162 DAYS AND NIGHTS OF SHIKAR 



so. The Raja only laughed and said they were 

 used to it, and they often rode like that, all of 

 them. 



The Ranees arrived and we took up our positions 

 for the beat. It was an enormously big one and 

 covered a great extent of hilly country : it took 

 over a thousand men, but it was almost impossible 

 for them to keep in line over such uneven ground. 

 We were to shoot at anything we saw; there was 

 a leopard there but it broke back, some pigs and a 

 few small deer came through, and a certain number 

 of things were killed. 



It was a pleasant time I had there; I tried to 

 persuade the ladies to ride, but they thought it 

 might be going rather far against the custom. 



I went on to the Central Provinces and made a 

 start from Chanda. After one or two marches I 

 arrived, as it was getting dark, at the Weinganga 

 river, and the cartmen said it was too late to cross 

 as there was a good deal of water, so we waited on 

 the bank until morning. It seemed natural to sleep 

 in a cart travelling along, but it was a new experience 

 to sleep in one standing still, with the bullocks 

 munching away at their bundles of grass all round. 

 It happened to be Christmas Eve and I felt like 

 shepherds watching their flocks by night, all seated 

 in a cart : however, it was very peaceful with no 

 bumps and jolts. 



Streams of mist were rising from the river in the 

 early morning, and we had to wait a little to let 

 the day get warm before the bullocks might go 

 through the cold water. The river was several 



