Reminiscences oj Jungly pur. 145 



and khoras. From remotest east to west stretches the 

 long mountain range. A tall succession of golden-pink wall 

 with deep purple fissures. Its peaks and valleys in such a 

 cold clear atmosphere look almost toy-like, miniatures of 

 mountain land, yet the former are nearly 2,500 feet above 

 us, and that little ravine seaming their sides is four miles 

 long. The country rises gradually to the foot-hills, and the 

 crops grow less thickly as we approach them. Some open 

 fallow land succeeds the talljawdri fields. There stands a 

 herd of antelope, absurdly tame at this chill hour, as, hud - 

 died together, they gaze at the passing rider : the buck, 

 though black, is not possessed of a head sufficiently good 

 to tempt us. The hills begin to throw out long steep spurs ; 

 their hard outlines become softened by the jungle now dis- 

 tinguishable on their slopes. The little clump ofmhowa trees 

 at Belkhera comes into view a mile or two away. We shall 

 leave our ponies there, and strike up the long glen on foot. 



This section of the hills is more rugged, but less 

 densely jungled, than the loftier flat-topped ranges towards 

 the west and interior. In the hot weather it is almost 

 waterless, and the game has then receded to the regular 

 forest country ; but at this time of year it provides ideal 

 shelter to animals, such as the sambar, bear, panther, and 

 smaller game, which seem to prefer it to the now thick 

 green jungles of the forest reserve. 



Very plentiful are sambar this year. The forebodings 

 caused by the havoc which the famine of 1900 undoubtedly 

 caused among them appear to have been too gloomy, 

 for there seems to be a goodly stock of hinds each with a 

 fawn and stags are about too, as many peeled trees testify. 



We pursue almost the same track up the Belkhera glen as 

 we did that morning on our way to look up the man-eating 

 panther. 



19 



