Indian Racing Reminiscences. 



commanding officer was an old colonel with a young 

 wife, so he left the rest of us very much to our own 

 devices. We accordingly got on well together, and had 

 not an unhappy time of it. My detachment of about a 

 hundred and fifty were almost all recruits, who violently 

 resented any interference from the infantry non-com- 

 missioned officers : the consequence being that there 

 were frequent courts-martial on my gunners and drivers, 

 with, now and then, a flogging parade. I got on well 

 with my men as I was fond of athletics, and used to 

 encourage sparring and other sports among them to 

 while away the tedium of the voyage. When they 

 came into collision with the, infantry non-commissioned 

 officers they used to collect eu masse and openly defy 

 authority. On these occasions I w^as obliged to volun- 

 teer to go forward to the forecastle and secure the 

 ringleaders, as they would allow no one else to interfere 

 with them, although they cheerfully submitted to any 

 order I gave. Whenever one of my men was to be 

 " tied up," my soldier servant always came to me the 

 first thing in the morning, and asked me to give him a 

 bottle of gin, as "he felt very queer inside." Before being 

 flogged, the prisoner always begged to be allowed a 

 drink of water, which was invariably supplied to him by 



