Jungle By- Ways in India 



moded by the great heat, save that his move- 

 ments were so appalHngly slow that one longed 

 to be able to help him move his feet a bit quicker. 

 Doubtless he was slowly under weigh to partake 

 of lunch, though why he could not choose the 

 early morning or evening for his meals, like 

 most wise animals, and why he should choose for 

 his siesta a leaf-stalk in the full glare of a May 

 tropic sun, were questions I was, and am, unable 

 to answer. 



Another fairly common denizen of these jungles 

 whom you will come across is a curious red bat 

 which gets up in the beat at times, and flies 

 quietly and shadow-like over the grass heads, 

 and goes to ground again on some stem. I saw 

 one in this particular beat. He is a common bat 

 of the great grass jungles of the north, and is as 

 curious as he is fairly plentiful. 



Whilst pursuing my natural history observa- 

 tions, I had now and then thrown my eye on 

 to my nearest neighbour on the right, who was 

 the only one I could see. He had been getting 

 restive latterly, I had noticed — he and his elephant 

 and mahout, apparently. Perhaps the tension 

 or impatience of the one was communicated 

 to the others. 



I imagine he thought the beat was not going 

 as it ought to. I certainly did appear to have been 

 studying my neighbour's curious habits and 

 attitudes for some time ! Suddenly a crack like 



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