Wanderings of a naturalist in India : the western Himalayas, and Cashmere

Gornell University Library
Sthaca, New York

BOUGHT WITH THE INCOME OF THE

FISKE ENDOWMENT FUND

THE BEQUEST OF

WILLARD FISKE

LIBRARIAN OF THE UNIVERSITY 1868-1863
1905

Thi

Cornell University

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the Cornell University Library.

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WANDERINGS OF

A NATURALIST IN INDIA

Printed by R. Clark,
FOR

EDMONSTON & DOUGLAS, EDINBURGH.

HAMILTON, ADAMS, AND CO.

LONDON
CAMBRIDGE . MACMILLAN AND CO,
DUBLIN . + M‘GLASHAN AND GILL.

GLASGOW. . . JAMES MACLEHOSE.

CROCODILE POND.

‘-WANDERINGS

OF A

NATURALIST IN INDIA

THE WESTERN HIMALAYAS, AND
CASHMERE

BY ANDREW LEITH ADAMS, M.D.

SURGEON 22D REGIMENT.

ee oe
‘ Na Se
EDMONSTON\yAND DOUGLAS

1867

I DEDICATE THIS VOLUME.

TO THE MEMORY OF

FRANCIS ADAMS, A.M. M.D. LL.D.

AS A
SMALL TOKEN OF FILIAL DEVOTION,
AND IN GRATEFUL REMEMBRANCE OF THAT TRAINING
IN EARLY LIFE
BY WHICH HE DIRECTED MY MIND
TO AN APPRECIATION OF THE WORKS OF NATURE,
AND A LOVE FOR ALL INTELLECTUAL

AND IMPROVING STUDIES.

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER I.
PaGE

Introductory — Departure —Ocean-life— Accidents at Sea from
falling Overboard—Birds— Albatross—A Gale—Tropical
Sunsets—Seychelle Islands—Becalmed— Arrival at Bombay—
Caves of Carlee—Advice to Indian Residents from a Sanitary
point of view . : “ * ‘ : j : 2) cal

CHAPTER II.

Familiar Birds about Poonah—Hindoo Temple of Parbuttah—
Scenery—Vultures—Large Bats—Habits of Parrakeet—Frogs
—Sunbird and Frog—Flycatcher—Insects—Snakes—Cobra
—Hog-Rat—tTiger and Bullock—Kingfishers—Indian Roller
—Pigeons— Warblers—Tailor-bird——Govind Kite a Public
Scavenger-—Hoopoe—Dial-bird— Weaver-bird’s Nest—Egyp-
tian Vulture—Common Trees—The Mango—Paradise Fly-
catcher—Ants—Coming of the Monsoon. : : 2 hd

CHAPTER III

Departure for Scinde—Western Ghauts again—Kandala—A Man
drowned——Discomforts of the Sea Voyage—Cholera—Kur-
rachee— Scenery— Familiar Birds— Climate— Flora— Pearl-
Oyster —Caucasian Ibex—Pelicans—Game Birds— Woodpecker
—Bush Thrushes—Bulbul—Serpent Eagle—Insects—Croco-
dile-pond — Indus— Scenery — Alligators—Audacity of the
Govind Kite—Sutluj—Ferozepoor to the Himalayas. . 30

vill CONTENTS.

CHAPTER IV.

Division of the Himalayas into Regions—Scenery of the Lower
Ranges—-Climate—Magnificent View—-Productions—Strange
way of putting Children asleep—Familiar Birds—Cuckoo—
Black Partridge: its Habits and Haunts—Barking Deer—
Gray Partridge—Hill Wagtails—Storms—Woodcock—Snipe
—Spotted Eagle—Bulbul—Béarded Vulture—Bare-headed
Vultures. . i . : ‘ . ‘ ‘ . 62

Pace

CHAPTER V.

Excursion to the Chor Mountain—Scenery—Geology—River
Gerrie—Fish—Peafowl—Jungle-fowl —Bush-quail—Hares—
Magpiés—Jay—Leeches—Rhododendron in Flower—Bees—
Habits and. Haunts of the Monal, Cheer, Plach, and Kalij
Pheasants —Red-legged Partridge—Spring Flowers—Musk-
deer—White-cheeked Weasel—Pine-marten—Skylark—Birds
—Red Fox—Hyena and Leopards—A Himalayan Trapper

—Red Honeysucker—Parrakeets of the Region—Wounded
Vulture : é F . ; : : F . 81

CHAPTER VI.

Second Excursion to the Chor Mountains—Leopards and Tiger-
cats—Monkeys—Royal Faleon—Daurian Swallow—Himalayan
Siskin and Goldfinch—Monal-pheasant Shooting— Wood-
partridge—Small Birds—Nut-cracker—Black Bears—Green
Woodpecker—Golden Eagle—Climatic Influence on Size of
Birds—Sporting-bag—Red-headed Bullfinch—Flame-coloured
Flycatchers— Paradise Flycatcher—Thrushes— Fish-owl—
Redstarts—Lark-finch—Brown Water-ousel : : . 106

CHAPTER VIL

Hill-stations as Sanitaria—Departure for the Plains—Indian En-
campment and Marching—Sand-grouse—Antelope—Birds of
Passage—Wild Animals—Sediment carried down by the Indian
Rivers—Chenaub—-Great White Heron—Little Cormorant—
Quail, Snipes : their Migrations—Black-winged Falcon—Jhelum

CONTENTS. ix

Page

—Battle-field of Chillianwallah—Rawul Pindee—Munikyala
Tope and Coins—Scenery—The Goral, or Himalayan Chamois
—Climate—Flora—Geology—European Birds—Hot Months
—Raven—Black Ibis—Bald-headed Eagle . : : . 117

CHAPTER VIII

Excursion to the Salt Mountains of the Punjaub—Wild Sheep—
Ravine Deer—Geology—Ornithology—Scenery . : » 131

CHAPTER IX.

Start for Cashmere and Ladakh—Incidents on the way to Murree—
Black Bear, Variety of—Changes of Temperature—Beauty of
Scenery—Native Surgery—Discovery of a New Species of Bull-
finch—Native Tyranny and Extortion— Birds—Scenery—Traces
of Glacial Pherlomena—Dogs—Scenery at Uri—Magnificent
View—Birds—Antiquities—Deodar Cedar—Noushera—First
Peep at the Happy Valley—Omnithology of the Jhelum—Seri-
nuggur—Goulab Singh: his mode of governing—Wretched-
ness of the Inhabitants—Shawl Manufactures—City Lake—
Turkish Bath—Boatmen—Heronry—Chinese Jacana. . 158

CHAPTER X.

Excursion to the Northern Pinjal— Ancient Temples— Earth-
quakes—Geology—Bear and Deer Shooting-— Adaptation of
Sight to Long Distances—Snow Pheasants—The last of a Royal
Line—The Isabella or Brown Himalayan Bear—Shooting—
Shikaree turns an Aisthetic—Splendid View—Scenery of the
Valleys—Cashmere Stag—Large Deer in general—Hunting
Bears and Deer—Beauty and Grandeur of the Northern Pinjal
—Climate of the Ranges—Judging Distances— Pilgam : its
Neighbourhood— Rapid Changes of Climate and Vegetation —
European Water-ousel—Flora and Fauna—Return to the
Valley—Silkworm—Sylvan Scenery—Birds—Ruins of Mar-
tund—lIslamabad—Atsibul and its Beauties—European Plants
—Southern Pinjal—Native Misery-——-Scenery—The Red-
weasel—Ring-dove—Thunderstorm . : P ; . 176

x CONTENTS.

CHAPTER XI.
PAGE

“Magnificent View of the Valley of Cashmere—Traces of an
Ancient Lake—An Excursion to the Interior of the Futi
Pinjal—Fauna of the Northern and Southern Cashmere Ranges
—Bears, Deer, Ibex, and Wild Goats, partial to Localities—
Mode of fighting pursued by the Wild Goats and Sheep—A
Noble Specimen of the Great Goat or Serpent-eater—Bear—
Wild Grandeur of the Scenery—Natural History of the Mark-
hore—The Tare-goat—-Wild Dog—Black-headed Pheasant—
Silver Fox—Weather—Monsoon—Omnithology of the Valley—
Cashmerian Valley Scenery—Goat-antelope—Snakes—Small
Venomous Viper—Water-snake—Birds—Cross Wurdwun Pass
—Snowstorm—Servant lost—Inhospitable Region—Bear-
shooting—Misery of the Natives—Habits of the Isabella Bear—
Herd of Ibex—Frightful Accident by an Avalanche—Flying
Squirrel—Ibex-hunting—Hermit Bears—Lost in the Forest
—Himalayan Ibex—Dangerous Travelling—Steep Mountains—
Imperial Rock-pigeon—Distribution of the Brown Bear of the
Himalayas, and its Habits—The Black Bear : its Natural His-
tory—Return to the Valley—Red Marmot—Scenery and
Fauna of the Valley—Serinuggur and Ruler of Cashmere—
View from the Temple of Solomon =. : ‘ : . 208

CHAPTER XII

Return to Punjaub—River Scenery and its Ornithology—Day Haze
or Mist—Lakes of Cashmere—Visit to the Heir-apparent—
A frightful Accident—Maury’s Theory of Monsoons—Return to
the Valley—Start for Ladakh—Scenery—Bultul Pass—Mar-
mots—Tartars—Birds—Plants—Scenery—Buddhist Temples
—Birds—Tibetan Magpie: its Allies—Redstarts—Familiar
Birds—Discovery of a NewSpecies of Mountain-finch—Lameru
—Jolly Lama Priests—Wild Sheep—Natives—Leh—Birds—
Yak and Wild Quadrupeds of the Region—Tame Animals—
Tang-Lang Pass—Plains of Rupshoo—Nomadic Life—Oppres-
sive Sensations at High Elevations—-The Dog of Tibet—Salt
Lakes and Wild Fowl—Wild Ass—Burrel or Wild Sheep—

CONTENTS. xi

PAGE
The Ovis Ammon—Chaits— Tibetan Antelope—Sudden Varia-
tions of Temperature—Tibetan Sand-grouse—Tailless Rat or
Lagomys—Alpine Hare—Tibet Ravine Deer—Hotch-Potch—
Sulphur-mines—Chumouraree Lake— Wilderness — Birds—
Tibet Partridge—Tbex : : , : ‘ 3 . 248

CHAPTER XIII.

Foxes of the Tibetan Plateau—Leopards—Discomforts of the Region
—Return—White Marmot—Old Acquaintances—Degradation
going on in the Ladakh Gorges—Scenery, and Change in
Fauna and Flora—Suru Valley and its Enormous Glacier—
Glacier-action—Scenery in the Northern Ranges of Cashmere
—Wurdwun Valley again—Snowstorm—Snow Partridge —
Varied and Beautiful Scenery—Start from Pilgam after Deer—
Unsuccessful Expedition — Birds—Flora—Rain— Bears and
their Habits—Wretchedness of the Natives— The Sporting-
bag—Return to Serinuggur—Departure for Rawul Pindee . 287

CHAPTER XIV.

Scavenger Animals: their Utility—-Hyena and Jackal Grave-
diggers—Swine—Dogs—Sheep : their Disgusting Mode of
Feeding—Measled Pork—Tapeworm— Antiquity of the Dog—
Climate of Rawul Pindee—Degradation of Alluvium—Storms
—Heats of Midsummer: Effects on Europeans—Agency of
Storms and Removal of Organic Remains: their Relation to
Fossil Remains—Moonrise on the Himalayas—Death of Cap-
tain Colby by Tiger—Departure for Peshawur—Elephant :
Traits of Character—Peshawur—Lawless Natives—Murders—
Khyber Pass—Scenery—Dangers of Travelling—Mammals and
Birds—British Birds—Migrations—Conclusion . : . 307

CHAPTER L

Introductory—Departure—Ocean-life—Accidents at Sea from falling over-
board— Birds —Albatross—A Gale—Tropical Sunsets—Seychelle Islands
—Becalmed—<Arrival at Bombay—Caves of Carlee—Advice to Indian
Residents from a Sanitary point of view.

During a sojourn in the East of nearly seven years, with
frequent change of place, I had many opportunities afforded
me of making a lasting acquaintance with various objects of
natural history, the local scenery of Northern India, and the
Western Himalayan mountains. My leisure hours were also
not unfrequent, and leave of absence was always most will-
ingly granted me whenever my professional services could be
. dispensed with ; for which I shall ever retain a grateful re-
membrance to the highly-esteemed commanding and medical
officers under whom I then served.

In the following reminiscences I have aimed at pre-
serving the objects in the order they appeared to me, and
-attempted to describe the scenes and circumstances with
which I was brought in contact as minutely as the inci-
dents of travel would allow, and in a belief that my jottings
by the way would add zest to the drier descriptions of
animals. To a few such a proceeding: may seem a work.
of supererogation, but it must be borne in mind that it
is not to the professors of natural science that these pages

B

2 WANDERINGS OF A

are devoted, but. to the young and ardent, who may enjoy
such opportunities for enlarging their ideas and improving
their minds ; therefore, should I weary the reader, I must
confess that my best endeavours have been directed to the
opposite, for I have too lively a recollection of my own
difficulties when I began inquiries into the natural history of
India, and the perplexity and confusion occasioned by dry
details, catalogues, and detached papers, devoid of lively in-
cidents to excite my ardour or increase my interest in the
study. It would be useless to dilate on the advantages India
offers to the naturalist ; and with respect to the Himalayas,
perhaps few regions afford like inducements for study. Their
vast ranges are often clothed with verdure to the summits,
and on the highest to the confines of perpetual snow. In the
rich and fertile valleys animated nature appears in all its
loveliness and beauty. The mineralogist and geologist will
find ample materials of the greatest interest on their moun-
tains and the lesser ranges. In the latter especially—what is
called the Sewalik range+-are to be found remains made
known to us by the labours of Falconer and Cautley. But
although we are in possession of much interesting and valu-
able data regarding the paleontology of the Himalayas, great
mines are yet undiscovered. The zoologist may ramble over
hill and dale, mountain and plain, and after a lifetime of
constant observation find his delightful pursuit more attrac-
tive than ever. It is on these noble mountains that the
sportsman can enjoy his favourite pastime unscathed by the
burning Indian sun; in their lovely glens bears stalk un-
disturbed, whilst various species of deer, wild sheep, goats
and the ibex, feed unmolested on the craggy steeps. In the
forests and valleys along the sub-Himalayan range tigers and
leopards prowl, and the wild dog and various foxes seek sub-

NATURALIST IN INDIA. 3

sistence wherever their peculiar prey is plentiful. Add to
these the numerous pheasants and partridges, whose elegance
and beauty are unsurpassed by the allied birds of any other
country. The endless variety of plants, from tle lichen on the
mountain-top to the deodar and Himalayan oaks in their
native forests, present one of the choicest fields to the
botanist.

There can be no doubt that he who constantly keeps his mind
and body in healthy exercise is accumulating stores which, if
they do not produce intense happiness at the time, will be the
source of many pleasant after-reflections. Ifa journal registers
only the leading events of every-day life, and describes the
most prominent occupations of its author, it does a great deal ;
for if these occupations had not been recorded, where is the
intellect however clear—the memory however good—that
could have retained them with any degree of accuracy? I
therefore present them as they were registered years ago
among the busy and changing scenes of an active life. IfI
fail in benefiting others with the information obtained, I have
at least the consolation of knowing that my exertions, as re-
gards myself, have borne good fruits ; insamuch as they have
kept mind and body in pleasant and improving occupa-
tion ; or rather, as the author of the Rambler has exquisitely
expressed it, “‘ He that enlarges his curiosity after the works
of nature, demonstrably multiplies the inlets to happiness ; and
therefore the younger part of my readers, to whom I dedicate
this vernal speculation, must excuse me for calling upon them
to make use at once of the spring of the year, and the spring
of life ; to acquire, while their minds may be yet impressed
with new images, a love of innocent pleasures and an ardour
for useful knowledge ; and to remember that a blighted
spring makes a barren year, and that the vernal flowers, how-

4 WANDERINGS OF A

ever beautiful and gay, are only intended by nature as pre-
paratives to autumnal fruits.” *

However invaluable are the labours of- him whose field of
observation is entirely confined to the naming and arranging
of objects in the cabinet or in the museum, it will, I think,
be conceded, that a proper acquaintance with the subject
means something more than a mere knowledge of the appear-
ances and classification of species ; in fact, that nature is best
studied in her own wide chamber. This it is that gives the
intense zest to the writings of such original observers as
Humboldt, Darwin, Audubon, and a host of distinguished
names, whose labours are not only valued for their depth of
learning and acumen, but also for the homely lessons they con-
vey to the youthful mind. Were the lives of the most eminent
students of science carefully inquired into, it would no doubt
be found that their tastes for the study of natural phenomena
were first aroused and developed by having their attention
early directed to the subject.

It is not often that a member of the medical profession
in active employment can devote the necessary time and
attention to enable him to form a close acquaintance with
the collateral sciences ; at the same time, by husbanding one’s
leisure hours, it is wonderful how much may be done in in-
tervals of rest even in the most engrossing avocations of life.
In the army especially, where the calls of duty are not always
onerous or frequent, together with the advantages offered by
constant change of scene, opportunities present themselves to
military officers very rarely enjoyed in civil life. It has been
my good fortune to participate largely in these respects, and
whilst I am sensible of having made a fair use of my hours
of freedom, at the same time I cannot conscientiously re-

* Rambler for April 1750.

NATURALIST IN INDIA. 5

proach myself with having done so at the expense of the re-
quirements of my profession, or the service to which I
belong.

As a mental and bodily gymnastic during the long tedious
hours of idleness that frequently fall-to the lot of officers in
the army and navy, more particularly on foreign stations,
there is perhaps nothing equal to the outdoor pursuit of natu-
ral science,—whether in setting to work with head and hands
to study the natural objects which everywhere surround them,
or even simply collecting specimens without evincing any
particular desire to become better acquainted with their cha-
racters—which, however, I must allow, is a faint-hearted
essay at gaining information.

In thus attempting to suggest a remedy for idleness, I
trust my readers will not accuse me of the narrow-mindedness
that excludes all rational and manly pastimes, inasmuch as, if
he will take the trouble to peruse the contents of this volume,
he will find that both admit of wholesome combination.

Voyages by the Cape of Good Hope to India have been
so frequently narrated, and present in general the same mono-
tonous uniformity, that J shall content myself with transcrib-
ing only a few of the chief and most interesting incidents in
that portion of my journal.

I left Queenstown (then better known as the Cove of
Cork) on the 29th of January 1849, with a detachment of the
64th Regiment bound for India.

The first few days were marked by very rough weather,
and the never-failing accompaniment, sea-sickness, until about
the latitude of Madeira, when a change for the better took
place, and we began to get our sea-legs, and observe the
novelties of the deep, such as flying-fish and shoals of por-

6 WANDERINGS OF A

poises, whilst an occasional shark would show its great fin
and tail above water.

As we neared the Line, sudden squalls and heavy rains
were of frequent occurrence, and now and then vast numbers
of that beautiful tunny-fish, the bonito, were seen charging
past us at great speed.

Thus sped the even tenor of our ways. No troop-ship at
sea should be without a netting around the forecastle. It is
notorious that more soldiers are drowned by falling from the
fore-chains than any other part of the vessel. A sudden lurch
will suffice to throw a landsman off his balance; and. if
the forecastle is on a level with the bulwarks, there is
every chance of his falling overboard. In this way we lost a
soldier, who was washing his clothes, when a wave struck the
vessel, and he missed his footing and fell into the sea. I
have moreover records of several cases of a similar nature,
all showing that many lives might be saved if more attention
were paid to prevent that and such-like accidents. Lifeboats
ought to be always in immediate readiness, and supplied with
buoys, and all the requisite contrivances to secure the quickest
and most efficient assistance.

On the 5th of March we sighted the island of Trinidad,
and having gained a strong westerly breeze, our good bark
scudded along, our almost constant companion being the little
petrel ; a few of a square-tailed species were also observed,
and now and then a solitary individual of the great black
petrel.

In lat. 30° 52’ 8, and long. 27° 12’ W., an albatross made
its appearance for the first time, and as we approached the
Cape, they became more numerous.

The brown booby and Cape pigeons were plentiful off
the African coast, where we encountered a heavy gale of

NATURALIST IN INDIA. 7

three days’ duration. At length the hurricane abated, and
was succeeded by a dead calm, during which several land
birds were seen hovering around the rigging.

In lat. 36° 37’ S., long, 33° 9’ E, a little gray fly-catcher
flew on board exhausted. Flocks of greedy albatrosses, pet-
rels and Cape pigeons crowded around the ship’s stern. A
hook was baited with fat, when upwards of a dozen albatrosses
instantly rushed at it, and as one after another was being
hauled on deck, the remainder, regardless of the struggles of
the captured, and the vociferations of the crew, kept swim-
ming about the stern. Not even did those birds which were
indifferently hooked, and made their escape, desist from
seizing the bait a second time! The poor animals seemed
half-starved. The wing-bones of the albatross are much in
request for pipe-stalks, and purses are made of the skin of
the feet.

Our sailors prognosticated that the unusual familiarity
and tameness of the albatross were certain harbingers of another
storm ; and assuredly, towards evening, a mass of dark clouds
was seen lowering in the east, and by sunset we had again
“hove-to,” under close-reefed sail, and were weathering one
of the most fearful tropical hurricanes our gray-headed cap-
tain had ever witnessed.

We saw no more albatrosses or petrels after passing lat.
25° S. Flying-fish began to reappear in great numbers, and
seldom a day passed without a tropic bird (Phaéton) to keep
us company. The weather, as we again drew near the Line,
became more settled ; and we had frequent opportunities of
beholding the splendid sunsets of these latitudes—such pic-
tures as a Turner never could have painted, or, had he done
so, none but those who had witnessed them in nature would
credit.

8 WANDERINGS OF A

At daybreak on the 19th of April we sighted the Seychelle
Islarids, and were soon at anchor in the little harbour of
Mahe.

After a long imprisonment on board ship, one feels a
schoolboy’s longing to take a run on shore, and when the foot
touches terra firma for the first time, especially in a new
country, how eager are we to be off and see the lions of the
place ! ?

The desolate and barren appearance of the Seychelles,
when viewed from a distance, dies away as you approach.

Their mountains rise as high as 2000 feet above the level
of the sea, and are clothed with verdure to their summits.
For the first time we observed the bamboo, cocoa-nut, tamarind,
plantain, orange, coffee-plant, mango, date, and sugar-cane,
growing in all their tropical luxuriance. A coral reef sur-
rounds the island of Mahe, which is said to be composed. of
granite, and consequently forms an interesting geological
feature compared with other oceanic islands.

The Seychelles are likewise famous from being the only
locality where the celebrated coco-de-mer (Lodoicea Sechel-
larum) is found. This graceful palm attracts the stranger’s
attention on landing at Mahe, where several may be seen in
the centre of the town. It has been introduced into the
island of Mauritius, but is said not to produce fruit anywhere
except in its native islands.

During our short stay we were much indebted to our
excellent friend M. G., whose delightful retreat on the sea-
coast we had the pleasure of visiting.

On the following morning, after a refreshing bathe in a
mountain-stream, and a ramble through our friend’s plantain- -
groves, among the clustering fruit of which I found a turtle-
dove (Turtur rostratus) sitting on its nest and eggs, we

. NATURALIST IN INDIA. 9

bade farewell to our kind host, and left in his canoe, loaded
with fruit and sugar-cane.

Turtles are plentiful, but the particular species I could not

determine. The frigate, or man-of-war bird (Tachypetes), was
often seen soaring at great heights. Its deeply-forked tail
and aquiline flight are distinctive.
After passing the Line we were becalmed for several days,
during which there was not a ruffle on the wide expanse, and
our vessel lay like unto “a painted ship upon a painted
ocean.”

Every one was tired out by the monotony of a long voyage ;
and irrespective of that, and the failure of the winds, the heat
was great, and seldom under 86° and 90° in our cabins. At
length uncertain breezes came and went, and after days of
suffocating heat and much discomfort we cast anchor in
Bombay harbour on the 18th May, when the troops were
disembarked into small boats, and sailed for Panwell, on
the coast. ,

The weather was intensely hot at the time: in conse-
quence we were obliged always to march at night, so as to
arrive in camp before the burning sun of the Deccan made its
appearance, »

A hurried visit was paid to the celebrated Caves of Carlee,
and we admired their wonderful galleries and colossal ele-
phants, dug out of solid trap; but there was no time to exa-
mine anything minutely, for the short-lived evenings of these
latitudes afford but scanty opportunities fora passing traveller
to feast his fancy.

Soon after our arrival at Poonah we were joined by the
other detachments of the regiment, which had arrived at
Bombay after us ; and then, once fairly settled down to habits
of Eastern life, I found that even active or onerous profes-

10 WANDERINGS OF A

sional toil and study may find an occasional leisure hour,
which will be best employed in whatever tends to improve
the mind and keep the body healthy. Accordingly, by rising
early and going soon to bed, I had always a few hours at my
disposal for outdoor amusements and recreations; and when
the heat of the day kept me within the shade of my bungalow,
T could still find occupation and study among the collection
of natural objects I had gathered during my morning and
evening rambles.

A physician of great Indian experience says: “ Nothing
is so destructive of energy of mind and body as habitual in-
dolence and inactivity in a tropical climate. Those persons
are undoubtedly the most happy who have sufficient oppor-
tunities and inducements to keep themselves always employed
in useful occupations, and they alone preserve their vigour
of body and mind unimpaired during a long residence in
India.” *

Such, I will confess, has been my experience, and I appeal
to those who have made themselves conversant with the habits
and mode of life of Englishmen in India whether or not the
most part of the so-called insalubrity of the climate is not
attributable to the neglect of the simplest of hygienic rules ?

It might be no unprofitable study for the political historian
to trace how far the habits and modes of life of Englishmen
in India may have influenced their characters as rulers, and
whether the great mutiny was in any way the result of our
_ selfish regard for personal comfort, to the neglect of the in-
terests and welfare of the people we attempt to govern.

* Twining on Diseases of Bengal.

NATURALIST IN INDIA. 11

CHAPTER IT.

Familiar Birds about Poonah—Hindoo Temple of Parbuttah—Scenery—Vul-
tures—Large Bats—Habits of Parrakeet—Frogs—Sunbird and Frog—
Flycatcher— Insects —Snakes —Cobra— Hog Rat—Tiger and Bullock —
Kingfishers—Indian Roller—Pigeons—Warblers—Tailor-Bird—Govind-
Kite a Public Scavenger— Hoopoe— Dial-Bird —Weaver-Bird’s Nest—
Egyptian Vulture—Common Trees—The Mango—Paradise Flycatcher—
Ants—Coming of the Monsoon.

Amone the chief ornithological denizens of the highlands of
the Deccan, the following may be easily distinguished :—

The wire-tailed swallow (Hirundo /filifera) is plentiful
at Poonah during the summer months. It is on wing soon
after daybreak, and may be observed skimming over the
Great Parade, or around our bungalows, all day long, hunting
its winged prey. In the calm and delightful evenings pecu-
liar to Poonah they may be seen in hundreds, perched on
stones and tufts of grass upon the plains and the river-banks,
and just as night is closing in they rise and seek a roost on
the tallest spires and mosques. It is seldom that the males
have their delicate tail appendages perfect, and often, they
are entirely wanting.

The allied swift (Cypselus afinis) is common, and builds
in societies among the ruined palaces and domes: its nest
is made of clay, intermingled with feathers and grass. In
haunts and habits it much resembles the European black
swift, which, it would appear, has not hitherto been found in
Hindostan.

12 WANDERINGS OF A

Of the Corvide we have only the Indian crow (Corvus
culminatus) and Indian jackdaw (C. splendens) about Poonah.
Both are plentifully distributed. The latter is a bold marauder,
and fearlessly disputes his rights with the govind-kite (Ailvus
migrans, Bodd.) and the Egyptian vulture (Neophron perenop-
‘terus); like the rook, the Indian crow breeds in societies, In
plumage and habits the Indian sparrow is very similar to the
British species ; the manner in which his nest is formed, and the
materials of which it is composed, bear likewise a close resem-
blance to that of its brother in England. In the walls of the
natives’ huts, among the thatch of our bungalows, in every tree,
it builds its nest. It is the same dirty little fellow amidst the
mud and mire of an Indian city as on the house-tops of St.
Giles——Among the most common birds, I noted the Indian
robin (Thamnobia fulicata). In manner and habits it is
the Oriental representative of redbreast, just as the migra-
tory thrush takes the place of the former with the Canadian
emigrants.—The gray titmouse (Parus cinereus) represents
the great ox-eye of. Europe ; it is, however, a poor rival in
point of brilliancy of feather, nor is his call-note so clear and
joyous ; it is, however, more familiar, and may be constantly
seen in our gardens.—The intensity of the red on the sides
of the bay-backed shrike (Lanius hardwickii) is peculiar to
the breeding-season. It is the most common butcher-bird,
and may be seen perched on the lower branch of a mimosa,
watching an opportunity to dart on some luckless beetle :
down it pounces on its prey, which it bears away to a neigh-
bouring thorn, impales and devours ; then flits within a few
feet of the ground to a new perch, from whence, with head
awry, it examines intently the ground beneath, now and
then answering the harsh scream of its companion on some
neighbouring tree.

NATURALIST IN INDIA. 13

The bulbul (Pyenonotus hemorrhous) is very common.—
There is considerable variety in the plumage of the green
bee-eater (Merops viridis), sufficient to puzzle one at first
The black Indian redstart frequents gardens—The pied wag-
tail (Motacilla dukhunensis) is very plentiful—After some
trouble, I had the good fortune to obtain a specimen of the
great pied wagtail (Motacilla maderaspatana) ; it is rare in
' this district, seen only by the sides of streams, and generally
alone.—Here also is often found the yellow wagtail-lark
(Budytes viridis) : the feathers on the head are blue-gray in
spring and summer.

‘One of the finest views of the city of Poonah and the
surrounding country is to be obtained from the fort of Par-
buttah, once a Mahratta stronghold, now a Hindoo temple.
‘It is said that, in 1802, the Rajah of Poonah witnessed from
this place the defeat of his army at the battle of Kirkee. The
approach leads through a shady avenue of tamarind, mango,
and cocoa-nut trees, to a small lake with an island, clothed
with fruit-trees to the very margin of the calm and glassy water,
in which are reflected the broad leaves of the plantain and
palm, festooned with a woodbine-like creeper. The scene is
perfectly Oriental, and seldom will the beholder gaze on a
prettier little spot. A broad flight of steps leads to the fort,
on entering which the ears of the traveller are assailed by
the deafening clamour of “tom-toms” and the discordant
screeches of uncouth instruments. Among the dilapidated
and ruined walls are dark and dismal dens, filled with grim
idols, to which numbers of adoring natives bend the knee.
From the parapet there is a fine view of the surrounding
country. A range of high conical mountains stretches from
north to west, while eastward lesser hills bound the view, and
southward the eye roams over a vast level covered with fields

14 WANDERINGS OF A

of grain, orchards, and groves, wherein grow the lime, the
orange, the vine, pomegranate, mango, plantain, and guava.
Truly may the traveller say, “ This land is fair to look
upon !”

The remains of one of Holkar’s palaces may be seen at
the back of the artillery lines. At the time of our visit
(5 AM.) the carcase of a horse was lying close by; round it
were congregated tawny eagles, Indian and Egyptian vul-
tures, crows, pariah dogs and jackals. As we approached
they quickly dispersed. One after another the great eagles
disappeared, but the vultures gorged with their repast, sat
perched on the ruined walls of the palace, while the jackals
skulked away to their hiding-places, and the dogs, scarcely
able to rise from the place where they had fed, lay listlessly
around the skeleton, or, seated on their haunches, licked their
lips, as though gloating over the remembrance of their recent
meal, I believe, when an artillery horse dies, the carcase is
never buried, but laid upon the plain, where it is quickly
devoured by these useful scavengers, .

The climate of the high northern ranges is delicious ;
several old forts remain upon their ridges, the chief of which
is Poonadur, a favourite resort during the hot months.

There are few good shooting-grounds in the neighbour-
hood. Quail and partridge are found in small numbers, and
after the rains snipe—common and jack-snipe—also the
painted species (Rhynchoea bengalensis).

The antelope black-buck (Cervicapra bezourtica) is rare,
and from having been so much hunted is very shy and diffi-
cult of approach,

The wokhab or tawny eagle (Aquila fulvescens) is com-
mon around Poonah, and is often seen on housetops or feed-
ing with govind-kites on the refuse of the kitchen. It is by

NATURALIST IN INDIA: 15

no means dainty in its choice of food, and has little of the
majestic and noble mien of the golden eagle ; it roosts on the
tops of tall trees in the immediate vicinity of cantonments.
—The Indian vulture (Vultwr indicus) I have seldom: seen
except in the circumstances described above, when almost in-
credible numbers congregate.

My attention was one morning directed to a colony of
flying foxes (Pteropus edwardsii) which had taken up
their abode on a banyan-tree situate in one of the most
central and populous quarters of the city of Poonah. Each
bat was suspended by the hind-feet, in which position it re-
mained even when shot. Some were perfectly motionless,
others swaying to and fro with noisy clamour, indifferent to
the busy crowd moving onwards in the street below. The
natives call this bat the “wurbagool.” The species is very
plentiful, and numbers are usually to be seen in the still
evenings at high elevations, flying with an easy floating
motion, now and then varied by the regular flap of their large
wings as they steer their course towards the fruit-groves.
They do not always rest during the day, for flocks of several
hundreds may be observed at mid-day in the mango-topes—
some attached to the branches, others flitting round the trees,
and uttering an occasional harsh discordant cry. The half-
caste Portuguese eat them, and look upon their flesh as deli-
cious. Individuals of this species appear to differ consider-
ably in size, which may, however, be owing toage. One I
killed measured from tip to tip about five feet. Figs, mangoes,
etc., constitute their favourite food.

The rose-ringed parrakeet (Paleornis torquatus) is abundant
in every grove, where great flocks often assemble. Their harsh
screams are deafening at times. In the evenings it. was amus-
ing to watch these birds. Minas and sparrows used to collect

16 WANDERINGS OF A

in a mango-tope close to my bungalow ; several hundreds fre-
quently congregated in the same tree, screaming and vocifer-
ating as loud as they could. Ifa shot was fired among them,
the parrakeets, with a shrill scream, dived downwards in a
dense mass, and swept circling round the grove. The minas
rapidly returned to their roost, when the noise and clamour
became louder and louder as fresh arrivals poured in, until
night began to lower. Then thé cries died gradually away,
and except an occasional scream, no signs were heard of the
vast assemblage crowding every branch and twig.

The streams about Poonah are subject to sudden inunda-
tions, owing to the proximity of the mountains. During the
hot summer months, when there is no rain, they become dried
pu, and, excepting small pools here and there, nothing is tobe ,
seen but the debris of the last storm. Frogs spawn in these
situations. One species, a few inches in length, with the belly
and throat pure white, is very plentiful; it basks on the
sides of the pools, and takes to the water when one approaches,
skipping over the pool something in the way a boy skims a
flat stone. My attention was directed to the surface of the
water, which appeared as though large drops of rain were
falling on it. Having satisfied myself that this could not be
the case, my next supposition was ‘that bubbles of gas were
ascending from decomposing matter at the bottom of the pool,
which opinion was apparently confirmed by the bubble rising
at the time the drop appeared on the surface. I discovered,
however, that the water was alive with minute tadpoles.
Vast numbers of these little creatures were darting to and
from its surface with great rapidity. The frogs I had alarmed
were poised upon the water, staring at me intently, and at
the margin of the pool were hundreds of tadpoles with the
caudal extremity still perfect ; others, again, at a distance of

NATURALIST IN INDIA. 17

some eight or ten feet, had the tail almost separated ; whilst
a few here’ and there had lost the appendage altogether,
being complete frogs.

About half-a-mile from my bungalow there were two
large hedges of prickly pear, and between them a stagnant
pool. I often took up a position under the cool shade of a
peepul-tree close by, and watched the habits of the feathered
tribe at mid-day. On one occasion, having shot a sun-bird,
it fell on the margin of the pool, when some animal jumped
from the muddy water, seized it, and instantly disappeared
with its prey. A short time afterwards a large green frog
appeared on the surface. I shot it, and discovered the bird
in its mouth. ‘

The purple honey-sucker of Jerdon, the beautiful blue-
winged sun-bird (Arachnechthra asiatica, Lath.), is common,
and nothing can exceed the grace and elegance of its con-
gener, the Ceylon sun-bird (Leptocoma zeylonica). This ex-
quisite little creature sports round the top of the prickly
pear, sucking the nectar from its flowers like a humming-
bird. Neither species, however, subsists altogether on honey,
for flies and minute insects are frequently found in their
gizzards. The brilliant green spot on the wing of the male is
wanting in the female.

The gaudy lesser crimson-breasted flycatcher (Periero-
cotus peregrinus) is a tenant of the woods and hedges. Some-
times flocks of males, at other times females only, are ob-
served ; the rich and beautiful plumage of the former is very
striking ; insects and larvee constitute its favourite food. The
shrill, clamorous cry of the koel, or black cuckoo (Hudynamys
orientalis) was constantly heard in woods and groves ; it feeds
on fruit. I shot a specimen of a young male European
euckoo (Cucuwlus canorus) on the 16th of October,

c

18 WANDERINGS OF A

At their residence near Poonah the ex-Amirs of Scinde
had several fine goshawks, trained for falconry ; the species
has been shot on the Nepal mountains and Neilgherries.
Trained Bhyri falcons (Falco jugger) are sold at Poonah by the
natives, and fetch high prices. They say these birds inhabit
the mountains and woody parts of the district ; but there is
no more handsome falcon than the teesa (Poliornis teesa) ; its
fine, clear, light-coloured eye, and in fact the whole appear-
ance of the bird, indicates grace and strength of wing. In
the stomach of a female I found a lizard 4 inches in
length.

Among the many discomforts Europeans have to endure in
the East are myriads of fleas, mosquitoes, snakes, centipedes,
scorpions, etc. etc., which not only infest gardens, but pene-
trate into the interior of houses, especially at night. No
sooner is the cloth spread than hundreds of beetles, attracted
by the light of the candles, dash recklessly into the flame,
and fall disabled on the table, intruding themselves into every
dish ; crickets chirp among the beams overhead, and the
whole apartment resounds with the noise and buzz of insect-
life. Nor is the scene without very different, though occasion-
ally more attractive ; for swarms of fire-flies assemble round
the bushes, and with the lucid beam of their tiny lamps
illumine the gloom of the tropical night.

On one occasion I was awoke by my servant pursuing a
snake across my bedroom-floor; he killed it at my bed-side.
It was a species very common about Poonah, of a greenish-
black colour, and about 2 feet in length, with numerous
white spots on its upper surface.

Snake-skins (so entire that even the covering of the eye
is retained) were often found under the floor-matting ; and
a species, white-spotted on the back and sides of the body

NATURALIST IN INDIA. 19

oe

and about 5 feet in length, abounds in gardens ; on that ac-
count one is often obliged to ride on horseback after nightfall,
when numbers may be seen crawling about in the roads and
gardens, searching for frogs, on which they principally feed.
There is a green species, 24 feet in length, said by the natives
to be very venomous. My attention was directed to a cir-
cumscribed swelling in the centre of the body of one of these
serpents, which on dissection proved to be a frog, fully three
times as broad as any other part of the snake’s body. Two
minute wounds on the frog’s back were the only marks of
violence discernible.

The cobra di capella is tamed, and taught to dance to
the pan-pipe-like sounds of a sort of flageolet. Itis said to be
plentiful in the cactus hedges, which seem to be a “ rendez-
vous” for all kinds of snakes and vermin. One sultry day,
while seated under an acacia tree, I heard a hissing sound be-
hind me, and turning, saw a cobra close by, with raised head
and inflated hood, knocking its nose against the stem of a
cactus. One of the first injunctions a native servant gives his
newly-arrived master is, “ always to shake his boots well before
putting them on,” scorpions being apt to take up their abode
in the toe!

A green lizard is common in gardens, and on the thatch of
bungalows : it preys on scorpions, especially a small black
species, abundant beneath stones and the matting of rooms.
Centipedes of large size are very plentiful.

The moongus, or gray ichneumon (Herpestes griseus), is
found in this district, and frequently domesticated. It is
exceedingly useful in destroying centipedes and scorpions, but
I have never seen it attack serpents ; and the story regarding
the antidote it obtains for snake-bites in the root of a certain

20 WANDERINGS OF A

plant called moonguswail, like most Indian tales of that de-
scription,” is perfectly mythical.

The bandy-coot or hog-rat (Mus giganteus) was frequently
seen in our houses. This animal is very destructive, and
creates much disturbance at night. Sometimes it coursed
across the canvas covering of our ceiling—a signal always
for “drawn swords,” and a prod through the “ dungaree,” t to-
gether with the pleasing uncertainty as to whether you are
transfixing a ghous (as the Mahrattas call it) or a mangur
(Felts bengalensis), a species of wild-cat which prowls about
at night, and hides during the day in hedges, or under the
thatch of bungalows.

Several species of chameleon are abundant : they frequent
bushy places, and are seen basking on the stems of trees ;
while geckoes are common on the walls of houses. Tigers
are found on the mountains and in the jungles. Not far from
Kirkee is the village of Maun, where, during midsummer, both
the common and jack-snipe are abundant in the rice-fields.
They arrive about the beginning of November, when also a few
painted snipe may be obtained.

Maun is situate close to a range of mountains covered
with low dense jungle, extending some distance into the plain,
which is studded with villages, rice-fields and gardens, sepa-
rated by ravines and large tracts of waste and barren country.
A dense jungle to the north of the village was said to have
been the haunt of a man-eating tiger for some time previous
to our visit, and we found the carcase of a.bullock lying in a
chilli field, not a stone’s throw from the village. On both

* See an interesting account of a fight between a cobra and moongus in
the Times of India for the 9th of August 1863, signed by three officers who
witnessed the encounter.

+ A coarse white linen used for lining the interior of rooms.

NATURALIST IN INDIA. 21

sides of the animal’s neck were deep wounds caused by the
tiger’s teeth, and on the shoulder a long gash, where the claw
had ploughed through the skin; the whole of the flesh on the
belly and flanks was torn away, the stomach and entrails lying
on the ground, where we could see distinct traces of a scufile,
and the footprints of a very large tiger. Pitching our tent
within range, we sat up that night, expecting to get a shot at
the marauder, as the moon was shining brightly ; but after a
fruitless vigil, and growing drowsy, I went to bed, and had
scarcely been asleep an hour when. my servant called me to
say the tiger had arrived, and was carrying off the carcase.
It was too late, however, as we were just in time to see him
disappear in the cover with his prey. The following morning
all that remained of the bullock was the skull, and a few
pieces of the larger bones. A week afterwards I heard that
the same tiger had killed another bullock near a village some
ten miles distant.

The kestrel (Tinnunculus alaudarius), and also the
sparrow-hawk (Accipiter virgatus), are common. The former
may be observed hovering over the plains, and at dusk, not
unfrequently in numbers, perched on stones and tufts of
grass. Both prey extensively on mice, lizards, and beetles.
The latter hawk is trained for quail-hunting. The broad-
tailed flycatcher (Rhipidura fuscoventris) is plentiful in gar-
dens and wooded localities. It is not shy, and for its size
bold and fearless, and will attack birds much larger than
itself. The song of the male consists of a few loud and
pleasing notes, uttered while the little creature is dancing
along the branch with tail and wings expanded like a fan.

The common kingfisher (Alcedo bengalensis, Gmel.), the
black and white species (Ceryle rudis), and the Indian king-
fisher (Halcyon fuscus, Bodd.), are often observed. The

22 WANDERINGS OF A

first is common in rice-fields, streams, and river-banks ; the
two latter are not so plentiful; the Indian kingfisher is a
tenant of gardens and pools. On the broad tops of peepul,
acacia, and mango trees, the lark-heeled cuckoo or Malabar
crow (Centropus rufipennis, lig.) perches ; grasshoppers and
coleopterous insects constitute its favourite food. These
birds startle one, while passing under a tree, by the flapping
of their large fan-shaped wings; their flight is a sort of
sailing motion, which, with the expansive tail, makes them
appear much larger than they are in reality. Frequenting
like situations may often be seen the beautiful Indian
roller (Coracias indica), it sports from one tree-top to another
with a peculiar zig-zag flight; butterflies and large insects
are its favourite food, and are caught on wing. Flocks of the
black-headed finch (Zmberiza melanocephala, Sykes) are com-
mon; it is dispersed over the fields during harvest, but dis-
appears soon afterwards. Rock-pigeons (Columba livia) con-
gregate in the deep wells, in the sides of which they breed.
The natives capture them by suddenly throwing a net over
the mouth of the well. There is no variety in the wild bird,
and although the tame pigeons feed in the fields, the two do
not appear to associate. By the sides of hedges, in gardens
and way-sides, the Senegal dove (Columba senegalensis) is fre-
quently observed. It passes the greater part of the day on
the ground, but is often seen likewise on trees. In dissecting
and preparing the skins of this species (in fact Columbide in
general), great care should be taken to remove the fat from
the skin of the back and sides, else the feathers will be sure
to drop out.

The tailor-bird (Orthotomus longicauda), with its curiously-
fashioned nest, displaying most marvellous skill and care,
is plentiful in groves and gardens, where it may be seen

NATURALIST IN INDIA. 23

flitting among the dense foliage, emitting its loud cry, re-
sembling that of the mina. The tailor-bird is by no means
shy or easily frightened ; on the contrary, it is an inquisitive
little fellow. I recollect once, when seated. under a tree, em-
ployed in skinning a bird, one came within a yard of me, and
attentively watched the proceeding. It has a droll way of
inspecting objects stdeways, jerking its tail unceasingly when
moving. To those familiar with its habits it will not appear
surprising that this strange little creature should be the archi-
tect of that wonderful nest, formed of cotton, wool, hair, etc.,
enclosed between leaves, beautifully sewn together with vege-
table fibre. The young resemble their parents, except in
length of tail; also the rufous on the head is not so clear.

Of all rapacious birds the govind-kite is the most useful
and abundant; wherever offal exists there this bird is to be
found, hovering over the butcher's shop, the kitchen, or the
barrack—-now leisurely sailing in circles—now darting like
an arrow upon its prey, which it devours while on the wing,
uttering a clear shrill cry whenever a companion disputes
its possession. Its boldness is almost ludicrous. Once, when
a servant was bringing mutton-chops from the cook-house to
our mess, one of these birds darted upon the dish, and tore
away the contents in its talons. The plumage of this species
is subject to considerable variety : some are very dark (these
I take to be the old birds), others have the under Bee light
rufous, darkly lined.

The govind-kite, Egyptian vulture, crow, Indian jackdaw,
and mina, may justly be termed “the great scavengers of
India.” What would its large cities be without these useful
birds ? and lean and degraded as the pariah dog is, abused
and cowed by the natives, still he clings to man, and picks
up a scanty meal on the dunghill, or feasts with the jackal

24 WANDERINGS OF A

From constant ill-treatment he has become the very picture of
abject misery, crouching at the sound of the human voice ;
yet, from some strange instinct, unsolicited he protects the
dwelling of the native, and the midnight robber would find it
hard indeed to pass his post unchallenged.

The hoopoe (Upupa epops) is very common on lawns and
in fields. I have been informed that. the black-headed bus-’
tard (Otis nigriceps) was at one time common in this district. -
It is now seldom met with, having been so much sought
after by sportsmen; one specimen was brought to me from
the mountains near Poonah with its eyelids sewn together to
prevent it running away !—The naturalist is likely to be
led into error in studying the appearance and habits of the
dial-bird (Copsychus saularis.) The more sombre plumage of
the female (which is seldom seen with the male, except
during the breeding season) has deceived many. The song
of this species is rich and sweet, and frequently imitates the
notes of other birds. In habits familiar, it is a common
tenant of the gardens, where it pours forth its welcome notes
in the afternoon or early morning, and like its rival redbreast,
sings a bar, and then waits a short time for another indivi-
dual to reply. This species is the “ nightingale” of English
residents—Among flocks of mina birds (Acridotheres tristis)
may often be seen numbers of the roseate pastor (Pastor
roseus). The smaller size, peculiar sailing flight, and more
pointed wings, will distinguish the latter at a distance.

The rain-quail (Cotwrnix coromandelica) is plentiful during
the monsoon. I have shot it in lucerne fields close to my
house, and the bush-quail in low jungle near the mountains.
We have the Indian golden oriole in woods and groves. It
is shy and difficult of approach. The nest, which is placed
in the fork of a tree, is formed of dry grass, with a finer

NATURALIST IN INDIA. 25

description in the interior. The large purse-shaped nest of
the weaver-bird (Ploceus baya) would fall an easy prey to its
enemies, did not the little architect, with surprising intelli-
gence, place it in situations not easily accessible; hence
several nay be seen suspended from the tips of branches
overhanging deep wells, or on the topmost boughs of acacia
and thorny trees. The weaver-bird builds in societies, and
‘is docile and familiar in its habits—The common king-crow
(Dicrurus macrocercus) is often seen on the backs of cattle.
The Egyptian vulture is a native of Eastern Europe, Asia,
and Africa. On the temperate regions of the Himalayas it
follows man wherever he congregates ; and on the plains of
India its gaunt forbidding figure is seen stalking among all
animal refuse. It is the smallest of the tribe found in the
East ; its total length seldom exceeding 26 inches. In the
adult the skin of the head and front of the neck is bare,
yellow and shrivelled, giving the animal a melancholy,
poverty-stricken appearance. The general colour of the
plumage is white, except the quills and their coverts, which
are black; the iris is red in the old bird, but brown in the
young, which also have the naked part about the head of a
leaden colour until the second year. There is great diversity
of plumage, from the brownish-black of the young bird to
the white of the adult; this latter is attained at the third
moult. The habits of this species are strictly domestic. It is
usually met with in the filthiest parts of towns and military
cantonments. As soon as dinner is announced by the bugle-
sound in barracks, Egyptian vultures and kites may be seen
hastening towards the scene, which soon assumes a lively
aspect from the numbers and activity of the kites, as they
dart like arrows on the bones and refuse ; while others, with
head erect, lifting their legs (much after the manner of rooks),

26 WANDERINGS OF A

are silently devouring whatever comes in their way. Now
and then a vulture in the act of bolting a piece of flesh has
to relinquish the morsel to his more nimble companion,
whose sharp talons soon tear it off, and he is seen devouring
the prize as he sails away. The two species often roost
together, and seem to agree very well except at feeding-
time. Flocks of both accompany troops for hundreds of miles,
and regularly at daybreak, as the new camp is forming,
they may be seen approaching from the direction of the pre-
vious day’s halt.*

The mango is the most common fruit-tree in this district,
but the fruit is not equal to that of Mazagon mango of
Bombay. The turpentine flavour of the mango is less per-
ceptible the oftener the fruit is eaten. There are many
persons, however, never become reconciled to it—a peculiarity
which unfortunately has deprived me of enjoying what many
consider the most highly-flavoured and luscious of Eastern
fruits. The tree grows to a considerable size, and is tall and
spreading, with dense foliage of a dark green; it studs the
country over, forming little. groves (called topes), which break
the sameness of the scenery, and offer a grateful shade from
the sun. I have spent many happy hours in these mango-
topes, during the fiercest heat of summer, searching for birds,
especially warblers. Here may frequently be seen the para-
dise flycatcher (Tchitrea paradisi, Linn.), and though not
common, its singularly attractive plumage can scarcely
escape observation. The adult male has a blue head, white
body, with two of the tail-feathers prolonged for upwards of

* Armies in the field have been followed by flocks of vultures, kites, and
crows. It has been stated to me, on good authority, that the crows of New
Brunswick and state of Maine decreased very much in number during the
American war, and returned afterwards.

NATURALIST IN INDIA. 27

8 inches beyond the tip; these, in the female, scarcely
extend beyond a quarter of an inch. The young birds are
chestnut. The Paradise flycatcher does not possess great
powers of flight, except when hunting for insects; then its
movements are quick, it suddenly appears on a branch beside
you, and the next moment is seen shooting like an arrow
through the grove, at times uttering a harsh chirp—now
perched on the upper bough of a tamarind, now on the lower
one of a neighbouring tree—spectre-like it suddenly appears
and is as quickly gone. Before I knew the difference between
the sexes and young birds, a friend remarked to me, in one of
our rambles, “ Did you see that red flycatcher with the whip-
tail?” I insisted that he had mistaken the colour; then im-
mediately afterwards two birds were shot, one white, and one
chestnut, both males. Towards the end of summer the species
leaves this district for the warmer climate below the Ghauts.

The sweet-lime produces abundance of delicious fruit,
and with the graceful tamarind, the tall peepul, the
palm, cocoa-nut, and acacia, forms a leading feature in the
landscape. The fig is reared extensively in gardens, where
the thick-peeled orange, guava, pomegranate, melon, and
pumpkin flourish, as well as an endless assortment of vege-
tables. Spreading over the land are fields of bageree and
jowaree, the staple grain of the country. The former attains
the height of a man on horseback. In India, as in most hot
climates, ants are plentiful, the Termitine or white-ants
being the most destructive. Besides several smaller species,
there is a great black ant, of the family Attide ; it has a
large knobby head, is usually seen in columns stretching
across the plain, occupied in carrying provender from one
nest to another, and in storing up supplies for future con-
sumption. These black moving trains of insect life are

28 WANDERINGS OF A

sometimes a foot in breadth, and from their strange appear-
ance on the highway are very apt to frighten horses.

Among the dried-up watercourses running from the moun-
tains, good specimens of agate are met with, and I have occa-
sionally seen a small onyx from the same situations.

In summer the temperature is very equable, the heat
never so great as to necessitate the use of punkhas or therm-
antidotes ;* and in winter the cold is never so severe as to
require a fire. The monsoon terminates in October, when
the cold weather sets in, lasting until March or April. Then
the heat begins to be felt, and nature pants for rain: the
plains and mountains present a sunburnt and desolate ap-
pearance ; at length clouds collect in the east, and the mon-
soon bursts with great violence. For some time previous
there is lightning every night, and the atmosphere feels close
and heavy,—a fierce wind then rises, tearing the thatch off
the houses, and sending clouds of dust, dense and suffocating,
into the rooms. Bang go doors and windows — distant
thunder is heard, and the dark mass of cloud is lighted up by
vivid flashes of lightning,—the air, at first hot and dry, be-
comes cool and grateful—the dust suddenly subsides, and
the peculiar smell from the plains tells that the longed-for
rain is coming, At last big drops fall, louder and nearer
sounds the “ artillery of Heaven,” as if all the ordnance of
British India were roaring around! Gradually the storm-
cloud sweeps away—the thunder dies in the distance, and a
steady down-pour of rain sets in for days.

During the monsoon the temperature in the shade ranges
from 75° to 85° Fahrenheit ; vegetation progresses rapidly—
the mountains becoming clothed with verdure in a few days.

* A machine, resembling that used in winnowing corn, by which a current
of air is forced on a damp matting suspended in front of the door.

NATURALIST IN INDIA. 29

Now and then the sun breaks out strong and fierce, the
atmosphere becoming laden with vapour from the dank soil.
Then it is that sickness appears, and cholera sweeps over the
land. It has, however, seldom time to seize many victims
before the cold weather begins, and the climate becomes cool
and healthy. ;

Dr. Maury, in his Physical Geography of the Sea, says,
with reference to the formation of monsoons—* They evapo-
rate, from the Bay of Bengal, water enough to feed with rains,
during this season, the western shores of this bay, and the
Ghauts range of mountains. This range holds the relation to
these winds that the Andes of Peru hold to the south-east
trade-winds—it first cools, and then relieves them of mois-
ture, which they tumble down on the western slopes of the
Ghauts.”

30 WANDERINGS OF A

CHAPTER III.

Departure for Scinde, Western Ghauts again—Kandala—A Man drowned—
Discomforts of the Sea Voyage—Cholera—Kurrachee—Scenery—Familiar
Birds—Climate—Flora—Pearl-oyster—Caucasian Ibex—Pelicans—Game
Birds —W oodpecker — Bush-thrushes— Bulbul — Serpent-eagle — Insects
—Crocodile Pond—Indus—Scenery— Alligators— Audacity of the Go-
vind-Kite—Sutluj—Ferozepoor to the Himalayas.

On the road between Poonah and Bombay there is much to
interest and delight ; at Kandala the traveller is surrounded
by a varied fauna and flora. What finer sight than that
which greets him at day-dawn on some cool November
morning, as he wends his way through the defiles, or by the
sides of the little rice-fields ?—
“* See how at once the bright refulgent sun,

Rising direct, swift chases from the sky

The short-lived twilight ; and with ardent blaze

Looks gaily fierce through all the dazzling air.”
The roads are covered with heavy-laden waggons, toiling up
the steep ascent, while groups of natives are enjoying their
hookahs by the road-side, under the grateful shade of the
mango and banyan.* The mountain-breeze is cool, even in
the heat of summer. The European houses are situated on
the sides of the great ravines, with shady avenues and path-
ways winding through the groves and around the rocky
ridges. Kandala is a little highland paradise, and a fitting

* The author refers to some sixteen years since, before any railways existed
in India.

NATURALIST IN INDIA. 31

place for the climate-worn European, who may seek to restore
his health by its pure and invigorating air. I spent a delight-
ful day toiling over these rugged ravines, and after a hard
scramble at length gained the camp, and was reclining on my
couch, when a soldier rushed into the tent, to inform me that
one of his comrades was drowning in a pond close by, and no
one could attempt to save him, in consequence of the dense
weeds which covered the surface. On repairing to the spot
we found the poor fellow in his last struggle, manfully
attempting to extricate himself from the meshes of rope-like
grass that encircled his body; but, to all appearance, the
more he laboured to escape, the more firmly they became
coiled round his limbs. At last he sank, and the floating
plants closed in, and left not a trace of the disaster. After
some delay, a raft was made, and we put off to the spot, and
sinking a pole some 12 feet, a native dived, holding on by the
stake, and brought the body to the surface. I shall never
forget the expression of the dead man’s face—the clenched
teeth, and fearful distortion of the countenance, while coils
of long trailing weeds clung round his body and limbs, the
muscles of which stood out, stiff and rigid, whilst his hands
grasped thick masses, showing how bravely he had struggled
for life. Such was the end of Private John Malony. He had
been the life and soul of the detachment with which I sailed
from England ; and used to keep his companions in roars of
laughter, on many a dull evening on shipboard, with his
merry Irish songs.

The descent from the Deccan plateaus into the plains
brought us into a very different climate. The thermometer
rose from 65° to 92° in tents ; this, however, was little, com-
pared with the miseries of an over-crowded vessel. The
fatigue and discomforts of the officers and men were great,

32 WANDERINGS OF A

but not to compare with those of 100 women and 150 children,
during the four days we spent on board the E.I.C’s steamer
Mozzufur during the voyage to Kurrachee. To call it discom-
fort is a mild term, when it is considered that 1100 human
beings were huddled together like sheep in a fold, lying down
at night anywhere, as best they could, unprovided with
covering beyond the clothes they wore, exposed to the biting
cold of a December night and the scorching heat of mid-day.
The regiment had suffered from cholera before leaving Poonah,
and a few cases continued on the line of march ; twenty-five
persons died immediately after we arrived at Kurrachee. We
imported the disease to Scinde, and had it not been that the
sick were isolated from the inhabitants and other corps in
garrison, by being placed in barracks at a distance, there is
no saying what might have been the result; yet, in those
days, no one seemed inclined to admit that the disease was
communicable in any way. The doctrine of the non-infectious
and non-contagious character of cholera no doubt received
considerable support from the desire on the part of communi-
ties to prevent panic; but we find now that the contrary
principle is the best, by arousing public attention to the
threatened danger, and the adoption of sanitary measures to
prevent the spread of this formidable and fatal malady.

After Poonah the scenery of Kurrachee, in 1849, wore no
very inviting aspect—long tracts of sandy waste and level
shore ; everything, animate and inanimate, appeared as though
just emerged from a dust-storm. Hedges, trees, and dwell-
ings looked hoary, as if covered with the frost of an English
winter, not a blade of grass visible; and except the palm,
cactus, and a few stunted shrubs, the surrounding country was
one desolate and dreary wilderness.

During the cold months the sun is powerful at mid-day,

NATURALIST IN INDIA. 33

but the nights are cold and frosty. We waded along, ankle-
deep in the heavy sand, towards the station, about 14 mile,
with a‘companion who (by way of cheering our drooping
spirits) informed us, that four years previously he had lived
at Kurrachee, in a tent, where the thermometer was often 130°!
This, however, we found was not a common occurrence, for
during the forepart of the day the sea-breeze sets in and lasts
for several hours, so that, take it all in all, the heat of Kur-
rachee is not so severe as that of many inland stations. The
native city is built on an eminence near the sea. Like many
Oriental towns, its streets and bazaars are abominably filthy ;
and, besides the usual hubbub of crowds of natives, goats,
and sheep, there is a sickening atmosphere, redolent of rancid
butter, assafcetida, and divers other powerful, and not particu-
larly pleasant, odours. Although the Turkish cemeteries at
Scutari and Constantinople greatly exceed, in extent of area,
anything of the sort I have seen in Hindoostan, the size of
that outside the city of Kurrachee is very striking. Nothing
shows the antiquity of Eastern towns more than their grave-
yards; and, even without the testimony of history, those
around Kurrachee give evidence of its existence for many cen-
turies. The gravestones are painted white, and covered with
various devices in red, becoming thus prominent objects in
an otherwise desert plain. Here and there are tall poles,
from which float triangular flags of divers colours. We may
wander through miles of sepulchres without meeting a symptom
of animated nature. Now and then a solitary pied stone-chat
(Sawxicola picata) may be seen hopping about. This familiar
little creature I observed at Poonah. It is plentiful in and
around Kurrachee, and is, in fact, the “robin” of Scinde.

To one just atrived from the Deccan, the chimney-tops at
Kurrachee are suggestive of the comfort of “my ain fireside ”—

D

34 WANDERINGS OF A

a pleasure that none appreciate but those who have long been
strangers to its genial influence. In consequence of the con-
stant shifting of the sand, there are no regular highways in
Lower Scinde. About noon, when the west wind sets in, clouds
of sand sweep across the country, penetrating through the
minutest chinks and crevices. Whirlwinds (or devils, as they
are commonly called by Europeans) are of frequent occurrence.
At a distance they look like revolving clouds of smoke, shoot-
ing upwards fully 200 feet. These cycloidal movements often
last for upwards of half-an-hour, and carry with them what-
ever light substances they may encounter. After gliding
along for some distance they finally disappear. The meeting
of two opposite currents of air is no doubt the cause, inasmuch
as a whirlwind was always seen to commence at the corners of
two ranges of buildings placed at right angles to each other.
There is a remarkable difference in the temperature of the
wind, after it has traversed two miles of the desert. I made
the experiment on horseback, in order to avoid as much as
possible reflection from the sand, and found, during a hot
forenoon in December, that the thermometer stood in the
sun at 75° on the sea-shore, while two miles inland it was 90°.
There are few countries more devoid of natural beauty
than Scinde. Pyramids seem only wanting to render its
scenery Egyptian, and viewed from any eminence, the neigh-
bourhood of Kurrachee is by no means prepossessing. North-
wards, as far as the eye can reach, is one vast plain of sand,
studded with scrub, or heaps of shingle. Westward, in the
distance, are seen the desolate and sun-burnt mountains of
Beloochistan. Looking seaward, we have various lines of
building, the European barracks and dwellings,* half-hid
*

* T speak of the year 1849 ; since then Kurrachee has risen to a good-sized
town.

NATURALIST IN INDIA. 35

among cactus and euphorbia hedges, which surround gardens,
where the usual tropical fruit-trees and vegetables struggle
for existence. Among others may be observed the graceful,
prickly Jerusalem thorn, a laburnum-like tree, with feathery
foliage, and pretty yellow flowers in loose and pendulous
racemes. Here and there, at long intervals, are little clusters
of date or cocoa-nut, while on the hills and rocky eminences

: ‘« Th’ acacia waves her yellow hair,

Lonely and sweet—nor loved the less
For flowering in a wilderness. ”

As Scinde does not come under the influence of the south-
west monsoon, its barren and sterile nature is to be attributed
to this cause. Beyond an occasional shower, during the cold
months, rain seldom falls, Were it not for the dews, nothing
would grow on its arid plains; these are often so profuse
that in the morning the sand appears as though a heavy
shower of rain had fallen. The sun, however, soon dissi-
pates the coolness of the morning breeze, and the sand
getting dried begins to blow about with the sea-breeze, and
drives us to seek the shelter of our bungalows, where every
door, window, and verandah, is closed to prevent its en-
trance ; but in spite of all our endeavours it penetrates into
drawers and boxes, and, what is still more uncomfortable,
into the bedding.

During December, and the two succeeding months, the
cold at night is often severe, being frequently 32° Fahrenheit
at daybreak, while at noon it often mounts to 75° or 86° in
the shade. Such sudden transitions cannot be otherwise than
injurious to European constitutions, and though many have
stood these shocks for years, there is no mistaking the effects
of the Scinde climate on those who long brave its influence—-
for tardy, and almost imperceptible as are its manifestations to

36 WANDERINGS OF A

the individual, or those around him, the new comer is struck
with the absence of anything like colour or freshness in the faces
of his country people,—especially the gentler sex, whose rosy
cheeks soon lose their northern bloom.

The natives of Scinde are a manly-looking race, but in
point of physical powers the Beloochees greatly excel. Their
well-knit frames, dark complexions, and flashing eyes distin-
guish them from their more peaceable brethren of the plains.
Accoutred with sword, shield, and matchlock, the Beloochee
has proved himself a valiant warrior in many a hard fight,
from the day he first: met the British on the field of Meanee,
to the last grand struggle in the Northern Provinces.

The turban is the usual head-dress of the natives. They
likewise wear a cap very like a black hat turned brim upper-
most.

The pearl-oyster abounds in eleven or twelve fathoms of
water all along the coast of Scinde. There was a fishing in the
harbour of Kurrachee, which had been of some importance in
the days of the native rulers, but was gradually declining.

The shore was covered with heaps of shells—each having
a little perforation in its centre, marking the place where the
pearl is found. Workmen were employed clearing away the
sand, and carefully winnowing the dust and detritus of, the
shells, in which, now and then, minute pearls arefound. The
largest shown us was scarcely bigger than a pin’s-head, and
evidently of very little value, for we could purchase for five
shillings as many as would cover the surface of a sixpence.

A “porpoise” is very common in the harbour, and ascends
the Indus and rivers of the Punjaub.

The Caucasian ibex (Capra caucasica) frequents the moun-
tains of Beloochistan.

I was informed by my lamented friend, the late Dr. Gould,

NATURALIST IN INDIA. 37

that it is likewise a native of the Muree and other ranges
on the north-western frontier of Scinde. The Caucasus, Asia
Minor, Syria, and Arabia, are also countries which it inhabits.
It does not appear to travel any great distance eastward, and is
probably replaced on the higher ranges of Afghanistan and
Persia by its noble congener the Himalayan ibex.

The Caucasian ibex has the hair short and dark brown,
with a black line down the back. The beard is also black.
Like the European and Himalayan animals, the horns are also
bent backwards, but they differ in being more slender and
tapering. In the latter, moreover, the horns are three-sided,
and the anterior and posterior surfaces sharp, and generally
smooth, with the exception of a few irregular tuberosities on
the frontal aspect.

Like the other species, it frequents dangerous and inacces-
sible places, such as bleak and barren mountain-tops.

The chukore, or Cabool partridge, imported from Afghan-
istan, is sold in the bazaars. Both the gray and black part-
ridges are common in cultivated localities of this neighbour-
hood. In the Government Gardens I killed a woodpecker,
said to be peculiar to this country.

The Scinde woodpecker (Picus scindianus) is distin-
guished from the other pied species by having the sides of
the body dirty-white, and a broad streak of black down the
side of the neck from the base of the lower mandible.

The Mahratta woodpecker (P. mahrattensis) is also not
uncommon. Sand-shrikes (Zanius arenarius) are plentiful in
cactus-bushes in the open country ; and in the dense foliage
of the gardens the white-fronted flycatcher (Rhipidura albo-
frontata) is often seen. In habits it resembles the broad-tailed
species, but the clearness of the white on its body and fore-
head will suffice to distinguish it from the other.

38 WANDERINGS OF A

The striated babbler (Malacocircus candatus) is known by
the light brown striz on its back—lower parts dirty-white. It
is less in size than the pale-eared babbler (IL malcolm), likewise
found here. The habits of the two are similar, frequenting
hedges and close cover, where they are usually seen in flocks.

The white-eared bulbul (Rotocompsa leucotis) is not, I
believe, found in the Deccan, although plentiful in this
country and the Punjaub.

The short-toed or serpent-eagle (Circetus gallicus) is often
seen soaring over dwellings, but more frequently perched on
a tree-top in the centre of a field, watching for its favourite
prey ; it lives principally on reptiles. J killed one whose
stomach contained many small frogs. At a distance this
bird might be mistaken for the common buzzard (Buteo vul-
garis). It is, however, easily distinguished by the rufous
white of the lower parts, with brown streaks. The total
length is about 2 feet.

In Scinde (as in all desert countries) ants abound. The
white ant (Termites), so plentifully distributed over Hindoo-
stan, does not seem to be common at Kurrachee; at least
I did not observe the sugar-loaf nests so characteristic of its
presence.

There are many other species which make their nests in
the open plains—entering by numerous holes in the surface
ofthe sand. In some places the ground is literally riddled with
these apertures. The large black species seen at Poonah is by
far the most common. One day, during a ramble in the neigh-
bourhood of Kurrachee, I observed a string of these ants ex-
tending from their nest across a plain for more than a quarter
of a mile in the direction of an out-house or barn. Instead
of carrying their eggs, these industrious little travellers were
employed in stocking up supplies for future use. In the

NATURALIST IN INDIA. 39

usual steady double file they were proceeding to and from
their nest ; one party moving slowly on, heavily loaded, each
individual carrying a vetch-seed about twice the size of its
bearer ; while the returning party hurried back for a fresh
burden. I passed them again at dusk, and on the following
day found them as busy as ever. What a vast granary they
must have collected even in twenty-four hours!

After rain, or heavy dew, they bring forth their store, and
spread the grain round the entrances of their nests to dry; and,
from some unknown cause, they often change their dwelling-
places, carrying their grain with them.

Musquitoes are very abundant, and the common black fly,
which seems to be indigenous to every clime, is here, as in
all tropical countries, a perfect pest. In every stall of the
bazaars it swarms in countless thousands, and, wonderful to
relate, even in the centre of the desert, it continues to annoy
and irritate the traveller.

During very cold weather in December a living female of
the allied swift (Cypselus affinis) was brought to me, in a
numbed state from cold, and the only one I saw during my
short stay at Kurrachee. Its body was plump, and well covered
with fat, but not a trace of food was discernible throughout
the whole course of the intestinal. canal. Perhaps this in-
dividual had been caught in the cold on its way to the more
genial winter climates of Central or Southern India. As-
sociating with minas and Indian jackdaws, are flocks of the
common starling (Sturnus vulgaris). It frequents dunghills
and fields.

The Indian wheatear (Saxicola atrogularis) is generally
distributed over the sandy wastes in this neighbourhood, . In
general appearance and habits it bears a resemblance to its
European allies. We see in this species the peculiar tinge of

40 WANDERINGS OF A

plumage common to many birds of desert countries. The
feathers appear as if they had been tipped with a sandy-
white, or isabel-colour, obscuring more or less the darker
shades beneath.

They run with great agility along the level plains. In this
respect there is no bird can beat the Coromandel courier
(Cursorius isabellinus). Flocks of these plover-like birds are
often seen on the sandy wastes of Kurrachee and Lower
Scinde. They are not easily observed, in consequence of the
similarity of their plumage to surrounding objects. Locusts
seem to be their principal food, and on these they feed
sumptuously, for sometimes clouds of these insects scour
across the country. The flesh of the courier is well-flavoured,
pale, and delicate. They are easily shot, and as many as four
or six may be killed at one time, in consequence of their
crowding together when feeding on the plain.

The whimbrel (Numenius pheopus) and curlew (N.
arguata) are both found in the harbour; and associated with
these birds, may often be observed a large pied species of
plover. The flamingo (Phenicopterus roseus) is often seen in
flocks upon the coast.

The jackal (Canis aureus) is seldom visible during the
day. At night packs of these animals prowl about the
station, and at early morning may be observed skulking
across the plains in the direction of their caves in ravines.
Their wailing cry is very discordant. Often, in a dark night,
the traveller is suddenly startled by the bark of a jackal—
another at a short distance replies, and soon he is surrounded
by ten or twenty—whose howlings are sometimes mingled
with the hoarse bark of the hyena (Hyena striata). Like the
other, the hyena hunts at night, and is equally partial to
carrion and putridity.

NATURALIST IN INDIA, 41

The cry of the jackal is peculiar; it is composed of a
succession of half-barking, half-wailing cries, on different
notes. When properly pronounced there is no better illus-
tration of it than the following words, set to the music of the
animal’s voice—

“ Dead Hindoé—Dead Hindés !
Whére—whére—whére—whére ?
Here—here—here—here !”

Being suggestive of a straggler, suddenly discovering a dead
body, and calling on the scattered pack to “ come and feast!”
They have evidently a predilection for human flesh, and some-
times, especially during epidemics or on battle-fields, they
have rare opportunities of indulging their appetites. It hap-
pened that during my stay at Kurrachee a pack of these
animals found their way into a hospital dead-house and muti-
lated two bodies of persons who died of cholera.

In all the desert parts of Scinde the crested calandre
lark (Galerida cristata) is plentiful. It is not unlike the sky-
lark, but does not “up to heaven gates ascend.” It is gene-
rally met with in flocks during the cold months.

Although I have not shot or seen the chimney-swallow
in Scinde, I have observed specimens in collections made
in Lower Scinde during the cold months; also the beauti-
ful fairy roller (Irena puella), rare in the northern parts of
India.

The Crocodile-pond, or “ Mugger-peer,” as it is called, lies
to the north-west of Kurrachee. The journey for the first
few miles is of the usual uninteresting description—sandy
plains, intersected with deep fissures and ravines, or studded
here and there with “scrub,” the oleander-leafed spurge
(Euphorbia nerifolia) plentiful in all waste and desert parts of
Scinde.

42 WANDERINGS OF A

Emerging from a defile which leads through a low range
of hills, the traveller enters on a desert waste, stretching
westward towards the mountains of Beloochistan. In the far
distance two oases are visible, whose date and cocoa-nut
trees are refreshing to the sight after eight miles of the most
monotonous scenery. In the vicinity of the nearest grove is
an ancient burial-ground, where may be observed several
curiously-carved gravestones.

I visited the crocodiles (Crocodilus palustris) on two occa-
sions at an interval of several years, and although during that
time they had been seen by hundreds of Europeans, including
a certain class of mischievous young Englishmen (whose chief
amusement, we were told, had been to shy stones and sticks
down the throats of the gaping monsters as they lay basking
on the banks of the pond), yet there seemed no diminution in
their numbers, and the wild and unearthly interest of the
scene was to us as great as ever. From beneath a little
banyan-tree on the verge of the pond, the spectacle, during
the steaming heat of a mid-day sun, might call up to the
mind of the geologist the eons of the world, when the “ great
monsters ” wallowed in the seething waters of the Oolitic
ages, when the mighty “ Ichthyosaurus,” and a host of “ fear-
fully great lizards,” dragons, etc., reigned supreme over sea.
and land. And as the date-palm now waves its shady boughs
over the crocodiles of Mugger-peer, so then did the magnificent
tree-ferns, gigantic reeds, and club-mosses, shelter their ex-
tinct predecessors.

The greater pond is about 300 yards in circumference, and
contains many little grassy islands, on which the majority of
the crocodiles were then basking ; some were asleep on its slimy
sides, others half-submerged in the muddy water, while now
and then a huge monster would raise himself upon his diminu-

NATURALIST IN INDIA. 43

tive legs, and waddling for a few paces, fall flat on his belly.
Young ones, from a foot in length and upwards, ran nimbly
along the margin of the pond, disappearing suddenly in the
turbid waters as soon as we approached. The largest croco-
dile lives in a long narrow tank separate from the others.
The Fakirs, and natives who worship in the neighbouring
temples, have painted his forehead red,—they venerate the
old monster, making a salaam to his majesty whenever he
shows himself above water. A handsome young Beloochee,
whose occupation it was to feed the animals, informed us that
the said king was upwards of two hundred years old! (2) and
that, by way of a “ tit-bit,” he was in the habit of devouring
the young crocodiles. During our visit this enormous brute
was asleep on the bank of his dwelling-place, and seemed
quite indifferent to our presence, although we came within a
foot of him, and even attempted to arouse him by rubbing his
nose with a leg of goat’s-flesh, which, however, a young one
greedily seized and dived under water. Our attendant tried
in vain to excite their ferocity, but beyond a feeble attempt
to snap their trenchant teeth, the animals showed no dispo-
sition to attack us.

A pony was wading about in the pond and feeding
on the grassy hillocks, but the crocodiles took no notice of
him. :

The water in the pool felt cold, although fed from two hot
springs, one of which was of so high a temperature that I
could not retain my hand in it ; yet animal life existed, for
I found where the water bubbled up from its sandy bottom,
and in the little lade running to the tank, abundance of a
species of small black spiral shell, which Mr. Woodward in-
formed me is “very like some in the British Museum, named
Melania pyramis, an allied species of which frequents the

44 WANDERINGS OF A

river Jordan.”* The other spring gushes from under a bed of

limestone, containing numbers of fossils, chiefly coral, and
other marine zoophites. We had a refreshing bathe in a re-
servoir close by ; the temperature, though not so high as the
last, was still warm and pleasant. I should be sorry, how-
ever, to repeat the experiment, not from the chances of meet-
ing with a crocodile (for, I believe, the Fakirs of the temple
guard well against such accidents), but from the circumstance
that (as is generally the case all over the East), lepers, and per-
sons affected with loathsome diseases, repair to such localities.

The crocodiles dig deep in the sand, under the neighbour-
ing date-trees, and there deposit their eggs. Quantities of
deciduous teeth, of various sizes, were strewn along the
slimy sides of the pond.

Strangers are expected to stand treat, not only by the
Fakirs and natives, who gain a livelihood by hanging about
the pond and showing the monsters, but even the crocodiles
themselves seem to anticipate a feast, and on the arrival of a
party come out in unusual numbers. Accordingly, we had
a goat slaughtered, during which operation the brutes seemed
to rouse themselves, as if preparing for a rush. Then our
guide, taking piece after piece of the flesh, dashed it on the
-bank, uttering a low growling sound, at which the whole
tank became in motion, and crocodiles, of whose existence we
had been before ignorant, splashed through the shallow
water, struggling which should seize the prize. The shore
was literally covered with scaly monsters, snapping their
jaws at one another.

They seize their food with the stde of the mouth, and toss
the head backward, in order that it may fall into the throat,

A few were observed to bolt their portion on shore after

* The temperature of the water in the lade was 127° Fahr.

NATURALIST IN INDIA. 45

very slight mastication, but the majority, anxious to escape
from their greedy companions, made instantly for the water,
and disappeared with the piece of flesh sticking between
their jaws.

Our young Belooch friend informed us that they generally
swallow their food at once, and do not, as has been asserted,
bury it until it becomes putrid ; also that other large indi-
viduals besides the old king frequently devour the young soon
after they are hatched. Crocodiles. wallowing in the mud of
the Nile, or gavials in the Indus, are sights which one is pre-
pared to encounter; but the traveller may wander far before
he meets with a scene so strange and unexpected as that just
described. How these animals found their way inland to this
solitary oasis we could not discover. It can only be surmised
that they had probably been introduced by the natives.

We left Kurrachee in a small steamer “one fine sunny
morning” towards the end of January, and reached the Delta
of the Indus in ten hours.

The scenery along the Scinde coast was devoid of interest
until, nearing the river, the dreary and sandy wastes gave
place to a rich green carpet, on which sheep, goats, and cattle
were pasturing.

Tall reeds line the shore, out of which flocks of pelican
and waterfowl, scared by the approach of our little vessel,
rose and sought more secluded retreats among the numerous
channels, creeksfand islands which abound at the mouths of
the Indus. The porcupine is not uncommon in the neigh-
bourhood ; we came on a dead specimen.

The govind-kite followed in the wake of our vessel,
sweeping obliquely downwards, and seizing with its talons
any substance thrown overboard ; and whenever we drew up
to cook or take in fuel, numbers of Indian jackdaws hovered

46 WANDERINGS OF A

at the stern, within a few feet of the water, picking up what-
ever they could lay their bills on.

This noisy bird assembles in numbers, and assails one
on entering a grove with a deafening clamour of cawing and
croaking. The only alternative is to show a gun, when they
decamp with all possible speed.

Its nest is built of twigs, and is lined with wool or any
other soft substance. As many as twenty may frequently
be seen in one tree. The Indian jackdaw has all the
craft and more familiarity than any of its congeners, as
it rivals them in the beauty of its glossy gray and black
plumage.

We sometimes observed varieties with white markings
on the wings and back, but these were dispersed throughout
separate flocks, and did not seem to form any characteristic
of what might be called a race.

A voyage up the Indus, after a lengthened sojourn at
Kurrachee, is very exhilarating. To the lover of nature there
are few better fields for research. Let him choose the cold
months, when the river is well stocked with wild-fowl, and he
will find ample occupation.

How different is the scene in June, when the inundation
has taken place, and nothing is to be seen but a vast sheet of
water, tenanted only by a few indigenous animals, such as
the Indian alligator and pelicans—the greater part of the
migratory birds have fled to the far north, and are rearing
their young on the banks of the lakes of Central Asia. Again,
as the hot season declines, long trains of cranes, storks, spoon-
bills, ete. etc, make their appearance ; and in a few days
every creek and shallow seems alive with myriads of these
interesting wanderers. The scenery is constantly varying.
At times the river looks like an almost boundless waste of

NATURALIST IN INDIA. 47

water, stretching far away inland on both sides, intersected
with numerous islands; or, gliding tardily between high
banks of alluvium, dense jungles of tamarisk and underwood
alternate with open and highly-cultivated tracts of country,
which are irrigated from the river by means of Persian
wheels, worked by camels. At every turn of the river the
traveller hears the dull creaking sound made by these
machines.

Fields of wheat, barley, grain,* and mustard gladden the
eye. The last is cultivated for its oil, which the natives
burn instead of that of the cocoa-nut, generally used in the
Deccan.

The mud villages are shaded by groves of mangoes, which
may be seen stretching in lines across the country, while
here and there dense shikargahst (formerly the hunting-
grounds of the Amirs of Scinde) vary the landscape. These
are now fast disappearing, their wood being used as fuel for
the river-steamers.

The channels of the Indus, and indeed all the great
northern rivers of India, are continually shifting, in con-
sequence of the constant and copious deposit of alluvium
going on; the mud banks are also wearing away at a greater
rate than formerly, and since the introduction of steamers, for
as the swell gradually undermines them, large masses fall in
with a thundering noise.

The water of the Indus is thick and muddy, but filtering,
or the addition of a few grains of alum, renders it clear and
drinkable.

It is asserted that there is an undercurrent in the Indus,
so powerful as to suck down whatever disappears beneath
the surface of the water ; we had, however, a pretty strong

* Cicer arietinum. + Game-preserves,

48 WANDERINGS OF A

proof of the contrary, in the case of a boy who fell over-
board and passed under the steamer, reappearing on the
other side, where he was picked up not much the worse for
his ducking.

The native boats are of the rudest description—flat-bot-
tomed, raised at front and stern, something like the ancient
British galley. The large square sail is all the canvas they
carry. Numbers of these primitive crafts may be seen upon
the river in every direction. The Indus is seen to the best
advantage when the sun is setting in all his fiery beauty, and
long trains of pelicans sweep along close to the surface of the
river, which, as far as the eye reaches, is studded with native
boats, and here and there a sandbank lined by myriads of
water-fowl ; shoreway there is little attractive save a clump
of date, or a tope of acacia, etc., which add however to the
true Oriental character of the scenery. The handsome little
black-billed tern (Sterna javanica) is abundant. It is to be
seen searching for fish in the little shallows, or by the banks
of the river, congregating in situations where its prey abounds
—now hovering and flapping its long pointed wings—then,
with a scream, darting downwards, with unerring accuracy,
and bearing off its scaly prize in triumph.

Athwart the surface of the river, its little wings almost
touching the water, shoots like an arrow the beautiful Bengal
kingfisher (Alcedo bengalensis), now and then dipping its green
and azure plumage in the muddy stream. So closely allied
is this species to the European bird, that unless minutely
examined there is no knowing the one from the other.

The brahminy kite (Haliastur indus) is a handsome bird
of prey ; although wanting the grace and rapidity of flight of
the govind-kite, it has the advantage as regards beauty and
colouring of plumage. Individuals may be seen frequently

NATURALIST IN INDIA. 49

stooping on fish in the river, or hovering over the shallows.
The head, neck, and irides are white—the rest of the body
chestnut. The Luzonian (Motacilla luzoniensis) and Dukhun
wagtails (Mf. dukhunensis), and common sandpiper (Actitis
hypoleucus), are constantly seen on the river-bank.

Less frequently may be observed the greater and lesser
white-rumped sandpipers (TZotanus glottis and stagnatilis).
Sand-martins (Hirwndo riparia) build their nests in holes on
the river-bank, which are sometimes riddled in this manner.
Occasionally the rose-ringed parrakeet (Palwornis torquatus)
takes possession of one of these nests for its own use, and is
accused by the natives of robbing them and eating the eggs,
which, however, seems doubtful.

One of the most striking birds to be seen on the Indus is
the white-headed eagle (Haliaétus macet) ; although closely
allied to the bald eagle of America, the two species differ in
many particulars. The Eastern eagle is usually seen perched
on the stump of a tree, numbers of which are borne down by
the annual inundations, and as the river subsides appear
above water like the snags of the Mississippi. Fish are its
chief, but not exclusive subsistence, as we many times saw
them, during our journey, feasting with jackdaws and kites
on the refuse of slaughtered sheep and oxen. The plumage
of this eagle is subject to considerable variation—in reference
to the young and adult bird.

Pelicans (Pelicanus javanicus) in pairs and in flocks were
observed daily on the river, sailing leisurely down some nar-
row channel, their great bills resting on their crooked necks,
or, scared at our approach, sought a safer retreat among the
shallows and sandbanks far ahead. Their flight is in general
heavy and laborious. In many the bill is bright orange—in
some of a leaden-gray colour, varying with age. The two

E

50 WANDERINGS OF A

species are not easily recognised until observed closely ; the
roseate hue, however, of the white pelican distinguishes it from
the Dalmatian, which is perhaps the more common. The
barred-headed goose (Anser indicus) is very plentiful on the
Indus and northern rivers of Hindostan, but only during the
cold months. It is not so large as the gray-goose, and has a
triangular-shaped black bar on the nape, another on the back
part of the head. Both this bird and the crane arrive in vast
flocks, during October, and spread all over the cultivated dis-
tricts, where they do much damage to the young wheat and
barley ; nowhere are they more abundant than on the
Jhelum, between the city of that name and its junction with
the Indus. I have seen specimens of the white-fronted goose
(A. albifrons) that were shot near Suckur, and recognised it on
wing several times.

The capital of Upper Scinde is situated a short distance in-
land. Like most of the native cities, it has its mud wall,
crumbling fort, narrow and filthy streets ; its temperature is
at all times very high—for, as a friend of mine remarked,
“cold weather at Hyderabad is a delusion.”

In addition to the usual pleasure of sight-seeing, I had an
intense interest in tracing the scenes where the 22d Regiment
had taken so glorious a part: we visited the fields of Meanee
and Dubba, and the famous Residency, situated on the left
bank, and shaded by a dense grove of mangoes.

Opposite is the village and station of Koteree, perhaps the
most beautiful spot on the banks of the Indus in its course
through Scinde.

The European houses are placed among terraces and
groves of date and other trees ; their gardens, tastefully laid
out, well stocked with vegetables and fruit-trees. We shall
long remember the shady groves of Koteree, and a walk we

NATURALIST IN INDIA. 51

had there one cool morning in February—the Surat dove
and Asiatic pigeon (Turtur suratensis et hwmilis) cooing over
head, and the “little birdies blithely singing ;” there was
a freshness about the scene we had not enjoyed for a long
time. Even its green leaves, after the desert sands, brought
up thoughts and associations of the haunts of earlier
days.

Proceeding up the Indus, the scenery improves. As you
near Sehwan, high mountain-ridges are seen stretching across
the country in a northerly direction. The banks are covered
with tamarisk, or dense forest and jungle. Birds are in
greater plenty, and the surrounding country teems with ani-
mal life. Nature wears a more glowing robe.

As the sportsman threads his way through the jungle in
quest of hog-deer (Hyelaphus porcinus), pigs (Sus scrofa), hares
(Lepus nigricollis), or partridges (Francolinus vulgaris et
ponticertanus), he feels a sort of nervous twinge as he sees in
the mud by the side of a pond the broad rounded footprint
of a tiger. - There the fierce lord of the jungle has been skulk-
ing only a few hours previously! Then there is excitement
when, suddenly emerging from the bushy labyrinth, the eye
of the young Indian sportsman lights upon the graceful figure
of the Houbara bustard (Houbara macqueenii), feeding on the
tender shoots of the young barley! The Houbara is migra-
tory in Scinde, and is found in the desert ; but is plentiful in
the cultivated districts along the banks of the river.

The eye of the Houbara is large, clear, and prominent.
* The yellow and black of the eye give a peculiarly brilliant ap-
pearance to the bird. Its flesh is much esteemed as an article
of food. Hunting the Houbara in the open plain requires
great tact and dexterity. Mounted on a camel, the pursuer

52 WANDERINGS OF A

ranges the desert with his telescope until an individual is
discovered.

This is by no means easily accomplished, in consequence
of the plumage assimilating with the colour of the sand. He
then commences to describe circles round the bird, gradually
diminishing their circumference until he gets within shot,
when he dismounts, using the saddle as a rest for his gun or
rifle. The Houbara leaves Scinde at the beginning of the hot
months, possibly for Persia, where it is said to be found at all
seasons.

The bastard floriken (Hdicnemus crepitans) is very common
on the banks of the river. It is tame and easily shot, conse-
quently little sought after by sportsmen,

The gavial or Indian alligator (Gavialis gangeticus) abounds
in all the great rivers of Northern India. It is found in the
Indus, from its delta northwards to near Attock, and up the
Punjaub rivers for a considerable distance, where it is most
abundant. This may be owing to the constant traffic from
Mooltan downwards driving them to seek the parts seldom
frequented by steamers.

This species is easily distinguished from any of its con-
geners by its spoonbill-like snout. Its eyes are prominent,
throat white, body long and tapering. The gavial delights
to bask on the sandbanks and slimy inlets, lying on its belly,
the snout at an obtuse angle with the neck. Ten or twenty
may be frequently seen together, and as the steamer approaches
they glide quietly one by one into their muddy bed. The
larger are generally from 12 to 15 feet in length, but occa-
sional individuals may be seen of far greater size. On shore
the old are very tardy in their movements, but the young run
nimbly along the sands. I have seen a gavial raise its head

NATURALIST IN INDIA. 53

above water close to the paddle-box of our steamer, take a
quick survey, and suddenly disappear.

The fishermen informed us that they now and then carry
off a man; yet numbers of natives may be seen wading about
regardless of their proximity.

The native mode of crossing the river is somewhat novel.
Rolling in the folds of his turban all his goods and chattels,
the Scindian inflates a dog-skin. This is fastened across his
breast, and supporting his legs by means of: a large chatty
(mug of earthenware with a narrow mouth), which he holds
firmly between his ankles. If his child has likewise to be
conveyed, the youth seizes his sire round the neck, crossing
his legs over his back, the head only above water, while the
swimmer, with his arms free, paddles himself, his child, and
property, across the muddy water of the Hydaspes.

With that bold and majestic flight so characteristic of the
tribe, the white-bellied cormorant (Graculus carbo) is seen
flying across the river, and although not so plentiful, the
brown-necked species (Graculus sinensis) is not uncommon.

The stork is often seen in large flocks, distinguishable by
their red bills and legs, white plumage, and black wings.

Wading in the shallows may be seen a solitary heron
(Ardea cinerea), and

‘¢ See where yonder stalks, in crimson pride,
The tall flamingo, by the river's side ;
Stalks in his richest plumage bright array’d,
With snowy neck superb, and legs of length’ning shade.”

The pass of Sehwan has a picturesque appearance from the
river, with its rocky mountains rising in terraces along the
bank, and its old ruined castle, supposed to have belonged to

the Alexandrian age.
For the -benefit of sportsmen and naturalists, I would

54 WANDERINGS OF A

recommend a visit to the pool near the village of Sehwan,
which during the cold months is covered with wild-fowl ;
here we procured specimens of the shoveller (Anas clypeata),
castaneous (Fuligula nyroca), and tufted ducks (F. cristata),
also the Gargany teal (Anas querquedula), and here I met
for the first time the spotted-billed duck (Anas pecilorhyn-
cha). Itis much larger than the mallard, and has a black
bill with a red spot at the base, and less yellow—body
speckled. This species is said not to be a resident, and
breeds in the jungles on the river’s bank. Towards dusk, the
tern-like sheerwaters or skimmers (Rhynchops) appear in com-
panies of from four to eight, skimming so close to the water
that their curiously-shaped bills and the tips of their wings
often touch ; they never settle, but seem to glean their food as
they fly along; what that was I could not discover, possibly
small fish, moths, or locusts; the two last are often found
floating on the surface of the river in great numbers.

One morning, at daybreak, I was amused at the curious
evolutions of a species of water-gnat ephemera ; it was about an
inch in length, and of a white colour, with two very long hair-
like processes (set) projecting from the tail. The rapidity with
which these little creatures propelled themselves, with or
against the current, surprised me. By the constant flapping
of their wings upon the water, aided perhaps by their legs,
and guided by their sete, the least waver of which seemed to
turn the little animal in less than a moment, they steered
their way rapidly, facing the current boldly, leaving two tiny
furrows in their lee like those of a steamboat; in fact they
were in principle diminutive steamers. They evidently fur-
nished food for fish, as we noticed myriads of small-fry catch-
ing them.

The tall minarets of Suckur are seen a long way off, and

NATURALIST IN INDIA. 55

the banks of the river, for some distance below the town, are
densely clad with date and cocoa-nut groves. Opposite is
Roree, looking like some stronghold, with its houses built one
above another on a prominence overlooking the river.

The ancient fortress of Bukur is situated on an island op-
posite Roree. Here the river is considerably narrowed, and
the stream powerful. The heat of Suckur is intense, and its
climate unhealthy. The pulla or tamarind-fish is caught in
abundance and by various methods, sometimes by fishermen
perched on a narrow-necked earthenware mug, which serves
the double purpose of support and a reservoir for his fish
and tackle; others buoy themselves up by means of dog-
skins kept inflated from a mouthpiece. Some ten or fifteen
fishermen were dropping slowly down with the current.

A squall is a most exciting spectacle. From twenty to
thirty boats may be seen tracking slowly up the river, each
dragged by its own crew. Suddenly a breeze springs up, and
all jump on board, and unfurl the large square sails, when
away they speed; sometimes bumping up on sandbanks, or
running into one another amid the yelling and screaming of
the boatmen.

None earn their bread by the sweat of their brows
more honestly than these simple boatmen of the Indus.
From daylight to sundown they may be seen dragging a
heavily-laden boat along the muddy river, often half the day
knee-deep in water. When about to enter upon the day’s
toil, by way of wishing “ God speed” to his little craft, her
owner throws a handful of water on her bow, says his prayer,
and then, arranging his toilette (composed only of a turban
and waistband), he shoulders his rope, and singing some
simple chaunt sets cheerily forth on his way.

As simple as his song are his modes of life. At night he

56 WANDERINGS OF A

grinds his little hand-mill to make flour for his badgeree
cakes, which, with a.slight addition of curry, are washed
down by the muddy water of the Indus. Yet in point of
strength, and power of endurance, few surpass him.

The Indian owl (Athene brama) is numerous in the
jungles.

The first time I met with the raven (Corvus coraa)* in
the East was on the banks of thé Indus, some distance above
Suckur.

Daily during the remainder of the boat voyage, and until
we reached Ferozepoor, numbers of ravens, crows, jackdaws,
and bald-headed eagles, assembled on the debris of the cattle
slaughtered for our use.

On these occasions I witnessed the daring sallies of the
govind-kite. One afternoon, in particular, when the
steamer was drawn up by the river's bank, a native was
eating his “curry,” when down dropped a kite, and, by
means of its talons, actually tore the wings of a fowl from his
mouth, devouring the capture as it sailed away. Great was
the poor man’s.amazement, but his wife, who seemed to
understand the habits of the govind-kite better than her
husband, seized a stick, which she brandished over his head
during the rest of the meal.

On a subsequent occasion, during our voyage up the
Sutluj, we halted on a wet and sandy beach for the purpose
of cooking. As the soldiers and their wives were returning
to the vessel, carrying their plates of beef and rice, a flock of
kites assailed them; darting, like so many arrows, on the
laden platters, and bore off the contents. The sight was
ludicrous in the extreme. One woman, from the clayey
nature of the soil, was unable to extricate her feet, and

* It is in every respect identical with the European bird.

7 NATURALIST IN INDIA. 57
remained, with outstretched arms, helplessly imploring assist-
ance, as kite after kite, in quick succession, carried away her
dinner ! .

The govind-kite is a great enemy to poultry, and some-
times pursues tame pigeons, which it tortures to death, by
pursuing them until they fall to the ground breathless, and
are thus easily despatched. The same predatory disposition
seems common to other allied species, inasmuch as I have
seen the black and Egyptian kites, in Nubia, capture pigeons
in the same way.

The Indian peregrine falcon was seen several times during
our voyage, and I found a nest on an acacia-tree, near the
banks of the Sutluj. It was built of sticks and lined with
wool, and contained two young birds newly hatched.

In dissecting an adult specimen, I found numbers of a
species of round worm, from 8 to 12 inches in length, and the
thickness of a common pack-thread.* Coils of these parasites
infested the abdominal cavity, under its investing membrane,
and smaller sizes, of about half-an-inch in length, were
common in the throat, gullet, and intestines. Still the bird
(a female) was plump and in good condition.

The gotah-finch—white-bellied or singing babbler (Chry-
somma sinense)—is plentiful in the jungles. Flocks of these
curious birds may be seen flitting from bush to bush with a
peculiar, feeble, fluttering flight. When frightened, the parties
assemble in some dense bush, and commence chattering in
low, sweet, musical notes.

The Sardinian starling (Sturnus wnicolor) is likely to be
confounded with the common starling, to which it assimilates
in habits as well as general appearance. Sometimes both
species are seen feeding together on dunghills and in fields ;

* [ noticed the same in one killed in Nubia.

58 WANDERINGS OF A bd

and although the former is the more common, the latter
was often observed during our rambles on the banks of the
river.

The pretty blue-throated warbler (Cyanecula suecica) fre-
quents the mustard-fields and low scrub, frisking about like
the robin redbreast. All specimens I have shot and examined
in India had the spot on the breast rufous.

By the sides of tanks, and in damp situations overgrown
with stunted rushes or carex, may be found the yellow-headed
wagtail (Budytes citreola), generally perched on a tuft of the
latter, its long hind-claw facilitating this position. There can
be no difficulty in recognising this bird from other yellow
wagtails, by the last-named peculiarity, and the head, neck,
and lower parts being yellow.

The Brahminy goose (Casarca rutila) is often met with
above Suckur. The male is a fine-looking bird, and measures
about 29 inches ; the general colour of the plumage is rufous,
with brilliant green on the wing-coverts. It is shy and wary,
and not easily approached.

Flocks of mallards, teal, Gargany teal, and spoonbills, line
the shores and cover the little islands. The spoonbills are
easily distinguished by their white bodies and black legs.
The pintail-duck is not uncommon, and now and then we
killed numbers of that fine duck the red-headed pochard,
distinguished by a prominent rufous crest.

On gaining the mouth of the Sutlej our party disem-
barked from the steamers, and made the rest of the voyage in
native boats, thatched and covered over. In this way I had
a better opportunity of observing the natural history of the
districts we passed through, which, in point of fertility, in-
creased as we proceeded onwards. Luxuriant crops of barley
and wheat covered the country; the yellow tinge of the

NATURALIST IN INDIA. 59

ripening grain contrasted beautifully with the brilliant green
of the gram-fields.

On the 10th of April we arrived at Ferozepoor, where we
were delayed some time making arrangements for our march.

The great heat of summer was rapidly approaching, and
we were glad when fairly on our way to the Himalayas. The
route led through Loodiana and Umballah. As usual in: the
East, we commenced our marches very early, so as to get
under cover by 8 A.M. When the cooling effects of a mussiek*
of water refreshed us for our breakfast, the remainder of
the day was generally spent in endeavours to exclude from
our tents flies, mosquitoes, and that prince of gallynippers,
the sand-fly, whose bite produces a painful and irritable
swelling.

The scenery of Ferozepoor, and for a few marches east-
ward, ig not by any means attractive ; beyond occasional
cultivated patches, the country is covered with low, stunted
scrub, sandy wastes, or jungles of tamarisk, acacia, cactus, or
the milkweeds. This monotony was, however, compensated
by the herds of antelopes (Antilope bezoartica) often met
with in the open, and affording excellent long shots for our
best riflemen.

The black buck rivals any of the deer tribe in grace and
elegance, as it certainly excels in swiftness of foot. Its spring
is particularly grand, as when, wounded or scared by the shot,
it stands motionless for a moment, and then like lightning
bounds across the plain, reminding us of Moore’s beautiful
lines,—

“¢ Our sands are bare, but down their slope
The silvery-footed antelope
As gracefully and gaily springs,
As o’er the marble courts of kings!”

* A skin used for carrying water.

60 WANDERINGS OF A

On approaching Loodiana* the landscape becomes really
beautiful. Mango-topes, and fields of grain and sugar-cane,
cover the plains, while here and there are seen the strong-
holds of the old Sikh chieftains.

The road leads through the field of Aliwal, on which we
encamped.

It has been said that the descriptions of the Peninsular
battles received additional grandeur from the spirit-stirring
pen of the talented narrator—that many who witnessed them
could scarcely recognise them when dressed in the glowing
language of the soldier-historian. Much has been said of
Aliwal, but candid witnesses give a far different account from
that written at the time. -

I wandered over the field with one who had been present
at the engagement; he assured me, and his testimony has
been corroborated by many others, that a fruitful imagina-
tion was at work when the official account was drawn up.
His words were :—

“ Aliwal was the battle of the despatch, for none of us
knew we had fought a battle until the particulars appeared in a
document, which did more than justice to every one concerned.”

But the public gulped it down, and, like many of our
Indian battles and Indian blunders, the final issue of the
struggle disarmed criticism.

As an Irishman would say, “ We gained a disadvantage at
Budiwal,” by the baggage of the army falling into the hands
of the enemy ; that no exaggeration could well turn into a
victory; but shortly afterwards, a few shots, and the charge ofa
squadron or two in pursuit of a host of retreating Sikhs, were

* Bishop Heber, in his Jowrnal, says, ‘‘ Lions are met with near Loodiana
and Almorah.” I cannot vouch for such being the case with reference to the
latter locality, but certainly no lions are seen nowadays in any part of the
North-west Provinces.

NATURALIST IN INDIA. 61

magnified into a grand combat, and thus the plain of Aliwal
has been recorded as the scene of one of India’s Marathons.

The Indian ring-dotterel (Hiaticula philippina), peafowl,
common quail, black and gray partridges, are plentiful in
grain-fields. The green bee-eater is very common, and usu-
ally roosts at night in societies, perching as close to each
other as possible ; in that way a string of from ten to twenty
may -be often seen on one branch. The common mina and
its close ally the bank or gingi grackle are often noticed ; the
last is distinguished by its reddish bill and eyelids. Flocks
of this species were often seen on the banks of the Indus and
with cattle in the fields. In the middle of a tamarisk jungle,
many miles from human habitations, I found the skull of
a bullock suspended from the branch of a tree, and much
to my surprise a sparrow’s nest and eggs were discovered in
the interior, showing that this species is not partial to
civilised life.

Soon after leaving Loodiana, the stupendous Himalayan
chains, with their snow-clad summits, were seen far away
against the blue sky eastward.

Daily, as we neared the lower or Sewalik range, the
scenery became more attractive. Dense jungles, or wooded
tracts of hill and dale, gladden the weary traveller, and cheer
up the invalid, on his way from the torrid plains. He must
indeed hail with delight the little village of Kalka, at the
foot of the mountains, the starting-point for those proceeding
to the sanatoria at Kussoulee, Subathoo, Dugshai, Simla.

I can never forget how eagerly I longed to mount the
steep ascent before me; for in a few hours you can be trans-
ported to a temperature of 70°, instead of 80° in the shade—
truly delicious, after the feverish heat of the plains, and the
dust and fatigue of a march in the month of April.

62 WANDERINGS OF A

CHAPTER IV.

Division of the Himalayas into Regions—Scenery of the Lower Ranges—
Climate— Magnificent View— Productions—Strange Way of putting
Children asleep—Familiar Birds—Cuckoo—Black Partridge ; its Habits
and Haunts—Barking Deer—Gray Partridge—Hill Wagtails—Storms—
Woodcock—Snipe—Spotted Eagle—Bulbul— Bearded Vulture — Bare-
headed Vultures.

THE Western Himalayas may be divided into three regions.

1st. The lower or Sewalik region, comprehending the
lesser ranges which border the plains of India, and differ but
little from the latter in climate and natural productions. This
region extends to an elevation of about 3000 feet above the
level of the sea.

2d. The middle or forest region embraces the highly-culti-
vated and forest tracts, where nature wears the garb of the
temperate zone.

3d. The upper or snowy region, comprising the table-
lands and mountains of Thibet, Ladakh, etc., extending from
the stunted birch at 8000 to 9000 feet above the sea-level to
the limits of perpetual snow. The fauna and flora of this
region are distinct from the foregoing, inasmuch as its animals
seldom descend to the lower zones unless driven by the rigors
of winter, and its plants present an arctic facies. The geo-
logical features vary much, from the upper and mid tertiary
beds of the lower hills to the secondary and azoic rocks

NATURALIST IN INDIA. 63

of the middle and upper regions. But what gives a most
characteristic appearance to each of these belts is their
flora. Although perhaps not so well defined as that of
the Andes, still the tropical, temperate, and arctic forms
preserve their position with marked regularity. Thus the
naturalist from Kalka, at the foot of the Sewalik range, on his
journey by the hill-road to Simla, can trace without difficulty
the gradual botanical changes, from the stunted palm-tree to
the gnarled oak, on to the stately pine, and thence to the lichen
and rhododendron. The journey through the mountains to
Simla and other hill-stations is usually performed by a litter,
sedan-chair, or on horseback. The stages are easy, and there
is tolemably good accommodation at the various halting-places.
So marked are the gradations of climate, and so rapid, that
from the torrid heat of the plains, and 90° Fahrenheit in the
shade, one may be easily transported in forty-eight hours to
a temperature below zero. The scenery of the lower ranges
is exceedingly striking and beautiful. I felt as if suddenly
conveyed to the temperate zone, and more especially when the
stately cheer-pines, wild roses, jessamines, violets and dande-
lion met my view; but, however, there was an admixture of
stranger plants and trees peculiar to the region, then quite
unknown to me, such as the coral-tree with its gorgeous red
flowers, and oaks with laurel-shaped leaves.

The mountains forming the lesser ranges which border on
the plains of India present in general great broken chains
running for the most part parallel and from east to west,
separated by broad valleys called khuds; in the interior
this regularity is less observable, and the mountains, instead
of rounded summits, have a bold and well-defined outline.

The rainy season commences on the lower ranges towards
the end of June. After a few showers vegetation springs up

64 WANDERINGS OF A

almost magically. Mountain-sides, that before appeared bare
and desolate, became clothed with luxuriant vegetation in a few
days. The fir (Pinus. longifolia) crowns the mountain-brow,
while in the valleys flourish oak, walnut, and mulberry. Cher-
ries, apricots, and plums, are ripe before the commencement of
the rains ; however, in point of flavour, none of these fruits are
to be compared with the productions of Cashmere and Ladakh.
A tendency to double returns in one year may be observed in
some fruit-trees, for during genial November weather I have
seen cherry-trees in bloom, and even the fruit ripening until
checked by the cold of the following month.

The monsoon ceases towards the end of August, and is
succeeded by clear skies and a mild temperature. About the
middle of November the cold weather sets in, and the distant
peaks are seen tipped with snow. In January it often falls on
the ranges next the plains, and for six weeks at this season
the climate is almost British.

From April to June the thermometer averages from 76° to
80° in European houses ; but, though at mid-day the heat is
often very oppressive, the mornings and evenings are cool and
agreeable.

It is a splendid sight to behold the moon on a clear night
rising over the tops of these mighty mountains, or the bright
sun casting his last rays over the snowclad sides of the
sacred ranges of Jumnootri and Ghangutri. I can never
forget the magnificent panorama which burst on my view
when hunting one afternoon :—I had wandered rather farther
than usual, so that I found myself near the summit of a high
peak as the sun was setting. Before me stretched, far as the
eye could reach, from east to west, one vast chain of moun-
tains. There was the noble peak of Kilas, 21,000 feet above
the level of the sea, and others, shooting their crests to the

NATURALIST IN INDIA, 65

sky; some capped with snow, others half-covered, with bare
dark patches intervening, and all the various shades of
colour produced thereby. The sun’s last rays gave a fine
pink appearance to the snow, the ‘cool breeze came puffing
like a trade-wind, while I gazed on in wonder and astonish-
ment. Anon the scene changed; no more the golden rays
were visible, for the sun soon sank behind the lofty western
mountains, and left the deep blue sky and the desolate waste
of scenery dim and indistinct on the distant horizon.

The soil of the mountains and valleys is very productive.
On the mountain-sides small terraces are made, one above
another, and irrigated by turning on the nearest stream,
which, if distant, is conveyed by means of hollow trees.
Rice, wheat, barley, indian-corn, and batu,* constitute the
staple products of this region.

Every valley (or khud) has its little stream, whose banks
are covered with shrubs and trees, sometimes so dense as to
be impermeable, thus contrasting with the higher elevations,
where we find the rhododendron and forest trees in all their
magnificence and beauty.

As the productions of the Himalayas vary, so are there
varieties in their scenery. Each region has an attraction
peculiar and distinctive, whether among the tangled jungle
of the lesser ranges, or high in the region of forest, or still
further up among the stunted birch, upon the confines of
eternal snow.

The natives of the lower Himalaya ranges (Paharees, as
they are called) have little in common with their neighbours
in the plains of India.

They are rather under the middle height, spare and
wiry, with copper-coloured skins. Some of the women are

* Amaranthus cruentus.
F

66 WANDERINGS OF A

very fair and handsome, although they have not the erect
and graceful carriage of the Hindoos.

Goitre is very prevalent after the age of thirty.

The habitations of the natives are usually flat-roofed, and
built in the bottoms of ravines, where the heat is extreme in
summer,

The following curious custom prevails during the summer
months :—Children are placed on straw beds, generally
covered over, and put beneath a small stream, which is made
to play upon the temple, by means of a piece of bark shaped
like a water-spout. In any shady spot one or two children
may be seen undergoing this ordeal, while their mothers are
toiling in the adjacent field.

Natives have informed me that the children soon get
accustomed to this treatment, falling asleep when placed
under the stream, and awakening so soon as the water ceases
to play on their temples.

Although many are said to die from this novel hardening
system, it must be confessed that a healthier race than the
survivors are not to be anywhere met with.

It is a study for a painter to mark the fair mother, bend-
ing over her little child as it lies in some shady bower, formed
of pomegranate, wild-fig, and acacia, wreathed with woodbine
and the many gorgeous exotics of that region in all their wild
luxuriance and beauty.

_ It is, moreover, in such situations that the ornithologist’
will find an endless variety of interesting objects. Let him
stray by the clear and gushing mountain-stream, o’erhung
and canopied by the umbrageous plantain, the mulberry, or
willow. He must creep along gently, for the little fairies are
shy and easily alarmed. See! the blue water-thrush (Myio-
phonus temminckit) perched on that half-submerged rock ;

NATURALIST IN INDIA. 67

its sweet and melodious note is ringing through the dell.
The paradise flycatcher is darting, fairy-like, from tree to
tree, What is that wagtail-looking bird that flutters along
the water's edge, and seems to delight in frisking about where
the stream runs fastest, or where the rushing ¢ataract sweeps
and dashes on? That is the beautiful spotted forktail (Hni-
cwrus maculatus). The plum-headed and rose-ringed parra-
keets (Palwornis cyanocephalus and torquatus) are chattering
among the leaves oyerhead. He may look long ere he ob-
serves them, for their green dress suits well with the, sur-
rounding foliage. A harsh scream, and they are away, darting
like arrows down the ravine.

See! that is the gaudy red-billed pie with its long tail,
which it jerks so gracefully, and chattering like a magpie,
as it hops along the branch of yonder walnut-tree. The yellow
and red vented bulbuls are chirruping in bush and brake.
The kalij pheasant (Huplocomus albocristatus) and peafowl °
start up before him and seek the denser parts of the jungle,
while the barking-deer (Cervus muntjac) is seen but for a
moment as he disappears in the thick cover.

Objects of interest such as these the admirer of nature
contemplates in his solitary rambles through the valleys of
this region of the Western Himalayas.

One of the first ornithological objects to be met with on
ascending the grassy sides of the mountains is the graceful
pipit, which I have taken the liberty of naming the Hima-
layan pipit (Heterura sylvana). It frequents verdant spots,
usually at high elevations, and in appearance, as in habits,
is a true pipit. This active little creature may be seen shoot-
ing upwards from the hill-side, uttering its rasping call-note
“ He, hoe,” then downwards it darts, and is lost to view among
the tall grass.

68 WANDERINGS OF A

In rocky situations, and on the scarped sides of mountain-
roads, the wall-creeper (Zichodroma muraria) is often ob-
served. At a distance it looks like a very large gray and
scarlet butterfly, as with expanded wings it noiselessy creeps
over the rock, poking its long awl-shaped bill into every little
nook and crevice. The cuckoo (C. canorus) chaunts its
welcome note in bush and tree from the earliest appearance
of vernation in March up to the end of May. The natives,
who are familiar with its appearance, allege that it remains
in the sub-Himalayan valleys throughout the year. As late
as the 18th of September, I observed a pair hunting in my
garden after insects. There is another species (C. himalay-
anus) closely allied to the above, which is not uncommon in
the valleys. It is at once distinguished by its smaller size,

For strength of wing there are few birds with which I am
acquainted equalling the Alpine swift; its congeners, the
black and allied, cannot compare with it in that respect.
After rain flocks are seen scouring across the great valleys,
and around the mountain-tops; now dipping into the vast
abysses, then rushing upwards with an elegance of swoop,
they suddenly turn and dive downwards again with amazing
rapidity.

The black partridge is one of the most handsome species
found in Asia, where it enjoys a wide range, being plentiful in
Syria, Persia, Afghanistan, Northern India, and the Himalayas.
On the latter it prefers the more temperate and cultivated
ranges towards the plains, to the high exposed mountains of
the interior. However, neither the great heat of Bengal, nor
the cold of the Himalayas, seem to affect this bird, for we find
it equally common at all seasons in both climates. Black
partridge shooting is a great source of amusement to the
Eastern sportsman, especially on the mountain ranges, where,

NATURALIST IN INDIA. 69

from the mildness and salubrity of the climate, he can enjoy
himself without danger from the sun, so frequently injurious
and even fatal to sportsmen in India. A small tent (rowiee, as
it is called), changes of shooting-attire, aud necessaries, with
as few servants as possible, are all he requires; luxuries are
out of the question. To those who wish to move with
rapidity and ease, it is advisable that there be nothing more
than is absolutely required. A good pack of dogs is a desi-
deratum, and far preferable to beaters both for this and
pheasant-shooting, as they can be used with more advantage,
especially in thick jungles and grassy mountain-sides. The
dogs usually procured in the stations of the North-west Pro-
vinces of India are called spaniels, but in England I fear
would be looked on as curs of “ very low degree.” However,
when better cannot be got, they answer the purpose. Thus
equipped, the sportsman who starts with a light heart, and
bent on combining instruction with amusement, need seldom
know a dull moment. At every step something new or
curious attracts his eye. He kills his birds, and when tired
sits down with a keen appetite to enjoy the produce of his
day’s healthy amusement—his little tent pitched on some
hill-side clothed with verdure and the fair exotics of that
region.

The principal food of the black partridge consists of wheat,
badgeree, rice, barley, tender shoots of plants, and insects.
During the heat of the day it repairs to bushy places, and in
the morning and afternoon makes excursions into the fields,
where it may be found associated with the gray partridge
(Perdix ponticeriana).

In choosing a shooting-ground for black partridge, prefer-
ence ought to be given to well-cultivated districts, in particu-
lar, fields surrounded with low bushy jungle. Except during

70 WANDERINGS OF A

mid-day they are easily raised by beaters or dogs. The black,
unlike the gray partridge, never perches on trees. On the
Himalayas, during the.cold months, the black resorts to the
dense brushwood at the bottom of valleys. The species is not
gregarious, and seldom more than a couple are seen together.
Its, flesh is palé and well flavoured, but neither the black
partridge nor any of its Eastern congeners can compare in that
respect with the British bird. The accusation of being a foul
feeder, so objectionable in the case of its gray ally, may be
sometimes brought against this species, but I must vindicate
the red-leg or chukore (Caccabis chukar) from such bad habits ;
it is a game bird in every sense. The black partridge com-
mences to pair about April in the Himalayas, but earlier in
the plains ; the young remain with their parents a long time,
and are not fit for shooting until the middle or end of October.
During the period of incubation the males can be heard
answering each other all over the district ; the call-note is harsh
and composed of four distinct sounds, following each other in
succession, and not unlike the words: “ Whee whdé whick 4-
whick,’ which it repeats at short intervals when perched on a
stone in bushy places. I doubt if this species would stand
the cold of Britain. I brought several from India, but all died
during wet and cold weather off the Cape of Good Hope. The
gray species is much hardier, and would doubtless thrive well
in our preserves at home. Both species are known to the
natives of India by the same appellatives, Tetur or Tetra.
The barking deer, called by the natives “kakur,” is
generally distributed over the lower and cultivated tracts of
the Himalayas, being seldom met with at elevations exceed-
ing from 8000 to 9000 feet above the level of the sea. The
prevailing colour is a reddish-brown above, white underneath,
inclining to ash on the inside of the legs of males, which have

NATURALIST IN INDIA. 71

two short canine teeth in the upper jaw, resembling those of
the musk-deer, but not so long. The bark of the kakur is-
loud and harsh, like a fox’s, and generally heard at night or
at early morn. Wooded dells by the sides of streams, oak-
forests and grassy hill-sides are its favourite resorts. Al-
though several may be found in one little belt, they do not herd .
together. Its movements are slow and stealthy, and it is by no
means shy or timorous ; on that account it is easily killed, and
often met with when least expected. During progression it
seems to strike the fore and hind hoofs, which occasions the
clattering similar to a horse “over-reaching.” Among the
kalij-pheasant jungles of the lower ranges kakur may be
looked for, and offer an occasional good snap shot to the
dexterous sportsman.

One of the most common denizens of woods and jungles,
flitting noiselessly among the dense foliage, and so tame as to
approach within a few feet, is that beautiful warbler the yellow
zosterops, known by the white downy ring round the eye, from
which it has received its name (Z. palpebrosus) ; it is about the
size of the blue titmouse; the general colour is olive, approach-
ing a light yellow on the wings, forehead, and lower parts.

The gray partridge is one of the most common species
found in Northern India. It is plentiful in the sub-Himalayan
jungles, but does not travel any distance into the interior.
As a game bird it has obtained some disrepute among Euro-
pean sportsmen from its foul feeding and propensity to perch
in trees. It rises with a feeble wabbling flight, to which it
doubtless often owes its escape by puzzling the sportman’s
aim. However much abused it may be, there are few, I am
sure, who do “not” like to hear its loud ringing clang
resounding across the plain. Poor little fellow! in this way
he often betrays his hiding-place, and if not up and off on

72 WANDERINGS OF A

“whirring wing,” he soon helps to fill the game-bag. The
gray partridge runs with great rapidity, and unless the cover
is low and scanty, is not easily flushed. Its habits are the
same as the black species.

I have before alluded to the spotted hill-wagtail (Hnicwrus
maculatus), one of the most handsome denizens of the moun-
tain-stream. It is larger than the pied wagtail, and nearly
11 inches in length. The rich white and black colourings
are particularly attractive, and its habits so eccentric as to
arrest the attention of even the most indifferent observer—
now running sprightly along the margin of the torrent, with
its forked tail expanded like a beautiful black and white fan ;
anon with extended neck and wings it turns its well-marked
body from side to side as if on a pivot, until, gathering up its
snow-white legs, with an austere screech it shoots rapidly
along the windings of the stream.

There is a species closely allied, but not by any means so
common, and at best a rare bird on the streams of the lesser
ranges. It is called the short-tailed fork-tail (Znicurus
scoulert), about 5 inches in length, with a snow-white fore-
head and black upper parts, excepting a white band which

- crosses the back and wings. Its lower parts are also white.
This active little creature delights in sporting by the sides of
roaring cataracts in wooded situations, and is sometimes seen
with the last.

Nowhere is a storm seen to such advantage as on the lower
Himalayan ranges. There is a magnificence and grandeur
about the scene perhaps in some ways peculiar to these
regions. In April and May the dust-clouds generated on the
plains are often carried inwards, and envelope the hill-stations
of Dugshai and Kussoulee in dense and dark masses, so that
objects are invisible at a few yards’ distance, and the air feels

NATURALIST IN INDIA. 73

close and oppressive. Such a state of matters may last for
hours, or be broken by blinks of sunshine. Again, the thunder-
storms which often burst with terrific violence on the Hima-
layan stations come most usually from the heated plains below.
It was on the 17th of April that we experienced one of the
most severe hurricanes that had taken place for many years.
During the first part of the day, and until 3 P.M, it continued.
to blow a strong breeze from the direction of the low lands,
over which heavy dark masses of cloud lay piled up, These
began moving towards us, and gradually swept over the inter-
vening range, curling and seething as they rushed noiselessly
down the mountain-sides into the great valleys below, and
ascended the ridge on which we were located, where they were
preceded by a fierce wind and illuminated by occasional flashes
of lightning. At length the mass rose up and enveloped the
mountain-top in a dismal gloom almost like twilight, rain
falling all the time in torrents, and the thunder rolling peal
after peal; whilst now and then a powerful gust of wind
cleared the mountain-top for a few moments, until the bright-
ness was again dispelled by a fresh mass of dense cloud, so
that the sun shone through it with a glare like the light
produced by looking through coloured glass. Suddenly the
vapour-clouds passed away, and we could see them moving
northwards towards the great central .snow-range.

The European woodcock is met with occasionally during
the winter months on the Lower Himalayas. As many as four
to six couples may be occasionally procured in one day. The
species is not plentiful, however, anywhere.

In the lonely glen, by the side of the mountain-torrent,
where the pine grows tall and dense, and the sun’s rays seldom
penetrate, may be found the great snipe (Gallinago solitaria),
from the lower to the upper ranges of the forest region.

74 WANDERINGS OF A

This bird differs in other respects besides size from the com-
mon snipe; at the same time I have procured solitary indi-
viduals of the latter on mountain-streams, in secluded alpine
regions, far away from its ordinary haunts.

' The spotted eagle is plentiful on the lesser ranges, and
affects the vicinity of villages and European stations, where
it may be seen feeding with kites and vultures, which it
delights to torment when on wing.

The hooded bulbul is one of the most common denizens
of jungles, and is easily recognised by its handsome top-knot
and loud clanging chirp. It seems strictly Himalayan, and
is seldom seen at any distance from the mountains.

Amid all the grandeur of the Himalayas, it is a most at-
tractive sight to the naturalist to behold the vultures and
rapacious birds soaring over the vast ravines and around the
tops of the mighty mountains. Let him choose a summer
evening, with that clear blue sky almost characteristic of
the Himalayas, and just as the sun casts his last rays on
the snow-clad mountains—when the quiet is only broken
by the cry of the eagle, the bleat of the goat, or the shrill
pipe of the black partridge—then the vultures, kites, and
jackdaws may be seen wheeling in vast circles; some are
gliding along, apparently without an effort, others appear
suspended motionless in the vast canopy of heaven; while,
careering in his majesty, the lammergeyer gathers up his
great wings and stoops downwards, mayhap to rise again
and join the medley he has just left, or stretching forth his
pinions to their fullest extent, he sails along the mountain-
brow to the projecting cliff on which his eyrie stands safe,
for there who dare assail him ?

On the Crol mountain, near Dugshai, on an inaccessible
rock, I once saw a nest containing two young lammergeyers ;

NATURALIST IN INDIA. 75

bones of sheep and cattle were strewn among the cliffs
hundreds of feet below ; they were found to be the remains of
food carried by the parent-birds from the slaughter-houses of
Dugshai or the neighbouring European stations.

It has long been a vexed question how vultures discover
their food. Though divers authorities have pronounced
opinions in favour of sight, some again contend that scent is
the means employed, while a third considers both senses are
concerned,

Mr. Darwin says—* Often, when lying down to rest on
the open plains, on looking upwards I have seen carrion-
hawks sailing through the air at great heights. Where the
country is level, I do not believe a space of the heavens of
more than 15° above the horizon, is commonly viewed with
any attention by a person either walking or on horseback.
If such be the case, and the vulture is on the wing, at a
height of between 3000 and 4000 feet, before it could come
within the range of vision, its distance in a straight line from
the beholder’s eye would be rather more than two British
miles. Might it not thus readily be overlooked? When an
animal is killed by the sportsman in a lonely valley, may he
not all the while be watched from above by the sharp-sighted
bird, and will not the manner of its descent proclaim through-
out the district, to the whole family of carrion-feeders, that
their prey is at hand?” *

In illustration of what has just been quoted, I may
adduce the following as of familiar occurrence :—After a bear
or other large animal is killed, the hunter soon finds himself
surrounded by rapacious birds, where none were seen before ;
they are observed dashing down the glens, and sailing in

* ¢¢ Narrative of the Surveying Voyages of His Majesty’s ships ‘ Adven-
ture’ and ‘ Beagle,’” vol. iii. (Darwin) p. 223.

76 WANDERINGS OF A
é
circles around his quarry. Some sweep within a few yards

of him, others are soaring at higher elevations, and even at
such vast altitudes that the huge bearded vulture appears
only asa small speck in the blue sky, but gradually it becomes
more distinct as its wide gyrations increase. It may gather
itself up and close its wings, or dash in one fell swoop hun-
dreds of feet, and the next minute is seen perched on the
jutting rock beside him. Such, then, are the usual appear-
ances observed soon after the death of a large animal, and the
hunter wonders whence all these great vultures and carrion-
crows have come ; but if, immediately after his noble ibex has
rolled down the crag, he directs his eyes heavenward, he will
observe carrion-crows or vultures, at various distances and
elevations, sailing leisurely about, whilst the one nearest to
him, observing the death of his quarry, instantly commences
to descend ; then one follows the other until the valley re-
sounds with the hoarse croakings of the crows, and the air
seems alive with them, It is surprising the numbers that
are sometimes observed to congregate on these occasions ; I
have seen no less than sixty vultures and crows on and
around the carcase of a newly-killed bear.

This subject is beautifully described by Longfellow in his
“Song of Hiawatha,”—

‘* Never stoops the soaring vulture
On his quarry in the desert,
On the sick or wounded bison,
But another vulture watching,
From his high aériel look-out,
Sees the downward plunge and follows ;
And a third pursues the second,
Coming from the invisible ether,
First a speck, and then a vulture,
‘Till the air is dark with pinions.”’

« NATURALIST IN INDIA. "7

Every one at all conversant with the habits of Asiatic
vultures must agree with me, that they discover a carcase as
quickly when fresh as when putrid ; it would be preposterous
therefore to aver that scent alone guides these animals from
such vast altitudes to their prey ; moreover, I believe that in
the former case scent has little to do in the matter, and even
when putridity exists, I question whether the bird does not
discover the presence of the substance by sight, long before it
could possibly be within the influence of smell: one has only
to consider the distance, currents of air, etc., intervening be-
tween the bird and its prey, to see at once the impracticability
of scent being the only agent employed.*

The lammergeyer or bearded-vulture (Gypaétus barbatus),
is, without doubt, the “Roc” of Arabian Nights, and the
“Nisser” mentioned by Bruce in his Travels in Abyssinia.
Heber, in his Indian Journal, speaks of a large vulture as the
“condor of the mountains,” but evidently he had never ex-
amined one, as he describes it having a bald head and neck.t
Specimens from the Alps, Africa, and the Himalayas, do not
differ in any well-marked degree. It appears to me that the
mistakes have arisen in the usual manner—by taking imma-
ture birds as types of the species, and in not making allow-
ances for effects of climate, etc. In the Journal of the
Asiatic Society of Bengal, vol. iii, Hutton describes a collar on
the Himalaya bird as characteristic; but I agree with Mr.
Hodgson this.cannot be accepted as a specific distinction,
being by no means regular. Again, in many Himalayan
specimens the hinder part of the tarsus is bare at the joint,
although not all the way down as in the Abyssinian indi-

* See the discussions of Audubon and Waterton.
+ May he not be describing one of the large bald Indian birds ?

78 WANDERINGS OF A

viduals described by Riippell,—“tarsis parte inferiore et
interna plumis devestita.” The plumes are particularly ob-
vious in the Eastern bird, and project much backwards when
it is feeding. These minor discrepancies are perhaps owing to
climatic peculiarities, or the countries they frequent. The
size and weight of this species vary considerably: Bruce
mentions having killed one 22 Ibs. in weight ; but the heaviest
out of many adults shot by me on the Himalayas did not ex-
ceed 14 lbs, the average being 12 lbs. Bishop Heber says,
“ One shot by Lieutenant Fisher near the Himalayas measured
13 feet between its extended wings.” I have notes of many
killed at different seasons of the year, none of which ap-
proached such dimensions—for instance the following :—“An
adult female killed near Dugshai was 8 feet 2 inches between
the tips of the wings, and from bill to extremity of tail 3 feet
8 inches ; stomach contained a mass of bullock’s hair, with
large bones of sheep and oxen. An adult male, shot in the
same ranges with the last, measured 9 feet between the tips
of wings, and 3 feet 9 inches in length. A fine adult female
had the greatest possible expansion of wings, 9 feet 2 inches ;
length, 3 feet 11 inches ; weight, 14 Ibs.; stomach contained
the hoof of an old ibex half-digested.”

The lammergeyer is easily distinguished from the other
vultures by its pointed wings and wedge-shaped tail. The
young bird differs considerably from the adult, whose plumage
it does not fully attain until the third year. At first the
head, neck, and lower parts are black ; with.a tinge of ash on
the back and belly ; the eye is black, while the old bird has
the above parts an ochreous white, globe of the eye deep red
with a white iris and black pupil, which add considerably to
the boldness and majesty of his appearance. The eye is

NATURALIST IN’ INDIA, 79

smaller than might be expected in such a large bird. In
point of strength of wing he has few rivals. The bearded-
vulture is usually observed sailing leisurely along the moun-
tain-side, now and then flapping his great wings when he
wishes to mount higher, as the American poet so beautifully
describes, “by invisible stairs ascending and scaling the
heavens ;” but let the govind-kite or Indian jackdaw annoy
him, item, with a rushing noise like that of a fierce wind, he
stoops with a grace truly grand and beautiful. Oft when
clambering along a rocky precipice, picking every footstep
with studious care, and daring not to lift my eyes for fear of
making a false step, have my ears been assailed by the furious
tush of the lammergeyer, and a feeling that if he only
touched me with his pinions I would have rolled into the
yawning abyss below. Although often seen feeding on carrion
and putrid animals, especially near European stations, in the
solitude of his native mountains he hunts with great in-
trepidity. Natives have told me that the young of bears,
ibex, wild and tame sheep and goats, are often carried away
by the bearded-vulture ; but I have not seen an animal larger
than a marmot in its talons. A red or cinnamon-coloured
powder is plentifully distributed among the feathers of the
neck and breast of young and adult individuals, and would
seem to be composed of soil containing iron, which they obtain
from dusting themselves like other birds—a habit much in-
dulged in by the denizens of rocky, bare mountains, from the
bear and the ibex down to the mountain-finch.

The Indian vulture (Gyps indicus) is gregarious, so far
that they generally roost in societies, but hunt singly ; its
long bill, coupled with the pale cinereous-brown plumage,
distinguish it from the Bengal vulture (G. bengalensis), which

: 80 WANDERINGS OF A

has a white back. The Pondicherry vulture (Octogyps calvus)
is again at once recognised by its red head and legs, and
general smaller dimensions. The largest of the bare-headed
species is the great tawny vulture (Gyps fulvus), which at-
tains sometimes a weight of 20 Ibs. All these species are
by no means uncommon on the Western Himalayas.

NATURALIST IN INDIA, 81

CHAPTER V.

Excursion to the Chor Mountain —Scenery—Geology—River Gerrie—Fish—
Pea-fowl— Jungle-fowl— Bush-quail— Hares— Magpies—Jay—Leeches—
Rhododendron in flower—Bees—Habits and Haunts of the Monal, Cheer,
Plach, and Kalij Pheasants—Red-legged Partridge—Spring flowers—
Musk Deer—White-cheeked Weasel—Pine Marten—Skylark—Birds—Red
Fox—Hyena and Leopards—A Himalayan Trapper—Red Honey-sucker
—Parrakeets of the region—Wounded Vulture.

On the 7th of March 1851 I started with Young and Bowden
on a long-meditated excursion to the Chor mountain and more
interior Himalayan ranges. We formed a small exploring-
party, equipped with every requisite for securing good sport,
to which I added my auxiliaries for preparing and preserving
collections.

There is something in the life of the Himalayan sports-
man peculiarly captivating. Unrestrained freedom is his ;
he obeys no man’s mandates ; and his thoughts and actions
receive no guidance save the dictates of his own mind.

It was a fine crisp morning when we started ; the cock
was crowing on his roost ; and long before the inhabitants of
our home were stirring, the last man of our thirty followers
might have been seen, toiling along the rough path ‘'eading
to the little village of Narg, situated some ten or twelve
miles eastward of Dugshai. The general appearance of the
scenery differed only in a slight degree from what has been
already described. The bare parts of the mountains were

G

82 WANDERINGS OF A

now covered with the rich green carpet of spring, whilst their
hollows and sheltered parts were clad with a profusion of tree
and bush, which skirted the sides and bottoms of the ravines.
High up appeared the long-leaved pine, a little farther down
the Himalayan oak ; apricot and peach were again succeeded
by the pomegranate-and barberry, etc., in the warmer regions
below.

The cooling breeze of the mountain-top formed an agree-
able contrast to the close aud feverish atmosphere of the
ravines. In our scramble over hill and dale, we had not
time to examine the geological formation. Abundance of
argillaceous and mica schists appeared in rough crumbling
masses in the ridges and valleys, especially around the village
of Narg, where: they were encrusted with a white substance
afterwards discovered to be impure carbonate of soda. The
long-bearded wheat was in ear, while tall walnut-trees almost
hid the native dwellings, over which the convolvulus, cucum-
ber, and melon, were twining their tendrils. We found the
inhabitants, as usual, very civil and obliging—a character for
which the Paharees. are celebrated. In manner simple, they
are frugal, honest, industrious, and enduring. They love their
native hills, and seldom care to visit India, or mingle with
the northern tribes. They assimilate to the Rajpoots in their
religion. Although in former days they displayed warlike
propensities, when urged on by their chiefs, the influence of
British rule has moulded them to more peaceful pursuits,
which our steadfast ally, the late rajah of Puteala, greatly
tended to maintain. The soil of the mountains is exceed-
ingly productive, and requires little culture.

On the following morning we were up at daybreak, and

- after the tent and baggage had been packed on the backs of
coolies, each took his gun, and away we went, beating the

NATURALIST IN INDIA. 83

jungle en route. Soon the clear piping call of the kalij
pheasant was heard among the dense wood, as one after
another rose before our dogs; while, now and then, a black
partridge dashed past us. Vigors’s and the red-billed jays
sent forth their harsh calls, in concert with the ringing clang
of the crested bulbul, the rough chirp of the red-backed
shrike, or the wild scream of the rose-coloured parrakeet.

Between the reports of our guns and the barking of the
dogs, we had upset the interior economy of the jungle, for
every bird in the district and hill-side seemed roused and
alarmed. They had evidently not been accustomed to such
rude and noisy molestations.

The hamlet of Philora is situate on the banks of the
river Gerrie. Here we encamped, and viewed the mighty
mountain-stream, now flooded by the melting snow of the
higher ranges, roaring and surging some hundreds of feet
below us, its banks either clad with profusion of trees and
shrubs, or stretching gently up into cultivated terraces, where
here and there might be seen a solitary gable-roofed hamlet,
with the never-failing tree to shade its inmates from the heat
of mid-day.

After a savoury repast on pheasants and partridges, we
descended towards the river, for the purpose of exploring the
neighbourhood. Great was our chagrin on observing a musk-
deer, perched on a projecting cliff some forty feet above us.
The little -creature stood and gazed at us with apparent un-
concern, when a rustle was heard close by, and a native,
crawling out of the bush, knelt, and taking a steady aim with
his long matchlock, sent a bullet against the rock, about an
inch above the animal’s back.

The formations in the neighbourhood were composed
chiefly of mica-slate, while, along the course of the river,

84 WANDERINGS OF A

several veins of gneiss appeared, and masses of limestone, in
the shape of boulders, strewed its course.

The following day we crossed the swollen river, which
delayed the passage of our baggage for several hours. It was
a strange sight to witness our copper-coloured followers toil-
ing across the rapids, with our goods and chattels on their
heads, some immersed even to the arm-pits ; but they braved
it manfully. An hour's march brought us to the little village
of Thor, situated on a gentle incline some 200 feet above the
level of the river, and surrounded by small fields raised one
above the other.

We pitched our tent under the spreading boughs of a ban-
yan-tree, and breakfasted on fish, which the natives catch in the
river by means of nets. All were evidently a species of mullet,
and several weighed about 14 Ibs. each. Besides the masseer,
we were told that three other different kinds of fish are plenti-
ful jn the river, and there are doubtless many more.

In the jungle along the banks we found abundance of
pea-fowl, and I observed two white-cheeked weasels*—one
with a black partridge in its mouth. I managed to bag a
brace of jungle-fowl (Gallus bankiva). These birds, in habits
and general appearance, bear a close resemblance to varieties
of the domestic bird, especially the hen and young. The
jungle-fowl flies with great rapidity ; it is generally met with
in small flocks, in dense covers by the side of fields or ravines.
Its cackle is like that of the tame bird, from which it does
not seem to differ in any material degree. Probably many
of the former wander from the villages, and take to the wild
life of their congeners.

We were up at daybreak on the 10th. My friends
enjoyed themselves among the kalij pheasants and jungle

* Known likewise as the yellow-throated marten (Af. flavigula).

NATURALIST IN INDIA. 85

fowl, while I sought wilder tracts, in quest of rarer game.
Now and then, among the prickly shrubs by the margins of the
fields, a covey of ten or twenty bush-quail (Perdicula asiatica)
sprang up with a whirring noise; a black partridge or a
kalij pheasant would shoot across the valley. A Himalayan
‘hare (Lepus macrotus) was killed. This species is larger
than the black-necked hare (Z. nigricollis) of the Indian
plains. It is confined to the lesser ranges and sub-Himalayan
valleys, and though generally distributed does not seem to
be abundant anywhere. Its flesh is more savoury than that
of the other species, but in this respect neither can compare
with the hare of Europe. The mountain-hare is distinguished
from the other by its longer ears, more slender legs, and small
feet. The under surface of the tail is rufous.

In wooded situations, all over this district of the western —
ranges, the traveller is struck with the characteristic and ele-
gant long-tailed jay (Calocttta sinensis, Linn.) This graceful
creature attracts attention not only by the brilliancy of its
plumage, but the loud, harsh screams it utters as the traveller
approaches—now jerking up its long tail, after the manner of
the magpie, now garrulously chattering, as though reproaching
him for intruding on its haunts. The moping owl, the chetah,
or its more dangerous enemy the tiger-cat, it seldom passes
without uttering a volley of abuse. It is usually seen
singly, or at most in pairs. The body is about a foot in
length, the tail nearly 18 inches, bill and legs bright red ;
forehead, cheeks, side of neck, throat and breast, black;
back part of neck white; back, wings, and tail, sky-blue,
deepening towards the rump ; tail composed of twelve feathers,
graduating in pairs. The ends of the two longest have their
edges turned inwards. Coleopterous insects constitute its
favourite food ; but I have often seen it eating a species of

86 WANDERINGS OF A

wild apple (the Feronia elephantum), abundant in the lesser
ranges. This fruit often rots on the trees, and when in that
condition affords the means of subsistence to many other
birds, especially the crested bulbul, and the various sorts of
parrakeets. On the southern ranges of Cashmere there is a
species of jay very closely allied to the above. It will be
noticed hereafter.

Besides the wandering pie (Dendrocitta rufa), its ally the
red-vented pie (D. sinensis) affects the same situations, and
although not so domestic in habits, and less often met with
in the neighbourhood of dwellings, is plentiful in copses and
jungles. In habits it is similar to its congener, and feeds like-
wise on insects and fruit.

Although the common European jay has been shot on the
mountains of Afghanistan, I have never heard of it being
met with on the Western Himalayas. It is evidently replaced
there by a common species, called the black-throated jay
(Garrulus lanceolatus, Vig.)

I killed on the river a large black-headed kingfisher,
which was unfortunately carried away by the current before
I could note further particulars than that it was of large size,
a general ash colour, with a black hood.*

On the 11th of March, after a long day’s journey, we
gained a high ridge, overlooking a beautiful valley teeming
with rich fields of spring wheat and barley. The hum of bees
among the flowers of the mulberry and apricot, in the quiet
stillness of a delightful evening, added to the cooling sensa-
tions of a bathe in the neighbouring brook, and a sumptuous
repast, formed of the partridges and pheasants, made us feel
a rare degree of contentment and repose, for we had rambled
all day over the grassy hill-sides, pursuing the black partridges

* Probably the large black and white kingfisher (Ceryle guttata).

NATURALIST IN INDIA. 87

wherever their luckless call attracted us, until, tired and
hungry, we returned to the tent.

The houses in this part of the country are generally gable-

roofed ; and there are numbers of little towers, which, we were
told, were once on a time places of defence, when the tribes
quarrelled about the appropriation of the mountain-streams
for the purpose of irrigation. A six-pounder would have
levelled them with the ground, yet a native informed us that
these diminutive fortresses had withstood many a bloody
siege. We passed a Paharee marriage-party, about 200 men
and women, dressed in the gayest and brightest attire—red
turbans, and every variety of colour in the rest of their
toilette. The bridegroom was not visible, but the bride, a
girl of about “ten years of age, was seated in a box, carried
on the shoulders of four men. A marriage among the hill-
men is always a very grand event, and costs many years’
savings. :
Our dogs becoming suddenly ineffective from some de-
rangement of their breathing, I examined their nostrils, and
found them filled with large distended leeches (Hamopsis
paludum). These abound in the pools and damp grass.

On the following morning, as we toiled up the steep
ascent above our previous night’s encampment, it was a
‘beautiful sight to behold the hill-sides covered with a scarlet
rhododendron (#. barbatum) in full blossom ; and when we
gained the ridge a still grander scene burst upon our view.
The lights and shadows thrown across the great valleys, while
northward the Chor mountain, monarch of all around, stood
out in impressive grandeur, its gloomy sides diversified by
pine-forests, and towards the summit with patches of snow.
We gained, at noon, the village of Naira, and pitched our
tent close by. The natives of this district seemed to be paler

88 WANDERINGS OF A

and handsomer than the hill-men around Dugshai. Many of
the young women were fair and beautiful. Here we observed
beehives in the walls of the houses, and were informed that
when their owners wished to take the honey they did so by
beating drums behind the hives, until the bees were fairly
frightened away, when the outer apertures were closed. This
method was practically illustrated to us by a villager beating
on a tom-tom with a violence sufficient to have terrified a
much less sentient animal than the bee.

Next day we mounted a ridge leading towards the Chor
mountain through forests of oak, deodar, and pine. On the
way were observed several monal pheasants (Lophophorus
impeyanus), but beyond a transient glimpse of them as they
flashed down the vast ravines, amid a blaze of dazzling reflec-
tions from their gorgeous plumage, we were unable to get
within even rifle distance of them.

Several red-legged partridges (Caccabis chukar) were killed
on the bare rocky places. In little sheltered nooks I gathered
two sorts of primroses, which I subsequently discovered to be
the Primula purpurea and obtusifolia of Royle. The British
bracken was plentiful. We were much struck with the mag-
nificence of the forest-trees, which attain vast size at these
altitudes.

The height of the Chor is 10,688 feet above the level of
the sea, and is composed chiefly of mica-schist and clay-slate,
with intrusive dykes or veins of granite. Boulders of the same
rock were abundant on the valleys. The summit of the moun-
tain is composed entirely of granite. Gmneiss was also often
met with on the ridges. Both are, however, large-grained and
coarse, the quartz predominating. Sometimes great veins of
quartz are observed, containing nodules and crystals of horn-
blende, especially in the ridge above the village of Churass,

NATURALIST IN INDIA. 89

where we pitched the tent and commenced our labours.
Daily, at cock-crow, each started on his own beat, and returned
in the afternoon bringing with him the spoils of the day.

The most interesting denizens of these wilds are the various
species of pheasants. Foremost of all stands the impeyan, or
monal. This splendid bird, once so abundant in the Western
Himalayas,is now, comparatively speaking, restricted to certain
localities in the wooded slopes of the higher ranges. Whole
tracts of forests, once dazzling with the gorgeous forms of these
birds, are now without a single specimen; however, it will be
long before it is extirpated, for its haunts are high up among
the craggy rocks where few ordinary sportsmen venture. No
words can convey an accurate idea of the brilliancy of this
bird’s plumage,* and that of several of its congeners—indeed,
many of the best-executed drawings fall short on this point.
However, those in Mr. Gould’s Birds of Asia, and his Century
may be allowed the first rank.

The average weight of an adult male monal is nearly 6
lbs.;~ that of the female about 5 lbs.; the young of the
first year about 3 Ibs. The favourite haunts of this species
are in the deepest solitude of the forest, or among the bamboo
and dense jungle which clothe the sides and bottoms of the
valleys.

It is found along the line of the Himalayas, from 6000 to
8000 or 10,000 feet, but is partial to localities.

The monal is strictly alpine in its haunts, and prefers the

* Hundreds are sold at Stevens’ sale-rooms. They are bought chiefly
to adorn ladies’ bonnets !

+ Jerdon, in his admirable work on the birds of India, published in 1864,
gives the weight 43 lbs. Surely, unless his data were obtained at a different
season of the year, there must be some mistake, as our conclusions were drawn
from many adult males weighed on the spot.

90 WANDERINGS OF A

cooler regions of the middle ranges to the forests bordering on
the plains of India.

Its favourite food consists of acorns, earth-nuts, bulbs,
wild strawberry, currants, etc. They may be met with in
scattered flocks, singly, or in pairs.

The breeding-season commences about April, when the
wailing cry of the males resounds through the mountain, and
might be mistaken for that of any of the larger falcons. The
female monal lays four to six eggs, very similar in colouring
to those of the turkey. The young bird has the dark brown
plumage of the female until the autumnal moult. It has cer-
tain names in different localities—for instance, about Mus-
souree and Simla it is known by the name Monal; to the
eastward it is called Ratteah Cowan, and Monalee. The male
is the Zont and the female the Ham of the Cashmerians, who
adorn their mosques with the brilliant feathers of the male.

The plach pheasant, known by the local names Pukras,
Coclass (Pucrasia macrolopha), is less plentiful, and does not
appear so generally distributed as the monal.

There are, besides, two or three other species very closely
allied, but the above is the most common. Its distribution
does not yet seem clearly defined, but from all accounts it is
most abundant in the western ranges, and rare towards the
eastward. In Nepal it is probably replaced by another
species, and again, in the woods and forests of Cashmere, I
have frequently observed (though never shot) a species which
may turn out to be new.

The male plach is 24 inches in length ; the head is glossy-
green, except the crown feathers, which are ash-brown. They
are long and tapering on the side of the neck, where there is
a large white spot. The breast, middle of the belly, and tail
are dark chestnut, the latter tipped with white ; the rest of

NATURALIST IN INDIA. 91

the body light ash, with a streak of black down the middle of
each feather. The tail is pointed, and dark chestnut, verging
into black towards the tips, which are slightly edged with
dirty white.

The tail-coverts are long and tapering and ash-coloured.
The female is less in size, and her plumage is not so gaudy,
but is still beautifully variegated with brown, chestnut, and
yellow. The call of the plach is composed of a few cackles,
or low chattering sounds, which are emitted when on wing.

In the early morning, and at dusk, the harsh crow of the
cock is heard among the dense boughs of the pine and deodar,
where it frequently secretes itself after being flushed. It
is generally met with in pairs or solitary. These birds fly
with great rapidity, and although partial to the more alpine
regions, I have met with individuals on the pine-clad tops of
the ranges in the neighbourhood of Dugshai.

During one of our morning rambles through a wood of
stunted oak, I was startled by a covey of light-brown phea-
sarits, which, on our approach, rose, uttered a series of plain-
tive calls, and dispersed themselves in the dense cover. We
searched in vain for them for upwards of an hour. At length
I discovered one on a branch within a few yards of me,
and Young killed another close by. The specimens proved
to be a male and female of the cheer-pheasant (Phasianus
wallichit), one of the most elegant species to be met with in
the Himalayas. It is likewise known by the local names of
‘Booinchil and Herrel. The male measures about 18 inches,
exclusive of the tail, which varies from 20 to 26 inches in
length. The naked skin around the eye is bright red. The
iris is light brown. The tail is composed of eighteen feathers,
which graduate in pairs, and are broadly barred with pale
yellow, or dusky brown and olive blotches.

92 WANDERINGS OF A

The female is smaller, and has not the magnificent tail of
the male—which he displays to most advantage when walk-
ing or on wing.

The cheer frequents the lower and middle regions, and is
seldom found at very high elevations. It delights in grassy
situations, among stunted oak, or such-like, and is generally
met with in flocks of from six to twenty. The moment they
are disturbed they separate and secrete themselves among the
grass, or in the foliage of trees, whence I believe they have
been knocked down with sticks.

The female forms her nest of grass in low brushwood,
and lays from nine to fourteen eggs of a dull white.

The young are hatched about the beginning or middle of
June.

The flight of the cheer is heavy, and not strong, and it
seldom perches on trees, unless when disturbed.

Cheer-shooting, like all other sport in the Himalayas, is
followed out with most success in autumn. The cheer
seems hitherto to have been found only in the north-western
Himalayas ; possibly its cunning and stealthy habits may
cause it to be overlooked in many situations.

The kalij (Zuplocomus albocristatus) is the most common
and widely distributed of the Himalayan pheasants. There
is a congener, with white markings on the crest and back,
found on the eastern ranges, Sikhim, etc. Mr. Blyth considers
it a distinct species, and has named it #. melanotus. I am
not prepared to dispute the decision of so good an authority.
I must, however, remark that I have seen many old males
of the EF. albocristatus with very little white on the crown
and back. The kalij pheasant (“ Merghee kookera” of the
natives) is plentiful along the great valleys, called Dhoons,
bordering on the plains of India, up to elevations of from

NATURALIST IN INDIA. 93

6000 to 8000 feet. It prefers, however, the more southern
ranges, and is seldom met with in the remote interior.

In habits domestic, and (unlike any of its allies) often
met with in the vicinity of villages and fields, its favourite
haunts are, Jow underwood and ravines covered with dense

jungle. The kalij, except when disturbed, seldom takes to
wing, although its flight is strong and powerful. When
rising it utters a loud plaintive cry, which is continued until
it gains a place of safety; it is not gregarious, and seldom
more than three are seen together. It runs with great
rapidity ; during incubation the males are very pugnacious ;
an adult male weighs about 3 lbs. the female about 23 lbs.
Young birds of the first year seldom exceed 1} Ibs. and their
plumage resembles that of the female until the moulting-
season. The egg is white, and about the size of the bantam’s.
A nest may contain from nine to twelve, and even more eggs,
which are hatched about the end of May. Grubs, insects,
seeds, shoots and leaves of trees, constitute the favourite
food of the kalij.

The white-necked weasel, the lammergeyer, golden and
spotted eagles, etc., prey on this species, whose loud and pro-
longed cry often betrays its presence to one or other of its
enemies,

Like the domestic fowl, this bird, and most of its con-
geners, are fond of basking on sunny banks, and shuffling the
earth about them ; on such occasions they fall an easy prey.

The red-legged partridge, better known in the East by the
name of “Chukore,” has a wide distribution. It does not
differ in any well-marked particular from the Greek partridge*
of South-east Europe, and shows how easily “species can be

* Perdix greca; there is a variety in the island of Crete having the throat
rufous.

94 WANDERINGS OF A

made,’ inasmuch as authors have formed the diagnosis en-
tirely from the size of the band on the neck and the intensity
of the white on the throat. I have examined various Turkish
specimens, and found even these peculiarities not constant.
These races form one species, extending from South-east
Europe and Syria, across Central Asia and the northern
boundaries of Hindostan, where it is not very plentiful, the
most advanced of its posts being the low ranges of the Pun-
jaub. The species seems to abound in Chinese Tartary and
the sources of the Oxus. Lieutenant Wood, in his journey*
to the latter country, mentions taking part in a hunting ex-
pedition, when the party bagged 500 chukore by running
them down with beaters and dogs.

The chukore prefers barren mountains to the rich and
luxuriant vegetation of the more southern ranges ; bare stony
ridges clad with low scrub are its favourite haunts. It is
usually met with in coveys. Although the breeding season
commences early, and the young are hatched in July, and
rapidly attain the size of the parents, they are seldom able to
fly before the middle of September. The nest is composed of
dried grass, and is placed in bushy places ; the eggs are white,
and vary in number from nine to twelve. During incubation
the male remains near the nest, and may be heard all day piping
his loud call—“cuwe cue,’ resembling that of the domestic
fowl. The Cashmerians call the bird “ kau-kau” on account
of its call, Although not actually a denizen of the valley,
it is not uncommon on the surrounding mountains, The
chukore is a handsome bird, and to the sportsman affords
better diversion than perhaps any of the Himalayan partridges.
Its rapid flight, and the trying nature of the situations fre-
quented by it, demand the hunter’s best energies. On the

* Voyage up the Indus to the Source of the Oxus, by Kabul and Badakshan.

NATURALIST IN INDIA. 95

Indian frontier their numbers are never so great as to recom-
pense one who expects good shooting at little bodily exertion ;
but the sportsman prepared for a rough scramble over rock
and fell cannot betake himself to a better and more stirring
amusement than shooting chukore on the lower Himalayan
ranges.

On the 17th of March the snow still lay thick and hard in
the sheltered parts of the Chor mountains, especially among the
oak and pine forests; while in the more open glades, among
the stunted bamboo jungles, we had to flounder knee-deep
through beds of rotten melting snow, around the margin of
which peeped up the beautiful pink and purple primroses—the
advanced guards of spring; and no great distance down the
mountain the apricot and apple-trees were in full bloom. The
difference in the temperature of the two regions was well marked
—ahbove, an arctic winter was but just ending; below, spring
had fairly set in. We observed among the snow foot-trail of
bears and large deer—either the Cashmere or Duvaucell’s deer
(Cervus cashmerensis or duvaucellit) ; and the sharp-pointed and
characteristic footprints of the musk-deer (Moschus moschiferus)
were plentiful. I wounded one, but the little creature escaped
and hid itself in the impervious bamboo jungle. The custouree,
as it is called, frequents the lower and forest ranges, as high
as the stunted birch on the limits of arboreal vegetation, and
confines of snow, from 10,000 to 12,000 feet above the sea-level.
There it often remains until driven down by the approaching
winter, for beneath the naked boughs and pale trunks of the
birch it delights to dwell, nibbling a scanty fare from the moss-
clad bank, or along the sward still damp with snow-water.
Seldom is its solitude disturbed, for to these situations the leo-
pard rarely ascends ; and save the startling call of the cuckoo,
there is nought to disquiet it in this bare inhospitable region.

96 WANDERINGS OF A

In the forest it is easily traced by the heaps of dung on its runs,
for it is partial to localities, and both in habits and general
appearance has a great affinity to the hare. Sometimes I
have found it by following up its trail through the copse
across the grassy glade into a little dell, where the indifferent
custouree might have been seen feeding within a few yards,
In districts where it is not often hunted it is by no means
timid, and will seldom run away at the report of a gun. On
that account it forms an easy prey to the chetah and other
leopards. The lammergeyer destroys the young, but seldom
if ever attacks the adult. The mode of its progression is
remarkable, and comprises a series of spasmodic leaps, while
now and then it stops to reconnoitre, or, walking a few feet,
resumes these fantastic movements. In thick cover it
secretes itself like a hare. Although killed in numbers for
its much-coveted scent, the musk-deer is by no means un-
common. The musk is most sought after during the rutting
season in autumn. I have repeatedly examined the contents
of bags at other seasons, but, except a rank offensive odour
from the dark pigmentary substance contained in them, I
could not discover a trace of musk. It is said that unless
the musk-bag is removed before the body cools the scent
evaporates. The market-value of each bag is from £1 to £1 : 10s.
There is considerable diversity in the colour of the musk-
deer. So much is this the case, that a casual observer, seeing
only skins, would be apt to conclude that there is more than
one species; but after closely observing these variations,
I have been led to the conclusion that they are attribut-
able to age or season, and the nature of the localities.
Indeed, two skins are seldom found exactly alike. Indi-
viduals partial to dense forests and jungle have the upper
parts dark, with black splashes on the back and hips, and the

NATURALIST IN INDIA, 97

under parts white, or dirty white. Some are yellowish-white
all over the upper parts, with the belly and inner sides of
the thighs white. This variety I have compared with a
specimen of the white-bellied musk-deer (Moschus leucogaster,
Hodg.),* in the India House Museum, London, and been unable
to discern any well-marked distinction. A brown-black variety
is common. Not a few have white spots arranged longi-
tudinally on the upper parts ; doubtless these are immature
animals, inasmuch as all the males so marked had short teeth.
When the nature of the climate and country on the Tibetan
slopes of the Himalayas are compared with the dense forests
and covers of the Cashmere ranges, it is not to be wondered
at that regions differing so much in their climate and vege-
table products should to some extent influence the external
colouring of the animals. In illustration of this, the raven
of Ladakh is larger than the same bird in the torrid heat of
the Northern Punjaub; and yet the most scrupulous critic
cannot venture to separate them. The canine tooth of the
musk-deer is from 2 to 3 inches in length, and is rudi-
mentary in the female. The use of these long canines is not
very apparent, considering they are confined to the males.
Some assert they are employed in digging up roots of plants.
I have seen a wounded musk attempt to use them when
caught. The ears of females are often found slit, attributable
no doubt to the canines of the male during sexual intercourse.
The female gestates six months. Seldom more than one
spotted fawn is dropped, which remains only a short time with
the parent. The overwhelming avalanche entombs many
unwary musk-deer; and among its enemies is the yellow-
throated or white-cheeked marten, which is said to prey
on the young of this species and the barking-deer. The

* Journal As, Soc. Bengal, vol. viii.
H

98 WANDERINGS OF A

above weasel is plentiful on the lesser ranges, and may be
often seen hunting around the villages in quest of poultry,
partridges, etc., or their eggs, on which it chiefly subsists. A
tamed specimen in my possession followed me like a dog, and
delighted in the name of “Kecky.” It was in the habit of
constantly uttering a low chuckle; which was prolonged into
a harsh scream when the little creature was irritated. In
habits it is exceedingly playful, and always detests confine-
ment in acage. It usually took up its quarters on my bed;
and occasionally, in the morning and evening, made excur-
sions into the hedges and thickets in quest of rats, mice,
lizards, and snakes, which it despatched with the utmost
rapidity, seizing them by the neck. An egg was always
considered a great delicacy, and Kecky would run up a wall
or leap several feet from the ground to obtain his prize. It
nibbled a litfle hole at one end, and sucked the interior
therefrom. When dropping from a height the feet were
expanded like the Feline ; and it delighted in prowling, like
them, after its prey, spending hours in attempts to capture jack-
daws and sparrows on the Persian lilac-trees, none of which it
ever succeeded in catching. On the ground it progressed by
a succession of leaps, by which means it captured its prey. The
yellow-throated marten is subject to seasonal changes in the
colour of its fur. During winter this marten is more hoary on
the upper parts ; whereas in midsummer the head, neck, and
back are jet black, and the throat, breast, and lower parts
yellowish-white. The pine marten (JZ martes) does not
apparently affect the Western Himalayas, but its skins are
brought to India from Afghanistan.

My specimens of the song-lark (Alauda triborhyncha,
Hodg.) of the lower region did not scarcely differ from the sky-
lark of Europe. One distinction would appear to be,with refer-

NATURALIST IN INDIA. 99

ence to the former, that itseldom mounts so high or remains so
long on wing ; it is a summer visitor only, possibly migrat-
ing to the lowland valleys in winter. I took a nest and four
eggs on the Dugshai hill in May. The eggs were exactly
similar to those of the skylark.

The pagoda thrush (Acridotheres pagodarwm) is probably
the bird referred to in Lalla Rookh :—

‘* Mecca’s blue sacred pigeon, and the thrush
Of Hindostan, whose holy warblings gush
At evening from the tall pagoda’s top.”

Making allowances for the glowing imagery of the poet, the
song of this bird is sweet, and not without melody, and resem-
bles a good deal that of the common paradise grackle, with
which it is often found associated. It is more a native of
Hindostan than the Himalayas, and is only met with on the
lower region during the hot months. I have frequently seen
it feeding on the tender shoots of the long-leaved pine, but in-
sects seem to constitute its favourite food.—The spotted-winged
starling (Saraglossa spiloptera) is evidently a native of the
hills ; although not common, as many as half-a-dozen may
be seen at one time among the woods and jungles of the lower
hills during the hot months. In winter it may possibly retire
.to the hot Himalayan valleys.

The two species of kestrel are common about Dugshai ;
the lesser kestrel (Tinnunculus cenchris) is the most abundant,
and may be seen in numbers hovering over the sides of the
mountains and the little terraced fields in quest of beetles and
large insects. Independent of size, the latter is distinguished
from the other by the light colour of its claws, which are
black in the-common kestrel. During the fine clear evenings
which precede the monsoon, when the vultures are often seen

100 WANDERINGS OF A

soaring at great heights, I observed in their company a very large
thick-billed heron-like bird which I supposed was the adjutant
(Ardea argala). It disappeared before the rains set in.

The cinnamon-coloured sparrow (Passer cinnamomeus) is
often seen among the pine-woods of Kussoulee, and in the
jungles along the lower hills—The gaura finch (Melophus me-
lanicterus) frequents fields and cultivated localities—The com-
mon house-martin of the Neilgherries and Southern India is
identical with Chelidon urbica of Europe. On the Lower
Himalayas and Cashmere ranges a bird appears in spring very
closely allied to the above, but all I have shot (amounting to
three) differed in one or two particulars,—chiefly in being
smaller ; the axillary feathers were brown instead of grayish-
white, and their tails were even. Mr. Gould has named it
the Chelidon cashmeriensis.* This martin migrates to the
the Punjaub during winter.

The golden stachyris (Stachyris chrysea) is a little wren-
like warbler usually seen among the foliage of fruit-trees,
about the size of a willow-wren ; iris is red—The verditer fly-
catcher (Niltava melanops) appears in spring, and is one of the
most common flycatchers. Its habits and haunts are similar
to the most typical species, perching on prominent situations,
from whence it makes excursions in quest of insects, The
luteous-coloured finch (Letothrix luteus) is common in the
valleys about Dugshai. I have seen it in the plains in
winter.

The blue rock-thrush (Petrocincla cyanea). This is the P.
pandoo of Colonel Sykes, and may be said to be universally
distributed over South-eastern Europe and the temperate and
torrid parts of Asia. By some it is supposed to be the bird
alluded to in Scripture, “ the sparrow that sitteth alone upon

* Proc. Z. S, 1858, p. 356.

NATURALIST IN INDIA. 101

the house-top.” The difference in plumage between sexes and
young birds caused much confusion with the earlier Indian
naturalists. Specimens likewise from the Himalayas have
been found to have longer bills than individuals from other
countries, and accordingly Mr. Blyth named the latter P. lon-
gtrostris, but no one conversant with the Indian and Himalayan
bird in nature will allow the above distinction to remain as
specific. The blue rock-thrush frequents wild unfrequented
situations ; now and then I have seen a solitary individual
perched erect like a thrush on the roof-top. It is not com-
mon anywhere ; and, although familiar with its appearance at
different seasons of the year, I had not an opportunity until
long after leaving Asia of listening to its melodious note.
The European form is indigenous to the island of Malta,
where, among the shattered rocks that strew the coast, this
fair songster may be seen sallying forth in the bright clear
morn, singing, as he flutters from pinnacle to cliff, whilst the
rocks and caverns resound with his pleasing strains —The
Himalaya owl (Athene cuculoides) is common in the woods and
jungle, and is diurnal in its habits so far that I killed one at
mid-day with a rat in its talons ; however, the bird is most
often seen at dusk. Its favourite food consists of mice, shrews,
and large coleopterous insects. The pretty pigmy owlet (Athene
brodiet) is often found in bushes. This diminutive little crea-
ture is little more than half the size of the last. Its call is
measured, and composed of two notes frequently repeated.
Its egg is white, and generally laid in the hollow of a tree,
without any preparation whatever.

The red fox (Vulpes montanus) is generally distributed
over the lower and middle regions of the Himalayas, up even
to the limits of frost. Although often seen during the day, its
depredations are chiefly at night, when it prowls about houses

102 WANDERINGS OF A

after poultry, and in the jungles, when it preys on kalij
pheasants-and other birds. This handsome species is readily
recognised by the rufous on the back and pale fulvous on the
legs. The little Bengal fox and the jackall are met with in
the valleys of the lesser ranges, but do not range far into the
interior. The hyena preys extensively on poultry, and often
carries away dogs from the stations. A friend shot a very
large hyena close to his house at midnight, after repeated
attempts to capture the animal, which had cleared out several
poultry-yards and killed many dogs. Such depredations are
usually put down to the leopard, but it rarely ventures so near
the habitations of man. The name chetah is applied in a very
extended sense to all the leopards. The leopard is generally
distributed over the lesser ranges, but is constantly wandering
from place to place, like the tiger, which is occasionally
met with in the sub-Himalayan valleys.

We recrossed the Gerrie on the 26th of March. The day
was charming, and the scenery of that beautiful and sylvan
description so characteristic of many sub-Himalayan valleys.
At our feet rolled the river, dashing furiously over its rough
limestone bed, and gradually becoming less turbulent, until,
settling down to a quiet yet mighty flood, it moved steadily
onward through the valley, the sides of which were clad with
the gayest attire of spring. The oak, plane, wild apple, apri-
cot, etc., sent forth their various shades of green. Many were
in blossom, and the deep purple of the pomegranate’s petals
added a richness to all around. Above us rose a hill covered
with profusion of bush and tree, where we had spent the day
hunting kalij pheasants and peafowl, and now, tired and
weary, were enjoying the evening around the log-fire, while a -
barking-deer clamoured loud in the jungle close by, as if in
defiant reproach for a young buck which had fallen to my gun.

NATURALIST IN INDIA. 103

Night-jars (the whip-poor-will of Central Asia) sent forth an
occasional “twu-u-o,” as they flitted noiselessly past us, when,
through a gap in the jungle, we observed a stalwart native
approaching. He had a matchlock on his shoulder, and was
dressed in gray home-spun flannel. His appearance and habit
were characteristic of the Himalayan shickaree ; the long
flowing beard, ample turban, short tunic fastened round the
waist by a belt of light-brown sambar-skin, to which the
powder-horn and pouches were attached, capacious breeches
ending at the knees, from which the limbs were encircled with
flannel bandages to the ankle, while on his feet. were sandals
made of grass, and several pairs ready for use were attached
to his girdle. He was one of those houseless wanderers
similar to the trapper or leatherstocking of Fenimore Cooper,
who made his livelihood by tracking the wild denizens of the
mountain and forest. He had heard of our arrival on the
Chor, and came to offer his services and show us where bears
and deer were plentiful. Although an old man, he was still
wiry and active, and like all whose lives have been constantly
spent in the dangerous excitement of the cragsman’s, he had
intense pleasure in recounting his past exploits, especially
ibex-hunting in Kuloo, and the days when, in the service of a
British officer, he had led him to places where the “ burrel
and ibex were plentiful as sheep.”

This was my first introduction to one of a race with whom
many of my subsequent adventures were intimately asso-
ciated ; he was the type of a set of as fine manly fellows as one
could meet anywhere—men whose lives have been spentamong
the dizzy crags and towering mountain-tops ; early taught to
court difficulties and dangers, they fear no hardships, and
are insensible to fatigue. With such the young Englishman
gratifies his love of adventure, as with pole he picks his way

104 WANDERINGS OF A

across the dizzy height, to where yon ibex stands perched on
the brink of a yawning gulf ; his rifle laid across the rock, with
a steady hand and fixed eye he marks the fatal spot ; scarcely
done when the leaden messenger is on its unerring course,
and the noble quarry is seen rolling and bounding down the
precipice. It is with such reminiscences I connect the Hima-
layan shickaree.

* The jungles along the banks of the Gerrie are stocked with
barking-deer, but although we saw many daily they were too
shy, and could not be got at from the denseness of the jungle.
Young brought me a specimen of that beautiful sunbird called
the red honeysucker or goulparah creeper (Nectarinia goul-.
pariensis) ; it is not uncommon in the more sheltered parts.
The note of the male is sweet and varied. In habits, like
the sunbirds in general, they resemble the humming-birds, of
which they are the Eastern representatives.

We spent a day in Thor Valley among the game, and I
observed footprints of wild pigs in great abundance. A herd
of large monkeys, with fawn-coloured bodies, black faces, and
white cheeks, were seen in a wood. The three species of
parrakeet are found here feeding on the buds and tender shoots
of trees; the rose-ringed and plum-headed have been men-
tioned before ; the slate-headed (Paleornis schisticeps) is only
met with in the mountains, and never affects the plains of .
India. It is usually seen in flocks, and during the harvest-
season commits depredations among the wheat and barley.
Each of the three species is readily distinguished on wing—
the tail of the rose-ringed is a wniform green, that of the
plum-headed has the tip white, the other has the extremity
yellow. We came on a wounded tawny vulture by the side of
a pond ; one of the poor animal’s legs was terribly mutilated,
yet with great courage he repelled the attacks of our dogs by

NATURALIST IN INDIA. 105

means of his bill and wings, and even seized my loading-rod
and held it so firmly in his beak that it was only with great
difficulty he could be made let go his hold. The excursion
having come to a close, I reviewed the produce of my labours,
and arranged the large collection of skins ; whilst my friend,
no less pleased, produced the game-register, in which was re-
corded the death of 1 barking-deer, 6 hares, 1 monal phea-
sant, 5 cheer pheasants, 1 plach and 32 kalij pheasants,
besides, 58 black partridges, 12 red-legged partridges, 1 gray
partridge, 3 bush quail, 6 jungle-fowl, and 4 peafowl. “We
should have done better,’ said Young; “let us hope the
autumn will bring good luck.” As the sequel shows, his an-
ticipation proved true.

106 WANDERINGS OF A

CHAPTER VI.

Second Excursion to the Chor Mountain— Leopards and Tiger-cats—
Monkeys—Royal Falcon, Daurian Swallow, Himalayan Siskin and
Goldfinch—Monal Pheasant Shooting—Wood-partridge—Small Birds—
Nutcracker—Black Bears—Green Woodpecker—Golden Eagle—Climatic
Influence on size of Birds—Sporting-bag—Redheaded Bullfinch—Flame-
coloured Flycatchers—Paradise Flycatcher—Thrushes—Fish-owl— Red-
starts—Lark-finch—Brown Water-ousel.

We started on our second excursion to the Chor on the 24th
of September. The crops were cut, and the autumnal tint
was beginning to show on the leaves of the forest. In the
corn-fields about Thor we picked up a few common quail, and
one of the black-bellied species (Coturnix coromandelica),
which occasionally wanders up the valleys. Peafowl,
pheasants, and partridges were plentiful. We pushed on,
however, for the monal-shooting had been reported excellent ;
and we were full of hope, and anxious to engage in the
sport.

Among the feline family frequenting this region of the
mountains the most common is the leopard. There seems,
however, to be some variety in the colour and size of the
individuals occasionally to be seen on the Dugshai ranges.
One variety is said to have fewer spots and a smaller head
than the other. I give the latter assertion entirely on the
authority of native sportsmen, who are often deceived by
appearances. They describe no less than five distinct
species:—1. A fawn-coloured animal without spots, called

NATURALIST IN INDIA. 107

“chankoo,” inhabits the mountains about the sources of the
Ganges. 2. The panther (Ff. pardus); lower and forest
regions. 3. The leopard (Ff. leopardus ?)—“ dheer hay” of the
natives; affects the same situations as the last. 4. The
white leopard or ounce, and called the “burrel hay ;” found
at high altitudes, near the persistent snow-region. 5. The
small leopard, above named, “oral hay,” is so called from
its partiality to feeding on the goral, or Himalayan chamois.
A most indefatigable and discerning sportsman, Mr. Wilson
of Mussouree, has made a similar observation.*

I believe the Felide of the Himalayas have been by no
means well studied ; certainly, if there are not more species,
those at present known are subject .to great variety. The
striped and spotted jungle-cats of these regions are numerous.
Of the former I have only seen Horsfield’s tiger-cat (f. hors-
fieldii), a very handsome and beautiful species, often met
with in the lower jungles, where it preys on small quadrupeds
and birds. From a distance it is like a diminutive leopard.
The Bengal cat (F. bengalensis) is plentiful in the sub-
Himalayan jungles. It is difficult to say whether the
colouring of the generality of the domestic variety met with
in the same situation differs in any. degree from their wild
congeners. Possibly they may interbreed.

The Lungoor monkey (Semnopithecus schistaceus) is
usually seen in herds in pine and oak forests. The highest
point at the sanatorium of Simla is called “Jacko,” from the
number of this species which were met with in that locality.
The animal is common in the Chor forests, and similar situa-
tions on the western ranges. It is dark-slatey above ; below,
pale-yellow ; tail long and tufted ; hair on the crown of the
head short and diverging. There is considerable variety of

* Indian Sporting Review for September 1848,

108 WANDERINGS OF A

colouring ; the young incline to brown, and the old become
more or less hoary. The bunder (Macacus rhesus) is the most
common. It is distinguished from its compeers by the
crown of the head being dusky brown ; body inclining to
ash ; face naked and dusky red. It is easily domesticated
and taught a variety of tricks. The Entellus monkey (Sem-
nopithecus entellus) is ash-gray on the upper parts; darker
on the shoulders and lower part of the back ; tail grayish-
brown ; hands with a slight shade of black; body slight;
limbs long and slender; tail lengthened. This species has
been mistaken for the Lungoor, and vice versa. The en-
tellus is found on the lesser ranges and India, whereas the
other is partial to forests at high elevations, There is,
however, great variety in the colouring of the Himalayan
quadrumana, and, like the last family, their natural history is
by no means perfect.

I killed the shaheen, or royal falcon (Falco peregrinator), in
the centre of the cantonments of Dugshai while it was
stooping on a Himalayan pipit, and observed it once or twice
on wing afterwards. The bird is by no means common, and
much in request for hawking. I saw it among the falcons
belonging to the late Rajah of Puteala.

The Daurian or red-rumped swallow (Hirundo dawrica)
is plentifully distributed over the lower regions in summer,
but migrates to the plains of India during the cold months.
It has much the appearance of the chimney-swallow, which,
although common in Cashmere and neighbouring ranges, does
not seem to frequent the mountains about Dugshai. The
red-rumped swallow builds on the under surfaces of jutting
rocks. Its nest is oblong, and has usually two or three
openings. The Himalayan goldfinch (Carduelis caniceps)
at first sight bears a striking resemblance to the European

NATURALIST IN INDIA. 109

species, but differs in wanting the black on the hind head.
The song is fully as rich as the other. Many are caught on
the hills, and imported to India. Another congener to a
well-known European bird is the Himalayan siskin (Carduelis
spinoides). It likewise differs in some well-marked particu-
lars. _The plumage of the male resembles the female of the
former and the pine-siskin of North America. The bill is
stouter, and the whole appearance of the little creature is less
elegant. Its call-note is not so loud or joyous, but in habits
and haunts they are very much alike.

There is a rich and picturesque beauty at this season in
the little red patches of “batu” growing around the villages
-. or along the terraced sides of the valleys, looking from a dis-
tance as if red sand was strewn on the soil. The mountain-
sides were covered with long yellow grass, among which
the blue flowers of the aconite were conspicuous, while the
little rice-kates teemed with a rich harvest, and showed there
was plenty in the land for man and beast.

Lammergeyers were common, and generally observed cir-
cling around the mountain-tops in quest of small quadrupeds
and young partridges. A pair attracted us from our beaten path
to climb a steep ascent, expecting to find their eyrie, which
turned out only an ancient roosting-place strewn with bones
of sheep which had evidently been carried from the European
stations more than ten miles distant.

The pine and oak forests of the Chor were reached on the
sixth day, when, to our intense delight, we soon found the
pheasants far outnumbered previous expectations, for the
ravines resounded with their loud screams, and the higher we
went and the deeper we penetrated into the dense forests the
more plentiful they became. The cool days, cold, even frosty
nights, added increased vigour to our exertions. Our table

110 WANDERINGS OF A

actually groaned with game, and if there is one gastronomic
remembrance of those days more agreeable than another, it is
the delight we felt on returning at nightfall with a hunter's
appetite to enjoy the monal cutlets which our excellent
Bengal cook prepared in what he called “his own way.” We
found the monal most plentiful in the little openings in the
forest, where they were feeding on the seeds of wild balsams
and various sorts of earthnuts. The above was the most com-
mon species next to the plach; avery few cheer were ob-
served, for the region was too high for them and the kalij
pheasants. My companion killed a wood-partridge (Arboricola
torqueola), the only one I have seen in its native haunts. It
is rare on the Chor mountain, but it is by no means so in
some situations near Mussouree. The buntetur, as it is called
by the natives, frequents the depths of the forest, and is usually
met single or in pairs. Besides game, I managed to add to
my collection several new and little-known birds. The thick
boughs of the pine offered excellent retreats for many inter-
esting sorts. The Himalayan golden-crested wren I shot
in company with the black-crested titmouse (Parus melanolo-
phus), which somewhat resembles the marsh-tit of Europe. It
is usually seen in flocks, and sometimes associated with another
pretty species the gray-backed tit (Parus dichrous), which is
known by its brick-red iris ; the forehead and under the ear-
coverts a dirty white; upper parts grayish blue; breast, belly,
and vent ochrey white. The male is crested. I believe this is
the first record of this species having been seen on the western
ranges ; it is not rare in Nepal. One of the most beautiful is
the yellow-cheeked ox-eye (Parus xanthogenys), which is likethe
English bird in some respects ; it has still, however, a closer ally
in the Eastern Himalayas. The Himalayan nuthatch (Sitta
himalayana) is the most common species of a genus which fur-

NATURALIST IN INDIA. 111

nishes several very closely-allied forms. Moving noiselessly up
the trunks of the pines a creeper (Certhia himalayana) is re-
cognised, Differing only in very slight degree from the British
bird; and seen sporting from the extremity of one spreading
bough to another, in true flycatcher style, is the restless little
speckled flycatcher (Hemicheledon fuliginosa). The nutcracker
(Nucifraga hemispila) is oftener heard than seen ; its harsh
call resounds through the forest, and awakes the echoes of the
glen. It is a solitary bird, and delights to lurk among the
tops of the forest-trees.

The adult plach pheasant (males in particular) are very
wild and wary. We shot many females and yearling birds,
but only succeeded in procuring three specimens of old males,
I shot a pied variety of the monal, with white feathers among
the wing-coverts. A few seemingly adult male birds retained
the brown-coloured feathers of the first year among the gaudy
blue wing-coverts, but the young of both sexes showed no
disposition to change their sombre garb. I conclude, there-
fore, they retain the plumage of the female until the second
year. Many of the two sorts were seen feeding on the wild
currant and gooseberry. One morning we happened to get
into a narrow defile leading towards the summit of the moun-
tain, profusely covered with ferns, balsams, dwarf-bamboo
jungle, and long dank vegetation, through which we could
scarcely pick our way, much less see the great numbers of
monal pheasants which were continually rising around us. I
had just discharged my gun at a flock of upwards of twenty
monal which rose in front of us, when within one hundred yards
were two black bears (Ursus tibetanus) ascending a service-tree
in quest of fruit; but they caught sight of us, and were off
long before we could draw shot and load with ball. My
companion, in spite of the uncertain footing and obstacles,

112 WANDERINGS OF A

killed ten monal in an hour. In the depths of these soli-
tudes, creeping up the trunks of ancient pines, or flying
wildly across the valleys, uttering its loud scream as it lights
on the side of a tree, is often seen the beautiful green wood-
pecker (Picus squamatus). I was crossing a deep ravine
one morning, when a golden eagle sprang from a rock with
a kalij pheasant in his grasp. It was the first occa-
sion of my meeting with that noble bird in Asia. I well
remember how he mounted into the sky with his prey, casting
a defiant look downwards at us; but our Eley’s cartridge
reached him, and he fell lifeless, with his quarry in his talons.
It was a young bird of that or the previous year, with a good
deal of white on the tail; weighed 8 lbs.; total length was 2
feet 8 inches; and between tips of wings 6 feet 4 inches.
The golden eagle is not common on the Himalayas. I saw
several woodcocks (Scolopax rusticola), and one or two soli-
tary snipes (Gallinago solitaria), in the shaded situations and
more secluded valleys of the Chor. It is wonderful how
much climate and situation influence the size and general
appearance of individual species. I do not think naturalists
are sufficiently alive to this. For instance, the black partridge
of the plains of India is not so heavy or so well plumed as the
bird of the Himalayas. Even the kalij pheasant met with
in the sub-Himalayan jungles is decidedly smaller than the
same species found in the forests of the middle region. The
differences in such-like cases are very striking, and no field-
naturalist can overlook the effects of these great modifiers of
natural objects. It would be well, however, if indoor students
bestowed more attention, and made a somewhat more liberal
allowance when determining specific distinctions.

One forenoon I saw a bearded-vulture stoop on a monal,
perhaps a wounded bird, and bear it off in his talons with the

NATURALIST IN INDIA. 113

greatest ease. I doubt, however, unless when the monal is
taken by surprise, if the vulture is equal to it in rapidity of
flight.

After eleven days’ uninterrupted happiness, we bade fare-
well to the Chor and its splendid scenery. The grand object
of my visit was gained : I had made myself acquainted with
the habits and haunts of its most interesting denizens.

The well-known bullfinch of Europe is represented on the
Himalaya by a set of extremely beautiful and interesting
congeners. Two very characteristic species are the orange-
coloured (Pyrrhula awrantia) and red-headed bullfinch (P.
erythrocephala). The former will be noticed hereafter; the
latter is not uncommon in shady groves and woods of the
lower and middle regions; about 6 inches in length, head,
neck, and breast reddish-yellow, becoming fainter towards the
belly ; the vent and rump white ; back bluish-ash ; quills and
tail glossy black. The female differs from the male in want-
ing the red colour on the breast, and resembles the female of
the European bullfinch ; also the colouring on the head is
less clear. The flammeous flycatcher (Pericrocotus flammeus)
represents a genus of beautiful birds. The males differ very
much from the females in colouring. While red is the pre-
vailing hue of the former, the same parts are yellow in the
other sex. The crimson-rumped flycatcher has been already
mentioned. There are besides various other species, such as
the rose-coloured (P. roses), found in Continental India ; the
short-billed flycatcher (P. brevirostris), a native of the Eastern
Himalaya ; and the black and scarlet thrush (P. speciosus) of
Latham, skins of which I have seen from the Western Hima-
laya, but never had the good fortune to meet with this
beautiful bird. The flammeous flycatcher frequents woods
and forests. I have seen flocks at elevations of from 8000 to

I

114 WANDERINGS OF A

9000 feet, flitting among the pine-tops and frolicking with
each other, or sporting about in quest of insects, the deep red
of the males contrasting with the like brilliant yellow of the
females. Their call is loud.

In oak-forests, feeding on the fallen acorns, were flocks of
missel-thrushes (Turdus viscivorus). This species performs an
up-and-down migration on the western ranges, being found at
high elevations in summer, and in the more sheltered situa-
tions of the valleys during winter. My specimens, procured
on the Chor, and subsequently in Cashmere and Ladakh, |
agreed in every particular with the bird of Britain, being only
a little larger. The black-throated thrush (Turdus atrogularis)
is generally distributed over the woods and cultivated tracts
of these ranges ; both in habits and haunts it bears a close re-
semblance to the last species. It is subject to great variety—
so much so, that unless we are familiar with these changes,
nothing would be easier than to mistake different individuals
for distinct species. The changes appear to me to affect
young birds chiefly, whereas situation doubtless has much
to do, inasmuch as the species is found on the plains of India
and the alpine regions of the Himalayas. The black-throat
is wanting in some varieties, and there are several well-
marked similarities to what has been called the red-necked
thrush (Z'urdus ruficollis), which Mr. Hodgson considers a
distinct species; the latter I have not seen.

We were startled one night by the unpleasant laugh of the
fish-owl (Ketupa ceylonensis) ; no sound grates harsher on the
ear, or is more calculated to bring back recollections of hob-
goblins, than the loud hollow voice of this fine bird, nor is it
less startling to creep through the bush and come suddenly on
an individual moping at mid-day on a branch overhead, flash-
ing his large orange eyes full on your face, as with outstretched

NATURALIST IN INDIA. 115

wings he snaps his bill, or hissing defiance makes straight off
to the nearest cover, pursued by crested bulbuls, jays, etc.
This species is not often seen, as its mid-day haunts are in im-
passable parts of the jungle.

The hill-blackbird or blue water-thrush (Myiophonus tem-
minckit) is one of the most beautiful and common tenants of
the Himalayan streams. It builds its nest on the cliff over
the mountain torrent; during incubation the male may
be seen sallying forth, sporting from cliff to cliff, his melodi-
ous note sounding sweetly among the roaring of the troubled
waters. The song of this species has a resemblance to that of
the blackbird, but is softer. The blue of the body is more
intense on the breast, and forms a gaudy halo across the fore-
head. Another fair denizen of the mountain stream is the
white-capped redstart (Ruticilla leucocephala) which must
not be confounded with the chestnut-bellied or Guldenstadt’s
redstart (R. erythrogastra) a native of the more Alpine re-
gions. The first is distinguished from the other by having
the basal portion of the wing quills black.

Associated with the white-capped redstart is frequently
observed another and smaller species, the plumbeous or sooty
redstart (Ruticilla fuliginosa), a diminutive little creature
seen hopping around the waterfall, vibrating its tail, which it
spreads out like a fan. It is not more than. five inches in
length. On bare situations and sheepfolds the sober-coloured
mountain lark-finch (Leweosticte nemoricola, Blyth) is common.
Like the British “snow-flake” they may be seen in compact
flocks flying from place to place. They congregate often to
the number of 300 or 400 on the lesser ranges during
winter, and ascend even to the limits of forest in summer.
Its call resembles that of the linnet. ;

The brown water-ousel (Cinclus asiaticus) is very generally

116 WANDERINGS OF A

distributed on the streams of the lower, and middle regions,
its habits and haunts closely resemble the European dipper
(likewise found on the Cashmere mountains) from which
it differs only in colour—being a snuff-brown.

NATURALIST IN INDIA. 117

CHAPTER VIL

Hill Stations as Sanitaria—Departure for the Plains—Indian Encampment
and Marching—Sand Grouse—Antelope—Birds of Passage—Wild Ani-
mals— Sediment carried down by the Indian Rivers — Chenab — Great
White Heron — Little Cormorant—Quail, Snipes,: their Migrations—
Black-winged Falcon—Jhelum —Battle-field of Chillianwallah — Rawul
Pindee—Munikyala Tope and Coins—Scenery —The Goral or Himalayan
Chamois—Climate—Flora—Geology— European Birds —Hot Months-—
Raven—Black Ibis—Bald-headed Eagle.

THE naturalist may continue his out-door studies on the
Sub-Himalayan ranges until the middle of June, when the
monsoon sets in, and renders travelling very difficult, and
often impossible. At times it rains uninterruptedly for days.
Vapour-charged clouds often envelope the mountain-tops,
while a few hundred feet below the sun is shining brightly ;
it is like walking out of the densest London fog into an
Italian sky. This is particularly evident at the sanitarium
of Simla, and even on the lower hill stations. All are evi-
dently too high for invalids; in fact, we have overdone our
good intentions in sending them from the torrid plains to the
region of clouds and storms; a lower elevation is clearly
indicated, where the temperature is more equable all the year,
and the weakly removed from injurious influences of the
humid atmosphere of midsummer.

Rapid movements consequent on march are against
making anything like’ close observations regarding the
natural history of a country, nor is the midnight tramp

118 WANDERINGS OF A

along a dusty road at all likely to form a pleasant prelude to
an excursion in the heat of mid-day, in a climate which re-
quires that all journeys be performed before sunrise. No-
madic life in a marching regiment in India has its attractions
nevertheless, and those who are content to follow out the
routine will find, on the score of health, that there are few
more salutary states of existence—the constant changing
scene, the varied novelty of every day, and regular habits,
have a wonderful effect on man and beast. The pale face
becomes bronzed, and the climate-worn soldier plucks up,
and after a few weeks’ steady marching, and away from the
debilitating grog-shops, the men look as if they could do
anything, or go anywhere.

An Indian camp breaking up would form a ‘fine subject
for the painter. Suppose the hour 3 a.m. No sooner does
the bugle sound than the quiet of the preceding hours is
broken, and the noise of wooden mallets and the bellowing
of camels soon arouse us from our slumbers. Tents are
observed falling as if by magic, the white rows of canvas
streets disappear one after another, louder and louder roar
the camels amid the hum and discord of human voices. The
turbaned native and red-coated soldier are seen mingling in
inextricable confusion. By the light of the camp fires, the
camels’ gaunt figures, or an occasional elephant laden with
tents and heavy baggage, defile past one after another; the
dark forms of officers, just turned out of bed, cluster around
the blazing straw fires. Again the bugle sends forth its shrill
and deep-toned call “to arms,’ when all rush through the
gloom, the band strikes up a lively air, and headed by two
native torch-bearers to light us on our pathless way, in ten
minutes the regiment is once more on its orderly march,
while nothing remains but the dying embers of the fires, a

NATURALIST IN INDIA. 419

lagging native, or broken-down camel, to mark the scene so
full of busy excitement half-an-hour before.

We left Dugshai in the beginning of November, and
after a few days spent at Kalka preparing for the march,
started for Rawul Pindee, in the northern Punjaub, by way of
Loodiana and Lahore. At Kalka I had a morning with the
Rajah of Puteala’s falconer, and several gos and chippuck
falcons (Falco badius) were flown at black and gray partridges.
The sport was not exciting, I believe chiefly on account of
the birds having been badly trained. As soon.as a partridge
rose, the hawk was slipped; and if he caught the bird, it
was generally just as the latter was about to drop into the
cover.

The European short-eared owl is not uncommon in the
jungle ; one shot at Kalka had a palm squirrel in its craw.
The painted or lesser sand-grouse (Péerocles fasciatus) differs
in its habits from the other species met with in India, by pre-
ferring jungles to the open country. Its flight resembles the
night-jar’s, and its haunts are similar. It is easily known
from the others by the white and black band on the fore-
head, which is wanting in the female ; the latter is larger,
and, instead of the broad band on the breast, the lower parts
are marked with transverse lines. This species is not gregari-
ous. The large “black breast” (P. arenarius) is at once distin-
guished by its size and even tail from the “pin-tailed grouse”
(P. exustus), which is by far the most common ; both are met
with in flocks in fields and waste places. Their flight is
strong ; and although their flesh is tough and unsavoury, they
are much sought after by European sportsmen. I have been
informed that another species is sometimes seen on the north-
west frontier of the Punjaub, possilly the large pin-tail (P.
alchata), which is said to be plentiful in Afghanistan and

120 WANDERINGS OF A

westward. In the woods and jungles one can scarcely miss
observing the beautiful orange-backed woodpecker (Brachyp-
ternus awrantius) ; its brilliant yellow back is conspicuous at
all times. .

At Morindah, a halting-place, there was a fine tope of
mango in the middle of a desert plain ; here we encamped
for three days, in consequence of the sudden death of one of
our officers, whom we buried at the foot of one of the
trees in this wild untenanted waste. A small travellers’
bungalow was the only human habitation within many
miles,

Almost every morning, at and before daybreak, large
flocks of geese chiefly (Anser indicus) and ducks were ob-
served migrating southwards. There were great numbers of
peafowl in the sugar-cane fields, but the natives preserve them
with so much care that it is considered next to sacri-
lege to molest them in any way. In the wheat-fields near
Loodiana we bagged abundance of pin-tailed grouse; and
among the sand hillocks, covered with bent, three houbara
bustards were shot. In the more level places, where a thick-
leaved shrub abounded, hares were plentiful. The Bengal
fox and the jackal were common. I sawa hyena, and killed
a fine specimen of the gray ichneumon (Herpestes griseus) or
moongus. The male is much larger than the female ; they
breed in captivity. Wherever irrigation appeared, or there
was stagnant water, the spur-winged lapwing and the yellow-
headed wagtail were common.

It is scarcely possible to estimate the amount of sediment
borne down by the great rivers of India. What vast changes
must take place even in a century in the bottom and con-
figuration of the Indus ! we can clearly trace its past changes in
Scinde, and in the Punjaub, inasmuch as the ancient beds are

NATURALIST IN INDIA. 121

six miles distant from where the rivers now flow.* That their
channels must be constantly changing, we have only to look
at their excessively impregnated waters, almost like pea-
soup, boiling and eddying along their muddy banks and
shoals, which render the navigation so uncertain and difficult.
Thus, like the Nile, they are constantly changing their chan-
nels, taking up what they had deposited long since, and form-
ing fresh channels where the river had run ages before. I
was forcibly impressed with the truth of this in having been
shown a village on a bank of ancient river alluvium, near the
field of Aliwal, that six years before was upwards of a quarter
of a mile inland, whilst at the time of our visit the greater
portion had been washed away, and the remainder of the
houses abandoned by the inhabitants.

The country between Ferozepoor and Lahore is for the
most part cultivated, and covered with fields of wheat and
groves of date, mango, acacia, peepul, etc. The famous old
Mussulman city of Kussor is worth a visit, were it only to
examine its fallen grandeur. Among its old temples, ruined.
walls, and broken aqueduct, are to be traced the remains of
a once important town, which the great Runjeet Singh levelled
with the ground when employed in consolidating the Kalsa
dynasty. The Chenab river at Wezeerabad has little of the -
majesty and appearance observed in its course through the
Himalayas ; the roaring mountain torrent is transformed
into a muddy river, whose banks are often almost level with
the plain, especially in the neighbourhood of the city above
mentioned, where annual inundations leave great swamps in
which wild-fowl congregate during winter. There, wading in
shallows I observed the great white heron (gretia alba), a

* See an interesting paper on the ancient and present channels of the
Ganges by Mr. Ferguson in Quarterly Journal Geol. Soctety for 1868.

122 WANDERINGS OF A

handsome bird, and easily distinguished by its large size and
snow-white plumage. The lesser cormorant or dwarf shag
(Graculus sinensis) frequents the rivers and marshes of the
Punjaub, and is easily distinguished from the other cormorants
by its smaller size. I found abundance of mallard, teal, pin-
tailed ducks, egrets, the Indian rail, greater bittern, and the
handsome little black-bellied tern, so common on the Indus.

Proceeding northwards from Wezeerabad, we entered a
district more or less uncultivated, and often covered for miles
with tall scrubby jungle, where the sportsman might pick up
a few quail at almost any season of the year, and by beating
the bushes make a fair bag of gray and black partridges and
hares. From the great numbers of quail met with in the fields
during the ripening of the grain, and their sudden disappear-
ance afterwards, it is generally supposed they migrate, and
in certain situations this may doubtless be the case ; but I am
inclined to believe that in general they disperse themselves
over the jungles of the north-west, and congregate when the
wheat and barley are beginning to ripen. A few snipes
are found at all seasons on the marshes of upper Bengal, but
the majority come and go with considerable regularity. In
the Punjaub they are plentiful from December to February,
and at the same season are said to visit the lakes of Cash-
mere. September and October are their months in the
Deccan, and I believe in Southern India they come earlier ;
their migrations, however, are not well-defined. The black-
winged falcon (Zlanus melanopterus) is generally dispersed
over the country ; few rapacious birds have such a wide
geographical distribution as this pretty little hawk, which is
found in Asia, Africa, and south-eastern Europe.

Proceeding towards the city of Jhelum, the country has
very much the same appearance as has just been detailed.

NATURALIST IN INDIA, 123

Thick, bushy jungle alternates with large open spaces, which
are cultivated, or overgrown with grass. The Sewalik range:
and the Peer Pingal stand forth in their still grandeur, the
former only a few miles distant, the latter seen bounding the
horizon, capped with a broad covering of snow. We passed
the little villages of Koree and Russool. The latter stands
conspicuous on a spur which runs from the Himalayas into the
plain, and ends in the jungle of Chillianwallah, so memorable
in Indian annals. Two years had not sufficed to obliterate all
traces of the sad struggle, for the first memorial we encoun-
tered was the graveyard, a little square, not 30 yards either
way : there, in rows, lay fifty-three officers and several hundred
men. It is said to have been the spot where the commander
of the forces stood during the action, the ill-fated hillock over
which rolled the round shot which called forth the ill-judged
order for an advance. On our left, at a little distance, was
the village, and in front and between us stretched tall and
bushy thickets, intersected by little green patches. In this
ambuscade the cannon and matchlock men of the Sikh army
were hidden, and through this labyrinth-like jungle, with its
numerous devious twinings, our unsuspecting troops wound
their way until they arrived at the cannon’s mouth, when
volley after volley of grape swept through their ranks, fol-
lowed by thousands of matchlock bullets from the lurking
foes behind the guns. We were shown over the field by a
Sikh belonging to the village of Chillian. _He minutely and,
I afterwards discovered, correctly described the positions of
the various British regiments, and spoke with considerable
fervour of the bravery of his countrymen on that occasion,
and how the “Lal Kotees” (the red coats) were obliged
to retire. As I picked my way through the masses of bush
and brake, grim and ghastly relics were observed strewing

124 WANDERINGS OF A

the ground ; several human skulls bore deep sabre-cuts, and in
one secluded spot we came on an entire skeleton. It has been
asserted that all the British were buried, so that the bones we
saw bleaching on the field were possibly those of the enemy.

A nobler picture of filial and heroic devotion is not en-
rolled in history than the death of the younger Pennycuick,
who, on seeing his brave old father fall while leading on the
brigade, rushed forward to save him from the Sikh tulwar, and
fell himself, fighting pro patre patriaque. There was no lack
of courage on that fatal day amongst the officers and men of
the British army.

An officer who shared in the fight informed us that the
night after the battle was one of awful suspense, for nearly
half the British force lay dead or wounded in the jungle, and
at the mercy of a cruel and relentless enemy. Peace to the
ashes of the noble fellows cradled together on the field on
which they fell! History records what the peaceful naturalist
even cannot pass unnoticed, and in the wild jungle the white
obelisk will mark the spot, and many a British soldier will
point to the little graveyard, and say, “ There lie the brave men
who fell on the field of Chillianwallah !”

After a pleasant march of nearly two months’ duration, we
arrived at Rawul Pindee, which is situated on a slightly un-
dulating plain about 24 miles from the Himalayas. The
country around is intersected and much broken up by ravines
and watercourses, and the surface is covered with kankur, a
calcareous concretionary deposit now in course of formation,
mostly in nodules, but here and there forming masses of con-
siderable thickness.

Sixteen miles from Rawul Pindee stands the remarkable
round mound called Maunikyala tope, which is composed of
blocks of stone forming a dome 70 feet in height, with an

NATURALIST IN INDIA. 125

opening on the top, by which one of Runjeet Singh’s generals
descended, and found a vase containing many ancient coins.
Their antiquity, however, was found not so great as had been
formerly ascribed to the tope, which was thought to have been
built by Alexander the Great to mark one of his victories.
The coins show the usual devices to be met with on those found
in the northern Punjaub. Several were procured by us from
the natives, who have, unfortunately, a way of not only tell-
ing lies with reference to the localities where they are
found, but, as we discovered, had counterfeited several. All
the coins we saw were of copper, and of the exact figure of
the old native piece of Hindostan. On one side was a “ male
figure with crossed legs,” on the other, “a man riding on an
elephant”—a figure with an arm akimbo and the other ex-
tended, “and with a spear or sceptre in his hand.”

The absence of wood about Rawul Pindee, and the general
uncultivated and barren appearance of the country, afford few
natural history materials, compared with the fertile and
densely-covered slopes of the Himalayas ; nevertheless, there
are attractions sufficient to repay an ardent student. Let him
follow down the dubious windings of the Hummok river from
its sources in the Sewalik range to where it joins the Swan
—a river of fair dimensions which empties itself into the
Indus on the west, near Kala-Bagh. Among the pools and
deeper parts of the Hummok, the migrating waterfowl re-
pair in the cold months; and a few miles from the native
city of Rawul Pindee, in a low marshy flat, he will find at the
same season many European birds not observed in other por-
tions of the continent southwards.

Along the base of the Himalayas, in the dense jungles,
an occasional tiger prowls; the leopard is not uncommon ;
while the game birds named about Dugshai are there also

126 WANDERINGS OF A

plentiful. Among the lesser ranges bordering the plains,
and to an elevation of 8000 or 9000 feet, barking-deer
are common; and on the more secluded and craggy moun-
tains, the goral or chamois of the Himalayas may be occa-
sionally seen sporting among the pine-clad precipices. This
little antelope is gregarious, feeding in scattered herds, so that
when the loud hissing call of alarm is uttered by one indi-
vidual, the others, one by one, take it up; and if you were
on @ prominent position at the time, you might see from ten
to twenty gorals in different parts of the hill bounding across
the precipices. The goral is rather higher than the barking-
deer, and more compact and agile in appearance. Its coat is
dark brown above, neck and throat white. Both sexes have
short black horns curving backwards, and ringed towards
their base. The young are born in May or June. The im-
mediate neighbourhood of Rawul Pindee is far from inviting.
A few acacia or Persian lilacs are planted round the villages,
and also set off the otherwise dismal appearance of the
Englishmen’s houses. The barren, stony wastes, level in
some places, slightly elevated into low hills or plateaus in
other situations, are covered with low scrub, and the wild
oleander and olive are not uncommon. Among the few
northern forms of plants I searched in vain for the dandelion,
mentioned by Sir A..Burns in his travels as a “ common
weed.” I think he must have been mistaken both as to its
frequency and that of the “ chickweed” and “ plantago,” neither
of which I have seen on the cis-Indus portion of the Punjaub
or even in the valley of Peshawur. The change, however, in
the vegetation of the northern Punjaub, compared with the
low countries, is very striking, The peach, plum, apple, pear,
quince, mulberry, etc., grow in gardens. The chief geological
feature about Rawul Pindee is a tertiary sandstone, common

NATURALIST IN INDIA. 127

to this part of the country and the lower Himalayan ranges ;
it has evidently been much disintegrated and denuded in the
plain, and here and there abuts in the form of large bare
masses on the sides of ravines or irregular hogs-backs and
rugged prominences observable south-west of Rawul Pindee.
The great depth of the alluvium of the surrounding country,
especially towards the Himalayas, may in part result from the
disintegration of the sandstone, which is friable and easily
broken up.

In Afghanistan, or even in Kohaut, one of the trans-Indus
districts, the wild raspberry and blackberry are common. At
Gundamuk, in the former country, Burns discovered white
daisies, clover, and forests of pine. Even at Rawul Pindee the
fauna more resembles that of Northern Europe and Asia than
the sputh. It is, as it were, on the confines of two great
regions, which differ in their fauna and flora, and partakes
more or less of both. The migrations of its birds are there-
fore very interesting, as thereby we are enabled to trace the
goings and comings of many species, and find out the habi-
tats and distribution of individuals, whose existence before
was limited to the districts they frequented. Take, for instance,
the common European jackdaw, which may be seen in flocks in
winter in the northern frontier of the Punjaub, associated with
the Cornish chough and the rook. The first two come from
Cashmere, where I have found them in great abundance
during the summer ; but the rook, if ever seen in Cashmere, is
only a cold-weather visitor. I believe it comes from the west,
inasmuch as it is said to be common in Afghanistan. It ap-"
pears at Rawul Pindee in flocks about the beginning of Sep-
tember, and disappears entirely in. March. I believe it is
found in winter as far south as Lahore. The hooded-crow has
been brought from Northern Afghanistan, and is mentioned

128 WANDERINGS OF A

by Lieutenant Wood in his travels as common in Kunduz, but
it is not found in Cashmere or in the Punjaub. Besides these
British birds, the chimney swallow makes its appearance in
October and leaves again for the straw-built sheds of Cash-
mere, where it breeds and spends the summer months. The
white-rumped martin® and sand martin are both likewise
migratory, and repair to Cashmere and Ladakh in summer.
The black and alpine swifts remain longer, and may be seen
careering about during the summer evenings, especially after
a shower of rain. The ring-dove is a resident on the sub-
Himalaya. The common starling is plentiful in the north
as elsewhere in Hindostan. The lapwing (Vanellus cristatus)
arrives in flocks in the beginning of November, and departs
for the west early in spring; its summer residence I have not
been enabled to find out, but I imagine it must be common
in certain parts of Persia and Afghanistan. The common and
jack snype, with a few painted snipe, appear in the Rawul
Pindee in February and March, when I have procured as
many as thirty couple at a time.

On the 11th of December I shot several barred-headed
geese, and also the gray-lag, which had evidently just arrived
from the north with mallard, teal, etc., as they were very
tame, and allowed me to approach within easy shooting dis-
tance. Nearly all the water-fowl met with in the rivers and
marshes of the north-west come from the Tartarian lakes,
where they may be found breeding. At the commencement
of the cold months great flocks are seen steering their course
southwards to the Punjaub rivers. I have seen large flocks of
the greater and pintailed grouse flying southwards in Sep-
tember, October, and November, and flocks of cranes, of up-

* This is the Chelidon cashmeriensis referred to before. It is at least a
distinct race, if not a different species, from C. wrbica of Europe.

NATURALIST IN INDIA. 129

wards of half-a-mile in length, may be observed pursuing the
same course; their loud gabblings, and those of ducks and
geese, and the harsh “ guggle” of the sand-grouse, are often
heard overhead at night. It is a busy time in the bird-
world when the cold months are setting in on the north-
western frontier of British India.

In May, as soon as the hot weather appears, nearly all
the birds of the North-western Provinces retire to their various
summer quarters, and only a few permanent residents remain.
The raven, Indian jackdaw, govind kite, and sparrow, are
about the chief. The raven hunts about houses, or sits
gaping and croaking on the roof-tops at mid-day in a tempera-
ture of 130° Fahrenheit and upwards, whilst his more know-
ing companion, the Indian jackdaw, seeks the shade of the
Persian lilac or the castor-oil plant. The kite is seen soaring
aloft over barracks and bazaars, or indeed anywhere at all
likely to supply refuse. Sparrows* breed in June and July
among the thatch of our verandahs, and the Indian roller in
the chimney-top. After a sultry day it is usual to see the wire-
tailed swallow skimming over the plains, and by the side of
pools and streams a solitary green sandpiper (7otanus ochropus)
is not rare. I have also shot the brown-backed heron (Ardeola
lewcoptera) in such situations. The black ibis (G. papillosus),
with its red crown, is seen flying, along with the rooks and
European jackdaws, during the cold months ; and besides, on
the marshes about, the great and little bitterns, with the spotted
rail, are not uncommon. Of the other European birds may
be noticed the short-eared owl, moor buzzard, the pale harrier
(Circus swainsonit), the cormorant, ruff, and smew, all coming
and departing with the winter months.

* This is P. domesticus; the Spanish sparrow P. salicarius is found in
Kohaut, on the west frontier of the Punjaub.
K

130 WANDERINGS OF A

The bald-headed eagle of Asia (H. macei) pays cold-
weather visits to the inland marshes. I took its eggs as early
as the 12th of December; the nest was built on an old
peepul-tree near the Rawul Pindee bog. I had then several
opportunities of observing the extraordinary rapid stoop of
this fine eagle ; the noise of its wings, and the wild scream as
it darted obliquely downwards on a flock of mallard and teal
(none of which, however, did it manage to capture on that oc-
casion), brought to recollection Wilson’s and Audubon’s
descriptions of its American ally. The handsome little
chicquera falcon is plentiful in the acacia “topes.” The
crested lark and green wagtail (I. viridis), with the blue-
black head in the breeding season, are both exceedingly com-
mon. The last, as before noticed, is subject to seasonal
changes of plumage, which have occasioned much confusion,
and led to errors in nomenclature.

NATURALIST IN INDIA. 131

CHAPTER VIII.

Excursion to the Salt Mountains of the Punjaub— Wild Sheep—Ravine Deer—
Geology—Ornithology—Scenery.

Durine the months of March and April the climate of the
Northern Punjaub is delightful. If the heat at mid-day is
oppressive, the morning and evening are always cool and
pleasant. Having despatched our tent and baggage to Ranou-
thera, a village 32 miles south of Rawul Pindee, on the 21st
March 1853, we started very early, and rode through an almost
barren country, intersected by ravines and water-courses—now
floundering through a stagnant pool, now cantering on a level
space, covered with pebbles or rough and hard kankur. This
substance, already mentioned, is extensively distributed over
the Northern Punjaub, either as a surface deposit, or in heaps
along the sides of river-beds and ravines. It is usually met
with in the form of tufaceous nodules, but not unfrequently
also in large irregularly-shaped concrete masses. When broken
up and mixed with brick-dust and lime, it forms a durable
cement. It is also used in road-making, and even building
purposes. Professor Ansted is disposed to consider the kankur
referable to the drift period.* I have, however, observed a
similar deposit in course of formation on the surface, and
throughout the alluvium of rivers and streams both in the
Punjaub and banks of the Nile in Egypt and Nubia.t

* Professor Ansted’s analysis is as follows :--72 per cent carbonate of lime,

15 per cent silica, 18 per cent allumina.
+ Proc. Geol. Soc. of London, 1863, p. 8.

132 WANDERINGS OF A

Long before day-dawn the well-known call of the spur-
winged lapwing (Lobivanellus goensis) was heard. This un-
settled water-sprite often flies about at night, startling the
unwary with its cry of Did dee doo it, did did did dee doo tt.
Like the European lapwing, it assails all who intrude on its
haunts. The horny spurs on the wings I have never seen used
either as a means of attack or defence. When morning
dawned we found ourselves on the banks of the Swan, one of
several streams which rise at the foot of the Himalayas, and,
coursing westward, empty themselves into the Indus. Many
of these tributaries are completely dried up in summer, and
present only a series of pools and stagnant ponds, with broad
pebbly beds. They are very different, however, during the
rainy season, when, after a storm, the rush of water from the
slopes around is frequently sudden and furious. On one
occasion, during a terrific thunderstorm which took place in
February near Rawul Pindee, three soldiers were bathing in
one of these pools, when the flood overwhelmed them so sud-
denly that they were carried away by its violence. One poor
fellow was drowned, and on recovering his body, a few days
afterwards, it was found to be horribly disfigured by a small
species of crab which abounds in the rivers and streams of
the Punjaub. The fish called masseer is prized by Europeans
more for the sport it affords than as an article of food, being
frequently caught by the rod and fly ; however, in the more
rapid parts of the Punjaub rivers throughout these mountain-
courses, it attains not only a very large size,* but its flesh is
firm and savoury. It is said to spawn in the deep ponds
above mentioned, where it is occasionally caught. We observed
a flock of cranes in the shallow waters of the Swan. The
crane migrates to Central Asia in May. Journeying on, we

* Individuals 30 to 40 lbs. in weight have been captured.

NATURALIST IN INDIA. 133

passed little villages, surrounded by high walls of mud, clusters
of camel-thorn, and fields of wheat and barley, with here and
there a banyan-tree, despoiled by the elephant-drivers, who
cut down its broad leaves for fodder,—now a clump of mul-
berry, now a ravine or a tract of waste and arid plain. Such
are the natural features of this and great portions of the
Northern Punjaub. Among the low brushwood that covers
the sides of ravines and hollows, flocks of the striated babbler
(Malacocircus caudatus) were observed chirping and chattering
in a low note, or fluttering from bush to bush with their
characteristic, feeble, and unsteady flight. The blue rock-
pigeon abounds in ravines; and in the fields and hedgerows
the Senegal dove (Columba senegalensis) is generally seen either
singly or in pairs. On the side of a steep ravine I killed a fine
specimen of the spotted eagle, which is not rare in the district.

The black-throated wheatear (Saxicola atrogularis) is com-
mon ; its favourite food is a smalt white worm, which it digs
out of the sun-baked soil. Flocks of the crested lark (Galerida
cristata) were scattered over the desert plains, as plentifully
as in the southern provinces. ‘With the exception of an isabel
tinge of plumage, so characteristic of larks and chats frequent-
ing dry and arid wastes, there is no difference between this
bird and the crested lark of Europe and North Africa.

March 22.—To Fureed, about twelve miles. It blew
strongly during the greater part of the night, and day dawned
in the usual Indian style, followed by a grilling hot forenoon.
The first half of our march was very similar to that of the
previous day, until we debouched on a vast plain, cultivated
here and there. Jn the distance, running from east to west,
the salt range was seen, but so far away that in the hazy
atmosphere of mid-day we could do little more than define its
outline. Green bee-eaters covered the surrounding country,

134 WANDERINGS OF A

flitting swallow-like after their winged prey. Itis extremely
common all over India and westward to north-western Africa.
The Indian specimens show some variety which I have not
noticed in those of Egypt. Numbers of a small white-rumped
martin were often noticed. No specimens, however, were
procured ; and although I then supposed the species to be
identical with the European martin, I hesitate now in coming
to that conclusion, in consequence of skins procured by me
on the frontier of Cashmere having been considered to be
different from the Chelidon urbica. Around the villages—for
what native village would be complete without them ?—were
govind kites, Indian jackdaws, and the noisy mina birds.
In the fields and sandy wastes were numbers*of a pipit,
usually gregarious in the cold months, and often seen associ-
ating with the crested lark previously named. This species
is larger than the Anthus agilis, Sykes, to which its plumage
bears a resemblance. Its total length is 74 inches; the
markings on the throat and breast are more numerous, with a
slight tinge of rufous on the latter ; inner surface of the wings
dirty white.

March 23.—To Bone, fifteen miles. In order to escape
the heat of mid-day, we started very early, and marched the
first few miles by moonlight. The route led by narrow foot-
paths through stony ravines and cotton-fields. When day
dawned, we found ourselves toiling up a rather broad valley,
and soon had the mortification of discovering that the guides
had lost their way, and our three hours’ travelling had been
to no purpose ; we soon, however, got on the right track, and
entered on a fine open district, thickly covered with fields of
green wheat, and by noon arrived at the town of Chukkowal,
during a Sikh festival, and just as one of their priests (goroo)
was about to address a large assembly in a tent pitched under

NATURALIST IN INDIA. 135

a copse of peepul and other trees. Here we spent the hottest
portion of the day watching the busy scene. Pilgrims, fakirs,
and dirty beggars from all parts of the country were pushing
onwards towards the tent, whilst many were bathing in the
neighbouring tank ;—the heat and dust, the continued hubbub
of human voices, the cawing, chattering, and chirpings of im-
pertinent jackdaws, bulbuls, and rose-winged parrakeets,among
the branches overhead, rendered our stay anything but agree-
able, and made us only too glad when the afternoon came, and
we were able to quit the scene. The red-vented bulbul
(Pyenonotus bengalensis) is generally distributed over the
Punjaub. The lesser yellow-vented bulbul (P. leucotis),
although not so plentiful, is by no means rare, and both were
often seen on the same tree.

The inhabitants of this part of the Punjaub, known as the
Scind Sagour Doab, are chiefly Mussulmen. They are a fine
hardy race, with long flowing beards and large turbans. The
women (such as we were permitted to see) wore capacious
peg-tops, their hair knotted behind, while a loose jacket anda
piece of red cloth over the head completed their eccentric-
looking costume.

We often noticed the pale harrier (Circus swainsonii),
which is pretty generally distributed over Asia, Africa, and
Southern Europe, evidently replacing its very close ally, C.
cyaneus, in certain portions of these continents ; the latter
species being partial to their more northern regions. He who
aims at uniting the meagre distinctions which are often made
to separate species may, in this instance, consider how much
of the little that divide the pale and dull chested hen harriers
are the result of climate, food, and such like; but until we
care less for making new species, and think more of applying
ourselves to the study of animals in nature rather than in the

136 WANDERINGS OF A

cabinet, there is no prospect that any great strides will be
made in the discovery of laws which shall regulate the varieties
and geographical distribution of species.

The Asiatic pigeon (Turtwr hunvilis) is somewhat common
in the Punjaub. The gay Indian roller sported before us, now
perched on the stump of a decayed tree, anon pursuing
its corkscrew-like flight through the hazy atmosphere. This
roller is replaced in Eastern India by a very close ally (C.
afinis). The palm-squirrel (Sciwrus palmarum) is common
in every grove. A fox, differing in some respects from the
Bengal fox (in the lower parts, which are white in the latter,
being in this species black), was not uncommon in the ravines
and around the villages.*

The pied wagtail (Motacilla luzontensis) was plentiful at
this season. “Perhaps, if more was known of the general dis-
tribution of this species and the pied wagtail of Western India
(M. dukhunensis), also the well-known European bird, the
slight differences in plumage would scarcely permit us to
separate them. ~

March 24.—Kuller Kahar, 8 miles. We started early,
and performed the greater part of the march by moonlight,
and at day-break reached the side of a steep ravine overlook-
ing a beautiful valley, composed chiefly of reddish and gray
sandstones, cultivated in several places, and with a large lake
several miles in length occupying its centre. Flocks of wild
fowl covered the surface of the lake, and the pink and white
plumage of the flamingo added greatly to the beauty of
the landscape.

The wandering pie (Dendrocitta vagabunda) was observed.
I do not think I have ever seen more than two of these birds

« This fox agrees with descriptions of Vulpes pusillus, Blyth —Jour. As.
Soc, Ben. 1854.

NATURALIST IN INDIA. 137

together. Its habits are like those of the British magpie.
The pied stonechat (Sawicola picata) was common. The
Indian robin, so generally distributed over most parts of Hin-
dostan, is seen here in almost every village and field.
Although differing altogether in the colour of its plumage
from the European robin, there is a great similarity in their
habits. It frisks before the door and picks up the crumbs,
jerking its tail as it hops along. How often have associations
of home been brought to mind by seeing this pretty little
warbler pursuing its gambols before the door of an Eastern
bungalow! Although its song is far from unmusical, it wants
the melody of the northern bird.

The Indian porcupine (Hystriz leucurus) is found among
the low scrub and bush. As an article of food, its flesh
is much sought after by Europeans as well as natives.

The Salt Range extends from the Himalayas across the
Punjaub in about a straight line to the Suliman Mountains on
their west flank, and is composed of low hills intersected by
narrow ravines or prominent ridges, for the most part devoid
of vegetation. Limestones, saliferous red and gray sandstones,
would appear to form the chief geological formations which,
according to Professor Fleming, belong to the carboniferous
period.* The plateaus, excepting where extensive denudation
has taken place, are covered with rounded pebbles, mostly
formed from the breaking up of the limestone beds. Salt is
found in veins in various situations, more especially among
the sandstone and marl beds in the neighbourhood of Kuller
Kahar, where there are extensive salt-mines. The barren and
sun-burnt appearance of these mountains strikes the tra-
veller ; indeed it is chiefly on that account that they become
a safe retreat to the wild sheep, for, except in the cultivated

* Quart. Jour. Geol. Soc. 1858 and 1862 ‘also Jour. As, Soc. Ben: 1858, cte.

138 WANDERINGS OF A

districts, their dreary and desolate wastes are seldom disturbed
by man.

The Houriar (Caprovis vignet) extends along the eastern
spurs of the Salt Mountains, but becomes less common as we
proceed eastwards, and, I believe, is seldom met with on the
ranges beyond the town of Jhelum, or southwards of the Beas
River. Accordingly, in British India it is confined to the
north and western portions of the Punjaub, including the.
Suliman chain, where it is known by the name of Kuch. It
is also a denizen of the mountains around Peshawur, includ-
ing the Khyber Pass, Hindu Koh, and Kaffiristan. The
shapoo or shalmar* of Ladakh, if not identical, is certainly
very closely allied; its differences are slight, and, I opine,
such as might result in a great measure from the marked
diversity of climate, food, etc, of the two regions. This
species is no doubt the Sha of Tibet described by Vigne,t and
possibly the wild sheep of western Afghanistan, Persia, the
Caucasus, Armenian and Corsican mountains, is the same
species, altered mayhap by climate and other external agen-
cies. I have not been enabled to fix with certainty the eastern
limits of the Shapoo, but as far as all my inquiries have yet
extended it would seem that, commencing at Ladakh, it pro-
ceeds westward towards the Indus, into the regions where the
houriar is found, and probably when we are enabled to explore
these regions we shall find out the relation between what -has
been supposed distinct, but which I am much inclined to
consider one and the same animal. There is considerable
variation with regard to the shape and curvature of horns in

* “ Habits of some of the Mammalia of India and Himalayas” (Proc. Zool.
Soc, 1858, p. 621). The name Shalmar I give on the authority of an English
officer who had shot the animal in Ladakh.

+ Travels in Cashmir, etc. vol. ii, 280.

NATURALIST IN INDIA. 139

several specimens I have examined from the Salt Range and
Ladakh, as well as in size of the animal. For example, the
rams’ horns of the Ladakh sheep were larger, and had the
upper surface rounded, with the tops turned more inward ;
whilst the houriar had the upper surface of the horn flat : that
of the female seemed in no way different from the shapoo, and
the skins of both houriar and shapoo were similarly coloured.
The above peculiarity is certainly striking, but too much
value must not be placed on the horn as a means of distinc-
tion. Every one at all conversant with the wild goats
and sheep of the Himalayas, knows that these organs are
subject to considerable variety in individuals of the same
species. The upper parts of the houriar of the Salt Moun-
tains are fawn-colour, the belly and inner side of the thighs
pure white. The male has long black hair extending down
the dewlap. The horn resembles certain varieties of the
domestic animal, but perhaps rises higher and curves more
backward ; it often measures from 25 to 30 inches over
the curvature, and from 8 to 12 inches around the base;
that of the female is small, and seldom exceeds 6 inches
in length. 5

On the 25th of March we ascended the side of a steep
ravine covered with brushwood, and gained a broad and partly-
cultivated plateau, where our beaters flushed several coveys of
the red-legged or chukore partridge, and a smaller species called
by the natives “sisi.” The former is by no means common on
the range, or indeed in any part of the Punjaub, although a
few are met with on the plains along the skirts of the Hima-
layas ; its favourite haunts are on those mountains where it
extends northward to the Altai ranges. The average weight
of an adult male is about one and a half pounds. It is found
likewise in Persia and Afghanistan. Mr. Vigne mentions

140 WANDELINGS OF A.

having seen “red-legged partridges” in Kurdistan, but does
not identify species. The red-leg of south-eastern Europe (C.
greca) does not appear to differ in any well-marked degree
from the above, inasmuch as several specimens obtained by
me in the market of Constantinople, when attentively com-
pared with C. chukar from the Himalayas,- showed only a
slight difference in the intensity of the white of the throat
and the rufous of the ear coverts, which did not even appear
‘to be constant. When we are enabled to trace a bird over a
continent, and find that we change climate and enter on a
country widely different in its physical aspects, it is surely
not extravagant to expect that there will be some change in
the colour of its external coverings, or even the size of the
animal.

The sisi (Ammoperdix bonhamt), or bastard chukore, as
it is known to Europeans, is much smaller than the last.
The male measures in the flesh about 10 inches, the female
about 94 a The iris is hazel, bill brownish-yellow,
lighter on the legs. Its existence has been known to natural-
ists for several years, but all the specimens were brought
from Afghanistan, where it abounds in sandy wastes and
barren mountains. The sisi is not found in Ladakh, nor
on the ranges to the south and east ; and I think, with the
Salt and Suliman chains, and probably the mountains around
the forbidden Khyber Pass, we define its limits eastward and
in British India. A species, closely allied both in size and
plumage (A. heyii), 1 procured in rocky and barren gorges on
the banks of the Nile in Nubia. It is a native likewise of
Palestine and Syria. The sisi often associates with the
chukore, to which in habits it bears a close resemblance;
the call-note, however, is very different. The pretty little
redbreast (Muscicapa parva) is very much like the robin

NATURALIST IN INDIA. 141

of Europe; and, although less familiar, has many points
in common. It affects hedges and dense jungle, and is
usually seen solitary. This little robin has a wide Asiatic
distribution, and even extends westward to south-western
Europe.

On the 27th of March we pitched our little tent close to
the village of Norpoor, and were not settled before its
kotwal (Anglice mayor) arrived to offer his services in pro-
curing supplies, bringing with him a rupee, which, according
to the usual Indian custom, he held out for our acceptance.
Our friend, however, appeared somewhat dubious as to our
social position, and if we were acquainted with the etiquette
which expects that gentle-folks should on such occasions
merely touch the offered gift and then make a salaam of
satisfaction to the host. As each of us touched the coin, our
Sikh friend squeezed it spasmodically, and even closed his
fingers over it, grinning most benignly when he found out
that we were respectable young gentlemen, and Shove accept-
ing his present—a discovery our shady jungle attire was
certainly not calculated to further. I spent the day among
the hot ravines, searching after wild sheep. The reflection
from the sand and limestone was excessive ; and we suffered
much from want of water, which was only procurable from
red muddy pools in the worn-out bottoms of water-courses.
After much fagging and occasional snap-shots at wild sheep
and ravine deer, which we startled in the narrow lanes
between the marl-heaps, I at length espied two of the
former under the shadow of an acacia, and, by dint of much
knee and hand travelling, managed to crawl unobserved
within 50 yards, when, neglectful of the old adage, “that a
bird in the hand is worth two in the bush,” I sought a nearer
approach in hopes of procuring both; but, by so doing, had

142 WANDERINGS OF A

the mortification to find out that the ram had caught a
glimpse of me, for he sprang to his feet, and, sending forth a
loud whistle, disappeared with his companion among the
tortuous lanes. This mishap was one of many such like,
from which, as my experience increased, I was taught “ never
to lose a good opportunity in hopes of obtaining a better ”—
an advice I recommend in all its bearings to every young
hunter.

The gray-capped bunting (Zmberiza caniceps), the bearded
vulture, and the blue water-thrush, before seen only on the
Himalayas, were here occasionally observed. The bearded
vulture feeds sumptuously at this season on the young
houriar, which are dropped in March. The raven is common,
but rather smaller than the bird of Tibet and Europe.* The
Indian carrion crow (Corvus culminatus) was not seen on the
Salt range, nor about Rawul Pindee, where, however, the rook
is plentiful during the cold months. Now and then the pied
woodpecker (P. himalayanus) was observed on the acacia and
other trees ; its similarity to the: greater spotted woodpecker
of Europe and Western Asia, is striking ; the differences lie
chiefly in a less brilliant state of plumage. Again, in China
there is the Picus cabanisi, and on the ranges of Nepal another
species, P. majoroides ; all these are perhaps capable of being
brought into one species did we only know the range and
limits of each in Asia. The hare (Z. nigricollis) is not com-
mon.

We pitched our tent in the most retired spot we could
discover, far distant from the villages, and in the centre of the
salt district, where the houriar repair at dusk to lick the salt-

* The raven of Tibet has been called C. tibetanus by Mr. Hodgson (An.
and Mag. Nat. Hist. iii. p. 208), for the reason that it ‘‘is somewhat larger
than C. coram.”

NATURALIST IN INDIA. 143

encrusted rocks. The streams and wells in the neighbour-
hood being more or less tainted with salt, we found great
difficulty in procuring a sufficiency of fresh water for our
wants. One morning, early, while clambering across a steep
ridge, I suddenly came on a Sikh sitting under a ledge of
rock, where he had passed the night; he was minus his
nose and right hand, which he said were cut off during
the reign of Runjeet Singh, as a punishment for having
murdered his brother. When told that now-a-days his life
would be forfeited for such a crime, he, with a sly shrug
of his shoulder and twinkle of his little black eye, turned and
moved down the ravine, muttering something about the
difficulties attendant on such proceedings under the British
rule, and no doubt bent on salt-stealing, for which he had
come, whilst I pushed up the slope, and, gaining the top of
the spur, had a magnificent view of the Indus on one side
and the Hydaspes on the other flank, tracing their wind-
ings for many a mile, in spite of the heavy atmosphere
which hung over the plains below. The heat at mid-day,
especially when reflected from the sides of the red ravines,
was very powerful. Of wild sheep we saw many, but the
cover was scanty, and the animals always on the alert ; if a
herd was feeding in a ravine, an old ram was sure to be on the
outlook on some near eminence, and as soon as he apprehended
danger, would send forth a loud whistle, when the whole set
off at full speed. There are few ruminants in which the
senses of sight and smell are more highly developed ; natives
allege that their smell is feeble or wanting, but I doubt if this
animal is behind any of its compeers in that respect. By
European sportsmen it is frequently called the “deer sheep,”
and from the circumstance that although its eye, hair, gait,
and bleat are decidedly ovine, it has the infra-orbital apertures

144 WANDERINGS OF A

of the deer, together with the gracefully-formed limbs and
fleetness of that animal. The hair is thick, and approaches
nearer to the wool of sheep than the pleage of deer. The bay-
backed shrike (Lanius hardwickii) was plentiful in bushy
places, and flaunting in numbers among the yellow flowers of
the acacia; the pretty little purple honey-sucker (Weetarinia
mahrattensis) was often seen in pairs, now commencing to
build their nests, the soft songs of the males sounding
sweetly. Surrounded by gnarled acacias, grass, and rubbish,
were frequently noticed ruined buildings, evidently of ancient
date. Graveyards were seen often, but mostly in secluded
and out-of-the-way places, showing that large parts of the
district now unfrequented had at one time been densély popu-
lated. One of these buildings, more entire than the rest, is to
be seen near the village of Jubba; it is quadrangular in
shape, low and flat-roofed, with a small, narrow, and arched
doorway, not four feet in height, opening into separate com-
partments on each side of the square; these are generally
occupied by itinerant fakirs. The graves appear to differ
from those of the present race in having a club-shaped erect
stone at the head, and one rough and unhewn at the feet,
and sometimes another in the middle. The style of architec-
ture and antiquated appearance of these remains speak of a
far-back period in the history of the Punjaub. A native
hunter who accompanied me stated that he had often seen
tigers, leopards,* the hyena, wolf, and a few black buck,
besides an occasional black beart (Helarctos tibetanus), which

* J have only seen one species of leopard in the Punjaub, and that was
killed close to the Himalayas ; it was the true Felis leopardus of Temminck
(Monogr. i. p. 92).

+ See A. L. Adams, Proc. Zool. Soc. for 1858. A variety of this species is
said to frequent the lower Himalayas near the plains,

NATURALIST IN INDIA. 145

probably finds its way across from the Lower Himalaya.
However, the black bear of the Southern Provinces (U.
labiatus) is not found in the Punjaub.

March 30.— Although the scenery of these mountains is
generally devoid of beauty, one will come occasionally on little
spots by no means wanting in natural attractions. This morning
we rose at daybreak, and after an hour's toil across a very stony
plain covered with briars and thorns, arrived at the brink of a
broad ravine, the sides of which were covered with a dense and
luxuriant vegetation. The peepul, camelthorn, mulberry, and
wild fig, formed small shady groves in which the fakirs had built
their little temples, surrounded by gardens which rose in ter-
races along the steep slopes, where tobacco and the red and
white opium-poppy were growing. Ona prominence jutting
into the ravine stood one of these shrines, which at a distance
looked like a miniature castle, and far down among tangled
briars and bushes rolled a clear stream, whilst numbers of
peafowl in all their native elegance and beauty were saun-
tering in front of the temple or perched on the tops of trees—
their wild cries resounding through the glen, and now and then
one darted past us in all his gorgeous shades of plumage reful-
gent in the morning sun. It was an enchanting scene, but as
the heat increased every hour, we hurried across the ravine,
and on gaining the opposite plateau discovered a herd of
houriar, headed as usual by two of the largest rams standing
sentry by the prostrate herd. The open nature of the ground,
however, prevented a near approach, and obliged me to dis-
charge my rifle at a long range, which was no sooner done
than all were up and flying with the wind, excepting one of
the rams who lagged behind with a broken leg. This poor
animal escaped, although pursued by us under a burning sun
for many a mile up hill and down dale. When once disturbed,

L

146 WANDERINGS OF A

it is seldom the houriar rests for the remainder of that day,
but keeps constantly on the move, selecting the ridges and
most prominent points. The old are said to be untameable,
but when caught young it is easily domesticated, and will
herd with tame goats and sheep. The rams, however, are
very pugnacious, and are often unmanageable. They fight in
the same manner as the domestic sheep. When driving a
jungle in search of wild pigs I observed a fine specimen of the
great wild cat. It is common in the Punjaub, and hunts
among the ravines and around the villages at night. In a
hollow we were suddenly startled by observing large blood-
stains, and in one spot decided traces of a struggle, with the
foot-prints of a tiger. The villagers informed us that their
cattle, goats, and sheep were frequently carried away by an
old tiger which had confined his depredations to the domestic
animals of two villages for several months. This would ap-
pear frequently the case with old males of many quadrupeds.
The leopard seldom attacks cattle, and confines its plunder-
ings to sheep, goats, and village dogs. The black part-
ridge is not general in these parts, the country not being
sufficiently cultivated; moreover, I do not think the
chukore and this species ever frequent the same locality,
although the former and the gray partridge are often found
on the same hillside. Flocks of the wood-pigeon (Columba
palwmbus) were coramon in the fields. All the Indian speci-
mens I have examined had the neck-patch clay-coloured and
rather smaller than that of the European bird. I believe the
same has also been noted with reference to Chinese specimens.
It would be interesting to follow this permanent race towards
the west, and see where the one ends and the other commences.

On the 2d of April, after several hot and sultry days with
a close and murky state of the atmosphere, a hail-storm took

NATURALIST IN INDIA. 147

place and lasted for nearly half-an-hour. Many of the hail-
stones were as large as sparrows’ eggs.

The geological formations and mineral features of the salt
range are undoubtedly very interesting, but there was no time
to examine them with care. Above the village of Kotela
I wandered over a rugged steep composed of limestone, pick-
ing up fossils at almost every step, chiefly bivalve and large
spiral univalve shells, Terebratula, and several species
of Galerites and other Echinodermata, until attracted by a
lake on which a flock of fiamingoes were resting ; their tall
gaunt forms looked like balls of pink and white suspended
over the shallow waters ; each bird had its head under its
wing, and was supported on one leg. I rudely disturbed their
slumbers, for, resting my rifle on the wall of an enclosure
overlooking the lake, I fired into the denser part of the flock,
and when the frightened host had fled, and the ball had skip-
ped and bounded far beyond, one small pink and white object
floated alone on the placid surface, but it was unfortunately
borne by the gentle breeze into deeper waters from beyond our
reach. The average length of many specimens procured in
the flesh was 5 feet 74 inches from the bill to the extremity
of the middle toe, and between the tips of the wings 5 feet
10 inches. Weight about 5 pounds.

A smaller race is sometimes met with in separate flocks.
The plumage varies with age and sex. The young are dark on
the back, and pink on the wings, with the rest of the body
nearly pure white. The female is a delicate pink all over ;
the plumage of the male is brightest during the breeding
season.

Behind the village of Kotela a mountain rises, perhaps
one of the highest of the range ; its summitis clothed with the
long-leaved pine (Pinus longifolia) and other plants which

148 WANDERINGS OF A

grow on the Himalayas at altitudes of 4000 or 5000 feet.
When toiling up the steep side of the mountain I was struck,
on nearing the top, to notice the sudden transition from a
desert to a region of verdure, and so abruptly defined that in
the course of a few minutes, from clambering among decayed
and burnt-up vegetation, we were wandering among long
tangled grass ; in fact, a flora peculiar to the temperate altitudes
of the great chains northward. This little fragment, tipping
as it were the summit of the mountain, might be called a
“botanical outlyer,” with reference to the Himalayan and
Suliman chains north and west, as the nearest hill-top capable
of producing a similar flora is at least from 60 to 80 miles
distant.

The wild pig is plentifully distributed over all the range ;
wherever low dense jungle exists there it secretes itself during
the day to issue forth at night and feed in the fields) In many
situations whole crops of grain have been destroyed by them.
When passing through a wheat-field I observed the ground
covered with masticated pellets, wholly composed of the tops of
wheat and barley, which they chew merely to obtain the juicy
portion. Although the natives attempt to frighten them away
by making loud noises, like the Himalayan black bear they
soon get accustomed to the sounds, and care little for any dis-
turbance unless in their immediate vicinity. The houriar
feeds also mostly at night, repairing at daybreak to the hill-
sides and inaccessible places under rocks ; indeed, such ap-
pears to be the case with many wild quadrupeds whose feed-
ing-grounds are subject to be invaded by man.

The ravine or Bennett’s* deer, better known to Indian
sportsman as the “chinckara” (Antilope bennettit), is somewhat
common on the salt range, and most parts of the Punjaub,

* Sykes’ Dukhun Mammalia, Proc. Zool. Society, 1831, p. 104.

NATURALIST IN INDIA. 149

but does not affect the Himalayas. The horns of the male
seldom exceed 18 inches in length ; the females are smooth and
usually 4 inches. The ravine deer is met with singly, but
now and then from six to twelve may be seen together. The
secretion from the infra-orbital sinus of one killed by me on
the Salt range and rubbed on the surface of the horn, gave the
latter a polished appearance, which even in the dead animal
lasted for weeks ; possibly the use of this substance may be to
preserve the horn from decay. With the smaller species having
permanent horns, this might be the case ; but in large antlered
deer, and such like, with deciduous horns, the probability is
great that the animal could scarcely accomplish the task. I
have, however, often noticed deer and antelope rubbing their
foreheads and horns on the bark of trees ; indeed, this is a com-
mon occupation with deer when chewing the cud in the‘forest
during the heat of the day, or when the fur is being shed.
The ravines in the district of Jubba have a peculiar ap-
pearance. Viewed from a. height, they present a series of
worn and angular-shaped hillocks, intersected by narrow
defiles, by no means inviting to the traveller, for not a blade
of grass is visible, and the disintegrated red sandstone and
marl suggest the idea of sleeping volcanic embers, which we
found, during the heat of mid-day, had more than a mere
resemblance. I do not think I have ever witnessed a scene
so perfect in its desolation. However, we determined to
descend in spite of the stewing heat, and reflection from the
hillocks on each side. Whilst threading our way among a
series of narrow lanes, we came on a young houriar just
dropped, and evidently abandoned by its mother on seeing us
approach. Several herds of rams (which separate from the
ewes during the breeding season) were observed dashing
across ravines, offering a snap-shot occasionally. As we

150 WANDERINGS OF A

anticipated, the heat by noon became excessive, and our thirst
intolerable. No water could be procured save what was
strongly impregnated with salt. At last, exhausted, I gave
in, and must have been verging on a coup de soleil, as my
senses began to leave me, and I felt that both eyesight and
hearing were rapidly failing, accompanied by a loud buzzing
sound in both ears. In this condition I lay stretched on one
of the red banks, whilst the shickaree set off in search of a
spring. I think I may have remained for nearly half-an-hour
in this condition when I was roused by the voice of a native,
and looking up, beheld a half-naked man carrying a basin of
milk, and platter full of cakes, which he at once begged I
would accept. This good Samaritan had seen my distress
from his grass-built hut on the top of a neighbouring hill,
where he resided for the purpose of guarding a vein of salt.
Never can I forget the kindness of the poor fellow, who, un-
solicited, came to my aid at a time his services were so sorely
needed. Whilst we remained in this part of the district
a young man paid us a visit. ,He was employed in the
Salt Revenue Department, He seemed a regular Robinson
Crusoe, having spent many years among these hot ra-
vines, almost without a human creature to bear him com-
pany. He informed us that he seldom saw a white face from
one year’s end to another, and during the hot months was
obliged to turn night into day when visiting his various posts
on the surrounding hills. He was an example of a race of
Englishmen born and brought up in India without the shadow
of an idea of anything beyond Hindostan and its European
society, and even the smallest portion of, thought on these
points, for in his manners he had most in common with the
native, whose language he spoke more fluently than his own.
He allowed that his present occupation was considered ‘one of

NATURALIST IN 1NDIA. 151

the most unhealthy in the district, but that he expected to be
soon promoted and sent to another part of the range, where
he would have a better house to shelter him from the blazing
sun. He felt somewhat concerned about the state of his
health, in consequence of a fever which had twice nearly
finished him ; and judging from his wan and worn face, there
seemed just cause for the poor fellow’s anxiety; but, like
many others, he stuck to his post until the fever came again,
when, as I subsequently learned, his feeble strength gave
way, and he left his bones among the haunts of the houriar.
Young, during the day’s ramble, found two lambkins and
bagged two rams. Our little herd of houriar, now consisting
of two males and two females, soon took kindly to tame
goats, and frisked around their foster-mothers as they would
have done with their own. The goats also became attached
to them, excepting one old dame, which refused to suckle her
foundling, and required to be held during the process. It was
delightful to watch the lambs rushing towards the goats on
our approach, and bleating whenever they found they had
strayed beyond a safe distance. For several days all seemed
to thrive, when they began to pine away and die one after
another, with a discharge from the nostrils and cough, which
I found by dissection to arise from the well-known disease
pleuro-pneumonia, so fatal to the domestic animal ; arising
in this case, in all probability, from the want of the maternal
heat at night, when the temperature was low, even to nearly
freezing-point.

The blue rock-thrush is not a rare tenant cf the rocky
parts, which it enlivens with its joyous song. All I have
examined in the Punjaub and lower Himalayan ranges were
of the short-billed variety ; the long-billed variety,* it would

* Journ. As, Soc. xvi. 150. Mr. Blyth has since adopted the view here

152 WANDERINGS OF A

appear, is confined to the higher and more northern chains.
The geographical range of these two varieties has not, how-
ever, been definitely settled. This species is a cosmopolite
in so far as it is widely distributed over the warmer parts of
Europe, Asia, and North Africa, and, like the generality of
birds with an extensive geographical distribution, is subject
to variety. The rock-thrush is everywhere a wild and wary
bird, and not easily approached.

The pale-chested harrier, and moor buzzard, were often
noticed to pounce on our dead and wounded quail ; their chief
food, however, appeared to consist of lizards and a short-
tailed field-mouse (Arvicola), which is very common in
cultivated districts.

Several flocks of the black-breasted sand-grouse were
observed at daybreak and dusk, drinking at ponds and tanks.
The rufous-rumped or Daurian swallow, and the wire-tailed
species, were plentiful in the ravines. The “tooty,” or
roseate finch (Carpodacus erythrinus), was seen in flocks feed-
ing on the unripe Mulberries; also the Malabar grosbeak
(Munia malabérica) frequented the hedges, where its sweet,
plaintive twitter was often heard. This little creature is so
tame that you may approach a flock within a few yards;
numbers are caught in nets and kept in confinement.

Although many of the birds of the Kuller Kahar Lake had,
by the 12th April, taken their departure for the cooler regions
of Tartary to breed, a large number still remained, and
afforded us two days of uninterrupted excitement in procur-
ing specimens, For several days previous to our arrival the
weather had been very hot, and the day haze denser than
usual, The latter may in part be owing to exhalations from

taken, indeed it requires to be proved that what he names P. affinis (J. A. S.
xii. 177) is not another variety of this widely-distributed species.

4 NATURALIST IN INDIA. 153.

the soil, but from the circumstances and localities where it
is often observed, there can be little doubt that some unex-
plained electric or other condition is also connected with its
phenomena. I have seen it in the desert of Scinde and
lower regions of the Himalayas, but not in the rainless tracts
of Ladakh and Tibet. A thunder-storm seems to disperse
the fog, and leaves the atmosphere more or less clear for a
day or two afterwards. On the night of our arrival at the
lake we were awoke by a furious storm which nearly blew
our little tent away ; the roar of the thunder and the bril-
liancy of the lightning were perfectly appalling, whilst the
rain fell in torrents. The whole did not last above an
hour, and left behind the usual cool and exhilarating weather,
so grateful to man and beast after days or weeks of fever-
ish heat. I well remember the enchanting scene on the
bright sunny morning following, as groups of red and white
flamingoes in long lines stretched along the shallows of the
lake, and flocks of ducks and other aquatic birds lined the
margins, or crowded in dense masses in the deeper parts ;
whilst from the jungle-clad hill on the right loud wailings of
peafowl, kept by the fakirs of the temple on its summit, re-
sounded across the valley, and the green bee-eater, the usual
successor of a storm, sailed around the copse under which
we were encamped, pursuing with the black Indian king-crow
the countless insects which come forth on these occasions,
especially white ants, which appear to afford a staple article
of food for bee-eaters, shrikes, and the large insectivorous
birds.

Flocks of long-legged plovers (Himantopus candidus) were
geen on the lake. It is a common bird on the weedy pools
of the Punjaub during the winter months. Specimens may
often be found with the legs bent and deformed, to which

154 ‘WANDERINGS OF A

this species seems subject ; also some well-marked and per-
manent discrepancies as to colour and size. Here, again, is a
species common to the three great continents of the Old
World, having several varieties, as its numerous synonyms
might indicate. European birds—viz. the cinereous godwit,
green sandpiper, and water-rail, are generally distributed
over the lakes and fens of the Punjaub during the winter.
The lark-toed and pied wagtails are plentiful; the former is
‘usually seen perched on tufts of rush or grass in wet places.
The little brown-coloured lapwing (Vanellus leucwrus) I did
not observe elsewhere ; it is certainly rare in most parts of
India, and most probably migratory in the Punjaub. I have
been informed that it is common in Afghanistan, where, ac-
cording to Mr. Blyth, it is known by the name of chizi. In
habits it more closely resembles sandpipers, frequenting the
margins of pools, along which it runs at great speed. A small
brown sand-martin was often seen during the excursion. I
took it at first for the bank-swallow (H. riparia), but I am
doubtful if met with in NW. India. It differed also from
the short-tailed swallow; and the only other small martin
at all likely to agree with it is the Nepal species (Cotyle sub-
soccata, Hodg.),* with which I have not been able to
compare my specimens. We returned to Rawul Pindee by
a somewhat different route, more to the north and east; the
weather was excessively hot until mid-day, when, for upwards
of a week, a thunder-storm took place almost daily at noon ;
always ending in a clear and brilliant afternoon, when we
enjoyed magnificent views of the great Himalayan chain from
the Bimbur Pass to Attock on the Indus. Near the village of

* Gray's Zool. Misc, 1844, p. 82. The similarity, however, is so close be-
tween these three, that, beyond a shade of plumage, there is no appreciable
distinction.

NATURALIST IN INDIA. 155
1

Bone we came on a party of natives sifting the soil for gold;
it is found in minute particles among dark-coloured earth on
the sides of hillocks and in dried-up watercourses. Boys
were employed pouring water on the soil, which, on perco-
lating through a perforated box, was removed, and then care-
fully examined. The workers informed us that they scarcely
found sufficient to repay their labour. On the rugged foot-
paths among the barren ravines are round cairns of stone
similar to the “chaits ” of Ladakh, and solitary graves, called
“yagheers ” by the natives, were also common on the side of
the road and pathway, surrounded by heaps of stones, white
pebbles, rags of various colours, pieces of wood, cotton, etc.,
the offerings of passers-by, who invariably leave some token
of respect, and, following them, Young and myself had always
been in the habit of adding a stone to these cairns, even as
our forefathers were wont on the bleak hill-sides of old
Scotland.* “TI will add a stone to your cairn,” says the old
Celtic proverb.

By the middle of April the mulberry was ripe, and the
village trees laden with the delicious fruit, which, in point of
flavour, equals the celebrated mulberry of Cashmere. Our
route for some days led through fields of grain, then rapidly
coming to maturity, or across ravines, where we were now
and then interrupted by streams which had become swollen
by the daily thunder-storms. The Persian lilac was in full
bloom, an abundant spring harvest approached, and every-
thing promised well for the industrious people who had settled
down to our rule. If they would only make comparisons,
they would find out that they now enjoy double the com-

* Ourri mi clach er do cwirn—I will add a stone to your cairn ; z.e. I will
do homage to your memory when you are dead. :

156 WANDERINGS OF A

fort, security, and independence they experienced under the
sovereignty of the Sikhs.

In every wheat-field boys were employed frightening
thousands of the brown-headed bunting (Huspiza luteola,
Sparm.),* and rose-coloured pastor (Pastor roseus). Great flocks
of these birds were seen scouring across the country, and settling
on the ears of grain. Both species commit havoc among the
crops at that season, and chiefly by pushing down the ears of
wheat ; consequently large patches are prostrated in the same:
manner as when laid low by wind. The brown-headed bunting’
is only common during harvest, and may possibly come from
Afghanistan, where it is said to be plentiful from April to
autumn. The other species is generally distributed over the
Punjaub at all seasons. A species of lizard is common in the
ravines and arid plains of the North-western Provinces : its
burrows are made on the open country, and it may be usually
seen basking in the sun at their entrances. It is about a foot
in length, blunt-headed, tail obtuse at the tip, and body
covered with large and broad scales. The blue-throated
warbler was occasionally observed. Its habits resemble the
redbreasts and redstarts ; possibly it might hold an inter-
mediate position, The black-bellied lark-finch (Pyrrhu-
lauda grisea) is a common tenant of the waste and barren
tracts, and as usual is seen squatting on the ground—a habit I
have noticed to be common, although in a much less degree, with
larks in general, especially when they anticipate danger, and
before taking to wing. The European heront was seen wading
in pools; whilst the gull-billed tern (Sterna anglica), in

* Cat. Birds of East Indian Company’s Museum, by Dr. Horsfield, vol.
ii. 487.

+ Wilson's American Ornith. pl. 72, f. 6. Iam not aware of any changes
in the plumage of this great cosmopolite.

NATURALIST IN INDIA. 157

scattered numbers, flew wildly northwards, not settling any-
where, and evidently on the way to the cooler regions of
Central Asia to rear its young.

Within ten miles of Rawul Pindee we found our horses
waiting, and scampered across the burning plain, sorry in-
deed to return to the monotony of cantonment life. My-keen
hunting friend complained of his indifferent luck in not
having procured more wild sheep. For my part, I had no
cause to feel dissatisfied.

158 WANDERINGS OF A

CHAPTER IX.

Start for Cashmere and Ladakh—Incidents on the way to Murree—Black Bear,
variety of—Changes of Temperature—Beauty of Scenery—Native Surgery
Discovery of a New Species of Bullfinch—Native Tyranny and Extortion
—Birds—Scenery—Traces of Glacial Phenomena—Dogs—Scenery at
Uri—Magnificent View—Birds—Antiquities—Deodar Cedar—Noushera—
First Peep at the Happy Valley—Ornithology of the Jhelum—Serinug-
gur—Goulab Singh—His Mode of Governing—Wretchedness of the Inha-
bitants—Shawl Manufactures—City Lake—Turkish Bath—Boatmen—
Heronry—Chinese Jaéana,

ACCOMPANIED by Young, we left Rawul Pindee on the 24th
of March, and rode straight for the mountains, intending to
gain the Murree Sanitarium or the lower ranges at dusk.
However, our hopes were doomed not to he realised, although
the morning was promising, and the fresh relays of horses at
different points indicated a rapid journey. Murree is only
occupied during summer ; its distance from Rawul Pindee is
36 miles. It is situate on a ridge, at an elevation of from
7500 to 8000 feet above the level of the sea, and at the time
referred to was only being formed, and consequently little
more than the barracks and a few cottages had been built. We
breakfasted at Salgram with our two friends Morrison and
Salkeld. The latter has since enrolled his name with many
others in the memorable phalanx of Indian heroes who fell
before the walls of Delhi. After commencing the ascent over
a road by no means easy, the coming storm began to show
itself by dark masses of clouds and distant thunder and

NATURALIST IN INDIA. 159

lightning. At last down it poured, and with such violence
that the footpath for long distances formed the bed of torrents
reaching to the knees of our horses. At last matters got
desperate, and we were fairly overcome by the difficulties, which
increased with a pelting hurricane, and drove us to seek
shelter in two deserted huts on the mountain-side, where, with
our drenched servants and baggage, we spent a cheerless night,
to wake on the following morning and find matters in much
the same or even worse condition than on the previous
day. But there was no help for it; so, mounting our horses,
we floundered up the mountain-side, and arrived at Murree at
dusk. On the following morning several inches of snow lay
round the hill-top, and the neighbouring ranges were covered ;
whilst the great Peer Pinjal chain, on the verge of the Cash-
mere Valley, seemed completely robed in a mantle of snow.
The thermometer stood at 42° at 9am. The scenery of this
little mountain retreat during summer is peculiarly beautiful.
All the fruit-trees grow in great luxuriance, and most vege-
tables and plants of the temperate zone thrive admirably. Here
are collected all the military invalids for the stations on the
north-west frontier of the Punjaub, and whoever can manage to
escape from the heat of the plains. During a walk about the
empty cottages we traced footprints of a black bear that had
passed across the road, and saw several kalij pheasants and
a troup of entellus monkeys in a pine-wood close to the bar-
rack. The black bear of the lower ranges of the Himalayas
does not seem to differ in any very appreciable extent from
that of the middle region; only I have noticed that the
former are seldom so large, and all I have examined had the
fur on the paws and snout rust-coloured instead of white.
This peculiarity, however, may not be regular ; at all events,
the distinctions cannot be called specific. Our course for

160 WANDERINGS OF A

the Jhelum River lay in a north-eastern direction, and we had
to descend several thousand feet, which took nearly two days
to accomplish, owing to the state of the weather and footpaths.
We were struck with the change of temperature on arrival at
the banks of the river, where at six P.M. the thermometer stood
at 70° Fahrenheit in the shade, and mosquitoes were trouble-
some. The valley of the Jhelum at the ford presented a very
wild and imposing appearance. The great river, swollen by
the late rains, rolled in a mighty flood down an enormous
ravine, the sides of which rose up to several thousand feet,
forming long “ horsebacks,” and clothed with grass or patches
of oak and forest trees, whilst here and there a little flat-roofed
native house, hidden among the vegetation, with its terraced
fields, indicated the presence of man. In twenty-four hours
we had descended from an arctic temperature to an almost
tropical, and through what delightful scenery! None but
those who have wandered over mountains like the Himalayas
can form an idea of the beauty and magnificence of the region
we are now considering. To the naturalist the attractions
gather so fast that he can barely make himself acquainted with
the most familiar objects. I noticed the wandering pie, the
chimney swallow, and Alpine swift ; two species of a beauti-
ful hyacinth, blue and white, and a tiger lily, were in flower.
The long-leaved pine, the rough and smooth-leaved oak
and wild barberry, were the common trees and shrubs.
We were escorted for the greater part of the day’s march
by a Sepoy from the last halting-place. He had been in
Rungeet Singh’s army, and fought against the English in
the Sutluj campaign. He spoke highly of the bravery
of the Europeans, but laughed at the native troops, un-
less backed up by the white men. The river was run-
ning strong and rapid, but by means of powerful oars in

NATURALIST IN INDIA. 161

the bow and stern of the flat-bottomed boat, we managed to
gain the opposite side without much difficulty. The course
of the Jhelum in this district forms nearly a triangle; pro-
ceeding westwards in the first instance to Mazufurabad, it
then suddenly nearly doubles on itself, and runs in a southerly
direction. Our route lay across the triangle thus formed ina
north-eastern course. The Jhelum divides the British from the
territory of the Cashmere ruler, whose little mud forts are seen
at almost every little village on the way. The farmers were
loud in their complaints of the tyranny of the Maharajah
Goulab Singh, and kept continually extolling the rule of the
English on the other side of the river ; but when we advised
them to go across and squat on the opposite hill-sides, they
said they could not endure to leave the old huts and homes of
their fathers. At one of the hamlets on the way I was asked to
give my advice with reference to a broken arm, and was struck
with the good native surgery, as far as apparatus went, which
consisted of a hollow piece of ash-bark, lined with fine moss,
and placed one on each side of the limb. It had been put on
fresh from the tree, and became hard after having been fitted
to the inequalities of the arm. A more effectual splint could
not have been adjusted. We passed a night at the little fort
of Dunna and on the following morning, in pelting rain, pur-
sued our course down ravines and over ridges. By the side
of a little graveyard we observed a cypress very like that of
Europe ; the fir, spruce, oaks, poplar, ash, elm, etc., covered
sheltered portions of the ridges and along the lower parts of
the valleys. We saw a barking-deer, and in a little ash-
wood I shot the beautiful orange-coloured bullfinch (Pyr-
rhula awrantiaca), which, until then, had been quite unknown
to naturalists. The male is brilliant orange, and very different
from the red-headed bullfinch mentioned with the birds of
M

162 WANDERINGS OF A

Dugshai. This valuable addition’ to the ornithology of the
Himalayas has been since figured by Mr. Gould in his
magnificent work on the Birds of Asia.

A tulip, with white petals tinged with rose-colour, is very
common all over the ranges at this season, and in damp
situations the slate-coloured primrose, whilst ivy clung fast
to the old pine-trees, of which more than three species were
observed. On gaining the top of a ridge, we espied the little
fort of Chacar on another opposite, and after a very toilsome
descent across a broad valley, and a rough clamber up-hill,
we got to the little stronghold at dusk, to find the com-
mandant, a gray-bearded Sikh, waiting our arrival’in the
verandah of his house, and, as usual, surrounded by his
minions accoutred with sword and shield.

After the usual Oriental preliminary forms of recognition,
we were told that the Maharajah’s order was, that every Euro-
pean visiting his country was to be considered his guest, and
on no account to be allowed to pay for provisions. We soon
found, however, that this munificence was at the expense of
the poor villagers, for our next-door neighbour exclaimed from
his roof-top that he had been ordered to supply us with fowls ;
another, that eggs had been demanded from him ; and a third
was to furnish us with wood. In vain we protested and
offered to pay for everything; but the Sikh soldier who
catered for us would not hear of such an arrangement ; how-
ever, on our departure, he was not above receiving any amount
of “backshesh” on his own account. What could not be
done in justice and in public, we accomplished unknown to
these myrmidons, so that the natives were no losers by our
presence.

The tyranny of the late Goulab Singh was then beyond
belief ; proofs of which were seen everywhere in the deserted

NATURALIST IN INDIA. 163

villages and ruined houses on our route. Extortion was the
order of the day ; from the ruler down to his sepoy, all aimed
at robbing the cultivator of the soil of whatever they could
lay their hands on. Nor are matters much changed for the
better since his death. We sat long in the verandah of a
little hut waiting the arrival of our baggage; night fell, and
still no appearance of the servants and porters ; at last a torch
appeared, and coolie after coolie arrived in a long line toiling
under the weight of their burdens. A few minutes before we
had indulged in very strong language with reference to their
delay ; but when we saw them bending under the large
leather baskets our hearts failed us, and, instead of a repri-
mand, we praised them for their hard day’s work. Poor
simple souls! a little firewood and a dry corner in a shed
close by were all they required, and in a few minutes they
were singing over their little fires, and busily employed cook-
ing their wheaten cakes (chupattees). Each coolie is provided
with a walking-pole, and a T-shaped piece of wood, on the
horizontal part of which he rests his load without setting it
down. With the pole they guide their footsteps over the
‘dangerous and difficult parts. Their dress is composed of
home-spun gray flannel, with grass shoes, such as are gener-
ally worn by the poor people of the western ranges. The
coolie of the hills is a stout and robust fellow, very different
in appearance from the listless and apathetic native of the
valley of Cashmere.

We were astonished to observe numbers of open graves,
and on inquiry found that it is the custom merely to cover
the top of the grave with wood and earth, so that after a time
the former decays, and the scant covering falls down on the
coffin.

On the 2d of April we continued our route towards the

164 WANDERINGS OF A

Jhelum by a narrow footpath which leads down the Chacar
Hill in a NE. direction to the river, then turns suddenly
eastward along the left bank on to the valley of Cashmere.
On the march to Hutier (about seven miles) we shot a few
chukore and black partridges; the latter were heard calling
in every field, even in the immediate vicinity of the houses.
The black-throated bunting (Zmberiza cioides) is common on
the banks of the river ; in habits it bears a great resemblance
to the yellow bunting, and also resembles it both in figure and
call, Allied to this species is the gray-capped bunting (2.
stewarti, Blyth) ; its throat is black likewise, but the male
has a gray head, a black streak through the eye, and a rufous
band across the chest. We had not time to examine the
geology of this interesting day’s journey. The strata, how-
ever, seemed now to be composed entirely of mica-schist and
syenitic granite, with a few boulders of the latter strewed
along the bed of the river.

The scenery was truly beautiful, and could scarcely be
seen to greater advantage. LHvery turn of the river disclosed
a fresh picture ; on the hill-sides overhead were green fields
of spring-wheat—the varied shades produced by the trees of
the jungle—among others, the apricot was seen in full blos-
som—the roaring river below; while on the furthest moun-
tain-tops the snow still lingered. The valley of the Jhelum
here varies in breadth ; in some situations it is fully two miles,
but the greatest breadth of the stream is not much more than
a stone-throw. Landslips are common along its banks, and
not a few are of large extent ; masses of alluvium form pla-
teaus, from 100 to 250 feet above the level of the river;
these are cultivated and turned into terrace-fields, which rise
like the seats of an amphitheatre. There is no difficulty in
irrigating the fields from the hill-sides, which abound with

NATURALIST IN INDIA. 165

streams where the wearied traveller can refresh himself by a
grateful bathe—of all remedies the most sovereign to a frame
overheated and taxed by hard walking.

The native dog of this district has a great resemblance
to the pointer, and doubtless was introduced from India.
Mr. Vigne* makes a similar remark with reference to the
dogs of the Rajawur district, south of the valley of Cash-
mere, where a formidable breed is also found, having the
external appearances of the shepherd’s dog, but much larger.
A closely-allied form, not differing in any way from the
Scotch collie, is common all over the cultivated regions of the
Western Himalayas, and even westward to the sources of the
Oxus, as observed by Lieutenant Wood. This uniformity is
in favour of the view that the shepherd’s dog forms almost a
permanent race, which may have been one of the original
varieties.

The gray wood-shrike (Tephrodornis pondiceriana) is a
common tenant about the farm-houses. It resembles the
Indian gray shrike, but is very much smaller.

Uri Fort is placed on a projection composed of vast accu-
mulations of alluvium and gravel, which must have either been
deposited by the Jhelum in that situation during far back geo-
logical periods or the result of ancient glaciers. Here the
Jhelum bursts through a barrier of primary rocks with con-
siderable violence, and rapidly widens out into a broad and
more placid river.

The seenery around this is exceedingly beautiful; either
by following the river onwards through the narrow boisterous
course, with its banks clad with a variety of soft and hard
wood trees, towards Cashmere, or in the direction of the stream,
across hill-sides covered with long grass and clusters of pine,

* Vigne’s Travels in Cashmere, vol. i. p. 281.

166 WANDERINGS OF A

The banks of the influent rivulets are hidden by profusion of
apricot, barberry, mulberry, wood-apple, and other fruit-trees.
Large boulders of granite strew the bottoms of the valleys,
some carried down by landslips, but others evidently deposited
by either fluviatile or glacial forces far exceeding in extent and
intensity anything of the sort now going on.

As usual, the walnut-tree shades every hamlet. The fruit
is much used by the natives; the wild olive and pomegranate
are also common.

Indian corn, wheat, cucumbers, melons, etc., are cultivated.
The first is reaped in autumn, when the black bears and
pigs repair at night and commit great havoc in the fields and
gardens, so as to necessitate watchmen sitting on raised plat-
forms in the middle of the fields and keeping up a constant
noise by screaming and beating drums. It is, however, seldom,
with every care, that these unwelcome intruders are kept off,
for in spite of every means had recourse to, both bears and pigs
manage to destroy whole fields of Indian corn. During the
summer, when insect life is in full vigour, the noise made by
crickets and their allies, especially at night, is almost deafen-
ing. A constant wailing cry, possibly of one of the owls or
night-jars, was heard at dusk. So persistent was the doleful
wa-wa, that I do not think we often missed hearing the sound
at night throughout the journey to Cashmere.

_ Proceeding from Uri to the next halting-place, Noushera,
the traveller passes through as beautiful scenery as can be
seen anywhere. Let him choose any season of the year, there
can be only one feeling uppermost, and that is of wonder and
astonishment at the grandeur and surpassing beauty around
him. Before the river had appeared to him a mighty flood,
moving steadily onwards through a broad valley ; now—

NATURALIST IN INDIA. 167

‘* Between two meeting hills it bursts away
Where rocks and woods o’erhang the turbid stream ;
There, gathering triple force, rapid and deep,
It boils, and wheels, and foams, and thunders through.”

We descend from the alluvial plateau and cross a stream,
mount the opposite bank, and are soon lost among the pro-
fusion of tree and shrub which clothe the mountains to the
river's brink. Pursuing the little footpath along the left bank,
now wandering through forests of the noble deodar,* anon
under the leaves of the wild cherry, the mulberry, wood-
apple, or chestnut ; whilst mountain-wards, like a huge wall,
the schistose rocks rise hundreds of feet above him. If it is
spring he will mark the beautiful “ forget-me-not” on the path-
way, or the gaudy tiger-lily, with its broad, smooth, sagittate
leaves. In the gaps of the forest the eye wanders up many a
solitary pine-clad glen, where the snow lags long in sheltered
portions. Above the wail of the forest the roar of the
troubled waters deadens almost every other sound, save the
shrill pipe of the blue water-thrush, or the chirp of the chest-
nut bellied redstart, as they sport among the rocks. The
wild rose is seen mingling its beautiful flowers with those
of the pomegranate, whilst the ivy and many other graceful
creepers twine around the trees and adorn the bosky cover.
Tn such situations, among the mulberry-trees laden with
their luscious fruit, you may come on a black bear feed-
ing. He will not tarry when he sees man, but if suddenly
surprised and hard pressed, often shows fight, and attempts
to hug his victim by rearing on his hind legs, offering
at the same time a good aim to the cool-headed sports-
man. The right bank of the river rises upwards into wood-

* «©The deodar has not been seen east of Nepal.” By some the old
familiar cedar of Lebanon is considered an unusual variety of the Himalayan
deodar. (See Hooker’s Him. Jowrnal.)

168 WANDERINGS OF A

less mountains, bare or covered with grass. Nearly half-
way between Uri and Noushera, in a wild-looking jungle,
surrounded by pine, and nearly overgrown with rank vegeta-
tion and weeds, are the remains of one of the ancient Cashmere
temples. Itis built of the green basalt of the Peer Pinjal
range. Like the generality of the old ruined temples in the
valley, its architecture is said to be Gothic, with gables having
‘‘pediments of high pitch and trefoil arches,’ the whole de-
cidedly of Hindoo character, in imitation of the later Roman
buildings. This would assign them a period beginning with
the Parthian conquest of Syria, between 250 B.c. and 850
AD.* There is another within a few miles of Noushera, if
anything more perfect, and built of granite. Many of the
cedars have been cut down and floated to the plains of the
Punjaub. One feels sorry at witnessing the fall of a majestic
tree, whose growth has extended perhaps over half-a-dozen
centuries ; and never did I feel that to a greater extent than
on my return from Cashmere, where some of the noblest mon-
archs of the Uri glen were lying prostrate on the river’s bank.
Before Goulab Singh discovered the value of his cedar-forests,
it was customary for the charcoal-burners to set fire to the
trunks, and hollow out large caverns, which generally ended
in the death of the tree and waste of much valuable wood.
During this day’s journey, we often met gangs of pilgrims
proceeding to or from the sacred shrines in Cashmere. We
came on a group of gipsy-looking men and women, who in-
formed us they had been travelling constantly for six months
from Agmeer, in Central India, and were on their way to the
shrine of Umernath, among the Northern Cashmere ranges.
A few of the young women were exceedingly beautiful, and

* « Essay on the Hindu History of Kashmir.”— Trans. of Asiatic Society,
vol. xv. by H. H. Wilson, A.M., Professor of Sanscrit in the University of
Oxford.

NATURALIST IN INDIA. 169

the light sunburnt faces and dark flashing eyes of all of them
were very characteristic of the race in general.

The hamlet and ruined fort at Noushera is situated on a
flat almost level with the Jhelum, which here sweeps down-
wards at great force. Gable-roofed houses now begin to take
the place of the little flat-roofed hovels, and give an almost
English appearance to the Cashmere landscape.

At Noushera I met with the gray wagtail (Motacilla
boarula) for the first time. The leaden-ash redstart is likewise
common. I procured also several specimens of the yellow-billed
jay (Calocitta flavirostris), which differs from the red-billed
species, mentioned before, and which is plentiful in the lesser
ranges towards Murree, by the duller cast of plumage, the
bright yellow bill, and the white on the hind-head being
narrower, and having a broad band of black below it. I shot
iny specimens in spring, so there could be no question as to
their being adult birds. Perhaps, however, the yellow-billed
jay has scarcely a claim to be considered other than a local
variety of the Himalayan bird. The Siskin (Carduelis
spinoides) is common in the forest, and generally seen in
flocks. The cuckoo we heard daily at that season. It is
common in every wood.

Associated with the black-crested tit (Parus melanolophus,
Vigors) I shot the pretty little red-headed species (P. erythro-
cephalus). It is a little larger than the golden-crested wren.
There is a genus of warblers mostly common to the Hima-
layas, to which the name Abrornis has been given by the
great Himalayan ornithologist Mr. Hodgson, who has de-
scribed several species, of which one or two are common in
the woods and forests about Cashmere ; but from the very
close connection of several recorded species, I have not been
able to identify my specimens.

170 WANDERINGS OF A

Holding a north-east course along the bank of the river,
through forests of deodar, or woods of mulberry and fruit-
trees, together with the hazel-like fothergille (Fothergilla
involucrata), we entered a little valley surrounded by moun-
tains and pine-forests, with beautiful fields of green turf;
gable-roofed hamlets, built of logs and thatched with straw,
were hid among a profusion of arboreal vegetation. At
the northern extremity the Jhelum was seen gliding placidly
round a corner towards a gap in the west, where it suddenly
begins its furious downward course to Uri—a distance of
fully sixteen miles. Shoals and little islets of alluvium have
been formed at the above point, and possibly most of the
deposits of this little nook have been obtained from the river
during former conditions. Although it rained constantly
during our stay at Noushera, we could not help admiring this
little corner of Cashmere ; it was as it were a prelude to the
splendid panorama which burst on our view on the following
- morning, when, after crossing the valley and mounting the sum-
mit of the little pass above Baramala, we had the first glimpse of
the Vale of Cashmere. There it lay in all its beauty, with the
Jhelum twisting through its grassy glades, the Wulur Lake
in the distance, and the great Pinjal ranges, covered with
snow, surrounding the valley on all sides. The lofty Hara-
muk, greatest amongst the rock-giants, raised its granite top
13,400 feet above the level of the sea. The town of Bara-
mala is placed on the right bank of the river, and occupies
the most west point of the valley. It is composed of a
few hundred log-built houses, its streets are filthy beyond
description, and the poor half-clad natives, in their long robes
and turbans, looked pictures of human misery in that cold,
wet, April morn. The weather was too unsettled and rainy
to allow us to proceed to the capital overland, we conse-

NATURALIST IN INDIA. 171

quently embarked in covered boats, and were pulled up the
river by natives. The banks of the Jhelum are not above a
few feet in height anywhere in its course through the valley
of Cashmere, and in many places almost level with the sur-
rounding country, which during the inundation is overflowed
in many places. The grass was just appearing in the glades,
where herds of lean, half-starved sheep, horses, and cattle
were pasturing. The fine bald-headed eagle was often seen
on the banks, and formed a prominent ornament in the land-
scape. We strolled gun in hand along the bank, and by the
sides of fens and marshes where the last of the winter visitors
yet tarried, such as flocks of mallard, teal, red-headed pochards,
and curlews. A large fox, named by the natives “shawul,”
to distinguish it from the red-mountain fox (V. montanus), was
common among the ravines, and on the kirawas or alluvial flats.
The jackal seemed also a larger variety than that of the plains
of the Punjaub. A male we shot measured 3 feet 6 inches from
snout to tail. The native tradition that the valley is the -bed
of an ancient lake receives corroboration from its geological
features. Lines, like the parallel roads of Glen Roy, but not
so well defined, are seen in various situations on the sides
of the ranges around the basin. The Mussulman tradition
has it that Solomon drained the valley by directing a Jin,
called Kashuf, to remove the barrier at Baramala. Time
would not allow of careful observations on the intricate study
which refers to this portion of the history of the valley. It
appears to us, however, that if it has ever been a mountain-
lake, the barrier had been originally occasioned by glaciers
damming up the current at the western end of the basin. _
The capital, Serinuggur, is, according to Jacquemont, 5246
feet above the level of the sea. It is built on the river, over
which are thrown several wooden bridges. Direct supplies

172 WANDERINGS OF A

are for the most part conveyed by boats. As the small gon-
dolas glided slowly towards the entrance to this little Venice
of Asia, our attention was directed to two human skeletons
suspended in cages on the river's bank ; these, we were in-
formed, were criminals that had been executed some years
before, and were left on these gibbets as a warning to all
malefactors. We were not altogether unprepared for such
examples of Goulab Singh’s mode of rule, having read of his
horrible deeds in the days when he was weaving the meshes
of the net that ended in capturing Cashmere. One cannot
without a shudder recollect that it was he who, at Poonch,
under the slopes of the southern Pinjal, had two prisoners
flayed alive in his presence, and, not content with that, sent
for his son (now the present ruler) in order that he might
“take an example” from his father in the art of governing.
Such was the ruler of this valley when I had the pleasure of
visiting it. A striking difference is worth noticing with refer-
ence to the natives of the capital—that is, the healthy and
sunburnt faces of the boat people and the pale and blood-
less aspects gf the men and women who crowd the banks
of the river. Many of the fair sex are extremely beautiful,
but filth, poverty, and tyranny have made their impressions
on the Cashmeree, who for centuries has been subject to
tyrannical governments.

With so noble a river, and the natural advantages of
situation, it might be supposed that few cities have better op-
portunities of preserving cleanliness and comfort ; but, like
all Oriental towns, it vies with the filthiest. Let travellers
who have sensitive olfactory organs beware of the streets of
Cashmere, and content themselves with admiring all its
towns from a respectful distance. "We had excellent quarters
assigned us, by order of the Maharajah, on the right bank of

NATURALIST IN INDIA. 173

the river, above the city. I will never forget the morning
after our arrival ; it had rained almost uninterruptedly, sO
that, hitherto, everything had been seen to a disadvantage ;
but now the weather settled, and I was awoke at an early
hour by the song of the sky-lark, the mellow note of the
bulbul* (Pycnonotus leucogenys), and the twitter of the chim-
ney-swallow. It was a lovely spring morning, and so like
home, that I could scarcely persuade myself I was not in
some beautiful nook in Old England:

The palace or shergur is situate on the left bank below
the first log-bridge. It wears a very dungeon-like appearance,
which the shining cupola built by the Maharajah Goulab
Singh somewhat relieved; withal, the royal domain might
with truth have been considered to be in a very shaky con-
dition ; its crumbling walls were the abodes of myriads of
jackdaws, and its interior only a shade cleaner than the filthy
domains around. According to the usual custom, we paid a
series of visits to the shawl-manufactories, with which we
were much disappointed, more especially for having always
understood that the vast numbers of Cashmere shawls im-
ported had been manufactured there, until we inspected every
warehouse in the place, when it became clear that the num-
bers to be seen in London and Paris could never have been
made in the shops of Serinuggur—not even in a century ac-
cording to the means then prosecuted. One magnificent
shawl was being made for the Empress of the French in
Mookh du Shah’s manufactory, and, I believe, at the outside

* The red-vented bulbul, the nightingale of Eastern poetry, is not found
in the Valley. Hooker, in the Himalayan journals, mentions hearing the
song of the nightingale in Sikkim, but I can find no record of the Luscinia
philomela having been met with by ornithologists on the Himalaya ranges

nor British India; possibly the song of the Copsychus saularis may have
been mistaken for that of the other.

174 WANDERINGS OF A

not more than ten of any value were in hand from one end of
the city to the other. It is said that the water of the lake
gives a softness to the Cashmere shawls which cannot be ob-
tained elsewhere. This may be doubted, as I have been given
to understand that those made in the looms at Amritser in
the Punjaub equal any from the Valley.

One evening, on our return from the lake, the report of a can-
non from the palace startled us, and raised a thousand echoes
along the margin of the still waters. It was a royal salute of one
gun for the heir-apparent, who had just returned from visiting
his sire at Jamoo—one of the frontier forts. It is a beautiful
sight to see the boats, propelled by little hand-paddles, shooting
along the river or up the canal and across the city lake, the
oarmen keeping time to a lively chaunt which they sing,
sometimes with great pathos and some artistic skill. The
inundation takes place with the melting of the snow in April
and May, when the banks are overflown in many places.

There are several species of fish in the river, the most
common being a sort of carp usually called the Himalayan
trout. It has two long string-like appendages projecting on
each side of the mouth. Young caught several with a hook
bated with dough,—the largest did not exceed 3 Ibs. in
weight. The flesh is soft, very pale, and almost tasteless.

The Turkish bath is in repute among the better classes ;
but all I saw were so excessively filthy, and had attendants so
dirty, that we cut short our visits after the first ablution.

A Cashmere’ boatman would consider his establishment
incomplete without an Afghan lark (Melanocorypha torquata).
This bird is said to frequent the Valley in winter. The sweet
notes of these songsters issuing from the boats as they pass
up and down the river were very enchanting. The common
heron is plentiful, and a heronry is preserved in the Shalimar

NATURALIST IN INDIA. 175

gardens. Their plumes go to deck the imperial head-dress.
Towards sunset the rough cricket-like chirpings of thousands of.
a species of hedge-warblers were heard all over the lake ; and
so loud as almost to drown every other sound.

The beautiful pheasant-like bird seen squatting on the
broad leaves of the lotus (Welumbiwm speciosum) and marsh
marigold (Caltha palustris) is the Chinese jacana (Purra
sinensis). Its flight is not strong, and composed of many
flaps; the call is rough, like that of the water-hen. The
curved tail-feathers, the brilliant yellow patch on the hind
part of the neck, shining brown of the back, white wings,
more or less tinged with black, will at once serve to dis-
tinguish it.

176 WANDERINGS OF A

CHAPTER X.

Excursion to the Northern Pinjal—Ancient Temples—Earthquakes—Geology
—Bear and Deer Shooting — Adaptation of Sight to Long Distances—
Snow Pheasants—The Last of a Royal Line—The Isabella or Brown
Himalayan Bear —Shooting —Shikaree turns an Aisthetic — Splendid
View—Scenery of the Valleys—Cashmere Stag—Large Deer in general
—Hunting Bears and Deer— Beauty and Grandeur of the Northern
Pinjal—Climate of the Ranges—Judging Distances—Pilgam, its Neigh-
bourhood—Rapid Changes of Climate and Vegetation—European Water-
ousel — Flora and Fauna— Return to the Valley — Silkworm — Sylvan
Scenery—Birds—Ruins of Martund Islamabad—Atsibul and its Beauties
—European Plants—Southern Pinjal—Native Misery-——Scenery —The
Red Weasel—Ringdove—Thunderstorm.

WE left Serinuggur on the 14th of April for the purpose of
exploring the valleys and ranges on the north side, and hunt-
ing large game. Our party was now increased by the addition
of our friend Captain Halkett, who had preceded us to Cash-
mere. We tracked up the river to the village of Pampur,
celebrated for the superior quality of its saffron. The banks
of the Jhelum were fringed with willows, walnut, and chunars.
These and the long-withdrawing meadows looked beautiful
exceedingly. We visited the pretty little temple at Pandre-
ton—another of the ancient Hindoo ruins similar to those
seen between Uri and Noushera. It is situated in a pond;
the building is a square chapel, with “trefoil arches,” and
made of the neighbouring mountain limestone. There is a
gigantic sitting figure cut in the same rock on the hill-side,

NATURALIST IN INDIA. 177

and a little farther on an enormous pillar, evidently the frag-
ment of an idol. The two last are also possibly of Hindoo
origin, and were overthrown mayhap by earthquakes,” or the
Mahomedan invaders. I recommend the traveller to mount
the grass-clad kirawah, behind Pampur, any clear day, and he
will not only have a magnificent view, but by running his
eye along the sides of the range northwards, he will observe
the old water-lines already noticed ; nowhere are the latter more
distinct than on the faces of the limestone ridges in this part
of the valley. It is while calmly viewing the vast amphi-
theatre around him that the geologist will realise the magni-
tude of the force which upheaved the great Himalayan chain.
The basin of the primeval lake may have been originally a
fissure, scooped out afterwards by glaciers, which at some
far-back period were more extensive than at present, as their
moraizes testify. These may be seen at almost all the de-
bouches of the valleys which enter Cashmere.

The mountains forming the northern barrier of the valley
belong chiefly to the carboniferous series, and contain abund-
ance of molluscs and other marine animals, but beds belong-
ing to older formations, as well as mesozoic rocks, are met with
on the surrounding ranges,t and nummulitic limestone on the
slopes of the Peer Pinjal.

On the 15th of April we marched northwards from Pampur,
through its saffron-beds, which at that season were covered with
the wild white and red tulips, the saffron-plants not having
appeared above ground; then, directing our footsteps towards

* Cashmere has always been subject to severe earthquakes. It is on that
account the houses are built of wood.

+ See interesting papers on this subject by Captain Godwin Austen and
Mr. Davidson in the Proc. of the Geological Society of London for February
1866,

N

178 WANDERINGS OF A

the mountains, we arrived at the little village of Lidur, situated
at the foot of a long straggling limestone ridge covered with
wood and bush. There is a small tank close to the village
containing Himalayan trout, which I attempted to capture,
but had to desist on account of having been informed that the
animals were sacred, and if I killed one I should be certain to
incur the displeasure of some departed saint.

The thermometer stood at 76° in our tent during the day
at Pampur. We found, however, on the hill-side above, that.
the temperature that night was very different, and made us
glad to sleep under blankets. Before daybreak each of our
party, accompanied by his shickaree, struck off in divers direc-
tions. I followed up a wooded spur, with a valley on each
side, and had not gone far before the loud bellowing of
the Cashmere stags was heard in various parts of the thick
cover, and a herd of eight was seen in a jungle on the opposite
ridge. To cut them off was our only chance; so, on hands and
knees I scrambled through tangled bush and brake for up-
wards of an hour, when, most unexpectedly, I came upon a
hind, and delivered the contents of my rifle on her at ten yards.
Although desperately wounded, I could not discover the animal
from the extreme density of the underwood and difficulty of
finding our way through it. On gaining the top of the ridge
a brown bear was seen in a valley some distance off, but I was
too much disappointed at my failure to go in pursuit, and
returning to the tent, found Halkett exulting over a very large
bear he had killed in the neighbourhood. The animal
measured 7} feet in length, height 3 feet 5 inches; around
the chest 58$ inches; the thickest part of the fore-legs
was 24 inches, and the thigh 37 inches in circumference. I
mention the dimensions of this individual, as they are the
largest of several hundred I have examined. One afternoon,

NATURALIST IN INDIA. 179

on gaining the grassy top of a very steep mountain, I descried
a black bear feeding very intently, and as the wind was
favourable, there was no difficulty in stealing within thirty
yards. On firing the contents of my.first barrel into his body
he gave a loud grunt, and, unconscious of the direction from
which the shot came, cantered to within a few yards of me,
when a second bullet through his loins brought him up, and
he stood hesitating for a moment; then coiling himself into a
ball, he rolled down the hill-side, bounding from one promi-
nence to another like a huge cricket-ball, until brought to a
stand-still on a flat, on which he unrolled himself, and running
to the next declivity, rolled to the bottom, when he took to his
legs and disappeared from our view in the dense cover. His
downward course was marked with blood, but night came on,
and rendered farther pursuit perfectly useless. I was not
sorry to lose this bear at the onset of my shooting, as I
learned the truth of experience and what an old Himalayan
shickaree had told me, that a bear will carry away as many
bullets as you can send into his hinder quarters, but one be-
hind the shoulder, in the forehead, or breast, will be certain to
drop him. The above is a favourite proceeding with the black
bear if suddenly frightened, or when he finds himself on a
steep mountain and at a great distance from jungle or cover.
On the 18th of April we raised our camp, and proceeded
eastward over the mountain of Wunster Wun, where we had
been shooting for the two previous days, into a beautiful
little valley, about three miles long by a mile or so in
breadth. A river, fed by numerous rills from the high ranges
on each side, flowed down the middle, and, dividing into
many branches, served to irrigate the rice-fields. It is
wonderful how the eye adapts itself to seeing objects at long
distances. My shickaree would seat himself on a hill-side,

180 . WANDERINGS OF A

‘and with his hands on each side of his head, so as to concen-
trate the rays of vision, remain motionless, intently scanning
every portion of the distant valley or mountain. At last he
would point out a small object, which the telescope showed
to be a stag or bear. Having satisfied ourselves as to the
direction of the wind and the general demeanour of the
animal, whether feeding intently in one direction or nibbling
as it walked along, we then commenced our stalk. The
beginner must trust to the native shickaree and be guided by
him, and if at all expert, he will bring his master within 20
yards of the game. Amongst our men was a well-known
hunter called Ebhul Khan, a Khyberee from the famous
pass of that name near Peshawur. He had spent many days
among the Cashmere mountains, and knew almost every
corner in the Northern Pinjal. From age and experience he
claimed the consideration and respect of his comrades, who
always allowed him to choose the most likely beats. It was
surprising how this man outshone us all in finding game.
His eagle eye scanned every spot within its range ; and often
when we were perplexed as to the nature of some minute
object a long way off, Ebhul Khan settled the matter at once.
This faculty is only to be gained by great experience ; but
let the young aspirant remember that there is nothing in-
tuitive in it, and that, by dint of patience, perseverance, and
practice, he may, with an original good pair of eyes, find all
his game for .himself. In the woods and jungles of the
valley I saw several of the new species of bullfinch discovered
at Chacar, Halkett fired at a fine leopard, but the ball just
grazed the animal’s back. Although nowhere common, the
leopard is. not rare on the Cashmere mountains, and preys
chiefly on musk-deer, sheep, and dogs. Our friend was fortu-
nate in killing another brown bear.

NATURALIST IN INDIA. 181

On a range, and close to the melting snow, we came on
several flocks of the great snow-pheasant, known to the Cash-
merees by the names gor-ka-gu, and kubuk deri. It is also
called “lepia” and “jer monal” in other districts westward.
This species seems to frequent the high ranges of Afghanistan,
and suitable situations all over the great Himalayan chain.
There are three allied species, one of which is possibly only
a local variety (Tetraogallus tibetanus) ; the other two are
decidedly distinct. One of the latter is said to frequent the
Ladakh mountains ; it is smaller than the bird we are now
describing, and has a band on the front of the neck like the
chuckore. The great snow-pheasant delights in high alti-
tudes, and may be said to be partial to the upper region,
from whence it is only driven by the rigours of winter. Amidst
the dreary desolation of these arctic heights its plaintive
-whistle is often the only symptom of animated nature. The
ash colour of the plumage is so like surrounding objects that
T have often found great difficulty in discovering individuals.
The call, however, is loud and prolonged, and may serve to
fix the position of a flock which otherwise would remain un-
noticed. Commencing with a few short calls, the notes get
rapidly prolonged, much in these words “wh06, wit whit whit,
wit wit weett weett wee,” continued at intervals of a few
minutes. In hunting the gorkagu the best way is to ap-
proach a flock from below, and fire the first shot when they
are on the ground, when the chances are, that all will
fly downwards, as they almost invariably do when near the
mountain’s top. In general appearance and gait on the
ground, this bird has a resemblance to a large gray goose.
Tender leaves and stalks of the alpine primroses, fresh shoots
of grass, and other plants, constitute the favourite food of this
species. Its flesh is not well-flavoured. I have often seen

182 WANDERINGS OF A

flocks of snow-pheasants get very much excited on the ap-
proach of the lammergeyer, or any other large rapacious bird,
and run from one part of the mountain to another, evidently
in great fear. Doubtless the golden and imperial eagles often
pounce on the young, but they do not seem to attack the
adult. The plumage of the snow-pheasants differs consider-
ably in summer and winter, and there is likewise some in-
dividual disproportion as to size, both of which are worthy of
attention, An adult male is about 29 inches in length, and
the breadth from tip to tip of wings about 40 inches;
weight 84 to 74 lbs. The legs are armed with short blunt
spurs.

It is particularly refreshing, after a few hours spent
among the cold and snow of the higher regions, to descend to
the region of verdure, among the fragrant wild thyme which
grows abundantly on these mountains, along with the iris,
crocus, and tiger-lily. After a day's hard work on the moun-
tain-side, searching for lepiw, we were returning homewards
through a little belt of birch, when I came on a musk-deer,
and shot the little creature as it stood gazing in astonishment
at my sudden appearance. The female is of little value,
except for its skin, as the flesh is dry and tasteless. During
our stay in the little valley of Trahal, we had a visit from
Mirza Shah, ex-rajah of Iscardo, one of Goulab Singh’s state
prisoners : he had been exiled for twelve years, and was living
in destitution in a small village close by. The poor fellow
seemed completely borne down by sorrow, although only
thirty years of age. He was tall, slender, and handsome, and
wore a large white turban and blue mantle. Through an in-
terpreter he informed us of the unjust way in which his
country was taken from him by Goulab Singh, but his dull:
eye seemed -to brighten up when he recounted the friendly

y

NATURALIST IN INDIA. 183

relations that used to subsist between his father and the
British government, ending with the Cashmeree’s prayer, “that
the day might not be distant when the Feringee would rule
over valley, and his mountain home restored to him.” He
looked, however, as if he was not likely to live to see that
day. Grateful for our sympathies, he took his way, and soon
reappeared with a piece of rock-crystal, which we feigned to
think was valuable ; and in return Halkett made him a present
of a penknife, which he looked on as a courtly gift. How
are the mighty fallen! He was the last one of the royal race
of Gylfos, who had lorded over Ladakh and Tibet for several
centuries.

The isabella, or brown bear of the Himalaya, is an exceed-
ingly stupid and unsuspicious animal in districts where it
has not been disturbed. My first encounter with one well
exemplifies what may be considered a common occurrence
with those who have hunted it in the more secluded valleys.
An individual was discovered feeding on the side of a very
steep ridge, which was intersected by a succession of deep
furrows, so that when the bear was feeding across the declivity
it was constantly rising over these inequalities, and dipping
into the intervening hollows. The result to us who were
stalking the animal was, that we had to wait until it had
crossed one ridge before we attempted to pass over another ;
and so on, until we arrived at the last, when, to my astonish-
ment, on peeping over the eminence I descried bruin’s ears
within an arm’s length, and heard him nibbling and blowing
on the grass; so, springing on my feet, I discharged the con-
tents of two barrels in his body. However, he regained his
footing, rushed down the slope, and disappeared in the
dense jungle at the base. No time was lost in following
up his trail, which was evident enough from great splashes

184 WANDERINGS OF A

of blood, and I had no sooner gained the cover, when, with
a loud snort, he advanced towards me, rearing on his hind
legs, when I planted another ball in his chest; then, with
a yell, he turned, and entering the jungle, was soon lost to
view. We traced his footprints from one place to another
through tangled bush, until night came on and compelled us
to desist. The following morning saw me up before the sun,
and on my way towards the scene, with villagers to assist in
beating the bush. After several hours’ fruitless search, the
animal was found lying stiff and dead under a tree. He was
wounded in five different places. We removed the skin, but
the shickaree was not content until he came into possession
of the gall-bladder likewise; the contents of which are much
prized as medicine by the hill people. He, moreover, was
careful to remove the liver, and assured me that the number
of lobes indicated the age of the individual. This piece of
anatomical information I had subsequently cause to doubt, as
all the adult specimens I examined had exactly eight lobes.

It was fortunate our antagonist was the brown instead of
the black bear, inasmuch as had we been brought to close
quarters it is highly probable he would have attempted an
attack on us.

On the following day we struck our little camp, and moved.
eastward over a pass covered with thick beds of snow, and
had not proceeded any great distance before a very heavy
show-storm came on, in the middle of which we were sur-
prised by a courier appearing with our “ home letters,” kindly
forwarded to us by the British resident at Serinuggur, Major -
M‘Gregor. Among the items of overland news was recorded
the death of the poet who has sung so sweetly of the scenes
we were visiting. By the time the valley was reached, the
snow, which had fallen thickly on the mountain, now ac-

NATURALIST IN INDIA. 185

cumulated to even several inches, and the little village of
Sipoor looked on the 24th of April as if it had been mid-
winter ; and what appeared strange, among the cold and snow
all the apricot trees were in full bloom! The thermometer
stood at 40° in a neighbouring hamlet, where, among cattle
and cackling hens, we spent a sleepless night from the
attacks of legions of “cimex” and “pulex,’ both of which
abound in the native dwellings of Cashmere.

One beautiful morning, shortly after sunrise, as my shick-
aree was seated beside me on a mountain-top, from which a
magnificent view of the valley was visible, we had been in-
tently scanning the hill-sides for game, when, suddenly turn-
ing towards me, and pointing downwards, he exclaimed,
“What could have induced the English to have given that
fine valley to Goulab Singh?” He knew the story of how it
was purchased by the present ruler at the termination of the
Sutluj campaign even better than I did; but the sudden
ebullition of affectionate regard for his native land overcame
him, and seeing it to such advantage on that bright spring
morning, the simple shickaree turned an esthetic; and no
wonder, for before or since I never beheld a lovelier scene :
there lay the fine broad valley, far, far down, the Jhelum,
twisting through its rich fields covered with grass, and irri-
gated by numberless mountain torrents,—the rising sun just
gilding the tops of its snow-clad barriers, and the smoke rising
from hundreds of villages and hamlets, half-hid among pro-
fusion of tree and jungle. Verily, well might have the poet
sang,—‘ If there be an Elysium on earth it is this—it is this.”

From the Trahal we crossed a range, and entered the Duch-
inpara, a magnificent offshoot from the Cashmere valley, where
it opens out into a broad plain, several miles in breadth, then
gradually narrowing and bursting through the Northern Pin-

186 WANDERINGS OF A

jal for upwards of thirty miles, ends among the high ranges
on the frontiers of Little Tibet, where spring the infant-
rills of its beautiful Lidur—a fine mountain torrent, which,
gathering strength as it runs along the valley, becomes
nearly as large as the Jhelum itself at Bij Bedra, where the
two unite. .

The mountains of the Duchinpara are chiefly composed of
limestone, and, for the first fifteen or twenty miles, slope
gradually into the valley ; their sides are clad with dense pine
forests, alternating with grassy glades, whilst the bottom and
banks of the Lidur are covered with dense jungle, diversified
by little villages, hamlets, fields, and groves of apple, walnut,
&c. In the secluded depths of its forest the Cashmere stag
finds a safe retreat, and the musk-deer, although getting much
reduced in numbers, is occasionally met with. A few of the
strange goat-antelopes (Capricornis bubalina) frequent the more
secluded parts, while on the grassy openings round the limits
of forest, a brown or black bear may be found. Had the game
of the Duchinpara been preserved with even moderate care,
there is no place in the world where the sportsman might
pursue his pastime with more advantage ; but for years, and
at all seasons, natives and Europeans have been constantly at
the work of extermination, and before long the north “ glades
and glooms” will be without a single denizen, save on the
mountain-tops, where the stag roams secure from the rifle
of any but the most expert and adventurous cragsman. The
Cashmere deer (Cervus cashmeriensis) is known by the native
names “bara-singa” (twelve-horned), and “hanglu.” It seems
to be very closely allied, if not identical with, Cervus afinis*
(Hodg.), and perhaps likewise Wallich’s deer (C. wallichit),
both natives of the forests of Nepa and the Eastern Hima-

* See Journal As. Soc. of Bengal, xliii.

NATURALIST IN INDIA. 187

layas. What may be the difference between them and the
red-deer (C. elaphus) I cannot say. The red-deer of the
Altai ranges,* and of Amoorland, are said to be identical,
and differ only from the European animal in being a little
larger. That is not to be wondered at, especially with refer-
ence to the Scottish red-deer, which is well known to have
been steadily deteriorating as cultivation has intruded on its
haunts ; neither in size nor in the development of the horn is the
animal now what it once was; but the noble heads preserved in
the mansions of the aristocracy, or found in bogs or superficial
deposits, show that individuals were equal in size to any met
with in the present dayin Central and Northern Asia. Not only
has the curtailing of its freedom been one of the chief causes
of the deterioration of the red-deer, but by breeding always
from the same stock, and the destruction of adult harts, leaving
the propagation of the species entirely to immature animals,
a feebler race has been the result, and doubtless, unless
measures are taken to counteract these evils, the red-deer will
become extinct; for what greater modifiers of animal exist-
ence are there than those which change habits or curtail
gatural tendencies? ‘With all the attention bestowed on the
red-deer, and the vast amount of pleasure and occupation it
has afforded man for ages, it seems curious that no one has
attempted to trace its relations and examine fully into its dis-
tribution. This deer appears to have been co-existent with
man’s earliest history, for among the peat morasses and
caverns of Europe we find abundant remains of the elk,
rein, and red deers, all of which roamed at one time in
vast herds over the British isles ; and as primeval history re-
cords man’s doings, we find him hourly employed in the great

* See Atkinson’s Travels in the Regions of the Upper and Lower Amoor ;
and the Natural History Review for 1861.

188 WANDERINGS OF A

work of extermination which has gone on from age to age,
until the animals have become extinct, save in wild and
sequestered regions, where his dominant sway has not yet
extended.

The Cashmere stag stands about 14 hands in height; the
upper parts are adark brown or liver-colour in summer, be-
coming more hoary as winter advances. The inner sides of the
hips are reddest, and the belly and lower parts white. The
“male has large massive antlers, which are shed in March, and
are not properly developed or free from velvet until the end of
October. The most handsome heads have not the most points.
The horns that branch gracefully are in greater repute as
trophies than those of older individuals, whose antlers are
often irregular and badly-shaped. The hind gestates six
months, and when the hart is shedding his horns, repairs to
the depths of the forest, where she brings forth a single calf,
which retains the white spots until the third or fourth year.
The pine-covered slopes and jungles of the Duchinpara,
and valley of the Scinde river may be considered the head-
quarters of this deer. In the secluded depths of these soli-
tudes they lie all day, to issue forth at dusk and feed on the
grassy glades, descending even into the valley in winter, where
they may be seen around the villages, and are frequently
mobbed and killed by means of long bludgeons shod with iron
rings. The Cashmere deer is erratic, and seldom remains long
in one locality, but wanders from forest to forest according to
the weather and season. As summer advances the herds
mount to the limits of the forest, and by August are only to
be found on the mountain-tops and situations where they are
least likely to be annoyed by insects. It is only in the rutting
season that the sportsman is certain of success, when, winding
his way through the forest, the decayed twigs crackle under

NATURALIST IN INDIA. 189

foot. There a noble stag, in expectation of meeting a rival or
mate, in maddening excitement rushes forward, and before he
has time to make good a retreat, receives his death-wound.

In this way many a stag has fallen in the mountains of
Cashmere.

The tiger, panther, bears, and wild dogs (Canis primevus),
are its natural enemies. The first has been killed at Poonch,
among the southern ranges, and although I have not been
enabled to prove its existence in the Northern Punjaub, there
is little doubt but it frequently visits the deer-forests. The
native appellative, “sher,” is used indiscriminately for all the
larger Feline, and as the shickarees assert full-grown harts are
often killed by the “ sher,’ I conceive tigers must be the de-
predators, inasmuch as the panther is not a match for an
adult, although beyond doubt young deer are frequently killed
by them.

It is not uncommon to find shed antlers much gnawed,
and as the same has been observed with reference to the red-
deer of the Scotch forests, there is some appearance of truth
in the assertion that the animal is in the habit of gnawing the
cast horn during the formation of the new for the earthy salts
it may contain. The natives state, however, that bears are
the depredators on such occasions.

There is a large species known as Cervus dwvaucellit. It
frequents the lower ranges of the Eastern Himalaya, and may
possibly be likewise found on certain parts of the western
chains. It is impossible, however, in the present state of our
knowledge of the haunts of Asiatic Cervide, to be able to
define accurately their distinctions and localities. The sambar
(Rusa equina) of the Mahrattas is said likewise to frequent the
lower region of the Western Himalaya ; also the sambar (Rusa
hippelaphus), a native of the forests of India. The jari (Rusa

190 WANDERINGS OF A

aristotelis) or jarrow is a noble animal, from 14 to 15 hands
in height, with antlers often a foot in circumference and
4 feet long, is found on the banks of the Jumna and Ganges
in their mountain courses. A few stray along the sub-Hima-
layan valleys, and have been shot and seen near Simla.
On the Cashmere ranges, however, its native stag would
appear to reign supreme.

Eld’s deer (Cervus eldit), found in the valley of Munee-
poor, Burmah, and Malayan Peninsula, is worthy of note in
alist of the antlered deer of Central Asia.

On the 25th of April we continued our hunting excursions.
I ascended a mountain behind the village of Sipoor, and came
on abundant trail of deer. A black bear was seen scamper-
ing towards a wood, and we flushed a woodcock in the forest,
and several coveys of chuckore on the bare hill-sides.
The Himalayan and yellow-backed woodpecker were com-
mon. Young wounded a deer which he lost after a tedious
pursuit through the forest ; Halkett reported having seen a
wild cat (Felis bengalensis) of the small striped species.
The shickarees picked up several antlers newly shed with
their points gnawed, but nothing was bagged that day. On
the following morning I crossed the Duchinpara, and ascended
the wooded ridge opposite, by the side of a broad grassy
opening: traces of deer were plentiful, for, irrespective of foot-
prints, the bark had been peeled off the trees by them, whilst
the fresh-ploughed soil in the forest showed that bears had
been lately digging for roots. We did not reach the brow of
the hill before the report of a rifle in a jungle below drew our
attention in that direction, when soon afterwards two harts
were seen charging at full speed across the mountain-side
towards a belt of forest trees. This unexpected intrusion on
our evening’s beat obliged us to retreat homewards. When

NATURALIST IN INDIA. 191

descending by the outskirts of the forest a herd of deer was ob-
served to emerge from the wood, gaze about for a few minutes,
then move leisurely down a hollow, where they were lost to
view. Following with great caution, we had scarcely dared
to peep over the intervening inequalities, when the herd was
discovered feeding in a little depression on the hill-side. I
saw there was no time to be lost, as they were scattered, and
one buck was within twenty yards of me. Accordingly, singling
out the largest, I fired, when he rolled down dead. The others,
taken by surprise, and not knowing from whence the shot
came, rushed furiously towards me, led on by an old hind, in
whose chest the contents of my left barrel “found a billet ;”
staggering, she fell, and rolled down the steep, bumping from
rock to rock, until brought up by a jutting shelf far down
among the long green bracken. There was no time for hesi-
tation ; so, seizing my spare rifle, I planted another bullet
behind the shoulder of a young hart, and as the remainder
were scampering up the hill-side the last ball was heard
to strike the largest with the unmistakeable “thud,” and
soon the wounded animal became out-distanced by the other
two. With all the satisfaction, and even pride, experienced
by the hunter on occasions like the above, I will candidly
assert that with an ardour and love for the chase equal to most
men, I have more than once experienced a sorrowful feeling
after the work of destruction was over, and I came to gaze on
the noble frame I had deprived of existence. There was no
time, however, on the above occasion for reflection, as already
the carrion crows and vultures were circling overhead, and
the shades of night approaching, Accordingly the carcases
were collected together after the shickarees in the most ap-
proved Mussulman fashion had cut their throats. Two men
were left to protect them during the night from bears and

192 WANDERINGS OF A *

panthers, whilst we returned to the tent; and next day the
half-starved natives of the village of Yenaur fared sumptu-
ously on venison, The secretion of the infra-orbital opening is
much prized as a remedy for almost all diseases. The largest
of the deer measured 13 hands at the shoulder. Young
added a she-bear to our day’s bag, and seldom a day passed’
but one or other was fortunate in some way. I killed another
stag on the morning ofthe 28th of April, after a long and
exciting stalk across-the slippery sides of a very precipitous
mountain. It is wonderful how the excitement of the chase
carries one over dangerous and difficult places ; a break-neck
sort of indifference seizes you; you rush on regardless of
obstacles, which in cooler moments might cause considerable
concern. With the rifle in one hand and pole in the other, the
prospect of an ibex before him, where is the hunter that
would hesitate at any common obstacle? Mayhap these lines
may sometime catch the eye of a Himalayan hunter, and if so,
let me bring to his remembrance that significant signal, like
the tapping of the woodpecker on the trunk of the pine-tree,
used by the Himalayan shickaree to draw his attention when
a whisper would attract the game. No noise is better suited,
for beyond the woodpecker’s tap and the “wailing of the
forest,’ there is oft no other sound that breaks the stillness of
these alpine solitudes.

Our tent was moved from village to village whilst we ex-
plored the mountain slopes on the right and left, departing at
an early hour in the morning to return at dusk. During mid-
day when the game sought the shelter of the forest, my time
was usually employed in wandering through the woods in
quest of birds. Sometimes when perched on a projecting cliff
I have been so overcome by the magnificent beauty and
grandeur of the scene around me, that, lost in admiration, I

“NATURALIST IN INDIA. 193

could scarcely confine my observation to any particular spot
for three consecutive minutes. In these glens nature appears
in all its wildness: the noble pines scattered here and there,
or assembled in woods or forests, adorn the hill-sides, whilst
the openings are clad in a rich grassy covering ; at the bottom
dashes a stream, fed and nourished by the melting snow above,
its banks are clad in luxuriant vegetation, and fertilised by
the debris of the flood ; when—

Along this narrow valley you might see

The wild deer sporting on the meadow ground,

And here and there a solitary tree,

Or mossy stone, or rock with woodbine crowned.

Oft did the cliffs reverberate the sound

Of parted fragments tumbling from on high ;

And from the summit of that craggy mound

The perching eagle oft was heard to cry,

Or on resounding wings to shoot athwart the sky.
BEATTIE’s Minstrel.

As we ascended the Duchinpara the climate and scenery kept
constantly changing ; it seemed to be retrograding from spring
to winter, as the mountains were half-clad with snow, and
the temperature and vegetation decreased as we advanced.
The fine broad valley was gradually narrowing into a glen
with steep and rugged sides. On the 2d of May we reached
Pilgam, where the mountain barometer gave an elevation of
8000 feet above the level of the sea. The ascent had been
almost imperceptible, and yet we had risen several hundred feet
since leaving Sipoor, and except a slight tinge of green on
the hill-sides, there was no sign of spring even at that ad-
vanced time of the year. We explored the slopes below
this village, where my companions killed a bara-singa and
black bear. I saw a few hill-foxes (Vulpes montanus) and a
)

194 WANDERINGS OF A

musk-deer. Now and then large masses of rock were observed
to become loosened by the melting of the snow, and roll down
the sides of the mountain, carrying destruction before them.
Halkett had a narrow escape from one which struck a rifle
from the shoulder of his servant. The nights were bitterly
cold, and unless in the sun there was a chilling wind that
necessitated us moving about. To judge distances exactly,
or even with moderate certainty, is only to be gained by much
experience and practice in a level country ; it is generally no
difficult matter to guess with accuracy any distance within
500 yards, but on mountains, especially in firing across valleys
or downwards, unless the hunter is careful, he will experience
many a heartache. Across ravines objects generally look
nearer than they actually are, and the reverse when below you ;
the latter, however, is by no means always the case,—a great
deal depends on the nature of the mountain, whether clad with
vegetation or barren. In all barren places and mountains
objects appear nearer than they really are. At Pilgam, one
forenoon, I marked a black bear feeding on a hill-side at what
I fancied was 100 yards distant. Adjusting my rifle accord-
ingly, I placed it with great care and fired, when to my aston-
ishment the ball hit a rock half-a-foot above bruin’s back. I
measured the distance, and found it did not exceed 60 yards!
Such pieces of bad luck soon taught me to be more particular
in judging distances, and it was not until I had practised a
great deal that I could make a moderate computation of any
range beyond 50 yards. The scenery about Pilgam is full of
noble grandeur, comprising steep and rugged mountains, their
summits jutting into rocky pinnacles or beetling crags over-
grown with moss and lichen, and often scarped and bare ;
lower down the pine diversifies the scenery with its clustering
or scattered forests, which the grassy glades and perpendicu-

NATURALIST IN INDIA. 195

lar banks tend to beautify ; the latter undulating downwards
into the valleys with almost every variety of woodland and
savannah. Northwards from the village runs a glen by
which a pathway extends to Ladakh and Little Tibet, and
about three miles upwards one of the chief tributaries of the
Lidur is seen gushing from below a huge glacier. I followed
the stream to this point, in expectation of meeting bears
on the way; but from the quantity of snow still cover-
ing the mountains and valleys, except a solitary bearded
vulture, there were no symptoms of animal life. The mantle
of winter was spread over everything ; not a blade of grass
was above ground, neither had willow or birch ventured to
bud. However, a few days suffice to alter nature’s aspect
altogether. At Pilgam the thermometer stood at 76° F. in
our tent on the 4th of May, and the Lidur rose rapidly from
the melting of snow on the surrounding mountains. The
bare parts became tinged with green, and the walnut-
trees were budding. The magical way in which vegetation
springs up in these regions is really wonderful. In a single
week, from “dismal winter hoar, comes gentle spring in all
her ethereal mildness.” I remember taking my gun one
evening, and as I was strolling along the banks of the Lidur,
came on a pretty little “ dipper” (Cinclus aquaticus) for the first
time since leaving Britain. This well-known tenant of the
mountain-streams of Great Britain and Northern Europe is
rather common in the secluded mountain valleys of Cash-
mere ; but I believe I am the first to record its presence in
this portion of central Asia. My specimens from Cashmere
resemble that met with in south-eastern Europe, and named
by Temminck C. melanogaster, which must now stand as
a local variety of the other. One of our party assured me
that he saw the common European squirrel in a forest near

196 WANDERINGS OF A

Pilgam. This may not be unlikely, considering it is a native
of Tibet, and skins are imported to the Punjaub from Afghan-
istan. We soon found out our mistake in coming so far up
the Duchinpara, for we had left the good shooting-ground
behind. The bears and deer had all moved down the valley.
Accordingly, retracing our steps by the left bank of the
Lidur, we arrived at the village of Eish Makam, after a
march of four hours. Every mile indicated an advance into
a more genial region, but the descent was very gradual.
That night the temperature rose from 42° to 60°, whilst
everything around our new halting-ground betokened the
appearance of summer: the chimney swallow twittered from
many a straw-built shed; the villages and hamlets half-hid
among groves of walnut, apple, pear, apricot, almond, and
willow,—all pleasing pictures of rural beauty. The blooming
iris decked the little village graveyard and mustjid, and
there, as everywhere in the valley of Cashmere, added addi-
tional beauty to the loveliness of many a sylvan scene.
There are two species of iris—a large-leaved (Iris longifolia),
with purple and white flowers; and a smaller, with narrow
leaves (ris nepalensis). On the fine grassy glades the hoopoe
was seen digging its long bill into the soft turf in quest of
insects, and oft as its labours seemed nearly over, down
would pounce a Drongo shrike to secure the fruits of its toil.
The latter is a perfect little tyrant wherever he thinks he
can be so with impunity. Even the Indian jackdaw seldom
passes his haunts unmolested. What more pleasing sight
can there be than, in some delightful evening in summer, to
observe flocks of the beautiful crimson flycatcher (Pericro-
cotus peregrinus) pursuing their gambols around the tall
walnut-trees of a Cashmere hamlet? Their soft twittering
notes and graceful motions have oft excited in me feelings

NATURALIST IN INDIA. 197

of admiration and pleasure, until the Drongo shrike, or
some unwelcome intruder, drove the gorgeous little fairies
away. ‘

The mountain-slopes on each side of the valley at EHish
Makam are reported to have once been among the best hunt-
ing-grounds in Cashmere until the murderous rifle of the
Englishman almost annihilated the large game. I beat over
one hill-side south of the village, and in the course of the
day met with several herds of bara-singa; but the harts
were all without horns, and, from shedding their hair, were
not in good condition either as trophies or for the table. Two
old hinds passed within a few yards of us, and for a few
minutes seemed doubtful whether to scamper off or face us.
After trotting leisurely into a wood, they turned round,
stamped with their fore-feet, and barked in their coughing-like
way, and only took to flight when we bellowed after them.
My shickaree, evidently more scrupulous of the quantity than
the quality of his venison, kept exhorting me to kill one;
but my better feelings decided otherwise, and we left them
for the autumn. Several monal pheasants were observed. I
wounded a young black bear, but owing to the denseness of
the ferns growing along the base of the hill we lost its trail.
Halkett was more fortunate, and killed a she brown bear and
wounded its cub, which he found the following day lying
dead at some distance -from the spot. Wild rhubarb is
exceedingly plentiful on all the exposed parts of the moun-
tains, and when young forms the first food of the brown bear
on its exit from its cave in early spring. Nothing can exceed
the variety and beauty of the wild flowers of these mountains ;
to the botanist they are replete with the greatest interest.
My time, however, was so occupied with other natural history
pursuits that I had not leisure to devote to this enchanting

198 WANDERINGS OF A

study. I observed two species of humble bees somewhat
common along the grassy banks of the Duchinpara. One sort
was rather larger than the common British species, but is
jet black ; the other had the head and lower parts black, the
back and loins white, with a red spot close to the sting. In
a pine-forest, for the first and last time, I had a glimpse of
a rare woodpecker, about the size of the lesser woodpecker.
Its head was white, neck and breast bluish-black, and belly
and vent red.

By the 10th of May spring had fairly set in, and clothed
the woods and jungles along the sides of the valley with
their gayest attire. The hawthorn, wild rose; and a lilac
(with small flowers and numerous elliptical leaves) were in
full blossom, and filled the air with their delightful perfumes ;
whilst creepers hung in beautiful festoons on tree and shrub.
The edolio or black and white crested cuckoo (Oxylophus
melanoleucos) was heard piping its well-known call, and in the
evening, sporting like swallows, and attractive by their loud
and wild cry, were flocks of the common European bee-eater.
Summer was come, and the long grass and ferns on the
mountain-sides showed us the uselessness of seeking for bears
in such dense cover. Accordingly, I packed up my rifle,
and commenced the ornithology of the district, descending
from the excitement of deer-stalking, to the no less agree-
able pastime of searching after the little feathered denizens
of the woods and glades. Among bushy places a small white-
throated warbler, a little less than the cinereous white-throat
of Europe, is very common. The jackal’s howl was heard
every night.

The silk-worm is reared in great numbers in several parts
of the valley and its offshoots. At Brar we witnessed cocoons
being boiled over a slow fire, when the silk was collected by

NATURALIST IN INDIA. 199.

winding the threads round a wheel worked by the hand,
afterwards dried, and made up on reels.

On the 11th of May we moved down the banks of the Lidur,
now a fine rapid river, to the pretty village of Mattun, situated
in a grove of magnificent chunar and walnut trees, under the
umbrageous boughs of which we pitched our little tent, close to
a square enclosed tank, which literally swarmed with the so-
called Himalayan trout, some to all appearance 2 Ibs. in weight.*
After the long march and exposure to the rays of a powerful
sun, we plunged headlong into the cold and refreshing water
of the tank, which is supplied by a stream that rises in the
neighbouring mountains. It was delightful to sit under the
trees and enjoy the pleasant afternoon. Sardinian starlings
chirped in hundreds overhead among the branches or holes
in the trunks of the old trees, where they build, and the spar-
rows in countless thousands joined in ready chorus among
the light-green leaves of the chunars. The above starling is
easily recognised by its uniform shining black plumage, and the
long and tapering feathers on the neck and collar. The black-
bird-like note of the Cashmere song-thrush (Turdus unicolor,
Tickell) was heard in all directions. A few were building
their nests among the chunars around the village. This
thrush remains in Cashmere until winter, when it migrates
southward to the plains of India, and returns to the mountains
in spring. The changes to which its plumage is subject have
puzzled naturalists; hence each variety has created for itself
aname. I believe the Calcutta thrush (Latham), Turdus dis-
similis (Blyth), to be one of the varieties, as undoubtedly the
Turdus unicolor (Gould) is another variety approaching that

* I was unable to determine this species. It is soft-mouthed, and in no
particulars does it assimilate the genus sadmo ; the name has arisen from its
frequenting brooks ; its flesh is soft and almost tasteless,

200 WANDERINGS OF A

described by Tickell in 1833.* This plain-dressed but charac-
teristic tenant of the wooded parts of Cashmere represents
the song-thrush of Europe. It is less in size, being not larger
than the redwing. On leaving Mattun we turned eastward to
examine the celebrated ruins of the temple of Martund,
situated on a slope near the mountains overlooking the magnifi-
cent kirawa of the same name. Again, from this point the
geologist will mark the old water-lines across the sides of the
mountains, and the shingly conglomerate which abuts in
several places. The similarity between Martund and the
temples in the Baramula Pass is striking; with the little
temple of Pandreton they belong doubtless to one epoch, as
shown in Professor Wilson’s Essay on the Ancient History of
Cashmere, or the carefully-compiled descriptions of Mr.
Vignet Making allowances for the ravages of time and
the ruthless hand of the invader, nothing I have seen in the
valley testifies to the severity of the earthquakes which have
shaken it from time to time more than the yawning gaps
and tottering walls of the temple of Martund.

The city of Islamabad is only a few miles distant. It is
composed of seven or eight hundred houses, scattered without
much regularity and appearance. From the little hill west-
ward of the town the traveller may command a magnificent
view of the valley. The chunar-trees here are of gigantic
size, and the largest I have seen anywhere. The circumfer-
ence of one at 4 feet from the ground measured 29 feet. They
form a delightful shade around the sacred spring of Annat
Nag, which, like the tank at Mattun, is surrounded by a wall,
and swarms with Himalayan trout. There are two sulphureous
springs in the town, one of which deposits sulphur in small
quantity, and has a temperature about ten degrees higher
than the spring-water in the neighbourhood.

* See Jour, As. Soc. Bengal, ii. 677. + Travels in Cashinere, vol. i.

NATURALIST IN INDIA. 201

Islamabad is proverbially famous for its dirtiness, and
fewer cities have better natural advantages at command ;
with abundant water supplies, and every benefit as regards
position, yet no one can help being forcibly impressed with
the utter disregard for anything approaching order or cleanli-
ness in the inhabitants or their dwellings. It is perhaps too
severe to lay this charge altogether on the people of Islama-
bad, inasrauch as poverty and extortion have had their usual
effect on the Cashmerees in general. I always felt relieved of
many olfactory discomforts when I found myself clear of their
towns, and was once more among the green fields and lovely
groves. One of the chief songsters of the valley is the yellow-
vented bulbul (P. lewcogenys). The red-vented species (P.
hemorrhous) is common enough in the woods of the lesser
ranges southwards, but not in the valley. Among the top-
most branches of the tall chunars, fluttering in the sunbeams,
but usually in the evening, is the small flycatcher (Hemiche-
lidon fuliginosa). Several specimens procured near Islamabad
had a good deal of rust-coloured markings on the wings, and
resembled the description of Hemichelidon ferruginea, Hodg.,
which is clearly a very close ally.

About three miles in a south-easterly direction stands
the old garden of Atsibul, with its beautiful natural foun-
tain gushing from beneath the trap rock. The spring rises
with some force for a height of about a foot and a half, and
from its volume would indicate considerable pressure. This
ancient pleasure-garden of the Mogul emperors is famous
in the history of their times. Among its shady avenues the
enchanting Nourmahal spent her evenings, and the great
Jehangire is said to have repaired to its revigorating baths,
the remains of which bear the impress of their former im-
portance. During our visit the garden was stocked with

202 WANDERINGS OF A

vines, apricots, peaches, plums, apples, pears, etc., all growing
in great luxuriance, and surrounded by the most beautiful
sylvan scenery to be seen anywhere. I took my gun and
strolled through the groves in quest of birds. The fairylike
form of the paradise flycatcher flitted from bough to bough,
while the cooing of the Oriental pigeon sounded sweetly
through the copse, and the blackbird-like chaunt of the Cash-
mere song-thrush was heard sounding mellowly in the neigh-
bouring groves ; but of all that charmed me most was the
well-known and familiar voice, “that has no sorrow in its
song, no winter in its year ;” the remembrance of the budding
trees and the green fields and copses of dear old home ; and
often is it heard in these regions, for the cuckoo calls all over
Cashmere and the neighbouring ranges from March to June.
In bushy places numbers of red-backed shrikes were seen
hunting after beetles ; and the roller and oriole, as if doomed
to dwell in the midst of alarms, were off on the first symp-
toms of our approach. The latter has a soft, short note,
and may be often seen in the wooded parts of the valley.
The common sandpiper was by the side of the brook, emitting
its clear plaintive cry, and about on the sandbanks we saw
several ring-plover. I shot two pied kingfishers and a
black stork on the rivulet near the village of Changos, so
famous in the olden times for its pretty dancing-girls. But
Changos now-a-days has no such pretensions, although the
dark eyes and sunburnt countenances of old and young testify
to a race distinct from their neighbours, and with all the
appearances of gipsy extraction. It has been asserted that
more than one Changos girl entered the zenanas of the Delhi
emperors. There are several springs in the neighbourhood
of Atsibul. The one at Kokur Nag gushes forth with con-
siderable force, and forms a rivulet of a good size, which ulti-

NATURALIST IN INDIA. 203

mately joins the Barengi, a tributary of the Jhelum. In the
limestone near the stream there is a vein of iron, which pro-
duces small quantities of the metal. After a few miles’
journey through a country densely clad with tree, bush, and
scrub, chiefly the hazel-like Fothergilla, and across several
branches of the Jhelum, we arrived at the celebrated fountain
of Vernag. This place, although in ruins, bore still the impress
of its pristine grandeur, and, even in all its fallen beauty,
stood in point of comparison with the wretched edifices built
there by Goulab Singh as would its noble founders have
ranked with the avaricious and tyrannical Jumoo Rajah.
Over the ruined gateway is inscribed in Persian—* This
fountain has sprung from the waters of Paradise ;” and on the
octagonal wall which surrounds the spring is another tablet on
which it is recorded that—“This place of unparalleled beauty
was raised to the skies by Jehangiere Shah Akbar Shah,
in the year 1029” (4.D.1619). The wellsends forth a volume
of water of some size ; the former abounds with trout. The
little hill behind Vernag hides the view towards the east,
but in every other direction the fine valley, with its gentle
slopes, fields, and crystal streams, gladdens the eye. We
ranged through beautiful copses, by smiling hamlets, and
across grassy levels, through rice-fields; at others winding up
the willow-fringed banks of rivulets, that “chatter, chatter
as they flow, to join the brimming river.” The gay little
kingfisher and the spotted enicurus were seen hunting along
the babbling brook-sides. I gathered many well-known Eng-
lish plants, which may have been in part introduced from time
to time with the cereals and other grains. The bird’s-foot
trefoil, the wood strawberry, burnet saxifrage, were all common.
Again, white and red clovers clad the grassy banks. A
species of burdock, resembling the British ; the dandelion,

204 WANDERINGS OF A

goose-grass, shepherd’s purse, were all plentiful ; besides the
wild thyme, which sent forth its sweetest fragrance. A vibur-
num, differing in several respects from the English Guelder
rose, bloomed sweetly by the sides of streams and in shady
places; the wood geranium, with its white variety, was
abundant. The meadow grass and ribwort plantain covered
the fields, whilst in “ humble bowers” the Cashmere blue-
bell “lurked lowly unseen.” There was, however, something
wanting to complete the floral picture of home—the “ wee,
modest crimson-tipped flower” was not there—no “ daisy
decked the green.”

Following up our explorations of the southern portion of
the valley, we kept along the base of the Futi Pinjal, whose
tops were still covered with snow, whilst lower down the dark
forest and rich green vegetation clad their prominent ridges
and gradually retiring slopes, at the bottom of which great
banks of alluvium stretched into the valley. The wheat was
springing up, and ready for the deluging rains of the SE.
monsoon, and already masses of cloud were accumulating on
the mountain-tops. The rainy season commences about the
end of May, when vegetation attains its maximum in the course
of a week ; the climate is then very relaxing, and it is perhaps
the preponderance of wet over dry which is the great objec-
tion to the valley being used as a sanitarium during the sum-
mer months. Ague is not uncommon, but the other diseases
peculiar to India are seldom observed. Small-pox has left its
fearful traces on many a cheek ; and ophthalmia, the nursling
of poverty and filth, is rife among the lower classes, The
ignorance of their doctors is in keeping with the wretchedness
of everything intellectual in the Cashmerian character, and,
as in India, the wandering vagrant or fanatic fakir serves all
sanative demands. My small stock of medicines was soon

NATURALIST IN INDIA, 205

exhausted, for scarcely a day passed without numbers of ap-
plicants crowding round me. I often relieved suffering
humanity, and with more ample means at disposal might have
done substantial good. Many cases of cataract were cured sim-
ply by means of a fine sewing needle, slightly bent at the point,
and stuck in the end of a piece of wood : the success of such
operations proclaimed my presence far and wide, I daresay
even now there are Cashmerees who remember my humble
efforts, and I will say, with all their faults, gratitude to those
who soothe the bodily sufferings is never wanting with them.

I recollect in a subsequent visit to the valley I had been
delayed by one of Goulab Singh’s minions at the fort of
Chacar, near Dunna, from want of. coolies to carry my lug-
gage. No persuasion or expostulation availed ; the fellow
seemed determined to prevent our progress if possible, or at
least to throw obstacles in our way, so that we might not again
attempt another journey, and inform others of the difficulties
to be encountered. After much useless negotiation, a
wretched-looking man made his appearance at the door of the
hovel in which I was quartered. He had been wounded in
one of the many disastrous raids made by Goulab Singh
against the chief of Dardu. This poor fellow’s left knee was
contracted, and he had long despaired of any relief to his
deformity. One could therefore fancy his state of mind when
I found that the distortion depended entirely on the simple
contraction of his ham-string tendons, and was removed at
once by division of the latter, so that in a few minutes the bent
limb was made straight. I had the satisfaction afterwards of
seeing him walking about. The result of my operation
reached the fort, and the next morning I had twenty of the
best coolies the governor could procure, all ready to carry
myself or baggage anywhere.

206 WANDERINGS OF A

The Vishau river is considered by the Cashmerees as the
parent of the Jhelum : it rises in the Kosa Nag lake, which
is fed by the melting snow and glacier in a hollow or an up-
land valley of the southern ranges. The river runs through
a narrow rocky glen, remarkable for picturesque grandeur.
The falls of Arabul are well worth a visit, as few localities in
the Cashmere mountains possess such attractive scenery. A
pathway leads from the village of Utu to within a short dis-
tance of the cataract. Few Englishmen could sit on the
grassy banks, and witness the rare mountain beauty of Arabel
without a feeling that did Cashmere belong to England, there
is no spot among all its lovely scenery better suited for a
pic-nic. To one of us it brought back recollections of similar
mountain beauties

‘* Among the rugged cliffs that guard
The infant rills of Highland Dee.”

I gathered wild asparagus (4. racemosus) and rhubarb,
thinking to give my companions a treat; but much to our
disappointment, although the asparagus looked excellent, it
had none of the esculent qualities of the cultivated plant.
In damp situations a forget-me-not, mouse-eared chickweed,
and sheep’s sorrel were observed. A broad-leaved dock was
plentiful around the village of Hungipoor.

The ring-dove is often seen in the valley, and frequents
bushy situations.

I killed a red weasel (Mustela subhemachalana) close to
the hamlet of Utu, where we found it had destroyed several
young chickens and fowls’ eggs. Its total length, including
tail, was 19 inches ; colour, an uniform light-brown, darker on
the back ; nose, mouth, and throat, white ; tail lax and taper-
ing. This handsome little creature is not uncommon in the
valley. I have seen several ermine-skins said to have been

NATURALIST IN INDIA. 207

procured in the Cashmere mountains: it is considered by
natives to be somewhat common. The heron is a tenant of
the parent streams ofthe Jhelum. From the hamlets of Hungi-
poor, in one of the valleys at the southern end of Cashmere,
we witnessed a thunder-storm, which, for awful grandeur, I
have seldom seen surpassed. The lightning shot in tremen-
dous zig-zags across the mountain-tops. One bolt struck a
pinnacle of rock, and remained a globe of fire for upwards of
two minutes. Such meteoric phenomena are said not to be
uncommon during Himalayan thunder-storms.

208 WANDERINGS OF A

CHAPTER XI.

Magnificent View of the Valley of Cashmere—Traces of an Ancient Lake—An
Excursion to the Interior of the Futi Pinjal—Fauna of the Northern and
Southern Cashmere Ranges—Bears, Deer, Ibex, and Wild Goats partial
to Localities—Mode of Fighting pursued by the Wild Goats and Sheep—
A Noble Specimen of the Great Goat or Serpent-Eater—Bear— Wild
Grandeur of the Scenery—Natural History of the Markhore—The Tare-
Goat--Wild Dog—Black-headed Pheasant —Silver Fox—Weather—
Monsoon—Ornithology of the Valley—Cashmerian Valley Scenery—
Goat Antelope—Snakes—Small Venomous Viper—Water-Snake—Birds—
Cross the Wurdwun Pass—Snow-storm—Servant lost—Inhospitable Region
—Bear-shooting—Misery of the Natives—Habits of the Isabella Bear—
Herd of Ibex—Frightful Accident by an Avalanche—Flying Squirrel—
Tbex-hunting — Hermit Bears—Lost in the Forest—Himalayan Ibex—
Dangerous Travelling—Steep Mountains—Imperial Rock-pigeon—Distri-
bution of the Brown Bear of the Himalayas, and its Habits—The Black
Bear ; its Natural History—Return to the Valley—Red Marmot—Scenery
and Fauna of the Valley—Serinugegur and the Ruler of Cashmere—View
from the Temple of Solomon.

One of the best views of the valley may be had from the top
of the little hill behind the village of Shupeyon. The Bimber
pass may be seen traversing the Southern or Futi Pinjal,
and presenting an appearance as if a great slice had been cut
out of the mountain barrier. It is the chief entrance to the
valley from India, and seems to have always been the high-
road, although that by which we entered is open all the year,
even in the depths of winter, when all the others are impracti-
cable. The vast accumulations of gravel and detritus are no-
where better seen than at the mouth of the Bimber pass. The

NATURALIST IN INDIA. 209

great banks several hundred. feet in thickness, with their
water-worn pebbles, sand, and clay, together with erratic
boulders here and there, all point to a far-back period in the
history of the country, when the glaciers now confined to the
most upland hollows stretched down into the valley of Cash-
mere. The view looking up the pass is very striking and
grand,

Dense forests of pine clothe the sloping ridges, and stretch
far along the windings of the defile. As we are now in the
neighbourhood of the Peer Pinjal, I cannot omit a few recol-
lections concerning a hunting excursion I made to this district
two years after the events here recorded. The journal of my
travels in Cashmere on that occasion was unfortunately lost
during my absence in Turkey at the close of the Crimean
war. I regret the loss the more, as it contained many valu-
able natural history notes on the habits of several of the large
mammalia of the western mountains. In traversing the forests
and mountains of the Futi and Peer Pinjal, one is astonished,
after a visit to the northern chains, to find there noble forests
without the bara singa, or the numbers of bears he had been
accustomed to encounter on the opposite ranges. I could not
satisfactorily account for this; the advantages as regards
wood cover and food being the same. This partiality on
the part of certain animals to localities is not peculiar to
the two just mentioned, for I have often travelled over large
tracts of the Himalayas of the most inviting character,
‘and scarcely met with a wild creature of any sort. As a rule,
the northern slopes are more devoid of animal existence than
the southern, from, possibly, being exposed to the boreal
blasts, and their floral characters participate in nearly the
same differences.

The brown and black bears never associate, and when they

Pp

210 WANDERINGS OF A

meet, one invariably attacks the other. As far as my observa-
tions extend, the black seems always the assailant. However,
the ibex and markhore often dispute each other’s footing ; and
I arn not aware that they are ever met with on the same ranges.
The shickarees all agree that the Cashmere stag flies before
the tare and markhore, when the two latter are driven by the
rigors of winter to seek food and shelter in the deer forests,
for it is seldom they leave the dizzy crags or the mountain-
tops unless forced by severity of weather. The pugna-
cious tendencies of both goats and sheep in the wild state
are just as strong as when domesticated. The markhore, tare,
ibex, and houriar all charge in much the same fashion as their
civilised congeners. I have seen two strange herds meet, and
the old males rushed at one another, whilst the hinds and young
seemed perfectly indifferent. A native informed me that he
had observed two male ibex fighting on the shelf of a rock until
one pushed the other over, which fell, shattered to pieces,
many hundreds of feet below. Thus the strongest gains the
day, and the weakest goes to the wall. The constant warfare
for ascendency must act through ages ona race, and provided
the victor and the strongest males get possession of the
females, the result will be a healthy, vigorous progeny ;
whereas, as already remarked in the case of the red-deer, by
destroying the old stags, we leave the propagation to imma-
ture individuals.

In spite of the remonstrances of the natives, and the in-
salubrious weather of the monsoon months, I started alone,
in July 1854, from Serinugeur to hunt the markhore on the
summits of the Peer Pinjal. At that season the larger game
are casting their winter coats; the deer are without horns,
and in bad condition; the bears are safe among the ever-
green verdure of their native haunts, and the ibex and mark-

NATURALIST IN INDIA. 211

hore, which in spring might have been stalked low down, were
now browsing among the clouds on the peaks of the highest
mountains. It was the worst time of the year for hunting ;
and had it not been that my shickaree had gained good infor-
mation of a herd of tare and markhore on the spurs running
towards Zuznar, one of the loftiest peaks of the southern
Pinjal, it would have taken a great deal to have induced me
to undergo all the fatigue, discomfort, and dangers of
a fortnight’s bivouac among the clouds. Before or since I
never underwent so much arduous bodily exertion; and I
may truly say never were zeal and determination more amply
rewarded. The first week’s occupation was chiefly in follow-
ing up the trail of a herd of markhore, when one young male
and a tare were killed. One day I spied a bear asleep on the
decayed branch of a pine on a jutting shelf of rock. I re-
member, when the bullet hit him, how, bounding upwards, he
fell with a tremendous impetus some 400 feet into the bed of
the torrent, and was rapidly borne down and landed high and
dry on a bank ; moreover, just as the echoes of my rifle died
away, how, looking upwards through the misty vapours, I
spied a herd of frightened markhore, led on by a noble old
male, all dashing at full speed across the crumbling mountain-
top. On the three following days we continued on their trail,
sleeping under rocks, and were up and after them as soon as
day dawned. However, the wily old buck was invariably on
the look-out, always guiding his herd to open and inaccessible
places, until on the afternoon of the third day, tired and
wearied from repeated exertion, and vain attempts to circum-
vent the vigilant leader, my shickaree was about to clear a
spot for the night’s bivouac, when we espied the patriarch
of the herd on a jutting cliff far above us. Then the old
hunter Ajez Khan exclaimed : “We shall have better luck to-

212 WANDERINGS OF A

morrow ;” and his words proved true ; for at day-dawn we
came on the herd feeding in a hollow above a glacier which
sloped gradually down into the valley. Singling out the two
largest, I pressed my trusty Westley Richards to my shoul-
der and fired on the fine old buck; before he had fallen
another bullet pierced the second largest male of the herd,
and when the smoke cleared away both were seen rolling
down the ice-clad slope. How my heart beat with delight,
and Ajez Khan hugged and kissed the rifle! with what wild
excitement we half-slid half-bounded down the glacier after
our quarry, which lay like little black specks on the snow far
below us! They had bumped and rolled until brought to a
stand-still by a huge boulder on the ice, where we found them
just as the sun was setting. In all my Himalayan travels I have
never witnessed a scene so wild and grand as that glen; and
never shall I forget the circumstances which have fixed its
noble magnificence.on my memory. The largest trophy
measured 114 hands at the shoulder, and each of his horns
was 484 inches in length, and 3 feet 2 inches between their
tips. His long, flowing black beard, dashed with gray,
stretched from the chin down the dewlap to his chest, hang-
ing in long straight tresses to his knees. He looked in
every respect the very monarch of the glen. The shickarees
who crowded to my house in Serinuggur subsequently, to
examine the head, alleged that it was without exception the
largest that had been seen or killed on the mountains of
Cashmere.*

* Young measured a pair of horns in the possession of the present ruler of
Cashmere which weighed 20 Ibs.; the length of each, 8 feet 73 inches ; between
the tips, 3 feet 11 inches; circumference, 114 inches. Their points were
blunted and worn. The animal must have been larger than the above. The
horns were picked up in a snow-drift on the mountains of Dardu.

NATURALIST IN INDIA. 213

The markhore (Capra megaceros, Hutton) is known in
Little Tibet as the rawacheh and tsuh-ra or water-goat. It
is undoubtedly the “rass” mentioned by Wood in his journey
to the sources of the Oxus. The markhore, signifying serpent-
eater, is found on the mountains of Persia, Afghanistan, and,
proceeding eastward, is plentiful on the ranges around the
Khyber Pass. From Torbela and Little Tibet it wanders down
the Suliman range as far as Mitenkote on the Indus, at the
junction of the latter and the Sutluj. It is common on the
north-western ranges of Cashmere, including Dardu; from
thence a few herds are to be met with all along the southern
or Futi Pinjal as far as Kishtewar on the Chenaub. I have
not heard of its having been found eastward of the river Beas.
The northern ranges of Cashmere and Ladakh are apparently
without a single individual, perhaps on account of the ibex
and wild sheep frequenting these mountains. It is curious to
observe the differences as to size and curvature of the horns
of individuals from different localities. All the males observed
by me on the southern Pinjal had flat horns with few twists.
The specimen just mentioned had one perfect and two im-
perfect turns, while specimens from Peshawur ranges and
the Suliman were rounded, straight, and twisted like a cork-
screw. A pair of horns in the museum at Kurrachee in Lower
Scinde, and said to have been brought from Herat, resembled
again the Cashmere specimens. Some horns rise perpendicu-
larly from the head, whilst others diverge backwards and
outwards. I have examined the skins of many markhore from
different localities, and after allowing for changes consequent
on the season of the year, I could not discover any difference
worth mentioning. Mr. Blyth and Dr. J. E. Gray consider
this species is most likely a variety of the domestic goat, but
from all I can learn of its habits and appearance, there is

214 WANDERINGS OF A

perhaps more cause to consider it the progenitor of the domestic
animal than even the ibex.

The markhore is usually found in small herds. Like the
ibex, it delights to browse on steep and rocky mountains,
ascending and descending with ‘the seasons. In winter, in
common with other alpine species, the fur becomes dense from
the woolly pileage, which gives a lighter colour to the coat
than during midsummer and autumn, when it disappears, and
the fur is short and brown. As before stated, the old males
have an enormous beard extending from the chin down the
lower part of the neck to the chest. That of the females ‘is
short, and her horns are flat, and seldom more than 10 inches
in length. The tare has much of the habits and appearance of
the markhore, and is frequently seen associated with herds of
the latter. Shickarees have strange stories of the serpent-
eating disposition of the markhore, but apparently without
any real cause. I recollect my friend Ajez Khan assuring
me that an ammonite he picked up on the mountains had be-
come petrified from having passed through the intestines of a
markhore !

Herds of tare (Capra jemlaica, Smith) were often ob-
served during my excursion, usually young. The short
triangular horns of this species of goat distinguish the males
from any of its allies. The tare is plentiful on the mountains
by the banks of the Chenaub, in the district of Chamba ; it
is also found in Lahoul and Kooloo, where it is likewise
known by the name of kras. The natives of the southern
Cashmere ranges call it jugla. I was told that during severe
winters both markhore and tare may be found in the same
forests. The former has been killed on the mountains near
Uri Fort, on the Jhelum.

A fine rhododendron, with pale pink flowers, grows on the

Ze

NATURALIST IN INDIA. 215

sheltered sides of the valleys around Zuznar. On bleak
situations I met with the only specimen of the black-breasted
warbler (Calliope pectoralis) I have seen on the Himalaya. It
is a solitary bird, and affects the stunted juniper-bushes at
high altitudes ; it is about the size of the redstart, which in
habits it much resembles. The ram-hun or wild dog (Canis
primevus) is a native of the Cashmere ranges, and although
not to say common, is by no means rare ; but it is so stealthy
in its habits that all my attempts to obtain specimens proved
abortive. I devoted ten days to the pursuit of a pack, and
followed their fresh trail over many dangerous and difficult
places ; but they were too knowing, and always kept out of
sight. Many native sportsmen, though familiar with its
depredations, have never seen the animal, They hunt in
packs, and attack the largest deer. Even the Cashmere stag
is said to be brought to bay and killed by packs of wild dogs.
One was killed by my friend Lieutenant Abbott of the 75th
Regiment, near Allahabad Serai, on the Peer Pinjal, and its
skin identified with specimens at home. The wild dog seen
by Dr. Hooker on the Khasia mountains, and known there by
the names kuleam, khas,* may be a different species. Even
on the western ranges, I have been told by natives of consider-
able variety as regards colour and size of wild dogs. In a col-
lection made by Captain Peyton, 87th regiment, on the Kara-
korum mountains, north of Ladakh, I saw a skin of a wild
dog he had procured from the natives, who assured him preyed
on the Ovis ammon and Tibet antelopes,- and that it often
killed the tame sheep and goats, and in winter came close to
the native villages. The nose was pointed, hair long and
thick, the latter containing much woolly pileage ; the general

* Colonel Sykes considers this species identical with the kolsun of the
Deccan (C. dukhunensis).

216 WANDERINGS OF A

colour of the coat was white, with splashes of black on the
back and hips ; the tail was short and bushy, with the tips of
the hairs black. The domestic or pariah dog is often forced
to depend on its own exertions, and hunts in packs over
large tracts of country on the Indian plains, but not appa-
rently on the Himalayas.

The black-headed or Hastings pheasant (Ceriornis melano-
cephala, Gray) is found on the wooded slopes of the Peer
Pinjal. This noble representative of the Phasianide is one
of the gayest, and at the same time largest, of its family.
From the brilliancy of plumage, it has been designated by
Europeans the Argus pheasant, but the true Argus is a native
of Sumatra and the Malayan peninsula. The most common
local name for this species, besides the above, is “jewar.” In
some parts of the Cashmere ranges, especially in the district
we are now investigating, the male is called “ sonalu,” and the
female “selalee.” Its close ally, the Sikim horned pheasant
(C. satyra), has not to my knowledge been met with on the
north-western Himalaya. The loud wailing cry of the jewar
sounds mournfully along the-valleys, and is more often heard
at dusk and break of day than at any other time. Oft, in the
stillness of an alpine solitude, at my tent-door, by the cheerful
log-fire, have I listened to the well-known wa, wa, wa of this
bird. I believe the jewar is much more common than is
generally supposed, for its habits are cunning and stealthy,
always preferring the deepest solitudes of the forest, and
seldom taking to wing unless when hard pressed. Like other
Himalayan forest game-birds, it is fond of secreting itself in
dense foliage. The jewar is usually met with in flocks.
I have never seen the plach or monal frequenting the same
localities with the above species. The two former are common
on the high wooded slopes of the northern Pinjal, but the

NATURALIST IN INDIA, 217

jewar is not found in these situations. One night we were
disturbed by the barking of a fox, and at daybreak on the fol-
lowing morning I shot a female and cub of the silver fox
(Vulpes flavescens), both within a few yards of my resting-
place, where they had been devouring the refuse of my pre-
vious night’s dinner. This species differs in a well-marked
degree from the red species of the hills, which was likewise
seen on the Peer Pinjal. The silver fox, as we shall see, is
also a native of Ladakh and Tibet, where it is said to be
epfhmon.

- To return to the original narrative. On the 21st of
May we left Shupeyon during a very heavy fall of rain.
I fear, with all the veneration one entertains for the
unparalleled grandeur and beauty of Cashmere, there is
no escaping the fact that for rain few countries surpass
it. About the beginning of May the monsoon clouds
collect on the tops of the Pinjal, and continue depositing
their contents for the three succeeding months. I could not
ascertain an approximation to the annual amount, which,
however, must be great. It often rains for weeks continu-
ously; the valley becoming overwhelmed in cloudy vapour,
and producing a moist and relaxing climate which is anything
but comfortable. At that season agues and bowel-complaints
are common; and yet a few days’ march northwards, and
you enter on the rainless country of Ladakh. So abrupt is
the division between the two regions, that while the southern
slopes of a mountain may be covered with luxuriant vege-
tation and clouds, the northern portion is bare, barren, and
sunburnt. The 8.W. monsoon becomes expended by the time
it has emptied its contents on the northern Pinjal,* which

* “There they drop more of their moisture in the shape of snow and
rain, and then pass over into the thirsty lands beyond, with scarcely enough

218 WANDERINGS OF A

also accounts for the verdure of these ranges compared with
the more northern chains of Ladakh and Tibet.

Although it was the 21st of May, and summer may be
said to have set in, we had felt few winds more cold and
cutting than that which blew on us from the Bimber Pass as
we wound our way through ploughed fields, and waded over
roads almost knee-deep from the incessant rains. We spent
the night at the village of Mohunpora, and pitched the tents
under its trees, among the foliage of which were myriads of
chirping sparrows and mina birds, now busily intent build-
ing their nests in the clefts and holes of the fine old walnuts
and chunars.

The breeding-season is much later in the valley of Cash-
mere than in the Punjaub. Birds begin to pair and build
about the middle of March in the plains, whilst it is May be-
fore they commence at the altitudes of from 5000 to 7000 or
8000 feet. There’is nowhere in the world where sparrows are
more plentiful than in the valley; there they assemble in
countless thousands in the chunar groves around the villages,
and keep up a chorus of discordant sounds quite deafening to
unaccustomed ears. The govind kite builds its nest of sticks,
pieces of rags, etc, and always seems to prefer the highest
tree around the village, where it soon renders itself notorious
for depredations on eggs and young poultry. The carrion
crow seeks the alpine localities to rear its young. There ap-
pears a great sameness in the ornithology of the valley com-
pared with the forests and higher altitudes around ; but that
is compensated by their exceeding number. The house-
sparrow, red-backed shrike, Sardinian starling, European
jackdaw, and ving-dove (Turtur humilis), are the most com-

vapour in them to make even a cloud.”—Maury’s Physical Geography of the
Sea.

NATURALIST IN INDIA. 219

mon species. Every grove has its song-thrush (Turdus
unteolor). The chimney-swallow and hoopoe are‘ seen at
almost every turn. The hoopoe is more frequently seen on
trees than on the ground. The swallow differs in no respect
from the English bird, and it is noteable that I did not ob-
serve any with the deep rufous on the belly which charac-
terises the Egyptian variety called Hirundo rustica orientalis,
The gray titmouse, like the greater tit of the north, is seen
climbing along the eaves of straw-roofed houses or suspended
from the points of twigs. The yellow lark-toed wagtail is
common on damp and marshy places; its habits are similar
to the true Motacille, but its flight is not so powerful : it
perches securely on the tufty tops of the reeds and grass by
means of its long hind-claw. On our way we gathered a
species of yellow rose growing by the road-sides, and observed
again the two irises in abundance. Although the weather
continued rainy, we determined on pushing across the northern
Pinjal into the Wurdwun valley in quest of brown bears
and ibex. The former were said to be so numerous that one
European killed no less than thirty in the course of a few
weeks. Accordingly we repaired with all possible speed to
Islamabad, and set to work to reduce our camp to the smallest
possible dimensions, as from reports it seemed that a fresh
fall of snow on the pass would render it necessary to march
as light as possible.

The fine grassy plain around the city has a peculiar Eng-
lish appearance, especially when its lawns are covered with
herds of cattle. On the Veshau river, creels are placed in the
rapids for the purpose of catching carp. I killed a specimen
of the brown water-dipper ; its European congener, however,
does not seem to love the little mountain streams of the sur-
rounding ranges. The red poppy was blooming in great

220 WANDERINGS OF A

abundance in fields. The poor and rich as usual crowded
round my tent, many of the latter suffering from diseases
quite remediable, but time would not allow, and my stock of
medicine was already reduced to a few simples. It is sad to
see so much misery and wretchedness in a land second to none
in its natural capabilities ; but it is of no use that the husband-
man toils to make provision for the future; as soon as fortune
is seen to smile on him, the hand of the extortioner seizes his
little gains, and thus he is driven to rear only sufficient for
his immediate wants. We soon learned when the tax-gatherer
was going his rounds by the heaps of grain in the villages,
and the groans of discontent to be heard issuing from the
houses.

The strange-looking goat-antelope (Capricornis bubalina),
known by the name ‘“ramoo” in Cashmere, and “serou”
in other districts of the western Himalaya, is perhaps the
rarest of the wild ruminants. Occasionally the sportsman
comes across an individual in the depths of the alpine forests,
but the animal is very solitary in its habits, and seldom more
than a couple are seen together. Both in figure and move-
ments the serou is perhaps one of the most ungainly of its
tribe, and so stupid is it that when come on unawares it will
stand and gaze at the intruder : even the report of a rifle seldom
scares it. It is fond of rocky ledges covered with pine and
forest trees in secluded mountain valleys; here one may
reside for years, going or returning to its feeding-grounds by
the same path, which is marked like that of the musk-deer
by heaps of dung. The serou has the legs of a goat, the horns
of an “antelope :” its general appearance is bovine ; whilst the
long stiff bristles on its back, and general shape of the head, are
decidedly porcine ;—a sort of nondescript beast, which Euro-
pean sportsmen often call a “very extraordinary-looking ani-

NATURALIST IN INDIA. 221

mal,” and so it is. The horns, which are present in both sexes,
vary from 10 to 15 inches, and from 3 to 4 inches in their great-
est circumference ; they are annulated at the base, and taper
backwards to sharp points. The hide is very thick, and almost
ball-proof, especially at long ranges, The hair on the neck
and back is long, stiff, and straight, and the general colour
black, with bright rufous splashes on the sides of the body, in-
clining to white below. The serou is said to fight desperately ;
it has been known, when wounded or brought to bay, to have
kept off a pack of wild dogs, and killed several by its sharp-
pointed horns. A few are met with on the Cashmere ranges,
and in favourable situations eastward to Nepal. On the abrupt
sides of the kirawas, or ancient lacustrine deposits in the
valley, the beautiful wall-creeper may be frequently seen.
Its gray plumage and the bright crimson patches on the wing
serve to recognise it at once; it is more plentiful, however,
by the sides of streams, and in the more rocky and precipitous
places towards the mountains. The gray-capped bunting is
common in bushy places. Beside the roller, the gray-headed
Indian jackdaw is occasionally seen about the larger towns, but
it is nowhere common. A snake is often observed hunting
after frogs in damp situations ; the largest I have seen measured
5s feet in length. This species is evidently the same as Mr.
Vigne mentions in his Travels ; it is known to the natives by
the name of ajda, and it is a true python, and not the boa con-
strictor, as some travellers have named it, which it is needless
to remark is not a native of Asia. A small adder like the
common British viper infests the mountain pastures, and was
very often observed coiled on footpaths ; the shickarees allege
that it is very venomous. A small water-snake, about a foot
in length, is common on the Wulur and other lakes.

We left Islamabad on the 22d of May by way of Martund

222 WANDERINGS OF A

and Changos, firmly resolved, in spite of very discouraging
reports of the state of the pass, to push our way across into
the Wurdwun valley. We had sent a shickaree who knew
the country to reconnoitre; but he always returned with
most dismal accounts of continued falls of snow on the
ranges northward. After leaving Changos the road winds up
a densely-wooded valley, running eastwatd to the village of
Nabug-ney, which is situated about five miles up the valley,
and composed, of a few log-houses. Again we found our-
selves retrograding into spring; the foliage was just out on
the walnut-trees, and the cuckoo’s chant was heard all over
the strath. JI amused myself in the afternoon watching the
golden-crested wren (Regulus cristatus) and crested black tit,
hunting among the pine-branches, whilst numbers of flam-
meous flycatchers were seen sporting overhead ; but only for
a few minutes, for they are restless little creatures, and never
remain long in any situation, On the following day the
journey was continued during a constant downpour of rain
and sleet. The route lay up a densely-wooded valley. It
was no use attempting to weather the storm, so after several
hours’ exposure we sought shelter in a log-house, and waited
until afternoon, and then pushed on through the forest, up a
gradual ascent, to a log-hut near the foot of the pass, gener-
ally used as a halting-place for travellers on their way to and
from Wurdwun. <A white-cheeked marten- and silver fox
were seen that day, and the deathlike stillness of the forest
was now and then broken by the loud plaintive call of the
black and yellow grosbeak (Coccothraustes icterioides). At dusk
several woodcocks were seen crossing the clearing in the
forest. We lighted a fire, and sat for hours anxiously looking
for the baggage, which, however, did not arrive until near mid-
night. Dismal and cheerless was our condition ; wet through,

NATURALIST IN INDIA. 223

without food all day, and fagged by a long and fatiguing
march, the alpine solitude only broken by the loud howling
of the wind overhead, and the creaking of branches ; nor
were our prospects promising, for after vain attempts to ren-
der the little shed waterproof, another downpour at 10 p.m.
left us no alternative but to place our beds under the drip-
ping roof, and resign ourselves to a hydropathic course of
treatment for the remainder of the night.

The morning of the 27th of May was ushered in with
drizzling showers and a cold and cutting wind, which blew
with great force down the clearing in the forest. The ther-
mometer was 36° We, however, continued ascending,
and soon found the pine gradually diminishing in size, and
being replaced by stunted birch-trees and juniper. Great
beds of snow were seen stretching across the summit of the
pass, which was covered with a fresh coating. As we toiled
up the steep ascent, wading to the knees, at times sinking
to the arm-pits in old beds, snow began to fall; first in
occasional showers, and by the time we gained the top of
the pass a regular storm set in, so as to obscure objects within
a few yards. The worst, however, had to come. Our way
led through a large valley surrounded with steep ridges, and
across mountain-sides, where the guide had to trust entirely to
chance, the footpaths being all obliterated. Accordingly we
formed in line, treading in each other’s steps, Halkett, Young,
and myself leading, with the coolies and servants in the rear.
It was an anxious march, for as we advanced the snow-
storm increased, until our bewildered guide reported that he
had lost all landmarks, and that we must trust to Providence.
On we scrambled through the snow, until suddenly the
storm ceased, and we looked around on a boundless waste of
white, dotted here and there in the long distance by our ser-

224 WANDERINGS OF A

vants toiling through the wreaths and drifts. The old shick-
aree Abel Khan, who had often crossed the pass, assured
us he had never before attempted the passage under such
desperate circumstances. Hill-tops and undulating ridges
stretched far and wide, running either in continuous slopes,
into yawning gulfs, or spreading out into long valleys. As
he stood on the declivity of a spur, which ended abruptly at
the brink of a precipice, the guide drew our attention to the
marks of a recent struggle among the snow on its brink, as if
some large object had slipped over into the abyss. His
accustomed eye knew the signs too well, and, shaking his head,
he informed us that one of the party that preceded us a few
days before must have fallen over the precipice ; and his words
proved true, for on our arrival at Unshun we found that a
coolie had missed his footing and slipped over the preci-
pice. In vain did the boldest and most expert of his party
attempt to reach the unfortunate man. The most vigorous
efforts failed from the steepness of the mountains and the great
quantities of snow. At length, from a neighbouring cliff, the
unfortunate man could be seen on the-pinnacle of rock
writhing in agony, and vultures hovering around him’; but
no mortal efforts were of any avail, and he was left to his fate.
When the weather moderated, and the snow had partially
melted, another party attempted the ascent some weeks after-
wards, but were equally unsuccessful ; neither from the cliff
could they discern any traces of the poor man, not even a
vulture hovered near. None of our party forgot the halt on
that ridge, by the side of the gnarled old birch-tree. Here we
held a council whether to push on or return; the guide
seemed indifferent ; so we decided to proceed, and once more
pushed forward ; now creeping cautiously along a rocky ridge,
then running as fast as the deepness of the snow would allow,

NATURALIST IN INDIA. 225

until we arrived at the confines of the forest after seven hours’
constant toil. And glad we were to ease our aching eyes and
limbs under the large boulder which had evidently served as
a temporary rest for many a weary traveller. The rest of the
descent was tolerably easy, until, debouching from the forest,
we arrived at the banks of the Scinde river, and, looking up,
saw the log huts of Unshun, a few hundred feet above us.
There we found Bray and Captain Macandrew. The former had
just returned from a search after bears, and was driven back
by an attack of ague, from which he had been suffering in the
plains, and which, strange to say, continued to molest him
among the snow and cold of these arctic regions. We had
scarcely finished the grateful repast prepared for us by our
friends, when a sudden burst of wailing outside drew us away
to witness a poor family plunged into grief on account of one
of their number having been killed by a fall whilst felling
trees in the mountains. We now saw our mistake in having
crossed the pass at such a time of the year, and in face of the
remonstrances of the natives ; nor were our troubles over ; for
we now felt uneasy about our servants, the half of whom were
still among the snow. At length the lost coolie made his ap-
pearance, bringing the intelligence that our tent had been
abandoned in the middle of the pass. The night was bitterly
cold, and Young and myself slept in a thin canvas tent
belonging to our friends, on which the frost in the following
morning lay thick and crisp, when we were aroused by the
groans and sobs of the poor labourer’s- family next door.
We started early in quest of bears, of which my companions
killed two. Captain Macandrew brought me a specimen of
the water-pheasant (Parra sinensis), which he shot on the
river near the head of the valley. Wurdwun is divided into
the upper and lower valley. The former is about eight miles
Q

226 WANDERINGS OF A

long and scarcely a mile in breadth. The mountains on either
side are of great height, and very steep in certain places.
The flanking ridges run south-east, and narrow the valley
a little way below Unshun, where the sides become more
wooded, and the Scinde river, from its various tributaries,
swells into a magnificent mountain torrent, which empties
itself finally into the Chenaub a little north of the Kishtewar.
I do not think I have seen the deodar cedar attain a greater
‘size than in Lower Wurdwun, where numbers are felled and
floated down the Chenaub to India. I visited this district in
1854, two years after the events I am now recording, and
spent several weeks among its wild alpine valleys, where I
killed two ibexes and upwards of twenty brown bears. The
Wurdwun river (called also Scinde) rises in a magnificent
glacier at the top of the Suru valley. There are, besides,
several smaller glaciers in various parts of the Wurdwun at
Sochness. Between Unshun and Pambur there are snow-
beds that may be said to be persistent, with moraines of
various dimensions. I was led to suppose that the boulders
and collections of rock in the valley around Pambur were the
remnants of ancient glacial accumulations, as there is now
no appearance of anything of the kind in these situations. The
result of two measurements made the village of Unshun about
9000 feet above the level of the sea, or nearly 4000 above
Serinuggur : this is perhaps nearly correct.

The poor villagers expressed great fears that, between
our requirements and those of our other friends and their
followers, we would eat them out of house and hold, their
supplies being never more than sufficient for their own
wants ; besides, from the lateness of the season, their cattle
and sheep were now starving, and numerous carcases lay
about in the villages to be devoured by bears, dogs, and

NATURALIST IN INDIA. 227

carrion-crows. The farmers assured us that the grass was
above ground usually on the 20th of May. Poor wretched
creatures, every one looked the very image of misery ; and
whenever we entered into conversation with them, it was to
hear the same old tale of woe and a dread of the future.
Such apathy and cold mistrust of everything connected with
their government and ruler were surely never seen in any
race. It was painful to look on all the wretchedness around
us, which, of course, the unseasonable weather aggravated.
Most assuredly here was the saying true, that “ winter linger-
ing chills the lap of May.”

The season was indeed late, for few bears had yet left
their caves among the ice and snow. A few herds of ibexes,
driven by the severity of the late storm, had been seen lower
down, and several bara-singa frequented the pine-forests
about. At last a thaw for three days melted nearly all the
snow of the late storm, so that we were enabled to ascend
some distance, and the bears were every day becoming more
numerous. On the 1st of June, while searching along the
side of a steep spur, I came unexpectedly on two of the
largest he-bears I had ever seen; they were within a few
yards of me, feeding on the tender shoots of wild rhubarb.
I fired at both, but they escaped. Another was seen feeding
undisturbed about 700 yards to leeward, when suddenly the
animal appeared to become restless, snuffing the air in
various directions, until turning towards us, he continued
moving his head from side to side, then suddenly scampered
off to his cave among the inaccessible rocks. I have over
and over again proved the want of acuteness of the sense
of sight in these animals by folloying up the wind until
within a few yards of a bear. Their sight is not strong, and
they cannot observe objects very clearly at a hundred feet.

228 WANDERINGS OF A

Young informed me that a bear killed by him on the top of a
ridge rolled down some hundred feet, and was immediately
surrounded by lammergeyers, vultures, and carrion-crows,
all of which settled on the carcase, and commenced devouring
it before his party could descend. .At the beginning of the
season the skins are covered with long thick hair and much
woolly pileage, so that a rapacious bird can scarcely injure it
except on the belly and head. Subsequently we seldom left
our quarry many minutes before crows or vultures were
seen circling aloft. The gyratory movement of flight, re-
stricted to one spot, is always a signal to the others that
something is near at hand. In the woods and among the
decayed ferns we were constantly annoyed by a small tick,
which almost buries itself in the skin and occasions great
irritation.

Enormous avalanches were often seen dashing down the
mountains, and carrying with them large masses of rock,
uprooting trees, and pushing their way more than half-across
the valley, causing thundering noises in the valleys and
offshoots around. My shickaree took me to a shelf of rock
to view the scene where Dr. Wray, of the 87th Regiment,
was killed during the previous year. It was a narrow glen,
running northwards, and surrounded by steep rugged preci-
pices: a large bed of fallen snow covered the sides, and
rose up gradually at the upper end to the peaks of the
highest mountains. It had evidently slipped a few weeks
before our arrival, and occupied the same position as that,
which entombed Dr. Wray. The officer and party above men-
tioned crossed into Wurdwun in April, when avalanches are
most frequent. It seems they were watching the move-
ments of a herd of ibexes from the stony bed of the stream
in the bottom of the valley, when the constant rumbling

NATURALIST IN INDIA. 229

noise of falling masses of snow continued to increase, and
on looking up the gorge a vast avalanche was seen bound-
ing down towards them. Bewildered by the rapidity with
which the huge mountain of snow seemed advancing, they
ran from one side to another; but long before they could
gain a place of safety, six of the party were buried in the
avalanche. The remainder, stationed a little higher on the
ridge, pushed upwards, and just escaped. The bodies were
found six weeks afterwards, and close to that of one of the
shickarees was a large ibex, which had been overwhelmed
at the same time. When I revisited this glen in 1854, upon
the same wild rocky precipices I observed a herd of from
forty to fifty ibexes, the greater part feeding on a grassy
slope low down, but on such an exposed position that I could
not obtain a nearer approach than 200 yards. Although I
missed a fine old male, the loss was compensated by the
scene which followed, for scarcely had the echo of my rifle
died away before every pinnacle and jutting prominence among
_the beetling cliffs overhead was alive with ibexes gazing down
in wonder. One noble old patriarch, with great curving horns,
stood on the uppermost and most projecting point. He was
evidently the leader of the herd, for on satisfying himself of
the danger, his loud whistle resounded through the glen, and
as if by magic the multitude disappeared among the shattered
rocks.

On the same occasion I proceeded to Assun, a wild secluded
forest-glen northwards of Pambur. As there were no hamlets
within many miles, it became necessary to reduce our estab-
lishment to the shickaree, two coolies, and a small tent,
which we pitched in the depth of a pine-wood at the upper
end of the valley, and close to a grass-clad slope running
towards some very rugged and precipitous cliffs, where herds

230 WANDERINGS OF A

of ibexes had been reputed to be residing. During the first
night I was awoke by loud wailing cries in our immediate
vicinity, and securing the rifle rushed out, when by the moon-
light there appeared a large animal fluttering among the pine-
tops above the tent. On discharging a barrel, a large flying
squirrel dropped dead at my feet. It turned out to be the
chestnut species (Pteromys magnificus), which the shickaree
said was common in the district. Its fur was very soft, and
of a deep chestnut colour above, with lower parts of a lighter
hue, and the tail tipped with black. The specimen, a female,
measured 16} inches-from head to tail; the latter was 20
inches in length. This flying squirrel is nocturnal in habits,
secreting itself in hollows of decayed trees, and feeds on the
tender shoots of the pine. Two were said to be the number
of young born at one litter. In order to gain time, we took
up a position on the following night on a cliff under beetling
crags, to await the ibexes at daybreak, when they descended
to feed on the grassy slope. As we lay rolled up in our rugs,
about midnight a rush of earth and gravel awoke us, and we
could hear the pattering of feet immediately above. This con-
tinued throughout the remainder of the night, and when the
first dawn of day appeared, we silently reconnoitred and
found an ibex and her kid lying in a hollow immediately
above our resting-place. As we expected a herd, it was de-
cided that the disturbers of our night’s repose should be al-
lowed to decamp ; but our sudden appearance so electrified
the old goat, that she gazed at us for a few seconds, and even
permitted the shickaree to advance within a few yards before’
she sprang across a fissure and clambered with her kid up
the face of an almost perpendicular scarp. We were cautiously
picking our footsteps with alpenstock across the dangerous
rents and slippery pinnacles, peering down into yawning gulfs

NATURALIST IN INDIA. 231

and projecting shelves below us, when suddenly Elli Shah’s
eagle eye caught sight of a herd of ibexes emerging in single
file from a narrow chasm underneath, led on by two fine males,
one of which was standing on a spiral-topped rock, with his
four feet close together in an attitude of observation. Then
the shickaree, seizing a handful of dried mat-grass, tossed it
up in the air to ascertain how the wind blew, and removing
his turban, replaced it by a skull-cap with the gravity ofa judge
about to deliver sentence, and gathering up his loins and
taking the spare rifle, led the way down a hollow, until, peep-
ing cautiously over the edge of the cliff, he suddenly turned
towards me crouching behind him, and with a nod and grin
of satisfaction, and beaming countenance, as much as to say
“We have them now,” retired that I might take his place.
Resting the heavy Westley Richards on the ledge, and raising
the 200-yard sight, I covered the fore shoulder of a fine male.
Thud-went the bullet on his side and up sprang the herd ; one
female strode out on a projecting rock, and whilst gazing
downwards, the contents of the second barrel pierced her heart,
and she sprang into mid-air and fell bumping from rock to
rock down into the yawning abyss below. The male, desper-
ately wounded, was seen following the herd, which in a few
minutes disappeared among the peaks above, whilst we in
wild excitement set off in hot pursuit of the former, which
was discovered in a dying state, and despatched immediately.
The disagreeable odour is common to the wild and tame goats,
and is invariably strongest in the males. The flesh is dry and
tough, without any remarkable savoury taste, unless that of
young individuals. On our way down the mountain, I ob-
served a flock of rose finches of a larger, different, and more
brilliantly-coloured species than any I had before noted.
Like the mountain-finches, they were feeding round the margin

232 WANDERINGS OF A

of the melting snow, which appears to be a favourite resort,
possibly for the purpose of obtaining the tender shoots and
opening buds of plants. The forest around resounded the
crowing of plach pheasants, and as we neared the tent I came
suddenly on a huge brown bear intently feeding ona clearing.
Although his head was directed towards me, he did not seem
to notice us until we were within a few yards, and it was too
late to make his escape. This individual, although not equal
in dimensions to the largest killed by Halkett during my pre-
vious excursion, was seemingly one of the oldest isabella bears
I had seen. The canine teeth had either been broken off or
ground down with the molars to the level of the gums, and
one or two of the latter were wanting in the upper jaw. The
fur was a dark-brown with isabella-coloured tips, showing that
the white varieties are not the result of age. The claws were
unusually long, possibly from want of use, and perhaps the
eyesight was also impaired from age. I noticed that in one
reared by Young the eyes became affected with an ophthalmia
which occasioned dimness of vision; and as the disease is
known to attack tamed individuals, it may also be the case
that the wild animal is occasionally similarly affected. The
above evidently had taken up his abode in the glen for some
time, for on the following day we traced his foot-marks like
steps of stairs up the face of the sward to the cliffs where his
den was situated. No doubt he had continued for years pur-
suing the even tenor of his way to the little stream below and
grassy slopes, seldom roaming beyond a short distance from
cover, where in all probability these patriarchs end their days,
and, like the Ursus spelwus of old, enveloped in earthy and
calcareous deposits, and thus preserve their remains for un-
reckoned ages. I well remember, when on our way from
Wurdwun to Pambur, halting one day on the banks of the

NATURALIST IN INDIA. 233

Scinde in the middle of a vast forest-tract, and when my
servants and shickaree were employed in stretching bear-skins,
I took a rifle and entered the forest in quest of musk-deer.
After penetrating the wilderness for some distance, it suddenly
occurred to me that I had forgot the pocket-compass, and must
now trust to chance in finding my way out. After hours spent
in vain attempts to discover the river, night came on, and there
seemed nothing for it but to wait patiently until morning.
The eternal stillness, not even the murmur of the pine-tops
broke the solitude; in vain I listened for the noise of the
river and longed for morning ; when by the first dawn of day
I was off on my anxious journey—now rushing down slopes
and making my way down hollows, expecting to strike the
river at every turn; but all wasin vain. Horrible feelings of
going directly away from the river haunted me, and the crav-
ings of hunger began to be urgent. At length, descending a
densely-wooded slope of deodar, and gaining a valley and
stream, which after following for upwards of an hour, I came
suddenly on the Scinde, and discovered that I had struck the
river five miles below my tent.- When I reached my com-
panions I was perfectly worn out from the exertion, fatigue,
and anxiety ; for, except a crust of bread and a few pieces of
the flesh of a musk-deer I killed in the early morn, no food
had passed my lips for upwards of thirty-two hours.

The ibex (Capra himalayana) frequents many of the
lofty ranges of the western chains, and is known to the
natives by the names “skeen” and “kail,” which they apply
indiscriminately in the districts of Aserung, Spiti, Kenowaur,
the Northern Cashmere mountains, Ladakh, Chinese Tartary,
and the Altai. It is not clear that the European ibex is a
distinct species. There appears to be a variety in Ladakh
(and specimens of the Siberian ibex I have examined possess

234 WANDERINGS OF A

the same peculiarity) with shorter horns than the Himalayan.
T am unable, however, to make out any further distinction.
The average length of a full-grown Cashmere ibex’s horns
varies from 28 to 40-inches round the curve ; they sometimes,
however, attain a much larger size. A pair found in an
avalanche measured 484 inches round the curve of each horn.
Those of the female seldom exceed a foot and a half. Like
the markhore, the horns of the ibex vary much both in curva-
ture and dimensions. They generally taper to a point, and
proceed upwards and backwards, with sometimes the tips
directed downwards, almost touching the animal’s back ;
others diverge a good deal, and end abruptly, as in many
European specimens. The age of the male may be generally:
ascertained by counting the fissures on the flat sides of the
horns, and not the knobs in front, as some have supposed.
The female gestates nine months, and has sometimes two kids,
although one is the usual number. It is seldom that the rigors
of even the severest winter drive the ibex into the lowland
valleys. When forced from their accustomed haunts they seek
the stunted pines at the limits of forests, and roam about in
sheltered rocky situations, picking up moss, lichens, or nib-
bling the bark of trees. The shickarees say they are partial
to clayey soils, which they lick, perhaps on account of the
salts of soda, sodium, borax, etc., to which I have observed
the bara-singa seem very partial. Their favourite food is a
nardus, which grows in tufts at high elevations, and affords
one of the means by which the adventurous hunter is enabled
to preserve his footing on the dangerous and difficult situa-
tions frequented by these animals. During winter the ibex
is thickly clad with hair and woolly pileage. The latter is
finer than that of even the Ladakh goats, which afford the
material for the shawls of Cashmere.

NATURALIST IN INDIA. : 235

At the above season the ibex has a piebald appearance,
from the light colour of the under-wool and hair of the outer
coat, which, however, soon disappears as summer advances, and
they begin to shed the woolly pile, when the colour changes
to a uniform brown, with a dark line down the middle of the
back. At that season they are rarely seen, and only met with
on the summits of the craggy mountains. My own experience,.
and that of native sportsmen, show that the ibex has little
sense of smell, and depends most on its sight and hearing.
The iris is hazel, eye moderate and prominent, and so keen-
sighted that I believe there is no quadruped excels it in
that respect. The hunter soon becomes fully aware of this,
and has to reconnoitre with the greatest tact before he manages
to get within rifle-shot, but unless he is enabled to approach
the herd from above, it is next to impossible to succeed by
stalking from below upwards, as they always anticipate
danger in that direction, and never expect any intruders from
the region above them.

The leopards, panthers, wild-dog, and bearded vulture,
are the common enemies of the ibex ; the latter preys on the
kids only.

On the Ist of June I ascended a gorge running through
the southern’ chain—one of the wildest-looking glens to be
seen anywhere : its sides were formed by steep mountains, the
tops covered with snow, and enormous drifts stretched down
the hollows to the bottom, where they lay from 50 to 100
feet thick in many places. The northern exposure was dotted
here and there with belts of pine-forest, where the snow still
lay thick and hard, whilst on the opposite side the bare
patches were beginning to look green, and the wild rhubarb
was springing up. I had not proceeded far before two bears
were seen nibbling a scanty fare on a hillside clearing. I

236 WANDERINGS OF A

killed one outright, but the other, although desperately
wounded, was on the point of making his escape, when by
good fortune I managed to hit him again on a more fatal
spot, when he rolled down the mountain-side, bounding from
bank to bank with great violence, now rebounding into the
air a huge revolving brown mass of hair, then tumbling and
tossing over rocks, and down the evener parts, until brought
to a stand-still on the firm bed of snow at the bottom, some
700 feet below me. The steepness of the mountains of that
-glen surpassed any I had ever mounted. Our grass-shoes
even were useless, and we were often obliged to make our way
by digging steps across the declivities. The shickaree declared
that he had seldom ventured on such dangerous places as were
passed on that occasion, and I must say, although gifted with
what is called “a good head,” I often felt I could not afford
to look below me when crossing the fearful chasms. The
wild cry of the chough was often heard, and flocks were seen
feeding by the sides of the melting snow ; there were also
numbers of the brown snow-finch flitting from one clearing
to another, emitting their linnet-like chirp as the flock turned
and twisted like snow-flakes in a stubble field. On the
following day I revisited the glen, and after several fruitless
attempts to circumvent a herd of ibexes among the inacces-
sible cliffs high up, we descended to the bare slopes, and killed
three bears, one of which rolled down many hundred feet, but,
strange to say, not a bone was broken in any of them, not
even the skin injured. The shickaree killed a fine male ibex.
Young had also been fortunate, for on my arrival at the tent
IT found him stretching the skins of four fine bears. In stalk-
ing these animals, especially in narrow gorges, the sportsman
must be constantly on the out-look for sudden changes in
currents of air; every gully may vary the direction, and often

NATURALIST IN INDIA. 237

whilst the wind is blowing up the main opening, other cur-
rents are pursuing an opposite course down the fissures from
the snow above. We found only the backbones of the
bears I had killed on the previous day, and at dusk as I
turned the last winding of the glen, I could see the vultures
and crows intently tearing the carcases of those I killed in the
forenoon. Seldom a day passed we did not observe flocks of
the snow or imperial rock-pigeon (Columba leuconota) either
feeding in the fields with the common rock-pigeon (Columba
livia), or among the rocky parts, where it roosts and breeds.-
The resemblance of this species to varieties of the domestic
race is striking, but I have not seen any decided variety of
the snow-pigeon, which is about the size of the other, perhaps
a little larger : the iris is yellow, forehead and part of neck
soot-black, back of the neck, shoulders, and lesser wing coverts
brownish-ash ; back and part of rump soot-black ; the tail
moderate, and barred with white; lower parts white ; legs red,
and claws black.

At the village of Hafit we boiled the thermometer, and
found after two trials, according to our rough mode of cal-
culating, that the height might be about 9600. At the
hamlet of Sochness, still higher up, it boiled at 194° Fahr.,,
which made a difference of about 40° feet between the two ;
and as the altitude of the two places appeared so to the eye,
the error may not have been very great. During the previous
week the greater part of the snow on the sides of the valley
had melted, the grass was springing up everywhere, and bears
were plentiful, but circumstances compelled me to return to
India, so I had no other alternative than to make the best of my
way back. Halkett, tired of the wretchedness and discomfort
of Wurdwun, made up his mind to accompany me as far as
Serinuggur and wait our other friend, when they intended to

238 WANDERINGS OF A

proceed to Ladakh and Tibet. Young was enthusiastic enough
to remain another fortnight in hopes of procuring a good
ibex head, and I must say, had not necessity compelled me
to beat a retreat, in spite of the dismal prospect and want of
proper food (the latter a serious matter to the hard-working
hunter), I would have willingly braved all the difficulties and
dangers with my friend. Our bag for the previous excursion,
and to the breaking-up of our party, amounted to twenty-
five bears, eight deer, and three musk-deer, each contri-
buting about an equal share.

The brown or isabella bear of the Himalayas, if not a
variety of, is certainly very closely allied to, that of Europe,
northern Asia, and arctic America. The geographical distri-
bution of these animals has not been fixed with any certainty.
In Asia we find the bear of Siberia and the Altai called the
brown bear (U. arctos), whilst our species is said to frequent
the Himalayas only. There are evidently no very clear ideas
on these points, and considering the facilities for observ-
ing their habits and haunts, itis to be greatly wondered at,
more especially as we find Dr. Horsfield named the Hima-
layan bear Ursus isabellinus, from a single skin brought
from Nepal; but‘I shall presently show that the colour varies
so much in specimens that seldom two are exactly alike.
The distribution of this brown bear on the Himalayas is not
so general as that of the black species (Helarctos tibetanus),
which is spread over the whole extent of the lesser ranges of
the Indian Himalaya, whereas the brown bear is confined to
districts, and prefers high and rugged mountains near the
confines of perpetual snow, and nowhere is its fancy better
gratified than among the noble chains which surround Cash-
mere, especially the secluded glens, such as the Wurdwun
valley and its offshoots: there bears were at one time very

NATURALIST IN INDIA. 239

abundant, but every year shows a marked diminution in their
numbers, so that, before long, we may expect to hear of the
almost complete extermination of the species in the Cashmere
ranges. The brown bear repairs during winter to caves in in-
accessible rocks, where, forming a bed of decayed plants
(usually ferns), it lies coiled up until spring ; when, as soon
as the snow melts and vegetation appears, it stalks. forth, lean,
and frequently so hungry and voracious, that it has been seen
to attack tame sheep, goats, and even to attempt to kill ponies ;
but in point of choice it prefers vegetable to animal food.
Young killed one feeding on the carcase of a Cashmere deer,
which it had evidently surprised and killed when bringing
forth young, as a new-dropped calf lay close by. During
spring, and for some time after their first appearance, they
seldom roam far from their winter abodes, and continue nib-
bling the tender shoots of rhubarb and such like. At that
season they are fond of basking in the sun on beds of snow.
The roots of the wild strawberry and a small white carrot,
common in shady places, are much sought after by them.
The soil in many places is ploughed up by their paws, and,
like the wild boar, they dig also with their snouts. As
summer advances they become very fat, and by the end of
October, after feeding on wild apples, walnuts, and other
fruits, greatly increase in size. It is of course then that their
fat is of most value ; but although we preserved a great deal,
I never could remove the rancid smell which sticks to the
melted fat, even after otto of roses had been added. The fat
on the back and on outer parts is preferred to that of the in-
terior of the body, having less of the offensive train-oil-like
smell. This bear is seldom seen on trees, and only frequents
the woods and jungles during the fruit season. The fur in
winter and spring is long, thick, and shaggy, but becomes

240 WANDERINGS OF A

scantier and darker in colour as the season advances, so that
towards autumn the under-fur disappears, and the white
collar,” scarcely perceptible before, becomes now very distinct,
whilst the general colour of the whole coat is much darker.
These changes have evidently been the causes of many of
the so-called varieties of Himalayan bears mentioned by
travellers, such as the white bear, the brown bear, and the
white and brown; this latter appearance is mostly observed
during midsummer, when the animal is shedding its winter
fur, which hangs then in matted masses on its sides. I ob-
served, as a general rule, that the bears, on their first
appearance in spring, were much lighter in colour than in
autumn, and occasionally an almost white variety was
not uncommon. Many old males were very dark brown, but
the colour is no certain sexual distinction, as Mr. Vigne
imagined, neither does it determine age. Seldom more
than one or two cubs are born at one litter. The she-bear
generally appears with her young in spring, and from the
size of the cubs, possibly their birth takes place either during
hibernation or immediately afterwards. When caught young
they are easily domesticated, and become harmless and playful,
but always rough and overbearing ; indeed the old bears are.
far from ferocious, and will seldom attack their pursuers
unless severely wounded and brought to bay. The eyesight
is by no means good, and were it not for the extraordinary
acuteness of smell, there are few animals more stupid and less
alert than the brown bear of the Himalayas.

The black bear (Helarctos tibetanus) is not found in the
Wurdwun, or at such high elevations as the last. Its favourite
haunts are in the woods and jungles of the lesser ranges, where

* This gave rise to Cuvier's Ursus collaris, from a specimen of the brown
bear of Europe procured in autumn.

NATURALIST IN INDIA. 241

it lies all day, to issue forth at nightfall and feed in fields
and gardens. The black bear is not uncommon along the foot
of the barrier-chains of Cashmere, and during the fruit season
may be found in the valley, where its depredations among the
apple, walnut, and mulberry trees are well known, and whole
crops of Indian corn are sometimes completely destroyed by
these unwelcome intruders. Although said to attack sheep
at times, this species is eminently a vegetable feeder, and so
expert in climbing trees that it may frequently be seen on
the topmost branches, standing erect, and seizing the branches
with its fore-paws. The shickarees have often told me that
as the brown bear does not climb, he waits until the other
has mounted, and then feeds on the fruit driven down by the
black bear. The Tibet bear does not hibernate, and usually
spends the winter in forests and dense jungles, feeding on
acorns and roots, It is not partial to localities, and is con-
stantly changing its beat. Individuals of both species, when
old, often select a cave in some rocky ridge near a good feed-
ing-ground, and continue for years to make it their head-
quarters, and from constantly treading in the same footprints
form a regular flight of steps towards the retreat. The black
bear is much bolder than the brown species, and has been
known to attack man. I need not mention that the sloth
bear (Ursus labiatus) of the plains of India is not found on
the mountains.

On the 5th of June, accompanied by Halkett, I retraced
my steps towards Serinuggur. Starting at an early hour, we
arrived at the “great boulder” by 9 P.M., and after breakfast-
ing, pushed upwards. The snow had disappeared, except on
the summit of the pass, where it still lay hard and crisp. A
few monal pheasants, scared at our approach, swept down
the ravines in all their beauty, and roused the echoes around

R

242 WANDERINGS OF A.

by their wild cries. A few flocks of snow-pheasants were
feeding on the bare parts. A colony of red marmots fre-
quented the hollow between the mountains, and from the
numbers of their burrows, seemed to have occupied the locality
for many years. The day was very hot, and had we not worn
goggles, our eyes must have suffered. Several of the followers
were attacked with severe inflammation of the eyelids, which
became greatly swollen ; but as soon as they had cleared the
pass, and entered on the green valley of Nobug-Ney, the symp-
toms rapidly disappeared, and the following morning nearly
all were fit to proceed with the party. The natives usually
fix the leaves of the plane and other trees over their eyes in
the form of a shade, which seems to answer very well,
but they do not suffer to the extent of fresh arrivals.
Our Indian servants were always the first to become
affected and the last to get well. We cleared the pass
by 5 p.m. and entered the forest, debouching into the
fine open valley of Nobug-Ney. The advanced state of the
vegetation during the interval struck us forcibly ; scarcely a
fortnight had elapsed since the trees around the village of
Nobug were just budding, and now all were dressed in their
summer attire, offerig a cheering contrast to the bare boughs
we had left that day on the hill-sides of Wurdwun. On the
following morning we marched through a low range of hills ;
the day was warm, and the surrounding scenery of the most
enchanting description. I filled my vasculum with many well-
known plants; amongst others we gathered Plantago major,
Tussilago farfara (2) (Ionly found the leaf), common nettle, lady’s
mantle, common brake, and Dutch clover; whilst scarlet and
white dog-roses bloomed in all their beauty around us. The
country was for the most part thickly clad with bush, alter-
nating with more open tracts, being the usual description of

NATURALIST IN INDIA. 243

scenery in the eastern portion of the valley of Cashmere.
The mountain pipit (Heterura sylvana), so plentiful on the
Dugshai hills, was common among the grassy slopes below
Nobug. The more I observed the habits of this little bird
the more I was persuaded of its affinities to the titlarks. The
wire-tailed swallow, Indian roller, and paradise flycatcher
were all common, ‘We turned out of our way to visit the
celebrated sacred spring of Sondi Breri, which at that season,
and for some weeks later, is said to ebb and flow three times
a-day, but after waiting for some time, and not witnessing the
phenomenon, we started off in quest of birds. Bernier and
Vigne are undoubtedly correct in attributing the above to the
melting of snow on the heights, and to some peculiarity in
the construction of the channel of communication between the.
well and the melting-points, as the appearance ceases towards
the end of July, when the snow on the neighbouring ranges
has entirely disappeared. The well is situated in the lime-
stone, and is fully 7 or 8 feet in depth by about double that in
breadth. No doubt the noble springs of Ver Nag, Koker
Nag, Atsibul, in the neighbourhood, are owing in part to the
melting snow passing down fissures. Whilst waiting for the
waters of Sondi Breri to flow, I shot a pretty blue warbler in
the thicket of bush which covers the country around. The
species I subsequently discovered to be the blue larvivora
(Larvivora cyanea); it is by no means uncommon in Cashmere,
although I never before or subsequently met with it on the
lesser ranges. A restless little creature, incessantly hunting
after larvee and insects, it is about the size of the chiff-chaff :
the upper parts are blue ; a white streak passes over the eye ;
the cheeks are blue-black ; lower parts are bright rufous ; vent
white ; legs pale-brown and slender.

From Islamabad we proceeded to Kannibal, on the right

244 WANDERINGS OF A

bank of the Jhelum, where we embarked in boats and dropt
slowly down the river. The day was fine, and the scenery of
the loveliest description : the old rustic bridges at Kannibal
and Pantur; the banks fringed with mulberry-trees, now
loaded with their delicious fruit; the calm, still after-
noon ; the varying scene at every turn of the river, were all
beautiful. We had a view of the old city on the way,
but enjoyed a more favourable opportunity of examining its
ruins during my subsequent visit to the valley. Although
what remains is almost buried under a great mass of alluvium,
portions of a temple and entrance-gate were traceable, besides
fragments of walls laid bare by excavators. The great thick-
ness of soil on the top of the city is scarcely to be accounted
for by supposing it to be the accumulations of roof-tops.
No doubt the severe earthquakes to which the valley has been
subjected, even in historical times, have produced changes of
level in many parts, as is attested by these monuments.

By 9 A.M. on the 8th of June our little craft glided quietly
by the shady bank of the city gardens. From the various
wooden houses peeped English faces, and when we jumped
out opposite the Hurri-Sing-Ka-Bagh we could not help ob-
serving the great change which two months had produced. The
Maharajah’s agent informed us that forty Englishmen had
arrived in Serinuggur, the greater number for sporting pur-
poses.

Every day Goulab Singh had his troops drilled on a flat
near the palace. The band was composed of divers uncouth-
sounding horns and trumpets, and he would attempt on each
occasion “God save the Queen,” and what afterwards I found
out was intended for “Bonaparte’s March.” The scene was
simply ludicrous, but the wily prince fancied he was performing
a great political duty before the English officers. I asked in vain

NATURALIST IN INDIA. 245

for a specimen of the “ Cashmere Madeira wine” mentioned by
Foster, but only obtained a most execrable compound which
even the natives themselves agreed was by no means well-
flavoured. My companion, doubting likewise the opinion
of that very intelligent traveller regarding the fecundity of
the women, made repeated inquiries, and, I believe, even
visited the fish-market to ascertain if the latter article entered
so extensively into the dietry of the female sex in Cashmere
as to give cause for Foster attributing their prolificness to
eating fish in great quantities. The facts, however, were all
in favour of a decided decrease in the productiveness of the
fair sex, and that both the men and women of Cashmere had
fallen off since 1783, when Foster wandered over the Happy
Valley.

I started early with my friend, Captain Rattray, 2d Regi-
ment Native Infantry, to visit the far-famed temple of Solo-
mon,* which stands on the summit of a little hill to the
east of the city. The chief object of Captain R.’s visit was to
settle some points connected with a panoramic sketch of the
valley at which he was then employed, for to a name al-
ready established as a landscape-painter, from his beautiful
portfolio of Afghan scenery executed during the disastrous
campaign in that country in 1841, he was at the time
designing another series of sketches, chiefly of Cashmere
scenery.

It appears strange, from the length of time Cashmere
has been accessible to Europeans, especially by its proxi-
mity to India, that no painter of eminence has immor-
talised its magnificent grandeur and beauty ; but it is the
same everywhere on the Himalaya, as Humboldt truly re-
marks—‘“ He who with a keen appreciation of the beauties

* Height 6263 feet above the level of the sea.

246 WANDERINGS OF A

of nature, manifested in the mountains, rivers, and forest-
glades, has himself travelled over the torrid zone, and seen
the luxuriance and diversity of vegetation, not only on the
cultivated sea-coasts, but on the declivities of the snow-
covered Andes, the Himalaya or the Nilgherry mountains
of Mysore, or in the primitive forests and the network of
rivers lying between the Orinoco and the Amazon, can alone
feel what an inexhaustible treasure remains still unopened
by the landscape-painter between the tropics in both con-
tinents” (Cosmos).

We could scarcely have chosen a better morning for our
excursion. The sun was gilding the snow-covered peaks of
the northern Pinjal as we commenced the ascent, and by the
time we had gained the temple, his rays, in one flood of golden
light, had illuminated half the valley, leaving the southern
portion and the slopes of the Peer Pinjal yet intact. Seldom
does he shine on more varied and beautiful scenery, for in all
my wanderings before and since I have never witnessed its
equal. There lay the capital at our feet, half-hidden among
clusters of poplars, chunars, and forest trees—the Dul lake,
washing the western base of the Tukt-i-Salaman, stretched
westward with all its ever-changing forms. On the placid
waters of the lake numerous skiffs shot either rapidly along,
or threaded their way through a Jabyrinth of weeds, diversified
by the countless floating gardens, and the Isle of Chunars,
with its noble plane-trees. The shalimar and pleasure-grounds
of the Delhi emperors, now faded, and fast passing into the
wild jungle around them, covered portions of the northern
bank of the lake. Huri Purbet, like a fortress which had
undergone a siege, its walls crumbling into decay, stood on
the side of a spur overlooking a scene which for loveliness
and grandeur has scarcely an equal. So perfect seemed both

NATURALIST IN INDIA. 247

the natural and artificial portions of the panorama, so faintly
blending with each other, and yet so grand, that the eye in
one sweep passed over most perfect pictures of lake and
mountain scenery. Towards the city stretched a noble avenue
of poplars, upwards of a mile in length, and straight as arrows ;
whilst away towards the east rich pastures and fields teemed
with grain; villages nestled in clusters of trees, which in
rows were seen fringing the banks of the classical Hydaspes,
that like a huge snake twisted through the plain. Then, last
of the many beauties, rose those grand and noble mountains,
encircling the whole panorama, and shielding the paradise from
the northern blasts, whilst from their rugged sides dashed a
thousand rills to fertilise and beautify its soil. On the palace
parade-ground Goulab Singh’s soldiers were at drill—a curious-
looking, ill-dressed, and badly-accoutred mob. The loud
discordant bray of their instruments grated harshly on our
ears as they marched past in review order, before the chief.
We thought, would the British soldier ever march past on
that same plain? and what a happy day for Cashmere it would
be when the old flag of England waved on the ramparts of.
Serinuggur! We paid a visit to the Isle of Chunars, and sat
in Nourmahal’s bower, now only traceable by a few hewn
stones. In the fragment of a wall was the tablet erected by
the travellers Vigne, Henderson, and Baron Hugel to com-
memorate their meeting in the valley some fifteen years
previously. The inscription was much defaced ; and when I
revisited the island two years afterwards the entire slab had
been removed, possibly thrown into the lake.

248 WANDERINGS OF A

CHAPTER XIIL

Return to Punjaub—River Scenery, and its Ornithology—Day Haze or Mist—
Lakes of Cashmere—Visit to the Heir-Apparent—A Frightful Accident—
Maury’s Theory of Monsoons—Return to the Valley—Start for Ladakh—
Scenery—Bultul Pass— Marmots—Tartars— Birds— Plants—Scenery—
Buddhist Temples—Birds—Tibetan Magpie, its Allies—Redstarts—
Familiar Birds—Discovery of a New Species of Mountain Finch—
Lameru—Jolly Lama Priests—Wild Sheep—Natives—Leh—Birds— Yak,
and Wild Quadrupeds of the Region—Tame Animals—Tang-Lang Pass—-
Plains of Rupshoo—Nomadic Life—Oppressive Sensations at High Eleva-
tions—The Dog of Tibet—Salt Lakes and Wild Fowl—Wild Ass—
Burrel, or Wild Sheep—The Ovis ammon—Chaits—Tibetan Antelope—
Sudden Variations of Temperature—Tibetan Sand Grouse—Tailless Rat
or Lagomys—Alpine Hare—Tibet Ravine Deer—Hotch-Potch—Sulphur
Mines—Chumouraree Lake—Wilderness—Birds—Tibet Partridge—Ibex.

On the 11th of June, with many regrets, I turned my steps
towards Rawul Pindee, Halkett accompanying me as far as
Baramula. The day was hot, but our boats were well thatched,
and we sat under the chopper all day, admiring the scenery
as we dropped down the river. The skeletons in their cages
at the entrance to the city looked if anything more grim than
before. The mid-day haze, so often observed on the plains of
India, was very apparent onthe surrounding mountains. In
the Punjaub it makes its appearance about nine A.M. like a
slight mist. I have seen the clearest of mornings become in
an hour so hazy that objects then distinctly visible were
shrouded in gloom by mid-day. By some authorities emana-
tions from the soil are said to be the cause, whilst certain

NATURALIST IN INDIA. 249

electrical changes are put down by others; but I am not
aware that either afford a correct explanation of this some-
what singular phenomenon. From the lowness of the river's
banks we were enabled to view the surrounding scenery to
advantage. I strolled along the sides of the marshes, and
killed a few castaneous ducks. This species and the mallard
remain in the valley during the summer months, and breed,
when geese and other water-fowl are rearing their young on
the Tartarian lakes, from whence they return in November.
We passed the pretty little village of Shadepoor on the left
bank, and anchored close to Simbul, which is a little farther
down ; from thence paid a flying visit to the lake of Manasa
Bul, one of the most beautiful tarns in Cashmere. On its
banks were the remains of the once noble palace and gardens
of the famous Nur Jehan. The clearness of the water, and
the grandeur of the mountain scenery northwards, render this
a most perfect little picture of Cashmere beauty. "We pushed
on the following morning towards Sopur, through the Wulur
Lake, halting to take luncheon on its little island, where the
remains of one of the ancient temples of the Martund de-
scription were observed. There was a monotonous stillness
on the placid waters more calculated to weary than entertain ;
the immense sheet, not even ruffled by a breath of wind, and
without one living object on its surface save the little water-
snakes, about a foot in length. This active creature, with
head a little elevated, propelled itself by twisting, and dived
immediately we came near. The contrast is great between
the unruffled smoothness and absence of birds during the
summer months and the busy scene in November, when wild
fowl crowd the lake. Then gusts, sudden gales, and hurricanes
make the navigation much dreaded by the boatmen, who will
seldom venture to cross unless the wéather is fine, preferring

250 WANDERINGS OF A

to proceed by the Shadepoor Canal, which opens into the
Jhelum near Sopur. The lotus and singara-nut grow in
abundance around the shallow parts on its southern side,
where rushes and reeds offer excellent retreats for rails and
water-hens. On our arrival at Sopur, we paid a visit to the
heir-apparent, Prince Rhunbeer, who was living in the dirty
old fort on the river. He received us with all the suaviter
in modo of an Oriental, and with apparent gravity talked
of his being our humble, obedient servant, and that his
father’s country was ours, and we might just do what we
chose with anything or any one in his dominions. He
wanted the cunning, restless eye of his father, and for a youth
of twenty-four he looked ten years older ; he had a sallow, dis-
sipated, but handsome countenance, which appeared to ad-
vantage in a helmet sort of head-dress, surrounded by a
turban with a plume of heron’s feathers. The nobles of the
court all wore shields and swords, and the guard a non-
descript uniform, with flint muskets. Our interview was of
short duration, for the Prince tired us out with his fulsome
compliments, which came forth with a drawling voice as if
talking was a very trying effort to his Royal Highness. We
were amused at his stating that he had often hunted ibex and
bears, and could scarcely retain a courtly gravity when we
conceived the Prince in the tights generally worn by the
Sikh’s nobles clambering up the bare rocks of Wurdwun. I
subsequently discovered he did once “go a-shooting,” and
after an attempt to mount a hill, was finally borne up on the
backs of his followers, and that he actually fired at a bear
and missed it. This was the first and last of Rhunbeer
Singh’s hunting expeditions. After several extra compliments
on both sides we withdrew, the guard at the door nearly
knocking us down by their violent attempts to “turn out” and

NATURALIST IN INDIA. 251

“ present arms” to the “Sab-Logues.” We entered our boat
at the Sopur log-bridge at 2 P.Mm., and continued moving
slowly down the stream, arriving at Baramula at dusk. The
palms* mentioned by Bernier seem to have disappeared : not
one was observed. Several dwarf species are common on the
ranges near the plains of the Punjaub, but never to my
particular inquiries was a palm-tree seen in the valley.

The want of loyalty on the part of the inhabitants of
Baramula towards the young heir to the throne was very
striking. With the exception of the soldiery, a great majority
of the poorer classes fled into the mountains on the arrival of
his Royal Highness. The reason, we were informed, was partly
owing to the imperial decree of the previous year, by which
several hundred coolies were pressed for the purpose of carry- -
ing the baggage of the ill-fated army that left more than half
its numbers before Chulas, in the unsuccessful raid against
the rajah of that country. This state visit was evidently
made with the view of restoring public confidence, but the
wretched inhabitants had been so often called on to give their
services to the state on short notice and no pay, that they had
little trust in any demonstrations of royal affection. J have
seen Goulab Singh’s palkee (litter) surrounded by numbers of
petitioners, all eager to gain an audience, and begging most
earnestly to be allowed to tell their grievances ; indeed it
was seldom he went abroad or made a tour through the pro-
vinces that he was not followed by a motley crowd of sufferers
pressing forward to solicit a hearing for some alleged injustice
on the part of himself or his dependants. I recollect a scene
of this description immediately on the Maharajah landing at

* When day had hid his sultry flame

Behind the palms of Baramoule.”
Lalla Rookh.

, 252 WANDERINGS OF A

Islamabad, when several respectable well-dressed zemindars
were most unmercifully beaten by the sepoys of his guard
for attempting to follow the royal palkee. The Prince’s
arrival at Baramula was celebrated by the usual marks of
regal munificence. A feast was given to all the dirty fakirs
within miles, when half-naked wretches, like as many carrion
crows, usually at hand on such occasions, now flocked in
from all quarters, and were seen seated around fires, gorging
on rice and curry, whilst hundreds of the labouring classes
were skulking dinnerless among the rocks in the vicinity. It
was state policy, however, to propitiate the fakirs.

I now, to use a South African expression, began “ to
make tracks homewards.” Accordingly after once more en-
joying the magnificent scenery of the Baramula Pass, I was
descending the pathway which debouches on the Uri plateau,
when I came on a handsome native woman lying by the way-
side, insensible, and bleeding from several wounds on the head
and other parts of her body. Beside her was a small bundle
of clothing, and her slippers, which were placed on the edge of
a precipice some 200 feet above the Jhelum, whose waters
were dashing furiously below us. I had scarcely time to look
around before her husband, with an infant in his arms, came
out of the bush, and informed us in the most indifferent
manner that she had attempted suicide by leaping from
the cliff, and that he had just carried her up from below,
where he found ‘her lying with her head half-immersed in
water by the rocky side of the river. How she had not
been dashed to pieces I could not understand. The bleeding
vessels were stanched as well as the circumstances would
allow, and we had her conveyed to the nearest hut, where I
dressed her wounds and put up two fractures of the bones of
the left arm. I was strongly apprehensive of some foul play,

NATURALIST IN INDIA. 253

and after the poor woman had been placed on straw and made
as comfortable as the hut would allow, I took her husband
aside, and by the aid of a Sikh sepoy of my guard, interro-
gated him respecting the circumstances. The husband’s story
was that she had been in love with a soldier at Noushera,
and in consequence he had reproved her, and was on the way
to take up his residence at another village, when she pre~
ceded him and his child for the alleged purpose of preparing
their dinner before their arrival at Uri, and that his attention
was directed to the occurrence by the appearance of her
bundle and slippers on the edge of the precipice. He told
the story with such sang froid, and looked altogether so much
the villain, that I had great misgivings as to his telling me
the truth, My servants, after making further inquiries, were
of the same opinion, and that he had pushed her over the cliff
and placed the shoes and bundle in the above situation in
order to make it appear that the act was her own doing. The
poor woman recovered so far by the following morning as to
be able to recognise her infant, but I had no time to wait, and
when I passed Uri a week afterwards I heard that she died
on the day after my departure. When the circumstances of
the case were mentioned to the chief official at Uri Fort he
shrugged his shoulders, and in true Indian pathos exclaimed,
“What can I do, she was his wife?”—as much as to say that
matrimonial differences of whatever description were beyond
his jurisdiction. Pilgrims on their way to the caves of Umer-
nath passed us in parties constantly, and a number of these
nomads encamped under a mulberry-tree close to our bivouac
at Uri. They informed us that they had been wandering all
over India for the last four years, visiting sacred shrines, and
had come direct from Ajmeer, in the centre of Hindostan, to
pay their respects to their gods in the gypsum cave of Umer-

254 WANDERINGS OF A

nath. A few of their women were exceedingly beautiful ; the
slender forms, dark-brown faces, black eyes, and long flowing
hair of the girls were very characteristic of Zingari descent.
They spoke Hindostanee, but the conversation between them-
selves was carried on in a dialect said to be peculiar to the
gipsies of India, At night they lay in a circle under a
tree, where they spread mats, and placed their goats, goods, and
chattels in the centre. When I awoke at 5 AM. the following
morning they had gone on their pilgrimage. At Chacar I was
met by a courier with a letter informing me that I had been
granted three months’ additional leave of absence. Accord-
ingly, with a light heart, we turned our faces once more
towards Cashmere, and by forced marches were enabled to
rejoin Young and Halkett at Serinugeur on the 25th of
June, in time to make preparations for the expedition to
Ladakh. The monsoon had fairly set in, and the clouds
we observed before banking up in large dark masses on the
tops of the mountains were now showering down their con-
tents on the valley. Scarcely a day passed without rain,
which more or less confined us to our log abodes. I found a
rest requisite on my own part after the heat and fatigue of
the previous fortnight, and was only too glad to avail myself
of a week’s rest among the, society of many excellent friends ;
amongst others, that of Major M‘Gregor, government politi-
cal agent, and his kind lady. Young joined from Wurdwun
with a bag of twenty-seven bear-skins, and by dint of his in-
defatigable industry and perseverance had managed to out-
number every one in hunting trophies.

The theory of monsoons has been so ably discussed by
Dr. Maury that one need have no hesitation in quoting
his authority on this subject. He says—“The south-east
winds from the Indian ocean and the Arabian sea, on

NATURALIST IN INDIA. 255

the other side of Hindostan (which would be, of course,
the south-west wind and south-west monsoon), after de-
luging the Ghauts, proceed as dry winds to the Hima-
laya, in crossing which they are subjected to a lower tem-
perature than that to which they were exposed in cross-
ing the Ghauts. Here they drop some of their moisture in
the shape of snow and rain, and then pass over into the
thirsty lands beyond with scarcely enough rain in them to
even make a cloud. Thence they descend into the upper air,
there to become counter-currents in the general system of
atmospheric circulation.” As before noticed, in this way the
differences can be accounted for in the climate and appear-
ance of the Cashmere mountains and those of the rainless
and cloudless regions of Ladakh and Chinese Tartary. On
the 1st of July 1852 we witnessed a total eclipse of the
moon, which the Cashmerees attributed to a huge animal,
somewhat in the.shape of a bird, interposing its body between
the luminary and the earth. On the occasion in question
they were too glad to indulge their superstitious ideas with a
sort of hope that, as more Europeans were in the valley then
than had visited it before, it was an omen of the long-
cherished wish, that before another year the English would
be masters of their country. On the following day we com-
menced our march towards Ladakh by the Shalimar gardens
and up the valley of the Scinde river. The scenery was
enchanting, and so home-like, that I do not wonder Mr.
Vigne and every English traveller should rave about the resem-
blance. He says—‘“ As we advanced, the scenery increased
in beauty ; the river becomes larger ; the verdant and forest-
clad mountains are indented by straths and defiles ; smaller
valleys send down their tributary streamlets to the waters of
the Scinde; here and there were seen the cottages and walnut-

256 WANDERINGS OF A

trees of a retired village, or the thatched roofs of an English-
looking farm-house would peep out where the forest was
the least dense. We travelled forward, threading our way
through a natural plantation of walnut, peach, apricot, mul-
berry, plum, apple, pear, and other trees, that rose upon the
mountain-side with surpassing beauty: and extent.” Our
third day’s march was to the village of Khund, situated at
the entrance of one of the great gorges, and near the Scinde,
the waters of which are white from the light-coloured clay
forming its bed and banks. Patches of snow still covered
the tops of the highest mountains in the neighbourhood, and
seldom a day passed without a shower. I employed a few
leisure hours at Khund in exploring the fine wooded valley,
having been detained there a day from want of coolies. I
was struck with the absence of birds in this dense mountain
solitude ; indeed the district seemed almost deserted by
living beings of any sort. I wandered over miles of forest
and jungle without seeing anything beyond the orange-
coloured bullfinch already noticed and the trail of a few
bears. A small black scorpion was very common under
stones, and upwards of twenty were killed by our servants in
clearing a little spot sufficient for the accommodation of our
tents. As we journeyed on, the valley of the Scinde became
narrower, and the wooded scenery gave place to grassy hill-
sides or rocky and precipitous gorges, now and then presenting
a patch of forest or jungle. At the little guard-room in the
defile of Guggen Ghere we rested at mid-day before ascending
the rocky bed of the river, which was half-choked by huge
masses of rock and beds of snow; the latter sloping down
from the surrounding mountains at a low angle. Many in
the higher regions would have become glaciers but for that
reason ; consequently they totally disappear before the end of

NATURALIST IN INDIA. 257

August: We encamped at dusk on a grassy glade sur-
rounded by vast towering and perpendicular mountains,
several of which were covered with snow. The scenery was
magnificent, especially towards sunset, when their snowy tops
looked one mass of red and golden yellow. We had now
reached the Sonamurg, or Valley of Golden Flowers, one of
the chief pasture-lands, and capable of affording every advan-
tage in the way of rearing cattle or horses. Herds of both
were seen roaming over the vast savannahs, which teemed
with a countless variety of plants—

‘¢ Billowy bays of grass ever rolling in shadow and sunshine.”

Among the gorgeous flora of Sonamurg I recognised the
gigantic umbelliferous Ferula asafetida, which furnishes
the well-known medicine of that name. Whether this species
is identical with the celebrated Cyrenic plant, the oAguay of
the Greeks, I cannot say, nor am I certain that it is the same
as the Prangos pabularia mentioned in Moorcroft’s Travels;
The wild onion and garlic were abundant, and the handsome
shining-leaved thistle-like Mima persica was common.
The Rheum emodi and two other species of rhubarb (webbia-
num et speciforme ?) were often observed. We were constantly
meeting with gangs of good-natured Ladakees on their way
to Cashmere with loads of merchandise, carried by their half-
bred yaks. As we proceeded up the valley the vegetation
began to decrease, and by the afternoon of the 6th of July,
when we arrived at the foot of the Bultul pass, the fair
scenery of the previous days was entirely changed. We were
now about to cross the great watershed, and a few hours
would bring us into the rainless desert regions of Ladakh.
The sun was declining as we commenced the ascent, and by
the time we arrived at the summit of the pass had dipped
s

258 WANDERINGS OF A

behind the lofty peaks of Haramuk. We had gained an ele-
vation of 10,500 feet: above the level of the sea, and were now
in the region of snow. All was desolation, and a cold cutting
wind blew in gusts down the narrow mountain-gorges, which
were filled with ice. In vain we attempted to peer through
the gloom of the rapidly-advancing night for our baggage and
servants ; but darkness came on, and found us still expectant
on the mountain-top. We had descended the northern face
of the ridge to a clump of stunted birch in search of a level
spot on which to pitch the tents, when all at once, in the
dismal solitude around, screams burst out of the ground ;
louder and louder became the cries ; the rocks sent back the
sounds ; we stood in astonishment, wondering what animal
could be producing such unearthly noises, and various were
our surmises, until one of our servants arrived and informed
us we were in the centre of a colony of red marmots (Arctomys
tibetanus). The “drun,” as the red marmot is named by the
natives of these regions, is confined to certain situations at
high altitudes, and prefers fertile and secluded valleys, where
vegetation returns rapidly and is luxuriant. There this
active creature spends the summer months, surrounded by a
plentiful supply of food, until again forced to its burrow by
the cold and snow of winter. Their excavations are formed on
gentle slopes or under stones and rocks, where they delight
to sit erect and scream. Often the burrows are scattered
over the valley, where loud wailing cries may be heard for
miles along the mountain-sides. It is seldom they wander
for any distance from their habitations, and usually take up
a position close to the entrances, darting thereinto on the
approach of danger. , They frequently leap during progression,
at times using their tails to assist them. Wild garlic, onions,
and particularly a species of the former with yellow flowers,

NATURALIST IN INDIA. 259

constitute their favourite food, which they store up in autumn.
The hibernation lasts from four to five months, or even longer
when the snow lies for any lengthened period. The bearded
vulture and larger eagles are among their chief enemies. I
have seen the former bear off a marmot with great ease.
The total length of an adult drun is from 23 to 3 feet; the
colour, chestnut, with black splashes on the back and hips.
It is seldom met with under 8000 above the level of the sea.
After a dismal night’s bivouac on the Bultul Pass, we rose
at 6 AM. on the following morning, July 7th, when the ther-
mometer stood at 36° Fahr., and after breakfast continued our
journey over a large glacier, at the further end of which a
stream of some magnitude gushed forth, and in conjunction
with other tributaries formed the Dras, a fine river flowing
northwards. The scenery was desolate and dreary beyond
belief ; the mountains rugged and steep, with little verdure
on their sides, and that confined to the lowest levels—to
wit, narrow valleys and banks of streams. All actual vegeta-
tion had disappeared except a few clumps of birches, from
which the well-known chaunt of the cuckoo resounded.
Several flocks of goldfinches, the black redstart and white-
fronted species, sand-martin, and the roseate finch, were seen.
Marmots in numbers continued their wailing calls all day at
broken intervals, and, like as many jacks in boxes, popped
into their holes as we approached. The plain of Minimurg, at
the foot of the pass, was covered with wild onions ; besides
which the Salep orchis, with its large yellow flowers, was not
uncommon. The Drag river, now a goodly stream, flowed
down the valley, the sides of which were marked by descend-
ing glaciers and beds of snow fast melting round their dank
margins. As usual in these situations, the pretty purple and
rose-coloured primroses were peeping up, and a third species,

260 WANDERINGS OF A

perhaps Primula elliptica. The short-stemmed rhubarb, with
rough leaves (Rheum moorcroftii) was common ; also the R.
emodi and another species. The mountains were mostly com-
posed of schistose rocks and a gray limestone. The boulders
of the latter, which had fallen down on the banks of the Dras,
had a polished or glazed appearance like trap, but doubtless
this was owing to the action of the weather. It was evident we
had now fairly passed the limits of the monsoon, for not a cloud
was visible, and the sky was of that deep impenetrable blue
characteristic of this region and high elevations. The village
of Pandras is situate on a rocky eminence near the river, and
is composedtof small flat-roofed hovels scarcely distinguishable
from the heaps of stones on the mountain-sides. The Cau-
casian type of countenance had now disappeared, and given
place to a coarse Tartar visage. The women were in general
very ugly, their dress consisting of a round pork-pie cap of
black material, fitting close to the head, a thick woollen gown
reaching midway beyond their knees, with their legs wrapped
in bandages of cloth, and boots, reaching above the ankles, of
the same material, with under-surfaces covered with leather.
The females muffle up in piles of clothing, and both sexes fre-
quently clad themselves in sheep and goat skins with the
woolly side inwards. The little fort of Dras is situate on the
river, and is the only respectable-looking building in the
valley ; the native dwellings being, as already stated, small
square-roofed hovels, with only a door, and not above 8 feet
in height. They are built of stone, and crowded together on
ridges and wherever there is security from avalanches, which
occasionally overwhelm the valleys during winter and at the
melting of the snow in spring. The raven of Ladakh is
a larger bird than that of the Northern Punjaub, owing most
likely to the climate being better adapted to its habits and

NATURALIST IN INDIA. 261

constitution. I scarcely think there are sufficient grounds to
consider this species distinct from C. corax, the differences in
what Mr. Hodgson calls this variety (C. tébetanus) being only
in a somewhat larger size, the wing measuring 184 inches, tail
114, and the bill to gape 3 inches. The common sparrow of
Ladakh differs in no respect from P. domestica. The pied and
gray wagtails, hoopoe, brown mountain finch (MM. nemoricola)
—perhaps the gelinok of Moorcroft—and blue rock-pigeon,
were observed in the valley of the Dras associated with a flock -
of the latter. I observed what I took to be a pied variety, but
Mr. F. Moore, of the Indian Museum, London, has since
proved it to be the Columba rupestris of Pallas.* It is easily
recognised from the other, and its congener, the C. leuconota,
by the white band across the middle of the tail and the bluish-
white of the belly and lower parts.

The long-billed variety of the blue thrush is common
among the rocks ; it would seem this is a permanent race of
Petrocincla cyanea, and peculiar to the more northern regions,
inasmuch as all I procured in Ladakh and Cashmere belonged
to the above variety. The song-lark (A. arvensis) follows up
the valleys to:the limits of verdure, I saw one at Dras, but
not subsequently. I do not think it visits Ladakh.

Our next day’s march was to the village of Kirboo, about
eighteen English miles. On the roadside, near Dras river,
were two erect stone pillars, with figures and characters,
apparently Chinese ; but we afterwards discovered that both
were Buddhist. The scenery, as usual, was exceedingly wild,
the mountains being perfectly bare, and with steep sides.
The Dras river, a powerful stream, was seen dashing furi-
ously through a narrow channel, more or less choked up

* See Proc. Zool. Soc. of London, and Pallas’ Zoogr. Russo-Asiat. p. 560,
plate 35.

262 WANDERINGS OF A

with fallen masses of rock, which (as before observed) were
covered with glazed incrustation, owing to. the action of the
weather, which had formed a stalagmitic deposit on their
surface, Boulders of granite, with hornblende predominating,
were also often observed. It was during this day's march
that I met with the magpie for the first time in Asia, and
quite unexpectedly, for, judging from former experience, the
locality seemed unsuited to its habits ; but nevertheless, here
it is found, and the Tibetan magpie prefers the bleak and
sterile regions of Ladakh and Tibet to the wooded and culti-
vated tract of Cashmere and the Lower Himalayas. Mr.
Hodgson has separated this species from the British bird, as he
has done ravens of India and the Himalayas, and, to my mind,
on very doubtful grounds, inasmuch as he makes no allow-
ance whatever for climate and locality; and because the
Tibetan magpie is only a little larger, and has not so much
white on the quills, he has given it another name; conse-
quently, reviewing the magpies of Europe and Asia, we find a
host of different species, all so closely similar, both in the
regions they frequent and in their plumage, that unless we
draw very fine distinctions, I see no possibility of separating
one from the other.

I conceive the term race or variety as applicable to
the following, but that they are what naturalists usually
consider distinct species, I cannot allow. The Pica bactriana
is acknowledged by Mr. Blyth to be a variety or race of the
European magpie; also the Chinese variety he considers almost
identical. The Bootan bird is at present shown to be the same
as the P. megaloptera, and that we are now considering. It is
a great pity, where a species is found somewhat different from
a given type, that we should not allow it a place among the
varieties of that type and species, until such time as proper

NATURALIST IN INDIA. 263

comparison has been instituted between them. This rage for
“ species-making” is not confined solely to cabinet naturalists,
but I regret to think, for the sake of science, that rather than
be behind-hand, or that another should make the discovery,
it is the custom with even many of our best-known field orni-
thologists to give a separate specific name to every individual
that differs in the slightest degree from another.

The common and allied swifts (C. apus et affinis), and a
little white-rumped martin with a forked tail, and apparently
like C. urbica, were often seen among the rocky cliffs on the
banks of the Dras. I did not procure specimens of the
latter, and cannot therefore vouch for any differences between
it and the C. cashmeriensis, noticed elsewhere. The white-
capped redstart, common on the more southern rivers and
streams, although occasionally observed, was becoming every
day more rare. I mention this as being the last occasion on
which I observed it during my journey to the lakes of Ladakh.
The chestnut-bellied redstart evidently takes its place on the
rivers and streams of Central Asia.

The little fort of Kargil is situate near the junction of the
Zakut and Kartse, which flow into the Dras a short way to the
north of Kargil. The scenery of this day’s march was very wild.
Several peaks of great height were observed ; that of Karstee,
14,000 feet, was seen rising in majestic grandeur to the south
of our route. Opposite Kargil is the village of Sileste, with
its pretty little terraced fields, irrigated by a canal which runs
along the side of the hill, A few willows and poplars,
and a. species of tamarisk, with abundance of red roses,
were observed ; also wild currants, the fruit of which was
unripe, and, I believe, is never fit for use, being dry and very
acid. The Kartse is crossed by a bridge near the above
village, and passing over a broad valley, you come to the

264 WANDERINGS OF A

banks of the Zakut, which has to be crossed and recrossed
several times. This latter stream is also called the Buchee
by the natives, who do not appear to know it by the name
given in maps. A small stream called Tafee joins the Buchee
near the picturesque-looking village of Shergol, situated on an
eminence overlooking a somewhat broad valley. The chief
lion of Shergol is its strange Lama temple, formed in the face
of a rock above the village. The mountains appeared to
consist chiefly of granite, and a conglomerate of a porphyritic
structure. I shot a kestrel, and Young saw several chuckore.
The black-throated wheatear was common in ‘stony places.
The carrion-crow was frequently observed, and the lark-toed
wagtail (Budytes citreola) in the irrigated fields. The pretty
little red-fronted finch (Metoponia pusilla, Pall.) is a tenant’
of waste places, and usually seen singly or in small flocks
feeding on the seeds of a species of wormwood, on which
goldfinches, house-sparrows, and one or other of the
roseate grosbeaks also feed. This finch is easily recog-
nised by its small size, a red spot on the forehead, and
yellowish-brown of the upper parts ; the females and young
are darker in plumage. Its song is sweet and melo-
dious, and, in consequence, it is in great request as a cage-
bird in the Punjaub, to which it is brought from Afghanis-
tan. On the Buchee I killed a European dipper (Cinclus
aquaticus). The houses in the villages are built as close to-
gether as possible, even one on the top of the other, in con-
sequence of occasional avalanches, and very rigorous winters,
that shut out all communication with their neighbours.
These arrangements as to crowding, in a sanitary point of
view, bid defiance to all ideas of ventilation and cubic space ;
and we found, on inquiry, that as in more civilised life,
death often stalks silently through these villages, and num-

NATURALIST IN INDIA, 265

bers of their inhabitants pine away and die, no one knows
how. Severe epidemics have also visited these people, and
great mortality took place some years before our visit from
smallpox, which has raged more than once in Ladakh,
and committed terrible havoc. Avalanches destroy whole
colonies, so that ruined and deserted villages are often ob-
served, although not all resulting from this cause alone;
hence, for safety, commanding situations are chosen along
ridges or projecting cliffs. The pagoda-shaped buildings were
common, and we passed a colossal figure, 15 feet in height,
cut out of the solid rock. In the desolate-looking country
around I discovered a new species of mountain-finch, which
we subsequently found to be pretty common around the salt
and fresh water lakes. It resembles the A. gebleri, but it is
larger; head and back are grayish-ash, upper tail-covers
white, primaries black, tips and inner webs of the secondaries
white (the two last having both webs white), chin and throat
pale gray (below white), auxilliary feathers pure white. In
habits this finch resembles the true larks ; it is generally seen
in flocks, and builds in the long dykes (man), where I have
found its nest of dried grass.

The alpine chough (Pyrrhocorax alpinus) was seen here,
and subsequently a flock was observed feeding on mulberries
near the village of Khaletse. This species is easily dis-
tinguished from the Cornish chough (also a native of Ladakh)
by the bill being shorter, and yellow instead of red. The
young of the former have the bill and legs not so yellow and
red as the adult specimens; my specimen measured 16
inches in the flesh, The scenery after leaving Kirboo was
exceedingly dreary, and the heat in the narrow gorges and
valleys very oppressive. Not a tree was visible for a long
march of upwards of twelve miles, and until we arrived at the

266 ° WANDERINGS OF A

Lamastry of Lameru, which is situated on the top of a ridge :
the houses are built close together on points of the rocks.
The immediate scenery around was really picturesque and
fine, chiefly from the cultivated valley and rows of willows
by the banks of its stream. The long dykes (manz), so plen-
tiful in this country, were as usual covered with slate slabs,
bearing the eternal words “Om mani Padmi om,”* cut out
upon each. One of the priests or gelums came out to meet
us, bringing dried apricots, walnuts, and a mug of chung;
his jolly red nose, short-cut hair, and general en bon point,
might have fitted well for “a friar of orders gray.” He wore
the usual red loose robe, adorned with amulets and strings of
beads ; cloth boots of divers colours, and a praying-box in
his hand, which he kept revolving like a child’s rattle, now
stopping to listen to our interpreter’s request regarding pro-
visions, then (as if to make up for lost time), setting to work
to grind his prayers with redoubled energy. The head-dress
of the natives consists of a long cap of black cloth, which falls
negligently and not ungracefully on one side. Pig-tails are
worn by both sexes; that of the women consists of divers
plaits, ornamented with blue and green pebbles, resembling
turquoise—none, however, appeared of any value. The chung,
or ale, is evidently much used, and the only intoxicating
liquor known to the Ladakhees. The bloated looks, watery
eyes, and red noses of many of the better. classes sufficiently
testify to their partiality for this “good cheer,” which at best
is not equal to sour cider. The mode of making it is by boil-
ing barley, adding dough, and then allowing the whole to
stand until fermentation has taken place. As usual with
passers-by, we paid a visit to the lamastry during the after-

* “Hail to him of the lotus and jewel.’—See Hooker’s Himalayan
Journal.

NATURALIST IN INDIA. 267

noon, escorted by our jolly-nosed friend. After passing
through several dark galleries and apartments, Containing
divers deities, figures on the walls, inscriptions, and so forth,
we were ushered into a long low-roofed room, surrounded by
piles of records, and many most uncouth images. On each
side of a long table were seated eight old men, who, imme-
diately on our appearance, commenced a most diabolical
uproar—shouting and beating drums, and blowing blasts on
huge brass trumpets. More and more uproarious they be-
came ; in fact—
‘¢ They screwed their pipes, and gar’d them skirl,
Till roof and rafters a’ did dirl.”

The first notice of the shapoo, or wild sheep of Ladakh I
can discover is in Moorcroft’s 7ravels, where he mentions see-
ing one killed near Lameru. We had not time to procure
specimens, but on a subsequent occasion I was enabled to
examine several entire skins and heads which had been pro-
cured in the surrounding mountains. These I compared with
the houriar (Ovis vignet) in my own collection, from the salt
range of the Punjaub, the details of which will be found else-
where,* and also in my paper in the Proceedings of the Zoolo-
gical Society of London for 1858. The shapoo is said to be
common on the Ladakh mountains, and extends northwards
to Dardu on the Indus, and ‘the countries to the west and
south.

The road, after leaving Lameru, passes through a wild-
looking gorge by the side of a mountain-torrent called Winlin,
which, after a short course through the range, empties itself
into the western branch of the Indus, or Sinh-kha-bab, at
which point the road turns up the left bank to a log-bridge
and custom-house, where, crossing to the opposite side, we

* See pages 138, 143, 144.

268 WANDERINGS OF A

were soon at the little village of Kelatse, with its fields of
barley, apricot and mulberry trees forming a little oasis in
the otherwise barren waste. The Indus here is a powerful
river, full eighty yards in breadth. The surrounding moun-
tains are mostly composed of granite, slate-rock, and a coarse
conglomerate. A few miles farther on is the village of Nemla,
composed of a few stone huts; here we had to wait several
hours before the arrival of our baggage, in consequence of
having made a forced march of fifteen miles. On the fol-
lowing morning, July 16th, the remainder appeared on the
shoulders of women, who, on account of the absence of their
lords and masters in the sulphur-mines, had joyfully under-
taken to carry the Ailéas, and for the next three days all our
baggage (amounting to twenty-four coolie loads) was carried
entirely by these hardy, good-natured dames, whose contented
(I wish I could say prepossessing) faces bore always a good-
natured grin, no matter how heavy the load, or steep the hill
up which they had to toil with it. Some of the women wore
skull-caps and pigtails like the men ; among these latter we
saw a few approaching to good-looking, but, like angels’ visits,
they were few and far between.

The road from Himis continues along the bank of the
river, over low hills and across ravines, until, debouching into
a rather broad valley covered with round pebbles and flints,
you enter a plain of alluvium, which, after passing the pictur-
esque village of Likur, suddenly terminates in another some
hundred feet below its level. Fields of peas and beans sur-
round the villages. The raven and hoopoe were the only
tenants of the arid waste. After leaving the pretty little vil-
lage of Bazgo, the usual mani and graves were observed for
miles along our route; also a noble range of snow-capped
mountains running parallel with the river. In August the

NATURALIST IN INDIA. 269

gardens at’ Nimo are stocked with apples and apricots. After
leaving Nimo the footpath winds through a sandy ravine near
the Indus, now much reduced in size and velocity as compared
with its course below Kalatse. In the shallow parts natives
were catching Himalayan trout, some of which were above
half-a-pound in weight. The common tern (S. hirwndo) was
seen hovering over the river. On emerging from the valley
of the Indus an extensive plain is seen stretching north and
south, surrounded by great snowy mountains. At the north-
ern, extremity stands Leh, the capital. It is situated upon a
rising ground, at an elevation of 11,000 feet above the level
of the sea. Like the generality of the fortress-looking towns
and villages in Ladakh, it has an imposing appearance from a
distance. The old palace, fort, and ruined wall on the face of
a ridge are striking enough, but, in common with every one
of Goulab Singh’s conquests, tyranny and neglect have sadly
changed Ladakh since the time of its legitimate rulers. A
broad street, with a few wretched shops and wares, are all
worth noticing. One is struck with the vast numbers of
women hanging about the streets, some carrying heavy loads,
others apparently waiting for employment. The men, it is
said, are chiefly employed in the sulphur and borax mines, so
that the greater part of the cultivation and manual labour in
and about Leh is performed entirely by women. At stated
times caravans from Yarkund arrive with brick-tea, shawl-
wool, China silks, ponies, etc., which are exchanged for grain,
English calicoes, and the like; so that Leh is but a market-
place for Cashmere and Yarkund merchants. The Yarkund
pony is a hardy little animal, and fetches a high price, being
in request for the hill-stations in the north-western provinces
of India. The variety called the Tangun piebald is common.
They are shy and timid at first, and evince a strange dislike to

270 WANDERINGS OF A

Europeans, but soon get accustomed to their new masters; and
for their strength, endurance, and sure-footedness are well
adapted for alpine travelling. ‘While crossing the Kara Ko-
rum mountains, whole caravans are sometimes overwhelmed
by snow-storms ; and I was told by Billah Shah, the chief
merchant of Leh, that in many places the route to Yarkund
is only traceable by the bones of horses. Billah Shah was
exceedingly civil to us, and was much more popular than the
commandant of Goulab Singh’s fort in this neighbourhood, a
certain Bustee Kam, who had the repute of being very cruel
and tyrannical. We paid at the rate of three shillings per
pound for a cake of black or green brick-tea, which, although
mostly composed of leaf-stalks, was rich-flavoured. The tent
was pitched in a grove of poplars and willows called the
“town garden,” where we were soon surrounded by all the
idlers of Leh, including a Yarkund fakir, dressed in a quilted
blanket and sugar-loaf hat of the same material. This strange-
looking individual amused us during dinner by dancing a sort
of jig, to which he kept time with a not unmusical song and
two rods covered with loose iron rings ;-the latter he beat
constantly against his padded shoulders, whilst the intervals
between each performance were occupied in earnest devotions,
the length of which depended on the alms he received.

The sameness of the scenery began to get tiresome, for
the eye found no relief from one eternal repetition. This
continued day by day, soon produces depression rather than
exhilaration, more especially when there is no time to exa-
mine objects which, on closer acquaintance, would doubtless
prove both interesting and instructive.

On the 20th of July we continned our journey in a
southerly direction, across the great valley and to the left
banks of the Indus, on which we kept for several miles,

NATURALIST IN INDIA. 271

passing through a rich and cultivated district, studded here
and there with well-built villages—a few of these, as usual,
occupied projecting cliffs on the ridges and off-shoots. In the
far distance the lofty peaks of the Kara Korum mountains
rose against the northern horizon. We noticed porphyritic
rocks near the village of Opshee, at which point the foot-
path leaves the Indus and turns to the right up a narrow
gorge and by the side of a mountain stream, on which the
common sandpiper, Asiatic and common water ousels, were
observed. The chestnut-bellied redstart was noticed for the
first time near Ghia; it is easily distinguished from the
white-capped species by the broad white band across the
centre of the wing. The female and young have no white on
the forehead, and are less brilliant in colouring. The tame
yak now takes the place of its halfbred, called “zho.” The
cold and climate of these upland regions do not seem to agree
with the latter. The yak is therefore the chief beast of
burden in Rupshoo, and furnishes the Tartars with nearly all
their wants. The wild animal does not come so far south,
but a few are met with during winter and early spring on the
Nobra ranges ; they migrate, however, to the loftier slopes of
the Kara Korum before the end of April The yak wanders
about singly or in small herds, preferring secluded valleys to
open hillsides, passing the day among the snow, where, like
deer and bears, it may often be seen at mid-day stretched
out at full length asleep: Captain Peyton’s collection con-
tained an entire skeleton and a few magnificent heads, pro-
cured by himself. The horn of the largest measured 2
feet 41 inches round the curve, 1 foot in its greatest cir-
cumference, and between the tips 1 foot 8 inches. I learn,
however, that much larger measurements are recorded. The
prevailing colour of the wild yak is black, with a grayish

272 WANDERINGS OF A

tinge on the head. In its native state it is shy and timid,
and the same to some degree when domesticated. It would
appear, however, that the wounded animal is ferocious, as
Peyton informed me that one wounded by him charged im-
petuously with its head down, and that he saved himself only
by jumping aside, when the infuriated animal, pursuing its
headlong course, fell down a precipice and was killed. The
zho, pronounced “ zo” by the natives, is the hybrid between
the female of the common shorthorn of Ladakh and the male
yak, and is the chief beast of burden in the southern districts.
We were informed by the Ladakhees that the cross is fertile,
but Moorcroft, who devoted much attention to these subjects,
says the progeny soon degenerates.

The shawl-goat, and a dwarf variety (black, with short
horns), also a race of black-faced sheep, and the dumba, or
broad-tail, are reared in great numbers, Four horned varieties
of this sheep are not uncommon. The “black-face,” or
hunniah, stands much higher than any I have seen elsewhere,
and is a handsome animal. We brought a herd of shawl-
goats and two of these sheep to the Punjaub. Although
the former throve very well, all the sheep rapidly lost flesh
and pined away within a month after their arrival on the
plains. Moreover, the yak seldom survives beyond a few
months, and even rapidly degenerates in the valley of Cash-
mere. The heat and insects are evidently its greatest enemies
in the tame as well as wild state; and we observed that
none of these animals, not even the goats, seemed to care for
the luxuriant vegetation of the lowlands, preferring whatever
resembles their Tartaric furze and bent to the rich clover and
grasses of Cashmere.

After leaving Ghia the pathway leads up a wild-looking
valley to the Tang Lang Pass, at the foot of which we en-

NATURALIST IN INDIA. 273

camped for the night, surrounded by beds of snow. At sunrise
the thermometer stood at 31° Fahr ; and a little stream close
by was frozen over. The pass is crossed by a narrow gorge
between two mountains, and the ascent is by no means
difficult. Several blocks of a pure white marble strewed the
bottom, and the hillside was covered with a rather deep bed
of glacial clay. The summit of the pass is said to be 15,500
feet above the level of the sea. From the little flat on which
our tent was pitched we looked down on the plains of Rupshoo
stretching through the mountains; in fact nothing else than
flat-bottomed valley, with the mountains rising abruptly on
either side. These dreary-looking plains are for the most part
covered with scanty herbage and patches of furze. Here and
there we could discern the black tents and the herds of the
nomadic Tartars, and for the first time we began to experience
the effects of the high altitude, and soon found that slight
exertion caused an oppressive feeling in the chest, fatigue, and
weariness. At night I was frequently awoke by a sudden
sensation which passed off on taking a deep inspiration. By
some these sensations have been attributed to the necessary
exertion consequent on attaining such elevations, but in our
instance this could not have been the case, as the ascent had
been gradual, and exertion far less in the Rupshoo plains than
we had undergone in gaining that altitude. Moreover, the
fact that the feeling continued as long as we remained in
these elevated regions, and disappeared on the very day we
recrossed the Tang Lang and got to Ghia, which is upwards
of fifteen hundred feet below the level of the pass, is a proof
that the feelings were associated altogether with the rarefied
atmosphere of high altitudes. I am far more inclined to
believe with Humboldt that the weariness and sense of fatigue
in the limbs, especially in the joints, is the result of the low
T

274 WANDERINGS OF A

atmospheric pressure. I allow that the above condition is in-
fluenced in a very great measure by the state of health, and
that a disordered stomach or such like will cause the sensa-
tions to become more intense.* Indeed I feel persuaded that
no one subject to organic or functional disorder of the heart
ought to attempt to travel in elevated regions, in as much as
violent action of that organ is of frequent occurrence in
healthy persons, and in the stout and robust bleeding from
the nose is by no means rare. The year after our visit an
officer affected with a diseased condition of the heart crossed
the Nagpogonding Pass, when he became suddenly ill, and
died on the banks of the Chumouraree Lake, where his soli-
tary grave remains as a guide to the traveller along the shores
of that wild and desolate region. It is somewhat strange,
however, that the natives do not complain of this feeling, and
seem to go up these steep mountains without any unusual
sensations of fatigue ; also that those who ascend to great
heights in balloons do not appear to suffer. That, however,
may arise from there being no demand for exertion, for, except
sense of oppression in the chest during sleep, we did not
experience any uneasy feelings when at rest.

The bearded vulture was seen hovering overthe Tartar tents.
At their entrances were stationed several Tibetan mastiffs (Mo-
lossus ttbetanus). These fierce-looking animals commenced
barking on our approach, and had several times to be driven
back by their owners. One old dame succeeded in silencing a
savage-looking monster by putting his huge uncouth-looking
head under her petticoats. The natives are a good-natured
and jovial race, but very filthy. In the tents there seemed

* This I have repeatedly observed with reference to the sirocco wind in
the Mediterranean: to the healthy it has little effect, but the weak and dis-
eased are materially injured by its depressing influence.

NATURALIST IN INDIA. 275

no attempt at privacy, and, judging from the number of sleep-
ing-mats observed in those we inspected, crowding appeared
to be excessive, yet they seemed a hardy-looking people.
As usual, however, the blear eyes of the old, and inflamed con-
dition of others, showed that ophthalmia prevailed. I saw no
goitre anywhere in Ladakh, although it is prevalent among
the natives of the ranges which border the Indian plains.
The women were exceedingly ugly, and among 4ll the squalid-
looking children about their various encampments I could
not discover one with even the slightest approach to good
looks, The raven was stalking unconcernedly about the tents,
and so tame as to approach and feed on the refuse of our
dinners. I found the pied wagtail, and once saw an individual
of the gray sort (Motacilla boarula). The red-fronted finch, also
the mountain-finch (Montifringilla adamsi), kestrel, black-
throated wheatear, alpine chough, and chuckore, were met with
in about the same numbers on the plains of Rupshoo as on the
less-elevated districts we had left. Several fresh and salt water
lakes were passed, around the borders of which were quantities
of borax, crystallised and in powder ; the latter is often borne
aloft for several hundred feet by whirlwinds, which are very
common around the lakes and sides of the plains. One lake,
called Tooskee, was covered with Brahminy ducks (Anas
rutila) and their broods, the latter being almost fully hedged.

July 24.—On the plain near the lake a herd of kiangs or
wild asses (A. hemionus) were feeding. On our approach they
scampered off to a safe distance, and, turning, gazed at us in-
tently until we again advanced, when, wheeling off at a trot,
they kept halting occasionally, and, turning towards us, ad-
vanced a few steps on each occasion as if for the purpose of
reconnoitring. We attempted to get within range, but the
want of cover, intense heat, and reflection from the plain, to-

276 WANDERINGS OF A

gether with the oppression and sense of weariness consequent
on the elevation, soon obliged us to give up the chase.
Young fired ata herd of kiangs, which he calculated was
about 200 yards off, but found afterwards that they had been
nearly double that distance. There is unquestionably an
ocular deception on these plains, for I have been told by
hunters that at such high altitudes objects look much nearer
than they are in reality. Possibly the clear and cloudless
atmosphere may be the cause ; however, it is a fact that
sportsmen in these regions, at first, very seldom calculate dis-
tances correctly. One of our servants, a native of Koloo,
who had visited Chinese Tartary, assured us that he saw there
a kiang used as a beast of burden; however, all the natives we
interrogated in Ladakh denied the possibility of any approach
at domestication, and that the young always died in confine-
ment. The chief food of this species appears to consist of the
stunted fescue grasses common on the plains and mountains,
together with a red-flowered vetch, possibly Oxytropis chilio-
phylla of Hooker.* The speed of the kiang is great. I did
not see it gallop: its action seems to consist of a long step
or trot, which is never varied. I was surprised to see the
agility with which a herd bounded down a steep hillside.
The Tooskee Lake is about two miles long and half-a-mile
in breadth; its ‘waters are highly impregnated with soda.
No fish were obtained in the lake nor in the fresh-water
streams which run into it. I procured specimens of Tem-
minck’s sand-piper and the little sand-lark, both of which were
common along the shore. MHalkett’s mountain-barometer
made the lake 15,000 feet above the sea-level. This is pro-
bably a little under the mark. The hills around are said to
abound with large game ; but although I tried to ascend one

* Himalayan Journals, vol. ii, 164,

NATURALIST IN INDIA. 277

of the highest peaks, I saw none, and became dead beat
long before we got half-way up. My companions also ex-
perienced the same unconquerable oppression. Young saw a
herd of nahoor or wild sheep, and several herds of kiang.
The nahoor, if not identical, is very closely allied to the
burrel of the Borendo Pass.* It is called the naboo in
Ladakh, and is the sna of Tibet; and, judging from the
quantities of its horns on the chaits and cairns of both
countries, it would appear to be their most common wild
ruminant. Mr. Blyth’s distinctions between the two sorts of
burrel have reference chiefly to the form of the horn. He
says the burrel’s is more rounded, the annual dents are better
marked, with larger bulgings between them. The outline of
the horn is more graceful, and the whole configuration of the
animal more imposing. I must confess I have not observed
these distinctions, although I have compared horns of the
nahoor with its more eastern congener ; and I question the
propriety of taking such equivocal points as a means of
separation. My own experience has taught me to place little
reliance on the shape of the horn, for both in this and the
other wild sheep and goats of the Himalayas the horn, as I
have had occasion to remark, is subject to considerable
variation in each species, both as to shape and appear-
ance.

The argali, or Ovis ammon, is not uncommon in this
district, but is more plentiful on the northern ranges. A few
remain about the Tooskee Lake and neighbouring hills
during summer; the majority, however, migrate to Nobra
as the snow melts, I had an opportunity of examining a
magnificent collection of skins and heads made in Nobra by

* Proc. Zool. Soc. 1840, p. 68. Ann. and Mag. Nat. Hist. 1841, vol.
vii. 249.

278 WANDERINGS OF A

my friend Captain Peyton during the spring of 1854. He
informed me that he found them in herds, chiefly on low hills,
and almost invariably in the open places, where an old ram
was always on the alert when the remainder were lying
down. Its alarm consists of a loud whistle, which, as in
the case of the other wild species, is the signal for instant
departure. They run at great speed. Lieutenant Smith,
75th regiment, informed me that he attempted to run down a
wounded Ovis ammon with Persian hounds, but with no
success, as the dogs became breathless in a short time, he
supposed from want of water, but in all probability from the
high altitude, as the locality was at least 14,000 feet above
the level of the sea. . Besides, from the stony nature of the
mountains, they soon become footsore. I have seen enor-
mous horns of the Ovis ammon on the chaits, where, I
believe, the finest are to be procured. These cairns are mostly
made up of horns, of tame yak, wild sheep, and goats, which
are piled up in the shape of a cone, with stones, pieces of
quartz, pebbles, and sticks, to which rags are attached. They
are considered to be the abodes of spirits, and when a Tartar
arrives at one, he walks round it several times, repeating a
prayer, of which the everlasting “Om mani Padmi om”
forms the chief part. An adult male argali stands about 124
hands high at the shoulders. The horns of the female seldom
exceed 20 inches in length, and are flat, narrow, and curve
backwards. The horns of a ram’s skull, taken off a chait
near Tooskee, measured 393 inches around the curve; but
specimens much larger have been procured.

The sous or Tibetan antelope* (Pantholops hodgsonit) rarely
comes so far south as Tooskee Lake ; its favourite haunts are
among the lofty ranges northwards, where, according to my in-

* For a full description of this animal, see Jour. As. Soc. 1846.

NATURALIST IN INDIA, 279

formants, Peyton and Smith, it is met with in herds. In the
former gentleman’s collection from the northern part of Nobra,
I observed one with a horn much distorted and stunted in
growth, which would show that these slender members are apt
to get damaged, and possibly one might drop off occasionally,
which would give the animal the appearance of being one-
horned, and account for the Messrs. Huc and Gabet’s* asser-
tion with reference to a unicorn, even as Dr. Hooker justly
remarks a profile view of the animal might to careless ob-
servers carry alike impression. The Tibetan antelope is swift-
footed and graceful in its movements, and by no means shy
in situations where it has not been often hunted. The height of
an adult male is 3 feet 3 inches, and the average length of horn
- about 24 inches. One of Peyton’s trophies measured 217 inches.
It was remarked that in nearly all his skins, amounting to
upwards of twenty, there was found clusters of the larva of an
insect, each of the size of a sparrow’s egg, deeply embedded
under the skin of the back and hips. Like the other wild
ruminants of these regions the sous repairs to the snow during
mid-day to escape the flies and insects, which seem to annoy
it in a great degree. The two slit-like openings in the groin,
which Peyton informed me formed pouches capable of con-
taining the clenched fist, are certainly strange appendages,
and like the infra-orbital openings their uses seem by no means
apparent. We had scarcely pitched our tents near a spring
in the immediate vicinity of the lake, when the excessive
heat and oppressive state of the atmosphere suddenly changed,
and a cold breeze came down the mountains, where a thunder-
storm was seen raging with great violence. Gradually it moved
along the northern shore of the lake towards us. In half-an-
hour the thermometer came down from 82° to 34°, and snow

* Travels in Tartary.

280 WANDERINGS OF A

fell in quantity sufficient to cover the surrounding mountains
several inches in thickness. These sudden changes of tem-
perature are of frequent occurrence during the sultry heat of
midsummer, and are doubtless owing to the different states of
the atmosphere of the plains and valleys, compared with the
mountain-tops, both as to temperature and electrical condi-
tion.

The Tibetan sand-grouse (Syrrhaptes tibetanus) repairs in
large flocks to drink at the fresh-water springs ; two were
killed by a party of Englishmen at our encamping-ground on
the day previous to our arrival. The plumage of both sexes is
much alike, but the long tail of the male is distinctive A
fine eagle, with white head and neck, black body, and long
wedge-shaped tail, was seen on a cliff near our tents.
The tailless rat* (Lagomys hodgsonti) is plentiful, but I did
not see the other species (Lagomys roylii) so common on the
Cashmere ranges. One or both may be the Pharaoh’s mouse
mentioned by Marco Polo. The lagomys is said to be eaten
by certain tribes in Tartary. Some persons have supposed
the marmot to be the animal referred to by the above traveller,
but I have not been able to discover that it is ever used as
food by the natives.

The alpine hare (Lepus otostolus) was common among the
fallen boulders, and along the stony bottoms and sides of the
valleys leading towards Poogah Lake. This species very
much resembles the alpine hare of Europe. It makes forms
under rocks, and is said to burrow in banks, where we saw
several holes partially filled up with soil, after the manner of
rabbit-burrows. Like its congener just mentioned, this species
changes colour with the seasons. It is said to be almost
white in winter. In midsummer it is a light-brown, ex-

* Waterhouse’s Rodents, vol. ii. p. 20.

NATURALIST IN INDIA. 281

cepting on the hips, which are bluish, and the lower parts
white.

The Tibet ravine-deer of Europeans (Procapra picticauda) is
met with on craggy mountain-sides, and, like the goral and
chamois, delights to sport among cliffs and precipices. The
ruddy or Brahminy goose, and its broods, are plentiful on this
lake and around its stony sides. The flesh of this bird,
although generally considered unpalatable in India, is by no
means so when stewed with mountain mutton and alpine hare
in the regular “ hotch-potch” style. I recommend every
Himalayan traveller to adopt this plan with game in general,
and provide- himself with a good-sized stew-pot; for it is
wonderful how few incompatibles enter into the hunter's fare
when seasoned with a good appetite. You may mix fish,
partridges, hares, ducks, and venison, and, if well served up,
nothing can be more savoury. Near the little green plot at
Poogah on which travellers generally encamp is one of the
sulphur and borax mines. Here we found several men and
boys employed melting the minerals, the former in shallow
basins. The hollow in the rock was only a few feet from the
surface, and lined with beautiful octohedral crystals of sul-
phur, more or less mixed with white powder or crystallised
borax.

After a tedious march of upwards of twelve miles over a
low range of hills, and across a dreary stony plain, we passed
a small lake, and soon afterwards a large sheet of water was
seen extending southwards for upwards of ten miles—its
greatest breadth might be about two. Gerard, the first
English traveller who visited the lake, calls it Chuinoninil,
and makes its elevation 15,000 feet above the level of the sea.
My own impressions are that this is under the mark, although
Halkett’s mountain barometer gave nearly the same altitude.

282 WANDERINGS OF A

It is called Tsumureri by Moorcroft, which the Tartars at the
Poogah mines pronounce Tsomoreree. Of late years English
travellers have been accustomed to name it Chimouraree,
which is likely to supersede the others. There is much diffi-
culty in being able to find out the names of places in these
uninhabited districts, for one may journey for days and not
meet a single native ; and when any are encountered they
are generally non-residents, or travellers on their way to or
from distant countries,

A noble amphitheatre of mountains surrounds the lake on
one side, whilst at its northern extremity is the Nagpogo-
ding Pass, which, according to the above authority, is 17,000
feet above the level of the sea. Halkett made it 800 feet
higher, but his calculations were not studiously exact. The
shores of the lake are stony, and the high-water marks seem
to indicate considerable elevations at certain seasons—per-
haps during the spring and winter months, when evaporation
is least. Several good-sized streams run into it, but there is
no outlet. No doubt the waste and supply are balanced by
evaporation. The idea of a subterranean communication, as
surmised by some authorities, has no support from any appear-
ances observable on the lake or neighbouring country.

Excepting one rude stone building, occasionally occupied
by the gopa of the district, and that scarcely worthy of the
name of a human habitation, we had not seen a house of any
sort since leaving Ghia. The solitary grandeur of the scene
was at first impressive, but soon became wearisome in the
extreme, for the eye got tired of the unbroken sheet of water,
then scarcely ruffled by a breath of wind, and of the vast
barrier-chains which, like those we had been accustomed
to see for weeks, presented the same monotonous similarity ;
whilst the stony desert plain around the lake showed not one

NATURALIST IN INDIA. 283

object more than another to attract the eye, and no sound to
break the stillness around.

The highest peak (Prang-la) is said to rise 4000 feet above
the level of the lake. No fish were seen in its clear waters,
although a small species, perhaps the fry of the Himalayan
trout, were common in the little mountain-streams where
they empty themselves into the lake. The water of the lake
had a soft brackish taste. As usual, the alpine pigeon (C.
rupestris), black-throated wheatear, raven, Ladakh mountain-
finch, were common on the hills and plains around. The
lesser tern was seen occasionally, and I shot, for the first time,
a brown-headed gull (Larus brunnicephalus), which was now
and then seen hunting along the margin of the lake, This
handsome bird is not unlike the black-headed gull, from which,
however, it is distinguished by the colour of the iris, which is
white. The head and neck are grayish-brown, turning to
black on the lower part. The first six primaries have the
proximal half white and the distal half black, with white spots
on the tips of the two first quills. We observed the rufous-
breasted dotterel (C. leschenaulitt) and young, a brood of which
‘were seen running along the pebbly side of the lake. An
adult male measured in the flesh 7 inches. Forehead is black,
with a white spot in front of the eye. A black band passes
from the bill through the eye; throat and neck are white ;
breast and sides of the neck light rufous. The black-headed
mountain-finch (Montifringilla hematopygia) is often seen
around the lake, usually feeding with the short-billed variety
of the mountain-linnet, which is common in Ladakh. The
young of the latter have the edges of the quills more marked
with white, and the pink on the rump is paler than in the bird
of Northern Europe ; otherwise there is no apparent difference.
The smaller bill, which has given the Asiatic bird a character

284. WANDERINGS OF A

is called L. brevirostris by Gould, somewhat different from the
other, was by no means very apparent in my Ladakh speci-
mens. As far as I can make out from comparison of skins,
there does not seem sufficient grounds for separating the above
and LZ. montana. Sir William Jardine, who has likewise
carefully compared Ladakh specimens with the above, is of
the same opinion.

The black-headed mountain-finch is usually seen singly ;
its flight is powerful ; the seeds of an artemisia constitute its
favourite food. The male in the flesh measures 7 inches.
The eye is small; back and wing-covers grayish-black; rump
thick and tinged with pink ; tail black, margined with white ;
lower parts are dirty-white. The plumage of the back and belly
is soft and downy, which is the case with many of the indige-
nous birds of these high altitudes, evidently to serve as a protec-
tion against the cold of winter. In fact, the extra down takes
the place of the woolly pileage of the mammals of these regions.
The rufous-breasted accentor (Accentor strophiatus) frequents
the furze bushes, where I found its nest, with four eggs of a
white colour, beautifully speckled with light-brown like those
of the yellow bunting (Z. citrinelia). Its call somewhat re-
sembles the siskin’s. The upper parts are brown, with longi-
tudinal strise of a darker colour; throat and neck mouse-
brown ; breast rufous ; belly and lower parts dirty-white. The
brown and common water-ousels were again observed ; also a
solitary Philippine dotterel. We saw a flock of geese settle
on the lake, but could not discern the exact species. How-
ever, by the aid of our telescopes, we could recognise mal-
lard and teal, but they were likewise a great distance from
the shore. I shot a small sand-martin, which at first sight
appeared to be identical with the common bank-swallow
(H. riparia), but turned out, on closer inspection, to be an

x,

NATURALIST IN INDIA. 285

allied species (Cotyle subsoccata) also met with in winter in
the Punjaub.

The Tibet partridge (P. hodgsonit) was first discovered by
Mr. Wilson of Mussouree* in 1841, and subsequently de-
scribed by Mr. Hodgson.t It was still later (1854) met with by
Lieutenant Smith, 75th regiment, near the Pangong Lake in
Little Tibet.¢ Since the above date I observe several more
specimens have reached Europe. It seems this partridge is
common along the western slopes of the Tibetan Himalaya,
and affects barren mountain-sides. When the Rupshoo moun-
tains are properly explored, it may be found there likewise.
The skin of Mr. Smith’s specimen, from which Mr. Gould’s
delineation was taken, measured 10} inches in length, A
white band crosses the forehead, and, passing over the eye-
brows, meets the opposite at the occiput. Throat white ;
black patch at the corners of the lower mandible ; breast and
belly barred irregularly with black and rufous, the former in
greatest abundance on the breast, the latter on the neck and
sides of the belly and breast ; vent and lower party of the belly
dirty-white ; the feathers as usual are soft and downy ;
crown rufous ; occiput mottled with black and rufous, which
is continued over the back and wing-covers, resembling
closely the same parts in the Indian gray francolin, whilst
the quills of the birds assimilate in appearance with the same
parts in the black partridge. Many sportsmen who saw
Mr. Smith’s specimen pronounced it a hybrid between the
two last-named species, and certainly at first sight the simi-
larity is striking.

The ibex is found on certain ranges in Ladakh, especially

* Calcutta Sporting Review for December 1848, p. 163.

+ J. A. S. Bengal, vol. xxv. p. 165.
+ Gould’s Birds of Asia.

286 WANDERINGS OF A

on the chains northward of Leh. I have examined various
specimens from the district lying between the latter and Iscar-
doh, on the Indus, none of the horns of which equalled in size
those of the same animal from the Cashmere ranges. A like
remark having been frequently made to me by both European
and native sportsmen, I made a note of this difference at the
time, and when subsequently inspecting the collection in
the British Museum, and a fine specimen of the Capra siberica
from the Altai mountains in the Derby Museum, Liverpool,
-was struck with the similarity of the latter animal and the
Ladakh variety. At the same time, as they differed in no
other particular, I cannot see any just cause to consider the
latter otherwise than a race of Capra himalayana, which comes
very close to the European ibex (C. ibex). Indeed, specimens
of the two are often exactly similar in every respect.

NATURALIST 1N INDIA. 287

CHAPTER XIII.

Foxes of the Tibetan Plateau—Leopards—Discomforts of the Region— Return
—White Marmot—Old Acquaintances—Degradation going on in the
Ladakh Gorges—Scenery and Change in Fauna and Flora—Suru Valley and
its enormous Glacier—Glacier action—Scenery in the Northern Ranges
of Cashmere—Wurdwun Valley again —Snow-storm —Snow-partridge—
Varied and beautiful Scenery—Start from Pilgam after Deer—Unsuccess-
ful Expedition—Birds—Flora—Rain—Bears, and their Habits—Wretched-
ness of the Natives—The Sportin g-bag—Return to Serinuggur—Departure
for Rawul Pindee.

THE mountain-fox (V. montanus) was not seen beyond the
wooded regions of Cashmere, and is evidently replaced by the
silver fox (V. flavescens), which is not, however, partial to the
barren regions of Ladakh, but, as has been noticed elsewhere,
is also to be met with on the tops of the southern Pinjal.
The ounce (LZ. wneia) is perhaps the most common of the large
Felide. I have seen the skin of a black variety, said to have
been procured in Ladakh; and the natives of Tibet and
Chinese Tartary mention a leopard without spots. The tiger
does not apparently frequent these regions, and is said to be
very seldom seen farther northward than the first ranges of
mountains which border the plains of India. I believe, how-
ever, that individuals wander into the valley of Cashmere. I
recollect at Changos, near Islamabad, one evening during my
second visit to the valley, we were startled by the barkings of
the mountain-foxes, which, my shickaree said, were torment-
ing a leopard in a bare scrubby jungle near our tent. I had

288 WANDERINGS OF A

not time to mark the characters sufficiently, but on going to
the spot, I observed a very large animal skulking through
the cover. It had no spots on its sides, and from its great
size I felt certain it was a tiger. The natives, however, posi-
tively deny that the tiger is ever seen in the valley; but, judg-
ing from their accustomed timidity, I can fancy it is seldom
they wait to note the appearance of such visitors.

Our little party broke up on the 29th of July, Halkett pro-
ceeding to Simla, by Piti and Konawar, whilst Young and
myself made up our minds to hurry back to Cashmere and
employ the few remaining weeks of our leave of absence in
hunting the Cashmere stag. It is painful at all times to part
with a good companion, especially one who has shared your dis-
comforts as well as pleasures, and deeply so when you feel
that there is no hope of that good fellowship being renewed
under the same pleasant circumstances.

On the 30th of July we bade farewell to our kind friend.
Shortly afterwards it commenced to rain, accompanied by a
cold biting north wind, which at last ended in a heavy snow-
storm, and we were driven to seek the shelter of the rocks,
until approaching night compelled us to encamp on the cheer-
less hill-top without the means of preparing our dinners. On
the following morning we were off again by another and
nearer route across the mountains to the Tooskee Lake, where
-we just arrived to encounter another heavy snow-storm, as
sudden in its onset as on the previous occasion. The ther-
mometer sank 30 degrees in half-an-hour, and hail and snow
lay thick around us. All rushed towards the little stone hovel
near the spring, to find it occupied by a party of Tartars and
their asses and sheep, which were laden with bags of salt and
flour. It is a serious matter in these regions to get caught
in a storm, as dried yak’s dung and furze are the only fuel

NATURALIST IN INDIA. 289

procurable. On the above occasion it came hard on us to be
obliged to dine on milk and cakes, especially as several ruddy
geese and hares were in our larder.. Shortly after leaving
Tooskee we overtook the party of officers we had met on our
way to the Chimouraree Lake. They seemed to be taking it
easy, and enjoying their English luxuries in the shape of pig’s
faces, port, and beer—delicacies to which we had long been
strangers. It was, however, somewhat mortifying to us, who had
purposely come in the lightest marching order, to find, in spite
of all our plans to secure easy access to the game, that one of
these gentlemen on the previous day had scarcely walked off
the beaten path when he killed two fine specimens of Ovis
ammon, whilst with all our trouble and preparation it had
not been our fortune to see even one; but “the race is not
always to the swift, nor the battle to the strong ;” at the
same time there can be no doubt that to cultivate an intimate
acquaintance with the denizens of these rugged mountains,
one must be content with a small commissariat, I have done
many a hard day’s work on porridge and milk, but it is not
wholesome to use every sort of hill-flour for that purpose,
especially the coarse grain of the Wurdwun and other valleys
northward of Cashmere. When crossing the Tang-Lang Pass
we came on a colony of white marmots (Arctomys tibetanus).
This sort is distinguished at once from the red species by its
lighter colour, being a yellowish white, and also its call, which
more resembles a whistle than a scream. One side of a spur
was riddled by their burrows. The white seems to take the
place of the red marmot on the more barren and high ranges
above 10,000 and 12,000 feet.

We arrived again at Ghia on the 1st of August during a
heavy snow-storm, which delayed the baggage for several
hours, and obliged us to beg for shelter from the natives, who

U

290 WANDERINGS OF A

kindly put us into one of their temples, where we spent that
and the following day surrounded by images and idols: It
was a frequent subject of remark, how much our friends at
home would wonder to see us all seated on the floor sur-
rounded by these grim-looking figurés, and not much less
grotesque-looking Tartars crowding around the door to watch
us at dinner. I have a vivid and pleasant recollection of that
day, and of the wild and unbounded delight of two Irishmen
and two Scotchmen meeting by chance in such an out-of-the-
way place, all brimful of news and adventures.

The feeling of oppression and lassitude, which had affected
all of us during our travels in Rupshoo, left us as soon as
we recrossed the pass and got to Ghia. It seemed as if
a heavy load had been removed from off our bodies. To me
the sensation had been unusually troublesome for the last
few days, in consequence of suffering from over-fatigue in
attempting to ascend the mountains in quest of birds.

It is dangerous to penetrate the defiles of Ladakh imme-
diately before or during a fall of rain, as masses of rock get
loosened, and roll down the mountain-sides into the valleys,
During our march to Opshee we were kept in constant dread
of falling rocks, the noises of which sounded like thunder
through the narrow gorges. It was, therefore, a great relief
to get clear of the pass and once more debouch on the open.
. Being desirous of witnessing one of the fairs which annually
take place at Leh, we delayed a day or two, waiting for the
caravan expected from Yarkund, but to no purpose, and as the
fair could not commence until the Tartar merchants arrived,
we took our departure for Cashmere. Continuing by the
former route as far as Kargil, we then changed the direction
and proceeded by another road which leads across the Suru
glacier into the valley of Wurdwun. Accordingly, on the

NATURALIST IN INDIA, 291

13th of August, having started from Kargil, we passed up the
banks of the Kartse, through a fine broad valley, which lies
to the south of the village. The country was somewhat
densely populated, and well watered by means of canals, the
banks of which were covered with rows of fine spreading
willows. The surrounding mountains are very steep, and for
the most part scarped, especially towards their summits,
whilst their hollows and fissures lower down were green with
grass or filled with snow. Large detached masses of rock,
with the same vitreous exterior as observed near Dras, strewed
the bottom of the valley and bed of the river, and reflected
the heat strongly in our faces. We passed the noble peak of
Kartse, rising from the bed of the river to an altitude of
14,000 feet above the level of the sea in one shattered and
scarped spire, both its summit and hollows covered with per-
petual snow. At the base of the mountain is the pretty
village of Lang Kartse, and a mile or so further on the fort
and little hamlets of Sanko. Several torrents had to be
crossed, one of which delayed us some hours in consequence
of its bridge having been carried away by the melting of the
snow on the high mountains. The more we advanced south-
ward, it became apparent that we were fast leaving the
barren region of Ladakh, and were entering again on the rich
and fertile valleys of the south. Both flora and fauna
proved this. Yesterday, at Shergol, we had seen the magpie,
chestnut-bellied redstart, alpine chough, and Tartar rock-
pigeon ; to-day their places were taken by the roller, white-
capped redstart, Cornish chough, and blue rock-pigeon ; more-
over, the Tartar visage had now give place to the Cauca-
sian,

It was sunset before we arrived at the fort of Sanko, where
its fat little commandant was ready to receive us, and had

292 WANDERINGS OF A

spread a mat on the green, on which we all sat down and
chatted together until after dusk. Whilst our host was in-
tently narrating to usa story eulogistic of his lord and master
Goulab Singh, some one by mistake let off the water in a
garden close by, so that before we knew what had taken place
the whole green was inundated. My companion and myself
were soon on our feet, but the commandant, being very portly,
required assistance, which, however, arrived too late to save
his nether garments from a thorough soaking. To us the scene
was ludicrous in the extreme, especially on seeing the fat
little man waddling like a duck through the wet in his drip-
ping tights, with his heavy sword dangling by his side, and
the large shield (part of his state costume) slung on his
shoulders like a tortoise-shell. The dignity of our friend had
evidently received a serious blow, for he fumed and swore
most vehemently at some imaginary enemy, for none could
persuade him but that the whole affair had not been done on
purpose.

The Suru valley narrows in some parts; at others spreads
out into prairies clad with dense and luxuriant vegetation,
like that of the Sonamurg. It was delightful to wander
through the long grass and pluck wild flowers, after the
dismal sterility of the country we had just left. Several
mountain-torrents had to be crossed on the way, and a few by
means of rope-bridges made from the twisted branches of
willows. A few miserable-looking stone hovels were seen in
clusters on the ridges, and in situations where they were not
likely to receive injury from snow-drifts and avalanches.

The green sandpiper, roseate finch, hoopoe, and chough
were observed, also a whinchat of a species I had seen on oné
occasion near the Poogah Lake. Several colonies of red mar-
mots occupied the hill-sides and valleys, whilst on the Kartse

NATURALIST IN INDIA. 293

I observed the red-billed curlew (Ibidorhynchus struthersii).
A few bearded vultures were hunting along the slopes in quest
of small animals, whilst the Indian vulture was soaring over-
head, and numbers of the common swift wheeled around the
precipices. It was late in the day when our baggage arrived
at the foot of the glacier, and fearing we might not be able to
cross before night, encamped close by on a green sward, down
which ran a rapid torrent from the glacier, forming one of the
chief tributaries of the Kartse. Like many other streams of
glacier origin, we noticed a great difference in its size in the
_ Inorning compared with mid-day and afternoon, which was
doubtless owing to thaws and heat; consequently, several
streamlets which had flowed in the afternoon were frozen at
night and up to mid-day.

The view from the tent was unquestionably very grand.
Above us rose a towering peak, with its summit hidden in
clouds ; whilst half-way down a tremendous icebed filled the
valley, and stretched in one huge tortuous mass between two
perpendicular ridges. The surrounding mountains presented
a succession of rocky and scarped sides, whilst a series of noble-
looking ranges filled up the background, and stretched away
as far as the eye could penetrate. It had snowed off and on
during the day, and now cold drizzling showers were con-
tinually recurring, so that the servants and coolies, for want
of better shelter, were driven to seek the cover of any project-
ing rock. Their little fires sent clouds of smoke upwards in
dense masses, whilst our Rupshoo goats and sheep, and my
jaded pony, grazed silently around our little canvas home, all
of which consorted well with the grandeur and wildness of the
surrounding scenery. On the following morning the party
started in mist and rain, and after an hour's scramble gained
the summit of the pass, which is said to be 13,000 feet above

294. WANDERINGS OF A

the level of the sea. The descent was very difficult, in conse-
quence of great transverse fissures, over which the coolies and
animals had to leap. These great gaping ice-rents continually
obstructed our journey, and frightened my pony by the hollow
noises occasioned by the torrents of melted ice which flowed
into them from the surface of the glacier. Our course was
therefore tortuous, and had to be directed as it best could by
seeking the narrowest portions of the rents. In this way four
hours were spent toiling over the broken and irregular surface,
for the most part covered with masses of rock, gravel, and
debris from the surrounding slopes. At times we had to slip
down abrupt declivities, at others to scramble through great
hollows. The grandeur of the scene, in spite of the hazy state
of the atmosphere, was most impressive, and I more than once
turned and gazed upwards at the vast contorted mass of ice
and rock, wondering how long the huge boulders lying on
the top of the glacier would take to move to the bottom ;
and wondrous as glacier motion seems, there is certainly some-
thing in its general appearance which suggests the idea of a
frozen river. The sweeping slope, dirt bands, and lateral
moraines, have, even to the unscientific observer, some signi-
ficance of motion. I believe we would have appreciated the
grandeur of the scene a great deal more had we then been in-
timately acquainted with the discoveries of Agassiz, Forbes,
Tyndall, and others, or what is so truthfully and so sweetly
portrayed in the following lines :—

«« A sunny glacier on the creviced slope
Its icy talons fixed, and down the hill,
With annual progress, like a tortoise crawled ;
Doubtless is crawling now, while summer noon
And its relaxing ether smooth the path—
A path more slowly travelled in the frosts
Of winter, yet incessantly pursued

+

NATURALIST IN INDIA. 295

By night and day the varying seasons round.
The feet of destiny are not more slow
Than that mute creature, haply not so sure.” #

The Suru glacier terminates abruptly in a vaulted cavern,
from which the Scinde or Wurdwun river takes its rise. As
we descended, the surrounding mountains began little by little
to show approaches to verdure, commencing with birch, which
was succeeded by grassy slopes covered with pasturage, dense
and luxuriant as any we had yet seen. Abundance of wild
onions and rhubarb covered these slopes, and although it was
the 16th of August, the cuckoo’s chaunt sounded sweet from
the birken woods around, and the wild scream of the red
marmot was heard shrill and loud above the roaring of the
cataract. Continuing our course down the mountains gradu-
ally sloping towards the valley of Wurdwun, either by rugged
pathways or wading knee-deep through long grass, we at
length gained the banks of the Scinde river, and after toiling
over its rugged bottom, and picking our way through the for-
est we found ourselves once more at Sochness. The snow had
long since disappeared, and the valley of Wurdwun was now
clad in verdure, presenting a strange contrast to what we had
witnessed in May; however, the misery and wretchedness of
the inhabitants continued as before, such utter apathy and
grovelling indigence as the most degraded of Oriental races
present. The men, dressed in their long loose gowns, pre-
sented a most effeminate appearance. One cannot help feel-
ing that, even making every allowance for the tyranny and
oppression of their rulers, the Cashmerians are naturally a
phlegmatic and spiritless people. Everywhere in Cashmere
you see the inhabitants indolent to a degree, filthy in their

* Sir Lanceolot: a Legend of the Middle Ages, by F. W. Faber, D.D.,
Priest of the Oratory of St. Philip-Neri.

296 WANDERINGS OF A

habits, mean, cowardly, shabby, irresolute, and indifferent to
all ideas of reform or progress; so much so, that I verily believe
it would now take a century of the most liberal government to
bring them on a par with their neighbours, for among all the
advantages possessed by a land overflowing with milk and
honey, the Cashmerians are about the least enterprising of
Oriental races. With the Sikhs they have nothing in com-
mon, and as to personal bravery and warlike character they
never had any pretensions, but, on the contrary, their defi-
ciencies in these respects have long since passed into a pro-
verb, It is vain, however, to hope that there can be any pro-
gress under the present ruler, who, like his father, is bent on
self-aggrandisement, and that of the worst description ; so
much so, that were it not for the natural beauties of Cashmere
the land would have long since been turned into a wilderness,
Whether to ascribe the above defects in the Cashmerian
character to long and continued oppression, to themselves, or,
as some have supposed, to their moist, enervating climate,
one thing is certain, that as long as the present system of
government continues, so long will this unfortunate people re-
trograde, for advance they cannot. The grain in Wurdwun
valley was still green, although we had seen the barley reaped
and thrashed at Kargil only four days before. The rigor
of the seasons is always most severely felt in secluded valleys,
as the snow lies long, and, coupled with the constant clouds
and rain of the monsoon months, makes the climate, especially
that of Wurdwun, most disagreeeable, at least until August.
After several tedious delays, we left Sochness in a pelting
rain, but only too glad to get away from the filthy log-
house, where we had spent two days among the poultry and
such a collection of vermin as we had never before witnessed.
Being anxious to reach the Duchinpara by the nearest route,

NATURALIST IN INDIA. 297

we struck up a steep hill in a northerly direction, behind
Sochness, and passed over several beds of snow. When near
the top of the ridge rain fell in such torrents, and the clouds
became so dense, that we were obliged to encamp on the
nearest bare spot, where, with our servants and eight coolies,
all huddled together on the floor of the little tent, we braved
the pitiless storm for the remainder of that and the whole of
the succeeding day. The coolies were most averse to proceed
any farther ; indeed it was with great difficulty they had been
procured, and had not a sharp look-out been kept by our
servants we would have been left on the hill-top without the
means of transport ; as it was, two or three deserted, and had
to be replaced by sending all the way to Sochness for others,
They feared the weather, and dreaded being storm-bound
on the summit of the pass ; so that, on the following day, when
the last portion of the ascent was being made, several flung
down their loads and would not proceed. Moreover, it was
only with the greatest persuasion we could get the remainder
to continue the journey. Matters looked desperate, but we
had no alternative but to push on to the nearest village, and
despatch a servant to Sochness once more. The summit of the
ridge is 13,000 feet above the level of the sea, and forms one
of the highest practicable passes of the Northern Pinjal.
From the top we looked down the opposite side on a field of
snow, ending in verdant mountain-sides, which in their turn
gave place to the woods and forests of the Duchinpara and its
offshoots. In a gorge near the top is seen the pretty little
lake Sonsernag, from whence gushes a small stream which
falls into the Lidur a short way farther down. In bare
stony places in and around the snow I saw several wrens
(Troglodytes himalayanus), a species closely allied to the
familiar European bird, from which it differs in scarcely any

298 WANDERINGS OF A

appreciable degree. It is common at high altitudes all over
the Cashmere ranges. A flock of snow-pheasants were seen,
together with the quoir monal or snow-partridge (Lerva
nivicola), which at a distance resembles the other, but it is
very much smaller. This handsome bird is not uncommon
in certain localities and at high altitudes on Cashmere,
Ladakh, and northwards. Mr. Wilson of Mussouree, whose
long and intimate acquaintance with the habits and haunts of
the larger animals and game birds of the Western Himalayas,
entitle him to be considered a good authority, says: “The
snow-partridge breeds near the limits of vegetation, and lays
from six to seven eggs.”* Its wild plaintive whistle very
much resembles that of the snow-pheasant, to which bird it
assimilates likewise in habits. Both it and the other Te
traogalli of these regions are hardy, and I imagine would
stand the climate of Northern Europe. We saw flocks of a
starling-like bird flitting from one bare patch to another on the
confines of the snow; they ran with much celerity, but no
specimen could be procured. What appeared to be the male
had long pointed wings, was a fine glossy black above, less so
on the lower parts ; the others, possibly females or young of
the year, were less brilliant, and of a sombre blackish-brown,
like that of the Asiatic water-ousel. There are light and
dark coloured varieties of the latter to be seen both in Ladakh
and on the lesser ranges near the plains of India. As usual
at such elevations, flocks of the brown mountain-finch (Jf.
nemoricola) were plentiful.

The scenery of this day’s march, taking it all in all, from
the snow-clad mountain-top to the grassy hill-sides and

* Calcutta Sporting Review for December 1848 contains an excellent de-
scription of the habits of many Himalayan game-birds by Mr. Wilson (‘‘ Moun-
taineer”).

NATURALIST IN INDIA, 299

magnificent forests of the Duchinpara, was among the most
beautiful and varied we had hitherto trodden. The wild-
looking grassy glades and groves of pine and birch, undulating
for miles, and sloping downwards into densely-wooded valleys,
are among the most delightful and captivating of Cashmerian
mountain scenery. We passed near the caves of Umernath,
and along the pathway by which many a footsore pilgrim
was hastening towards the sacred shrine in the gypsum rock.
At Pilgam we found our old shickarees, Barshah and Ellishah,
who by previous arrangements had come to accompany us to
the deer-forests. In the meantime, while our commissariat
was being replenished, we employed a few days in hunting
the neighbouring forests and hill-sides, and Young killed a
black bear near the village One day, when erossing a moun-
tain-top, I came on an isabella bear and cub feeding intently
on wild carrots and roots of strawberries, which both were
tearing up with their fore-paws. Desirous of trying how
near I could approach unobserved, as the wind was very
favourable and the animals busily engaged searching for food,
I crept on hands and knees within 10 feet before either
took any notice of me, when the old dame gave a grunt, and
scampered off as fast as her legs would carry her, followed
by the bewildered cub, which, astonished at its mother’s
timidity, turned round several times and gazed at us in
astonishment, I have observed that this bear's powers of
vision are by no means good, and of little use to the animal
beyond 12 or 15 yards. I believe they depend almost entirely
on smell and hearing for their safety. I discharged the con-
tents of my double-barrelled rifle into the old dame as she
rushed down the steep, but neither bullet brought her down.
Ellishah would, however, persist in asserting that we would
find her, and led me a wild-goose chase through the forest

300 WANDERINGS OF A

and long ferns, with no better result than the satisfaction of
finding out by the bloody trail that I had not missed my
mark. Both species of bears commence to shed their winter
coats in June, which are not again attained until the middle
of October.

Although the weather was very unsettled and rainy, we
determined to push up the valley ; so, on the 26th of August,
having left Pilgam, we proceeded northwards, over hills and
down grassy slopes, through belts of forest or clumps of birch,
where I saw several flocks of my orange-coloured bullfinch
and many fresh trails of deer. The ground was likewise
ploughed up in many places by bears, one of which was
killed by Young, who procured a considerable quantity of
grease. The external fat is always preferred to that of the
internal parts. I noticed the fat from the region of the kid-
neys had a strong smell of urine, which our shickarees said
no refining will remove.

Being desirous of securing good deer-shooting at any price,
we left the direction of our movements entirely to the
shickarees, who shifted our encamping-ground as they thought
fit. But all was in vain ; although up before daylight, and
hunting late at night, not a single head of deer was visible.
Thinking they might be found at the little ponds or springs
at dusk or early morn, we repaired to the situations, and lay
in wait, in anxious expectation of meeting with a herd when
they came to drink. Even on moonlight nights we would
wander through the copses and by the sides of the forest, but
to no purpose. Every morning disclosed fresh footprints,
and even sometimes close to our encampment. Nor were we
more successful in the forest ; for although we waded up to
the middle in tall bracken, and sought the deepest solitudes,
not a sound was heard or a stag visible. It is notable that,

NATURALIST IN INDIA. 301

like the profoundest regions of the sea, the interior of these
great pine-forests contains little or no animal life. There
is apparently a similar gradation in the distribution of the
fauna of forest tracts as there is between the littoral and
abyssal regions of the deep. An occasional nutcracker was
seen, but birds were remarkably scarce in all the forest parts.
We plucked abundance of raspberries in the clearings, and a
stone-bramble, possibly identical with, if not very closely allied
to, the Rubus saxatilis of northern Europe. Wild currants
were also plentiful, but sour and unpalatable. One day we
encountered a string of natives carrying loads of asafcetida
to the markets of Serinuggur. This plant, as before stated,
grows in abundance in certain defiles and valleys running
southwards, and is most plentiful on the more sheltered ridges.
It is a large umbelliferous plant, seldom under 6 feet in
height, with yellow flowers and thick stem, apparently the
same as that we had met with in the Sonamurg.

The Lidur river, a moderate-sized mountain torrent of a
few yards in breadth, had to be crossed, and to our disappoint-
ment we were forced to retrace our steps some distance to
enable us to get across, in consequence of the log bridge
having been destroyed on the previous day by a party of
natives who had fled from the tyranny and oppression of the
ruler of Cashmere, and, with their cattle and household gods,
had pushed on by this route with the intention of becoming
subjects of Sher Ahamid Khan, a neighbouring rajah. On
the opposite bank we were shown a heap of stones, from
which the fugitives pelted the Maharajah’s sepoys who had
been sent to bring them back. It was told us, moreover, that
with a few old muskets they managed to keep the military
at bay whilst their main body was retreating across the Kul-
lohoy glacier at the top of the valley. In 1849 this Sher

302 WANDERINGS OF A

Ahamid Khan attempted to dispute the sovereignty of the
valley with Goulab Singh, but gave up the project from a
fear that the Cashmerians in his army would show the white
feather when it came to blows. I was assured of the truth
of the above statement by a native merchant. It is likely,
however, that the rajah was afraid of British interference.
Be that as it may, there can be no question that the making
away of the Cashmere valley was one of the grandest
political blunders of its day, and one which will be con-
stantly felt as long as we hold the Punjaub. Independent of
the vast addition to our Eastern revenues by opening out a
magnificent field for English enterprise, Cashmere would
have secured advantages in a military point of view of the
greatest importance, by affording splendid and healthy sites
for a reserve army, which, on the shortest notice, might have
been made available for any emergency in the North-western
Provinces ; but instead, its noble prairies, plains, and forests,
scarcely surpassed by those of any other country, have been
sold to rulers whose whole end and object have been to reap
and never sow.

The continual wet state of the weather was apparently the
chief obstacle to our success, and the higher up the moun-
tains the more unpleasant it became; but, determined
to give every region a trial, we made for the top of the
ravine to a wild sequestered spot at the foot of the glacier.
Several brown bears were seen, and I killed a male, from
which a large quantity of grease was obtained. There was
an old bullet wound in his hip, and another through his
flank, We had now reached the Ultima Thule of our wan-
derings in quest of deer. Never did hunters work harder, for we
toiled across the steep mountain-sides, over melting snow-beds
and slippery slopes, but with no good results ; for no sooner did

NATURALIST IN INDIA. 303

one mass of cloud clear off the hillside than another took its
place. One morning I espied a fine stag on a cliff above us,
and just as I was getting within range, a cloud came rolling
down the mountain and enveloped us. It was useless
advancing in hopes of the dense mass clearing away, for there
was no discerning objects within a few yards. I crawled, how-
ever, up the steep ascent to within a short distance of the deer,
whose feet I could hear clattering on the stony ridge close
by. Thus ended our futile attempts at deer-hunting ; and as
the weather had every appearance of continuing in the same
state for a week longer, we struck camp on the 2d of Septem-
ber, and, leaving the inhospitable region, retraced our steps to
Pilgam, where a very different state of matters existed. From
thence we could discern the clouds still hovering over the tops
of the Kullohoy mountains, while all around the village was
in bright sunshine. By our former route we continued our
journey down the Duchinpara to the village of Gannisbul,
situate among orchards of fruit-trees, under one of which
our shickarees had spread bears’ skins, and prepared for us a
feast of apples and pears in celebration of our visit to their
native village. In the evening we repaired to a neighbouring
jungle to wait for black bears, which at that season descend
from the mountains in numbers to feed on wild apples, grapes,
and walnuts. Although we saw several, none were killed.
This species has been known under cover of night to enter
the orchards in the very centre of the villages, and we were
surprised one morning at Kullohoy to find that on the previous
night one had been digging up the turf within a few yards of
our tent. Their aptitude for climbing enables them to mount
to the tops of the tallest trees, where they may be often found at
night standing on their hind-legs on a branch, and seizing the
boughs laden with walnuts, which they crunch, rejecting the

304 WANDERINGS OF A

shells. They descend tail foremost, and if suddenly startled,
will drop to the ground from a considerable height, or, as
sailors say, “let go by the run.”

Never did the splendid valley of the Duchinpara look to
greater advantage. The rainy months had now passed, and
everywhere nature seemed to wear its choicest garb. Every
animal looked happy except man. It was painful to observe
the misery and wretchedness of the poorer classes, with teem-
ing plenty around, Painful scenes were constantly intrud-
ing themselves on us, either in the shape of a revenue officer
beating a farmer for being short of the rent, or numbers of
poor, miserable, half-starved men and women searching for
mushrooms and wild plants by the road-sides. Even the fruit
of the walnut and other trees in the jungles was not exempt
from the avaricious grasp of the ruler. In vain we turned
away from these scenes, but to no purpose; if we managed to
evade one, something more startling took its place. Here, as
elsewhere noticed, ophthalmia was rife, and particularly
among the women and children, whose wan and pale faces
but ill assorted with the profusion and healthy aspect of
nature’s productions around them. Now that the sporting
portion of our excursion was at an end, my companion, who
had noted carefully every item of our six month’s work, pro-
duced the following game-list, which, considering that we were
more intent on sight-seeing than the chase, is perhaps by no
means contemptible :—To Young’s rifle fell 29 bears, 2 deer,
2 ibex ; to mine, 7 bears, 5 deer, and 1 musk-deer ; Halkett
bagged 8 bears, 1 deer, 2 musk-deer ;—grand total, 57 head.
During my subsequent excursion to Cashmere in 1854 I was
more successful, having killed 17 bears, 2 ibex, 2 markhore, 1
tare, and 6 musk-deer. These were great days for the hunter.
I fear, however, that from the annual migration of English

NATURALIST IN INDIA. 305

sportsmen to the valley, it is seldom now that even the most
expert and persevering are so successful. We reached Seri-
nuggur on the 6th of September to find the quarters in City
Gardens filled with European visitors, chiefly officers returned
from shooting excursions, none of whom had been more suc-
cessful than ourselves ; and among the various competitors for
the honour of having made the best bag of the season, Young
stood pre-eminent.

The grapes of Cashmere are not equal to those of Cabool,
possibly from the little trouble taken in rearing them. Unless
in the gardens about Serinugegur, it is no uncommon sight to
see them growing in great profusion in the jungles. The
peaches are excellent ; so are the mulberries and walnuts; but
the apples are spongy, and the pears have not the flavour of
the European fruit, doubtless from want of due attention.

The prince, in the absence of his father, who was.reported
to be seriously ill at Jamoo, gave a state dinner, to which all
the English residents were asked. The festivities, as usual,
were preceded by a natch, after which we retired to the
banqueting-room, where upwards of thirty English officers
sat down to dinner. The prince, of course, was debarred on
religious grounds from eating with us, but he stood by and
saw the lions feed. After dinner a comedy verging on the
improper was performed by a very dirty-looking company on
a temporary stage in the reception-hall. The prince wore a
finely-worked turban-like head-dress with heron’s plumes, after
the Sikh fashion, with a jacket of blue and white velvet,
magnificently ornamented with precious stones. I never
before saw him appear to such advantage, and could not help
admiring his becoming costume until he rose from his state
chair, when the close-fitting tights (rather baggy posteriorly)
and the meagre proportions of his lower extremities appeared

x

306 WANDERINGS OF A

so perfectly out of keeping with the assortment of the upper
part of his person that I could scarcely contain my gravity.

One of our shickarees, who received the name of Jungulee
from our servants on account of his wild and savage aspect,
announced his arrival, accompanied by a young brown bear
which Young had caught in Wurdwun, and entrusted to the care
and tuition of Mr. Jungulee during our excursion to Ladakh.
Accordingly Bruin was added to our herd of Rupshoo goats
and sheep ; and on the 11th of September we bade farewell to
the land of Nourmahal, and proceeded by the former route to
Murree, from thence to Rawul Pindee, where we arrived on
the 22d of September 1852.

NATURALIST IN INDTA. 307

CHAPTER XIV.

Scavenger Animals—Their Utility—Hyena and Jackal Grave-Diggers—Swine
—Dogs—Sheep—Their disgusting Mode of Feeding—Measled Pork—
Tape-Worm—Antiquity of the Dog—Climate of Rawul Pindee—Degrada-
tion of Alluvium—Storms—Heats of Midsummer—Effects on Europeans
—Agency of Storms and Removal of Organic Remains—Their Relation to
Fossil Remains—Moon-rise on the Himalayas—Death of Captain Colby
by Tiger—Departure for Peshawur—Elephant—Traits of Character—
Peshawur—Lawless Natives—Murders—Khyber-Pass—Scenery —Dangers
of Travelling—Mammals and Birds—British Birds—Migrations—Con-
clusion.

THE part played by certain mammals and birds in the removal
of refuse, more especially in hot climates, is far more import-
ant than generally supposed. As regards India and the East,
the chief actors in this great sanitary movement, or what
might justly be designated Nature’s first-class scavengers,
embrace, among beasts, the jackal, hyena, domestic swine, dog ;
and among birds, vultures, kites, crows, minas, and the well-
known adjutant (Leptoptilos argala, Gmel.) I have noted many
facts in connection with the habits of these useful animals in
South-eastern Europe, North Africa, as well as Asia, and been
strongly impressed with the belief that, if the time should
come when the most prominent actors in the scene become
extinct, or greatly reduced in numbers, there will needs be
some means of making good the loss; for most assuredly, if
Eastern cities were at present denuded of their carrion quad-
rupeds and birds, there is no system of conservancy on the

308 WANDERINGS OF A

part of the human occupants at all equal to take their place.
The nocturnal, bold and sneaking habits of the jackal and
hyena are well known. The last is decidedly far less numerous,
and hunts generally singly, whilst the jackal does so in packs.
The one appears, however, frequently to accompany the other,
for at night, among the discordant yelps of the jackal, may be
heard the hoarser bark of the striped hyena. Over South-
eastern Europe, Central and Southern Asia, both are more or
less plentiful, affecting also the mountainous regions to pretty
high altitudes. Whether it be the climate or not, I have ob-
served both species attain a larger size on the Himalayas, and
are invariably in better bodily condition than on the plains of
India. The exceedingly lean and half-starved aspects of both
these animals, as met with in many districts, would seem to
indicate that they have often a hard struggle for existence. It
is said that the pariah dog assists them to rifle graveyards ;
at all events, it is no uncommon circumstance to see the re-
sults of their depredations. One frightful example came under
my notice at Rawul Pindee, where a grave in the cemetery
was opened and a body torn to pieces by a troop of jackals.
On the occasion in question they had removed several heavy
stones placed above the body in order to prevent their attacks,
and I noticed that, besides using their fore-paws in removing
the soil, they had evidently lifted many of the stones with
their mouths. Withal, however, these sacrilegious deeds are
more than compensated for by the vast amount of scavenger-
work they accomplish. Although anything in the way of
flesh, putrid or otherwise, is acceptable, I am not aware that
the jackal betakes to the dung-eating habits of the dog, swine,
and even sheep, of India. The two first play an important
part in the removal of the excreta in and around many Oriental
cities, where no such institution as either a public or private

NATURALIST IN INDIA. 309

latrine is known. Indeed the swine of many parts of India
are maintained entirely in this way, and driven daily to the
purlieus of the towns. The domestic animal strongly re-
sembles the wild species in its outward form, but its lean
appearance and excessively loathsome habits present an equally
opposite contrast. Its flesh is very often “ measled” —that is,
contains the germs of the tape-worm, which are supposed to
be the result of its foul feeding. This circumstance came
forcibly before my notice at Rawul Pindee, where the diseased
flesh of the animal was sold in quantities to the soldiers. The
result was a marked prevalence among them of the parasite,
which, on microscopic examination proved to be the species
known as the hookless tape-worm (Tenia mediocanellata).
No doubt mutton is frequently contaminated in this manner,
as, strange to say, the sheep, and even goats, of many parts of
the East, take to the same abominable mode of feeding. It is
strange to observe how the poor rejected pariah becomes sen-
sible of kindness or any attention from man. Once persuaded
that no harsh measures are intended, his erect ears droop, and
he crouches at your feet. This predilection for man seems
almost inherent in the dog, and when we trace back its history
as far as the refuse-heaps of Denmark and the pile-folks of
the Swiss lakes, or what is still more suggestive, the repre-
sentations on the Egyptian temples and tombs, the great fact
is irresistible, that man and the dog have shared each other's
company for possibly a longer period than any other; and
whether the love at first was gradual or not, it has now at least,
as far as the brute is concerned, become instinctive. More-
-over, when we think of the vast periods embraced by the
Egyptian monuments of antiquity, and the time it must have
taken to develope even one variety from the feral stock, and
note the fox-hound or turnspit of 4000 to 5000 years ago, it

310 WANDERINGS OF A

may well be conceded that the dog, of all four-footed beasts,
has a claim to our kindness and protection, The Himalayan
wild dog, when taken young, is easily tamed, and this rule
would seem to hold good with the wild races of other countries ;
indeed, although not generally acknowledged, the wolf, jackal,
and hyena, get much attached to man, if carefully reared and
treated with kindness. The semi-domesticated dogs, in com-
mon with the wild species, have erect ears; and this would
seem to become more ‘ pronounced’ the nearer they assimilate
to the latter. This circumstance I have noted in respect to
domesticated sheep, goats, etc., when left more or less to shift
for themselves, as is apparent on the Himalayas and Alps.
The proximity of the snow-clad ranges creates frequent
and sudden alterations in temperature along the sub-Hima-
layan valleys and adjacent plains. The cool weather sud-
denly sets in at Rawul Pindee about the end of September,
and continues up to the beginning of May, when the strong
heats commence. The harvest is now over, and the quails
that had congregated during the ripening of the grain dis-
perse among the scrub and wastes. Now the soil gets baked
and cracked, so that when rain falls the thick mass of surface
alluvium becomes thoroughly saturated, and at length disin-
tegrates and is carried to lower levels or into watercourses,
to be swept by the sudden freshets to the main-drainage chan-
nels that empty themselves into the Indus. This accounts for
the very uneven and broken-up aspect of the country around.
Rawul Pindee, more especially in the direction of the Hima-
layas. Although the heat of midsummer is often intense, and
as high as 100° Fahr. in well-built houses, and 140° in the
sun, it is not of long duration, being frequently broken by
thunder-storms, which are connected with the atmospheric
conditions taking place at the same time on the high ranges.

NATURALIST IN INDIA, 311

There is no regular rainy weather at Rawul Pindee, but only
the south-west monsoon clouds, as they drop their moisture on
the Pinjal, affect the heated atmosphere of the torrid plains
below. Then furious storms, accompanied or not by electric
discharges, sweep along the north-western frontier of the
Punjaub. Sometimes these phenomena assume imposing
aspects. The storms are usually preceded by prolonged
droughts and successions of intensely hot weather, when an
unusually close and oppressive day is characterised by a
peculiar stillness of the atmosphere, during which the leaves
are seen to droop, and all animated nature becomes ex-
hausted, and the soil is parched ; when, about sunset, a huge
dense gray cloud of dust, several miles in breadth, is seen
advancing from the north and hugging the mountains on the
one side and the plains below, creeping stealthily but steadily
onwards, preceded by hot scorching blasts, which raise the
thermometer several degrees. The sensations are stifling for
a short time, then suddenly the blast feels cool, and at length,
as the mass approaches, and the thunder and lightning draw
nearer, the dust envelopes you, and for a few minutes all is
darkness, when down comes the rain, which the thirsty soil
drinks up almost instantaneously, and the glass falls some
25° to 30° in the course of a few minutes.

The cold of the winter months does not begin to affect
the leaf until the end of November, when frosty nights, suc-
ceeded by delightfully cool days, invite exercise, and strive
to recompense the European for the long summer spent in
darkened rooms and under punkas, where he had dragged
out a monotonous existence, panting from heat and pallid
from want of exposure to the air outside. The generally
bleached aspects of Europeans in India, and women in par-
ticular, are doubtless attributable in part or wholly to this

312 WANDERINGS OF A

cause ; and although the habit of closing doors and windows
by day—bottling up the cool air of night—does certainly
reduce the heat considerably, and prevents the entrance of
dust and hot winds, it may be questioned if the constitution
would, in the long run, suffer more if subjected to a few
degrees of higher temperature, with that indispensable requi-
site, light, which of all necessaries of animal life is one of the
most important.

In countries subject to sudden and violent storms, it is
suggestive to note how easily organic remains can be trans-
ported in situations where no regular river or stream exists.
I have often picked up bones of sheep and cattle among the
debris in the bottoms of dried-up watercourses, many miles
distant from Rawul Pindee, and under conditions that clearly
showed they had been conveyed by floods and freshets. Such
occurrences are common in Central Africa, as shown by Sir
Samuel Baker in connection with the Blue Nile and rivers of
Abyssinia, where entire carcases of the elephant, hippopotamus,
tortoise, etc. are borne along the watercourses for long dis-
tances, and deposited pell-mell where sufficient resistance is
presented. The arrangement of fossil remains of like quadru-
peds, in the rock-fissures of Malta, seem to indicate.a similar
origin, as likewise the wonderful assemblages of living and
extinct animals in the caverns and rock-fissures of Gibraltar.
Thus the presence of organic remains, under conditions such
as have just been stated, do not.necessitate the supposition
that a perennial stream or river once flowed on or near the
deposit.

There could be no finer picture for the landscape-painter
than the view from Rawul Pindee of a full moon crowning
the top of the Peer Pinjal. That enormous barrier-chain,
illuminated by the glorious orb, whilst the intervening space

NATURALIST IN INDIA. 313

is hidden in gloom, presents a- scene of almost unparalleled
grandeur and majesty.

A fine specimen of the panther (F. pardus) was shot on
the low hills, near Rawul Pindee, which I afterwards identi-
fied. It was during our residence at this station that a fright-
ful accident occurred to Captain Colby (98th Regiment), when
out tiger-shooting in a jungle, about twenty miles distant
from Rawul Pindee. He mortally wounded a large tiger
which had infested the district for some time, carrying off
cattle and whatever came in its way. The brute, however,
escaped into a thicket, and both elephant and beaters refused
to enter; when, dismounting, Captain Colby proceeded in
quest of the tiger, which he came on suddenly, and before he
could bring his rifle to his shoulder, the infuriated animal
sprang upon him and felled him to the ground. Several hours
afterwards the unfortunate gentleman was found with his
right arm torn to pieces, and several severe wounds elsewhere
from the paws and teeth, whilst within a few yards lay the
tiger, dead. The injuries sustained necessitated amputation
of the arm, but other internal wounds proved of such a serious
nature that he died a few days after the accident.

Our regiment left Rawul Pindee towards the end of 1853
for Peshawur, crossing the Indus at Attock by means of
boats. Here the river is rapid, and its channel considerably
narrowed by rocks. The transport of the baggage and camels
occupied two days, whilst the commissariat elephants were
made to swim across—all of which took to the water without
much persuasion excepting one. No force or coaxing would
induce him to enter, and so he was left behind. It was a
strange sight to observe the huge brutes steering their way
across the river with the whole body perfectly immersed ex-
cepting the trunk. Sometimes the current during the inun-

314 WANDERINGS OF A

dation proves too strong, and thus more than one fine elephant
has been carried away. One old male, employed in carrying
the officers’ mess-tent, had been rather unruly ever since
leaving Rawul Pindee, and now broke away from his picket,
and made off to a neighbouring jungle, when it became ne-
cessary to bring him back by two others, in the mode usually
adopted in capturing the wild ones. These furious fits of
ill-temper and insubordination, called “ must,” resulting from
excited passion (apgodsormxds), are sometimes developed to a
dangerous extent, and apparently very sudden in their onset.
I knew a gentleman who nearly lost his life by a “ must”
elephant—one of six that were engaged in beating a tiger-
jungle. He had dismounted, and was standing in front of
the line of elephants, when one of them, with enormous tusks,
rushed at him and made a vigorous attempt to impale him.
Being of a spare habit of body, the elephant missed his mark,
and the gentleman escaped by retreating to the rear of the
others, whilst the infuriated animal made off with his driver
and two persons for some distance, before he could be per-
suaded to rejoin his companions, which, however, he did that
afternoon, and-remained perfectly quiet and docile for the
remainder of the excursion. There was one of the largest
Indian elephants I have ever seen, chained for many months
in the open air at Rawul Pindee, in consequence of his exces-
sive ill-temper. He used to fall into periodic attacks of rage,
when he continued trumpeting often all night. I have seen
this animal amuse himself for hours by tossing a large heavy
log of wood, some 20 feet in length and upwards of 10 inches
in diameter, into the air as if it were a crowquill, and seize
his “dhurra” (Sorghum vulgare), straw, and fodder, which
he flung about, and sometimes amused himself by digging
up the ground with his tusks. During an expedition into

NATURALIST IN INDIA. 315

the Hazara country, among the lower Himalayan ranges,
N.W. of Rawul Pindee, several of the baggage elephants died
very suddenly, but whether owing to climate or change of
food could not be ascertained. The drivers told me that the
climate of the hills does not agree with the animal.

A residence at Peshawur, after a sojourn in other parts of
the Punjaub, is not by any means pleasant ; and perhaps, of all
other stations, this is the least inviting to the naturalist,
but not in any way from the absence of objects of interest as
the unfortunate circumstances that prevent Europeans from
travelling in the valley or surrounding mountain-ranges. My
excursions were therefore confined to a few miles around the
station, and even on these occasions it was always doubtful
whether or not an Afredee or one or other of the bloodthirsty
hill-men, might not be lying in wait with matchlock or tulwar,
ready to despatch you. This year matters assumed a more
than usually serious aspect from the assassination of the
chief commissioner, Colonel Mackeson, by one of the lawless
and fanatical natives of the surrounding mountains, who
stabbed him in the verandah of his house. Unintimidated by
frequent and severe chastisements, these tribes continued their
depredations among the peaceful inhabitants of the valley, and
sneaked at night into the British lines, where they coolly mur-
dered sentries on their posts. One morning, whilst searching
for birds within a stone’s throw of the military cordon that
constantly surrounded the camp, my attention was directed
to a group of natives assembled about a small mud-hut in a
hollow, where a person had earned a livelihood by grinding
corn with a hand-mill. It was a wretched little hovel ; never-
theless, for the sake of the few handfuls of flour, one of these
ruffians had murdered the poor old man, whose body, despoiled
of clothing, lay half out at the doorway, presenting frightful

316 WANDERINGS OF A

gashes in various parts, and, excepting his little mill, not a
particle of grain or any of his goods and chattels remained. It
was only a short time previously, whilst a lady and gentle-
man were taking a ride in the vicinity of the station, an
Afredee fired on them ; the lady escaped, but her unfortunate
companion was cut down and killed. The entrance of the
Khyber Pass, of unpleasant memory, is distinctly visible,
more especially in clear winter days ; and also from the lines
may be observed the fortress-like village of Jamrood, on an
elevated ground, and covering the mouth of the pass ; west-
ward, rising one above another, are the magnificent Afghan
and Kaffir mountains, including the Hindoo and Sufeid Koh ;
whilst northwards and east, in long ridges, with dark inter-
vening valleys, and running into the Peshawur plain,-are the
abodes of the rebellious hill-tribes, who, were it not that they
quarrel a good deal among themselves, would in combination
make a formidable enemy. All these vast mountain-ranges
have been unexplored by the naturalist ; indeed, few Europeans
have ever managed to penetrate the great valleys northward
of Peshawur. Frequent inquiries made of natives who had
visited some of the higher and more secluded mountain-valleys
elicited scant information, and that altogether with reference
to the most common large quadrupeds. The markhore was
stated to be abundant in certain localities near the western
bank of the Indus, above Attock, and around the Khyber
Pass. Many of its horns, some almost exactly like cork-
screws in form, and upwards of 2% feet in length, were sent
me ; others, not nearly so much twisted, presented also a more
flattened appearance. A wild sheep, seemingly identical with
that met with on the Salt Mountains and around Attock, is
also common in these situations ; but, as far as I could learn,
not on the same ranges with the former. The tiger and

NATURALIST -IN INDIA. 317

panther are found along the skirts of the Himalayan chain,
the former increasing in numbers to the south-east and banks
of the Indus, especially near Kala Bagh. I have noted a fox
distinctly different from the Vulpes bengalensis in the ravines
around Peshawur, but never obtained a specimen, so as to
ascertain if it is the same as the one observed on the Salt
Mountains.

Both the gray and red ichneumons (Z. griseus et ruber)
are plentiful. Skins of the pine-marten (IZ abietwm) are
imported from Afghanistan and sold in the bazaars of the
city, where also those of the ermine are occasionally observed.
Pigs abound along the sub-Himalayan valleys and in the
Eusofraye country. Ravine or Bennet’s deer is said to be
plentiful. Hares (but the exact species was not determined),
and a very large bustard (0. nigriceps 2) the 0. macqueenii, is
a regular winter visitor, and the little chukore (A. bonhami),
is met with in suitable places.

It was interesting to note the cold-weather arrivals. The
lapwing, teal, gray lag-goose, cranes, rooks, European jackdaws,
the bittern, chimney swallow, gray wagtai, either taking up
their residence, resting for a short time, or pushing south-
wards—some in long trains, as is the case with the large
water-birds. The rough gabbling of the geese and cranes
lasted often throughout the night, whilst the guttural sounds
of the sand-grouse were frequent; both the common and
large species (P. exustus et,arenarius) were often seen in flocks
by day, and seemed to be regular migrants. There was a
small thrush that evidently arrived in the gardens and
orchards in the cold months, and is very common. It is 9
inches in length, with the wpper parts olive-brown ; throat
and front of the neck dirty-white; the sides of the neck and
breast are thickly spotted with olive-brown ; belly and lower

318 WANDERINGS OF A NATURALIST IN INDIA.

parts dirty-white ; legs light-brown. I marked again during
winter, in the Valley ‘of Peshawur, the white-rumped martin,
so closely allied, if not identical with, the bird of Europe,
but did not obtain a specimen. Snipes are common in March,
and quails in October. :

Here the narrative of my travels must cease. The loss of
the greater part of the notes referring to the subsequent
portion of my sojourn in Peshawur, and second expedition to
Cashmere, and my return to England in 1854, has brought
about this abrupt termination. I fain hope, however, that
what have been here recorded may be the means of arousing
some youthful minds to an appreciation for the works of
Nature, or mayhap create an ardour in the pursuit of such
knowledge. If these ends are attained, I shall feel so far
rewarded for all the difficulties I have had to combat with in
the compiling of the notes and determination of many of the
natural objects ; and this, in conclusion, leads me to expect
from my readers some consideration for any defects in diction
or scientific accuracy, considering that the delay in publishing
the contents of this volume has been altogether brought
about by the constant change of place, that left me few
opportunities of consulting libraries or museums, and made
me more than ever grateful to many distinguished masters of
science for substantial aid, and to none more than to my
friend Sir William Jardine, Bart., who has revised the proof-
sheets and corrected the nomenclature ; also to Adam White,
Esq., who in my absence has given material assistance towards
the completion of the work.

New Brunswick, Norta AMERICA,
April 1867.

INDEX.

—_o—.

Abrornis, a genus of Himalayan warb-
lers, 169 z

Acacia at Kurrachee, 35

Accentor strophiatus, 284

Accipiter virgatus trained for quail-
hunting, 21

Aconite, flowers of, 109

Acridotheres pagodarum, 99; tristis,
the mina, 24

Actitis hypoleucus, 49

Adder, 221

Adjutant, 100; one of the scavengers
of the East, 307

Afredees, danger from, 315, 316

Agate, where found, 28

Ajda, a snake which hunts frogs, 221

Alauda arvensis, 261; triborhyncha,
98

Albatross, first appearance of, 6; greed
of and capture of, 7; wing-bones
used for pipe-stalks, and purses made
from skin of feet, 7 ; tameness of, re-
garded by sailors as indicating ap-
proaching storm, 7

Alcedo bengalensis, 21; on Indus, 48

Ale of Ladakh, 266

Aliwal, exaggerated account of battle,
60

Alligator (Indian) 52, 53

Altitude, effects of, on bodily frame,
273

Amaranthus cruentus, 65

Ammoperdix bonhami, 140, 317 ; heyt,
140

Amritser, shawls made at, 174

Anas clypeata, 54; pectlorhyncha, 54 ;
querquedula, 54; rutila, 275

Anser albifrons, .50, 120; indicus,
50

Ant (great black), 27; gathering sup-

plies, 38 ; (white), food of many birds,

153

Antelope, rare at Poonah, 14 ; herds of,
59 ; swiftness of black buck, 59

Anthus agilis, 1384

Antilope bezoartica, 14, 59

Antlers, gnawed, 189

Apples (wild) eaten by long-tailed jay
and other birds, 86

Aquila fulvescens at Poonah, 14

Arabel Falls, 206

Arachnechthra asiatica, 17

Arboricola torqueola, 110

Arctomys tibetanus, 258, 289

Ardea argala, or adjutant, 100, 307 ;
cinerea, 53

Ardeola leucoptera, 129

Argali at Nobra, 277

Argus pheasant, 216

Armies followed by flocks of vultures,
26

Arrat Nag, sacred spring, 200

Arvicola, species of, 152 _

Asafotida plant at Sonamurg, 257 ;
carried to market, 301

Asinus hemionus, 275

Asparagus racemosus, 206

Athene brama, 56; brodiet, 101 ; cucu-
loides, 101

Atsibul, pleasure-garden of Mogul em-
perors, 201

Attide, ant of the family, 27

Attock, crossing the Indus at, 313

Audubon, zest of his writings, cause of,

‘Avalanches, 228 ; party of hunters over-

whelmed by, 229 ; colonies destroyed
by, 265

Bapsuer (pale-eared and striated), 38 ;
(white-bellied), notes of, 57; (striated),
133

Bageree, a kind of grain, 27

Baggage carried by women, 268

320

Bakar, ancient fortress at, 55.

Baker (Sir Samuel) on deposition of
carcases of large animals, 312

Band of Goulab Singh, 244

Bandycoot or hog-rat in houses, 20

Bangau-palm, 27

Baramala, 170

Baramula, no palms observed at, 251;
prince arrives at, 252

Bara-singa, name of Cashmere deer,
186, 193

Bater, the Amaranthus cruentus, 65

Bats, colony of, at Poonah, 15; flesh
eaten by half-caste Portuguese, 15

Batteah, a name of the impeyan phea-
sant, 90

Batu, red patches of, 109

Bawacheh, name of markhore in Tibet,
213

Bazgo, 268

Bear (black), feeding on fruit of service-
tree, 111; variety of, 159; ravages
of, 166; its favourite haunts, 241;
climbs the tallest trees, 303

Bear (isabella or brown), 183, 238 ; its
habits, 239; varies in colour, 240 ;
cub feeding on wild carrots, etc.,
299 ; a male killed, 302

Bear, a large one killed, 178; one
wounded, 179 ; descent of a wounded
one, 211; feeding on shoots of rhu-
barb, 227; sight of bears not acute,
227 ; shot, 236; prefers vegetable to
animal food, 239 ; fat of, 300

Bears (brown and black) attack each
other when they meet, 209

Bearded vulture carrying off a monal,
112; at Ladakh, 275

Becalmed near the Line, 9

Bee-eater (green), variety in plumage,
13 ; manner of roosting, 61, 134, 153 ;
(common), 198

Bee-hives at Naira, 87

Beetles at night, 18

Beloochee warriors, 36

Beloochistan, mountains of, 34

Bhyri falcons, sold at Poonah, 18

Birds, sizes and appearance of different
species affected by climate, etc., 112 ;
migrations of, 128, 129; arrivals of,
at Peshawur in cold weather, 317

Bittern at Peshawur, 317

Blackbird (hill), 115

Blackbreast, sand-grouse, 119

INDEX.

r

Bleached faces of Europeans, how caused,

Boatmen of Indus, their life, 55

Boats on Indus, 48

Bombay, arrival at, 9

Bone, 134

Bonito, numbers of this fish near the
Line, 6

Booby (brown), off African coast, 6

Booinchil, name of Wallich’s pheasant,
91

Borax*round lakes, 275

Brachypternus aurantius, 120

Bracken (British), plentiful near Chor
mountain, 88

Brahminy kite on Indus, 48

Brambles (stone), perhaps Rubus saxa-
tilis, 301

Brar, silk collecting, 198

Brick-tea, 269

Buchee, 264

Buddhist pillars, 261

Budytes viridis, 13 ; cttreola, 58

Bulbul at Poonah, 13; (white-eared),
88 ; (hooded), 74; (red-vented), 135,
201 ; (yellow-vented), 135, 201 ; note
of, 173

Bullfinch (orange-coloured), 113, 161;
(red-headed) 113

Bullock killed by tiger, 21

Bultul Pass, 259

Bunber Pass, 208

Bunda or Rhesus monkey, 108

Buntetur or wood-partridge, 110

Bunting (gray-capped), 142, 164;
(brown-headed), 156; (black-throat-
ed), 164

Burrel, horns of, 277

Burrel:- hay, a leopard, 107

Bush-quail, 85

Bussol village, 123

Bustard (black-headed), 24 ; (houbara),
51; bustards at Peshawur, 317

Buzzard (moor), 152

Caccabis chukar, 70

Cairns, 155; in Ladakh the abodes
a spirits,- according to Tartars,
278

Calliope pectoralis, 215

a ae sinensis, 85; flavirostris,

69
Caltha palustris, 175
Camels work Persian wheels, 47

INDEX.

Camp, breaking up of an Indian one,
118

Canis aureus, its habits, 40, 41; prim-
rr 189, 215; molossus, tibetanus,

Cape pigeons off African coast, 67

Capra caucasica, 37; megaceros, 213,
ae 3 jemlaica, 214; himalayana,

Capricornis bubalina, 186, 220

Caprovis vignet, 138

Carcase of horse at Poonah and its
devourers, 14°

Carduelis caniceps, 108 ; spinoides, 109,
169

Carlee, caves of, dug in solid trap, 9

Carp called trout, 174; caught with
creels on Veshau river, 219

Carpodacus erythrinus, 152

Casarca rutila, 58

Cashmere, Vale of, 170; once an an-
cient lake, 171 ; palace, 173; a fine
field for the landscape-painter, 246 ;
should have been held by British,
302

Cashmerians, indolence of, 295, 296

Cat (Bengal), 107; (wild) of Punjaub,
146, 190

Cataract cured by a needle, 205

Caves of Carlee, with their galleries and
colossal elephanits, 9

ag of Lebanon, a variety of deodar,
16

Cedar-forests, 168

Cemetery at Kurrachee, 33

Centipedes, 18, 19

Centropus rufipennis, 22

Ceriornis melanocephala, 216

Certhia himalayana, 111

Cervus affinis, 186 ; cashmeriensis, 186 ;
duwaucellit, 189 ; eldit, 190 ; muntjac,
67 ; wallichii, 186

Ceryle rudis, black and white king-
fisher, 21

Chacar fort, 162

Chameleons, 20

Changos dancing-girls, 202

Chankoo, a leopard, 107

Channels of Indian rivers changing, 121

Charadrius leschenaultii, 288

Cheer pheasant, 91; shooting of, 92

Chelidon cashmeriensis, 100, 128 ; ur-
bica, 100, 263

Chenaub river at Weneerabad, 121

321

Chetah, name applied to all the leo-
pards, 102

eee of Paharees, how lulled asleep,

Chimouraree lake, 282

Chillianwallah, the battlefield, 123, 124

Chimney-tops of Kurrachee, 33

Chinckhara, or Bennett’s deer, 148

Chippuch falcons, 119

Chirie or brown lapwing, 154

Cholera in regiment, 32

Chor mountain, excursion to, 81 ; view
of, 87 ; structure of, 88

ey 236 ; (Cornish), 127 ; (alpine),

Chrysomma sinense, 57

Chuckore (bastard) 140

Chuckore, or red-legged partridge, 70,
98, 94

Chuckore (little) at Peshawur, 317

Chukar partridge, 139

Chukore, or Cabool partridge, 37

Chuinoninil lake of Gerard, 281

Chukkowal, 134

Chunar trees, gigantic, 200

Chunars, isle of, 246, 247

| Chung, or ale of Ladakh, 266

Churass, quartz veins at, 88

Cicer arietinum, grain, 47

Cinclus asiaticus, 115 ; agquaticus, 195,
264; melanogaster, only a variety of
C. aquaticus, 195

Circeetus gallicus, 38

Circus swainsonit, 129, 185

Clover, Dutch, growing in India, 242

Cobra di capella tamed, 19

Coccothraustes icterioides, 222

Cocoa-nut, 27

Coco-de-mer of Seychelles, « graceful
palm, 8

Cocoons boiled at Brar, 198

Colby (Captain) killed by a tiger, 313

Collie, dog same as, 165

Columba leuconota, 237 ; livia, 237;
does not associate with tame pigeons,
22; senegalensis, 22,183 ; palumbus,
146; rupestris, 261, 283

Columbide,, fat should be removed from
skins, 22

Contraction of knee removed, 205

Cooking for Himalayan travellers, 281

Coolie falling over a precipice, 224

Coolies.of the hills, 163.

Copsychus saularts, its song, 24

322
Coracias afinis, 186 ; indica, its habits,
22

Coral tree, 63

Cormorant (brown-necked), 53; (white-
bellied), 53; (lesser), 122

Corvus splendens, 12; culminatus, 12,
142; corax, 56; dibetanus, not distinct
from C. corax, 142 .

Coturnix coromandelica, 24, 106

Cotyle subsoccata, 154, 285

Courier (coromandel), habits of, 40

Crab in rivers of Punjaub, 182

Cranes appear on Indus, 46; at Pesha-
wur, 317

Creeper (Goulparah), 104; (Hima-

yan),

Crickets, noise of, 166

Crocodile-pond, visit to, 41-45

Crocodiles of Mugger-peer, 42-45

Crocodilus palustris, 42-45

Crow (Indian) at Poonah, 12; (Mala-
va a cuckoo, 22; (Indian carrion),

42

Crows of New Brunswick and Maine
decreased during American war, 26
Cuckoo, 68; (black), 17; (European),
17, 169; (lark-heeled), habits and
ood, 22; (black and white crested),

98

Cuculus canorus, at Poonah, 17, 68, ]

169; himalayanus, 68

Curlew at Kurrachee, 40; (red-billed),
293

Currants (wild) 263

Cursorius isabellinus, 40

Custonee or musk-deer, 95

Cyanecula suecica, 58

Cypress at Deinna, 161 ‘

Cypselus affinis, or allied swift, its nest,
etc., 11, 39

DANDELION at Vernag, 203; searched
for, 126 ;

Danger of travelling through defiles of
Ladakh before or after rain, 290

Darwin, writings of, cause of their at-
tractiveness, 4; on carrion-vultures,
quoted, 75

Deer (barking), 67; its haunts and
habits, 70, 71; (Bennett's), 148;
near Peshawur, 317 ; (Cashmere),
186; description and habits, 188;
(Eld’s), 190 ; (Tibet ravine), 281

Deer-shooting, 191, 192

INDEX.

Deer-sheep, 143

Deinna fort, 161 :

Dendrocitiaa rufa, 86; sinensis, 86;
vagabunda, 1386

Deodar, 167; cedars of great size, 226

“ Devils,” whirlwinds of sand so called,
34

Dews great on plains of Scinde, 35

Dheer hay, a leopard, 107

Dhoons, or great valleys near plains,
92

Dial-birds, the nightingales of English
residents, 24

Dicrurus macrocercus, 25

Discomforts of Europeans in the East,
18

Dipper (European), on Cashmere moun-
tains, 116; on the Lidur, 195;
killed on the Buchee, 264 ; (brown),
219

Distances, difficulty of judging, on moun-
tains, 194, 276

Dog, (native), 165; (wild), 189; pur-
suit of a pack, 215; attachment to
man, 309 ; Himalayan wild dog easily
tamed, 310

Dog-skin (inflated), used in crossing
rivers, 53

Dogs preferable to beaters in partridge
and pheasant shooting, 69

Dotterel (Indian ring), 61; rufous-
breasted) 283

Dove (Senegal) 22; (Surat), 51

Dras river, 259, 261 ; fort of, 260

Drongo shrike robbing hoopoe, 196

Duchinpara, 185; mountains of, 186 ;
forests, 299 ; valley of, 304

Duck (spotted-billed), 54 ; (castaneous),
249; (Brahminy), 275; its flesh,
281 .

Ducks at Sehwan, 54

Dugshai hill-station, 61, 72

Dul lake, Cashmere, 246

Drun, or red marmot, 258

Dumba, broad-tailed sheep, 272

Dungaree, 20

Dust about Kurrachee, 33; cloud of,
preceding storm, 311

Dust-clouds, 72

EaGus, 112, 171; (tawny), at Poonah,
14, 15; (serpent), its food, 38 ;
(whiteheaded), of Asia, 49; (spotted),
74, 183

INDEX.

Ears: erect ears of semi-domesticated
dogs, etc., 310

Earthquakes in Cashmere, 177

Ebhul Khan, a Khyberee hunter, 180

Eclipse of moon, superstitious idea of
Cashmerees, 255

Eggs of crocodile where deposited, 44

Egretia alba, 121

.Eish Makaur village, 196; slopes near,
once best hunting-ground in Cash-
mere, 197 ‘

Elanus melamopterus, 122

Elephants crossing Indus, 313 ; sudden
fits of temper in, 314

Elevation, effects of high elevation on
the frame, 273

Emberiza melanocephala, 22 ; caniceps,
142 ; cioides, 164; stewarti, 164

English plants gathered at Vernag,
208

Enicurus maculatus, 67; its plumage
and habits, 72 ; scouleri, 72

Entellus monkey, 108

Ermine in Cashmere, 206

Ermine-skins sold at Peshawur, 317

Eudynamys orientalis, or black cuckoo,
VW

Euphorbia hedges, 35

Euphorbia nerifolia, 41

Euplocomus albocristatus, 67, 88, 92 ; |

melanotus, 92
Euspiza luteola, 156 2
Extortion of Goulab Singh, 162 ~-
Eye adapts itself to seeing distant ob-
jects, 179, 180

Faxre of Yarkund, 270

Falco jugger trained for falconry, 18 ;
peregrinator, 108 ; badius, 119

Falcon (Indian peregrine), nest of, 57 ;
(royal) in request for hawking, 108 ;
(black-winged), 122 ; (chicquera) 130

Falconry at Kalka, 119

Fat of bear, 239

Felidee of Himalaya, great variety of,
107

Felis bengalensis, 20, 107, 190; hors-
fieldti, 107 ; leopardus, 144 ; pardus,
313

Feronia elephantwm, wild apple, 86

Ferozepoor, 59

Ferula asafetida, a gigantic umbelli-
ferous plant, 257, 301

Festival (Sikh), 185

323

Fig, 27

Filth of Eastern towns, 172

Finch (black-headed), 22; (roseate),
152; (brown mountain), 261; (red-
fronted), a favourite cage-bird in the
Punjaub, 264

Fir, of lower ranges, 64

Fire-flies, 18

Fish, sacred, 178

Fishmarket, Cashmere, 245

Fish-owl, 114

Flamingo, 40, 53 ; a flock of, 147

Flaying prisoners, 172

Floriken (bastard), 51

Fly (black), a great pest, 89

Flycatcher (crimson-breasted), 17 ;
(broad-tailed), 21; paradise, itshabits,
26, 27, 67, 202; (white-fronted),
37; (verditer), 100; (speckled), 111 ;
(flammeous), 118; (rose-coloured),113 ;
(short-billed), 113; (crimson), 196 ;
(small), 201

Flying-fishes off Madeira, 5

Flying-foxes, a species of bat at Poonah,
habits of, 15

Fog in atmosphere, 153

Forecastle of troop-ship should have a
netting, 6

Forget-ine-not in Cashmere, 206

Saree (short-tailed), 72; spotted,

Fossil remains, how deposited, 312

Fossils in limestone at Kotela, 147

Fothergilla involucrata, 170

Fox, 171; (red), its habits, 101, 102 ;
eee 102 ; (silver), 217, 287 ;
mountain), 287 ; near Peshawur, 317

Francolinus ponticerianus, 51; vul-
garis, 51 ;

Frigate, or man-of-war bird, at Seychel-
les, 8

Frogs at Poonah, 16; frog seizes body
of sun-bird, 17; the food of many
snakes, 19

Fuligula cristata, 54; nyroca, 54

Fuveed, 133

Galerida cristata, 41, 133

Gall-bladder of brown bear used as
medicine, 184

Gallinago solitaria, 73, 112

Gallus bankiva, 84

Gannisbul, a feast at, on apples and
pears, 803

324

Garlic with yellow flowers, food of mar-
mots, 258

Garrulus lanceolatus, 86

Gaura-finch, 100

Gavial, habits of, 52, 53

Gavialis gangeticus, 52

Gazella bennettti, 148, 149

Geckoes, 20

Geese, flocks of, migrating, 120

Geronticus papillosus, 129

Gerrie, 102

Ghaugutri range, 64

Ghia, two days spent in a temple at,
289, 290

Ghous, Mahratta name for bandycoot,
20

Gibraltar, remains of animals in caves,
how deposited, 312

Glacier, descent of, 294

Guat (water), habits of, 54

Goats eating dung, 309

Goat-antelope, 186, 220, 221

Godwit (cinereous), 154

Goitre among natives of Lower Hima-
laya, 66

Gold-sifters at Bone, 155

Golden eagle, one shot, 112

Goldfinch (Himalayan), 108, 109

Goose (barred-headed), 50; (white-
fronted), 50 ; (Brahminy), 58 ; (gray-
lag), gabbling of, 317

Goral or chamois of Himalayas, 126

Goral hay, a leopard, 107

Gorkagu, or snow-pheasant, 181

Goshawks trained by the ex-Ameers of
Scinde, 18

Gotah-finch, 57

Goulab Singh, his cruelty, 172 ; litter
surrounded by petitioners, 251

Govind kite at Poonah, 12 ; instance of
its boldness, 23; with vultures, 25 ;
following ship, 45 ; daring sallies of,
56; enemy to poultry, 57 ; nest of, 218

Gozoo, or Sikh priest, 185

Grackle (gingi), 61

Graculus carbo, 53 ; sinensis, 58, 122

Granary of ants at Kurrachee, 39

Grapes of Cashmere, 305

Graves (ancient), near Jubba, 144;
open, 163 ; at Rawul Pindee, plun-
dered by jackals, 308

Gravestones at Kurrachee, 33

Greek partridge, chukore of India only
a race of, 94

INDEX.

Grosbeak (black and yellow), 222 ;
(Malabar), 152

Grouse (pin-tailed), 119

Gull (brown-headed), 283

Gypaétus barbatus, 77-79

Gyps bengalensis, 79; indicus, 79;
Sulvus, 80

Heemopsis paludum, 87

Hafit village, height above sea, 237

Hailstones, large, 147

Haliaétus macei, 49, 130

Haliastur indus on Indus, 48

Haleyon fuscus, 21

Ham, name of female monal in Cash-
mere, 90

Hanghi, Cashmere deer, 186

Hanniah, black-faced sheep, 272

Haramuk mountain, 170

Hare (black-necked), 85 ; (mountain), 85;
(Alpine), 280

Harrier (pale), 129, 185 ; (pale-chested),
152

Haze at mid-day, 248

Heart-disease, persons with, should not
travel in elevated regions, 274

Hedge-warblers, loud chirping of, 175

Hedges of prickly-pear, 17 ; frequented
by snakes and vermin, 19

Helarctos tibetanus, 238, 240

Hemichelidon fuliginosa, 111, 201 ;
Serruginea, 201

Henigipoor, 206

Heron, 53 ; (great white), 121 ; (brown-
backed), 129; (European), 156

Heron’s plumes used in imperial head-
dress, 175

Heronry, Cashmere, 175

Herpestes griseus destroys centipedes
and scorpions, 19

Herpestes griseus, 120, 817 ; nyula, 317

Herrel, local name of Wallich’s phea-
sant, 91

Heterura sylwana, 67, 248

Hiaticula philippina, 61

Hill-fox, 193

Himalayas, fine field for naturalist, 2, 3 ;
ranges, 61 ; regions of, 62 ; fine pano-
rama of, 64

Himantopus candidus, 153

Hirundo daurica, 108 ; filifera or wire-
tailed swallow, its habits, 11 ; riparia,
49

Hog-deer, 51

INDEX.

Hog-rat in houses, 20

Honey obtained byfrightening the bees,88

Honey-sucker (purple), at Poonah, 17,
144 ; (red), 104

Hooded crow, 127

Hoopoe, 24, 219 ; digging into turf, 196

Horses frightened by trains of ants, 27

Houbara bustard, hunting of, 51, 52

Houbara macqueenii, 51

Houriar, 138; wounded ram, 145;
feeds at night, 148 ; young killed by
pleuro-pneumonia, 151

House-martin of Southern India same as
European, 100

Humble-bees, 198

Humboldt, writingy of, cause of their
zest, 4

Hummok river, 125

Hunting-grounds of Amirs of Scinde, 47

Huri Purbert, 243

Hurricane, severe one, 73

Hurri-Sing-Ka-Bagh, 244

Hyacinth in flower, 160

Hyena carries off poultry and dogs, 102 ;
habits of, 308 ; larger on Himalayas,
308

Hyena striata, 40

Hydaspes river, 247

Hyderabad, high temperature at, 50

Hyelaphus porcinus, 51

Hystriz leucurus, 187

TBEx, 229; habits of, 234, 235; (Cau-
casian), its home and habits, 36; in
Ladakh, 286

Ibidorhynchus struthersti, 293

Tbis (black), 129

Ichneumon (gray), 120

Indolence and inactivity, their bad
effects in a tropical climate, 10.

Indus, pleasures of a voyage up, 46;
shifting of channel, 47 ; under-current,
not likely to be one, 47; sunset on,
48; tributaries of, 132; its breadth
at Kelatse, 268; transport of baggage
across, 313

Inscriptions on slate-slabs in Ladakh, 266

Insect larve on Tibetan antelope, 279

Insect pests on march, 59

Inundation of Indus, 46; of streams
about Poonah, 16

Irena puella, 41

Tris longifolia and I. nipalensis, 196

Irrigation by Persian wheels, 47

325

Tron vein, 203
Islamabad, 200 ; dirtiness of, 201

Jacana (Chinese) 175

Jackal and its cry, 40, 41; where met
with, 102; habits of, 308; larger on
Himalayas, 308

Jackdaw (Indian), a bold marauder, 12;
following ship, 45; habits of, 46;
(European), 127 ; gray-headed), 221;
at Peshawur, 317

Jacko, highest point at sanatorium of
Simla, so called from abundance of
monkeys there, 107

Jamrood village, 316

Jari deer, 189

Jarrow deer, 190

Jay (Vigors’ and red-billed), 83; (long-
tailed), 85; (European) shot in Af-
ghanistan, 86; (black-throated), 86 ;
(yellow-billed), 169

Jehangire used baths at Atsibul, 201;
tablet of, 203

Jer monal or snow-pheasant, 181

Jewar or black-headed pheasant, 216

Jhelum, valley of, 160

Jowaree, a kind of grain, 27

Jugla, name of tare, 214

Jumnootri range, 64

Jungle-fowl, 84

Karn or ibex, 233

Kakur or barking-deer, 70

Kalij pheasant, 67; piping call of, 83;
habits of, 92, 93

Kalka, 61

Kandala, scene at, 30, 31

Kannibal, 244

Kargil fort, 263

Karstee mountain, 263

Kartse, a lofty peak, 291

Kelatse village, 268

Kestrel, habits of, 21; at Dugshai, 99

Ketupa ceylonensis, 114

Khuds or broad valleys, 63

Khund village, 256

Khyber Pass, entrance visible from Pe-
shawur, 316

Kiang or wild ass, 275

Kilas, a peak of Himalaya, 64

King-crow on backs of cattle, 25 ; (black
Indian), 153

Kingfisher (Bengal) on Indus, 48;
(black-headed, 86

326

Kingfishers, 21, 22

Kirboo village, 261

Kite (Brahminy), habits of, 48

Koel, or black cuckoo, 17

Koree village, 123

Kotela, village of, 147

Koteree, a beautiful spot, 50

Kras, local name of tare goat, 214

Kubukden or snow-pheasant, 181

Kuch, name for houriar, 138

Kuller Kahar, 186 ; salt-mines at, 187 ;
lake, 152

Kunker, what it is, 131

Kurrachee in 1849, 32; position of, 33

Kussor, ancient city, 121

Kussoulee, hill station, 61, 72

LaDAkg, 2 rainless country, 217, 260 ;
goats supply wool for Cashmere
shawls, 234; merchants on their way
to Cashmere, 257 ; birds of, 261

Lady’s-mantle growing in India, 242

Lagomys hodgsonit and roylit, 280

Lama temple, Shergol, 264

Lamastry, visit to, 266

Lameru (lamastry of), 266

Lammergeyer, nest of, 74; the “roc,”
of “ Arabian Nights,” 77 ; marks of,
78; ancient roosting-place, 109

Lang Kartse, village of, 287

Lanius hardwickii, the bay-backed
shrike, 12, 144; arenarius, 37

Lapwing (spur-winged), 120, 182; mi-
grations of, 128; (brown), 154; at
Peshawur, 317

Lark (crested calandre), 41, 133; of
Himalaya, 98

Larks kept by Cashmere boatmen, 174

Lark-finch (mountain), 115; black-
bellied, 156

Larus brunnicephalus, 283

Larvivora cyanea, 243

Leeches in nostrils of dogs, 87

Leh, the capital of Ladakh, 269 ; mar-
ket-place for Cashmere and Yarkund,
269

Leiothriz luteus, 100

Leopard, 102; varieties of, according
to native sportsmen, 106, 107; of
Punjaub, 144; on Cashmere moun-
tains, 180

Leopardus uncia, 287

Lepers bathe in pools, 44

Lepia, or snow-pheasant, 181

INDEX.

Leptocoma xzeylonica, or Ceylon sun-
bird, its food, 17

Lepus nigricollis, 51,85 ; macrotus, 85 ;
otostolus, 280

Lerva nivicola, 298

Leucosticte nemoricola, 115

Lidur, village of, 178 ; torrent of, 186 ;
river crossed, log-bridge destroyed, 301

Lifeboats and buoys, where wanted, 6

Life of Englishmen in India, influence
of, on their character as rulers, 10

Light necessary to animal life, 312

Likur village, 268

Lilac in blossom, 198

Lily (tiger), 160, 167

Linota brevirostris, 284

Lions not met with in North-Western
Provinces, 60

Lizard in stomach of teesa falcon, 18 ;
preying on scorpions, 19 ; (blunt-
headed), 156

Lobivanellus goensis, 132

Locusts, food of Coromandel courier, 40

Lodoicea seychellarum, palm-tree pecu-
liar to Seychelles, 8

Longfellow, on flight of vultures, quoted,
76

Lont, name of male monal pheasant, 90
Loodiana, landscape near, 60

Lophophorus impeyanus, 88, 89
Lotus-leaves, 175 :
Lungoor monkey, 107

Macacus rhesus, 108

Mackeson (Col.), assassination of, 315

Magpie (Tibetan), a variety of common
one, 262

Mahe (Seychelle Islands), coral reef and
granite of, 8

Malacocircus caudatus, 38, 183 ; mal-
colmi, 38

Malta, fossils in rock-fissures, how they
may have been deposited, 312

Malony, a soldier drowned, 31

Man-of-war bird, its aquiline flight, 8

Manasa Bul lake, with remains of
palace on it, 249

Mango, peculiar flavour of, 26

Mangur, a wild cat, 20

Marching in India, advantages of, 118

Marigold (marsh), 175

Markhore, pursuit of, 211; fine speci-
a shot, 212; immense horns of,

16

INDEX.

Marmots (red), 242; a colony of, 258,
259 ; (white), and its burrows, 289

Marriage-party of Paharees, 87

Marten (yellow-throated), 97; pine,
ae (white-rumped), at Peshawur,

Martin (sand), 128

Martund, temple of, 200

Masseer, fish so called, 132

Mastiff (Tibetan), 274

Mattari village, 199

Maun, village of, 20

Maunikyala tope, 124

Meanee, battle-field of, 50

Melania, a shell in crocodile-pool, 43

Melanocorypha torquata, 174

Melophus melanicterus, 100

Merops viridis, 13

Metoponia pusilla, 264

Merghee kookera, name of kalij phea-
sant, 92

Military officers have great advantages
for observation, 4

Milwus migrans, the govind kite, 12

Mima persica, plant so called, 257

Mina at Poonah, 15, 24

Mirna Shah, ex-rajah of Iscardo, 182

Missel thrush, 114

Mohupora village, 218

Monal pheasant, 88 ; habits of, 89, 90 ;
cutlets, 110; food of, 110

Monkey (lungoor), herds of, 107; (en-
tellus), 108

Monsoon, burst of the, 28; Maury on
formation of, 29; in sub-Himalayan
ranges, 117 ; Dr. Maury’s theory of,
254, 255

Moongus, or gray ichneumon, 19

Moonguswail, plant said to be used as
antidote to snake-bites, 20

Moonlit view from Rawul Pindee,
312

Montifringilla nemoricola, 261, 298 ;
adamsi, 271 ; hematopygia, 283

Morindah, death of officer at, 120

Moschus moschiferus, 95-97

Motacilla maderaspatana, rare at Poon-
ah, 13; dukhunensis, 13, 49, 136 ;
luzoniensis, 49, 136 ; viridis, 130 ;
boarula, 169, 275

Mountain-finch (black-headed), 284;
(brown), 298

Mouse (short-tailed field), 152

Mugger-peer, or crocodile-pond, 41-45

327

Mulherries, 155

Mullet at Thor, 84

Munia malabarica, 152

es of a poor old man at Peshawur,

Murree Sanitarium, 159

Mus giganteus, the bandycoot, 20

Muscicapa parva, 140

Musk-deer, 83, 95; its musk-bag, 96 ;
its enemies, 97 ; shot, 182

Musquitoes, 39

Mussick, skin for carrying water, 59

ae furious fits of temper in elephants,

Mustard cultivated for its oil, 47

Mustela flavigula, 84,98 ; subhemacha-
lana, 206 ; abietum, 317

MUyiophonus temminckit, 66, 115

NaBue-neEy village, 222

Nagpagonding Pass, 282

Nahoor of Ladakh, 277 re

Naira, inhabitants of, 88

gg a grass on which ibex feeds,
234

Narg village, 81; inhabitants, 82

Nature best studied in the open air, 4

Nectarinia goulpariensis, 104; mah-
rattensis, 144

Nelumbium speciosum, 175

Nettle (common) in India, 242

Night-jar, 108

‘Nightingale, dial-bird so called, 24

Niltava melanops, 100

Nobug-ney, 242

Norpoor, mayor of, 141

eo at Atsibul, 201; bower of,
24

Noushera, 166 ; its situation, 169.

Nucifraga hemispila, 111

Numenius arquata, 40 ; pheopus, 40

Nur Jehan, remains of his palace and
gardens, 249

Nutcracker, 111

Nuthatch (Himalayan), 110

Oaks of Himalaya, 63

Officers in army and navy should pur-
sue natural science, 5

Onyx, where found, 28

Organic remains conveyed by floods and
freshets, 312

Oriole (Indian golden), 24; note of,
202 :

328

Orthotomus longicauda, its nest and
habits, 22, 23
Oi rca, 24, 52, 317 ; macqueenti,

Otogyps calvus, 80

Ounce, and black variety, 237

Ovis ammon, 278 ; two specimens killed,
289

Owl (fish), 114; (Himalaya), its food,
101 ; (Indian), 56; (short-eared),
119

Owlet (pigmy), its call and egg, 101

Oxeye (yellow-cheeked), 110
Ly ed yp dh. amal 7, ; 19 8

Oxytropis chiliophylla, 276

PacoDA THRUSH, alluded to by Moore in
“ Lalla Rookh,” 99

Paharees, natives of Lower Himalaya,
S 66 ; of Narg, 82; marriage-party,
8

Palace of Holkar, remains of, at Par-
buttah, 14

Paleontology of Himalaya, a fine field, 2

Paleornis torquatus, 15, 16, 49, 67,
104 ; cyanocephalus, 67 ; schisticeps,
104

Palm squirrel, 136
Pampur village, 176; fine view near,
77

Pamteel, 119

Pandreton, temple at, 176

Panther, one shot, 313

Pantholops hodgsonii, 278

Parasitical worms in Indian peregrine
falcon, 57

Parbuttah, view of Poonah from, 13

Pariah-dog and carcase, 14; use of, 23,
24, 216, 308; sensible of kindness,
309

Parra, sinensts, 175, 225 ;

Parrakeet (rose-ringed), habits of, 15, 16,
104; (rose-ringed), using nest of
sand-martin, 49 ; (slate-headed), fre-
quents mountains, 104 ; plumage of,
suited to foliage, 67

Partridge (Cabool, gray and black), 37 ;
(black), wide range of, 68; shoot-
ing of, 69; its haunts, 70; (gray),
69 ; a foul feeder, 70 ; its habits, 71 ;
(wood), 110 ; (Tibet), 285

Partridges, 51

Parus cinereus, or gray titmouse, 12 ;
dichrous, 110; melanolophus, 110 ;

INDEX,

axanthogenys, 110 ; erythrocephalus,
169

Passer cinnamomeus, 100 ; domesticus,
129 ; salicarius, 129

Pastor (roseate), 24

Pastor roseus, havoc it commits on
grain, 156

Pea-fowl, 67, 145; preserved by natives,
120

Pearl-oyster fishery, Kurrachee, 36

Peepul, 27

Pelicans on coast of Scinde, 45; on
Indus, 48, 49

Pelicanus javanicus, 49

Pennycuick (death of), 124

Perdicula asiatica, 85

Perdiz ponticeriana, 69 ; hodgsonii, 285

Pericrocotus peregrinus, 17, 196 ; bre-
virostris, 113 ; flammeus, 113 ; roseus,
1138 ; speciosus, 113

Peshawur, not a good station for natu-
ae 315 ; quadrupeds and birds at,
31

Petrel, square-tailed and other species, 6

Petrocincla cyanea, 100 ; in Malta, 101 ;
longirostris, a variety of P. cyanea,
101 i

Peyton (Lieut.), collection of skins and
heads, made in Nobra, 274

Pharaoh’s Mouse of Marco Polo, 280

Phasianus wallichit, 91

Pheasant (kalij), 67,92; (monal), 89,
110; (plach), 111; (Sikim horned),
216; (black-headed or Hastings),
216

Pheasants in Chor forests, 109

Philora hamlet, 83

Phenicopterus roseus, 40

Pica bactriana, a variety of common
magpie, 262 ; megaloptera, 262

Picus mahrattensis, 37 ; scindianus, 37 ;
squamatus, 112; cabanisi, 142 ; hima-
layanus, 142; majoroides, 142

Pie (red-billed), 67; (red-vented), 86;
(wandering), 86, 136

Pig (wild), 148

Pigs, ravages of, 166

Pig-tails worn by men and women in
Ladakh, 266

Pigs near Peshawur, 317 ~

Pigeon (rock), 22; (Asiatic), 51, 136;
pursued by govind and other kites,
57; (common rock), 237; (snow or
imperial rock), 237 ; (Alpine), 283

INDEX.

Pilgam, 198, 194

Pilgrims from Ajmeer, 168; to Umer-
nath, 253; women of, 254

et eal skins sold at Peshawur,

1

Pintail-duck, 58

Pintail-grouse, 119

Pinus longifolia, 64

Pipit, ae _, Seanez) 67; (moun-
tain), 24:

Plach ase 90, 91; habits of, 111

Plantago major, growing in India, 242

Plantain-groves at Mahe in the Sey-
chelles, 8

Pleasure-garden at Atsibul, 201

Ploceus bayd, its nest, 25

Plover (long-legged), 153

Plumage of birds in desert countries,
colour of, 40

Pochard (red-headed), 58, 171

Poliornis teesa, 18

Pomegranate in blossom, 102

Pony of Yarkund, 266

Poogah, sulphur and borax mines, 281

Poonah, arrival at, 9; familiar birds
about it, 11

Poonadur, a favourite resort in the hot
months, 14

Porcupine (Indian), 45, 137 ~

Porpoise of Indus, 36; off Madeira, 5

Pouches on groin of Tibetan antelope,
279

Poppy (red), 219

Powder (red), on neck and breast
feathers of bearded vulture, 79

Prang-la, a lofty peak, 283

Prangos pabularia of Moorcroft, 257

Praying boxes, Ladakh, 266

Priests in Ladakh, 266

Primrose (slate-coloured), 162

Primroses, 88; flowering on margin of
snow, 95; on banks of Dras river,
259°

Primula elliptica, 260; purpurea and
obtusifolia, 88

Procapra picticauda, 281

Pterocles alchata, 119; arenarius, 119,
317; exustus, 119, 317

Pleropus edwards, fox-bat on banyan-
tree at Poonah, 15

Pucrasia macrolopha, 90

Pugnacity of goats and sheep, 210

Pulla, or tamarind-fish, 55 ’

Puteala, Rajah of, 82

329

Pycnonotus bengalensis, 135; hemor-
rhous, the bulbul, 13, 201; Zeucotis,
135; leucogenys, 173, 201

Pyrrhocorax alpinus, 265

Pyrrhula erythrocephala, 118; auran-
tia, 118, 161

Pyrrhulauda grisea, 156

QuapRUMANA of Himalaya, 108

Quail (rain), 24; (black-bellied), 106;
at Peshawur, 318

Quails, sudden disappearance of, ac-
counted for, 122; their dispersion
after harvest, 310 ~

Queenstown (Cove of Cork), 5

Quoir-monal, or snow-partridge, 298

RaGHEERS, with the offerings of passers-
by, 155

Rail (water), 154

Rain, coming of, 28; in Cashmere, 217 ;
effect of, on baked soil, 310

Rainless district of Ladakh, 260

Rainy season of lower ranges, 63

Ramanthera village, 131

“ Rambler,’ quoted on curiosity after
works of nature, 3

Ram-hun, or wild dog of Cashmere, 215

Ramoo, or goat-antelope, 220

Rat (tailless), 280

Rattray (Capt.), sketches
scenery, 245

Raven, 129 ; on Indus, 56 ; not distinct
from European, 142; of Ladakh,
variety of common species, 260

Ravine, or Bennett's deer, 148

Ravines of Jubba district, peculiarities
of, 149

Rawul Pindee, 124, 126

Redbreast (little), 140

Red-deer, a variable species, 187

Redstart (black Indian), at Poonah, 13 ;
(sooty), 115 ; (chestnut-bellied orGul.
denstadt’ 3), 115, 271 ; (white-capped),
115, 263

Rheum, three species of the genus,
257 ; RB. moorcrofti, 260

Rhipidura fuscoventris, 21; albofron-
tata, 37

Rhododendrons, 65 ; scarlet species
(BR. barbatwm) in full blossom, 87

Rhubarb (wild), first food of brown
bear in spring, 197

Rhunbeer (Prince), visit to, at Sopur, 250

Cashmere

330

Rhynchea bengalensis at Poonah, 14

Rhynchops, or skimmer, 54

Ribwort plantain at Vernag, 204

Ring-dove, 128

River-crossing by Scindians, 53

Robin (Indian), 12, 137

Rock-pigeon (blue), 133

Rock-thrush (blue), 100, 151; of Hima-
laya has longer bill, 101

Roller (Indian), 22, 136 ; (fairy), 41

Rook, 127

Rooks at Peshawur, 317

Roree, 54

Rose (yellow) 219

Rotocompsa leucotis, 38

Rupshoo, plains of, 273

Rusa equina, 189, hippelaphus, 189 ;
aristotelis, 190

Ruticilla erythrogastra, 115; fuliginosa,
115 ; leucocephala, 115

Sarrron of Pampur, 176

Salep orchis, 259

Salgram, 158

Salt range, 137

Salt-revenue employée, 150

Sambar deer, 189

Sand-fly, bite of, 59

Sand-grouse (lesser), 119 ; (black-breast-
ed), 152; (Tibetan), 280; at Pesha-
wur, 317

ay a on shore of Tooskee lake,
2

Sand-martins, 49 ; (small brown), 154

Sandpiper (common), 49 ; white-rumped,
es ; (green), 129, 154 ; (Temminck’s),
2

Sand, clouds of, in Scinde, 34, 35

Sanko fort and its commandant, 291

Sans or Tibetan antelope, 279

Saraglossa spiloptera, 99

Sazxicola picata, 38, 137; atrogularis,
39, 133

Scavenger animals of hot climates, 307

Scavengers of India, birds which are,
23 P

Scind, Sagour Doab, a race in the Pun-
jaub, 135

Scinde, poor scenery of, 34; climate of,
very trying, 35; natives of, 36

Sciurus palmarum, 136

Scolopaz rusticola, 112

Scorpion, small black one, 256

Scorpions get into boots, 19

INDEX.

Sediment of Indian rivers, 120

Seeran or goat-antelope, 220

Sehwan, scenery about, 51 ; pass of, and
old castle, 53 ; water-fowl at, 54

Selalee, female of black-headed pheasant,
216

Semnopithecus schistaceus, 107 ; entel-
lus, 108

Sepoy escort, 160

Serinuggur, 171

Sewalik range, 61, 62; fossils of, 2

Seychelle Islands, productions of, 8

Sha, a wild sheep, 138

Shadepoor, 215 ; canal of, 250

Shag (dwarf), 122

Shaheen, or royal falcon, 108

Shalmar, a kind of sheep, 138

Shapoo, or wild sheep of Ladakh, 138,
267

Shark off Madeira, 6

Shawl-goats, 272

Shawl-manufactories, Cashmere, 173

Shawul, a large fox, 171

Sheep (wild), 143; of Ladakh, 267;
sheep eating dung, 308 ; near Pesha-
wur, 316

Sheerwater, 54

Shell in pool of Mugger-peer, 43

Shells of pearl-oyster, 36

Sher, name for larger Felinz, 189

Shergol, Lama temple at, 264

Shickaree (Himalayan), 108

Shickargahs or game-preserves, 47

Shoveller duck, 54

Shrike (bay-backed), its habits, 12,
144; (land), 37 ; (red-backed), 202

Sight, vulture discover carcases by, 77

Sileste village, 263

Silk and silk-worms at Brar, 198

Simla, objections to sanitarium at, 117

Singrace, or Eld’s deer, 190

Sinh-kha-bab, 267

Sirocco wind in Mediterranean, how it
affects health, 274

Sisi, a partridge, 140

Siskin (Himalayan), 109, 169

Sitta himalayana, 110

Skeen, or ibex, 233

Skeletons of criminals, 172

Skimmer, habits of, 54

Sloth bear, 241

Snake, killed in bedroom, 18; skins in
houses, 18; which hunts frogs, 221 ;
(water) on Wulur lake, 249

INDEX.

Snipe, at Poonah after rains, 14; in
rice-fields at Maun, 20; (great), 73 ;
(common), 74 ; (solitary), 112 ; mig-
rations of, 122 ; at Peshawur, 318

Snow-finch (brown), 236

Snow-partridge, 298

Snow-pheasant, 181, 298

Snow-storm, 223, 224

Snowy region of Himalaya, its charac-
teristics, 62

Sochness, height above sea, 287 ; log-
house, 296

Soldier drowned from the forecastle of
troop-ship, 6 ; drowned at Kandala, 31

Soldiers of Goulab Singh, 247

Solomon draining a valley, ancient tradi-
tion, 171

Solomon, temple of, 245

Sonalu, male of black-headed pheasant,
216

ar or Valley of Golden Flowers,
25

Sondi Breri, a sacred spring, 243

Song-lark at Dras, 261

Song-thrush (Cashmere), 199 ; at Atsi-
bul, 202

Sopur, 250

Sparrow (Indian), similar to British, 12;
nest in skull of bullock, 61 ; (cina-
mon-coloured, 100, 129; at Mattari,
199; great abundance of, in Cash-
mere, 218

“Sparrow on house-top” of Scripture,
the blue rock-thrush, 100

Sparrow-hawk trained for quail-hunt-
ing, 21

Species-making, 263

Spoonbills appear on Indus, 46, 58

Spring on the mountains, 198

Spring (sulphureous) at Arrat Nag, 200 ;
at Kokur Nag, 202; which ebbs and
flows, 243

Spurge (oleander-leaved), 45

Squall on Indus, 55

Squirrel (European), near Pilgam, 195

Stachyris chrysea, a wren-like warbler,
100

Stags (Cashmere), pursuit of, 178

Starling (common), 39; (Sardinian), 57,
199; spotted-winged, 99

Steamers wear away mud-banks of In-
dus, 47 :

Sterna javanica on Indus, 48 ; anglica,
156 ; hirundo, 269

331

Stew-pot, every Himalayan traveller
should have one, 281

Stone-chat (field), the “robin” of Scinde,
33 ; (pied), 137

bia appear on Indus, 46 ; flocks of,

Storms on the Himalaya, 72 ; on fron-
tier of Punjaub, 311

Streams about Poonah subject to sud-
den inundations, 16

Sturnus vulgaris, 39 ; unicolor, 57

Suckur, minarets of, 54 ; great heat and
unhealthiness of, 55

Sulphur and borax mines, 281

Sun-birds, 17, 104

Sunsets near the Line, 7

Sus scrofa, 51

Surgery, native, 161

Suru Valley, 292 ; the glacier, 294, 295

Swallow (wire-tailed), its habits, 11;
(Daurian), its migrations and habits,
108 ; (chimney) 108; migration of,
128 ; at Peshawur, 317

Swan river, 125, 132

Sweet-lime, 27

Swift (allfed), its nest and habits, 11;
one at Kurrachee numbed with cold,
39; (Alpine), strength of wing,
68

Swine of India as scavengers, 308, 309
Syrrhaptes tibetanus, 280

TsaBLET to commemorate meeting of
the travellers, Vigne, Henderson, and

_ Hugel, in Cashmere, 247

Tadpoles at Poonah, 16

Tailor-bird and nest, 22, 23

Tamarind, 27

Tamarind-fish, how caught, 55

Tang Lang Pass, 272

Tapeworm in pork, 309

Tare, a species of wild goat, 214

Tartars, tents and herds of, 273

Teal at Peshawur, 317

Tchitrea paradisi, 26, 27

Tea (brick), 269

Teesa, a handsome falcon, 18

Teeth of crocodiles, 44

Temperature at Poonah, 28 ; frequent
and sudden alterations of, 310

Temple, ancient Cashmere, 168

Temple at Parbuttah, 13

Tephrodornis pondiceriana, 165

Termitine, 27

332

Tern (black-billed), on Indus, 48 ; (gull-
billed), 156 ; (lesser, 283)

Tetraogallus tibetanus, 181

Tetur, Tetra, names of partridge, 70

Thammobia} fulicata, or Indian robin,
12

Thor village, 84; valley (day’s sport
in), 104

Thorn (prickly Jerusalem), 35

Thrush (black and scarlet), 113 ; (black-
throated, 114; (red-necked), 114 ;
(Caleutta), 199; (blue), long-billed
variety, 261 ; in gardens at Peshawur,
317

Thunderstorm in Himalaya, 73; in
Cashmere, 207

Thyme (wild), at Vernag, 204

Tichodroma muraria, 68

Tick burying itself in the skin, 228

Tiger, man-eating, at Maun, 20, 21; in
Punjaub, 146 ; traces of 288 ; Cap-
tain Colby killed by one near Rawul
Pindee, 313

Tiger-cat (Horsfield’s), 107

Tinnunculus alaudarius, 21 ; cenchris,
99 ;

Titmouse (gray), at Poonah, 12, 219;
(gray-backed), 110; (black-crested),
110, 169 ; (red-headed), 169

Tania mediocanellata, 309

Tooskee Lake, 275

Tooty or roseate finch, 152

Topes or groves, 26

Totanus glottis, 49; stagnatilis, 49;
ochropus, 129

Transport of baggage and camels over
Indus, 313

Travelling to hill-stations, 63

Trinidad, island of, 6

Troglodytes himalayanus, 297

Troop-ships should have netting on fore-
castle, 6

Tropic-bird (Phaéthon), 7

Trout (Himalayan), a species of carp,
174; a sacred fish at Lidur, 178,
199; caught, 269

Tsuhra, name of markhore, 213

Tsumureri Lake, 282

Tulip in flower, 162 ; wild, 177

Turdus atrogularis, 114; ruficollis, 114;
visciworus, 114; dissimilis, 199 ; wni-
color, 199

Turtle-dove of Seychelles, 8

Turtles abundant at Seychelles, 8

INDEX.

Turtur suratensis, 51; humilis, 51,
136

Tussilago farfara (?) growing in India,
242

Twining, “ Diseases of Bengal” quoted,
10

UMERNATH, a place of pilgrimage, 168 ;
shrine in gypsum rock, 299

Unicorn, perhaps founded on Tibetan
antelope, 279

Unshun, 225; height of village above
the sea, 226.

Upupa epops, 24

Uri Fut, 165

Ursus tibetanus, 111 ; arctos, 238 ; isa-
bellinus, 238 ; collaris, only a variety
of brown bear, 240 ; labiatus, 241

Utu village, 206

Vanellus
154

Vegetation, rapidity of, 195

bie (red-flowered), food of kiang,
276

Vernag, fountain at, 203

Viburnum at Vernag, 204

Vishau river, 206

Vulpes montanus, 101, 198, 287; fla-
vescens, 217, 287

Vultur indicus, 15

Vulture (Egyptian), at Poonah, 12, 14;
(Indian), at Poonah, 14; habits and
description of Egyptian, 25°; habits
of Indian, 79; (great tawny), 80;
(Pondicherry), 80; (tawny), courage
of one when wounded, 105

Vultures, soaring of, 74; how do they
discover their food? 75, 76

eristatus, 128; leucurus,

Waeratt (pied), 13,136; (Luzonian and
Dukhun), 49; (yellow-headed), 58 ;
(spotted hill), 72; (green), 180 ;
(gray), 169, 275 ; (yellow lark-toed),
219 ; gray at Peshawur, 317

Wagtail lark (yellow), 13

Wall-creeper, habits of, 68, 221

Walnut-tree, 166

Warbler (blue-throated), 58, 156 ; black-
breasted, 215

Water-goat, 213

Water-ousel (brown), 115

Water-pheasant, 225

Water-snake, 221

INDEX.

Water-thrush (blue), 66, 115

Weasel (white-cheeked), 84; a tame
one, 98; (red), 206

Weather at Rawul Pindee, 311

Weaver-bird, nest of, 25

Wheat-ear (Indian),39; (black-throated),
133

Whimbrel at Kurrachee, 40

Whirlwinds of sand in Scinde, 34

White ants, 27

Wind, temperature of, increased by
crossing desert, 34

Winlin, a mountain-torrent, 267

Winter months relished by Europeans,
314

Wire-tailed swallow, 11

Wokhab, or tawny eagle, 14

‘Woman, accident to, in Baramula Pass,
252, 253

‘Women of Leh cultivate the ground and
work, 269

Woodcock (European), 73, 112

Woodpecker (Mahratta), 37 ; of Scinde,
87 ; (green), 112; (orange-backed),

333
120; pied, 142; in a pine-forest,
198

Wood-pigeon, 146

Wood-shrike (gray), 165

Wray (Dr.), spot where he was killed, 228

Wren, 297

Wren (Himalayan gold-crested), 110 ;
(golden-crested), 222

Wulur Lake, 249

Wunster Wwr mountain, 179

Wurdwun, 225, 226 ; river, 295

“ Wuzbagool,” native name of fox-bat
at Poonah, 15

Yak, merchandise carried by, 257;
chief beast of burden in Rupshoo,
271 ; habits of the wild yak, 272;
dung used for fuel, 288

Yarkund pony, 269

Yenaur village, 192

ZAKUT river, 264
Zho, half-bred yak, 271, 272
Zosterops palpebrosus, 71

THE END.

Printed by R, CLARK, Edinburgh.