The uncivilized races of men in all countries of the world; vol. 2 of 2 / Being a comprehensive account of their manners and customs, and of their physical, social, mental, moral and religious characteristics

THE GHOORKA TRIBE AND THEIR FAVORITE WEAPON — BLADE AND CURVED HANDLE OF THE “KOOKERY” — MODE OF STRIKING WITH IT — THE ADDITIONAL KNIVES — MAKING “WOOTZ” STEEL — FIGHTING A TIGER — THE HUNTER’S NECKLACE — ROBBERS OF INDIA — THE BURGLAR, THE BURROWER — THE PURSE CUTTER — AN INGENIOUS THEFT — STRANGE MODE OF ESCAPING OBSERVATION — VARIOUS BOWS — THE PELLET BOW AND ITS DOUBLE STRING — THE REVERSED BOW AND MODE OF USING IT — STRINGING THE BOW — THE VARIOUS ARROWS — ARMOR AND CHAIN MAIL — SIR HOPE GRANT’S SPECIMEN — INDIAN SWORDS AND MODE OF USING THEM — VARIOUS DAGGERS — THE “CHAKRA” OR QUOIT WEAPON.

One of the hill tribes, called the Ghoorka tribe, is worthy of notice, if only for the remarkable weapon which they use in preference to any other. It is called the “kookery,” and is of a very peculiar shape. One of the knives, drawn from a specimen in my collection, is given in illustration No. 2, on page 1403. As may be seen by reference to the drawing, both the blade and hilt are curved. The blade is very thick at the back, my own specimen, which is rather a small one, measuring a little more than a quarter of an inch in thickness. From the back it is thinned off gradually to the edge, which has a curve of its own, quite different to that of the back, so that the blade is widest as well as thickest in the middle, and tapers at one end toward the hilt, and at the other toward the point. The steel of which the blade is formed is of admirable temper, as is shown by the fact that my specimen, which, to my knowledge, has not been cleaned for thirty years, but has been hung upon the wall among other weapons, is scarcely touched with rust, and for the greater part of its surface is burnished like a mirror. Indeed, on turning it about, I can see reflected upon its polished surface the various objects of the room. The handle is made after a very remarkable fashion, and the portion which forms the hilt is so small that it shows the size of the hand for which it was intended. This smallness of hilt is common to all Indian swords, which cannot be grasped by an ordinary English soldier. My own hand is a small one, but it is too large even for the heavy sabre or “tulwar,” while the handle of the kookery looks as if the weapon were intended for a boy of six or seven years old. Indeed, the Ghoorkas are so small, that their hands, like those of all Indian races, are very delicate, about the same size as those of an English boy of seven. The point of the kookery is as sharp as a needle, so that the weapon answers equally well for cutting or stabbing. In consequence of the great thickness of the metal, the blade is exceedingly heavy, and it is a matter of much wonder how such tiny hands as those of the Ghoorkas can manage so weighty a weapon, which seems almost as much beyond their strength as does the Andamaner’s gigantic bow to the dwarfish man who wields it. It may be imagined that a blow from such a weapon as this must be a very terrible one. The very weight of the blade would drive it half through a man’s arm, if it were only allowed to fall from a little height. But the Ghoorkas have a mode of striking which resembles the “drawing” cut of the broadsword, and which urges the sharp edge through flesh and bone alike.

Before passing to the mode in which the kookery is used, I may mention that it is not employed for domestic purposes, being too highly valued by the owner. For such purposes two smaller knives are used, of very similar form, but apparently of inferior metal. These are kept in little cases attached to the side of the kookery-sheath, just as is the case with the knives attached to a Highlander’s dirk, or the arrangement of the Dyak sword, which has already been described in the article upon Borneo. There is also a little flat leathern purse, with a double flap. This is pointed like a knife-sheath, and is kept in a pocket of its own fastened upon the larger sheath.

In the illustration the kookery is shown with all its parts. Fig. 1 shows the kookery in its scabbard, the top of the purse and the handles of the supplementary knives being just visible as they project from the sheaths. At Fig. 2 the kookery itself is drawn, so as to show the peculiar curve of the blade and the very small handle. Fig. 3 represents the purse as it appears when closed, and Figs. 4 and 5 are the supplementary knives. My own specimen, which, as I have already mentioned, is a small one, measures fifteen inches from hilt to point in a straight line, and twenty-one inches if measured along the curve of the back. Its weight is exactly twelve ounces. The knife is a very plain one, no ornament of any kind being used, and the maker has evidently contented himself with expending all his care upon the blade, which is forged from the celebrated “wootz” steel.

This steel is made by the natives in a very simple but effectual manner. After smelting the iron out of magnetic ore, the Indian smith puts small pieces of it in a crucible, and mixes little bits of wood with them. He then covers the crucible with green leaves and plenty of clay, and puts it in his simple furnace. The furnace being lighted, a constant blast of air is driven through it for about three hours, at the expiration of which time the iron, now converted into cast-steel, is found in the form of a small cake at the bottom of the crucible. Wootz steel was at one time much used in England, and great numbers of these cakes were imported.

In the hands of an experienced wielder this knife is about as formidable a weapon as can be conceived. Like all really good weapons, its efficiency depends much more upon the skill than the strength of the wielder, and thus it happens that the little Ghoorka, a mere boy in point of stature, will cut to pieces a gigantic adversary who does not understand his mode of onset. The Ghoorka generally strikes upward with the kookery, possibly in order to avoid wounding himself should his blow fail, and possibly because an upward cut is just the one that can be least guarded against.

Years ago, when we were engaged in the many Indian wars which led at last to our Oriental empire, the Ghoorkas proved themselves most formidable enemies, as since they have proved themselves most invaluable allies. Brave as lions, active as monkeys, and fierce as tigers, the lithe, wiry little men came leaping over the ground to the attack, moving so quickly, and keeping so far apart from each other, that musketry was no use against them. When they came near the soldiers, they suddenly crouched to the ground, dived under the bayonets, struck upward at the men with their kookeries, ripping them open with a single blow, and then, after having done all the mischief in their power, darting off as rapidly as they had come. Until our men learned this mode of attack, they were greatly discomfited by their little opponents, who got under their weapons, cutting or slashing with knives as sharp as razors, and often escaping unhurt from the midst of bayonets. They would also dash under the bellies of the officers’ horses, rip them open with one blow of the kookery, and aim another at the leg of the officer as he and his horse fell together.

Perhaps no better proof can be given of the power of the weapon, and the dexterity of the user, than the fact that a Ghoorka will not hesitate to meet a tiger, himself being armed with nothing but his kookery. He stands in front of the animal (see the next page), and as it springs he leaps to the left, delivering as he does so a blow toward the tiger. As the reader is aware, all animals of the cat tribe attack by means of the paw; and so the tiger, in passing the Ghoorka, mechanically strikes at him.

The man is well out of reach of the tiger’s paw, but it just comes within the sweep of the kookery, and, what with the force of the tiger’s stroke, what with the blow delivered by the man, the paw is always disabled, and often fairly severed from the limb. Furious with pain and rage, the tiger leaps round, and makes another spring at his little enemy. But the Ghoorka is as active as the tiger, and has sprung round as soon as he delivered his blow, so as to be on the side of the disabled paw. Again the tiger attacks, but this time his blow is useless, and the Ghoorka steps in and delivers at the neck or throat of the tiger a stroke which generally proves fatal.

The favorite blow is one upon the back of the neck, because it severs the spine, and the tiger rolls on the ground a lifeless mass. For so fierce is the tiger’s fury, that, unless the animal is rendered absolutely powerless, rage supplies for a few moments the place of the ebbing life, and enables it to make a last expiring effort. All experienced hunters know and dread the expiring charge of a wounded lion or tiger, and, if possible, hide themselves as soon as they inflict the death wound. If they can do so, the animal looks round for its adversary, cannot see him, and at once succumbs; whereas, if it can espy its enemy, it flings all its strength into one effort, the result of which is frequently that the man and the tiger are found lying dead together.

Many of these little hunters are decorated with necklaces made from the teeth and claws of the animals which they kill. One of these necklaces is in my collection, and is figured in illustration No. 1, on page 1403. It is made of the spoils of various animals, arranged in the following way. The central and most prominent object is one of the upper canine teeth of a tiger. The man may well be proud of this, for it is a very fine specimen, measuring five inches and a half in length, and more than three inches in circumference. This tooth is shown at Fig. 5. At Fig. 1 is a claw from a fore-foot of a tiger, evidently the same animal; and at Fig. 9 is a claw of the hind-foot. Figs. 2, 3, 7, 8 are differently sized teeth of the crocodile; and Figs. 4 and 6 represent claws from the foot of the sloth-bear. The reader may remember that in all uncivilized countries such spoils are of the highest value, and play the same part with regard to them, that titles and decorations do among more civilized nations. Consequently, it is almost impossible to procure such ornaments, the natives having as strong objection to part with them as a holder of the Victoria Cross would have to resign at the same time his badge and a right to wear it.

Among men of such a stamp, leading a half-savage existence, with ideas necessarily limited to their own range of thought, it is likely that a strange sort of morality should prevail. We have already seen that there is one existing system in which treacherous murder, instead of being regarded as a capital offence, is exalted into a religion, and we may therefore expect that robbery may in some cases be considered as a virtue. Certain it is that there are no more accomplished thieves in the world than those of India.

The natives are justly celebrated for their wonderful powers of posture making and conjuring, and it is to be expected that, when they turn those powers to an evil use, they must be most dangerous opponents. Lately a most valuable report has been issued by the Inspector-General of Prisons, relating to the thieves of Lower Bombay, in the perusal of which it is impossible to restrain a smile, so wonderfully ingenious are the devices of the thieves, and so astonishing is the skill with which they are employed.

For example, there are the regular burglars, who completely carry out the description of the Scriptures, “breaking through the wall and stealing.” Two of these burglars work together. One acts as sentinel, while the other gently bores a hole through the wall, large enough to admit the passage of his person. When he has completed the breach, he pushes through it a stick, with a piece of grass wrapped round it, so as to look like a human head. This is done to ascertain whether the inmates are alarmed, for it sometimes happens that the owner of the house hears the miner at work, and quietly stands by the side of the hole, armed with a sword or cudgel, with which he strikes at the head of the robber, as soon as it appears through the wall. Should the sham head be smashed by a blow from the inside, the thieves escape as fast as they can. If not, one of them crawls through the breach, steals all the property on which he can lay his hands, and returns to his comrade, who has been keeping careful watch, and will alarm him, should danger appear.

Other thieves appear to be more harmless, though they probably steal as much money as the burglars. They carry in their mouths a tiny knife, with a blade as sharp as that of a razor. They frequent the bazaars, mix with the crowd, and contrive to feel for the money which is wrapped up in the girdle. With their little knives, they gently cut the cloth, noiselessly extract the money, and slink off into the midst of the crowd, where they can scarcely be detected. In short, they act precisely after the manner of our European cut-purses.

The most ingenious of all the thieves are those who get into the zenanas, or women’s apartments, and steal their jewelry. As the reader is probably aware, the women’s apartments are in the most central portion of the house, and are so carefully guarded that little precaution is taken with respect to the costly jewels with which the women deck themselves so abundantly. The Indian burglar knows of this wealth, and sometimes manages to steal it. He digs a hole in the ground outside the walls of the house, and burrows under the foundation until he comes beneath the floor of the zenana. He then cautiously works his way upward, and so obtains admission into the apartment. But even when there his task is not completed, as a large portion of the jewelry consists of nose rings and bangles, or bracelets. The skill of these thieves is now shown, for they will contrive to cut the rings and bangles, remove them from the wearers, and make good their escape without disturbing the sleeping women.

These adroit burglars often commit the most daring robberies in the very midst of an army. Knowing the position of the tents, they mark out that which is the residence of a great man, and creep silently toward it. Arrived at the tent, their sharp knife cuts a hole and they glide into the interior without making the slightest noise. Indeed, so wonderfully adroit are they, that even the very watch-dogs do not discover them, and a thief has been known actually to step over the body of a dog without disturbing the animal. They take an extraordinary pride in their skill, and have not the least objection to boasting of it. Once, an English officer, who had been robbed of all his valuables, his clothing included, in the course of a night, was talking to a robber, who made very light of the exploit, and boasted that if he chose he could steal the blanket from under him as he slept. Such a challenge as this could not but be accepted, and the officer laid a wager with the man that his blanket could not be stolen without arousing him.

Accordingly, one morning, when the officer awoke, he found his blanket missing. The thief came openly with the blanket, restored it, and told him how he had achieved the theft. It was done by gently tickling the face and hands of the sleeping man, so that he involuntarily turned on his bed. As he moved, the thief gave the blanket a slight pull, and so by degrees “coaxed” it away without fairly awaking the sleeper.

When these thieves set about their task of robbery, they remove all their clothes, and rub themselves with oil. Round their neck is a slight string, which holds their razor-bladed knife, so that, if they should be detected, the pursuer has no hold of them; and even should he succeed in grasping them, the ready knife is used to sever his wrist and to deal a fatal stab.

Then there are other thieves of altogether a sneaking and despicable character. The burglars have, at all events, the redeeming points of audacity and ingenuity. The Mooches exhibit neither of these qualities, but act in a way that exactly resembles the proceedings of the gipsy thieves as described by Mr. Borrow. They lay poison on plantain leaves, and drop them about at night among the cattle. The bait is sure to be taken, and the dead cattle are thrown away next morning. This is exactly what the Mooches have expected, and they flay the dead cattle and sell their skins.

Sometimes a band of these thieves is pursued, and then the robbers are often driven to use all their ingenuity in evading their pursuers. One stratagem is marvellously clever. Should a company of these men succeed in reaching the jungle, there is no hope of capturing them; but when they find that they must be overtaken on a level plain, they are not without a mode of avoiding detection. As is the case in many hot countries, the ground is often cleared by fire, which destroys all the coarse, dry, rank herbage, and leaves it free for the fresh green blades that at the first rains shoot through the surface. In those spots where the grass is short, the fire does but little damage; but where it is long, the flames are powerful enough to destroy the small trees which grow upon them, and to leave nothing but a number of blackened stumps.

If the thieves think that they cannot pass the plain without being observed, they put in practice a ruse which they may have borrowed from the habits of many insects. They strip off all their clothes, place them and their weapons under their little round shields, which they disperse so as to look like stones, and then dispose themselves in such strange attitudes that their slender and nearly fleshless limbs bear the most exact resemblance to the blackened branches of which their bodies represent the trunks. In these attitudes they will remain fixed until the enemy has passed them, when they slip off as fast as they can to the nearest jungle. An illustration on page 1397 shows with what rare ingenuity, even artistic verisimilitude these rascals simulate the charred trunks and branches of the trees.

Before the English had become used to these manœuvres, a very ludicrous incident occurred. An officer, with a party of horse, was chasing a small body of Bheel robbers, and was fast overtaking them. Suddenly the robbers ran behind a rock or some such obstacle, which hid them for a moment, and, when the soldiers came up, the men had mysteriously disappeared. After an unavailing search, the officer ordered his men to dismount beside a clump of scorched and withered trees, and, the day being very hot, he took off his helmet and hung it on a branch by which he was standing. The branch in question turned out to be the leg of a Bheel, who burst into a scream of laughter, and flung the astonished officer to the ground. The clump of scorched trees suddenly became metamorphosed into men, and the whole party dispersed in different directions before the soldiers could recover from their surprise, carrying with them the officer’s helmet by way of a trophy.

This stratagem is not confined to one tribe, or even one race, but is practised in many parts of the world where the country is cleared by means of fire.

We will now examine some of the weapons used by the Indians. I intentionally omit any description of their fire-arms, as such weapons are of a modern date, and the use of gunpowder has been imported from other countries. In the following pages will be described some of the most characteristic weapons of India.

The reader will probably notice that whatever may be their form, there is a nameless something which designates the country in which they were produced. No matter whether the weapon has belonged to a rich or a poor man, whether it be plain wood and iron, or studded with jewels and inlaid with gold, the form remains the same, and there is about that form a graceful elegance which is peculiar to India. Take, for example, that simplest of weapons, the kookery, and see how beautiful are the curves of the blade and handle, and how completely they satisfy the eye. In the same manner we shall find that, with all the weapons that will be figured, there is always a graceful curve or a well-balanced arrangement of lines.

We will begin with the bow and arrows.

Many kinds of bows are used by the Hindoos, the most simple of which is made from a piece of male bamboo. Even this simple weapon is not complete in the eyes of an Indian without some ornament, and accordingly it is bound at intervals by belts of split reed drawn tightly round it, and tied up at the back of the bow in a sort of rosette form. This kind of bow is often used for shooting bullets or stones. For this purpose two strings are placed side by side, and kept apart by a little piece of wood near one end, so that in the middle there is an interval of a couple of inches between the strings. A strip of leather rather more than an inch in width is then sewed to the strings, so that when the bow is bent the leather is stretched tightly between them.

The bow is used in the following manner. A bullet or stone is placed on the leather, and the two strings are grasped by the forefinger and thumb of the right hand, so as to enclose the bullet in the leather. The bow is then drawn and aimed, and when the strings are released from the pressure of the fingers, they fly asunder and permit the bullet to escape. The precision that may be obtained by this weapon is really wonderful, and even Europeans soon learn to pride themselves on their skill with the “pellet-bow.” Squirrel shooting with this bow is a favorite amusement with many persons, and some of the natives of rank occasionally amuse themselves with shooting at the earthenware jars carried on the heads of the women, a successful shot smashing the jar to pieces, and deluging the women with the water which had been contained in it.

There is another kind of bow which is much used in different parts of Asia, varying somewhat in form and material, but smaller in principle. The bow is so formed that when it is unstrung it curves in exactly the opposite direction to the string. The amount of curvature varies considerably in different bows, the most perfect being that in which the two ends almost touch each other. The specimen which is shown in Fig. 1 of the illustration on page 1394, and which is drawn from a bow in my collection, is a singularly perfect example of this kind of weapon. It is made in the following manner:—

A horn of the buffalo is sawn longitudinally, so as to produce two tapering pieces of exactly the same size. These are then flattened by heat and pressure, and are trimmed until when bent they give exactly the same amount of curvature. The handle and the tips are made of very hard wood, and are fitted to the horn with the greatest care, the wood which forms the tips running for some distance along the under side of the horn. After the handle and tips are fitted in their places, a great number of sinews are laid wet over the back of the bow, and kneaded so carefully that the wood, the sinews, and the horn seem to be altogether one substance. After this part of the work is finished, the whole of the bow is covered with repeated layers of a kind of glue, which is very carefully smoothed and polished. The bow is practically complete, but the maker is not satisfied unless he adds plenty of ornament. This is always a sort of conventional flower pattern, gilt on a brilliantly colored background. I possess several such bows, in each of which there is a dissimilarity of color and pattern. In the bow now before us, the groundwork is vivid green and scarlet, on which are drawn the most elaborate patterns of flowers, leaves, and arabesques in gold. It is impossible, on looking at the surface, not to admire both the beauty of the patterns and the excellence of the paint and varnish, which can be subjected to such violent treatment as is caused by the bending of the bow and shooting the arrow, and yet not be cracked to pieces.

The elasticity of this bow is wonderful. I have often tried to string it, but without effect, and indeed I never saw but one man, the late Colonel Hutchinson, of the Indian Army, who could do so. It is strung by passing it under one leg, bending it back sharply over the other leg, at the same time slipping the loop of the string into its notch. A groove passes along the back of the bow, so as to guide the string. When strung it assumes quite a different shape, and looks something like the bow which the ancient sculptors placed in the hands of Cupid. I regret that the bow could not be strung, so as to give two illustrations of the same bow in its different aspects.

The classical reader may perhaps remember that this weapon is exactly similar to the ancient Scythian bow. Reference is made to this shape by Athenæus (book X.) when an unlearned shepherd, trying to describe the letters which formed a name, said that “the third (i. e. c) was like a Scythian bow.” This kind of bow was of horn, as indeed were most of the ancient bows.

The length of the bow above mentioned, measured along the back, is a little more than four feet, whereas the measurement across it as it appears when unbent is only nineteen inches. The reader will see how useful a bow of this description would be to a horseman, its peculiar curvature rendering it easy of carriage. It could even be carried along on the bridle arm, if required, so as to leave the sword hand at liberty, and in a moment could be strung when needed, by passing it under the leg as the rider sits on horseback. Small as this bow seems, almost indeed insignificant in appearance as a weapon, its performances in skilful hands are something marvellous. With one of these bows an arrow has been shot to a distance which was said to be six hundred yards, and was actually not much short of that measurement. And, although so powerful, it is wonderfully manageable. Colonel Hutchinson told me that he once saw an archer shoot an arrow along a corridor, and send the missile through a hole which a bullet had made in a pane of glass at the end of the corridor.

Next comes a form of bow which is much more common than the preceding. In this bow the reflex curvature is strongly marked, though not so strongly as in the case of the weapon just described.

Several of these bows are in my collection, the handsomest of which was presented to me by J. Allen, Esq. This bow, with its case, its quiver, and score of arrows, is shown in Fig. 2 of the illustration, on page 1394. Measuring along the back, the bow is four feet five inches in length, whereas the space between the two tips is only twenty-eight inches. The color with which the bow is painted is bright scarlet, profusely covered with gilt flowers and arabesques, so that it is a more showy weapon at a distance than the previous specimen, though it is not nearly so handsome when closely examined, the patterns being larger and more roughly executed. The bow-string is made of some vegetable fibre,—I think that of some species of aloe,—and is very thick, being composed of nine strands twisted very closely together.

The case, quiver, and straps by which they are held have been once very splendid, being crimson velvet, so covered with gold embroidery that scarcely any part of the velvet is visible. The arrows are two feet three inches in length, and are very carefully made. The shaft is of reed, and to either end is fixed a piece of hard wood four inches in length. On one end of the shaft is fixed the point, which is a heavy and solid quadrangular piece of steel brought to a sharp point. The hard wood at the end receives the feathers, and is enlarged at the extreme end, so as to allow space for the nock or notch in which the thick bow-string is received. Both the pieces of hard wood are colored, that in which the point is fixed being simply green, but that at the other end being gilt, and covered with patterns in blue and scarlet.

This is the most common kind of arrow, but there are many varieties, of which I possess specimens. Several varieties are in many collections, the chief distinction being in the shape of the point. In most of them it is more or less quadrangular; though in some it is leaf-shaped, like a spear head, in others it is conical, and in others round and blunt. In one of the arrows the place of the lower piece of hard wood is taken by a solid piece of steel nearly four inches in length, and weighing about three ounces, looking something like a rather elongated Whitworth bullet.

The most primitive form of Indian arrow is that which is made by the hill tribes. The shaft is of wood, not of reed, and the head is deeply barbed, and tied to the shaft with fibre, exactly as is done with the flint-headed arrows, which this weapon almost precisely resembles in form, though not in material. Instead of feathers, dry leaves are substituted, cut into the required shape, and passed through slits in the shaft of the arrow, these slits being afterward bound up. In one arrow the nock has been formed in a very strange manner, a piece of wood being lashed to each side of the shaft, and projecting a little beyond it.

Some very beautiful examples of the best kinds of weapons are shown in the illustration on page 1406. They belong to General Sir Hope Grant, G.C.B. etc., who kindly allowed them to be drawn for the use of this work. They are splendid instances of Indian art, one or two of them displaying a most elaborate ornamentation.

The first of the illustrations shows a suit of armor and weapons, which is made of steel most elaborately engraved and inlaid with gold, the patterns resembling those on the bow, and looking much as if they had been taken from the bow and sunk into the steel, the freedom and grace of the lines being quite as remarkable as the elaborate minuteness of the pattern.

In the centre (Fig. 1) is seen the martial looking helmet, with its slight feather plume. There are often several of these plumes in a helmet, their shafts being adorned with gold and jewels, and placed in sockets projecting from the helmet. In front is seen the flat bar which protects the nose and upper part of the face from a sword cut. This bar slides up and down through a groove for the convenience of the wearer. From the helmet depends a piece of very slight but very strong chain-mail, which falls behind and on either side of the face, and hangs as low as the shoulders, so that, however abruptly the wearer may move his head, the folds of the chain-mail protect his neck. In several of these helmets the links of the mail are gilt, and arranged so as to form patterns, mostly of a diamond shape.

By the side of the helmet (Fig. 3) is the curious gauntlet, which extends far up the arm, and has no joint at the wrist. The absence of the joint, unpleasant as it would be to an European swordsman, is no obstacle to the proper use of the sword by the Oriental warrior. If the reader will refer to the figure of the sword (Fig. 6), he will see that the hilt is terminated by a large circular plate of steel. In a specimen in my own collection, this plate is three inches in diameter, so that when the sword is grasped after the European fashion, the plate comes against the wrist, and acts as a fulcrum by which, when a blow is struck, the leverage of the blade forces the sword out of the grasp.

But the whole system of swordsmanship in India differs essentially from that which is employed in England, or indeed in Europe generally, strength not being used so much as dexterity. For the object of this weapon its curved form is essential. The stroke of the sword is done by a turn of the wrist more than by a direct blow, so that the curved edge of the weapon is drawn rapidly over the object of attack.

The mode of employing the Indian sword was illustrated to me by the same Colonel Hutchinson whose name has already been mentioned.

He took a large mangold-wurzel, and laid it on a table. He then placed the flat side of the sword upon the root, so that no blow could be dealt, and then, with a slight turn of the wrist, he drew the blade toward him, and the root fell apart, severed in two pieces. In the same manner he cut the whole of the root into slices. The feat looked so easy that I tried it on another root, but, instead of cutting it in two, the edge of the sword glided off it as if it had been a solid piece of glass, and jarred my arm to the shoulder. However, after a few lessons, the feat became tolerably easy.

The same effect can also be produced by pushing the blade from the swordsman instead of drawing it toward him. It is to this delicate, drawing cut that the Indian sword owes its efficiency, the steel of the blade not being nearly of so good a quality as that of our common dragoon swords, and not being capable of taking so fine an edge. But if in battle an Indian warrior meets or overtakes an enemy, he does not strike at him with the whole power of the arm, as is done by our swordsmen, but places the edge of his weapon against the neck of the enemy, and with a turn of his wrist nearly severs the head from the body.

In the same illustration is seen the circular shield or target. This is of no great size, measuring about eighteen inches in diameter, and sometimes even less. It is made of the hide of the rhinoceros, which, when properly dressed and dried, is of considerable thickness, as hard as horn, though not so brittle, and almost equally translucent. The shield is generally adorned with four circular plates of metal, which in an ordinary specimen are merely of iron, but in a peculiarly handsome one are covered with lacquered gilding. The reader will doubtless see the almost exact resemblance between the Indian shield and the target of the Scotch Highlander. The other portions of the armor are adorned with gold inlaying, like those parts which have been described.

Illustration No. 4, on page 1403, contains several articles used in warfare, all of which are drawn from specimens in Sir Hope Grant’s collection. In the centre is seen a coat of mail. This is one of the most beautiful pieces of armor I have ever seen, each of the links bearing upon it a sentence from the Koran. Three of the links are shown underneath the coat of mail, drawn of the size of the originals. If the reader will reflect upon the vast number of such links which are required to form a coat of mail, he will appreciate the amount of labor that must have been expended on it, the letters having to be formed after the links are put together, so that they may not be obliterated in the forging. The helmet belonging to this suit is seen by its side at Fig. 2.

Between the helmet and the coat of mail is a Coorg knife or dagger, and its sheath. This weapon is sometimes very plain, and sometimes blazes with gold and jewels on the hilt and sheath. A specimen in my collection is of the former kind, and, though the blade is of good quality, the handle is of wood, and is secured to the blade by a stout brass rivet which passes through the tang. A bold ridge runs along either side of the blade.

Two more characteristic forms of the Indian dagger are shown at Figs. 7 and 9 in the illustration. One, Fig. 7, with its sheath at Fig. 8, is in great favor, especially with the rich. It is made entirely of steel, the two cross-bars constituting the handle. The form of the blade varies somewhat in different specimens, but the general form is the same in all. A good specimen in my collection is altogether twenty inches in length, and weighs exactly a pound, so that it must be rather an awkward weapon for the girdle. The blade, if it can be so called, is nearly a foot in length, flat toward the handle, and within five inches of the tips welling suddenly into a sort of quadrangular bayonet, rather more than half an inch in thickness.

The reader will see that when this dagger is grasped, the steel continuations of the handle project on either side of the wrist, and effectually guard it and the lower part of the arm from a sword-blade. The weight of this instrument, as well as the force with which a thrust can be delivered by a straight blow as in boxing, render the weapon well calculated to drive its way through the folds of dress, or even between the joints of armor.

Next comes a weapon (Fig. 9) which would scarcely be recognized as a dagger. It is, however a dagger, made from the two horns of the Indian antelope. In the simplest form of this curious weapon, the horns are arranged with their bases crossing each other for about six inches. The curvature of the bases thus furnishes a sort of handle, which can be grasped in such a way that the holder of the weapon can strike right and left with it, and, among a number of people, could do a vast amount of damage in a very short time.

A dagger such as has been described could be made in half an hour, and, indeed, a temporary weapon might be made in a few minutes by lashing the horns together. But the Indians prefer to add ornament to the weapon, and so they often make a hollow steel hilt in the form of a cup, with the curved side outward. The hand passes into this cup as into the basket-hilt of a single-stick, and is effectually guarded from injury. The dagger shown in the illustration has one of these steel hilts. In some places this weapon is in such favor that, instead of making it of antelope horns, with a steel hilt, the entire dagger is of steel, the points made in imitation of the horns.

The last weapon (Fig. 10) is one which is used by the Afghans, and is a sort of compromise between a sword and a dagger. A weapon of a similar form and character is carried by the Moors.

There is one kind of sword which ought not to be passed without some notice. It is a most murderous looking weapon, and is made on precisely the opposite principle to that of the sword which has already been described. In that form of sword, the edge is on the outer curve of the blade, which narrows toward the point. In the other sword, the edge is on the inside curve, and the blade widens greatly at the tip, which is curved like a bill-hook. Indeed, the weapon bears some resemblance to a bill-hook with a greatly elongated blade. In a specimen in my collection the blade is very little more than an inch wide by the hilt, but at the point (or rather the tip, for this part of the blade is squared) it is just four inches in width. The weight of this sword is rather more than two pounds.

There is also the quoit, or chakra, a missile weapon, that bears some resemblance to the boomerang of Australia or the casting-knife of the Fan tribe, it being intended to cut and not to pierce, as is generally the case with missiles. It is made of thin steel, and is sharpened to a razor-like edge on the outside. The mode of casting it is to spin it on the forefinger and then to hurl it. The reader may imagine that such a missile, which not only strikes an object, but revolves rapidly at the time, must be a very formidable one. It is generally aimed at the face of the adversary, and a skilful warrior will hurl four or five in such rapid succession that it is scarcely possible to avoid being struck by one of them, and having the face laid open, or the nose or lip absolutely cut off. These quoit-like articles are carried upon a tall, conical head-dress worn by the natives, into the folds of which they also put several small knives, as Irish laborers stick their pipes in their hats. See illustration No. 3, on page 1403.

A similar weapon, made of brass instead of steel, is used by the cattle-poisoning Mooches, who have already been described. They call it by the name of “thâl.”

The chakra is the special weapon of Vishnu, and may be seen in the various representations of that deity, hanging in one of the hands. Reference is made to this by Southey in the “Curse of Kehama.” Other deities also hold the chakra in the many-armed images by which the Indian artists clumsily attempt to depict omnipotence. This takes us to another branch of the subject.