86 PRIMITIVE TOBACCO-PIPES. 



I proceeded to secure the animal if possible by creeping up 

 behind it, and laying hold of one of its hind legs, which I 

 could see was hanging helplessly over the edge of the rock. 

 No sooner did the animal feel itself seized than it kicked 

 itself off the rock with the other hind leg, and fell struggling 

 on to the steep slope below it. I still held on to its legs as 

 we both went sliding head-foremost down the slope. But 

 finding the pace was getting too fast to be pleasant, I let go. 

 Fortunately I soon managed to stop myself by turning flat on 

 my face, and stretching out my arms and legs like a spread- 

 eagle, just as I was unconsciously nearing the brink of a nearly 

 perpendicular drop. Over this the gooral went headlong in 

 company with my cap, which had fallen from my head in the 

 struggle. It was afterwards recovered with the gooral, which 

 was found dead at the bottom. I felt truly thankful at hav- 

 ing escaped with nothing worse than my knuckles well barked 

 and my clothes a bit torn by the sharp stones on the slope. 

 But we must now try to recover our musk-deer. 



The shikaree at once set off down the hill to look for it. 

 And judging from the time we had taken in coming up, I 

 concluded he would be a good while getting down and return- 

 ing with it on his back ; so I sat down and lit my pipe, Kur- 

 beer doing likewise with one he had made by twisting a green 

 leaf into a conical shape, which he filled with my cavendish, 

 and smoked through his clasped hands by way of mouth- 

 piece. The hill-men are decidedly ingenious in some of their 

 extempore contrivances for smoking tobacco. The most prim- 

 itive I have seen was a small hole made horizontally under 

 the surface of the ground and left open at the extremities. 

 At one end was placed the tobacco, whilst at the other each 

 man in turn knelt down and inhaled two or three long-drawn 

 whiffs of smoke into his lungs. 



Waiting so long on the ridge was by no means irksome to 

 me, for I was glad of the rest it afforded. Moreover, when 

 situated on such an elevated spot, commanding so extensive 



