Every Plain In Succession Being Lower Than The
First, The Course Of The River Is Extremely Irregular; Now A Maze
Of
tortuous winding, then a broad, still stream, bounded by grassy
undulations; now rushing wildly through a hundred channels formed
By
obtruding rocks, then in a still, deep pool, gathering itself together
for a mad leap over a yawning precipice, and roaring at a hundred feet
beneath, it settles in the lower plain in a pool of unknown depth; and
once more it murmurs through another valley.
In the large pools formed by the sudden turns in the river, the elk
generally takes his last determined stand, and he sometimes keeps dogs
and men at bay for a couple of hours. These pools are generally about
sixty yards across, very deep in some parts, with a large shallow
sandbank in the centre, formed by the eddy of the river.
We built a hunting bivouac in a snug corner of the plains, which gloried
in the name of 'Elk Lodge.' This famous hermitage was a substantial
building, and afforded excellent accommodation: a verandah in the front,
twenty-eight feet by eight; a dining-room twenty feet by twelve, with a
fireplace eight feet wide; and two bed-rooms of twenty feet by eight.
Deer-hides were pegged down to form a carpet upon the floors, and the
walls were neatly covered with talipot leaves. The outhouses consisted
of the kennel, stables for three horses, kitchen, and sheds for twenty
coolies and servants.
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