THE kAkANKOTE ROGUE. 209 



the Kakankote rogue, a really dangerous animal, which had taken possession 

 of about eight miles of the main road between Mysore and the Wynaad 

 country. He at first did nothing more than alarm travellers by frequently 

 appearing on the road. But after some time he took to chasing persons, 

 and at last killed two men within a few days. This was reported by the 

 Amildar, or native official in charge of that part of the country ; and I was 

 soon at Kakankote, intent on slaying the brute. 



Whilst en route to the rogue's neighbourhood I met some travellers, one 

 of whom was cut and bruised about the head and face. It appeared he had 

 fallen into a gravel-pit by the roadside upon a false alarm being raised 

 that the rogue was coming ! At the entrance to the jungle I found two 

 native policemen had been stationed to warn travellers to proceed only in 

 parties, and men were sent with them to beat tom-toms and sound horns 

 till they were safely through. I dismounted from my pony and marched 

 with my carts from this outpost to Kakankote — eight miles — which we 

 reached without seeing the rogue. 



Kakankote is a small hamlet of half-a-dozen huts, forty-nine miles from 

 Mysore, on the road to Wynaad. It has a traveller's bungalow used by 

 occasional sportsmen. The Cubbany river runs close past Kakankote*, and 

 for sixteen miles the main road skirts its north bank through the heavy 

 forest. Thus animals which come from the interior forests lying to the north, 

 to drink at the river, are obliged to cross the main road ; and in the height of 

 the hot weather (March, April, and May), when the pools in the forests are 

 dried up, whole herds of elephants resort to the river to bathe and drink, 

 usually from five in the afternoon till eight in the morning. 



The jungle around Kakankote consists of teak and other heavy timber 

 and bamboos. It is inhabited by a few scattered Kurrabas, a wild race, but 

 first-rate assistants to the sportsman in quest of large game. These wild 

 men of the woods care little for money ; if supplied with rice, arrack (native 

 spirit), and tobacco, while in the sportsman's camp, they are quite content ; 

 and a cumbley (blanket), as a reward for special services, may be added at 

 the end of the trip. A more wretched set of human beings than Kurrahas 

 it would be difficult to imagine. Their unvarying dress in all weathers is 

 a small piece of dirty cloth round the loins, though the extremes of heat 

 and cold in the jungles at different seasons are great ; and during the mon- 

 soon months the rain is almost incessant. They cultivate small patches of 

 grain, just sufficient for their bare necessities. The labour entailed by their 

 method of cultivation is very great. The jungle has first to be cleared and 

 burnt, and the ground dug up by hand ; the crop must then be guarded day 

 and night from elephants and other animals. It not unfrequently happens 



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