THE FLORA AND THE SNAKES OF INDIA
The middle of the day was devoted to recreation. It was a very pleasant day
after the storm, and the ship had again struck into the north-east monsoon.
While most of the company were planking the promenade deck, it was observed
that Lord Tremlyn and Dr. Ferrolan had retired to the library; for though
they were very familiar with India and its people, they desired to freshen
their memory among the books.
Miss Blanche was walking the deck with Louis on one side of her, and Sir
Modava on the other. All the ladies had declared over and over again that
the latter was a very fascinating man; but he was a person of discernment,
and he could not very well help seeing that the young millionaire had a
special interest in the beautiful young lady.
Like a small boy, the young couple ate sugar because they liked it, and not
to swell the saccharine importance of the article, and probably never gave
a thought to the natural results of their daily intimacy. It is absolutely
certain that they had never indulged in any actual "spooning;" for Louis
had never proceeded far enough to call the fair maiden by her given name,
without "Miss" before it, precisely as everybody else in the cabin did.
They were entirely respectful to each other, and she invariably addressed
him as Mr. Belgrave.
[Illustration: "Miss Blanche was walking the deck with Louis and Sir
Modava."--Page 90.]
They were not as familiar as brother and sister, and doubtless neither of
them reasoned over the situation, or considered to what it might lead.
Though Miss Blanche was with Louis most of the time when they were on deck,
and walked and rode with him when they were on shore, she was just as kind
and pleasant with all the members of the "Big Four;" and when Louis was
engaged in a special study, as when he was preparing his "talk for the
conference," Scott or Felix found a chance for a promenade with her. But
everybody else on board understood the situation better than those the most
intimately concerned. But no one had any objection, not even Mrs. Belgrave
or the parents of Miss Blanche.
At half-past three in the afternoon the signal was given for the meeting in
Conference Hall. The ladies would have been glad to hear Sir Modava again;
but the commander invited the speakers, and kept his own counsels, so that
the party did not know whom they were to hear first.
"There is still a great deal to be said about India, and I am trying to
dispose of some of the dryest subjects first. Dr. Ferrolan has very
unselfishly consented to make a martyr of himself in the treatment of one
of these topics, though I hope another time to assign him something more to
his mind. Dr. Ferrolan."
This gentleman was received almost as enthusiastically as the handsome
Hindu; for the Americans were disposed to treat all their guests with
uniform courtesy, though it was hardly possible not to make an exception in
favor of Sir Modava.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I have to admit that, with the limitations the
excellent commander has put upon me, there is force in what he said about
the dryness of the subject. I delight in botany; and it will not be my
fault that I fail to interest you, especially the ladies, who are always
and everywhere fond of flowers. But I bow to the mandate of the supreme
authority here, and will do the best I can with the broad topic with which
I am to struggle. But I will do you the justice to believe that you all
want to know something more about the fauna of India.
"I have to observe in the first place that almost one-half of this great
region is tropical, though not a square foot of it is within three hundred
and fifty miles of the equator. In the Himalaya Mountains we have regions
of perpetual snow; and in the country south of them it is more than
temperate; it is cold in its season. You can see for yourselves that in a
territory extending from the island paradise of Ceylon to the frozen
regions of the highest mountain in the world, we have every variety of
climate, and consequently about every production that grows on the surface
of the earth.
"Our tropical productions are not quite equal to those that grow on the
equator. The coffee, sugar, tobacco, and spices are somewhat inferior to
those of Java, Sumatra, and Celebes. Rice is the staple food of the common
people, and has been raised from prehistoric periods. Maize, which I
believe you Americans call Indian corn"--
"Simply corn, if you please," interposed the commander.
"But corn covers grain of all kinds," suggested the doctor.
"Not with us; we call each grain by its own name, and never include them
under the name of corn. It is simply the fashion of the country; and if you
spoke of corn in Chicago, it would mean maize to the people who heard you."
"I shall know how to speak to an American audience on this subject
hereafter; but _corn_ and millet are raised for the food of some of
the animals. Oilseeds, as flax for linseed, are largely exported. The
cultivation of wheat has been greatly improved, and all the grains are
raised. In the Himalayas, on the borders of China, teas are grown under
European direction; and you will excuse me if I suggest that they are
better than those of 'the central flowery nation.' Dye-stuffs, indigo, and
lac are noted for their quality and their quantity.
"The native flowers are not so rich as you would expect to find; but the
white lilies of the water are as pretty as anywhere, and the flowering
shrubs are beautiful. Of course, if you went out to walk in the jungle you
would find wild-flowers enough to make a bouquet."
"But who would do it?" asked Mr. Woolridge.
"I would for one," replied the doctor. "Why not?"
"The cobra-de-capello!" exclaimed the magnate.
"They are not agreeable companions; but we don't make half so much of them
as you do, sir. I will not meddle with this subject, as it is assigned to
another, and I have no desire to steal his thunder-box. We have all the
flowers of Europe, and probably of America; but they are not indigenous to
the soil, though they thrive very well.
"Especially on the coast, but of course not in the north, you will find
stately palms of all varieties. The banian tree (the English write it
banyan) grows here, and I might talk an hour about it. Something like it is
the peepul, or pipal, though its branches do not take root in the ground
like the other. Its scientific name is the _Ficus religiosa_; for it
is the sacred fig of India, and it is called the bo-tree in Ceylon.
"The peepul is considered sacred by the Hindus, because Vishnu, the
Preserver, and the second person in the Brahminical trinity, was born under
it. This tree is extensively planted around the temples of the Hindus, and
many religious devotees pass their lives under its shade for its
sanctifying influence. It is useful for other purposes; for the lac-insect
feeds upon its leaves, and the women get a kind of caoutchouc from its sap,
which they use as bandoline."
"What in the world is bandoline, Mister?" asked Mrs. Blossom, who had
listened with half-open mouth after the doctor called the tree sacred.
"It is quite English, I dare say," laughed the speaker, while Mrs. Belgrave
was tugging at the sleeve of her friend in order to suppress her. "I
venture to say you have used something of the kind, madame. Our women make
it of Irish moss, and use it to stiffen the hair, so as to make it lie in
the right place.
"I must not forget the bamboo, which is found all over India, and even
12,000 feet up the mountains. Of course you know all about it, for the
slender stem is carried to all Europe and America. As you look at it you
observe that it has the same structure as some of the grasses, the same
joints and cells. It is not sugar-cane, but at some seasons a sweet juice
flows from the joints, which is here called Indian honey. I have no doubt
my young friends have used the bamboo when they went fishing; and the most
expensive fly-rods are made from its material, as well as canes, and scores
of other useful articles.
"The original forests which once covered hills and plains have been
recklessly cut away; and long ago this source of wealth was driven back
into the mountains, to the vast injury of the climate and the water supply
for the nourishment of the arable lands of the Country. But the British
government has taken hold of this matter since the middle of the present
century, and has made considerable progress towards the restoration of the
forests. Not less than 100,000 square miles of land are now under
supervision to this end.
"India is a vast territory; but it is estimated that not more than
one-third of it is under cultivation, or used for pasturage. Doubtless
there is much more of it available; but a considerable of it consists of
steep mountain-sides, of deserts, and the beds and overflow of the rivers.
With your permission, Mr. Commander, I will retreat from this prominent
position, after doing the best I could with a meagre subject;" and the
doctor bowed to the audience, while they were applauding him warmly.
"I think you had better make no apology for your treatment of your subject.
I can always tell by the expression of the company whether or not the
speaker is interesting the party; and I am sure you have succeeded
admirably. The next feature to which I call your attention is Sir Modava
Rao, on snakes."
The gentleman was received quite as warmly as before; but Mrs. Belgrave was
sorry that such a fine-looking gentleman should have to talk about snakes.
"I fully believe that the Good Father of us all distributed poisonous
snakes over India for a good and wise purpose, though I do not know what it
was; and if I had the power to do so, I should not dare to kill or banish
them all, for I know not what injury I might do my country by removing
them. Many thousand natives die every year from snakebites. Statistics say
that 20,000 perish in this manner. But that is only one in 14,361; and a
single malignant disease has destroyed more than that in the same time.
"The old woman who was accused of cruelty in skinning live eels, replied
that she had been doing so all her life, and the eels must be used to it by
this time. We are used to snakes in India, and we don't mind them half as
much as you think you would if you lived here. The government offers
rewards for killing harmful animals, and thousands of snakes are destroyed
every year."
"Do you think it is right to kill them if God put them here for a good
purpose, Sir Modava?" asked Mrs. Belgrave.
"Certainly I do. God gave us fire: is it right, therefore, to let the city
burn up when the fire is kindled? God suffers sin and evil to remain in the
world, though he could banish them by a wave of his mighty arm! Shall we
not protect ourselves from the tempest he sends? Shall we permit the plague
or the cholera to decimate our land because God punishes us in that way for
violating the laws he has set up in our bodies?
"This subject is too large for me to pursue it in detail. I need not
describe the cobra, for you will see no end of them about the streets of
the cities in the hands of the snake-charmers. He is five feet or more in
length. His fangs are in his upper jaw. They are not tubed or hollow; but
he has a sort of groove on the outside of the tooth, down which the deadly
poison flows. In his natural state, his bite is sure death unless a
specific or antidote is soon applied. Thanks to modern science, the
sufferer from the bite of a cobra is generally cured if the right remedy is
applied soon enough. I have been twice bitten by cobras. The medicine used
in my case was the _Aristolochia Indica_.
"There is such a thing as a snake-stone, which is applied to the wound, and
is said to absorb the blood, and with it the poison; but medical men of
character regard it as not entitled to the credit claimed for it. A
chemical expert pronounced it to be nothing but a charred bone, which had
probably been filled with blood, and again subjected to the action of fire.
It is possible that the bone absorbs the blood; but that is not a settled
fact, and I leave it to Dr. Ferrolan."
"I believe it is a fraud," replied the doctor.
"The color of the cobra varies from pale yellow to dark olive. One kind has
something like a pair of spectacles on the back of his hood, or it looks
something like the eyes with which ladies fasten their dress. This hood or
bonnet is spread out by the action of the ribs of the creature, and he
opens it when he is angry.
"I had a tame mongoose, a sort of ichneumon. This animal, not much bigger
than a weasel, is a great cobra-killer, and he understands his business.
This snake is given to hiding himself in the gardens around the bungalow
for the purpose of preying on the domestic fowls. I found one once, and
brought out the mongoose. He tackled him at once, and killed him about as
quick as a rifle would have done it. I think you will learn all you want to
know about snakes as you travel through India."
Sir Modava retired with the usual applause. As the company returned from
the platform, a gun from the Blanche attracted their attention.