man. As the East India Company do not allow above one doctor to
every fifty miles, I wrote to a friend of mine in whom I have much
confidence, detailing all my symptoms and requesting his advice.
I could not think it of any use to put blisters and leeches on my
throat for a cough and sickness which I felt to proceed from my
stomach, and as I was very unwell I thought it best to consult
another person. In the wisdom of his advice I perfectly agree,
although it is more difficult to act up to it in India: "Employ
your mind and stint your body." Any amusement, anything that could
interest or excite or rouse, he recommended, but to avoid all
unnatural stimulants as much as possible (I mean wine and spirits),
and take plenty of exercise. If I do this, he says, he thinks I may
leave all physic in the bottles and the leeches in the ponds. In
accordance with this advice I am occupying myself in various ways.
Books it is impossible to procure, so I have been training a horse
for my wife--a beautiful little thing. I have made arrangements too
for going to Calcutta in the course of the cold weather; and I have
enclosed about an acre of my ground, and am making a vegetable or
rather a kitchen garden of it.
I get up about six, dress in my old clothes, go out, and find one
of the horses, or rather ponies, at the door waiting for me. I must
ride him through the long grass, which by the bye is very nearly fit
to cut, to look at a number of my trees scattered here and there in
the compound, which I have been planting; then, when I am down at the
farther end I take a glance at the large pond, or tank as we call it,
where, sheltered by the most beautiful flowering trees, two men are
catching fish for our breakfast. Then I ride along inside the hedge,
watching the soldiers at parade, until I come to the goat-house; then
see the pigs fed, and ride back to the house.
[Sidenote: FLOWER AND KITCHEN GARDENS.]
By this time my wife is up, and she goes into the flower-garden,
and I into the kitchen-garden, to sow seeds and superintend the
gardeners. And here is the most curious scene; seven black men at
work, their only dress a cloth round the loins, their long black
hair wound up in a knot at the back of the head, their only tools a
sort of broad pickaxe with a very short handle and a small sickle,
these are their only gardening implements; and two men are watering
with gurrahs, a sort of narrow-necked jar made of black clay,
which they let down into a well by a rope. In the flower-garden
are the beautiful balsams, of many colours, and as large as
gooseberry-bushes; the splendid coxcombs, eight or ten feet high,
whose great thick flowers measure twelve or fourteen inches by six
or eight; the varieties of the hybiscas, with many others; and a few
of the more precious European rarities--at least to us--such as the
heliotrope, verbenum, larkspur, and many others. Our borders are
mostly of the sweet-scented grass from the Neilghur hills, which is
always covered with a beautiful small white flower.
In the vegetable-garden, besides the precious peas, beans, celery,
cress, &c., which will only grow at this time of the year, are the
pine-apple, the plantain, the guava, the lime, the orange, the
custard-apple, with many other native plants and trees; and in the
hedges are some of the beautiful palms, from the sap of which the
Indians make an intoxicating drink called toddy. In the compound are
some very fine mango-trees and beeches.
The other evening I was sitting alone writing at about eleven
o'clock, when I heard the sentry call out loudly to my servants
who were sleeping in the verandah. I jumped up to see what was the
matter. "A leopard-tiger!" was the answer; and the man said he had
seen a leopard creeping stealthily along the compound. He leapt over
the wall into the garden of the Colonel who lives in the next house,
and the following day footsteps were found in various parts of the
cantonment, which the natives said were too large for a leopard,
and must have been the marks of a regular tiger. I did not see the
animal myself; but if the men were correct, it must have been an
extraordinary occurrence, as our little island is entirely free from
wild beasts; and although it is at this time of the year joined to
the main by a narrow neck of sand, yet no large beast will cross
unless pressed either by hunger or by hunters.
A few days ago a man brought me an animal which he had caught in
the jungle on the hills. At first sight I said it was an armadillo,
but now I feel some doubt whether it was not some unknown animal. I
wanted to buy it, in order to send the skin, or rather the shell,
home, but the man asked ten rupees for it, which I could not afford.
It was nearly three feet long, covered with thick hard scales of
a dirty yellow colour, the tail the same length as the body, and
equally broad, which I do not think is the case with the armadillo.
The shape of its whole back was a long oval. When frightened it
rolled itself up into a ball, but it appeared very lethargic and
stupid. The feet were armed with long, powerful claws, but it walked
with the lower joints turned down under the feet, as if I were to
walk on my ankles with the feet and toes turned under and behind. It
burrowed a hole in a wall, pulling out the bricks and mortar very
easily. I tried it with various kinds of food, but the only thing I
could get it to eat was white ants. The man who brought it said he
had never seen one like it before.
Not long ago the doctor at Pooree saw a number of natives running
to the beach. He inquired what was the matter: "A great fish, sir."
So down he went to join the crowd, and there he found a large fish
indeed: a whale, measuring forty-eight feet in length, had been
washed on shore; the body was rolling about in the surf, with great
numbers of the natives clinging to it.
Then the doctor and the only other European present took off their
shoes and stockings, turned up their trowsers, and climbed on the
enormous animal's back; they got well wetted for their pains. The
other gentleman that I mentioned is not a very learned man, and he
said that their climbing up the sides of the whale reminded him of
the "Lally prussians" climbing on to Gulliver. This same person once
said that his wife had had a "historical" fit, in consequence of
eating "aromatically" sealed salmon.
Khoutah, 30 miles from Cuttack, December 16, 1844.
[Sidenote: ANTIQUITY OF INDIAN RELIGIONS.]
I am now writing in a tent in which, with the exception of Christmas
week, I expect to spend the next month or two, travelling in search
of health. The cool weather has refreshed me much, and I feel far
better than I did. A question has been asked me respecting the
antiquity of the religions of this country. I believe the Buddhist
religion to be more ancient than the Brahminical in India; though I
think that the latter is the older in reality, as I imagine it to
have existed almost in its present form in ancient Egypt. The Hindus
burn their dead, the Mohammedans bury them: but there are very many
of the former who are too poor to purchase wood; in this case the
bodies are simply thrown out for the jackals and vultures.
Jenkia, about 44 miles south of Cuttack, January 4, 1845.
From Khoulah I returned to Cuttack for Christmas. Early on Christmas
morning Mr. G., the collector and magistrate of Pooree, came in
to spend the day with us. Poor man! he and a cousin of his were
almost brought up together, and they became much attached even in
childhood. When he obtained an appointment in India, it was agreed
that he should return to England and marry her as soon as he should
have attained sufficient rank in the service to give him an adequate
income. After about five years' residence in this country he went
home and was married. This was ten years ago, and from that time his
life seems to have been as happy as a human life can be. Latterly
they became anxious to go home on furlough, in order that they might
see their children settled in England, but they had not saved money
enough; so, in April, Mr. G. applied for a better appointment, and
was consequently nominated to Pooree. On their way down, as they
passed through Calcutta, both were seized with cholera; he recovered,
but she died; he sent his children home, but arrived at Pooree a
solitary man. He is still in a very desponding state, but I do all I
can to arouse him, both by bodily amusement and religious converse.
At about one o'clock of the night of Christmas-day, or rather of
the following morning, my wife, Mr. G., and myself got into our
palanquins, and started for Khoordagurree, which we visited last
year. We arrived at our tent by about ten o'clock on Thursday
morning, bathed, dressed, breakfasted, and prepared to start for the
caves; but, alas! it began to rain, and the water continued to fall
in torrents for upwards of eighteen hours. We might have expected
this, for in India it is almost invariably the case in Christmas
week. The seasons are very regular; it generally rains every day
from the 15th of June to the 15th of October, that is, in this part
of India; the next showers are in Christmas-week, and then rarely
any more till June. Now, this thorough drenching was both unpleasant
and dangerous: for, although the tents kept out the water very
effectually, yet everything was so thoroughly damp that we began to
be afraid of the deadly jungle-fevers.
Just outside one of the doors of each tent we lighted a large wood
fire, and allowed as much of the smoke to come in as we could
possibly bear; this warmed us, and dried up the damp and purified the
air; and we retired to bed and put out the fires: we closed the doors
of the tents, and found ourselves in a comparatively dry healthy
atmosphere.
Tanghi, 56 miles south of Cuttack, January 5, 1845.
[Sidenote: MODE OF TRAVELLING.]
The following afternoon we were able to revisit the caves. But I will
first describe our journey. On the Monday and Tuesday we had plenty
of shooting; the Wednesday, New-Year's day, we spent in-doors. At six
o'clock on the morning of Thursday, the 2nd, we started for Jonkia.
We went on horseback, riding fourteen miles before breakfast. Our
manner of travelling is most delightfully independent: we encamp at
any place we wish to see; Mr. G. transacts his necessary business as
magistrate and revenue-collector; then we have one, two, or three
days' exercise in hunting and shooting, the time depending chiefly on
the abundance of game.
When we feel inclined to start we send forward an order to the
principal man at the next place, say twelve or fifteen miles distant,
to build one room, about thirty feet square, in a shady place, for
ourselves; for the walls we use cocoa-nut and palm leaves, bound
together with bamboos, and the ceiling is made of the same material
with a few pieces of matting to keep out the sun. The evening before
we start we send on a cart with some of our chairs, tables, and other
necessaries and provisions, which it would be very awkward to forget,
under charge of some of our followers: we have about one hundred and
twenty of them with us.
Then, in the morning, we get up at five; we have a bit of toast, an
egg, and a cup of coffee or a glass of sherry; give orders for the
tents to be struck and everything to be brought on as quickly as
possible, and then we mount our horses; a groom runs by the side, and
a little way behind come our palanquins and tonjons.
We are also attended by men carrying our guns and powder, by many
other servants, and about half the inhabitants of the last village
through which we passed. If we feel tired we get into our tonjons;
if the sun is too hot we call for our palanquins. Every now and then
we see five or six peacocks feeding in a rice-field, or we come to a
place where there are plain tracks of deer. Then we give our horses
to the grooms, and creep along gently with our heads down and our
guns in our hands, whilst my wife either watches the sport or trots
gently on. At last we arrive at our encamping-place; there we find
our leafy house ready, and similar ones provided for the servants and
horses; eat a hearty breakfast, at which we sometimes substitute beer
for tea, and by the time that is over the tents are arrived.
We have them put up, arrange them comfortably, perhaps have a game
at chess, and then go out for a stroll about our new ground. Our
dinner-hour varies, but is generally between seven and eight. We
are usually up about five, and often walk from ten to twenty miles
a-day. This has done me a great deal of good. I feel already quite a
different person from what I did when I was in Cuttack. I have not,
however, lost my cough.
Sunday is a day of rest with us; we have service and spend the day
very quietly. At Jonkia we remained until Saturday the 4th; then came
on to Tanghi; on Thursday, the 9th, proceeded to Soonercollee, on the
10th to Bampoor, and yesterday, the 11th, we arrived at this place.
So much for our actual route; now I will give some account of what we
have seen.
When we came to Jonkia we agreed that we had never seen anything to
compare with the scenery there; but as we came into Soonercollee we
quite forgot Jonkia in the new splendours that met our eyes. Yet
these were again eclipsed in the beauties of Chelka Lake, to which we
took one evening's ride from Soonercollee. It is utterly impossible
to convey any idea of the scenery either by the pen or the pencil;
yet I will try what I can do.
In approaching the small village of Soonercollee you ascend a hill
some 200 or 300 feet high by a steep winding road or rather path. At
the top of the eminence it is cut through the solid rock, which rises
about thirty feet on each side. Suddenly, at a turn in the road, the
whole country in the front becomes visible, and I doubt whether any
one could repress a cry of admiration at the sight. The spectator is
(as I said before) at the summit of a lofty hill; beneath him is a
plain of some ten or twelve miles across, bounded on every side by
a lofty range and masses of rock. Peering up behind are to be seen
a succession of noble mountains. The sides of the hills, where they
do not consist of rocky precipices, are covered with a dense jungle:
the plain below is cultivated, except where, in three places, abrupt
rocky masses, interspersed with jungle, rise to a height of 300 or
400 feet. It looks as if some mighty convulsion had taken place, and
the earth had thrown up large bubbles of rock from the surface of the
plain.
[Sidenote: CHELKA LAKE--WATER-FOWL.]
The scenery on the Chelka Lake, a piece of water some forty miles
long by from ten to twenty in breadth, is very similar to the above,
if you substitute water for the level plain of the rice-fields.
Here the hills rise abruptly from the lake, and many of them are
quite inaccessible. The islands are inhabited by animals, but not by
man; and it is rather curious that each islet appears to have its
own peculiar race. Thus, one is inhabited by the beautiful spotted
deer, another by the enormous Indian elk, another by goats and fowls
(this one is sacred to the goddess Khalee), another by wild pigs,
and another by pigeons. With some difficulty I landed on one of the
pigeon islands: its greatest height did not exceed thirty feet, and
in circumference it may have been near a quarter of a mile; but
its structure was most extraordinary. It was composed entirely of
enormous masses of rock piled together without the appearance of
order or arrangement: it appeared as if some earthquake had destroyed
some giant dwelling-place, and left the ruins in one vast heap. Some
of the stones, larger than a man's body, had fallen upon one end;
they gave way beneath my foot, but returned to their position as soon
as relieved of the extra weight which had destroyed the balance. The
blue pigeons rose in clouds from every crevice, and fluttered about
until I left the neighbourhood of their nests.
The lake lay all around--so calm, so beautiful, with the green
mountains rising here and there from its surface, dotted all over
with myriads of ducks, geese, teal, and many other aquatic birds: and
this reminded me of one thing which I should have related before.
As we approached the shores of the lake we were surprised to see a
long line of tall white and red creatures standing just within the
water. We looked at them through Mr. G.'s glass, and found that they
were birds; we got out of our tonjons, crept towards them with loaded
guns, fired, and missed them, when they all rose and flew away.
The next morning Mr. G. and I returned to the spot: we each took a
separate boat, as Mrs. Acland was not with us; mine, like the others,
was about thirty feet long, and formed of a single piece of wood, a
tree scooped out. Mr. G. was very anxious to obtain some game, and
in the course of about two hours shot a couple of large bare-headed
geese and nineteen ducks of various sorts; indeed, they sat in such
masses on the water as to resemble rather a low wall than a number of
birds. At one shot he killed five ducks, and I three: I did not care
much about them, but I was anxious to see again some of my friends of
the previous evening.
At last I came in sight of a flock of them near the shore. I sat down
in the bottom of the boat, whilst the men pushed it gently along. I
was nearly within shot, when Mr. G. fired his gun at the distance
of about a mile from my boat: up and away flew all the birds. I was
very much annoyed: however, after some time, I saw about half a dozen
nearly two miles from me. On we went again, but they had become shy:
they raised their heads and looked about them as we approached, and
presently they rose. I did not think I was sufficiently near, but I
might not have another chance, so I fired, and down fell one of the
birds. I pushed one of the boatmen over to fetch it, though he hardly
needed pushing, for they appeared quite as anxious as I was.
I will try to describe my prize: I believe the bird to have been a
flamingo; and yet, if so, the usual descriptions are very erroneous.
The beak is pink, and furnished with a double row of teeth on each
side of the lower mandible--one row on the beak, and dark coloured;
the other very white and sharp, close to the tongue, which is large.
The eyes are pale, and surrounded by a thick yellow ring; the wings
are of a beautiful rose-colour, edged with black; the legs pink; the
rest of the body is white. When standing upright it is about five
feet high: the body is extremely small, neck and legs very long; it
has three toes in front and is web-footed, also a claw behind; the
beak very large.
Midnapore, February 14, 1845.
This is Friday, and on Sunday night I start for Calcutta to spend a
month with our friends; there I shall have plenty of occupation for
the mind, and shall, I hope, get rid entirely of the oppression under
which I have recently suffered.
[Sidenote: SPORTING.]
Fancy yourself standing with me on that little rising ground, near
the foot of that large hill: it is near Bunool, on the banks of the
Chelka Lake. Keep out of sight behind that bush. Hark! there are the
beaters climbing the rocks on the opposite side of the hill. There
are 400 extended along the whole side, and every tenth man has a
drum or trumpet. Some of them have guns, curious native matchlocks;
others have swords or spears; and every one has a thick bamboo about
eight feet long. Listen! they are beginning to beat. As they force
their way through the jungle they strike the bushes with their
sticks, and from one end of the lake to the other resound the most
unearthly noises. The horrid yells of the natives, the screaming of
the trumpets, the constant beating of the tom-toms and drums--you
can hardly imagine such horrid discord. See: there is Mr. G. hiding
himself behind that clump of trees a quarter of a mile off. Hold
your gun ready, you cannot tell what may rush out of the jungle.
Don't show yourself. Listen again to those yells. They must nearly
have reached the top of the hill. Hush! there is a rustling in those
bushes close to you. What is it? Keep close, but up with your gun.
Here it comes! Bah! don't fire at that; it is only a civet-cat. What
a beautiful animal it is, with its grey sides, and tail striped with
that glossy black. But the skin is of no use; the stench from it is
so exceedingly powerful that you could not possibly bear it in the
house. Look out! there's another rush! Here it comes! a pig! no; what
can it be? Why, it's a porcupine. Don't fire. Here, you messenger,
catch it. Fancy the man's look of dismay when ordered to catch a
porcupine. However, another of my men jumped up and stabbed the
animal with his sword.
Oh, what a clash in the jungle at the top of the hill! See! that must
be some large animal coming down. Don't let him see you; peep through
that bush. How he plunges through the jungle! He has stopped: look
now! he leaves the beaters behind him, but he suspects danger in
front. You can see his head by the side of that tree, just below that
high rock. He is standing still and gazing at us. What a splendid
pair of antlers! He must be one of the largest sambres (Indian elk) I
ever saw. I am afraid he is hardly within shot; however, I'll try. He
is down; the ball struck him just in the centre of his forehead, and
one of my men rushes forward to despatch him with his sword.
But look there! Mr. G. is running as fast as he can, and all his men
running too. What can be the matter? Quick! see! there is an enormous
bear pursuing them. Here, give me my gun; make haste. Look! G. has
stumbled, and is rolling head over heels down the hill. Bang! I hit
him! See, he turns back. G. shot the female, and was immediately
attacked by the male, whilst his gun was not loaded, for he foolishly
had but one. We got the body of the female, and brought it to our
tents in triumph. It was a black bear, measuring five feet seven
inches in length, and its teeth quite worn out.
Cuttack, April 2, 1845.
The Government of India orders me to go from Cuttack to Midnapore and
back again four times a-year, to Balasore and back twice a-year, and
to Pooree and back four times a-year. The distance from Cuttack to
Midnapore is one hundred and eighty miles, from Cuttack to Balasore
one hundred and three miles, and from Cuttack to Pooree forty-nine
miles. I travel about forty-seven miles a-day on the average.
The Government allows me twelve annas and two pice per mile for
travelling expenses; it costs me four annas and two pice--an anna
being one-sixteenth part of a rupee, and a pice one-fourth part of an
anna.
[Sidenote: SPORTING.]
I must now mention some of my adventures in the jungle. One day we
went with a native Rajah to hunt antelopes. Suppose the shore of the
Chelka Lake on one side and the sea on the other, with a strip of
sand between them rather more than a mile wide. The antelopes live
entirely on the sandy plain, and feed on the scanty plants which grow
among the sand. Across this flat a net about seven feet in height
and a mile long was staked, and 100 men were stationed along it as
guards. About 500 men were then sent out with a similar net about
a mile and a half in length, which they stretched at perhaps five
miles from the other. These 500 men then walked slowly towards the
first net, carrying the other in front of them, and driving lots of
antelopes before them. When they came within a mile of the first
net they staked the second, and there were perhaps fifty or sixty
antelopes enclosed in a space of about a mile square. Mr. G., the
Rajah, and myself, went inside with our guns. It was barbarous sport.
In two days we killed fifteen, which our servants ate most gladly.
But the interesting thing was to see twenty or thirty bound, one
after the other, over the net and the men's heads, giving tremendous
leaps; the black men striking at them with their swords and spears,
and cowering to avoid their sharp-cutting hoofs, and all hallooing
and jabbering, and swearing; whilst every now and then the crack of
one of our guns would be heard, and the whizz of the bullet as it
passed near.
Another day we expected some danger. When we arrived at the ground,
which consisted of thick patches of jungle, with open spaces between,
we got out of our tonjons and took our guns. There we found a number
of men looking for traces of deer, wild boars, tigers, or any other
animals. As soon as they found the track of one they followed it
until it led into the jungle, and exactly at that spot they pushed
in amongst the bushes an enormous bag made of net of thick rope.
Its mouth was kept open by a few twigs, whilst a running rope went
round the entrance and was fastened to a stake on one side. If then
any animal should make a rush along this track, he must go head
foremost into the net: the twigs would fall down, the neck would be
drawn tight, and the poor creature would be a prisoner. All these
preparations were at length concluded, and the Rajah then advised us
to mount the elephants, as he said two tigers had been seen in these
jungles the day before. We at once asked him whether his elephants
had been trained to stand the charge of a tiger, which always springs
at its head. He said he did not know; and we agreed that we would
rather stand the advance of a tiger on foot ourselves than be on the
back of a mad elephant scampering at random through the jungle. So we
built up an artificial hedge in front of us, and crouched down with
our guns pointed through some loopholes we had left in our fence.