514 Journal of a trip to Sikim. [May, 



direct. The temperature of the Teesta to-day is 52° ; of the air in the 

 shade 62°. Weather still cloudy and threatening. 



Bangsong, \7th. — After my hunting entry of yesterday, the men 

 took a fresh cast into the forest south of my tent, and between it and 

 the suspension bridge. In an hour there was a great deal of whistling, 

 shouting, a rush of bow and arrowmen past my door, and the dogs 

 were in full cry at some distance. I followed the crowd down to the 

 river gun in hand, but a horrible pair of thick-soled English shoes put 

 on for the damp of the morning quite crippled me in scrambling over 

 the immense boulder of clay slate, which are quite polished and very 

 slippery from the action of the water in the rainy season, which raises 

 the level of the river 15 or 20 feet more than it is now. The deer 

 however, soon driven out, took to the river at once, and was swept 

 rapidly across to the other side, where the Dewan was preparing for 

 the Raja's camp, and shot him. The blood was brought over in a 

 small Choonga for the colt, and the venison sent to the kitchen. 



At daybreak this morning, the hunt was off again ; they crossed the 

 river to beat the opposite bank, and about noon, there was great shout- 

 ing and whistling, and a rush of people to the bank. All eyes were 

 directed to a landslip, opposite which was a perfect precipice of loose 

 rock and stones ; and here it was said the deer would issue. Sure enough 

 he did so, and jumped into the foaming stream most gallantly. The 

 Dewan, the Kaji, and I had guns loaded only with shot. All the others 

 had bows and arrows. A volley was fired at the deer as he swam 

 down with the current, but no mischief done to him by any of us. 

 He put back to his own shore, swam strongly up the eddy along a 

 ledge of rock until he found a landing place, and then took right up the 

 hill just as the dogs and his original pursuers reached a point of the 

 river 100 yards above him. The swim must have refreshed him, for 

 he was not found again. 



It was a good sight to see my ally, the Dewan, running over the 

 huge and slippery stones to get a shot. He was barefooted, and that 

 helped his paces : but his figure is fat and bunchy. His dress was a 

 fawn coloured figured China Satin Bukoo, down to his heels, and lined 

 with long woolled, white sheep skin ; his head was bare, with a queue to 

 his waist, and this with a green and gold Nipal Chatta in his hand, 

 gave him any thing but a sporting look. I laughed, and could not 



