for he was a skilful horseman as well as
good at sports), reared and fell over on him. By the display of
personal alacrity he managed to avoid vital injuries, but sufficient of
the animal's body came on his own to render it necessary that he should
be carried home in a "jhampan," or Sedan chair, used in the mountain
sanitaria of India for the conveyance of ladies. A friend's house in
the neighbourhood of the spot where the accident occurred was of great
use in restoring him somewhat from the effects of the accident. The
kind friends who helped him to undertake the journey to his house,
about a mile distant (carried in this way on men's shoulders), did Mr.
McNair one of those services for which India is renowned as a land of
friendly help. The injuries sustained internally nevertheless kept the
patient in bed for a month, and the nursing of a mother and sister
brought him round sufficiently to enable him to do his work as usual to
all appearance. During the ensuing winter he had very hard work, which
involved much exposure, and he suffered exceedingly from the effects of
that accident. Immediately after he felt indisposition of any kind he
complained of a return of the pains due to the accident, and there can
be but little doubt that the inward injuries then sustained had left
their mark, though nominally healed. 1888-9 was a severe winter in the
mountain regions of our frontier, and a letter I had from McNair in
April, 1889 (the last letter I ever received from him), gave some
description of the vicissitudes of temperature he had to undergo. I
give the letter in his own words in the Appendix, as a facsimile of his
handwriting, to show how precise a hand he wrote, and as a memento of
himself which some of his many friends might wish to cherish, for I
believe that in many respects handwriting bears marked characteristics
of the qualities of the individual. Here I will only extract the
following description of the trials my friend had to undergo in the
matter of temperature. In camp, away from Quetta and all means of
procuring supplies on the spot, he writes under date the 2nd of April,
1889: "For the past fortnight I have had a rough time of it with rain,
wind, and haze. Since yesterday there has been a change for the better,
so now I hope to push along with my observations. Just at present I am
in a low valley, and consequently the heat is somewhat trying, but in
another fortnight I expect I shall be complaining of it bein