WORK AND SPORT IN THE N.W.P. 17 
cautiously creep towards where the tigress lay in 
the trampled grass. I was glad of every tiger slain 
in this neighbourhood, lest some should have the 
taint of the man-eater in their blood, which death 
only can eradicate. 
The charm of these forests lies in their mountains, 
where one is free of the high grass of the lowlands, 
so that stalking the simbhar and spotted-deer is a 
constant pleasure. They were not in those days so 
frequent as to cause the sport to become monotonous, 
but yet sufficiently numerous to give a zest to the 
forester’s work, and lead him to explore many places 
he might not otherwise have inspected ; while the 
fear of surprise visits at inauspicious moments had a 
good effect in hindering the dishonesty of subordin- 
ates and contractors, and in preventing negligence, 
for the preservation of these forests from fire was then 
being first attempted, though at the present time it 
is a matter of course that they should not be burnt. 
The country, too, is very beautiful as one marches 
upstream on the banks of the Ganges River, and the 
islands, covered with “shisham ” trees, are a joy in 
the springtime. At Gorighat there was a camping- 
ground with an evil reputation for spirits, the 
natives refusing to sleep there alone, and I had one 
night a curious experience there. My guest woke, 
me in the small-hours with loud cries for help, and, 
rushing over to his small sleeping-tent, I found him | 
much agitated and somewhat unwilling to explain. | 
Ultimately his story was that through the flap of 
the tent he had seen a human hand stealthily de- 
scending on his face ; that, unable to move his head | 
from the pillow, he had been forced to watch its 
