250 THE BASPA VALLEY 



very friendly and pleasant. He spoke English well, and 

 seemed fairly educated and intelligent, but was rather 

 deaf. He was a small old man, and rumour said he drank 

 deeply. On the present occasion, however, he declined 

 whisky, saying this was not the time of the year for it ; 

 soda-water, pure, was the proper drink now. But there 

 was a twinkle in his eye as he defined the seasons for drink. 

 He stayed to lunch, and put away the chicken cutlets with 

 evident relish, though he ate with his hands, sending after 

 for the cMlamchi (brass wash-hand bowl) when he had 

 finished, and having a thorough wash-up at the table. The 

 whole performance was indeed quite a revelation in this 

 land of caste prejudices. The Eajah is a keen sportsman, 

 and takes great interest in guns and weapons of all kinds. 

 I obtained his signature to the two^«?'w;fm«s (permits) I had 

 procured at Eampur, and he signed his name in English. 



I halted at Kilba for a couple of days to rest and to 

 make ' final arrangements. This village is the head- 

 quarters of the Deputy Conservators of Forests. Wood- 

 cutting is carried on to a considerable extent ; and as most 

 of the labour has to be in}ported from the plains, a large 

 number of men are always scattered among the forests, for 

 whom provisions have to be supplied by the Forest 

 Department, from Piampiir, or even farther. The carriage 

 of these supplies takes some days, and when, through any 

 unforeseen circumstance, delay occurs and the stock of food 

 runs low, the scattered men are in some dano'er of beiutr 

 starved. Villages are so few, and the population so 

 scanty, that the people have little to spare for strangers, 

 and consequently Government has to undertake the 

 feeding of its employes. 



The difficulty of obtaining supplies is a never-ending 

 annoyance to the tourist or sportsman in the Himalayas. 

 Long experience had impressed this on me, so I set about 



