

Dec. 1818. PASSAGE THROUGH GLOOMY FORESTS. 279 



carry more food, whilst he was pretending that he used every 

 exertion to procure me a scanty supply of rice with my 

 limited stock of money. I had treated this man and his 

 soldiers with the utmost kindness, even nursing them and 

 clothing them from my own stock of flannels, when sick and 

 shivering amongst the snows. Though a high caste Hindoo, 

 and one who assumed Brahmin rank, he had, I found, no 

 objection to eat forbidden things in secret ; and now that 

 we were travelling amongst Hindoos, his caste obtained 

 him everything, while money alone availed me. I took 

 him roundly to task for his treachery, which caused him 

 secretly to throw away a leg of mutton he had concealed • I 

 also threatened to expose the humbug of his pretension to 

 caste, but it was then too late to procure more food. 

 Having hitherto much liked this man, and fully trusted 

 him, I was greatly pained by his conduct. 



We proceeded east for three days, up the valley, through 

 gloomy forests of tropical trees below 5000 feet ; and 

 ascended to oaks and magnolias at 6000 feet. The path 

 was soon obstructed, and we had to tear and cut our 

 way, from 6000 to 10,000 feet, which took two days' 

 very hard work. Ticks swarmed in the small bamboo 

 jungle, and my body was covered with these loathsome 

 insects, which got into my bed and hair, and even attached 

 themselves to my eyelids during the night, when the 

 constant annoyance and irritation completely banished sleep. 

 In the daytime they penetrated my trousers, piercing to my 

 body in many places, so that I repeatedly took off as many 

 as twelve at one time. It is indeed marvellous how so large 

 an insect can painlessly insert a stout barbed proboscis, 

 which requires great force to extract it, and causes severe 

 smarting in the operation. What the ticks feed upon in 

 these humid forests is a perfect mystery to me, for from 



