﻿HUME'S 
  BARRED-BACKED 
  PHEASANT 
  177 
  

  

  it 
  I 
  immediately 
  saw 
  that 
  it. 
  contained 
  three 
  or 
  four 
  long 
  tail-feathers 
  of 
  a 
  pheasant 
  with 
  

   which 
  I 
  was 
  not 
  acquainted. 
  I 
  at 
  once 
  inquired 
  about 
  the 
  bird 
  to 
  which 
  these 
  feathers 
  

   belonged, 
  and 
  was 
  informed 
  that 
  it 
  belonged 
  to 
  the 
  Loe-nin-koi 
  which 
  occurred 
  in 
  the 
  

   extreme 
  south 
  of 
  the 
  Manipur 
  territory 
  and 
  in 
  the 
  eastern 
  Looshai 
  country. 
  But 
  the 
  

   Envoy 
  had 
  never 
  seen 
  it, 
  nor, 
  so 
  far 
  as 
  he 
  knew, 
  had 
  any 
  other 
  Manipur 
  ever 
  seen 
  it. 
  It 
  

   was 
  an 
  inhabitant 
  of 
  pathless 
  hill 
  jungles 
  on 
  the 
  southern 
  border, 
  which 
  had 
  for 
  long 
  

   been 
  subject 
  to 
  the 
  ravages 
  of 
  the 
  Kamhows, 
  a 
  fierce 
  so-called 
  Kuki 
  tribe 
  (they 
  are 
  not 
  

   genuine 
  Kukis), 
  who 
  invariably 
  killed 
  every 
  one 
  they 
  came 
  across. 
  The 
  tail-feathers, 
  and 
  

   these 
  only, 
  filtered 
  into 
  Manipur 
  through 
  the 
  agency 
  of 
  certain 
  semi-savages, 
  originally 
  

   residents 
  of 
  the 
  Kamhow 
  territory, 
  but 
  now 
  refugees 
  in 
  Manipur, 
  and 
  though 
  afraid 
  to 
  

   return, 
  yet 
  maintaining 
  secretly 
  some 
  sort 
  of 
  intercourse 
  with 
  some 
  of 
  their 
  former 
  

   tribe-fellows. 
  

  

  " 
  Day 
  by 
  day, 
  as 
  I 
  marched, 
  I 
  persisted 
  in 
  my 
  inquiries. 
  One 
  officer 
  only, 
  a 
  

   Manipuri, 
  who 
  commanded 
  a 
  number 
  of 
  detachments 
  scattered 
  about 
  the 
  hills 
  in 
  the 
  

   neighbourhood 
  of 
  Noong-zae-ban, 
  or 
  rather 
  with 
  that 
  as 
  a 
  centre, 
  in 
  stockades, 
  as 
  a 
  

   protection 
  against 
  Looshai 
  raids, 
  assured 
  me 
  that 
  once 
  in 
  former 
  years 
  he 
  had 
  himself 
  

   seen 
  the 
  Loe-nin-koi 
  in 
  the 
  Jhiri 
  Valley, 
  a 
  good 
  deal 
  south 
  of 
  where 
  I 
  crossed 
  it 
  and 
  

   near 
  the 
  Looshai 
  border. 
  

  

  "Arrived 
  at 
  Manipur, 
  'from 
  the 
  Minister 
  down 
  to 
  the 
  Clerk 
  of 
  the 
  Crown,' 
  I 
  gave 
  

   no 
  one 
  any 
  peace 
  about 
  the 
  Loe-nin-koi, 
  but 
  all 
  to 
  no 
  purpose. 
  No 
  one 
  had 
  ever 
  seen 
  

   the 
  bird 
  ; 
  the 
  Maharajah, 
  who 
  alone 
  has 
  the 
  right 
  to 
  keep 
  these 
  tail-feathers, 
  very 
  kindly 
  

   offered 
  me 
  a 
  bunch 
  of 
  them, 
  and 
  he 
  sent 
  out 
  stringent 
  orders 
  to 
  all 
  his 
  officers 
  in 
  the 
  

   south 
  of 
  the 
  district 
  to 
  procure 
  specimens 
  of 
  the 
  bird, 
  and 
  really 
  did 
  all 
  he 
  could 
  to 
  get 
  

   these 
  ; 
  but 
  all 
  to 
  no 
  purpose. 
  

  

  " 
  So 
  time 
  passed, 
  and 
  the 
  Loe-nin-koi 
  became 
  daily 
  more 
  and 
  more 
  of 
  a 
  myth, 
  the 
  

   more 
  so 
  that 
  after 
  all 
  ordinary 
  methods 
  of 
  getting 
  the 
  bird 
  had 
  failed, 
  it 
  began 
  to 
  be 
  

   suggested 
  that 
  ' 
  there 
  never 
  was 
  no 
  such 
  bird,' 
  that 
  perhaps 
  the 
  feathers 
  grew 
  on 
  trees, 
  

   or 
  were 
  brought 
  from 
  some 
  far 
  distant 
  country. 
  Still 
  I 
  stuck 
  to 
  it 
  that 
  the 
  Loe-nin-koi 
  

   I 
  had 
  to 
  get, 
  and 
  I 
  hope 
  my 
  good 
  friends, 
  the 
  two 
  Chief 
  Ministers, 
  have 
  forgiven 
  me 
  for 
  

   the 
  way 
  in 
  which 
  I 
  worried 
  them 
  about 
  this 
  phcenix. 
  The 
  Maharajah 
  himself, 
  however, 
  

   got 
  interested, 
  and 
  when, 
  after 
  working 
  the 
  central 
  part 
  of 
  Manipur, 
  I 
  started 
  for 
  the 
  

   south, 
  I 
  was, 
  through 
  his 
  kindness 
  and 
  that 
  of 
  Colonel 
  Johnstone, 
  the 
  Political 
  Agent, 
  

   to 
  whose 
  support 
  and 
  friendship 
  I 
  was 
  mainly 
  indebted 
  for 
  whatever 
  little 
  success 
  

   attended 
  my 
  explorations, 
  armed 
  with 
  full 
  powers 
  to 
  get 
  at 
  the 
  Loe-nin-koi, 
  if 
  within 
  

   the 
  compass 
  of 
  the 
  resources 
  of 
  the 
  State. 
  

  

  " 
  At 
  the 
  south 
  of 
  the 
  Manchar 
  Lake 
  we 
  got 
  together 
  the 
  most 
  important 
  officers 
  of 
  

   the 
  country 
  farther 
  south, 
  and 
  my 
  Envoy 
  made 
  them 
  understand 
  that 
  the 
  bird 
  had 
  to 
  

   be 
  got. 
  It 
  was 
  not 
  distinctly 
  said 
  that 
  every 
  one 
  would 
  have 
  their 
  heads 
  chopped 
  off 
  if 
  

   we 
  didn't 
  get 
  it, 
  but 
  a 
  vague, 
  gloomy 
  cloud 
  of 
  awful 
  possible 
  eventualities 
  was 
  discreetly 
  

   left 
  to 
  veil 
  the 
  vista. 
  

  

  " 
  My 
  Envoy 
  and 
  the 
  officers 
  had 
  confabs 
  off 
  and 
  on 
  lasting 
  a 
  week 
  ; 
  the 
  exact 
  

   localities 
  nearest 
  to 
  us 
  where 
  the 
  bird 
  occurred 
  were 
  ascertained 
  from 
  old 
  villagers, 
  

   summoned 
  from 
  the 
  more 
  southern 
  fortified 
  villages, 
  but 
  the 
  hitch 
  was 
  this 
  — 
  although 
  

   just 
  within 
  the 
  nominal 
  boundaries 
  of 
  the 
  State, 
  and 
  in 
  a 
  tract 
  where 
  in 
  past 
  time 
  there 
  

   were 
  scattered 
  Manipuri 
  villages, 
  of 
  late 
  years 
  the 
  Kamhows 
  had 
  so 
  harried 
  the 
  country 
  

  

  VOL. 
  Ill 
  A 
  A 
  

  

  