224 DIARY OF A SPORTSMAN NATURALIST 



the Thibetan plateau, fifteen thousand feet in elevation, 

 are, as a Tommy put it, " like going up a ladder." 



Some allusion must also be made to flies and the mosquito. 

 The common house fly is extremely abundant in the jungles 

 in the hot-weather season. He is an unmitigated curse at 

 this period, but in the absence of a remedy has to be put 

 up with and endured with as much patience as one is 

 capable of. 



The horse flies in some jungles also become a serious pest 

 at this season. In fact in some areas the ponies a,re so 

 badly bitten that one has to send them out of the jungle 

 into the open country and, in the absence of an elephant, 

 do one's shikaring or work afoot. Even the elephant gets 

 severely worried by these insects, and the wild ones ascend 

 into the hills or climb up several thousands of feet into the 

 Himalaya to get beyond their zone. 



The little " eye-flies " are also a great nuisance out 

 shooting in some localities. They have a habit of hovering 

 just in front of and quite close to the eyeball and may thus 

 spoil one's aim at the critical moment. Ordinary sun- 

 glasses should be worn to defeat this annoyance. These 

 glasses should also be put on during the hot weather as a pro- 

 tection against the bright glaring light in the open country, in 

 open forest, and when travelling in river steamers or other- 

 wise on rivers and lakes. It is also advisable to wear them 

 when fishing in the hot weather. A youngster does not like 

 to wear glasses — I was obstinate in the matter myself. But 

 experience of their comfort and value led me to regret that 

 I did not get over my prejudice and wear them sooner. 



The mosquito and its malaria-giving proclivities is too 

 well known to require comment here. Always sleep under 

 mosquito curtains when in the jungles, no matter how hot 

 and uncomfortable they may make you. One soon becomes 

 accustomed to the curtain, and it saves many a go of 

 malaria which would otherwise incapacitate one and inter- 

 fere with, if not put an end altogether to a well-planned 

 sporting trip. In connexion with jungle malaria, some forms 

 of it, it is not only from the mosquito that one gets it. 

 Drinking water and bathing in the streams, no matter how 

 clear and pellucid they may appear, is a sure way to get a 

 bad go of jungle malaria. This assertion is made from my 

 own personal practical experience. Do not drink the water 

 unfiltered and unboiled, and do not bathe in the streams. A 



