two years, learning what I could of the business, but without the
advantage of European society; in fact, the Burra Sahib and myself were
almost the only whites in the district, and as he was drunk quite half
the time, and we did not pull very well together, I was left to my own
resources. I found amusement in various ways. There was no polo, but
some of the native zemindars (landed proprietors) were always ready to
get up a beat for leopards, tigers, deer and pig. Their method was
simply to drive the game into a net corral and spear them to death. The
Government Keddas, under Colonel Nuttal, were also not far away in hill
Tipperah, and it was intensely interesting to watch operations. Close to
my garden also was a sacred pool and a very beautiful waterfall. This
was visited twice a year by immense numbers of natives, some from great
distances, for it was a famous and renowned place of pilgrimage. It
could only be approached through my garden; and as there was no wagon
road, the pilgrims were always open to inspection, so to speak; and they
were well worth inspection, as among them were many races, all ages,
both sexes, every caste or jat; robes, turbans and cupras of every shape
and colour; fakirs and wonder-workers, and beggars galore. Here, and on
such an occasion only, could the sahib see face to face the harems of
the wealthy natives, consisting of women who at no other time showed
themselves out of doors. Being the only sahib present I had all the "fun
of the fair" to myself, but always regretted the want of a companion to
share it with me.

As to wild game, there were lots of jungle fowl (original stock of our
familiar barn-door cocks and hens), a few pigeons, Argus pheasants,
small barking deer, pigs, sambur, barrasingha, metnas, crocodiles,
leopards, tigers, bears and elephants; but I had little time for
shooting and it was expensive work, the jungle being so thick that
riding elephants were quite necessary. If keen enough, one could sit all
night on a machan in a tree near a recent "kill," on the chance of
Stripes showing himself; but it never appealed to me much, that kind of
sport. If a tiger was raiding the cattle I would poison the "kill" with
strychnine. In this way I secured several very fine animals, getting two
at one time, so successfully poisoned that their bodies actually lay on
the dead bullock. One time I shot an enormous python, some eighteen feet
in length, which took several men to carry home.