IN CAMP. 



7,000 feet in the Himalaya. When 

 disturbed, it will attack both man and 

 beast with the utmost fierceness. 



Many are the stories extant in this 

 connection and some of them exceeding- 

 ly ludicrous Two men were resting 

 between beats one hot May morning in a 

 Central India jungle. One of them un- 

 warily lit a pipe. Overhead spread the 

 crown of a tall cotton tree with a dozen 

 great combs of the big bee attached to 

 its branches. In the hot weather he is 

 particularly vicious and vindictive, and 

 resenting this intrusion he was down on 

 that twain in a twinkling. 



It was an utter rout and the elder of the 

 two, a respected bald-headed Colonel of 

 H. M.'s British Regiment of Foot, led the 

 retreat, which had no strategy about it. 

 They 4 did time' towards the open country 

 a mile and ahalf distantandevery now and 

 then the Colonel would take off his topi, 

 which unfortunately had a ventilating 

 space round the inside asthe bees soon dis- 



'53 



