A NATIVE PRACTITIONER. 213 



seen the animal on the ground, toes up, after the shot. All 

 attempts at following the tracks for any distance are frus- 

 trated by numerous fresh and large ones here leading in all 

 directions, and there is no blood to guide us. So I turn 

 my steps campwards lamenting, followed by Eamzan and 

 the other Cashmerees " tzh ! tzh ! tzhing " in the most aggra- 

 vating manner all the way. 



Again the villagers flocked up from below to our bivouac, 

 where they gorged themselves and wrangled over the dis- 

 tribution of the meat until late in the afternoon, when we 

 packed up and started for the tents below. 



As we were descending in the gloaming, some hinds, fol- 

 lowed by a stag with longish prongs, moved past us across 

 a glade. Several rounds of ammunition were expended, 

 only one apparently with effect, and that probably slight. 

 Anyway, we failed to find the beast when we returned 

 next morning to search for him. My spleen at losing 

 him, which was considerably augmented by my having 

 bad toothache, was vented on an unfortunate flying squirrel, 

 whose abode in a dead pine-tree we chanced to come across 

 as we were returning, and out of which we " scraped " him. 



The camp was again shifted to a fresh locality farther 

 up the glen. The fine weather we had hitherto enjoyed 

 was now exchanged for wet and cold, which so increased 

 rny toothache that I could get no rest. Eamzan suggested 

 that he should fetcli a barber of his acquaintance, who, he 

 said, had frequently operated on him under similar circum- 

 stances. This village practitioner was accordingly called 

 in and consulted. Smiling blandly, he produced a barbar- 

 ous implement about a foot long, and not unlike a very 

 rusty old pair of carpenter's pincers, with a hook at the 

 end of one of its handles to prevent the operator's hand 

 from slipping. Even the sight of this terrible instrument 

 failed to have the usual temporary effect of allaying the 

 distracting pain ; so I was forced to place my jawbone at 

 the mercy of the hair-dresser, who, with the most cold- 



