108 TWO YEARS IN THE JUNGLE. 



came along and demanded to know who gave us permission to camp 

 in that forest. We pohtely informed him that we had no permis- 

 sion and needed none. A httle later, when we tried to engage 

 trackers and game-carriers from among the natives living near us, 

 they told us Kamasawmy had ordered them not to go with us, 

 and they dared not go at any price. Here was a pretty fix. I 

 at once wrote a letter to the most excellent Ramasawmy, threaten- 

 ing to instantly report him to his superior at Ooty, Major Jago, if 

 he hindered our movements or caused us further trouble of any 

 kind. He at once countermanded his obnoxious "order," and be- 

 came the cringing, fawning native who fears authority, even though 

 it be ever so shadowy. 



Then came old Courti Chetty, who had under his immediate 

 control all the natives near our camp. We gave him various pres- 

 ents to start with, but these only served to whet his appetite to 

 an alarming extent. He thought he was doing us a great favor 

 when he furnished us trackers at a rupee each per day (three 

 times their actual value), and pocketed half their wages. The 

 Kurumbers themselves, even when hired, would do nothing unless 

 they felt inclined, and what nearly ruined us was that they seemed 

 to be indifferent to the power of the rupee. 



Old Courti Chetty visited our camp very frequently, always 

 wanting something, generally arrack or brandy. He had built 

 for himself quite an elaborate family temple in one corner of his 

 yard, and was a very devout old Hindoo, extremely careful of his 

 "caste." One morning his son took my gun and shot a muntjac 

 {Ce7'vulus aureus), near our camp, of which I wanted the skin. 

 The little animal was brought up and skinned by the old man's 

 son under my instructions, but I was not allowed to touch the 

 animal lest I should defile it ! When they had carried away the 

 carcase and all the flesh, I was at liberty to take up the skin. An 

 hour later, when Courti Chetty came down and asked for a drink 

 of brandy, I ordered Appoo to pour it out in my drinking-cup, 

 that I might make a trial of the venerable Hindoo's principles. It 

 was done. As usual, the old man declined to receive the cup from 

 the hand of either of us, but had it placed upon the ground in 

 front of him. ^^'ithout another word he took up my cup, which 

 had been at my lips a thousand times, and drank off the contents 

 as though it had been mother's milk. The old hypocrite ! 



My fiiend had brought with him from Ooty a strong, healthy- 

 looking coolie to serve as a gun-bearer, but the day after we 



