FEOM BOMBAY TO ETAWAH. 37 



not a moment in getting ready for a long cruise on the river. 

 Boats were exceedingly scarce, and but for my friends 1 should have 

 had serious trouble in hiring a suitable craft. Major Koss very 

 kindly relieved me of all trouble on that score by obtaining for my 

 use, as long as I shovdd want it, and free of charge, a large boat be- 

 longing to a wealthy old native gentleman, Mumtaz Ali Khan, who 

 had the government contract for the bridges of boats in that dis- 

 trict. It was a very large and umvieldly craft, flat-bottomed and 

 square-ended, sloping far up from the water, 35 feet long, 12 wide, 

 and 2 deep, a perfect model of the old-fashioned ferry-boats to be 

 seen upon many of our Western rivers. "We built a deck across 

 amidshiiDS, and erected an awning of grass thatch over a portion of 

 this to protect us from the rays of the sun, for there was not a drop 

 of rain to fear. Our craft was px-ovided with a mast, a sail, lines to 

 tow it, jjoles to push it, oars to row it, and five able-bodied men to 

 work all these appliances. We tried hard to hire a small and light 

 row-boat to take along, but without success, for there was not one 

 available on the river. Should I go there again to collect, I would 

 take with me a small boat of some kind. 



Two days after we reached Etawah (March 13th), our boat was 

 ready. We loaded oui- traps into a buffalo cart and drove through 

 the bazaar to lay in a stock of provisions sufficient for three weeks. 

 We bought rice, bread, flour, sugar, onions, butter, and ghee, in 

 the purchase of which last an amusing incident occuiTed. 



The sun was pouring down upon us at high noon and I became 

 very thirsty. Carlo bought a clean new chattie, an earthen pot, 

 worth about one cent, and when we came to a well where people 

 were drawing water he had it filled for me. 1 took a long draught 

 and handed the chattie back to Carlo, who threw the M'ater out, 

 wiped it dry, and, going to a ghee-seller close by, asked to have it 

 filled with that immortal stuff Ghee is clarified butter, and is 

 used in India instead of lard, ordinary butter, and other animal 

 fats. To our amazement the ghee-seller flatly refused to sell us 

 any, for the reason, as Carlo explained, that the gentle Hindoo had 

 seen me put the chattie to my mouth, which defiled it to such an 

 extent that he could not take it into his hands. I was sti'ongly 

 tempted to knock his ghee-pots about his ears, take thirty rupees 

 worth of satisfaction out of his royal highness, and then go up to 

 court and pay my fine. But Carlo was equal to the occasion ; he 

 raised his voice to its regular commanding pitch, bullied the man of 

 caste, and threatened him with arrest, until he gave in and pro- 



