Dog-eating Nagas. 245 



the Hill tribes, bolted right away the moment he got 

 into the enemy's country. When tried for this offence, 

 he triumphantly pleaded that Bengalees are a nation 

 •of cowards, and thus saved his commission, although 

 he was never again sent on military duty. 



Besides Bengalees and Munipuris, Cachar has 

 ■occasional visitors in the form of Lushais, Cossyahs, 

 Kookees, Nagas, and other Hillmen, who, with perhaps 

 the exception of a few Cossyahs, who are becoming 

 partly civilized, are unmitigated savages. It is no 

 uncommon thing in Silchar to sec a nine-tenth naked 

 Naga or Kookee passing through on the prowl to 

 pick up stray dogs, which appear to be his favourite 

 article of diet. If he cannot catch them alive, he 

 ■endeavours to stalk them down and spear them. I 

 have on different occasions met these fellows returning 

 from a successful foray, with two or three dead dogs 

 •over their shoulders, while they led on foot a couple 

 ■of live ones captive. The natives say — with what 

 amount of truth I cannot tell — that as soon as one of 

 these Hillmen comes into a village, all the bow-wows 

 clear out, as if by one consent, and escape across the 

 river as fast as their legs can carry them. The follow- 

 ing recipe for preparing c/iiai farci was given to me 



