The Nelson Evening Mail. THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 1878.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XIIL, Issue 198, 19 September 1878, Page 2

The Nelson Evening Mail. THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 1878.

We understand that highly satisfactory news has been received from the Aniseed Valley copper mine. We hope to be able to give fuller particulars to-morrow. The C. K. B. Minstrels gave another capital entertainment last night when in addition to the Ustlal amount of singing, and the comic sketches, which were (juite as amusing as on tile previous evening, there was a beautiful clatidnet solo from the opera of the Bohemian Girl. To-night there will be an eutire change of programme, and Alt Simonsen will play a violin solo which is sure id prove a rich treat. At a meeting of the Rowing Club held last night officers were elected for the ensuing yearas follows.'— The Bishop of Nelson, President; Dr. Boor. Vice-President 1 Dr. Sealy and Mr Tennen't, captain and deputy captain respectively; Mr G. 11. Ashcroft, Secretary and Treasurer; Messrs West and Vickerman, auditors. The following were placed on the Committee :— Messrs Bird, Black, Burnett, Dodson, Freeman, Sharp and Watts. The report showed the Club to he in a prosperous financial condition, and it was proposed to purchase two new boats. The season will be opened by a procession of boats on Saturday, the sth October. At a meeting of representatives of the different Volunteer corps of this district, was held last night to discuas the. proposed Rifle Association, it was decided ito send delegates to Wellington to attend the conference of Volunteers to be held there iu October next. It wns intimated that about 200 members would join the Association in Nelson. At the preseut time when the Indian troops have recently been so much before the public, the following extract from, a letter written by an officer in command of a Punjaub cavalry regiment to a friend iu Nelson may prove interesting. He had been absent on furlough for a couple of years, aud on his return naturally made enquiries as to the doings during that time of his regimeut, which is frequently engaged in irregular warfare with the hill tribes on the frontier. He says: — " There is nothing glorious in the way of fighting, for it takes two to make a fight, and t'other chap would'nt stand up, but there has been good smart soldiering, all the same, where slackness or stupidity would have invited daring acts on the sly by those bold manly hill fellows, such as stealing horses or arms on a dark night almost from under a sentry's nose, which our frontier regiments consider a great disgrace, though they have one and all at some time in their history been victimised at least once. A cheerful bearing under the heavy, constant, and inglorious duties of escorts, scouts, patrols, general intelligence-collecting work, &c, stamps a regiment as " all there ", for service. But that which " brought down the house " of their comrades in the field was the regiment asking to be allowed to help along an infantry regiment that had beeu all day marching in the bills in a broling day in August, andhaving had no food, and finding no water, were dead beat and would have had many casualties before reaching their distant camp. My fellows moved up smartly and met the regiment and every jack man dismounted and put up one, and in some cases two, of the infantry on their horses, and throwing out their own dismounted rear guard aud flankers, brought their comrades safely through an enemy's country to their camp The cheers that went up on both sides, and the merry chaff at the foot becoming horse, and the horse foot, were enlivening, and subsequently the General had my regiment paraded and told them they were trumps— or words to that effect. The thermometer stood at 120° at the time, and with high barren rocks around, the glare of an unclouded sun and the general broiling sensation may be imagined. I tell the lads I always thought I could, and now I know I can, fully trust them to bring credit on the regiment whether I am with them or rot, aud whatever may be the duty before them." Large numbers of hares have recently been found dead in the Southern districts as the result of eating the tutu plant.