128 
MINUTES OF PROCEEDINGS OF 
to extricate a leg; now rolling the other way with a groan of helpless grief, 
and anon trumpeting shrilly as the iron goad of the mahout was plied to 
drive them to greater exertion. The smaller animals are far the best in 
these places, they sink less deep, and are more active in their movements. 
It is interesting to see these vast creatures taking advantage of every branch 
to support them ; now twining their trunks round a tree to lift themselves, 
now treading on a fallen piece of timber, knowing it presents a larger surface 
to the ground—again using their trunk as a fifth leg to rest on as they 
extricate their hind quarters. The riding during this time is not easy to 
five closely-packed men, on a guddee, or mattress of straw. 
Bowtee had about fifteen to twenty houses, rice fields laying around; 
another village adjoined, but as we had to return nearly fifteen miles, it was 
advisable not to go further ; we had seen enough to know that the raja of 
Sidlee's words could not be trusted, and that it would never do to see with 
other than one's own eyes. At this place, as at Doorpergoan, half the 
men appeared to be the worse for liquor, and one of our guides got wonder¬ 
fully communicative and unpleasantly sociable. 
We bought some fowls at Bowtee, paying double the market price of 
Sidlee, to show the inhabitants that the white-faces were unlike the Bhootea 
robbers, and we then returned to camp, When re-crossing the river I could 
not but regret that want of fishing-tackle prevented my casting a fly in the 
deep pool close above us, into which a swirling eddy swept, well knowing 
that all these rivers were full of the Maliser, or Indian salmon. 
A state visit was paid by the raja of Sidlee to Colonel Richardson; the 
raja was a large fat man, oily and false, a true Oriental potentate. He 
came carried in a kind of sedan chair, attended by two gold sticks in 
waiting, and a tribe of obsequious followers. A present of a rhinoceros' 
horn was given to our chief, w r ho showed by his manner that he was. not 
best pleased at the raja's falsehood and insolence in closing his markets. 
The point our force was making for was one called Bissen Singh, of which 
little was known, except that it lay in the first range of hills; as to what it 
was, a village, a town, a fort or stockade, or “ no local habitation but a 
name," of this we knew nothing. We were told that between us lay no 
village, that it would take three days to reach it, travelling from sunrise to 
sunset; that there was no road, scarcely a track, which no one of Sidlee 
knew for a certainty, and that this path lay through a howling wilderness of 
forest, swamp, and jungle, or as they termed it, “ bilcool jungle hye." 
We were now told that we were here to await the arrival of Major-General 
Mulcaster, who after taking Dewangiri with his right column, was to cross 
to us of the right centre and personally superintend our forward march. 
This, as it would cost more than a fortnight's delay, was gall and wormwood 
to our anxious wish to proceed, as we had just heard of the success of the 
two columns of the left brigade, one of which had taken Dalingkote, the 
other Buxa, after a brush with the enemy. Besides, as the intended route 
of our column was kept secret, working parties could not be employed in 
making a road, as might have been done, right up to the foot of the hills. 
A road to the probable first day's halting place was made by our chief's 
direction, and so well did Lieutenant Garnault of the engineers perform 
this work that when we finally did advance, this march was completed with 
a celerity and ease most satisfactory to all. 
