POONAH. 87 



their faces with part of their dress. The former, taken 

 generally, were not a well-made people, and betrayed extreme 

 imbecility in their looks and gestures. Most of the females 

 had good figures, which were set off by their style of costume, 

 and even the lowest caste displayed a gracefulness of action 

 that is never found amongst women of inferior rank in 

 Europe. 



We made long marches, and our shooting possessed no 

 great peculiarity until we reached the Bombay military 

 station of Ahmednuggur, and from thence marched through, 

 a rather uninteresting country, to Poonah, at that time, and 

 I believe still, the finest station in Western India, and where 

 a very large force was stationed of native and European 

 troops. The division being under the command of General 

 Sir Lionel Smith, and the brigade under that of Colonel 

 Sir Willoughby Cotton, we paid a visit to the latter officer 

 on our arrival, in rather a sorry plight, owing to the 

 fatigue and heat of our journey, but were received with all 

 the kindness and urbanity for which, he was so eminently 

 distinguished, and soon found ourselves besieged with invi- 

 tations to dinner, tiffin, and hunting and shooting parties, 

 all of which, had we accepted the hospitality offered to us, 

 would have materially delayed our journey to Bombay. 



Poonah was at this time celebrated as the best place for 

 wild hog hunting in the Presidency, and also boasted, amongst 

 the officers of the cantonment, of the most daring and 

 efficient spearmen. I had seen but very little of this sport 

 during my residence at Jaulnah, and that in a small way 

 and was very anxious to join a field of hog-hunters, well 

 mounted and equipped, on a large scale. For the benefit 

 of those who are uninitiated, or not aware of how this de- 

 scription of sport is carried on, I cannot do better than quote 

 the words of a contemporary of my own in India : 



"The hunters, previous to their commencing the chase, 



