THE KHOND HIGHLANDS. 265 



Before the conference closed how- 

 ever, an oath of renewed fealty to the 

 Bodagudda Raja was sworn. The Raja 

 had been afraid to accompany me, and 

 his headman represented him. A bit 

 of earth, a squirrel's skin, and a lizard 

 were placed upon a tiger skin, together 

 with a dagger, and the oath was pro- 

 nounced over these symbols. 



I brought back with me on one of my 

 visits to the Khond Hills the seed pods 

 of a tree which I have not seen else- 

 where in India. It was about twenty 

 feet high, with thick foliage, and if I 

 remember right a rather small leaf; but 

 its remarkable feature was the seed pod, 

 which in some cases was between three 

 and four feet long, with a breadth of 

 four inches. Inside the pod were 



