206 DAYS AND NIGHTS OF SHIKAR 



a katti, a big, rough, sickle-shaped knife, made for 

 cutting branches away, that had been given me by a 

 friend as a mascot ! The teeth had gone through the 

 fleshy part of my leg, rather deep, half-way between 

 the knee and hip, missing the bone, and I poured 

 water into the wounds from my drinking bottle, to 

 clean them out. Of course I lost a good deal of 

 blood and felt rather faint again before I had 

 finished. 



The men carried me down those difficult rocks 

 very carefully and well, handing me along from one 

 to the other, holding me under the arms and knees 

 without hurting ; they fetched a light bedstead from 

 somewhere and carried me to camp. There was a 

 fine long procession before we got in, for one or two 

 villages we passed joined in, and the forest guards 

 also, and men from the police post. Arrived at 

 camp, I syringed out the wounds with disinfectants 

 and filled them with some blue cotton-wool. Then 

 it seemed about time to lie down. 



Two watchmen were told to sit up outside the tent 

 at night, in case I wanted anything. They went to 

 sleep very sound sleep too but Govind came in 

 the middle of the night and said they were all very 

 sad and wanted to send for a doctor ; might they ? 

 I thought I should be healed up in a few days, but he 

 insisted, and the chaprassi went off fourteen miles, 

 to Garchiroli, to fetch him. I know I woke up very 

 cold in the morning and the wounds began to be 

 painful, but a hot-water bottle soon put that right. 



There was a hospital at Garchiroli and the apothe- 

 cary, Rattan Lai, came out during the day and did 



