A GRAND CHASE BY A JYNTEAH RAJAH 495 



necked partridge ; blacks are also very common ; they are of 

 course a francolin. In former days, to judge by the follow- 

 ing extract from the Lives of the Lindsays, the Rajahs of the 

 Jynteah hills must have been possessed of large means and 

 had considerable forces at their command ; they frequently 

 invaded our territory and made themselves otherwise very 

 objectionable, but they were so thrashed by our plucky 

 Gurkhas that they are not likely to prove troublesome again. 

 All their greatness has departed. 



" The Jynteah Rajah of the Cossyahs was my nearest fron- 

 tier neighbour; he was by far the most powerful and the 

 most civilized of the whole, holding large possessions both on 

 the mountains and on the plains about fifty miles distant. 

 When a younger man he had been misled by a false idea of 

 his own powers, and he had in consequence been the aggressor 

 by entering British territory in a hostile manner. A regiment 

 of Sepoys easily drove him back and convinced him of his 

 insignificance, and he was now endeavouring to show me his 

 perfect attachment to our Government. The Rajah proposed 

 my paying him a visit in his own country, and to partake of a 

 chasse he had prepared for me ; and after arranging the pre- 

 liminaries the day was fixed. By mutual agreement we were 

 to be accompanied by a few attendants only. It was during the 

 season of the rains, the whole country being completely under 

 water, looking like an extensive lake. I embarked in a beau- 

 tiful yacht of my own building, well manned, and armed with 

 eighteen swivel-guns, and arrived at the place of rendezvous 

 at the appointed hour, when to my surprise I found advanc- 

 ing towards me a fleet of boats not less than fifty in number, 

 with streamers flying and fantastically dressed. As this was 

 contrary to our agreement I was not well pleased at the display, 

 but betrayed no kind of alarm. The Rajah proved to be a 

 handsome young man with a good address. He requested 

 me to accompany him to his barge to partake of the shikar 

 already prepared for our amusement. We rowed some miles 

 towards a rising ground, on which we landed, and were then 

 carried on men's shoulders to a temporary stage erected for 

 the occasion. On surveying the arena round us I found that 



