CHAMBA 37 



The next day's march was the worst we had ever 

 done. We had ordered coolies to come : none 

 arrived, so Will went on ahead, with Punchi, to 

 Chobia, to send them back at once. About four 

 o'clock in the afternoon an old man and two small 

 boys appeared. The old man said that the coolies 

 had all been sent off early, but had run away and 

 hidden in the hills, as they would not face that 

 road with loads. 



Rum John waited to look after the loads and I 

 went on. The road was a little narrow path at such 

 an angle that one had to walk on the edge of one's 

 foot all the way. There were also overhanging rocks 

 to climb round, and the old man held my foot in 

 cracks and safe places for fear I should tumble off, 

 and where he himself found a footing, I don't know 

 We reached Chobia at last and found Will, who said 

 that he had got there somehow I 



The nice old man who had brought me safely to 

 Chobia made us welcome to his cowshed (he would 

 have given us his whole house if we had wanted it), 

 lit a large fire in the yard, made us some black flour 

 chapatties, and gave us some really nice milk. Then 

 Rum John came in with the two small boys and the 

 beds and a little bedding, which were put under the 

 eaves of the cowshed, and we went to bed dinnerless. 



We both spent a horrible night, as we were bitten 

 to death by a sort of whity transparent midge that 

 flew about and hovered like a butterfly. They were 

 worse than mosquitoes, as they not only bit our hands 

 and faces, but got down inside the sheets and bit us 

 all over. They were poisonous little things a sort 



