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THE LAND OF THE VEDA.

pices, often on narrow paths which, in places, were not more than twenty to thirty inches wide. At a gorge in the mountains we crossed the Ganges, there a roaring torrent between walls of rock, on a miserable rope bridge, which had been condemned as unsafe, and which swung in the wind, sixty feet above the water that foamed beneath it. It was a journey never to be forgotten for its magnificent views, its tall pine forests, the wildness of the scenery, the beauty and variety of its birds, and the singular sensation that we were moving over mountains and through forests infested by tigers and all sorts of savage animals, against which our only protection was the sunlight by day and the flaming log fire by night. But God guided us in safety. Though, to show how near we were to danger, and how much we required merciful care, I will state that one night we had camped in a lonely valley by a stream, having with us a goat which we had brought along to give milk for the little “Mutiny Baby.” The poor goat was left fastened, as usual, to the peg at the tent door, with the fire in front outside, and our lantern lighted within. The fire unfortunately went out, and in the middle of the night we were startled out of our sleep by a roar and a yell of agony, and, jumping up and opening the tent door, I found that the wild beasts had carried off the poor goat bodily, and were already clear out of sight with her!

Occasionally we slept five thousand feet higher, or lower, than where we rested the night before. Our “house and home” was a little tent eight feet square. A day's journey varied from seven to fifteen miles, according to the character of the road. It was generally four or five P. M. by the time we reached the camping-place. The tent was then set up, our dinner cooked, and there, beside our large log fire, sometimes ten or twenty miles from any habitation, we enjoyed the grand solitude. After this we would heap more logs on the fire for protection against the animals, and, commending ourselves to the care of God, would lie down and sleep tranquilly. The wild beasts, by which we were generally surrounded, disturbed us no further. So it went on for sixteen days and nights from the time we started, the whole distance being about one hundred and eighty miles.