Nothing of interest occurred after this until we arrived at Bengwharrie, a small village, where our tents were pitched under a grove, or, as we call it, a "tope," of splendid trees. I have already described the appearance of a private encampment; the only difference here was that we had a greater number of men about us, and more tents. Mine contains one room, about twenty-four feet square; in the centre rises the high pole which supports our canvas house. At each end are cloth doors, made to roll up. The tent has a double fly or covering, one much larger than the other; it is like a small one inside a large one. This tends to keep it warm at night, and cool during the day; the outer fly forms a verandah round the inner room. In the latter are two small camp bedsteads, a camp table, camp chairs, &c. By camp bedsteads, &c., I mean such as will double up for the convenience of carriage. In the verandah are our palanquins, a chest of wine, beer, &c., some cooling apparatus, and various other articles. At one side there is an entrance into a small tent, which serves for a bathing-room.
After breakfast, we were very much interested in watching the monkeys. The tope swarmed with a grey species, some of which appeared almost as large as men. They are peculiarly sacred in the eyes of the Hindus, who imagine that one of their gods once assumed a similar form. They are called Hunnamuns, which was the name of that deity. My wife and I stood at the door of the tent watching them for hours; they do not appear to be afraid of men. Many of the females had young ones with them, and they came and sat down close to us with their little ones in their laps. First they would suckle them, then they would hush them to sleep, or turn them over and over, pulling off all the dirt that adhered to their skins, and making them clean and comfortable.
A little farther off you would see four or five males picking the fruit off a low bush, and chattering to one another all the time. Then a half-grown one would jump down, and give a hard pull at an old one's tail, for which he generally received a good box on the ear, unless he was nimble enough to get out of the way in time; presently one of the old fellows would get angry, and spring into the tree after his little tormentor, and a regular chase would ensue. The leaps they take are tremendous; they will often spring from the top of a lofty tree into the middle of the next without falling.
I saw one of the females shot; it was a cruel sight, and struck all the natives with horror. They refused to touch the dead body. The ball did not kill her instantly, and she cried piteously, whilst she pressed her little one to her bosom, and tried to get into the tree. To the last she would not relinquish her young one, and died in endeavouring to save it. I could not shoot a monkey, their actions and their cries are so like human beings. I know of a case in which an officer shot one, and the whole herd instantly sprang from the trees and attacked him; it was with difficulty he was saved. They are most interesting creatures.
In the evening I went out with my gun, accompanied by Captain R. I got nothing, however, but some doves and some crow-pheasants; the latter are not eaten by Europeans, though much relished by the low-caste natives. It is a bird, as the name signifies, between a crow and a pheasant. The colour is black, tinged with a deep dull red. It has a long tail, and runs like a pheasant; but I believe that its food is the same as a crow's, that is, carrion and animal food.
On the Tuesday morning Captain R. was lazy, so I started by myself at six o'clock to try and get some jungle-fowl. When I say by myself, I of course mean with three or four servants. I, however, shot nothing but a few doves and one green pigeon. The latter is a large bird, of a pale-green colour, and is most delicious eating, which is more than can be said of any of the game in India. The partridges are dry and flavourless; the deer have literally not a particle of fat upon them; the hares are fit for nothing but soup. A leveret is good, and so is a very young peacock, but, old or young, they must be eaten the same day that they are killed. By the by, the black partridge is pretty good: it has a black neck, shading into deep red on the head; the back is dark; the breast and tail are most beautifully covered with minute white spots.
I may as well mention now that we shot the other day a double-spurred partridge; it was of a dingy red colour, with a crest on its head; the legs were bright red, and each armed with two long sharp spurs. As I walked along I observed a bird of a species which I had never seen before; I tried to shoot it, in order to have it stuffed, but missed, and sadly frightened some monkeys who were in the same tree. As far as I could judge, every feather was a bright blue, giving a most splendid appearance to the bird.
After breakfast Captain R. and I stood at the door of the tent amusing ourselves with his air-gun. I killed with it three or four birds, whose skins I should like to preserve; one especially, though I believe I have before described it, namely, the mango-bird. I fancy the European name is the golden oriole. It is of one uniform brilliant yellow, with the exception of the head, which is perfectly black. Its note is very peculiar, as indeed are the voices of many of the Indian birds. I cannot describe the sounds on paper, but I have learned to imitate many of them well enough to hold a long conversation with them. Once or twice, when Captain R. wanted to get near to a bird without being observed, he asked me to continue talking to it. It is curious to observe them hopping from branch to branch replying to my call, and looking round on every side for the bird from which they suppose the sound to proceed.
On Tuesday evening Captain R. and I rode about four miles to try and find some peacocks. His pony had hurt its foot, so he took one of mine. We were going along quietly enough through some rice-fields, when suddenly the pony he was on shied; he spurred it, and it immediately reared and fell over backwards. Most fortunately he managed to throw himself off, so as to escape being under the horse, though, as it was, he got a heavy tumble. It is a very nice pony, a little inclined to rear; but I am too heavy for it to do so with me. I am getting thinner now. We came at last to a beautiful bit of bamboo-jungle, where we dismounted, inside of which was a paddy-field; in the centre were two fine cocks and five hens feeding. Beckoning to the servants to stay behind, I crouched down on the ground and crept slowly forward, until I came very near to the jungle-fowl, when I cautiously raised my gun to fire; from some cause or other it did not go off, though the cap exploded, and the birds flew away. Now, a regular Indian sportsman would not fire at a bird on the ground, but would first make a noise to frighten him, and would then fire as he was flying away; however, I am not practised enough for that, and like to get what they call a pot-shot whenever I can.
A little while ago a party of officers went out from Cuttack to shoot. Their men were beating the jungle, when suddenly all the wild cry ceased, and a man came gliding to where all the sahibs were standing to tell them that there was a tiger lying asleep in his den close at hand. A consultation was instantly held; most of the party were anxious to return to Cuttack, but Captain B. insisted on having a shot at the animal. Accordingly he advanced very quickly until he came to the place, when he saw—not a tiger, but a large leopard lying quite still, with his head resting on his fore paws. He went up close and fired, but the animal did not move. This astonished him, and on examination he found that the brute was already dead. One of his companions had bribed some Indians to place a dead leopard there and to say that there was a tiger asleep. You may imagine what a laugh there was, though it was very wrong of the Europeans to encourage the natives to say what was not true.
Since then a large party has been out from Cuttack on a shooting excursion: they found five leopards, two sambres (the largest species of deer), and four of the Indian bisons or ghyal, of whose horns I have preserved a specimen. They however killed only one leopard.
But I must hasten on with my description. Captain R. and I proceeded into the jungle, where we heard several peacocks; we separated, creeping along in different directions. Presently I came to an open space where some pea-fowls were feeding, but we did not succeed in killing anything. The next evening we went to the same place, when Captain R. shot a peacock. Towards dusk I was creeping along, when suddenly I saw what appeared to me a fine peahen. I signed to my men to be quiet, got as near as I could, fired, and shouted to my followers to run and pick up the bird, for it was dead. An Indian servant rarely loses his gravity; but in this instance they could not restrain themselves when they found that instead of a pea-fowl I had knocked to pieces the skull of an old cow which had been half-picked by the vultures; in the dim light I had mistaken it for a bird.
The next day we proceeded about ten miles farther to Bhalmacottee; and on the day following, that is Friday, we started at five o'clock in the morning for Bhohoneswar. On the way we passed the remains of a very large old fort built of hewn stone. In one of the moats, which was still full of water, I saw the remains of a pier of a bridge. Bhohoneswar is a very ancient town, much more so than Pooree: it is celebrated for containing nine hundred and ninety-nine temples. The natives say that, had there been a thousand, Juggernat'h would have taken up his abode here; but as there were not he preferred having a new temple for himself at Pooree. The ancient city has disappeared, and the town only consists of a few hundred mud huts. The temples however remain—some perfect, others in ruins; some facing the street of the modern town, others half hidden in the surrounding jungle. It is a wonderful place, and I hardly know how to describe it.
At one extremity of the town is a tank, about half a mile square, and of a great depth, entirely faced with huge blocks of black iron-stone. In the centre of this stands a small temple, whilst the sides are surrounded by others of greater or less size. At the end next the town an enormous flight of steps leads down to the water, where hundreds of pilgrims were hastening to wash themselves before entering the great temple. The farther end is bordered by a dense and lofty jungle, and in the distance is a splendid background of rugged hills.
After leaving the burrah tellores (great tank) we walked through a lane of temples, many of which were ruinous, until we came to the grand sacred edifice of the place. The form of this, as indeed of most of the others, is similar to that of Pooree. The temple of Bhohoneswar is however larger, the principal tower being about two hundred feet high. Like all the others, it is built entirely of stone, and every block is most elaborately carved. The various cornices, of elephants, horses, &c., are as beautifully executed as if they had been done by the best European artists. The fretwork is most delicate in its livery, and the many images, though representing grotesque figures, are admirably carved. The whole forms one mass of most splendid sculpture.
No description would enable the reader to form any idea of the magnificence of this building. Many of the blocks of stone are fifteen, twenty, and twenty-five feet in length, and thick in proportion. It would be curious to discover by what means they were ever raised to the height of above one hundred feet. This temple is still sacred, and we were therefore not allowed to enter it, but we examined the interior of several of the others. The lofty domes were evidently constructed by a people who were ignorant of the use of the arch; they are formed of overlapping stones, approaching nearer and nearer together until they reach the top, where the whole is surmounted by one enormous block.
We breakfasted in a small tent which we had sent forward to Bhohoneswar, and then proceeded in our palanquins to Cundeegurree, a distance of about seven miles. This latter place consists of three hills surrounded by the most romantic-looking jungle. Our palanquins were set down in what may be called a forest, at the foot of the principal hill, and crowned by a small but very pretty white temple. These hills are perforated in every direction with caves of various dimensions, and reminded me most forcibly of the ancient Petra. Many of the caves are inhabited by devotees and priests. The god whom they worship is quite unknown to our Hindu servants: he is called Persilat'h, and is the god of the Jains, who were a powerful race that existed prior to the introduction of the Hindu religion. There are very few of them now remaining. The god is represented as a naked man, standing upright, with his arms hanging down by his sides. In many of the caves are small images of this deity beautifully cut in a dark-blue stone.
At the summit is a Jain temple, which has been rebuilt within the last two hundred years. The Hindus say that the caves are the works of demons. Above the entrances to many of them are long inscriptions in a forgotten tongue. Several of the letters appear to resemble the Greek; but most of them are different from any known language. The entrance to one of the caverns is through the mouth of an enormous lion's head, cut out of the solid rock: it is exceedingly well executed. The pillars about the doorway are also cut out of the solid rock. Within the lion's mouth is an inscription in two lines, which I copied.
Many of the caves are large and lofty, others very small: there are some not high enough for a man to stand upright: of these latter several have very small entrances; and in these are devotees who had vowed never to leave them alive. The wonder seems how they could ever have managed to creep in. I saw some of these holy men: one of them had entirely lost his sight; another had his right arm shrivelled, and fixed in an upright position, with the nails several inches in length growing through the palm of his hand. What suffering do these heathens endure for the sake of their religion, whilst we are so unwilling to do even a little to please the true God! Their superstitions are most disgusting; but they are a reproach to us, both for our inertness in attempting to convert the Hindus, and also for the contrast they afford to our self-control, who call ourselves Christians.
In the solid rock of these hills have been excavated some tanks; but the most marvellous thing of all is the palace of the ancient rajahs. This, like all the rest, is hollowed out of the solid stone, and consists of two stories; the lower comprises a good-sized square court, surrounded on all sides by large excavated chambers. Into this yard you are obliged to descend from above. The upper floor is similarly cut, except that a large portion of the rock has been cut away before the entrances were made to the chambers. The consequence is that there is a broad terrace, overlooking the rooms beneath, and upon which the several apartments of the upper story open. What labour must have been employed in making these extraordinary excavations! The chambers are narrow, about twelve feet wide, but many of them are long; speaking from conjecture, I should say that one of them was not less than forty feet, the length corresponding with the direction of the side of the quadrangle. The entrance-walls (if I may call them so) seem to have been much ornamented; but what struck me most was a statue, cut, of course, out of the solid rock, and supporting one side of an ornamented entrance to one of the chambers. This statue, the natives say, is intended to represent the rajah who founded the palace: it is nearly the size of life and well preserved. The right arm hangs down by the side, the left is bent at the elbow, the hand resting on the hip. On the head appears to be a close helmet, with, I think, scales down each side of the face. The dress consists of a short shirt of scale armour reaching down to the thigh; below this hangs a cloth skirt to the knees; hanging from the shoulders behind is a short cloak resembling that worn by our modern horsemen; round the waist is a sash or loose belt; boots reaching half-way to the knees; and at the side is a double-edged Roman sword. Now, to what nation or people such a dress as this can have belonged I cannot conceive. I feel confident that no people of India have ever worn such garments; yet, when I look at this dress, and consider the Grecian nature of many of the letters in the inscriptions, and the un-Indian appearance of the pillars in the lion's mouth, I cannot help asking myself whether it is possible that, when Alexander was stopped by the Affghans, any of his people ventured still farther into the country, and after various wanderings founded Cundeegurree, as conquerors of the district. Or, if I wish to turn my speculations in another direction, I may examine the dress, carved in stone, and that statue, and think of the name of the reputed founder Lalal, India, Kesari (quære Cæsar?). All this, however, is mere speculation, as I have no sufficient data at present by which to arrive at any conclusion. There is a much longer inscription very correctly copied in Stirling's 'History of Orissa.'
After spending a most interesting day at Cundeegurree we returned to Bhalmacottee, from whence my wife and myself came on to Cuttack on Saturday. I forgot to mention an animal that we killed; the natives called it a "goodee sampsnake," and said it was very savage and very venomous, though I imagine it was nothing but a guana. It is a sort of lizard, with a very tough scaly skin, about two and a half feet in length, head like that of a snake, forked tongue, sharp teeth, short legs, armed with long claws or rather talons. I have preserved and stuffed the skin.
A gentleman has just been here who told me an interesting anecdote about an elephant. A friend of his bought one, and went out hunting with a large party. The animal behaved very well all day; but in the evening, when they were going to take off the howdah, the mahout called to the Europeans to stand farther off, as the elephant appeared to be getting uneasy. He had hardly spoken when the animal made a rush forward, seized an unfortunate native, and began trampling upon him with his enormous feet; a chuprapee who ran forward was seized by the elephant, and flung to the distance of many feet into the river; the beast then raised the poor wretch he had been crushing, and threw him into the jungle, where he was found with not a bone unbroken; every limb was crushed: of course he died almost directly. The elephant then ran off, and for weeks was the terror of the country round—going into the villages, tearing down the houses to look for corn or rice. At last he was caught, and sold to the king of Lucknow, in Upper India. I should mention that the only limestone hills in this part of India are those around Cundeegurree.
How little is known in England of what a thunderstorm is! At this minute (about ten o'clock in the evening) the rain is pouring down in vast sheets of water rather than in drops. For the last two hours the lightning has not ceased for a minute at a time, whilst the thunder has continued incessantly, varied occasionally by a tremendous crash which bursts immediately above the house and shakes it to its very foundation. Add to this the roaring of the sea and the howling of the wind, and some idea may be formed of the fearful noise now sounding in my ears. But the storm is, in one respect, more fearful here than elsewhere; at this station most of the European houses are blown down once in two or three years—a process which is anything but comfortable to the inhabitants, who are compelled to shiver through the night on the bleak sands, drenched with spray and rain, half covered with loose sand, and afraid to stand lest they should be blown away.
I find that the depth of water which fell in the two hours and a half that the storm continued was one inch and a half, a quantity which in England, I believe, would not fall without many days of rain. But this is a delightful place. The difference of climate between this and Cuttack could hardly be conceived, and yet the distance is only fifty miles. At Cuttack, during the hot season of the year, the inhabitants are obliged to close every door and window at half-past six in the morning, in order to keep out the fearfully scorching heat, neither can they open them again till seven in the evening. Although the air is kept in constant motion by the punkahs, yet, being confined, and also much rarified by the heat, it produces a stifling gasping sensation, which is most painful. At this time of the year too the mosquitoes come into the houses in great numbers, and we are therefore compelled to use the mosquito-curtains at night, which have no opening all round, and the lower edge of which is tucked in with the bed-clothes; you might almost as well be shut up in a box. The intense heat, and the quantity of bad air which necessarily accumulates under the curtains, cause continual headaches and oppression of the lungs.
Well, you start from Cuttack in the evening, arrive at Pooree the next morning, and what a change! The doors and windows are open all day; and although the thermometer generally stands at 89°, yet the incessant breeze off the sea prevents any inconvenience from the heat; indeed, we are sometimes glad to close the doors in order to keep out the air. At night a delicious fresh wind, which frequently renders a blanket necessary, no mosquitoes, no curtains. In the morning we can remain out of doors till eight; in the afternoon we can go out at five.
How rejoiced many persons would be to be able to spend their hot weather at such a place. There are, nevertheless, two great drawbacks to the comfort of Pooree. First, the European houses are all situated on a vast plain of loose sand, extending from the sea as far as the eye can reach in every direction; so that it is considered at Pooree quite impossible to walk. My wife, like most other ladies, rides in a tonjon, a sort of small cab, carried on men's shoulders. I and almost all the gentlemen ride on horseback, or rather ponyback. At Cuttack only rich civilians keep horses; all we poor men are content with ponies. I have three beauties: two of them, Birmah ponies, for the carriage, are of a large size, thick built, very strong, and highly valued on account of their hardihood. It is usual to keep their manes cropped close, but I like to see them long. One carries me very well; the other is a saddle-pony, which does either for my wife or myself. It is bay, with long black mane and tail, very sleek, with thin ankles and arching neck. Indeed, several people who have looked at him say he is the best-built horse they ever saw. He is full of fire and play, jumps about, and every now and then stands upon his hind legs. But he will not bear to be annoyed by strangers. A friend of mine was riding him one day, and teased him so much that at last he reared and fell over backwards with him. The carriage-horses are what is called sorrel-colour.
The second drawback to the comfort of Pooree is rather a curious one, and is, I suppose, caused by the wind and the glare of the sun upon the sands. It is the impossibility for any one to keep awake during the day. Towards twelve o'clock an overpowering drowsiness comes on. Once or twice I have resisted it, and on those occasions I verily believe that in the evening, had I shut my eyes, I should have gone to sleep upon my feet. This is the universal complaint of all visitors to that place. The regular residents get over it.
Talking of the night reminds me of a general habit which would seem very odd to people in England. A person would imagine that everybody is very fidgety at night, and rolls and tosses about a great deal in the very hot weather. To render ourselves more comfortable at such times we have a number of pillows of all shapes and sizes and hardnesses scattered about the bed. At one roll you lay your leg on one and your arm on another, then you turn over to the other side, and then, throwing your feet on to one pillow, you hold another fast under your arm: that won't do, and you roll over on your back, with one pillow under your knee and another under each arm, and so on through the night. I can assure you that, however absurd it may appear, this multiplicity of pillows is a very great comfort on very hot nights, although when you awake you certainly often find yourself and them in very funny positions.
But now let us describe the journey up the hill, which is situated in the territories of the Rajah of Neilghur; that is, he pays tribute to the English, but governs his territory for himself. Just before we went there, by the advice of the masahibs or councillors, he had been into one of our villages making a great disturbance, whereupon the commissioner, a sort of governor of the district, sent for the Rajah, desiring him to come in to Balasore and explain his conduct. I was with the commissioner when he arrived. The Rajah of Neilghur is a handsome intelligent-looking young man of about twenty. His estate brings him in a revenue of nearly sixty thousand rupees a-year. His brother, who is about two years younger, and full of fun and frolic, is always with him. They came to Balasore with a party of about thirty, three elephants, and twenty horses. The Rajah and his brother, with eight or ten of the masahibs, were ushered into the commissioner's room, where chairs were offered to the two former; the others remained standing. Of course all except the two young Rajahs took off their shoes before they entered the room. Mr. M., the commissioner, who, as I have told you, is the kindest of men, gave them a long quiet lecture, and strongly advised them to dismiss the masahibs and govern entirely for themselves; and he warned them that, if such disturbances occurred again, he should be obliged to send and take possession of the whole territory of Neilghur. They were very submissive and made what excuses they could, but which, in point of fact, amounted to none at all. At last they rose to take leave, and I with one or two others joined them.
I immediately told the Rajah that we were going over to Neilghur on the following day, and asked whether he would provide five hundred coolies to beat the jungle. The Rajah promised that he would procure us the coolies and elephants and make us comfortable. The party then mounted, and really it was a very pretty scene. Both the Rajahs and all their attendants were dressed in the purest white—full loose trowsers, white frocks open on one side of the chest, and white turbans. The younger brother wore a red sash, all the others white ones. The Rajahs had most splendid gold chains round their waists, and three very handsome rings in each ear. The eldest mounted first. His horse, which was very tall and strongly built, was an albino; it was perfectly white, with red eyes. The saddle, which for all natives is made deep and well padded, was covered and entirely concealed by a splendid crimson cloth extending from the shoulders to the haunches. It was surrounded by a deep gold fringe, and reached about half way to the ground on each side. The young man laid his hand on the horse's shoulder, and at one vault sprang into the saddle, the cloth remaining on. This was the signal for every one to mount, and then they all began to show off. Their horses played all sorts of antics; they danced, and plunged, and reared, and capered about, though still under perfect control; indeed, it was evident that all these tricks were the result of education. After some minutes spent in this way, they suddenly started off at full gallop, and tore along at a tremendous rate as long as they continued in sight. They were followed by the elephants in a rough trot.
But I must say something more about these elephants. I was walking through the town with C. the evening before, when we saw the elephants coming towards us. We were both startled, if not alarmed. One of them is said to be the largest in India, and it really did look awful. The others, which were of the ordinary size, looked like young ones by its side. I had afterwards an opportunity of measuring it, and, if I remember rightly, its height was twelve feet eleven inches. It is very old, as Tippoo Saib rode it at Seringapatam. It is quite blind, and it is most interesting to observe its manner of walking or running. At each step its trunk swings from side to side, just touching the ground in front, so that the animal may know if there is any impediment in the way. A part near the end of the trunk is much worn away and quite hardened by this constant rubbing. His tusks are magnificent, but his body is little more than a skeleton covered with skin.
Whilst at Neilghur I saw this monster bathe. A boy took him down to a pond close to our tent. He led him by one of his tusks. When he reached the water, at an order from his attendant the elephant held out his trunk and the lad climbed up it until he reached his tusks. The elephant then raised his head until they were the highest part, when the boy slipped off them on the head itself. The animal then walked slowly into the water until it reached the top of his legs; at a signal from the boy he then lay down, whilst the lad kept on the head, scrubbing both that and his back. At another signal he sank himself lower and lower, until only his trunk and the head and shoulders of the boy were visible. It seemed to enjoy it very much, and was almost unwilling to come out again.
We sent our tent on before and started from Balasore at about eleven o'clock in the evening in palanquins. Our party consisted of T., D., B., C. and his son, and myself. We arrived at Neilghur at about three o'clock, and our palanquins were simply set down on the ground that we might finish our night's rest. By the by, when the bearers of the palanquins are changed for fresh men, on taking hold they very often cry out, "Ah! my brother, my child!" but with me they generally make an addition to this—"Ah! my brother, my child, my elephant!"
When they set my palanquin down I turned to look about me. It was very dark, though the stars were shining brightly. The hill seemed to rise almost perpendicularly from my feet into the clouds; a strong blast of cold wind came rolling down its sides, and I was very glad to creep back again into my palanquin and cover myself up with a thick blanket. A little before sunrise I turned out again and roused my companions. We dressed ourselves, loaded our guns and pistols, and started on the ascent, after swallowing a hasty cup of tea and a bit of bread.
At this moment the sun rose, and none but those who have witnessed the splendour of the oriental sunrise can have an idea of the magnificence of the scene. Immediately in front of us was a broad sheet of water surrounded by dense jungle, interspersed with lofty trees, from which, as we looked, two peacocks came forth to drink. At the back of the lake the hill rose abruptly to the height of nearly a thousand feet, the sides partially covered with trees, but which were interspersed here and there with precipices two or three hundred feet in depth, composed of a dark-coloured rock. From each side of this principal eminence project as it were shoulders, of about half the height, and which, covered with the thickest foliage, inclined round to the right and left so as to enclose us in a sort of semicircle.
We had sent men the day before to trace a path through the jungle, and they had tolerably succeeded. But unfortunately I was weak and far from well, and was completely knocked up before I got half-way to the top. One of our party was a medical man, and he insisted on my not attempting to go any farther. I felt deadly sick, my face was as white as snow, every pulse in my head and chest throbbed as if it would burst, my mouth was not dry but clammy, and when I lay down on a piece of rock I almost doubted if I should ever rise again. However, I soon felt better, descended the hill, got a glass of beer, and lay down in the tent for an hour or two. The others reached the top without much difficulty, though two of them avowed that, if the summit had been a hundred yards farther, they could not have reached it. They were very thankful for some beer and brandy-and-water which I sent up for them. They saw no animals, though in several places traces of bears were observed. The Rajah says there are no tigers in these parts.
We had but little hunting; while we were there one of our party killed a beautiful spotted deer. I shot some peacocks and a jungle-cock. Talking of hunting reminds me of an adventure which I must relate. The commissioner is the stoutest man I have seen in India, although my wife did insinuate the other day that I was nearly as big, but I am not.
The other day Mr. D., Lieutenant H., and the commissioner went out hog-hunting. This sport is always performed on horseback with long spears. The beaters soon turned out a magnificent boar. "A boar! a boar!" was the shout, and up galloped the commissioner and plunged the spear into the animal; but, in consequence of his horse swerving, he was unable to withdraw the weapon, and the boar ran off with it sticking into his back. Lieutenant H. now came up; the boar charged him, cut both the fore legs of his horse to the bone with his tusks, and tumbled horse and man over on the ground. In the mean time the commissioner had seized another spear from his syce, when the boar rushed at him. His horse swerved at the moment that he was making a thrust with his spear, and the poor commissioner rolled over on the ground. Fortunately the boar was nearly exhausted, too much so to charge again; but he did what perhaps no boar ever did before,—he seized the commissioner by the coat-tails as he lay on his stomach. Feeling the snout of the beast, he at once expected to be cut, if not killed, by its tremendous tusks.
He sprang upon his feet; the boar kept hold of his tail. The Commissioner faced about; he had neither pistol nor knife, so he commenced pummelling away at the boar's face with his fist. Now imagine the scene—a man of his extraordinary size with his coat-tail held up by an enormous boar; the Commissioner himself turned half round, and having a regular boxing-match with the ferocious brute. D. came up as quickly as he could for laughing, and with one good thrust of his spear put an end to the fight. The charge of the boar is fearful; he cuts right and left with his tusks, and inflicts the most dreadful wounds.
And now I must mention some circumstances which to me rendered our expedition to Neilghur very unpleasant; they relate to the manner in which our party treated the Rajah. On the morning of our arrival, after our descent from the hills, he came with a party of horsemen to call upon us. We were just sitting down to breakfast, when I observed the cavalcade approaching. I mentioned it, and proposed that, according to Indian politeness, we should go into the verandah of our tent to receive them. But the principal man of our party said, "Oh! bother the fellow, we can't see him now;" and he sent a servant out to tell him so.
In the afternoon the Rajah sent his man, corresponding to our chief gamekeeper in England, to ask when we should like the coolies to beat the jungle, and to say that he would join us in the hunt. We named the time and started accordingly, found the coolies in readiness, and saw the Rajah and his brother coming upon elephants.
Our party began to move on, when I asked, "Will you not wait for the Rajah?" "I should think not," was the reply; "we don't want the beastly niggers with us." And yet these civilized men were glad enough to make use of these beastly niggers' coolies and elephants. I stayed behind and had some talk with them.
The next day the two Rajahs called at the tent; they entered as gentlemen, and made the usual Indian salutation. With the exception of myself, I do not think one of our party even rose from his chair. In the course of conversation we spoke of the badness of the water we got. The Rajah immediately offered to send a man six miles into the hills to fetch some from a mountain stream. In little more than an hour afterwards, one of our party, feeling thirsty, sent a servant to ask the Rajah whether he had not got that water yet. In India, in speaking to a servant, you use the word "toom," which signifies "you." In speaking to a gentleman you say "ab," which means "your honour." One or two of our party made a point of saying "toom" to the Rajah, which was in fact a great insult. The younger brother called upon us. The chief of our party spoke to him on the subject of the disturbances, although it had all been settled by the Commissioner, and gave him a regular blowing up. And now remember that all this was to a gentleman—an Indian it is true, but still a gentleman, with a fine estate, and about 6000l. a-year, from whom we were receiving every kindness, and on whose land we were hunting. Can it be wondered at that the natives do not like us so well as might otherwise be expected?
The Rajah, I suppose, finding me more civil than the others, gave me a great mark of honour. He took me on his own elephant, while he acted as mahout, and whenever any roughness occurred on the ground he turned to warn me of it. I own that I did not enjoy the honour much. The elephant was covered with a crimson cloth, so that there were no ropes to hold by. The only way in which I could manage was to sit astride. It was really most painful, and I almost doubted whether I should ever be able to get my legs together again. I had two brace of pistols with me. The Rajah appeared very much pleased with them, and, to make up for the rudeness of our party, I gave him one of the pair. He was delighted, and I was sadly laughed at for giving anything to a nigger. His palace is a fine white building on the side of one of the hills.
I have mentioned the manner in which Europeans are apt to alienate the affections of the natives; I will now give you an instance of the way in which the Government seek to conciliate them. It must be remembered that salt is a Government monopoly, that is, no person is allowed to prepare or sell it except by the appointment of Government. The cost to them is about eight annas, or one shilling, per maund of eighty pounds; they sell it for four rupees, or eight shillings, for the same quantity; and yet so necessary is it to the natives, that, if any man does not buy the usual quantity of Government, which is, I believe, about half a seer, or one pound, a-month, for each individual, he is brought by the police before a magistrate and sent to gaol, on the presumption that, as he does not purchase salt, he must smuggle it.
Now the salt-manufacturers receive a portion of their pay beforehand, and the remainder when the salt is ready. They belong mostly to the poorest classes, and their mode of working is very simple, merely collecting the sea-water, and then suffering it to evaporate in the sun. When they receive the first portion of their pay, they are told how much they will receive per maund, for the price varies slightly in different years. Last year they were promised a certain sum; I am not exactly sure how much, but say eight annas per maund; and when they came to the salt-agent for their money, they found that an order had arrived from Government reducing the promised pay to six and a half annas per maund. Of course they were excessively angry, and utterly astonished; for one strong idea with the natives is, that an Englishman will never tell an untruth. I happened to be present at the time; it occurred at Pooree, in the neighbourhood of which are some of the principal salt-works, if I may use so dignified a term.
The proper course for these poor people to have taken would have been, to have brought an action against Government for breach of contract; but this they could not possibly afford. However, the magistrates of Pooree sent a strong remonstrance to Government, and the consequence was, that they authorized the salt-agent this year to renew the contracts at the higher price, much to the delight of the poor salt-manufacturers, who still lost a part of the promised price of last year; yet it is scarcely to be credited that, before the time for the second payment arrived, another order was sent down, reducing the price as they did last year, and thus again defrauding the poor wretches of part of their small pittance, for defrauding it is in the truest sense of the word. All these things are managed by four or five men, who compose what is called the Salt Board.[6] I may mention that the salt-workers have been sadly disturbed this year by the number of tigers. The natives sometimes keep the claws of those which they are so fortunate as to kill, to make charms to keep off mischief.
And now I must describe Juggernat'h. To the temple are attached about four thousand priests and servants. Of these one set are called Pundahs. In the autumn of every year they start on a journey through India, preaching in every town and village the advantages of a pilgrimage to Juggernat'h; after which they conduct to Pooree large bodies of pilgrims for the Rath Justra, or Car Festival, which takes place in May or June—the precise time depends on the moon, as does the time of our Easter. This is the principal festival, and the number of devotees varies from about 80,000 to 150,000. About five years ago there were present, on one occasion, not less than 250,000; but that numerous meeting was owing to some peculiar sanctity which is supposed to be diffused once in 200 years. But I ought to have commenced with some account of Juggernat'h himself. He represents the ninth incarnation of Vishnoo. I have often wondered whether the Hindu religion may not, in some portions, be taken remotely from the Christian. One name of Vishnoo is Chrishna; one appellation of Juggernat'h is Sri Teo. This Teo, as Chrishna, became incarnate whilst very young; he was sought after by a king to put
him to death. Many children were killed, but he was removed from place to place in safety. He was born amongst the shepherds. The Hindus look for a tenth incarnation, when he shall unite all the world in one religion, and himself reign over them. I believe I am correct in giving these as points of faith amongst the Brahmins; and when we consider that the Hindu religion was probably established long after St. Thomas and St. Bartholomew had visited India, it certainly seems allowable to suppose that some portion of the Christian teaching became mingled with the doctrines of the Hindus. There is one objection to this supposition, namely, that Vishnoo is represented to have lived a very wicked and immoral life while on earth.
No European, Mussulman, or low-caste Hindu is admitted into the temple; we can, therefore, only speak on hearsay of what goes on inside. The idol itself is renewed every twelve years; it consists of a mere block of sacred wood, in the centre of which is said to be concealed a fragment of the original idol, which was fashioned by Vishnoo himself. The features and all the external parts are formed of a mixture of mud and cowdung painted. Every morning the idol undergoes his ablutions; but as the cowdung and paint would not stand the washing, the priests adopt a very ingenious plan—they hold a mirror in front of the image, and wash his reflection. Every evening he is put to bed; but as the idol is very unwieldy, they place the bedstead in front of him; on that they lay a small image, lock the door, and leave him to come down himself, if he can.
Offerings are made to him, by pilgrims and others, of rice, money, jewels, elephants, &c.; the Rajah of Knoudah and the priests being his joint treasurers. About twelve days before the Rath Justra, Juggernat'h goes to bathe; whilst doing so, he is supposed to be bitten by a snake, which causes him to be sick until the day of the festival. During his illness the priests take off his paint and cowdung, and give quite a new coat; so that at the end of the time he appears quite healthy and strong.
On the grand day the three cars, which, I should say, were fifty or sixty feet in height, are brought to the gate of the temple; the idols are then taken out by the priests—Juggernat'h having golden arms and diamond eyes for that one day—and by means of pulleys are hauled up and placed in their respective carriages; to these enormous ropes are attached, and the assembled thousands, with loud shouts, proceed to drag the idols to Juggernat'h's country-house, a small temple at about a mile distant. This occupies several days, and the idols, having rusticated for some time, are brought back to their regular station. The Hindus believe that every person who aids in dragging the cars receives pardon for all his past sins; every pilgrim who dies within five miles of Pooree will be greatly blessed in his next life; and every person who swims out to sea, so far as to see the top of the temple from the surface of the water, secures great blessings in another life for himself, his father and mother, his grandparents, and the three next generations descended from himself! This last experiment, however, is very rarely tried; there are too many sharks to make it pleasant. One man was drowned last year in attempting it. As to the people throwing themselves under the wheels of the car, that I believe to be altogether a European invention. Some occasionally fall accidentally, and are thus killed; but I imagine that self-immolation in this way neither is nor ever was at all a common thing.
I have very little doubt that great wickedness prevails within the temple. In two cases, lately, it is known that murder has been committed there; yet we, who have held the country so long, are not allowed to enter the building. It is said that if we attempted it we should be driven from the district; this I do not believe. Some years ago the priests declared that the god would not leave his country-house until all the English were driven from the province. The officer commanding at Cuttack directly sent word that, if the idol was not brought back on the usual day, he would come and blow both it and the temple to pieces. Juggernat'h immediately came to his senses, and was back in his temple one day before his regular time.
During the period the pilgrims remain at Pooree they are not allowed to eat anything but what has been offered to the idol, and that they have to buy at a very high price from the priests. This food is often very bad, and from that, combined with other causes, the cholera makes sad ravages amongst these poor people.