of the Old World. 33 



the bushes, and when they got near enough for us 

 to distinguish their turbans and black faces, the 

 yells and ferocious shouts, together with the wild 

 flourishes of the cholera horn, the rolling of tom- 

 toms, and the constant discharge of matchlocks 

 and rockets, made them appear like some wild 

 horde advancing to attack us, with some slight 

 show of discipline. 



As they closed upon us the din became horrid, and 

 their screams and yells were more discordant than 

 ever, when suddenly loud cries were heard along 

 the line of "Soor! soor! (hog! hog!) Kaleejan- 

 war!" (black beasts) and each horseman stood up 

 in his stirrups and strained his eyes to ascertain 

 which way the game had broken. It was an 

 anxious moment, and intense excitement was de- 

 picted on every face, as we waited impatiently in 

 our hiding-place for the signal bugle which was to 

 announce the start. 



At last the long- wished- for note rang forth ; 

 each horseman grasped his spear, crushed his 

 hunting-cap firmly on his head, dug in his spurs, 

 and sprang from his cover at speed upon the plain. 

 A sounder of seven hog were seen scouring over 

 the ground at a tolerable pace, some four hundred 

 yards from the cover from which they had broken. 



As soon as they heard the tramp of our horses 

 approaching, they increased their speed, and a 



