THE HURDWAR FAIR. 7 



and not a tree of any size was near round which we might 

 have dodged the animal ; but the plucky little Goorkha 

 stood firm as a rock as he quietly whispered, " Look out, 

 Sahib 1 we'll give it her in the head when it comes in sight." 

 However, perhaps fortunately, no head appeared, for just as 

 we expected the elephant to be down upon us, with a loud 

 snort it suddenly stopped short, and nothing more did we 

 see or hear of it but the rustling of the reeds as it made off. 



After three days' travel through the Doon, we quitted 

 the hill-tracts for the open plains, where we crossed the 

 Ganges at Hurdwar. The great holy fair at this place of 

 Hindoo sanctity, where countless thousands of pilgrims 

 annually congregate to purify themselves in the sacred 

 river, was recently over, and the vast crowds had dispersed, 

 carrying with them, far and wide, that terrible pest, cholera, 

 which, as usual, had broken out amongst this sweltering 

 mass of humanity in a fearfully virulent form. I firmly 

 believe that those dreadful epidemics which sometimes 

 almost devastate whole districts of Hindustan and its neigh- 

 bouring countries, emanate principally from this source. 



After ten days' weary travel through a fiery atmosphere, 

 resembling the colour of pea-soup, myriads of flies, and with 

 disease rampant around, we hailed with intense relief and 

 joy our first sight of the outer hills of Kumaon, as they 

 loomed through the murky haze. Our last day's march, 

 before re-entering the mountains, was across the Terai. 

 This belt of dense forest and swamp extends, as is well 

 known, for hundreds of miles along the base of the Hima- 

 layas, varying in breadth. From June till November its 

 climate is deadly. During the rest of the year it is com- 

 paratively healthy, when game of many sorts and sizes, 

 from a jack-snipe to a wild elephant, may be found there, 

 not to speak of the mahseer-fishing in its rivers. There is 

 always, however, a feeling of restraint when boxed up in a 

 howdah, as well as a certain amount of dependence upon 

 the elephant that carries you and the mahout who drives 



