CHAPTER V

IN THE JUNGLE

An Indian jungle--The trees--Creepers--Orchids--The undergrowth--On an elephant in the jungle--Forcing a passage--Wild bees--Red ants--A lost river--A _sambhur_ hind--Spiders--Jungle fowl--A stag--_Hallal_--Wounded beasts--A halt--Skinning the stag--Ticks--Butcher apprentices--Natural rope--Water in the air--_Pani bel_--Trail of wild elephants--Their habits--An impudent monkey--An adventure with a rogue elephant--Fire lines--Wild dogs--A giant squirrel--The barking deer--A good bag--Spotted deer--Protective colouring--Dangerous beasts--Natives' dread of bears--A bison calf--The fascination of the forest--The generous jungle--Wild vegetables--Natural products--A home in the trees--Forest Lodge the First--Destroyed by a wild elephant--Its successor--A luncheon-party in the air--The salt lick--Discovery of a coal mine--A monkey's parliament--The jungle by night 83