The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1895-09-13
"SpORI" IN INDIA.
TO INTEREST THE NATIVES IT
MUST BE CRUEL.
5Iuntirs Deer by a Partners Aid
How Wrcstlers Are Maintained
and Their EXercfses-Yhe
Eattla of Hands.

clated by the average HlndoO, must
have something cruel about it, either
10 man or animal, and if uncruel, then
| it has no interest. But despite this
| assertion, however, true as it is, it
must not be forgotten that we are in
! debted to the Manipuris for polo, by
whom it was introduced into British
| environments.
The Hindoos are great cock Fl ghters.
Large sums of money are spent on
| these contests, nor are the birds furn-
isbed with spurs to make the fight
still more sanguinary. The cocks use
only natures weapons, and the wounds
indicated are severe enough to satisfy
the Hindoo craving for bloody spec
tacles.
OF horse racing the Hindoo is pas
sionately fond, and a race will practi-
cally close all business. I have seen
the Government printing offices at
Allahabad closed because the compost
tors abandoned their cases to see the
initial meet Of the Gym Khana. A
steeplechase where there is every pos
sibility of some one being thrown
exsrts wonderful fascination on the
people who do not hesitate to call
4 themselves the greatest physical
towards in the world.
Their hunting, too, is of the cruel
order. Panthers, or, as they are called
in India, cheetahs, are trained to pur-
sue deer and kill them. There is no
risk attaching to the hunters, but
there is great deal of danger to the
unfortunate shekari who trains the
ferocious beast. The panther is blind
folded, leash is passed around his
middle, and he is thus led to the plain
where deer can be found, or to where
the deer have been driven by swarm
Of heaters. The assemblage, mounted
upon elephants or horses or in convey
ances, keep a respectful distance from
the cheetah, who is led into the open
and the hood quietly removed and the
leash slipped. The cheetah, when flu
riously hungry has been knownto turn
upon his trainer as the quickest prey,
and this is the supreme, the agonizing
moment. The cheetah stands straight,
his forelegs stitfening and his tail
slowly moving. He purrs like huge
cat, looks angrily around him, then,
crouching, bounds after his prey.
''Shabash ~ is the exclamation. "He
has not killed the trainer, but I
thought he would surely turn on him, !"
anda gentle sigh of disappointment
escapes from the lips of the provider
OF the fun.
The cheetah catches his victim and
selling it by the throat, buries his
fangs deeply, sucking in the blood
with greedy gasps. The trainer APP
proaches gently, SO gently that his
football can scarcely be heard. The
cheetah is growing ominously.-
tail beats his sides in ferocious 1T
thence. Quietly the man steals to-
ward the crouching beast and slips the
hood over the eyes, then the leash is
passed around and all danger is
averted. But not quite. For the head
has to be severed, still leaving in the
oheetah's mouth a goodly lump of
bleeding flesh.
There is nothing very sportsmanlihe
in this performance, but there is a
great deal of danger attaching to it,
and that danger devolves upon one
man. I have heard of cases where the
panther has absolutely refused to chase
the deer, but has devoted his entire
time and attention to the hunting
party. Then the game was not voted
success.
The Hindoos are great devotees of
wrestling. and Punjab produces giants.
Indeed the best wrestlers come from
the north. There men are trained
from early infancy. The wrestler
trains from babyhood. He is picked
out on account of his strength, and his
exercises commence when he is but a
small tot. Every muscle is strength
ened by an appropriate exercise. I
had friend who was great athlete
and kept three or four of these bulky
fellows to teach him wrestling. To
harden their calf muscles these chaps,
six feet and over, would hop about the
floor for hours together in a squatting
position, while for increasing the dl-
mansions of their biceps and the chest
muscles they would first lie flat on the
ground, then raising themselves on the
| tips of the toes and with hands well
turned in they would commence to
move up and down, putting all their
weight on their arms. They would
| continue this until they had done it
| 1000 times. 4 man who has not eXer-
cised does we'll if he can keep it up for
three or five minutes. After exercis-
ing they would drink milk and coarse
sweetmeat made of CHI, clarified but
ter and sugar. Being Hindoos they
only trained on milk and CHI and
sugar. The prizes they wrestled for
were enormous and huge sums We're
put up by their patrons.
The wrestlers are not Independent.
They generally attach themselves to
some ardent sport, who pays them SO
mucha month. They form part OF
his encourage, and these sports offer
enormous sums to set Trestlers away
| from their rivals. Occasionally the
! sport issues challenge to another
sport, couched in the same language
as a man would offer to wager his bird
against another mans bird.
The pailwar, or wrestler, who wins
is always handsomely rewarded, some
times with 4 money present, but gen
orally with jewelry. They wrestle for
necklaces-great gold nuts threaded
on string. The wrestling ground is
il the open air and Oh freshly turned
earth. They are net unattended by
mishaps, for l have been prese 1T when
pailwar had his neck viciously
broken by his adversary. AS it was
in native State there was no trouble
and the carcass was unceremoniously
dragged ont and the matches proceeded.
A villainous amusement IN India is
that called panjah. 1t consists in
| Iockino hands and SEEING who can be