CHAMBA 17 



people in the village were Hindus and it was against 

 their principles to keep fowls. He mentioned also 

 that he was unable to get eggs ! And were we ready 

 for dinner ? We were. 



We had heard something frizzling and sputtering 

 on the fire, and judged it to be mutton; but, when 

 dinner came, it turned out to be a fowl that we had 

 brought along with us. We had noticed it the day 

 before. It was a black fowl with pink eyes and red 

 about the gills, and we thought it must be an oldish 

 and knowing bird, as it waited until no one was 

 looking, and then started off and dashed down the 

 hill. Some one noticed it, however, as it sped away, 

 and the cook and some coolies dashed off in pursuit 

 and captured it, after a stern chase, some few hundred 

 feet down. We did not realize how very old he was 

 until we began to eat him ! 



At Kukti we found our two shikaris, Fuma and 

 Punchi, waiting for us, and we also found some lovely 

 violets and asked the lambardar to send a boy to 

 pick a few for us. He said that if we could wait 

 until the next morning, he would send three or four 

 men out for the day to gather some, so great was his 

 desire to please the sahibs. 



After reaching our shooting ground, we spent eight 

 or ten days making long tramps over the hills after 

 black and red bears and kart, as the wild goat is 

 called in Chamba. We saw several at a long distance 

 but never anything within range. 



Rum John, ever mindful of our comfort, came to 

 us with the suggestion that we should tell the shikaris 

 whether we wanted skins or horns, give them the 



