WAITING FOE POETEES. 
267 
of requisite porters^ numbers of wliom^ from Barri tribes^ were 
constantly retained in service at that station. The annoyance to 
us of this necessary loss of time was a serious one_, as probably 
twelve days or a fortnight would elapse before their return. Con- 
trary to expectation^, rest did not reestablish my poor wife^s health : 
the seeds of fever were too deeply seated to be readily thrown off, 
and she was a sufferer from excessive debilitating low and inter- 
mittent fever, greatly aggravated by the absence of everything in 
the shape of nutritious food or stimulants, or that for which she so 
much craved — tea. Though I daily sallied out to hunt for the pot, 
I generally returned from my rambles without having seen either 
track or feather. 
During the rainy season the country is said to abound in herds 
of elephants, to the great injury to the corn-fields of the natives. 
Our hunters have returned unsuccessful from two or three attempts 
of several days’ duration to find them, the elephants having, as 
usual during this dry season, migrated southwards. Neangara 
himself, a noted old elephant hunter, and his son, with a deter- 
mination to try spear against rifle, accompanied them upon these 
excursions ; and although his knowledge of the country cannot be 
doubted, on the last occasion he nearly deprived me of my hunters, 
through the lack of water. Now that the brooks have dried up, 
water is becoming so scarce as to necessitate the digging of wells 
for our daily supply. A day or two after Neangara’s return, a 
brother of his was brought to his first wife’s hut from a neigh- 
bouring village, where he also had a home with a younger spouse. 
Stretched out on a litter, and dangerously ill, the chief begged me 
to restore him; but giving the Doctor credit for knowing how to 
treat an invalid better than myself, I took him with me. Inquiries 
as to where he felt the pain were of no avail, as one and all — and 
