Kitabı oku: «A Popular Account of the Manners and Customs of India», sayfa 10

Cuttack, January 2, 1844

I have been to Pooree; but what I am going to relate now is an adventure, not of my own, but of some valiant officers of the regiment stationed here. The Captain, the Lieutenant, the Ensign, and a Serjeant, went out for a day's shooting; and I had the story from two separate individuals of the party. They rode to the ground, and then skirted for some time along the side of the dense jungle. At last the Captain says – "Well, I am tired; I shan't go any farther. Bring me my camp-stool." Fancy a man's taking a camp-stool when he goes out to hunt or shoot! However, down he sat; and the other three proceeded some way farther. At length the Lieutenant says – "Well, I am tired; I shan't go any farther. Give me my camp-stool." Down he sat; and on went the other two, until the Ensign said – "Well, I am tired; I shan't go any farther. Give me my camp-stool." And he sat down.

The Serjeant, with one native, now proceeded down a narrow path which led into the jungle. He had not been gone more than five minutes when the Ensign heard the report of a gun, and the next instant the Serjeant rushed out of the jungle, without his hat, without his gun, with his mouth wide open, eyes staring, and hair all on end. "What's the matter, Serjeant?" cries the Ensign. "A tiger, sir," says the other, without stopping. "A tiger?" "Ay." Down goes the Ensign's gun over his camp-stool, and off he starts after the Serjeant as fast as his legs can carry him. "Hulloh!" exclaims the Lieutenant, as they came rushing towards him: "why, what's in the wind now?" "A tiger! a tiger!" they shout. Down goes the Lieutenant's gun, and he quickly joins in the race. "What in the world are you all after?" cries the Captain, as they came to where he was comfortably sitting, drinking a bottle of beer, and smoking a cigar. "A tiger! a tiger! a tiger!" is again the reply. "Pooh, pooh, nonsense!" said the Captain, moving slowly towards his horse. "Nonsense!" answered the fugitives; "we tell you there is a tiger down there: go and see yourself." "No, I am tired," says the Captain; "I shall go home." And he jumped on his horse, and, followed by his brave comrades, galloped back to Cuttack. How the natives did grin and chuckle. They, too, had seen the frightful monster, and knew that it was a poor harmless jackal which had put to flight the Captain, and the Lieutenant, and the Ensign, and the Serjeant!!!

But there is moral to this tale. Another officer asked the Serjeant afterwards why he ran away? The answer was, that he ran at first because he was alone and unsupported, and that he ran afterwards because he saw the officers run. And this will ever be the case. If the officers show a firm front, so will the men: if the officers waver or hesitate, it will naturally strike a panic into the minds of those who are accustomed to look up to them for guidance. Remarkable instances of both these positions we have recently had at Jellalabad and Kabul.

COSTUME REGULATIONS

I start on Friday next for Balasore. I go principally for the sake of exercise and shooting. There are a great many bears there. My wife has just hired a new woman-servant. She is of the Ooriah Mehanee caste, and therefore may not wear petticoats, but only the common native dress. Now, all ladies like their own personal servants to wear petticoats; but here it is so strictly forbidden, that the woman, if she were once to put them on, would be deserted by her husband and children, and never be suffered to eat with any of her tribe. But then the Hindu law, whilst it is thus severe on any breach of caste, provides an easy mode of getting over the difficulty. My wife gives the woman eight shillings: the woman gives half of this to the priest, and with the other half she provides a feast for her tribe. After this she may wear her petticoats in peace and security.

Barripore, January 5, 1844

MIRAGE AT POOREE

There is one part of the sands at Pooree, on which if you stand about the middle of the day, and look towards the north, you are surprised to observe in the distance an English town. You see several three-storied houses, with doors and windows: interspersed here and there are several very English-looking trees; and at a short distance, standing on a small hill, you see the ruins of a large castle, with the green ivy clinging to it in many parts. Often have I stood and gazed upon this scene, for it reminds me of dear England. And yet, if you go to the place, what do you suppose you find? Nothing but one long flat bed of loose sand, without one vestige of a tree.

The appearance is caused solely by the refraction of the rays of light. To explain this I will give an example. If you hold a stick so that the lower part is in the water and the upper part in the air, the stick will appear to be bent at the point where it passes the surface of the water; or, place a shilling in a cup or basin, so that you cannot see it because the side of the cup hides it from you, fill the cup with water, and then you will see the shilling, although it is still in the same spot it was in before. This bending of the rays is what is called refraction, and is caused by the rays passing out of one transparent thing into another which is more or less dense than the first. I think that the cause of the mirage at Pooree is this. Hot air is less dense than cold air. The steam which comes from a kettle is still water, but it occupies a much larger space than the water did. One kettle of water will give much more than a kettlefull of steam, so that it is evident that the heat has made the water occupy a much larger quantity of space. Still the steam is only water; therefore it must be much less dense than cold water. If you filled a saucepan with water, and fastened the lid down, so that no steam could escape, it would burst it: the particles of heat cause the particles of water to be less closely connected together. But that is a subject too abstruse for this work.

Well, hot air, like hot water, is less dense than cold air; also water is more dense than air. You could not run along as quickly in the water as you could in the air; you could not strike a person with your hand under water hard enough to hurt him; and this is because the water is more dense or solid than air: therefore, air with a good deal of moisture in it is more dense than when dry. But along the hot sands of Pooree, close to the sea-shore, there must be a great deal of heat and also a great deal of moisture.

In the direction in which you look to see the mirage I mentioned, there is a small piece of stagnant water from which much moisture must arise under the burning heat of the sun; consequently there must be much refraction in all directions. And this is seen in looking the right way from all parts of the Pooree sands; and from the particular point to which I have alluded, this picture, owing, I suppose, to certain marks in the sand, assumes the appearance of a castle, houses, &c. All this is a very rough explanation; but it may serve to give you some idea of the probable cause of the mirage. Ships have sometimes appeared to be sailing in the air from the same cause; and distant coasts, which were far below the horizon, have been distinctly seen by means of the refraction.

Guzzeepuddee, 8 miles from Balasore, January 12

SPORTING

Yesterday morning about four o'clock we started from Balasore on horseback. The party consisted of the magistrate, the surgeon, and myself. It was a brilliant moonlight, but somehow I thought I should like to finish my night's rest, and therefore soon got into my palanquin, and had a most comfortable nap. I was awakened at daybreak by my bearers stopping and telling me that they did not know the way to Guzzeepuddee. I got out of my palanquin, loaded my gun, inquired my way of the first native I saw, sent my palanquin on, and then with two servants entered the jungle. Whereabout the magistrate and the doctor were I had not the slightest idea. I had a delightful ramble through a jungle, many of the natives following me from each village through which I passed, and appearing to take great interest in the success of my sport.

I went on, with my broad-brimmer hat and brown leather gaiters, followed by twenty or thirty black fellows, forcing my way through the thickest, densest shrubberies, thinking at every instant that I might come suddenly on a large bear. Every now and then a break would occur in the jungle, and I would emerge from the tangled thicket into a broad open space of three or four acres, covered with the smoothest turf, interspersed here and there with the graceful bamboo, and surmounted on all sides with a literal wall of trees and underwood. On their branches sat the splendid wild fowls and the beautiful peacocks, whilst from all sides I heard the soft cooing of the doves.

Then again I would find myself in a similar open space; but instead of the turf there was a broad sheet of water, with the red and white lotus-flowers floating on the surface, and the glittering white paddy-bin (a sort of small stock) stretching along the edge. A little farther on I came suddenly on a large jheel (a piece of shallow muddy water), with the heron and the pelican, and I think the spoonbill, standing on the sides and busily catching their breakfast of fish. Several of the most curious of the birds I shot, in order to preserve their skins, and occasionally, as a hare darted across my path, I would raise my gun and fire. But one bird I must describe more particularly.

I was standing by the side of a large jheel, when a native called out, "A bird, very good: look, sir." I looked in the direction in which he pointed, but could see nothing, and was going to scold him, when he said, "It will come." I continued watching, when presently I saw what appeared to be a long snake rising from the water. It was some little time before I could make up my mind that this was actually part of a bird, and by that time the long neck was again drawn under water, and nothing was visible.

A WATER-RACE

I continued to watch, and presently, at some yards from the spot where it had before appeared, the same snaky form was again elevated into the air. It was almost like shooting at a reed, but however I raised my gun and fired. There was an instant struggle in the water, and then I saw the body of a large dark-coloured bird floating on the surface. Wishing to obtain the body, I turned to the natives and said, "The man that wants a pice, bring that bird to me." The pice is a little more than a farthing, but enough to find a family for a day. Six or eight boys and men dashed into the water, and there was a regular race, struggling and swimming in order to obtain the prize. One boy had just reached the spot, when suddenly it disappeared; now the long neck rose in a different place, and again there was a rush to obtain the pice. The bird, which was evidently much wounded, began to move across the water, keeping its long neck about eighteen inches above the surface, no other part being visible. I was running round the banks to have another shot, when the bird suddenly rose, and, with its long legs extending behind, flew over the jungle. I saw it fall at a short distance, but the bushes were so thickly matted together that I could not get near the place.

As I advanced farther from Balasore the natives of the village appeared astonished at my appearance, many of them probably never having seen a white man before. Some stood still staring at me, others ran and hid themselves in their houses. At last I came to a large open space of a mile or more in diameter, and here a most singular scene presented itself. Throughout the whole extent of the space, large masses of black rock, perfectly smooth and rounded at the edges, rose at intervals to the height of twelve or sixteen feet, at an angle of about 70°. It appeared as if some mighty city had been swept over by a hurricane, and all the walls were tottering to their fall.

Some time after this, to my great satisfaction, I arrived at the tent, which had been sent there the day before, and found a plentiful breakfast ready, and the rest of the party anxiously awaiting my arrival. I had been nearly six hours on foot. Our tent is about eighteen feet square, with one pole in the centre, a table and chairs inside, and our palanquins, in which we sleep at night, standing under a sort of canvas verandah. There is another very small tent for a bath-room, and also a part composed of a single piece of canvas for the servants. The latter is about thirty feet long and fifteen broad.

ENCAMPMENT

And now let us look around the encampment. The immediate neighbourhood consists of rice-fields, from which the paddy has been cut. At about half a mile from the tents on either side is a thick jungle, and in the distance are the rugged and magnificent hills of the Neilghur, which I have already described.

At six o'clock in the evening the sun was just setting as we three sahibs returned from our day's shooting. The magistrate is just washing his hands in a chillumchee, or brass basin, at the door of the tent. In the front-ground, on two chairs, are seated the doctor and myself; the former is having his long leather gaiters or overalls pulled off. I have one foot in a chillumchee of warm water, the other resting on the black knee of one of my servants, who is shampooing and cracking each joint of the toes. Now he has done that, wiped the foot dry, put on the shoe, and is squeezing or kneading each muscle in the calf of the leg. No one but those who have experienced it can have any idea what a luxury this is when you are very tired!

Behind us stands a long-bearded turbaned khitmutgar, with sherry and glasses. Our guns are leaning against the side of the tent, our horses are picketed to a tree close by, and the grooms are busily rubbing them down. A hundred or a hundred and fifty black natives are separating into groups according to their castes, and are lighting fires all around in order to cook their dinners. Behind the servants' tent is a fire of charcoal, over which a black man is turning a hare, some partridges, a peacock, and several other results of our day's sport. Close by is another fire of wood crackling and sparkling, on which are stew-pans with salmon, oysters, &c. &c., which have come from England.

It grows late: the moon rises over the hills; the fires blaze up in all directions; I see the swarthy natives moving around them, and hear them chattering or singing their low monotonous song; everything looks wild; I begin to indulge in all sorts of reveries – when a man approaches with his hands clasped together, and, bending low before me, says "Cana meg" (dinner-table). The peacock takes the place of the reverie; visions of the partridges and oysters flit across my mind; and I run to help in demolishing a most substantial and well-earned meal. I then go to my palkee. The howling of the jackals does not awake me, I am too well used to it; but at last, about two o'clock in the morning, I was aroused by a sort of sniffing and a scratch at the door. I guessed at once what it was, and debated for an instant whether I should open it a little and try the effect of my pistols, or call out so as to rouse my companions, or lie still and leave him to himself. I determined on the latter; as, supposing I had not killed him, my visitor might have come into my palanquin and killed me before I could get assistance. I therefore lay quietly with a pistol in my hand; and I felt much happier when I heard the bear at last trot off.

Barripore, January 16, 1844

THE NEILGHUR HILLS

On Friday morning the magistrate and myself determined to ascend one of the Neilghur hills. The doctor did not think it worth the fatigue, and therefore shot partridges and wild-ducks for our breakfasts. We started from our tents at about half-past five in the morning. For about four miles our road lay through jungle, similar to that I have already described.

As we emerged from this the effect was most extraordinary. We had been suffering much from heat, and the sudden exclamation of both of us was, "Oh, how very cold!" A chilling blast came down from the hills, which entirely altered the temperature of the air; and, moreover, the place where we now were can very rarely, if ever, be reached by the sun. These causes produce a most singular effect upon the vegetation. Behind us was a dense jungle of bamboos, brambles, cacti, &c., through which it was most difficult to force a passage. In front of us for nearly a mile – that is, extending to the foot of the hills – the appearance was altogether different: not a bamboo nor a cactus, not a bramble, scarcely even a thorn; the turf perfectly smooth; the only plants a sort of laurel and a species of wild-apple; and no two plants growing within four feet of each other. It was like a wilderness or a shrubbery in a gentleman's park. We found several marks of bears and also of elephants; and the natives were rather unwilling to proceed. However, we led the way, with our guns in our hands, and soon arrived at the foot of the hill. It rose very suddenly, and in many places we had to climb for several feet up the face of a smooth black rock, similar to that which I have already mentioned.

We had no adventures beyond a tumble or two, but it was a most fatiguing work; and the instant we reached the top we threw ourselves down and called for a cigar and a glass of beer. This hill, which is much the lowest of the whole range, is not, I suppose, more than five hundred feet in height: it rises to a peak, the extreme top being about six feet in diameter. Here we fired off our guns as a signal to the doctor, and then commenced our descent.

At the bottom we were very glad to mount our horses and ride back to the tent. It was a very clear morning, and you can hardly imagine the wild magnificence of the scene from the top. Behind us lay the thick jungle through which we had passed, with Balasore in the distance, and the sea forming the background; in front, a wilderness of brushwood, extending as far as the eye could reach; to the right was a winding river, bordered by the graceful bamboo, with native villages and patches of rice-fields on its banks; whilst to the left, from the midst of the thickets, rose abruptly the other hills, towering to the height of several thousand feet. All these ranges belong to tributary rajahs, and are not the property of the English. We were delighted with our excursion, and it has led to the proposal of another, which we hope to accomplish, with the addition to our party of the doctor and the master-attendant, as soon as I return from Cuttack.

This second expedition is to be to the highest point visible from Balasore. No human being has ever yet ascended it, and the natives pretend that it is impracticable; however, we mean to try. I should like to set my foot where no man has ever trodden. We shall go well armed with guns, pistols, and swords; we are also each to carry a hatchet and a billhook, to cut our way through the jungle.

We intend to take a barometer and thermometer in order to measure the height, and go well attended by natives. It is said that this hill is tenanted by all sorts of wild beasts, but we shall be too well armed to fear them. The inhabitants are a very savage race, and offer up human sacrifices; but they will hardly dare to attack white men. I am very fond of these excursions; the exercise I consider good for me – whilst at Guzzeepuddee I was ten or eleven hours on my feet each day; and another great advantage is, that they cost nothing beyond the price of powder and shot. I must now start for Cuttack. I found in the jungle the skeleton of a small boa constrictor: it is perfect except the lower jaw. I told one of my servants to take care of it. When I returned to Balasore he had lost it; I said, if he did not find it again I should deduct a rupee from his month's wages. His answer was, "O representative of God, you are the father and the mother of your slave, and you must do with him as you think fit." However, he managed to find the skeleton.