418 THE HIGHLANDS OF CENTKAL INDIA. 



water-pool, where he had gone to bathe his miserable body. 

 Then a neighbouring Thakiir came and fired all day into him 

 from his match-lock, two bushels of bullets being taken from 

 his carcass after he expired. 



He had another story, of a " loathly worm " that haunts the 

 forests of the Uprora" country slimy and horrid like a great 

 caterpillar, a cubit and a half in thickness, and dull grey in 

 colour, with a scarlet head, to look upon which was death. 

 Many had seen it, but none had lived to tell the tale. On 

 pressing him as to the source of the accurate portrait of the 

 monster he had drawn for me, since all who had seen it had 

 died, he was at no loss for a reply. The Th&kur of Uproni 

 was travelling, with an attendant behind him, when at the 

 crossing of a stream the latter called out, " What is that great 

 slimy caterpillar-like monster with a scarlet head, etc. ? " on 

 which his master warned him not to look at it, and did not 

 do so himself. He was too late, however, for the servant was 

 dead in a few moments. 



Evening after evening I sat on the highest point of the hill 

 listening to the incessant music of the " myriad crickets " that 

 seemed to permeate every nook and cranny of the hill and its 

 covering of trees, and gazing over the vast forest prospect 

 spread below. To the south the open plain of Chattis'garh 

 from which we had come, to the north the great green wilder- 

 ness of the elephant country, dotted here and there with 

 isolated hills. A long valley led up into this region from the 

 foot of Laafdgarh, in which a few specks of village clearings 

 could be seen. Everywhere else was utter waste. Far to 

 the west a pink promontory glowed hazily in the setting sun. 

 That was Amarkantak, the source of the Narbadd, to which I 

 took the reader at the opening of this chapter. 



Many wild animals had their haunts in the wooded sloping 



