The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1920-08-14

The same cannot be said of the chik-
ore, which can give as fine a days |
sport and exercise as the keenest shi-
kari can hope for. The fisherman will |
also find himself catered for as both |
in Kashmir and Kulu trout have been
put out in the streams and now give |
excellent sport.
Wonders of the Forests.
Shfkar, though by no means the
least is however, but one of the many
attractions of the hills. The botanist,
naturalist or entomologist win all find
plenty to occupy their time, while in
few places is there greater scope for
the artist and photographer. The for
ests, too, are full of interest. Get the
his jungles-he is a lonely man and
usually only too pleased to see q Wis
itor-and you may then begin to real
ize what is involved in the making of
a railway sleeper. You may even get
some idea of what is meant by forest
~. You viii see trees such as are
rarely to be found at home, magnifi-
cent old groves of deodar, maybe from
500 to 1000 years old, which have been
spared from the ak on account of their
sanctity-for the deodar is indeed the
tree of the gods and no hill temple is
complete without its grove. FEELING on
preCipitous hillsides and floating down
roaring hill torrents provide ample ex-
element for those who want it, but.
perhaps, most wonderful to the ordi-
nary visitor are the primitive methods
Of conversion. Saving is still carried
out entirely by hand, and carriage
from the forest to the floating stream
is nearly all done by human transport.
Although wire ropeways are now be-
ginning to be used In places. it is still
by no means uncommon to come across
a sturdy hill-woman almost running
down steep mountain path with two
broad-gauge sleepers on her back and
a baby suspended in blanket in front.
To the student or folklore ana
anthropology the Himalayas offer
wide field of research, particularly the
Hindu-inhabited tract in the eastern
punjab. 1t is, however, by no means
an easy matter to get the people to
talk of their religion and customs. The
hillman is a simple-minded soul,
splendid fellow when you get to know
him, but he takes a lot of knowing.
His inherent shyness and what is al
most a timid distrust of strangers
make it next TO impossible for anyone
who has not lived in the hills or visit
ed the same tract year after year, to
get him to speak of his religious be-
liefs. But if ever you are fortunate
enough to get him talking, you are
taken back at once to the days of the
Old Testament and find yourself living
amid gods who speak and dispense
Justice to their devotees, rewarding or
Furnishing as may be necessary. You
will find an explanation of every phe-
nomenon of nature. The hailstorm,
for instance, which destroyed one
mans crop while sparing his neigh
boris, is directly attributed to Kali,
who, living on the hilltops, uses ice
as a missile to punish anyone who Of
tends her. You will hear Of witches
with tongues six feet long: of evil
spirits who enter into the bodies of
| men and cattle and have to be exor-
cised; of scapegoats; and even of hui
man sacrifices, who before the days of
! British administrations were slain at
the great festivals for the atoHement
| of the sins of the community. But the
ordinary visitor hears little of this,
| though, with luck he may come upon
| one of the many fairs which are held
| throughout the hills, generally during
the rains, when the people have leisure
! from work in their fields.
The hillman Is passionately attached
to his native highlands, and nothing
win induce him to forsake them for
the plains, which he regards almost as
a foreign country. And having learned
to love the hiTIs oneself, one can well
| understand his attachment, for the
call of the Himalayas is well-nigh ir-
| resistible.