CHAMBA 21 



first drink, but thought I would be satisfied with my 

 little sketching water-bottle. 



Fuffia managed to joint the animal very well 

 with the small knife, and all the meat, except the 

 titbits and the hind legs, was hidden under stones. 

 The skins and horns, with the hind legs, we took 

 along with us, and they were a pretty heavy load 

 for the coolie, but, with the expectation of the coming 

 feast, he did not seem to mind the weight. 



We looked out for red bear on the homeward road, 

 but did not see any. 



After dinner we celebrated first blood of the expedi- 

 tion by drinking ginger brandy. This was kept for 

 great occasions, as we had decided that fresh 

 bubbling spring water was quite good enough for us 

 at ordinary times. 



More rain and snow fell, but the forest officer, who 

 was travelling our way and came in and dined one 

 evening, cheered us up by saying that it didn't 

 always rain in these parts. Another fine day came 

 at last. I went out and sketched while the shikaris 

 looked about for game. The flies were very trouble- 

 some, and, as a very small boy was standing watching 

 me, I employed him to wave a leafy twig over my 

 head to keep them off. He was at first more inter- 

 ested in keeping them off my paint-box than off me, 

 poking at them with a stick. But when he learnt 

 that he might really flick hard on flies that settled 

 on my face, he began to enjoy himself and my nose 

 suffered more than the flies. 



Will went out and saw a brown bear on some rocks 

 above him. He watched the animal sauntering along 



