THE NILGHERRIES. 149 



but I was not then up to the decep- 

 tion. I scuttled out, and we hauled 

 up the poor pony well coated with black 

 mud. A little farther on, the track led 

 us along the edge of a landslip which 

 had broken away the ground below the 

 path on our left, to the right the hill- 

 side rose smooth and grassy, and on 

 it grazed a herd of half-wild buffaloes 

 of the Toda aborigines. The lodges 

 (or munds) of this singular race are 

 now extremely rare; as not more than 

 five hundred of the tribe survive, they 

 are to be found only in secluded spots, 

 and near them graze the shaggy herds 

 on whose milk they chiefly subsist. 

 These buffaloes are often dangerous to 

 strangers, and when we came in sight 

 the herd galloped wildly down towards 



