"

"Do the natives adopt any special method to protect themselves from these
mountain demons?"

"Fire is the only sure protection. Any one sleeping near a fire is safe,
and as long as there is a flame blazing the spirits keep away."

"Do you know any one who has seen them?"

"Yes. A chaprassi called Joga tells of having been compelled to travel at
night through a forest: he heard a voice calling him by name. Terrified,
he stopped, and for some moments his voice failed him. At last, trembling
all over, he replied, and instantly a swarm of spirits appeared and
challenged him to do them harm. Joga ran for his life and the demons
vanished. Spirits have been known to throw stones at passers-by."

"Have you ever seen a spirit, Jagat Sing?"

"Only once. I was returning to the palace late in the evening when up the
steep road I perceived a woman's figure. It was a beautiful moonlight
night. I walked up, and as I passed, the face of the strange being
appeared black, inhuman and ghastly. I staggered when I saw the weird
apparition approach, my blood ran cold with fear. I struck a mighty blow
with my stick, but behold! the cane whirled through the air and hit
nothing. Instantly the ghost vanished."

"I wish, Jagat Sing, that you could show me some of these spirits; I
would give anything to make a sketch of them."

"You cannot always see them when you want, sir, but they are always to be
avoided. They are evil spirits and can do nothing but harm."

* * * * *

Leaving Askote (4600 feet) by the winding road through a dense forest, I
crossed by a suspension bridge the Gori River at Gargia (2450 feet). The
track was along the low and unpleasantly hot valley of the Kali River, a
raging stream flowing with indescribable rapidity in the opposite
direction to that in which I was travelling. It formed the boundary line
between Nepal and Kumaon. Huts and patches of cultivation were to be seen
on the Nepalese side, whereas on our side we came upon deserted and
roofless winter dwellings of Shokas (usually but not correctly called
Botiyas) and Tibetans, who migrate to these warmer regions to graze their
sheep during the colder months of the year. The Shoka summer residences
are at greater elevations, mostly along the highways to Tibet and nearer
the Tibetan boundary. On arriving at the Kutzia Daramsalla, a messenger
brought me the news that the Rajiwar, whom I had missed seeing at Askote,
was now here f