bitter
cold night, and had been enjoying a sound sleep, when, waking suddenly,
I found the shigram standing in the middle of the road, but without
either horses, coachman or groom. I had heard that such an event will
occasionally happen in Indian dak-posting and so endeavored not to be
disconcerted. Alighting from the shigram, I walked toward a fire which
was just discernible through the trees, and found my missing coachman
taking a comfortable smoke and a quiet chat with half a dozen
bullock-drivers, friends of his, who were camping there for the night. I
approached the social group with the feelings of a ghoul, shook my fists
in the coachman's face and talked exceedingly loud, making free use of
all the bad words in Bengalee of which my then limited vocabulary would
admit, placing particular emphasis upon the scathing _soour_ ("pig") and
the withering _gudha_ ("fool")--epithets more dreaded by the Hindoos
than the most profane oaths. The man jabbered something in his native
tongue, about as intelligible to me as if spoken in the language of the
Bechuanas of South Africa or in that of our Sioux Indians. Returning to
the shigram, I quietly prepared myself to await the issue. But the
effects of my furious philippic had been complete, and in less than ten
minutes the ponies were harnessed and we were again on our way.

In the morning I stopped at a dak-bungalow for breakfast. The word _dak_
means post or stage, and the bungalows are inns for the accommodation of
post-travelers built by government at distances of about twenty miles
apart. They are of one story, and usually contain some half dozen
apartments for sitting, dining and sleeping, besides dressing- and
bath-rooms. These bungalows are under the direction of a _khansamah_, or
native butler, who hires a small corps of servants to attend the wants
of travelers. If you bring provisions, the khansamah will have them
cooked for you, or he will supply you with a limited bill of fare,
charging for each dish according to an official scale with which every
bungalow is furnished. Any traveler can obtain rooms in a dak-bungalow
during twenty-four hours, for which he must pay one rupee (fifty cents),
and no one can claim shelter for more than this period should the
bungalow be full or should other travelers arrive.

On the afternoon of the following day we reached the foot of the hills
and the terminus of the shigram travel. The Himalayas in view were bold
and sharp in outlin