THE BOT- OR WARBLE-FLY 27 



the junior members of the Army — is that 

 Sam Browne was an American ; possibly some 

 sHght confusion existed in their dear young 

 minds between the inventor of the belt and 

 John Brown whose 'body lies,' &c. The 

 inventor of this useful cincture was, however, 

 Sir Samuel James Browne (1824-1901), G.C.B., 

 K.C.S.L, the well-known Indian fighter, who 

 lost an arm, and gained a V.C. by his gallantry 

 during the Mutiny. He was for a time the 

 military member of the Governor-General's 

 Council, and he commanded the first division 

 of the Peshawar Field Force during the Afghan 

 War of 1878-9. The 22nd Regiment in the 

 Indian Army, a frontier force, is known as 

 Sam Browne's Cavalry. 



The belt was first used unofficially, but it 

 gradually found favour with the authorities, 

 and it is mentioned officially in the regula- 

 tions drawn up for the Straits Settlements in 

 1891, and for Egypt and West Africa in 1894. 

 It was only on April 24, 1900, that the pattern 

 was ' sealed,' and adopted as a general item 

 of equipment for all officers on Active Service. 



Anything that seriously destroys the con- 

 tinuity of the integument of our oxen, which 

 interferes with the * wholeness ' of the hide 

 which is the basis of leather, clearly affects 

 — and affects detrimentally — an important 

 munition of war. The bot- or warble-fly does 



