PATRIOTISM CURBED JUST IN TIME--BAD NIGHT WITH A FANCIED BITE
FROM A COBRA--TWO AMERICAN INVALIDS TOGETHER IN LAHORE.
From Karnaul we journeyed steadily north, head-winds baffling attempts
at speed, and showers and sand storms retarding us for hours. In
several instances, we were compelled to journey along the railway
line, the rains having swollen the river to such an extent that the
roads were flooded. Umballa, a large military station midway between
Delhi and Lahore, we reached on the morning of July 3, and again
delayed by rain, were forced to spend the glorious Fourth in that
city. Unfortunately for me, the dak bungalow was situated within the
cantonment lines, and when I arose at daybreak, prepared to fire a
salute of twenty-one shots, the gentle-mannered coolie servant gave
a terrified look at the gun and bolted for the cook-house. Before I
could fire once, a soldier called to me not to shoot unless I wished
to be carted off to the guardhouse for violating military orders,
which prohibit firing within the cantonment. Undoubtedly I would
have been arrested on the charge of discharging firearms inside the
lines, creating a disturbance, and possibly treason, and I dread
to think of the effect my explanation of celebrating the Fourth of
July would have had on an Englishman, especially an army officer, who
might have lived on "Cornwallis Road." Rain fell throughout July 5,
on which day we were able to cover only eighteen miles, halting for
the night at the little village of Rajpur. Such a small settlement
has little need for a dak bungalow, and in consequence, travelers who
are so unfortunate as to be compelled to seek shelter for the night,
take up quarters at an ancient building owned, but unoccupied, by the
Rajah of Petialla. Mrs. McIlrath declared the building was an "old
cobra trap," and constantly on the watch for scorpions and snakes,
it was but natural that when we retired our dreams were of reptiles.
Several times in the night I was awakened, the last time, along toward
morning, by a severe pain in my left leg. Paralyzed with the thought
of the deadly krite and cobra bite, and the absolute certainty of
death resulting in from five to fifteen minutes, I lay calm and rigid
for a moment, thinking I was the victim of a dream, but the smarting
in my leg continued, and I called to my wife, exclaiming that I had
been bitten. She was awake in an instant, and lighting the lamp, we
looked around for the cobra. Though we could find no possible trace
of a snake, there were on my leg six small punctures, arranged in a
semi-circle. For an hour we waited for indications of snake poison
in my system, but none appeared. Several times I imagined the choking
sensations which precede complete asphyxia, were attacking my throat,
but a gulp of water or a puff at my cigarette dispelled this illusion,
and at the end of sixty minutes I was compelled to admit that my
experience with the cobra had turned out a dismal failure. I cannot
to this day offer any possible explanation of my wounds, unless they
were inflicted by Rodney, the pet monkey which we made our traveling
companion 200 miles back. The "monk" occasionally crept up on my
bed to avoid the ants and insects which swarmed over the ground and
floors, and it may have been that after making himself comfortable,
I had disturbed him and he retaliated by biting the offending leg. Few
persons who have not visited India during the Summer rains, can realize
what danger there is from poisonous reptiles, chiefly the krite and
cobra, and how the dreaded things creep into the most unusual places,
just where one would never think of being cautious. In one village of
400 inhabitants, through which we passed, five persons died from snake
bites during the five days preceding our arrival. Unlike the rattler,
the krite and cobra give no audible warning, except a slight hiss,
and directly opposite is the effect of the bite. While the rattler's
poison acts on the blood, it may be mitigated by ligation above the
wound and the free use of alcohol, but the cobra and krite wounds act
directly upon the nerves, producing paralysis and asphyxia, and despite
all legends to the contrary, the bite of either reptile, if the fangs
are intact, is as surely fatal as decapitation. There is not a remedy
known which will even prolong life after the bite has been inflicted.
Cities of considerable size, evidently prosperous and well-kept,
are many and frequent along the Trunk road in Punjab, and under an
excellent system of irrigating canals, crops appear vigorous and
abundant. The native method of raising water from the canals into
field-ditches is a novelty to the eyes of the Westerner, and language
would never describe the squeaking water wheel, with earthen pots in
place of buckets, and the slow-plodding, patient bullocks that revolve
the wheel. "Persian Wheels," the primitive machines are called,
and though winds are strong and almost perpetual, no one appears
to consider the old way inefficient, and harness wind and water
with one of the powerful wind engines which dot the prairies of the
United States. India is a close second to China in adhering to native
customs, and after a journey of fifteen hundred miles, made through
the country, in such a manner as to mingle with and know the people,
I am of the opinion that the English who govern India, are but a trifle
less conservative, and that what broad ideas of improvement they do
possess, that would materially improve the natives' condition without
benefiting the government revenue, are never allowed to develop and
expand. India is not governed by the English with any philanthropic
ideas, and when one has spent a few months poring over financial
reports and statistics, tax lists and penal codes, the idea is firmly
fixed in the mind that India is governed by the English for England.
I have already spoken of the risk a white person incurs in India by
being exposed to the rain. Fever is almost certain to follow, and
the morning after our arrival in Lahore, I found Mrs. McIlrath with
a temperature of 104 degrees, and every symptom of malaria. Though I
struggled through the day, caring for her, when I laid down at night,
the ache in my muscles and joints, and the fire which raged internally,
warned me I was a victim also, and for the next week we lay side by
side, comparing temperatures and consoling one another. To be stricken
with fever in India is one of the most terrible punishments nature
can visit upon the violators of her laws, and all day and all night
through we lay without the cooling drinks, the ripe fruits and the
delicacies and attentions which ease and encourage the patient at
home. By Saturday, July 17, we were able to sit up and totter about
the room, and immediately began to obtain strength by carriage rides
in the cool evening air.
Lahore does not possess temples, mosques and tombs of great
architectural merit, but its chief charm lies in the enormous bazaars
which extend for miles through the main streets of the city. The
buildings are two-story affairs, built of brick and covered with a
staff, which, at a time long ago, was white in color. The shops are
merely square rooms, with open fronts; the goods piled on the floors
and hung from the ceiling in such a manner as to prevent walking
about without danger to stock and inspector. A few of the shops bear
sign-boards, painted in English letters. One in particular that
attracted my attention, announced that "Subri Lall was a Dentist
and Photographer." Another, which struck me as being peculiar,
announced that the firm inside sold "fresh salt, patent medicines
and millinery." Some of the characters we met wandering around
the bazaars selling charms and fetish bags were most interesting
fellows. One gigantic Sikh, who halted at the side of our carriage,
displayed his stock in trade to us, and then exhibited his personal
gear. Under his tunic he wore a coat and helmet of chain mail; in the
belt were seven knives of different sizes, and around the turban were
three sharped-edged flat circles of steel, which are thrown in the
same manner as a boomerang, and in skillful hands will decapitate an
enemy. A stout club, bound with copper, completed the Sikh's outfit,
and as I looked upon this mail-clad, walking arsenal, I could but be
impressed with how very little was English rule and law respected and
feared. Lahore marked the end of our journey along the Grand Trunk
road, as from that city on Tuesday, July 20, we turned directly south
toward the Persian Gulf and the city of Kurachee. Only thirteen miles
of the eight hundred and twenty-four were covered the first evening,
and though the two hours of jolting and jarring were keenly felt,
when we dismounted at the solitary little station at Kana Kacha, the
experience was welcomed. It was home-like, for we had not forgotten
our ride across Illinois, Iowa, Colorado, Utah and Nevada on similar
paths, usually used by the iron horse and the healthy but indigent
hobo. Truly patriotism does assume some homely forms in the American
absent from home, but then patriotism is satisfying in any form.
We were now entered on the most dangerous portion of our two thousand
miles ride across India. Not only did we abandon all hope for finding
an occasional stretch of road, which would afford relief from the
monotonous jolt and jar of riding on track ballast, but had made up our
minds to expect poor accommodation in the villages along our route. In
the face of the heat and obstructions on the road, however, we managed
to schedule fifty miles a day before reaching Changa Manga. I met
a delightful gentleman in Montgomery, where we spent two days and a
night. He was Mr. Fitzherbert, a civil engineer, who had originally
landed in India as first officer on a merchantman. I was surprised to
learn that a relationship existed between his family and the famous
Stonewall Jackson, which fact made us fast friends. Regarding the city
in which we were, I can best dismiss the subject in Mr. Fitzherbert's
own language:
"Yes," said he, "Montgomery is quite a large place, far different
from the little settlement in the desert that I first knew. There
are now 4,000 inhabitants, 2,500 are in jail and the balance should
be, but as I care little for society that fact does not worry me,
and the presence of the city jail assists in making the town. The
heat in Montgomery is what renders it almost unbearable. Last year
we stood at the head of the list in India, and let me tell you in
quiet confidence, that a man that can exist ten years in Montgomery
will thoroughly enjoy himself in hell."
Early in the morning of July 28 we said good-bye to our friends in
Montgomery, and resumed our grind along the railway line, but we
were lonesome no longer. Each train that passed us was manned by a
crew who greeted us with cheers and encouraging signals as the train
whizzed by, and we humbly and laboriously bucked along over the humps
and high spots. From Kacha Khuh we took a run over to Mooltan City,
returning to Kacha Khuh by rail. The break in the journey afforded
us time to form new and desirable acquaintances, and various little
trips, via rail, such as this, furnished us with an insight of a
phase of life in India of which we knew nothing before, and which
will never cease to be of interest to us--the joys of a traveler
on a railway line conducted by the English Government on the English
system. In India passengers may be transported in three classes, first,
second and third, and as I have yet to learn anything English which
is branded first-class and touches the American idea of A 1, we did
not for a moment consider the second and third rate inducements of
low fare. Purchasing two slips of pasteboard at the "booking office,"
for which we paid two cents a mile, we were informed that we could
take the triangular luggage cases, which we wished to check, into the
carriage with us, no goods being checked, but dumped into the "brake
van" to be called for and identified by the owner. The first-class
carriage was easily identified on the exterior by a coat of white
paint, but the first glance into the interior would have led one to
believe it was a well-loaded furniture van, on any old day about May
1. Our fellow passengers were a Catholic priest and a lieutenant of
Her Majesty's army, and into a space only eight feet long were piled
their belongings. I took an inventory and counted five trunks, two
valises, four hat-boxes, a wash bowl in a leather case, cane, golf
stick, riding whip, four large sun helmets, two rolls of bedding,
one bundle of books and a lunch hamper. Arriving at Kacha Khuh, we
managed to attract the attention of the guard, who kindly released
us, and as we dismounted from the carriage we were convinced that our
cycles afforded us just about as great speed, comfort and certainly
less inconvenience than the government railway train in India. Truly
the Chinese are hide-bound in customs, but the English run them a close
race. Though many of their methods are modern, in railways, hotels and
conveniences for the public at large, they are far in the rear of the
ever-advancing army of modern progress which has its headquarters in
the United States of America, and whose generals are the same "wooden
nutmeg" inventing Yankees, of whom the English so often speak lightly.