On reaching the village about midnight, the driver asked him whither he was going—­“I am flying from my enemies,” said Krishun Sahae; “and we must make all haste, or we shall be overtaken before we reach the boundary.”  “But,” said the driver, “my house and family are at Lucknow, and the one will be pulled to the ground and the other put into gaol if I fly with you.”  Krishun Sahae drew out a pistol and threatened to shoot him if he did not drive on as told.  They were near a field of sugar-cane, and the driver hedged away towards it, without the Amil’s perceiving his intention.  When they got near the field the elephant dashed in among the cane to have a feast; and the driver in his seeming effort to bring him out, fell off and disappeared under the high cane.  The Amil did all he could to get out his elephant, but the animal felt that he was no longer in danger of severe treatment from above, and had a very comfortable meal before him in the fine ripe cane, and would not move.  The poor Amil was obliged to descend, and make all possible haste on foot across the border, attended by one servant who had accompanied him in his flight.  The driver ran to the village and got the people to join him in the pursuit of his master, saying that he was making off with a good deal of the King’s money.  With an elephant load of the King’s money in prospect, they made all the haste they could; but the poor Amil got safely over the border into British territory.  They found the elephant dining very comfortably on the sugar-cane.  After abusing the driver and all his female relations for deluding them with the hope of a rich booty, they permitted him to take the empty elephant to the new Amil at Mahomdee.  News of all this reached my camp last night.

I omitted to mention that, at Busora on the 27th, a Rajpoot landholder of the Sombunsie tribe, came to my camp with a petition regarding a mortgage, and mentioned that he had a daughter, now two years of age; that when she was born he was out in his fields, and the females of the family put her into an earthen pot, buried her in the floor of the apartment, where the mother lay, and lit a fire over the grave; that he made all haste home as soon as he heard of the birth of a daughter, removed the fire and earth from the pot, and took out his child.  She was still living, but two of her fingers which had not been sufficiently covered were a good deal burnt.  He had all possible care taken of her, and she still lives, and both he and his wife are very fond of her.  Finding that his tale interested me, he went home for the child; but his village was far off, and he has not been able to overtake me.  He had given no orders to have her preserved, as his wife was confined sooner than he expected; but the family took it for granted that she was to be destroyed, and in running home to preserve her he acted on the impulse of the moment.  The practice of destroying female infants is so general among this tribe, that a family commonly destroys the daughter as soon as born, when the father is from home, and has given no special orders about it, taking it to be his wish as a matter of course.