fall-grown, the " Festival of the Bear " takes place.
He is then let loose and killed with arrow and spear, his bead is
eot off and put upon a pole, where it reoeives libations of sakd,
and everybody gets drunk. " The more sakd an Ainn drinks the
more devout he is and the better pleased are the gods " (Uias
Bird's "Unbeaten Tracks in Japan"). Drunkenness is supreme
happiness, for which man is made. " For why," the Ainn says,
" did God make sakd, if not to be dnmk ? " These people are
bear worshippers, they admire his strength and courage. During
the killing ttiey shout, " We kill you, oh bear, come back soon
into an Ainu."

In aearch of soeneiy and ducks combined, we went to the
lakes near Hakodate— the beet time being the middle of
October, when the many maples, mountaia-ash, and large-leaved
vines in the dense forests encircling those beautiful sheets of
water have changed to a go^eous, deep rich claret and scarlet,
set off as this is by the golden yellow of birch, beech, and ash,
against the dark green of pines and needlewood generally. At
this season, ducks in large nnmbws come here to feed and to
rest on their way to warmer climes in the south.

If you go as we went, in a "baaba," the trip will give a
severe lesson to your liver, and that distinguished organ, upon
the trim of which all in life depends, will not dare to mlBbehave
for a long time to come, in dread that such an experience mi^t
' be rqteated. The lakes lie about seventeen miles in a northerly
direction firom Hakodate ; there are two of them — Komuna and
Omnna — with a very fair Japanese inn at the former, close to the
water and beautiful view of the lovely soenery. Now a basha is
a kind of omuibuB stunted in its growth, drawn by two horses,
or, as such things go in Yezo, very lean ponies. Murray's Quide
in its advice to travellers in Japan, says : " Avoid the basha if
yon have either nerves to shatter or bones to shake," and the
advice is good. Having no springs the vehicle moves solidly,
plumping and crashing into every hole and against every stone,
there is no give and take in its anatomy ; when the horses have,
by voice and a judicious application of whip, been persuaded into
a trot or a canter the oonoossion is truly terrible. The basha is

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286 SPORT AND TBATEL FAFEB8

provided with two very nurow 8ekt6 lengthwaya and one &r tha
driTer in front, and whatever spooe ia the well is not tiken np hy
legs ia eruomed foil of loggoge, dogs, and food for the horaes.
Then given the worst, the rattieBt, moEit holey and stony road,
and as I said before your liver will have a doing over those
seventeen miles which it is never likely to forget.

A start is made from the Hakodate hotel after the driver has
produced some very dolefdl sonnds on hia horn, a performanoe of
which he ia very proud, and whioh is repeated on erery possible
occasion, and we alowly roll throngh on almost interminable
street — in reality three miles long — flanked by low, very poor-
looking hooses, mostly shops, but flourishing smdls from the
stagnant and fool open drains which nm the whole length im-
mediately in front of the doors on either side. It is a cnrions
thing that the most cleanly Jap seems never to mind the worst
smdls. There is a great deal of traffic here besides trams :
wagons with every kind of coontry prodnoe, others heavily
loaded with material for the railway now bnilding in the vieinit;^
women and men drawing carta or straggling onder heavy loads,
bringing in vegetables, hnge bundles of flowering yellow ehiy-
santbemoms, baskets of apples, &e., &e.; ohildrmi innumerable
carrying others on their backs almost as big as themselves,
wrapped in molti-ooloored clothing — a motley erowd, mostly
clad in bine. When at last the street is done with, we jolt and
bnmp along between long stretches of rice-fields, pass several
small villages, at one of which the horses receive a feed of
chopped maise stalks and com, and we have some Japanese
tea in tiny caps, with Japanese biscuits, of whioh there are bo
many kinds; then on to the hills. Here the road becomes
wwse and worse, owing to heavy traffic connected with the
new railway. The basha having become absolntely impossible
without serious risk to our anatomy, we walk up the moimtaiit
road, obtaining beantifdl views of Hakodate and its mountain —
so like Qibraltar — on the slope of whioh the town is built — of
the bay, the ocean and main island beyond. The hills are
thickly corned with forest, now most beaatiful in its autumn
garb, and as we presently cross the crest, the lakes lie befive
and below us, with the volcano of Koma-ga-take on the fnrth»
slu»e of Omnna. After a rapid descent, and violent and
triumphant tootlings on the driver's horn, we at lart reach

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IK HOEEAIDO (TEZO) 287

the door of the Jftpanese iim, to everybody'a sniweine satia-
bction.

The Bhootiiig is done oat of a flat-bottomed boat, poled or
rowed — the oare worked not together, but alternately, giYisg the
boat an nncomibrtable wriggling motion — along the reed-fringed
marshy shores, the little creeks, and bays which abound. The
lakes are snrrooDded by hills oorered with dense vegetatioQ,
which now is saperb, in the richest shades of red and yellow,
(be mass of oolonr again reflected in the water. If that scene
were painted tme to natnre, the picture would be greeted with
smiles of derision, and the painter put down as an absurd
sensationalist by those who never have seen Nature when she
has clothed masses of maples, vines, &o., iso., in their October
dress. There are many islands on both lakes, all very small, all
very rocky and picturesque — "Japaneesy" — all covered with
trees, shrub, weeds, and grass, and they very greatly add to the
beauty of the whole. Eoma-ga-take alone is bare of all T^eta-
tion, covered entirely with yellow ashes and scorin of the last
eruption, its sharp peak — the higher side of the crater lip —
lising to a height of 8,660 feet. These lakes and marshes, their
lilies, reeds, and weeds afforded excellent feeding-ground fi>r
ducks, some of which breed there, while by fiir the greater
number use them merely as a resting-place on their way from
Siberia south. We got mallard, widgeon, mandarin, golden eye,
large brown ducks, teal, and other varieties are freqnently met with ;
geese are occasional visitors later in the eeaeon. But the sport
here also will soon be rained, as the new railway — that curse to
sport in out-of-the-way places — has already approached the lakes,
and the workmen employed on it are felling trees and catting
stone everywhere. As the iron road is aboat to cross the bigger
and best lake, bridged from island to island, the ducks will
befbre long seek out and discover a less noisy place where, on-
disturbed by trains, they can make a home and find a resting-
place.

Sach a place I visited afterwards, some seventy miles north of
Marorao, a huge shallow lake full of weeds and sarroanded for
miles with reed-oovered swamp, where dock were in their
(hoBsands and geese many, a paradise for water-fbwl of all
description. But the difficoll^ was to gat at them ; th^ ware
very wild when in the open and hid most effeetively among the

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288 BPORT AND TBATEL PAPERS

reedfl. Wfl hftd to go in tiny Aina dn^-onto, the onziest,

wobbliest craft I have evet been in, hardly wide enon^ to
squeeze into, and rendered more ansteady by the man who
poles it alon^. One could only Aoot to the left and front, to
tnm to the right was impoBsible, and when in it for the first
time, nnnsed to its vagaries, I nearly npaet at the first shot. A
most unplflBBant event this wonld hare been, for the shallow
lake is densely oorered with long weeds which grow Inxntiantly
in the soft, deep mnd. Bnt, however good a place for shooting
dnoks, the fonl and only inn in the vicinity was impossible ; we
ooold only stand it for two nights, the smells were simply in-
tolerable, and the flying, hopping, and crawling insects, thriving
apparently in the horrible abuosphere, at last drove lu away, to
oar great r^ret, from this otherwise chatmiag c^t

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TlTHENl
IT a shoe

A VISIT TO KOREA

1902

f two friendB and I, in the satonm of 1902, amnged
a sbootiitg trip to Korea, prospeota seemed very rosy, and
we looked forward to it with great ezpectationa and every hope
that big bagB of dooka and geese woold be made. But, alas I
when the time for starting l^m Japan drew sear my hoped-for
companionB were onable to leave, and all oor elaborate plana
collapsed. It was indeed annoying, for to go alone was
conaideied next to nseleBB, as indeed it proved ; however, I did
go, and althongh the sport was mJ, the trip proved of the
greatest interest, for Korea is unique in almost every respect.
The first view of it from the ship as it approaches Fnsan is most
striking — ^not the Eoropean settlement, not the Japanese or
Chinese qoarten, for they are very Bimilar everywhere ont here,
varying only in Bine, tmt the native town, a dense mass of small
thatched hats closely packed together, and still more so the
people, dad entirely in white, moving aboat everywhere, sharply
defined as they were against the reddish-yellow backgroond of
the bare hills ; and the nearer view of them in the sampans
which soon crowded ronnd the steamer. The national fiag with
the mystic Baddhist symbol in red and bine on a white ground —
two spirals oloaely coiled together filling the area of a oirde —
floated from the Cnstom Hoose flagstaff. On landing, one was
at once snrroanded by a busy crowd of hard-working nativee,
strong, fine-looking coolies, handling the heavy loads of rioe,
beans and shirtiDgs, brooght by or taken to lighters. A walk
through the native town, however, showed the Korean at home,
and a most striking picture he made. Clad in white cotton
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290 SPORT AND TRAVEL PAPERS

from head to foot, he wears a black, perfectly transparent hat,
with email crown bnt wide brim, made of bamboo fibre dyed
black, or, among the moneyed classes, of horsehair. The latter
stalk along with measnred tread and dignified air; they are
nerer seen without their pipe, a metal bowl and mouthpiece,
with a stem 8 feet long or mc«e, which when not in nse is
carried like a cane. The material of the dress Taries according
to the means of the indiridnal ; the lower and middle daesea
wear cotton garments in Beveral layers, thickly padded in the
winter, the upper are only seen in silk. The feet are protected
by long white toelesfl wadded Books, into which are tied the
t^ht ends of very wide sacklike troosere. The coat fidls to well
below the knee, and is festened above the waist by large bows.
The poor put their wadded feet into grass sandals, the rich into
very shapely slippers, embellished with a pattern corresponding
in colour to the tint of an outer garment of bine silk, or one
made of grass cloth.

While Uie poorer people ore entirely in white, the dress of the
richer is really very splendid, a fiuhion which must be a rery
expensiTe one, espeoi^y as the onter garment seems always to
be new. A travelling companion of mine — an official — ^was
arrayed in a very l<»ig coat of flowered white satin, reaching
almost down to his feet, which were encased in blue velvet
slippers ; over the white he wore anothw fiiU-sleeved dress of
^•blne silk, which again was partially covered by a loose
sleeveless sUk garment of a lighter shade ; a orimson cord held
it all in place. The hair is gathered into a top-knot — ^the sign
of having reached manhood — and is protected by a curiously
formed horsehair cover like a pudding shape, the lower flaps of
which are tightly tied round the forehead and back, thus
covering the hair entirely ; the black transparent hat, with its
flat stiff brim, surmoonts all, and is kept on by means of ribbons
tied underneath the chin. It is a most ooique garb, matched
probably nowhere else, of a most delicate colour, which always
appears dean, most surprisingly so, considering the narrowness
and dirt of the streets, and the wattled and thatched houses,
with their tiny rooms, often not more than 6 feet by 8 feet, and
their many occupants.

Women, who have no position and ore spoken of as " things,"
seem to be everlastingly washing and pounding their lord's

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A VISIT TO KOREA 291

elothea at some more or less clean Btream, a labonr whioh miut
truly be withoat end, especially during the long irinter mostliB,
wbfin all clothes have first to be unpicked, the wadding taken
oat, then washed and again put together and re-wadded. The
Koreans live on riee, millet, beans, a kind of pickled -nrj
odorifarons eabbage, fish and any meat they can pick ap.
Unlike the Japanese and Chinese, they drink no tea, only rice
or perhaps honey-water. In the country, in the villages and
smaller towns, the people are all dressed alike, in white with
black hat, and the ghostlike stately crowd has a ooriona effect ;
except the Isbonring class, the men apparently have nothing to
do bat gossip and to smoke their pipes. Moomers, and people
monm their nearest relation — btbar — for fonr years, are dressed
in sackcloth and wear a huge wicker-work hat, 4 feet in
diameter, scalloped at the edges and ooTering the face entirely.
Boys hare a coloured jacket, generally pink, and a long pigtail,
which is made into a top-knot on their marriage — generally at
14 or 16. After the ceremony the yonng bridegroom goes abont
in a yellow straw hat with very small crown for a period of three
months.

After a sixteen honrs' ran round the extremely rocky and
dangaroua coast of Southern Korea, the ship reached Chemulpo,
with its European settlement, Chinese, J^nuiese, and natire
towns, its bare hills, bostling wharf and hard-working, powerful
eoolies ; this is the port to the capital — Seonl — a railway con-
necting the two. At an interview with a resident, prospects of
sport brightened ap again ; the country was fall of geese, docks,
Ac., and obstades were made light of. I had brought, so they
told me, too few cartridges, and in my enthusiasm immediately
bouj^t sereral hundred more ; a small honse-boat oould be hired
and everything would run smoothly. However, obstacle did
present tiiemselTes ; the Japanese owner seemed anything but
anxious to let me the boat, asked a high price ; sampans had to
be hired to tow it up the river; the necessary Koreui hunter
declined to go under five yen (ten shillings) a day, thirty-five to
be guaranteed in case I stayed away less than a week — a most
oatrageous attempt at extortion. He told us that it iras easy
now daring the goose season to make five yen a day by shooting
five geese, which, like everything else, proved ontrne, for geeee
hardly fetched a half-yen in the market A oook ooold not be

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292 SPORT Am) TRAVEL PAPERS

got at uiy prioe, and ihe most neoemu; put of the outfit, an
iataipnter, waa not to be foond, nor a oompanion either. 80
that idea had to be given up, to go alone into an nnknown
oonntry, with people who understood nothing bnt Korean, waa
out of the question. Bat there oan be no doubt that with a
friend and plen^ of time for preparations an expedition up the
ereeb and among the mnd-b&nks of the estuar; of the Han Birer
would be a great Baoeess, as it offers the best of qxHi with dncka
and geese and Bwane, whioh at this time — November — oame in
Tast flif^ts from Uie north on their migration aonth. ^leaaants
and quil are plentifdl all ovei the ooontry except near the
settlements, ■when they have greatly deoreased of late years.

On the advioe of a missionaiy and in the hope of sport, I want
in a B^mp*" abont ten miles np the Han Biver, ^riiiioh flows down
from the capital and beyond, landing at an old fort, Cho-ji, and
walked from theie to the Miaaion atatum of On-sn-Tong. The
misnonariee, who reoaived me moat kindly, live in a Korean
hoQse oli»e to a village and among beantifal mountain soenery.
The hills now were almost bare, the grass yellow, the fir-trees
gtnnted and but a few feet high. These tiiaes being the only
Bonroe of firewood, the branches are continnaUy cot cff, carried
down in hoga loads on oiea, and stored in atadu dose to the
homes for winter nse. The hovels, on stone finrndationa, are
bnilt of wattle and mod, and thatehed, the thatch being tied
down by gTMB rapw ; the wooden or reed-plaited door is made
to lift np and windows are rare. The booses are wanned by
means of a fire ontside, the heat from which passes thioogh a
tonnel nndameath the stone and mnd floor and oni at the
opposite side through a chimney adjoining the wall. The floor
inside is covered witii very thick oiled paper, which ia kept very
dean and looks almost like polished wood. On this and a
mattress the people sleep, covered with a rug, and I fbnnd it by
experience in the BCiasion bonse a very warm and comfortable
bed. The rooms are very small and low, the openings into
them like the doors of a cage. Every honae is snrronnded by a
fence of reed or millet stalks, the endoHore being kept very
dean, iar here the threshing of beans takes plaoe, and here the
rice is laid ont to dry.

All aronnd were rioe-fidds, now bare of thdr crop bot wy
moddyi the rice grain lost during the harvest la; about plenti-

byGoogIc

A VISIT TO EOBHA 293

flillj and tttrMted the gMse, wlio alight hare at aaiidowii and
feed dnring the night, learing again jast before break of day.
We had no la«k with them, eoold never get near enoogh ; there
was no ooTer, and the geese always got ap just out of range.
A heavy gnu with heavy oha^es was wanted, or a reed shelter
in the fields, or a boat on the Greeks. It was difficult to get to
the fields early enongh, for it entailed fionudeiing along the bad
roads and narrow divislona between the rioe-flelda in the dark,
and the same if we remained long enongh in the evening.
There was then no moon, and the nights were very dark. Bat
at full moon with high tides, when the mnd-banks are covered
and the geese mnst all oome to feed on the rice-beds, the sport,
with proper appliances and a banter who knows the ropes, most
be very good indeed. A reed hnt to lie bidden in wonld
probabfy be best, or a small punt disgnised with reeds on a
oreek near mnd-banks and rice-fields. The native hnnter walks
np to the geese behind a bull, an experiment whioh a European
need not try, for the moment when that, with a Korean, so
docile animal with load or withoat sees a foreigner he tnma
swiftly round and bolts as fast as he is able. We saw thonaands
of geese, some in the fields, others fiying over, and knoeked the
feathers ont of a few, bnt no docks, only a few mergansers.
Pheasants seemed plentifol among the dry grass and dwarf
pines, oak, and flbestnnt on the hillaide, and qoails.

No, the qwrt was a dead failure. In this oouutiy, as in most
others, one visit is necessary in order to find oat where and how
beet to get it during a seeond. The seenery, though somewhat
bare, was very pretty; the small villages soattered abont the
vall^s seemed prosperous ; they have the same colouring as the
ground ; but men in iriiite stalk about, the pink jackets of the
children and ocoaaonal blue ooat of a woman, and here and
there bright scarlet chillies laid ont to dry on the roofs, give
oolour. The oabbage is not yet all gathered in, and bwh green
barley and wheat are coming up in a field here and there.

The grounds of a Bhnddist monastery on a monntain near,
■arroimded by a huge wall sevoal milea in cironmferenoe, was
the only exo^on to this otherwise treeless country. On enter-
ing 1^ one of the picturesque Chinese concave roofed gates, ear-
prise was great to find oneself in paric-like scenery, in a forest
of huge and very oU trees of mai^ kinda filling the whole

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294 SPORT AND TRAVEL PAPERS

eneloaon. In spring and aommer, when all is green and the
ualeu in foil bloom, H mnet indeed be a lovely spot. The
wooden bnildings were veiy old and piotoieaqne, but, like all
else in Korea, rapidl; &lling to pieces from old age and want of
eare. A more Tratfol and beantifiil spot, with more lovely views
of moontain and river, eonld hardly be fooud than this abode of
the monks, who live in idleness, and oare apparently nothing
ftboat their snironndings.

All grassy hills and waste lands are covered with graves,
ciranlai- mounds, often many close together, all nearly snr-
roonded by a horseshoe embsjikment. In explanation of this
I copy the following from Von Boroh's " Imp«iai Tombs Woet
of P^dn," in the East of Asia Magaeine: "On the hangings
over the coffin of a rich man are always embroidered two dragons
playing with a pearl, whioh, entrosted to nature alone, accord-
ing to ancient Chinese belief, can bestow a (kvoarable plaoe of
ondistorbed tranqailli^ to the dead." According to this the lart
resting-place of a rich man is immediately protected by a hillock
as round as possible, from which in a half-oirtsle on both sides is
always erected a flatter long-extended mound, completely Bar>
rounding the tomb proper on three aides. The round hillock
represents the pearl, and the two aide mounds the dragons.
Members of a &mily are laid to rest near each other, the senior
on a higher and the junior on a lower level. In front of the
more important ones is placed a large flat granite slab, several
feet in length, upon which are put sacrificial offerings of rice,
water, &o., for the benefit of the departed spirits. Ancestor
worahip is very strict, mourning lasts for three years, and every
grave is visited on New Tear's day at all events. A man will
go to hia father's grave to annoonce the approaching marriage of
a son. To desecrate a grave meana death. Near a town almost
every foot of hill is occupied by a grave, and as long aa thia
ancestor worship lasts all that land can never be used for agri-
cultural porposes.

The people in the villages, and elsewhere too, indeed, appear
to be most gentle, polite, and wetl-mannered ; they are, I be-
lieve, not vety deanly in their persons, bat a clean white outer
garmoit oovera any defect there may be underneath. Their
oonnby inns are not, it is said, very pleasant to stay in ; the
rooms are hot in winter, small and fall of insects, and travelling

byGoogIc

A VISIT TO KOREA 295

in the interior is not an nnalloyed plesBiire, and a camp cannot
well be made. The ponies, hardy, but veiy small animals, ased
for riding and baggage, have to be stabled ereiy oi^t, and are
never allowed to drink or eat when travelling. Thc^ are fed,
however, three times a day on boiled beana and chopped straw,
for the preparation of which iron pots are foond in evety inn.
The men, therefore will not camp away from a village inn, which,
by the way, is known by a wicker-work wine (beer) strainer sus-
pended on a pole. A laden pony will do thir^ miles a day,
'When passing throngh a village one often hears the sound of
a tom-tom — it is the witch-woman driving out the had spirits
from some sick or otherwise afflicted being. Dressed as a man,
bat in red, she dances and throws her arms about, sprinkles
water on the floor, and beats a small doable dmm, shaped like
an hoar-glass. The exorcism goes on for hoars, so long as
money is ibrthcomiog. Some loose earth thrown on the groand
JDst outside the door means "not ai home."

Besides geese, svuaa, daoka, pheasants (ringed), and quail,
both the latter and the smaller bnstard are met with, and in
Northern Korea deer, leopards, and tigers. Leopards are often
called tigers by the people, but there are long-haired — Man-
ehorian — tigers in the forests of the north. The Chinese have
a proverb : " The Koreans hunt the tiger daring half the year,
and the tiger the Korean during the other half." Most of these
are caught in pitfalls and smoked to death, but some are shot
with old matchlocks by the " tiger hunters," a guild of their
own forming a guard on special occasions to the SovereigQ.
When I was in Korea the munbers -were nearly all away after
geese and docks, of which plenty find their way into the markets.
Q^eese were selling at about one shilling, ducks at sixpence, and
swans at eighteenpence ; pheasants at sixpence and less. A
hunter whom I interviewed was dressed in grasa sandals, white
gaiters, blue loose breeches and jacket ; he had an old Tower
mnaket, a very old powder flask, carved in wood in the image of
a turtle, a carlo which I greatly coveted ; a bag with bullets,
and another filled with iron slugs, were hanging from a belt.

The most common bird in Korea is the magpie, which seems
to thrive here in immense numbers. Although not considered
a holy bird, he is never molested.

I paid a vioit to the very old city of KoDg-wha, sorrounded,

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396 8P0RT AND TRAVEL PAPERS

like all atiaa hen, by a huge erenelated will 20 fset and
more fai^, built of enonuons blocks of granite ; the vail was
pierced by four gates with oarred and painted very pietureBqae
oonoave roofe, bat again, like all citioB, palaoeB, and hoaaea in
Korea, rapidly tomUing down. It is enoh a pity 1 So pictnr-
eBqoe and qnaint, and bo beaatifdl ate many of these buildings,
and 80 great their hiatorioal interest, yet nothing whatever is
done to prevent their rapid decay — there is no money, and
nobody Beema to care. This eqteoiaUy is ttie ease in Seonl,
the eapital, witJt its very beantifol and most interesting palaees,
ita streets crowded with toiling coolies, heavily laden, magnificent
bulls, swaggering yaog-bans (offioials), women covered from
head to foot with hnge green veils of ganze (for a woman's face
most never be seen by strangers), policemen, soldiers, its im-
mense wall numing over the hills snake-like, ita most striking
gates, all of which is so well described in Mrs. Bishop's book.

byGoogIc

0"

FISHINe WITH COBMORA.NTS
190a

'^N an hotel oard drawing attention to tlie attraotiona of

Nagoya, one of the show places of Japan, and its sor-
tonndings are among others the following items as here
copied : —

" Osn Kwanuon. A large temple of Goddess of Hen^ ;
ptigrimes worahipers are ranging from morning to nigfat, ^e
Lnage of Kwannon ma; be seen in perpetnat fire of inc^tae."

" (Johyakn-rakan ; five hnndied idolea of Bhoddista. Art of
oarring is a otiject of the torists' visit."

" Nagara-gawa. The Bubnrb of Gifd, a riTer of national
&me, celebrated iai its cormorant fishing in its stream."

Letting the worshipperB range and the five hnndred idols
rrat in peace, we did, however, pay a visit to the river of national
&me. With this object we got into oar tickishas at the door of
the Japanese inn at Qifa one evening in July, and were soon
tm the way to the Nagara-gawa, It was jnst the night demred
for seeing the sport at its best — a night as dark as it well ooold
be, with only a star visible here and there in the black, clondy
s^. We were polled rapidly throngh the narrow, dimly-lighted
streets, crowded at thia time with a very piotaresqae throng in
its many-ooloored garb. Most of the passers-by ware eanying
aomcthiog, many pretty paper lanterns ; women, boys, and girls
had babies in bright wraps strapped on to their baoka ; mm
with heavy loads, boxes containing fish, Sfreetmeata, or v^e-
tablef , ices, and goodness knows what, sospended by means of a
pole balanced aorosa their shonlder, advertiBing their wares by
Toiee, bell, or dram. A blind amma — sbampooer — ^felt his way

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298 SPOBT AND TRAVEL PAPERS

along with the aid of a stiok, warning people of his approach 1^
oooasional toi; plaictive notea on a bamboo Ante, while the
atraioB of a eanusen here and there mingled with the ahonts
and clatter of the many people hunying to and fro. The men
were moatly clad in dark bines, the women in greys, relieved
with bright obis, many with a flower in th&x raven eoiflitre.
The low honses on either side with their dark wooden gables
were embellished with many-coloured cotton hangings, paper
lanterns, or large banners coTcred with Japanese characters
attached to long poles ; piotnre adrertisements are evetywheie
Men, chiefly of cigarettes and tobacco. The most frequent of
these was a Tividly eolonred representation of the god " Tonga,"
with a brilliantly carmine and extremely long nose, in close
attendance upon a lady, who, to jadge from her looks, does
not greatly appreciate his celestial attentions; also anotbw, a
Japanese officer in full uniform, and thorough enjoyment ap-
parently, of an enormous cigarette. The houses were still all
open and lighted up, affording interesting glimpses of Japanese
home life and the industrious nadres yet busy at their rarious
trades, for this is a hard-working people with no nonsense about
eight hours. Here and there, however, men and women, the
day's labour over, sat round the charcoal brazier smoking their
tiny pipes and sipping tea from pretty little cups, evidently di»-
enssing current afTaira. A constantly shifting scene of busy life
ia most attractive colouring, and highly interesting as it unrolled
itself before the rapidly passing stranger.

After a forty minutes' drive we arrived at the foot of a bridge
which spans the river, and here we got out and found our way,
with the help of a lantern, to the water-side and our boat. A
very comfortable boat it was, with a "house" in the middle, the
shutters open all round, the floor covered with mats and oushions,
and lighted by thc»e very pretty paper lantema for the tnalnng
of which Gifu is &mous. On many of these are coloured illus-
trations of cormorant flahiog. Thus comfortably settled, we
were poled into the dark night, lighted only by numerous fire-
fliea, and acroas the darker river, under the bridges and down-
stream, until presently we saw a big light, which on nearer
approach proved to be the brightly burning fire in an iron
brasier suspended beyond the bows of a fishing-boat. The
strong light made the night beyond doubly dark, but lighted

byGoogIc

FISHING WITH 0ORMOBANT8 299

ap its immediate snrroandmga, the bo&t, the figaiea and &06b
of Qie men uid the birds on the water, TiTidly diBoloBing a
aoone moat strikingly pictnieBqae. The flat-bottomed boat,
ftboat 40 feet long, had fbor occnpante, and was worked close
along the ehore and in very shallow water. The "boss"
standing in the bows, immediately behind the fire, handled
twelve birds, the next man in importance in the centre working
fonr; the third nttered sharp cries and made other noises to
enconrage the birds, while the duty of No. 4 eonsisted in the
muutgement of the boat. The fish, attracted by the strong
glare of the fire in the brazier, collected in large number in
the water below, and became an easy prey to the birds, who,
' regardless of the li^t and &lling red-hot ashes, rash and dive
in among them without a moment's rest. No less than twelve
oormoraotB were worked by the man in the bows at the game
time by means of twelve long strings, of which one end is fiuh
iened round the bird's body while tiie other is held in ttie hand ;
SB all the cormorants are in the water and fishing at the same
time, it seemed not by any means an easy matter to prevent the
"reins" from becoming hopelessly entangled, which feat the
owner, however, accomplished without much difficult. Every
bird carries a horn ring round the base of his throat, which
prevents him swallowing any fish but the very small ones —
those useless for market purposes. Whenever a cormorant
appeared gorged and distended down to the ring, he was at
once hauled ap into the boat, his beak opened, and by a little
p-esBore made to empty himself of his prey, when overboard he
vent again as keen as ever to fill hia pouch once more. It was,
indeed, a busy scene, and only after three hours' hard and
eonstaot work were the birds finally hauled into the boat, and,
apparently well pleased with themselves, they perched in a row
on the overhanging bows to be taken home. The result was
several buikets of fish — ■" ai " — troot, and other small fry, all
very silvery, the largest about four inches long. The money
gained can be but little, hardly worth the expense, one would
think, of boat, men, the keep of the birds during the winter-^
nine months, in fact, for they are only used daring three — and
only on dark nights is the fishing practised here. Within a
flew miles of Tokyo some fishermen use cormorants, but by day
only ; the visitors' boat is moved slowly along witiiin easy

byGoogIc

300 SPORT AND TRAVEL PAPERS

digtanoe of ibo shore, and the birds are worked between the
two. The scene, however, is not nearty ao pictoreaqne aa that
of Oifa. The eormorantB are oaoght -whan young, daring their
Aret migration, with wooden deeoya and birdlime ; go throng
a long oooTBe of training, and often remain on the active list Sea
twelve or fonrteen years.

Cormorant fishing was first mentioned, according to Mr. B. H.
Chamberlain {" Thinga Japanese "), in a poem which was itself
quoted in a work compiled a.d. 712 ; and there in a very old
jnctnre in the mnBenm at Grita of no less than ilby boats fishing
on the Nagara-gawa at the same time.

byGoogIc

THE DUCK DECOY AT TOKYO
1902

IT WM a long and slow inn tbrongh the stteets of the hnge
tity of Tokyo — streets which in the older parts are extremely
narrow and withoat side-walks, and therefore orowded with
people, who ereo when oonstantly shoated at are slow to
nuke room, which indeed is not eaxj for them to do. Where
fbrmez fires have swept away large areas the new streets are
wider, boilt tinder Ottviemment saperrision with houses often
MMistrnoted of brick, instead of the almost oniTersal and most
inflanunable wood. These rows of wooden "shanties" — all
shops — are qaaint and piotnresqae ; open entirely to the front,
the interior shaded by hanging strips of colonied cotton, and
•mbellisbed with groteeqoe adTertisements, often with bright
paper lanterns or banners. Sometimes the owners have tried
their hands at English, with resoUs often rery oomioal. Thos
one often reads: " Feintar," " Tairor," "Bread and Cake
maker," "Here eorios are soled," and " Soapsell and Glog-
shop," iuh, Sm.

The deooy pond is situated in the centre of an extensiTe patk,
and is fortiier goarded from every disturbing infloenea by a
dense thioket of bamboos some 60 feet or more in depth.
Through this protecting ring of jungle are cut about a doxen
narrow bat deep " pipes," leading, not straight but with a twist,
from the pond to a wooden screen outside the bamboo fence.
In the Boreen are two tiny peepholes through which the ducks
ean be watched coming up the pipe ; it is farther pierced by a
large hollow bamboo, the lower end of whioh almost touches the
snr&ce of the water in the pipe. Tbrou^ this grass seed and

byGoogIc

303 8P0BT AND TBATEL PAFEB8

gnuQ tn thrown to the daoks by to them inviBibld huids to
Bttraot the decoys first and dnw the wild bitds after them
towards the screen end of the pipe. Here, for the space of
aboat twelve yards, the bamboo jangle has been cleared away
from the Tioinity of both sides of the narrow pipe, the water in
which comes to within 2 feet of the level of the groond, being
farther sereened, however, by an embankment which mns on
Mtbor side of it the ^ole length of the cleared groond. At
each end of the pond, and orerloaking it, is a screen placed
on a low hillock, from which, thrangh slits, the dncka on the
water ooold be watched as they lay hudly about, or moved test-
lessly to and fro, undecided yet whether to follow the deooys, aa
Qieee boldly enter the months of the varions pipes. An island
occupies the centre of the pond, and was covered on onr arrival
by dosens of decoys, while the wild birds kept to themselves in
parties on the water, and were mostly asleep — teals, mandarin,
mallard, &a

It was an nnfbrtnnate day, however, for very few wild daciB
were aboat. A &lcon had taken np his qnartera in the snr-
rounding woods, and fed regularly and plentifully on the birds
of the lake, frightening others away. Since the arrival of this
uninvited gaest the lake had been ahnost bare of dncka ; he ter-
rorised the whole place, and catches had been very poor. The
seemingly natural and simple cure, the shooting of the faloon,
was not conaidsred with &vonr; the keepers said that a shot
would fri^teu away all the ducks, hardly a good reason, one
would thhik, aa the robber's death wouM eurely be followed,
especially now daring the migratoiy season, by the advent of
hondreds of birds certain to make, as before, the pond their
resting-place. But now, instead in their usoal hnndreda, we
saw, alaa 1 but a few dozen.

The only decoy pond in Japan, at all events near Tokyo, ia
one belonging to the Emperor and that which I viaited ; it is an
eq>en8ive toy, which, however, afFords a good deal of amusement
to the guests of a very novel kind. Mornings following stormy
nights are likely to show most sport, for then the ducks are
hungry and more likely to go into the pipee for the food floating
on the water ; but daring full moon the birds go away to feed
dsewhere, and on return are too sle^y and replete to wish for
anything but undistorbed rest. Many other things affect tiie

byGoogIc

THE DUCK DEOOT AT TOKYO 303

dacks and thdr ofttctdng ; it is like fishing — there is genanlly
flomething wrong Bomewhere.

All approaehes to the protecting bamboo thicket are thickly
covered with pine needles aod so are the paths which lead to
the Boreena ; no word is spoken, everything is arranged and
ordered by sign. The only exception permitted is at the oom-
mencement of operattons, when tiie keepers go behind the
screens on to the open ground and gently clap their hands,
a signal well onderstood and quickly responded to by the
decoys, who at once enter the varions pipes to feed on the
grun thiawn to them.

To eveiy visitco- is given a net, made of bloe cord, about
4 feet deep by 8 feet wide, and 4 feet in length, which is
attached to a fork at the end of a bamboo pole 7 feet long.
Armed with this he awaits the signs from the keeper that the
wild birds are sufficiently far op the pipe for an attempt to
be made at theit capture. There is room for three people on
the open ground at each side of the ditch, which is aboat 8 feet
wide and 2 deep, the apparent depth being added to by the
embankment ronning along its whole length, so that a person
approaching it cannot be seen hy the birds nntil the last moment,
or heard, if proper shoes are worn, and no noise is made. The
time having come, the keeper enters the cleared ground first,
and is at once followed by the visitors. He pats his net into the
lake-end of the pipe to close it, and prevent the escape of any
dock by swimming. The decoys used to the game do not
attempt to leave, bat the wild birds fly np in great alarm, rising
straight from the water. Now is the time to catch them in the
net, held with month downward ; althoogh very exciting, it is
not by any means as eae^ as it wonld seem to be. It is very
difficnlt to jndge the distance correctly, and, in the excitement,
other nets make grabs at what yon had considered yoor own
particnlar bird. When a dock has been oanght in the net a
sharp twist of the handle will hold it safely in the bag of it
nntil a keeper takes it ont. On good days, when the birds are
hnngry and freely enter the pipes, the general resnlt is very
satisfactory, and a visit to one division does not distnrb the
others, who all have their turn. Very often thoosands of docks
rest on the lake, and a most interesting stndy it is to vrstoh
them— <me'8 edf onseeo — thzongh the different pe^olea.

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304 SPORT AND TRAVEL PAPERS

I>iixiag my visit, alM ! bti( few wild Anoka won on the pond.
Tltat horrid &Ioon had frightened h(wt8 of birdB aws; ; and in
the aftamooD when, aufortiinately, w« had to be there, the
dneks which remained were lazy and a)ee{vy, and not by anj
means anxioos for the food bo bedy offered Uiem in the pipes —
nothing wonld indnoe them to follow the decoys. Although we
had no gport, a visit to this very novel decoy pond proved of
great interest.

byGoogIc

FLOOD, SALMON, AND BTAItLINaS

1904

" W« nlnton want » II7 ba taka vxj By dunn qnlek. Wn ha don't wut

' none, bo nutUr how nuii7 jon ihow Un, he mvi go to h ." — Dmum Bage'i

IPffmyi fiahlag gnlda on need for gnftt Tuiety at IUm. " Salmon and Tront,"
Vr tha lonnar.

0'

|NE 8imdAy ereniiig, early in Febroaiy, I left for Ireland and
aeren veeka' Balmon flshing — a 'h&ppy man. Veiy keen, I
was foil of hope, even of landing a heaTy fieh — and they mn big
on that particular river — the very next afternoon. Nothing had
been fo^otten, all necessary tackle for fly and minnoT was
among my baggage — Jock Sootta, Galway goldfinches. Lemon
greys, black and blue doctors of variooB sizes, brovn, bine, and
golden DeronB, and lorely red prawns. Bnt alasl Qie fint
glimpse of the Emerald Isle was through sheets of rain — rain
whieh bat for short intervals ooutinned to the end of that month.
Water was ererywhere, the river in high flood, thick, like ohooo-
late in oolonr, and snow in plenty lay on the monntains, vhioh,
as water, would presently some down the river and be added to
the heavy drainage from the surrounding inundated oonntiy.
And how many days wonld therefore be required, even if
no rain fell in the meantime, to reduce the already swollen
river to fishing level, was a oonnndrum not pleasant to ooq-
template.

It seemed almost hopeless, and was, indeed, most trying to a
keen fisherman who had nothing whatever to do but watch the
brown flood rash past, and the heavy rain clouds roll up and dis-
chaige their contents in a downpour apparently never to end.

Probably never was a ^mmb more closely watehed and tapped
21 m

Dni.tizc-ctvGoOglC

306 SPORT AND TRAVEL PAPERS

more frequently, or riTer gmge u often examined as oara, tmtil
j^eeently tlist most asefiii institation diBappeared altogether
below the anr&ce, only to show its bead again Beveral days later.
Not ontil three long weeks had passed did the river Tory gradually
become fishable, bat for long after it remained &r abore its best
level. However, patience wonld not bear too great a strain, so
in spite of high and snow-water, east winds and sleet, ^tettj
invitations in the shape of minnow and Sy were aeat oat, only to
be disdainfully refused by the fish. The one consolation during
all this bying time was that while the flood lasted no net would
stand against it, and salmon eoold eome ap withont hindranoe ;
therefore by the end of Febmaty we had eveiy reason to think
that a goodly company of fresh-nm fish had assembled in onr
water, f^m the 8tb of February to the 2nd of March no fish
touched my book, but on that day I was the proud possessor of
my first, a 14-Ib. salmon.

This particular river is known for three things : the great
number of kelts, the weight of its fish during the first six weeks
or two months of the seaaon, and, thirdly, for their Bulkiness
and deplorable want of keennesB to take minnow or fly ; of
course, one or more of the hundred odd ezouaea for salmon
not taking oould always be made, yet they thoroughly deserved
the epithet " sulky " brutes, an expression often heard on the
river. They did not rise or show as frequently as salmon do on
other rivers ; certainly the big fish did not — kelts bounded ont
of the water occasionally, but the heavy firesh-ron salmon showed
but rarely. Now and tiien, however, there mu the big roll or
heavy splash which is so inspiriting to the angler, doubly keen
to try the fasoinattons of his fiy or minnow where fish are
known to lie. On one oooasion onr ears were tttriUed by a
mighfy splash — it sounded like that of a 100-pound«r at least
— bat on looking round the bend of the river for signs of the
oonmiotion all hope vanished, for the cause was not a big fish
bnt a wretched cow which had fallen in from the hi^ bank
and was struggling in the water and disturbing tbe fish for
many yards around. Thus suddenly are hopes raised only to
be as suddenly dashed to the ground I The river seemed fidl of
kelts, from those with the slimmest of waists to the well-mended
ones, often difficult to tell from a good fish. They took any bait
and some were very lively, bnt tiietr frolics and strangth dk not

byGoogIc

FLOOD, SALMON, AKD STAKLINGS 307

lost long. Kelta when hooked were landed bb soon as poasible
after having been reoognised, bo as not to ezlianBt them more
than necesBary, measured, labelled, and retorsed. Although
thia has been done dttruig the last three aeasons not one of
those fiah has returned to the riyer, at all erents none appear
to have been taken b; rod, box, or net, as the reward offered for
the label has never been claimed.*

Towards the end of my sta; kelts became leas nomerons aa
they slowly descended towards the sea, their convalescent home.
Their presence caused many a disappointment ; still, I thought
it better to have something on now and then than nothing
at all.

The thick, coffee-oolonred water of a flood probably affects the
fish as a dense, yellow-brown fog does a Londoner ; nnable to
flee a yard ahead, both are afraid to move or tonch anything
in the very least Huspicions,

An American lately snggested that a small eleotrio battery
be attached to the rod and connected by means of a wire in
the line with Uie hook. Should some accident then happen
to the rod or the fish prove omnanageable or too heavy for
the tackle, the current would be switched on and the fish
thereby killed or stunned. Now, with the rod equipped on
the plan of that American, my sn^estion would be to attach
a tiny electric lamp to the head of minnow or fly, and thus
in the thick brown flood water render visible and display to
the fish the beauties of either lure.

The various pools were first fished over with a fly, onless the
water was too thick, or high, or both, and then again with
a minnow or " killogh " (rock loach)t on crocodile flight. Thus
every choice was given to the fiah. The killc^h proved the most
attraotive and killing bait; it could only be got, however, when
the water ran low in the moniUain bums, " tickled " by boys
under the rocks.

* One wu got eltvnt mmthi Utoi in an adjoining rlnr opening into Uia
Mune eatnur M thli one, Mid had InuMMd B in^taa In length Mid 10 11m. B o«t.
In might.

t John Bidd, In " X«nu Doona," glvM a vivid deaaription ol the teUng of
loaoh In hli jontb— prodding them in Ibe hill ■traan* with m fork ; ho also
oartlflM to their great ow m a ranedy Mid anetlaer in the oaae of hu dfep^da
mother, when piapand ae bdlowa : " Loaohee baked in the Utehan oven with
vinegar, a doien leavM ol ba;, aad abool a doaen pepp«M«ii."

Dniitizcct/CoOglC

308 8P0RT AND TRAVEL PAPESa

Onr witer consisted of three distiBot reaches, each sepuated
from the next b; BCYeial milea. It is onrioag how persistent^
nnlnck; one individiul oan be on ft certain sttetoh and how
fortimate slwaTS on another, others hanng the opposite
ej^ierience ; bnt so it was with me : —

Uddlewite 7 ... 4 ... S^ „

Lowart 8 ... U ... S5H „

The last stretch of aboat one mile was always m; bvonrite,
parti;, no donbt, beoanse there I killed so many more fish than
on the other two, bat greatly also on acoonnt of its pietdresqiie
Borroandiiigs and great Tariety of water. To get there entailed
a long oar driTe, bnt it was Tory enjoyable on a good road
throngh pretty ooontry, nndolating and well wooded ; thra, also,
I was Tcry keen and had nerer yet loft that watm withont
a fish.

Cheery and amusing people these ear-men are, and wonderfbl
fish stories they do tell the driTen flahraman — Btories not
onfreqnently invented there and then, which make the time paas^
pleaaantly, and often fol&l another object also — that of taking
the pasaengers' attention away from any little failing of the
horse — which horse, in my ezperienoe, always seems better at
going nphill than down.

There was an excellent oteatnre who beamed with delist at his
own stories — and real startlers some of them were — ereiy
moment bmrsting into roaia of laoghter. An occasional " yes "
or " no," sign of astoniBhment or admiration, sufficed to ke^
my friend going.

To nuse my hopes of fatore sport, he, on one occasion,
composed a tale abont " the largest salmon ever oanght in
Oireland, yoor hononr." " I was with ib. X the othw day
when he got hold of a grand fellow, and after the biggest flf^
yon erer saw the fish was got near the bank. I had hold of the
gaff, bnt he wonld not let me touch the fish. ' Why not ? ' says
I ; ' no,' says he, ' give me the gaff, I want to get him myself
entirely.' Begorra! he missed him and the fish went away —
the biggest in Oireland, I tell yonr hononr." Boars of lan^ter.

byGoogIc

FLOOD, SALMON, AND STARLINGS 309

" How do yoo know that," I meekly asked, " if ;on lost
him ? " " LoBt him, yon mane ? " Mora roars. " No, we got
him, the divil, for I jnmped into the deep water, got him by the
gills, and oat on to the bank." Shrieks. This, in the broadest
Irish with shonts of laughter interspersed, made a most amnsing
tale. Qreatly cnrioos to know what this, the " bi^est fish in
Oirelaod," had weighed, his answer — iO lbs. — astonished me
Tastly, for Dothing ^ort of eighty had seemed to me a fit ending
to the story.

He was a jovial jeho. A visit to a beershop before we started
may hare had something to do with his hilarity ; everything was
a joke to him ; even when he told me of the death of a well-known
fisherman bis laughter rang ont load and strong enoagh to startle
the mare and roase her to fresh exertions.

We passed an old oastle hera and there, generally but a ruin,
densely covered with ivy ; the large fields were neatly plonked
or covered with pasture and feeding herds of cattle, or nomerooa
ewes, almost every one attended by two lambs. The oottagea
generally seemed better than usual, the huge stone-faced banks
were w^ kept, and altogether the country had an appearance of
decided prosperity. Masses of gorse crowned with golden yellow
blossom, and primroses here and there, gave colour, and with the
many evergreens and ivy-covered trees relieved the still very
winterly aq>ect of the landscape.

As Irish oars do, we trotted ap the hiUa and walked down
them, passing many diminutive carts drawn by donkeys, in which
loomed large one or two shawl-enveloped women taking produce
to ma^et ; if not laden with homan frei^t these primitive
conveyances carried a fat pig on its way to breakfast-tables
of Qreat Britain, vid the slau^ter-bouses of Waterford. On
&& grass by the roadside fed or lay fortunate donkeys with
a day off, or goats chained two and two together, to the great
disgust of both. Noisy crows were busy building their nests
in the many clumps of beech, Scotch fir, oak, and lime-trees, and
collecting old leaves in the meadows to make them comfortable.
On this last and favourite stretch of the river we only had the
right bank, certainly the best, witii the exception of a very
limited piece, about the length of a small field. Close to the
bank here are some deep pools with very slu^sh water, not
at all a favourable pUce for the fly. Told by the warden

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310 SPORT AND TRAVEL PAPERS

that some big fish w«re known to lie there, especially near some
bnahes overhanging the water, I fished it down with a Dnrham
ranger, letting the Sy sink and oome in well towards the bank.
Hardly had it passed the first bnsh when there was a tng, that
incomparable sensation, and I was fast in a fish. No donbt, too,
it was a big one, for it moved about in a stately &shioa ap and
down, across to the other bank, and back i^in, pressing vety
heavily on the rod, and not playing pranks like mnall fey. He
polled and polled, gave those horrible jerks and tugs than which
nothing is more trying. For a long time we got no view
of him ; he kept deep down near the bottom, and half an hoar
passed and my arms were very tired before, at last, we were
allowed to get a &int glimpse of his magnificent proportiona.
After one more procession across the river, the line unreeling
slowly, be returned tired, rolling abont near the sor&ce, and
almost ready to give np the battle. The fish was so heavy
and had been on so long, that I became anxious abont the hook
holding, anxiety only to be relieved when at last the gaff had got
a firm hold and lifted him on to the bank. Until then, and
indeed not nntil anspended from the steelyard, had we any idea
of his real weight — he palled down SSJ lbs. — and was a
beaatifally proportioned fish, and one to be decidedly prond
of. A great frigid of mine and enthnsiaatio fisherman at that
time always finished his letters to me by strongly advising
a "tight line," and here was a case in point, for when the
fish toached the grass and the line slackened, the hook fell
oat of his month I

This fish, apparently, had lain dose nnder the bank, bat
as a rale tiiey were to be " met " in those smooth, glassy-looking
patches abont the centre of the river, which proclaim a sandy
bed ; thence they followed the lore as it crossed, but taking only
when it approached the bank. This I witnessed two or three
times, and on one occasion the fish was jnst aboat to seise
the minnow, when, nnfortanately, he saw me standing almost
above him ; he quickly retired to safer qoarters.

Fall of hope, I fished this short stretch several times after-
wards, bat although a few fish showed themselves, never would
another accept my invitation. When on this water we generally
had Innoheon at tiie ivy-covered ruin of a very old castle near ao
ancient abbey, green with ivy also. A handsome, very solid

byGoogIc

ELOOD, SALMON, AKD 8TABLINQS 311

rtooe bridge, bailt long ago, croBsed the rivBr below ; fortber ia
the backgroand stood another rained oastle, and beyond that the
view was bounded by high moontainB, BnggestiTe of gronBe. It
was all very piotorraqae and delightful. On these occasions we
always had a Tiaitor — a robin — who, without loss of time,
appeared from out of the ivy with a twitter, knowing evidently
from former experience that the varions paper parcels would hold
something for him also. He enjoyed his lunch as much as we
did onrs, but our satisftotion was still farther enhanced when
able, at the same time, to feast the ^e on a salmon as it lay
befbte OS on the grass — the reward of onr labours in the
morning. We then also watched for fish rising, in order to
get valuable hints as to their whereaboata. How much more
interesting and exciting it is to try for a fish when yon know
where he lies ; every time the fly or minnow pasHes over the spot
hope is strongest and nerves most keenly strung, ready to detect
the slightest touch.

I always felt very restless daring lunch, more than half
convinced that by not fishing the biggest fish in the river
had been lost.

Adjoining the castle is a very deep pool of almost stagnant
water, with the reputation of holding many big fish. Owing
to the proximity of the wall it is most difficult to fish, and
generally passed over. It was a great temptation, however,
to try it with a minnow, and by coiling the line on the grass the
feat was accomplished one day. A fish did take a heavy bold of
the bait, and visions of landing a leviathan passed thiongh
my brain — visions, alas t to collapse immediately, for the bait
and the hoped-for giant parted company. The disappointment
was great, for, carionsly enough, it was tiie third instance that
day of big fish all, one after the other, ejecting the hooks.
Probably they all rose short, but in every instance the lure
was a killogh on crocodile hooks, a murderoos bait, and one
apparently impossible to get rid of if once touched. The
language at these repeated misfortunes, if perhaps not fit
fbr the pulpit, is perfectly justifiable, and certainly relieves
the mind to some extent. However, on tiie evening of that
game day I yet was fortonate enough to land a fish, after passing
through a very anxious time, the fonner mishaps in my mind,
until the gaff had done its work. It Is astonishing why all the

byGoogIc

312 8P0ET AND TSATBL PAPERS

fish in m river Bboiild, mi exactly the suae moment of th« Aaj,
oome to an ■groement to rise ehort, to lie like stones st tiie
bottom, to lefbse all lores, then suddenly and altogether take it
into their heads to jomp aboot, rise at a bait, take or diadain
it. As Sothem ased to say in "Lord Dondreaiy," "it ia
a thing that no felloT oan onderatand."

No donbt the fish are affected by present or prospeotin
ohanges in the weather, bnt why, withont one exeeptaon, orer
the whole length of the river ? We, when old, rhenmatie, and
with bronohial troables, are similarly influenced, but wl^
shonld it affect all these fish jiut ap from the sea, fdll of yonth,
healUi and strength ?

Below the eastle are two swift water pools, and beyond the
bridge is another, grand places for the fly, bnt strong tackle ia
necessary with these big fish who make yoor reel sing and yonr
feet move to keep ap with them. Below the last "tail" the
river rans more leisnrely and is very deep, in pools, on onr side
onder a hi^, steep, bn^y bank. This is a (avonrite resort for
big fish, and apparently they are mon ready to take here tiian
elsewhere. I never fished this reach onsacoeBsfBlly. It was on
this water that I landed anothv big fish, scaling 80^ lbs.,
on a killogh this time — the fly cannot be need on aoconut of a
long lino of trees close to the river. He was a beaatifdl fish
straight ftom the sea, who fought hard for for^ minntes by the
watch ; pnlling, togging, and ndling abont, he cansed many
anxious moments. When near the bank at last, and ready
^parently to meet the gaff, he started off once again across to
the other side, which already he had visited sflveral times, hot
more slowly on this occasion, as if tired but yet anzioos once
more to see some friend perhaps, or fiivoorite locality. Thonghts
like these on snch occasions, accompanied by the plaintive wail
of the reel, as it slowly revolves, are sad ones, sadness, however,
to be rapidly dispelled and changed to those feelings of triomph
and pleMore with which the noble fish is reoeived on being
safely laid on the grass. Another part of the river, a mile or so
higher ap, was not a IncI^ spot for me, althou^^ others counted
it the best of the whole fishing. I tried it often, bat was
Buccessfol on two days only. The fish were there no donbt, bnt
treated my efforts with contempt, which was very aggravating
and tiring on those long and rather monotonona reaches. When

byGoogIc

FLOOD, SALMON, AND STABLINQB 813

I growled the remark of my sttenduit vu alvays th« same,
" Oh I tliia ifl R grand part of the water." I oould but agree;
it was indeed a fine stretoh with lota of water, but what availed
that to me when the fiah would not meet me half-way ? We
tried them with Tariooa flies and baits, bnt they osaally refosed
all, and ^tar a long, nnaoooessfiil, and therefore tiring day, I
felt inclined to follow the example of the fisherman depicted in
Punch many yean ago, and throw all my flies, minnows, and
kiUogha into the river, and tell the sulky brates to make their
own choice.

Still higher than this, some miles np, was the prettiest part of
oar fishing, bat there even less smsoesB attmded my efforts,
possibly beoanae it was never fished when at its best. The first
fish got was landed here but never another, though I tried hard
and often. I canght two treat and a large part of a lady's
garment, which when first " met " on the gravelly bottom madd
me believe that at last my lock bad tamed and I had hold of a
fish. The "remnants" were well hooked too, and at last,
assiBted by the gaff, safely breast to bank.

This was my last trimnpfa in Ireland ; alas ! tJie time had
oome to an end — would that I coald have it over again I The
result was very satisfiictoiy, on twenty-two fishiog days twenty
fish ware killed ; total weight, 827 lbs., average 16Jt lb. ; the
latter were redaced by foar small fish — 9^, 9^, 9, 7, whieh were
bron^t op on a short flood. But they were real gentlemen,
lively, fnll of spirits and play, who showed their silvery bodies
fraqoently and behaved altogether as well-bronght-ap salmon
shonld, intent on the pleasore they thereby afi'ordad the man at
the other end of the line; not like tiie slow-moving heavy-
weights who hof^ed the bottom in their bad temper, and never
ontU almc»t the last moment displayed their portly form to the
anxioosly expectant fisherman.

My best day produced foor fish — 80^, 91, 9}, 9 ; another^
28, 17, and 18, with many kelta, and some of large siM ; the
exact bag being: —

14, 19, 18, 18, 88}, 28, 17, 18, 16}, 18, 80}, 9}, 9},
9. 10}, aO, 7, 11, 19}, 20}.

Owing to its warm and damp climate beland is a favourite
winter resort for starlings, and this partioolar neighbonrhood in

byGoogIc

3U SPORT AND TRAVEL PAPERS

Uie early spring sppeind to be the prineipal, or one of the
^inoipal, places of assembly prior to their migration to other
parts. It was a most marreUoos spectacle to watch these huge
masses of starlings, millions and millions of them, as they
collected here from their soattered feeding-gromidB in the early
evening and assembled, not aa individaals or all in one enormons
mass, bat in two or three entirely distinct bodies, like the
separate divisious of an army corps. As they settled the ground
became literally black with them, bat the ontlines of the
divisions were sharply drawn, and no birds to be seen on
the grass in the intervals between them. It was a truly striking
piotore; there most have been a very strict commander over
each well-drilled body. When all had assembled, and daylight
began to &de, np the whole army rose, and the oolnmos, not
intermingling, took several ciroalar flights, as if at practice for
their prospective joomey, afterwards alighting on the high trees
around, which soon were black with them. Thence once more
woold they repeat the mancenvres and, these last evolations
completed, the noise ceased, and the birds settled finally on the
heavily laden branches.

It was an extremely intereatLOg spectacle, a striking example
of the high intelligence and perfect organisation whicdi prevaib
among these, to the forester and g»dener most nnweloome
visttora, when large bodies are collected for some special purpose.

byGoogIc

A BAD SEASON IN NORWAY
190S

IT is indeed fortonste that I am not anpentitioQB or a believer
in omens like some of my friends, for the disaf^ointment
awaiting me in Norway would hare been donbly seTeie.
According to them I was folly assoied of the veiy best of
sport, for several things had happened to me lately, all within
a short space of time — ^things which those of great faith look
npon as certain to bring good lack.

Ihns lately, in a dream, I had visited a carpenter's shop
and there watched the making of my own coffin. Taking
naturally great interest in the proceeding, I was mnch pnsEled
at the time, and for some period afterwards while not yet folly
awake, by the oiroomstanoe that the coffin had been divided into
two compartments by a cross partition. I never solved the
conondrom of how my body was to be fitted into it, hot well
remember that the carpenter revised to see my point or alter
his handiwoik at my soggsstion. ^

Another time I had a dream about an old boot, and, when
oasoally mentioning the matter to a companion, was at once
told that nothing oonld be more Ino^. This partianlar boot
had belonged to Archbishop Beaton, who was killed at St
Andrews in 1646. Duly authenticated, it had been shown to
me shortly before, and I had also visited the spot where the
mordor was committed. Why, however, that ancient boot
shoold have so impressed itself on my mind is not easy to
say. Still, I was ready to take all the good look it was to
bring me.

Thm, again, one morning my best London hat was rained

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316 SPORT AND TRAVEL PAPERS

by the snbgtaaitisl gift of k large bird which happened to be
dtting on a tree immediately above my head. This, to me> ms
moBt annoying, bat many people considered it a good omen.
A friend of mine, indeed, before any important raoe-meeting
used to walk slowly sp and down nnder a rookery near the hoiue
in the hope of getting a hint about the chances of bis seleotiona
and the likelihood of their proving remonerstiTe.

Lastly, my fiiTonrite game of patience had several times
trinmphantly soeceeded, to my great astonishment, for as
a role it bnt rarely oame out, and was most irritating in
conseqaenoe.

It was not nnnatnral, therefore, that for these several and
diverse reasons so highly thought of by others, I was led to hope
^ a really good time -mtii the salmon on a river in Norway
which a Mend and I had taken. He, two years ago, had been
very snccessfol there, and conseqoently tbonght well of onr
prospects now. The last season had been a bad one, owing to
want of water, bnt now a lai^ qoantity of snow remained as
a reserve to keep the river at a fair fisbing level for a conmder-
able time. In a beaatifol valley — one of the many obarming
"dais" of Norway, we therefore took np oor qnartera in the
early part of Jone, 1906. Confined to narrow limits by long
mountain ranges mnning almost parallel to each other and to
the river, onr valley down-stream extends into the Utt distance,
where apparently, bat apparently only, it is closed by hi^
moontains which, dnring the first part of onr stay, were deeply
covered with snow. Above the honse again another valley opens
into oars, bringing a small bat rapid river with it, and here the
country is more open, the bills lower bat thickly wooded, fira
and birches surrounding cultivated clearings, with a saeter here
and there, punted red or yellow. The white spire with black
roof of a village ohuroh peeped over a ridge, sharply outlined
against the dark green; needlewood, and here also snow-covered
mountains round off the landscape. The view from our windovrs
vras vary piotuiesqae, especially in a northedy direction. There,
between as and the river — narrow space though it is — were
small fields of barley, oats, and grass, green as green can be,
shooting up rapidly under the ii^uence of occasional showers
and sixteen hours' daily sunshine. The wealth and variety of
the wild flowers everywhere was truly nuunrelloas ; the " grass "

byGaogle

A BAD SEASON IK NORWAY 317

flelds resembled bnge asd rioli Tmkey carpetB, of bright fresh
green as a bod; oolonr, with patterns thereon in golden-;eUow
butteronpB and marigolda, in cream; white parel^s and mar-
gneriteB, with large patches of Tiolet pansies and ecabions, of
poppies aoarlet and comflowere bine, the whole overlaid with a
sheen of crimson, thanks to the very abondant growth of sorrel
now in flower. The leaves of the latter proved a most whole-
some and agreeable spinaoh-like dish, aorioosly enoo^ hardl;
known bete oi ased by the natives. Flowers were everywhere
in rich and endless variety of colour among the otherwise
oniversal green of Nature's new spring clothing.

How happy horses and cows most be when, after the long
winter's oonfinement in dark bams with doabtfdl hay, they are
tnmed ont in spring to feed in the delicioosly fresh pastures so
boontifally provided by Nature I No wonder that ponies now
look sleek and cows give lately of their rich milk, thereby
pDViding ample work f« the co-operative dairiee so universal
here. One is only astonished that they do not die of over-
feeding from so oontinoal a feast daring those amnmer months
when daylight hardly fades.

The eolooring of these beaatifal, oarpet-like fields extending
all along the valley, varied as time went on, the places of the
earliffl" flowers being taken by others JQst as gorgeous, jost as
abnndant, bnt slightly different in shading perhaps, nntil one
day all were laid low by the scythe and at once hnng np on wires
to aid the drying. In some of the oat and barley fields grew
more wild flowers than com ; most of the pastnres were intensely
golden from solid maases of marigolds, othon bloe from thousands
of harebells, and so on.

Beyond the small fields near (he house mns the river in its
stony bed, its banks grass, with many alder slumps. It has at
last been explained to me why those particular trees are so
often found In these localities — simply because a young alder
leaf provides the very best means of taking away the shinineBs
of new gnt when the latter is rubbed with the former ; indeed,
there is a rouon d'Stre fax all things I

From the othor — tixe right — bank of the river sharply rise the
hills opposite, steep mountains indeed, mostly covered with
needlewood and lighter birch and poplar, except where lu^ and
small clearings have been made, now dl flourishing fields of

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318 SPOBT AND TRAVEL PAPERS

bwley, potatoM, uid grass ; tliere, with a sontlierl; aspeet, the
sun can thoronghly exert its benefioent inflnenoe. Here, on
the olearings also, hanging on the steep Blopes apparenUy, are
the saeten, built of logs, some oolanred dark brown by i^ and
weather, others painted in staring ochre or scarlet, the local
faToorite colours ; near the living-hooseB are the store buildings,
raised high off the ground on piUare of stone or wood.

The ground towards the south riaes more slowly, with biich,
winter cherry, and pine on grass land, and the mountains
oreilooking all are thickly eorered with forest, the north^y
aspect not CaTouiing so many brmyard olearings. When we
came, snow still lay on many of the lower hills, bnt the oon-
tinnons almost tropical weather caused it rapidly to find its way
into oar river, swelling it greatly ; still we hoped that a reserre
wonld be left on the higher ranges. The spate cleared tiie river
of logs, which now with but little assistance could be got down,
and we thought that it would further be naefiil to us in helping
many a good flah to reach our pools. Possibly, however, the
large mass of snow-water for so long a time in the river put
oS the fish from ascending; at all events, salmon were " met "
bnt rarely, the usual excuses on snoh occasions: cold water,
"dusty" water, as the old ghillie called it (dirty), too high a
river, too much rain-water in it, thunder in the air, mist on tite
hills, too bright a sun, the constant rise in the afternoon, the
sun's effect on snow — all these reasons and several more were
given, yet possibly the first was the real one. Last year, also a
bad season, there was no water, now eveiything was right bnt
there were no fish. A few, very few indeed, did reach our
section during June, probably belonging to the Salmon Quarter-
master-Genenl's department, sent to arrange quarters for the
main body, and five, apparently all, were promptly captured by
the skilful rod of my companion, who was well acqaatnted with,
all that was worth knowing about the river. Was it because
no report oonld reach the fjords, the intended messengers
being dead, that the " run " told off for the river never came ?
During the first fortnight, fishing regularly, I, a stouiger on this
beat, had only one interview, and that of the shortest, with a
flah who would have nothing further to do with me. Bad luck
certainly was mine, and wretched frauds all those vaunted
harbingers of good fortune proved, for the constant wading in

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A BAD SEASON IN NOEWAT 319

the oold water brought on a very Bevere attaok of sciatica, which
laid me ap altogether for some time and put a stop to any
farther wading, and therefore fishing, on this " wading " river.
This then was doubly annoying, far only the evening before I
was taken ill a report had come np from the house below that
five fish bad been killed there that day, thaa raising hopes that
the long-desired ran had at last oommenced. Ag^, however,
it proved a false alarm. The oontinned tropical weather was
snoeeeded by three weeks of steady rain, the river rose again,
and another small batch of fish, a second billeting party perhaps,
came np and three were taken by my partner on that record-
-making afternoon. But this was the end ; the people below left
in disgust, and so did we after anotiier blank fortnight, for it was
hopeless ; the nets even on the fjords had been taken ofT and
stored, the absence of fish made Uiese oseless ; never was there
so bad or so disappointing a season.

We packed np our traps and moved down to the lowest reach
of the river, which bad been lent to us for ten days and was
supposed to be good for sea tront ; salmon rarely stopped there
but passed rapidly through to the upper waters. Here, where
there was no wading, a pleasant surprise awaited me, whether
thanks to one, or other, or all of the sapposed but discredited
heralds of good luck I know not, in any case it made up in
a very great measure for all the disappointments which had np
to then been dealt out to me.

On this water was a long, deep pool where on very rare
occasions a salmon had been known to halt on its way up,
but which my friend and I had always drawn blank on our
daily visits. When on this very great day my turn came
to fish the water, I, hoping to change the luc^, pat on a
minnow and harled about half of the upper part of the pool,
with the umtatisfiu^ry result of adding one ^ lb. sea-troat
to the bag. Disgusted, the minnow was changed for a small
Cbilder's sea-trout fly and the barling continued, when suddenly
the whole apparatus was nearly jerked out of my unsospecting
band by a big fish which, showing half its massive form,
had made a most determined attack on the fly. That it was
a heavy fish soon became very evident, and keenly I fblt
the danger to my light tackle and small grilse rod. As soon
as it seemed safe, I left the boat for the shinf^e, and fbllowed

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3S0 SPOBT AND TRAVEL FAPEB8

the Sah down oanfaUr, nnng erai; bit of line so bb to be nuilj
fat an; sadden nuhes. WeU, it wu a great fight, my bduO
nd and the big fish, for he made sereral daahea ba<tk into
the heaT7 water, after haTii^ been ooazed into the nearer
■hallowB, bnt m; prayer that eveiything woold hold wu
answered, and at last the gallant fiah had to giro in, and
to n^ intenae relief waa elererly gaffed and brought on to
dry land, iritere he sealed STilbs 1 That was indeed a trion^ ;
to " meet " a atbrnm at all in that pool waa a rare ooennenoe^
and I don't know who was pronder that day, the gfaillie or L
He oaniad home the fish in his arms like a baby, utd no donbt
UM. the stoiy of its capture to all the haymakers on the way,
iriiile I in one half-honr had landed a fish, it was my only one,
beams than any got on that rirer dnring the season, and
on a rod iutMi^ for grilse only.

We left Norway soon afterwards; sea-troot even beeame
■oaieer and smaller, and beantifnlly less, and we travelled home
in a ahip foil of fishermen, thoroof^i^ dis^ipointed after the
wont season on record.

.^KopoB of a fish polling hard, I exbraot the foUowing from
Frank Bnokland's "CoriositieB of Natural History." In order
to judge the poll of a salmon when saddenly fnghtaned,
Boekland, haTtng harnessed a " big" fish, got into a tank with
bim ; then he attached one end of a steelyajd to the traces and
the other to his own waist. The fish, when touched with a twig,
palled in the Hubseqaent nidi 88 lbs. the fint time, 90 Iba. the
seowod, and 16 Iha. the third. A 9 lbs. aafanott wei^ied bnt ^
in the water (river).

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"XHE DAYS THAT WERE"
1906

Jfn. AvAUrUig. •• W«d, Baadto, ym ma % Hub iij i»j m had Ust

StmdU. •• DMd »,jt, it Just put me In mind o' ue wa h«d niuai I vu ft bit
bddla, bat tt wm, if UTthlng, fnllr dria."— PwkA, Norember 14, 1900.

IN m; homble opmion the most enjoyable of all sport is
to be got io B " wild " conntiy, where hud work is rewarded
try a varied bag — ^the more Taried, the greater the enjoTment.
Kothing IB more delightfdl to m; mind than, in the late aotimui,
to wander, gim in hand, over moor and heath in some out-of-
the-way part of Qreat Britain, such as on the west eoaat of
Ireland or Scotland, or, better still perhaps, on one of the
Hebrides, as I lately found dnring a delightfiil riait with ten
different kinds of "game," from goose to Jack anipe to meet me.
Btill more eiyoyable would it hare been had snipe been more
abondant, and woodcock " in " — a greatly to be desired moment
which, unfortunately, it has always been my hte to miss. The
cock, alas I in their nnmbers bad passed through a month before,
daring November's very cold days and those strong north winds
which always bring them from Scandinana, and take them
OD the next stage of their migration, Ireland. However, those
which remained satisfied me, most of them home-bred probably,
few in nomber certainly, bnt grand, well-ied birds, thanks to
abondant food in the soft moorland of the island.

I confess to an intense enthusiasm for woodcock, and consider

thun the miKit sporting birds out — next come groose and snipe

— ^partly perhaps because I can generally hit them, and then

their BorroondingB on the wild moorland have always a

22 m

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323 SPORT AND TRAVEL PAPERS

great Cuoinatioa for me, harmoniging as these do bo thotonghfy
vith this bird's plnmtge and indeed with that of all othen
except the golla dow met with. T17 to find without a dog
a dead grey hen, a woodcock, grosae, or snipe dropped anumg
brown bra<^en, dry giasH, moss and lichen, and heather in its
antnmnat and winter garb, and yon will get anzions aboat yonr
bird i^icb yon saw fall long before yon at last discover him — so
exactly does the colooring and TnArlring of his plumage match
that of the bed on which ha Ues.

Short days are now, alaa I and the weather trying and most
onfavonrable to sport ; gales or strong winds attended by hail or
rain every day, wiUi the exception of two in three weeks — ^oly west
coast wintry weather, only perhaps " mors so." Dnring mj visit
there was no beginning as there was no end to this wild weather.
The sea, thoronghly roused by these constant gales, was very
beautiful as it broke in whitest spray on the wild, rocky coast, or
rushed in silvery foam over sandy beach. The islands to the
east and the mainland beyood were deeply covered with snow,
and we hoped that hard frost on the ktter might smd some cock
over to us to our ever soft and rioh feeding grounds, bnt very f^
came apparently to swell the number of those resident on the
island. The boisterous weather greatly interfered with sport,
bat we — the keeper, boy, spaniel, retriever, and I — ^were out
every and nearly all day. It was not altogether as pleasant as it
might have be«i, bat to remain indoors when moor birds were
about would surely have been more trying still. We met with
geese 00 fields near the sea, duck, block game, gnrase, woodoock,
pheasant, partridge, snipe, rabbits, and rock pigeons — truly a
delightfhl selection of candidates for the bag t The pheasants,
scattered as they are all over the moor, roost on rooks, for trees
are very rare and foxes none; awla (homed) seon to do the
same, for on two oooasiona I nearly trod on one fast asleep
in the heather. Most of the cock were flushed from ledges
overhung with heather, in the vicinity generally of a bum, now
noisy and swollen from heavy rainfall. There, apparently, they
pass the day in sleep, until hanger and evening saggeet a suoon-
lent meal of worms in the bay below. Oar cftaniel was very keea
after woodcock, bustling about nntiringly, his stompy tail never
at rest for a moment, bnt the retriever's &ncy inclined more to
rabbits, wbii^ he seemed to prefer to all else. He was very

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"THE DATS THAT WERE" 323

quick, however, in finding ftnd letrieiiiig ft dead bird, thare^
rousing the Bpaniel's jeUooBy, which often boded ill to the wood-
cook's uiatomy. "When cook anive from the north, the time
varying with the weather, Tery large bags are made, bat when we
tried the best — " awihl " the keeper colled them — places, especi-
ally those among the oak sornb near the sea and the dense coTers
at the honse, they were few snd &r between. They varied mnch
in oolonring and size, the smaller appeared darker, the larger
more grey, the latter, according to the present belief, being the
older birds. Mr. H. G. Davonport, in The Field of November
10, 1906, says : " The young birds have the triangolar markings
on tiie outer web of Uie first qnill feathers, which disappear
gradoally uid snceeesiTely from the base nntil the web is less
oniformhr margined with very pale yellow. Dissection alone ean
discriminate b^een the sexes."

I brought away several dosen first qnill feathers and have now
a perfect series to illastrate the above. The enter web in the
yonng is maAed from base to tip with sharply defined rich brown
trian^es ; these gradually become paler, the dark spaces between
smaller in nnmbw and narrower, always from the base npward,
nntil only a thin white or very pale yellow edging remains in the
old birds.

The keeper — here for many years — thonght ont everything he
wished to say in Claelio and then gave the best translation he was
capable of; ^r too polite to air his own opinion, he was annoyingly
anxious to fall in with everybody else's. He also had a pniding
way when giving the direction he wished as to take. The nataral
•apposition that this wonld be that of his extended arm and hand
was always wrong ; the fingers, which one oonld never see but
which were carved at varioos angles, gave the desired coarse. It
always reminded me of a friend, now dead, alas 1 provided with
a corionaly crooked fore-finger, which, broken at cricket, had very
badly maided. This he woald always ose as a pointer, and
naturally it was impossible to read his wishes, for the damaged
digit pointed all roond the compass.

Here, also, one heard the nsnal remad that woodcock nev«r
now were as unmerons as in the old days, which indeed seems
confirmed by the following extract from Leland's " Collectanea "
quoted in Wheater's "History of Sherbom and Cawood." In
Cawood Castle took ]4ace, on Janoaiy 16, U66, " the great

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324 SPORT AND TBAVEL PAPEBS

but of the intronintioii of the rererende bthei in Ch>d, Oeo^
Neril, ArolibiBhop of York uid CluuuMlloiir of Eogla&d in the VI.
of the reigne of Kyng Edirarde the fourth." Among " the goodly
proTiflitHi nude for the same " were fbor hondred woodcocks.
These were " rost " and " baked," the Utter to be eaten " with
■alt and oinnuoond." Even in these days of cold chambers and
rapid transport, it wonld probably not be easy to ooUeot fonr
handled woodcock on a given day.

There were plenty of grouse and black game abont — dock,
maUaid, teal, widgeoL and poohatd, bat few snipe. These had
in HoTember been in abtindanoe bat were now soaroe, the then
cold weather having ^bably suggested an early departore for
wanner quarters. Thoee wMch remained were greatly soattered
and Tezy wild.

"The machine is ready" was the message broo^t into the
gon-room one morning early, and we were soon «n route to a
^aoe some miles away where bemide geeee were said to congre-
gate. Wet and stormy as nsoal, the island did not by any means
bok its best ; the tiny Tillage seemed totally deserted, the hotel
— used by smnmer visitors bnt now shnt np — looked terribly
forlorn ; nobody seemed about, the day apparently was too moist
eren for the natdvee, the only moving oreatares being some highly*
bred and very pictnreaqae Highland oattle and handsome sheqi
with black fiMsea and legs and beaatiful silky wool. The bemioles
came ashore in oondderable nombers to feed on stabble and grass
fields near tlie ooast, bnt not now in the aunbera as described by
Dr. John Walker in bis " Economical History of the Hebrides,"
1806. " The crops of B, Ulst, Bonbecnla and N. Uist are some*
times almost entire^ destroyed by vast flocks of wild geese which
haont tliese islands and t^eir neighbonriiood. The wild gooes
never allots in a field of com, bat always in the aei^booring
grass fleld, and from thence walks into tiie oom. The tanaea,
therefore, totally suround their oomfields with a heather rope
two to three inohee thick, laid npon the ground, and this the
birds do not pass over, onless maoh preased 1^ hanger."

The geese, some thirty or forty, were where we had hoped to
find them, feeding on the stubbles. The plan of campaign
hastily settled proved saooeesfdl ; after a long stalk behind w^s
and hillocks, creeps through very " soft " ground, scrambles over
slqtpeiy rook and through slitheiy mtoaoii of seaweed at low

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"THE DATS THAT WERE" M5

water, we got a shot or two bat only bagged one goose. On
another oocaaion the attempt to oironniTent these excaedin^y
wary birds, wbieb, thanks to hnngry islanders, lead a distnrbed
existenoe, was onsnooessfnl ; when almost within shot we
difltnibed an old blaokoook, who got np with altogether nn-
neoessary noise and made the geese follow his example and
depart ont to aea.

All game waa " wild " on this wild island, as indeed was the
weather also. Hard work alone filled the bag, bnt I enjoyed it
thoronghly for all that and because of that. On retom to the
house one felt deserving of what was brought home, and looked
onee more with pleasure and pride at those beantifol birds which
had afforded snch real sport during the day's wanderings in a
wild bnt most piotoresqae oonntry.

For the use of fntnre goose hmiters I here add Mr. Patrick
Bower's recipe for preparing a goose for the table given by
"Gowgeen" in one of his oharming letters on "Sport in
Ireland," published in the Covint^ Qmtleman of Fehmary 18,
1904 : " Plock the goose, sar, and patit into a big pot of shpring
wather, with half a stone of piathies, a hid or two of white
eabbage, a shake of pepper and a pinch of salt. Then let an eel
loose in the pot ; what's the matter with the wild goose is that
it'a a dhry baste, and wants greasing and the eel does it. Boil
it, yer boDonr, till the mate leares the bones, and, Glory be to
Ch>d, the Lord Liftinant will invy ye tiie ateing of it."

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^ BETBOSFECT

twtUSN OD the voyage home from East Afrioa «ul; in 1906
VV the man; things of great interest I had there seen sng-
geated to me the idea of oollectiiig on paper there and then those
Bights and aoenes and Nature's wonden which after my long
years of travel seemed the grandest, most temarkable, and the
most beaatifdl of all the many it had been my great privilege
to witness. Saoh pietores, deeply graven into the tablets of my
mind and fixed there indelibly, remained unchanged by time
however long, when lifter impressiona were dolling fast and
fading rapidly.

It was an interesting pastime and the time paraed most
pleasantly while marshalling in review my freqnent wanderings
1^ sea and land, and turning over one by one the nmneroos
leaves which make the hook of memory, eonsisting now of many
volumes. The list completed there remained in my nund oo
doubt but that those named on it were fully entitled to occupy
their places of honour ; the task had been succesBfnl but sad
withal, fbr was it not all oonoemed with the past and mostly
with the long ago?

My intention on this trip had been first to visit the Falls of
the Zambesi and then go to East Africa, but iate decided against
the former. Arrived near Beira, the weather was stormy and the
sea far too high to permit of any approaoh to land, and after
lying off for twenty-fonr hoars with no improvement in the
weatiier, the ship went on to Delagoa Bay. Comparatively easy
from Beira in the time permitted me — December 28rd to January
6th — a visit to the Falls now became a heavy task likely to be
highly &tigning ,■ to reach them from Lorenzo Marques, no less
than 183 hoora — 106 of continned travelling — ^ware needed, ~
while from the Zambezi baek to Beira meant anotiter eighty.

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RETROSPEOT 327

Most of this wonld hvn had to be done dnring the eight days
of ChriBtmas and New Year holidays, when, owing to general
rqoioing and nntiriog attempts at qnenching an apparently
OBqaenohable thint, things and trains were not likely to ran
smoothly. So the trip was most reluctantly abandoned.

May the space which the Victoria Falls were expected to fill
among the elect in Memory's gallery be yet ooonpted by them
and tahe their place alongside that Canadian-American wonder,
the loTely Falls of Niagara t

To pass the time while waiting for the boat a trip to F^toria
dnring the holidays seemed preferable to so dreadful a soamper,
nnsatisbctory though it proved, with eTerything closed except
bars for eight whole days and nothing to eat bat frozen meat
and tinned vegetables — a tmly disgracefdl want of raterprise t
My inquiry as to why the engine never ceased whistling while
passing throngh Portogaese East Africa was met by the state*
m«it that only 1^ such hideous noises was it possible to scare
away the mosquitoes, which here in their swampy paradise were
said to attain the size of locnsts and be dangeroos to life !

Steaming northward from Lorenzo Marques's busy harbour
and bright crimson soil we passed mtmbnnd Beira, visited
Zanzibar and arrived at Mombasa ^and ; and v«7 hot and
picturesque it is, the door to those wonderful regions inland now
opened to the pabUo by England's engineering skill and enter-
prise. What marvellous changes here in a few years ! A com-
fortable railway — 688 miles long — takes one to Victoria Nyansa,
where a 600-ton steamer, lighted and ventilated by electricity,
awaits the traveller to carry him either across to Entebbe,
capital of Uganda, or on a trip round the lake. The " Uganda "
Railway, which is nowhere in Uganda, leaves hot Mombasa with
its beantifdlly green mango, wonderful baobab-treea, and lovely
Cretans for the adjoining mainland and soon ascends the plateaa
of the intfflior with altitudes varying between 2 and 8,000 feet ;
after a run of about 600 miles it descends to the Lake, whidi
lies 8,650 f^t above sea-level. The country passed throngh is
infinitely varied : tropical forests with their dense and tangled
vegetation, huge swamps, the home of hippos ; endless grassy
plains, deep valleys and hi^ mountains — everything on the most
extensire scale. The natives along the line and crowding the
stations offer an interesting study : Snabelis, Kiknyns, Masai,

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328 SPORT AND TRAVEL PAPERS

Wuiderobo, Nondi, and Eavirondo, neai the Lake. Fashions
▼uy greatly among i^ the tribes ; clothing, exoeedicgl; scanfy
always, becomes less and more infiniiestimal until anuoig the
Eavirondo at Eisomii, the tenoioiu of the railway, absolutely
. none remains. The native maiket here goes by the name of the
" Garden of Eden " — ^before the fig-leaf period. Everybody walks
aboat as Adam and Eve are supposed to have done before t^e
apple incident.

Beads, bine ones, are the bshion among most of Uie tribes,
worn in strings on seek and u'ms, with heavy and many coils
of brass and iron wire on both extremities, to such an extent
often as to permit bnt slight movement of the elbow. Other
yexy weighty rings are arranged, one within the other of gradu-
ally increasing diameter, on a plane and worn ronnd the ladies'
necks, resembling the rings encircling the planet Satntn ; holes
through the lobes of the ear, mate and female, are enlaced to
an almost incredible extent by means of pegs and rings of wood,
gradually increasing in size until nothing but a thin loop of akin
lemaina. In this loop, adorned along the edge with blue beads,
are carried by way of ornament objects as la^e as preseired
milk tins, the whole weighted down by rings of wire nntil it
tests upon the shoulder. A K^ayu youth in order to be in the
height of fashion must have his hair arranged in nunate curls
and these plentifully smeared with castor oil and rubbed over
with earth — which eveiywhere is of a rich crimson. Beads,
wire, distended ear-lobes are neoessitieB, and a square piece of
cotton or bark cloth worn over the shoulder completes the
costame. Women, of course, do all the work, stagger under
the heariest loads, often at the same time suckling a baby, while
their lord uid master swa^ers along in front, carrying nothing
bat a stick or spear.

The " Garden of Eden," most interesting in itx primitive sim-
plici^i is a garden in name only ; a few sheds on a sandy plain
under an equatorial sun constitate the market, to which natives
bring their yams, dhurra, flour, bananas, chillies, sugar-cane,
spearheads, wire, and beads. Some cotton sheets with patterns
in the then fashionable chocolate colour are exposed for sale, bnt
do not seem to find many purchasers, Nature's simplest clothing
being much preferred. The contrast between primitive savageiy
and high civilisation was indeed most striking as one stepped

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EETR08PE0T 329

from among the naked crowd on to the deck of aa electrical!;
lighted and cooled 600-ton Bteamer !

Terrible havoc has the Bleeping-siokneBs made on the western
— Uganda — side of the Lake and on the islands; the fishing
population, ver; dense at one time, has almost entirely dis- '
appeared. Brought from the Congo, this dread disease is said
to bare killed 200,000 of our fellow snlgectB ! The germ ia
carried b; a consin of the tsetse fly, and the microbe shown to
me nnder the microscope in the Entebbe Laboratory was lively
indeed among the blood corpnsoles of an infected oat.

Particularly interesting to a sportsman are the plains east of
the capital of East Africa — Nairoba. Here on a hnge reserre
game in incredible Dambers and the greatest variety wanders
and even closely approaches the railway — giraffe, large herds
of zebra, antelope by the hundred and more together and of
many kinds, bat especially hartebeest and wildebeest, the
beantifol Thompson gazelle, the ngly warthog, lions sometimes
and ostriches often. These roam abont in very large herds and
take bnt little notice of the passing trains. People who have
not seen this vast " Zoo," in which all enjoy fall liber^, wonld
treat an aooorate description as a traveller's tale and dab it
simply impossible.

- Althongh lions are still very nnmerons — 100 have been shot
during the last two years jnst oatside the above reserve — they do
not seem to honour the station masters with their visits qnite as
often as formerly, nor have they lately taken any travellers ont
of the sleeping-carriage of a train. All the station masters on
this railway are baboos, a species of mankind known to all who
have been in India for their intense love of strict official routine,
their fondness of long, high-sonnding words and cnrioos ex-
pressions. Many are the amusing telegrams which have been
received from these at headquarters since the opwiing of the
railway, Uie occasions being a visit from the king of beasts.

The following two are copied from an East African paper : —

1. " Pointsman sorroonded by two lions, man np telegraph
pole. Please advise."

2. " Lion roaring on platSirm, does not mind blank cartridge.
Please advise." *

* BUnk MTtridfia li terrsd oat to itAUon mutan to frif^tn Awaj wUd
n"'"n'Ti ball oartridga bdng ouuldand too dangwaw.

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830 SFOBT AKD TRATSL PAPERS

Nttiret greatly dislike the Xndiuis, originally imported tar
railway making, bat now settled here in great number, and
probably with reason, for in all trade transaotions the Afriean
gets the worst of it. A natire's remsA, "it comes bom
Bombay," is eqniTalent to saying " it ia Twy bad."

Near the north end of Victoria Nyanza the Nile begins in tiie
Bipon Falls. The water rashes down some 20 fort or more
in three dirimons made by two beantifolly green tree-corered
islets. Deep blue it eomea from the Lake, rushes orer the
preoipioe, where in a bed of dueling white foam and spray Qie
in&nt Nile is bom. Peaeefolly it flows from beyond the turmoil
nntil lost to riew as it eorlfl round the edge of tiie forest. It
makes « &Boinating picture with plenty of oolonr ; the deep
bine of sky, lake, and rivers, the intense white of die foam, then
the rich green in many shades of the forest, on a btigbi red soil,
the whole in the fleroe lif^t of an equatorial sun. Some half-
naked Bnsoga natires, sqnare and soasty pieoes of bai^ oloth
tiieir only eorering and not generally where wanted most, had
followed as to the Falls and made the picture complete. They
looked possled at the interest shown by the white man in " the
big waters," but were soffieiently oiTilised not to refiise tiie
backsheesh offered.

On the down journey by railway we were greatly &Touxed ;
early one morning Kilimanjaro showed us his two peaks, snow-
eorered both, Kibwesi olsar of filouds, bat Eibo jnst touching
them. Soon all was hidden by mist, but we were delighted, for
the great mountain had not permitted as to leave East AMea
without wishing ns a beaatifdl farewell.

Sooh are the latest additions to my gallery of mind piotores ;
the older occupants — toui» indeed have been there nearly fitky
years — ^whiefa foUow are those which have left the deepest and
most lasting impression on the tablets of memory, and these I
ooufflder to excel all others in beauty, in grandeur, and in
absorbing interest. What indeed can possibly approach for
infinite variety of iiH.««1itig ooloaring and glorious splendour
those indescribably beautifol sunsets, best seen at sea where
nothing hides from tiie eye any part of the gorgeous display ?

All-powerful Nature with the hnge forces at her disposal
created those stupendous mountain masses, Everest uid Kin-
ohinjunga, mightiest moontains on earth, wbiob oome before

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RETROSPECT 331

ftU elm on memoij'fl pagfi- It was eariy one moming nearly
half a eentnry a^ vlien I saw them first from the Bhootan
dooara, their icy peaks gilt by the rising sun, towering high
aboTO a maes of mist and olond to a height of almost five and half
miles on a baokgroand of the potest bine of heaven. Never could
that glorious and incomparable scene of Natnre's most gigantic
and beaatiiol creation fade from the mind of any one who erer
saw it. Nor that other which also impressed me greatly — giant
Aconcagua — as for a moment seen when crossing the Andes by
the pass of the same name from the Chilian to the Aigentine
Republic. When near the crest of the pass at a height of
12,600 feet, the top of Aconcagoa with an altitnde just double
suddenly became visible beyond another mountain, a single
white and siheiy peak rising to a seemingly impossible height
into the deep Une sky. After many, many stops to ease his
breatiiing in the rarefied air my mule had at last snooeeded in
reaching the saddle of the pass just aa the son rose, and every-
thing shone and sparkled in its golden light; we were among
the grandest and wildest accmery of mountain, snow, and ice,
and beyond all and above all rose Aconcagua brilliantly beauti&l
in the purest atmosphere.

And next comes " Fuji " — Fuji, beantifdl from wherever seen
and at whatever time, but most strikingly beautifol in the early
morning when the son first tonohes the snow-covwed top rising
high into the clear Uoe sky above a mass of white doods sus-
pended like a sheet half-way np the monntain's side. Standing
alone on an extensive plain, Fuji, an almost perfect cone,
impresses greatly by its noble beaaty ; once seen, no one can
wonder for a moment why Fuji is held sacred, is indeed almost
worshipped by the Japanese, is the goal of annual pilgrimages,
or why its image appears on very nearly every article made in
the CDontty ; nothing eonld adorn more because there is nothing
more beantifiil. Monnt Egmont in New Zealand is perhaps the
nearest approach to Fqi in shape and beauty. 8,260 feet high,
it also rises from a plain in solitary grandeor ; its cone is always
covered with snow — ^the most perfect cone probably in the world.

It is sincerely to be hoped that these marvellous works of
Nature may never be defiled by hideoils railway and huge hotels
which have already destroyed so much beauty in the Alps, or
be approached by power-honsea and frightful fiuitory ohimueys

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which ue Cut roiiung the woncEerAil gnndenr of my next
pietore, the Falle of Niagara, as I saw the original long ago,
many yean before any of the dollar-making contriTaneea were
eren learnt of.

Man, assisted by Nature, has created three most fiueioatiiig
' and beantiiTil tableaux on my list, and first and fiiremost comes
Nihko. If ashed to name the most beantifal place -wiaeh I
haTe seen, Nikko would be the answer. The Japanese proverb,
"Do not nse the word 'magnificent' until yon have seen Nihko,"
has the best of fonndations. There is eTerything of beanty here
and nothing without — natural bean^ and that wrought by hand.
Natural — a wild valley among great rooks and monntidnfl, the
latter green with beantiM trees and shrabs, and in springtime
go^eouB with huge masses of pink asalea blossom ; a rushing
ton«nt fighting its way between bonldere from the mountains
above — outlet from picturesque Ghozenji Lake — ^passing presently
beneath the hmous red lacquer bridge which leads from Nikko
village to the still more famous tombs and monasteriea hidden
among those glorlons grovea of cryptomerias.

Matchless in growth and solemn grandeur, these beautifdl bees
guard the unmatched Btmotoree within their recesses and watch
over the graves of those two great Japanese shognns, leyasa,
founder of the Tokugawa dynas^, and his grandson lemitsu.
Nothing could be more appropriate as a final restLog-pIaoe for
these national heroes ; they lie in solemn and undisturbed
sUence, sorroanded by everything that is most beautiful in
natoie, and overlook iboae glorious works of man, the temples
and shrines, the Torii, pagoda, atid other structures, which for
architecture, most artistic carving, and go^eous yet never gaudy
colouriog are the wonder of the world.

The most brilliantly beautiful scene I can recall was staged
at the Shosy Dagon, or Golden Pagoda, at Rangoon on a f^Btival
day. Probably nowhere else were ever such surpassingly gor-
geous and varied colours brought together, the combined effect
couBtantly changing like the patterns of a kaleidoscope as the
crowd slowly moved round the huge hand-bell shaped pagoda,
the gracefiiUy tapering spire of which riaeH to a height of 821
feet to be there crowned by the "Htee," resembling an open
umbrella, studded with bells and precious stones, wortii 600,000
rupees, it is said. To the frunous pagoda, renowned throne^ont

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the Bhnddiat East, ftll BuigoDn flooked on this day to pa;
hoioB^ to the great apostle, all clad in their best and brightest
dlk. The pretty little women, most foecinating alwajs, even
when smoking their hnge cigan, were doubly so now, their rich
complexion and elaborately arranged black hair decked with
flowers in charming contrast with the bright oolonring of their
most becoming dress. Whole fitmiliee came together, men,
women, children, and tiny babies, all bringing some little offra-
ing, flowers and fruit generally, to place on their faToured shrine
— one of the very many erected on the platform, sniromiding
with minor pagodas innnmerahle the base of the greatest of all —
these gorgeous creatnres, happy and langhing ever, formed a
dense crowd which resembled nothing more than a huge bed of
the brightest flowers in fill] bloom. Monks with shaven head,
soberly dad in yellow robe, moved among the crowd, and a Caw
nnns in white who also had parted with their hair, and now
perhaps looked with envy at the abundant tresses of their fastive
sisters. The heavily gilt pagoda, brilliant in the intense snn-
light, the wonderfol carving and vivid colouring of the smaller
pagodas and images crowding ronnd the golden ones, the many
flowers brought as offerings, the scores of burning candles, and
above all the indescribable gorgeousness and infinite variety of
colours worn by the crowd of visitors, formed a scene of fascinat-
ing bean^ which can never be foi^tten.

A scene which impressed itself deeply on my mind and has
hardly faded, although nearly thirty years have passed since it
was witnessed, was in the interior of the Mosque of Santa Sophia
at Constantinople in 1879. It was towards the end of the
Kiuso- Turkish War ; the Rnssianfl indeed — picked men of picked
corps — ^were then at St. Stephano, able to look at the Turkish
capital, but not to enter it, owing to the presence of oor fleet in
the Bea of Marmora. At the time of my visit the floor of that
wonderfol mosqne, boilt in fi88 as a church, on the site of several
snccessive chorehes, bat made into a mosque in 1467 by
Uohammed, was occupied by no less than five thoosand Bulgarian
refugees — fed and looked after by the Stafford House Bed Cross
Committee — all in their nation^ dress, each family on its own
little carpet sqaare of many colours, with no space wasted. The
effect of these thousands of people huddled together, the bright
oolonring of every possible shade and variety of clothing uid

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rngB, ooTering the entire floor of th»t fange bonding, Ciwmed a
pictnro whidi it would indeed be diffioolt to eqiul. Tlie Ttat
proportianH of the interiw, the grand uobeB, noble dome, the
rich decorations, mosaics, and inscripticmB ooold hardl; keep &e
eye away from the mnltitade of men, women, and ohilden —
temporary exiles — which ooonpied every inch of the floor.

Nature in her most prolific and wasteftil mood prodoosd a
Bpectaole difficult to beheTe possible nnlesa witnessed, and no
deaoription, however graphic, ooold give a true idea of a locost
awarm as it passes over a ooontty. Traveliing in a train in
Sooth Africa, we soddenly entered what had looked in the
distance like a very dense black dond moving just above the
gronnd. The dood proved alive, myriads and myriads of looosts
gwarming ; tbey obsoored the snn, threatened to fill the carriage,
and aotoally stopped the train, the Qroshed insects rendering
t^e rails bo slippery tiiat the wheels woold not " bite." When
tiio swarm had at last passed not a vestige of herbage was to be
seen. One ooonot help wondering why Katore shoold be so
extravagantly and apparently recklessly wastefdl with certain of
her oreatores called to lifie in nntold millions for no porpoee
apparently exoept to annoy mankind. Indeed, it wonld appear
almost as if man were specially faroo^t into tiie world for the
benefit and amosement of these moat irritating pests 1 Looosts
in their destroying swarms leave nothing nnsaten — everything
green is devoured, all crops disappear. Natives retaliate as
mooh as they can by eating as many as possible, nioely friuled
on a hot plate — a very minate oonsolation after seeing their
fields laid bare!

And those many other creatores, in their millions and trillions,
ot what possible nae are they ? They apparently do not ofTwd
noorishment to other beings. What benefit to anybody or
anything ore those clooda of midges whioh soddenly rise bom
01^ of the vraters of Victoria Nyansa, teeming mnltitades
which obscure the son, cover the deck of the steamer inches
thick, to die withoot loss of time there and on the snr-
. rounding water ? What can be the ose of sooh waste of life,
exoept to annoy passengers and the crew which has to sweep
them op ?

And those brotea, mosqnitoes, gnats, the various kinds of sand
and black flies, with what oljeot are they sent into the world

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exoept to irriteto noble man and make faim ose bad langaage ?
No self-respecting animal would deign to eat tbem, nor wonld it
toocb, I feel Bore, field and otber fleaa, and those diagnstiug
ereatores — ticks or leeches or jiggers I

One tableau remains differing from all the others — a scene so
beaatifid, engrossing, and solemn, as perhaps to have left the
deepest impression of all on my mind.

K was on the borders of AbyBsinia — as already daseribed in
(be "Sketcbea in the Bondan" — that X was present at the
eraning (and morning) worship or oonfesHion of bitfa of a tribe
of the Beni Amer Arabs who, as nomada, bad taken np their
temporary qoarters in a sereba of mimosa scmb in the then dry
bed of a river. Against my will, but for my safe^, fi» Uiere
were many lions aboat, I and my camel had just before suuet
been broogfat among these most hospitable people, and thus
became a spectator at a most impreasiTO scene. The aim was
aboat to disappear, beyond the sereba fiance nothing met the eye
bat date- and dome-paims lining the rirer bank ; within were the
low palm-leaf hats of the tribe. When the men had assembled
OD the open spaoo before the sheikh's hnt, the chief in front with
tiie " £aki," his people ranged behind them, the holy man recited
Hie Mohammedan formula of taitb and all responded. The snr-
ronndings, the knowledge that this same scene had been enacted
every evening for oentnries with jost the same ardonr and intense
devotion and rapt attention on the part of these nomad worshii^traa
one and all, devotion sooh as is seen in no other fkith, impressed
me, the only onlooker, veiy greatly. In what other religion will
the members so striotly and unfailingly carry ont the rites pre-
■cribed and kneel in pnblic wherever Uiey may be when the time
for worship comes and, utterly absorbed, remain onoonsoiouB of
all sunoondings ?

Man alone filled one tableau so remarkaUe, piotureaqae, and
as interesting in every detail as to be absolutely oniqne. It was
(be last and probably (he greatest spectacle staged by a great
man who, when (he curtain had &Uen on that wonderfiil show,
was shortly to lose not only his conntiy but his life also. It was
LobengnU's great war-dance in 1890, daring the visit of (be
Queen's messengers to Bulawayo. The " dance," lasting a week,
was (he larges( that had been — ^fifteen thousand fighting-men were
fluppoaed (o be ptrnteai, as all available warrior* had been called

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'in. CUd in thurwttr-diesB, uidiUinftd viftasMgu, shieldttiid
dab, tii«y ^Tfl a woaderM diBid3i7J wliich is fdlly deacribbd in t
tcomer krtiole.

iW* Lobengala, ailing at tiie time, was not able to appear in
his war-dresB, nor indicate by the tbroving of an assegai the
directioQ the next raid was to take, bnt lie showed himaelf to his
warriors smeared witli some hideona " medicine," whicb he and
his witch-dooton had prepared in the goat kraal. His nanuk
to OS that he did not wish Enropeans to come into his oonntry,
fekring quarrels with his people, as "the white maji will giTeW
Bool for gold," proTod more prophetic than perhaps he himself
then thought, for the Matabele War soon followed, costing many
lives, and the grand old man bad to Q.j his country, and died
doling tbe flight. ,

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