Sal cutters, or the shelter of timber-floaters, who seem
to pass the night in nests of long dry grass.
On the 14th of March we proceeded west to Siligoree,
along the skirts of the ragged Sal forest. Birds are
certainly the most conspicuous branch of the natural
history of this country, and we saw many species,
interesting either from their habits, beauty, or extensive
distribution. We noticed no less than sixteen kinds
of swimming birds, several of which are migratory and
English. The Shoveller, white-eyed and common
wild ducks : Merganser, Brahminee, and Indian goose,
common and Gargany te a l; two kinds of g u ll; one of
Shearwater; three of tern, and one of cormorant.
Besides these there were three egrets, the large crane,
stork, green heron, and the demoiselle; the English
sand-martin, king-fisher, peregrine-falcon, sparrow-
hawk, kestrel, and the European vulture; the wild
peacock, and jungle-fowl. There were at least 100
peculiarly Indian birds in addition, of which the more
remarkable were several kinds of mina, starling,
vulture, kingfisher, magpie, quail, and lapwing.
The country gradually became quite beautiful, much
undulated and varied by bright green meadows, sloping
lawns, and wooded streams, which led from the Sal
forest and meandered through this varied landscape.
More beautiful sites for fine mansions could not well
be, and it is difficult to suppose so lovely a country
should be so malarious as it is before and after the
rains, excessive heat probably diffusing widely the
miasma from small stagnant surfaces. We noticed
a wild hog, absolutely the first wild beast of any size I
saw on the plains, except the spiny hare, and the
barking deer. The hare we found to be the best game
of this part of India, except the teal. The pheasants
of Dorjiling are poor, the deer all but uneatable, and
the florican, however dressed, I considered a far from
excellent bird.
A good many plants grow along the streams, the
sandy beds of which are everywhere covered with the
marks of tigers’ feet. The only safe way of botanising
is by pushing through the jungle on elephants; an
uncomfortable method, from the quantity of ants and
insects which drop from the foliage above, and from
the risk of disturbing pendulous bees’ and ants’ nests.
A peculiar species of willow is common h e re ; which is
a singular fact, as the genus is characteristic.of cold
and arctic latitudes, and no species is found below
8000 feet elevation on the Sikkim mountains, where it
grows on the inner Himalaya only, some kinds
ascending to 16,000 feet.
The latter part of the journey I performed on
elephants during the heat of the day, and a more
uncomfortable mode of conveyance surely never was
adopted; the camel’s pace is more fatiguing, but that
of the elephant is extremely trying after a few miles,
and is so injurious to the human frame that the
Mahouts (drivers) never reach an advanced age, and
often succumb young to spine-diseases, brought on by
the incessant motion of the vertebral column. The
broiling heat of its black back, and the odour of its
oily driver, are disagreeable accompaniments, as are its
habit of snorting water from its trunk over its parched