There is no relief from the warmth of this hot valley
of the Kali until one reaches Khela, which is 5000 ft.
in elevation, and is about thirty miles from Askot. Here
we rested to let the whole camp thoroughly recover from
the effects of the great heat we had passed through.
Last year there were some villages near Khela,
at least 9000 ft. up on the sides of the Chipla
CRADLE ON RO PE BRIDGE
mountain, which were terrorised by a man-eating tiger.
Fifty years ago, tigers were very common even in the
high hills, and were a positive nuisance in the lower
altitudes, and we read of the great havoc that they used
to commit. At the present time, however, owing to the
increase of population and the general spread of cultivation,
they have become rare in the hills south of Almora
and Ranikhet, and are practically unknown at altitudes
of 9000 ft. A man-eater, therefore, on the slopes of
Chipla (13,000 ft.) created great consternation. He
started by carrying off a poor old woman, who was
cutting grass in a lonely spot. He was distinctly seen
and very half-heartedly pursued, so he got clear away
with his prey. The news spread over the countryside
and no villager felt safe in these mountain solitudes.
He next attacked a party of men who were cutting
high crops in a field, carrying off an old man who was a
little removed from the others. The alarm was so great
that no pursuit was attempted, but the headmen of the
NATIVES OF THE U P P E R HILLS
neighbouring villages became painfully alive to the
stern reality that, at whatever cost, this pest must be
exterminated, otherwise no one’s life would be safe for a
moment. I t is customary for the women and children
of these hillmen to wander alone, or in groups of two or
three, anywhere and everywhere, as there is generally
no fear of attack from wild animals. On the following
day, there were gathered together a hundred grim men,
armed only with axes and stones—for they had not a
gun among them. The men of this part are brave and
hardy: they differ from the men of the lower hills
in that they wear a black blanket as their sole covering,
neatly folded round and across their bodies and fastened