182 The Hunting Grounds 



after D had washed, and plastered up his face, 



we all three got into my bullock-cart, and arrived at 

 Bowani soon after sunset, where we found Mother 

 Garrow and her dusky train of dancing nymphs from 

 the Pagoda awaiting our arrival at the public bunga- 

 low, which is very pleasantly situated on the ruins 

 of an old fort, which, with a large and rather cele- 

 brated pagoda dedicated to the worship of the God- 

 dess Bowani (the deity of the Thugs) is built at the 

 sungum or conflux of the rivers Cauvery and Bowani. 



Chineah and the gang were delighted with the 

 place, and described the Andior and SamHngalum 

 jungle as being alive with game of all kinds. 



The next morning we strolled along the banks of 

 the river with our rifles, as Chineah had seen several 

 alligators basking in the sun on a sandbank the day 

 before ; and although we saw plenty of marks of their 

 huge claws imprinted in the sand near the edge of the 

 water, none were to be seen. 



In spite of Dr. Johnson's reflections on anglers, I 

 determined to try a piscatorial experiment, so I re- 

 turned to the village, and got the "lohar" (black- 

 smith) to forge two large barbed hooks on the ends of 

 a couple of strong English dog-chains, which I made 

 fast to the storm-ropes of my tent, attaching large 

 logs of very light mangoe-wood as floats. I then got 

 a village "chucklar" (shoemaker), a Pariah of the 

 lowest caste, to accompany me with a couple of young 



