MARKHOR AND SHARPU SHOOTING 159 



of course wished to give him, Perry did go to the 

 extent of saying that he, Wheeler, was a "Bara 

 Sahib," meaning a big or important man. Wishing 

 still further to impress the shikaris, I added, " Yes, 

 indeed, a bara Rajah Sahib," and Perry, I believe, 

 warming to the subject and making a gesture signi- 

 fying immeasurable greatness, continued, " Cer- 

 tainly, a bara, bara, Maharajah Sahib." 



But exactly what degree of greatness this volu- 

 ble description conveyed to the shikaris, I cannot 

 say, nor, as I have once before remarked, should I 

 care to submit even my most concise and carefully 

 thought-out efforts in Hindustanee to a professor of 

 languages for analysis. At any rate, feeling confi- 

 dent that the men were duly impressed and would 

 now take as much interest as we in the meeting 

 which was to occur on the following day, we retired 

 to our tent and to that peaceful slumber which only 

 the truly innocent can enjoy. 



Imagine our utter astonishment, on going out of 

 the tent for our bath on the following morning, to 

 find the camp-ground so crowded with natives that 

 hardly a square foot of space remained unoccupied 

 between the tents and the surrounding woods. They 

 squatted in rows, extending up the hillside and 

 down toward the river below, hundreds and hun- 

 dreds of them it seemed, all in holiday attire, with 



