SYCES, OR GROOMS, LEADING OUT HORSES. 1.39
I , „ „ o v e r preserve .he l.voeJ, . n j lh„l their »cco.u.l ¡„ doing BO. I coneolve
„ . „ c h o„ L principle of the crooked barrel hereafter not.eed .
TIk- farrie,-, in India comn,only confine then,selves to the tnere shoeing antl
T l o r s e s - leavin.. the medical branch to a set of .pn>«l<^-
ith on,'English practitioners in all the eant and i,npos,t,„n nsnally attetrd nt
0 h profession. As to jockeyship, the Asiatic horse dealer scorns to ytel.l
r ll to any of onr „tost experienced hlaek legs ! Not one ol then vvdl ventn.e
r r s e he is about to sell in the stables of the intended pnrehaser, nnless
a t " led I y one of his own or groonrs, who both know, and ,s k n own by
1 lal If the horse be very old, or natnrally dull, the syce takes care to
W h i n , with spices and other stitnnlants ; and if V,cons, op,n,n, and other
I n o d y n e s are given; so that the horse is absolutely i„ a state of d,sgu,se.
I saw a horse pu,-chased whi,:l,, after having been exan.incd with every
p r e c a u t i o n by several of onr u,ost knowing sports,net, and joches, was coni^
e,.ed as b eLg i„ every respcet sound , but on being hunted »
w a r d s , lost one of his hoofs. On a closer inspeet,on , twas fonnd to I » » ' '«™' ,
l a v i u : been tnade of leather! Another was just in t,„,e Cseovered to Inrve
b I "taked in one of his fo,-e f e e t ; the ,nerch„„t had staked the other foot „.
a I itr L . n n e r , so as to n.ake the horse go even, though his ga,t appeared
r a t h e r stUl'. The dealer called Heaven to wi tness that it was h,s natural ,„ode
of „oing. and that the „,a,-e f,-0„, w h i c h he was foaled, had the satne pecnbant y !
0 „ cleaning out so.ne stable dung fron, the hoof i t was lound that da,„..al..
r o s i n , had been poured into the cavities. This atte.npt to - P » - ™ '
„ , i „ d „f a Captain in the Bengal ar.ny who, having bought a of a Calcutta
„ e r e h a n t . took it hotne ; ,vhcn, on shewing it to a nunaber of brother ofl,ee,-s. , t
v a s d i s c o ; e r e d that the barrel wasver y crooked, a,,d he instanüy went toreturn
it ,0 the knowing dealer, who very deliberately told hn„ he — J •
, , , „ a l.igher price on it than on any others in h,s possession, or tha w s an
, „ i „ u c :„d had been sent as the lirs, of the ki,„l by the maker who bad obt
a i n e d a patent for eonslructiug gnns with erooked barrels, lor the purpose ol
" shooting roiiiul corncrs !! ! "
M a n y of the or groo.ns, are profcssetl thieves, and cute,- a service
„ , e r e l y \ o take the first opportunity .hat nu.y ofier ol stcahug '
, l , c y ,nay find tnost valuable. Being so easy to re.uove. and tlte b rder> o
. l , c ' c o , n p a . . y s dotninions being in ,na„y places so near, .here ,s - S " f
t h e i r not getting elear off. The eo.nn.on thieves, ahoutuhng in the „, pe, pro
t i n e e s are L y o n ^ l belief e.vpert tn stealn.g horses ; of which the follow.ng well
known fact may serve as a sulllcien. eorroboration.
A field officer, proceeding with a la,.ge detachment from C-"vnpo.-eJB
o , „ b a y , had a ve,-y valnabl e horse, which was always p,cket ted w,th great ea,c.
u n d e r charge of the se„trics near his tent. One ,norni,ig. however, the favourite
was missing. A bandso„,e reward was p,'oelaii„cd for its restoration, when the
thief, having fnll confiilcnee in RnglisI, good fiiitli, a|jpeared, ami received the
p r e m i um of his ingenious villaioy. The Colonel, however, was at a loss to know
h o w the horse could possibly he take,, away fioni snel, a secure position, anil
desired the thief to show hi,,,. Accorilingly the circle was cleared, and the tliief
went thi-ough all his manronvres, crouching anil sliding along in various positions,
till he reaohod the horse ; he explaiued hmv he found the bridle, putting it at
t h e same ti„,c into the horse's moutl,, and acting as he pi-oceeded will, his
detail, loosened the head and heel l opes with which horses are always fastened,
when all being loose, he sprang across, and, „,gi„g the horse forward with his
heels, galloped through the crowd. The Colonel, in high admiration of the
fellow's skill, followed his course in the expectation of .seeing the horse turned
and brought back to his pickets. That event, hmvever, did uot take place;
the thief continued his way. leaving his „.„„erous specuitors divided between
.admiration at the neatness of the t,1ek, and vexation at his success. Jicing in
a n encny' s country at the titue, pursuit was i,np,-aeticablc.
•With regard to the gimlaiiaies, o,' horse clolhs, as also the.c/mowc.s or whisks,
and the practice of dying the tails of light-coloured horses red, by „ , e a „ s of the
mi,«/:/, they have all been „diced in the for„,er N„„,bers. I. .remains „ o w to
.state that both stables, and camel or olcphant-houscs, are ge„erally eo„8lructed
w i t h ,nud walls, and covei-ed with thatch. Tiles do not answer the purpose, as
t h e y reflect a great heat ; else they woul d be preferable on account of the many
fires that happen in all parts of India. I'orn.erly the town of Calcutta was
much i„co,nmoded in this .-espeet; most of the „at,ves huts being lonued of
c o n , b u s t i b lc „,ate,-ials. Regulatioiis were adopted, however, for tiling throughout
the toivn, and fires are therefore far less freiiuent.
A t most of the mllita,-y stations the sepoys are obliged to plaster their
t h a t c h e s over with ,nud ; and the olliccs „ever omit plaeiog pots I,lied w,th
w a t e r along the ridges of their ont-offiees, so as to have then, at hand ,„ ease
of „ecessity ; i„ the event of the thatches on which they are ],laced taking fire,
the pots being broken by poles or clods tl„-„,v„ at them, thetr contents are ihsc
h a r g e d , and help to extinguish the na,nes. These precanttons are of esse„t,al
service whe,-e there arc so few barracks; the officers and men roee,v,„g an
allowance i„ lieu of being furnished with i|Uarlers. They are by no means
n.ai„e,-s on the long rnu by this commutation, but ,„a„age to bve very comfortably
in their bnngalows, or thatched houses; which have no upper story, but
co,:tai„ three or Ibur good rooms, partly surrounded by a balcony enclosed
w i t h ,•««.»,», or f,-an,es of bau.boo and ,nat., a., described „, the precedmg
P l a t e These balconics are from ten to twe„ty feet ii, breadth, a„d aflord
a „ , p l e shelter for the servants, besides accomillodating a palaukeen. g,g. and
o t h e r machines.