142 A DIFFICULT CLIMB. 



The evening is chilly, and the mist gathers heavily, so a seat clase to 

 the fire and a thick overcoat are both pleasant and necessary adjuncts to the 

 post-prandial cheroot. The light from the hundreds of small cooking-fire3 

 in the valley produces a strange effect. Some of the elephants are picketed 

 between me and the nearest blaze, and are thrown into strong, weird relief 

 in the fog. The hum amongst the tired men is gradually decreasing, and 

 before I turn in, the whole encampment, except that where stand the 

 elephants, is comparatively quiet. 



December 31. — This day's march, though only thirteen miles, was a 

 very trying one ; it, however, landed us at our goal, the Chengree stream. 

 We started at 7.30 a.m. with a tremendous ascent of a spur of the blue hills 

 I had noticed ahead at the commencement of our march, and found that the 

 enchantment of the distant view vanished on closer acquaintance. The hill- 

 side was covered with long grass, which, when trodden down by the leading 

 elephants, made a slippery foothold for the rest. As the huge beasts toiled 

 up the almost vertical acclivity in a long straight line, zigzagging being im- 

 possible, I thought what the effect would be should one slip and roll down ; 

 recovery would have been impossible, and the whole line behind would have 

 gone like nine-pins. 



The view from the top of this hill was uninteresting. Before us were 

 higher hills, covered with nothing but long grass, with a few bamboos in the 

 hollows ; behind us all the fine trees had been joomccl ""' off the country. 



We now descended nearly as deep a valley on the far side as the one 

 we had left, and then kept along the bed of a shallow stream. As we 

 rounded a corner I saw the ground shake under the elephants before mine. 

 This was a peculiar kind of quagmire occasionally met with, over which, 

 though the surface bends, animals may often pass in safety ; but when it 

 once gives way it is rapidly broken up in all directions. It is, fortunately, 

 seldom deep enough to be dangerous. My mahout pushed my elephant on 

 in the hope of getting over safely, as we were light, shouting to the men 

 behind to take another line ; but the surface had been too much tried 

 already, and when we were almost over, through the elephant went, sinking 

 to her girths. An elephant never gets flurried in situations where a horse 

 would struggle and make matters worse ; and by resting a portion of her 

 weight on her curled trunk upon the firmer surface in front, she managed, 

 after much surging and roUing about, to get through it. 



In a mile more we caught up the coolies who had preceded us some 



* Jooming is the method of cultivation common to all jungle-tribes, and consists in cutting 

 down and burning the timber, the ground being relinquished after the one or two crops have been 

 obtained from it, the fertilising effect of the ash having worn out by that time. 



