Ugly women

Travels in England, by Dr. Niemeyer 264 War in the Peninsula, history of, by
Tunnels for canals

121

Southey
Wapeti, or elks

Westall's illustrations of Crabbe's

12

207, 407

125

127

257

19

Valperga, or the life of Castruccio
Virtuoso

Wilkes, anecdote of

80

209

284

221

129

Wonders of the new world

260

229

371 Zodiac of Denderah

407

SPIRIT

OF THE

ENGLISH MAGAZINES.

BOSTON, APRIL 1, 1823.

SKETCHES OF FIELD SPORTS IN INDIA.*
(Literary Gazette.)

IT puzzles us to say whether this
book be more curious, more desulto-
ry, or more entertaining; it embraces
so strange a medley of subjects, and
treats them in so original a way. In
the author, the Sportsman predomin-
ates even over the Surgeon, but the
mixtura of the two makes a delectable
compound for the cure of spleen or en-
nui. For we have not only vivid des-
criptions of elephant, tiger, panther,
leopard, hyena, wolf, hog, buffalo, bad-
ger, porcupine, deer, and hare hunting;
and accounts of all sorts of bird catch-
ing and snake charming; but also med-
ical inquiries into hydrophobia and an-
imal poisons; natural history, and ef-
fects of climate; and details of cus-
toms, manners, anecdotes, &c. &c.
forming altogether one of those amus-
ing melanges which amateur writers are
sometimes so fortunate as to produce
-gossiping, intelligent, lively, Mon-
taignish, instead of the usual prolix,pro-
sy, uninteresting, egotistical volumes of
pseudo authors. And to crown the
whole, we find that the printing was
almost entirely performed by a girl un-
der nine years of age (the Clara Fisher
of typography) at a press made by her
father, Mr. Fowler, of which press and
infant compositor the "Indian Field
Sports" is the first fruits. In this point
of view the book is a great literary cu-

riosity; and we may observe that the mode of getting it up was worthy of its contents.

Mr. Johnson begins with a description of the Jungle country between Calcutta and Benares, and then proceeds with its hunted inmates, both feathered and furred. The

"Shecarries (or professed hunters) are generally Hindoos of a low cast, who gain their livelihood entirely by catching birds, hares, and all sorts of animals: some of them confine themselves to catching birds and hares, whilst others practise the art of catching birds and various animals; another description of them live by destroying tigers.

"Those who catch birds equip themselves with a frame-work of split bamboos, resembling the frame of a paper kite, the shape of the top of a coffin, and the height of a man, to which green bushes are fastened, leaving two loop holes to see through, and one lower down for their rod to be inserted through. This frame-work, which is very light, they fasten before them when they are in the act of catching birds, by which means they have both hands at liberty, and are completely concealed from the view of the birds. The rod which they use is about twenty-four feet long, resembling

Sketches of Field Sports, as followed by the Natives of India, with Observations on the Animals, Accounts of Customs, Anecdotes, &c. &c. &c. By Daniel Johnson, formerly Surgeon E. I, C. Service. 2 ATHENEUM VOL. 13.

a fishing-rod, the parts of which are inserted within one another, and the whole contained in a walking stick.

"They also carry with them horsehair nooses of different sizes and strength, which they fasten to the rod; likewise birdlime, and a variety of calls for the different kinds of birds, with which they imitate them to the greatest nicety. They take with them likewise two lines to which horse-hair nooses are attached for catching larger birds, their game. and a bag or net to carry "Thus equipped, they sally forth, and as they proceed through the different covers, they use calls for such birds as generally resort there, which from constant practice is well known to them, and if any birds answer their call they prepare accordingly for catching them; supposing it to be a bevy of quail, they continue calling them, until they get quite close, they then arm the top of their rod with a feather smeared with bird-lime, and pass it through the loop-hole in their frame of ambush, and to which they continue adding other parts, until they have five or six out, which they use with great dexterity, and touch one of the quails with the feather, which adheres to them; they then withdraw the rod, arm it again, and touch three or four more in the same manner before they attempt to secure any of them.

"In this way they catch all sorts of small birds not much larger than quail, on the ground and in trees. If a brown or black partridge answers their call, instead of birdlime, they fasten a horsehair noose to the top of their rod, and when they are close to the birds, they keep dipping the top of their rod with considerable skill until they fasten the noose on one of their necks, they then draw him in, and go on catching others in the same way. It is surprising to see with what cold perseverance they proceed. In a similar manner they catch all kinds of birds, nearly the size of partridges."

The larger animals are also, snared by nooses disposed in their haunts, and among others the hyena, the natural history of which Mr. J. says is imperfect, inasmuch as it is asserted they

are untameable.
states that

On the contrary, he

"A servant of Mr. William Hunt-
er, by name Thomas Jones, who liv-
ed at Chittrah, had a full grown hye-
na which ran loose about his house
like a dog, and I have seen him play
with it with as much familiarity. They
feed on small animals and carrion, and
I believe often come in for the prey left
by tigers and leopards after their appe-
They are
tites have been satiated.
great enemies of dogs, and kill numbers
of them."

"The natives of India affirm that ti-
gers, panthers, and leopards, have a
great aversion to hyenas, on account
of their destroying their young, which
I believe they have an opportunity of
doing, as the parents leave them du-
ring the greatest part of the day. The
the
when-
young
inhabitants therefore feel no apprehen-
sion in taking away
- - Hyenas are
ever they find them, knowing the dam
is seldom near. - - - -
slow in their pace, and altogether inac-
tive; I have often seen a few terriers
keep them at bay, and bite them se-
verely by the hind quarters; their
jaws, however, are exceedingly strong,
and a single bite, without holding on
more than a few seconds, is sufficient
to kill a large dog. They stink horri-
bly, make no earths of their own, lie
under rocks, or resort to the earths of
wolves, as foxes do to those of badgers,
and it is not uncommon to find wolves
and hyenas in the same bed of earths.

"I was informed by several gentlemen of whose veracity I could not doubt, that Captain Richards of the Bengal native infantry had a servant of the tribe of Shecarries, who was in the habit of going into the earths of wolves, fastening strings on them, and on the legs of hyenas, and then drawing them out; he constantly supplied his master and the gentlemen at the station with them, who let them loose on a plain, and rode after them with spears, for practice and amusement. This man possessed such an acute and exquisite sense of smelling, that he could always tell by it if there were any animals in the earths, and could distinguish whether they were hyenas or wolves."