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sport that can be had in a forest country. When first put to 
the quarry, they fly with outspread wings, with a listless slow 
motion like that of a great Owl, admirably described in Sir John 
Sebwright’s little pamphlet on hawking, but by every day prac- 
tice, and constant flying at the black Partridge, high feeding, 
and carefully training it to become familiar with men, dogs, and 
all other objects, likely to frighten it, it becomes in about two or 
three months perfect at its work. The docility of the bird in 
the hands of a good trainer, is wonderful. Its intelligence 1s 
almost equal to that of the dogs. Ihave had them (and it must 
be said that the natives of India are the only people who seem 
to understand rightly the training of this bird) so docile and 
intelligent, that by the mere putting out of my hand, the birds 
have flown from the falconer’s fists and settled on mine whilst 
seated on an elephant; and this, because I was in the habit of 
receiving the birds on my fists to fly at blacks.* Other birds 
have shown equal intelligence ; one I lately had, used to be un- 
leashed at my tent door, would fly to the nearest tree, and as the 
party set out through forest and glade, would fly from tree to 
tree, and thus keep on, quite up to the beaters and dogs, never 
lagging behind till a bird was flushed, but always sufficiently 
forward to receive the quarry as it rose. This was the best bird 
I ever had at taking black Partridge, which it always caught on 
the wing. 
“Tt was a beautiful sight to see ‘ Sultana’ shoot out of a tree 
like a cannon shot, at a Partridge just flushed, often striking it 
before it knew where it was. Sometimes, however, there would 
be a race—Partridge ahead, Sultana immediately behind, each 
straining every nerve, the Partridge must go on, it dare not 
. settle in the grass, for todo this it must slacken its pace, each 
moment bringing the Hawk closer to it, till at last it is clutched. 
This, over a fine spread of grass, without much interruption to 
the view, is a splendid sight! Another fine flight often to be 
witnessed with these birds, is the taking the Francolin in tall 
heavy grass. A line of elephants are beating up the game. 
The flushed Partridge rising out of the grass towers straight up; 
the Hawk is slipped, and follows horizontally the direction of the 
other, until it sees it descending, when, springing up almost per- 
pendicularly, the Hawk seizes the quarry. 
“The Goshawks I have had, after a preliminary education of 
Partridge hunting, have generally been put at Jungle Fowl, 
Kalleege Pheasant, Hares, and Peacocks. At all of which 
* T hasten to explain that Mr. Thompson means black Partridges and not 
m ee of our English philanthropists (?) would certainly conclude, natives 
of India, 
