A RUN THROUGH KATHIAWAR. 275 



quite possible for the little Katlii horses to take me to 

 Yirumgaum. 1 saw he had been offended by the per- 

 emptory manner in which my companion had ordered 

 him to go on, when he was in no way bound to do 

 so. I made a request, not a demand, and expressed a 

 polite hope that, looking at the circumstances of the 

 case, he would try to stretch a point and would take 

 me on. To this he replied that he would do so most 

 Avillingly if only his horses could get over the ground ; 

 and after giving them a little rest, we proceeded on 

 our journey in this comfortable four-wheeled carriage, 

 drawn by two small but exceedingly active Kathi 

 horses. The ground got worse and worse as we got 

 on, the wheels sinking deep in the sand or the salt 

 and mud of the Runn of Kutch. The little horses 

 did not dislike the cracking of the whip, but they 

 would not allow themselves to be struck, and offered 

 to lie down whenever that was done, however lightly. 

 They exerted themselves, however, bravely, and there 

 was no lack on the part of the driver and his com- 

 panion in stimulating and assisting their efforts. At 

 one place I thought the carriage was going to stick 

 altogether, so loose and deep was the sand. Our 

 efforts, combined with that of the horses, failed to 

 move it. At last, to my great surprise, the coachman 

 asked me if I had any brandy that I could give to 

 the horses ; and he held open their mouths while I 

 administered a large glass of brandy to each of them. 

 Xow, whether it was the actual effect of this dose, or 



