THE TIGEE 259 



these close valleys by night ; cholera, too, was raging all 

 around us, and so I determined to return to the cool 

 heights of Puchmurree, which I did by the Bori route, in 

 four longish marches. I was sick of the constant severe 

 heat of the burnt-up plains below, and parched with the 

 coming fever as well, and I think I never enjoyed anything 

 so much as when I bared my head to the cool breeze that 

 swept over the Puchmurree plateau, as I topped its edge 

 after chmbing up the stifi ascent of the Eori Ghat. The 

 thermometer in my tent below had been ranging from 98 

 degrees to 110 degrees during the heat of the day, and had 

 once reached 120 degrees, when I went out and lay like a 

 tiger under some jaman bushes by the waterside. In the 

 verandah of the lodge on Puchmurree, which was now 

 nearly finished, it stood at 86 degrees, while the nights, 

 which below had not for weeks been free from hot winds, 

 were cool and dehcious up here. Soon after coming up 

 I was fairly prostrated with fever, and remained delirious 

 for about a couple of days, emerging at last, thanks to 

 a very attentive native doctor we had, much shaken and 

 weak, but free from the fever. Nearly all my servants 

 and the camp followers who had been through the hot 

 weather with me also got fever on coming up to Puch- 

 murree, and the place presented much the appearance of 

 an extensive hospital for some weeks. 



The first rain of^ the monsoon fell on the 12th of June, 

 a smart shower, that, as if by magic, covered the plateau 

 with the greenest of tints. The wild flowers, too, again 

 burst forth on all sides, under the influence of the gentle 

 showers that now almost daily visited the hill. It was 

 inexpressibly de]ightful to be up here, in a perfectly Enghsh 

 climate, with coo] gray skies, and greenery all about, after 

 the terrible grilling we had suffered for two long months 

 down below. My Korku friends seemed glad to see me 

 back again, and I tried to go out after the bison with them, 

 but I found myself far too weak to negotiate the formidable 

 slop^es of Dhiipgarh. The early part of the rainy season 

 which was now approaching is the very best time of all for 

 hunting the bison, tracks being easily followed, while 

 the sky is generally overcast with clouds, and the weather 



