1 52 IN THE INDIAN JUNGLE. 



In parts of the Bellary district and in North 

 Mysore grain there was none, and whole villages 

 were depopulated, the inhabitants literally dying 

 of starvation. I was through the worst parts of 

 these two districts during this terrible time, and 

 the awful sights of mute human suffering that 

 met my gaze I have no wish to recall. 



To come to my story. I was riding along 

 the high road between Chitaldroog and Bellary a 

 few days before Christmas, and was anxious to 

 make the latter town in order to get in to Bangalore 

 by Christmas day. I had ridden across country 

 some twenty miles and had just struck the high- 

 road and hoped to fall in with my camp, which I 

 had sent on a few days in advance, to await me at 

 a large village I had named. The country through 

 which I had ridden was extremely desolate. At 

 that time of the year the fields should have been 

 laden with cholum (millet), which thrives wonder- 

 fully on the black cotton soil of Bellary ; but the 

 failure of the North-east monsoon had resulted in 

 a very scanty crop, which was plucked and eaten 

 by the starving population before it had even 

 had time to ripen. I had gone about a couple of 

 miles when I noticed a few huts a hundred yards 

 off the road, and as I was anxious to hear of my 

 baggage I rode over to see if the villagers could 

 tell me whether my carts had gone on. I shouted 

 when I came to the huts, but no one answered. 

 Some of the huts were closed, others open, but 

 there did not seem to be a soul about. I was 

 just about to ride off when I heard some low 



