HINDOO HABITS. 187 



beheld. Our encampment was of a very simple description 

 Along the banks of a stream flowing from the mountain, 

 was an open, grassy level. There we kindled a large fire 

 of dried bamboo, and made seats of piles of the same 

 wood. Our horses were tied to stakes, about ten feet from 

 the fire, having a short range to feed. Our Parsees 

 had found their own provisions rice comprising nine 

 tenths of their stock. We had a supply of boiled rice, 

 but dried beef, and biscuit were our chief articles of food. 

 Most of the Hindoo servants refused to eat in the com- 

 pany of foreigners, on account of their religious notions. 

 But we found the Parsees to be less scrupulous. The 

 night was clear and starry, but rather chilly, and we had 

 no hesitation in wrapping ourselves in blankets. For 

 an hour and a half our meal had been despatched we con- 

 versed with our servants, gleaning as much information 

 as we could in regard to their manners and customs. They 

 were very sociable, but their business turn of mind was 

 evident in their economy of words when answering our en- 

 quiries. Having instructed the Parsees in reference to 

 the neccessity of keeping a strict guard, as we heard that 

 robbers occasionally committed depredations in these 

 mountains, we stretched ourselves for repose. 

 . My first night in the forests of India, was spent in sound, 

 secure sleep, such as I had been wont to enjoy far away 

 upon the prairies of America, with no companion but my 



