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envying none greater success than myself. Nor when I look back on the years I have spent alone, leading a wild life, is their remembrance mixed with a regret that the excitement and pleasure of that free and unfettered existence were ever marred by a thought of unkindness towards a close companion.

I can conceive nothing more uncomfortable than to be associated in an exploring expedition with two or three other individuals, one perhaps a surveyor, another a botanist, geologist, or artist; another perhaps cares for nothing but getting successfully through the journey; while a fourth possibly is bent on procuring commercial statistics; such a party is morally certain to come to grief in a strange and unknown country. The moment any real difficulty occurs, the man anxious to get through his journey naturally wishes to take the shortest route; the trader will advocate the most populous road; the surveyor, having caught a glimpse of a very high mountain on the right or left, urges a short detour to enable him to ascertain its height; the naturalist, having been told by a native of the country of some rare bird or bug haunting a certain far-off neighbourhood, suggests a halt while he goes in chase; the geologist, eager to follow up some theory, perhaps lags behind, a constant source of anxiety to his companions.

This state of things may be very well if everything goes on smoothly, and there be no lack of provisions, means of carriage, and no hostile tribes about; but when these little difficulties arise, all hobbies succumb to pressing necessity, and a number of men with different

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tastes and ideas are suddenly thrown upon each other for society day after day and week after week. Then comes the conflict. There may be one nominally in command, but actual discipline is out of the question. Each individual sees things by the light of his own candle; opinions differ, discussions follow, and everyone being unconsciously sick of constantly listening to his neighbour, becomes irritable. Little unpleasantnesses

grow into positive antagonism, and finally result in a separation of the party, or its premature return to the point of departure.

This picture, though it is not drawn altogether from personal experience, nevertheless portrays what I always expect to hear of as the result of such an expedition.

It is doubtless advisable for such a party to finish the exploration of a route that has previously been travelled by some solitary explorer, but then only in case of his reporting favourably of the people through whose country he has travelled, and of the means of transport and facility of obtaining supplies. Under such circumstances a large party might be expected to succeed, but not otherwise, unless in very rare instances.

A single individual, untrammelled by numerous followers, much baggage, and the opinions of others, will succeed in getting through difficulties that would prove fatal to the progress of a large party; his utter helplessness and dependence on the honour of savages stand him in good stead. He is compelled to throw himself on their protection, and treat them with a consideration which a large party would hesitate to display; so that

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the pride and independence of the people would be roused against them.

It must be remembered also that a large party cannot be entertained by chiefs and others either so long or with the same freedom as a solitary individual, and that the little baggage and articles of value that a shrewd explorer will carry with him are not so likely to appeal to the covetousness inherent in every savage.

My excuse for this digression on a subject of little interest to any save an explorer, must be a desire to warn intending travellers against the fatal mistake of supposing that numbers, in all cases, denote strength.

Leaving the steamer 'Rajmahal' next morning, at daylight, we continued up river. The scenery on either bank was most uninteresting, the view being shut in by a line of trees growing down to the water's edge, the forest occasionally giving place to extensive plains of tall reed-like grass.

The river was now beginning to rise, masses of drift floated down stream, while in many places the sandy banks were beginning to cave in, and large landslips accompanied by loud reports as they fell into the water, were constantly taking place.

The increased current, consequent on the rise of the river from the summer rains, which had now fairly set in, greatly retarded our progress and increased the difficulties of navigation. Ugly sandbanks, some just covered and others partially so, compelled us occasionally to cross the river in search of the channel, and in this performance we would often lose several miles already made.

The captain's duties never ceased from the time that the anchor left the ground in the morning until we brought up again at night, after accomplishing some twenty miles; while the leadsmen kept up their monotonous chant all day.

After a day or two the first rise of water subsided a little, partly uncovering numerous sandbanks, which formed the basking places of innumerable crocodiles ('lacerta gangetica'), the shooting of which afforded some occasional sport.

This kind of crocodile, with its slender elongated snout and unequal jagged-looking teeth, though presenting if possible a more repulsive spectacle than the other kind (lacerta crocodilus), with its flat head and cruel-looking jaws, is comparatively harmless, and differs from the latter very much in its habits.

The lacerta crocodilus, or alligator as some people call it to distinguish it from the other, loves to haunt inland morasses or sluggish creeks with slimy mud banks; he is not fond of the deep swift running waters of large rivers, although he is occasionally met with there, but I believe only when pressed by hunger to go in search of food.

With regard to the crocodile, I have never met him in inland pools or up creeks any great distance from the river; he is a fisherman, and loves the broad waters with a deep swift current, and is more cleanly than the alligator, delighting to bask in the sunshine on the edge of dry sandbanks in the middle of the river.

While on the subject of crocodiles, I cannot refrain

from exposing what I believe to be a common popular fallacy regarding them. So much has been said about the bullet-proof armour of this reptile, that many people suppose it is very difficult to kill it; such however is not the case, a bullet striking one either before or behind the shoulder is generally fatal, and they bleed to death very quickly; not, however, before, in many cases, wriggling fishlike into the water, where they sink to the bottom and die. The propensity of a mortally wounded alligator to roll down the steep edge of a sandbank or the sloping sides of a creek and disappear under water, is apt to make one believe that bullets have little effect on him; but I have shot scores of them, and have invariably found that those which slid into the water after being well hit, were dead not far off, while others which were shot on the flat some distance from the edge of the sandbanks would, on being struck, flounder about for a time, furiously snapping their jaws, while a perfect fountain of blackish blood spouted from the wound, causing death in a very few minutes.

Crocodiles are not the only ugly reptile to be found in the Bramapootra. Large water-snakes, both venomous and harmless, are numerous.

It often happened that these large snakes coiled themselves round the rudder chains. On one occasion the chains became jammed in some way, and it was necessary to send a man down to clear them. A large snake, however, was coiled round them, which none of the crew would venture to disturb, so that the captain was obliged to shoot it.