In front of their right shoulders they wore musk-deer's tushes and lucky bones, and their hairs were done in hundreds of fine plaits. One of them was making tea when we arrived, churning it up with ghee (clarified butter) and salt, in a long cylinder.

Interesting

as all these camps, exhibits, and women's jewellery were, still more interesting was a study of the different races round about us, their appearance, characteristics, and dress. Here were representatives from all parts of this borderland: Thibetans and Bhotias with their Mongol features, Dhanpuris, and the more familiar Kamouni. Most

of the Thibetans were dirty and unkempt, but there was a notable exception in a Llama, tall and dignified, with a face denoting considerable character. He made a striking picture in his long red coat as he strode away through the crowd. We learnt that he was a refugee, and that the rest of his party having fallen into disfavour had died of poison, while he had fled. The Bhotias of these parts must not be confounded with the inhabitants of Bhotan near Darjhiling. These people come from this borderland, called Bhot. Two races of them were most in evidence, the Darma Bhotia from Eastern Bhot, towards the Lipulekh Pass and frontier of Nepal, and the Shoka or Johar Bhotia from farther West, and round Milam. Of these the Shoka is by far the finest, physically and intellectually.

broad, open, good-natured faces; we liked the looks of them at once. The Dhanpuris, those hillmen from round Kapkote, close to Bageswar, were noticeable with their toga - folded blankets. Two corners fastened round the waist, two corners pulled round the shoulders across the chest, a fold of slack brought up, and all secured with metal skewers connected by a chain.

The day of our arrival was taken up with food, and visiting the scenes described. That night a thousand fires were blazing about us. The sight was lovely, reflected in the water; but on strolling round the smoke and smell were trying, and the songs and dances which we saw were of quite a common kind.

Next morning, Friday, was the big day. The more devout Hindus had bathed before sunrise, and been relieved of much, both sins and grime; and filled with purity, engendered by the wash, proceeded to the ConchMan's stall, where they called up the gods with lusty breath by blowing hard his shells. All day long we heard this sound, for though many bathers were content merely to wash their mouth and teeth, and comparatively few plunged right into the icy stream, yet none forgot the Conch-Man or failed to test his shells.

At nine we hunted jackal: the run was short, but eventful for the writer, who found a ditch full of soft squeegie mud and water, and had the only fall, right into it.

After breakfast prizes were distributed for the best exhibits of each kind, including Bhotia ponies. Then lunch, and then the sports.

The pony race for Bhotia ponies was great fun. All except one were ridden barebacked, a few hundred yards along the straight, round a flag, and back across a short piece of plough. The ponies did not like the turn, where several falls took place, and several times the crowd was charged. The leader in the first heat fell off within a few yards of the winning-post, and took so long to mount that he came in last.

The greasy pole was full of grease and took a lot of climbing. The prize was won, eventually, by one of our Gurkha orderlies, although a bright Jhampani (dandy carrier) made a good attempt in his master-given livery.

The ascent in the Khud race was good, but the descent poor to those accustomed to the way a Gurkha flashes down.

The Shokas won the Tugof - War. They must have weighed a stone a man heavier than any other team, and had little difficulty in pulling their opponents over, although none of them really knew how to use his weight.

That evening, after dinner, we saw some excellent dancing. Chairs were brought out and a bonfire lit, around which first the Dhanpuris, then the Thibetans danced. The Dhanpuri

dance was slow, rhythmical, and, like most Oriental dances, somewhat monotonous. The Thibetans, on the other hand, danced with the utmost vigour. Some twenty of them formed a ring round the fire, and danced and sang and shouted with all the zest and enjoyment of an English Bank-holiday party, but with much more method. In some of the dances the women and children joined in as well, but did not display as much vigour as the men. An exception was an old lady with a lonesome tooth, who looked at least sixty years old. The accompaniment was a tomtom, or native drum, and a kind of zither, which was played by a most piraticallooking individual, who danced as he played. He seemed to be a leader of the dance.

On Saturday the fair ended. One feature had struck us all most forcibly, the absence of police. Where else could a crowd of twelve thousand men, women, and children, moreover a crowd composed of diverse races and religions-for Hindus, Buddhists, and Mahommedans were all represented— be found happy and contented, quiet and orderly, in the absence of any police control. It was a pleasing reflection to carry back to our various duties, that here, at any rate, was content, and here the Sahib was still the Sahib, and commanded the respect due to his work and his performance of it. J. LOCH.

to

SUFFICIENTLY few men have seen the Guayra Falls make some account of them worth writing. When I left Buenos Aires with the Falls as my objective, I had little knowledge of where or what they were. The first I had heard of them, and all I knew of them, was derived from a brief account in a Buenos Aires newspaper of a journey made in the previous year by Mr Angelo de Rin. I am not aware that Mr de Rin has written anything else on the subject. His letter sufficed to arouse a wish to see the Falls. I was confirmed in my desire by the knowledge that a distinguished Paraguayan Estanciero, Don Jorge Stewart, was ready to accompany me and would undertake the preparations for the journey. Don Jorge's British origin is revealed in his name, but like many Europeans born in the New World he has discarded his father's nationality, and he is in language and all essentials a good Paraguayan. I

take this occasion to acknowledge the debt of gratitude I am under to this gentleman. His horses, men, and local and local knowledge enabled me to make the journey in such comfort as is possible under the conditions of South American travel.

From Buenos Aires to Asunción, the capital of Paraguay, is five days by river steamer, and from Asunción to Villa Rica six hours by the Central

an

Rica is the second town of Paraguay, and though sufficiently primitive, has some passable shops and an inn. Stewart joined me there soon after my arrival. He was accompanied by Mr James Hawes, English cattleman, who has been many years in the country, and by three native peons, men of Spanish origin with an admixture of Indian blood and speaking the Indian language called Guaraní. I may here note that a knowledge of Spanish does not suffice to carry one through the remoter parts of Paraguay. The use of Guaraní is general, and many know no other language. We took the road next day. Our transport consisted of three pack-mares. The art of loading and fixing pack-saddles is little practised or understood in Paraguay, and this deficiency was the cause of frequent trouble and delay. Stewart had brought in all twenty-five horses; so that besides those in use we drove before us sixteen loose horses. The horses of Paraguay are small and of poor quality. Many are not trained to eat corn, and when pasture is bad it is impossible to expect hard work of them. The number of spare horses with us was excessive, and the collection of them each morning occasioned much loss of time. Later on we left the greater number of them at an estancia

by the way. I would recom

met who seemed to have heard definitely of the Guayra Falls, and he believed we were on the right road for them. We had no serviceable map with us, and I believe none exists of this country. We had been guided by the compass and a knowledge of general direction. Such men as we had made inquiries of on the way had either never heard of the Falls, or else implied that they were very far, and that we should never reach them. From Naranjito the track leads through forest of extraordinary rankness, and dense with bamboos of great girth and height. We spent one night in these depressing surroundings, and arrived early next day at Isahu, another yerba depôt on the Jejuy river, a tributary of the Paraguay, navigable for small barges, and consequently in water communication with the rest of the world. At Isahu we secured the services of a guide or vaqueano in South American. This man, though useless in regard to knowing the way, was a good fellow, and socially an addition to the party. He was a noted raconteur, and his interminable stories across the maté and the mandioca, illustrated by elaborate pantomime, were the delight of those who knew Guaraní. He took us next day a long stage to Laguna San Antonio, a small lake in a natural clearing in the forest, beside which there is a ranche and yerba depôt. We were made welcome by the owner, with the unfailing hospitality of the country. He and his

family lived in less squalor than others we had seen so far, and they had a well-spread table, with something other than beef on it, and they made bread of mandioca flour and drank milk. The next day was rainy, and we remained where we were. We sat round the fire and sucked maté, and there was much conversation with our hosts, especially on aviation and the cinematograph, of which they had vague ideas. They knew little of the triumphs of modern science, and when in the course of the day I shaved with a safety razor, I was watched with breathless interest. They were as much amused looking through a fieldglass as any natives of Central Africa.

Leaving San Antonio, we entered the forest and continued in it all day along a disused picada of nearly thirty miles. This track was much grown over and in parts almost obliterated. Many trees had fallen across the path, and it was often necessary to use the machete to circumvent them. This bit of forest, according to local information, contains a large Indian population, and occasionally their tracks were visible where they crossed the picada.

We met one small

party. It is rare to come across Indians on the road. They keep out of the way of white men, but I am inclined to think that the Indian population of Paraguay, and possibly of all South America, is much in excess of the official estimates. We were told of a race of pigmy Indians who