Journal of an Expedition [no. 3, new series , 



Pilgrims. I could not ascertain what had gained for the little 

 hill the respect that it received; and could only guess that in 

 their adoration of the type for the reality, the rubbish and confu- 

 sion of the place might be considered typical of the Cochin Chris- 

 tians' creed. No one lives upon this hill, but the Chapel has a 

 weekly visit from the Priests at Malliatoor : who at other times 

 leave the Chapel to the care of a converted herd of Ibex ; which 

 graze on the steep hill-side, and shelter in the sheds and out- 

 houses. 



I saw fifteen of these very ugly goats about the knoll, all males, 

 which was remarkable, and I should have entered them in this my 

 diary, as having instinctively monastic habits, had I not been told, 

 that there were many more in number of the other sex just out of 

 sight amongst the bushes, which silenced the suggestion. 



These civilized members of a forest family have not lost all 

 the habits of their race in general. They saunter with com- 

 posure on edges as sharp as knives, and stand with all four 

 feet upon a single point of rock. Nor are they in character less 

 wary than the Ibex tribe in general. Their cunning teaches 

 them that they are safer in the sanctuary of the Church, than on 

 their wonted haunts, the precipice ; and having taken up their 

 abode upon the sacred hill, they bask in perfect safety, as if aware 

 that it was consecrated, In one of the Chapel offices, a black 

 buck was lounging on a bedstead, who knew his place better than 

 to take any notice of the Heretic intruder, and such was evidently 

 the feeling of the herd in general. This seems to speak of good 

 intelligence, yet judging by the head and face, the Ibex is a 

 sheepish jackass. Dull as these animals appear, they are said to 

 have all the cleverness of Priests, and when any thing goes wrong 

 on the hill, one of the old bucks goes down immediately to report 

 it in Malliatoor. Only a few days ago, one of these vigilant bergers 

 is said to have taken the three mile walk, to ask a man in the 

 village when he meant to pay that silver elephant he had promised 

 to the Church if the pitfalls he was digging should prove success- 

 ful. An elephant having been taken, and the vow forgotten. 

 28th March. A guide has arrived who gives the following 



