AN EXPLORATION IX THE FAR EAST. 421 



small village half-way up the bill, and wliicli the aneroid 

 showed to be about 2,450 feet above the sea. Here I 

 was met by the Thakiir of Laiifa, the landowner of a 

 considerable hilly tract round about Laiifagarh, who, 

 with the utmost civility, led the way to a commodious 

 hut he had prepared for my accommodation, of leafy 

 boughs from the forest, under the shade of a large ban- 

 yan tree, while my tent was being made comfortable in 

 the old fort on the top of the hill. A gang of wild 

 Bhumias from the Thakiir's hill villages had been col- 

 lected to carry up my things ; and throughout the day 

 I was "interviewed" by little knots of them, who would 

 steal to the door of the hut, squat down on their hams, 

 with their axes hitched over their arms and their fanny 

 little leaf pipes stuck behind their ears, and remain 

 perfectly contented as long as we let them, drinking in 

 the strange appearance and surroundings of the sahibs. 

 Without his formidable battle-axe (tongic4) and his leaf 

 pipe (chongee) you will rarely see the Bhumia of these 

 eastern regions. The pipe is twisted in a few seconds 

 out of the leaf of the palas tree,* a peculiar twist making 

 the bowl and its narrow neck in the most perfect 

 manner. It looks simple, but I never could acquire 

 the knack of it, and my pipes always came to pieces 

 before they were well lit. The Bhumias smoke them 

 once or tw^ice, and then make another. They 

 spoke capital Hindi, and were not at all shy in 

 conversation, though wilder in appearance even 

 than those of their race who live in the Mandia 

 district. Here the tril)e is known only by the name 

 of Bhumia, the terai Bvo;a, which is their commoner 

 tribal name in Mandia, being restricted to their priests 



* Batea frondosa, after wliicli the ^vllole district of Bila^piir is 

 named. 



