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Show 2 10 the use of his barque." The usual price for this journey, I was told, was on anna. The gentle old boatman explained to Mr. Sen that the three me and the luggage had made a heavy load, and was not t day exc ptionpush against the current? Tt dmlopc that the impoverished boatman wished to charge us about nine cents, that our conscientious Bengal guide objected. After the difficulty had h explained to me I agreed with the boatman that his charge of four anna had been perfectly justifi ted that Mr. Rao give him thi amount. Before Ieavmg the old man, howcvcr, my latent Scottish generosity got the best of me, and, unbeknow to either Mr. Sen or Mr. Rao, gave the old fellow ten or twelve extra annas, a gift which pleased hi enormously. The average daily wage in this part of Bengal is four annas Ourluggage was placed upon the heads of two coolies, who were insiructe to carry their heavy burdens to Mr. Sen's house in Autsahai. I inquire it would not be possible to continue our journey by bullock-cart, but ou Bengali guldc informed me that not even an ox-cart could enter the villag of Autsaha route that we had to take. There were no roads, onl footpaths lcddlng through the damp, black clay and over innumerabl arched wooden bridges, entirely impassable for any form of conveyance The whole country was a network of rivers, streams, lakes, and swamps, al overgrown with a tangled mass of water lilies. During the rainy season, fro the latter part of June until September, the wunuysxdc is inundated, making communication, except by boat, impo ter miles of trudging by twilight [1 l the moist, slippery cla d over scores of frail bndgm, many with missing foot-boards an broken hand-rails, we reached the edge of the village of Autsahai. Th night was cool, the air extremely damp, withia pencirating dey scilin everywhere; the It was dark and we had com s lopg way.when M Sen poiated o 2 o built cottage in the distanc and said that there we would sleep the night. As we drew nearer the smal Digital image © 2005 MarriottLibrary Universit of Utah, All rihts reserved |