500 Journal of a trip to Silcim. [May, 



The Lepchas minutely examined the pistol, which takes but a pea 

 ball, then the beast's forehead, into which they poked a slip of bamboo, 

 and putting cause and effect together, unanimously agreed that this was 

 the best possible mode of slaughtering. 



They are very clumsy at this sort of work* with pigs and bullocks, 

 they drive them mad with arrows, and when they are weak from 

 hemorrhage, they hamstring them.f We have two cases of fever 

 to-day. The Namfoke portion of the Teesta valley is notoriously 

 malarious in the hot weather. I hope it is not so now. 



There is a pretty little orange grove belonging to the Raja a little 

 way from my tent, and a pine apple garden at one side of it, with a 

 pomgranate tree in flower in the centre of it. 



The orange trees are planted in clumbs of 8 or 10, and are large and 

 fine ; north of this, in the Teesta valley, the fruit is said to be inferior 

 to what it is southwards. " "Wherever the flooded rice grows, there 

 oranges will flourish." 



10th. — Halt here for to-day. The Dewan of the Raja with two 

 other chiefs arrived on the opposite side of the river past evening, and 

 this morning the Dewan and I exchanged salaams across the ferry. He 

 shot an arrow with a letter across to say that he hoped to come over 

 to visit me during the day. He was attended by a retinue of about 

 50 men dressed in long loose scarlet jackets, striped cloth robes to the 

 knees, conical caps of coloured cane work, with peacock feathers in front, 

 bows in their hands and quivers at their backs. The chief was dressed 

 in a light blue silk bukoo-wrapper, reaching to his ancles, a yellow sash 



* This pistol, the barrel of which is a portion of an American pea riflle of very- 

 heavy metal, and small bore, caused a great sensation, and the greatest envy among 

 the Sirdars. The Raja's son and the Dewan both tried every means of getting it 

 from me. The Dewan declared that with such a " multum in parvo" he should 

 feel his life safe anywhere, and he entreated of me, as I would not sell it to him, to 

 get him a similar one at any price. 



f The appropriation of the bull's carcase was rather amusing. I had bespoken 

 a couple of the marrow-bones only for soup, and my man disjointed them as soon as 

 the legs were skinned. The Lepchas I observed preferred the ribs to any thing 

 else. The Moormies, I fancied, looked mostly to rump steaks ; and the Bhotiahs 

 without doubt affected the trine, and other offal. Not a bit of the beast was left 

 in 20 minutes except the horns. The Bhotiahs actually divided the skin, and 

 ate it. 



