The Sun.
London, England, 1860-06-06 00:00:00

LITERATURE.

The TT ild Sports of India. By Capt. H. Shake-
spear. Smith and Elder.
The object of the author in writing this book is,
as he states in the preface, to induce young officers
going out to India to take to hunting, whereby
habits of hardihood will be acquired. They will
become used to looking danger in the face, and be-
come flmiliarised with the use of their weapons,
and avoid the temptations of gambling and drink-
ing induced by an inactive and dull out-station
duty. He observes truly :
" It is not too much to say that in many cases, young
and gallant gentlemen descended from the chivalry of Eng-
land have fallen helpless and almost unresisting victims,
who, had they been acquainted with the use of their
weapons and accustomed to handle them, as well as manage
their horses at speed, mig'at have escaped, or at least have
sold their lives dearly and died in arms.
" Courage without skill will not avail in the time of dan-
ger; and men of great natural courage will, from being
unaccustomed to scenes of peril, lose their presence of
mind at such moments."
Capt. Shakespear is an enthusiastic sportsman,
and in spite of his assurance that he is more used
to the rifle than the pen, he has furnished the
public with a very interesting book, and the would-
be Indian hunter with most useful information.
He has taken great pains to explain what guns to
use, and the best method of attacking different
kinds of game, and the most vital parts to aim at
and he observes with great truth :
" I have thought it of much consequence to point out the
most deadly spots to shoot at, both out of mercy to the
animal and fur the satisfaction of the hunter. I know how
long it was before I myself discovered all these things ; and
we have no authority to be cruel even to a tiger, for he but
follows his own nature when he kills."
The description of hog hunting, and the narrow
escapes of the author while pursuing man-eaters or
tigers, which make the human race their particular
food, are well written and exciting; as are also his
adventures with the bear, panther, leopard, buf-
falo, bison; and wild elephant :
" There is but one leopard in India, properly called the
Cheetah. It is tamed, and used for coursing the antelope,
and its speed is so great that it outstrides and catches it,
though it is considered the fastest deer in the
world. The Cheetah is taken to the ground with
his hood on, in an open cart. When within
a short distance of the antelope, say a hundred yards, or
nearer, his hood is taken off, and he sees the deer; in the
space of another two or three hundred yards—farther than
that the leopard scarcely ever runs—he has tripped up his
quarry, and his fangs are in his throat. The leopard stands
some thirty -two inches high, and is of the genus canis, not
having the retractile claws of the cat."
Capt. Shakespear has had some narrow escapes,
and lost many good shots from the timidity of the
natives, and he remarks particularly on the advan-
tages of having a good shikaree or native hunter
as gun carrier, it being necessary in a country like
India, where the game is large and savage, to
have heavy rifles, one for the hunter and the other
for his shikaree to carry and hand to him when his
first gun is discharged. Ho considers a Moham-
medan should be preferred above other sects when
equally good as a hunter, because deer shot by the
hunter is made eatable by all parties when a Mus-
selman has hullal-kurd, or cut the throats of them
with the necessary prayer.
" None but low caste men will eat the flesh of animals
unless they have had their throats thus cut by a Mussul-
rnan. The Mohammeden is generally a courageous man,
but then he is not likely to be so cunning in wood craft as
one of the inhabitants of the forest, who are almost always
low caste men. The Bheels of Candeish are considered the
best trackers in India, but they will not take service out of
their own country."
The author was much disquieted when on his
return to India, after a short absence, to find one
of his shikarees, a low caste man, had been con-
verted to Mohammedanism, and had enlisted in one
of the infantry regiments under the author's com-
mand, thus spoiling a capital shikaree to make a
moderate soldier. The remarks on the breeds of
horses used in India, show that Captain Shakespear
is a thorough judge of horse-flesh, and in spite of
his doubts about the lasting qualities of the feet of
the Australian horses in hot climates like India,
Australia will furnish the best horses for the Ser-
vice after Arabia, and there is no reason why, by
judicious orossing of the different breeds, a
superior animal may not be produced. As
regards temper, it should be borne in
mind that the horses in Australia are bred
wild, and except when run into the stockyards to
be branded, and again to be sold, they are, to all
intents and purposes, as wild as the mustangs of
the American prairies. If handled young they
would be as tractable at any other horses, and their
hardiness and lasting qualities are not to be sur-
passed. '1 he work concludes with a chapter on the
Light Irregular Cavalry of India, their accoutre-
ment, training, and discipline.