83 SHOOTIKG. 



The quail has been long famous for his pugnacious habits. He 

 fights keenly and hard. The Greeks and Ptomanswere great 

 fighters of this bird; and the conqueror in a regular pitched battle 

 was highly prized. Indeed, in such estimation was he held, that 

 we are told, that Augustus put a prefect of Egypt to death for 

 having brought a conqueror to the table to be eaten. We find 

 some of the middle age writers speaking of the combats with this 

 bird, and comparing them to those between cocks. Henrj^ III., 

 King of Castile, employed much of his time in catching quails for; 

 the piu'pose of matching them in fights ; and the Castilians gener-' 

 ally hunted them morning and evening, and had regular combats 

 ivith them at places adapted for the purpose. Scaliger tells us, 

 Ihat the Itahans have gardens purposely laid out to hunt them in ; 

 and which are fitted up in a very costly manner, and where, with 

 ■ihe guail-pipes, they pursue the bii'd as a great amusement. Burnes, : 

 ^ his Travels in Bokhara, tells us, that " he arrived at the season 

 of the quails, when every one who could escape from his other 

 avocations was engaged in hawking, netting, or fighting these 

 courageous httle birds. Every Tuesday morning the chief had a 

 meeting in his court-yard to encourage this sport. He used to 

 send for us to vritness it ; it is by no means destitute of amusement ' 

 whether we regard the men, or the birds ; for chief, servant, and 

 subject were here on an equahty, the quails being the heroes, not J 

 the men. They are carried about in bags, and enticed to fight with 

 each other for gTain which is sprinkled between them. When the 

 quail once runs, he is worthless, and immediately slain ; but they 

 seldom made a precipitate retreat. Nothing can exceed the passioni 

 of the Affghans for this kind of sport ; almost every boy in the' 

 street may be seen with a quail in his hand, and crowds assenible 

 in all parts of the city to witness their game battles." These bii'ds 

 are very abundant in India, and they are entrapped by various de-'' 

 vices, and in great quantities, both for food and for fighting pur- 

 poses. Johnspn, in his Indian Field Sports, tells us, that the 

 Hindoos " equip themselves with a frame-work of split bamboos, 

 resembhng the frame of a paper kite, the shape of the top of a 

 coffin, and the height of a man, to v/hich 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 the hands at liberty, and are 

 completely concealed from the view of the bii'ds. The rod which 

 they use is about twenty-four feet long, resembling a fishing-rod, 

 the parts are inserted within one another, and the whoJe contained 

 "witmn a walking-stick. Tliey also carry with them horse-hair 

 nooses of difi'erent sizes and strength, which they fasten to the rod ; 

 likewise bird- lime, and a variety of calls for the different kinds of 

 birds, with which they imitate them to the greatest nicety. They : 

 take with tbem likewise tvvo lines, to which horse-hair nooses are 

 attached for catching larger birds, and a bag or net to carry then.- 



