FILLING OF THE MEERWAH. 153 



rifles, to be again chased to the front by the 

 Sowars. In vain the antelopes attempt to leap 

 the hedge, but finding that impossible, they 

 at last become so alarmed that many fall from 

 sheer fright beneath the hoofs of the Sowars' 

 horses ; the body of the herd rush again and 

 again towards the opening, where the royal 

 butchery continues, till the enclosure is cleared 

 of game by the animals which remain rushing 

 out of the opening. During the twenty days 

 that the Meer was absent on this excm-sion, 

 he killed above twelve hundred antelopes, be- 

 sides other large game, and an enormous 

 quantity of floriken, bustard, black partridge, 

 &c., were taken by the hawks. On the 15th 

 of May, the Meerwah canal filled with water, 

 much to the dissatisfaction of His Highness, as 

 it interfered with his night shooting, for 

 in the hot season the Meer shoots a great 

 deal by night, as the afternoon sun of 

 Sindh is too powerful even for the brains of a 

 Belooch. 



The filling of the ^leerwah, consequent on the 

 rise of the Indus to its greatest height, is a 

 season of much rejoicing to all classes at Khyr- 

 poor, as the cultivators have an assurance 

 therefrom that their crops will not fail for want 



