THE MAHADEO HILLS. 127 



night by the noise and the glare of the great fires 

 through the thin canvas of my tent. 



Next morning I was roused by the crow of the red 

 jungle-fowl, which swarm in the bamboo cover of this 

 little valley, and by the unremitting " hammer, hammer " 

 of the little " coppersmith " barbet,* of which there 

 seemed to be more in this valley of Rorigh;it than in all 

 the rest of the country. I found the revellers lying 

 like logs just where they had been sitting ; and it was 

 no small labour to rouse and get them together. A 

 couple of days' supply of flour was served out to each, as 

 remuneration for their labour in the drive ; and plenty 

 more was promised if they would come and help to 

 build the lods^e at Puchmurree. I also ratified the 

 chiefs by presenting them with sundry canisters of 

 powder and all my spare bullets ; and we parted, I 

 believe, mutually pleased with each other, and with 

 promises of plenty more hunting-meets of the same sort. 

 I had had enough of that sort of sport, however ; and, 

 excepting once with the Thakiir of Almod, never again 

 drove the hills for game. It is poor sport in my opinion, 

 and is seldom very successful even in making a bag. 



Two days after this, parties of my aboriginal friends 

 began to drop in at the bungalow work ; and, as a few 

 masons and brickmakers had also arrived from the 

 plains, our prospects looked cheerful. The wild people 

 brought their women and children along with them, and 

 in half a day erected huts of boughs suflicient for their 

 accommodation. They were all told off in parties to 

 cut and bring in Sdl poles for rafters, and bamboos and 

 grass for thatching, to break and carry up lime from 

 the ravine, to puddle earth for brick-making, etc. The 

 * Xantholcema indica. 



