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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Life in an Indian Outpost, by Gordon Casserly
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Life in an Indian Outpost
+
+Author: Gordon Casserly
+
+Release Date: October 17, 2011 [EBook #37782]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LIFE IN AN INDIAN OUTPOST ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Steve Klynsma, Suzanne Shell and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This
+file was produced from images generously made available
+by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+    LIFE IN AN
+    INDIAN OUTPOST
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+
+    BOOKS OF TRAVEL
+
+    Demy 8vo. Cloth Bindings. All fully Illustrated
+
+    THROUGH INDIA AND BURMA
+      WITH PEN AND BRUSH
+      By A. HUGH FISHER. 15s. net
+
+    ALONE IN WEST AFRICA
+      By MARY GAUNT. 15s. net
+
+    CHINA REVOLUTIONISED
+      By J. S. THOMPSON. 12s. 6d. net
+
+    NEW ZEALAND
+      By Dr MAX HERZ. 12s. 6d. net
+
+    THE DIARY OF A SOLDIER OF
+      FORTUNE
+      By STANLEY PORTAL HYATT. 12s. 6d. net
+
+    OFF THE MAIN TRACK
+      By STANLEY PORTAL HYATT. 12s. 6d. net
+
+    WITH THE LOST LEGION IN
+      NEW ZEALAND
+      By Colonel G. HAMILTON-BROWNE
+        ("Maori Browne"). 12s. 6d. net
+
+    A LOST LEGIONARY IN SOUTH
+      AFRICA
+      By Colonel G. HAMILTON-BROWNE
+        ("Maori Browne"). 12s 6d.
+
+    MY BOHEMIAN DAYS IN PARIS
+      By JULIUS M. PRICE. 10s. 6d. net
+
+    WITH GUN AND GUIDE IN
+      N.B. COLUMBIA
+      By T. MARTINDALE. 10s. 6d. net
+
+    SIAM
+      By PIERRE LOTI. 7s. 6d. net
+
+
+[Illustration: AFTER THE PROCLAMATION PARADE.]
+
+
+
+
+    LIFE IN AN
+    INDIAN OUTPOST
+
+    BY
+
+    MAJOR GORDON CASSERLY
+
+    (INDIAN ARMY)
+
+    AUTHOR OF
+    "THE LAND OF THE BOXERS; OR CHINA UNDER THE ALLIES"; ETC.
+
+    ILLUSTRATED
+
+    LONDON
+    T. WERNER LAURIE LTD.
+    CLIFFORD'S INN
+
+
+
+
+
+
+    CONTENTS
+
+    CHAPTER I
+
+    A FRONTIER POST
+                                                                     PAGE
+        Our first view of the Himalayas--Across India in a troop
+            train--A scattered regiment--An elephant-haunted
+            railway--Kinchinjunga--The great Terai
+            Jungle--Rajabhatkawa--In the days of Warren
+            Hastings--Hillmen--Roving Chinese--We arrive at Buxa
+            Road--Relieved officers--An undesirable outpost--March
+            through the forest--The hills--A mountain road--Lovely
+            scenery--Buxa Duar--A lonely Station--The labours of an
+            Indian Army officer--Varied work--The frontier of
+            Bhutan--A gate of India--A Himalayan paradise--The
+            fort--Intrusive monkeys--The cantonment--The Picquet
+            Towers--The bazaar--The cemetery--Forgotten
+            graves--Tragedies of loneliness--From Bhutan to the sea     1
+
+
+    CHAPTER II
+
+    LIFE ON OUTPOST
+
+        The daily routine--Drill in the Indian Army--Hindustani--A
+            lingua franca--The divers tongues of India--The sepoys'
+            lodging--Their ablutions--An Indian's fare--An Indian
+            regiment--Rajput customs--The hospital--The doctor at
+            work--Queer patients--A vicious bear--The Officers'
+            Mess--Plain diet--Water--The simple life--A bachelor's
+            establishment--A faithful Indian--Fighting the
+            trusts--Transport in the hills--My bungalow--Amusements
+            in Buxa--Dull days--Asirgarh--A lonely
+            outpost--Poisoning a General--A storied
+            fortress--Soldier ghosts--A spectral officer--The
+            tragedy of isolation--A daring panther--A day on an
+            elephant--Sport in the jungle--_Gooral_ stalking in the
+            hills--Strange pets--A friendly deer--A terrified
+            visitor--A walking menagerie--Elephants tame and
+            wild--Their training--Their caution--Their rate of
+            speed--Fondness for water--Quickly reconciled to
+            captivity--Snakes--A narrow escape--A king-cobra; the
+            hamadryad--Hindu worship of the cobra--General Sir
+            Hamilton Bower--An adventurous career--E. F.
+            Knight--The General's inspection                           19
+
+
+    CHAPTER III
+
+    THE BORDERLAND OF BHUTAN
+
+        The races along our North-East Border--Tibet--The
+            Mahatmas--Nepal---Bhutan--Its geography--Its
+            founder--Its Government--Religious rule--Analogy
+            between Bhutan and old Japan--_Penlops_ and
+            _Daimios_--The Tongsa _Penlop_--Reincarnation of the
+            Shaptung Rimpoche--China's claim to Bhutan--Capture of
+            the Maharajah of Cooch Behar--Bogle's mission--Raids
+            and outrages--The Bhutan War of 1864-5--The Duars--The
+            annual subsidy--Bhutan to-day--Religion--An impoverished
+            land--Bridges--Soldiers in Bhutan--Thefeudal
+            system--Administration of justice--Tyranny of
+            officials--The Bhuttias--Ugly women--Our neighbours in
+            Buxa--A Bhuttia festival--Archery--A banquet--A
+            dance--A Scotch half-caste--Chunabatti--Nature of the
+            borderland--Disappearing rivers--The Terai--Tea
+            gardens--A planter's life--The club--Wild beasts in the
+            path--The Indian planters--Misplaced sympathy--The tea
+            industry--Profits and losses--Planters' salaries--Their
+            daily life--Bhuttia raids on tea gardens--Fearless
+            planters--An unequal fight                                 45
+
+
+    CHAPTER IV
+
+    A DURBAR IN BUXA
+
+        Notice of the Political Officer's approaching visit--A
+            Durbar--The Bhutan Agent and the interpreter--Arrival
+            of the Deb Zimpun--An official call--Exchange of
+            presents--Bhutanese fruit--A return call--Native
+            liquor--A welcome gift--The Bhutanese
+            musicians--Entertaining the Envoy--A thirsty Lama--A
+            rifle match--An awkward official request--My
+            refusal--The Deb Zimpun removes to Chunabatti--Arrival
+            of the treasure--The Political Officer comes--His
+            retinue--The Durbar--The Guard of Honour--The
+            visitors--The Envoy comes in state--Bhutanese
+            courtesies--The spectators--The payment of the
+            subsidy--Lunch in Mess--Entertaining a difficult
+            guest--The official dinner--An archery match--Sikh
+            quoits--Field firing--Bhutanese
+            impressed--Blackmail--British subjects captured--Their
+            release--Tashi's case--Justice in Bhutan--Tyranny of
+            officials--Tashi refuses to quit Buxa--The next payment
+            of the subsidy--The treaty--Misguided humanitarians        64
+
+
+    CHAPTER V
+
+    IN THE JUNGLE
+
+        An Indian jungle--The trees--Creepers--Orchids--The
+            undergrowth--On an elephant in the jungle--Forcing a
+            passage--Wild bees--Red ants--A lost river--A _sambhur_
+            hind--Spiders--Jungle fowl--A stag--_Hallal_--Wounded
+            beasts--A halt--Skinning the stag--Ticks--Butcher
+            apprentices--Natural rope--Water in the air--_Pani
+            bel_--Trail of wild elephants--Their habits--An
+            impudent monkey--An adventure with a rogue
+            elephant--Fire lines--Wild dogs--A giant squirrel--The
+            barking deer--A good bag--Spotted deer--Protective
+            colouring--Dangerous beasts--Natives' dread of bears--A
+            bison calf--The fascination of the forest--The generous
+            jungle--Wild vegetables--Natural products--A home in
+            the trees--Forest Lodge the First--Destroyed by a wild
+            elephant--Its successor--A luncheon-party in the
+            air--The salt lick--Discovery of a coal mine--A
+            monkey's parliament--The jungle by night                   83
+
+
+    CHAPTER VI
+
+    ROGUES OF THE FOREST
+
+        The lord of the forest--Wild elephants in India--_Kheddah_
+            operations in the Terai--How rogues are made--Rogues
+            attack villages--Highway robbers--Assault on a railway
+            station--A police convoy--A poacher's death--Chasing an
+            officer--My first encounter with a rogue--Stopping a
+            charge--Difficulty of killing an elephant--The law on
+            rogue shooting--A Government gazette--A tame elephant
+            shot by the Maharajah of Cooch Behar--Executing an
+            elephant--A chance shot--A planter's escape--Attack on
+            a tame elephant--The _mahout's_ peril--Jhansi's
+            wounds--Changes among the officers in Buxa--A Gurkha's
+            terrible death--The beginner's luck--Indian and Malayan
+            _sambhur_--A shot out of season--A fruitless
+            search--Jhansi's flight--A scout attacked by a
+            bear--Advertising for a truant--The agony
+            column--Runaway elephants--A fatal fraud--Jhansi's
+            return                                                    104
+
+
+    CHAPTER VII
+
+    A FIGHT WITH AN ELEPHANT
+
+        We sight a rogue--A sudden onslaught--A wild elephant's
+            attack--Shooting under difficulties--Stopping a
+            rush--Repeated attacks--An invulnerable foe--Darkness
+            stops the pursuit--A council of war--Picking up the
+            trail--A _muckna_--A female elephant--Photographing a
+            lady--A good sitter--A stampede--A gallant
+            Rajput--Attacking on foot--A hazardous feat--A narrow
+            escape--Final charge--A bivouac in the forest--Dangers
+            of the night--A long chase--Planter
+            hospitality--Another stampede--A career of
+            crime--Eternal hope--A king-cobra--Abandoning the
+            pursuit--An unrepentant villain--In the moment of
+            danger                                                    124
+
+
+    CHAPTER VIII
+
+    IN TIGER LAND
+
+        The tiger in India--His reputation--Wounded
+            tigers--Man-eaters--Game killers and cattle thieves--A
+            tiger's residence--Chance meetings--Methods of tiger
+            hunting--Beating with elephants--Sitting up--A
+            sportsman's patience--The charm of a night watch--A
+            cautious beast--A night over a kill--An unexpected
+            visitor--A tantalising tiger--A tiger at Asirgarh--A
+            chance shot--Buffaloes as trackers--Panthers--The wrong
+            prey--A beat for tiger--The Colonel wounds a tiger--A
+            night march--An elusive quarry--A successful beat--A
+            watery grave--Skinning a tiger                            141
+
+
+    CHAPTER IX
+
+    A FOREST MARCH
+
+        Reasons for showing the flag--Soldierless Bengal--Planning
+            the march--Difficulties of transport--The first day's
+            march--Sepoys in the jungle--The water-creeper--The
+            commander loses his men--The bivouac at
+            Rajabhatkawa--Alipur Duar--A small Indian
+            Station--Long-delayed pay--The Subdivisional Officer--A
+            _dâk_ bungalow--The sub-judge--Brahmin pharisees--The
+            _nautch_--A dusty march--Santals--A mission
+            settlement--Crossing a river--Rafts--A bivouac in a tea
+            garden--A dinner-party in an 80-lb. tent--Bears at
+            night--A daring tiger--Chasing a tiger on elephants--In
+            the forest again--A fickle river--A strange animal--The
+            Maharajah of Cooch Behar's experiment--A scare and a
+            disappointment--Across the Raidak--A woman killed by a
+            bear--A planters' club--Hospitality in the jungle--The
+            zareba--Impromptu sports--The Alarm Stakes--The raft
+            race--Hathipota--Jainti                                   174
+
+
+    CHAPTER X
+
+    THROUGH FIRE AND WATER
+
+        India in the hot weather--A land of torment--The
+            drought--Forest fires--The cholera huts
+            burned--Fighting the flames--Death of a sepoy--The bond
+            between British officers and their men--The sepoy's
+            funeral--A fortnight's vigil--Saving the Station--The
+            hills ablaze--A sublime spectacle--The devastated
+            forest--Fallen leaves on fire--Our elephants'
+            peril--Saving the zareba--A beat for game in the
+            jungle--Trying to catch a wild elephant--A moonlight
+            ramble--We meet a bear--The burst of the Monsoons--A
+            dull existence--Three hundred inches of rain--The
+            monotony of thunderstorms--A changed
+            world--Leeches--Monster hailstones--Surveyors caught in
+            a storm--A brink in the Rains--The revived
+            jungle--Useless lightning-conductors--The Monsoon
+            again--The loneliness of Buxa                             196
+
+
+    CHAPTER XI
+
+    IN THE PALACE OF THE MAHARAJAH
+
+        The Durbar--Outside the palace--The State elephants--The
+            soldiery--The Durbar Hall--Officials and gentry of the
+            State--The throne--Queen Victoria's banner--The hidden
+            ladies--_Purdah nashin_--Arrival of the _Dewan_--The
+            Maharajah's entry--The Sons' Salute--A chivalrous
+            Indian custom--_Nuzzurs_--The Dewan's task--The
+            Maharani--An Indian reformer--_Bramo Samaj_--Pretty
+            princesses--An informal banquet--The _nautch_--A
+            moonlight ride--The Maharajah--A soldier and a
+            sportsman--Cooch Behar--The palace--A dinner-party--The
+            heir's birthday celebrations--Schoolboys'
+            sports--Indian amateur theatricals--An evening in the
+            palace--A panther-drive--Exciting sport--Death of the
+            panther--Partridge shooting on elephants--A stray
+            rhinoceros--Prince Jit's luck--Friendly intercourse
+            between Indians and Englishmen--An unjust complaint       213
+
+
+    CHAPTER XII
+
+    A MILITARY TRAGEDY
+
+        In the Mess--A gloomy conversation--Murder in the army--A
+            gallant officer--Running amuck on a rifle-range--"Was
+            that a shot?"--The alarm--The native officer's
+            report--The "fall in"--A dying man--A search round the
+            fort--A narrow escape--The flight--Search parties--The
+            inquiry into the crime--A fifty miles' cordon--An
+            unexpected visit--Havildar Ranjit Singh on the trail--A
+            night march through the forest--A fearsome ride--The
+            lost detachment--An early start--The ferry--The
+            prisoner--A well-planned capture--The prisoner's
+            story--The march to Hathipota--Return to the fort--A
+            well-guarded captive--A weary wait--A journey to
+            Calcutta--The escort--Excitement among the passengers
+            on the steamer--American globe-trotters--The court
+            martial--A callous criminal--Appeal to the
+            Viceroy--Sentence of death--The execution                 232
+
+
+    CHAPTER XIII
+
+    IN AN INDIAN HILL STATION
+
+        To Darjeeling--Railway journeys in India--Protection for
+            solitary ladies--Reappearing rivers--Siliguri--At the
+            foot of the Himalayas--A mountain railway--Through the
+            jungle--Looping the loop--View of the
+            Plains--Darjeeling--Civilisation seven thousand feet
+            high--Varied types--View from the Chaurasta--White
+            workers in India--Life in Hill
+            Stations--Lieutenant-Governors--A "dull time" in
+            Darjeeling--The bazaar--Types of hill
+            races--Turquoises--Tiger-skins for tourists--The
+            Amusement Club--The Everlasting
+            Snows--Kinchinjunga--The bachelors' ball--A Government
+            House ball--The marriage-market value of Indian
+            civilians--Less demand for military
+            men--Theatricals--Lebong Races--Picturesque
+            race-goers--Ladies in India--Husband hunters--The empty
+            life of an Englishwoman--The dangers of Hill
+            Stations--A wife four months in the year--The hills
+            _taboo_ for the subaltern--Back to Buxa                   262
+
+
+    CHAPTER XIV
+
+    A JUNGLE FORT
+
+        I decide on Fort Bower--Felling trees--A big
+            python--Clearing the jungle--Laying out the
+            post--Stockades and _Sungars_--The bastions--_Panjis_
+            and _abattis_--The huts--Jungle materials--Ingenious
+            craftsmen--The furniture--Sentry-posts--Alarm
+            signals--The _machicoulis_ gallery--Booby-traps--The
+            water-lifter--The hospital--Chloroforming a
+            monkey--Jungle dogs--An extraordinary shot--An unlucky
+            deer--A meeting with a panther--The alarm--Sohanpal
+            Singh and the tiger--Turning out to the rescue--The
+            General's arrival--Closed gates--The inspection--The
+            "Bower" and the "'Ump"--Flares and bombs--The General's
+            praise--Night firing--A Christmas camp                    280
+
+
+    CHAPTER XV
+
+    FAREWELL TO THE HILLS
+
+        The Proclamation Parade--An unsteady charger--"Three cheers
+            for the King-Emperor!"--The Indian Army's loyalty--King
+            George and the sepoys--A land held by the sword--An
+            American Cavalry officer's visit--Hospitality of
+            American officers--Killing by kindness--The brotherhood
+            of soldiers--The bond between American and British
+            troops sealed by blood--U.S. officers' opinion of us--A
+            roaring tiger--Prince Jitendra Narayen--His visit to
+            Buxa--An intoxicated monkey--Projected visits--A road
+            report--A sketch fourteen feet long--The
+            start--Jalpaiguri--A planters' dinner-party--Crossing
+            the Tista River--A quicksand--A narrow
+            escape--Map-making in the army--In the China War of
+            1860--Officers' sketches used for the Canton Railway
+            survey--The country south of the hills--A sepoy's
+            explanation of Kinchinjunga--A native officer's theory
+            of the cause of earthquakes--Types on the road--After
+            the day's work--A man-eater--A brave postman--Human
+            beings killed by wild animals and snakes in
+            India--Crocodiles--Shooting a monster--Crocodiles on
+            land--Crossing the Torsa--Value of small
+            detachments--The maligned military officer--A life of
+            examinations--The man-killing elephant again--Death of
+            a Bhuttia woman--Ordered home--A last good-bye to a
+            comrade--Captain Balderston's death--A last view of the
+            hills                                                     296
+
+
+
+
+LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
+
+
+    After the Proclamation Parade                 _Frontispiece_
+
+    Buxa Duar                                _To face page_   16
+
+    "The fort was built on a knoll"                 "         16
+
+    Rajput sepoys cooking                           "         24
+
+    British and Indian officers                     "         24
+
+    My double company                               "         28
+
+    My bachelor establishment                       "         28
+
+    A kneeling elephant                             "         36
+
+    "The ladies of the hamlet came forward"         "         54
+
+    Bhuttia drummers                                "         54
+
+    Chunabatti                                      "         56
+
+    "From my doorstep I watched them coming
+    down the hill"                                  "         66
+
+    The Deb Zimpun's prisoners                      "         66
+
+    The Durbar in Buxa                              "         74
+
+    A _sambhur_ stag and my elephant                "         90
+
+    Bringing home the bag                           "         90
+
+    Forest Lodge the First                          "        100
+
+    Forest Lodge the Second                         "        100
+
+    "The _mahout_ was holding up the head"          "        110
+
+    Subhedar Sohanpal Singh                         "        128
+
+    "We saw another elephant"                       "        130
+
+    The tiger's Lying in state                      "        172
+
+    The tiger's last home                           "        172
+
+    "My sepoys drilling"                            "        178
+
+    Buglers and non-commissioned officers of
+    my detachment                                   "        178
+
+    The walled face of Fort Bower over the
+    river                                           "        282
+
+    The stockade and ditch of Fort Bower            "        282
+
+    The gate with wicket open and drawbridge
+    lowered                                         "        286
+
+    Captain Balderston inside the stockade          "        286
+
+    Bringing home the General's dinner              "        290
+
+    "I was mounted on a country bred pony"          "        296
+
+    "An elephant loaded with my stores and
+    baggage"                                        "        296
+
+
+
+
+LIFE IN AN INDIAN OUTPOST
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I
+
+A FRONTIER POST
+
+    Our first view of the Himalayas--Across India in a troop
+        train--A scattered regiment--An elephant-haunted
+        railway--Kinchinjunga--The great Terai
+        Jungle--Rajabhatkawa--In the days of Warren
+        Hastings--Hillmen--Roving Chinese--We arrive at Buxa
+        Road--Relieved officers--An undesirable outpost--March
+        through the forest--The hills--A mountain road--Lovely
+        scenery--Buxa Duar--A lonely Station--The labours of an
+        Indian Army officer--Varied work--The frontier of
+        Bhutan--A gate of India--A Himalayan paradise--The
+        fort--Intrusive monkeys--The cantonment--The Picquet
+        Towers--The bazaar--The cemetery--Forgotten
+        graves--Tragedies of loneliness--From Bhutan to the
+        sea.
+
+
+Against the blue sky to the north lay a dark blur that, as our troop
+train ran on through the level plains of Eastern Bengal, rose ever
+higher and took shape--the distant line of the Himalayas. Around us the
+restful though tame scenery of the little Cooch Behar State. The
+chess-board pattern of mud-banked rice fields, long groves of the
+graceful feathery bamboo, here and there a tiny hamlet of palm-thatched
+huts--on their low roofs great sprawling green creepers with white
+blotches that look like skulls but are only ripe melons. But the dark
+outlines of the distant mountains drew my gaze and brought the heads of
+my sepoys out of the carriage windows to stare at them.
+
+For somewhere on the face of those hills was Buxa Duar, the little fort
+that was to be our home for the next two years.
+
+For four days my detachment of two hundred men of the 120th Rajputana
+Infantry had been whirled across India from west to east towards it.
+From Baroda we had come--Baroda with its military cantonment set in an
+English-like park, its vast native city with the gaily painted houses
+and narrow streets where the Gaikwar's Cavalry rode with laced jackets
+and slung pelisses like the Hussars of old, and his sentries mounted
+guard over gold and silver cannons in a dingy backyard. Where in low
+rooms, set out in glass cases, as in a cheap draper's shop, were the
+famous pearl-embroidered carpets and gorgeous jewels of the State, worth
+a king's ransom.
+
+Four days of travel over the plains of India with their closely
+cultivated fields, mud-walled villages, stony hills and stretches of
+scrub jungle, where an occasional jackal slunk away from the train or an
+antelope paused in its bounding flight to look back at the strange iron
+monster. Across the sacred Ganges where Allahabad lies at its junction
+with the River Jumna. The regiment was on its way to garrison widely
+separated posts in outlying parts of the Indian Empire and neighbouring
+countries. Two companies had already gone to be divided between Chumbi
+in Tibet and Gantok in the dependent State of Sikkim, and to furnish the
+guard to our Agent at Gyantse.
+
+The month was December; and they had started in August to cross the
+sixteen-thousand-feet high passes in the Himalayas before the winter
+snows blocked them. The regimental headquarters, with four companies,
+was on its way to embark on the steamers which would convey them a
+fourteen days' journey on the giant rivers Ganges and Brahmaputra to
+Dibrugarh and Sadiya in Assam.
+
+At Benares my two companies had parted from the rest and entered another
+troop train which carried us into Eastern Bengal.
+
+Every day for three or four hours our trains had halted at some little
+wayside station to enable the men to get out, make their cooking-places,
+and prepare their food for the day. The previous night my detachment had
+detrained at Gitaldaha, where we had to change again on to a narrow
+gauge railway, two feet six inches in width, which would take us through
+Cooch Behar to our destination. The railway officials informed me that
+we must stay in the station all night, as the trains on this line ran
+only by daylight. I asked the reason of this.
+
+"They cannot go by night on account of the wild animals," was the reply.
+
+"The wild animals?" I echoed in surprise.
+
+"Yes; the line runs through a forest, the Terai Jungle, full of
+elephants and bison. Three months ago one of our engines was derailed by
+a wild elephant and the driver badly injured. And not long before that
+another rogue elephant held up a station on the line, stopped a train,
+blockaded the officials in the buildings, and broke a tusk trying to
+root up the platform."
+
+And when daylight dawned and I could see the toy engine and carriages, I
+was not surprised at the fear of encountering an elephant on the line.
+
+Now on our fifth day of travel we were nearing the end of the journey.
+We had passed the capital of Cooch Behar and were approaching Alipur
+Duar, the last station before the Terai Forest is reached. Suddenly,
+high in the air above the now distinct line of hills, stood out in the
+brilliant sunlight the white crest and snowy peaks of Kinchinjunga,
+twenty-eight thousand feet high, and nearly one hundred and twenty miles
+away. Past Alipur Duar, and then hills and snow-clad summits were lost
+to sight as our little train plunged from the sunny plain into the deep
+shadows of the famous Terai Forest--the wonderful jungle that stretches
+east and west along the foot of the Himalayas, and clothes their lowest
+slopes. In whose recesses roam the wild elephant, the rhinoceros and the
+bison, true lords of the woods; where deadlier foes to man than these,
+malaria and blackwater fever hold sway and lay low the mightiest hunter
+before the Lord. And standing on the back platform of our tiny carriage
+my subaltern and I strove to pierce its gloomy depths, half hoping to
+see the giant bulk of a wild elephant or a rhinoceros. But nothing met
+our gaze save the great orchid-clad trees, the graceful fronds of
+monster ferns, and the dense undergrowth that would deny a passage to
+anything less powerful than bisons or elephants.
+
+In a sudden clearing in the heart of the forest, the train stopped at a
+small station near which stood a few bamboo huts and a gaunt,
+two-storied wooden house in which, we afterwards learned, an English
+forest officer lived his lonely life. The place was called Rajabhatkawa,
+which in the vernacular means, "The Rajah ate his food." It was so named
+because, nearly one hundred and thirty years before, in the days of
+Warren Hastings, a Rajah of Cooch Behar ate his first meal there after
+his release from captivity among the hill tribesmen of Bhutan who had
+carried him away into their mountain fastnesses. They had released him
+at the urgent instance of a British captain and two hundred sepoys who
+had followed them up and captured three of their forts.
+
+Among the crowd of natives on the platform at this station were several
+of various hill races, Bhuttias and Gurkhas, with the small eyes and
+flat nose of the Mongolian. I was surprised to see two Chinamen in blue
+linen suits and straw hats, fanning themselves and smoking cigarettes,
+as much at home as if they were on the Bund in Shanghai or in Queen's
+Road in Hong Kong. But later on I learned that Rajabhatkawa led to
+several tea gardens, where Chinese carpenters are always welcome. These
+men are generally from Canton, the inhabitants of which city emigrate
+freely. I have met them in Calcutta, Penang, Singapore, Manila, and San
+Francisco.
+
+On again through the jungle our train passed for another eight miles,
+and then drew up at a small station of one low, stone building with a
+nameboard nearly as big as itself, which bore the words "Buxa Road." It
+stood in a little clearing in the forest, where the ground was piled
+high with felled trees, ready to be dispatched to Calcutta. This was the
+end of our railway journey.
+
+The sepoys tumbled eagerly out of the train, threw their rolls of
+bedding out of the compartments, fell in on the platform and piled arms,
+and then turned to with a will to unload the heavy baggage from the
+brake-vans. A number of tall, bearded Mohammedans, men of the detachment
+of the Punjabi Regiment we were replacing, were at the station. Their
+major came forward to welcome me, and expressed his extreme pleasure in
+meeting the man who was to relieve him and enable him to quit a most
+undesirable place.
+
+This was a blow to me; for I had pictured life in this little outpost as
+an ideal existence in a sportsman's paradise.
+
+"What? Don't you like Buxa Duar?" I asked in surprise.
+
+"Like it?" he exclaimed vehemently. "Most certainly not. In my time I
+have been stationed in some poisonous places in Upper Burmah, when I was
+in the Military Police; but the worst of them was heaven to Buxa."
+
+I gasped with horror. "Is it as bad as all that? How long have you been
+here?"
+
+"Three weeks," replied the major; "and that was three weeks too long.
+Before you have been here a fortnight you will be praying to all your
+gods to take you anywhere else."
+
+This was pleasant. The subaltern of the Punjabis now came up and was
+introduced to me. He had been six months in Buxa; and _his_ opinion of
+it was too lurid to print. My subaltern, who had been superintending the
+unloading of the baggage, joined us and in his turn was regaled with
+these cheering criticisms of our new home. His face fell; for, like me,
+he had been looking forward eagerly to being quartered in this little
+outpost, where, we had been told, the sport was excellent. Fortunately
+men's tastes differ; and after eighteen months' experience of this
+much-abused Buxa, I liked it better than any other place I have ever
+served in in all my soldiering.
+
+I learned from our new friends that the fort was six miles from the
+railway and fifteen hundred feet above it; so I inquired for the
+transport to convey our baggage there.
+
+Before leaving Baroda the quartermaster of our regiment had written to
+the nearest civil official of the district, requesting him to provide me
+with a hundred coolies for the purpose. There were also, I knew, three
+Government transport elephants in charge of the detachment quartered in
+Buxa Duar. These I saw at the station engaged in conveying the baggage
+of the Punjabis, who were to leave on the following day. I asked for my
+hundred coolies.
+
+The major laughed when I told him of our quartermaster's requisition.
+"Your regimental headquarters," he said, "evidently did not realise what
+a desolate, uninhabited place this is. A hundred coolies? Why, with
+difficulty I have procured eight; four of them women. You will have to
+leave your baggage here under a guard, and have it brought up piecemeal
+on the elephants after our departure. And now, if you will fall in your
+men, I'll lead the way up to Buxa and gladly take my last look at it."
+
+A baggage guard having been left at the station with our food and
+cooking-pots, etc., my detachment fell in, formed fours and followed us.
+From the clearing near the railway a broad road, cut through the forest,
+led towards the hills. For the first three miles it was comparatively
+level; and we swung along at a good pace between the tall trees rising
+from the dense undergrowth. Breaking the solemn silence of the forest, I
+eagerly plied our new friends with questions on the chances of sport
+that Buxa afforded. But I found that they had done little in that way
+and could give me scant information. The subaltern had shot a tiger on a
+tea garden, but had hardly ever gone into the jungle. I learned,
+however, that out of the three transport elephants now at my disposal,
+two were trained for shooting purposes and were remarkably steady. This
+at least was good news.
+
+Towards the end of the third mile the road began to rise; and when it
+emerged into a small clearing we halted for a few minutes. We were now
+at the very foot of the hills; and from here we could see them for the
+first time since our train had entered the forest. High above our heads
+they towered. At first low, rounded, tree-clad buttresses of the giant
+ramparts of India, long spurs thrust out from the flanks of the
+mountains. Then lofty rugged walls of rock, jagged peaks, dark even in
+the brilliant sunshine, precipitous cliffs over which thin threads of
+water leapt and seemed to hang wavering down the steep sides.
+
+In the clearing stood two or three wooden huts; and a hundred yards
+farther on was a long and lofty open structure, with a thatched roof
+supported on rough wood pillars. The flooring was of pounded earth with
+three brick "standings," with iron rings inserted in them; for this was
+the Peelkhana or elephant stables of the detachment. The clearing was
+dignified with the euphonious name of Santrabari. Past the Peelkhana the
+road entered the hills. At first it wound around their flanks, crossing
+by wooden bridges over clear streams; then, rising ever higher, it
+climbed the steep slopes in zigzags. Along above a brawling mountain
+torrent, tumbling over rounded rocks in a deep ravine it went, across
+wooded spurs and under stony cliffs. Huge bushes flamed with strange red
+and purple flowers, thick shrubs hung out great white bells to tempt the
+giant scarlet and black butterflies hovering overhead. Above our path
+tall trees stretched out their long limbs covered with the glossy green
+leaves of orchids. From trunk to trunk swung creepers thick as a ship's
+hawser, trailing in long festoons or interlacing and writhing around
+each other like great snakes.
+
+But, as we climbed, the forest fell behind us. The trees stood farther
+apart, grew fewer and smaller. The undergrowth became denser. Tall
+brakes of the drooping plumes of the bamboo, thick-growing thorny
+bushes, plantain trees with their broad leaves and hanging bunches of
+bananas, the straight slender stems of sago palms with trailing clusters
+of nut-like fruit springing up from tangled vegetation. A troop of
+little brown monkeys leapt in alarm from tree to tree and vanished over
+a cliff. With a measured flapping of wings a brilliantly plumaged
+hornbill passed over our heads. The road crossed and recrossed the
+mountain stream and led into a deep cleft among the hills towering
+precipitously over us. And looking up I saw on the edge of a cliff the
+corner of a building. It was the fort of Buxa at last. But before we
+reached it a few hundred feet more of climbing had to be done; and we
+panted wearily upward. Through a narrow cutting we emerged on a stretch
+of artificially levelled soil, the parade ground, and halted gladly. We
+stood in a deep horseshoe among the mountains, nearly two thousand feet
+above the plains. Before us, peeping out from low trees and flowering
+bushes, were a few bungalows; and above them towered a conical peak, its
+summit another four thousand feet higher still. From it right and left
+ran down on either side of us two long wooded spurs; and on knolls on
+them stood three white square towers. Behind us, on a long mound, were
+fortified barracks with loopholed walls. These formed the fort; and this
+was Buxa Duar. We had reached our destination.
+
+The major first showed our men to their new quarters; and I told them
+off to their different barrack-rooms, and saw them settled down. Then he
+and his subaltern led us to the Mess where we met a third officer, the
+doctor, a young lieutenant in the Indian Medical Service named Smith,
+who was to remain on in Buxa in medical charge of my detachment. Then
+ensued the wearisome task of taking over charge of all the Government
+property in the Station, from the rifle-range and the ammunition in the
+magazine to picks and shovels, buckets and waterproof coats. We had next
+to do our own bargaining over the buying of the store of tinned
+provisions, jams, pickles and wines in the Mess, as well as the scanty
+furniture in it. Among other things we purchased were two Bhutanese
+mountain sheep--huge creatures with horns. Meat being a rare commodity
+in Buxa, the major had bought them from a Bhuttia from across the
+border. Not needing to kill them at once, he had let them roam freely
+about the Mess garden until, as he said, they had become such pets that
+he could not harden his heart sufficiently to order them to be killed
+for food. My subaltern and I mentally resolved not to allow them to
+become thus endeared to us by long association.
+
+Dinner in the Mess that night was quite a pleasant function, everyone
+but the doctor being in the best of spirits. As he was not to take his
+departure on the morrow, he was not as cheerful as the two Punjabi
+officers, who were delighted to think that they were so soon to leave
+Buxa. They had, perhaps, reason to rejoice at their return to
+civilisation and the society of their kind. They had come there from
+Tibet, where they had been quartered in the wilds from the end of the
+fighting in the war of 1904 to the evacuation of the country by our
+troops. They frankly pitied us for the prospect of two years' exile in
+this isolated post, where a strange white face was rarely seen. They
+fully expatiated on the loneliness of it. In a Bhuttia village a few
+miles over the hills there was an elderly American lady missionary. Down
+in the forest below a few English tea-planters were scattered about, the
+nearest fifteen or twenty miles from us. During the winter we might
+expect an occasional visitor, a General or our Colonel on inspection
+duty, or a Public Works Department Official come to see to the state of
+the road or the repair of the buildings. During the rainy season, which
+lasts seven months, from April to the end of October, with a rainfall
+therein from two hundred to three hundred inches, we would see no
+stranger and probably be cut off from outside intercourse by the washing
+away of the roads. As during those months the forest below would be
+filled with the deadly Terai fever, we could not solace our loneliness
+by sport which rendered the remainder of the year bearable. And as the
+jungle around us, which grew to our very doors would, during the Rains,
+swarm with leeches which fasten in scores on man or beast if given the
+chance, we would scarcely be able to put foot outside our bungalows,
+even if tempted to face the awful thunderstorms and torrential Rains.
+
+All this certainly did not sound cheering; so I changed the subject and
+asked for information regarding my duties in the Station. I learned
+that, in addition to my work of my detachment, I would hold the proud
+but unpaid post of Officer Commanding Buxa Duar--an appointment which
+would entail voluminous routine correspondence on me. I would also,
+again without extra pay, represent law and order by being Cantonment
+Magistrate, third class, with power to award imprisonment up to three
+months' hard labour. Verily, the duties that fall to the lot of the
+Indian Army Officer are many and various. Besides being a soldier he is
+also a schoolmaster, having to set and correct examination papers for
+certificates of education. He must be something of a master tailor to
+decide on the fit and alteration of his men's new uniforms; a clerk to
+cope with interminable correspondence; an accountant to wrestle with
+complicated accounts. He must be an architect and builder to direct and
+oversee the erection and repair of the barracks, which is done by the
+sepoys themselves. Bad for him if he is not a good business man, for he
+must often give out contracts for hundreds or thousands of pounds, and
+see that they are properly carried out. A lawyer, to sit on or preside
+at courts martial, or to administer the law to civilians as Cantonment
+Magistrate. And sometimes it falls to his lot to replace the chaplain in
+a military Station, read the lessons in church, or, perhaps, the Burial
+Service over the grave of a comrade.
+
+Next morning the detachment of Punjabis marched off; and as we watched
+their files disappear down the winding mountain road, we three
+Britishers certainly felt a little isolated and cut off from our kind.
+Before the small column passed the last bend which would hide them from
+our eyes, the major turned to wave us a cheery farewell. Poor fellow,
+not long after, when in command of his regiment, he died of cholera in
+Benares.
+
+However, our depression was momentary; and we turned away to begin
+making ourselves acquainted with our new surroundings. Buxa Duar stands
+guard over one of the gates of India, which opens into it from the
+little-known country of Bhutan. It commands a pass through the Himalayas
+into the fertile plains of Eastern Bengal, a pass that has run with
+blood many a time in the past. Through it fierce raiders have poured to
+the laying waste of the rich plains below. Back through it weeping women
+and weary children have passed to slavery in a savage land. And were the
+strong hand of Briton lifted from it, its jungle-clad hills would see
+again the blood-dyed columns of fighting men and the sad processions of
+wailing captives. To-day its gloomy depths are peaceful. But to-morrow,
+when the menace of a regenerated and aggressive China becomes real, its
+rocky walls may once more echo to the sounds of war.
+
+Three thousand feet above our heads, two miles away in a straight line,
+but six by the winding mule track, lay the boundary-line between the
+Indian Empire and Bhutana--a line that runs along the mountain tops and
+rarely fringes the plains. It curves round the northern slopes of the
+conical hill that towers above Buxa, Sinchula, the "Hill of the Misty
+Pass."
+
+Buxa Duar has been the scene of fierce fighting even in the short
+history of England's rule in India. It was first taken by the British
+from the Bhutanese in the days of Warren Hastings, when in 1772 Captain
+Jones and his small column of sepoys swept them back into their
+mountainous land. It was given back the following year. In 1864 we again
+went to war with Bhutan and captured Buxa; and, although throughout the
+winter of that year, our troops were closely besieged in it, it has
+remained in our possession ever since. Formerly garrisoned by a whole
+regiment, it is now occupied merely by a double company--two hundred
+men--of an Indian Infantry battalion. They are the only troops between
+the Bhutan border and Calcutta--three hundred miles away.
+
+In all my wanderings I have seldom seen a lovelier spot than this lonely
+outpost. Nestling in the little hollow on the giant Himalayas, its few
+bungalows stood in gardens flaming with the brilliant colours of
+bougainvillias and poinsettias, surrounded by hedges of wild roses, and
+shaded by clusters of tall bamboos and the dense foliage of mango trees.
+The encircling arms of the mountains held it closely pressed. The jungle
+clothed the steep slopes around it, and rioted to our very doors. No
+sound disturbed its peace, save the shrill notes of our bugles or the
+chattering of monkeys by day, and the sudden harsh cry of barking deer
+or the monotonous bell-like note of the night-jar after the sun had set.
+
+The building dignified by the name of fort was in reality an irregular
+square of one-storied stone barracks, their outer faces and
+iron-shuttered windows loopholed for rifle fire. They were connected by
+a low stone wall pierced with three gateways, closed at night or on an
+alarm by iron gates, which slid into place on wheels. The fort was built
+on a knoll, which on three sides fell perpendicularly for two or three
+hundred feet in rocky precipices from ten to forty yards from the walls.
+On the north face it was only about fifty feet above the parade ground,
+which was a levelled space two hundred yards long and a hundred broad.
+This served also for hockey and as a rifle-range; the targets being
+placed in tiers up the steep hill-side on the east end.
+
+Standing at the front gate and looking northwards towards the mountains,
+one saw the ground rise sharply to the foot of Sinchula. Dotted about
+among the trees and set round with orchid-studded, low stone walls or
+flowering hedges, were four or five single-storied bungalows.
+
+The lowest and nearest to the parade ground of these was the Commanding
+Officer's Quarters, which I occupied. Higher up to the right, and
+separated from mine by a deep ravine crossed by a little wooden bridge,
+was an empty house, known as Married Officers' Quarters. Behind it was a
+long wooden building raised on pillars, the forest officer's bungalow,
+to shelter that official in his annual visit. Around it were a few
+bamboo huts for his native clerks. Past my quarters ran the mountain
+road which climbed the steep sides of Sinchula, and, degenerating into
+a narrow mule track, wound round it to the Bhutan frontier. Near my
+house it was shaded by mango trees which, when the fruit was ripe, were
+very popular with the wild monkeys. To preserve the mangoes for
+ourselves, I was then obliged to station a sentry on the road at
+daybreak to keep the marauders off. In my garden stood a very large
+mango tree, up which I used in the season to send a small Bhuttia boy to
+gather the fruit. One day he found a large monkey there before him. It
+attacked him savagely and I was obliged to shoot it to save him from its
+fury.
+
+A hundred feet above my house and on the left of the road stood in a
+terraced garden the Officers' Mess, occupied by my subaltern and the
+doctor. And three hundred feet higher still was the last building in
+Buxa, the Circuit House, intended as a court-house and temporary
+residence for any civil official who should chance to come there on
+duty. The three white square towers, which stood on the spurs running
+down from Sinchula were known as the Picquet Towers, and, conspicuous
+against the dark mountains could be seen for many miles from the plains
+below. They were intended to contain in war time small parties of the
+garrison and hold points which commanded the fort at close range. From
+one above the east face of the fort even arrows could be shot into the
+interior of our defences; so its possession was a necessity to us. They
+were strongly built of stone and loopholed, the door eight feet from the
+ground, and reached by a ladder, windowless, the only light coming from
+the loopholes. To the west of the fort beyond the mountain road and
+behind another spur, was the bazaar or native town, which consisted
+of a dozen wooden huts, and three or four brick houses, in which lived
+the few _bunniahs_ or merchants who resided there to trade grain, salt,
+and cloth, with the Bhutanese across the border. There were hardly
+thirty natives in the bazaar, comprising our whole civil population. The
+"shops" in the one tiny street contained little of use, even for our
+sepoys' frugal needs, and nothing for ours; so that anything we required
+had to be sent for from Calcutta--a day and a night by train.
+
+[Illustration: BUXA DUAR.
+My bungalow in the foreground; the Officers' Mess among the trees.]
+
+[Illustration: "THE FORT WAS BUILT ON A KNOLL."]
+
+Beside the bazaar was the European cemetery, a mournful enclosure which
+was dotted with ruinous tombstones of British officers who had been
+killed or died of disease in this solitary outpost. The most recent
+grave was that of a former forest officer of Rajabhatkawa who, unable to
+bear the loneliness of his isolated life, had shot himself in his house
+in the jungle below. But before our detachment left Buxa another grave
+was dug here to hold the body of a young captain of my regiment. Though
+he died of disease, with no doctor there at the time to attend him, yet
+it was in reality loneliness that killed him; for, depressed by the
+solitude, he had no heart in him to fight against illness. But the
+far-flung boundaries of England's Empire are marked everywhere by graves
+like his.
+
+From the south wall of the fort the ground fell in wooded spurs and
+rocky cliffs to the forest fifteen hundred feet below. East and west the
+interminable miles of trees ran on beyond the range of sight, clothing
+the foot-hills and climbing the steep mountain sides. Here and there a
+light green island in the darker-hued sea of foliage showed where a tea
+garden lay in a clearing, the iron-roofed factories, and the planters'
+bungalows visible through a field-glass. But to the south, beyond the
+clearly defined edge of the forest, the cultivated plains of Eastern
+Bengal stretched unbroken to Calcutta--three hundred miles away.
+South-west, in the Rains when the Indian atmosphere is clearest, we
+could see the Garo Hills fifty miles away in Assam, lying beyond the
+broad Brahmaputra where it flows to join the Ganges and pour their
+united waters through a hundred mouths into the Bay of Bengal--close on
+four hundred miles to the south of us.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II
+
+LIFE ON OUTPOST
+
+    The daily routine--Drill in the Indian Army--Hindustani--A
+        lingua franca--The divers tongues of India--The sepoys'
+        lodging--Their ablutions--An Indian's fare--An Indian
+        regiment--Rajput customs--The hospital--The doctor at
+        work--Queer patients--A vicious bear--The Officers'
+        Mess--Plain diet--Water--The simple life--A bachelor's
+        establishment--A faithful Indian--Fighting the
+        trusts--Transport in the hills--My bungalow--Amusements
+        in Buxa--Dull days--Asirgarh--A lonely
+        outpost--Poisoning a General--A storied
+        fortress--Soldier ghosts--A spectral officer--The
+        tragedy of isolation--A daring panther--A day on an
+        elephant--Sport in the jungle--_Gooral_ stalking in the
+        hills--Strange pets--A friendly deer--A terrified
+        visitor--A walking menagerie--Elephants tame and
+        wild--Their training--Their caution--Their rate of
+        speed--Fondness for water--Quickly reconciled to
+        captivity--Snakes--A narrow escape--A king-cobra; the
+        hamadryad--Hindu worship of the cobra--General Sir
+        Hamilton Bower--An adventurous career--E. F.
+        Knight--The General's inspection.
+
+            "Why, soldiers, why should we be melancholy, boys,
+             Whose business 'tis to die?"
+
+
+With the easy philosophy of the soldier we three officers settled down
+rapidly in our new surroundings--new at least to my subaltern Creagh and
+me. Life was a little monotonous; but we did not grumble more than the
+Briton considers is his right. Our daily existence did not vary much.
+Before the sun had risen above the Picquet Towers, my white-robed
+Mohammedan servant woke me to the labours of the day, as the bugles in
+the fort were sounding the "dress for parade." Moving noiselessly about
+the room on bare feet he placed on a small table beside my camp bed, the
+_chota hazri_ or "little breakfast," the light refreshment of tea,
+toast, and fruit with which the good Anglo-Indian begins the morning.
+The bad one prefers whisky-and-soda. Then my servitor laid out for me
+the dull khaki uniform which in India, except on occasions of ceremony,
+replaces the gayer garb of the soldier in England.
+
+Morning and afternoon we drilled our men, watched them at musketry on
+the rifle-range, or practised them in mountain warfare up the steep
+slopes.
+
+We found it difficult to manoeuvre off the parade ground, as the hills
+around were mostly covered with such tangled jungle that one had to hack
+a passage through it with a _kukri_ or a _dah_.[1] The drill of the
+Indian Army is precisely the same as for British troops. The words of
+command are invariably given in English, while only the explanations of
+movements are made in the vernacular. Thus in action an officer ignorant
+of Hindustani could take command of a native regiment in a crisis when
+all its white officers had been killed. Hindustani is a lingua franca
+invented in India by the Mohammedan armies of invasion from the north
+for intercourse with the peoples of the many conquered States. It is
+really a camp language made up of Sanscrit, Persian, Hindi and many
+other tongues. Even some military words, such as "_cartouche_,"
+"_tambour_," have been borrowed from the French, owing to so many French
+adventurers having taken service in the armies of native princes in past
+times. Nowadays the English terms for military things or new inventions
+are adopted as they stand. Hindustani or Urdu is by no means
+universally understood in India, though most Mohammedans throughout the
+Peninsula have some knowledge of it; for nearly every race has its own
+separate language or dialect and there are probably a hundred and fifty
+different tongues spoken in our Indian Empire. Urdu, however, is a _sine
+qua non_ for the British officer of the native army; and he has to pass
+at least two examinations, the Lower and the Higher Standard, in it. But
+in addition he must also qualify in the particular language spoken by
+the majority of men in his regiment. A subaltern in a Gurkha regiment,
+for instance, must pass in Gurkhali, in a Mahratta regiment in Mahratti;
+and so on.
+
+After morning parade I held orderly room, disposed of any
+prisoners--rare things in the Indian Army--and took reports from the
+native officers commanding the companies. Then I went to my office
+where, such is the amount of accounts and correspondence in the Service,
+I found at least two hours' work. Then I visited the hospital and went
+on to inspect the lines, as the barracks of native troops are called.
+The Indian sepoy is not luxuriously lodged. The barrack-rooms in Buxa,
+better and more substantial than in most places, were single-storied
+stone buildings roughly paved and furnished only with the men's
+belongings; for Government does not even provide them with beds. So each
+of my sepoys had fitted himself out with a _charpoy_ or native cot, a
+four-legged wooden bedstead with a string network bottom which makes a
+comfortable couch. On this lay his _dhurri_ or carpet, and his blankets.
+Overhead on a rough shelf stood his canvas kit-bag containing his
+clothing, while on pegs hung his belt, bayonet, and _puggri_ or turban.
+Such luxuries as basins and baths are unknown to the sepoy. He strips to
+his waist-cloth and even in the coldest weather washes himself under a
+stand-pipe or pours water over his body from his _lotah_ or small brass
+vessel which he always carries to drink from or use for his ablutions.
+In personal cleanliness most Indian races are surpassed only by the
+Japanese; and my men were either Mohammedans or Rajputs whose religions
+enjoin frequent ablutions.
+
+From the barrack-rooms I passed on to the sepoys' cooking-places. In the
+Indian Army rations in peace-time are not provided for the men; but,
+instead, they are given a certain allowance of money above their pay
+known as "compensation for dearness of provisions." This helps them to
+purchase their food, which consists in general of _chupatties_ or cakes
+of flour and water, supplemented by _ghee_ or clarified butter, various
+grain-stuffs, curry and sometimes a little meat. Many races eat rice
+instead of flour. Their method of cooking is primitive. A hole scratched
+in the ground and a couple of stones make the _chula_ or fireplace, in
+which burn a few bits of wood or a handful of dry twigs. The sepoy mixes
+his _atta_, or flour, into a paste with a little water in a large brass
+dish, rolls it into balls and flattens them out into thin cakes on a
+convex iron plate over the fire, the result being something like crisp,
+thick pancakes. Having made a pile of these he grinds between stones
+various spices, such as turmeric, chillies, onions and poppy seed,
+moistened with water to make his curry, adds some cooked vegetables or a
+raw onion, and his simple meal is ready.
+
+Among Hindus, men of different castes cook and eat apart. A Brahmin must
+have his separate fireplace, prepare his own food and eat alone. Other
+castes are not so particular and can employ cooks. In an Indian regiment
+each company or double company is generally composed of men of one race;
+and Government allows and pays two cooks and a _bhisti_ or water-carrier
+to each company, these menials, with Hindus, being necessarily of the
+same caste as the sepoys they serve. Thus in my own battalion we have a
+double company of Rajputs, one of Gujars, and one of Rawats--all these
+being Hindus. The fourth is composed of Mohammedans. Each company is
+officered by men of their own caste, a _Subhedar_ or captain, and a
+_Jemadar_ or lieutenant; and every two companies are under a double
+company commander and a double company officer, who are British, and
+with the commandant, adjutant and quartermaster make up the European
+officers of the regiment.
+
+My double company in Buxa was composed of Rajputs; but, having had to
+detach signallers, bandsmen, clerks, and other employed men to go with
+the headquarters to Dibrugarh, some Mussulmans were temporarily attached
+to bring it up to its original strength of two hundred men. The Rajputs'
+method of eating their meals is rather peculiar. Before each they must
+bathe and put on a clean _dhotie_, a cotton cloth wrapped round the
+waist, passing between the legs and falling to the knees. They must eat
+inside the _chauka_, a space of ground marked out and swept clean. Food
+which they wish to carry away and consume outside the _chauka_, as, for
+instance, if they are going on a long march, must be prepared in a
+particular way with water instead of _ghee_, which is generally used by
+them in cooking.
+
+In my daily visit to the hospital I would find our medical officer,
+Smith, hard at work. For, besides the sick of the detachment, he had to
+tend any natives from outside who chose to seek the white man's
+medicine. To help him he had a young Indian sub-assistant surgeon, who,
+despite the scanty medical training he had received, pined to perform
+major operations. With little knowledge of surgery he wished to resort
+to the knife on every possible occasion. Once, when left in sole charge
+of the hospital, he determined to amputate the leg of a Bhuttia
+suffering from gangrenous sores. The patient, however, was of a
+different opinion and during the night stole silently from the hospital
+and fled in terror across the hills to his village. Like most
+mountaineers the Bhuttias are very subject to goitre. Two out of every
+three are the proud possessors of these enormous appendages, in some
+cases nearly as large as the owner's head. They seemed to regard them as
+ornaments, and absolutely refused to allow our medico to operate on
+them. One day there was carried to the fort from Chunabatti, the only
+village for miles round, a Chinaman suffering from beriberi. This man,
+who knew no word of any language but his own, had made his way on foot
+from China across Tibet and Bhutan over the Himalayas endeavouring to
+reach Calcutta in search of work. Stricken down with this fell disease
+he had lain for months in the village, living on the charity of the
+Bhuttias, and was brought to our hospital only to die. Another
+interesting case was a boy about seven years old who was brought in,
+absolutely scalped by a blow from the paw of a bear which he had
+disturbed when gathering wood in the forest. From brow to nape of neck
+his skull had been left bare to the bone, in which were deep
+indentations from the animal's claws. The shock of the blow would
+probably have killed a European, but with the marvellous tenacity of
+life among savage races, the boy soon recovered.
+
+[Illustration: RAJPUT SEPOYS COOKING.]
+
+[Illustration: BRITISH AND INDIAN OFFICERS.]
+
+Our morning's work finished, we climbed up the hill for breakfast in the
+Mess. This was a long, single-storied stone building with an iron roof,
+erected on pillars which raised it six feet from the ground. From the
+tangled wilderness of the garden, bright with the vivid colours of huge
+bushes of poinsettia and bougainvillias, a flight of steps led up to the
+railed veranda which ran along the front of the building, and on to
+which opened the four rooms--the end ones used as quarters by Creagh and
+Smith, the centre apartments being the ante-room and dining-room. I
+wonder what some writers of military fiction, who prate glibly of the
+luxury in which army officers live, would say to the bare rooms and
+whitewashed walls of our Mess, furnished only with a few rickety tables
+and unsteady chairs. Or my subaltern's abode. One room, an iron cot
+borrowed from the hospital, a kitchen table, one dilapidated chair, a
+tin bath, and an iron basin on an old packing-case, comprised the
+sum-total of his possessions. Other furniture we could not get in Buxa;
+for the nearest shops were three hundred miles away in Calcutta. Of
+course, crockery, cooking-pots, glassware, linen and cutlery, we had to
+provide for ourselves. These we had brought with us. Before long, by
+dint of colour-washing the stone walls, hanging curtains and draperies
+of native cloth, and decorating the bare walls with the heads of
+animals we shot, we succeeded in making the Mess quite habitable and
+cosy.
+
+We were not much better off in the bare necessities of life. Buxa
+produced little in the way of food. Chickens--more literally, hens of no
+uncertain antiquity--and eggs of almost equal age were often procurable
+locally. But no meat. Sometimes a Bhuttia from across the frontier
+brought a goat for sale; and, although the Asiatic goat is an
+abomination, yet such an occasion was a red-letter day for us. Bread was
+sent us by rail from a railway refreshment-room twenty-four hours away,
+and did not always arrive. Fresh vegetables we never saw until later on
+we tried our prentice hands at gardening--and a sorry mess we made of
+it. In the winter we could add to the pot by the help of our rifles and
+guns; and venison and jungle fowl were a welcome change from the
+monotony of our menus. But our staple food consisted of tinned
+provisions--an expensive and wearisome diet. I dare say the British
+workman would have turned up his nose at our usual fare; and I could not
+blame him. Even the water supply in Buxa was a difficult question. Our
+Mess got its water from a spring in the hills hundreds of yards away,
+led down in bamboos to the kitchen. The fort was supplied from another
+spring in the base of the hill on which it was built; and all day long
+the _bhistis_[2] toiled up and down bringing the water in goatskin bags.
+But a few months after our arrival the springs nearly gave out; and I
+was faced with the necessity of abandoning fort and station, and moving
+the military and civil population to camp on the banks of a river miles
+away in the forest below, when we were saved by timely rain.
+
+Yet despite the simple life we were leading in Buxa my monthly expenses
+were more than twenty pounds for the bare necessities of existence. I
+had to pay rent to Government for my bungalow, and a share of the rent
+for the Mess, as well as my share of the expenses of mess-servants,
+lighting, and food. My personal household consisted of my "boy" or
+body-servant, a _dhobi_ or washerman, a _bhisti_ or water-carrier, a
+_syce_ or groom, and my sword-orderly, a sepoy of the regiment. This
+last individual, a Mussulman named Mohammed Draj Khan, had been in my
+service for many years and, with the fidelity of the Indian, was
+faithfully attached to me. He went with me to China in 1900 with the
+Indian Expeditionary Force and returned with me again there five years
+later. When I was going from Hong Kong on furlough to the United States,
+Canada and Europe, I arranged for him to be given six months' leave to
+his home in India. But when he heard of it Draj Khan was exceedingly
+wroth.
+
+"What? Am I not to accompany my Sahib?" he demanded indignantly.
+
+"No; I cannot take you with me to Europe," I replied. "But I have got
+you leave to go home to your wife whom you have not seen for four
+years."
+
+"Oh, my wife does not matter," was the ungallant answer; "she can wait.
+But my place is with my Sahib wherever he goes."
+
+And he has never forgiven me for not taking him; although he still
+continues to serve me faithfully.
+
+Our sepoys fared better than their British officers. We found on arrival
+that the local _bunniahs_ or shop-keepers were in the habit of
+supplying the men with very inferior and bad flour and other food-stuffs
+and charging a high price for them, relying on the monopoly they
+enjoyed. I determined to follow the example of the United States
+Government and make war on trusts. So I sent my native officers to Cooch
+Behar and other towns fifty miles away to purchase supplies, and ordered
+flour in bulk from a mill under English management in Calcutta. I had it
+sent by rail to Buxa Road Station, and conveyed thence by our elephants
+and Bhuttia coolies. An elephant can carry a weight of ten or twelve
+maunds--a maund being equal to eighty pounds. The sturdy Bhuttias, women
+as well as men, could come up our steep road, each with a load of two
+maunds on his or her back. Their burdens were fixed in two forked sticks
+bound to the shoulders in such a way that when the bearers sat down the
+ends of the sticks rested on the ground and supported the weight. But
+when heavily laden a coolie cannot then rise to his feet unaided, unless
+he first lies down, rolls over on his face, then pushes himself on to
+his knees with his hands and stands up. In Chemulpo and Seoul in Corea I
+have seen coolies employ a similar method of carrying their loads.
+
+After breakfast I returned to my house to pass the hours until the
+afternoon parade. After the dilapidated bungalows of most stations in
+India, with their thatched roofs sheltering rats, squirrels and even
+snakes, and their floors of pounded earth and decayed matting full of
+fleas, ants and the myriad plagues of insect life of the East, my small
+house seemed luxurious. It was built strongly of rough stone blocks to
+withstand the awful mountain storms. The roof was of iron which rang
+like a drum to the heavy rain and monster hailstones of the Monsoon.
+It contained four small rooms with ceilings and floors of wood, each
+with its fireplace. For during the winter we found it cold enough to
+have fires going day and night, the jungle around furnishing us with an
+ample supply of fuel. The meagre furniture which I had bought from the
+major of the Punjabis was soon supplemented with a few more articles
+sent from Calcutta. The little garden contained mango trees and a tree
+bearing the huge and evil-smelling jack-fruit, of which natives are very
+fond, though its sickening odour and oversweet taste repel most
+Europeans. The hedges around my compound were of wild roses. At one side
+stood my stable and the stone outhouses in which my servants lived; for
+in India the domestics are not lodged in the bungalow.
+
+[Illustration: MY DOUBLE COMPANY.]
+
+[Illustration: MY BACHELOR ESTABLISHMENT.]
+
+The afternoon was occupied with drills, signalling practice and military
+lectures to the non-commissioned officers.
+
+Buxa offered scant amusement within its limits to us Britishers. We had
+hockey-matches with the men two or three times a week. Creagh, being a
+keen golfer, tried to make miniature links about the fort; but, after
+losing six balls in his first game in the jungle around, he gave it up.
+We turned our attention to tennis. A comparatively level space hewed out
+of the mountain-side was fixed on as a court. Rocks four or five feet
+high were dug out of it; and the elephants were employed for days in
+bringing up earth from the plains below to spread on it. But more rocks
+seemed to grow in it and shove their heads through the thin covering of
+mould, grass came in thick, wiry patches; and altogether our tennis
+court could not be pronounced a success.
+
+Evening brought with it the dullest hours of the day. The Calcutta
+newspaper, which arrived by post every afternoon, was soon read; and the
+English journals sent to us from regimental headquarters were a month
+old. None of us were keen card players. Our library was small; and, as
+light literature, drill books soon cease to charm. Our daily life was
+too uneventful to afford many subjects of conversation; and as topics
+the incompetency of Naik Chandu Singh or the slackness on parade of
+Sepoy Pem Singh were not engrossing. England seemed too far away for the
+discussion of its politics to interest us. The pitiable limitations of
+men as talkers was painfully evident. Not being women we had no
+ever-ready subjects of conversation in dress, babies and servants'
+misdemeanours; and we could not talk scandal about ourselves. So, after
+the meagre dinner that our Gurkha cook contrived out of the athletic hen
+or tinned sausage, we threw ourselves into long chairs around the fire;
+Creagh betook himself to the study of military books for his forthcoming
+examination for promotion, and the doctor and I thumbed tattered novels
+we had read a dozen times.
+
+But Buxa was not the loneliest spot in which I have been quartered. As a
+subaltern I was stationed alone for many months in Asirgarh in the
+Central Provinces, an old Indian fortress on a hill lost in the jungle.
+That was solitude itself. My nearest European neighbour was forty miles
+away. I saw no white face and spoke no word of English for months at a
+time. Once a year a General was supposed to pay it the compliment of an
+official inspection, although the garrison consisted only of a British
+subaltern and fifty sepoys. But I think that after one occasion when the
+General and his staff officers nearly died on my hands of ptomaine
+poisoning--really contracted on their journey thither, but ascribed by
+the uncharitable among my friends to my base devices and resentment at
+having my peace disturbed by this officious intrusion--this duty grew
+out of favour with generals who valued their lives. This detachment has
+since been abolished.
+
+The fortress was wonderfully interesting, with a history reaching back
+to the eighth century. It had passed through the hands of the various
+masters of India in turn, and every stone of its walls had a story to
+tell. Taken by the British from the Maharajah of Gwalior twice, it
+remained in our possession from 1818, and was formerly garrisoned by a
+company of Artillery, a British regiment and a wing of a native
+battalion. Fallen from its high estate, a subaltern and half a company
+were considered enough for it in my time. And the subaltern combined in
+his own person the important offices of Commandant of Asirgarh Fortress,
+officer commanding the troops, officer in charge of military treasure
+chest, Cantonment Magistrate third class, and Church Trustee. For inside
+the fort were a Protestant Church in disused barracks, a ruined Catholic
+Chapel on the altar of which wild monkeys perched, and two cemeteries
+full of graves of English dead. The post was a lonely one for a young
+officer. I lived in the only habitable European building, formerly the
+general hospital, for which I paid twenty-four pounds a year to
+Government. The dead house was just outside my bedroom window. The
+interior of the fort, the fifty-feet-high walls of which were a mile and
+a half in circumference, was crowded with the ruins of an ancient
+palace, a large mosque, an old Moghul prison with wonderful underground
+passages and cells, and--most depressing of all--the gaunt wrecks of
+English bungalows with bare rafters and tattered ceiling-cloths. A fit
+habitation for ghosts. And ghosts there were. No native would venture
+about the fort alone at night. Weird tales had my sepoys to tell of the
+_Shaitans_ and _bhuts_, as they termed the spectral beings that wandered
+within the walls in the dark hours and were seen again and again by my
+men. They invariably took the form of British soldiers. And actually one
+night when I was miles away out shooting in the jungle the sentry at the
+gate turned out the guard to an approaching white officer, whom he took
+to be me. The whole guard, eleven men in all, swore next day to the
+ghostly visitant.
+
+Few English folk at home, who fondly picture an officer's life in India
+as one long round of social gaieties, of polo, sport, races and balls,
+realise the tragedies of loneliness of many who serve the Empire. Of the
+dreary solitude of a military police post in the jungles of Burma, of a
+fort on the Indian frontier, where a young subaltern lives for months,
+for years, alone. A boy brought up in the comfort of an English home,
+used to the pleasant fellowship of a regimental mess, is there condemned
+to isolation from his kind, to food that a pauper would reject, and a
+lodging a cottager would scorn. Should one of the many diseases of India
+lay its grisly hand on him he is far from medical aid. He must fight his
+illness alone, lying unattended in his comfortless quarters. Outside, a
+pitiless sun in a sky of brass pours down its rays on the glaring,
+shadowless desert. Inside, the droning whine of the punkah mocks him
+throughout the weary day, as it scarcely stirs the heated air. Night
+brings only the more terrible hours of darkness when sleep is banished
+from the tired eyes and the fever-racked brain knows no relief. Small
+wonder that too often in his agony he seeks death by his own hand. I
+have gone through the hell of sickness in a lonely post, when day after
+day the awful pains of jungle fever tortured me and night brought no
+relief. I have known what it is to gaze in my delirium at my revolver
+and think it the kindly friend that alone could end my misery, until a
+sane moment made me realise that its touch meant death and I had it
+taken away from me. But I have known, too, many a poor fellow to whom
+that saving interval of sanity was denied, to whom a bullet through the
+tortured brain brought oblivion.
+
+In comparison with Asirgarh, Buxa was quite a gay place. I was seldom
+alone in it, and generally had at least one other white man with me. We
+were kept in touch with the outside world by a telegraph line, which,
+however, was constantly being broken by trees blown down by storms or
+uprooted by elephants. Once a day a sturdy little Bhuttia postman toiled
+up the hill with our letters. "His Majesty's Mail" carried for his
+protection a short spear with bells on it to scare wild beasts; but this
+did not save him from being occasionally stopped by wild elephants and
+once being treed by a tiger. For sport we had to descend to the forest;
+though sometimes a barking deer wandered into our gardens from the
+jungle, and from the Mess veranda we shot a couple on the hill-side
+across a deep _nullah_ or ravine.
+
+Between my bungalow and the Married Officers' Quarters ran another
+_nullah_. Occasionally, when there was no moon, a panther used to wander
+down it, calling like a cat in the darkness which was too intense to
+allow me a shot at the animal. When we came to Buxa we had wondered why
+the windows of our houses were covered with strong wire netting, and
+were inclined to be sceptical when told that this was to keep predatory
+beasts out. But the Punjabi subaltern had been awakened one night by the
+noise of some animal moving about his room in the Mess, he having left
+his door open. He seized a handful of matches, struck them and saw a
+panther scared by the sudden blaze dash out through the door. And twice
+during our sojourn in Buxa did a similar thing happen.
+
+This particular panther, for we assumed that it was always the same
+animal, haunted the Station and preyed on the dogs in the bazaar. One
+day on the road just below the fort it met one of my sepoys who promptly
+climbed the nearest tree and remained in the topmost branches until his
+shouts brought some other men to the rescue. Once at night I was roused
+from sleep by wild cries from a Bhuttia's hut on the spur above our Mess
+and learned on inquiry that the panther had carried off his dog. Another
+time, in brilliant moonlight, an Indian doctor then in medical charge of
+the detachment, who lived in the bungalow next to mine, saw the beast
+sitting in the small garden intently watching the door of an outhouse in
+which a milch-goat was kept shut up. The doctor ran indoors to fetch his
+gun and had an unsuccessful shot at it as it jumped the hedge. Needless
+to say we made many efforts to compass its death. One night it killed a
+goat tied up as a bait to a tree within fifteen yards of the fort and
+was wounded by a native officer waiting for it behind the wall. Yet not
+long afterwards it climbed into the fort at night and carried off a
+sepoy's dog. Many a time I sat up in a tree over a bleating goat in the
+moonlight, but always in vain; and I suppose that panther still lives to
+afford sport to our successors in Buxa.
+
+Life was well worth living on the days when we could descend into the
+forest for a shoot. At dawn we started down the three miles of steep
+road to Santrabari where the elephants awaited us. For work in the
+jungle these animals, instead of the howdahs or cage-like structures
+with seats which they carry on shoots in fairly open country, have only
+their pads, thick, straw-stuffed mattresses bound on their backs by
+stout ropes. For in dense forest howdahs would soon be swept off. When
+we arrived at the Peelkhana the _mahouts_ made the huge beasts kneel
+down, or we clambered up, either by hauling oneself up by the tail,
+aided by one foot on the hind leg held up for the purpose at the
+driver's command, or by catching hold of the ears from the front and
+standing on the curled-up trunk which then raised us up on to the
+elephant's head. One either sat sideways on the pad or astride above the
+shoulders and behind the _mahout_ who rode on the neck with his bare
+feet behind the ears. Then our giant steeds lumbered off into the forest
+with an awkward, disjointed stride which is sorely trying to the novice.
+And sitting upright with nothing to rest the back against for eight
+hours or more, shaken violently all the time by the jerky motion, is
+decidedly tiring. Prepared for beast or bird, each of us carried a rifle
+and a shot-gun, and, separating from the others, went his own way
+through the forest. Sometimes a _sambhur_, the big Indian stag, was the
+bag; sometimes a wild boar. Perhaps a _khakur_, the small, alert barking
+deer, of which the flesh is infinitely more tender than a _sambhur's_,
+or a few jungle fowl, rewarded our efforts. We carried with us food and
+water for the day and did not return until evening. Then, after leaving
+the elephants at the Peelkhana, came the fifteen-hundred-feet climb up
+the steep road to Buxa. And in a long chair in the Mess the fatigues of
+the day were forgotten in the pleasure of recounting every incident of
+the sport.
+
+Sometimes we went out among the hills around us to stalk _gooral_, an
+active little wild goat. Clambering up the almost sheer sides of the
+mountains or clinging to the faces of rugged precipices while carrying a
+heavy rifle was a toilsome task; and too often, after a long and
+perilous climb, did I arrive in sight of the quarry only to see it
+disappear in bounding flight over the cliffs.
+
+[Illustration: A KNEELING ELEPHANT.]
+
+In our excursions into the forest or by purchase from natives we
+gradually gathered together a varied collection of pets to solace our
+loneliness. At different times I possessed half a dozen barking deer
+fawns, one of which became an institution in Buxa. Scorning confinement
+she insisted on being allowed to wander loose about the Station, and,
+soon getting to know the sepoys' meal hours, visited the fort regularly.
+She was punctual in her attendance at tea-time in my bungalow, being
+exceedingly fond of buttered toast, and always claiming her share of
+mine. More than once I have only just been in time to save her from the
+rifle of one of our rare visitors who, seeing her on the hill-side, took
+her to be wild. A small green parrot which I had similarly objected
+to being shut up and flew freely about the Station. From wherever it
+happened to be its quick eye always marked my servant bringing my
+afternoon meal to the bungalow from the kitchen; and, having a strange
+liking for hot tea, it used to fly in through the open door of my
+sitting-room and perch on my head. It was little use my objecting to
+this familiarity; for, if I attempted to dislodge it, it would stick its
+claws into my scalp and hold on to my ear by its sharp beak until I let
+it drink from my cup. Its propensity for swooping down in the open on
+any white man was sometimes alarming to strangers. Once a certain civil
+official visitor to Buxa who was jocularly reputed to be overfond of
+alcohol and never far from the verge of delirium tremens was approaching
+my bungalow when the parrot swept down on him and tried to alight on his
+hat. Uncertain as to the reality of the vision circling around his head,
+our visitor uttered a cry of terror and tried to brush the phantom aside
+until I laughingly assured him that it was a real bird. He revenged
+himself afterwards by encouraging the parrot in a depraved taste for
+whisky.
+
+In my afternoon walks I used to be accompanied by a small menagerie. Two
+small barking deer stepped daintily behind me, their long ears twitching
+incessantly. A monkey loped on all fours ahead, now and then stopping to
+sit down and scratch himself thoughtfully. A bear cub shambled along,
+playing with my dogs and being occasionally rolled over by a combined
+rush of riotous puppies. On our return to the bungalow we would be
+greeted by no less than five cats; while from its perch on the veranda a
+young hornbill, scarcely feathered and possessing a beak almost as big
+as its body, would survey us with a cold and glassy stare from its
+unwinking eyes. Once in a beat in the forest my orderly caught a
+_sambhur_ fawn which he bore, shrieking piteously, in his arms to me. In
+a day or two it was perfectly tame, fed from my hand, and insisted on
+sleeping on my bed. It was killed by a snake shortly afterwards.
+
+I might almost include in our list of pets our three Government
+elephants, of which we became very fond. They were named Jhansi,
+Dundora, and Khartoum. I generally used the last in the jungle; though
+when looking for dangerous game I preferred Dundora. Jhansi was a
+frivolous and unsteady young lady of forty years of age; and shooting
+from her back was impossible. I soon learned to drive them, sitting on
+their necks and guiding them by pressing my feet behind the ears, as the
+_mahouts_ do. I was sometimes called on to doctor them; and had to
+perform almost a surgical operation on Jhansi, when wounded by a wild
+elephant out in the jungle. I had fortunately been taught how to treat
+their ailments when doing veterinary work in a transport course some
+years before. Elephants are somewhat delicate animals and liable to a
+multiplicity of diseases. Accustomed in the wild state to shelter from
+the noonday heat in thick forests, they suffer greatly if worked in a
+hot sun and get sore feet if obliged to tramp along hard roads.
+Domesticated elephants are generally very gentle and docile; though
+males in a state of _musth_ often become very dangerous. Contrary to the
+usually received opinion they are not intelligent; but they are very
+obedient. At the word of command they will kneel, rise, pick up an
+article from the ground or lift a man on to their necks. When a _mahout_
+is gathering fodder for his charge and sees suitable leaves out of reach
+at the top of a small tree, he orders his elephant to break the tree
+down. This it does by curling up its trunk and pressing its forehead
+with all its weight behind it against the stem and thus uprooting it.
+When crossing a stream they try to sound the depth with their trunks. A
+bridge they attempt cautiously with one foot, and, if not satisfied with
+its strength, will resolutely refuse to trust themselves on it. Though
+good at climbing up steep slopes they are the reverse when descending.
+On the level they are fast for a short distance only; but they can cover
+many miles in the day when travelling. They are excellent swimmers and
+are very fond of water. In the wild state they bathe whenever they can;
+and tame elephants thoroughly enjoy being taken into the river and lie
+in the shallows with a look of blissful content while their _mahouts_
+wash them and scrub them with bricks. It is extraordinary how quickly
+they become used to captivity. In a few days they let their keepers feed
+them, mount them and take them to water. I have seen two, caught only
+four months before, being driven in a beat for a tiger; and when he was
+wounded and broke back into thick jungle they followed him
+unhesitatingly at their _mahouts'_ command.
+
+Like all hill-places Buxa was full of snakes. One night in the hot
+weather when dining on the veranda, we found a viper climbing up the
+rough stone wall of the Mess just behind our chairs. We vacated our
+seats promptly and killed it with long bamboos. Another evening I
+discovered one on my veranda. Once when camped in the forest with my
+detachment, the officer who was then with me and I were sitting at a
+small table having tea when one of the native officers came up. I had a
+chair brought for him and he sat talking to us until dusk came. My
+servant placed a lighted lamp on the table. Suddenly the native officer
+who was sitting a few yards from me said quietly:
+
+"Do not move, Sahib. There is a snake under your chair; and if you try
+to stand up you may tread on it."
+
+It was difficult to obey him and remain motionless; but, as it was the
+wisest thing to do, I sat quietly until I saw a small and very poisonous
+viper emerge between my feet and wriggle off. Then I jumped up, seized
+the lamp from the table and a cane from my native officer and killed it.
+
+In Buxa one afternoon when I happened to be inspecting the bazaar a
+native ran up in a state of great excitement to inform me that a "_bahut
+burra samp_," a _very_ large snake, was climbing up the precipice on the
+west side of the hill on which the bazaar stood. I went with him and
+found two or three Bhuttias looking over the edge at an enormous serpent
+which was making its way up the steep face, clinging to projecting rocks
+and bushes. From its size I took it to be a python, which is not
+poisonous and kills its prey only by compression. We waited until the
+snake had got its head and a third of its length over the brink and fell
+upon it with sticks and clubbed it to death. I had it carried to my
+bungalow where I measured it and found it to be fifteen feet two inches
+in length. Preparatory to skinning it, I compared it with the coloured
+plates in a book on Indian reptiles and found to my horror that it was
+a king-cobra or hamadryad, the most dreaded and dangerous ophidian in
+Asia. It is very venomous and wantonly attacks human beings; so that it
+was fortunate for us that we had caught it at a disadvantage. There is a
+recorded instance of one chasing and overtaking a man on a pony. It is
+generally to be found only in the forests of Eastern Bengal, Assam, and
+Burmah.
+
+When one considers the enormous number of snakes in India it is
+surprising how seldom they are seen. This is due to their rarely
+venturing out in the daytime. But I have killed one with my sword when
+returning from a morning parade in Bhuj and another, a black cobra five
+feet nine inches long, in my bathroom in Asirgarh. Few Europeans ever
+get over their instinctive horror of these reptiles; but the natives,
+thousands of whom die every year from snake-bite owing to their going
+about with bare feet and legs at night, have not the same dread of them.
+In fact Hindus hold the cobra sacred, and have an annual festival, the
+Nagpanchmai, in its honour. I have seen in Cutch the Rao (or Rajah) of
+that State go in solemn procession on that day to worship it in a
+temple, accompanied by his strangely-uniformed troops, which included
+soldiers in steel caps and chain mail walking on stilts. They were
+supposed to be prepared to fight in the salt deserts and sandy wastes
+which surround Cutch.
+
+Our first visitors from the outside world reached Buxa about a month
+after our arrival. They were General Bower, commanding the Assam Brigade
+to which we belonged, and his staff officer, come for the annual
+inspection of the detachment. Brigadier-General (now Major-General Sir
+Hamilton) Bower is a man whose paths have lain in strange places and
+whose career reads like a book of adventures. A keen sportsman and a
+daring explorer of untrodden ways, he was as a captain ordered by the
+Government of India to pursue the Mohammedan murderer of an English
+traveller, Dalgleish, through the savage wilds of Central Asia. For
+months he chased the assassin through sterile regions where no European
+had ever before set foot and at last hounded him into the hands of the
+Russians at Samarcand where he killed himself in jail. His capture was
+necessary to show the lawless tribesmen of Central Asia that a price
+must be paid for a white man's blood and that the arm of our Government
+could reach an Englishman's slayer in any land. Readers of E. F.
+Knight's fascinating book, "Where Three Empires Meet" will remember the
+author's meeting with Captain Bower in Kashmir in 1891, after the
+latter's successful pursuit of this murderer, Dad Mohammed. Bower was
+then starting on his celebrated journey from India overland to China,
+which he has described in his work "Across Tibet." And since those days
+his life has not been tame. Ordered to raise a regiment of Chinamen to
+garrison Wei-hai-wei, he landed in Shanghai with one follower and soon
+brought a corps of Northern Chinese into being, which, in two years
+after its raising, fought splendidly in the bloody struggles around
+Tientsin in the Boxer War of 1900. He afterwards commanded the British
+Legation Guard in Pekin and found ample scope for all his tact and good
+temper in the intercourse with the officers of the Guards of other
+nationalities in the Chinese capital.
+
+He spent three days with us; and though his inspection was thorough, and
+entailed fatiguing manoeuvres through jungle I had hitherto regarded as
+impenetrable and up mountains I had considered unscaleable, we were
+sorry when his visit terminated. As a rule one does not hail a General's
+inspection as a pleasant function. But General Bower proved the
+pleasantest and most interesting visitor we ever had. Tired of our own
+thrice-told tales we revelled in the interesting conversation of a man
+who had seen and done so much in his adventurous career, who had
+journeyed along untrodden ways, had fought strange foes and carried his
+life in his hand in wild lands where no king's writ runs. We talked much
+of Knight, whom I have the good fortune to know, a man who, like the
+General, might be the hero of a boy's book of romance. His life had been
+equally adventurous. He fought for the French in 1870, and against them
+later in Madagascar. In a small yacht he crossed the Atlantic and
+visited most countries in South America. In his wanderings beyond the
+frontier of India he came in for the difficult little Hunza-Nagar
+campaign and fought in it. Author, traveller, war-correspondent, amateur
+soldier, he has been everywhere, seen and done everything. And, simple
+and courageous, he is a type of the adventurers who made England great.
+Romance is not dead while such men as he and Bower live.
+
+With a General on official inspection one is inclined to speed the
+parting guest; but as General Bower waved his farewell to us from the
+back of the elephant which was carrying him downhill we were sorry to
+part with him, and all three hoped to meet him the following year again
+in Buxa. But when he came I alone was left. Smith had gone to Calcutta,
+and Creagh was commanding another detachment of the regiment in the
+heart of Tibet, even farther from civilisation than Buxa.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[1] Heavy native knives.
+
+[2] Water-carriers.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III
+
+THE BORDERLAND OF BHUTAN
+
+    The races along our North-East Border--Tibet--The
+        Mahatmas--Nepal--Bhutan--Its geography--Its
+        founder--Its Government--Religious rule--Analogy
+        between Bhutan and old Japan--_Penlops_ and
+        _Daimios_--The Tongsa _Penlop_--Reincarnation of the
+        Shaptung Rimpoche--China's claim to Bhutan--Capture of
+        the Maharajah of Cooch Behar--Bogle's mission--Raids
+        and outrages--The Bhutan War of 1864-5--The Duars--The
+        annual subsidy--Bhutan to-day--Religion--An
+        impoverished land--Bridges--Soldiers in Bhutan--The
+        feudal system--Administration of justice--Tyranny of
+        officials--The Bhuttias--Ugly women--Our neighbours in
+        Buxa--A Bhuttia festival--Archery--A banquet--A
+        dance--A Scotch half-caste--Chunabatti--Nature of the
+        borderland--Disappearing rivers--The Terai--Tea
+        gardens--A planter's life--The club--Wild beasts in the
+        path--The Indian planters--Misplaced sympathy--The tea
+        industry--Profits and losses--Planters' salaries--Their
+        daily life--Bhuttia raids on tea gardens--Fearless
+        planters--An unequal fight.
+
+
+Along the North-East Frontier of India lie numerous States and races of
+which the average Britisher is very ignorant. Of late years Tibet has
+bulked largely in the public eye owing to international and diplomatic
+intrigues and our little war with it in 1904. But, previously, it was
+probably best known to the Man in the Street as the country from which
+according to the Theosophists, "the Mahatmas come from." They must all
+have deserted it long since; for I never met anyone who had been in
+Tibet who had ever heard of them there. Travellers like General Bower
+who had journeyed through the land from end to end, officers of the
+Anglo-Indian Army that made its way to Lhasa, others of my regiment who
+had lived in Gyantse, learned to speak the language and mixed much with
+the people, were all ignorant of the existence of these mysterious and
+supernaturally gifted beings.
+
+Nepal is best known as the country which supplies us with the popular
+little Gurkha soldiers. But Bhutan, which lies along our Indian border,
+is scarcely known even by name to the crowd. Yet, as long ago as in the
+days of Warren Hastings, we had diplomatic intercourse with it; and half
+a century has not elapsed since we were at war with the Bhutanese. Yet,
+to-day, there are not a dozen Englishmen who have crossed its borders.
+
+Bhutan is an exceedingly mountainous country, twenty thousand square
+miles in extent, lying along the northern boundary of Bengal and Assam,
+hemmed in on the west by Sikkim, a State under our suzerainty, and on
+the west and north by Tibet. A Buddhist land, its system of government
+is very similar to that of Japan before the Meiji, the revolution of
+1868. It was founded by a lama who, after establishing himself as
+supreme ruler, handed over the control of temporal matters to a layman
+and a council of elders. Until the other day the country was nominally
+governed by a spiritual head, the Shaptung Rimpoche, an incarnation of
+the deified founder, known in India as the Durma Raja, and a mundane
+monarch whom we term the Deb Raja. They were assisted by a council. The
+analogy between them and the Mikados and Shoguns of Japan was very
+close. To complete it the real control of the land was practically in
+the hands of feudal barons called _Penlops_, who, like the _Daimios_ of
+old Japan, ruled their own territories, and, when strong enough, defied
+the Central Government. For the greater part of the last century the
+_Penlops_ of Tongsa were the most powerful among these. The present
+holder of the title was recently elected hereditary Maharajah of Bhutan.
+He is Sir Ugyen Wang-chuk, K.C.I.E.--a most enlightened man and strongly
+in favour of the British. During the war of 1904 with Tibet, he placed
+all his influence on our side; and, his efforts to prevent bloodshed
+being unavailing, he accompanied our troops to Lhasa. The Government of
+India, in recognition of his services rewarded him with the K.C.I.E.,
+and a present of rifles and ammunition. When our present King-Emperor
+visited India as Prince of Wales in 1906, Sir Ugyen Wang-chuk was
+invited to Calcutta and saw for himself the wonders of civilisation and
+learned something of the might of England. It was shortly after his
+return from India that he was elected Maharajah. Though he is now the
+real ruler of the country the pretence is kept up of the Government
+still being in the hands of the Durma and Deb Rajas. On the death of the
+incumbent of the former position, his reincarnation is sought for among
+young boys throughout the land, as happens in the case of the Dalai Lama
+in Tibet.
+
+In former times China held a shadowy claim to the suzerainty of Bhutan;
+and when, after our war with Tibet, we re-established her influence over
+that country, the Chinese endeavoured to reassert their hold over Bhutan
+as well. The Tongsa _Penlop_ preferred having the British to deal with
+and in January, 1910 signed a treaty by which he placed the foreign
+relations of his country under the control of the Government of India.
+But otherwise Bhutan is completely independent. We do not interfere in
+any way in its internal affairs; and while the Bhutanese can enter India
+freely, no Britisher is allowed into their country without special
+sanction from our own authorities, which is rarely given.
+
+The first occasion on which the Indian Government was brought into
+contact with Bhutan was in the time of Warren Hastings. In those days
+the Bhutanese claimed sovereignty over the forest-clad plains in the
+north of Eastern Bengal. In 1772 they carried off the Maharajah of Cooch
+Behar as a prisoner. A small British force pursued them into the hills
+and made them surrender their captive. Hastings seized the opportunity
+of their suing for peace to send an Envoy, Bogle, to endeavour to
+establish trading relations with Bhutan. Bogle entered the country by
+way of Buxa Duar and was at first well received by the Deb Raja. He gave
+a flattering account of the people and their customs in his journal; and
+his description of Bhutan might almost have been written yesterday, so
+little changed is it. His mission bore little fruit; and the jealousy of
+strangers, inherent in all Buddhist nations, soon put a stop to any
+intercourse with India. A long series of raids into our territory and
+outrages on our subjects along the border was borne with exemplary
+patience for many years by the East India Company. But at length the
+ill-treatment of another Envoy, Eden, sent to remonstrate with the
+Bhutanese, led to our declaring war on them in 1864. Taken by surprise
+at first, they were driven out of their forts in the Himalayan passes;
+but they soon rallied, chased one of our columns in disorder out of the
+country, forcing it to abandon its guns, and penned in our garrisons in
+the captured forts. But, in the following year, despite their fanatical
+bravery, they were defeated finally and compelled to beg for peace. The
+Indian Government deprived them of the Duars, the forest strip of
+country lying along the base of the Himalayas. The word _duar_ means
+"door," or "gateway," and originally referred to the passes leading
+through the mountains into India. The Bhutanese pleaded that this
+deprived them of their most profitable raiding ground and source of
+supply of slaves. Our Government, moved by this ingenuous plea,
+compensated them by the grant of an annual subsidy of fifty thousand
+rupees (now equal to £3333) which has recently been raised to a lakh,
+which is one hundred thousand. This sum, like similar but smaller
+amounts disbursed by us to savage tribes along our frontiers, may be
+regarded as either a species of blackmail or a reward of good behaviour.
+Should the recipients displease us in the conduct of their relations
+with other countries or should they allow their unruly young men to raid
+across our borders, the payment is suspended until amends are made. It
+generally has the desired effect, and saves a punitive little war. I was
+surprised, however, to find that the Bhuttias inside our frontier, who
+were mostly refugees from the exactions and oppression of their own
+officials, attributed our paying this subsidy to fear of the might of
+Bhutan, and held it up to my sepoys as a proof of the greatness of their
+nation.
+
+Bhutan to-day stands much where it has for centuries past. Its religion
+is a debased lamaism and idolatry, which replace the high moral teaching
+of Buddha. Its impoverished peasants and even the lay officials are
+heavily taxed to support in idleness the innumerable shoals of Buddhist
+monks and nuns. Praying wheels and prayer flags and the support of lamas
+are, as in Tibet, all that is necessary to ensure salvation. Arts and
+handicrafts are decaying. Trade is principally carried on by the
+primitive method of barter. Owing to the mountainous nature of the
+country cultivation is much restricted. The only coins I could find
+struck in Bhutan were a silver piece worth sixpence, and a copper one
+worth the sixteenth of a penny. British, Tibetan and Chinese coins are
+used. Most of our annual subsidy finds its way back into India in
+exchange for cloth and food-stuffs. When paid by us a large portion of
+it used to go to the ecclesiastical dignitaries in the capital, Punakha,
+and the rest was distributed among the various _Penlops_. The Deb
+Zimpun, the official sent into our territory every year to receive it,
+now hands it over to the Maharajah, who disburses it.
+
+The roads through Bhutan are mere ill-kept mule tracks. The forests,
+which are in strong contrast to the usually treeless plateaux of
+Northern Tibet, though not found at the greatest elevation in the
+country, are well looked after; and the regulations for their
+preservation are strictly enforced. A long series of internecine wars
+has ruined the land; but of late years the predominance of the Tongsa
+_Penlop_ has ensured internal peace. The only buildings of note are the
+temples, the _gumpas_ or large monasteries and the _jongs_ or castles,
+huge rambling edifices of stone and wood. The towns mostly consist of
+wooden huts. But the Bhutanese are very clever in constructing bridges
+over the rivers and torrents that traverse their mountainous country.
+These are sometimes marvels of engineering skill, great wooden
+structures on the cantilever principle or well-constructed iron
+suspension bridges, remarkable when one considers the rude appliances at
+the disposal of the builders.
+
+There is no regular army in Bhutan, each _Penlop_ and important official
+maintaining his own armed retinue; but every man in the country is
+liable for service. Their weapons are chiefly single-edged straight
+swords and bows and arrows. The swords are practically long knives and
+are universally carried as cutting tools, for use in the forests. There
+are very few modern fire-arms in the country. The Deb Zimpun, in his
+visit to Buxa to receive the subsidy, was accompanied by his guard of
+sixty men without a gun among them. He told me that he possessed a
+fowling-piece himself which he had left behind, as he had no cartridges
+for it.
+
+Although Bhutan now possesses a Maharajah, the government is still
+carried on on feudal lines. The _Penlops_ rule their own territories
+without much outside interference. Under them are the _jongpens_ or
+commanders of _jongs_, who act as governors of districts. Each _Penlop_
+has a _tarpon_ or general to command his troops. Under the _jongpens_
+are lesser officials known as _tumbas_. There is no judiciary branch,
+and justice is rudely administered. A murderer is punished by the loss
+of a hand and being hamstrung, or sometimes is tied to the corpse of
+his victim and thrown into a river or over a precipice. The exactions
+of the officials drive many refugees over our border: and the hills
+around Buxa were peopled almost entirely by Bhuttias who had fled from
+slavery and oppression.
+
+The Bhuttia is a cheerful, hard-working and easily contented individual.
+He is naturally brave, and has the makings of a good soldier in him. He
+is generally medium-sized, broad and sturdy, with thick muscular legs
+such as I have only seen equalled in the chair coolies of Hong Kong and
+the rickshawmen in Japan. The northern Bhutanese are fair and often
+blue-eyed. Their Tibetan neighbours hold them in dread. The dress of a
+Bhuttia man is simple and consists of one garment shaped like the
+Japanese kimono, kilted by a girdle at the waist to leave the legs free.
+Their heads and feet are generally bare. The costume of the richer folk,
+except on occasions of ceremony, is very much the same; but they
+generally wear stockings and shoes or long Chinese boots. But even the
+Maharajah often goes barelegged. The Bhutanese women are the ugliest
+specimens of femininity I have ever seen. In the south they cut their
+hair shorter even than the men do. But when they can they load
+themselves with ornaments of turquoises or coloured stones.
+
+Around Buxa the Bhuttia inhabitants build, high upon the steepest hills,
+villages of wooden, palm-thatched huts supported on poles which raise
+them well off the ground. Their household utensils and drinking vessels
+are usually made of the useful bamboo. Around their houses they scratch
+up the ground and plant a little; but their chief employment is as
+porters or as woodcutters in the Government forests. They never seek for
+work in the tea gardens near; though on these the coolies are well paid
+and have to be brought from a long distance away in India. But the
+Bhuttia is essentially a hill-man; and life in the steamy heat of the
+Bengal plains would be unendurable to him.
+
+A thousand feet above Buxa, on the slopes of Sinchula, stood a hamlet of
+a dozen huts. Learning that the inhabitants were celebrating a yearly
+festival, Smith and I, accompanied by a native officer, set off to visit
+it. As we climbed the steep hill-side we heard fiendish yells and
+shrieks, and conjectured that we were coming upon a devil-dance at
+least. But we only found the men of the village engaged in an archery
+contest. Two targets were placed about a couple of hundred yards apart;
+and a party at either end shot at them. The small marks were rarely hit,
+even when we placed rupees on them to stimulate the competitors; but
+most of the arrows fell very close to them. A good shot was hailed with
+vociferous applause by the marksman's team, a bad one by the shrieks,
+groans and derisive laughter we had heard. When the contest was over we
+were invited to try our skill and luckily did not disgrace ourselves.
+Then the bows of the contestants were stacked together on the ground and
+hung with garlands and leafy branches. The men sat down in two lines
+forming a lane to the bows; and each drew out from the breast of his
+kimono a small wooden or metal cup. Several women appeared from the
+village, bearing food and drink in cane baskets or gaily decorated
+vessels made of bamboo. We learned that the feast lasted six days and
+that each one of the principal villagers acted as host and provided the
+provender a day in turn and his womenfolk dispensed his hospitality.
+To-day's entertainer began the proceedings by filling his own cup,
+advancing to the pile of bows, bowing profoundly before it several times
+and pouring the contents of his cup on the ground. As he did so he
+muttered some words. Then he turned about and walked back. The other
+men, as they sat cross-legged on the ground, shouted out a long
+utterance which I took to be a form of grace before meals, and ended
+with a series of ear-piercing yells which would have done credit to a
+pack of mad jackals. The effect of the contrast between the fiendish
+noises they made and their beaming countenances was comical. Then the
+hostesses passed down the lines of men, handed them platters and heaped
+rice and other food on them. The cups were filled first with the
+vile-smelling and worse-tasting native liquor, and afterwards, when
+emptied several times, with tea. Undisturbed by our presence the guests
+made a hearty meal, the host walking up and down the lines and
+encouraging them to enjoy themselves, while his women brought fresh
+relays of victuals. But at last their appetites were satisfied. Then the
+ladies of the hamlet who had been watching their lords and masters from
+a respectful distance came forward. In addition to their ordinary
+garments they wore capes of black velveteen, only donned on occasions of
+ceremony; and their necks were hung with chains of imitation turquoises
+and large, coloured stone beads. To the monotonous accompaniment of two
+tiny hand-drums, beaten by men, they performed a mournful and
+exceedingly proper dance. This the men applauded languidly. Among the
+women I was struck by the European-like features of the very ugliest of
+them. She was fair-haired, high-cheek-boned and long-nosed. She
+contrasted strongly with the Tartar type of features of those around
+her. I learned that she was the illegitimate daughter of a Scotch
+military surgeon who had formerly been quartered in Buxa. She was
+married to a Bhuttia, and, judging from her silver ornaments, was quite
+a person of importance in the hamlet. But as I saw her afterwards
+working as a coolie and passing with heavy loads up and down through
+Buxa, it was evident that her economical father had not left her beyond
+the necessity of toiling for her daily rice.
+
+[Illustration: "THE LADIES OF THE HAMLET CAME FORWARD."]
+
+[Illustration: BHUTTIA DRUMMERS.]
+
+The dance finished the festivities for the day. We were led in
+procession by the revellers through the village with songs and beating
+of drums; and, having bestowed a few rupees on them, we departed amid a
+loud chorus of thanks.
+
+Some time afterwards I was present at a similar festival in Chunabatti,
+the large village containing nearly a thousand Bhuttias, a few miles
+over the hills from Buxa. Here the American lady missionary had resided
+for over fifteen years; and I asked her for some explanation of the
+festival. But she confessed that, even after her long residence among
+the villagers, she knew nothing of their beliefs, religion or
+ceremonies. I may mention that she had never made a convert. But as far
+as I could see these cis-border Bhuttias were even more ignorant of
+their faith than the dwellers in Bhutan. There were a few prayer flags
+fluttering on the hill above the village; but _chortens_ and praying
+wheels were conspicuous by their absence, though there was enough
+water-power in the mountains for the latter to ensure salvation for
+millions of believers in their efficacy. The village possessed one lama,
+who was treated with scant respect. I often saw him teaching the small
+boys to read the Hindi characters, which are the same as used for the
+written Tibetan language.
+
+This Chunabatti festival was celebrated in the same manner as the one we
+had seen before, with eating, drinking, dances by the women, and archery
+contests by the men. Some of the small boys were brought out to practise
+with the bow; and many of them shot quite well. But there was absolutely
+no trace of religious celebration.
+
+To-day the boundary-line between Bhutan and India lies generally along
+the summits of the last mountain-chain above the plains. Dense jungle
+clothes the sides of the hills and descends to meet the upward waves of
+the Terai Forest, which stretches along the foot of the Himalayas
+through Assam, Bengal, and Nepal. The mountains are cloven by deep and
+gloomy ravines through which swift-flowing rivers like the Menass,
+Raidak, Torsa, and Tista pour their waters to swell the Brahmaputra and
+the Ganges. Some of these torrents disappear underground a few hundred
+yards from the hills and leave a broad river-bed empty for miles, except
+during the Rains. But farther away they suddenly appear again above the
+surface and flow to the south. The character of the jungle in the region
+where they reappear is damper and more tropical than near the mountains,
+and has earned for the forest the title of Terai, which means "wet."
+Streams which on the level of Santrabari reached the plains, there
+vanish, to come again above the ground near Rajabhatkawa.
+
+[Illustration: CHUNABATTI.]
+
+The long belt of the Terai Jungle is nowadays patched with clearings for
+tea gardens; for the Duars' tea is famous. Mixed with tea grown near
+Darjeeling at an elevation of six thousand or seven thousand feet it
+forms a favourite blend. But the sportsman, no matter how fond he may be
+of the "cup that cheers," cannot view without regret the clearing away
+of thousands of acres of forests that shelter big game. And an artist
+would not consider the destruction of the giant, orchid-clad trees with
+the festoons of swinging creepers compensated for by the stretches of
+more profitable low green tea-bushes in symmetrical and orderly rows.
+
+Nor do the other signs of man's handiwork on a tea garden compensate for
+the natural beauties they replace. Hideous factories, gaunt drying and
+engine-houses with stove-pipe like chimneys rising above corrugated iron
+roofs, villages of dilapidated thatched huts sheltering the hundreds of
+coolies employed on the estate, and the unbeautiful bungalows of the
+Europeans in charge. For on each garden there are from one to four
+Britishers. The larger ones have a manager, two assistants, and an
+engineer; on the smaller ones the manager perhaps combines the functions
+of the others in his own person.
+
+A planter's life is a lonely one. The gardens are generally a few miles
+apart. Men busy, especially in the gathering season, from dawn to dark
+have little inclination to go visiting after the day's work is done,
+even if the roads were better and freer from the danger of meeting a
+wild elephant on them at night. But in each little district a club-house
+is built in some central spot within comparatively easy reach of all the
+gardens around. It is generally only a rough wooden shed; but in the
+small clearing around it a few tennis courts, or perhaps a polo ground,
+are made. And here once a week all the planters of the neighbourhood,
+with an occasional lady or two among them, repair on horseback through
+the jungle. There may be flooded rivers to cross, wild beasts to avoid;
+but, unless writhing in the grip of the planters' plagues, malarial or
+blackwater fever, all will be there on club day. Like the Bhuttias in
+our village feast one of the number takes it in turn to act as host. He
+sends over from his bungalow, miles away, crockery, glasses, a cold
+lunch, and, possibly, tea. For planters are not fond of it as a
+beverage. Then men, who have not seen another white face for a week,
+foregather, do justice to the lunch, play tennis or polo, and take a
+farewell drink or two when the setting sun warns them to depart. Then
+into the saddle again and off by forest road and jungle track to another
+week of loneliness and labour. What tales they have to tell of the wild
+beasts they meet on their way home in the deepening gloom! But the
+planter fears nothing except wild elephants; and not them if he is on
+horseback and a good road. Two men from the same garden who used to
+linger longest at the bar came one evening upon a tiger, another time
+upon a fine specimen of the more dreaded Himalayan bear, right in their
+path. They were unarmed, but their libations had added to their natural
+courage. Without hesitation, they dug spurs into their unwilling ponies
+and with demoniac yells charged straight at the astonished wild beasts.
+In each case tiger or bear found this too much for his nerves and
+promptly bolted into the jungle.
+
+There are few finer bodies of men in the world than the planters of
+India. Educated men, they lead the life of a _gaucho_. Hard riders, good
+shots, keen sportsmen, they are the best volunteers we have in the
+Indian Empire; and more than once some of them have worthily upheld the
+fame of their class in war.
+
+During the last Abor Expedition of 1912 several of the Assam Valley
+Light Horse, a Planters' corps, gave up their posts and went to the
+front as troopers.
+
+It is well to be content with your lot. From our cool hills I used to
+look down on the bright green patches of the gardens in the dark forests
+below and pity the poor planters in the humid heat of the summer months.
+But when I visited them I found that their sympathy went out to us in
+Buxa. On one occasion my host pointed to the dark wall of hills on which
+three tiny white specks, the Picquet Towers of my fort, shone out in the
+sunlight. With a sigh of compassion he said:
+
+"Whenever we look up there and think of you poor fellows shut up in that
+isolated spot we pity you immensely and wonder how you can bear the
+dreadful loneliness of it. Down here we are so much better off."
+
+As he spoke we looked towards the mountains, and at that moment a dark
+cloud was drawn like a pall across their face. Its black expanse was
+rent by vivid lightning; and the hollow roll of distant thunder in the
+hills told us that one of the frequent storms was raging over my little
+Station, while we stood in brilliant sunshine. And certainly at the
+moment Buxa looked a gloomy spot.
+
+Tea growing seems a profitable industry. I heard of estates which paid
+a profit of sixty per cent, and noticed with regret fresh inroads being
+made in the forest for more ground to plant in. Of course with a new
+garden one must wait five years or so for any return on the capital
+invested. And the initial expenses of clearing and preparing the soil,
+buying machinery and erecting factories, are great. The coolies must be
+brought from a distance, as the country around is too sparsely populated
+to supply a sufficiency of labour. And before quitting their houses they
+demand an advance of pay to leave with their relatives, and not
+infrequently abscond after getting the money. Each company sends a
+recruiting agent to collect these coolies who are well paid according to
+the Indian labour-market rates. And the father of a family is better off
+than a bachelor; for women and children help to gather the leaves, and
+each worker brings in his or her basket to be weighed, and payment is
+made by results. One sees the mothers with their babies on their hips
+moving among the bushes and plucking the tender green shoots. The whole
+process of manufacturing, from the planting and pruning, the gathering
+of the leaf, and the withering and drying, down to the packing of the
+tea ready for the market is interesting. Little goes to waste. The
+floors of the factories are regularly swept, and the tea-dust thus
+collected is pressed into blocks to form the brick-tea popular in
+Central Asia and used as currency in the absence of money.
+
+But tea growing is not all profit. Sometimes a hailstorm ruins the
+year's crop, frost blights the plants, and losses occur in other ways.
+The planters rarely own their gardens, but are usually in the service of
+companies in England. They are not overpaid; a manager in the Duars
+generally receives six hundred rupees a month, together with a house,
+allowances for his horse and certain servants which make his salary up
+to another hundred, in all about forty-seven pounds. But an assistant
+begins on less than twenty pounds a month. Engineers, who look after the
+machinery, are better paid; and some economically minded companies
+promote the engineer to be manager, and so save a salary. The expenses
+of living are not great, and a frugal planter--if such a being
+exists--can save money.
+
+To those fond of an outdoor existence the work is pleasant enough. Early
+in the morning manager and assistants mount their ponies and set out to
+ride over the hundreds of acres of the estate, inspect the plants, visit
+the nurseries, and watch the coolies at work among the bushes or
+clearing the jungle. Then through the factory and, if it be the season,
+see the baskets of leaves brought in and weighed. And back to a late
+breakfast, where tea rarely finds its way to the table, and a siesta
+until the afternoon calls them forth to ride round the garden again. It
+sounds an easy life and idyllic, but the planters say it is not.
+
+In any land the sight of the rich plains stretching away from the foot
+of the barren hills is always a tempting sight to the fierce mountain
+dwellers. And for the Bhutanese it must have been a sore struggle to
+curb their predatory instincts and cease from their profitable descents
+on the unwarlike inhabitants of Bengal. Wealth and women were the prizes
+of the freebooter until the shield of the Briton was thrust between him
+and his timorous prey. Yet even to-day, although their nation is at
+peace with us, the temptation sometimes proves too much for lawless
+borderers. And parties of raiders from across the frontier swoop down on
+the Duars. A tea garden, when a store of silver coin is brought to pay
+the wages of the hundreds of coolies, is their favourite mark. The few
+police scattered far apart over the north of Eastern Bengal are
+powerless to stop a rush of savage swordsmen who suddenly emerge from
+the forest, loot the _bunniahs_ and the huts on a garden, and disappear
+long before an appeal for succour can reach the nearest troops. With the
+fear of the white man before their eyes they do not seek to meddle with
+the Europeans in their factories and bungalows. But the fearless
+planters do not imitate their forbearance. In one garden a terrified
+coolie rushed to the manager's house to inform him that Bhuttias were
+raiding the village. Without troubling to inquire the number of the
+dacoits the planter called his one assistant; and taking their rifles
+the two Englishmen mounted their ponies and galloped to the village.
+They found it in the hands of about sixty Bhuttias, armed with _dahs_,
+who were plundering right and left. The planters sprang from their
+saddles and opened fire on them. The raiders, aghast at this unpleasant
+interruption to their profitable undertaking, strove to show a bold
+front. But the pitiless bullets and still more the calm courage of the
+two white men daunted them; and they fled into the friendly shelter of
+the forest. That garden was never attacked again.
+
+I was surprised to learn that on such occasions the planters had never
+sent information to the detachment at Buxa. But they told me that, as
+they never saw anything of the troops there, they almost forgot their
+existence. They added that the raiders came and went with such rapidity
+that it was hopeless for infantry to try to catch them. I determined to
+alter this state of affairs. So, shortly after our arrival, I took
+almost all my men out on a ten days' march, lightly equipped, through
+the jungle district to show that we were not tied to the fort and that
+we could mobilise and move swiftly if needed. I also devised a scheme by
+which, on the first intimation of a raid reaching me, mobile parties of
+my detachment would dash off at once over the hills to secure all the
+passes near and cut off the retreat of the invaders, while other
+parties, descending into the forest, would shepherd them into their
+hands.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV
+
+A DURBAR IN BUXA
+
+    Notice of the Political Officer's approaching visit--A
+        Durbar--The Bhutan Agent and the interpreter--Arrival
+        of the Deb Zimpun--An official call--Exchange of
+        presents--Bhutanese fruit--A return call--Native
+        liquor--A welcome gift--The Bhutanese
+        musicians--Entertaining the Envoy--A thirsty Lama--A
+        rifle match--An awkward official request--My
+        refusal--The Deb Zimpun removes to Chunabatti--Arrival
+        of the treasure--The Political Officer comes--His
+        retinue--The Durbar--The Guard of Honour--The
+        visitors--The Envoy comes in state--Bhutanese
+        courtesies--The spectators--The payment of the
+        subsidy--Lunch in Mess--Entertaining a difficult
+        guest--The official dinner--An archery match--Sikh
+        quoits--Field firing--Bhutanese
+        impressed--Blackmail--British subjects captured--Their
+        release--Tashi's case--Justice in Bhutan--Tyranny of
+        officials--Tashi refuses to quit Buxa--The next payment
+        of the subsidy--The treaty--Misguided humanitarians.
+
+
+Soon after our arrival in Buxa I received a letter from the Political
+Officer in Sikkim, Tibet, and Bhutan informing me that he proposed to
+visit our little Station and hold a Durbar there in order to pay over to
+a representative of the Bhutanese Government the annual subsidy of fifty
+thousand rupees. He requested me to furnish a Guard of Honour of a
+hundred men for the ceremony. The news that Buxa was to rise to the
+dignity of a Durbar of its own and be honoured with the presence of the
+Envoy of a friendly State was positively exciting. True, neither the
+Durbar nor the Envoy were very important; still, with them, we felt that
+we were about to make history. The officer who has charge of our
+political relations with these three countries resides at Gantok, the
+capital of Sikkim, and, until recently, administered the affairs of that
+State. Of late years the Maharajah has been admitted to a share of the
+Government.
+
+In Chunabatti lived two natives of Darjeeling, British subjects, who
+were paid a salary by our Government to help in transacting diplomatic
+affairs with Bhutan. They were officially styled the Bhutan Agent and
+the Bhutanese interpreter. Their knowledge of English, acquired in a
+school of Darjeeling, was not extensive; and their acquaintance with
+Hindustani was on a par. They were men of a Tibetan type, dressed like
+our Bhuttias, except that they wore a headgear like a football cap and
+also gaily striped, undoubted football stockings.
+
+Shortly after the receipt of the Political Officer's letter, one of
+these men, the Agent, came to my bungalow one afternoon and informed me
+that the Bhutan Government's representative had arrived in Buxa and was
+lodged in the Circuit House. The Agent wished to know when I intended
+paying an official call on this personage. I had sufficient acquaintance
+with the ways of Orientals to be aware that this was an impertinence,
+for it was the place of the Envoy to make his visit first to the officer
+commanding the Station; but, like the Chinese, who have a childish
+desire to assert their own importance on every occasion, he was
+endeavouring to steal a march on me. So I assumed a haughty demeanour
+and informed the Agent that I would be prepared to receive the Envoy at
+my house in two hours' time, as he must first call on me. The Agent at
+once agreed that this was the proper course, as, indeed he had known all
+the time.
+
+I sent an order to the fort for a native officer and twenty men to
+parade in full dress at my bungalow in a couple of hours, and then
+prepared to hold my first official reception. Punctually to the time
+named a ragged procession of sixty bareheaded, barelegged Bhuttias,
+armed with swords and every second man of them disfigured by an enormous
+goitre, descended the road from the Circuit House. From my doorstep I
+watched them coming down the hill. They escorted a stout cheery old
+gentleman in dirty white kimono and cap and long Chinese boots. He was
+accompanied by the Agent and the interpreter and followed by two coolies
+carrying baskets of oranges. This was the Bhutan Envoy, the Deb Zimpun,
+a member of the Supreme Council of Punakha and Cup Bearer to the Deb
+Raja, when there is one. The Guard of Honour presented arms as I
+advanced to meet and shake hands with him. I addressed him in
+Hindustani; but the old gentleman grinned feebly and looked round for
+the interpreter. The latter explained that the Deb Zimpun spoke only his
+own language; but that he would interpret my greeting. I then formally
+welcomed the Envoy to India, and invited him to inspect the Guard of
+Honour, such being the procedure with distinguished visitors. He was
+quite pleased at this and passed down the ranks, looking closely at the
+men's rifles and accoutrements. He noticed that two or three of the
+sepoys, who had been called from the rifle-range and had dressed
+hurriedly, wore their pouches in the wrong place and pointed it out
+to me. When he had minutely inspected the Guard I led the way into my
+bungalow and begged him to be seated. He took off his cap politely, and,
+sitting down, produced a metal box from the breast of his robe, took
+betel-nut out of it and began to chew it. An attendant holding a
+spittoon immediately took up his position beside him. The Agent and
+interpreter stood behind us and translated our remarks to each other.
+The remainder of the motley crew remained in the garden or crowded into
+the veranda, scuffling and shoving each other aside in their attempts to
+get near the open door and look in at us.
+
+[Illustration: THE DEB ZIMPUN'S PRISONERS.]
+
+[Illustration: "FROM MY DOORSTEP I WATCHED THEM COMING DOWN THE HILL."]
+
+At first the conversation, consisting of the usual formal compliments
+full of hyperbole, did not flourish; and the Deb Zimpun's eyes roamed
+round the apartment as he gazed with interest at my trophies of sport,
+pictures, photographs, and curios. When the interpreter had finished
+explaining some extravagant phrase, the Envoy asked eagerly if I had a
+gramaphone. He was visibly disappointed when I replied in the negative,
+and said that he had seen one on a previous visit to India and was much
+interested in it. To console him I took out my cigar-case and offered
+him a cheroot, which he accepted and smoked with evident pleasure. I
+asked him if he would like a drink; and the interpreter replied that the
+Deb Zimpun begged for two whiskies-and-sodas. I wondered if he wanted to
+consume both at once or thought that my hospitality stopped at one. But
+when the drinks were brought by my servant, I found that they were
+wanted by the interpreter himself and his friend the Agent, as the Envoy
+did not like whisky. I am sure that the old gentleman never asked for
+them at all; so it was a piece of distinct impertinence on the part of
+the interpreter, who was only an understrapper. I was struck all the
+time by the contrast between his casual manner to me, an officer of his
+own Government, and his servile deference to the Deb Zimpun who treated
+him as an individual altogether beneath his notice.
+
+When the conversation again languished I produced some luridly coloured
+Japanese prints of the capture of Pekin by the Allied Troops, which I
+had bought in Tokio after the Boxer War. I thought that they might serve
+as a useful lesson of the weakness of the Chinese, who endeavour to
+intrigue against us in Bhutan. These gaudy pictures delighted the Deb
+Zimpun. He asked to have all the details explained to him and seemed so
+interested that I made a present of the prints to him to start a Fine
+Art Gallery with in Punakha when he returned to the capital. This gift
+quite won his heart. He called into the room the coolies carrying
+baskets of oranges and brown paper bags of walnuts and presented them to
+me. The fruit, which was grown in Bhutan, was excellent; and only in
+Malta have I tasted better oranges. This terminated the visit; the Envoy
+rose, accepted another cigar, shook hands, and took his departure.
+
+Next day Creagh and I dressed ourselves in full uniform and, accompanied
+by an escort of sepoys, proceeded up the hill to the Circuit House to
+return the visit. We were met on the veranda by the Deb Zimpun and,
+chairs being placed for us, we three sat down. The interpreter was again
+present, being temporarily attached to the Envoy's suite. I learned that
+the Deb Zimpun was allowed by our Government the sum of two thousand
+rupees (about £133) for his expenses while he remained in India. He must
+have saved most of this money; for I found that he lived chiefly on the
+contributions, voluntary or otherwise, of the Bhuttias residing in our
+territory.
+
+A servitor came forward and filled two glasses with Bhutanese liquor
+from a bamboo bottle. They were offered us; and my subaltern and I made
+a heroic attempt to drink the nauseous-looking stuff. But the smell was
+enough. The taste! A mixture of castor and codliver oil, senna and
+asafoetida would have been nectar compared with it. We begged to be
+excused, on the plea that we had been teetotallers all our lives. I then
+ordered my present to be brought forward. It was a haunch of a _sambhur_
+which I had shot two days before. The gift was a great success. The Deb
+Zimpun's eyes glistened and he showed his teeth, stained red with
+betel-nut chewing, in a gracious smile. His unkempt followers crowded
+around us, looked hungrily at the meat, and seemed to calculate whether
+there was enough to go round. The Maharajah of Bhutan, as a good
+Buddhist, had recently decreed that for two years no animals were to be
+slaughtered for food in his country. So this venison was a luxury to
+them all. Before the excellent impression of our gift could die Creagh
+and I rose to take our leave and departed hurriedly.
+
+But we were not to escape so easily. Hardly had we reached the Mess on
+our return when we were informed that the Deb Zimpun had, as a special
+mark of favour, sent his two best musicians to play for us. So we came
+out on the veranda and found two swarthy ruffians squatting in the
+garden, holding silver-banded pipes like flageolets. We seated
+ourselves and the performance began. I have patiently endured Chinese,
+Japanese, and Indian music, have even listened unmoved to the strains of
+a German band in London; but the ear-piercing, soul-harrowing noises
+that these two ruffians produced were too much for me. We wondered, if
+these were the Envoy's best musicians, what his worst could be like. I
+hurriedly presented each of them with a rupee and sent them away, more
+than compensated by the money for their abrupt dismissal.
+
+On the following day we invited the Deb Zimpun to lunch with us in the
+Mess and instructed our Gurkha cook to do his best, which was not much.
+We found that our guest, having visited India before and having
+accompanied the Tongsa _Penlop_ to Calcutta, was quite expert in the use
+of a knife and fork, and enjoyed European fare. He was very temperate
+and refused to touch liquor. But he was not imitated in this by his
+suite. After lunch he told us that his lama, who was sitting with the
+rest of his followers in the Mess garden, was anxious to taste whisky,
+of which he had heard. We invited the priest in and poured him out a
+stiff five-finger peg of neat Scotch whisky. The holy man smelled it,
+raised the glass to his lips, and elevated it until not a drop was left.
+He could not apparently make up his mind as to whether he liked the
+liquor or not. So we offered him another glass. He accepted it and
+disposed of it as promptly. We looked at him in astonishment; but it had
+no effect on him. I told the interpreter to ask him what he thought of
+whisky.
+
+"I don't like it much; it is too sweet," replied the lama.
+
+We officers glanced at each other; and the same idea occurred to us
+all. It happened that some time before we had got a small cask of beer
+from Calcutta, which, owing to the journey or the heat, had gone very
+sour and tasted abominably. A large glass of this delectable beverage
+was offered to the holy man. As he drained it a beatific smile spread
+over his saintly but exceedingly dirty face and he put down the empty
+glass with a sigh.
+
+"Ah! that is good. That is very good," he said to the interpreter. "I
+would like more."
+
+So he was given another large tumblerful. Then, absolutely unaffected by
+his potations, he left the Mess reluctantly. After this experience we
+kept this beer, while it lasted, for Bhuttia visitors, and found it a
+popular brand.
+
+After lunch I brought the Deb Zimpun down to shoot on the rifle-range,
+as he had expressed a wish to that effect through the interpreter. He
+seemed to understand the mechanism of the Lee-Enfield and made some fair
+shooting at a moving target at two hundred yards. When my score proved
+better than his he said laughingly that the rifle was not the weapon
+with which he was best acquainted, but that he would challenge me one
+day to a match with bows and arrows. By this time the old man and I had
+become quite friendly, and we had all taken a liking to him. He had
+invited me to pay a visit to Bhutan and promised to obtain the
+permission of the Maharajah for me to enter the country.
+
+Consequently I was not pleased when next day I received a letter from
+the civil authorities of the district informing me that the Deb Zimpun
+was occupying the Circuit House without permission, and requesting me to
+remove him and his retinue to Chunabatti. The Political Officer had
+asked that he might be allowed to reside in it; but, as on a previous
+occasion he and his followers had done so and left it in an absolutely
+uninhabitable state, this permission was now refused. The letter stated
+that it had cost two hundred rupees to clean the house and make it fit
+for European occupation again. I thought that this was but a small sum,
+after all, compared with the two thousand the Government were already
+expending on him. And to turn the Envoy of a friendly State out of the
+house he was occupying in all good faith seemed an insulting course. If
+he refused to vacate it peaceably, I presume I was expected to use
+force, which would probably result in bloodshed. As to the issue there
+could be no doubt, as the swords and bows of his followers would be poor
+things to oppose to our rifles. But it seemed to me that this would be
+giving rather too warm a reception to an official visitor and guest of
+the Government of India. So I refused to comply with the wishes of the
+civil authorities, much to the relief of the Political Officer when he
+arrived and was informed of the matter. He told me that had I acted
+otherwise it would have given dire offence in Bhutan just at a time when
+our Government were particularly anxious to be on good terms with the
+Bhutanese. I only understood what he meant when, more than a year
+afterwards, I heard of the signing of the treaty with the Maharajah,
+which placed the foreign affairs of the country under our control.
+
+But, unfortunately, the Agent had received the same instructions as I;
+and, to avoid trouble, he induced the Deb Zimpun to go to Chunabatti and
+reside in his home. The Envoy was very displeased at having to leave
+the Circuit House. I offered to place the empty bungalow, known as the
+Married Officers' Quarters, at his disposal; but the old gentleman,
+though very grateful and thanking me warmly, declined, as he did not
+want to make another move.
+
+The day after our luncheon-party to the Deb Zimpun a detachment of
+native police came from Alipur Duar escorting a train of coolies
+carrying wooden boxes which contained the fifty thousand rupees of the
+subsidy. These were handed over to me; and I placed them in our
+guard-room under a special sentry. Lastly the Political Officer, Mr
+Bell, arrived by train from Darjeeling, which is three days' ride from
+Gantok. He was accompanied by a portly Sikkimese head clerk in wadded
+Chinese silk coat and gown, another clerk and a couple of pig-tailed
+Sikkimese soldiers in striped petticoats and straw hats like inverted
+flower-pots ornamented with a long peacock feather.
+
+On the day after his arrival the Durbar was held. On the parade ground a
+few of our tents were pitched to form an open-air reception hall. A
+Guard of Honour of two native officers and a hundred sepoys in their
+full-dress uniform of red tunics, blue trousers and white spats, was
+drawn up near it; and the boxes of treasure were brought down and
+deposited on the ground beside the tents. The only outside visitors were
+the nearest civil official, the Subdivisional Officer of Alipur Duar,
+and his wife and children; the three British officers and the native
+officers not required with the Guard joined them in the tents. Mr Bell,
+wearing his political uniform, descended on to the parade ground from my
+bungalow and was received with a salute by the Guard of Honour. Then to
+the beating of tom-toms and the wild strains of barbaric music a double
+file of Bhuttias advanced across the parade ground escorting the Envoy,
+who was riding a mule. We hardly recognised our old friend. He was
+magnificently garbed for the occasion in a very voluminous robe of red
+silk embroidered with Chinese symbols in gold, and wore a gold-edged cap
+in shape something like a papal tiara. At the tail of the procession
+came a number of coolies carrying baskets of oranges and packages
+wrapped up in paper.
+
+In front of the tents the Envoy dismounted. The Political Officer came
+forward to shake hands with him; and the Deb Zimpun threw a white silk
+scarf around his neck. This scarf is called the _Khatag_ and is the
+invariable Tibetan and Bhutanese accompaniment of a reception. It is
+also sent with important official letters. Bell now presented each of us
+formally to the Envoy, who shook hands solemnly and hung us with
+scarves. The scene in its picturesque setting of mountains and jungle
+was a striking one. The Political Officer in his trim uniform and the
+British officers in their scarlet tunics were outshone by the gaudier
+garbs of the Asiatics. The Deb Zimpun's flowing red robe, the head clerk
+in his flowered black silk Chinese garb, the Sikkimese soldiers in their
+bright garments and the Bhutanese in their kimonos, made a blaze of
+varied hues. Along one side of the ground was the scarlet and blue line
+of the Guard of Honour, the yellow and gold _puggris_ or turbans of the
+native officers and the gold-threaded cummerbunds, or waist-sashes, of
+the sepoys shining in the brilliant sun. Above the Guard the slope and
+wall of the fort were crowded with the other men of the detachment in
+white undress, mingled with native followers in brighter colours. Down
+the other side of the parade ground was a long line of Bhuttia men,
+women, and children.
+
+[Illustration: THE DURBAR IN BUXA.]
+
+When we were seated the Deb Zimpun produced a document accrediting him
+as the duly appointed envoy and representative of the Bhutan Government
+to receive the subsidy. This having been perused by the Political
+Officer and his head clerk and the official seals inspected, the boxes
+of money were formally handed over. The usual procedure was to have one
+of them opened and the contents counted, but on this occasion the Deb
+Zimpun accepted them as correct and ordered his escort to take charge of
+them. They were hoisted on the backs of porters who took them off to
+Chunabatti. Then coolies came forward with the Envoy's basket of oranges
+and the packages, which we found to contain cheap native blankets worth
+a couple of shillings each. Oranges and blankets were given to each of
+us. But as the Government of India has made a strict rule that no civil
+or military officer in its service is to accept a present from natives,
+the blankets were taken charge of by Bell's clerks to be sold afterwards
+and the proceeds credited to Government. We were allowed to keep the
+oranges. This proceeding terminated the Durbar.
+
+As the officers of the detachment had invited the visitors to lunch, we
+now adjourned to the Mess. Although our guests consisted only of the
+Envoy, Bell, the Subdivisional Officer, Mr Ainslie, and his wife and two
+children, our resources were sorely strained to provide enough furniture
+for them. The doctor had to sit on a box. The head clerk acted as
+interpreter and stood behind the Political Officer's chair. A special
+shooting-party having descended to the jungle the previous day to
+replenish the larder, the menu was almost luxurious.
+
+After luncheon the Ainslies departed to Santrabari, where they were
+encamped, having declined our hospitality in Buxa. As Bell was desirous
+of entertaining the Deb Zimpun himself, he had arranged a dinner to him
+and us in the forest officer's empty bungalow that evening. So it
+devolved on me to keep our old gentleman amused until dinner-time, while
+the Political Officer wrote his despatches. I took our guest down to the
+rifle-range and kept him busy there till sunset. Then we had to go to my
+house, where I tried to entertain him by showing him old copies of
+English illustrated journals. But these require a deal of explanation to
+the untutored Oriental, who cannot understand the portraits of the
+favourites of the stage in the scanty costumes in which they are
+frequently photographed. And I was distinctly embarrassed by some of the
+Deb Zimpun's questions.
+
+At dinner-time Bell preceded us from my bungalow, where he was staying,
+and was ready to receive us on the veranda of the forest officer's house
+when, escorted by servants carrying lanterns, we toiled up the steep
+path to it. Dinner was laid in the long, draughty centre room in the
+rambling wooden edifice; and as the night was cold the apartment was
+warmed by an iron stove. The furniture was scantier and worse than in
+the Mess. When we sat down to table the Deb Zimpun's rickety chair
+collapsed under his weight and sent him sprawling on the floor. It was
+an undignified opening to our official banquet. The old man presented a
+ludicrous spectacle as he lay entangled in his red silk robe with the
+gold-trimmed papal cap tilted over his eye; but we rushed to help him up
+and controlled our countenances until we found him laughing heartily at
+his own mishap. Then one glance at our host's horrified expression set
+us off. A fresh chair was with difficulty procured and we sat down
+again.
+
+After dinner we gathered round the stove in informal fashion and smoked,
+the Deb Zimpun helping himself steadily to my cigars. With the aid of
+the head clerk, who was present to interpret, the conversation grew
+almost animated. Our old gentleman expressed himself deeply gratified by
+the kindness he had received from the officers of the detachment,
+particularly the offer of a military bungalow, and said that if he
+returned to Buxa the following year he hoped to find us all there again.
+Me he personally regarded as a brother. We drank his health, a
+compliment he quite understood, and with difficulty refrained from
+singing "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow." When he departed we escorted him
+as far as the Mess and bade him a vociferous "Good night," to the
+amazement of the squad of ragged swordsmen and lantern-bearers who were
+accompanying him back to Chunabatti.
+
+Next day Bell left us to return to Sikkim; and we expected the Deb
+Zimpun would also take his departure for Bhutan with the subsidy. But
+day after day passed without any sign of his going, and we began to
+wonder at his remaining after the purpose of his visit was completed. I
+invited him to lunch with me again. One afternoon he appeared at the
+head of his wild gathering, all of them carrying bows. He had come to
+challenge me to an archery contest. We set up targets on the range at a
+distance of two hundred yards. He defeated me easily, and chaffed me
+gaily over his victory. To retrieve my honour I sent to the fort for
+some Sikh throwing quoits, formerly used as weapons in war. They are of
+thin steel with edges ground sharp, and when thrown by an expert will
+skim through the air for nearly two hundred yards and would almost cut
+clean through a man if they struck him fair. They ricochet off the
+ground for a good distance after the first graze. We set up plantain
+tree stems as targets, for the soft wood does not injure the edge. I
+showed the Envoy how to hold and throw the weapon; but his first shot
+went very wide indeed and nearly ended the mortal career of one of his
+swordsmen. However, he improved with a little practice, and insisted
+that all his followers should try the sport.
+
+A day or two after this my detachment did its annual field firing. This
+is a most practical form of musketry, consisting of an attack on a
+position with ball cartridge, the enemy being represented by small
+targets, the size of a man's head, nearly hidden behind entrenchments or
+suddenly appearing from holes dug in the ground. I invited the Envoy and
+his suite to witness it. The Deb Zimpun was deeply interested. He
+followed us everywhere as we scrambled up and down steep hills firing on
+the small marks dotted about between the trees, in the jungle and at the
+bottom of precipices. The attack was arranged to finish up on the parade
+ground where we could make use of the running and vanishing targets in
+the rifle butts. The Bhuttias were immensely delighted with the
+crouching figures of men drawn swiftly across the range and saluted
+with bursts of rapid fire from the sepoys' rifles. But they broke into
+an excited roar when our men fixed bayonets and charged the position
+with loud cheers; and I looked back to find the Bhuttias following us at
+a run, waving their swords and yelling wildly. When I went round to
+inspect the targets and count the hits, the Deb Zimpun and his followers
+accompanied me and were much impressed by the accuracy of the shooting.
+They talked eagerly, pointed out the bullet-holes to each other, and
+shook their heads solemnly over them. The interpreter told me that they
+were saying that they would be sorry to face our soldiers in battle
+after seeing the range, accuracy, and rapidity of fire of our rifles.
+The Deb Zimpun returned with me to my bungalow and enjoyed a meal of
+tea, cake, and chocolate creams as heartily as a schoolboy. On departing
+he shook my hand and bade the interpreter express the interest with
+which he had watched the field firing.
+
+But alas for the inconstancy of human friendships! Our pleasant
+intercourse was destined to an abrupt termination. The very next day I
+was informed that the genial old gentleman had been levying blackmail on
+Bhuttias residing in our territory and had seized and imprisoned in the
+house in which he resided a man, three women, and three children,
+intending to carry them off to Bhutan. The unexpected appearance of a
+score of my men with rifles and fixed bayonets changed the programme;
+and the prisoners were removed to our fort until Government should
+decide their fate. As we marched them through Chunabatti the villagers
+flocked round us and called down blessings on our heads for saving their
+friends. One old lady, the wife of the male prisoner, fell on the
+ground before Smith, who had accompanied me, embraced his legs and
+kissed his feet, much to our medical officer's embarrassment.
+
+Much correspondence and a Government inquiry resulted in the freedom of
+the wretched captives. But before their release the Envoy, in response
+to impatient letters from the Maharajah who was none too well pleased
+with the delay in his return with the subsidy, marched off over the
+hills to Bhutan without a farewell to us.
+
+The case of the man who had been seized is a typical example of the
+justice meted out in uncivilised countries. He was named Tashi and had
+been born in Buxa before its capture by the British in 1864 and its
+subsequent incorporation in our territory. After the war his family
+retired across the newly made boundary. His father possessed land in a
+village close to the frontier, which was in the jurisdiction of a
+certain _jongpen_. He acquired more several miles away in a district
+governed by another _jongpen_. On his death he left everything to Tashi,
+who continued to reside in the first village. The second official
+objected to this and eventually confiscated the land in his district and
+applied it to his own use. When Tashi threatened to appeal to the
+Supreme Council at Punakha he sent a party of his retainers to slay him
+as the easiest method of avoiding litigation. When the other _jongpen_
+remonstrated against this invasion of his district and proceeded to
+repel it by force, his brother official pointed out to him that he could
+not do better than follow the good example set him and seize Tashi's
+remaining property. The advice seemed good; and the first _jongpen_
+determined to kill Tashi himself. He sent several soldiers to put him to
+death; but as they learned on arrival that the unfortunate owner of this
+Bhutanese Naboth's vineyard had several stalwart sons and possessed a
+gun, the gallant warriors contented themselves with establishing a
+cordon round the village and sending for reinforcements. The luckless
+Tashi realised that discretion was the better part of valour. He bribed
+some of the soldiers to let him pass through the cordon at night and
+with his family and five cows, all that he could save from the wreck, he
+escaped into British territory. But the two Ahabs were not satisfied. It
+was always believed that Tashi had managed to take some hoarded wealth
+with him, although he lived in a poor way and worked hard for his living
+in India. And this belief accounted for his capture on this occasion. On
+previous visits of the Envoy he and his family had taken the precaution
+to leave Chunabatti before his arrival.
+
+After his release Tashi resolutely refused to quit Buxa.
+
+"The Commanding Sahib is my father and my mother," he declared. "He has
+saved my worthless life," for he had been informed that he would be put
+to death as soon as he was out of British territory; "and I will not
+leave his shadow, in which I and my family will dwell the rest of our
+lives." However, he thought that this might not prove sufficient shelter
+from the weather; so he built a bamboo house in the cantonment limits
+and announced that he felt safe at last under our protection. Like all
+Asiatics he considered that my interference on his behalf had
+constituted a claim on me. However, as he was a useful man, I found
+employment for him and allowed him to continue to reside in Buxa.
+
+In the following year the Political Officer, accompanied by Captain
+Kennedy, I.M.S., passed through Buxa on their way to Bhutan, where the
+subsidy, now doubled, was paid in Punakha, the capital, and the treaty
+by which the country was placed under British protection signed by the
+Maharajah. So the Deb Zimpun and I never met again.
+
+There is a certain type of individuals with malformed minds who moan
+over the subjugation of the countries of barbarous nations by civilised
+Powers. Do they honestly believe that the cause of humanity is better
+served by allowing the noble savage to plunder and slay the weak at his
+own sweet will rather than by subjecting him to the domination of
+Europeans, be they French, Germans, Russians, Italians or British, who
+guarantee freedom of life and property in the lands under their rule?
+Liberty, with these barbarous races, means the liberty of the strong to
+oppress the weak. Here, in the borderland of Bhutan to-day, the peasant
+can till the soil, the trader enjoy his hard-earned wealth, where,
+before the _pax Britannica_ settled on it, rapine, blood, and lust went
+unchecked, where no man's life nor woman's honour was safe from the
+fierce raiders of the hills. We hold the gates of India. Inside them all
+is peace. Beyond them, oppression, injustice, murder!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V
+
+IN THE JUNGLE
+
+    An Indian jungle--The trees--Creepers--Orchids--The
+        undergrowth--On an elephant in the jungle--Forcing a
+        passage--Wild bees--Red ants--A lost river--A _sambhur_
+        hind--Spiders--Jungle fowl--A stag--_Hallal_--Wounded
+        beasts--A halt--Skinning the stag--Ticks--Butcher
+        apprentices--Natural rope--Water in the air--_Pani
+        bel_--Trail of wild elephants--Their habits--An
+        impudent monkey--An adventure with a rogue
+        elephant--Fire lines--Wild dogs--A giant squirrel--The
+        barking deer--A good bag--Spotted deer--Protective
+        colouring--Dangerous beasts--Natives' dread of bears--A
+        bison calf--The fascination of the forest--The generous
+        jungle--Wild vegetables--Natural products--A home in
+        the trees--Forest Lodge the First--Destroyed by a wild
+        elephant--Its successor--A luncheon-party in the
+        air--The salt lick--Discovery of a coal mine--A
+        monkey's parliament--The jungle by night.
+
+
+From the dense tangled undergrowth the great trees lift their bare
+stems, each striving to push its leafy crown through the thick canopy of
+foliage and get its share of the sun. The huge trunks are devoid of
+branches for many feet above the ground; but around them twist giant
+creepers which strangle them in close embrace and sink their coils deep
+into the bark. Here and there a tree, killed by the cruel pressure,
+stands withered and lifeless but still held up by the murderous
+parasite. From bole to bole these creepers, thick as a ship's hawser,
+swing in festoons, coiling and writhing around each other in tangled
+confusion. Tree-trunk and bough are matted with the glossy green leaves
+and trails of mauve and white blossoms of innumerable orchids. The trees
+are not the slender palms that fill the pictures of tropical jungles by
+untravelled artists, but the giants of the forest--huge _sal_ and teak
+trees and straight-stemmed _simal_ with its buttressed trunk star-shaped
+in section with its curious projecting flanges.
+
+Through the leafy canopy high overhead the sunlight can scarcely filter,
+and fills the forest with a pleasant green gloom. The undergrowth is
+dense and rank--tangled and thorny bushes, high grass, shrubs covered
+with great bell-shaped white flowers--so thick that a man on foot must
+hack his way through it. But here and there are open glades where the
+ground is covered with tall bracken. Near the hills and in the damper
+jungle to the south the bamboo grows extensively. Beside the river-beds
+are patches of elephant grass, eight to ten feet high, with feathered
+plumes six feet higher still. This is so strong and dense as to be
+almost impenetrable to men, but everywhere through it wild elephants
+have made paths. Wherever the big trees have been felled and the sun can
+reach the ground the vegetation grows more luxuriantly. And, in the
+southern belt of the forest, where the water from the hills rises to the
+surface again, the jungle is wilder and more tropical. Here are huge
+tree-ferns, the under sides of the fronds studded with long and sharp
+thorns. Cane brakes, through which none but the heaviest and strongest
+animals can make their way, abound.
+
+Through the tangled confusion of undergrowth and twisted creepers my
+elephant forces a passage with swaying stride, as a steamer ploughs her
+way through a heavy sea and shoulders the waves aside. I am sitting on
+Khartoum's pad near the _mahout_ perched astride her neck, guiding her
+by the pressure of his feet behind her huge flapping ears. A network of
+leafy branches of low trees bound together by lianas bars her progress.
+At a word she lifts her trunk and tears it down, while the _mahout_
+hacks at bough and creeper with his _kukri_ or heavy, curved knife. As
+she moves on she plucks a small branch and strikes her sides and stomach
+with it to drive off the flies which are annoying her. For thick as her
+skin is, yet the insects which prey on her can pierce it and drive her
+frantic. And once, feeling a sudden pain in my instep, I looked at my
+foot and discovered an elephant fly biting through a lace hole in my
+boot. Khartoum, having driven off the pests temporarily, lifts the
+branch to her mouth and chews it, wood and all. Bechan, her _mahout_,
+espies a small creeper which is highly esteemed by the natives as a
+febrifuge and is considered a good tonic for elephants. So he directs
+her attention to it. Out shoots the snake-like trunk and tears it from
+the tree around which it is growing; and, crunching it with enjoyment,
+she strides on through the undergrowth. Suddenly Bechan, in evident
+alarm, kicks her violently behind the left ear and beats her thick skull
+with the heavy iron goad he carries, the _ankus_, a short crook with a
+sharp spike at the end. Khartoum stops short, then moves off to the
+right. Thinking that he has seen some dangerous wild animal I whisper in
+Hindustani, "What is it, Bechan?" "Bees," he says shortly and points
+apparently to a lump of mud hanging from a low branch right in our
+former path. Then I understand that he would be far less alarmed at the
+sight of a tiger. For a swarm of wild bees is regarded with terrified
+respect in India. The lump of mud is a nest; and, had we continued on
+our original course and brushed against it, we would have been promptly
+attacked by a cloud of these irritable little insects whose stings have
+killed many a man. So we prudently give the nest a wide berth. The wild
+beasts of the forest are not its only dangers. As again Khartoum tears
+her way through some low-hanging branches, I feel a sudden sting and
+burning pain in the back of my bare neck. I put my hand to the spot and
+my fingers close on a big red ant which, knocked from a bough, has
+fallen on me and is avenging its being disturbed by burying its venomous
+little fangs in my flesh. Though I crush it, the pain of its bite
+lingers for hours. Sometimes one dislodges a number of these insects
+when forcing a passage through dense jungle; and they at once attack the
+man or animal they alight on. So it is necessary to keep a sharp
+look-out for them as well as for bees. Nor are these the only perils
+that lurk in the trees. Though in the jungle serpents do not hang by
+their tails from every branch, as we read in the books of wonderful
+adventures that delighted our boyhood, still there is supposed to be one
+poisonous snake in the Terai which lies along the branches, and if
+dislodged strikes the disturber with deadly fang. I fortunately never
+saw one; though in another place I have shot a viper in a tree.
+
+We plod steadily on through the jungle. A gleam of daylight between the
+stems of the trees shows that we are approaching a _nullah_. Khartoum
+comes to a stop on the edge of the steep bank of a broad and empty
+river-bed. After the gloom of the forest the bright transition into the
+glaring sunlight is dazzling. To the right I can now see the mountains
+towering above us; and, two thousand feet up, on the dark face of the
+hills, the three Picquet Towers of Buxa shine out in the sun. At our
+feet on the white sand lie huge rounded rocks which have been rolled
+down from the mountains by the furious torrents of the last rainy
+season. The river-bed is dry now; but were we to follow it a few miles
+to the south, we would find at first an occasional pool and then further
+on the water appearing above the surface and flowing on in a gradually
+increasing stream. For these smaller rivers are lost underground in the
+boulder formation near the foot of the hills and rise again ten miles
+further south.
+
+Our elephant slips and stumbles over the polished, rounded rocks until
+she reaches the opposite bank. Up it she climbs at so steep an angle
+that to avoid sliding off I have to lie at full length along the pad and
+hold on to the front edge of it until she regains level ground. We pass
+from the glare of the sunlight into the cool shade of the forest, and
+the trees close around us and shut off the mountains from our view. As
+we push our way through the undergrowth the _mahout_ stops the elephant
+suddenly. "_Sambhur!_" he whispers. Following the direction of his
+outstretched arm my eyes see nothing at first but the tangled
+vegetation, the straight tree-trunks and the curving festoons of
+creepers. But gradually they rest on a warm patch of colour and I make
+out the form of a deer scarcely visible in the deep shadows. "_Maddi_"
+(a female) grunts Bechan disgustedly and urges on his elephant. For he
+knows the Sahibs', to him, ridiculous forest law, which ordains that
+females are not to be slain, although their flesh is more toothsome than
+that of a tough old stag.
+
+It is a _sambhur_ hind. Apparently aware of her immunity she stands
+watching us unconcernedly. Accustomed to the wild species, other animals
+allow tame elephants to approach close to them until they discover the
+presence of human beings on their backs. So this hind looks calmly at
+Khartoum. Her long ears twitch restlessly, but otherwise she is
+motionless; and I can admire her graceful form and the rich brown colour
+of her hide at my ease. But at last it dawns on her that there is
+something wrong about our elephant. She swings round and crashes off
+through the undergrowth and is lost to sight in a moment. And we resume
+our course.
+
+Across our path from bush to bush great spiders have spun their webs;
+and Khartoum, pushing through them, has accumulated so many layers of
+them across her face as to blind her. So the _mahout_ leans down and
+tears them off. These spiders are huge black insects measuring several
+inches from tip to tip; and their webs are stout and strong almost as
+linen.
+
+Something scuttling over the fallen leaves in the undergrowth draws my
+attention and I raise my rifle, only to lower it when, with a frightened
+squawk, a jungle hen flutters up out of the bushes and flies away among
+the trees. These birds are the progenitors of our ordinary barnyard
+fowl, and so like them that once close to Santrabari, when out with a
+shot-gun, I let several hens pass me unscathed, under the impression
+that they were fowls belonging to our _mahouts_. And when in the heart
+of the forest I first heard the cocks crowing I thought that we were
+near a village. In Northern India these jungle cocks are beautifully
+plumaged with red, yellow, and dark green feathers and long tails. In
+Southern India they are speckled black and white with a little yellow.
+When in the forest villages the tame roosters crow, their challenge is
+taken up and repeated by the wild ones in the jungle around. And the
+natives often peg out a cock and surround him with snares to catch the
+wild birds which come to attack him.
+
+But now Bechan suddenly stops Khartoum and whispers excitedly, "_Sambhur
+nur!_" "A stag." For a moment I can see nothing in the tangled bit of
+jungle he points to. Then suddenly the deepened blackness of a patch of
+shadow reveals itself as the dark hide of a _sambhur_ stag. We have
+almost passed him. He is to my right rear; and I cannot swing round far
+enough to fire from the right shoulder. But I bring up the rifle rapidly
+to my left and press the trigger. As the recoil of the heavy .470
+high-velocity weapon almost knocks me back flat on the pad I hear a
+crash in the brushwood. "_Shabash! Luga!_ (Well done! Hit!") cries
+Bechan and slips from the neck of the elephant to the ground. Drawing
+his knife he dashes into the jungle. For, being a Mussulman, he is
+anxious to reach the stricken stag and _hallal_ it; that is, let blood
+by cutting its throat while there is life in it. For the Mohammedan
+religion enjoins that an animal is only lawful food if the blood has run
+before its death. This is borrowed from the Mosaic Law and is really a
+hygienic precaution against long-dead carrion being eaten.
+
+From the elephant's back I cannot see the quarry now, but I slip down to
+the ground and leave Khartoum standing stolidly, contentedly plucking
+and chewing leaves from the trees around. Following Bechan's track I
+find him holding the horn of a still feebly struggling _sambhur_ and
+drawing his knife across its throat. The animal is a fine old stag about
+fourteen hands high. The bullet has broken its shoulder and pierced its
+heart. But such a wound does not necessarily imply instantaneous death.
+I have seen a tiger, shot through the heart, dash across a _nullah_ and
+climb half-way up the steep bank until laid low by a second bullet. And
+_sambhur_ and other deer stricken in the same manner will run a hundred
+yards before dropping. But this stag will never move again of its own
+volition. As the blood gushes from the gaping wound in the throat the
+limbs twitch violently and are still. Then Bechan raises its head for me
+to photograph. This done I look at my watch. It is almost noon and I
+have been on the elephant's back since six o'clock, so I am glad of a
+rest; and, sitting on the ground with my back against a tree, I pull out
+sandwiches and my water-bottle and have my lunch. But, having on a
+previous occasion been disturbed by a rogue wild elephant, I lay my
+loaded rifle beside me.
+
+Bechan is busily employed. He cuts off the head, _grallochs_ the stag
+and begins to flay it. After my lunch I get up to help him; for a
+sportsman in India soon learns to turn his hand to this gruesome task.
+It is a long job; and the _sambhur_ is a heavy weight when we come to
+turn him over. The skin, particularly on the belly, is covered with
+ticks, some big, bloated and immovably fixed, others small and agile. We
+have to watch carefully lest any of them lodge on us, which they are apt
+to do; for, with its jaws once clenched in the skin, this insect can
+only be got rid of by cutting the body off and then pulling the head
+away, which generally takes a bit of one's skin with it. And the
+irritation of a bite lasts for months.
+
+[Illustration: A SAMBHUR STAG AND MY ELEPHANT.]
+
+[Illustration: BRINGING HOME THE BAG.]
+
+At last the animal is completely flayed and the skin rolled up into a
+bundle; for it makes excellent leather, and is much used in India for
+soft shooting-boots and gaiters. Then Bechan displays his aptitude for
+the butcher's trade. With his heavy curved _kukri_ he divides the
+carcass, hacking through the thick bones with powerful blows. Having cut
+it into portable pieces (for a whole _sambhur_ weighs six or seven
+hundred pounds) he leaves me wondering as to where the rope to tie them
+up will come from. He looks around him and then goes to a
+straight-stemmed small tree with grey and black mottled bark. He cuts
+off a long flap of this bark, disclosing an inner skin. In this he makes
+incisions with his knife, pulls a long strip of it off and cuts it into
+narrower strips. He hands one of these to me and tells me to test its
+strength. Pull as I will I cannot break it. This is the _udal_ tree
+which thus provides a natural cordage of wonderful strength. It is very
+common in the forest. Making a hole between the bones of a haunch Bechan
+passes a length of this fibre through and knots it. Then it takes all
+our combined strength to lift the haunch and bear it to where Khartoum
+is still patiently waiting. With difficulty we raise and fasten it to
+the ropes around the pad. And when at last we have secured all this
+meat, destined for hungry officers and sepoys in the fort and the
+_mahouts_ and their families in Santrabari we look like butchers'
+apprentices. My khaki shooting-garments are stained, my hands are
+covered with blood and grime. I gaze around me hopelessly for water,
+though I know we are miles from a stream. But the resources of this
+wonderful jungle are not exhausted. Bechan points to one of the myriad
+lianas criss-crossing between the trees.
+
+"_Pani bel._ The water creeper," he says. I have heard of this
+extraordinary plant and look carefully at it. It is about two inches in
+diameter, four-sided rather than round, with rough, corrugated, withered
+bark, in appearance similar to the corkwood bark used for rustic
+summer-houses in England. Bechan walks to a hanging festoon of it and
+cuts it through with a blow of his _kukri_. Nothing happens. I am
+disappointed; for I had expected to find it tubular and see a stream of
+water gush out. But the interior is of a white pulpy and moist material.
+Then Bechan strikes another blow and holds up a length of the creeper
+cut off. Suddenly from one end of this water begins to trickle and soon
+flows freely. I wash my hands, using clay as soap. Bechan then tells me
+to taste the water. Holding the cut creeper above my head I let the
+water drain into my mouth and find it cold and delicious as spring
+water. This useful _pani bel_, like the _udal_, is found everywhere in
+these forests; and, as I am anxious to learn all I can of jungle lore to
+instruct my sepoys, I carefully note the appearance of both.
+
+We have consumed two hours in the task of flaying and cutting up the
+_sambhur_. We sit down to rest and smoke before moving on again. I
+light a cigarette and Bechan pulls out the clay head of a hookah and
+fills it with coarse native tobacco.
+
+Then at length, with Khartoum hung round with meat and looking like a
+perambulating butcher's shop, we move on again. After we had been going
+for ten minutes we come to a spot where a number of trees, some nearly
+two feet in diameter, have been uprooted, and their upper branches
+stripped off. This is the work of wild elephants, which push down the
+trees with their heads to reach the leaves in the tops. We find their
+trail in the long grass and bushes--not wide, for elephants move in
+single file, so that it is difficult to tell whether one or twenty have
+passed. However here and there tracks diverge from the main trail and
+rejoin it further on, showing where one of the animals has wandered off
+to one side in search of some succulent morsel; and in the sandy bed of
+a dry stream we find their footprints, huge, almost circular impression
+in the dust. Each elephant seems to step exactly in the marks of the
+leader. Even tame ones advancing over open country will walk in single
+file if left to themselves. We reach a spot where the herd had evidently
+passed the night. All around the grass is pressed down and shows where
+the huge beasts lay down to sleep. Wild elephants usually halt from
+about 10 p.m. to 4 a.m., then move and feed until 10 or 11 a.m., when
+they stop and shelter from the heat of the day in thick jungle. About
+three or four o'clock in the afternoon they get on the move again; and
+if they come upon water then they bathe. They travel about twenty or
+thirty miles in the day, though if alarmed will keep on for double that
+distance.
+
+While we are following this trail a loud crash ahead of us awakens the
+silent forest. I think at once that it is caused by the herd in whose
+tracks we are. But Bechan, who is a man of few words, mutters
+"_bunder_". And I look up and see a troop of monkeys leaping through the
+upper branches and hurling themselves in alarm at the sight of us from
+tree to tree. But their insatiable curiosity brings them back to peep at
+us. Once this curiosity in one developed into impertinence; and the
+impudent little beast deliberately pelted me. It happened that day that
+when on foot I had been attacked by a rogue elephant which I had only
+brought down with a bullet in the head fifteen paces from me. Ruffled by
+the encounter I was going back to camp, seated on Khartoum's back.
+Passing under a big tree a jungle fruit fell on me. Then, raising my
+head, I saw a monkey in the tree grimacing and grinning derisively at
+me. Coming after the elephant's attack his insolence seemed to add
+insult to injury, and I felt tempted to reward it with a bullet. But it
+would have been unnecessary cruelty; and I passed on leaving him still
+mowing and making faces at me.
+
+We leave the elephants' trail and emerge on a "fire line"; for in these
+Government forests parallel belts, about twenty yards broad, are cleared
+annually in an attempt to confine the ravages of the jungle fires in the
+hot weather. They run east and west and are a mile apart, so that they
+serve not only as roads, but also as guides to one's whereabouts in the
+forest. As we come suddenly out on the fire line we see two or three
+fox-like animals playing in it. They are the dreaded wild dogs which do
+infinite damage to game. Even the tiger regards them with dislike and
+fear; for, small as they are, they will worry him in a pack, chasing him
+night and day and giving him no rest. They keep him always on the move,
+remaining out of his reach until he is exhausted from fatigue and want
+of sleep. They are pretty little animals, generally reddish, with sharp
+ears and bushy tails. As soon as these stray dogs in the fire line see
+us they bolt off into the jungle before I can get a shot at them; for on
+account of the harm they do to the game every sportsman tries to kill
+them. I once came upon a _sambhur_ and her fawn being attacked by a
+number of these jungle pests. The hind was circling round, trying to
+keep between her offspring and the enemy, and striking at the assailants
+with her sharp hoof. Whilst some of the dogs engaged her in front others
+tried to dash in at the fawn, retreating at once when the angry mother
+swung round at them. They had already hamstrung the poor little beast
+and torn out one of its eyes; so, when they fled as soon as they caught
+sight of my elephant and the hind ran off, I put the wretched fawn out
+of its misery with a merciful shot.
+
+Across the fire line we entered the jungle again. Along a branch over
+our heads a small animal runs swiftly and leaps into a neighbouring
+tree. It is a giant squirrel, a pretty animal with long and bushy tail
+and thick black fur, except on the breast, where it is white. It peeps
+at us from behind the tree-trunk and then is lost to sight in the
+foliage.
+
+Khartoum pursues her leisurely way through the forest; for, in thick
+jungle where we must swerve aside to avoid trees and hack a path through
+creepers and undergrowth, we hardly go a mile an hour. But on a road I
+have timed her to walk at the rate of four miles an hour. Suddenly my
+eye is caught by a flash of bright colour; and I see a _khakur_ buck and
+doe bounding through the trees ahead. Laying my hand on Bechan's
+shoulder I make him stop the elephant. Then as the graceful little deer
+cross our front in an open glade I fire and drop the male in its tracks.
+The doe bounds off in affright. As the _mahout_ picks up the pretty
+animal, too dead for him to _hallal_ it, binds its legs together and
+hands it up to me to fasten on the pad, only the thought of its
+succulent flesh reconciles me to the slaying of it. The _khakur_, or
+barking deer, as it is called from its cry, which is similar to a dog's
+bark, is of a bright chestnut colour and has a curious marking on the
+face like a pair of very black eyebrows raised in surprise and continued
+down the nose. The male has peculiar little horns with skin-covered
+pedicles about three inches long, from which project the brow antlers
+and the upper tines, which curve inward towards each other. These horns
+are small, six inches being considered a very good length. The buck has,
+in addition, a pair of sharp, thin, curved tusks in the upper jaw, which
+it uses as weapons of offence. Satisfied with our bag we turn Khartoum's
+head towards home, and reach Santrabari before dusk.
+
+Such is a typical day in the jungle. Sometimes, though rarely, I was
+unsuccessful in procuring something for the pot. But on one day I shot
+three _sambhur_ and a _khakur_. My Rajput sepoys would not eat the flesh
+of the former; for, like most Hindus, they imagined that its cloven hoof
+made it kin to the sacred cow. But the Mussulmans of the detachment,
+and the _mahouts_ and their families, and our coolies were grateful for
+the meat.
+
+Tough as a _sambhur's_ flesh is, we officers were glad of it ourselves
+when nothing better offered. But our Hindus rejoiced exceedingly
+whenever one of us brought home a wild boar; and the Mohammedans were
+correspondingly disgusted, as pork is anathema to them. The slaying of a
+boar with a gun in open country where pigsticking is possible is as
+great a crime in India as shooting a fox in a hunting county in England;
+but in the forest it is permissible. There were a few _cheetul_ or
+spotted deer very like the English fallow deer in our jungles; but I
+only saw one herd and secured one stag all the time I was at Buxa. They
+usually frequent more open forests; and the spots on their hide
+assimilating to the dappled light and shade of the sun through the
+leaves is a good example of Nature's protective colouring. Thus the
+black hide of the _sambhur_ stag blends easily with the dark shadows of
+the denser forest and makes them very hard to see.
+
+One does not often meet the dangerous beasts of the jungle by day.
+Tigers and panthers, though frequent enough, generally move only by
+night. Yet I often saw on the tree-trunks long scratches where these
+animals had cleaned and sharpened their claws, just as the domestic cat
+does on the legs of chairs and tables. They keep out of the way of
+elephants; and so I sometimes must have passed some great feline, whose
+fresh tracks I had just observed, sheltering in the undergrowth and
+watching us as we went by. I have seen high up on the stems and branches
+other scratches which showed where a bear had climbed in search of
+fruit. These animals, the dreaded large Himalayan variety, usually dwell
+in the hills and descend into the forest by night, so that they are
+rarely met with by daylight. The natives regard them with terror; for,
+if stumbled upon accidentally by some woodcutter, they will probably
+attack him and smash his skull with a crushing blow of a paw. In our
+stretch of jungle I only came across one rhinoceros and a herd of six
+bison, which, being protected by the rules of the forest department, we
+could not shoot. Once my elephant put up a stray bison calf which looked
+at us with mild curiosity until my orderly climbed down and tried to
+catch it. It trotted off out of his reach and stopped to look back at
+him. We drove it for a mile before us, hoping to shepherd it into camp
+and capture it: but we lost it in thick jungle. Wild elephants I
+occasionally came across, and had a couple of unpleasant adventures with
+them.
+
+The fascination of a day's sport in the heart of the great forest is
+beyond words. Even if nothing falls to one's rifle the pleasure of
+roaming through the woodland is intense. Of the world nothing seems to
+exist farther than the eye can see down the short vistas of soft green
+light between the giant trees. Lulled by the swaying motion of the
+elephant--not unpleasant when used to it--one's senses are nevertheless
+keenly on the alert; for every stride may disclose some strange denizen
+of the jungle either to be sought after or guarded against. And the
+beauty of it all. The fern-carpeted glades, the drooping trails of
+bright-coloured orchids, the tangled shadows of the dense undergrowth,
+the glimpses of never-ending woodland between the great boles. And
+always the hush, the intense silence of this enchanted forest.
+
+The generous jungle provides everything that savage man needs. The
+profusely growing bamboo will make his house or bridge the streams for
+him. Its delicate young shoots can be eaten. Its bark gives excellent
+lashing. Slit longitudinally it will serve as an aqueduct and convey the
+water from the mountain torrents to his door. Cut into lengths it makes
+cups and bottles for him. Should he need a cooking-pot, a length of
+bamboo cut off below a knot can be filled with water and placed on the
+fire; and the water will be boiled and food cooked long before the green
+wood is much charred. For food the forest offers deer, pigs, and fowl.
+There are several varieties of edible tubers. The unopened flowers of
+the _simal_ tree are eaten as vegetables; while its seed makes a good
+nourishing food for cattle, and the cotton of its burst-open pods is
+used for stuffing pillows. The _pua_, a shrub with hairy shoots and dark
+grey bark gives the fibre which can be woven into cloth or made into
+fishing-nets, twine and net-bags. There is a creeper, the bark of which,
+bruised and thrown into a stream, stupefies the fish and brings them
+floating to the surface, where they can be easily caught. The _pani bel_
+gives man water to drink. And, if he is ill, another creeper makes an
+excellent febrifuge, while the gum of the _udal_ tree is used as a
+purgative, and fomentations of the leaves of a shrub called _madar_ are
+excellent for sprains and bruises. Food, drink, clothing, houses,
+household utensils, medicine; what more does savage and simple man
+require?
+
+The jungle was called upon to provide me with an abode; for camping in
+tents in the forest was a very unsafe proceeding, owing to the wild
+elephants which might rush over the tents at night or, from sheer
+curiosity, pull them down and stand on them to the detriment of the
+occupants. So I got Bhuttia coolies to build a bamboo hut for me up in
+the trees. Twenty-two feet from the ground they constructed a platform
+supported by the tree-trunks and branches; and on this they erected a
+cosy three-roomed dwelling with walls of split bamboo and roof thatched
+with grass. It was reached by ladders. Although it shook to the tread of
+anyone walking about in it, it was very strong. Split bamboo partitions
+divided it off into the three apartments, sitting, bed and bathroom. It
+was quite a romantic dwelling, such as a boy steeped in the lore of
+Robinson Crusoe or Jules Verne would have loved. I named it Forest Lodge
+and regarded it with pride. I thought it safe from the destructive
+tendencies of wild elephants; for it was supported entirely by the
+neighbouring trees, with the exception of one long bamboo pole helping
+to hold up the roof. But once when it was left empty some mischievous
+elephant discovered it. How it entered into his thick skull to do it I
+do not know; but he dragged on the bamboo pole until he brought the
+whole in ruins about his ears. However, I had it built up again, this
+time with an open lower story surrounded by a bamboo wall to be used as
+a dining-room. On its apparently frail flooring of split bamboo I once
+entertained eight planters who had ridden over to see Forest Lodge the
+Second and who, with my junior officer, myself, and three servants, made
+a total of thirteen persons standing on the floor at the same time.
+When shooting or when in camp in the forest with my detachment, for I
+often brought my sepoys down to teach them jungle lore and practise them
+in bush warfare, I always occupied it. It was never again dismantled by
+elephants; though a similar but smaller building close by, occupied by
+my servants, was several times destroyed by them.
+
+[Illustration: FOREST LODGE THE FIRST.]
+
+[Illustration: FOREST LODGE THE SECOND.]
+
+The fact was that its position invited attack. It stood near a path,
+much frequented by elephants, leading to a salt lick in the hills a few
+hundred yards away. This was in a curious amphitheatre in the foothills
+where landslips had left exposed precipitous slopes of a curious white
+earth impregnated with some chemical salts, probably soda or natron, of
+which wild animals are extremely fond. Bison, elephants, and deer of all
+sorts used to come here at night to eat this earth; and tigers prowled
+around it in search of prey. Native _shikarees_ (hunters) erected
+_machâns_ or platforms over it to pot the deer at their ease. This
+amphitheatre was almost a complete circle, save for one narrow chasm
+which must have been cut by the force of water. It was a winding gully,
+in places scarcely broad enough to allow the passage of an elephant with
+a pad on its back. I wondered what happened when two tuskers met in the
+narrow path. Its perpendicular sides were formed of the same white clay;
+but at their bases were seams of coal, black and shining where freshly
+exposed. When I saw them I thought that I had made a valuable discovery
+of mineral wealth. But when I broke off lumps of the coal and placed
+them on my camp fire I found that they would not burn; and I learned
+that there is coal in these hills which is a thousand years too young
+and, so, valueless. Thus faded my dream of the boundless wealth the
+jungle was to give me.
+
+Forest Lodge was a constant source of interest and wonderment to all the
+monkeys in the neighbourhood. They used to gather in the tree-tops
+around and hold conferences to discuss it. Perched on the branches
+mothers with small babies clinging to them, sedate old men and frivolous
+youngsters scratched themselves meditatively and chattered and argued as
+to what manner of strange ape I was who had thus invaded their realm.
+When restless young monkeys wearied of the endless discussion and
+started to frivol, the elder ones seemed to rebuke their levity, and
+when this failed to have the desired effect would spring with bared
+teeth on the irreverent youth to chastise them; and the meeting then
+broke up in disorder.
+
+When my detachment was encamped around Forest Lodge the scene at night,
+as I looked down from my windows, was truly Rembrandtesque. Their fires
+glowed in the trees, lighting up the dark faces of the sepoys and
+revealing with weird effect the huge forms of our transport elephants
+restlessly swaying at their pickets, ears flapping and trunks swinging
+as the big beasts incessantly shifted their weight from foot to foot.
+Around the bivouac was built a zareba of cut thorny bushes; and the
+guards mounted with ball cartridge in their pouches, not merely because
+it is the custom of the Service, but to repel any prowling dangerous
+beasts that might be tempted to visit the camp by night; for within
+fifty yards of a sentry I had a shot at a bear; and a tiger killed a
+_sambhur_ not a hundred yards from the zareba. And once I sat at the
+window of my tree-dwelling listening to a tiger prowling around for a
+long time, uttering short snorting roars but never approaching near
+enough to give me a shot at him.
+
+The voices of the men in the camp sounded loud through the silent forest
+and must have astonished the wild animals making their way to the salt
+lick close by, for at night all the jungle is awake. The beasts of prey
+wander from sunset to sunrise in search of a meal; and the deer must be
+on the alert against them. Only in the hot hours of the day dare they
+repose in security and lie down to sleep in the shade of the
+undergrowth. Even then they start at every sound, and the snapping of a
+twig brings them to their feet; for to the harmless animals life in the
+jungle is one constant menace. The birds and the monkeys in the trees
+alone can devote the dark hours to slumber; there is no rest at night
+for anything that dwells on the ground.
+
+Now gradually the sepoys' voices die away and the flickering fires burn
+low. The forest is hushed in silence, broken only by the eerie cry of
+the great owl or the distant crash of a tree knocked down by a wild
+elephant.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI
+
+ROGUES OF THE FOREST
+
+    The lord of the forest--Wild elephants in India--_Kheddah_
+        operations in the Terai--How rogues are made--Rogues
+        attack villages--Highway robbers--Assault on a railway
+        station--A police convoy--A poacher's death--Chasing an
+        officer--My first encounter with a rogue--Stopping a
+        charge--Difficulty of killing an elephant--The law on
+        rogue-shooting--A Government gazette--A tame elephant
+        shot by the Maharajah of Cooch Behar--Executing an
+        elephant--A chance shot--A planter's escape--Attack on
+        a tame elephant--The _mahout's_ peril--Jhansi's
+        wounds--Changes among the officers in Buxa--A Gurkha's
+        terrible death--The beginner's luck--Indian and Malayan
+        _sambhur_--A shot out of season--A fruitless
+        search--Jhansi's flight--A scout attacked by a
+        bear--Advertising for a truant--The agony
+        column--Runaway elephants--A fatal fraud--Jhansi's
+        return.
+
+
+What animal can dispute with the elephant the proud title of lord of the
+forest? All give way to him as he stalks unchallenged through the
+woodland. The vaunted tiger shrinks aside from his path; and only the
+harmless beasts regard him without dismay, for he is merciful as he is
+strong. And the shield of the British Government is raised to protect
+him from man; for the laws of its forest department ordain that he must
+not be slain.
+
+The stretches of jungle along the foot of the Himalayas harbour herds of
+wild elephants, which, thus saved from the sportsman's rifle, increase
+and multiply. These useful and usually harmless animals are far from
+being exterminated in India. Free to wander unscathed in Government
+forests, their numbers are not diminishing. The continuity of the Terai
+saves them from capture; for the ordinary _kheddah_ operations, which
+consist of hemming a herd into a certain patch of jungle and driving it
+into a stockade of stout timbers is useless in forests where the animals
+can wander on in shelter indefinitely. This method is costly; for it
+requires the services of a trained staff of hunters and large numbers of
+coolies, and may take months. It was once tried near Buxa and, after a
+great expenditure of money, labour and time, did not result in the
+capture of one elephant. So the Government has adopted here another
+system. It lets out the _kheddah_ rights to certain rajahs and big
+_Zemindars_ (landholders) who furnish parties of hunters and tame
+elephants to go into the jungle and pursue the herds. Once on the trail
+of one they follow it persistently and keep it constantly on the move.
+When a calf elephant becomes exhausted and falls behind the others, the
+men fire on the mother and drive her off or kill her, surround the
+youngster and secure it by slipping ropes on its legs. It is then
+fastened between tame elephants and led off, a prisoner.
+
+This method is responsible for the existence of a number of dangerous
+"rogue" elephants in the jungles near Buxa; for the worried herds break
+up and some of the males take to a solitary life. And of all the perils
+of the forest the rogue is the worst. The tiger or the panther rarely
+attacks man; and when it does, it is only for food. The bear, when
+unmolested, is generally harmless. But the vicious rogue seems to kill
+for the mere lust of murder. Occasionally a tusker, not belonging to a
+harried herd, develops a liking to a lonely existence and strays away
+from the others of his kind. Probably because he is an old bachelor and
+deprived of the softening influence of the female sex, he becomes surly
+and dangerous. He may take to wandering into cultivation at night and
+feeding on the crops, as wild elephants often do. The villagers
+naturally object to this, light fires around their fields, and turn out
+with torches, horns and drums to scare the intruders off. The herds are
+generally easily stampeded; but sometimes the surly old tusker, enraged
+at having his meal of succulent grain disturbed, charges the peasants
+and perhaps kills one or two of them. This not only destroys in him the
+wild animal's natural dread of man, but seems to give him a taste for
+bloodshed quite at variance with the elephant's accustomed gentleness of
+disposition.
+
+The tales told me when I first went to Buxa of the ferocity and lust of
+cruelty of rogues seemed incredible. I heard of them deliberately
+entering villages on tea gardens, breaking through the frail structures
+of bamboo and tearing down hut after hut until they reached the houses
+of the _bunniahs_, or tradesmen who dealt in grain and food-stuffs. Then
+they feasted royally on the contents of the shops. Roads cut through the
+forest lead from the railway line to the gardens or from village to
+village; and along these come trains of bullock carts loaded with grain.
+Wild elephants used to lie in wait in the jungle until these were
+passing, then charge out on them, kill the drivers and bullocks and loot
+the grain.
+
+While I was at Buxa two cases occurred of such attacks on carts close
+to Rajabhatkawa Station. In one the drivers got away safely; but a woman
+with them tripped and fell to the ground. The elephant overtook her,
+deliberately put his foot on her head and crushed her to death. In the
+other case the natives all escaped; but the rogue killed several of the
+bullocks, broke up the carts and hurled one on to the rails, where it
+lay until removed by the railway company officials who actually
+prosecuted the owner for obstructing the line. The station at
+Rajabhatkawa was attacked on one occasion. A tusker elephant suddenly
+appeared on the metals. The staff rushed into the building and locked
+themselves in. An engine happened to be standing in the station and the
+driver blew the whistle loudly to scare the animal off. The sound only
+infuriated the elephant; but, probably not liking the appearance of the
+engine, he ignored it, attacked the platform and tried to root it up. In
+doing so he broke off one of his tusks and, screaming with pain, rushed
+off into the jungle. I think that this was a brute with which I had a
+fight afterwards.
+
+The rogues did not always grasp the fact that every bullock cart passing
+through the forest was not necessarily loaded with grain. On one
+occasion a convoy of convicts loaded with iron fetters was being taken
+to Alipur Duar in carts, escorted by armed native police. Suddenly from
+the jungle through which they were passing rushed out a wild elephant
+which charged the procession furiously. Drivers, police, prisoners,
+leapt from the carts and fled in terror. The wretched convicts, hampered
+by their leg-irons, stumbled, tripped and fell frequently. But
+fortunately for them the rogue was too busily engaged in chasing the
+frightened bullocks, killing them and smashing up the carts in a
+fruitless search for grain, to pay any attention to the men; and they
+all escaped.
+
+A vicious elephant's method of slaughtering its human prey is
+particularly horrible. Our nearest planter neighbour, Tyson of
+Hathipota, was a man who knew the Terai well, having lived in various
+parts of the Duars, and had had much experience in big-game shooting. He
+told me of a terrible case which he had seen when on a visit to a forest
+officer in the Western Duars jungles. Into his host's solitary bungalow
+one day rushed two terrified forest guards to tell him of an awful
+spectacle which they had just witnessed. They had been lying hidden
+watching a well-known native poacher fishing in a preserved river. He
+was on the opposite bank and the stream at that part was unfordable.
+While they were discussing a plan to capture him, they saw a wild
+elephant appear out of the jungle behind the poacher and stealthily
+approach him. To their horror the brute suddenly rushed on the
+unsuspecting man, knocked him down, trampled on him and then, placing
+one foot on his thighs, wound its trunk round his body, seized him in
+its mouth and literally tore him to pieces. The story seemed too
+horrible to be true; but the forest officer and Tyson visited the spot
+and found the corpse of the luckless poacher crushed and mutilated as
+the eyewitnesses to the tragedy had narrated. The elephant's footprints
+were clearly visible. I could hardly credit the story until a similar
+case came to my own notice.
+
+Another instance of unprovoked attack was related to me by Captain
+Denham White, Indian Medical Service, who had formerly been doctor to
+the Buxa detachment. An elephant had been reported to be committing
+havoc in the forest in the vicinity; and the then commanding officer and
+Denham White endeavoured to find and shoot him. They searched the jungle
+for a week in vain. Then White vowed that the animal was a phantom
+elephant and refused to accompany the commandant on the eighth day of
+the hunt. Taking his orderly with him, he went fishing in a river which
+flowed through the forest. The water in it was low; and the greater part
+of the bed was dry and covered with loose, rounded boulders which had
+been swept down from the hills during the Rains. White was busily
+engaged with his rod and line when he heard the orderly shout. Turning,
+he saw to his horror a large tusker elephant descending the steep bank
+and coming straight towards them. It was the missing rogue. The two men
+ran for their lives. The elephant pursued them, but, slipping and
+stumbling over the loose boulders, was unable to move quickly. Denham
+White, and his orderly gained the opposite bank and reached a road along
+a fire line and got away. It was fortunate for them that they had a good
+start and were close to this road; for in the jungle they would
+inevitably have been overtaken and killed.
+
+A good runner may outpace an elephant on level ground for a short
+sprint. But in thick jungle a man has a poor chance. Undergrowth and
+creepers that bar his progress will not hinder an elephant, which can
+burst through them easily. He cannot escape up a tree; for the large
+ones in the forest are devoid of branches for many feet from the ground,
+and any tree slender enough for him to grasp and climb could be easily
+knocked down by the elephant. But I am not sure that the animal would
+have sufficient intelligence to do so in order to reach the man.
+
+I was not long in Buxa before making the acquaintance of a rogue. About
+three weeks after my arrival I was out in the forest on Khartoum,
+accompanied by her _mahout_, Bechan, and a _shikaree_ or native hunter.
+Early in the day I shot a _sambhur_ stag. The two men slipped off the
+elephant to _hallal_ it; and I followed to photograph the dead beast
+with a hand-camera. The _mahout_ was holding up the head in position for
+me, when we heard a sudden crashing in the jungle behind us. Bechan
+dropped the head in evident alarm and said:
+
+"Sahib, that is a wild elephant. I believe it has been following us; for
+I heard it behind us as we came along."
+
+Hardly had he spoken, when the head of an elephant appeared above the
+undergrowth. It was a male with a splendid pair of long curved tusks.
+The moment it caught sight of us it stopped. New to the jungle, I was
+under the impression that all wild elephants were inoffensive creatures.
+So I was rejoiced at this opportunity of photographing one, for such
+pictures are very rare; and, camera in hand, I started towards it. But
+the moment Khartoum saw the intruder, she stampeded, followed by her
+_mahout_. The _shikaree_ yelled:
+
+"It's a mad elephant. Shoot, Sahib, shoot, and save our lives!" And he
+bolted.
+
+The newcomer still stood motionless, looking at me; and I smiled at my
+men's alarm. Still I thought it advisable to put the camera down and
+take up my rifle. It was unloaded; so I slipped in a couple of solid
+bullets instead of the "soft-nosed" ones used for animals less hard
+to pierce than elephants or bison. But I had no intention of firing; for
+the forest regulations impose penalties up to six months' imprisonment
+or a fine of five hundred rupees for killing an elephant. I looked
+regretfully at the fine tusks; they would have been a splendid trophy.
+Still smoking my pipe I walked towards the animal which had not moved
+but was regarding me with a fixed stare. I halted and, taking off my big
+sun-helmet, waved it in the air and shouted:
+
+"Shoo! you brute. Be off!"
+
+[Illustration: "THE MAHOUT WAS HOLDING UP THE HEAD."]
+
+My voice seemed to enrage the elephant. Up went its head, it curled its
+trunk, uttered a slight squeal and charged at me. I dropped on one knee
+and aimed at its forehead. With the fear of the forest department before
+my eyes, I hesitated to press the trigger until the huge bulk seemed
+almost towering over me. Then I fired. As if struck by a thunderbolt the
+elephant stopped dead in its furious rush and sank on its knees only
+fifteen paces from me. But even then I did not realise what an escape I
+had had. My first thought, as I picked up my pipe and stood erect was:
+"How can I hide the body, so that the forest officer will never know of
+my crime?"
+
+So dense was the undergrowth that I could not see the prostrate animal
+in it. Rifle-butt resting on the ground, I pulled at my pipe
+perplexedly. I wondered how I could explain my act to the forest
+authorities. I knew, of course, that I had not to fear imprisonment; but
+a fine seemed certain. And a worse penalty might be inflicted, the
+cancellation of my shooting-licence. And I shuddered at the thought of
+two years in Buxa Duar if I were not allowed to solace my solitude by
+sport. It never occurred to me that the fact that I would have been
+killed if I had not fired would be accepted as a sufficient excuse for
+breaking the Draconic laws of Government.
+
+Suddenly the elephant rose up, turned and dashed away blindly into the
+forest. My bullet had only stunned it. Bursting through the tangled
+undergrowth, snapping tough creepers like thread, trampling down small
+trees and smashing off thick branches, it rushed off mad with pain and
+terror. Long after I had lost sight of it I could hear its noisy
+progress through the jungle. I was intensely relieved at its recovery
+and departure, and did not realise that it was fortunate for me that it
+did not renew the attack.
+
+I inspected the spot where it had fallen. The ground was ploughed up by
+its toes where it had been suddenly stopped in its charge; and the
+undergrowth was crushed flat from the weight of its body. There was a
+fair amount of blood on the leaves and grass around. I measured the
+distance to the spot where I had knelt. It was exactly fifteen paces; so
+I had not fired a moment too soon. While I stood disconsolate the
+_shikaree_ returned. He explained that after the shot he had listened
+for my dying shrieks and, not hearing them, concluded that I had come
+off victorious in the encounter. He endeavoured in vain to convince me
+that I had been right to fire. Shortly afterwards Bechan returned with
+the still terrified Khartoum; and he agreed with the other man. It
+occurred to me that the elephant might have fallen again further on; so
+I thought it advisable to follow him and if I found him dying, put him
+out of pain. But Bechan and the _shikaree_ absolutely refused to go with
+me; so I started off on foot. But in fifty yards I realised that I
+would certainly lose myself in the jungle, so I was obliged to return
+ignominiously to them.
+
+Next day, however, Bechan's courage was restored; and he took me again
+to the spot. We had no difficulty in picking out the tusker's trail. A
+broad, almost straight track led away for hundreds of yards. The
+undergrowth was trampled down, small trees broken off and the ground
+covered with branches snapped off by the animal's body in its blind
+haste. At one place the beast had stopped and kicked up some earth to
+plaster on its wound, as elephants always do. We followed the trail for
+nearly three miles and then lost it where it mingled with innumerable
+old tracks of other elephants.
+
+When I knew more about these animals I was not surprised that my shot
+had not killed the rogue. The front of an elephant's skull is enormously
+thick and the brain is very small. A bullet in the head not reaching the
+brain will never kill the brute on the spot, and is not necessarily
+fatal. Sanderson, the great authority on elephant-shooting narrates many
+such cases and says:
+
+     "It will be evident, on an examination of the skull, that if
+     the brain be missed by a shot no harm will be done to the
+     animal, as there are no other vital organs, such as large
+     blood-vessels etc., situated in the head. It thus happens that,
+     in head shots, if the elephant is not dropped on the spot he is
+     very rarely bagged at all. A shot that goes through his skull
+     into his neck without touching his brain may kill him, but it
+     will take time. I have never recovered any elephant that has
+     left the spot with a head shot. The blood-trail
+     for a few yards is generally very thick; but it often ceases as
+     suddenly as it is at first copious. Elephants are sometimes
+     floored by the concussion of a shot, if the ball passes very
+     close to the brain; large balls frequently effect this. No time
+     should be lost in finishing a floored elephant, or he will
+     certainly make his escape. Many cases have occurred of
+     elephants which have been regarded as dead suddenly recovering
+     themselves and making off."
+
+The position of the head held high in charging protects the one deadly
+spot in the forehead; and, to quote Sanderson again:
+
+     "To reach the brain of a charging elephant from in front the
+     bullet must pass through about three feet of curled trunk,
+     flesh and bone. It is thus occasionally impossible to kill an
+     elephant if the head be held very high."
+
+I could have finished off the tusker at my ease as he lay on the ground,
+had it not been for my loyal obedience to the regulations. On my return
+to Buxa I sent a telegram, followed by an official letter of explanation
+and apology, to the forest officer. His reply filled me with annoyance
+when I learned that my scruples had been uncalled for and that I could
+have slain the brute, and probably would have been allowed to keep the
+tusks. His letter said:
+                                                        "RAJABHATKAWA,
+                                                           "14-1-09.
+"MY DEAR CASSERLY,--Yours of 11-1-09 _re_ elephant. You were undoubtedly
+justified in shooting at it; and I must congratulate you on a very
+narrow escape. In defence of self or property or cultivation you may
+shoot at any elephant but as far as I read the Act, which is somewhat
+vague, you must not pursue the elephant further unless it is a
+'proclaimed' rogue; that is, proclaimed by Government. There are a
+number of solitary male rogue elephants about that are always dangerous
+and should be shot at on sight, especially if you have an elephant with
+you. If you can tell me the approximate height of this elephant and if a
+single or double tusker and any distinguishing peculiarities, I will
+write to the deputy commissioner and get it proclaimed. We had a man
+killed in one of our forest villages at Mendabari recently; and our
+_babus_ were held up the other day by a rogue. But this animal has one
+tusk broken off short. A double tusker killed one of our sawyers near
+here and was proclaimed and a reward of fifty rupees and the tusks
+offered. Possibly this was your elephant.
+
+                                                 "Yours etc., etc."
+
+Rogue elephants, like man-eating tigers, are honoured with a notice in
+Government gazettes. Shortly afterwards I received a copy of such a
+gazette, which read:
+
+"A reward of fifty rupees is offered for the destruction of each of the
+rogue elephants described below:
+
+     (1). One single-tusker height 9' 10". This animal killed a man
+     on 2nd January, 1909, and frequents the Borojhar Forest and
+     western portion of the Buxa reserve and does considerable
+     damage to crops in the adjoining villages.
+
+     (2). One double-tusker with large tusks. Height 9' 10". This
+     animal charged Captain Casserly and his elephant on the 30th
+     Mile line of the Buxa reserve and was only turned by a shot at
+     close quarters."
+
+Not long afterwards, when on a visit to the Maharajah of Cooch Behar, I
+was taken by his second son, Prince Jitendra, to inspect the Peelkhana.
+There I saw an example of how easily elephants recover from terrible
+wounds. Securely chained to a tree at a distance from the other animals
+was a large tusker which, while the Maharajah had been having a beat for
+tiger a few weeks before, had suddenly gone mad and attacked the other
+elephants. Prince Rajendra, the present Maharajah,[3] had ridden up
+close to it and fired two shots at it from his heavy cordite rifle. One
+bullet struck it in the head, the other in the shoulder. Yet here it was
+feeding in apparently the best of health. Below the right eye was the
+scar of an almost healed wound; while in the shoulder a hole was still
+visible but nearly filled up. And five years before, when suffering from
+a similar attack of madness, it had been shot by the Maharajah with his
+·500 rifle, and had completely recovered in a very short time from the
+wounds then received.
+
+In the days of a previous commanding officer of Buxa a tame elephant had
+been condemned to death on account of old age and infirmity and was
+handed over to the detachment to be shot. A squad of sepoys with ·303
+Lee-Enfield rifles was drawn up five paces in front of it and fired a
+volley at its forehead. But the elephant only winced at the blows and
+stood its ground. Then the men drew off to one side and aimed at its
+heart. A volley here killed it. The British officer had the head skinned
+and found that the first bullets had only penetrated a very short way
+into the skull, some of them being flattened against the bone.
+
+On the other hand cases have occurred of elephants succumbing easily to
+chance shots from small-bore rifles. On a tea garden not far from Buxa a
+rogue had been destroying the crops in the cultivation. A young planter
+sat up in a _machân_[4] in a tree near the fields to watch for it. He
+was armed with a ·303 carbine. He fell asleep and suddenly woke up to
+find the elephant passing right underneath him. Without taking aim he
+fired blindly into the dark mass below his _machân_. The elephant rushed
+off. The planter remained on his perch until daylight, and, descending,
+met his manager and told him what he had done. The latter was an
+experienced sportsman and inveighed forcibly at the useless cruelty of
+firing at an elephant with such a small bullet, which could only wound
+and infuriate the animal. While he was speaking a coolie ran up to
+inform that the elephant was lying dead a few hundred yards in the
+fields. The bullet, entering the back from above, had been deflected by
+bones and had taken an erratic course through the body, seeming to have
+pierced every vital organ in it in turn.
+
+I heard of a case in Assam where a planter, carrying a ·303 rifle, was
+walking along a road when he was suddenly charged by a wild elephant. He
+fired at its mouth. The animal turned and ran away. As it did so the
+planter fired again and hit it under the tail. The elephant staggered on
+a short distance and then fell dead. One of my sepoys, when on guard at
+Santrabari, fired at a wild elephant which was attacking our tame ones
+in the stables. The man used his Lee-Enfield rifle and scarcely waited
+to take aim.
+
+Yet the animal, a _muckna_ or tuskerless male, dropped dead within a few
+yards.
+
+Our tame elephants were taken into the forest every day to graze. One
+morning Jhansi was out in charge of her _mahout_ about two miles from
+Santrabari, when a single-tusker rogue suddenly charged out of the
+jungle at her. The terrified _mahout_ flung himself off her neck and
+crept away through the undergrowth. The rogue hurled himself against
+Jhansi and knocked her down by the force of his attack. He drove his one
+tusk deep into her back and drew off to gather impetus for a fresh
+charge. Jhansi scrambled to her feet and bolted. The brute pursued her,
+prodding viciously at her hind quarters; but being a fast mover, she
+outstripped him and got back to Santrabari. Her vicious assailant
+followed her for a short distance and then returned to search the
+undergrowth for the _mahout_ but, luckily for the latter, without
+finding him. Jhansi was brought up to the fort for me to doctor. I found
+a round punctured wound several inches deep in her back; and on her rump
+were several smaller holes and cuts made by the rogue elephants. She was
+an excellent patient and stood the cleaning and disinfecting of her
+wounds admirably.
+
+This unprovoked attack made it imperative that I should try to put an
+end to the rogue's career; for, if he remained in our neighbourhood, the
+_mahouts_ would be afraid to take their animals out to graze. So I
+instituted a hunt for him. Creagh had been transferred to Gyantse in
+Tibet, his place being taken by a junior captain of the regiment named
+Balderston. A young Irish lieutenant in the Indian Medical Service was
+now our doctor, as Smith had gone to another corps. As it was during the
+rainy season when the Terai Jungle is filled with the deadliest malarial
+fever, it was impossible to camp in the forest. But I came down from the
+hills every day and searched far and wide for the outlaw and soon found
+terrible traces of his presence. The body of a Gurkha, killed by him,
+was discovered on a path through the jungle. The man had been proceeding
+along it on foot when he had been met and attacked by the rogue. His
+head and body had been crushed flat and stamped into the ground, the
+legs torn off and hurled twenty yards away. The elephant had evidently
+placed his foot on the body, taken the legs in his mouth and torn the
+poor wretch to pieces. The sight made me long to meet the brute and put
+an end to his vicious career. But though we searched the jungle day
+after day, we never met him.
+
+However, during the hunt, our doctor, who was new to big-game shooting,
+had the usual beginner's luck and secured the record _sambhur_ head for
+the district. The _sambhur_ in these jungles belong to the Malayan
+species which, probably owing to the dense forest they inhabit, have
+much shorter though thicker horns than the so-called Indian _sambhur_
+found in other parts of the Peninsula. The stags are generally darker,
+the old ones almost black or slate-coloured; and their tails are more
+bushy. While the record Indian head is fifty and an eighth inches,
+Lydekker gives the longest Malayan antlers as thirty and an eighth
+inches; though an officer formerly in Buxa shot one with horns
+thirty-three inches in length.
+
+As killing deer is prohibited in Government jungles during the hot
+weather and Rains, that being the close season, I had warned Balderston
+and the doctor not to fire at any we met with. And besides this, I did
+not want to run the risk of alarming the rogue for which we were
+hunting. But one day we came suddenly upon a large _sambhur_ stag. It
+was the first specimen of big game that the doctor, new to India, had
+ever seen. He became greatly excited and raised his rifle. Balderston,
+behind whom he was seated on Dundora, warned him not to fire; but,
+misunderstanding in his excitement, he pulled the trigger. The bullet
+struck the _sambhur_ in the foreleg; and the beast went off limping.
+Shooting a stag in the close season is a dire offence in the sportsman's
+eye; and Balderston and I abused the unfortunate doctor roundly.
+However, as it would have been sheer cruelty to allow a wounded animal
+to get away, I ordered our _mahouts_ to pursue. We came up to the stag
+in about half an hour; and I shot him through the heart. On measuring
+the horns we discovered them to be thirty-three inches long, which
+equalled the record Malay _sambhur_ I have mentioned.
+
+About three weeks after we gave up the search for the rogue and were
+satisfied that he had left our jungles, our three elephants were taken
+out to graze in the forest by the coolies who assist the _mahouts_. It
+was the duty of these men to remain with their charges; but, as it
+happened to be pay-day in Buxa, they shackled the elephants' forelegs
+with chains and left them to feed, while they themselves climbed up to
+the fort for their salaries. On their return, several hours later, they
+found Khartoum and Dundora browsing placidly on the trees; but Jhansi
+had disappeared. She had contrived to slip her shackles, which lay on
+the ground. The _mahouts_, searching for her, came on the track of a
+herd of wild elephants, which had passed close to our tame ones. It was
+conjectured that Jhansi, remembering her recent unpleasant adventure
+with the rogue, had become alarmed at the sight of them, got rid of her
+chain and fled away in an opposite direction. But, unlike the previous
+occasion, she did not return to Santrabari. At the time I happened to be
+on leave in Darjeeling; so Captain Balderston took our trained company
+scouts to look for her. Each man carried his rifle and ball cartridge to
+protect himself if necessary. It was well that they did; for on the
+second day of their search one of them was wantonly attacked by a large
+bear. A bullet from the sepoy's rifle taught it that it had not a
+helpless woodcutter to deal with; and, howling with pain, it ran off.
+
+On my return I borrowed elephants from the forest officer and started
+out on a systematic hunt for the truant. As in the army an officer
+generally has to pay for any article of Government property lost while
+in his charge, I was afraid that I might be called upon to replace
+Jhansi. The cost of a female elephant runs into hundreds of pounds; so I
+did not relish the prospect. I telegraphed to the brigade headquarters
+announcing Jhansi's loss; and when the reply came I opened it in fear
+and trembling. It only referred me to a certain paragraph in the Army
+Regulations for India. I consulted it at once, and to my relief found
+that it merely directed me to advertise the loss of a Government
+elephant in a newspaper. Not knowing which journal Jhansi was in the
+habit of perusing, and wondering if I was supposed to word the
+announcement in the phrasing of the agony column, "Come back to your
+sorrowing friends and all will be forgiven," I eventually tried the
+columns of a Calcutta daily. But it did not bring the truant back. As
+month after month went by, I lost hope of ever seeing her again.
+Whenever I heard that a _kheddah_ party had captured an elephant which
+evidently had once been tame I sent off Jhansi's _mahout_ to inspect the
+prisoner.
+
+It often happens that animals which have been in captivity for some time
+escape and take to the jungle again. If caught they are soon discovered
+to have been domesticated; and _mahouts_ of lost elephants are sent to
+view them, as their former charges will always recognise and obey them.
+I heard of a case of attempted fraud, with a fatal ending, in this
+connection. A _mahout_ falsely claimed an elephant as his and mounted
+it. The animal, enraged at being handled by a stranger, dragged him off
+her neck and stamped him to death before the horrified spectators could
+intervene.
+
+Eight months after Jhansi's disappearance I was informed by the
+_mahouts_ that she had suddenly come out of the jungle and approached
+the Peelkhana. She stood at a safe distance watching her former
+comrades. When the men went towards her to secure her, she fled into the
+jungle. I ordered the _mahouts_ to leave food in her stall and not to
+attempt to interfere with her unless she came right into the stables.
+Next day she made her appearance at feeding-time. The men took no notice
+of her, placed the usual meal of rice and leaves before Dundora and
+Khartoum and deposited her allowance in her "standing." Jhansi marched
+boldly in and began to eat it; and the men crept in behind her and
+slipped the iron shackles on her legs. She showed no resentment and
+continued feeding unconcernedly, and afterwards she gave no trouble, did
+her usual work, and seemed to feel no regret at the loss of her
+freedom.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[3] He died in 1913, since this was written.
+
+[4] A platform erected in a tree at a height above the ground.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII
+
+A FIGHT WITH AN ELEPHANT
+
+    We sight a rogue--A sudden onslaught--A wild elephant's
+        attack--Shooting under difficulties--Stopping a
+        rush--Repeated attacks--An invulnerable foe--Darkness
+        stops the pursuit--A council of war--Picking up the
+        trail--A _muckna_--A female elephant--Photographing a
+        lady--A good sitter--A stampede--A gallant
+        Rajput--Attacking on foot--A hazardous feat--A narrow
+        escape--Final charge--A bivouac in the forest--Dangers
+        of the night--A long chase--Planter
+        hospitality--Another stampede--A career of
+        crime--Eternal hope--A king-cobra--Abandoning the
+        pursuit--An unrepentant villain--In the moment of
+        danger.
+
+Khartoum stepped along at her usual deliberate pace through the jungle,
+occasionally raising her trunk to sweep the leaves off a branch and cram
+them into her mouth, or plucking a tuft of long grass to brush away the
+troublesome flies. On her neck the _mahout_ swayed to the motion, while
+I sat nursing my heavy ·470 cordite rifle and talking to my orderly,
+Draj Khan, seated behind me on the pad. He carried a ·303 carbine. We
+were passing through a patch of thin forest bare of undergrowth, when
+Bechan pulled up suddenly and whispered:
+
+"_Jungli hathi!_ (A wild elephant)."
+
+About sixty yards ahead a large tusker was standing apparently half
+asleep under the trees, its right side towards us. I wondered if, since
+it was alone, I could consider it an outlaw which it would be
+justifiable to shoot. The probabilities were, as there were no signs of
+a herd in the vicinity, that it was a rogue. While I was mentally
+debating the question I slipped a couple of solid cartridges into my
+rifle. As I did so the elephant turned its head slowly and I saw that it
+had only one tusk.
+
+"_Sahib! Sahib! wuh budmash hai!_ (It is the rogue!") whispered Bechan
+excitedly.
+
+At that moment it caught sight of us. Without hesitation, it turned and
+charged straight at us. There was no doubt now of its being a rogue; and
+probably it was Jhansi's assailant and the murderer of the Gurkha. I
+wished to wait until it was near enough for me to make sure of a fatal
+head-shot; but Khartoum became alarmed and tried to bolt. The _mahout_
+did his best to stop her.
+
+"Shoot, Sahib, shoot! My elephant will not stand," he cried, beating her
+savagely with the iron _ankus_.
+
+So, as I could not get a shot at the head as the animal came through the
+trees at us, I fired at its shoulder in the hope of laming it and
+bringing it to a stand, so that I could finish it at close quarters. But
+it did not seem to feel the bullet and never checked in its stride. I
+was being favoured with a spectacle which it is not given to many
+sportsmen in India to witness. Sanderson says of it that
+
+"the wild elephant's attack is one of the noblest sights of the chase. A
+grander animated object than a wild elephant in full charge can hardly
+be imagined. The cocked ears and broad forehead present an immense
+frontage; the head is held high with the trunk curled between the tusks
+to be uncurled in the moment of attack; the massive forelegs come down
+with the force and regularity of ponderous machinery; and the whole
+figure is foreshortened, and appears to double in size with each
+advancing stride. The wild elephant's onslaught is as dignified as it
+seems overwhelming."
+
+I confess that at the moment I was little disposed to admire the
+spectacle. Khartoum plunged and swayed until I was nearly shot off her
+back. If she stampeded our position would be extremely dangerous, for we
+would probably be swept off her back by the branches and creepers; and
+to be thrown to the ground in front of the pursuing rogue meant a
+certain and awful death. Bechan, hammering furiously at Khartoum's thick
+skull, yelled at me to fire; and my excited orderly kept urging me to
+"kill the _budmash_." I fired again, and the tusker, checked in his
+rush, swung off to one side. As he passed us among the trees, I gave him
+a third bullet in the ribs at forty yards. The report of my rifle had an
+almost instantaneously calming effect on Khartoum. She desisted from her
+efforts to bolt; and when I ordered the _mahout_ to follow the fleeing
+rogue, she obeyed him and moved off quietly. We came on him about a
+quarter of a mile away in much denser jungle. He was standing sideways
+to us; and I took a steady shot at his ear, which should have been
+fatal. But instead of dropping to it, he swung round and charged us
+again. I told my orderly to aim at his knee, while I fired at his
+forehead. The two shots rang out together; but the apparently
+invulnerable brute only turned and fled. He was, however, limping badly;
+and I quickened his flight with another bullet. This time Khartoum had
+stood like a rock. We urged her on after him and overtook him partially
+concealed behind a stout tree-trunk. He seemed on the point of
+collapsing on the ground. But the moment he caught sight of us he
+charged again. My orderly and I aimed at the same spots as before and
+fired together. But the brute bore a charmed life. He swung off and
+dashed into thick jungle, but not before I could get another shot at
+him. The undergrowth closed around him and hid him from our sight. We
+followed at once on his track and found the bushes and grass splashed
+with blood. Every moment I expected to come upon him lying dead or
+dying. None of our shots had missed him; so he carried eight bullets
+from my heavy rifle and two from Draj Khan's carbine. It seemed
+impossible that he could live long. The trail was an easy one to follow
+and we found no difficulty in distinguishing it from old tracks; for he
+was evidently limping badly. One of his forelegs seemed to be useless;
+and where he had passed across a dry river-bed we found the impressions
+of three sound feet and the marks of the fourth trailing helplessly. But
+for all that we did not overtake him until we had covered three miles.
+We came upon him standing head towards us under a tree in thorny
+undergrowth. We stopped Khartoum about thirty yards from him; and he
+never moved as we took deliberate aim. We fired; and the shock of my
+heavy bullet in the skull drove him back on his haunches in the
+undergrowth. But again he recovered his footing and dashed away before
+we could get in a second shot. I was absolutely amazed at his tenacity
+of life and began to think that it was useless wasting lead on him; but
+we forced our way through the thorns and followed until the sun sank
+low in the sky. Then, marking a spot where the trail led across a broad
+and empty river-bed, I gave the order to turn Khartoum's head towards
+camp, resolved to take up the pursuit next day. I thought it highly
+probable that we should find the animal dead; for he now had twelve
+bullets in him.
+
+At the time the detachment was inhabiting a stockaded post we had built
+in the jungle; and the men were out practising bush warfare in the
+forest every day. The spot where I first encountered the rogue was
+hardly a mile from this post. It was imperative that I should find and
+finally dispose of him, for I could not expose my sepoys to the danger
+of an unexpected meeting with him while engaged in their work; and the
+jungle would be absolutely unsafe while he was in the neighbourhood. He
+was almost undoubtedly the elephant which had wounded Jhansi and killed
+the Gurkha; and there were probably many more crimes to his account. His
+first unprovoked attack on us, and the daring of his repeated charges
+after being wounded, showed that he was a vicious and formidable brute;
+and the forest would be uninhabitable until he had been slain or driven
+far away.
+
+When we reached camp that night I held a council of war with Captain
+Balderston and our native officers. It was resolved that I should take
+out with me next day one of our _subhedars_, a fine old Rajput named
+Sohanpal Singh, and his orderly on a second elephant. We determined to
+bring blankets and food with us, so that we could follow the trail for
+days if necessary, bivouacking wherever night found us. I hoped that,
+badly wounded as the animal was, the pursuit would not be a long one;
+but I was prepared to carry it on for days, if necessary.
+
+[Illustration: SUBHEDAR SOHANPAL SINGH.]
+
+At daybreak we started out, Sohanpal Singh and his orderly on Dundora,
+while Draj Khan and I led the way on Khartoum. The three were armed with
+Government ·303 rifles, while I had my cordite rifle. Our blankets were
+strapped on the pads, and our haversacks were filled with food. I
+carried a loaf of bread and a tin of corned beef in mine; while my
+Thermos flask was filled with limejuice and boiled water. Thus equipped,
+we started out amidst the cheers of the sepoys, who had been deeply
+interested in the account of the fights we had had on the previous day.
+Our route lay by a jungle village called Rungamutti, two miles from our
+stockade; and a couple of hours after we had passed it we picked up the
+elephant's trail.
+
+The jungle across the river-bed where we had stopped the pursuit was at
+first fairly open; and I hoped that we should find our quarry in it. We
+came on the spot where he had passed the night. The grass was pressed
+down all around and was covered with blood. This was encouraging; and we
+went on full of hope. Suddenly through the trees we caught sight of an
+elephant standing sideways to us. The mahouts halted their animals and
+we brought our rifles to the ready.
+
+But Bechan whispered, "That is not the _budmash_, Sahib. See, it has no
+tusks."
+
+It was a _muckna_ or tuskerless male. These are generally timid beasts,
+being constantly bullied in the herds by the males provided by Nature
+with weapons of offence. As soon as this one caught sight of us it
+bolted away through the jungle. We watched its headlong flight and then
+continued on the trail. A mile or two further on the jungle had the
+appearance of an English wood and the ground was carpeted with ferns. In
+an open glade we saw another elephant. It was a female; and, although it
+turned its head and looked at us, it did not evince any alarm. So I
+determined to try to secure a photograph of it. I handed my rifle to
+Draj Khan and took up my Kodak. The wild elephant stood still while I
+opened and adjusted the camera and pressed the bulb. As soon as the
+click of the shutter announced that the operation was over, she turned
+and moved slowly off into the jungle, while I waved my hat to her and
+expressed my thanks for her courtesy in waiting until I had taken her
+portrait. Unfortunately I had been too far off to secure a really good
+photograph, which was to be regretted, for such pictures are, naturally,
+extremely rare.
+
+After her departure we moved on again. The forest grew denser; and the
+thick and entangled undergrowth delayed our progress; for, of course, a
+tame elephant with a pad and men on her back cannot slip through it as
+easily as an unencumbered wild one can do. So we were continually
+obliged to make detours and could not follow the trail closely.
+
+About eleven o'clock in the morning a sudden crash in the jungle a
+hundred yards ahead of us startled our elephants. Before the _mahouts_
+could stop them they swung round and stampeded. It was my first
+experience of being bolted with; and it was decidedly unpleasant.
+Dundora, which had been behind, was now leading, and dashed through the
+trees, followed closely by Khartoum. As the noise had apparently been
+caused by the rogue, I tried to turn round on the pad, ready to fire.
+And doing so, while at the same time endeavouring to hold on and dodge
+the boughs and creepers overhead, was no easy task. Over and over again
+I was nearly swept off. Luckily the _mahouts_ soon got their elephants
+in hand and stopped them. Then we cautiously advanced again, expecting
+every moment that the rogue would charge out on us. But when we reached
+the spot whence the noise had proceeded we found by the trail that he
+had been lying down and, startled by our appearance, had risen and fled.
+We urged our elephants forward. The chase was becoming exciting. We
+followed as fast as we could go, hoping every minute to catch sight of
+the quarry. The jungle was growing more difficult and we made slow
+progress.
+
+[Illustration: "WE SAW ANOTHER ELEPHANT."]
+
+At last, after three hours, we heard him. He was concealed in a dense
+thicket of thorny undergrowth. We skirted cautiously round it, hoping to
+see him and get a shot. But, although we could hear him, he was
+completely hidden. At length my native officer said:
+
+"Sahib, why should we men be afraid of an animal? Let us attack him on
+foot."
+
+The plucky old man had, in his own country and armed only with a sword,
+ridden at a tiger; but he did not realise that we were now facing a far
+more dangerous foe. His proposal was madness. The jungle was almost
+impenetrable, and we could not see five yards ahead in it. But before I
+could dissuade him the gallant old Rajput slid from Dundora's back,
+followed by his orderly, and walked towards the thicket. It was useless
+to try and stop him; so, cursing his foolhardiness, I dropped to the
+ground with Draj Khan. As I had the best rifle I pushed the others aside
+and got in front. But I had to reckon with the devotion of the native
+soldier for his British officer. They tried to prevent me from taking
+the post of danger and pulled me back. We had a ridiculous struggle for
+precedence, which was liable to be turned into a tragedy by the rogue's
+appearance at any moment. With difficulty I had my own way; though I
+certainly felt no desire to go first into what I knew was a mad
+undertaking. But it was only when I tried to force my way into the
+thicket that I fully realised our folly. The tangled vegetation was
+composed of thickly interlaced thorny bushes; I can only compare it to
+strong fishing-nets studded freely with hooks. Torn and bleeding from a
+dozen scratches I tried to worm my way in. Then to my horror I heard the
+rogue bursting through it at us. I was pinned down by the thorny
+branches, bound around by pliant creepers, unable to stand upright or
+even raise my rifle. I certainly thought that my last hour had come;
+for, securely pinioned by the cruel vegetation, I was helpless. The men
+behind me were in the same plight. But at that moment the _mahouts_
+saved us. Realising our extreme danger, they bravely urged their
+elephants into the thicket after us. The rogue at the sight of them
+stopped dead. Though he was not five yards from me, I could not
+distinguish him clearly, so dense was the undergrowth, but could only
+make out portions of his body through the tangle. He retreated a few
+paces, and we tried to scramble out. I could not turn; but shoving my
+legs out backwards, I tore myself free from the vicious thorns and
+retired face to the foe. My rifle was at full cock and I was afraid
+that the triggers might be caught by the twigs, but I dared not lower
+the hammers. Foot by foot I forced my way back slowly and painfully.
+When I reached the edge of the thicket, my men, who had extricated
+themselves, seized me and dragged me out. We looked at each other. I
+don't know what colour I was; but my men were as nearly pale as it is
+possible for a native to be. Even my brave old _subhedar's_ courage was
+shaken. He had lost all desire to enter the thicket again, for the
+danger had been really great. Had the rogue not stopped of his own
+accord nothing could have saved me, and probably the others, from a most
+unpleasant death. Of course I ought never to have attempted to enter the
+undergrowth, as I had fully realised the foolhardiness of it; but I
+could not allow my sepoys to believe that I was afraid. However,
+everybody now had quite enough of the attack on foot and gladly mounted
+the elephants. We did so one by one, the others standing with rifles
+ready to repel an assault. We circled round the thicket cautiously,
+hoping to find an easier line of approach. Suddenly our vicious
+antagonist came charging through the dense undergrowth straight at
+Khartoum. I halted her ten yards from the edge of the covert. I could
+vaguely make out the rogue's vast bulk bursting through the tangle, and
+raised my rifle. Half his body was clear of the jungle, the head thrown
+up, the trunk curled and the single tusk pointed menacingly at me, when
+I fired straight at his forehead. The force of the blow drove him back
+on his haunches into the undergrowth; while the native officer and the
+two orderlies poured a volley into his side, one of the men getting in a
+second shot. I could not see him clearly enough to give him the other
+barrel, and I expected to hear him collapse at last. But, inconceivable
+as it seems, he recovered himself, swung about and bolted out of the
+other side of the thicket. I could hardly believe it; but we heard him
+plainly enough as he dashed off through the jungle. I began to think
+that it really was useless to waste lead on him; but we followed. He was
+lost to sight; but the trail was plain. I looked at my watch; it was two
+o'clock in the afternoon. From that hour until night fell we kept up the
+pursuit. Obliged to desist owing to the darkness, I determined to
+bivouac in the forest. We were now too far from the camp to return to
+it. So we made our way along a river-bed until, near the foot of the
+hills, we found water in it. Then dismounting we let our elephants drink
+and prepared for the night. As the tracks of wild animals abounded in
+the sand near the edge of the water, for the stream disappeared into the
+ground here and it was the last drinking-place for miles, I ordered
+fires to be lit around us; for, in the dark, wild elephants attracted by
+Dundora and Khartoum might rush over us, or a hungry tiger might be
+unable to resist the temptation of an easy meal provided by sleeping
+men. My companions ate the _chupatties_ or flour cakes they carried with
+them; while I dined on my bread and preserved meat. Then, telling off
+one of our number to keep watch in turn, we rolled ourselves in our
+blankets and lay down to sleep. A chill wind blew down from the
+mountains and the damp sand made a cold bed; but in a few minutes
+everyone but the sentry and I was asleep. I heard our elephants chained
+on the bank tearing the branches from the trees near them. A sudden
+spurt of flame from the fires lit up their huge bodies, which were
+vague and shadowy in the flickering light. I looked at the stars
+overhead and the faint outline of the mountains towering over us, until
+at last fatigue overpowered me and I slept.
+
+At daybreak next morning we turned out. On going to wash in the stream
+we found the "pugs"[5] of a panther in the sand about fifty yards from
+our bivouac, while a couple of hundred yards farther away the huge
+footprints of elephants were plainly visible; so our fires had probably
+saved us from some unwelcome visitors. I had to make a frugal breakfast
+on the heel of the loaf and the last fragments of tinned meat, washed
+down by a drink from the stream. The blankets were rolled up and
+strapped on the elephants' backs; and we started to pick up the trail.
+We found it without difficulty and followed it all day. It led us
+towards the south away from the hills. But we could not come up with the
+rogue. Night found us in the vicinity of a tea garden, the manager of
+which I had met once; so I determined to claim his hospitality. When we
+reached his bungalow I learned that he had ridden over to a neighbouring
+estate, but was expected back to dinner. His native overseers took
+charge of my party and found them food and shelter. After a long wait in
+the bungalow I yielded to the persuasions of the owner's servant and ate
+the excellent dinner he provided for me; then I lay down in the
+guest-room and fell asleep. At midnight I was awakened by the return of
+my unwitting host, who, however, made me thoroughly welcome when he
+discovered me. And next morning before I started off on the pursuit
+again he loaded me with supplies.
+
+To record the incidents of what proved a long, weary and fruitless chase
+would fill a volume. For nine days more we followed the trail, never far
+behind the rogue but never catching sight of him. He led us first into
+the dense and tropical vegetation of the jungles around Rajabhatkawa,
+where we forced our way through luxuriant tree-ferns, their undersides
+studded thick with long curved thorns. On the second day we were passing
+through tall elephant grass with waving plumes that nodded high over our
+heads. We followed a path made by the passage of wild animals. The two
+orderlies were on foot in front, picking up the trail, when we heard,
+fifty yards ahead, the rogue crashing suddenly through the jungle. The
+startled men turned and ran towards our elephants which, alarmed at the
+sight of their terror, turned sharp and stampeded. Having been leading,
+I now found myself looking down the muzzle of Sohanpal Singh's rifle as
+he swung round ready to fire over Dundora's tail if the rogue chased us.
+Luckily in the tall grass there was no danger of our being swept off the
+pads; and the _mahouts_ soon stopped their animals and brought them
+back. But when we got clear of the cover we found that it lined the bank
+of a broad, empty river-bed across which our prey had escaped while our
+elephants had been retreating. In the sand we found his unmistakable
+track with the useless foreleg dragging helplessly over the ground. Had
+our animals not bolted at the critical moment we would have reached the
+river-bank in time to have a clear shot at him as he crossed in the
+open. For the remainder of the chase we never got so close to him again.
+
+Wherever night found us we bivouacked; unless a lucky chance brought us
+near a tea garden, where I sought the planters' unfailing hospitality.
+Men whose names I did not know welcomed me with the cordiality of old
+friends and made me and my train comfortable for the night. I found that
+I was known to most by reputation as the lunatic who had walked up to a
+notorious rogue elephant with only a camera in his hand. All gladly
+aided me in my venture; for I learned that the brute I was pursuing was
+infamous throughout the district. Everyone had a tale to tell of him,
+and never to his credit. On one garden he had entered the coolies'
+village and, finding a native baby in his path, had picked it up in his
+trunk and hurled it on to the roof of a hut. Alarmed by its cries the
+parents had rushed out only to be met and trampled to death by the
+murderous brute. On another garden the manager and a friend were
+strolling in the dusk along a road within two hundred yards of the
+bungalow. Smoking and chatting, they were all unconscious of the fact
+that this rogue was stalking silently towards them intent on murder.
+Suddenly the planter's terrier saw it and rushed barking at it.
+Frightened as all elephants are of dogs, the animal turned off the road
+and plunged in among the tea bushes; and it was only then that his
+intended victims perceived him. My bullets were by no means the first
+that he had received. He had been shot at and wounded over and over
+again. One planter advised me, if I eventually succeeded in killing him,
+to exploit his body as a lead mine.
+
+Hope springs eternal in the sportsman's breast; and day after day I set
+out at dawn cheered by the expectation that surely this day must bring
+the chase to a successful conclusion. As we started at five or six
+o'clock each morning and kept on the move until 6 p.m., we must have
+covered altogether well over two hundred miles in the pursuit, as we
+averaged a mile and a half in the hour. The rogue seemed to know that we
+were on his track and changed his direction frequently. Strange were the
+sights I saw and varied the wild jungles we traversed. Sometimes for
+hours we pushed our way through brakes of tough cane. Sometimes we
+passed for miles under huge trees in grassy land. Once in the forest
+Khartoum stopped short so suddenly that I was nearly thrown off her pad.
+As she backed away the _mahout_ pointed to a great snake twelve or
+thirteen feet long wriggling away from almost under her forelegs. The
+glimpses I got of it showed it to be the terrible king-cobra.
+
+For the first four days of the chase we had found no droppings left by
+the fleeing elephant. Then we came on some, small, hard and black with
+coagulated blood. And only on the sixth day did we discover traces of
+where he had begun to eat again. And one morning we passed a patch of
+cultivation in the jungle and a peasant who told us that at daybreak he
+had found a lame single-tusker elephant feeding on his crops. When the
+sun rose it moved on again without discovering the man.
+
+At last on the twelfth day since our first encounter I was obliged to
+give up the chase. We found his trail leading across the wide and rapid
+river, the Torsa, which pours down its flood from the mountains of
+Bhutan. My men and animals were worn out by the unceasing pursuit.
+Although the former suffered less than I did from the want of food, for
+every village supplied their wants and I had to depend on the kind
+charity of the planters, yet the irregular meals and the strain told on
+them. They were not spurred on by the same eagerness to kill the rogue
+as I. But greatly disappointed as I was at being unable to compass his
+death, yet I thought that at least we had rid our jungles of his
+dangerous presence; so, sadly and reluctantly, I yielded to my
+followers' entreaties and turned our elephants' heads towards home.
+
+We really had deserved better fortune. We had done our best to kill the
+rogue, and nothing but the most astonishing fortune had saved him. One
+bullet out of the many half an inch to one side or the other would have
+given us the victory. And we had shot calmly and steadily. I was sure
+that not one of our bullets had missed him, which of course was not
+astonishing, as they had all been fired at the closest range. Yet I have
+seen a man miss a fourteen-hand _sambhur_ at ten yards. But with this
+elephant I knew that every shot had struck. I have never heard of so
+long and continuous a pursuit of one animal as ours had been. But the
+fact remained that with ten solid bullets from my heavy rifle, and seven
+from the Lee-Enfields, the brute still lived to mock us, and to do
+worse. For three weeks from the day when we ended the chase on the banks
+of the Torsa the rogue was back again in our jungles and attacked the
+tame elephants of an Indian Civil Servant near Buxa Road Station.
+Needless to say, I was off again after him the moment I heard of this
+fresh outrage. But all in vain. And a few months afterwards while I was
+lying dangerously ill in Buxa the brute surprised a Bhuttia and his wife
+in the jungle three miles from Santrabari and trampled the woman to
+death; and, for aught I know, still carrying our bullets he yet lives
+to terrorise the forest. May we meet again! And yet, when I think how
+narrowly I escaped an agonising death under his terrible feet, I should
+perhaps be thankful that the chances of our meeting are small; for
+hundreds of miles of India now divide us.
+
+It is fortunate that in sudden danger one has not time to think; for if,
+in the nerve-trying moment when a man stands facing the onrush of a
+charging elephant, a vivid imagination painted to his eyes the awful
+fate in store for him should the bullet fail to strike home, the rifle
+would drop from his shaking fingers. But though in anticipation the
+heart beats quickly and the breath comes fast, yet when the instant of
+danger comes the nerves turn to steel and the hand never falters. A
+tiger is not always a formidable foe; and one generally meets him on
+advantageous terms. But the wild elephant's charge must be met on ground
+of his own choosing; and the odds are perhaps in his favour. Yet the man
+who has once stopped him in his headlong rush will long to do battle
+with his kind again; and the recollections of the peril escaped acts
+only as a spur.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[5] Footprints.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII
+
+IN TIGER LAND
+
+The tiger in India--His reputation--Wounded tigers--Man-eaters--Game
+killers and cattle thieves--A tiger's residence--Chance
+meetings--Methods of tiger hunting--Beating with elephants--Sitting
+up--A sportsman's patience--The charm of a night watch--A cautious
+beast--A night over a kill--An unexpected visitor--A tantalising
+tiger--A tiger at Asirgarh--A chance shot--Buffaloes as
+trackers--Panthers--The wrong prey--A beat for tiger--The Colonel wounds
+a tiger--A night march--An elusive quarry--A successful beat--A watery
+grave--Skinning a tiger.
+
+
+Would any book on India be complete without a tiger in it? Although he
+is found in many other Asiatic countries--in China they shoot him in
+caves, in Corea there is a whole militia raised to deal with him--yet in
+the popular mind the tiger is particularly associated with Hindustan. No
+distinguished visitor would consider himself properly entertained if one
+were not provided for him to shoot. The young subaltern in England pines
+for the day to come when he will be ordered to India and have his chance
+to face the striped beast in his native jungle.
+
+The usual conception of the tiger is an animal of infinite cunning,
+cruelty and ferocity. Cunning he certainly is; but his reputation for
+ferocity and courage is hardly deserved. He is really rather a harmless
+and timid creature, of a decidedly shy and retiring disposition,
+avoiding, rather than courting, notoriety. Sanderson, one of the
+greatest authorities on sport in India, argues that the tiger is
+actually a public benefactor, inasmuch as he kills off old and sick
+cattle which, since the pious Hindu would not put them to death, would
+otherwise linger on spreading disease among the herds. Natives, near
+whose village a tiger takes up his residence, betray no fear of him and
+go about their daily avocations in his vicinity as indifferently as if
+he did not exist. I have seen women drawing water from a stream not a
+hundred yards from the spot where half an hour later I drove a tiger
+from his lair. For, except in rare cases, these animals prefer to give
+man a wide berth, and, when stumbled upon accidentally, will usually
+effect a rapid retreat if they can. Of course a wounded tiger followed
+up is an exceedingly dangerous foe. Furious with pain, exhausted and in
+agony, he will turn savagely on his pursuers; and then a quick eye and
+steady rifle are needed to check him in his fierce charge. Even shot
+through the heart he may retain sufficient vitality to reach and maul
+his aggressor, then perhaps fall dead on his mangled victim without
+killing him outright. But few men wounded by a tiger ever recover; for
+the shock and the blood-poisoning set up by the unclean claws of the
+carrion feeder are almost invariably fatal.
+
+The man-eater is, fortunately, rare; for, having once learned how easy a
+prey human beings prove, he is apt to devote himself too exclusively to
+them; and the total of his victims soon mounts up into the hundreds. The
+man-eater is made, not born. Sometimes it is an old beast no longer
+agile enough to surprise the animals of the forest or even bring down a
+stray cow, but still supple enough to spring upon some unwary
+wood-cutter or villager. Natives believe that human flesh disagrees with
+a tiger's digestion, and point in proof to the mangy state of most
+man-eaters' hides. But the reason of this is that the animal is
+generally old or sick. Sometimes, however, the tiger who takes to the
+slaughter of human beings is a young and vigorous beast. He has probably
+some time or other been disturbed over a kill or foiled in an attempt to
+carry off cattle by some rashly courageous individual, and in anger or
+the desperation of hunger has slain the intruder. Finding that after all
+man is not a formidable enemy and quite palatable, he continues to prey
+on him and in time almost devastates a whole district. He becomes a
+public character and attracts more attention than he likes. Government
+gazettes honour him with a notice proclaiming him. A price is set on his
+head. White men come from all sides to hunt him down; and the
+unfortunate animal knows no peace until a lucky bullet lays him low.
+Scared natives regard him as an evil spirit and set up altars to him.
+And yet it is extraordinary how indifferent the inhabitants of a
+district ravaged by a man-eater become to his presence. I have seen a
+postman jog-trotting along night after night on a road on which two men
+had been killed and eaten by a tiger the week before. The man's
+ridiculous little spear and bells would have been no protection against
+the Striped Death springing on him out of the darkness; but he had his
+living to make. His orders were to carry the mail-bag along that stretch
+of road every night; so with true Oriental fatalism he jogged on,
+seemingly indifferent to the chances of an unlucky meeting.
+
+The man-eater being an exception, tigers may be classified as game
+slayers and cattle killers. Those haunting a jungle where _sambhur_,
+_cheetul_, pig and small antelopes abound take their toll of them. A
+monkey is quite a delicate morsel, if they can catch an unwary _bunder_
+on the ground or fetch him from a low bough by an unexpected spring.
+Those that take up their residence in cultivated country usually prey on
+the cattle grazing in the scrub jungle near the villages. A tiger
+generally rules over a stretch of ground about five miles square and
+keeps strictly within his own domain. Any intruder of his own sex is
+speedily ejected. But it is a curious fact that when a tiger is shot,
+another quickly appears and takes up his abode in the defunct animal's
+dominions. A certain patch of jungle, a particular _nullah_, may be the
+residence of a tiger which is known to be the only one for miles round.
+But if he is killed his habitat is almost certain of another striped
+tenant very soon.
+
+The game slayer is not often seen, living as he does in the heart of the
+jungle and prowling mostly by night. The cattle lifter levies
+contributions from the villages in his district in turn, usually killing
+a cow every two or three days. He takes up his residence for the time
+being near the carcass in some shady spot close to water. He eats about
+sixty or eighty pounds of beef at his first meal, goes to drink and lies
+up during the day to digest his heavy meal, returning at night to feed
+again. If any villager happens to blunder in on his privacy during his
+siesta, he gives a low, warning growl which usually suffices to scare
+the intruder off. The natives pay little heed to him and go about their
+usual pursuits without heeding his proximity.
+
+On my first introduction to the jungle--it was in the Central Provinces
+years ago--I had a wholesome respect for tigers. When I learned that one
+lived in the particular part of the forest where I went shooting, I used
+to feel anything but comfortable as I wandered about in search of
+_sambhur_. I marvelled at the unconcerned way in which even women and
+children traversed this jungle from village to village. One day I
+climbed down into a deep, narrow ravine in the hope of finding a stag
+sheltering in it from the unpleasantly hot sun. Suddenly from a clump of
+bushes above my head came a deep "Wough! wough!" like the bark of a
+great dog; and a tiger crashed out of it and bounded up and over the
+edge of the _nullah_. I swung my rifle round; but he was out of sight
+before the butt touched my shoulder. My _shikaree_ (native hunter) cried
+"Bagh! Bagh! (A tiger! a tiger!)" and rushed up past me after the
+vanished animal. Rather unwillingly I clambered up too; and I was
+decidedly relieved when, on emerging from the ravine, I found that the
+ground was covered with grass six feet high, so that pursuit of the
+tiger was hopeless. However, on calmly considering the matter
+afterwards, I came to the conclusion that the beast was even more afraid
+of me than I of him. So I devoted much time and attention to trying to
+meet him again. Many a night did I sit up for him over a cow tied up as
+a bait. Time after time I followed his footprints by day and tried to
+walk him up near the carcass of some deer he had killed and half-eaten.
+But never again did I see him.
+
+A few months ago in the Kanera Forests I was wandering about one
+afternoon, shot-gun in hand, in search of jungle fowl for the pot,
+about half a mile from the Government _dâk_ bungalow--or rest-house--in
+which I was staying. I was making my way along a narrow path. Just as I
+reached a spot where it came out on a small clearing in the forest, I
+heard some heavy animal forcing its way through the undergrowth about
+forty yards to my left. I stepped out into the open and looked in the
+direction from whence came the sound, which stopped as soon as I
+appeared. I stood still for a couple of minutes. Suddenly a tiger, which
+had evidently been watching me, gave a deep roar and crashed off through
+the thick jungle. It was useless to try to follow him up even if I had
+had a rifle instead of a shot-gun. The setting sun warned me that I must
+hurry home; so I continued on my way. Two hundred yards further on the
+path led down into a narrow _nullah_ with steep banks. Here I found the
+fresh prints of the tiger's paws in the mud, the water just oozing into
+them. Had I come along a few minutes earlier we would have met face to
+face in the narrow way; and the chances were that, in his hurry to
+escape, he would have charged me and knocked me down. And a blow from a
+tiger's paw is not a caress to be courted. But the two incidents will
+show that these animals are generally anxious to avoid men.
+
+Native _shikarees_ frequently sit up over water for tigers; but European
+sportsmen usually adopt one of the three following methods. The first
+and most effective is to shoot them from elephants; but this does not
+often fall to the lot of the average man. I was fortunate in having the
+opportunity in Buxa. The second method is to mark down where the animal
+is lying up after a kill and have him driven by a line of beaters to
+the spot where the sportsman is concealed.
+
+In the Central Provinces I went out one day with a friend who had
+arranged such a beat for a tiger which had killed a cow tied up as a
+bait for him near a village. After a ten miles' drive we reached this
+village; and, having had an early start, we breakfasted under a tree on
+a hillock just above a long _nullah_ which seamed the bare, brown fields
+with a winding line of green. Below us the hundred and sixty coolies
+collected as beaters squatted and smoked until the Sahibs were ready.
+Just as we had finished our meal, a cow burst out of the jungle in the
+_nullah_ and dashed in among the groups of men. They caught her and
+became very excited over her. We could see them crowding round her,
+talking volubly. Then the cow was led up to us; and we found that she
+was bleeding from a wound in the throat. All down her flanks and rump
+ran long scratches as if from the claws of a monster cat. This told us
+plainly that the tiger we were in quest of was still in the _nullah_ and
+that the cow had stumbled on him unawares. The tiger had evidently tried
+to seize it but, gorged with his night's meal, missed the fatal
+neck-breaking spring and, as the cow fled, struck out and clawed it
+behind.
+
+The coolies cried "Wah! wah! the _shaitan's_ (devil's) last day has
+dawned. See how the cow has come straight to the Sahib's feet to show
+her wounds and claim justice!" I am afraid the animal's bovine
+intelligence was not equal to this, but, in terror, she was only making
+for her village and safety.
+
+We waited under our tree until the day was at its hottest, so that the
+tiger, when driven, would be all the more reluctant to face the burning
+sun in the open and would retreat along the _nullah_ in the shade; for
+where the ravine forked off in two branches _machâns_, strong wooden
+platforms, had been built for us up in the trees, one commanding each
+branch. We took a short cut across the open in the terrific heat. The
+pitiless sun beat down on us as we walked over the shadeless fields, and
+seemed to boil the brains in our skulls. It was a relief to reach the
+_nullah_ and the cool shelter of the trees in it. We climbed up into our
+respective _machâns_, which were about a mile away from where the
+beaters were to begin the drive. I could see my friend perched up in his
+tree across the bank dividing his branch of the _nullah_ from mine. This
+bank was covered with undergrowth from which sprang a line of trees. In
+these a number of _langurs_--the big grey apes with black faces
+surrounded by a fringe of white whisker, which gives them a comic
+resemblance to aged negroes, a resemblance increased by their white
+eyebrows--were playing. They came to look at us, leaping from bough to
+bough, stooping and craning their necks to see us as we sat hidden by
+the leafy screens around our _machâns_. Then, their curiosity satisfied,
+they continued their play and swung through the branches away in the
+direction of the beaters. For a couple of hours I sat drowsing in the
+intense heat. The silence was profound. Suddenly loud cries, the
+drumming of tom-toms, and the tapping of sticks against tree-trunks,
+told me that the drive had begun. I looked to my rifle and sat ready.
+The noise drew nearer; every nerve in my body was aquiver. Then in the
+tree-tops pandemonium broke loose. The _langurs_ were coming back
+towards us, leaping from branch to branch, shrieking, chattering with
+rage at something moving along beneath them. It was evidently the tiger,
+their foe as well as ours, which was trying to steal away silently
+before the beaters. The apes seemed to know his design and to be
+endeavouring to foil him. I really believe that they realised that our
+presence boded no good to him; for several looked at me as much as to
+say:
+
+"Here he is. He is trying to escape. We won't let him creep off
+unnoticed."
+
+I had read of this extraordinary behaviour on the part of monkeys during
+a beat in Captain Forsyth's interesting book, "The Highlands of Central
+India"; but I could scarcely credit it. But now I saw these _langurs_
+following the tiger's progress and shrieking abuse down at him. He
+seemed to be coming straight for me; and my heart rejoiced. But suddenly
+from the change of direction of the apes I saw that he had turned,
+crossed the dividing bank, and was going down the other _nullah_. Then I
+heard a deep short growl; and at the same moment my friend's rifle went
+up to his shoulder and he fired. Mad with excitement and furious at
+being unable to see what was happening, I did a very foolish thing. I
+slipped down from my tree and dashed through the undergrowth to the
+brink of the _nullah_. I saw the tiger rush across the narrow ravine and
+spring up the opposite bank, which was higher than the one on which I
+stood. Near the top his strength seemed to fail him. He clung on
+desperately, unable to pull himself up. My friend fired again; and the
+brute, struck in the foreleg, dropped back into the _nullah_. He rolled
+over and over in agony, biting at his paws and tearing them with his
+teeth. I fired at his shoulder. Even then he rolled about for a few
+minutes; and then his head fell back, his frame stiffened and he lay
+still.
+
+The shot drew my friend's attention to me; for he had not noticed me on
+the ground. He shouted angrily:
+
+"Go back, you fool. Get up your tree. There is a second tiger in the
+beat."
+
+I well deserved his uncomplimentary epithet; for, had the first animal
+sprung up the low bank on which I stood we would have met face to face.
+I hurriedly scrambled up again and sat with my rifle ready, until I saw
+first one man, then another and another, appear in the _nullah_; and
+finally the whole line of beaters reached us. There had been a tigress
+in the drive as well; but she had broken out to one side. She passed a
+tree in which a man had been placed as a "stop"; but, although he flung
+his _puggri_ in her face, she was not to be turned, and escaped out over
+the fields. I climbed down again and cautiously approached the tiger,
+keeping my rifle ready lest there might be some life in him still. I
+have known a sportsman to walk up to an apparently dead tiger and pull
+its tail, to be laid low the next moment by a blow from the animal's
+paw. Some of our coolies threw stones at the body; and as these elicited
+no response I walked up to the beast and found it dead. As the natives
+try to steal the whiskers, which they believe to have a certain magical
+power, I mounted guard until a litter had been made from cut branches to
+convey the tiger to the village for skinning. Arrived there the local
+flayers were set to work. The dead brute looked the embodiment of
+strength; and I marvelled at the masses of muscle the knives disclosed
+in the thick limbs. The first bullet had struck behind the shoulder; and
+when the carcass was cut open we found a hole the size of a florin right
+through the heart. Yet even with this wound the animal had been able to
+dash across the _nullah_ and spring up the bank. It showed that a tiger
+shot through the heart could reach and kill a man before falling dead
+itself. The other wounds were in the foreleg and ribs. The natives did
+not leave a scrap of flesh on the bones. For it and certain parts of the
+tiger are supposed to endow anyone who eats them with courage and
+vigour; and crowds of women came to carry off their husbands' share of
+the meat. The fat--such layers of it, white and firm, on the well-fed
+cattle thief--is boiled down for oil, which is considered a sovereign
+remedy for rheumatism. The skin was pegged out, hair downwards, on the
+ground and scraped clean, then covered with wood ashes. And the last
+stage of the proceedings consisted in the beaters being assembled and
+paid their wages--fourpence a man. Had the drive been unsuccessful, they
+would have only received twopence each. It seems little reward for
+disturbing a sleeping tiger; but the coolies were quite satisfied.
+
+The cause of the _langurs_ rage was evident when a beater brought us the
+half-eaten body of one of their number which he had found near the spot
+where the tiger had been sleeping. My friend told me that he was able to
+mark the brute's progress through the undergrowth by the movements of
+the apes above him. The tiger had come out from the cover into the clear
+bed of the _nullah_ with his head turned over his shoulder glaring up at
+them in anger. And the deep growl I had heard was uttered against these
+betrayers of his flight.
+
+This is a fair example of the second method of tiger shooting. But
+neither it nor the first are possible in very dense forest; and then
+"sitting up" must be tried. This consists of tying up a cow near a
+_nullah_ or patch of jungle in which the tiger is suspected or known to
+be. If he kills and eats part of it, a _machân_ is built in a tree close
+to the carcass and concealed by a tree of leafy branches. On this the
+sportsman takes up his position in the afternoon and tries to shoot the
+tiger when he returns to feed on the kill at dusk or later on moonlight
+nights. Sometimes he is obliged to wait till dawn. This is the method
+which least often proves effective. It is particularly tantalising and
+demands the patience of a Job. From about 4 p.m. to 6 a.m. the hunter
+must sit still in a cramped position. He scarcely dares to move his
+limbs, must make no noise, cannot smoke; if he has brought food with him
+he must consume it quietly. The dead cow, specially in the hot weather,
+offends his nostrils with a terrible stench. And thus, sickened by the
+awful odour, tormented by mosquitoes, he must sit through the night,
+every sense on the alert. He dare not drowse, for he cannot tell at what
+moment the quarry may appear. And the tiger is a cautious beast. If he
+does return to the kill, he will generally prowl around for some time
+before approaching it; and if he scents the waiting man in the tree
+above or anything arouses his suspicions, he will melt away without a
+sound into the darkness, leaving the hunter's vigil unrewarded.
+
+Yet sitting up is not without its charm. While daylight lasts it is
+interesting to watch the carrion feeders hastening to snatch a mouthful
+of the feast Chance has provided for them, always on the alert lest the
+rightful owner of the banquet should suddenly appear. High overhead a
+dim speck is seen against the sky. It grows larger and clearer, sinks
+down and, wheeling in great circles, reveals itself as a vulture.
+Another and another follow and, gradually descending, perch on the trees
+around. An impudent grey-headed crow pushes in before them and alights
+close to the dead cow. Then hopping on to the carcass it cocks its head
+impertinently at the less courageous vultures and begins to dig its beak
+into the putrid flesh. The big birds flop heavily to the ground and with
+much rustling of wings, shoving, hustling, angry squawks and vicious
+pecks at each other, begin their meal. But up fly the birds as a couple
+of jackals make their appearance and slink furtively to the kill. While
+they feed they look around apprehensively and start at every sound. The
+vultures flap over towards the dead cow again and demand their share of
+the good things that Chance has provided. The jackals snarl and snap at
+them, driving them off with short rushes. But suddenly they bolt
+themselves, as a dozen fox-like little beasts with reddish skins, sharp
+ears and handsome brushes trot up to the kill. These are the dreaded
+wild dogs which decimate the game in the jungle. They hungrily tear at
+the flesh, quarrelling and snapping at each other, ready to fly if the
+tiger appears. If the carcass is near water a white-and-black,
+long-legged bird is certain to be hovering about, crying plaintively and
+incessantly: "Did he do it? Did he--did he--did he do it?" until the
+exasperated watcher in the tree longs to shoot him. Then the sun sets,
+the noises of the day sink into silence; but the jungle wakes.
+
+In the forest below Buxa lived a very large tiger which vexed my soul
+exceedingly. Generations of commanding officers had pursued him in vain;
+and the task was handed down as a legacy from each to his successor for
+years. Fired at once, and possibly wounded, over a live cow tied up as
+bait, he was never to be tempted to approach another. Inspired to
+compass his death by the impressions of his huge paws, which I often
+found in the sand of river-beds, I had three cows tied up for weeks in
+different _nullahs_. In the daytime a man whom I employed for the
+purpose took them to graze and water and fastened them up again before
+dark. At first I used to sit up in a tree over one or other of them
+night after night without result. Then I resolved to wait until he had
+killed one. It was equally fruitless. For, although his "pugs" or
+footprints, were often to be traced coming up the _nullah_ and diverging
+towards the cow tied up in it, they always showed that he had turned
+abruptly and made off as soon as he discovered the nature of the bait.
+
+At last one day news was brought to me that he had killed a _sambhur_
+hind in the forest. As it was just at full moon, I gave orders that a
+_machân_ should be built in a tree near the carcass. Leaving the fort
+early in the afternoon I descended into the jungle and reached the spot
+about 6 p.m. when there was still some daylight. I found that the
+_sambhur_ had been killed in a _nullah_ a hundred yards off while
+drinking, and had been dragged by the tiger over the top of an almost
+perpendicular bank, up which I found it necessary to pull myself by my
+hands, and then over a small and steep hill. As a full-grown hind
+stands thirteen hands high and weighs five hundred pounds or more, this
+gives one some idea of a tiger's strength. The jungle here consisted of
+high trees with little undergrowth. As it was now the hot season when
+most of the leaves are shed, I noticed with satisfaction that the ground
+around below my _machân_ would be well lighted when the moon rose. My
+orderly and two sturdy-limbed Bhuttia coolies were up in a tree over the
+kill, tying an inverted _charpoy_, or native bed (which makes the best
+and most comfortable _machân_) in a fork, and hanging leafy branches
+around it to screen it from sight. I climbed up and tried to enter it.
+It was awkwardly placed and overhung me. I succeeded in getting my chest
+on the edge, when the rotten framework broke and nearly precipitated me
+to the earth, thirty feet below. I managed to save myself and sat
+astride a branch while one of the coolies cut a few bamboos from a clump
+close by and repaired the damage. Then I got into the _machân_, laid a
+packet of sandwiches and my Thermos flask beside me, loaded my rifle
+and, sending my orderly and the Bhuttias away, settled myself for my
+lonely vigil. I amused myself at first by watching the birds preparing
+for the night. A troop of monkeys came to drink in the neighbouring
+_nullah_ and passed overhead, leaping through the branches, hurling
+themselves from tree to tree, chasing each other in play or pausing now
+and then for a comfortable scratch. Mothers with tiny babies clinging
+closely to them sprang across the voids and swung themselves by hand or
+foot. A peacock sailed down majestically from the tree-tops to the water
+and gave its weird cat-like cry. The heavy flapping of wings and an
+eerie wail told of a big owl bestirring itself early. The harsh "honk"
+of a _sambhur_ stag rang out; and the sharp bark of a _khakur_ sounded
+at regular intervals. The sun sank lower and the twittering of the birds
+faded into silence. The drone of the multitudinous insect-life,
+unceasing in the day, yet only heard plainly at the hour when the louder
+sounds of larger life are hushed, seemed to rise now with startling
+distinctness. But even it died; and only the irritating hum of the
+mosquitoes around my head was left to break the complete silence. The
+air was still; and the sudden fall of a withered leaf seemed to echo
+clearly through the hushed forest. There was yet daylight in the sky;
+but a dusky gloom deepened under the trees. I lay down on the _charpoy_,
+peering through my leafy screen at the dead hind. My rifle was uncocked
+beside me, for I judged the hour too early for the tiger's visit; and I
+stretched myself at full length to rest before it would be necessary to
+sit upright with every sense alert for my long watch. Suddenly I was
+roused by the sound of loud footfalls to my rear passing over the dry
+leaves which crackled like tin to the tread. They came without
+hesitation towards my tree; and I thought angrily that it could only be
+one of my coolies returning to me contrary to orders. Without moving my
+body I turned my head around at the risk of dislocating my neck,
+intending to bid him in a loud whisper to go away. To my astonishment,
+instead of a man, I made out in the gloom of the underwood a huge bulk
+that I first took to be a baby elephant. Thirty yards away from my tree
+it stopped; and I saw that it was a large Himalayan bear, which looked
+immense to me after the smaller species of the Central Provinces.
+Fearful of scaring it I lay still in my constrained position. It stood
+motionless and seemed to be staring up at my _machân_. I hurriedly
+debated the question whether I ought to take a shot at it and give up
+all hope of the tiger, whom the sound would alarm, or let it go and wait
+for the greater prize. I decided on the latter course and simply watched
+it. Suddenly it turned and walked away as noisily as it had come. This
+surprised me; for I had imagined that wild animals tried to move
+silently through the forest. But the bear is indifferent to the other
+jungle dwellers; he does not fear the ferocious beasts nor attack the
+harmless ones.
+
+As soon as it had gone I glanced at my watch which showed 6-40 p.m. I
+sat up, cocked my rifle, and held it across my knees. The daylight died
+away in the swift oncoming of the tropic night; but the full moon shone
+overhead and cast the tangled pattern of leaves and branches on the
+ground. For hours I sat, scarcely daring to change my position or move
+my cramped limbs. Suddenly from the direction of the _nullah_ where the
+deer had been killed came the tramping of some heavy animal over the dry
+leaves towards me. The tiger at last! One touch of the hand to assure
+myself that my rifle was cocked and I sat motionless, though the beating
+of my heart sounded loud in my ears. Few sportsmen, after long hours of
+waiting, can hear the approach of their quarry without a quickened
+pulse. The brute walked straight towards the kill. In another second it
+must emerge into the full glare of the moonlight. Stealthily I raised my
+rifle to my shoulder. Alas! just as one step more would have brought it
+out from under the black shadows of the trees, the tiger stopped. For
+minutes that seemed hours it remained motionless. Then it moved back so
+silently that only the sharp crackle of a dry twig farther away told me
+that the animal had gone. What had aroused its suspicions I cannot tell.
+Perhaps it had scented me up in the tree or detected the recent presence
+of humans around its kill. Cursing its cunning, I uncocked my rifle and
+stretched my cramped limbs. It was then half-past eleven. I was strongly
+tempted to lie down and sleep; but I knew that the tiger _might_ return.
+So I continued my watch. It is in the small hours that the vigil becomes
+hardest. About half-past three in the morning I was nodding drowsily,
+when again from the _nullah_ I heard the sound of the animal
+approaching. His tread seemed even more assured than before; and I made
+certain of getting him. But once more, just within the shadow, he
+paused. I strained my ears but could detect no sound. Another few
+minutes of anxious waiting; and then gradually, almost imperceptibly, he
+withdrew. This was the climax. I showered maledictions on his head. I
+had to wait until after six o'clock before one of my elephants came to
+take me on a long day's shoot in the jungle. Before quitting the spot I
+searched the ground and found the tiger's two trails leading up from the
+_nullah_.
+
+The sportsman who tries his luck in "sitting up" must be prepared for
+many disappointments. He may watch night after night and never once see
+his quarry. He may select an evening when the moon is full, only to find
+clouds come up and obscure its light; and then, in the unforeseen
+darkness, he may be tantalised by hearing the tiger come to feed on the
+kill, may listen for an hour to the tearing of flesh and the crunching
+of bones and be utterly unable to get a shot. The adjutant of my
+regiment, Captain Hore, once paid us a visit at Buxa and went shooting
+in our jungles. On his first day he came across the carcass of a
+_sambhur_ killed the previous day by a tiger. So he had a canvas chair
+tied up in a tree over it and climbed up to wait in it for the slayer to
+return. Before daylight faded he saw some wild pigs come and feed on the
+kill. But just as the moon rose they fled hurriedly; and he heard some
+large animal moving in the jungle close by. It prowled cautiously around
+in cover near the carcass for over two hours, but would not show itself.
+Meantime heavy clouds drew across the sky, blotting out the moon and
+shrouding the forest in impenetrable darkness. Suddenly Hore heard the
+prowling tiger leave the cover at last. It sprang out on the carcass as
+though the _sambhur_ were alive and tore and rent it furiously. The
+sound of bones cracked to an accompaniment of snarls and growls came
+clearly to the watcher above; but the darkness was opaque. At last, in
+desperation, he fired in the direction of the noise but missed; and the
+tiger bolted. And the next moment, as though the shot had been the
+signal for the storm, a vivid flash of lightning rent the clouds, a
+terrific peal of thunder sounded overhead, the sky seemed to open and
+pour down sheets of rain. Hore's position was unenviable. The so-called
+waterproof he had with him was wet through in a few minutes. He could
+not put his rifle away from him, yet feared lest it should attract the
+lightning. It was hopeless to descend and try to find his way through
+the forest in the darkness. And so through the weary night, exposed to
+all the fury of a tropical storm, he was obliged to sit shivering in
+his chair, forty feet above the ground. And to add to his annoyance the
+tiger, evidently confusing the flash and report of the shot with the
+lightning and thunder, returned and fed on the kill again, while Hore on
+his uncomfortable perch listened, powerless. And when at six o'clock in
+the morning one of my elephants came to fetch him, it was a very sodden,
+chilled, and miserable individual that climbed from the tree on to its
+pad. But not disheartened he ordered the _mahout_, instead of returning
+to Buxa, to take him for a wide sweep through the jungle in the hope of
+shooting something to console him for the night's disappointment. The
+storm had ceased. Within a mile he came upon a herd of six bison with a
+splendid old bull among them. But the rules of the forest department
+prohibit their being shot in Government jungle; and so the again baffled
+sportsman was forced to let them go unscathed, while they stared at him
+and his elephant for several minutes before they moved away.
+
+Once during the rainy season at Asirgarh I was sitting up over the
+carcass of a white cow in what should have been brilliant moonlight. But
+heavy clouds gathered; and soon all I could see of the kill was a faint
+whitish glimmer. Suddenly this was blotted out, and I heard a crunching
+of bones and tearing of flesh. I could not see my sights, but I fired in
+the direction of the sounds. A terrific howl followed by fiendish
+shrieks and groans told me that I had hit a tiger. I heard him rush off
+thirty or forty yards and throw himself on the ground, where he rolled
+in agony, tearing up the earth and sending the stones rattling down into
+a small _nullah_ beside which he lay. I hoped that I was listening to
+his dying moans; but he got up again and the groaning and snarling died
+away in the distance. There was a village a mile off; so, giving the
+tiger time to get well away, I climbed down and made for it. It was a
+nerve-trying walk in the darkness; for I feared every moment to stumble
+on the wounded beast. However I reached shelter without encountering
+him. I gave my _shikaree_ instructions to bid the cowherds of the
+village be ready with their buffaloes at daybreak to track the tiger.
+For these great black beasts are frequently used in this work. Their
+instinct tells them that the tiger is the enemy of their race; and they
+regard him with savage hatred. In a herd they do not fear him; for the
+hungriest cattle thief will not dare to attack a number of them which
+form round the calves and present to him an impenetrable front of
+lowered heads and sharp horns. On their backs the small children of the
+village who drive them to and from the grazing ground are safe. When a
+sportsman employs them to track a wounded tiger, the herds take them to
+a point where they can scent his trail. As soon as they have smelt it,
+they paw up the earth and bellow with rage, then dash off in pursuit. If
+they come on him lying up wounded and sore under a tree, they will
+charge him if allowed to. And no tiger would dare to face their savage
+onslaught; for little avails his strength and cunning against the fierce
+rush of the infuriated beasts. If he is not too badly hurt, he will
+invariably fly before their attack. If not, then must the sportsman
+shoot quick and the herds exert all their authority to keep the
+buffaloes back; for, if left to themselves, they will rush in on the
+tiger, gore him and stamp him to death under their hoofs. And the skin
+will be of little use as a trophy when they are allowed to work their
+will on the battered carcass.
+
+Having given my orders, I slept in the local police station on a
+_charpoy_ lent me by the _havildar_, or sergeant, in charge. At daylight
+my _shikaree_ woke me and I went out to find about twenty buffaloes
+collected. They were driven out to the kill. The sight of the dead cow
+enraged them. They bellowed and stamped, then snuffing up the trail set
+off at a run across the fields like a pack of hounds. They soon tracked
+the tiger into the jungle. They crashed through the undergrowth, now and
+then at fault, but questing round until they picked up the trail again.
+They followed it up for two or three miles and finally lost it in broken
+and precipitous ground among the low hills. My _shikaree_ assured me
+that it was useless to search further, as the tiger could not have been
+badly wounded and was certain to have retreated to a great distance. To
+my regret I let myself be persuaded; for, a few days after, the sight of
+vultures gathering from all quarters led to the discovery of the tiger's
+body not half a mile from where we had left off. But the carcass was
+putrid and half-eaten, so the skin was useless.
+
+But shooting on chance in the dark is not always productive of the
+desired result. Once when sitting up on a cloudy night for a panther, I
+discharged my rifle at some animal which I could hear, but could not
+see, at the kill. A pandemonium of shrieks and yells told me that by
+good luck my bullet had gone home. I waited for silence, and then,
+having reloaded, climbed down and cautiously approached. But to my
+disappointment, instead of the dead panther which I had hoped to find,
+there lay the corpse of a loathsome hyena. On another occasion when
+sitting up in the middle of a village for a daring leopard which used to
+enter it at night and kill the cattle in their pens, I shot a mangy
+pariah dog in the dark.
+
+A panther is a much bolder animal than a tiger. He generally returns to
+his kill earlier, often in broad daylight. I have seen one come out,
+five minutes after my coolies had left, from some bushes in which he had
+evidently been watching them. Even when shot at and missed or slightly
+wounded they will return the same night to a kill. And sometimes one has
+been known to discover the waiting sportsman in the _machân_ first and
+spring up the tree to attack him unprovoked. So that sitting up for
+these animals is not without its risks.
+
+The method of shooting tiger from elephants undoubtedly gives the best
+sport. Seventeen miles from Buxa Fort the great forest ends abruptly.
+From its ragged edge, five miles above the town of Alipur Duar, the
+cultivated plains stretch away to the south, seamed with _nullahs_ which
+run from inside the jungle through the open fields. They are generally
+deep and filled with low trees and scrub, and as they contain water form
+ideal bases of operation for a tiger issuing from the forest to carry on
+war against herds of cattle in the villages. The striped thief can lie
+up within a few hundred yards of a farm and kill the cows when they come
+to drink. If disturbed, he can retreat up the _nullah_ to the shelter of
+the forest. Consequently the stretch of ground just outside the south
+border of the Terai Jungle is full of tigers.
+
+During a visit from our Colonel to Buxa for his annual inspection I
+received an invitation from Mr Ainslie, the Subdivisional Officer of
+Alipur Duar, to bring my elephants and join him in a beat for a cattle
+thief which was lying up in a _nullah_ three or four miles from the
+town. At that time I had only Khartoum and Dundora; as Jhansi had run
+away to the forest after being attacked by a wild elephant and had been
+missing for months. However, on our arrival, we found Ainslie had
+collected seven; so that we had nine altogether. This number was not a
+great one; but we hoped that it would suffice. Mrs Ainslie was to
+accompany us; for she was a great sportswoman and had shot five tigers
+herself, as well as various panthers, bears and bison. We started out in
+the early morning, crossed the railway line, forded a river--which each
+elephant carefully sounded with its trunk--and reached the _nullah_ in
+which the tiger was reported to be lurking. It was broad and dry, filled
+with scrub and low trees. Ainslie took the Colonel in his howdah; and
+Mrs Ainslie shared mine. Taking up our positions on the bank we sent the
+beater elephants half a mile further on to drive towards us. At a signal
+from Ainslie the beat began. The elephants formed line across the
+_nullah_ and advanced, forcing their way through the jungle. An
+occasional squeal from one of them when the _mahout_ struck it on the
+head for shirking a particularly thorny bit of scrub, the cries of the
+men and the crashing of the huge beasts through the jungle as they
+trampled down the undergrowth and broke off branches from the trees,
+made din enough to scare anything. It soon proved too much for the
+tiger's nerves. My _mahout_ had carelessly allowed his elephant to draw
+back from the edge of the steep bank. I saw a sudden flash of yellow as
+the tiger darted through the scrub along under the overhanging brink in
+such a way that he was sheltered from my rifle. But I shouted a warning
+to the others, who were posted farther down where the bank sloped less
+steeply. The Colonel fired and wounded the beast, which dashed up the
+bank and received a bullet from Ainslie before it was lost to sight in
+the high grass on the level. The beater elephants emerged from the
+_nullah_, surrounded it, and drove it in again. They endeavoured to send
+it to us; but the tiger refused to face the guns a second time and broke
+through their line, my orderly, Draj Khan, hurling a heavy stick at it
+and hitting it as it flashed past his elephant. We tried for it again
+lower down, several times, but without success.
+
+While we were thus engaged it seemed strange to see the mail train pass
+on the railway line not half a mile from us, driver, guard, and
+passengers leaning out to look at us. Leaving the _nullah_ we ranged
+through the long grass on the level and put up a number of wild pigs,
+the Colonel shooting a fine old boar with long tusks as sharp as knives.
+
+Having heard that a panther was supposed to be lying up in another
+_nullah_ a couple of miles away, we took our elephants there and tried a
+beat for it. This time the howdah bearers advanced along the bank in
+line with the beaters, spaced across the _nullah_, which was fairly
+open, with patches of scrub here and there in it. We were unsuccessful
+in finding the panther but were afforded an excellent example of the
+terror with which elephants regard tiny, harmless animals. Over some
+bushes in front of me I caught a glimpse of a hare running through them
+down into the _nullah_. Its course brought it right across the line of
+beaters. Then these huge beasts, which had just faced a wounded tiger
+unmoved, went mad at the sight of it. All trumpeted shrilly, some
+planted their forefeet firmly and refused to advance, others turned and
+stampeded, despite the heavy blows showered on them with the iron
+_ankus_ by the enraged _mahouts_. I saw Ainslie and the Colonel, unable
+to discover the cause of the disturbance, stand up in their howdah,
+clutching their rifles and looking everywhere for the charging panther,
+which they imagined must have scared the elephants.
+
+One afternoon in Buxa I received a telegram from Ainslie telling me to
+be with him early next morning as a tiger had killed in his
+neighbourhood that day. As Alipur Duar was twenty-two miles away it
+behoved me to start at once and march through the night. So, filling my
+Thermos flask and putting a loaf of bread and a tin of preserved meat
+into my haversack, I shouldered my rifle and walked down the three miles
+of steep road to Santrabari. Here I found the _mahouts_ and ordered them
+to get the two elephants ready, Jhansi still being a deserter. I bade
+them put the howdah on Dundora's back, as she was the steadier with a
+charging tiger. We started off at once; but before we reached the
+railway station at Buxa Road, darkness had fallen. My elephant stepped
+out briskly with the swaying stride that is particularly trying in a
+howdah, the occupant of which is shaken about like a pea on a drum. I
+kept slipping off the hard wooden seat; so I tried standing up, holding
+on to the front rail. This was almost worse; for if I forgot for a
+moment to brace myself up with stiffened arms I was thrown against the
+side. So for twenty-two miles I had to keep changing my position
+continually and found it tiring work. Through the forest we lumbered on
+without stopping. The night was dark. Fortunately, the road ran along
+beside the railway line clear of the trees, which would otherwise have
+swept the howdah off Dundora's back. Once or twice a wild elephant
+trumpeted in the jungle, much to the alarm of our tame ones; so I kept
+my rifle loaded, ready to drive off any we might meet. When I felt
+hungry I opened the tin of meat and, as we went along, made a frugal
+dinner, having to use my fingers as knife and fork, washing the food
+down with water from my flask. The long march was extremely fatiguing;
+but by daylight we were clear of the forest. Arrived at the _dâk_
+bungalow at Alipur Duar I found one of the officers of my regiment,
+Major Burrard, who had come there on leave from headquarters at
+Dibrugarh in Assam for a shoot. The Ainslies could not accompany us that
+day, but had kindly lent us their four elephants. The kill was reported
+to be in a _nullah_ about four miles away, close to the edge of the
+forest. Burrard and I started for it at once. Our way lay over open bare
+fields. Our elephants, as is their habit, persisted in tailing off in
+single file, though a hundred could have marched abreast. Each kept
+exactly in the footprints of the one in front of it. As we went along, I
+noticed half a mile to our left a _nullah_ fringed with trees. In these,
+or circling overhead, were a number of vultures. I remarked that every
+now and then one would swoop down to the ground, only to rise again into
+the air like a rocketting pheasant without alighting. They indicated
+the presence of a dead animal; and I asked the _mahouts_ if our kill was
+there. They answered that it was about a mile further on. I judged that
+another cow must have been killed in this _nullah_; and from the fact
+that the vultures did not dare to settle on it, I concluded that a tiger
+must be in the immediate vicinity. So I directed my elephant towards the
+spot. As we drew near I looked at the rows of bald-headed vultures,
+those repulsive-looking scavengers of India, sitting on the branches.
+Every few minutes one would fly down towards the ground and, without
+settling, hurriedly shoot up again into the air. Cautiously approaching
+the edge of the bank we found, as I expected, the carcass of a cow. We
+skirted the bank but could not see the tiger, which was probably asleep
+somewhere in the tangled scrub in the bottom of the _nullah_. So,
+marking the spot for a visit next day, we went on our way. Arrived at
+the place where the beat was to begin, we found another _nullah_ filled
+with jungle, with bare, open ground stretching away on either side of
+it. We took up our positions in it on our two howdah elephants and put
+the beaters in farther down.
+
+They came on the tiger lying asleep under a tree. He sprang up in alarm
+and, instead of retreating along the _nullah_ towards us, rushed up the
+bank and broke away over the open past a group of natives who had come
+out from a farm close by to watch the hunt. As he was not fifty yards
+from them, they were very scared. It must have been a fine sight to see
+the big cat bounding across the bare plain until he reached and plunged
+into a parallel _nullah_ a few hundred yards away. But we in the bottom
+of our ravine saw or heard nothing of him until our beaters came up. We
+searched the other _nullah_ for him in vain. He probably had not stopped
+until he had reached the shelter of the forest.
+
+That night, when dining with the Ainslies, our host told us of some
+curious happenings in tiger hunts around Alipur Duar. A former
+commandant was shooting one day on Dundora. Mrs Ainslie was in the
+howdah with him. A tiger burst out of the jungle before the beat. The
+officer fired and wounded it; but, hardly checking in its rush, it
+dashed forward, being missed by another bullet, and sprang on to the
+elephant's head. For a second it stood with its hind feet on Dundora's
+skull, its forepaws on the front rail of the howdah. The officer dropped
+his empty rifle and, seizing a second gun, shoved the muzzle against the
+tiger's chest and fired. The brute fell back off the elephant, dead. The
+whole incident had passed like a flash. The tiger had actually stood
+right over the _mahout_ crouching on the neck; but the man, although he
+found afterwards a long tear in the shoulder of his coat from the
+animal's claw, was not touched. On another occasion a tiger was shot in
+mid air as it sprang clean across a _nullah_, crumpled up and fell into
+the stream at the bottom. When the sportsmen on their elephants reached
+the edge of the bank, it was nowhere to be seen; and they concluded that
+it must have escaped down the _nullah_. But a month afterwards a second
+tiger was similarly shot in the middle of a spring and was seen from a
+distance to fall into a stream in the _nullah_, try to struggle out of
+the water and collapse beneath the surface. So the mystery of the first
+one's disappearance was solved. It must have been lying under water at
+the bottom of the _nullah_; but no one thought of looking for it there.
+
+Next morning I came out on to the veranda of the _dâk_ bungalow and
+surveyed with pride the six elephants drawn up in line before me. On the
+neck of each sat the _mahout_, who raised his hand to his forehead in a
+salaam. Then at the word of command the six trunks were lifted into the
+air and the elephants trumpeted in salute. As I looked at them I
+murmured inwardly: "This day a tiger must die!"
+
+We were to look for the animal that had killed the cow I had found the
+previous morning. So Burrard and I made an early start and proceeded to
+the spot I had marked. The _nullah_ was narrow, S-shaped, with almost
+perpendicular banks fifteen feet high. A stream of water filled it from
+bank to bank. On either side of it was thick scrub jungle and elephant
+grass eight feet high. I stationed Burrard at one end of the S and took
+up my position at the other about a hundred yards from him. My elephant
+was back a little from the _nullah_, along the far bank of which the
+tall, stiff grass stood like a wall. The beaters started a quarter of a
+mile from us and drove through the scrub on the other side of the
+_nullah_. A tiger, as a rule, begins to move at the first sound of the
+beat; so I stood up in my howdah with my rifle cocked. I may mention
+that shooting from an elephant, even when it is standing, is not easy,
+for the animal is never still. It continually shifts its weight from
+foot to foot, flaps its ears, moves its head and beats its sides or
+chest with its trunk to drive off the flies.
+
+The line of beaters advanced through the scrub with their usual din.
+Now and then, under the tangled undergrowth, I caught a glimpse of my
+orderly or a _mahout_. They drew nearer and nothing broke out of the
+jungle in front of them. My heart sank when I saw them not a hundred
+yards from me. But at that moment a number of small birds flew up from
+the tall grass and I heard the sound of some heavy animal forcing its
+way through the tough stems. I held my rifle ready to cover the spot.
+The next instant I saw the head and shoulders of a large tiger push out
+through the grass on the very brink of the _nullah_. Though the tall
+stalks on my side almost concealed my elephant, the tiger saw me at once
+and crouched for a spring. Its savage face was plainly visible, the
+fierce eyes fastened on me, the snarling lips drawn back over the white
+fangs, the bristling whiskers, all forming a fiendish mask appalling in
+its cruel expression. I threw up the rifle to my shoulder, took a quick
+aim and fired. The tiger started convulsively, sprang erect for an
+instant, then plunged head foremost into the _nullah_ with stiffened
+forelegs close to the body, as a man diving holds his arms straight by
+his sides and hurls himself into the water. I was too far back from the
+bank to see down to the bottom of the _nullah_; but suddenly the tiger
+sprang convulsively straight into my view and then fell back again. The
+_mahout_, shrouded by the high grass, had seen nothing of all this. I
+shouted at him to urge Dundora forward to the edge of the _nullah_. From
+the brink I peered down into it; but, to my intense disappointment, no
+prostrate body of a tiger met my eyes. The banks were sheer; and I could
+look up and down the _nullah_ for a hundred yards. I could not believe
+that the brute had escaped. I was convinced that I had not missed him,
+that my bullet had struck where I aimed, right between the shoulders, as
+he crouched for the spring. It should have been a fatal shot; but the
+tiger had vanished.
+
+Suddenly Ainslie's stories of the previous night recurred to me. I
+glanced down the stream and saw, twenty yards from where we stood, a
+discoloured patch in the dark water. I had the elephant brought opposite
+it. I stared hard until I believed that I could make out the outlines of
+a tiger below the surface and see the stripes on the body. I pointed it
+out to the _mahout_. He gazed unbelievingly for a moment, then gave vent
+to an excited shout. The beaters had meantime reached the opposite bank
+and were calling across to ask if I had hit the tiger. When we told them
+where it was they laughed incredulously. I ordered Bechan to dismount
+from Khartoum's neck and enter the stream. With the air of one who does
+a ridiculous thing to please a fretful child, he slid down the bank and
+walked into the water. Suddenly he yelled in terror and sprang for the
+dry land. He had put his bare foot on the tiger's body. The animal was
+lying dead in three feet of water. The others urged Bechan to go in
+again; and with some trepidation he did so. Reaching down he lifted up
+the tail and held the tip up above the surface. The other _mahouts_ and
+my orderly shouted with joy, for it meant largesse to them, and jumped
+in after Bechan. They moved the body easily to the edge of the water but
+could not lift it up the bank. We called some coolies from huts close
+by; and it took twenty men to raise the carcass up to the level.
+
+[Illustration: THE TIGER'S LYING IN STATE.]
+
+[Illustration: THE TIGER'S LAST HOME.]
+
+The tiger was a fine young male in splendid condition, and measured nine
+and a half feet from nose to tip of tail. After photographing it, we
+brought the elephants in turn up to it as it lay on the ground and
+encouraged them to smell and strike it. This is done to show them that
+the animal is not a foe to be dreaded. We all had to help in lifting the
+limp body on to Khartoum's back; for a well-grown tiger weighs nearly
+three hundred and fifty pounds. It was fastened on to the pad with
+ropes; and we started back in triumphal procession to Alipur Duar, where
+the beast was flayed and the flesh scrambled for by the women of the
+neighbourhood, who gathered like vultures. The skin was pegged out on
+the grass to dry, before being sent to a taxidermist to be dressed and
+mounted to adorn my bungalow.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX
+
+A FOREST MARCH
+
+    Reasons for showing the flag--Soldierless Bengal--Planning
+        the march--Difficulties of transport--The first day's
+        march--Sepoys in the jungle--The water-creeper--The
+        commander loses his men--The bivouac at
+        Rajabhatkawa--Alipur Duar--A small Indian
+        Station--Long-delayed pay--The Sub-divisional
+        Officer--A _dâk_ bungalow--The sub-judge--Brahmin
+        pharisees--The _nautch_--A dusty march--Santals--A
+        mission settlement--Crossing a river--Rafts--A bivouac
+        in a tea garden--A dinner-party in an 80-lb.
+        tent--Bears at night--A daring tiger--Chasing a tiger
+        on elephants--In the forest again--A fickle river--A
+        strange animal--The Maharajah of Cooch Behar's
+        experiment--A scare and a disappointment--Across the
+        Raidak--A woman killed by a bear--A planters'
+        club--Hospitality in the jungle--The zareba--Impromptu
+        sports--The Alarm Stakes--The raft
+        race--Hathipota--Jainti.
+
+
+There is a tale told of the Indian Army in the good old days when
+soldiering in peace time was an easy life and very different to what it
+has now become. The story runs that a general order was published to the
+effect that "Officers are forbidden to drill the men from the verandas
+of their bungalows." For it was said that, attired in pyjamas, they
+lounged comfortably in long chairs and shouted out the words of command
+to their companies drilling on the parade ground in front of the
+bungalows. But those delightful days have gone for ever. Despite what
+democratic orators say, the British Army has become a professional one;
+and soldiering in it is a strenuous existence. In India only the Rains,
+when outdoor work is almost impossible, give rest to the hard-worked
+officer and man. Musketry, field firing, company training, both winter
+and summer, keep them fully employed until battalion training leads up
+to the culminating point of the year--the brigade or divisional
+manoeuvres, or both. And then it begins all over again. And this, mark
+you, in a tropical climate!
+
+Up to the rank of Colonel every officer must pass difficult examinations
+for promotion to each successive grade. And generals and colonels sit on
+the benches of class-rooms in the Schools of Musketry, and in their own
+commands lecture, or listen to other officers lecturing, on military
+subjects.
+
+In the good old days I could have sat in my bungalow in Buxa Duar and
+watched my sepoys drilling in the narrow limits of our small parade
+ground. But nowadays too high a standard of efficiency is required from
+the troops for this method of commanding to pass muster. So, for the
+first month after our arrival, we scrambled up and down the steep
+mountains, scaled precipices and fought our way through thorny jungle
+practising hill warfare. Then I determined to take the detachment
+farther afield, where the men could have more varied ground to work over
+and learn something of jungle life. So I mapped out a ten days' march,
+under war conditions, through the forest below. We should go out as a
+self-contained force, like the little columns that are sent against the
+savage tribes along our North-East Frontier. We should carry our own
+supplies with us, find our own transport, move by day and bivouac at
+night exactly as we should do in an enemy's country. As the route
+selected would emerge into open country for a couple of days, the men
+would have a change from jungle work.
+
+I was influenced in my decision to march through the surrounding;
+country and "show the flag" by private representations made to me by
+civil officers of the district. They pointed out the advisability of
+letting the natives of the neighbourhood see soldiers, probably for the
+first time in the lives of many of them. Asiatics have short memories;
+and the inhabitants of the Bengals, who rarely see troops, are inclined
+to forget that the British Army still exists. At that time sedition was
+supposed to be spreading among them. For it is a curious fact that it
+chiefly makes headway among the unwarlike races of India, probably for
+the very reason that they have never learned in the field the respect
+that the brave man feels for the still braver antagonist who has
+conquered him. And British rule is more popular among the races that we
+have only vanquished after a hard struggle than it is among those whose
+ancestors never dared to meet us in battle. In all history the Bengali
+never was, never could be, a fighting-man. He was the easy prey of every
+invader; and, like the cowardly Corean, only the extreme suppleness of
+his back saved him from extermination. If the British left India the
+cities and rich lands of Bengal would be scrambled for by every warrior
+race in India; and her sons would not venture to lift a hand to defend
+themselves. But cowards are ingrates. Forgetful of all this the
+so-called educated Bengali whispers of the day to come when the English
+tyrants will be driven into the sea. He does not suggest that he and
+his kind will do it themselves. The young Calcutta student, crammed with
+undigested, ill-understood European knowledge, will talk treason glibly.
+Insulting women, hurling bombs, assassinating in secret or, gun in hand,
+plundering unarmed villagers even more timorous than himself, he is a
+hero in his own eyes. But even in the wildest frenzy of his ill-balanced
+brain he never pictures himself facing British troops in battle. The
+cowardly agitator allots that task to the native soldiers when we shall
+have succeeded in seducing them from their allegiance. But the sepoys,
+recruited from races that hold only the warrior in honour, look on him
+and his race as something more despicable than dogs. My
+Rajputs--descendants of the gallant fighters who conquered half India,
+who struggled through bloody centuries against the Mohammedan invaders,
+whose women killed themselves when their lords had been slain and
+preferred death to dishonour--my sepoys regarded the effeminate Bengalis
+as unsexed beings.
+
+The Duars abound in tea states; and each manager rules six or seven
+hundred coolies by moral force. Several planters hinted to me that it
+would be a good thing to let these coolies see the gleam of bayonets for
+once, and realise that the white man has something more than the baton
+of an occasional native policeman to rely on if need arise.
+
+Thrown on our own resources as we were in Buxa, the question of
+transporting the supplies and baggage of nearly two hundred men required
+some thinking out. We had no funds at our disposal to hire coolies; and
+all we could depend on was our three elephants. Ten days' food supply
+for so many men weighs a good deal; and we had to carry with us as well
+their bedding, cooking-pots, blank ammunition, pickaxes and shovels for
+entrenching. It needed some careful arrangement to enable three
+elephants to do the work of ten. I was obliged to send them out to form
+depots of sacks of flour, grain, and other food-stuffs at places along
+the route, and bring them back again to accompany us carrying the other
+things we required with us. Each sepoy was limited to two blankets and a
+change of clothing and boots rolled up in his _dhurri_ or strip of
+carpet. Contrary to the usual custom on peace manoeuvres each man
+carried a packet of ten rounds of ball cartridge in his pocket; for, had
+any sudden call for our services come before we could communicate with
+the magazine in our fort, we would have been of little use with only
+blank ammunition for our rifles. And in the forest at night we might
+require ball to protect ourselves against wild animals.
+
+At last, our arrangements complete, we left forty men behind at Buxa to
+guard the Station; and one morning in February saw us, a hundred and
+sixty strong, marching through the jungle in the direction of
+Rajabhatkawa. We moved with fixed bayonets and all the proper
+precautions of a column passing through an enemy's country. Advanced,
+rear and flank guards protected us on all sides. These detachments,
+instead of being thrown out a mile or more from the main body, as they
+would have been in open country, were not a hundred yards from it. And
+even that was often too much in the dense jungle. Every man carried at
+his belt a _kukri_, the Gurkha's heavy, curved knife, and used it to
+hack his way through the tangle of creepers and undergrowth. The
+progress was necessarily very slow, and we hardly advanced a mile an
+hour. We marched by compass, no easy task in thick forest.
+
+[Illustration: "MY SEPOYS DRILLING."]
+
+[Illustration: BUGLERS AND NON-COMMISSIONED OFFICERS OF MY DETACHMENT.]
+
+At the first fire line, as there was an open space, I halted and closed
+the detachment to give them their first object-lesson in the jungle. To
+my men, inhabitants of the sandy deserts of Rajputana or the cultivated
+plains of the North-West Provinces, forest lore was unknown. And as all
+the warfare the Assam Brigade, to which we belonged, would be called
+upon to wage would be fought against savages in thick jungle, I lost no
+chance of teaching our men all conditions of the bush. I now asked them
+where, when the rivers were dry, would they look for water in the
+forest. They mostly replied:
+
+"We would dig for it, Sahib."
+
+I told them that Nature had been too generous to call for such exertion
+and had kindly provided water in the trees. They looked at me in
+surprise and evidently thought that I meant to be facetious. I pointed
+to a thick creeper swinging between the trees in front of me and
+introduced them to the mysterious _pani bel_. A piece was cut off; and
+the water flowed from it. That astonished them.
+
+"_Wah! wah!_ but that is _jadu_ (magic)," they said to each other.
+"Marvellous is the Sahib's knowledge. Like us he is new to the forest.
+Then how could he know of such a wonderful thing?"
+
+The water creeper grew freely all round. Permission given, they broke
+ranks and rushed into the jungle, each resolved to handle the marvel for
+himself. In a few minutes I was surrounded by scores of sepoys leaning
+on their rifles with heads well thrown back to catch in their mouths the
+water dropping from the cut pieces of creeper. The _pani bel_ was a
+great success. They filled their haversacks with it, and all that day,
+at every halt, pulled it out to taste and marvel at the magic plant.
+
+We moved on again in our original formation. Carrying my sporting rifle
+I walked a few yards behind the advanced line of scouts. So dense was
+the jungle that, out of all the hundred and sixty men around me, I could
+only occasionally catch glimpses of three or four. Suddenly from a
+hundred yards ahead I heard a large animal forcing its way through the
+undergrowth. Fearing that it might be a wild elephant I pushed on in
+front of the scouts, as my rifle would be more effective than theirs.
+The animal retreated before me without my being able to see it; and I
+followed, glancing over my shoulder now and then to sight the sepoys
+behind and ensure that I was keeping the proper direction. But
+neglecting this precaution for five minutes, I completely lost the whole
+detachment. The beast I was pursuing had gone beyond hearing; so I
+turned back to rejoin my men. But search as I might I could not find one
+of them. It seemed absurd to lose in a few minutes a hundred and sixty
+men spread out in a loose formation. But I had succeeded in doing it.
+
+It was a ridiculous position for the commander who was supposed to be
+instructing his soldiers in jungle training. But, fortunately, I already
+knew the forest in the neighbourhood fairly well; and guiding myself by
+the sun, I succeeded in getting ahead of my warriors and rejoining them
+at the place on which they were marching by compass without any of them
+realising that they had lost me. We halted for the night and bivouacked
+close to Rajabhatkawa Station.
+
+The next day's march brought us out clear of the forest. As we emerged
+on the cultivated plains to the north of Alipur Duar, it seemed quite
+strange to be on open ground again and able to swing along at four miles
+an hour. The sepoy is a faster marcher than his British comrade and will
+do his five miles in the hour on a road if wanted. In his own home he
+thinks nothing of covering forty miles a day, shuffling along at the
+native jog-trot that eats up the ground.
+
+After Buxa Alipur Duar seemed almost a city, though it is not an
+imposing town. The houses, when not made of mud or bamboo and thatched
+with straw, are built of brick and roofed with corrugated iron. But it
+boasts a jail, a hospital, a _dâk_ bungalow and a sub-treasury. And the
+last was the cause of my including it in our itinerary; for the
+detachment was in the throes of a financial crisis. None of the officers
+or men had received their pay for December and January; and we had not
+five rupees between us. But the long-delayed pay-cheque on this
+sub-treasury had just reached me; and I was anxious to cash it at the
+earliest opportunity. Unfortunately we arrived at Alipur Duar after
+office hours and were forced to wait another day for our money, instead
+of marching on next morning as I had intended.
+
+The town had no amusement to offer us Britishers. The only Europeans who
+resided in it were the Ainslies; and they were then absent; for
+throughout the winter the district officials are out in camp, moving
+from village to village in their districts, and administering the law
+and carrying on the ground work of the Government of the land.
+
+However, Alipur Duar boasted among its public buildings that useful
+institution, a _dâk_ bungalow. In little Stations and dotted every ten
+or fifteen miles along the highways of India, the _dâk_ bungalow is
+there to shelter the European traveller whom Fate or his work leads far
+from cities and railways. It is a humble, one-storied building, erected
+by Government, and containing one two or three scantily furnished rooms.
+It is in charge of a native attendant, who sometimes provides food for
+the hungry traveller, though as a rule the latter has to bring his own
+with him. Luckily India is the land of tinned food.
+
+The Alipur bungalow boasted a _khansamah_, or butler, who was able to
+furnish us with meals. We found already installed in it a native
+sub-judge who had come from the headquarters of the district to try some
+cases in Ainslie's absence. I got into conversation with him and found
+him a cheery, pleasant little Bengali, a follower of the new reformed
+_Brahmo Samaj_ faith and consequently free from the caste prejudices of
+the orthodox Hindu, which do so much to keep him and the Englishman
+apart. Finding that our new acquaintance had no scruples about eating
+with Europeans, I invited him to share our dinner. He held very decided
+opinions on what he termed the hypocrisy of the educated Brahmins who,
+in public, profess to adhere strictly to the severest caste restrictions
+in the matter of eating with others, particularly with Europeans.
+
+"Sir, I am not possessed of patience to endure them," he said in his
+quaint English. "In the town where I have the habit to reside, the
+Brahmin lawyers and under-official strappers invite to the farewell
+entertainment of a garden-party our much-to-be-regretted late
+Deputy-Commissioner, when being about to depart from us. They request me
+to pose as a host with them. I say to them: 'No; I am not willing. You
+ask to Mr and Mrs----, an English gentleman and lady, to come partake of
+your hospitality. But you put on a table in corner of tent cakes, tea
+and other cheering refreshments and tell them to eat alone while you
+turn your faces, lest to see them eat would break your caste. It is all
+a bosh! I have seen many of you in strange places to eat of forbidden
+food at the restaurants of railway stations where you sit cheek-by-jowl
+with unknown Englishmen. And yet you cannot indulge in cake,
+refreshment, etcetera, with the esteemed departing Deputy-Commissioner.
+It is all a bosh!'"
+
+He more than repaid our hospitality that night by his amusing remarks
+and shrewd comments on Indian and European manners. He said that, never
+having come in contact with military officers before, he had watched us
+all that day and was astonished to see that we were on friendly terms
+with our native subordinates, knew the names of all our men, and did not
+treat them with disdainful hauteur, as alleged by the Bengali journals.
+And I thought of an untravelled Englishman who had told me in a London
+drawing-room that we British officers were in the habit of beating our
+sepoys!
+
+Next day we visited the court-house to watch our little friend
+dispensing justice from the bench. We were amused to see how quickly he
+disposed of long-winded native lawyers who, in a case involving a
+matter of a few shillings, were prepared to deliver a speech in
+high-flown English lasting five hours. He cut them very short with his
+favourite phrase: "It is all a bosh!"
+
+The pay having been disbursed that afternoon, our men asked me for leave
+to engage a troop of dancers and enjoy a _nautch_, that entertainment
+dear to the heart of the Indian but wearisome beyond measure to the
+European spectator. It was held at night on the open ground behind the
+_dâk_ bungalow. As is customary in native regiments we were invited to
+witness it and, much against our will, went to it after dinner. The
+sepoys squatting in a wide circle round the performers rose to their
+feet; and the Indian officers welcomed us with the usual formalities.
+After we had shaken hands with them they hung garlands of flowers round
+our necks, thrust small bouquets on us and liberally besprinkled us with
+scent. When we sat down small plates were offered us on which, wrapped
+up in leaves, were various pungent and aromatic spices to chew. Then we
+were given cigars, cigarettes, and whiskies-and-sodas--these a
+concession to European tastes. The performance, interrupted by our
+arrival, continued. Two fat women with well-oiled hair, jewelled
+ornaments in their noses, gold bangles on their wrists and ankles, their
+toes adorned with rings, swayed their fleshy bodies and shuffled a few
+inches forward and back on their heels, singing the while in high
+falsetto voices. Wrapped from throat to ankle in voluminous coloured
+draperies as they were, the propriety of their costume was a reproach to
+the scantily clad dancers of so-called Indian dances in the English
+music-halls. The musicians squatted on the grass behind them, two men
+producing weird and monotonous sounds from strangely shaped instruments,
+while a third beat with his hands on a tom-tom, the native drum. And
+this is the famous _nautch_ at which the Indian will gaze with rapture
+all night. The flaring oil-lamps shone on the ring of eager dark faces
+and eyes glistening with enjoyment, as the sepoys watched intently every
+movement of the ungainly dancers. Fortunately we were not obliged to
+remain long and soon took our leave of the native officers. Although we
+were to march at seven o'clock in the morning I heard the monotonous
+drumming and the shrill voices throughout the night; for the
+entertainment did not end before five o'clock. And it was a hollow-eyed
+detachment that tramped behind us on the dusty road that day. Our route
+lay at an angle to our former course which had been due south; for now
+we headed north-east towards the jungle and the hills again.
+
+On the left hand lay the ragged fringe of the forest stretching east and
+west beyond the limit of vision; and high above it towered the long
+rampart of the mountains. Far away as we were we could see the white
+specks of the Picquet Towers at Buxa. And back among the jagged peaks
+rose up the snow-clad summit of a mountain in Bhutan, its gleaming crest
+seeming to float like a cloud in air above the darker hills. Over the
+level plain we spread out in fighting formation, one company forming an
+advanced guard and driving back the skirmishing line of the other which
+acted as the rear guard of a retreating enemy. And here and there the
+peasants working in the fields, knowing nothing of the harmlessness of
+blank cartridges, fled in terror at the sound of the firing.
+
+We halted for our bivouac near a village in a mission settlement of
+Santals, a wild tribe recently civilised by hard-working missionaries
+and taught the dignity of labour and the joys of agriculture. We met the
+clergyman and his wife who were in charge of the settlement and invited
+them to dinner with us. They showed us a large iron church in the
+village, the materials of which had been purchased by money willingly
+subscribed by the Santals, who had erected the building with their own
+hands. Our guests told us that their half-tamed flock, when they saw us
+marching in, had deserted the village and fled into the jungle. They
+explained to their wondering pastor that we were soldiers, and soldiers
+were folk whose one object in life was to kill people--and who easier to
+slay than the poor Santals? It took him hours to induce them to return
+to their homes. But before night they had lost all fear and flocked
+inquisitively round our bivouac.
+
+Next day we marched through outlying patches of jungle, the advanced
+guards of the great forest; and we hailed the trees as old friends.
+After an attack by one company on the other in position on a low hill,
+we found our way barred by an unfordable river. Along the banks lay logs
+and trunks of trees swept down from the forest; so we turned to to make
+rafts, binding the timber together with the men's putties and
+_puggris_--for their head-gear is made of strips of cloth nine yards
+long. On these rafts the few non-swimmers, the rifles, clothing and
+accoutrements were placed; and the swimmers towed and pushed them
+across the stream. With the same rude materials we made an excellent
+flying bridge which, moved by the swift current, floated backwards and
+forwards across the river on ropes made from the _puggris_ and putties.
+The men revelled in the work. Stripped to their loin-cloths they sported
+like dolphins in the clear, cold water flowing down from the melting
+snows of the Himalayas.
+
+Then we marched on again until I halted the column on the outskirts of a
+tea garden and sent Creagh galloping to ask the manager's permission to
+encamp on it and draw water for my men from the wells. While awaiting
+his return, I stretched myself along a squared log of timber and,
+despite my hard couch, fell asleep, awaking with a start to find
+Khartoum standing over me staring at me with curiosity out of her little
+eyes, as she flapped her big ears and brushed away the flies from her
+sides with a branch. For a second I fancied I was in the forest under
+the feet of a wild elephant; and I sprang up hastily. Then Creagh
+returned with a cheery, hospitable Englishman, who invited me to
+consider the tea garden my own. In a few minutes the fires were going,
+the _bhistis_ fetching water from the wells, and the cooks rolling up
+the balls of dough, deftly patting them out into thin cakes and
+spreading them on the convex iron griddle over the flames. Sentries
+posted and guards mounted, the rest of the men piled arms, took off
+their accoutrements; and, while some hungrily watched the cooks, others
+lay down on the ground and slept contentedly until food was ready. The
+coolies gathered to see the novel sight of soldiers; and the inevitable
+pariah dogs hung about the cooking places and quarrelled over the
+scraps thrown to them. At every bivouac some of these four-footed
+recruits joined us; and when we reached Buxa again I found that at least
+a dozen nondescript curs had adopted the detachment and marched into the
+fort with the air of veterans.
+
+That night we invited the planter to dine with us. Our meal was laid in
+my small 80-lb. tent; and, as this measured seven feet by seven feet
+with a sloping roof, there was not much room for four of us and the
+servants. Our guest told us of a daring daylight attack by a tiger that
+morning. While some villagers were driving their cattle on a road which
+passed along the edge of the tea garden, the animal had sprung out from
+the jungle skirting it and tried to carry off a cow. The men, being
+fairly numerous, rushed shouting at him and scared him away. When I
+heard this I determined to beat up that tiger's quarters in the morning
+and told the other officers of the detachment, who were delighted with
+the idea. While discussing it after dinner we were startled by fiendish
+growls and howls from the darkness outside; for a minute we were puzzled
+by the awful noises and then recognised them as the sounds of two bears
+fighting close by. Creagh, Smith and I seized our rifles; and, followed
+by servants carrying lanterns as the night was very dark, we sallied
+forth to find the disturbers of the peace. The noise came from a spot
+about two hundred yards away. We reached a high bank below which was
+thick scrub and long tiger grass. We climbed down it and formed line
+with the servants close up behind us holding the lanterns over our heads
+to throw the light in front. As we pushed our way with difficulty
+through the scrub a bear gave a sudden growl five yards to our left. We
+swung round and made for the spot; but the animal did not await our
+approach. After searching for half an hour without result we gave up the
+chase and returned to the camp. Next morning daylight showed us that we
+had been down in a _nullah_, the ground on either side of it being quite
+open. Had we known this at the time we could have divided our forces,
+gone along both banks and probably got the bears as they scrambled up
+out of the _nullah_.
+
+At daybreak we started out with the elephants to look for the tiger. As
+we possessed only one howdah, it was strapped on Khartoum's back and we
+all three crowded into it; for the tall grass rose higher than the head
+of a man sitting on an elephant's pad. Having thoroughly beaten the wide
+strip of long grass we pushed on and came out on a very broad, empty
+river-bed. This was the River Raidak, which formerly brought down an
+immense volume of water from the hills only a few miles away. But a few
+years before it had grown tired of its old road and suddenly changed its
+course, flowing into the bed of a smaller stream parallel to it, which
+became greatly enlarged and was now itself generally known as the
+Raidak. This was the river we had crossed on rafts.
+
+As our elephants passed over the wide strip of sand, a curious animal
+broke out of the jungle a couple of hundred yards from us and bounded
+away up the _nullah_. It was apparently a hornless deer with black back
+and white belly and looked like a "black buck"; but as these inhabit
+open plains and do not shed their horns we were puzzled as to its
+identity. It halted and looked back at us, and then went off again in a
+series of high leaps and bounds strangely like a black buck's motion.
+Some months afterwards the Maharajah of Cooch Behar told me that several
+years before he had turned loose a number of black buck and does into
+the forest near the Raidak as an experiment, being curious to know what
+effect life in dense jungle would have on these dwellers of the open
+plains. Apparently the animal we had seen was descended from these and
+for some reason of acclimatisation Nature had deprived their progeny of
+horns. This should interest naturalists.
+
+Our search for the tiger ended in a scare and a disappointment. First,
+when passing through another patch of tall grass on our way back to
+camp, one of the two pad elephants, Dundora, trumpeted shrilly and
+charged some animal in the cover. Her alarm communicated itself to the
+others, who squealed and tried to bolt. We thought that it was the tiger
+and, with rifles at the ready, attempted to stand up in the swaying
+howdah, which was no easy task as Khartoum was plunging violently. When
+at last we got her near Dundora, the latter's _mahout_, viciously
+belabouring her thick skull with the _ankus_, told us that the cause of
+her fright was only a small pariah dog. We passed on into more open
+jungle and to our joy saw a herd of wild buffaloes. As we were not in
+Government forest these were fair game for the hunter; and we urged the
+_mahout_ forward. The animals were grazing and did not see us.
+Cautiously approaching up wind we got within range and were raising our
+rifles, when an old cow lifted her head and we saw a bell hung round her
+neck. We swore loudly. They were tame animals; but, as these are like
+the wild species and we were deep in the jungle, our error was
+pardonable. Half a mile further on we came on the huts of their owners.
+
+Our course next day lay north-west; and I intended to recross the new
+Raidak at a point near the hills at a ferry, close to which was a
+club-house where the planters of the neighbourhood gathered once a week.
+This was the day of their meeting; so I resolved to make our bivouac
+there. The march lay through very dense jungle; but at last our advanced
+guard came out on the bank of a wide river, a swift-racing torrent of
+clear water that eddied and swirled over the pebbly bottom. On the
+opposite side was the ferryman's hut, his boat drawn up near it. Behind,
+in a clearing, stood a long wooden building which was evidently the
+club-house. Our shouts brought Charon out of his abode; and he ferried
+us over in driblets. As elephants are excellent swimmers ours made their
+own way across.
+
+In the jungle, not far from the club, I marked out the spot for our
+bivouac around which I ordered a zareba to be constructed. As everything
+was to be done under war conditions, scouts were thrown out on every
+side. The rest of the detachment piled arms, drew their _kukris_ and
+proceeded to clear the jungle. The small trees and undergrowth cut down
+were dragged to form a belt, ten yards deep, of entanglement breast-high
+around the camp. The stems of the trees and bushes were fastened to
+pickets by creepers to prevent their being pulled away. Thorny branches
+and a shrub which causes an intense irritation when touched were thrown
+in among them; and the zareba thus constructed formed a formidable
+obstacle. Then parties were told off to erect shelters of leafy boughs;
+others made the cooking-places or dug latrines; and the _bhistis_ were
+taken down under escort to the river to fill the goat-skin bags, or
+_mussacks_, in which they carry water. Then guards and inlying pickets
+were mounted and the scouts withdrawn. Bathing-parties went down with
+their rifles, only half of the men in them being allowed into the river
+at a time, while the others kept guard against sudden attack.
+
+By this time the planters were beginning to assemble at the rough wooden
+building which they proudly called their club. And certainly I believe
+it saw more jollity and good-fellowship within its timber walls than one
+would find in any of the palatial club-houses of Pall Mall. From gardens
+lost in the forest for miles round they gathered. Some dashed up to the
+opposite river-bank on their smart little ponies and kept the ferryman
+busy. The host that day was our friend Tyson of Hathipota, which now lay
+between us and Buxa Duar. He cordially invited us to eat our share of
+the sumptuous cold lunch he had provided, and introduced us to the other
+planters of the district, who welcomed us warmly.
+
+During lunch one of our new friends told me that the ferryman, whom we
+could see busy at his boat on the beach, had lost his wife under tragic
+circumstances. The woman had gone across the river to a village a couple
+of miles away to buy provisions. On her return she hailed him from the
+opposite bank. As he was shoving his boat into the water he saw to his
+horror a huge bear emerge from the jungle and steal silently up behind
+the woman. At her husband's warning cry she turned; but before she could
+move the animal rose on its hind legs and felled her with a blow from
+its great paw. When the terrified man reached the bank, the bear had
+disappeared and the woman lay dead with a fractured skull.
+
+After lunch, the planters, most of whom were keen Volunteers, asked me
+to let them inspect our fortified camp. They were much impressed by the
+rapidity with which it had been placed in a state of defence and with
+the ingenuity of our sepoys, who had already made comfortable little
+huts. Then the senior among the planters told me that he was
+commissioned by the others to express the gratitude of them all for
+marching the detachment through their district. He emphasised the fact
+that the sight of our armed men sweeping through the countryside would
+have a good effect, not only on the thousands of unruly coolies on the
+tea gardens around, but also on the lawless dwellers over the border on
+the hills above us. He said that he and his friends had subscribed on
+the spot a sum of six or seven pounds and asked my permission to offer
+the money as prizes for sports to be held by our men that day. I thanked
+them all heartily and drew up a programme.
+
+The sepoys were delighted and flocked down to the open beach where the
+sports took place. Of the two events which interested the planters most,
+the first was called "The Alarm Race." Teams from each section lay
+undressed and apparently sleeping on the ground beside their uniforms
+and accoutrements. On a bugle sounding they sprang up, dressed, put on
+their belts and bandoliers, rolled and strapped up their bedding, and
+fell in ready to march off. We inspected them; and the team first ready
+and properly dressed won the prize. The other event was very popular
+among the spectators. Teams of men in full marching order were ferried
+across the river and landed on the opposite bank. At a signal they
+started to collect driftwood and build it into rafts, tying the logs
+together with their _puggris_ and putties. Then some with long bamboo
+poles took their places on each raft, while others of the team
+undressed, placed their rifles, belts and clothing on the raft and,
+springing into the water, swam alongside and helped to bring it across
+to our bank. The current ran swiftly and the excited men made their
+rafts swing round like teetotums. The first party to reach the spot
+where I stood on the beach and form up properly dressed were the
+winners.
+
+After the sports some of us played tennis on the courts made in the
+clearing. As the sun set, after a parting drink and hearty invitations
+to visit their estates, our friends bade us good-bye and rode off.
+
+On our next day's march our faces were set homewards. We passed several
+tea gardens until we reached Hathipota, where the hospitable Tyson
+welcomed us, and placed the resources of his estate at our men's
+disposal and entertained the British officers in his bungalow. Parties
+of our non-commissioned officers and men were taken over the factories
+and withering sheds, and were as deeply interested as we were in the
+ponderous machinery and clever contrivances. We left Hathipota next day.
+Later on, we were to see it again under more tragic auspices, when we
+were conveying a murderer to his doom.
+
+Thence to the end of the ten days' march we worked through the forest
+back towards home. We passed almost dryshod over a wide river at
+Jainti, which during the Rains can only be crossed by a cradle running
+on an iron cable from bank to bank. At Jainti ends the little railway by
+which we had arrived. The next station to it was Buxa Road.
+
+From Santrabari we climbed our hills again, sorry to have finished our
+pleasant and instructive march. The men had learned much of jungle
+conditions; and I had acquired a knowledge of the district which was to
+stand me in good stead in days to come.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X
+
+THROUGH FIRE AND WATER
+
+    India in the hot weather--A land of torment--The
+        drought--Forest fires--The cholera huts
+        burned--Fighting the flames--Death of a sepoy--The bond
+        between British officers and their men--The sepoy's
+        funeral--A fortnight's vigil--Saving the Station--The
+        hills ablaze--A sublime spectacle--The devastated
+        forest--Fallen leaves on fire--Our elephants'
+        peril--Saving the zareba--A beat for game in the
+        jungle--Trying to catch a wild elephant--A moonlight
+        ramble--We meet a bear--The burst of the Monsoons--A
+        dull existence--Three hundred inches of rain--The
+        monotony of thunderstorms--A changed
+        world--Leeches--Monster hailstones--Surveyors caught in
+        a storm--A break in the Rains--The revived
+        jungle--Useless lightning-conductors--The Monsoon
+        again--The loneliness of Buxa.
+
+
+Through the long months of the Indian summer the cool Hills look down in
+pity on the Plains steeped in the brooding heat, where the sun is an
+offence and a torture, where the hot wind, like a blast of fiery air
+from an opened furnace door, mocks with the thought of pleasant breezes
+in a temperate land, where night brings only the breathless hours of
+darkness when the parched earth gives out the heat it has stored by day,
+and only dawn affords a momentary relief.
+
+From early March to the end of June India is indeed turned into a place
+of torment. In the crowded quarters of the cities millions of natives
+swelter and endure with the dumb resignation of animals. Shut up in
+darkened houses from morning to evening thousands of Englishwomen and
+children suffer through the weary months. The fortunate ones fly to the
+Hills; but Hill Stations are expensive and not for the poorer classes of
+Europeans. And the white men of all ranks and professions must carry on
+their work. His drill done, the British soldier lies on his cot under
+the punkah of the barrack-room, thinks with regret of the cool land he
+has left and forgets the misery of the unemployed in the rain and frosts
+of England. And his officer, whose work takes him more frequently out
+into the sun than the soldier, envies the lucky mortals who can obtain
+leave and fly to Europe or the Hills. Through the hot night he tosses on
+his bed placed under a punkah out in his garden and dozes fitfully until
+the punkah coolie drops asleep and the faint wind of the overhead fan is
+stilled. Then, bathed in perspiration, devoured by mosquitoes, he wakes;
+and who can blame him if his language to the neglectful coolie, who can
+sleep all day while his master works, is as hot as the climate?
+
+From our little post on the face of the Himalayas we gazed to the south
+over the lowlands, seen dimly through the heat haze, and pitied the
+suffering millions in the India that stretched away from the foot of our
+hills to the far-distant sea. Buxa is usually cool. The Monsoons which
+sweep up from the equator and bring the welcome Rains towards the end of
+June are here forestalled by other currents that deluge mountain and
+forest with tropical showers as early as February. But for our sins in
+our first year they failed us. And the heat crept up from its kingdom
+in the Plains below and laughed at our boasts of the coolness of our
+Hill Station. In March the only comfortable man in the detachment was a
+prisoner whom I had sentenced for desertion to two months' confinement
+in the one cell of the fort. For while we sweated on the hot parade
+ground below, he gazed at us through the barred window of his cool,
+stone-paved apartment beside the guard-room; and since I could find no
+hard labour for his idle hands, he must have laughed as he watched us,
+officers and men, toiling bare armed in the hot sun, digging earthworks
+and erecting stockades on the knolls around. It seemed hard to believe
+that only a few weeks before cheerful wood fires had burned in the
+grates of our bungalows and after dinner we had pulled our chairs in
+front of the comforting blaze and defied the cold with jorums of hot
+punch.
+
+But soon we had more than enough of other fires. The vast forests
+stretching through Assam, Bhutan, the Terai and Nepal, were dry as
+tinder owing to the unusual drought. From our eyrie in the hills we
+looked down at night on the glow in the sky, east, south and west, that
+told of jungles blazing around us. By day columns of smoke rose up in
+the distance and spread until a black pall covered the landscape. The
+hot wind brought the acrid smell of ashes and burning wood to us; and
+soon the air was full of smuts. From Assam and Bhutan came the tale of
+leagues of forest devoured by the flames. The dwellers in the pleasant
+Hill Station of Darjeeling, seven thousand feet above the sea,
+complained of the pall of smoke that veiled the mountains around them.
+Day after day I gazed apprehensively on our happy hunting-grounds in
+the forest below and feared to see them invaded by the conquering fires.
+I pictured with dismay the game destroyed by the rushing flames or
+driven far from us. And at last doubt became cruel certainty. Our
+forests blazed. The legions of the victorious fire king swept through
+the jungles we loved and denied them to us.
+
+But at first we did not realise that danger threatened us, that our
+small Station was itself imperilled. On a wooded spur below the fort
+stood two long bamboo-walled buildings, intended as a segregation
+hospital for cases of infectious disease. One afternoon news was brought
+me that the forest fires had crept up to the base of the hill on which
+they stood. I ran down to the fort and ordered out the whole detachment.
+The men in whatever garb they were wearing at the moment turned out; and
+we raced through the back gate and down a zigzag path cut on the face of
+the precipice on the south side of the fort. Then we struggled up the
+steep hill to the threatened buildings. Below us the forest blazed. The
+flames were sweeping up the slopes towards us. The sight was a fine one;
+but we had little leisure or inclination to admire it. Breaking branches
+from the trees we fell upon the advancing enemy and endeavoured to beat
+it back. The wind was against us. Sparks and burning embers flew past
+and set alight to the hill-top behind us. It was curious to see how the
+flames ran up the trees and, leaving the trunks unscathed, seized on the
+masses of orchids on the boughs. Their leaves and stems blazed fiercely
+as if filled with oil. Scorched by the heat, grimed with the flying
+ashes and smuts, officers and men fought shoulder to shoulder against
+the encroaching flames. In a long line we descended to meet them and
+beat down the burning undergrowth. Suddenly a sharp gust of wind carried
+a burst of fire against us. Smothered by the smoke, our clothes alight
+from the red cinders, we were forced back. The flames lit up a patch of
+tall grass, dry as tinder, which went up in a sheet of fire. We turned
+and ran up to the summit. But one unfortunate sepoy stumbled and fell;
+and the wave of flame swept over him. It passed him by and then died as
+suddenly as it had risen. He stood up and staggered towards the
+hill-top. The moment he was seen a dozen men rushed down over the
+smouldering ground to help him. They carried him up to the crest and, as
+he was badly burnt, took him to the hospital as soon as a litter could
+be brought for him.
+
+The flames began to circle round the base of the hill and threatened to
+cut us off; so I was forced to abandon the position and order a retreat.
+Hardly had we reached the zigzag path to the fort when the huts went up
+in pillars of flame.
+
+In the evening I visited my unfortunate sepoy. Though in pain, he was
+conscious and able to speak to me; and I thought he would recover. But
+during the night he collapsed suddenly and died. This was the first
+death we had had in the detachment; and it cast a gloom over us all. The
+sepoys regretted a comrade; while the loss of one of his men always
+affects an officer. And in our isolated Station the death of one of our
+small number was acutely felt.
+
+There exists more sympathy between the British officers of an Indian
+regiment and the sepoys than between the latter and the native officers.
+Where the men imagine, not always without reason, that these last are
+swayed by considerations of different race or caste, of favouritism
+towards some and a dislike to others, of village and family feuds in
+their homes--for the Indian officers are generally promoted from the
+ranks--they know that the British officer is unaffected by such
+influences. Consequently, the men have far more confidence in his
+justice. When a sepoy is to be arraigned before a court martial for an
+offence, he is allowed to choose whether he will be tried by British or
+by Indian officers. In all my service I have known only one case in
+which the man elected for the latter. And when he came before the court
+and found it composed of native officers, he objected strongly and
+declared that he wished to be tried by the Sahibs. When it was pointed
+out to him that he had been given his choice of judges, he protested
+that he had not understood, and that he had no wish to be tried by men
+of his own nationality.
+
+There is perhaps even a greater bond of union between the sepoys and the
+white officers of a native regiment than between the soldiers and the
+commissioned ranks in a British corps. In the first place the Indian
+Army is a long-service one; and so officers and men remain longer
+together. Many of my sepoys have watched me advance from subaltern to
+captain, from captain to major; and youngsters I knew as recruits are
+now native officers under me. Then the Indian soldier leans more on his
+British officer. He comes to him with all his troubles about lawsuits
+over land and his fields--for every man is a land-holder--and
+confidently expects that his Sahib will fight for justice for him. Some
+continental armies would be horrified to see the sepoy off parade
+talking with friendly freedom to his British officer or playing hockey
+with him on terms of perfect equality.
+
+The flag of the fort was half-mast high, as the funeral-party marched
+out to pay the last honours to their dead comrade. As the deceased sepoy
+was a Rajput his body was carried down to Santrabari to be there placed
+on a pile of wood and burned with all the ceremonies of his religion;
+for, while Mohammedans are buried, Hindus are cremated.
+
+But we had little leisure to brood over the dead man's fate. The
+position of the fort and of the Station of Buxa was very precarious, now
+that the fires had reached the hills. The former I safeguarded by
+burning the grass on the isolated mound on which it stood. But our
+bungalows, hemmed in by the jungle which grew to within a few yards of
+them, were in constant danger. The diary of parades which I was obliged
+to furnish every week to the brigade office in Shillong for the
+information of the General bore for a fortnight the words "fighting
+fires," instead of the usual entries of "company drill," "musketry,"
+"field training," and the like. Day and night whenever the bugles rang
+out the alarm, we had to turn out to fight the intruding flames. Once we
+had to battle the whole day to save the forest officer's bungalow from
+being burned. I well remember how, while we officers and men toiled in
+the heat and smoke to beat back the fire, the Bengali clerks, whose
+houses were also in danger, stood at a safe distance, weeping and
+wringing their hands, but never attempting to help.
+
+At night the burning forests below were a gorgeous though pitiable
+sight. And when the fires, repelled from Buxa, swept past us upwards,
+and the semicircle of hills around blazed to the summit of Sinchula one
+night, the spectacle was sublime. In one spot, high overhead, the trees
+had been felled and left lying on the ground after a half-hearted
+attempt at cultivation by the Bhuttias. Here the long sparkling lines of
+fire from the burning undergrowth were changed to pillars of flame, as
+the huge, dry tree-trunks blazed fiercely up in the darkness.
+
+But life was not pleasant in Buxa during those days. The atmosphere was
+filled with smoke which veiled the sun. The heat was intense. So when
+the danger had passed our Station, I took the detachment down into the
+burned-out forest for a week's training in camp. The jungle was a sad
+sight for a sportsman's eyes. The big trees stood scorched, their trunks
+blackened and the branches charred where the masses of orchids that
+clothed them had burned. Some of the hollow stems were still on fire
+inside and sent out smoke among the tree-tops as from a steamer's
+funnel. Dead trees, long supported by creepers, now lay smouldering on
+the ground. The undergrowth which sheltered the game was gone. It was
+strange to be able to see for a hundred yards or more between the
+tree-trunks, where formerly ten paces was the limit of vision. The earth
+was covered ankle-deep in ashes, which rose up in suffocating clouds at
+every breath of hot wind. And above them was strewn a thick layer of
+dead leaves; for the trees shed them in the hot weather. And these I
+soon found constituted a fresh danger.
+
+To my surprise I discovered that the little corner in the foot-hills
+around Forest Lodge had been spared by the fire and my bamboo hut,
+twenty-two feet up in the air among the branches, was intact. So I
+halted the men and established the bivouac here. We had marched on ahead
+of the baggage, which was loaded on the elephants. While these were
+following us from Santrabari the masses of dry leaves underfoot caught
+fire from some smouldering log; and a long line of flames swept down on
+the terrified animals. Fortunately they were near a broad, dry
+river-bed; and the scared _mahouts_ drove them into it for safety. A
+mile away the crackling of the burning leaves aroused us to our new
+danger. Breaking off branches, officers and men set to work to sweep the
+leaves around the bivouac into heaps and leave the ground bare for a
+couple of hundred yards on every side. By the morrow the fire had died
+out, all the leaves having been consumed.
+
+As we manoeuvred through the forest every day I was astonished to still
+find traces of animal life in it. The destruction of the undergrowth and
+creepers having left the jungle more open, I determined to try a beat
+through it. On our last afternoon I sent all the men of the detachment a
+mile away across a broad river-bed with orders to drive towards it in a
+long line through the trees. On the near bank, which rose sheer to a
+height of thirty-three feet above the sand, the British and native
+officers, armed with rifles, took up their position. Lying flat on the
+ground at the edge of the bank, we listened to the shouts of the men
+coming nearer and nearer. The branches of the trees across the _nullah_
+became violently agitated; and a large troop of monkeys swung through
+them, leaped to the ground, and rushed over the sand on all fours. Then
+a barking deer broke out about a hundred and fifty yards away, and I
+fired at it. I was using a 470 cordite rifle; yet, struck just behind
+the shoulder by a soft-nosed bullet, the little animal ran a furlong
+before dropping dead. Nothing else followed it. Soon the men came into
+view between the trees and halted below us. Draj Khan, who was managing
+the line of beaters, was berating his comrades vehemently. He told me
+that they had come across a large tusker elephant; and instead of
+shepherding it gently towards the guns, a number of foolish young
+sepoys, armed only with sticks, had rushed boldly at it with wild yells.
+Luckily it did not attack them, but escaped out to one side of the beat.
+At the other end of the line the men had come on a small herd of
+_sambhur_, including two stags, and in their excitement had valiantly
+charged them in the absurd hope of taking them alive. A _sambhur_ stag
+with his sharp horns and the driving-power of his great weight behind
+them is no mean foe; and it was just as well that the deer had fled from
+the men and broke out through a gap in the line.
+
+We tried a beat lower down the river, which resulted in the men putting
+up a panther. But again some foolishly daring spirits rushed at it to
+attack it with their sticks; and the animal got away at one end of the
+beat. Draj Khan caught a young _sambhur_ fawn, a week old, and brought
+it to me in his arms. This and the _khakur_ were our whole bag.
+
+I was surprised to find that the burnt forest still sheltered so much
+life. As the fires do not advance very rapidly the wild beasts can
+generally keep ahead of them and escape. But I cannot understand how the
+harmless animals support existence when all their fodder is destroyed.
+
+One night when Creagh and I were sitting in the bivouac after dinner in
+the dim light of a half moon, the idea occurred to me to take one of our
+elephants and wander along the bed of a river a few hundred yards away,
+in which, as there was still some water left, we might come upon wild
+animals drinking. So we got our rifles, and a pad was strapped on
+Khartoum's back. On her we passed out of the zareba surrounding the
+camp, in which most of the men lay asleep on their _dhurries_ stretched
+on the ground; for the native requires no softer bed and can repose
+contentedly on paving stones. A couple of the Indian officers still sat
+talking by a fire near the shelter of boughs erected for them by their
+men. We answered the sentry's challenge and turned Khartoum down a path
+from the bivouac to the water. It lay faintly white in the misty
+moonlight which barely lit up the ground under the leafless trees. Not a
+hundred yards from the camp the _mahout_ stopped Khartoum suddenly and
+pointed to a black object which indistinctly blurred the path.
+
+"A bear, Sahib," he whispered.
+
+It was too dark to see my rifle-sights; but I rapidly tied my
+handkerchief round the barrel and tried to aim at the shadowy outline of
+the animal. Unluckily at that moment it moved off the path and entered
+a patch of shadow under a tree which still kept its leaves. I fired both
+barrels in quick succession without result and the bear scuttled away
+among the trees. We tried to follow it but could not find it again.
+
+When we reached the river-bed, down the middle of which a narrow stream
+still ran, we wandered up it for a couple of miles in the misty light.
+It was a curious sensation to be roaming noiselessly--for Khartoum's
+feet made no sound on the soft sand--in the dead of night through the
+silent jungle. Far away a _khakur's_ harsh bark rang out suddenly once
+or twice, giving warning of the presence of some beast of prey; but
+otherwise all was still. We disturbed a few deer drinking; and they
+dashed away up the _nullah_ in alarm. But we saw no wild elephant or
+tiger, such as I had hoped to come upon; and so we turned and made for
+camp again.
+
+On our return to Buxa the hills near us were bare and blackened; but
+farther away the fires still blazed. The heat and the oppression of the
+smoky atmosphere were still almost unendurable. But one night in the
+first week of April I was awakened by a terrific peal of thunder right
+overhead, which shook my bungalow and echoed and re-echoed among the
+hills. Another followed, as the intense darkness was lit up by a
+blinding lightning flash. And a dull moaning sound advancing from the
+plains below and steadily increasing to a roar made me sit up in bed and
+wonder what was about to happen. It drew near; and then a torrential
+downpour of tropical rain beat down on the Station. My iron roof rattled
+as if millions of pebbles were being flung on it. The noise was so
+great that I lay awake for hours.
+
+The storm raged all night; and when I rose for parade I looked out on a
+changed world. The rain still descended in sheets. The parade ground was
+a swamp. Down the _nullah_ beside my garden raced a tumbling torrent of
+brown water flecked with white foam. Our rainy season had set in nearly
+three months earlier than throughout the greater part of the Peninsula
+of India. And now began the dullest time of our life in the outpost. In
+the five months that followed nearly three hundred inches of rain fell
+in Buxa. Work was at a standstill, save for physical drill in the men's
+barrack-rooms and lectures to the non-commissioned officers. To walk
+from my bungalow to the office in the fort every day was almost an
+adventure. Wearing long rubber boots to the knee and wrapped in a
+mackintosh I paddled across the swampy parade ground in drenching rain,
+and even in the short distance was wet through. And at night I struggled
+up the hill to dinner in the Mess along the steep road which was
+converted into a mountain torrent a foot deep, fearing at every step to
+find some snake, washed out of its hole in the ground, clinging
+affectionately round my legs to stop its downward career. All night long
+and most of the day storms swept down on us; and thunder growled and
+grumbled among the hills. Dwellers in temperate lands can form no
+conception of the awful grandeur of a tropical tempest, the fury of the
+wind, the vivid lightning that spatters the sky and runs in chains and
+linked patterns across its darkness, the awful sound of the crashing
+thunder that seems to shake the world. But, terrifying at first, they
+became actually wearisome from their frequency. When a thunderstorm has
+raged about one's house for eighteen hours, circling round the hills and
+returning again and again, one gets simply bored with it--there is no
+other expression to describe the feeling.
+
+It was wonderful to see the revivifying effect of the rain on the
+parched ground. One could almost watch the grass grow. Where a few days
+before was only bare earth, now the herbage stood feet high. All traces
+of the devastating fires were washed away. On the hill-sides, fertilised
+by the ashes, the undergrowth sprang up more luxuriantly than ever. But
+it brought with it the greatest curse of the rainy season in the jungle.
+Every twig, every leaf, every blade of grass, harboured leeches, thin
+threads of black and yellow which waved one end in the air and seemed to
+scent an approaching prey. Walk over the grass, brush past the bushes,
+and a dozen of these pests fastened on you. Through the lace-holes of
+one's boots, between the folds of putties, down one's collar they
+insinuated themselves unnoticed; and you did not feel them until,
+bloated with blood and swollen to an enormous size, they were
+perceptible to the touch under the clothing. After a walk one was
+obliged, on returning to the bungalow, to undress and was sure to find
+several leeches fastened to one's body. I saw one sepoy with a leech
+firmly fixed in his nostril. Another time I noticed a man's shirt sleeve
+stained with blood from elbow to wrist, and, on examining the arm,
+discovered that, unknown to the sepoy, two leeches were fastened on it
+and had punctured veins.
+
+Sometimes hailstorms alternated with the rain. I had heard stories of
+the size of the hailstones in the Duars. Planters had assured me that
+animals were often killed and the corrugated iron roofs of the factories
+perforated by them. I declined to credit these assertions; although in
+other parts of India I have seen hailstones an inch in diameter. But one
+night in Buxa, while we were at dinner, a hailstorm rattled on the roof
+of the bungalow; and I really believe that if this had not been made of
+thick sheets of iron it would have been drilled through. My orderly
+picked up one hailstone outside and brought it in to us. We passed it
+from hand to hand; and then it occurred to me to measure it. It was a
+rectangular block of clear ice containing as a core a round, whitish
+hailstone of the usual size and shape; and, using the tape and compass,
+we found it was two and a quarter inches long, one and a half broad, and
+one inch thick. And this after it had lain for a few minutes on the
+ground and had been handled by several persons. Next day a native survey
+party, under the command of a European, arrived in Buxa on its way to
+inspect the boundary marks along the Bhutan frontier, as these are
+frequently moved back into our territory by the wily Bhutanese. The
+Englishman in charge told me that he had been caught by the fringe of
+this storm on the previous evening. He had only a few yards to run for
+shelter but put up his umbrella as he did so. It was drilled through by
+the hailstones as if they had been bullets. I heard afterwards of
+several animals killed in the hills by this storm.
+
+Shut up in our small Station by the relentless rain the days passed
+wearily during the long wet months. Often in the afternoon the rain
+ceased for a couple of hours; and we were able to get out for a little
+exercise. So steep were the slopes, so rocky the soil, that in half an
+hour after the cessation of the downpour the road and the parade ground
+were comparatively dry. But we could not wander off them without the
+risk of being attacked by scores of leeches.
+
+In July came a break of nearly a week. I took advantage of it to descend
+into the forest. Wonderful was the transformation there! No longer could
+I complain that there was no shelter for game. The undergrowth was
+higher and denser than ever. Save for an occasional blackened
+tree-trunk, half hidden in the greenery, there was no trace of the
+devastation wrought by the fires. The ashes had only served to fertilise
+the ground, and the vegetation pushed more vigorously than ever. Orchids
+again clothed the boughs. And, sporting in the unusual sunshine, myriads
+of gorgeous tropical butterflies, scarlet and black, peacock-green, pale
+blue, yellow, all the colours imaginable, rose up in clouds before my
+elephant. The creepers again swinging from stem to stem writhed and
+twisted in fantastic confusion. The rivers were in flood and rolled
+their masses of brown, foam-flecked water to the south.
+
+Despite the awful storms I saw no trace in the forest or the hills of
+damage wrought by lightning. When we arrived in Buxa I had thought the
+buildings well protected, as conductors ran down every chimney in
+bungalow and barrack. But just before the Rains an engineer of the
+Public Works Department had visited us to inspect them. To my alarm he
+informed me that none of them were properly insulated, and that so far
+from being a safeguard, they were a positive danger. Then, having
+cheered me by saying that possibly in a year or two his Department would
+put them to rights, he left. So when the thunderstorms broke over us I
+used to wonder in pained resignation which building would be the first
+struck. But we weathered them all successfully. Probably the hills
+around saved us by attracting the electric fluid.
+
+Our brief glimpse of fine weather was soon gone. Then the clouds rolled
+up from the sea before the breath of the south-west Monsoons, the storms
+again assailed us, and the floodgates of the sky were opened once more.
+In England one complains of the dullness of a wet summer. Think of five
+months' incessant rain in a small Station that never boasted more than
+three European inhabitants, cut off from the world and thrown entirely
+on their own resources! Smith had long since left us and we had no
+doctor. In the middle of the Rains Creagh was ordered off to command the
+Trade Agent's escort in Gyantse in Tibet; and I was left the only white
+man in Buxa. Life was not gay. Even the relief of work was denied us;
+and sport was impossible, for malaria and blackwater fever hold
+possession of the jungles during the Monsoon. And even when the Rains
+moderated in September, we were not allowed to shoot until the close
+season ended in October. The wet season is not really over in India
+until near the beginning of November; and in Buxa we sometimes had rain
+in that month and in December.
+
+But still we managed to survive the trial by fire and by water; and the
+winter found us as ready for work and sport as ever.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI
+
+IN THE PALACE OF THE MAHARAJAH
+
+    The Durbar--Outside the palace--The State elephants--The
+        soldiery--The Durbar Hall--Officials and gentry of the
+        State--The throne--Queen Victoria's banner--The hidden
+        ladies--_Purdah nashin_--Arrival of the _Dewan_--The
+        Maharajah's entry--The Sons' Salute--A chivalrous
+        Indian custom--_Nuzzurs_--The Dewan's task--The
+        Maharani--An Indian reformer--_Bramo Samaj_--Pretty
+        princesses--An informal banquet--The _nautch_--A
+        moonlight ride--The Maharajah--A soldier and a
+        sportsman--Cooch Behar--The palace--A dinner-party--The
+        heir's birthday celebrations--Schoolboys'
+        sports--Indian amateur theatricals--An evening in the
+        palace--A panther-drive--Exciting sport--Death of the
+        panther--Partridge shooting on elephants--A stray
+        rhinoceros--Prince Jit's luck--Friendly intercourse
+        between Indians and Englishmen--An unjust complaint.
+
+
+The long arcaded front of the Palace of Cooch Behar gleamed in the glow
+of torches held by hundreds of white-clad natives. From the broad steps
+of the entrance to the lofty dome above it was outlined with lamps
+flickering in the night breeze. Before the great portals were ranged two
+lines of elephants with the State silver howdahs and trappings of
+heavily embroidered cloth of gold. Their broad faces streaked with white
+paint in quaint designs, their tusks tipped with brass, the great beasts
+looked like legendary monsters in the ruddy torchlight as they stood
+swinging their trunks, flapping their ears, and shifting restlessly from
+foot to foot. Up the lane between them came carriages and palankeens
+bearing the officials and nobles of the State to do homage to their
+Maharajah, who this night held his annual Durbar. The flight of broad
+steps in front of the great doorway was crowded with swordsmen and
+spearmen; while on the ground below were the uniformed State Band under
+a European conductor, and a Guard of Honour of the red-coated Cooch
+Behar Infantry with muzzle-loading muskets.
+
+The large circular Durbar Hall running up to the high domed roof and
+surrounded by a balustraded gallery seemed set for a stage scene. The
+floor was covered with the seated forms of officials and gentry clothed
+in white and wearing their jewels. On a dais under a golden canopy stood
+an empty gilt throne, one arm fashioned into the shape of an elephant,
+the other a tiger. Beside it was a large banner, the gift of the late
+Queen Victoria, heavily embroidered in gold with the same animals, which
+are the armorial bearings of the State. Behind the throne stood a number
+of swordsmen and halberdiers. One portion of the gallery was shrouded by
+latticed screens, from behind which came the rustle of draperies and the
+murmur of female voices; for they hid Her Highness the Maharani, her
+daughters, and the ladies of Cooch Behar--_purdah nashin_, that is,
+"hidden behind the veil" and never to reveal their faces to any men but
+their near kin. In another part of the gallery were a few British
+officers and civilians gazing with interest on the brilliant spectacle
+below. Through the great entrance could be seen the crowd outside, the
+soldiery and the lines of restlessly swaying elephants. Through them up
+the broad roadway came a palankeen borne on the shoulders of coolies
+and surrounded by torch-bearers and swordsmen. A cheer went up from the
+crowd; and all inside the hall rose as the palankeen stopped, and from
+it emerged a frail old man, clothed in white and adorned with splendid
+jewels which flashed in the ruddy glow of the torches and the clearer
+light of the electric lamps. It was the _Dewan_, the Prime Minister of
+the State. As he entered the Durbar Hall the mass of white-robed
+officials swayed like a field of ripe grain in the wind, as all present
+bowed to him. He took his place before the empty throne.
+
+Then the assemblage bent lower and a murmured acclamation went up from
+all as their Maharajah entered, followed by a procession of Indian
+aides-de-camp in white uniforms with gold aigulettes, white spiked
+helmets and trailing swords, similar to the summer dress of British
+officers in India. His Highness was clothed in a beautiful native garb
+of pale blue, with a _puggri_, or turban, of the same delicate hue with
+a diamond-studded aigrette. From the broad gold belt around his waist
+hung a jewelled scimitar. His breast glittered with orders and war
+medals, for he had seen active service with the British Army. His jewels
+flashed in coloured fire in the lamps.
+
+With slow and stately step he passed through the great chamber and
+seated himself on the golden throne; while silver trumpets pealed a
+welcome and the State Band played the National Anthem of Cooch Behar.
+Then came a silence and an expectant pause; and there entered four
+gallant young figures, the Maharajah's sons. Foremost came the heir,
+Prince Rajendra Narayen, in the scarlet tunic of the Westminster
+Dragons, and his brother, Prince Jitendra, in the beautiful white, blue
+and gold uniform of the Imperial Cadet Corps. Then followed Prince
+Victor, a godson of the late Queen Victoria, in the same magnificent
+dress, and the youngest son, Prince Hitendra, in a fine Indian costume
+of cloth of gold. The four young men halted and fronted their royal
+father. Then the heir apparent walked forward to the steps of the throne
+and held out his sheathed sword horizontally before him in the splendid
+Indian salute which means "I place my life and my sword in your hand."
+His Highness bent forward and touched the hilt, the emblematic sign
+meaning "I accept the gift and give you back your life." Prince Rajendra
+let fall the sword to his side, brought his hand to his helmet in
+military salute and took his place on the dais beside his father. Each
+of the other sons came forward in turn, did homage likewise; and then
+the four stood two and two on each side of the throne.
+
+Never have I looked on a more picturesque ceremonial or magnificent
+spectacle than this scene of the Durbar. It seemed too splendid, too
+glowing with colour, to be real life. The brilliantly lit chamber, the
+flashing of jewels and gold, the dense throng of white-clad officials,
+the glittering weapons of the armed attendants; and then the four richly
+apparelled princes pledging their fealty to their Sovereign and Sire in
+the historic Oriental custom that has come down to us through the
+storied ages of Indian chivalry. I could hardly realise that this
+gorgeous pageant was not some magnificent stage scene.
+
+The staff officers now came forward and offered their swords. Then the
+_Dewan_, followed by the swarms of officials and nobles, advanced one by
+one to the steps of the throne and presented their _muzzurs_, the
+Indian offering of gold or silver coins, which His Highness "touched and
+remitted," as the quaint phrase runs. Each, after salaaming profoundly
+before the throne, retired backwards and brought his gift to an
+official, who counted the amount of the offering, for next day the donor
+would be dowered with a present of equal amount, a profitable
+transaction as his own was returned to him.
+
+An attendant brought forward a splendid embossed gold hookah two feet
+high and placed it before the throne. The long snake-like gold tube and
+mouthpiece were handed to the Maharajah, who smoked during the remainder
+of the proceedings. For now a quaint ceremony began. The accounts of the
+various parts and departments of the State were brought solemnly to the
+_Dewan_, who sat on the floor surrounded by piles of account-books,
+which he examined. When he had concluded his lengthy task the Durbar
+came to an end. The assemblage rose and bowed low as the Maharajah,
+attended by his sons and his aides-de-camp, passed in procession out of
+the hall.
+
+Half an hour later the few military and civilian guests assembled in the
+beautiful State drawing-room, where we were joined by the Maharani and
+her two pretty daughters attired in exceedingly artistic native costumes
+and wearing delicately tinted _saris_ draped most becomingly over their
+heads. Her Highness looked almost as youthful and lovely as on the day
+when the Maharajah first saw her and lost his heart to her. For, unlike
+most Indian marriages, theirs was a true love-match. She was a daughter
+of the famous religious reformer, Mr Sen, the founder of the _Bramo
+Samaj_ faith, which substitutes for the mythology and the seventy
+thousand deities of the Hindu worship, a purer belief in one God. The
+Maharani has the fair complexion of high-class Brahmin ladies, and an
+individuality and a charm of her own that makes her hosts of friends.
+The pretty young princesses seemed more to be masquerading in an
+attractive fancy dress than wearing their national costume; for they had
+been brought up by English governesses and educated in England, had
+danced through the ball-rooms of London and Calcutta in the smartest
+Parisian toilettes, and were as much at home in the Park or at a gala
+night at the Opera as in their own country.
+
+Owing to the Durbar, dinner was served at a late hour in the State
+dining-room, a spacious apartment in white and gold. At one end hung
+full-length portraits of our host and hostess in the gorgeous robes they
+wore at the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria in the celebrations in
+London. Table and sideboard shone with massive silver cups won at
+race-meetings and shows by the horses of the Cooch Behar stable. Native
+servants in scarlet and gold waited on the guests; but with all the
+luxury of a banquet served on silver there was no formality about the
+meal. The Maharajah and his sons had changed their magnificent attire
+for a comfortable native dress; and listening to their conversation in
+colloquial English on polo, shooting, and London theatrical gossip it
+was hard to realise that an hour before they had been playing their
+picturesque parts in such a stately Oriental pageant. All the family
+generally used English as their speech. The boys had been educated at
+Eton; and Victor, in addition, had done a course at an American
+University.
+
+After dinner we adjourned to the Durbar Hall again to witness from the
+galleries a _nautch_; and real Indian dancing is a spectacle of which
+the European soon has his fill. And somewhere about three o'clock in the
+morning, fatigued with the monotonous chant and the lazily moving fat
+figures of the _nautch_ girls, overpowered by the heated atmosphere
+heavy with scent, I gladly hailed the suggestion of Prince Rajendra to
+escape from it all and go for a mad rush in his motor-car through the
+surrounding country in the brilliant moonlight. His brothers followed us
+in their cars. _Nautches_ and motor-cars, the brilliant spectacle of the
+Durbar and these Eton-bred Indian Princes; what a fantastic medley it
+all seemed! And the swift sweep through the park in the cool morning air
+back to an Indian palace and a guest-chamber fitted like the best
+bedroom in a European _hôtel de luxe_. But when next day I left, in
+response to an urgent message bidding me come to shoot a tiger near
+Buxa, even the prospect of the sport scarcely reconciled me to quitting
+the lavish hospitality of my hosts.
+
+The Maharajah of that day is unfortunately no longer alive. The
+descendant of a hill race, he had all the fighting spirit of his
+ancestors who left their mountains to carve out a kingdom for themselves
+among the unwarlike dwellers of the Bengal plains. He took part in the
+Tirah Campaign with our troops, and held the rank of colonel in our
+Indian Cavalry. A sportsman, he was regarded throughout India, that land
+of sportsmen, as one of the best authorities in the world on big-game
+shooting. He had not his equal in the art of managing a beat with
+elephants; and it was a marvellous sight to see him working a long line
+of them through thick jungle with the skill of a M.F.H. with his hounds
+in covert. He was a splendid horseman. Excelling in all games, he
+brought up his sons in the love of sport and athletics and made them
+fine polo players, first-class cricketers and footballers and crack
+shots. But, in addition, he was an extremely clever and well-read man
+and a most interesting talker. He had been everywhere, seen everything,
+and knew most of the interesting personalities of the day. His
+hospitality was proverbial. In his residences in Calcutta and
+Darjeeling, in his Palace of Cooch Behar, he kept open house. His
+courtesy and charm of manner endeared him to all who knew him.
+
+On my first visit to Cooch Behar in response to an invitation of His
+Highness, Creagh and I were met at the railway station by Captain Denham
+White, then temporarily acting civil surgeon of the State. He drove us
+through the town which, though small, is well planned. The streets are
+broad, well laid, and shaded with trees. In the centre of it lies a
+large square tank or pond surrounded by roads bordered by public and
+official buildings. Here afterwards I often saw the invalid permanent
+civil surgeon, for whom Captain White was then acting, sitting in a
+chair on the bank fishing, with a table beside him on which his servant
+laid his tea. And undisturbed by the endless procession of bullock
+carts, coolies, and natives of all ages, the old doctor sat and cast his
+line, hooking some extraordinary large fish at times.
+
+The poorer houses of the town were built on posts with bamboo walls and
+thatched roofs, similar to the Filipino dwellings in Manila, cool and
+airy and far healthier than the awful abodes of the lower classes in an
+English city. Cooch Behar could boast a fine college, a good civil
+hospital and quite a comfortable prison. I visited it once and found the
+thieves, highway robbers, and murderers, anything but miserable despite
+their chains, making soda water, grinding corn, cultivating vegetables
+or eating better and more plentiful meals than they had ever got in
+their own homes.
+
+Beyond the town we drove through the open tree-shaded park to the
+palace, a long two-storied building with arcaded verandas above and
+below. It was shaped like a T laid on its side; and at the junction of
+the two strokes was the portico leading to a large hall, off which
+opened the great Durbar room surmounted by its lofty white dome. On the
+left of the entrance, as one approached, were, on both stories, the long
+series of guest-chambers. On the right along the lower veranda was the
+State dining-room. Off the entrance hall to the right a broad staircase
+led to the upper story. Its walls were crowded with trophies of sport
+which had fallen to the Maharajah's rifle all over the world. Heads of
+bison, Indian and Cape buffaloes, moose, wapiti, _sambhur_, cheetal and
+roe deer from Germany--relics of many lands. To the right lay the State
+drawing-room and the splendidly appointed billiard-room carpeted with
+the skins of tigers. It occupied the front end of the short stroke of
+the T, and so from its windows and doors gave a fine view over the park
+on three sides, which made it a popular apartment for the afternoon tea
+rendezvous with the ladies of the family and their European guests.
+Behind, lay the private apartments of His Highness, the Maharani and her
+daughters, from the flat roofs above which, reached by a small
+staircase, one could see for many miles over the flat country beyond the
+English-like park. From here the Maharani could look down unseen, for in
+deference to the customs of her husband's subjects she and her daughters
+were _purdah_ in the State outside the palace, and watch her sons
+playing football with the Cooch Behar team in the annual association
+tournament for a cup given by His Highness. The ground was situated in
+the park close under the walls of the building.
+
+At the time of this visit the Maharajah was the only member of the
+family in Cooch Behar. He had issued invitations to a dinner-party in
+our honour that evening, at which we met his staff and some of the
+principal gentlemen of his State. He joined us at dinner himself; for,
+being a follower of the _Bramo Samaj_ faith, he had no religious
+prejudices that prevented him from eating with Europeans. I have hunted,
+shot, played polo and pigsticked with Hindu Princes who yet could not
+sit down at the same table with me when I dined at their palaces. At
+most they entered the room when dinner was over and filled a glass of
+wine to drink our Sovereign's health. But this meal in Cooch Behar was
+enlivened for me by the interesting conversation of my host, whom I was
+meeting for the first time. The State Band played outside the
+dining-room. After dinner we adjourned to the billiard-room or made up a
+bridge table. The Maharajah was practically the first Indian Prince to
+adopt English customs and was a frequent visitor to England, where he
+and his consort were great favourites of the late Queen Victoria. For
+her and the then reigning monarch King Edward VII. he entertained the
+warmest personal regard and admiration; and his loyalty to the British
+rule was founded on his sincere conviction of the benefits it conferred
+on India. I remember that during dinner that night he said to me:
+
+"If ever, during my lifetime, the British quitted India, my departure
+would precede theirs; for this would be no country to live in then.
+Chaos, bloodshed and confusion would be its lot."
+
+I drew him out on the subject of big-game shooting, of which few men
+living knew more, and listened with interest to his tales of _shikar_.
+Then the conversation ranged to art, the theatre, war, and politics; and
+on each he could speak entertainingly. He was deeply interested in
+developing the resources of his State and was anxious to introduce
+scientific methods among his farmers. Among other plans he was anxious
+to improve the quality of the native tobacco grown largely in the State,
+and had got for the purpose the best species of American and Turkish
+plants. His third son Victor, after finishing his course at an American
+University, was sent to Cuba to inspect the plantations and factories,
+and study the methods in use there.
+
+On the following day my subaltern and I were obliged to set our faces
+towards Buxa again; and it seemed like turning our backs on civilisation
+when we left the luxury of Cooch Behar Palace behind us and wended our
+way to our solitary little Station in the hills.
+
+On another occasion I was present for the celebrations of the birthday
+of the eldest son, Prince Rajendra, best known to his friends as
+"Raji," who is now the Maharajah.[6] In the palace park the annual
+sports of the Cooch Behar Boys' School were held. To a European new to
+India the sight of the native youngsters competing in sprint, hurdle and
+long-distance races and doing high and broad jumps like their
+contemporaries in England would have seemed strange. But wherever the
+Briton goes he takes his sports and games with him and imbues the race
+he finds himself among with his own love of them. So Chinese lads play
+cricket and football; and swarthy-bearded Indian sepoys rush round the
+obstacle course in their regimental sports or play side by side with
+their white officers on the hockey ground.
+
+Among the marquees in the enclosure for the spectators who were watching
+the schoolboys' competitions was one which was shrouded by _chikks_, or
+bamboo latticed blinds which enabled the occupants to see all that was
+passing outside and remain invisible themselves. It was intended for the
+use of the Maharani and her daughters, who, as I have said, were
+_purdah_ in their own State in deference to the prejudices of the Cooch
+Beharis. This custom among the Hindus sprang up at the time of the
+Mohammedan invasions, partly from imitation of their conquerors, but
+probably more to shield their women from the licentious gaze of the
+victorious Mussulmans, who would have had small scruple in seizing any
+female whose Beauty attracted them.
+
+The Maharani and the young princesses emerged heavily veiled from the
+palace and entered a motor-car which was shrouded in white linen in such
+a way as to hide them from sight. It took them through the park to the
+sports enclosure, where servants held up white sheets to form a lane
+through which the ladies could pass unseen to the seclusion of their
+marquee.
+
+Among the celebrations in honour of the day--how English customs are
+seizing in the East!--was an amateur theatrical performance by the Young
+Men's Club of Cooch Behar. After dinner, Prince Raji motored me into the
+town to see it. The play was in Bengali, the plot being an episode in
+the history of the State several hundred years ago and containing much
+bloodshed and tragedy. It was excellently well staged and the acting was
+capital. Being ignorant of the language I was dependent on my
+companion's explanations. Like all Oriental plays it was of inordinate
+length; and having witnessed six or seven acts I was quite ready to
+depart without waiting for the end when my friend suggested it.
+
+Once when staying at the palace I was fortunate in having an opportunity
+of witnessing the Maharajah's skill in handling a line of elephants in a
+beat. The previous night at dinner he told us that he had received
+information of a "kill" by a panther near a village five miles away, and
+that he had given orders for his elephants to be ready on the spot next
+morning. The male guests present hailed the news with joy. We happened
+to be a curiously assorted party in race and in costume round the table
+that night. The Maharajah and his family wore Indian dress, as they
+usually did in the palace; though elsewhere they invariably wore
+European attire. Two Sikh nobles, officers of the Maharajah of Patiala's
+Bodyguard, were in correct evening clothes but wore white _puggris_
+round their heads, which concealed their long hair, which the Sikh is
+forbidden by his religion to cut. They were tall, handsome men with the
+good features of their race. As they spoke no English, we were obliged
+to converse with them in Urdu. The Maharani was not well acquainted with
+that language and so was forced to appeal to me to interpret for her
+several times. The Indian aide-de-camp of His Highness wore white mess
+dress; while a major in a British regiment and I were in the
+conventional black and white.
+
+After dinner we joined the ladies in the beautiful yellow and gold State
+drawing-room. We found one of the pretty young princesses seated at the
+piano, making a delightful picture in the charming Indian dress, the
+gold-bordered _sari_ draped becomingly over her dark hair, her tiny bare
+feet pressing the pedals as she played--how incongruous it seemed!--a
+selection from a musical comedy; and, attracted by the melody of the
+song then the rage in London, her brothers came in from the
+billiard-room to join in the chorus.
+
+Next morning my orderly woke me at 4-30 a.m. I hurriedly drank my tea
+and got into shooting kit; for we were to start at five o'clock. When I
+came out of my room on to the lower veranda I found some of our party
+already assembled by the great entrance. The Maharajah was seated in his
+motor-car with his youngest daughter, Princess Sudhira, beside him. To
+my surprise she was attired in a very smartly cut coat and skirt and
+wore a sun helmet; for, as she promptly informed me, she did not
+consider herself old enough--she was only sixteen--to be bothered by
+the restrictions of _purdah_ when it did not suit her. Her father shook
+his head and smiled at the pretty rebel against Hindu customs.
+
+Major F---- and I went with them in their car; while the Sikh officers
+followed in another. We sped rapidly through the park and out along
+rough country roads, by thatched cottages and grass huts, groves of
+mango trees and dense thickets of bamboo. By the village wells dark-eyed
+women, poising their water jars on their heads turned to stare at us as
+we passed in a cloud of dust. From the hamlets tiny naked children
+rushed out to gaze at the _shaitan ki gharri_--the "devil's car." We
+soon reached the spot where the elephants were waiting for us beside the
+road. On the backs of the splendid tuskers intended for the shooters
+were howdahs fitted with gun rests and seats. Our elephants knelt down
+for us to clamber up. The Maharajah, with the true spirit of
+hospitality, left the sport to his guests and went off to take charge of
+the line of beaters. Princess Sudhira, armed with a camera, shared his
+howdah. The shooting elephants moved across the fields to a _nullah_
+filled with small trees and scrub jungle, in which the panther was
+reported to be hiding, and took up places in or on either bank of it.
+The beaters made a long circuit and formed line across the _nullah_.
+Then at a signal from the Maharajah they advanced towards us. As the
+ground on either side consisted of open, ploughed fields devoid of cover
+the panther would be forced to come along the ravine to the guns. The
+loud cries of the _mahouts_, the trumpeting of the elephants, the
+crashing of trampled jungle and the rending of boughs torn from the
+trees made a pandemonium of noise. I was posted high up on a bank and
+had a good general view of the scene. One of the Sikh nobles suddenly
+raised his rifle and fired; and I saw the lithe form of the panther for
+a few seconds as it dashed past his elephant and bounded like a great
+cat along the _nullah_. I caught an occasional glimpse of it between the
+patches of jungle but could not succeed in getting a shot. The Sikh's
+bullet had wounded it; but for the time it had succeeded in making its
+escape.
+
+The Maharajah came up and rearranged the beat. Our howdah elephants were
+sent along the banks; and we took up fresh positions farther on. Again
+the line of beaters bore down on us. The panther clung obstinately to
+the cover, not moving until the beaters were almost on it. Then it slunk
+cautiously towards the guns and gave the other Sikh officer a chance to
+wound it again. It turned and dashed against the line of beaters,
+recoiling almost from under the elephants' feet. For the first time I
+got a clear view of it but dared not fire lest I should hit anyone in
+the line. The elephants trumpeted shrilly; and while some tried to
+charge it and impale it on their tusks, others stampeded. All was
+confusion; but the Maharajah's voice rang loud above the uproar and made
+the excited _mahouts_ keep their animals in the alignment. The panther,
+baffled in his attempt to break through, turned again and charged
+towards us. I lost sight of it in the scrub; but both Sikhs fired, and I
+saw it spring up the bank towards Major F---- who stopped it with a
+bullet. I urged my _mahout_ forward and came on it rolling on the ground
+howling in agony and tearing up the earth with sharp claws. It was
+surrounded by the elephants of the other sportsmen and of the Maharajah.
+Princess Sudhira calmly leant over the front of her howdah and
+snapshotted it as it sprang up and tried to charge, only to be bowled
+over by a final shot. With a last spasm the beautiful animal sank on the
+ground and lay still, its yellow and black skin shining in the brilliant
+sunlight. Several _mahouts_ climbed down and approached the body
+cautiously, while we covered it with our rifles. But it was dead at
+last; and they lifted it on to the pad of one of the "beater" elephants.
+
+Then, exchanging our weapons for shot-guns we moved off in a long line
+over the fields in search of partridges. Birds were plentiful. Covey
+after covey flashed up from the grass under the elephants' feet. A
+scattered fire opened along the line and the partridges dropped in
+crumpled balls of feathers. How different it seemed from walking them up
+over the stubble in the brisk air of an autumn morning in distant
+England! The Maharajah was shooting now and we soon secured a good bag.
+We reached the road, found the motor-cars waiting for us, and were
+whirled back to the palace. Panther and partridges before
+breakfast--what an attractive programme that would be for a
+shooting-party in an English country-house!
+
+Though formerly the haunt of every species of big game, Cooch Behar has
+been so opened up for cultivation that it no longer affords cover for
+the larger animals of the chase. But in recent years the Maharajah's
+second son, Jitendra, had an unexpected bit of good fortune in _shikar_.
+His father was absent in Assam organising a big shoot, and had taken
+with him all his elephants except one. "Jit," then little more than a
+schoolboy, was the only member of the family at the palace and was very
+disgusted at being considered too young to be taken on the shoot. But
+the Fates were good to him. One day an excited peasant repaired to the
+palace with the information that a rhinoceros had appeared in a village
+not five miles from the town. Jit was incredulous. Such a thing seemed
+impossible; for a rhino had not been seen in Cooch Behar State for many
+years. But the man stuck to his story. So the boy sent the solitary
+elephant out to the spot, mounted his bicycle and rode to the village.
+Here he found a crowd of peasants surrounding, at a respectful distance,
+a small clump of bamboos in the middle of a large bare field in which
+several cows were grazing. It seemed impossible that a rhinoceros, which
+in India always inhabits dense jungle, could have come into such open
+country. But the villagers declared the animal was there in the bamboos.
+Jit, still half incredulous, mounted his elephant. Hardly had he done so
+when a large rhinoceros burst out from the tiny patch of cover, and,
+apparently objecting to the presence of the cows, charged furiously at
+them. Up went their tails and off went the cows. Round and round the
+field they raced, the young heifers leaping and frisking like black
+buck, while the rhino lumbered heavily after them. The villagers
+scattered and fled. The scene was so comical that Jit, standing like a
+circus-master in the centre of the ring, could hardly stop laughing long
+enough to lift his rifle and take aim. At last he fired; and the
+rhinoceros checked, stumbled forward a few paces and collapsed in an
+inert mass on the ground. Then the boy, fearful lest his father might
+resent his having appropriated the best bit of sport that the State had
+afforded for years, got on his bicycle and sped home to write a hurried
+letter of explanation and apology, which had the effect of the
+proverbial "soft answer."
+
+The late Maharajah of Cooch Behar,[7] as I have said, was practically
+the first Indian Prince to adopt English customs, and, with his family,
+mixed freely in European society. By doing so he helped greatly the
+cause of friendly intercourse between the two races and did much to
+break down the great barrier between Briton and Indian. But, be it
+remembered, that barrier is not of the white man's raising. Educated
+Indians when in England, complain bitterly to sympathising audiences
+that in their own land they are not admitted freely into Anglo-Indian
+society. And the cry is taken up parrot-like and echoed in the British
+Isles by people absolutely ignorant of Indian conditions. The educated
+native, fresh from the boarding-houses of Bayswater, claims that he has
+a right to be introduced to a white man's house, to his wife and
+daughters. But he would hardly let a European see the face of _his_ wife
+or permit him to enter anywhere but the fringe of his domicile. He has
+all the Oriental's contempt for women, and yet demands to be freely
+admitted to the society of English ladies, for whom in his heart he has
+no respect. And we who live in the land know it. But until he
+emancipates his own womenkind he cannot reasonably expect to be allowed
+a familiar footing in an Englishman's home.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[6] He died in A.D. 1913, and was succeeded by his brother, Prince
+Jitendra.
+
+[7] He died in 1911; and his eldest son and successor, Rajendra, died in
+1913. Prince Jitendra is now Maharajah.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII
+
+A MILITARY TRAGEDY
+
+    In the Mess--A gloomy conversation--Murder in the army--A
+        gallant officer--Running amuck on a rifle-range--"Was
+        that a shot?"--The alarm--The native officer's
+        report--The "fall in"--A dying man--A search round the
+        fort--A narrow escape--The flight--Search parties--The
+        inquiry into the crime--A fifty miles cordon--An
+        unexpected visit--Havildar Ranjit Singh on the trail--A
+        night march through the forest--A fearsome ride--The
+        lost detachment--An early start--The ferry--The
+        prisoner--A well-planned capture--The prisoner's
+        story--The march to Hathipota--Return to the fort--A
+        well-guarded captive--A weary wait--A journey to
+        Calcutta--The escort--Excitement among the passengers
+        on the steamer--American globe-trotters--the court
+        martial--A callous criminal--Appeal to the
+        Viceroy--Sentence of death--The execution.
+
+
+A January night in Buxa. The last bugle call, "lights out," had sounded
+in the fort at a quarter-past ten o'clock, and the silence of the
+mountains hung over the little Station. In the Mess, Balderston and I
+drew our chairs closer to the cheery wood fire, for the weather was
+bitterly cold. The glass doors leading on to the veranda were closed.
+The servants had retired for the night and we were alone, for our Irish
+doctor was absent on leave. I cannot remember what gave our conversation
+so gloomy a turn, but the talk ran on cases of murder in the army.
+
+Where men trained to the use of arms and with weapons within reach are
+found, there is always the danger of this crime, due to sudden anger or
+long-smouldering resentment; and no army in the world is free from it.
+And when a man has committed one murder, too often he is liable to "see
+red" and run amuck, killing until he is killed himself. Consequently his
+apprehension is fraught with much danger. Though I have rarely known a
+case occur in an Indian regiment in which a British officer has been the
+first victim, yet many have fallen in leading attempts to seize an
+assassin. At night the sound of a shot in barracks sends a thrill
+through all who hear it; for it generally means that some grim tragedy
+has been accomplished. And it may only usher in a series of crimes and a
+desperate search for an armed assassin in the darkness where death is
+lurking; not a soldier's glorious ending on the battlefield, but a
+pitiful fate at the hand of a comrade.
+
+I had just related to my companion a happening which I had witnessed
+some years before when, at a large rifle meeting and in the presence of
+hundreds of men, a sepoy ran amuck and shot down a native officer and a
+havildar or sergeant. A young British subaltern standing close by rushed
+at him unarmed. The murderer cried:
+
+"Do not come on, Sahib, I do not want to harm you."
+
+But the officer still advanced. The sepoy, to frighten him, sent a
+bullet close to him, then, failing to stop him, fired again and shot him
+through the heart. Then, as we around were closing in on him, the
+assassin placed the muzzle of his rifle to his head and blew his own
+brains out, rather than be taken alive.
+
+Scarcely had I recounted this incident when I thought I heard the sound
+of a shot coming from the direction of the fort. I sprang from my chair
+and ran out on to the veranda. The night was perfectly still. I listened
+for a few minutes.
+
+"What is the matter, major?" cried Balderston from the mess-room.
+
+"Did you not hear a shot?" I asked.
+
+"No," he replied.
+
+I looked at my watch. It was a quarter-past eleven o'clock. Just then
+from the parade ground came the short, harsh bark of a _khakur_. It was
+like the noise I had heard; for I had noticed that, instead of the
+sharp, clear ring of a rifle-shot, the sound had been a long-drawn-out
+one. So, laughing at what seemed my nervous fear, I went in again and
+closed the door. But before I could sit down a bugle rang out loudly in
+the fort. It was sounding the "Alarm"; and it was followed by loud
+shouts.
+
+"Good God, Balderston, there has been a murder," I cried. "That _was_ a
+shot I heard. Get your revolver, turn out your orderly with his rifle,
+and follow me to the fort."
+
+I sprang down the steps into the garden and raced down the steep road.
+Across it lay a broad stream of light from the window of my bungalow;
+and as I ran through it I thought that if anyone was lying in wait for
+me with murderous intent, here was the place for him. As I neared the
+parade ground I vaguely made out in the darkness two figures approaching
+me. I called out in Hindustani:
+
+"Who is there?"
+
+No answer came. I shouted again but got no reply. This was suspicious;
+but as I was unarmed the only thing to do was to close with them. I ran
+up to them and found them to be two sepoys with rifles. To my relief
+they said:
+
+"We are men of the guard sent by the subhedar-major to you, Sahib.
+Someone has fired a shot inside the fort."
+
+I ran past them across the parade ground and at the gate was met by my
+senior native officer who stopped me and said in a low tone:
+
+"Sahib, Colour-Havildar Shaikh Bakur has been shot in his bed. The
+sentry on the magazine, a young Mussulman named Farid Khan, has
+disappeared with his rifle."
+
+The news stunned me. Shaikh Bakur was one of my best non-commissioned
+officers. And the murderer was still at large. The sentry's absence from
+his post pointed to his being the assassin. In that case he had still
+nine rounds of ball ammunition, and, if he wished to run amuck, held as
+many lives in his hand. I eagerly questioned the subhedar-major; but he
+could tell me no more.
+
+The sepoys were falling in in front of the quarter guard and the company
+orderlies were calling over the rolls by the light of lanterns to see if
+any of the men were missing. I ordered them to extinguish the lamps,
+which only served to give a target to the invisible assassin, and bade
+the section commanders check their sections by memory. The sound of my
+voice stilled the confusion; and only the low muttering of the havildars
+and equally low responses of the sepoys were heard. Suddenly from a
+barrack-room close by rang out shrieks and wailing groans.
+
+"What is that noise, subhedar-major?" I asked.
+
+"It is Shaikh Bakur, Sahib. He is not dead and is crying out in his
+pain."
+
+As at that moment Balderston arrived I ordered him to examine the rifles
+of all in the detachment and see if a shot had been fired from any of
+them. Then I went to the room from which the cries proceeded. The
+high-roofed, stone-paved chamber was lighted only by a small lantern
+that cast weird shadows on the ceiling and showed a group of men
+standing around a bed at the far end. On it the wounded man was writhing
+in agony, trying with frenzied strength to hurl himself on to the floor;
+and it required the united efforts of two men to hold him on the cot. He
+was a dreadful sight. From a bullet hole in his chest the blood welled
+out at every motion of the body. His face was wet with sweat, the lips
+drawn back showing the white teeth clenched in pain. His staring eyes
+saw nothing; and he was delirious. Again and again his awful shrieks
+rang out through the lofty room and then subsided into meaningless
+mutterings. In the group by the bed stood an old native hospital
+assistant, the very inefficient substitute for our absent doctor. He was
+weeping copiously and seemed utterly helpless. I questioned him about
+the wound.
+
+"Sir, he has been shot through the body; and the bullet has come out
+through the chest," he sobbed.
+
+"Have you--can you do anything for him?" I said.
+
+"Sir, it is hopeless. The man will die," he cried through his tears.
+
+I shook him by the shoulders.
+
+"Collect yourself, _babu-ji_," I said sternly. "Try to do something.
+Can you not give him an opiate to relieve the pain?"
+
+He wrung his hands in the abandonment of helpless despair.
+
+"Sir, the case is hopeless. The man will die," he repeated mechanically.
+I could scarcely hear him through the heart-rending shrieks of the dying
+man, whose handsome bearded face was distorted, and his strong frame
+convulsed in agony. I turned again to the weeping Brahmin hospital
+assistant, useless, like so many of his race, in an emergency.
+
+"Oh, for God's sake, drug him into insensibility and let him die in
+peace," I cried.
+
+But he only sobbed helplessly. As I turned to leave the death-bed, I
+trod on an empty cartridge-case. I picked it up. It was the one from
+which the fatal bullet had been fired. It showed that the murderer had
+reloaded his rifle on the spot and intended that the killing should not
+end there. I went out into the darkness again. The sepoys were standing
+silently in the ranks; and the native officers were gathered in a group
+around Balderston. As the rifle of every man in the detachment, except
+the missing sentry, had been examined and found clean, it was evident
+that Farid Khan was the murderer. He had been reprimanded that day, so I
+learned, by Shaikh Bakur for having his accoutrements dirty on parade.
+It was a small cause to take a man's life for. But now the first thing
+to do was to try and find the assassin. This was no easy task on so dark
+a night, for there was cover for him everywhere in the fort. No one
+could tell in what corner he might be lurking, ready to shoot down the
+search-party. Then the means of egress from the fort were easy. The
+loopholed walls connecting the various barrack-rooms were low; and a man
+could scale them at any point. As I hurriedly thought over the best
+means of beginning the hunt, the piteous shrieks of the dying man rang
+through the silent night and chilled our blood.
+
+I took a couple of armed men with me and commenced to search the empty
+buildings of the fort. One of the native officers came running to me and
+called out:
+
+"Sahib, the outer door of my room, which I left open, is now closed and
+bolted from the inside. Farid Khan must be within."
+
+I went to the room, which was in the same single-storied building as the
+barrack-room in which the crime had been committed. I tried the door. It
+was fastened at the bottom. Bidding the sepoys with me load their
+rifles, I endeavoured to push the door in, sincerely hoping that if I
+succeeded I would not be received by a bullet. The door resisted, then
+gave way so suddenly that I fell inside head foremost. I sprang up
+hurriedly with the uncomfortable feeling that at any moment I might have
+the murderer's bayonet in me. I groped round the room in the darkness,
+then lit a match and found the place empty. The door must have swung to
+in the wind and the bolt fallen down and been caught in the socket.
+Annoyed at having the scare for nothing I turned to walk out and found
+myself confronted by the muzzles of my men's rifles, for they could not
+see who was emerging from the dark interior. Having no desire to be shot
+by mistake, I quickly let them know who I was. As I came out into the
+open air, a voice cried:
+
+"Sahib, Sahib! He has escaped. He has left the fort"; and a native
+follower rushed up breathlessly to say that he had just been passed by a
+flying figure which had climbed over the back gate.
+
+Calling to my two sepoys to follow me, I ran to this gate and struggled
+with the stiff bolts. With difficulty we dragged open the heavy iron
+leaves which grated noisily on their hinges. Outside lay a strip of
+grass dotted with trees and a few wooden sheds. It ran the length of the
+back wall but was only forty yards wide, ending on the edge of the
+precipice which fell sheer for three hundred feet. Down the steep face a
+zigzag path was cut leading to the hill on which the segregation
+hospital, burned in the forest fires, had stood. I searched around and
+inside the sheds and moved cautiously over the grassy shelf, keeping
+carefully away from the brink of the cliff. I was not carrying a weapon
+myself; for the night was so dark that the murderer, if he stood
+motionless, would see us first and could get in the first shot. If he
+missed I preferred trying to close with him at once, and not engaging in
+a duel with rifles with him. Should I succeed in grappling with him, the
+bayonets of my two men would soon end the struggle.
+
+Where the back wall terminated the side walls joined it at right angles;
+and here our task became doubly dangerous, for they were built almost on
+the edge of the precipice; and we had to move along in single file,
+keeping one hand on the wall, for a false step meant a fall on to the
+rocks far below. I groped cautiously along in the utter darkness,
+feeling much more afraid of tumbling over the cliffs than I was of the
+chance of meeting with the murderer. But, though I did not know it at
+the time, we had already passed him; for he was standing motionless
+behind one of the trees near the back wall, watching us as we went by,
+ready to fire at us if we saw and tried to catch him.
+
+Then, when we had gone by, he stole silently down the zigzag path and
+climbed the opposite hill, intending to descend on the other side and
+gain the mountain road leading down to Santrabari.
+
+But when I had completely circled the outer walls I entered the fort by
+the front gate and at once sent off a party of men under my old Rajput
+Subhedar, Sohanpal Singh, to go down to Santrabari and hide in the
+elephant stables. I gave them orders that, if the fugitive came by, they
+were to cover him with their rifles, call on him to surrender and shoot
+him down if he attempted to resist. The murderer, crouching on the hill
+above, heard them passing on the road below him, and turned off in
+another direction.
+
+Having sent off another party along the mountain-track to Chunabatti, I
+fell out the detachment and entered the orderly-room to hold an inquiry
+into the case. The story of the crime was soon told. In the barrack-room
+there were thirty-three beds, all occupied except the one exactly
+opposite Shaikh Bakur's. This belonged to the missing sentry, Farid
+Khan, who was on guard for the night. The men had been awakened by the
+deafening report of a rifle fired in the room. Although, when they had
+gone to sleep, the big wall-lanterns had been extinguished and the room
+was in darkness, there was now a small lamp burning beside Farid Khan's
+bed. By its light some of the sepoys saw a figure rush out through the
+open door and heard the clatter of heavy nailed boots on the stone-paved
+veranda outside. The colour-havildar had shrieked out: "I am shot! I am
+shot!"
+
+Suddenly the small lamp was extinguished; and the darkness increased the
+confusion of the room. The men nearest Shaikh Bakur rushed to his
+bedside, others called out to him to ask what was the matter; some cried
+out for the lamps to be lit; and others, not realising what had
+happened, shouted inquiries. At last a lantern was lighted and revealed
+the unfortunate man writhing in agony on his bed. Meanwhile the sentry
+on the quarter guard not fifty yards away, hearing the shot and the
+consequent uproar, awoke the havildar in charge of the guard. He ordered
+the bugler to sound the "alarm." The guard having fallen in, the _naik_
+(or corporal) went to the magazine close by and found that the sentry
+over it, whom he had visited fifteen minutes before, was missing from
+his post. On the "alarm" being sounded, the sepoys rushed out of their
+barrack-rooms with their rifles and accoutrements and fell in on parade.
+Still the magazine sentry did not appear, and his absence aroused
+suspicion. It was remembered that he was a young Mussulman called Farid
+Khan whom I had checked on parade that morning for carelessness in drill
+and who had been previously reprimanded by Shaikh Bakur for not having
+his accoutrements clean.
+
+I discovered that the small lamp, which had been burning when the shot
+was fired and the murderer ran out of the room, had been put out by a
+young sepoy who slept in the next cot to Farid Khan's, apparently to
+help the assassin to escape in the darkness. This sepoy came from the
+same district as the missing sentry and was his intimate friend. I made
+him a prisoner.
+
+There was nothing more to be done now until daylight, except to dispatch
+telegrams to the police and to regimental and brigade headquarters. I
+sent everyone off to bed and sat alone in the orderly-room by the light
+of a solitary lamp, planning out measures to capture the murderer. The
+cries from the barrack-room had ceased; for the poor havildar was dead,
+and his body had been removed to the hospital. After the recent
+confusion and bustle the stillness and silence seemed intense. I was
+haunted by the vision of the murdered man's face and filled with a
+bitter resentment against his slayer. The odds were greatly in favour of
+the assassin's escape. In the wild country around us, the broken,
+jungle-covered hills, the dense forest, a fugitive could hide himself
+indefinitely, provided only that he could procure food. If he succeeded
+in making his way to the main railway line the only chance of capturing
+him lay in his returning to his own country, hundreds of miles away; and
+I had telegraphed to the police of his village. The knowledge I had
+acquired of the country about us in shooting and on the march stood me
+now in good stead. The little railway from Buxa Road would be too
+dangerous for him; but he might try to make his way on foot to the
+junction of the main line at Gitaldaha; or a route through the forest
+led to villages and tea gardens at Kalchini, whence he might eventually
+reach another railway. But what I feared most was that he might commit
+suicide somewhere in the mountains or in the jungle and his body be
+never found, or cross the border to Bhutan, where he would probably be
+murdered for his rifle. In either case we would always remain ignorant
+of his fate. Then it would be believed that he had succeeded in
+effecting his escape. Four or five years before, another murder had been
+committed in the regiment and the assassin had never been captured. It
+would be a fatal thing if this murderer also succeeded in avoiding
+arrest; as it might encourage a repetition of the crime. The hours were
+interminable. It seemed as if the daylight to help us in our search
+would never come. My thoughts wandered to the fugitive. I pictured him
+lying out in the jungle, trembling at every rustle in the undergrowth
+that might herald the stealthy approach of a savage beast, realising now
+that his life was forfeit and that henceforth every man's hand was
+against him. I wondered if in the hours of silent watching in the
+darkness he had begun to appreciate his deed and its consequences.
+
+At last the wished-for dawn came. I sent out armed patrols in all
+directions to follow up every track and to occupy every village and
+hamlet in which the fugitive might try to obtain food. Other parties
+went by train to Gitaldaha, one to remain there, the rest to go east and
+west to the junctions of other railways. When these dispositions were
+complete we had a net, fifty miles wide, around the district. These
+patrols had orders to take the fugitive dead or alive. I instructed them
+to shoot him down if he attempted to resist; for I did not want to lose
+another of my men by his hand.
+
+The day passed wearily. No news came in; and I chafed at the inaction.
+At noon a sepoy rushed up to my bungalow to tell me that the men of the
+quarter guard had heard two shots on a wooded hill about half a mile
+from the fort. I doubled out with an armed party at once and searched
+the jungle around, without result. To this day I have never found an
+explanation of these shots, which had been distinctly heard by all the
+sepoys left in the fort. Night fell without any intelligence reaching me
+from any of the parties out. The native officers urged us to have a
+guard placed over the Mess and my bungalow, lest the murderer should be
+tempted to come back in the dark and shoot me; but I refused, as I
+wished the men to get all the rest they could in view of the exertions
+they might be called on to make. I slept little that night; for the
+memory of the tragedy weighed heavily on me.
+
+Next morning some of the patrols straggled in, exhausted and weary,
+having found no trace of the fugitive. But in the afternoon Tyson of
+Hathipota and an officer of the Royal Engineers named Marriott, who had
+been staying with him in his bungalow, rode into Buxa; and from them I
+got the first news of the murderer. For on their way from Hathipota they
+had met one of our search-parties under a havildar, called Ranjit Singh,
+who told them of the crime and said that he had been informed by
+villagers at Jainti that a man carrying a rifle had been seen coming out
+of the jungle early that morning and going east. Shortly afterwards one
+of Ranjit Singh's patrol arrived and confirmed this. The havildar had
+sent him back to report to me and tell me that the rest of the party
+were continuing in pursuit. The news was electrifying. Although the
+fugitive was going in the opposite direction to where his home lay, yet
+he was heading towards a river down which he could get by boat to a main
+railway line. It was imperative to bar his way. I gave orders for a
+party to start by the first train to Gitaldaha, change to this main
+line, and proceed to the point where it crossed the river. There they
+were to detrain and search every boat coming down from the north. A
+native officer was dispatched on Balderston's pony at once to overtake
+Ranjit Singh and urge him on the trail. Then I ordered sixty Rajputs,
+who being Hindus would not be in sympathy with the Mohammedan fugitive,
+to prepare to start in half an hour and march through the forest to
+Hathipota, where they were to halt for the night. I determined to take
+command of this party myself. It was to be spread out into a cordon
+miles long between the hills and the main railway line. As I had to send
+telegrams warning the police in the direction in which the murderer was
+moving and make other arrangements, I sent the party on ahead under a
+native officer.
+
+Our guests and Balderston volunteered for the pursuit. The latter
+borrowed a small pony about twelve hands high from a _bunniah_, as he
+had lent his own to the native officer. Mounting our horses we set off
+down the steep mountain-road to Santrabari. When we reached the more
+level ground we galloped the three miles to Buxa Road Station. I
+expected to overtake my party before we reached this point, but to my
+surprise found no signs of them. It turned out that they had taken a
+short cut through the forest.
+
+From the station a narrow track led through the jungle to Jainti. We
+rode down it in single file. Night had now fallen, and under the trees
+the darkness was intense. Marriott was leading and I was immediately
+behind him; but I could not see even his horse. Our animals stumbled
+over the fallen trees. Overhanging boughs, invisible to us, nearly swept
+us from our saddles. A crash and an exclamation from the leader told us
+that his horse had come to grief. Bruised by the fall, Marriott picked
+himself up and remounted. And on we blundered in the utter darkness. But
+there was a greater danger. We were passing through a part of the forest
+much frequented at night by wild elephants. None of us were armed; and
+the prospect of meeting with a rogue was not pleasant. Even if it did
+not attack us it would certainly stampede our horses. And to be bolted
+with in the thick forest in the dark would be a dangerous experience.
+Imagination peopled the black jungle with lurking tigers ready to spring
+out on us; and every sound seemed to herald the approach of a wild
+elephant. A deer crashing through the undergrowth would have been
+sufficient to scare our horses. To make matters worse Balderston's tiny
+pony could not keep up with us. Every time it lagged behind and its
+rider failed to answer our shouts, we were obliged to halt and wait for
+them. I shall not readily forget the terrors of that night ride. We were
+confronted by the constant risk of a fall over a prostrate tree-trunk or
+of being knocked out of the saddle by a low branch, and by the likely
+chance of encountering some dangerous wild beast. To keep up our spirits
+and in the hope of scaring off the elephants, tigers and bears by the
+far from melodious sounds, we sang choruses loudly in rather shaky
+voices. The miles through the forest seemed interminable; and I felt
+that I would sooner face a dozen armed murderers than ride them again.
+
+At last we emerged on the bank of the river at Jainti, on the other side
+of which was the road to Hathipota along which we had come on our return
+from the ten days' march with the detachment. Our relief at being clear
+of the forest was great. We splashed through the shallows and set off at
+a gallop along the road. Suddenly my horse stumbled and fell in a hole,
+throwing me over its head. I was badly shaken, but I climbed into the
+saddle as the others, hearing the sound of the fall, pulled up and came
+back to me. The hole had evidently been dug in the roadway by a wild
+boar that night; as it had not been there when Tyson and Marriott came
+by in the morning. We rode on again. When I expressed to Tyson,
+cantering alongside, my relief at being out of the forest and safe from
+the chance of a meeting with wild elephants, I was appalled at hearing
+that the stretch of road we were then on was a regular thoroughfare for
+these animals on their way from the hills to the jungle.
+
+We reached Tyson's bungalow about ten o'clock and found that my men had
+not arrived; and they did not march in until midnight. The native
+officer in command had tried a short cut through the forest, following a
+woodcutter's path which led the party into deep _nullahs_, up
+precipitous banks, and through the densest jungle. The sepoys were
+utterly exhausted by their toilsome march. The three elephants had
+started out with them, carrying the men's blankets and rations, but had
+fallen far behind. But when Tyson showed the party quarters for the
+night in one of his sheds, no one waited for food or bedding but flung
+himself on the floor and fell asleep at once.
+
+Ranjit Singh's patrol had reached the village of Hathipota near the tea
+garden on the previous night. The havildar had learned at Jainti that a
+man in white dress and carrying a rifle had been seen coming from the
+forest and crossing the river early on the morning after the murder.
+Farid Khan, having been on guard, was clad in khaki uniform when he left
+the fort. But the villagers told Ranjit Singh that this man had a bundle
+rolled up in a military greatcoat. The havildar guessed that the
+murderer had been wearing white undress under his uniform and had taken
+off the latter during the night. So he crossed the river and found in
+the dust of the road to Hathipota the footprints of a man wearing
+ammunition boots. He followed them for some miles until they turned off
+into the jungle, where he lost the trail. Thinking that Hathipota
+Village was the nearest place where the fugitive could procure food, he
+pushed on with his two men and hid close to it all night. As by morning
+their quarry had not appeared, the patrol went on to the ferry over the
+Raidak River near the planters' club, where the detachment had
+bivouacked and held sports on the march. Ranjit Singh had brought with
+him an armed policeman whom he had met at Jainti and who had been sent
+out to search for the murderer. But this worthy had no desire to meet
+him and declined to accompany our havildar any farther, alleging that he
+was fatigued by the previous day's exertions and must stay to rest and
+refresh himself in Hathipota. But scarcely had our patrol left the
+village when the policeman, standing with a group of peasants, was
+horrified by the sudden apparition of a man dressed in white and
+carrying a rifle. It was Farid Khan. The guardian of the law, though he
+had a rifle himself, was far too frightened to use it. Farid Khan walked
+boldly up to him and asked him if any sepoys had visited the village.
+The terrified policeman, anxious to get rid of him at all costs, told
+him that a havildar with a party who were looking for him, had just
+left. He even told him truthfully the direction they had taken. Farid
+Khan at once disappeared into the jungle.
+
+Meanwhile Ranjit Singh, having reached the river and learned from the
+ferryman that the fugitive had not arrived there, warned the former not
+to help the murderer across the stream if he came. Then the patrol
+turned back to Hathipota. There they were informed of Farid Khan's
+appearance in the village. They at once retraced their steps to the
+ferry and found that the fugitive had come to it soon after they had
+left. He had reached it by a jungle path. When the ferryman refused to
+take him over the river Farid Khan raised his rifle and threatened to
+shoot him; and the man was forced to take him across. Ranjit Singh and
+his men at once followed.
+
+No news of this had reached us. Next morning, as soon as there was light
+enough to show the way, I marched my party off in a south-easterly
+direction to reach a point from which we could spread out and form the
+cordon. Marriott accompanied us, and Balderston was now mounted on a
+good pony lent him by Tyson, who was obliged to remain behind. As the
+little column swung along in the light of the rising sun, the
+excitement of the chase was visible in the sepoys. Struck by their
+silence, unusual when "marching at ease," I turned in the saddle to look
+at them. Every man's face was set in a grim, stern look; and as they
+strode on their eyes swept the country around with quick, keen glances
+as if they expected to see the fugitive every moment. Absorbing as is
+the chase of wild animals it is nothing to the excitement of a man-hunt.
+I forgot that we were tracking a human being to his doom, and remembered
+only that I had the blood of one of my best soldiers to avenge and that
+I was pursuing a cowardly murderer. I had given orders to all that Farid
+Khan, if overtaken and seen to be armed, was to be fired at on the spot;
+for I was determined to give him as little chance as possible to kill
+anyone else. Had I come upon him myself I would have shot him down
+without compunction, and regretted only that my bullet saved him from
+the gallows.
+
+Some miles ahead of us lay a village which contained a police station. I
+sent Balderston and Marriott galloping on ahead to give warning to the
+havildar and constables in it, as they might not yet have heard of the
+crime. The column tramped on in gloomy silence through fairly open
+country, until we reached the new Raidak River and found our way barred
+by the swift-flowing stream. However, at this point there was a ferry
+consisting of a small dug-out canoe. I halted the detachment and was
+superintending the embarkation of the first batch of men, when higher up
+on the opposite bank two horsemen appeared. They were Marriott and
+Balderston. They called out across the water something that I did not
+hear. But the sepoys farther along on our side of the river did; and a
+wild burst of cheering from them startled me. They seemed to have gone
+mad. They threw their _puggris_ in the air and waved their rifles above
+their heads yelling excitedly. Then a wild rush was made towards me.
+
+"They've caught him, Sahib. Ranjit Singh has caught him," they cried, as
+they crowded round me. Never in my service had I seen the usually stolid
+sepoys so moved. Only then did I realise fully their bitter feeling of
+personal hatred of the treacherous assassin who had slain a comrade, and
+how keenly they had desired his capture.
+
+Fording the stream the two officers approached me. Balderston waved his
+helmet, his face aglow with excitement.
+
+"They've got him, major! They've got the brute, thank God!" he cried.
+
+A load seemed lifted off my heart; but a sudden fear gripped me.
+
+"Are the others safe?" I asked. "Anyone shot?"
+
+"No, no. They sprang on him before he could use his rifle," he replied,
+as his pony scrambled up the bank. Swinging himself out of the saddle he
+continued: "We met Ranjit Singh on the road bringing him along. They are
+not far off. They tracked him to a village and overpowered him before he
+could resist. He had his loaded rifle beside him."
+
+That was the first happy moment I had experienced since the fatal night.
+The murderer was in our hands; and my poor havildar's death would be
+avenged.
+
+We stood in silence beside the river, watching the opposite bank
+intently. At last on it appeared a little group of figures, three in
+khaki, a fourth in white. Again the cheering burst out from the sepoys
+and continued as the canoe was sent across the stream to bring over the
+prisoner and his captors. Farid Khan was in front, his hands bound
+behind his back by a rope, the end of which was held by Havildar Ranjit
+Singh, who carried a rifle. As they came down the sloping path to the
+water's edge, it occurred to me that the prisoner, when in the cranky
+boat, might endeavour to capsize it and drown himself. So I ordered two
+or three of my best swimmers to strip and be ready to plunge into the
+river. But Farid Khan stepped carefully into the canoe and seated
+himself in the bottom of it and never moved until it reached our side.
+He laughed amusedly when one of his escort, trying to spring ashore,
+fell into the shallow water. As the canoe grounded the sepoys crowded
+round it with menacing looks; and we officers had to drive them back.
+Had we not been there they would have lynched him. Some cursed and
+reviled him, while others applauded his captors. But coolly and
+unconcernedly he stepped ashore with a cynical smile on his face. When
+the havildar had marched him up in front of me he stood quietly at
+attention. He was a young man twenty-one years old, with good features
+and a slight, well-knit frame. He returned my gaze steadily and seemed
+as little perturbed as though the offence he would have to answer for
+were of the slightest nature. The havildar handed me a rifle.
+
+"This was in the prisoner's possession when I arrested him," he said.
+
+I examined the weapon. The barrel was fouled; and in the magazine were
+eight cartridges.
+
+I warned Farid Khan that anything he said might be used in evidence
+against him, and then asked:
+
+"Why did you run away from the fort?"
+
+"Because, when I had shot the colour-havildar, it was the only thing to
+do," he replied unconcernedly.
+
+"You confess that you did shoot Shaikh Bakur?" I said.
+
+"Yes, I did shoot him."
+
+"Why?"
+
+"Because he punished me and abused me that day. I knew that I would be
+on guard that evening and would have cartridges for my rifle. So I
+resolved to shoot him. At first I did not intend to do it in the night;
+as it would cause a lot of trouble to the other sepoys of the
+detachment, since they would be obliged to turn out and try to capture
+me. But while I was on sentry I thought the matter over and reflected
+that I might not have as good a chance to kill him in the morning as
+when he was sleeping. So I determined to make sure of him and do it at
+once."
+
+He spoke calmly and without the least sign of remorse or apprehension.
+
+"How did you do it?" I asked.
+
+"As soon as the _naik_ (corporal) of the guard had visited my post at
+eleven o'clock that night, I walked across to the barrack-room. I groped
+my way to my cot, beside which was a small lamp. This I lighted. Then I
+got my pipe, sat down on my bed and had a smoke. When I had finished it
+I stood up and took my rifle, which I loaded. Shaikh Bakur was lying
+asleep opposite me. I shot him and ran out of the room."
+
+I tried to picture the scene with the callous youngster calmly smoking
+as he watched his unconscious victim. I wondered if the sight of his
+enemy's face had aroused his anger as he looked at it.
+
+"How was Shaikh Bakur lying?" I questioned. "Was his face turned towards
+you?"
+
+"I don't know," he replied indifferently. "His head was covered up in
+the bedclothes; and I could not see it."
+
+The cold-blooded manner of the crime horrified me. The murderer had
+coolly fired at a huddled mass of blankets. The listening sepoys around
+us were awed into silence as he calmly related the details of his foul
+deed.
+
+"What did you do then?" I asked.
+
+"I reloaded my rifle to shoot anyone who tried to stop me, thus putting
+one cartridge in the chamber and leaving eight in the magazine. I ran
+out of the room and stood outside near the building until the sepoys
+began to come out. Then I went to the back gate. While I was climbing it
+the bolt of the rifle dropped back and let the cartridge in the breach
+fall out. So you will only find eight in the magazine. Soon I heard the
+gate open and saw you come out with two men. I got behind a tree and
+watched you pass within five yards of me."
+
+"Why did not you shoot me?" I said.
+
+"Oh, I had no desire to kill you, Sahib, as long as you did not discover
+and try to capture me. If you had I would have shot you."
+
+He spoke as coolly about killing me as if it were a most ordinary
+matter. I was less indifferent, and felt thankful that I had not
+blundered on him in the dark. I realised fully what a narrow escape I
+had had.
+
+"Why did you take your rifle with you when you went off?" I asked.
+
+For the first time his indifferent manner vanished. A malevolent gleam
+shone in his eyes.
+
+"Because my greatest enemy still lived," he said. "The man I most wanted
+to kill was the subhedar-major. I had gone to his room first that night
+and tried to enter it. But, luckily for him, the door was bolted. So, as
+I was determined to shoot someone, I went to the barrack-room and killed
+Shaikh Bakur. But I took my rifle; for I resolved to escape, hide in the
+jungle until the pursuit was over, then return at night and kill the
+subhedar-major."
+
+He announced his murderous intention with the utmost calmness. I thanked
+God that we had been able to capture him; for if he had returned and
+shot his native officer, he would then have run amuck and killed until
+slain himself.
+
+"How did you get away?" I said.
+
+"After you had passed me, Sahib, I went down the zigzag path. I meant to
+get on to the road to Santrabari, but heard the patrol passing down it
+below me and knew that you had cut my retreat off that way. So I sat on
+the hill until daylight and then made my way through the forest to
+Jainti."
+
+I asked him if he had any accomplices. He denied that he had; and, when
+I refused to believe him, he said:
+
+"Why should I tell a lie now? I know that my life is forfeit."
+
+"Yes," I replied. "You'll hang for this."
+
+"I don't care. My father has five other sons and can spare me. But my
+one regret," he said, and again a baleful light shone in his eyes, "is
+that my worst enemy still lives."
+
+I turned away from him and interrogated Ranjit Singh about the capture.
+
+When the havildar learned that the man he was pursuing had crossed the
+river after he had been seen in Hathipota, he followed with the two men
+of the patrol. On the other side they picked up his trail, which led to
+another village. Near it they met some peasants and learned from them
+that Farid Khan was in this village. Approaching cautiously they dodged
+from hut to hut until they saw him sitting on the ground before a
+_bunniah's_ shop, eating food which he had just bought. His rifle lay
+beside him. They crept up behind him, for they were resolved to take him
+alive, rushed on him suddenly and tumbled him over before he could seize
+his weapon. As they held him down and bound him, he said:
+
+"It was lucky for you, havildar, that I did not see you first. I had my
+magazine full and would have shot you all."
+
+After his capture he seemed resigned to his fate and scarcely spoke
+again until he was brought before me. I praised Ranjit Singh and his
+patrol warmly and then fell in my men. We marched back to Hathipota,
+where we halted for the night. Next day we reached Buxa.
+
+I was determined that our prisoner should not cheat the gallows by
+escape or suicide. So night and day for the two months that elapsed
+before he was brought to trial a guard was mounted over him in his
+cell. All through those weary weeks of waiting his indifferent
+demeanour never changed. I visited him every day. To my inquiries as to
+whether he had any request to make, he always replied respectfully. But
+he never acknowledged that he had had any accomplices in his crime; and
+I was never able to bring his comrade Gulab Khan to trial.
+
+At last the orders came to conduct Farid Khan to Calcutta to appear
+before a general court martial. We marched out of the fort and down to
+Buxa Road Railway Station with the prisoner in the centre of a guard of
+six men with fixed bayonets. By one of his wrists he was handcuffed to a
+burly Rajput over six feet high. These precautions were necessary, as
+the journey would take a day and a night and necessitated many changes;
+and I was determined to give Farid Khan no chance to escape. At
+Gitaldaha we had to wait for some time for another train which brought
+us in the early morning to the banks of the River Ganges. Across this we
+were taken in a steamer, the passage occupying over an hour. Our
+appearance excited much interest among the passengers on board, some of
+whom were American tourists returning from a flying visit to Darjeeling.
+My party, including the witnesses and the escort, was quite a large one;
+and I heard one fair daughter of Uncle Sam remark:
+
+"Wa'al, it takes a lot of soldiers to guard that one poor man."
+
+One of her male companions, who addressed me as "Officer!" questioned me
+as to the prisoner's crime, and seemed quite disappointed at learning
+that it was only murder.
+
+On the other side of the Ganges we entrained again and reached Calcutta
+by noon. I handed over my prisoner to the care of a regiment quartered
+in Fort William; and he was safely consigned to their guard-room cell.
+
+On the bank of the broad River Hugli, which flows through the city of
+Calcutta and up which the ships come from the sea, stands this large
+fort, which dates back far into the days of the Honourable East India
+Company. One face fronts the stream, the others look on the _maidan_, a
+broad open space, tree-studded and seamed with roads, which lies between
+the frowning, embrasured walls and the nearest houses. Within the wide
+precincts of the fort, a city in a city, are found barracks, the
+arsenal, houses for military and civil officers, a church, and the
+official residence of the Commander-in-Chief, all separated by broad
+squares and green lawns.
+
+Here next day in the garrison library, a large recreation-room for
+soldiers, Sepoy Farid Khan faced the court martial which was to try him
+for his life. When I had given him his choice in Buxa of having either
+British or Indian officers as his judges, he answered unhesitatingly:
+
+"I want to be tried by Sahibs, of course."
+
+And so, in accordance with his wish, nine British officers in white
+full-dress summer uniform, swords at their sides and medals on their
+breasts, sat in judgment on him at a long table. Behind them was a stage
+on which military amateur actors strut their hour in the garrison
+theatricals. The drop curtain was up, showing a pretty English country
+scene. It seemed an incongruous setting for the grim drama of real life
+which was now to be enacted.
+
+Near the members of the court sat another officer, the deputy judge
+advocate general, who was present to see that the trial was conducted in
+accordance with the rules of military law, and to advise the court on
+legal points. At a small table to one side Captain Balderston took his
+place as prosecutor. Then the prisoner, his handcuffs removed, was
+marched into the room by the guard of the regiment in whose cells he was
+confined. He walked in with an erect and soldierly bearing and stood to
+attention as the president of the court read out the charge to him and
+called on him to plead. And to this charge of "Murder" he answered
+composedly "I am guilty." But, since with this plea no evidence in his
+defence or in extenuation of his crime could be given, the court, with
+the extreme fairness of a military tribunal, advised him to withdraw it
+and plead "Not Guilty." Then the native witnesses who testified to his
+desertion of his post, his flight and capture, gave their evidence in
+Hindustani. After them I repeated his confession of the crime to me. I
+spoke in English, my evidence being translated to the prisoner by a
+British officer who acted as interpreter. But I noticed that Farid Khan
+did not seem to understand this officer, who spoke a purer and correcter
+Urdu than did the prisoner himself.
+
+I stated my belief to the court. The president, who spoke the
+vernacular, asked Farid Khan if this were so.
+
+"Yes, it is true. I cannot understand what that Sahib says," he replied;
+"but I can understand my own major Sahib," pointing to me.
+
+Then, with the court's permission, I repeated to him the evidence I had
+given.
+
+"Yes, that is all quite true," he said.
+
+Then the president bade me ask the prisoner if he wished to question me
+on my evidence. I did so.
+
+"No, Sahib," he replied. "What you have said is correct. I only wish to
+say that on that night I intended to kill the subhedar-major first. I
+tried his door first but----"
+
+I told him to be silent, as he was only committing himself deeper. Then
+the court asked me what the prisoner had said and I answered that it was
+something to his disadvantage; the president told me that in that case I
+need not interpret his words.
+
+The trial lasted two days and ended in a verdict of guilty. But in
+accordance with military law it was not announced at the time, as the
+whole of the proceedings of the court had to be first carefully
+scrutinised at army headquarters; so that if any illegality had been
+committed, or the verdict was not justified by the evidence, the case
+could be quashed and a fresh trial ordered. But in due course the
+decision of the court martial and the sentence of "Death by hanging"
+were published. But long before this I had left Calcutta with my party
+and returned to Buxa, Farid Khan remaining a prisoner in Fort William.
+His father and a brother came across India from Rajputana to visit him;
+and, probably acting on their advice, he appealed for mercy to the
+Viceroy.
+
+But his appeal was rejected. One night at eleven o'clock the adjutant of
+the regiment which had him in charge was handed a telegram to that
+effect and informing him that the prisoner was to be hanged next morning
+at eight o'clock. The officer went at once to the condemned man's cell.
+Farid Khan was asleep. The adjutant woke him up and said:
+
+"You are to die to-morrow morning."
+
+"Very well, Sahib," was the unconcerned reply; and the prisoner lay down
+again and was asleep before the adjutant had quitted the cell.
+
+I had feared that Farid Khan would be sent back to Buxa Duar, so that
+the execution could be carried out in presence of his comrades. But the
+last act of the tragedy took place in the courtyard of the civil jail in
+Calcutta. Detachments of all the regiments, British and Indian, in that
+city were formed up in front of the gallows.
+
+When the condemned man was marched into the courtyard, the adjutant
+asked if he had any last request to make.
+
+"Yes, Sahib," he replied. "I want to know how many men you have told off
+to bury me."
+
+"Two," said the officer.
+
+"That is not enough, Sahib; I should like eight."
+
+"Very well, you will have them."
+
+"Thank you, Sahib," replied the condemned man cheerfully. Then with a
+firm step he mounted the scaffold. As the rope was adjusted round his
+neck, he looked down at the adjutant and called out to him with a smile:
+
+"Salaam, Sahib. Good-bye."
+
+They were his last words.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII
+
+IN AN INDIAN HILL STATION
+
+    To Darjeeling--Railway journeys in India--Protection for
+        solitary ladies--Reappearing rivers--Siliguri--At the
+        foot of the Himalayas--A mountain railway--Through the
+        jungle--Looping the loop--View of the
+        Plains--Darjeeling--Civilisation seven thousand feet
+        high--Varied types--View from the Chaurasta--White
+        workers in India--Life in Hill
+        Stations--Lieutenant-Governors--A "dull time" in
+        Darjeeling--The bazaar--Types of hill
+        races--Turquoises--Tiger-skins for tourists--The
+        Amusement Club--The Everlasting
+        Snows--Kinchinjunga--The bachelors' ball--A Government
+        House ball--The marriage-market value of Indian
+        civilians--Less demand for military
+        men--Theatricals--Lebong Races--Picturesque
+        race-goers--Ladies in India--Husband hunters--The empty
+        life of an Englishwoman--The dangers of Hill
+        Stations--A wife four months in the year--The hills
+        _taboo_ for the subaltern--Back to Buxa.
+
+
+Sixty or eighty miles west of Buxa Duar and seven thousand feet above
+the sea is the pleasant Himalayan Hill Station of Darjeeling. Less than
+a day's journey by rail from Calcutta, it attracts to it the fortunate
+mortals who, in the summer months, can escape from the heat of that
+crowded city and the Bengal plains and plunge into a whirl of gaieties
+on the cool heights of the Pleasure Colony. To it I had my first change
+from Buxa. About a year after my arrival I got fourteen days' leave to
+Darjeeling in order to meet the officer of my regiment commanding our
+detachment at Gantok in Sikkim, who was coming there to appear at one
+of the many examinations that plague the soldier's soul. The month was
+October, perhaps the unpleasantest time of the year in India, when the
+Rains are almost ended and the heat is intensified by the dampness of
+earth and atmosphere.
+
+To reach my destination required a very round-about journey by rail.
+First from Buxa Road to the junction at Gitaldaha, where I could get on
+to the main line which took me to Siliguri at the foot of the mountains
+again; thence up the toy Himalayan Railway which crawled in spirals and
+zigzags up the face of the giant hills. The Indian first-class railway
+carriage is very unlike an English one. It is divided into two
+compartments, each entered by a door at the end and containing along
+each side a broad, leather-covered couch, used as a seat by day, a bed
+by night. Above each is a hanging bed, hooked up until it is required
+for use. There is thus sleeping accommodation for four in the
+compartment, off which is a lavatory, which on some lines contains a
+bath, a luxury much needed on a long journey in India. In the hot
+weather the carriages are fitted with electric fans, which only serve to
+stir the heated air, and hardly cool the perspiring occupants. Every
+traveller carries his roll of bedding, which his servant spreads down at
+night and in the morning ties up and stows out of the way. Until
+comparatively recently restaurant cars were unknown; and the trains
+halted three times a day for half an hour to allow their passengers to
+descend at stations where meals could be obtained. For long journeys,
+and in India three or four days in a train is not unusual, the type of
+carriage I have described is more comfortable than the corridor
+carriages which are now being introduced. This change is greatly due to
+the number of running-train thefts and the murder of a Eurasian girl;
+for of course in the corridor system travellers are less isolated.
+Recent occurrences have somewhat scared ladies travelling alone. To
+reassure them the railway companies allow them to have their _ayahs_ or
+native female servants to share the carriage, the window-shutters have
+been provided with bolts, and the guards have instructions to lock the
+doors of their compartments.
+
+As my train rolled along through the level country I was surprised to
+note the number of rivers we crossed. These were the streams which
+vanish at the foot of the hills and reappear above ground farther south.
+The country we passed through was typical of Bengal--level plains well
+cultivated and dotted with clumps of bamboos, numerous villages and
+prosperous-looking farms.
+
+In the early morning we reached Siliguri where we had to change to the
+Himalayan Railway. A crowd of sleepy passengers descended and entered
+the refreshment-room in search of breakfast, while their servants
+gathered their luggage together. Then we took our seats in the tiny open
+carriages of the small train which climbs the steep slopes of the mighty
+mountains. At first it plunged into forest between huge trees clothed
+with orchids, walled in by dense undergrowth; for we were in the Terai
+again. Then it wound among the jungle-clad foot-hills and climbed ever
+higher, while the forest grew thinner and sparser. Anon it emerged on
+the sides of the open bare mountains; and we looked down on the dark
+belt of trees and the plains spread like a map below us. We could trace
+for miles the winding course of the Tista, the wide river that flows
+down through the hills from Sikkim. Here and there we passed by long
+stretches of tea gardens. In one place the railway forms a complete
+circle, looping the loop; so that, with a long train, the engine would
+be crossing over a bridge while the last carriage was still under it.
+Beside the line ran the mountain road, by which heavily laden coolies
+toiled between the villages of rough wooden huts. At last the greatest
+elevation was reached at the small station of Goom; and the train ran
+down for a thousand feet and ended its journey in Darjeeling.
+
+Mark Twain was enraptured by the beauties and marvels of engineering of
+this Himalayan Railway. But to me it seemed far less wonderful and
+lovely than the lines over the Rocky Mountains of his own country. I
+have crossed them by the Denver and Rio Grande route, where in broad
+Pullmans and big-windowed observation-cars we sat in comfort, and at an
+elevation of ten thousand feet gazed at the snow-clad peaks towering
+above us or, lower down in the deep gorges, strove to see the tops of
+the sheer, two-thousand feet high walls of the Grand Canyon, painted in
+brilliant colours by the lavish hand of Nature.
+
+But Darjeeling was unique in my experience; for I had visited no other
+Himalayan Hill Station. A town on the mountain-tops, a town of pretty
+villas, large hotels, clubs and churches, of big English shops with
+plate-glass windows, of jumbled native bazaars thronged with thousands
+of men and women of a dozen different hill races. Broad, well-kept roads
+run along the ridges and up and down the steep hill-sides, lined with
+lovely gardens, in which stand fascinating European houses like the
+villas of Trouville and Deauville under the shade of giant orchid-clad
+trees. English ladies in smart frocks go by in rickshaws or reclining in
+chairs carried on the shoulders of strong coolies. Officers and
+civilians on well-groomed ponies trot past groups of sturdy-limbed
+Bhuttias or rosy-cheeked Lepcha women hung with turquoise and silver
+ornaments. British soldiers in khaki stop to chat with small, cheery
+Gurkha policemen by the roadside. Pig-tailed Sikkimese and Tibetan lamas
+fingering their rosaries stare into the plate-glass windows of shops
+that would not be out of place in Oxford Street and which display to the
+bewildered heathen Paris fashions or the latest pattern of coloured
+shirts and smart waistcoats.
+
+The central point of Darjeeling is the cross roads at the Chaurasta.
+Here on one side the ground rises a thousand feet or more to the summit
+of Jalapahar, crowded with barracks and European bungalows. To the other
+the hill-sides slope steeply away covered with tea gardens. Along the
+ridge the road runs by a trim English Church in pretty grounds, the
+straggling building of the Amusement Club with tennis courts terraced
+one above the other, and on to the Lieutenant-Governor of Bengal's
+summer residence set in a lovely park. To the north the ground falls
+sharply another thousand feet; and one looks down on the roofs of the
+bungalows and British Infantry Barracks of Lebong, with its race-course
+around the polo ground and the rifle-range, seeming like a toy station
+set out far beneath. Below, the deep valley; and beyond it rises a
+jumble of mountains on mountains in bewildering profusion. And at dawn
+and evening above the clouds hangs high in air the long line of the
+Everlasting Snows. Over it towers Kinchinjunga, twenty-eight thousand
+feet high, with its jagged white peaks gleaming in the morning or
+pink-flushed in the rosy light of sunset; forty miles away, yet so clear
+and distinct that the beholder imagines he would be able to see a man on
+it, if some climber could scale its untrodden heights.
+
+The abrupt change from the sweltering heat of the Bengal plains, seven
+thousand feet below, to the cool climate and refreshing breezes of
+Darjeeling is marvellous. In less than twenty-four hours the English
+dwellers in the hot and crowded city of Calcutta are borne to this gay
+Hill Station, which must seem another world to them. In the brisk
+mountain air the jaded visitors from the Plains revive and are filled
+with renewed energy; and one and all plunge feverishly into social
+gaieties. In India only in such places as this does one find the
+Englishman unoccupied by work; for in the East there is no leisured
+class of Europeans. Even the Viceroys and Governors are busy mortals,
+and perhaps the hardest-worked individuals in the dominions they rule.
+Every white man in India has his employment; for he is a soldier, a
+civil servant, a judge, a lawyer, a railwayman or a merchant. Each has
+his work and his place in the scheme of things. But in the Hills, save
+for those at the military or civil headquarters, he is on leave, and has
+come to enjoy a well-earned rest.
+
+The life in an Indian Hill Station is unlike anything that we have in
+England. Gaiety reigns supreme. Games, races, dances, theatricals, and
+all such entertainments abound. To take Darjeeling as an example. In the
+mornings and forenoons the roads are thronged with riders or with ladies
+in chairs or rickshaws, going to pay calls or on their way to
+luncheon-parties. In the afternoons on the polo ground of Lebong the
+players on their agile little ponies jostle each other, or race after
+the ball. The tennis courts in the grounds of the Amusement Club are
+full. The skating rink inside the Club is thronged in the mornings, and
+when dusk falls, the lamps are lighted and the tea-tables are set out
+beside the polished floor. The nights are never dull; dinner-parties in
+the bungalows, restaurants and hotels, dances and theatricals at the
+Club, fill them.
+
+In these Hill Stations the summer residents in the bungalows, the
+visitors at the hotels or boarding-houses, though they come from places
+in the Plains far apart, are of the same class in life and know each
+other or of each other. For, except for the lawyers and merchants, the
+names of all are set forth in either of the two great books of India,
+the Civil Service or the Army List. And they are linked by the bond of a
+similar profession. All are members of the Club and see each other there
+every day. To all are sent invitations to each big festivity. The
+Lieutenant-Governor of the province has his summer residence in its Hill
+Station and gives a series of official entertainments to which are asked
+all those who have written their names in the book which, guarded by
+red-coat servitors, lies on a table in the veranda of Government House.
+He is constrained by his position to give dances, dinners, and
+garden-parties, regardless of his private inclinations. For he is a very
+important personage, and lives in almost regal state. He has his
+military aides-de-camp, his military or police guard; the Union Jack
+flies from a flagstaff on his lawn as a sign of his dignity. He rules
+over a province as big as England and is supreme in his dominions unless
+the Viceroy chances to visit them. Think what a change it must be for
+such a proconsul when he has to retire and takes up his abode in a
+London suburb or a small country town, where he is unknown to fame, and
+unhonoured!
+
+Life is indeed gay in these Hill Stations. To them flock the ladies to
+escape the burning heat of the Plains, leaving their poor husbands to
+grill and earn their pay while their wives are enjoying themselves up in
+the cool mountains. And the fair ones must be amused. So the bachelors,
+who can more easily afford to take leave than the married men, are at
+their service to ride, play tennis, dance and flirt with them.
+
+The fortnight of my stay in Darjeeling was supposed to be quite a dull
+time in the Station; for it preceded the holidays of the Poojahs, a
+Hindu feast, when all the Government and mercantile offices in Bengal
+are closed and the Englishmen thus set free flock up to the Hills. These
+holidays lasted two weeks; and an elaborate programme of festivities was
+prepared for them. Yet during the period of my stay I found that there
+were to be three balls, four afternoon dances, two days' races and two
+separate amateur theatricals. So it seemed to me a whirl of gaiety after
+the hermit-like seclusion of Buxa Duar.
+
+On the first afternoon I rickshawed down into the bazaar or native
+quarter thronged with representatives of many hill races. Sturdy little
+Gurkhas, pig-tailed Sikkimese, broad-shouldered Bhuttias, dusky Hindu
+women and fair-complexioned, red-cheeked Lepcha girls jostled each other
+in the narrow, hilly streets. In the open market-place were stalls of
+vendors of cheap commodities; and harsh-featured old women sat behind
+trays of rough-cut turquoises or smoothly polished imitations of the
+blue stone dear to the hearts of the female hill dwellers. In the bazaar
+many of the dingy native shops were filled with curios to attract the
+white resident or globe-trotter. Tibetan prayer-wheels, lama
+devil-dancers' masks, Chinese embroideries and roughly hammered brass
+gods were heaped in confusion. Trays of cut turquoises and lumps of
+matrix stood on the counters. The window of one shop was filled with
+skins of tigers, bears, and panthers; a sight to move the sportsman to
+wrath, for to him such things are trophies to be won in fair chase, not
+articles to be exposed for sale to the American tourist. I noticed that
+tiger-skins were ticketed at £20, the pelts of other animals at lower
+prices. Beyond the market-place, on a knoll, stood the European
+sanatorium, in which I was to find myself a patient months afterwards.
+
+As I entered the Amusement Club at sunset, after my visit to the bazaar,
+I was quite bewildered by the sight of so many white folk. Outside, the
+tennis courts were emptying as the dusk fell. Inside the building the
+rink was crowded with skaters. Along one side of it were set out scores
+of tea-tables, around which sat ladies attired in the latest fashions.
+The card-room was full. People were changing books in the Club library
+or looking at the English illustrated papers and magazines in the
+reading-room. And in the bar was gathered together a festive crowd of
+men of many professions and callings, though the military predominated,
+chatting and disposing of the "short drinks" beloved of the
+Anglo-Indian. Here I met two subalterns of my regiment, one on leave,
+the other on his way back to headquarters from Gyantse in the heart of
+Tibet, where he had been commanding the escort to the British Trade
+Agent. In that isolated spot, thirteen thousand feet above the sea, he
+had lived for eighteen months, solacing his solitude by stalking the
+wily ibex. Here, too, I came across the major of the Punjabi regiment
+whom I had relieved nearly a year before at Buxa Duar. After a cheery
+greeting he asked me pityingly how I managed to endure the loneliness of
+my little outpost. When he heard that I liked the existence there
+immensely he seemed to regard me as a half-demented individual. While I
+was chatting with him there descended upon me emissaries of a frantic
+amateur stage-manager who, having heard that I had had much experience
+in theatricals, besought me to take the place of one of his actors who
+had suddenly fallen ill, as the performance was to come off in two days'
+time. The dress rehearsal of the piece, a well-known London comedy, was
+just about to commence in the Club theatre. Having consented I was borne
+off to it, a typed book placed in my hand and I dragged into the
+dressing-room to be "made up." I was already caught in the grip of the
+amusement machine.
+
+Next morning I was up before the sun to see the gorgeous panorama of the
+Everlasting Snows. As the day dawned the lower hills were shrouded in
+clouds; but high above them rose the long line of snow-clad summits,
+seeming to float in air, unreal, unsubstantial in their beauty; and
+Kinchinjunga's white and jagged crest towered over them all and was the
+first to flush with rose colour in the rays of the morning sun. Then a
+veil was slowly drawn over the glorious picture, as the clouds soared
+slowly up from the lower levels and hid the gorgeous vision from sight.
+
+I spent the day paying calls, rehearsing my part in the theatricals, and
+becoming acquainted with Darjeeling. I visited the beautiful Botanical
+Gardens, picturesquely situated on a steep slope and giving a wide view
+over the deep valleys below.
+
+I found that the transition from the two thousand feet height of Buxa to
+the seven thousand of Darjeeling was rather trying at first; as the
+least exertion of walking and climbing soon left me breathless. In a few
+days I was quite accustomed to the superior altitude.
+
+That night the bachelors of the Station gave a large ball in the
+Amusement Club. Their coat-of-arms--a bottle, slippers, and a pipe
+crossed with a latch-key--was blazoned on the walls. Gay was the
+revelry, which lasted well into the small hours; and I was glad that I
+was on leave and no early parade could claim me in the morning.
+
+On the following night came another ball given by the
+Lieutenant-Governor in his official residence. Government House was
+filled with the wearers of pretty frocks and varied uniforms; and in the
+glamour of scarlet and blue mess-jackets the black-coated civilian was
+for once at a discount. But, alas! for the mercenary nature of the fair
+sex; if he belong to the Indian Civil Service he is preferred to the
+soldier as a husband. For he is worth "£400 a year dead or alive"; for
+his widow will get that amount as a pension. Whereas an ungrateful
+country dowers a lieutenant's relict with £40 a year, a captain's with
+£70, a major's £100 and a colonel's £120. So how can the red-coat
+compete with him in the matrimonial stakes?
+
+The illuminated grounds of Government House and the cunningly-devised
+"kala juggas," as sitting-out places are termed in India, lured many of
+the dancers from the ball-room. At supper that night I sat at a small
+table with a merry little party consisting of the subaltern of my
+regiment on leave, Prince Rajendra of Cooch Behar and his partner, a
+pretty Armenian girl. And of the four of us two are now dead. The
+subaltern died a few months after attaining to his captaincy. Prince
+Rajendra soon succeeded his father as Maharajah, but only lived to enjoy
+his dignities two short years.
+
+Next night the Club theatre was filled with a kindly disposed and
+enthusiastic audience to witness our performance of the comedy. As India
+is rarely visited by professional companies, which only appear in the
+large cities, it is mainly dependent on the efforts of its amateur
+actors. But these often, through natural talent and much practice,
+attain a degree of excellence that would not disgrace the London stage.
+And few would gainsay this who saw the performances of "The Country
+Girl" given by another troop of amateurs before the end of my stay. They
+were under the direction of His Highness the Maharajah of Cooch Behar,
+who had lavished money on the production. The scenery and dresses had
+come from London; and the piece was magnificently staged. The singing,
+acting, and even the dancing could not be surpassed by at least any
+first-class touring company in England.
+
+The Maharajah had a house in Darjeeling where his entertainments were
+princely and his hospitality profuse. The ladies of his family were
+absent in Simla; but his sons were with him. Prince Rajendra, as
+befitted the heir apparent, had a separate house and an establishment of
+his own. Here one night I was present at a merry supper-party, after
+renewing my acquaintance and dining informally with the Maharajah.
+
+Every day of my short stay seemed to have its particular gaiety. The
+races at Lebong were a sporting and a fashionable event. Down the steep
+hill roads from Darjeeling, a thousand feet above, poured the stream of
+Europeans in rickshaws or on ponies and of natives afoot early in the
+afternoon to the miniature race-course which is built on the cut-away
+hill-top. There is scant room for any horse to bolt out of it; for a few
+yards will bring it to the edge of the precipitous slopes around. In
+fact, the "straight" for the run home is gained by finishing up the
+Darjeeling road. Most of the events were for hill ponies, sturdy and
+plucky little animals; and the jockeys were mainly natives. But the
+excitement of the crowds of race-goers of many shades of colour, the
+keenness of the plungers on the totalisator or with the few bookmakers,
+and the gaiety of the pleasure-seekers, could not be exceeded at Ascot
+or Epsom. The scene was an animated one. The enclosure was gay with the
+colours of the English ladies' frocks, the bright hues of Parsee women's
+_saris_, the white refreshment tents, and the uniforms of the military
+bandsmen; while outside was the varied crowd of British Infantry
+soldiers in red, gunners in blue, and natives of a score of different
+races, each in their distinctive garb. And over it all towered the
+heights of Darjeeling and Jalapahar; while on three sides lay the deep
+valleys, beyond which stood the mountains that barred the way to Sikkim
+and Tibet.
+
+Such is life in a Hill Station. To a man not devoted to social
+frivolities existence in them soon palls. He tires of the sameness of
+tennis in the afternoons, the vapid conversation of the tea-tables, and
+nights spent in the heated atmosphere of ball-rooms. But to the fair sex
+it appeals strongly; and they gladly hail the approach of the hot
+weather, which will free them from the monotony of small Stations in the
+plains and send them flocking to Simla, Darjeeling, Missourie or Naini
+Tal.
+
+Who would not be an English woman in India?
+
+As Gilbert says:
+
+    "They are treasured as precious stones
+    And for the self-same reason--for their scarcity."
+
+But they are not inclined to recognise this, and are apt to attribute
+the attentions paid them by the men to their own charms and not to the
+paucity of their sex in the land. Consequently they are too liable to
+become conceited and over-bearing and forgetful of the fact that
+courtesy _is_ a ladylike quality. It is perhaps not to be wondered at
+that their heads get turned. The plainest girl, who in England would
+spend most of her time at a ball sitting with her chaperon, in India can
+fill her programme thrice over. She, who in her country village sees no
+men of her own class except the parson and the doctor, out here finds
+herself among crowds of military officers and better-paid civilians who,
+prudence whispers, are more eligible _partis_. But the day has passed
+when any failure in the English marriage-market can be shipped off to
+India, sure of securing a husband there. Frequent leave and fast
+steamers have altered all that. When men can find themselves back in
+England in a fortnight they are not so prone to wed plain-featured and
+dowerless maidens, sent out in search of a spouse, as were their
+predecessors in the old days when it took six months in a sailing ship
+to reach London from Calcutta or Bombay. The attractive but penniless
+girl in India has still a better chance of marrying than she would in
+England; for she is thrown in daily companionship with a large number of
+bachelors. But many a damsel who, dispatched by her parents with a
+single ticket to distant relatives or mere acquaintances in the East,
+thinks on first arrival that she has only to pick and choose among the
+surplus men and give herself airs accordingly, is forced to write home
+for her return fare and go back reluctantly to the unwelcome existence
+of an old maid. To my mind there is something almost immoral in the
+custom which prevails of girls going out to India as paying-guests in
+the known, if unavowed, hope of securing a husband. But the practice
+grows every year.
+
+Yet the existence of a white woman in India is not all unalloyed
+pleasure. Her lot may be cast in some small out-of-the-way Station,
+where there is little society and less amusement. And even in larger
+places her life is empty enough. In the morning, perhaps, she goes for a
+ride and then has to shut herself up in her bungalow on account of the
+heat, until in the cool of the afternoon she can drive out to play
+tennis or golf and then go to the club, where she sits on the lawn and
+talks scandal with her female friends or, possibly, flirts with her male
+ones. She is not occupied with the cares of the household as is her less
+fortunate sister in England. Her cook goes to the bazaar early in the
+morning and then later appears before her to show her his account book
+and take her orders for the day. And she has little else to do to fill
+in the long, weary hours in the house from breakfast until tea-time. An
+occasional caller may come to pay his or her visit; but otherwise the
+time hangs heavy on her hands. Any accomplishments she may possess are
+apt to be neglected. Her reading is generally confined to novels from
+the Club library; and she seldom tries to improve her mind by more
+strenuous studies. In a land where all the white men are workers, she is
+idle. And so the English woman in the East is generally uninteresting.
+The gossip and scandal of the Station are her chief topics. The wonders
+of the country she lives in, the strange life of the peoples outside her
+door, the greater questions of Empire, are a sealed book to her; and she
+is generally as commonplace as her untravelled sisters in English
+country towns. The clever Mrs Hauksbees that Kipling depicts are
+rare--more's the pity, for Anglo-Indian society would be brighter if
+there were more of her type.
+
+The petty squabbles among the ladies of a small Station are pitiful.
+
+The Anglo-Indian wife too often takes little interest in her husband's
+work, and so cannot prove very companionable to him. And this probably
+accounts for the extraordinary latitude he allows her in seeking the
+society of some particular bachelor with whom she rides, drives and sits
+in the Club every day, who becomes a standing feature in her life. The
+_mènage à trois_ flourishes in India.
+
+Hill stations have much to answer for in the frequency of domestic
+trouble in Anglo-Indian society. In the old days before they existed,
+and passages to England were long and costly, the wives stayed by their
+husbands' side for weal or woe. What the latter could endure their
+spouses were not afraid of. Now, at the first signs of the approach of
+the hot weather, the married ladies, as well as the maidens, fly to the
+Hills. In Darjeeling I met many who said they had not seen their
+husbands for eight months--and yet I found them in October booking their
+rooms in the hotels for the following March. Naturally this separation
+does not tend to the continuance of conjugal love. And there is a still
+greater danger. A married woman arriving from the Plains to take up her
+residence in a hotel probably finds no other woman in it whom she has
+known before. Among the guests there is sure to be a preponderance of
+her own sex; and though many ladies may call on her, they will probably
+be too much engrossed in their own concerns to give her much of their
+society. She sits by herself at table at meals and spends most of her
+time alone in her own room. Then some bachelor on leave, and staying
+perhaps at the same hotel, makes her acquaintance. He finds her pleasant
+and attractive, offers to join her in her solitary rides and walks,
+comes in often to chat with her in her private sitting-room, takes her
+to the many dances, and, as men are scarcer at them than in the
+ball-rooms of the Plains, engages half her programme and escorts her
+back to their hotel afterwards. Even from sheer loneliness she accepts
+his attentions and allows him to drop into the acknowledged position of
+her _cavaliere servente_. Two or three months of this daily, hourly
+companionship and--well, another Hill scandal is caused.
+
+The man who brings a pretty wife to India is brave; the one who sends
+her away from him for six or eight months in the year is, to say the
+least of it, unwise. It is not fair to her to expose her thus to
+temptation. Far be it from me to assert that every Hill grass-widow
+forgets her absent husband. But many do; and all the blame should not
+rest on them.
+
+The careful commanding officer of a regiment discourages his young
+subalterns from taking leave to Hill Stations. He knows that in such
+places mischief is too often found for idle hands. He urges them rather
+to go shooting in the jungles or in Kashmir. And certainly this latter
+is a better way for the youngster to spend his holiday than loafing
+about a Hill Station.
+
+Despite the novelty of the life in Darjeeling and its social gaieties I
+did not repine when my time came to quit it; and my heart rejoiced as I
+got out of the train at Buxa Road, mounted the elephant awaiting me, and
+rode through the silent forest towards my lonely hills.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV
+
+A JUNGLE FORT
+
+    I decide on Fort Bower--Felling trees--A big
+        python--Clearing the jungle--Laying out the
+        post--Stockades and _Sungars_--The bastions--_Panjis_
+        and _abattis_--The huts--Jungle materials--Ingenious
+        craftsmen--The
+        furniture--Sentry-posts--Alarm-signals--The
+        _machicoulis_ gallery--Booby-traps--The
+        water-lifter--The hospital--Chloroforming a
+        monkey--Jungle dogs--An extraordinary shot--An unlucky
+        deer--A meeting with a panther--The alarm--Sohanpal
+        Singh and the tiger--Turning out to the rescue--The
+        General's arrival--Closed gates--The inspection--The
+        "Bower" and the "'Ump"--Flares and bombs--The General's
+        praise--Night firing--A Christmas camp.
+
+
+The month of November in Buxa brought the end of the Rains and the
+beginning of the cold weather. Once more we could descend into the
+jungles below, for work or sport, without risking the deadly Terai
+fever. Our open-air military training, which had to be laid aside during
+the long, weary months of the Monsoon, was resumed.
+
+The warfare which the Assam Brigade would be called upon to wage would
+generally be against the savage jungle dwellers along the north-east
+borders. Consequently the training of the troops composing it demanded
+much practice in forest country; for, in the jungle, wide extensions and
+thin lines suitable to troops attacking in the open would be replaced by
+close formations, and the bayonet more often used than the bullet.
+Timber barriers would be substituted for earthworks, and the axe for the
+spade. In a jungle campaign, as the fighting column moved forward,
+stockaded posts would be established on the line of communication, in
+which convoys of supplies going to the front or of wounded or prisoners
+sent back to the rear could halt for the night under the protection of
+the permanent garrisons.
+
+When General Bower announced his intention of coming to hold his annual
+inspection of our detachment at the end of November, I determined to
+build such a stockaded post in the forest below Buxa Duar for him to
+see, and as useful instruction for my men. Consequently, three weeks
+before his arrival, I moved the double company down into the jungle.
+While Captain Balderston and I took up our abode in Forest Lodge, the
+sepoys bivouacked a few hundred yards away on a high bluff over a broad
+river-bed now almost dry. Here I proposed building our forest fort.
+
+Our first task consisted in clearing away the undergrowth, now denser
+than ever after the fires and Rains. With curved _kukris_ and straight
+_dahs_ the sepoys fell to work on the thick scrub and tangle of thorny
+bushes. Then came the harder labour of felling the trees for the
+stockades--and the tools that contractors supply the Government with are
+not of the best quality. The forest rang to the stroke of axes and the
+shouts of the sepoys who, delighted at the change from their ordinary
+routine, vied with each other in bringing the trees crashing to the
+ground. As I watched them one day I saw a sudden commotion among a
+group. The men scattered, then closed in again; and vicious blows at
+the ground, mingled with cries of "_samp!_", told me that they had
+disturbed a snake. Then on poles bending under its weight they brought
+me the body of a beautifully marked python nearly ten and a half feet
+long. Though not poisonous, such a beast would be a formidable
+antagonist. With the driving-power of its weight and muscle, its head
+could strike with the force of a battering ram; and a man's body,
+crushed in its folds, would soon be a shapeless pulp. I kept its skin as
+a companion to the king-cobra we had killed in Buxa.
+
+The plan I had decided on for the fort was a square, each side fifty
+yards long. For instructional purposes I varied the design of the faces.
+That on the river-bank was to be a _sungar_--a loopholed wall, seven
+feet high and three feet thick, of large boulders from the _nullah_
+below. The east side opposite it was to be a loopholed stockade of
+single timbers two feet thick and fourteen feet above the ground. Each
+of the other two faces was to be a "double stockade" of shorter trees,
+that is, each two timber walls four feet apart, the space between them
+being filled with earth. At opposite corners were bastions, or towers,
+eighteen feet high, projecting out, and thus each giving a flanking fire
+along two faces of the fort. They were arranged for three tiers of fire,
+one row of loopholes three feet from the ground for men kneeling, one
+four and a half feet for others standing, the third above a gallery
+running round inside the top. Below the galleries the bastions were
+roofed in and formed barrack-rooms for the guards.
+
+[Illustration: THE WALLED FACE OF FORT BOWER OVER THE RIVER.]
+
+[Illustration: THE STOCKADE AND DITCH AT FORT BOWER.]
+
+In front of the three stockaded sides of the fort a broad, V-shaped
+ditch was dug, five feet deep. On the fourth face the bank fell sheer
+thirty or forty feet to the river; and built out over the _nullah_ on
+tree-trunks laid horizontally, their butts buried in the ground, was a
+gallery projecting from the stone wall. It was loopholed for men to
+fire, not only on three sides, but also directly beneath them down into
+the river-bed. Entrance to it was gained from a small door in the wall.
+Close to it, and similarly projecting over the _nullah_, was a device
+copied from the savage tribes of the frontier. This was a booby-trap, a
+bamboo platform hinged and held up by thick, hawser-like creepers
+fastened inside the wall. On it were piled rocks. A couple of blows with
+an axe would cut through the supporting creepers; and the platform,
+falling, would shower down an avalanche of huge stones on the heads of
+enemies gathered close under the sheer bank, and safe from the rifles of
+the defenders above. These traps are largely used by the Nagas, Mishmis,
+and other wild races along the borders of Assam and Burma. They are
+placed over steep and narrow mountain paths and discharged with
+disastrous effect on foes toiling up to the assault. During the Abor War
+they were frequently tried on General Bower who was too wary to be
+caught by them. He always took the precaution of sending parties of
+Gurkhas to scale the heights to search for and cut the booby-traps away
+before his column passed under them.
+
+As the shallow stream ran close to the bank we erected, behind the wall,
+a dipping-pole and bucket to bring up water without danger from hostile
+fire to the men fetching it.
+
+Our stockades would have proved very unpleasant obstacles to surmount.
+They had a forward rake to increase by the overhang the difficulty of
+escalading them. And along their tops was fastened a tangle of cut and
+sharp-pointed branches projecting well outwards, so that it was almost
+impossible to climb over.
+
+In attacking a stockade the assailants try to get close up to it, fire
+in through the loopholes and hack it down with axes. To prevent this,
+six-foot _panjis_--sharpened bamboo stakes, their pointed ends hardened
+by fire--stuck thickly out from the face of our stockades. On the near
+slope of the ditches lines of _panjis_ projected with their points at a
+downward angle; while on the far side fences of sharpened bamboos were
+planted. At the bottom of the ditches _chevaux de frise_ of long
+_panjis_ were fixed.
+
+These _panjis_ inflict ghastly injuries, and are more dangerous than
+bayonets. An officer of my acquaintance, when leading an assault on a
+stockade held by dacoits in Burma, ran against a _panji_ which
+transfixed his thigh. He was eleven months in hospital before the wound
+healed; and for many years afterwards he was lame.
+
+For twenty yards beyond the ditches the ground was covered with a
+five-feet-high entanglement of felled trees. Their butts were lashed to
+stout pegs driven deep into the earth. Their thinner branches were
+lopped off, the thicker ones cut and trimmed with sharp points towards
+the front. In military parlance this is called an _abattis_.
+
+Anyone endeavouring to rush the defences of our fort would have found it
+a difficult feat, even if no bullets were showered on him from the
+loopholes. He would first have to force his way through twenty yards of
+entanglement, then climb a sharp-pointed fence, pass the _chevaux de
+frise_ in the ditch, get by the downward-pointing _panjis_, evade the
+six-foot stakes projecting from the face of the stockade, and climb over
+the stockade itself through the overhead tangle of branches. And to do
+it under a hot fire would be almost impossible. To attack such a post
+successfully guns would be necessary--and a well-built double stockade
+would withstand light artillery.
+
+For our own use winding paths led through the _abattis_ to drawbridges
+before the two gates. These latter were of bamboo, hinged at the top and
+opening outwards and upwards, supported when open by high, forked poles.
+In each was a small wicket constructed on the same principle and only
+wide enough to admit one man at a time. Wickets and gates were stuck
+thick with projecting _panjis_.
+
+Trees in the interior of the post were left standing to give shade, as
+were others growing in the line of the defences. And in the latter,
+forty feet from the ground, were platforms reached by ladders and hidden
+by the leafy branches. On them the sentries were stationed; and from
+them, during a night attack, men could fire and hurl bombs down on the
+assailants who would find it difficult to locate their position. From
+these sentry posts stout cords of twisted _udal_ fibre led to kerosene
+oil tins hung up in the quarters occupied by officers and section
+commanders. In the tins stones were put, so that a pull on the cords
+would rattle the tins throughout the post and arouse the defenders
+without an approaching enemy being aware that the alarm had been given.
+
+So much for the defences. As such a post would be constructed with a
+view to long occupation the question of housing the garrison comfortably
+remained. In the interior along each face two huts, each to hold a
+section of twenty or twenty-five men, with huts for the native officers,
+were built. The roofs were thickly thatched. The back and side walls
+were made of two rows of bamboo a foot apart, with rammed earth between
+them. The front walls were lightly made of bamboo and hinged at the top
+to open outwards and upwards in an emergency, so that the whole section
+could come out in line. For ordinary use a small door sufficed. Along
+the back wall ran a sloping guard-bed, with a broad shelf underneath, on
+which the sepoys' clothing could be laid. Overhead were pegs for their
+rifles and accoutrements.
+
+Along the cross-roads through the fort were built the storerooms,
+hospital, and native followers' quarters. And on them were also the Mess
+and huts for the British officers. These were quite comfortable little
+cottages, the walls of split bamboo with the latticed windows and the
+doors screened by blinds of cane strips. The floors and walls were
+covered with two-inch mats of jungle grass.
+
+The sepoys proved themselves wonderfully ingenious craftsmen and made
+excellent furniture for our quarters. Out of the ever-useful bamboo they
+constructed beds, chairs, tables, and writing-desks with drawers and
+pigeon-holes. And like the fort and everything else in it, the jungle
+provided the materials for all this furniture, in which not a nail was
+used; for it was held together by lashings of bamboo bark or _udal_
+fibre.
+
+All this was not quickly done. The building of the defences and the
+huts and the construction of a military bridge across the river took
+every day of the three weeks before the General's arrival. Our working
+hours were from 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. with an hour's interval at noon for
+food. But the sepoys revelled in their novel labours and looked on them
+as a welcome change from the monotony of drill. So interested were they
+that I often found them at work long after the bugle had sounded the
+"dismiss" in the evening; and when I told them to knock off, they would
+reply: "Oh, Sahib, we would like to finish this to-day."
+
+[Illustration: THE GATE CLOSED, WITH WICKET OPEN AND DRAWBRIDGE LOWERED.]
+
+[Illustration: CAPTAIN BALDERSTON INSIDE THE STOCKADE.]
+
+Our comfortable and airy little hospital was rarely tenanted. Almost the
+only patient our medical officer had was a pet monkey which required a
+surgical operation. The native sub-assistant surgeon, who took the
+proceedings very seriously, was called on to administer the anæsthetic.
+Chloroform was poured on a wad of wool in a paper cone which, much to
+the patient's annoyance, was pressed firmly against its muzzle. It
+scratched and bit for quite a long time before sinking into
+unconsciousness. And when, after the surgeon's knife had been swiftly
+and dexterously plied, it came back to life again it looked a very sick
+monkey indeed. Wrapped up in a towel with only its tiny puckered face
+showing, it presented such a woebegone and comical appearance that the
+onlookers were moved to unseemly mirth. But the little beast was too ill
+to care, though usually it fiercely resented being laughed at.
+
+We were too busy during these weeks to do any shooting. But a curious
+bit of _shikar_ fell to my lot one day. While I was superintending the
+building of the fort a sepoy who had been gathering stones for the wall
+ran up to tell me that he had seen some curious little animals in the
+_nullah_. Borrowing an ancient Martini rifle from a native officer, I
+ran down to the river-bed and found several wild dogs playing on the
+sand a few hundred yards away in front of a small island covered with
+thick undergrowth. On seeing me they bolted. I took a hurried shot at
+one and missed it, the bullet glancing off a rock behind which the dog
+had disappeared. To my horror a low wailing cry issued from the bushes
+on the island behind. Alarmed at the thought that I might have wounded
+one of my sepoys, I ran to the spot. There to my astonishment I found a
+barking deer standing up with half its face blown away. The unlucky
+beast had been struck by my chance bullet. Its shrieks were piteous and
+almost human, until we put it out of its pain.
+
+Another day a sepoy cutting bamboos was disturbed by a herd of wild
+elephants. He had the sense to remain motionless; and the animals passed
+without seeing him.
+
+One evening another man met a more dangerous beast. He had gone down at
+dusk to bathe in the river just below the fort and came face to face
+with a panther drinking. The man was unarmed; but fortunately for him
+the brute only growled and trotted away.
+
+One Sunday afternoon we had a serious alarm. No work being done on that
+day two of the native officers, taking a few sepoys with them, had gone
+out with shot-guns to look for jungle fowl. Splitting up into two
+parties they separated and beat through the undergrowth a few hundred
+yards away from the fort. Suddenly one of them came upon a tiger which
+snarled viciously at them and retreated in a direction which would bring
+him upon the other party. With this was Subhedar Sohanpal Singh, the
+sturdy old Rajput who had been my companion in the long chase after the
+rogue elephant.
+
+A sepoy came running back to the fort with the news. Seizing a rifle, I
+turned out a number of men with their arms and ammunition and hurried
+off to the rescue. Reaching the spot where the tiger had been seen, we
+searched the jungle for it and for Sohanpal Singh's party until dusk,
+without result. We shouted the _subhedar's_ name loudly but got no
+answer. When night fell we returned to the fort. I was in hopes that the
+missing party had passed us in the jungle and got in safely. When I
+found that it had not come back I began to be seriously alarmed. But I
+reflected that it contained four men and that the tiger could hardly
+have killed them all and not left one to bring back the news. The
+missing men returned at ten o'clock. They had not actually seen the
+tiger but had heard it growling close to them in the thick undergrowth.
+As one of the sepoys had his rifle with him, Sohanpal Singh took it and
+tried to get a shot at the animal. The beast retreated slowly before
+him, growling all the time, but keeping in dense jungle where he could
+not see it. In vain the _subhedar_ tried to get ahead and cut it off. He
+and his party followed the tiger until night put an end to the
+tantalising pursuit. Then, when they tried to retrace their steps, they
+lost their way in the darkness and wandered blindly through the jungle
+for hours until they struck the river.
+
+On the day of General Bower's arrival I sent two elephants to bring him
+and his staff officer with their baggage from Buxa Road Station.
+Balderston and I awaited him in the fire line about four hundred yards
+from our fort. When our visitors reached us they dismounted and shook
+hands with us. After our greetings were over I said to the General:
+
+"You told me last year, sir, to teach my men the art of making
+themselves and their officers comfortable in the jungle. You have got to
+test the result of my instruction practically now. You must live in a
+jungle hut, sleep on a jungle bed, sit at jungle-made tables on
+jungle-made chairs."
+
+General Bower laughed. "Is the jungle supplying my food too?" he asked.
+
+"Yes, sir; jungle fowl and venison. Captain Balderston wanted to give
+you wild vegetables from the jungle as well. But I tried them myself
+once; and as I don't want a bad report of my detachment, I dare not
+offer them to you."
+
+I led the way along a road which we had cut through the forest. Where it
+emerged on the clearing around our post I stopped and said:
+
+"There is the fort."
+
+Our visitors looked about them in astonishment. For, at a distance of
+two hundred yards, the stockades with the living trees in them behind
+the tangle of _abattis_ could not be distinguished from the surrounding
+jungle. In warfare this would be a great advantage, because it would
+come as a surprise on an advancing enemy.
+
+[Illustration: BRINGING HOME THE GENERAL'S DINNER.]
+
+When we reached the _abattis_, we passed down the winding path through
+it and stopped at the edge of the ditch. For, in order to give the
+General a good idea of the strength of our defences, I had ordered
+that the gates should be closed and the drawbridges raised. On a board
+above the gateway were painted the words "Fort Bower," the name given by
+the sepoys to the post in honour of our inspecting officer. Having
+allowed our visitors time to be suitably impressed by the formidable
+stockade and the grim-looking _panjis_ in the ditch, I called to the
+sentry hidden forty feet above us in a tree:
+
+"Open the gate!"
+
+The invisible doorkeeper pulled a string to inform the guard in the
+bastion. Then the heavy drawbridge fell across the ditch, the gate was
+raised and held up in position by the supporting forked poles.
+
+"That is very ingenious," said the General as he entered the fort.
+
+The men's huts were first inspected; and then we proceeded to the
+officer's quarters on the main street. We showed the General the cosy
+little two-roomed cottage he was to occupy, and pointed out the name
+painted on it, "The Bower."
+
+"Captain Humphreys' quarters are next door," we told him. "They gave us
+more trouble to find a title for. When we thought that the brigade
+major, Major Hutchinson, was to accompany you, the name suggested
+itself--we'd have called it 'The Hutch.' But when we heard that
+Humphreys was coming instead we were puzzled--until the idea occurred to
+us to name it 'The 'Ump.'"
+
+The General seemed to appreciate the mild joke more than his staff
+officer did. I pulled up the cane blind on the door of "The Bower" and
+invited the General to enter and see his jungle abode.
+
+"Here, sir, is your hat-rack," I said, showing a bamboo pole stuck in
+the flooring, its top split open into several points held apart by a
+cone of wood, thus providing a number of pegs. I drew his attention to
+an ingeniously-made writing-table with pigeon-holes and drawers. Then we
+passed into the inner room. Here a comfortable bed had been formed by
+driving the ends of six forked sticks, arranged in a parallelogram, into
+the earth. In the forks four light poles had been laid and fastened,
+making the head, foot and sides of the bedstead. Then across from side
+to side were tied split bamboos, which formed a bottom as elastic as
+steel springs. On it was laid a grass mat, three inches thick, as a
+mattress. The best bed ever turned out by Maple's could not have been
+more comfortable. Against the walls stood a bamboo dressing-table and a
+washstand. On the latter was an enamelled iron basin, the only article I
+could not replace from the jungle. But above it hung a length of hollow
+bamboo filled with water and pierced near the bottom by a hole now
+plugged. I withdrew the plug; and the water poured down into the basin.
+
+The General gazed around admiringly.
+
+"These contrivances are very clever," he said; "and there is no doubt
+that now your sepoys know how to make themselves and their officers very
+comfortable with the help only of jungle materials. All this is very
+ingenious and practical."
+
+After lunch the General inspected the defences and asked to see the
+sepoys man them. I led him up the ladder into the _machân_ or platform
+occupied by the sentry in a tree over the river-bank. The men were all
+shut up in their huts.
+
+"Give the alarm," I said to the sentry.
+
+He gathered in his hand the strings leading from the _machân_ to the
+officers' and section-leaders' quarters and pulled them. Throughout the
+fort we could faintly hear the stones rattling in the suspended tins.
+Instantly the fronts of the huts were raised; and the men of each
+section came silently out in line and went straight to the loopholes
+they had been posted to.
+
+"That is the best device I have seen yet," said General Bower. "The
+whole camp can be simultaneously aroused at once without any noise being
+heard by an approaching enemy, who would remain in ignorance of the fact
+that the defenders were on the alert. Consequently they would come on
+confidently in fancied security until they exposed themselves to a
+sudden fire at close range."
+
+Climbing down from the _machân_ he inspected the booby trap. At a
+signal, men inside the wall cut the creepers supporting the outer end of
+the bamboo platform which fell on its hinges and sent an avalanche of
+rocks into the _nullah_ below.
+
+As soon as it was dark we went out on to the gallery projecting over the
+river-bed. From it cords led to bombs buried in the sand and piled
+around with stones. They were made of bamboos filled with powder and
+fitted with a rifle cartridge so arranged that, on pulling the cord, a
+rock fell on a nail which struck the cartridge-cap and exploded the
+bomb.
+
+We fired these off one after another. The explosions hurled the stones
+in all directions with terrific force. Captain Balderston had devised an
+arrangement similar to the old Roman catapults for throwing
+hand-grenades over a hundred yards. He gave us an exhibition of this. On
+the sand of the river-bed bonfires had been piled to be set on fire by
+flares ignited by men tripping against cords laid along the ground.
+These were now worked; and the flames rose high and lit up the _nullah_
+clearly, so that anyone in it was plainly visible from the fort.
+
+Our dinner that night in the thatched bamboo hut dignified by the title
+of "Officers' Mess" was quite a festive affair. Our forest fare was much
+appreciated by our visitors; for it comprised _sambhur_ soup, roast
+jungle fowls and the delicate venison of a barking deer. But the river
+was not called upon to supply the liquor for our feast. General Bower
+was as full of good stories as ever; and long after the sepoys had
+turned in for the night their slumbers must have been disturbed by the
+hearty laughter of their Sahibs in the Mess.
+
+The next two days were occupied in doing manoeuvres through the jungle.
+
+At the conclusion of the inspection General Bower ordered me to form up
+the detachment and made a little speech to the men. He praised all ranks
+for their keenness and efficiency and complimented them on the ingenuity
+displayed in the construction of the fort.
+
+"You have made its defences so strong," he said, "that without artillery
+it would be almost impossible for an assault on it to be successful. I
+am very pleased with what you have done and at hearing from your Major
+Sahib how well and how willingly you have worked. I shall give this
+detachment a very good report."
+
+The Indians, like other races, love their meed of praise; and at the
+General's words the sepoys' faces beamed. Contrary to strict ideas of
+discipline Subhedar Sohanpal Singh, standing in front of his company,
+turned to his men and cried:
+
+"Three cheers for the General Sahib!"
+
+And as General Bower, having said good-bye to us and mounted his
+elephant, disappeared in the jungle on his way to the railway station,
+the hearty cheers of the sepoys followed him.
+
+For the remainder of our stay in Buxa Duar Fort Bower served to
+accommodate officers and men whenever we went down into the forest for
+military training. On one occasion we had some useful practice in
+night-firing from it. In the cleared space around it and in the
+river-bed targets were placed to represent an attacking army. A hundred
+yards from the defences bonfires, to be lit by flares ignited by cords
+leading into the fort, were arranged. When darkness fell these were set
+alight. The leaping flames showed up the targets, at which the sepoys
+fired through the loopholes of stockade and wall with very good results.
+At the time I had an American Cavalry officer on a visit to me. This was
+his first experience of the Indian Army at work; and he was very much
+impressed by it.
+
+At Christmas, Balderston and I invited friends to come to us for a
+shooting camp. Fort Bower served us as a residence; and from it we
+sallied out every morning into the forest on our elephants. On Christmas
+Day we added to our usual fare of jungle fowl and venison a plum pudding
+and mince-pies sent out from England, brewed punch, and in the heart of
+the jungle, thousands of miles from home, kept the feast in the good old
+fashion.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV
+
+FAREWELL TO THE HILLS
+
+    The Proclamation Parade--An unsteady charger--"Three cheers
+        for the King-Emperor!"--The Indian Army's loyalty--King
+        George and the sepoys--A land held by the sword--An
+        American Cavalry officer's visit--Hospitality of
+        American officers--Killing by kindness--The brotherhood
+        of soldiers--The bond between American and British
+        troops sealed by blood--U.S. officers' opinion of us--A
+        roaring tiger--Prince Jitendra Narayen--His visit to
+        Buxa--An intoxicated monkey--Projected visits--A road
+        report--A sketch fourteen feet long--The
+        start--Jalpaiguri--A planters' dinner-party--Crossing
+        the Tista River--A quicksand--A narrow
+        escape--Map-making in the army--In the China War of
+        1860--Officers' sketches used for the Canton Railway
+        survey--The country south of the hills--A sepoy's
+        explanation of Kinchinjunga--A native officer's theory
+        of the cause of earthquakes--Types on the road--After
+        the day's work--A man-eater--A brave postman--Human
+        beings killed by wild animals and snakes in
+        India--Crocodiles--Shooting a monster--Crocodiles on
+        land--Crossing the Torsa--Value of small
+        detachments--The maligned military officer--A life of
+        examinations--The man-killing elephant again--Death of
+        a Bhuttia woman--Ordered home--A last good-bye to a
+        comrade--Captain Balderston's death--A last view of the
+        hills.
+
+
+When our Christmas shoot ended I returned to Buxa with our guests in
+time to hold the Proclamation Parade; for on 1st January, 1877, Queen
+Victoria was proclaimed Empress of India, and on this date every year
+the event is celebrated in military Stations throughout our Eastern
+Empire by a parade of troops in garrison. Even in our little outpost
+we did not forget to honour the day.
+
+[Illustration: "I WAS MOUNTED ON A COUNTRYBRED PONY."]
+
+[Illustration: "AN ELEPHANT LOADED WITH MY STORES AND BAGGAGE."]
+
+On the drill ground a flagstaff had been erected, from which flew the
+Union Jack. The two companies of the detachment, officers and men in
+their full-dress uniform of scarlet and blue, were drawn up in line
+facing it. Captain Balderston rode a pony recently purchased from a
+planter, which strongly objected to soldiers and refused to go near the
+troops. No persuasions of its rider could induce it to approach the
+line; and when Balderston called the men to attention on my arrival and
+the rifles were brought smartly to the "slope," his disobedient charger
+swung round and bolted with him off the parade ground, jumping a ditch
+and nearly ending both their careers in a deep _nullah_. I was mounted
+on a country-bred pony which I had brought from Darjeeling and trained
+to troops. Deprived of the assistance of my second in command I started
+the parade. After the royal salute had been given, the men fired the
+_feu de joie_, when the rifles are discharged one by one along the front
+rank from right to left and back again in the opposite direction down
+the rear rank. Then taking off my helmet I gave the command "Three
+cheers for the King Emperor!"; and the hills re-echoed the shouts of the
+sepoys. A useless ceremony this, to the Little Englander; yet one
+fraught with deep meaning and stirring the heart to the core; for at
+that moment throughout the Indian Empire from the Himalayas to Colombo,
+from Aden to Mandalay, the cheers of His Majesty's soldiers, white and
+black, were ringing in loyal chorus.
+
+Fifty years ago, in the dark days of the Mutiny, the revolted sepoy
+regiments faced their erstwhile comrades in battle; but the guilt of
+that black crime has long ago been purged in blood and obliterated by
+faithful service; and to-day the Kaiser-i-Hind has no more loyal
+soldiers than the men of his Indian Army. Until a few years ago the
+Sovereign was only a name to the warrior races that fill its ranks. But
+King George by his visits to India has made them realise his existence.
+He has given his Indian subjects what Orientals always desire, the
+knowledge that they have a living monarch. And by so doing he has
+changed the vague loyalty of the sepoys into a real and affectionate
+attachment to the person of their ruler. The native troops whom he
+reviewed, who lined the streets or formed his Guards of Honour in
+Bombay, Delhi and Calcutta, rejoice to have actually seen their
+"_Badshah_" (Emperor) and proudly boast of it to others who have not
+been so fortunate. Only we officers of the Indian Army can fully realise
+how much this means, how wise were the councils that dictated his visits
+to India.
+
+For, despite the politician and the civil servant, we hold the land, as
+we won it, by the sword. No concessions to the clamour of the _babus_ of
+Bengal will retain the loyalty of this country. It rests on the weapons
+and in the hearts of the gallant warrior races that aided us to conquer
+India and help us to retain it. Would that the Englishman in England
+could realise the fact!
+
+Shortly after the departure of our guests who had come for the Christmas
+shoot, I received a long-expected visit from an American officer,
+Captain Brees, 1st United States Cavalry. Years before, in China, Japan,
+and California I had foregathered with a cheery Irish subaltern of his
+regiment, Lieutenant Coghlan, who had won his commission in the fierce
+fighting in Luzon. And when Captain Brees, their corps being then in the
+Philippine Islands, arranged to visit India on his way home on leave to
+his native country, Lieutenant Coghlan guaranteed him a warm welcome
+from me. For I felt that I owed a debt of gratitude to every officer of
+the American Army for the kindly hospitality I had received from them in
+the United States--from the Pacific to the Atlantic. Before I landed in
+San Francisco, Coghlan, then stationed in Los Angeles and unable to come
+to meet me, had written to friends of his in regiments quartered in the
+Army Post in the Presidio, the Golden City's splendid park, and asked
+them to welcome me in his stead. As soon as I arrived not only they, but
+a score of other officers of the garrison, had made their way through
+the ruins of the city not long before devastated by earthquake and fire
+to give me that welcome to their country. They offered me all the
+hospitality of their camp and clubs. A Cavalry regiment on the point of
+departing for their summer training in the famous Yosemite Valley
+extended a cordial invitation to accompany them and promised me a horse,
+a tent, and rations. The Field Battery offered to mount me whenever I
+liked to march out with them. I was asked to every military
+entertainment; and at every regimental dance my hosts saw that I had my
+programme full.
+
+One night at a magnificent entertainment at the Fairmont Hotel in
+celebration of the first anniversary of the earthquake and San
+Francisco's phoenix-like rising again from the flames, a civilian asked
+me if I belonged to the Indian Army. On my replying in the affirmative
+he begged to be allowed to introduce me to two friends of his present
+that night, American officers on leave from another Station, as they
+were anxious to meet an officer of my Service. As I shook hands with
+them, one said:
+
+"We've been looking for a fellow in the Indian Army."
+
+"Which one?" I asked.
+
+"Anyone. It doesn't matter who. We want to kill him," was the alarming
+reply.
+
+"Good Heaven! why?" I queried apprehensively, backing away from him.
+
+"Say, don't be afraid," he answered, laughingly. "We only mean to kill
+him with kindness. The fact is that we have just been on leave through
+India and Burma; and your fellows were so good to us everywhere we went
+that we have been looking for any stray officer of your army to give us
+an opportunity of returning their hospitality."
+
+"That's so," said his companion. "Now, what can we do for you? Dine you,
+wine you, or lend you money?"
+
+And when I told them that the unbounded kindness of their comrades in
+San Francisco had left me nothing to desire, they were very
+disappointed.
+
+Between the soldiers of every nationality there is a bond of
+brotherhood; and never have I found it so strong as between American
+officers and ours in the too few occasions on which they have met.
+
+"Blood is thicker than water"; and in the China War of 1900 Uncle Sam's
+troops and the British seemed to form one army. Side by side they fought
+in the grim combats around Tientsin. On the day when the city was
+stormed, when the pouches of the gallant 9th United States Infantry
+were empty, their brave colonel, Liscum, and a score of men killed, and
+four officers and seventy-two men wounded out of total of two hundred
+Americans engaged, a British officer, Ollivant, was killed in trying to
+replenish their ammunition, another, Major Pereira, was wounded in
+trying to bring in their injured, and Lieutenant Phillimore and his
+bluejackets of H.M.S. _Barfleur_ helped them to hold their ground, and
+brought back their wounded.
+
+In less strenuous days in North China after the fighting, our American
+friends there told us that they found us very different to their
+preconceived ideas of the English officer, whom they had pictured as a
+languidly haughty individual, inseparable from his eyeglass, and
+prefacing every remark by "I say, by Jove!" They frankly admitted that
+they had come prepared to dislike us, but had found us on acquaintance
+not such bad fellows after all.
+
+Similarly Captain Brees confessed to me that he had been obliged to
+reconstruct all his preconceived ideas of British military men as soon
+as he had met them. Before his departure from Manila I had sent him
+letters of introduction to many of our officers in Hong Kong, Singapore,
+Colombo and Calcutta. He told me that on arriving in Hong Kong he had
+hesitated to avail himself of them but, hardening his heart, had at last
+dispatched them to the addresses.
+
+"I can tell you, major," he said, "that, with the ideas I had of what
+your fellows would be like, I was considerably surprised when several of
+them swooped down upon me in my hotel and insisted on my transferring
+myself and my baggage at once to their quarters, where they entertained
+me royally for the rest of my stay in Hong Kong. The same in Singapore.
+And when my ship reached Calcutta, two British officers came on board as
+soon as the anchor dropped, took me ashore, and gave me a bully time
+there. I tell you that after this you can just inform any of your army
+friends that, if they visit America, their address is '1st United States
+Cavalry.' And don't you forget it!"
+
+"Jimmy" Brees was one of the most charming men I have ever known; and
+everywhere he went in India he made a most favourable impression on all
+our officers who met him. In Buxa we could not offer him any social
+gaieties; but we made him free of the jungle, taught him to ride on and
+shoot from elephants, and did the little we could to entertain him.
+
+Once, after a long day in the forest on Khartoum's back, we climbed up
+into Forest Lodge to dine and sleep. Exhausted by his tiring experience,
+Brees had just fallen asleep and I was preparing to follow his example,
+when I heard a tiger roaring in the jungle close to my lofty
+tree-dwelling, and apparently approaching us. I was delighted to give my
+guest the opportunity of at least hearing a tiger and possibly shooting
+it in the moonlight if it came close enough. So I sprang out of bed,
+seized my rifle and, posting myself at the window, called out over my
+shoulder:
+
+"Wake up, Jimmy, wake up! There is a tiger close by."
+
+"Eh? What?" came the sleepy reply.
+
+"Get up, man, get up!" I whispered excitedly. "I tell you there's a
+tiger near us. It may come close enough to give us a shot at it."
+
+But the fatigues of the day had been too much for him. A loud snore was
+his only answer; and although the tiger roamed around the house for half
+an hour, uttering its peculiar snorting roar, it never woke him.
+However, he lost nothing but the noise; for, though I sat eagerly
+expectant by the window for a long time, the brute never came within
+range.
+
+My next visitor was Prince Jitendra Narayen, now through the death of
+his eldest brother Maharajah of Cooch Behar. Before Darjeeling came into
+existence as a Hill Station the rulers of his State possessed a house in
+Buxa Duar, to which they used to come in the summer to avoid the heat of
+the Plains. But this was before the day of the present generation of the
+family, none of whom, except the then Maharajah, had ever visited Buxa.
+So Prince "Jit" was glad of an opportunity of seeing our small Station,
+and spent several days with me. As he belonged to the Imperial Service
+Cadet Corps he was keenly interested in military matters, and passed
+much time in watching our detachment at work. Like his father, he was an
+ardent sportsman and good shot; and, used to the more open country south
+of the forest, he enjoyed wandering on one of our elephants through our
+dense jungle in search of _sambhur_. His cheery manner made him popular
+with everyone in Buxa--except our pet monkey. For that little beast,
+having a severe cold, was given whisky-and-milk one day, and, imbibing
+too freely, became absolutely drunk. Its antics as it reeled about the
+mess-room were extremely comical and made us all roar with laughter. It
+seemed to pardon its owners' want of good manners but resented Prince
+Jitendra's mirth as an impertinence in a stranger. Swaying drunkenly as
+it tried to stand on its hind legs, it chattered and shrieked with rage
+at him and endeavoured to stagger across the room to bite him, falling
+down and rolling helplessly on the floor on its way. And next morning it
+was plain to see that it suffered from a bad headache. But when Jit
+entered the Mess at breakfast-time and condoled with it on its evident
+pain, it flew at him and attacked him savagely.
+
+When my guest returned to Cooch Behar I accompanied him. At the Palace
+his account of the beauties of Buxa Duar made the ladies of the family
+eager to see the place; and it was arranged that Her Highness the
+Maharani and her two daughters, the Princess Pretiva and Sudhira, should
+pay us a visit in our outpost. The Maharajah's four sons were also to
+come at another time, bringing all the elephants belonging to the State,
+to join me in making a systematic search for a rogue which was
+committing havoc in the forest near Buxa. But the Maharajah's illness,
+which necessitated his going to Europe for medical treatment and which
+resulted in his lamented death the following year, deprived me of the
+pleasure of these visits.
+
+Shortly after Prince Jitendra's departure an order from the brigadier to
+report on and sketch eighty-four miles of road and country across
+Eastern Bengal afforded me an opportunity of seeing something of this
+province south of the Terai Jungle. The task was no light one. The
+military sketch was to be executed on a scale of two inches to a mile;
+so that I had to make a map fourteen feet long! It was to begin more
+than twenty miles west of Jalpaiguri, a town on the railway to Siliguri
+and Darjeeling, the route running parallel to the mountains and thirty
+or forty miles south of them, and ended at Alipur Duar.
+
+As the ground to be traversed contained no towns where I could purchase
+supplies, I had to make my own arrangements for food as well as
+transport. I might find an empty _dâk_ bungalow here and there; but it
+behoved me to carry a tent with me. So, dispatching my pony and an
+elephant loaded with my baggage and stores to march across country and
+meet me at Jalpaiguri, I went by train to this station, reaching it of
+course several days before my animals could arrive. There I borrowed an
+elephant from the police officer, bought some tinned provisions and
+flour, and set out west along the twenty-four miles of road to the spot
+where I was to begin my sketch. I was fortunate in finding _dâk_
+bungalows on it every ten or twelve miles in which to shelter at night.
+At the first of these I was informed by the native in charge of it that
+on a tank--as ponds and lakes are called in India--about six miles away
+I would find hundreds of duck. So I shouldered my gun and set out across
+the fields. I discovered the tank and from a distance saw that the water
+was dotted with birds. Cautiously stalking them, with glowing
+anticipations of wild duck for dinner, I reached the bank to find that
+they were coots and "divers." Not even a snipe rewarded me for my long
+walk; and I returned to the _dâk_ bungalow to give my misinformant my
+candid and unflattering opinion of him.
+
+Next day I reached the spot where my sketch was to begin. My
+starting-point was near another _dâk_ bungalow, perched on a little hill
+overlooking a broad river flowing through thin jungle and
+well-cultivated fields. Here I turned my face towards Jalpaiguri and
+commenced my task. Cavalry sketching-case in hand I walked along the
+road through open and uninteresting country, counting my paces as
+measurement and filling in the meagre details of the country on either
+hand on my map. I completed the mapping of the twenty-four miles in two
+days.
+
+Arrived at Jalpaiguri I had to wait there a day for my elephant and
+pony, which were accompanied by my butler and a sepoy orderly, as well
+as the _mahout_ and a _syce_; so that with Draj Khan, who was already
+with me, I had quite a following. Jalpaiguri is built on the west bank
+of the broad Tista River, which flows from Sikkim through the Himalayas
+to the plains of Bengal. The civil Station contains the usual
+Anglo-Indian community of such a town, the deputy commissioner, a judge,
+a settlement officer, a Public Works Department engineer, a police
+officer and a few more Europeans. There are no troops there. The
+engineer who had visited me at Buxa, which was in his charge, kindly
+offered me the shelter of his bungalow; and I was hospitably entertained
+by everyone in the Station. I came in for a very merry dinner-party
+given at the club by a number of planters of the neighbourhood to two
+members of their community who were leaving India for England. Near
+midnight we escorted the guests to the railway station and considerably
+delayed the mail train by our lengthy good-byes and parting libations.
+In vain the stationmaster, the guard, and the engine-driver in turn
+stormed, argued, and pleaded with the two departing planters to take
+their seats and let the train start. Sleepy and irate English passengers
+put their heads out of the carriage windows and cursed the causes of
+the delay. One of our party had to be stopped by main force from pouring
+a whisky-and-soda into the interior mechanism of what he declared to be
+"a poor thirsty engine that nobody thought of offering a drink to." The
+native stationmaster, torn between his dread of official reprimand for
+delaying the mail and his fear of displeasing the Sahibs of his town,
+almost wept as he implored the party to end their farewells and let the
+train depart.
+
+My transport having arrived that night I continued on my way next
+morning. I had to cross the Tista, which here, though the banks were
+more than a mile or a mile and a half apart, was at that season shrunk
+to a stream half a mile in breadth flowing between wide stretches of
+sand, over which I rode on my pony to reach the ferryboat. This was a
+broad, flat-bottomed craft, loaded with natives, cattle, bullocks and a
+cart which carried the baggage and camp equipment of a civil official
+going out to tour his district. The cart was festooned with wicker
+crates containing hens and ducks destined to supply "master's dinner in
+jungle," as the servant in charge informed me. With sail, oar and pole
+the ferry-boat made its way across the stream, until it reached a wide
+stretch of sand lying between the water and the bank. My pony, after
+much urging, jumped out; and I mounted. I had ridden four or five
+hundred yards when the animal stopped suddenly and its legs began to
+sink. To my horror I found that we were in a quicksand. The pony plunged
+and struggled wildly. I slipped from the saddle to ease it of my weight
+and sank at once up to my knees. Visions of a horrible death engulfed in
+the yielding mass of sand flashed across me as I struggled against the
+invisible monster that seemed to clutch me and drag me down. Luckily
+the pony got its forefeet on to firmer ground and fought its way out of
+the quicksand, pulling me out with it by the reins to which I clung. It
+stood terrified and quivering while I tried to soothe it. Fifty yards
+away was a group of natives who had been watching the incident
+phlegmatically and had made no move to come to our help. When I was safe
+they called out to me.
+
+"That is a very dangerous place, Sahib. A cow was swallowed up there the
+other day."
+
+Having told them forcibly what I thought of them for not warning me in
+time, I cautiously led my pony forward to the firm earth bank, which I
+was delighted to reach after the treacherous sand. Here the road to
+Alipur Duar began again. I swung myself into the saddle and continued my
+sketch on horseback, thus covering the ground much more quickly than on
+the first days. I was able to get my measurements by having previously
+counted the number of paces my pony took to cover a distance of a
+hundred yards at a trot.
+
+In the old days knowledge of map-making was, in the army, confined to
+the Royal Engineers. A late inspector-general of fortifications, General
+Sir Richard Harrison, R.E., told me that in the China War of 1860 only
+two officers, he and Captain, afterwards Lord, Wolseley, in the
+Anglo-Indian Army there could make a military sketch, and very few
+others were able to understand it when made. Nowadays every officer can
+map any country and during the drill season is called upon to furnish at
+least one sketch. The civil engineers brought out in 1905-6 to Hong Kong
+to survey the route of the railway to Canton told me that in the
+British Hinterland they made no maps, and contented themselves with such
+annual military sketches of the country done by officers of the
+garrison. And these they found accurate enough for railway laying. The
+task that I was now engaged on, which was for the purpose of revising
+the military route-book of Eastern Bengal, was set me as part of my
+ordinary work; I being the nearest available officer.
+
+The country through which my road lay for the next sixty miles was open,
+level, and well-cultivated, dotted with groves of feathery bamboos and
+the typical, compact, thatched villages and farm-buildings of Bengal. As
+usual, in India, the fields were not divided by hedges or any obstacles.
+Even at that season of the year the country-side looked green, in
+striking contrast to other parts of the land then when the hot weather
+was drawing near. And always along and parallel to my route lay the wall
+of the mountains thirty or forty miles away, rising abruptly from the
+plains in a confused jumble of rugged hills overtopping each other until
+they culminated in the long white crest of Kinchinjunga, which now and
+then at sunset or dawn towered over them all above the clouds and seemed
+to float detached in the sky.
+
+At the first _dâk_ bungalow which sheltered me after leaving Jalpaiguri
+we had a splendid view of this magnificent mountain; and I overheard my
+orderly, Draj Khan, who had been with me in Darjeeling and had seen it
+from there, explaining to the Rajput sepoy with us that it was composed
+entirely of ice. The latter, a man from the sandy deserts of Bikanir,
+never having seen snow or more ice than a small lump in some native
+liquor-dealer's shop in the bazaar, refused to believe Draj's statement
+and appealed to me. I found it no easy task to explain the mystery of
+the Everlasting Snows to the intellect of this more or less untutored
+savage; and I fear that he understood me even less than he did Draj
+Khan's explanation. Natural physical phenomena that we accept as
+articles of belief we find not so easy to make clear to the minds of
+uneducated people. The Pathan subhedar-major of my regiment rejected my
+account of the causes of earthquakes in favour of his own theory that
+they arise from the movements of a dragon slumbering in the centre of
+the earth and occasionally shaking itself or turning round in its sleep.
+
+I found my journey day by day along the road interesting from the many
+types of natives whom I passed. Brown-skinned peasants, many clad simply
+in a cotton cloth wound round the waist and between the legs, and
+_puggris_ tied loosely about their heads, saluted me respectfully as I
+rode by. Native women, nose-ringed and glass-braceletted, modestly drew
+their _saris_ over their dark faces to hide their problematical beauty
+from my profane gaze. Naked little brown urchins with them stopped to
+gaze, finger in mouth, at the Sahib and scampered off in simulated fear
+when I waved my hand to them, but halted at a safe distance to wave back
+laughingly. Bearded Mohammedans uttered a "Salaam Aleikoum"[8] and
+grinned with pleasure at the correct reply "Aleikoum salaam."[9] Groups
+of lean-shanked jungle-dwellers shuffled by, the men unencumbered, the
+ragged women laden with cooking-pots, babies, and other possessions.
+Once or twice I passed a tall, stately Pathan, long-haired and
+hook-nosed, clad in baggy trousers, gold-laced velvet waistcoat and
+voluminous turban. These gave me a cheery salutation, with no trace of
+servility; for the Pathan is of a haughty race and thinks himself any
+man's equal. These individuals had wandered far from their homes among
+the mountains beyond the North-West Frontier to make small fortunes as
+usurers among the simple peasants of Bengal. Small boys herding cattle
+drove their black buffaloes to one side of the road to let me pass,
+fearlessly beating with shrill cries the savage-looking animals which
+seemed inclined to charge my pony. Heavy carts, their wheels solid discs
+of wood, drawn by stolid white bullocks, lumbered noisily along, the
+drivers twisting the _byles'_ tails to accelerate their speed. Although
+I was in so-called disaffected Eastern Bengal I met with no rudeness or
+black looks; for the sedition carefully fostered among the
+feather-headed young Bengali students has not affected the simple
+cultivators of the soil, who still respect the white man and look
+confidently to the Sahibs for justice. Even well-fed _babus_ on the road
+stopped and closed their umbrellas, a native sign of respect, and were
+always ready to answer my questions or enter into a chat.
+
+Every day after completing ten or twelve miles of my sketch I halted at
+a _dâk_ bungalow or pitched my tent. My servants and elephant had
+usually arrived before me; and I found my breakfast of biscuit, tinned
+meat and tea, occasionally supplemented by eggs from the nearest
+village, awaiting me. My orderly, scouting on ahead on my bicycle, had
+sought for information of sport; and, if the prospects of it were good,
+I took my gun or rifle and went out in search of something to shoot.
+But in such well-cultivated country there was very little game.
+
+At one village near which I halted for the night I heard that a
+man-eating tiger was lurking in the neighbourhood. It had killed two
+natives on the road within the week. Of course I went out to look for
+it, but with scant hope of finding it, as I could only stay a day in the
+place. Mounting my elephant I started after breakfast and beat through
+all the small patches of jungle for miles round and along the banks of a
+small stream flowing by the village. But, though I hunted until after
+dusk, I found no traces of it, and returned disappointed to the _dâk_
+bungalow.
+
+As I sat smoking after dinner out in the compound under the stars I
+heard the tinkle of bells coming along the road and drawing nearer and
+nearer. Then past the gate of the enclosure around the bungalow a native
+postman shuffled by at a dog-trot, his spear and bells over his
+shoulder. I stopped him and asked him if he had heard of the tiger.
+
+The little old man, bent almost double under the weight of his mail-bag,
+wiped his brow, as he answered:
+
+"Yes, Protector of the Poor, the _shaitan_ (devil) killed two men of
+this village on this very road by which I come each night."
+
+"Are you not afraid of meeting him?" I asked.
+
+"That is in the hands of God, Sahib. I must earn my pay by carrying the
+_dâk_ (mail) along that road every day."
+
+"But why come by night?"
+
+"The _dâk_ only reaches my post office after nightfall, and must be sent
+on at once. _Hukm hai._ It is the order." And with a farewell salaam he
+trotted off into the darkness and danger of the night; and the tinkle of
+the bells died away down the fatal road.
+
+Next morning I moved on, deeply regretting that I could not afford the
+time to remain and make a systematic search for the man-eater. It was
+tantalising to be in its hunting-ground and yet be unable to stay longer
+and devote myself to its destruction. To shoot an ordinary tiger is not
+much of an achievement; but to circumvent and kill a murderous beast,
+grown daring and wily in the slaughter of human beings, is something to
+be proud of, and a good and useful deed. The hunter must pit his brains
+against its cunning and risk his life freely; for the man-eater is acute
+beyond all others and has lost the wild animals' usual dread of man. It
+is fortunate that such are rare; for last year tigers killed eight
+hundred and eighty-five persons in India, one being credited with
+forty-one deaths. Other wild beasts were far behind in the grim count.
+Wolves killed two hundred and fifty-five; while panthers slew two
+hundred and sixty-one human beings. But these figures fall far short of
+the havoc caused by venomous reptiles. In 1911 over twenty-five thousand
+persons died from snake-bite; in 1912, twenty-one thousand four hundred
+and sixty-one deaths were recorded from the same cause. But it must be
+remembered that in villages far from police investigations and coroners'
+inquests, snake-bite is a very convenient explanation of a sudden and
+violent death.
+
+As I rode along day by day busy with my sketch I had not time to feel
+lonely; though, with the exception of my brief stay in Jalpaiguri, I had
+not exchanged a word with one of my own colour for over a week. But in
+India one grows accustomed to that. Soldiers, planters, forest and civil
+officers are used to being cut off from their kind; and on detachment I
+have passed months without seeing another European. The evenings, when
+the day's work is done, are the hardest to bear; and now in this long
+and solitary ride, when I sat in my tent or a _dâk_ bungalow after
+dinner by the flickering light of a hurricane lantern I did occasionally
+wish for a white man to talk to.
+
+My road, running parallel to the hills, crossed many rivers flowing from
+them. Most of these were, at that season of the year, easily fordable;
+though in some the water was up to my pony's girths. Warned by my
+experience at the Tista, I kept a sharp look-out for quicksands. At one
+broad stream villagers bade me beware of crocodiles; and fording a river
+in which these brutes lurk is not a pleasant task.
+
+The crocodiles of India are divided into two species. The _ghavial_, or
+fish eater, attains a length of eighteen feet and is reputed not to
+attack human beings. Yet with their long, narrow snouts studded with a
+serrated row of sharp teeth they look much more formidable than the
+man-eating, blunt-nosed _muggers_. The latter are similar to the
+alligators of the New World and the crocodiles of Africa, though they do
+not reach the length of the latter. The largest I have known was an old
+veteran twelve and a half feet long, which I shot in the Jumna near its
+confluence with the Ganges at Allahabad. The latter river is full of
+_muggers_; but the former is reputed locally to contain only _ghavials_.
+My crocodile may have been a stray. From a boat in which I was drifting
+down stream I saw it, looking like an immense log, lying on the bank;
+for these brutes are in the habit of coming ashore to sun themselves
+during the heat of the day. They are not easy to shoot, as at the least
+sign of danger they are prone to dive into the river. Even if wounded
+they are hard to secure; for they nearly always lie at the water's edge,
+so that the least movement takes them into the stream and, if they die
+below the surface, their bodies do not float for some time.
+
+Having spotted the crocodile in question from a distance I landed on the
+opposite bank and, cautiously stalking it, managed to get within two
+hundred yards without its being alarmed. I was armed with a ·303 carbine
+and, aiming at its neck, luckily paralysed it by my first shot with a
+bullet in the spine. To make sure of it I fired several more rounds at
+it, then, hailing my boat, crossed over to where it lay. It feebly
+snapped its huge jaws at me as I approached, but was unable to move
+otherwise; and a final bullet laid it out. It was an old and immensely
+powerful brute, broad out of all proportion to its length. Its thick
+hide studded with bosses was like armour-plate, and over its back
+impenetrable to bullets. Its teeth were large and blunted and its nails
+long and thick.
+
+At the sound of my shots a number of natives had run out from a village
+close by. When they saw the _mugger_ lying dead, they streamed down to
+the bank and to my surprise swarmed round me, hung garlands about my
+neck and lauded me to the skies. I learned from them that the dead
+monster had closed a ford from their village to one on the other side
+of the river for two years, had carried off several women bathing or
+drawing water (this was a minor offence to the native, women being cheap
+in India); but, worse still, had killed several of their sacred and
+valuable cows. Hence my ovation. The brute was so large and heavy that
+it took fourteen villagers to drag and push it up an inclined plane of
+planks into my big native sailing-boat. We brought it down the river to
+the Lines of my regiment, which were built close to the bank. There we
+landed it and cut it open. In its stomach were seven metal anklets or
+armlets of different sizes, ornaments such as are worn by native women
+and girls, and--a horrible sight!--the entire body of a child about a
+year old. It was in the process of being digested; and, when exposed to
+the air, the flesh fell away from the bones. The stench was
+unforgettable.
+
+The rivers of Bengal are full of these unpleasant saurians. And
+crocodiles do not always confine themselves to the water; for they are
+reputed to have an undesirable habit of wandering across country by
+night from stream to stream and, if these are far apart, hiding by day
+in any convenient tank. I have seen a large one in quite a small pond
+which was rapidly drying up and would contain no water in a week. A
+friend of mine in the Civil Service told me that once, riding into a
+village in his district in Eastern Bengal, he found it in a state of
+commotion and the whole population gathered in front of the local post
+office but keeping a respectful distance from the building; for on the
+steps of it was a crocodile about six feet long, snapping fiercely at
+anyone who approached it. It must have been overtaken by daylight when
+passing through the village on its way from water to water. My friend
+shot it, to the intense relief of the besieged postal officials inside
+the building.
+
+A crocodile would certainly be an unpleasant animal to meet on the land
+in the dark. However, I forded all the streams I came to without mishap.
+When I reached the Torsa, a broad and rapid river, across which, some
+thirty miles to the north, I had driven the man-killing rogue elephant
+months before, I found it unfordable. A large ferry-boat was plying
+across it; and in company with two carts and their bullocks and drivers,
+a wandering Pathan, several peasants and a gipsy family, I embarked on
+it. We had an adventurous voyage. Heavy squalls sweeping down from the
+mountains churned up the dark surface of the river and drove our
+shallow, top-heavy craft back. The few boatmen, striving with paddles
+and poles, to propel it against the wind, were helpless. I seized a long
+bamboo and tried to aid them. The Pathan followed my example, while the
+other natives on board sat watching our efforts apathetically. This
+infuriated him; and he fell upon them with kicks and cuffs until they
+rose, took up other bamboos and helped to pole the boat across. But such
+was the strength of the gale that it took us two hours to force a
+passage against it; and once or twice we were nearly capsized.
+
+Another couple of days or so brought me to the end of my task. When I
+saw the tin-roofed buildings of Alipur Duar rise before me on the road,
+I struck spurs to my pony and finished my sketch at a gallop. And the
+next day saw me back in Buxa Duar, glad to be among the friendly hills
+again, for the charm of the mountains was upon me. And on them I hoped
+to spend another year; but the gods willed otherwise.
+
+Such outposts as ours may not be as good for the training of the rank
+and file as service in large garrisons. But for the individual officer
+there is no better way of developing his power of initiative and
+teaching him to rely on himself than the command of these small
+detachments. And in these jungle outposts the sport to be found is an
+additional advantage. Save only active service what better education can
+he have than the pursuit of big game, when every sense is trained to be
+on the alert, and quick decision becomes a second nature? An eye for
+country, readiness of resource, generalship and courage is needed in
+this "image of war." The time he spends in the jungles is not wasted.
+
+The British military officer is a much-maligned individual. It seems an
+article of faith among civilians in England to believe that he leads a
+life of luxury, is ignorant of the science of his profession, and leaves
+the training and instruction of his men to be done by the sergeants. As
+to luxury--see him in his plainly furnished one room in barracks in the
+British Isles or his rat-infested Indian bungalow for which he pays an
+exorbitant rent! Examinations all through his service up to the rank of
+colonel; examinations for promotion to each grade, signalling, transport
+and musketry classes, each with its final examination, examinations in
+Indian and other foreign languages keep his brain from rusting for want
+of exercise. I have had to pass nine professional, and three obligatory
+language examinations myself during my service; and there are many who
+have passed more. That there is no army in the world that has as many
+officers qualified as interpreters in foreign tongues as ours was well
+exemplified in North China during the Boxer War of 1900. And as for
+leaving his work to be done by the non-commissioned ranks, only a person
+absolutely ignorant of our army to-day would venture to make that
+assertion. Who created the auxiliary armies throughout the Empire, who
+made the Indian, the Egyptian, the West and the East African Armies? Not
+the drill-instructor, not Sergeant What's-his-name, but the British
+officer!
+
+Little did I think as I rode into Buxa, after making my sketch, that my
+time among my beloved mountains was drawing to a close. One day, not
+long afterwards, when out tiger-shooting I was taken suddenly ill and
+was barely able to remain in the howdah long enough to fire my rifle and
+bag the tiger. Hardly capable of sitting in the saddle I made my way on
+my pony back to my Station, there to lie on a sick-bed for over a month.
+And I raged at my helplessness when news was brought me during that time
+that the man-killing elephant I had fought with was back in our forests
+again. Within a few miles of us he surprised a Bhuttia woodcutter and
+his wife encamped in the jungle. He came upon them at dawn. They fled
+before him; but he overtook the woman, struck her down, and crushed her
+into a shapeless mass under his feet. When I heard of it I longed to be
+well enough to go out to meet him again. But the Fates forbade it.
+
+Thanks to the devoted care of our Indian doctor, Captain Sarkar, I.M.S.,
+I recovered sufficiently to be sent to England on sick leave, much
+against my will, for I had no desire to quit Buxa. But four sturdy
+_kahars_ (bearers) carried me in a litter down the steep road from our
+little outpost through the forest to the train. Beside me walked Captain
+Balderston wishing me farewell and a speedy return to health. I little
+knew that I was never to see him again, as he shook my hand for the last
+time. Four months afterwards his sorrowing sepoys laid my cheery little
+comrade to rest in his grave in the deserted cemetery of Buxa. He died
+there all alone.
+
+As the train bore me out of the forest and through the green plains of
+Eastern Bengal, I raised myself from my couch in the railway carriage
+and with sadness in my heart looked back to where the white Picquet
+Towers shone out on the purple background of the fast-receding hills.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[8] "Peace be with you!"
+
+[9] "With you be peace!"
+
+    THE NORTHUMBERLAND PRESS, THORNTON STREET, NEWCASTLE-UPON-TYNE
+
+
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+Transcript Notes
+
+
+1. This book uses both "country-side" and "countryside"
+
+2. This book uses both "ferry-boat" and "ferryboat"
+
+3. This book uses both "foothills" and "foot-hills"
+
+4. This book uses both "goat-skin" and "goatskin"
+
+5. This book uses both "head-gear" and "headgear"
+
+6. This book uses both "woodcutter" and "wood-cutter"
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's Life in an Indian Outpost, by Gordon Casserly
+
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+      The Project Gutenberg eBook of Life in an Indian Outpost, by Major Gordon Casserly.
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+<pre>
+
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Life in an Indian Outpost, by Gordon Casserly
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Life in an Indian Outpost
+
+Author: Gordon Casserly
+
+Release Date: October 17, 2011 [EBook #37782]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LIFE IN AN INDIAN OUTPOST ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Steve Klynsma, Suzanne Shell and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This
+file was produced from images generously made available
+by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+</pre>
+
+
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 364px;">
+<img src="images/cover.jpg" width="364" height="600" alt="Cover" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_i" id="Page_i">[Pg i]</a></span></p>
+
+
+<h1>
+<span style="margin-left: 2em;">LIFE IN AN</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 2em;">INDIAN OUTPOST</span><br />
+</h1>
+
+
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 370px;">
+<img src="images/halftitle.jpg" width="370" height="600" alt="" title="" />
+</div>
+
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_ii" id="Page_ii">[Pg ii]</a></span></p>
+
+<p><span style="margin-left: 2em;">BOOKS OF TRAVEL</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Demy 8vo. Cloth Bindings. All fully Illustrated</span></p>
+<p><span style="margin-left: 2em;">THROUGH INDIA AND BURMA</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 3em;">WITH PEN AND BRUSH</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 3em;">By <span class="smcap">A. Hugh Fisher</span>. 15s. net</span></p>
+<p><span style="margin-left: 2em;">ALONE IN WEST AFRICA</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 3em;">By <span class="smcap">Mary Gaunt</span>. 15s. net</span></p>
+<p><span style="margin-left: 2em;">CHINA REVOLUTIONISED</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 3em;">By <span class="smcap">J. S. Thompson</span>. 12s. 6d. net</span></p>
+<p><span style="margin-left: 2em;">NEW ZEALAND</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 3em;">By Dr <span class="smcap">Max Herz</span>. 12s. 6d. net</span></p>
+<p><span style="margin-left: 2em;">THE DIARY OF A SOLDIER OF</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 3em;">FORTUNE</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 3em;">By <span class="smcap">Stanley Portal Hyatt</span>. 12s. 6d. net</span></p>
+<p><span style="margin-left: 2em;">OFF THE MAIN TRACK</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 3em;">By <span class="smcap">Stanley Portal Hyatt</span>. 12s. 6d. net</span></p>
+<p><span style="margin-left: 2em;">WITH THE LOST LEGION IN</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 3em;">NEW ZEALAND</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 3em;">By Colonel <span class="smcap">G. Hamilton-Browne</span></span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 4em;">("Maori Browne"). 12s. 6d. net</span></p>
+<p><span style="margin-left: 2em;">A LOST LEGIONARY IN SOUTH</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 3em;">AFRICA</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 3em;">By Colonel <span class="smcap">G. Hamilton-Browne</span></span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 4em;">("Maori Browne"). 12s 6d.</span></p>
+<p><span style="margin-left: 2em;">MY BOHEMIAN DAYS IN PARIS</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 3em;">By <span class="smcap">Julius M. Price</span>. 10s. 6d. net</span></p>
+<p><span style="margin-left: 2em;">WITH GUN AND GUIDE IN</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 3em;">N.B. COLUMBIA</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 3em;">By <span class="smcap">T. Martindale</span>. 10s. 6d. net</span></p>
+<p><span style="margin-left: 2em;">SIAM</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 3em;">By <span class="smcap">Pierre Loti</span>. 7s. 6d. net</span></p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_iii" id="Page_iii">[Pg iii]</a></span></p>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_iv" id="Page_iv">[Pg iv]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 397px;">
+<a name="Ill_1" id="Ill_1"></a><img src="images/gs01.jpg" width="397" height="600" alt="AFTER THE PROCLAMATION PARADE." title="" />
+<span class="caption">AFTER THE PROCLAMATION PARADE.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_v" id="Page_v">[Pg v]</a></span></p>
+<h1>LIFE IN AN<br />
+INDIAN OUTPOST<br /></h1>
+<h3>BY</h3>
+<h2><span class="smcap">Major GORDON CASSERLY</span></h2>
+<h3>(INDIAN ARMY)<br />
+<br />
+AUTHOR OF<br />
+"THE LAND OF THE BOXERS; OR CHINA UNDER THE ALLIES"; ETC.<br />
+<br />
+ILLUSTRATED<br /></h3>
+<div class='center'>LONDON<br />
+T. WERNER LAURIE LTD.<br />
+CLIFFORD'S INN<br /></div>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_vi" id="Page_vi">[Pg vi]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2>CONTENTS</h2>
+
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_vii" id="Page_vii">[Pg vii]</a></span></p>
+
+
+<div class="center">
+<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary="Table of Contents">
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#ChapterI">CHAPTER I</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">A FRONTIER POST</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">&nbsp;</td><td align="right">PAGE</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Our first view of the Himalayas&mdash;Across India in a troop</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">train&mdash;A scattered regiment&mdash;An elephant-haunted</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">railway&mdash;Kinchinjunga&mdash;The great Terai</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Jungle&mdash;Rajabhatkawa&mdash;In the days of Warren</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Hastings&mdash;Hillmen&mdash;Roving Chinese&mdash;We arrive at Buxa</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Road&mdash;Relieved officers&mdash;An undesirable outpost&mdash;March through</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">the forest&mdash;The hills&mdash;A mountain road&mdash;Lovely scenery&mdash;Buxa</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Duar&mdash;A lonely Station&mdash;The labours of an</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Indian Army officer&mdash;Varied work&mdash;The frontier of</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Bhutan&mdash;A gate of India&mdash;A Himalayan paradise&mdash;The</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">fort&mdash;Intrusive monkeys&mdash;The cantonment&mdash;The Picquet</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Towers&mdash;The bazaar&mdash;The cemetery&mdash;Forgotten</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">graves&mdash;Tragedies of loneliness&mdash;From Bhutan to the</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">sea</td><td align="right">1</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">&nbsp;</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#ChapterII">CHAPTER II</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">LIFE ON OUTPOST</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">&nbsp;</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">The daily routine&mdash;Drill in the Indian Army&mdash;Hindustani&mdash;A</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">lingua franca&mdash;The divers tongues of India&mdash;The</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">sepoys' lodging&mdash;Their ablutions&mdash;An Indian's fare&mdash;An</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Indian regiment&mdash;Rajput customs&mdash;The hospital&mdash;The</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">doctor at work&mdash;Queer patients&mdash;A vicious bear&mdash;The</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Officers' Mess&mdash;Plain diet&mdash;Water&mdash;The simple</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">life&mdash;A bachelor's establishment&mdash;A faithful Indian&mdash;Fighting</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">the trusts&mdash;Transport in the hills&mdash;My bungalow&mdash;Amusements</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">in Buxa&mdash;Dull days&mdash;Asirgarh&mdash;A</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">lonely outpost&mdash;Poisoning a General&mdash;A storied fortress&mdash;Soldier</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">ghosts&mdash;A spectral officer&mdash;The tragedy of</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_viii" id="Page_viii">[Pg viii]</a></span>isolation&mdash;A daring panther&mdash;A day on an elephant&mdash;Sport</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">in the jungle&mdash;<i>Gooral</i> stalking in the hills&mdash;Strange</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">pets&mdash;A friendly deer&mdash;A terrified visitor&mdash;A</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">walking menagerie&mdash;Elephants tame and wild&mdash;Their</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">training&mdash;Their caution&mdash;Their rate of speed&mdash;Fondness</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">for water&mdash;Quickly reconciled to captivity&mdash;Snakes&mdash;A</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">narrow escape&mdash;A king-cobra; the hamadryad&mdash;Hindu</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">worship of the cobra&mdash;General Sir Hamilton</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Bower&mdash;An adventurous career&mdash;E. F. Knight&mdash;The</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">General's inspection</td><td align="right">19</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">&nbsp;</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#ChapterIII">CHAPTER III</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">THE BORDERLAND OF BHUTAN</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">&nbsp;</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">The races along our North-East Border&mdash;Tibet&mdash;The</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Mahatmas&mdash;Nepal&mdash;-Bhutan&mdash;Its geography&mdash;Its founder&mdash;Its</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Government&mdash;Religious rule&mdash;Analogy between</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Bhutan and old Japan&mdash;<i>Penlops</i> and <i>Daimios</i>&mdash;The</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Tongsa <i>Penlop</i>&mdash;Reincarnation of the Shaptung</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Rimpoche&mdash;China's claim to Bhutan&mdash;Capture of the</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Maharajah of Cooch Behar&mdash;Bogle's mission&mdash;Raids</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">and outrages&mdash;The Bhutan War of 1864-5&mdash;The Duars&mdash;The</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">annual subsidy&mdash;Bhutan to-day&mdash;Religion&mdash;An</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">impoverished land&mdash;Bridges&mdash;Soldiers in Bhutan&mdash;The</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">feudal system&mdash;Administration of justice&mdash;Tyranny of</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">officials&mdash;The Bhuttias&mdash;Ugly women&mdash;Our neighbours</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">in Buxa&mdash;A Bhuttia festival&mdash;Archery&mdash;A banquet&mdash;A</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">dance&mdash;A Scotch half-caste&mdash;Chunabatti&mdash;Nature of the</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">borderland&mdash;Disappearing rivers&mdash;The Terai&mdash;Tea gardens&mdash;A</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">planter's life&mdash;The club&mdash;Wild beasts in the</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">path&mdash;The Indian planters&mdash;Misplaced sympathy&mdash;The</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">tea industry&mdash;Profits and losses&mdash;Planters' salaries&mdash;Their</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">daily life&mdash;Bhuttia raids on tea gardens&mdash;Fearless</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">planters&mdash;An unequal fight</td><td align="right">45</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">&nbsp;</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#ChapterIV">CHAPTER IV</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">A DURBAR IN BUXA</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">&nbsp;</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Notice of the Political Officer's approaching visit&mdash;A</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Durbar&mdash;The Bhutan Agent and the interpreter&mdash;Arrival</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">of the Deb Zimpun&mdash;An official call&mdash;Exchange of</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">presents&mdash;Bhutanese fruit&mdash;A return call&mdash;Native liquor&mdash;A</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">welcome gift&mdash;The Bhutanese musicians&mdash;Entertaining</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_ix" id="Page_ix">[Pg ix]</a></span>the Envoy&mdash;A thirsty Lama&mdash;A rifle match&mdash;An</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">awkward official request&mdash;My refusal&mdash;The Deb Zimpun</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">removes to Chunabatti&mdash;Arrival of the treasure&mdash;The</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Political Officer comes&mdash;His retinue&mdash;The Durbar&mdash;The</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Guard of Honour&mdash;The visitors&mdash;The Envoy</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">comes in state&mdash;Bhutanese courtesies&mdash;The spectators&mdash;The</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">payment of the subsidy&mdash;Lunch in Mess&mdash;Entertaining</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">a difficult guest&mdash;The official dinner&mdash;An</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">archery match&mdash;Sikh quoits&mdash;Field firing&mdash;Bhutanese</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">impressed&mdash;Blackmail&mdash;British subjects captured&mdash;Their</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">release&mdash;Tashi's case&mdash;Justice in Bhutan&mdash;Tyranny</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">of officials&mdash;Tashi refuses to quit Buxa&mdash;The</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">next payment of the subsidy&mdash;The treaty&mdash;Misguided</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">humanitarians</td><td align="right">64</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">&nbsp;</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#ChapterV">CHAPTER V</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">IN THE JUNGLE</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">&nbsp;</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">An Indian jungle&mdash;The trees&mdash;Creepers&mdash;Orchids&mdash;The</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">undergrowth&mdash;On an elephant in the jungle&mdash;Forcing</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">a passage&mdash;Wild bees&mdash;Red ants&mdash;A lost river&mdash;A</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><i>sambhur</i> hind&mdash;Spiders&mdash;Jungle fowl&mdash;A</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">stag&mdash;<i>Hallal</i>&mdash;Wounded beasts&mdash;A halt&mdash;Skinning the</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">stag&mdash;Ticks&mdash;Butcher apprentices&mdash;Natural rope&mdash;Water in</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">the air&mdash;<i>Pani bel</i>&mdash;Trail of wild elephants&mdash;Their</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">habits&mdash;An impudent monkey&mdash;An adventure with a rogue</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">elephant&mdash;Fire lines&mdash;Wild dogs&mdash;A giant squirrel&mdash;The</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">barking deer&mdash;A good bag&mdash;Spotted deer&mdash;Protective</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">colouring&mdash;Dangerous beasts&mdash;Natives' dread of bears&mdash;A</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">bison calf&mdash;The fascination of the forest&mdash;The</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">generous jungle&mdash;Wild vegetables&mdash;Natural products&mdash;A</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">home in the trees&mdash;Forest Lodge the First&mdash;Destroyed</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">by a wild elephant&mdash;Its successor&mdash;A luncheon-party</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">in the air&mdash;The salt lick&mdash;Discovery of a coal mine&mdash;A</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">monkey's parliament&mdash;The jungle by night</td><td align="right">83</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">&nbsp;</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#ChapterVI">CHAPTER VI</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">ROGUES OF THE FOREST</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">&nbsp;</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">The lord of the forest&mdash;Wild elephants in India&mdash;<i>Kheddah</i></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">operations in the Terai&mdash;How rogues are made&mdash;Rogues</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">attack villages&mdash;Highway robbers&mdash;Assault on</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">a railway station&mdash;A police convoy&mdash;A poacher's death&mdash;Chasing</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_x" id="Page_x">[Pg x]</a></span>an officer&mdash;My first encounter with a rogue&mdash;Stopping</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">a charge&mdash;Difficulty of killing an elephant&mdash;The</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">law on rogue shooting&mdash;A Government gazette&mdash;A</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">tame elephant shot by the Maharajah of Cooch</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Behar&mdash;Executing an elephant&mdash;A chance shot&mdash;A</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">planter's escape&mdash;Attack on a tame elephant&mdash;The</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><i>mahout's</i> peril&mdash;Jhansi's wounds&mdash;Changes among the</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">officers in Buxa&mdash;A Gurkha's terrible death&mdash;The</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">beginner's luck&mdash;Indian and Malayan <i>sambhur</i>&mdash;A shot</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">out of season&mdash;A fruitless search&mdash;Jhansi's flight&mdash;A</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">scout attacked by a bear&mdash;Advertising for a truant&mdash;The</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">agony column&mdash;Runaway elephants&mdash;A fatal fraud&mdash;Jhansi's</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">return</td><td align="right">104</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">&nbsp;</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#ChapterVII">CHAPTER VII</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">A FIGHT WITH AN ELEPHANT</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">&nbsp;</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">We sight a rogue&mdash;A sudden onslaught&mdash;A wild elephant's</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">attack&mdash;Shooting under difficulties&mdash;Stopping a rush&mdash;Repeated</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">attacks&mdash;An invulnerable foe&mdash;Darkness stops</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">the pursuit&mdash;A council of war&mdash;Picking up the trail&mdash;A</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><i>muckna</i>&mdash;A female elephant&mdash;Photographing a lady&mdash;A</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">good sitter&mdash;A stampede&mdash;A gallant Rajput&mdash;Attacking</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">on foot&mdash;A hazardous feat&mdash;A narrow escape&mdash;Final</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">charge&mdash;A bivouac in the forest&mdash;Dangers of the night&mdash;A</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">long chase&mdash;Planter hospitality&mdash;Another stampede&mdash;A</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">career of crime&mdash;Eternal hope&mdash;A king-cobra&mdash;Abandoning</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">the pursuit&mdash;An unrepentant villain&mdash;In</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">the moment of danger</td><td align="right">124</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">&nbsp;</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#ChapterVIII">CHAPTER VIII</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">IN TIGER LAND</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">&nbsp;</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">The tiger in India&mdash;His reputation&mdash;Wounded tigers&mdash;Man-eaters&mdash;Game</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">killers and cattle thieves&mdash;A tiger's</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">residence&mdash;Chance meetings&mdash;Methods of tiger hunting&mdash;Beating</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">with elephants&mdash;Sitting up&mdash;A sportsman's</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">patience&mdash;The charm of a night watch&mdash;A cautious</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">beast&mdash;A night over a kill&mdash;An unexpected visitor&mdash;A</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">tantalising tiger&mdash;A tiger at Asirgarh&mdash;A chance shot&mdash;Buffaloes</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">as trackers&mdash;Panthers&mdash;The wrong prey&mdash;A</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">beat for tiger&mdash;The Colonel wounds a tiger&mdash;A night</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">march&mdash;An elusive quarry&mdash;A successful beat&mdash;A watery</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">grave&mdash;Skinning a tiger</td><td align="right">141</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">&nbsp;</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xi" id="Page_xi">[Pg xi]</a></span></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#ChapterIX">CHAPTER IX</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">A FOREST MARCH</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">&nbsp;</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Reasons for showing the flag&mdash;Soldierless Bengal&mdash;Planning</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">the march&mdash;Difficulties of transport&mdash;The first</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">day's march&mdash;Sepoys in the jungle&mdash;The water-creeper&mdash;The</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">commander loses his men&mdash;The bivouac at Rajabhatkawa&mdash;Alipur</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Duar&mdash;A small Indian Station&mdash;Long-delayed</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">pay&mdash;The Subdivisional Officer&mdash;A <i>dâk</i> bungalow&mdash;The</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">sub-judge&mdash;Brahmin pharisees&mdash;The <i>nautch</i>&mdash;A</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">dusty march&mdash;Santals&mdash;A mission settlement&mdash;Crossing</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">a river&mdash;Rafts&mdash;A bivouac in a tea garden&mdash;A</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">dinner-party in an 80-lb. tent&mdash;Bears at night&mdash;A</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">daring tiger&mdash;Chasing a tiger on elephants&mdash;In the</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">forest again&mdash;A fickle river&mdash;A strange animal&mdash;The</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Maharajah of Cooch Behar's experiment&mdash;A scare and</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">a disappointment&mdash;Across the Raidak&mdash;A woman killed</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">by a bear&mdash;A planters' club&mdash;Hospitality in the jungle&mdash;The</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">zareba&mdash;Impromptu sports&mdash;The Alarm Stakes&mdash;The</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">raft race&mdash;Hathipota&mdash;Jainti</td><td align="right">174</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">&nbsp;</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#ChapterX">CHAPTER X</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">THROUGH FIRE AND WATER</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">&nbsp;</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">India in the hot weather&mdash;A land of torment&mdash;The drought&mdash;Forest</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">fires&mdash;The cholera huts burned&mdash;Fighting the</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">flames&mdash;Death of a sepoy&mdash;The bond between British</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">officers and their men&mdash;The sepoy's funeral&mdash;A fortnight's</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">vigil&mdash;Saving the Station&mdash;The hills ablaze&mdash;A</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">sublime spectacle&mdash;The devastated forest&mdash;Fallen leaves</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">on fire&mdash;Our elephants' peril&mdash;Saving the zareba&mdash;A</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">beat for game in the jungle&mdash;Trying to catch a wild</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">elephant&mdash;A moonlight ramble&mdash;We meet a bear&mdash;The</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">burst of the Monsoons&mdash;A dull existence&mdash;Three hundred</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">inches of rain&mdash;The monotony of thunderstorms&mdash;A</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">changed world&mdash;Leeches&mdash;Monster hailstones&mdash;Surveyors</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">caught in a storm&mdash;A brink in the Rains&mdash;The</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">revived jungle&mdash;Useless lightning-conductors&mdash;The</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Monsoon again&mdash;The loneliness of Buxa</td><td align="right">196</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">&nbsp;</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xii" id="Page_xii">[Pg xii]</a></span></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#ChapterXI">CHAPTER XI</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">IN THE PALACE OF THE MAHARAJAH</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">&nbsp;</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">The Durbar&mdash;Outside the palace&mdash;The State elephants&mdash;The</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">soldiery&mdash;The Durbar Hall&mdash;Officials and gentry of</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">the State&mdash;The throne&mdash;Queen Victoria's banner&mdash;The</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">hidden ladies&mdash;<i>Purdah nashin</i>&mdash;Arrival of the</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><i>Dewan</i>&mdash;The Maharajah's entry&mdash;The Sons' Salute&mdash;A</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">chivalrous Indian custom&mdash;<i>Nuzzurs</i>&mdash;The Dewan's task&mdash;The</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Maharani&mdash;An Indian reformer&mdash;<i>Bramo Samaj</i>&mdash;Pretty</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">princesses&mdash;An informal banquet&mdash;The <i>nautch</i>&mdash;A</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">moonlight ride&mdash;The Maharajah&mdash;A soldier and a</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">sportsman&mdash;Cooch Behar&mdash;The palace&mdash;A dinner-party&mdash;The</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">heir's birthday celebrations&mdash;Schoolboys' sports&mdash;Indian</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">amateur theatricals&mdash;An evening in the palace&mdash;A</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">panther-drive&mdash;Exciting sport&mdash;Death of the panther&mdash;Partridge</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">shooting on elephants&mdash;A stray rhinoceros&mdash;Prince</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Jit's luck&mdash;Friendly intercourse between</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Indians and Englishmen&mdash;An unjust complaint</td><td align="right">213</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">&nbsp;</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#ChapterXII">CHAPTER XII</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">A MILITARY TRAGEDY</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">&nbsp;</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">In the Mess&mdash;A gloomy conversation&mdash;Murder in the army&mdash;A</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">gallant officer&mdash;Running amuck on a rifle-range&mdash;"Was</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">that a shot?"&mdash;The alarm&mdash;The native officer's</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">report&mdash;The "fall in"&mdash;A dying man&mdash;A search round</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">the fort&mdash;A narrow escape&mdash;The flight&mdash;Search parties&mdash;The</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">inquiry into the crime&mdash;A fifty miles' cordon&mdash;An</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">unexpected visit&mdash;Havildar Ranjit Singh on the trail&mdash;A</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">night march through the forest&mdash;A fearsome ride&mdash;The</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">lost detachment&mdash;An early start&mdash;The ferry&mdash;The</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">prisoner&mdash;A well-planned capture&mdash;The prisoner's story&mdash;The</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">march to Hathipota&mdash;Return to the fort&mdash;A well-guarded</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">captive&mdash;A weary wait&mdash;A journey to Calcutta&mdash;The</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">escort&mdash;Excitement among the passengers on the</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">steamer&mdash;American globe-trotters&mdash;The court martial&mdash;A</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">callous criminal&mdash;Appeal to the Viceroy&mdash;Sentence of</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">death&mdash;The execution</td><td align="right">232</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">&nbsp;</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xiii" id="Page_xiii">[Pg xiii]</a></span></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#ChapterXIII">CHAPTER XIII</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">IN AN INDIAN HILL STATION</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">&nbsp;</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">To Darjeeling&mdash;Railway journeys in India&mdash;Protection for</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">solitary ladies&mdash;Reappearing rivers&mdash;Siliguri&mdash;At the</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">foot of the Himalayas&mdash;A mountain railway&mdash;Through</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">the jungle&mdash;Looping the loop&mdash;View of the</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Plains&mdash;Darjeeling&mdash;Civilisation seven thousand feet</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">high&mdash;Varied types&mdash;View from the Chaurasta&mdash;White</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">workers in India&mdash;Life in Hill Stations&mdash;Lieutenant-Governors&mdash;A</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">"dull time" in Darjeeling&mdash;The bazaar&mdash;Types</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">of hill races&mdash;Turquoises&mdash;Tiger-skins for</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">tourists&mdash;The Amusement Club&mdash;The Everlasting</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Snows&mdash;Kinchinjunga&mdash;The bachelors' ball&mdash;A Government</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">House ball&mdash;The marriage-market value of Indian</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">civilians&mdash;Less demand for military men&mdash;Theatricals&mdash;Lebong</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Races&mdash;Picturesque race-goers&mdash;Ladies in</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">India&mdash;Husband hunters&mdash;The empty life of an Englishwoman&mdash;The</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">dangers of Hill Stations&mdash;A wife four</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">months in the year&mdash;The hills <i>taboo</i> for the</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">subaltern&mdash;Back to Buxa</td><td align="right">262</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">&nbsp;</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#ChapterXIV">CHAPTER XIV</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">A JUNGLE FORT</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">&nbsp;</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">I decide on Fort Bower&mdash;Felling trees&mdash;A big python&mdash;Clearing</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">the jungle&mdash;Laying out the post&mdash;Stockades and</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><i>Sungars</i>&mdash;The bastions&mdash;<i>Panjis</i> and</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><i>abattis</i>&mdash;The huts&mdash;Jungle materials&mdash;Ingenious</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">craftsmen&mdash;The furniture&mdash;Sentry-posts&mdash;Alarm signals&mdash;The</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><i>machicoulis</i> gallery&mdash;Booby-traps&mdash;The water-lifter&mdash;The</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">hospital&mdash;Chloroforming a monkey&mdash;Jungle dogs&mdash;An</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">extraordinary shot&mdash;An unlucky deer&mdash;A meeting with</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">a panther&mdash;The alarm&mdash;Sohanpal Singh and the tiger&mdash;Turning</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">out to the rescue&mdash;The General's arrival&mdash;Closed</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">gates&mdash;The inspection&mdash;The "Bower" and the</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">"'Ump"&mdash;Flares and bombs&mdash;The General's praise&mdash;Night</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">firing&mdash;A Christmas camp</td><td align="right">280</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">&nbsp;</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xiv" id="Page_xiv">[Pg xiv]</a></span></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#ChapterXV">CHAPTER XV</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">FAREWELL TO THE HILLS</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">&nbsp;</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">The Proclamation Parade&mdash;An unsteady charger&mdash;"Three</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">cheers for the King-Emperor!"&mdash;The Indian Army's</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">loyalty&mdash;King George and the sepoys&mdash;A land held by</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">the sword&mdash;An American Cavalry officer's visit&mdash;Hospitality</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">of American officers&mdash;Killing by kindness&mdash;The</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">brotherhood of soldiers&mdash;The bond between American</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">and British troops sealed by blood&mdash;U.S. officers'</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">opinion of us&mdash;A roaring tiger&mdash;Prince Jitendra Narayen&mdash;His</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">visit to Buxa&mdash;An intoxicated monkey&mdash;Projected</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">visits&mdash;A road report&mdash;A sketch fourteen feet</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">long&mdash;The start&mdash;Jalpaiguri&mdash;A planters' dinner-party&mdash;Crossing</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">the Tista River&mdash;A quicksand&mdash;A narrow</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">escape&mdash;Map-making in the army&mdash;In the China War</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">of 1860&mdash;Officers' sketches used for the Canton Railway</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">survey&mdash;The country south of the hills&mdash;A sepoy's</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">explanation of Kinchinjunga&mdash;A native officer's theory</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">of the cause of earthquakes&mdash;Types on the road&mdash;After</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">the day's work&mdash;A man-eater&mdash;A brave postman&mdash;Human</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">beings killed by wild animals and snakes in</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">India&mdash;Crocodiles&mdash;Shooting a monster&mdash;Crocodiles on</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">land&mdash;Crossing the Torsa&mdash;Value of small detachments&mdash;The</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">maligned military officer&mdash;A life of examinations&mdash;The</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">man-killing elephant again&mdash;Death of a Bhuttia</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">woman&mdash;Ordered home&mdash;A last good-bye to a comrade&mdash;Captain</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Balderston's death&mdash;A last view of the hills</td><td align="right">296</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xv" id="Page_xv">[Pg xv]</a></span></td></tr>
+</table></div>
+
+
+<p><br /><br /><br /></p>
+
+
+<h2>LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS</h2>
+<div class="center">
+<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="List of Illustrations">
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#Ill_1">After the Proclamation Parade</a></td><td align="right"><i>Frontispiece</i></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#Ill_2">Buxa Duar</a></td><td align="right"><i>To face page</i>&nbsp; &nbsp;16</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#Ill_3">"The fort was built on a knoll"</a></td><td align="right">"&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 16</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#Ill_4">Rajput sepoys cooking</a></td><td align="right">"&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 24</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#Ill_5">British and Indian officers</a></td><td align="right">"&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 24</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#Ill_6">My double company</a></td><td align="right">"&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 28</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#Ill_7">My bachelor establishment</a></td><td align="right">"&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 28</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#Ill_8">A kneeling elephant</a></td><td align="right">"&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 36</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#Ill_9">"The ladies of the hamlet came forward"</a></td><td align="right">"&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 54</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#Ill_10">Bhuttia drummers</a></td><td align="right">"&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 54</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#Ill_11">Chunabatti</a></td><td align="right">"&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 56</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#Ill_12">"From my doorstep I watched them coming down the hill"</a></td><td align="right">"&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 66</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#Ill_13">The Deb Zimpun's prisoners</a></td><td align="right">"&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 66</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#Ill_14">The Durbar in Buxa</a></td><td align="right">"&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 74</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#Ill_15">A <i>sambhur</i> stag and my elephant</a></td><td align="right">"&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 90</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#Ill_16">Bringing home the bag</a></td><td align="right">"&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 90</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#Ill_17">Forest Lodge the First</a></td><td align="right">"&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 100</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#Ill_18">Forest Lodge the Second</a></td><td align="right">"&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 100</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#Ill_19">"The <i>mahout</i> was holding up the head"</a></td><td align="right">"&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 110</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#Ill_20">Subhedar Sohanpal Singh</a></td><td align="right">"&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 128</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#Ill_21">"We saw another elephant"</a></td><td align="right">"&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 130</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xvi" id="Page_xvi">[Pg xvi]</a></span></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#Ill_22">The tiger's Lying in state</a></td><td align="right">"&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 172</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#Ill_23">The tiger's last home</a></td><td align="right">"&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 172</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#Ill_24">"My sepoys drilling"</a></td><td align="right">"&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 178</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#Ill_25">Buglers and non-commissioned officers of my detachment</a></td><td align="right">"&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 178</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#Ill_26">The walled face of Fort Bower over the river</a></td><td align="right">"&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 282</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#Ill_27">The stockade and ditch of Fort Bower</a></td><td align="right">"&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 282</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#Ill_28">The gate with wicket open and drawbridge lowered</a></td><td align="right">"&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 286</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#Ill_29">Captain Balderston inside the stockade</a></td><td align="right">"&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 286</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#Ill_30">Bringing home the General's dinner</a></td><td align="right">"&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 290</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#Ill_31">"I was mounted on a country bred pony"</a></td><td align="right">"&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 296</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#Ill_32">"An elephant loaded with my stores and baggage"</a></td><td align="right">"&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 296</td></tr>
+</table></div>
+
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_1" id="Page_1">[Pg 1]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2>LIFE IN AN INDIAN OUTPOST</h2>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="ChapterI" id="ChapterI"></a>CHAPTER I</h2>
+
+<h3>A FRONTIER POST</h3>
+
+<blockquote><p>Our first view of the Himalayas&mdash;Across India in a troop
+train&mdash;A scattered regiment&mdash;An elephant-haunted
+railway&mdash;Kinchinjunga&mdash;The great Terai
+Jungle&mdash;Rajabhatkawa&mdash;In the days of Warren
+Hastings&mdash;Hillmen&mdash;Roving Chinese&mdash;We arrive at Buxa
+Road&mdash;Relieved officers&mdash;An undesirable outpost&mdash;March
+through the forest&mdash;The hills&mdash;A mountain road&mdash;Lovely
+scenery&mdash;Buxa Duar&mdash;A lonely Station&mdash;The labours of an
+Indian Army officer&mdash;Varied work&mdash;The frontier of
+Bhutan&mdash;A gate of India&mdash;A Himalayan paradise&mdash;The
+fort&mdash;Intrusive monkeys&mdash;The cantonment&mdash;The Picquet
+Towers&mdash;The bazaar&mdash;The cemetery&mdash;Forgotten
+graves&mdash;Tragedies of loneliness&mdash;From Bhutan to the
+sea.</p></blockquote>
+
+
+<p>Against the blue sky to the north lay a dark blur that, as our troop
+train ran on through the level plains of Eastern Bengal, rose ever
+higher and took shape&mdash;the distant line of the Himalayas. Around us the
+restful though tame scenery of the little Cooch Behar State. The
+chess-board pattern of mud-banked rice fields, long groves of the
+graceful feathery bamboo, here and there a tiny hamlet<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_2" id="Page_2">[Pg 2]</a></span> of palm-thatched
+huts&mdash;on their low roofs great sprawling green creepers with white
+blotches that look like skulls but are only ripe melons. But the dark
+outlines of the distant mountains drew my gaze and brought the heads of
+my sepoys out of the carriage windows to stare at them.</p>
+
+<p>For somewhere on the face of those hills was Buxa Duar, the little fort
+that was to be our home for the next two years.</p>
+
+<p>For four days my detachment of two hundred men of the 120th Rajputana
+Infantry had been whirled across India from west to east towards it.
+From Baroda we had come&mdash;Baroda with its military cantonment set in an
+English-like park, its vast native city with the gaily painted houses
+and narrow streets where the Gaikwar's Cavalry rode with laced jackets
+and slung pelisses like the Hussars of old, and his sentries mounted
+guard over gold and silver cannons in a dingy backyard. Where in low
+rooms, set out in glass cases, as in a cheap draper's shop, were the
+famous pearl-embroidered carpets and gorgeous jewels of the State, worth
+a king's ransom.</p>
+
+<p>Four days of travel over the plains of India with their closely
+cultivated fields, mud-walled villages, stony hills and stretches of
+scrub jungle, where an occasional jackal slunk away from the train or an
+antelope paused in its bounding flight to look back at the strange iron
+monster. Across the sacred Ganges where Allahabad lies at its junction
+with the River Jumna. The regiment was on its way to garrison widely
+separated posts in outlying parts of the Indian Empire and neighbouring
+countries. Two companies had already gone to be divided between<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">[Pg 3]</a></span> Chumbi
+in Tibet and Gantok in the dependent State of Sikkim, and to furnish the
+guard to our Agent at Gyantse.</p>
+
+<p>The month was December; and they had started in August to cross the
+sixteen-thousand-feet high passes in the Himalayas before the winter
+snows blocked them. The regimental headquarters, with four companies,
+was on its way to embark on the steamers which would convey them a
+fourteen days' journey on the giant rivers Ganges and Brahmaputra to
+Dibrugarh and Sadiya in Assam.</p>
+
+<p>At Benares my two companies had parted from the rest and entered another
+troop train which carried us into Eastern Bengal.</p>
+
+<p>Every day for three or four hours our trains had halted at some little
+wayside station to enable the men to get out, make their cooking-places,
+and prepare their food for the day. The previous night my detachment had
+detrained at Gitaldaha, where we had to change again on to a narrow
+gauge railway, two feet six inches in width, which would take us through
+Cooch Behar to our destination. The railway officials informed me that
+we must stay in the station all night, as the trains on this line ran
+only by daylight. I asked the reason of this.</p>
+
+<p>"They cannot go by night on account of the wild animals," was the reply.</p>
+
+<p>"The wild animals?" I echoed in surprise.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes; the line runs through a forest, the Terai Jungle, full of
+elephants and bison. Three months ago one of our engines was derailed by
+a wild elephant and the driver badly injured. And not long before that
+another rogue elephant held up a station on the line, stopped a train,
+blockaded the officials in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">[Pg 4]</a></span> the buildings, and broke a tusk trying to
+root up the platform."</p>
+
+<p>And when daylight dawned and I could see the toy engine and carriages, I
+was not surprised at the fear of encountering an elephant on the line.</p>
+
+<p>Now on our fifth day of travel we were nearing the end of the journey.
+We had passed the capital of Cooch Behar and were approaching Alipur
+Duar, the last station before the Terai Forest is reached. Suddenly,
+high in the air above the now distinct line of hills, stood out in the
+brilliant sunlight the white crest and snowy peaks of Kinchinjunga,
+twenty-eight thousand feet high, and nearly one hundred and twenty miles
+away. Past Alipur Duar, and then hills and snow-clad summits were lost
+to sight as our little train plunged from the sunny plain into the deep
+shadows of the famous Terai Forest&mdash;the wonderful jungle that stretches
+east and west along the foot of the Himalayas, and clothes their lowest
+slopes. In whose recesses roam the wild elephant, the rhinoceros and the
+bison, true lords of the woods; where deadlier foes to man than these,
+malaria and blackwater fever hold sway and lay low the mightiest hunter
+before the Lord. And standing on the back platform of our tiny carriage
+my subaltern and I strove to pierce its gloomy depths, half hoping to
+see the giant bulk of a wild elephant or a rhinoceros. But nothing met
+our gaze save the great orchid-clad trees, the graceful fronds of
+monster ferns, and the dense undergrowth that would deny a passage to
+anything less powerful than bisons or elephants.</p>
+
+<p>In a sudden clearing in the heart of the forest, the train stopped at a
+small station near which stood a few bamboo huts and a gaunt,
+two-storied wooden<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[Pg 5]</a></span> house in which, we afterwards learned, an English
+forest officer lived his lonely life. The place was called Rajabhatkawa,
+which in the vernacular means, "The Rajah ate his food." It was so named
+because, nearly one hundred and thirty years before, in the days of
+Warren Hastings, a Rajah of Cooch Behar ate his first meal there after
+his release from captivity among the hill tribesmen of Bhutan who had
+carried him away into their mountain fastnesses. They had released him
+at the urgent instance of a British captain and two hundred sepoys who
+had followed them up and captured three of their forts.</p>
+
+<p>Among the crowd of natives on the platform at this station were several
+of various hill races, Bhuttias and Gurkhas, with the small eyes and
+flat nose of the Mongolian. I was surprised to see two Chinamen in blue
+linen suits and straw hats, fanning themselves and smoking cigarettes,
+as much at home as if they were on the Bund in Shanghai or in Queen's
+Road in Hong Kong. But later on I learned that Rajabhatkawa led to
+several tea gardens, where Chinese carpenters are always welcome. These
+men are generally from Canton, the inhabitants of which city emigrate
+freely. I have met them in Calcutta, Penang, Singapore, Manila, and San
+Francisco.</p>
+
+<p>On again through the jungle our train passed for another eight miles,
+and then drew up at a small station of one low, stone building with a
+nameboard nearly as big as itself, which bore the words "Buxa Road." It
+stood in a little clearing in the forest, where the ground was piled
+high with felled trees, ready to be dispatched to Calcutta. This was the
+end of our railway journey.</p>
+
+<p>The sepoys tumbled eagerly out of the train, threw<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[Pg 6]</a></span> their rolls of
+bedding out of the compartments, fell in on the platform and piled arms,
+and then turned to with a will to unload the heavy baggage from the
+brake-vans. A number of tall, bearded Mohammedans, men of the detachment
+of the Punjabi Regiment we were replacing, were at the station. Their
+major came forward to welcome me, and expressed his extreme pleasure in
+meeting the man who was to relieve him and enable him to quit a most
+undesirable place.</p>
+
+<p>This was a blow to me; for I had pictured life in this little outpost as
+an ideal existence in a sportsman's paradise.</p>
+
+<p>"What? Don't you like Buxa Duar?" I asked in surprise.</p>
+
+<p>"Like it?" he exclaimed vehemently. "Most certainly not. In my time I
+have been stationed in some poisonous places in Upper Burmah, when I was
+in the Military Police; but the worst of them was heaven to Buxa."</p>
+
+<p>I gasped with horror. "Is it as bad as all that? How long have you been
+here?"</p>
+
+<p>"Three weeks," replied the major; "and that was three weeks too long.
+Before you have been here a fortnight you will be praying to all your
+gods to take you anywhere else."</p>
+
+<p>This was pleasant. The subaltern of the Punjabis now came up and was
+introduced to me. He had been six months in Buxa; and <i>his</i> opinion of
+it was too lurid to print. My subaltern, who had been superintending the
+unloading of the baggage, joined us and in his turn was regaled with
+these cheering criticisms of our new home. His face fell; for, like me,
+he had been looking forward eagerly to being<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[Pg 7]</a></span> quartered in this little
+outpost, where, we had been told, the sport was excellent. Fortunately
+men's tastes differ; and after eighteen months' experience of this
+much-abused Buxa, I liked it better than any other place I have ever
+served in in all my soldiering.</p>
+
+<p>I learned from our new friends that the fort was six miles from the
+railway and fifteen hundred feet above it; so I inquired for the
+transport to convey our baggage there.</p>
+
+<p>Before leaving Baroda the quartermaster of our regiment had written to
+the nearest civil official of the district, requesting him to provide me
+with a hundred coolies for the purpose. There were also, I knew, three
+Government transport elephants in charge of the detachment quartered in
+Buxa Duar. These I saw at the station engaged in conveying the baggage
+of the Punjabis, who were to leave on the following day. I asked for my
+hundred coolies.</p>
+
+<p>The major laughed when I told him of our quartermaster's requisition.
+"Your regimental headquarters," he said, "evidently did not realise what
+a desolate, uninhabited place this is. A hundred coolies? Why, with
+difficulty I have procured eight; four of them women. You will have to
+leave your baggage here under a guard, and have it brought up piecemeal
+on the elephants after our departure. And now, if you will fall in your
+men, I'll lead the way up to Buxa and gladly take my last look at it."</p>
+
+<p>A baggage guard having been left at the station with our food and
+cooking-pots, etc., my detachment fell in, formed fours and followed us.
+From the clearing near the railway a broad road, cut through the forest,
+led towards the hills. For the first three miles it was comparatively
+level; and we swung along<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[Pg 8]</a></span> at a good pace between the tall trees rising
+from the dense undergrowth. Breaking the solemn silence of the forest, I
+eagerly plied our new friends with questions on the chances of sport
+that Buxa afforded. But I found that they had done little in that way
+and could give me scant information. The subaltern had shot a tiger on a
+tea garden, but had hardly ever gone into the jungle. I learned,
+however, that out of the three transport elephants now at my disposal,
+two were trained for shooting purposes and were remarkably steady. This
+at least was good news.</p>
+
+<p>Towards the end of the third mile the road began to rise; and when it
+emerged into a small clearing we halted for a few minutes. We were now
+at the very foot of the hills; and from here we could see them for the
+first time since our train had entered the forest. High above our heads
+they towered. At first low, rounded, tree-clad buttresses of the giant
+ramparts of India, long spurs thrust out from the flanks of the
+mountains. Then lofty rugged walls of rock, jagged peaks, dark even in
+the brilliant sunshine, precipitous cliffs over which thin threads of
+water leapt and seemed to hang wavering down the steep sides.</p>
+
+<p>In the clearing stood two or three wooden huts; and a hundred yards
+farther on was a long and lofty open structure, with a thatched roof
+supported on rough wood pillars. The flooring was of pounded earth with
+three brick "standings," with iron rings inserted in them; for this was
+the Peelkhana or elephant stables of the detachment. The clearing was
+dignified with the euphonious name of Santrabari. Past the Peelkhana the
+road entered the hills.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[Pg 9]</a></span> At first it wound around their flanks, crossing
+by wooden bridges over clear streams; then, rising ever higher, it
+climbed the steep slopes in zigzags. Along above a brawling mountain
+torrent, tumbling over rounded rocks in a deep ravine it went, across
+wooded spurs and under stony cliffs. Huge bushes flamed with strange red
+and purple flowers, thick shrubs hung out great white bells to tempt the
+giant scarlet and black butterflies hovering overhead. Above our path
+tall trees stretched out their long limbs covered with the glossy green
+leaves of orchids. From trunk to trunk swung creepers thick as a ship's
+hawser, trailing in long festoons or interlacing and writhing around
+each other like great snakes.</p>
+
+<p>But, as we climbed, the forest fell behind us. The trees stood farther
+apart, grew fewer and smaller. The undergrowth became denser. Tall
+brakes of the drooping plumes of the bamboo, thick-growing thorny
+bushes, plantain trees with their broad leaves and hanging bunches of
+bananas, the straight slender stems of sago palms with trailing clusters
+of nut-like fruit springing up from tangled vegetation. A troop of
+little brown monkeys leapt in alarm from tree to tree and vanished over
+a cliff. With a measured flapping of wings a brilliantly plumaged
+hornbill passed over our heads. The road crossed and recrossed the
+mountain stream and led into a deep cleft among the hills towering
+precipitously over us. And looking up I saw on the edge of a cliff the
+corner of a building. It was the fort of Buxa at last. But before we
+reached it a few hundred feet more of climbing had to be done; and we
+panted wearily upward. Through a narrow cutting we emerged on<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[Pg 10]</a></span> a stretch
+of artificially levelled soil, the parade ground, and halted gladly. We
+stood in a deep horseshoe among the mountains, nearly two thousand feet
+above the plains. Before us, peeping out from low trees and flowering
+bushes, were a few bungalows; and above them towered a conical peak, its
+summit another four thousand feet higher still. From it right and left
+ran down on either side of us two long wooded spurs; and on knolls on
+them stood three white square towers. Behind us, on a long mound, were
+fortified barracks with loopholed walls. These formed the fort; and this
+was Buxa Duar. We had reached our destination.</p>
+
+<p>The major first showed our men to their new quarters; and I told them
+off to their different barrack-rooms, and saw them settled down. Then he
+and his subaltern led us to the Mess where we met a third officer, the
+doctor, a young lieutenant in the Indian Medical Service named Smith,
+who was to remain on in Buxa in medical charge of my detachment. Then
+ensued the wearisome task of taking over charge of all the Government
+property in the Station, from the rifle-range and the ammunition in the
+magazine to picks and shovels, buckets and waterproof coats. We had next
+to do our own bargaining over the buying of the store of tinned
+provisions, jams, pickles and wines in the Mess, as well as the scanty
+furniture in it. Among other things we purchased were two Bhutanese
+mountain sheep&mdash;huge creatures with horns. Meat being a rare commodity
+in Buxa, the major had bought them from a Bhuttia from across the
+border. Not needing to kill them at once, he had let them roam freely
+about the Mess garden until, as he said, they had<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[Pg 11]</a></span> become such pets that
+he could not harden his heart sufficiently to order them to be killed
+for food. My subaltern and I mentally resolved not to allow them to
+become thus endeared to us by long association.</p>
+
+<p>Dinner in the Mess that night was quite a pleasant function, everyone
+but the doctor being in the best of spirits. As he was not to take his
+departure on the morrow, he was not as cheerful as the two Punjabi
+officers, who were delighted to think that they were so soon to leave
+Buxa. They had, perhaps, reason to rejoice at their return to
+civilisation and the society of their kind. They had come there from
+Tibet, where they had been quartered in the wilds from the end of the
+fighting in the war of 1904 to the evacuation of the country by our
+troops. They frankly pitied us for the prospect of two years' exile in
+this isolated post, where a strange white face was rarely seen. They
+fully expatiated on the loneliness of it. In a Bhuttia village a few
+miles over the hills there was an elderly American lady missionary. Down
+in the forest below a few English tea-planters were scattered about, the
+nearest fifteen or twenty miles from us. During the winter we might
+expect an occasional visitor, a General or our Colonel on inspection
+duty, or a Public Works Department Official come to see to the state of
+the road or the repair of the buildings. During the rainy season, which
+lasts seven months, from April to the end of October, with a rainfall
+therein from two hundred to three hundred inches, we would see no
+stranger and probably be cut off from outside intercourse by the washing
+away of the roads. As during those months the forest below would be
+filled with the deadly Terai fever, we could<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[Pg 12]</a></span> not solace our loneliness
+by sport which rendered the remainder of the year bearable. And as the
+jungle around us, which grew to our very doors would, during the Rains,
+swarm with leeches which fasten in scores on man or beast if given the
+chance, we would scarcely be able to put foot outside our bungalows,
+even if tempted to face the awful thunderstorms and torrential Rains.</p>
+
+<p>All this certainly did not sound cheering; so I changed the subject and
+asked for information regarding my duties in the Station. I learned
+that, in addition to my work of my detachment, I would hold the proud
+but unpaid post of Officer Commanding Buxa Duar&mdash;an appointment which
+would entail voluminous routine correspondence on me. I would also,
+again without extra pay, represent law and order by being Cantonment
+Magistrate, third class, with power to award imprisonment up to three
+months' hard labour. Verily, the duties that fall to the lot of the
+Indian Army Officer are many and various. Besides being a soldier he is
+also a schoolmaster, having to set and correct examination papers for
+certificates of education. He must be something of a master tailor to
+decide on the fit and alteration of his men's new uniforms; a clerk to
+cope with interminable correspondence; an accountant to wrestle with
+complicated accounts. He must be an architect and builder to direct and
+oversee the erection and repair of the barracks, which is done by the
+sepoys themselves. Bad for him if he is not a good business man, for he
+must often give out contracts for hundreds or thousands of pounds, and
+see that they are properly carried out. A lawyer, to sit on or preside
+at courts martial, or to administer the law to civilians as<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[Pg 13]</a></span> Cantonment
+Magistrate. And sometimes it falls to his lot to replace the chaplain in
+a military Station, read the lessons in church, or, perhaps, the Burial
+Service over the grave of a comrade.</p>
+
+<p>Next morning the detachment of Punjabis marched off; and as we watched
+their files disappear down the winding mountain road, we three
+Britishers certainly felt a little isolated and cut off from our kind.
+Before the small column passed the last bend which would hide them from
+our eyes, the major turned to wave us a cheery farewell. Poor fellow,
+not long after, when in command of his regiment, he died of cholera in
+Benares.</p>
+
+<p>However, our depression was momentary; and we turned away to begin
+making ourselves acquainted with our new surroundings. Buxa Duar stands
+guard over one of the gates of India, which opens into it from the
+little-known country of Bhutan. It commands a pass through the Himalayas
+into the fertile plains of Eastern Bengal, a pass that has run with
+blood many a time in the past. Through it fierce raiders have poured to
+the laying waste of the rich plains below. Back through it weeping women
+and weary children have passed to slavery in a savage land. And were the
+strong hand of Briton lifted from it, its jungle-clad hills would see
+again the blood-dyed columns of fighting men and the sad processions of
+wailing captives. To-day its gloomy depths are peaceful. But to-morrow,
+when the menace of a regenerated and aggressive China becomes real, its
+rocky walls may once more echo to the sounds of war.</p>
+
+<p>Three thousand feet above our heads, two miles away in a straight line,
+but six by the winding mule<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[Pg 14]</a></span> track, lay the boundary-line between the
+Indian Empire and Bhutana&mdash;a line that runs along the mountain tops and
+rarely fringes the plains. It curves round the northern slopes of the
+conical hill that towers above Buxa, Sinchula, the "Hill of the Misty
+Pass."</p>
+
+<p>Buxa Duar has been the scene of fierce fighting even in the short
+history of England's rule in India. It was first taken by the British
+from the Bhutanese in the days of Warren Hastings, when in 1772 Captain
+Jones and his small column of sepoys swept them back into their
+mountainous land. It was given back the following year. In 1864 we again
+went to war with Bhutan and captured Buxa; and, although throughout the
+winter of that year, our troops were closely besieged in it, it has
+remained in our possession ever since. Formerly garrisoned by a whole
+regiment, it is now occupied merely by a double company&mdash;two hundred
+men&mdash;of an Indian Infantry battalion. They are the only troops between
+the Bhutan border and Calcutta&mdash;three hundred miles away.</p>
+
+<p>In all my wanderings I have seldom seen a lovelier spot than this lonely
+outpost. Nestling in the little hollow on the giant Himalayas, its few
+bungalows stood in gardens flaming with the brilliant colours of
+bougainvillias and poinsettias, surrounded by hedges of wild roses, and
+shaded by clusters of tall bamboos and the dense foliage of mango trees.
+The encircling arms of the mountains held it closely pressed. The jungle
+clothed the steep slopes around it, and rioted to our very doors. No
+sound disturbed its peace, save the shrill notes of our bugles or the
+chattering of monkeys by day, and the sudden harsh<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[Pg 15]</a></span> cry of barking deer
+or the monotonous bell-like note of the night-jar after the sun had set.</p>
+
+<p>The building dignified by the name of fort was in reality an irregular
+square of one-storied stone barracks, their outer faces and
+iron-shuttered windows loopholed for rifle fire. They were connected by
+a low stone wall pierced with three gateways, closed at night or on an
+alarm by iron gates, which slid into place on wheels. The fort was built
+on a knoll, which on three sides fell perpendicularly for two or three
+hundred feet in rocky precipices from ten to forty yards from the walls.
+On the north face it was only about fifty feet above the parade ground,
+which was a levelled space two hundred yards long and a hundred broad.
+This served also for hockey and as a rifle-range; the targets being
+placed in tiers up the steep hill-side on the east end.</p>
+
+<p>Standing at the front gate and looking northwards towards the mountains,
+one saw the ground rise sharply to the foot of Sinchula. Dotted about
+among the trees and set round with orchid-studded, low stone walls or
+flowering hedges, were four or five single-storied bungalows.</p>
+
+<p>The lowest and nearest to the parade ground of these was the Commanding
+Officer's Quarters, which I occupied. Higher up to the right, and
+separated from mine by a deep ravine crossed by a little wooden bridge,
+was an empty house, known as Married Officers' Quarters. Behind it was a
+long wooden building raised on pillars, the forest officer's bungalow,
+to shelter that official in his annual visit. Around it were a few
+bamboo huts for his native clerks. Past my quarters ran the mountain
+road which climbed the steep sides of Sinchula, and, degenerating into
+a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[Pg 16]</a></span> narrow mule track, wound round it to the Bhutan frontier. Near my
+house it was shaded by mango trees which, when the fruit was ripe, were
+very popular with the wild monkeys. To preserve the mangoes for
+ourselves, I was then obliged to station a sentry on the road at
+daybreak to keep the marauders off. In my garden stood a very large
+mango tree, up which I used in the season to send a small Bhuttia boy to
+gather the fruit. One day he found a large monkey there before him. It
+attacked him savagely and I was obliged to shoot it to save him from its
+fury.</p>
+
+<p>A hundred feet above my house and on the left of the road stood in a
+terraced garden the Officers' Mess, occupied by my subaltern and the
+doctor. And three hundred feet higher still was the last building in
+Buxa, the Circuit House, intended as a court-house and temporary
+residence for any civil official who should chance to come there on
+duty. The three white square towers, which stood on the spurs running
+down from Sinchula were known as the Picquet Towers, and, conspicuous
+against the dark mountains could be seen for many miles from the plains
+below. They were intended to contain in war time small parties of the
+garrison and hold points which commanded the fort at close range. From
+one above the east face of the fort even arrows could be shot into the
+interior of our defences; so its possession was a necessity to us. They
+were strongly built of stone and loopholed, the door eight feet from the
+ground, and reached by a ladder, windowless, the only light coming from
+the loopholes. To the west of the fort beyond the mountain road and
+behind another spur, was the bazaar or native <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[Pg 17]</a></span>town, which consisted
+of a dozen wooden huts, and three or four brick houses, in which lived
+the few <i>bunniahs</i> or merchants who resided there to trade grain, salt,
+and cloth, with the Bhutanese across the border. There were hardly
+thirty natives in the bazaar, comprising our whole civil population. The
+"shops" in the one tiny street contained little of use, even for our
+sepoys' frugal needs, and nothing for ours; so that anything we required
+had to be sent for from Calcutta&mdash;a day and a night by train.</p>
+
+
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"><br /><br />
+<a name="Ill_2" id="Ill_2"></a><img src="images/gs02.jpg" width="450" height="378" alt="BUXA DUAR. My bungalow in the foreground; the Officers&#39;
+Mess among the trees." title="" />
+<span class="caption">BUXA DUAR. My bungalow in the foreground; the Officers&#39;
+Mess among the trees.</span>
+<br /><br /><br />
+</div>
+
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;">
+<a name="Ill_3" id="Ill_3"></a><img src="images/gs03.jpg" width="450" height="317" alt="&quot;THE FORT WAS BUILT ON A KNOLL.&quot;" title="" />
+<span class="caption">&quot;THE FORT WAS BUILT ON A KNOLL.&quot;</span>
+<br /><br />
+</div>
+
+<p>Beside the bazaar was the European cemetery, a mournful enclosure which
+was dotted with ruinous tombstones of British officers who had been
+killed or died of disease in this solitary outpost. The most recent
+grave was that of a former forest officer of Rajabhatkawa who, unable to
+bear the loneliness of his isolated life, had shot himself in his house
+in the jungle below. But before our detachment left Buxa another grave
+was dug here to hold the body of a young captain of my regiment. Though
+he died of disease, with no doctor there at the time to attend him, yet
+it was in reality loneliness that killed him; for, depressed by the
+solitude, he had no heart in him to fight against illness. But the
+far-flung boundaries of England's Empire are marked everywhere by graves
+like his.</p>
+
+<p>From the south wall of the fort the ground fell in wooded spurs and
+rocky cliffs to the forest fifteen hundred feet below. East and west the
+interminable miles of trees ran on beyond the range of sight, clothing
+the foot-hills and climbing the steep mountain sides. Here and there a
+light green island in the darker-hued sea of foliage showed where a tea
+garden lay in a clearing, the iron-roofed factories,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[Pg 18]</a></span> and the planters'
+bungalows visible through a field-glass. But to the south, beyond the
+clearly defined edge of the forest, the cultivated plains of Eastern
+Bengal stretched unbroken to Calcutta&mdash;three hundred miles away.
+South-west, in the Rains when the Indian atmosphere is clearest, we
+could see the Garo Hills fifty miles away in Assam, lying beyond the
+broad Brahmaputra where it flows to join the Ganges and pour their
+united waters through a hundred mouths into the Bay of Bengal&mdash;close on
+four hundred miles to the south of us.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[Pg 19]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="ChapterII" id="ChapterII"></a>CHAPTER II</h2>
+
+<h3>LIFE ON OUTPOST</h3>
+
+<blockquote><p>The daily routine&mdash;Drill in the Indian Army&mdash;Hindustani&mdash;A
+lingua franca&mdash;The divers tongues of India&mdash;The sepoys'
+lodging&mdash;Their ablutions&mdash;An Indian's fare&mdash;An Indian
+regiment&mdash;Rajput customs&mdash;The hospital&mdash;The doctor at
+work&mdash;Queer patients&mdash;A vicious bear&mdash;The Officers'
+Mess&mdash;Plain diet&mdash;Water&mdash;The simple life&mdash;A bachelor's
+establishment&mdash;A faithful Indian&mdash;Fighting the
+trusts&mdash;Transport in the hills&mdash;My bungalow&mdash;Amusements
+in Buxa&mdash;Dull days&mdash;Asirgarh&mdash;A lonely
+outpost&mdash;Poisoning a General&mdash;A storied
+fortress&mdash;Soldier ghosts&mdash;A spectral officer&mdash;The
+tragedy of isolation&mdash;A daring panther&mdash;A day on an
+elephant&mdash;Sport in the jungle&mdash;<i>Gooral</i> stalking in the
+hills&mdash;Strange pets&mdash;A friendly deer&mdash;A terrified
+visitor&mdash;A walking menagerie&mdash;Elephants tame and
+wild&mdash;Their training&mdash;Their caution&mdash;Their rate of
+speed&mdash;Fondness for water&mdash;Quickly reconciled to
+captivity&mdash;Snakes&mdash;A narrow escape&mdash;A king-cobra; the
+hamadryad&mdash;Hindu worship of the cobra&mdash;General Sir
+Hamilton Bower&mdash;An adventurous career&mdash;E. F.
+Knight&mdash;The General's inspection.</p></blockquote>
+
+<p>
+<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"Why, soldiers, why should we be melancholy, boys,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 2.5em;">Whose business 'tis to die?"</span><br />
+</p>
+
+
+<p>With the easy philosophy of the soldier we three officers settled down
+rapidly in our new surroundings&mdash;new at least to my subaltern Creagh and
+me. Life was a little monotonous; but we did not grumble more than the
+Briton considers is his right. Our daily existence did not vary much.
+Before the sun had risen above the Picquet Towers, my white-robed
+Mohammedan servant woke me to the labours of the day, as the bugles in
+the fort were sounding the "dress<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[Pg 20]</a></span> for parade." Moving noiselessly about
+the room on bare feet he placed on a small table beside my camp bed, the
+<i>chota hazri</i> or "little breakfast," the light refreshment of tea,
+toast, and fruit with which the good Anglo-Indian begins the morning.
+The bad one prefers whisky-and-soda. Then my servitor laid out for me
+the dull khaki uniform which in India, except on occasions of ceremony,
+replaces the gayer garb of the soldier in England.</p>
+
+<p>Morning and afternoon we drilled our men, watched them at musketry on
+the rifle-range, or practised them in mountain warfare up the steep
+slopes.</p>
+
+<p>We found it difficult to man&oelig;uvre off the parade ground, as the hills
+around were mostly covered with such tangled jungle that one had to hack
+a passage through it with a <i>kukri</i> or a <i>dah</i>.<a name="FNanchor_1_1" id="FNanchor_1_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a> The drill of the
+Indian Army is precisely the same as for British troops. The words of
+command are invariably given in English, while only the explanations of
+movements are made in the vernacular. Thus in action an officer ignorant
+of Hindustani could take command of a native regiment in a crisis when
+all its white officers had been killed. Hindustani is a lingua franca
+invented in India by the Mohammedan armies of invasion from the north
+for intercourse with the peoples of the many conquered States. It is
+really a camp language made up of Sanscrit, Persian, Hindi and many
+other tongues. Even some military words, such as "<i>cartouche</i>,"
+"<i>tambour</i>," have been borrowed from the French, owing to so many French
+adventurers having taken service in the armies of native princes in past
+times. Nowadays the English terms for military things or new inventions
+are adopted as <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[Pg 21]</a></span>they stand. Hindustani or Urdu is by no means
+universally understood in India, though most Mohammedans throughout the
+Peninsula have some knowledge of it; for nearly every race has its own
+separate language or dialect and there are probably a hundred and fifty
+different tongues spoken in our Indian Empire. Urdu, however, is a <i>sine
+qua non</i> for the British officer of the native army; and he has to pass
+at least two examinations, the Lower and the Higher Standard, in it. But
+in addition he must also qualify in the particular language spoken by
+the majority of men in his regiment. A subaltern in a Gurkha regiment,
+for instance, must pass in Gurkhali, in a Mahratta regiment in Mahratti;
+and so on.</p>
+
+<p>After morning parade I held orderly room, disposed of any
+prisoners&mdash;rare things in the Indian Army&mdash;and took reports from the
+native officers commanding the companies. Then I went to my office
+where, such is the amount of accounts and correspondence in the Service,
+I found at least two hours' work. Then I visited the hospital and went
+on to inspect the lines, as the barracks of native troops are called.
+The Indian sepoy is not luxuriously lodged. The barrack-rooms in Buxa,
+better and more substantial than in most places, were single-storied
+stone buildings roughly paved and furnished only with the men's
+belongings; for Government does not even provide them with beds. So each
+of my sepoys had fitted himself out with a <i>charpoy</i> or native cot, a
+four-legged wooden bedstead with a string network bottom which makes a
+comfortable couch. On this lay his <i>dhurri</i> or carpet, and his blankets.
+Overhead on a rough shelf stood his canvas kit-bag<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[Pg 22]</a></span> containing his
+clothing, while on pegs hung his belt, bayonet, and <i>puggri</i> or turban.
+Such luxuries as basins and baths are unknown to the sepoy. He strips to
+his waist-cloth and even in the coldest weather washes himself under a
+stand-pipe or pours water over his body from his <i>lotah</i> or small brass
+vessel which he always carries to drink from or use for his ablutions.
+In personal cleanliness most Indian races are surpassed only by the
+Japanese; and my men were either Mohammedans or Rajputs whose religions
+enjoin frequent ablutions.</p>
+
+<p>From the barrack-rooms I passed on to the sepoys' cooking-places. In the
+Indian Army rations in peace-time are not provided for the men; but,
+instead, they are given a certain allowance of money above their pay
+known as "compensation for dearness of provisions." This helps them to
+purchase their food, which consists in general of <i>chupatties</i> or cakes
+of flour and water, supplemented by <i>ghee</i> or clarified butter, various
+grain-stuffs, curry and sometimes a little meat. Many races eat rice
+instead of flour. Their method of cooking is primitive. A hole scratched
+in the ground and a couple of stones make the <i>chula</i> or fireplace, in
+which burn a few bits of wood or a handful of dry twigs. The sepoy mixes
+his <i>atta</i>, or flour, into a paste with a little water in a large brass
+dish, rolls it into balls and flattens them out into thin cakes on a
+convex iron plate over the fire, the result being something like crisp,
+thick pancakes. Having made a pile of these he grinds between stones
+various spices, such as turmeric, chillies, onions and poppy seed,
+moistened with water to make his curry, adds some cooked vegetables or a
+raw onion, and his simple meal is ready.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[Pg 23]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Among Hindus, men of different castes cook and eat apart. A Brahmin must
+have his separate fireplace, prepare his own food and eat alone. Other
+castes are not so particular and can employ cooks. In an Indian regiment
+each company or double company is generally composed of men of one race;
+and Government allows and pays two cooks and a <i>bhisti</i> or water-carrier
+to each company, these menials, with Hindus, being necessarily of the
+same caste as the sepoys they serve. Thus in my own battalion we have a
+double company of Rajputs, one of Gujars, and one of Rawats&mdash;all these
+being Hindus. The fourth is composed of Mohammedans. Each company is
+officered by men of their own caste, a <i>Subhedar</i> or captain, and a
+<i>Jemadar</i> or lieutenant; and every two companies are under a double
+company commander and a double company officer, who are British, and
+with the commandant, adjutant and quartermaster make up the European
+officers of the regiment.</p>
+
+<p>My double company in Buxa was composed of Rajputs; but, having had to
+detach signallers, bandsmen, clerks, and other employed men to go with
+the headquarters to Dibrugarh, some Mussulmans were temporarily attached
+to bring it up to its original strength of two hundred men. The Rajputs'
+method of eating their meals is rather peculiar. Before each they must
+bathe and put on a clean <i>dhotie</i>, a cotton cloth wrapped round the
+waist, passing between the legs and falling to the knees. They must eat
+inside the <i>chauka</i>, a space of ground marked out and swept clean. Food
+which they wish to carry away and consume outside the <i>chauka</i>, as, for
+instance, if they are going on a long march, must be prepared in a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[Pg 24]</a></span>
+particular way with water instead of <i>ghee</i>, which is generally used by
+them in cooking.</p>
+
+<p>In my daily visit to the hospital I would find our medical officer,
+Smith, hard at work. For, besides the sick of the detachment, he had to
+tend any natives from outside who chose to seek the white man's
+medicine. To help him he had a young Indian sub-assistant surgeon, who,
+despite the scanty medical training he had received, pined to perform
+major operations. With little knowledge of surgery he wished to resort
+to the knife on every possible occasion. Once, when left in sole charge
+of the hospital, he determined to amputate the leg of a Bhuttia
+suffering from gangrenous sores. The patient, however, was of a
+different opinion and during the night stole silently from the hospital
+and fled in terror across the hills to his village. Like most
+mountaineers the Bhuttias are very subject to goitre. Two out of every
+three are the proud possessors of these enormous appendages, in some
+cases nearly as large as the owner's head. They seemed to regard them as
+ornaments, and absolutely refused to allow our medico to operate on
+them. One day there was carried to the fort from Chunabatti, the only
+village for miles round, a Chinaman suffering from beriberi. This man,
+who knew no word of any language but his own, had made his way on foot
+from China across Tibet and Bhutan over the Himalayas endeavouring to
+reach Calcutta in search of work. Stricken down with this fell disease
+he had lain for months in the village, living on the charity of the
+Bhuttias, and was brought to our hospital only to die. Another
+interesting case was a boy about seven years old who was brought in,
+absolutely scalped by a blow from <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[Pg 25]</a></span>the paw of a bear which he had
+disturbed when gathering wood in the forest. From brow to nape of neck
+his skull had been left bare to the bone, in which were deep
+indentations from the animal's claws. The shock of the blow would
+probably have killed a European, but with the marvellous tenacity of
+life among savage races, the boy soon recovered.</p>
+
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"><br /><br />
+<a name="Ill_4" id="Ill_4"></a><img src="images/gs04.jpg" width="450" height="318" alt="RAJPUT SEPOYS COOKING." title="" />
+<span class="caption">RAJPUT SEPOYS COOKING.</span><br /><br />
+</div>
+
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"><br /><br />
+<a name="Ill_5" id="Ill_5"></a><img src="images/gs05.jpg" width="450" height="349" alt="BRITISH AND INDIAN OFFICERS." title="" />
+<span class="caption">BRITISH AND INDIAN OFFICERS.</span><br /><br />
+</div>
+
+<p>Our morning's work finished, we climbed up the hill for breakfast in the
+Mess. This was a long, single-storied stone building with an iron roof,
+erected on pillars which raised it six feet from the ground. From the
+tangled wilderness of the garden, bright with the vivid colours of huge
+bushes of poinsettia and bougainvillias, a flight of steps led up to the
+railed veranda which ran along the front of the building, and on to
+which opened the four rooms&mdash;the end ones used as quarters by Creagh and
+Smith, the centre apartments being the ante-room and dining-room. I
+wonder what some writers of military fiction, who prate glibly of the
+luxury in which army officers live, would say to the bare rooms and
+whitewashed walls of our Mess, furnished only with a few rickety tables
+and unsteady chairs. Or my subaltern's abode. One room, an iron cot
+borrowed from the hospital, a kitchen table, one dilapidated chair, a
+tin bath, and an iron basin on an old packing-case, comprised the
+sum-total of his possessions. Other furniture we could not get in Buxa;
+for the nearest shops were three hundred miles away in Calcutta. Of
+course, crockery, cooking-pots, glassware, linen and cutlery, we had to
+provide for ourselves. These we had brought with us. Before long, by
+dint of colour-washing the stone walls, hanging curtains and draperies
+of native cloth, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[Pg 26]</a></span> decorating the bare walls with the heads of
+animals we shot, we succeeded in making the Mess quite habitable and
+cosy.</p>
+
+<p>We were not much better off in the bare necessities of life. Buxa
+produced little in the way of food. Chickens&mdash;more literally, hens of no
+uncertain antiquity&mdash;and eggs of almost equal age were often procurable
+locally. But no meat. Sometimes a Bhuttia from across the frontier
+brought a goat for sale; and, although the Asiatic goat is an
+abomination, yet such an occasion was a red-letter day for us. Bread was
+sent us by rail from a railway refreshment-room twenty-four hours away,
+and did not always arrive. Fresh vegetables we never saw until later on
+we tried our prentice hands at gardening&mdash;and a sorry mess we made of
+it. In the winter we could add to the pot by the help of our rifles and
+guns; and venison and jungle fowl were a welcome change from the
+monotony of our menus. But our staple food consisted of tinned
+provisions&mdash;an expensive and wearisome diet. I dare say the British
+workman would have turned up his nose at our usual fare; and I could not
+blame him. Even the water supply in Buxa was a difficult question. Our
+Mess got its water from a spring in the hills hundreds of yards away,
+led down in bamboos to the kitchen. The fort was supplied from another
+spring in the base of the hill on which it was built; and all day long
+the <i>bhistis</i><a name="FNanchor_2_2" id="FNanchor_2_2"></a><a href="#Footnote_2_2" class="fnanchor">[2]</a> toiled up and down bringing the water in goatskin bags.
+But a few months after our arrival the springs nearly gave out; and I
+was faced with the necessity of abandoning fort and station, and moving
+the military and civil population to camp on the banks of a river miles
+away in the forest below, when we were saved by timely rain.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[Pg 27]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Yet despite the simple life we were leading in Buxa my monthly expenses
+were more than twenty pounds for the bare necessities of existence. I
+had to pay rent to Government for my bungalow, and a share of the rent
+for the Mess, as well as my share of the expenses of mess-servants,
+lighting, and food. My personal household consisted of my "boy" or
+body-servant, a <i>dhobi</i> or washerman, a <i>bhisti</i> or water-carrier, a
+<i>syce</i> or groom, and my sword-orderly, a sepoy of the regiment. This
+last individual, a Mussulman named Mohammed Draj Khan, had been in my
+service for many years and, with the fidelity of the Indian, was
+faithfully attached to me. He went with me to China in 1900 with the
+Indian Expeditionary Force and returned with me again there five years
+later. When I was going from Hong Kong on furlough to the United States,
+Canada and Europe, I arranged for him to be given six months' leave to
+his home in India. But when he heard of it Draj Khan was exceedingly
+wroth.</p>
+
+<p>"What? Am I not to accompany my Sahib?" he demanded indignantly.</p>
+
+<p>"No; I cannot take you with me to Europe," I replied. "But I have got
+you leave to go home to your wife whom you have not seen for four
+years."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, my wife does not matter," was the ungallant answer; "she can wait.
+But my place is with my Sahib wherever he goes."</p>
+
+<p>And he has never forgiven me for not taking him; although he still
+continues to serve me faithfully.</p>
+
+<p>Our sepoys fared better than their British officers. We found on arrival
+that the local <i>bunniahs</i> or shop-keepers<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[Pg 28]</a></span> were in the habit of
+supplying the men with very inferior and bad flour and other food-stuffs
+and charging a high price for them, relying on the monopoly they
+enjoyed. I determined to follow the example of the United States
+Government and make war on trusts. So I sent my native officers to Cooch
+Behar and other towns fifty miles away to purchase supplies, and ordered
+flour in bulk from a mill under English management in Calcutta. I had it
+sent by rail to Buxa Road Station, and conveyed thence by our elephants
+and Bhuttia coolies. An elephant can carry a weight of ten or twelve
+maunds&mdash;a maund being equal to eighty pounds. The sturdy Bhuttias, women
+as well as men, could come up our steep road, each with a load of two
+maunds on his or her back. Their burdens were fixed in two forked sticks
+bound to the shoulders in such a way that when the bearers sat down the
+ends of the sticks rested on the ground and supported the weight. But
+when heavily laden a coolie cannot then rise to his feet unaided, unless
+he first lies down, rolls over on his face, then pushes himself on to
+his knees with his hands and stands up. In Chemulpo and Seoul in Corea I
+have seen coolies employ a similar method of carrying their loads.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"><br /><br />
+<a name="Ill_6" id="Ill_6"></a><img src="images/gs06.jpg" width="450" height="275" alt="MY DOUBLE COMPANY." title="" />
+<span class="caption">MY DOUBLE COMPANY.</span><br /><br />
+</div>
+
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"><br /><br />
+<a name="Ill_7" id="Ill_7"></a><img src="images/gs07.jpg" width="450" height="350" alt="MY BACHELOR ESTABLISHMENT." title="" />
+<span class="caption">MY BACHELOR ESTABLISHMENT.</span><br /><br />
+</div>
+
+<p>After breakfast I returned to my house to pass the hours until the
+afternoon parade. After the dilapidated bungalows of most stations in
+India, with their thatched roofs sheltering rats, squirrels and even
+snakes, and their floors of pounded earth and decayed matting full of
+fleas, ants and the myriad plagues of insect life of the East, my small
+house seemed luxurious. It was built strongly of rough stone blocks to
+withstand the awful mountain storms. The roof was of iron which rang
+like a drum to the <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[Pg 29]</a></span>heavy rain and monster hailstones of the Monsoon.
+It contained four small rooms with ceilings and floors of wood, each
+with its fireplace. For during the winter we found it cold enough to
+have fires going day and night, the jungle around furnishing us with an
+ample supply of fuel. The meagre furniture which I had bought from the
+major of the Punjabis was soon supplemented with a few more articles
+sent from Calcutta. The little garden contained mango trees and a tree
+bearing the huge and evil-smelling jack-fruit, of which natives are very
+fond, though its sickening odour and oversweet taste repel most
+Europeans. The hedges around my compound were of wild roses. At one side
+stood my stable and the stone outhouses in which my servants lived; for
+in India the domestics are not lodged in the bungalow.</p>
+
+<p>The afternoon was occupied with drills, signalling practice and military
+lectures to the non-commissioned officers.</p>
+
+<p>Buxa offered scant amusement within its limits to us Britishers. We had
+hockey-matches with the men two or three times a week. Creagh, being a
+keen golfer, tried to make miniature links about the fort; but, after
+losing six balls in his first game in the jungle around, he gave it up.
+We turned our attention to tennis. A comparatively level space hewed out
+of the mountain-side was fixed on as a court. Rocks four or five feet
+high were dug out of it; and the elephants were employed for days in
+bringing up earth from the plains below to spread on it. But more rocks
+seemed to grow in it and shove their heads through the thin covering of
+mould, grass came in thick, wiry patches; and altogether our tennis
+court could not be pronounced a success.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[Pg 30]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Evening brought with it the dullest hours of the day. The Calcutta
+newspaper, which arrived by post every afternoon, was soon read; and the
+English journals sent to us from regimental headquarters were a month
+old. None of us were keen card players. Our library was small; and, as
+light literature, drill books soon cease to charm. Our daily life was
+too uneventful to afford many subjects of conversation; and as topics
+the incompetency of Naik Chandu Singh or the slackness on parade of
+Sepoy Pem Singh were not engrossing. England seemed too far away for the
+discussion of its politics to interest us. The pitiable limitations of
+men as talkers was painfully evident. Not being women we had no
+ever-ready subjects of conversation in dress, babies and servants'
+misdemeanours; and we could not talk scandal about ourselves. So, after
+the meagre dinner that our Gurkha cook contrived out of the athletic hen
+or tinned sausage, we threw ourselves into long chairs around the fire;
+Creagh betook himself to the study of military books for his forthcoming
+examination for promotion, and the doctor and I thumbed tattered novels
+we had read a dozen times.</p>
+
+<p>But Buxa was not the loneliest spot in which I have been quartered. As a
+subaltern I was stationed alone for many months in Asirgarh in the
+Central Provinces, an old Indian fortress on a hill lost in the jungle.
+That was solitude itself. My nearest European neighbour was forty miles
+away. I saw no white face and spoke no word of English for months at a
+time. Once a year a General was supposed to pay it the compliment of an
+official inspection, although the garrison consisted only of a British<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[Pg 31]</a></span>
+subaltern and fifty sepoys. But I think that after one occasion when the
+General and his staff officers nearly died on my hands of ptomaine
+poisoning&mdash;really contracted on their journey thither, but ascribed by
+the uncharitable among my friends to my base devices and resentment at
+having my peace disturbed by this officious intrusion&mdash;this duty grew
+out of favour with generals who valued their lives. This detachment has
+since been abolished.</p>
+
+<p>The fortress was wonderfully interesting, with a history reaching back
+to the eighth century. It had passed through the hands of the various
+masters of India in turn, and every stone of its walls had a story to
+tell. Taken by the British from the Maharajah of Gwalior twice, it
+remained in our possession from 1818, and was formerly garrisoned by a
+company of Artillery, a British regiment and a wing of a native
+battalion. Fallen from its high estate, a subaltern and half a company
+were considered enough for it in my time. And the subaltern combined in
+his own person the important offices of Commandant of Asirgarh Fortress,
+officer commanding the troops, officer in charge of military treasure
+chest, Cantonment Magistrate third class, and Church Trustee. For inside
+the fort were a Protestant Church in disused barracks, a ruined Catholic
+Chapel on the altar of which wild monkeys perched, and two cemeteries
+full of graves of English dead. The post was a lonely one for a young
+officer. I lived in the only habitable European building, formerly the
+general hospital, for which I paid twenty-four pounds a year to
+Government. The dead house was just outside my bedroom window. The
+interior of the fort, the fifty-feet-high walls of which were a mile and
+a half in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[Pg 32]</a></span> circumference, was crowded with the ruins of an ancient
+palace, a large mosque, an old Moghul prison with wonderful underground
+passages and cells, and&mdash;most depressing of all&mdash;the gaunt wrecks of
+English bungalows with bare rafters and tattered ceiling-cloths. A fit
+habitation for ghosts. And ghosts there were. No native would venture
+about the fort alone at night. Weird tales had my sepoys to tell of the
+<i>Shaitans</i> and <i>bhuts</i>, as they termed the spectral beings that wandered
+within the walls in the dark hours and were seen again and again by my
+men. They invariably took the form of British soldiers. And actually one
+night when I was miles away out shooting in the jungle the sentry at the
+gate turned out the guard to an approaching white officer, whom he took
+to be me. The whole guard, eleven men in all, swore next day to the
+ghostly visitant.</p>
+
+<p>Few English folk at home, who fondly picture an officer's life in India
+as one long round of social gaieties, of polo, sport, races and balls,
+realise the tragedies of loneliness of many who serve the Empire. Of the
+dreary solitude of a military police post in the jungles of Burma, of a
+fort on the Indian frontier, where a young subaltern lives for months,
+for years, alone. A boy brought up in the comfort of an English home,
+used to the pleasant fellowship of a regimental mess, is there condemned
+to isolation from his kind, to food that a pauper would reject, and a
+lodging a cottager would scorn. Should one of the many diseases of India
+lay its grisly hand on him he is far from medical aid. He must fight his
+illness alone, lying unattended in his comfortless quarters. Outside, a
+pitiless sun in a sky of brass pours down its rays on the glaring,
+shadowless desert. Inside,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[Pg 33]</a></span> the droning whine of the punkah mocks him
+throughout the weary day, as it scarcely stirs the heated air. Night
+brings only the more terrible hours of darkness when sleep is banished
+from the tired eyes and the fever-racked brain knows no relief. Small
+wonder that too often in his agony he seeks death by his own hand. I
+have gone through the hell of sickness in a lonely post, when day after
+day the awful pains of jungle fever tortured me and night brought no
+relief. I have known what it is to gaze in my delirium at my revolver
+and think it the kindly friend that alone could end my misery, until a
+sane moment made me realise that its touch meant death and I had it
+taken away from me. But I have known, too, many a poor fellow to whom
+that saving interval of sanity was denied, to whom a bullet through the
+tortured brain brought oblivion.</p>
+
+<p>In comparison with Asirgarh, Buxa was quite a gay place. I was seldom
+alone in it, and generally had at least one other white man with me. We
+were kept in touch with the outside world by a telegraph line, which,
+however, was constantly being broken by trees blown down by storms or
+uprooted by elephants. Once a day a sturdy little Bhuttia postman toiled
+up the hill with our letters. "His Majesty's Mail" carried for his
+protection a short spear with bells on it to scare wild beasts; but this
+did not save him from being occasionally stopped by wild elephants and
+once being treed by a tiger. For sport we had to descend to the forest;
+though sometimes a barking deer wandered into our gardens from the
+jungle, and from the Mess veranda we shot a couple on the hill-side
+across a deep <i>nullah</i> or ravine.</p>
+
+<p>Between my bungalow and the Married Officers'<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[Pg 34]</a></span> Quarters ran another
+<i>nullah</i>. Occasionally, when there was no moon, a panther used to wander
+down it, calling like a cat in the darkness which was too intense to
+allow me a shot at the animal. When we came to Buxa we had wondered why
+the windows of our houses were covered with strong wire netting, and
+were inclined to be sceptical when told that this was to keep predatory
+beasts out. But the Punjabi subaltern had been awakened one night by the
+noise of some animal moving about his room in the Mess, he having left
+his door open. He seized a handful of matches, struck them and saw a
+panther scared by the sudden blaze dash out through the door. And twice
+during our sojourn in Buxa did a similar thing happen.</p>
+
+<p>This particular panther, for we assumed that it was always the same
+animal, haunted the Station and preyed on the dogs in the bazaar. One
+day on the road just below the fort it met one of my sepoys who promptly
+climbed the nearest tree and remained in the topmost branches until his
+shouts brought some other men to the rescue. Once at night I was roused
+from sleep by wild cries from a Bhuttia's hut on the spur above our Mess
+and learned on inquiry that the panther had carried off his dog. Another
+time, in brilliant moonlight, an Indian doctor then in medical charge of
+the detachment, who lived in the bungalow next to mine, saw the beast
+sitting in the small garden intently watching the door of an outhouse in
+which a milch-goat was kept shut up. The doctor ran indoors to fetch his
+gun and had an unsuccessful shot at it as it jumped the hedge. Needless
+to say we made many efforts to compass its death. One night it killed a
+goat tied up as a bait to a tree within<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[Pg 35]</a></span> fifteen yards of the fort and
+was wounded by a native officer waiting for it behind the wall. Yet not
+long afterwards it climbed into the fort at night and carried off a
+sepoy's dog. Many a time I sat up in a tree over a bleating goat in the
+moonlight, but always in vain; and I suppose that panther still lives to
+afford sport to our successors in Buxa.</p>
+
+<p>Life was well worth living on the days when we could descend into the
+forest for a shoot. At dawn we started down the three miles of steep
+road to Santrabari where the elephants awaited us. For work in the
+jungle these animals, instead of the howdahs or cage-like structures
+with seats which they carry on shoots in fairly open country, have only
+their pads, thick, straw-stuffed mattresses bound on their backs by
+stout ropes. For in dense forest howdahs would soon be swept off. When
+we arrived at the Peelkhana the <i>mahouts</i> made the huge beasts kneel
+down, or we clambered up, either by hauling oneself up by the tail,
+aided by one foot on the hind leg held up for the purpose at the
+driver's command, or by catching hold of the ears from the front and
+standing on the curled-up trunk which then raised us up on to the
+elephant's head. One either sat sideways on the pad or astride above the
+shoulders and behind the <i>mahout</i> who rode on the neck with his bare
+feet behind the ears. Then our giant steeds lumbered off into the forest
+with an awkward, disjointed stride which is sorely trying to the novice.
+And sitting upright with nothing to rest the back against for eight
+hours or more, shaken violently all the time by the jerky motion, is
+decidedly tiring. Prepared for beast or bird, each of us carried a rifle
+and a shot-gun, and, separating from the others, went<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[Pg 36]</a></span> his own way
+through the forest. Sometimes a <i>sambhur</i>, the big Indian stag, was the
+bag; sometimes a wild boar. Perhaps a <i>khakur</i>, the small, alert barking
+deer, of which the flesh is infinitely more tender than a <i>sambhur's</i>,
+or a few jungle fowl, rewarded our efforts. We carried with us food and
+water for the day and did not return until evening. Then, after leaving
+the elephants at the Peelkhana, came the fifteen-hundred-feet climb up
+the steep road to Buxa. And in a long chair in the Mess the fatigues of
+the day were forgotten in the pleasure of recounting every incident of
+the sport.</p>
+
+<p>Sometimes we went out among the hills around us to stalk <i>gooral</i>, an
+active little wild goat. Clambering up the almost sheer sides of the
+mountains or clinging to the faces of rugged precipices while carrying a
+heavy rifle was a toilsome task; and too often, after a long and
+perilous climb, did I arrive in sight of the quarry only to see it
+disappear in bounding flight over the cliffs.</p>
+
+<p>In our excursions into the forest or by purchase from natives we
+gradually gathered together a varied collection of pets to solace our
+loneliness. At different times I possessed half a dozen barking deer
+fawns, one of which became an institution in Buxa. Scorning confinement
+she insisted on being allowed to wander loose about the Station, and,
+soon getting to know the sepoys' meal hours, visited the fort regularly.
+She was punctual in her attendance at tea-time in my bungalow, being
+exceedingly fond of buttered toast, and always claiming her share of
+mine. More than once I have only just been in time to save her from the
+rifle of one of our rare visitors who, seeing her on the hill-side, took
+her to be wild. A <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[Pg 37]</a></span>small green parrot which I had similarly objected
+to being shut up and flew freely about the Station. From wherever it
+happened to be its quick eye always marked my servant bringing my
+afternoon meal to the bungalow from the kitchen; and, having a strange
+liking for hot tea, it used to fly in through the open door of my
+sitting-room and perch on my head. It was little use my objecting to
+this familiarity; for, if I attempted to dislodge it, it would stick its
+claws into my scalp and hold on to my ear by its sharp beak until I let
+it drink from my cup. Its propensity for swooping down in the open on
+any white man was sometimes alarming to strangers. Once a certain civil
+official visitor to Buxa who was jocularly reputed to be overfond of
+alcohol and never far from the verge of delirium tremens was approaching
+my bungalow when the parrot swept down on him and tried to alight on his
+hat. Uncertain as to the reality of the vision circling around his head,
+our visitor uttered a cry of terror and tried to brush the phantom aside
+until I laughingly assured him that it was a real bird. He revenged
+himself afterwards by encouraging the parrot in a depraved taste for
+whisky.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 476px;"><br /><br />
+<a name="Ill_8" id="Ill_8"></a><img src="images/gs08.jpg" width="476" height="600" alt="A KNEELING ELEPHANT." title="" />
+<span class="caption">A KNEELING ELEPHANT.</span><br /><br />
+</div>
+
+<p>In my afternoon walks I used to be accompanied by a small menagerie. Two
+small barking deer stepped daintily behind me, their long ears twitching
+incessantly. A monkey loped on all fours ahead, now and then stopping to
+sit down and scratch himself thoughtfully. A bear cub shambled along,
+playing with my dogs and being occasionally rolled over by a combined
+rush of riotous puppies. On our return to the bungalow we would be
+greeted by no less than five cats; while from its perch on the veranda a
+young hornbill, scarcely feathered and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[Pg 38]</a></span> possessing a beak almost as big
+as its body, would survey us with a cold and glassy stare from its
+unwinking eyes. Once in a beat in the forest my orderly caught a
+<i>sambhur</i> fawn which he bore, shrieking piteously, in his arms to me. In
+a day or two it was perfectly tame, fed from my hand, and insisted on
+sleeping on my bed. It was killed by a snake shortly afterwards.</p>
+
+<p>I might almost include in our list of pets our three Government
+elephants, of which we became very fond. They were named Jhansi,
+Dundora, and Khartoum. I generally used the last in the jungle; though
+when looking for dangerous game I preferred Dundora. Jhansi was a
+frivolous and unsteady young lady of forty years of age; and shooting
+from her back was impossible. I soon learned to drive them, sitting on
+their necks and guiding them by pressing my feet behind the ears, as the
+<i>mahouts</i> do. I was sometimes called on to doctor them; and had to
+perform almost a surgical operation on Jhansi, when wounded by a wild
+elephant out in the jungle. I had fortunately been taught how to treat
+their ailments when doing veterinary work in a transport course some
+years before. Elephants are somewhat delicate animals and liable to a
+multiplicity of diseases. Accustomed in the wild state to shelter from
+the noonday heat in thick forests, they suffer greatly if worked in a
+hot sun and get sore feet if obliged to tramp along hard roads.
+Domesticated elephants are generally very gentle and docile; though
+males in a state of <i>musth</i> often become very dangerous. Contrary to the
+usually received opinion they are not intelligent; but they are very
+obedient. At the word of command they will kneel, rise, pick<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[Pg 39]</a></span> up an
+article from the ground or lift a man on to their necks. When a <i>mahout</i>
+is gathering fodder for his charge and sees suitable leaves out of reach
+at the top of a small tree, he orders his elephant to break the tree
+down. This it does by curling up its trunk and pressing its forehead
+with all its weight behind it against the stem and thus uprooting it.
+When crossing a stream they try to sound the depth with their trunks. A
+bridge they attempt cautiously with one foot, and, if not satisfied with
+its strength, will resolutely refuse to trust themselves on it. Though
+good at climbing up steep slopes they are the reverse when descending.
+On the level they are fast for a short distance only; but they can cover
+many miles in the day when travelling. They are excellent swimmers and
+are very fond of water. In the wild state they bathe whenever they can;
+and tame elephants thoroughly enjoy being taken into the river and lie
+in the shallows with a look of blissful content while their <i>mahouts</i>
+wash them and scrub them with bricks. It is extraordinary how quickly
+they become used to captivity. In a few days they let their keepers feed
+them, mount them and take them to water. I have seen two, caught only
+four months before, being driven in a beat for a tiger; and when he was
+wounded and broke back into thick jungle they followed him
+unhesitatingly at their <i>mahouts'</i> command.</p>
+
+<p>Like all hill-places Buxa was full of snakes. One night in the hot
+weather when dining on the veranda, we found a viper climbing up the
+rough stone wall of the Mess just behind our chairs. We vacated our
+seats promptly and killed it with long bamboos. Another evening I
+discovered one on my veranda.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[Pg 40]</a></span> Once when camped in the forest with my
+detachment, the officer who was then with me and I were sitting at a
+small table having tea when one of the native officers came up. I had a
+chair brought for him and he sat talking to us until dusk came. My
+servant placed a lighted lamp on the table. Suddenly the native officer
+who was sitting a few yards from me said quietly:</p>
+
+<p>"Do not move, Sahib. There is a snake under your chair; and if you try
+to stand up you may tread on it."</p>
+
+<p>It was difficult to obey him and remain motionless; but, as it was the
+wisest thing to do, I sat quietly until I saw a small and very poisonous
+viper emerge between my feet and wriggle off. Then I jumped up, seized
+the lamp from the table and a cane from my native officer and killed it.</p>
+
+<p>In Buxa one afternoon when I happened to be inspecting the bazaar a
+native ran up in a state of great excitement to inform me that a "<i>bahut
+burra samp</i>," a <i>very</i> large snake, was climbing up the precipice on the
+west side of the hill on which the bazaar stood. I went with him and
+found two or three Bhuttias looking over the edge at an enormous serpent
+which was making its way up the steep face, clinging to projecting rocks
+and bushes. From its size I took it to be a python, which is not
+poisonous and kills its prey only by compression. We waited until the
+snake had got its head and a third of its length over the brink and fell
+upon it with sticks and clubbed it to death. I had it carried to my
+bungalow where I measured it and found it to be fifteen feet two inches
+in length. Preparatory to skinning it, I compared it with the coloured
+plates in a book on Indian reptiles<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[Pg 41]</a></span> and found to my horror that it was
+a king-cobra or hamadryad, the most dreaded and dangerous ophidian in
+Asia. It is very venomous and wantonly attacks human beings; so that it
+was fortunate for us that we had caught it at a disadvantage. There is a
+recorded instance of one chasing and overtaking a man on a pony. It is
+generally to be found only in the forests of Eastern Bengal, Assam, and
+Burmah.</p>
+
+<p>When one considers the enormous number of snakes in India it is
+surprising how seldom they are seen. This is due to their rarely
+venturing out in the daytime. But I have killed one with my sword when
+returning from a morning parade in Bhuj and another, a black cobra five
+feet nine inches long, in my bathroom in Asirgarh. Few Europeans ever
+get over their instinctive horror of these reptiles; but the natives,
+thousands of whom die every year from snake-bite owing to their going
+about with bare feet and legs at night, have not the same dread of them.
+In fact Hindus hold the cobra sacred, and have an annual festival, the
+Nagpanchmai, in its honour. I have seen in Cutch the Rao (or Rajah) of
+that State go in solemn procession on that day to worship it in a
+temple, accompanied by his strangely-uniformed troops, which included
+soldiers in steel caps and chain mail walking on stilts. They were
+supposed to be prepared to fight in the salt deserts and sandy wastes
+which surround Cutch.</p>
+
+<p>Our first visitors from the outside world reached Buxa about a month
+after our arrival. They were General Bower, commanding the Assam Brigade
+to which we belonged, and his staff officer, come for the annual
+inspection of the detachment.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[Pg 42]</a></span> Brigadier-General (now Major-General Sir
+Hamilton) Bower is a man whose paths have lain in strange places and
+whose career reads like a book of adventures. A keen sportsman and a
+daring explorer of untrodden ways, he was as a captain ordered by the
+Government of India to pursue the Mohammedan murderer of an English
+traveller, Dalgleish, through the savage wilds of Central Asia. For
+months he chased the assassin through sterile regions where no European
+had ever before set foot and at last hounded him into the hands of the
+Russians at Samarcand where he killed himself in jail. His capture was
+necessary to show the lawless tribesmen of Central Asia that a price
+must be paid for a white man's blood and that the arm of our Government
+could reach an Englishman's slayer in any land. Readers of E. F.
+Knight's fascinating book, "Where Three Empires Meet" will remember the
+author's meeting with Captain Bower in Kashmir in 1891, after the
+latter's successful pursuit of this murderer, Dad Mohammed. Bower was
+then starting on his celebrated journey from India overland to China,
+which he has described in his work "Across Tibet." And since those days
+his life has not been tame. Ordered to raise a regiment of Chinamen to
+garrison Wei-hai-wei, he landed in Shanghai with one follower and soon
+brought a corps of Northern Chinese into being, which, in two years
+after its raising, fought splendidly in the bloody struggles around
+Tientsin in the Boxer War of 1900. He afterwards commanded the British
+Legation Guard in Pekin and found ample scope for all his tact and good
+temper in the intercourse with the officers of the Guards of other
+nationalities in the Chinese capital.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[Pg 43]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>He spent three days with us; and though his inspection was thorough, and
+entailed fatiguing man&oelig;uvres through jungle I had hitherto regarded
+as impenetrable and up mountains I had considered unscaleable, we were
+sorry when his visit terminated. As a rule one does not hail a General's
+inspection as a pleasant function. But General Bower proved the
+pleasantest and most interesting visitor we ever had. Tired of our own
+thrice-told tales we revelled in the interesting conversation of a man
+who had seen and done so much in his adventurous career, who had
+journeyed along untrodden ways, had fought strange foes and carried his
+life in his hand in wild lands where no king's writ runs. We talked much
+of Knight, whom I have the good fortune to know, a man who, like the
+General, might be the hero of a boy's book of romance. His life had been
+equally adventurous. He fought for the French in 1870, and against them
+later in Madagascar. In a small yacht he crossed the Atlantic and
+visited most countries in South America. In his wanderings beyond the
+frontier of India he came in for the difficult little Hunza-Nagar
+campaign and fought in it. Author, traveller, war-correspondent, amateur
+soldier, he has been everywhere, seen and done everything. And, simple
+and courageous, he is a type of the adventurers who made England great.
+Romance is not dead while such men as he and Bower live.</p>
+
+<p>With a General on official inspection one is inclined to speed the
+parting guest; but as General Bower waved his farewell to us from the
+back of the elephant which was carrying him downhill we were sorry to
+part with him, and all three hoped to meet him the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[Pg 44]</a></span> following year again
+in Buxa. But when he came I alone was left. Smith had gone to Calcutta,
+and Creagh was commanding another detachment of the regiment in the
+heart of Tibet, even farther from civilisation than Buxa.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[Pg 45]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_1_1" id="Footnote_1_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_1"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> Heavy native knives.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_2_2" id="Footnote_2_2"></a><a href="#FNanchor_2_2"><span class="label">[2]</span></a> Water-carriers.</p></div>
+</div>
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="ChapterIII" id="ChapterIII"></a>CHAPTER III</h2>
+
+<h3>THE BORDERLAND OF BHUTAN</h3>
+
+<blockquote><p>The races along our North-East Border&mdash;Tibet&mdash;The
+Mahatmas&mdash;Nepal&mdash;Bhutan&mdash;Its geography&mdash;Its
+founder&mdash;Its Government&mdash;Religious rule&mdash;Analogy
+between Bhutan and old Japan&mdash;<i>Penlops</i> and
+<i>Daimios</i>&mdash;The Tongsa <i>Penlop</i>&mdash;Reincarnation of the
+Shaptung Rimpoche&mdash;China's claim to Bhutan&mdash;Capture of
+the Maharajah of Cooch Behar&mdash;Bogle's mission&mdash;Raids
+and outrages&mdash;The Bhutan War of 1864-5&mdash;The Duars&mdash;The
+annual subsidy&mdash;Bhutan to-day&mdash;Religion&mdash;An
+impoverished land&mdash;Bridges&mdash;Soldiers in Bhutan&mdash;The
+feudal system&mdash;Administration of justice&mdash;Tyranny of
+officials&mdash;The Bhuttias&mdash;Ugly women&mdash;Our neighbours in
+Buxa&mdash;A Bhuttia festival&mdash;Archery&mdash;A banquet&mdash;A
+dance&mdash;A Scotch half-caste&mdash;Chunabatti&mdash;Nature of the
+borderland&mdash;Disappearing rivers&mdash;The Terai&mdash;Tea
+gardens&mdash;A planter's life&mdash;The club&mdash;Wild beasts in the
+path&mdash;The Indian planters&mdash;Misplaced sympathy&mdash;The tea
+industry&mdash;Profits and losses&mdash;Planters' salaries&mdash;Their
+daily life&mdash;Bhuttia raids on tea gardens&mdash;Fearless
+planters&mdash;An unequal fight.</p></blockquote>
+
+
+<p>Along the North-East Frontier of India lie numerous States and races of
+which the average Britisher is very ignorant. Of late years Tibet has
+bulked largely in the public eye owing to international and diplomatic
+intrigues and our little war with it in 1904. But, previously, it was
+probably best known to the Man in the Street as the country from which
+according to the Theosophists, "the Mahatmas come from." They must all
+have deserted it long since; for I never met anyone who had been in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[Pg 46]</a></span>
+Tibet who had ever heard of them there. Travellers like General Bower
+who had journeyed through the land from end to end, officers of the
+Anglo-Indian Army that made its way to Lhasa, others of my regiment who
+had lived in Gyantse, learned to speak the language and mixed much with
+the people, were all ignorant of the existence of these mysterious and
+supernaturally gifted beings.</p>
+
+<p>Nepal is best known as the country which supplies us with the popular
+little Gurkha soldiers. But Bhutan, which lies along our Indian border,
+is scarcely known even by name to the crowd. Yet, as long ago as in the
+days of Warren Hastings, we had diplomatic intercourse with it; and half
+a century has not elapsed since we were at war with the Bhutanese. Yet,
+to-day, there are not a dozen Englishmen who have crossed its borders.</p>
+
+<p>Bhutan is an exceedingly mountainous country, twenty thousand square
+miles in extent, lying along the northern boundary of Bengal and Assam,
+hemmed in on the west by Sikkim, a State under our suzerainty, and on
+the west and north by Tibet. A Buddhist land, its system of government
+is very similar to that of Japan before the Meiji, the revolution of
+1868. It was founded by a lama who, after establishing himself as
+supreme ruler, handed over the control of temporal matters to a layman
+and a council of elders. Until the other day the country was nominally
+governed by a spiritual head, the Shaptung Rimpoche, an incarnation of
+the deified founder, known in India as the Durma Raja, and a mundane
+monarch whom we term the Deb Raja. They were assisted by a council. The
+analogy between them and the Mikados and Shoguns of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[Pg 47]</a></span> Japan was very
+close. To complete it the real control of the land was practically in
+the hands of feudal barons called <i>Penlops</i>, who, like the <i>Daimios</i> of
+old Japan, ruled their own territories, and, when strong enough, defied
+the Central Government. For the greater part of the last century the
+<i>Penlops</i> of Tongsa were the most powerful among these. The present
+holder of the title was recently elected hereditary Maharajah of Bhutan.
+He is Sir Ugyen Wang-chuk, K.C.I.E.&mdash;a most enlightened man and strongly
+in favour of the British. During the war of 1904 with Tibet, he placed
+all his influence on our side; and, his efforts to prevent bloodshed
+being unavailing, he accompanied our troops to Lhasa. The Government of
+India, in recognition of his services rewarded him with the K.C.I.E.,
+and a present of rifles and ammunition. When our present King-Emperor
+visited India as Prince of Wales in 1906, Sir Ugyen Wang-chuk was
+invited to Calcutta and saw for himself the wonders of civilisation and
+learned something of the might of England. It was shortly after his
+return from India that he was elected Maharajah. Though he is now the
+real ruler of the country the pretence is kept up of the Government
+still being in the hands of the Durma and Deb Rajas. On the death of the
+incumbent of the former position, his reincarnation is sought for among
+young boys throughout the land, as happens in the case of the Dalai Lama
+in Tibet.</p>
+
+<p>In former times China held a shadowy claim to the suzerainty of Bhutan;
+and when, after our war with Tibet, we re-established her influence over
+that country, the Chinese endeavoured to reassert their hold over Bhutan
+as well. The Tongsa <i>Penlop</i><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[Pg 48]</a></span> preferred having the British to deal with
+and in January, 1910 signed a treaty by which he placed the foreign
+relations of his country under the control of the Government of India.
+But otherwise Bhutan is completely independent. We do not interfere in
+any way in its internal affairs; and while the Bhutanese can enter India
+freely, no Britisher is allowed into their country without special
+sanction from our own authorities, which is rarely given.</p>
+
+<p>The first occasion on which the Indian Government was brought into
+contact with Bhutan was in the time of Warren Hastings. In those days
+the Bhutanese claimed sovereignty over the forest-clad plains in the
+north of Eastern Bengal. In 1772 they carried off the Maharajah of Cooch
+Behar as a prisoner. A small British force pursued them into the hills
+and made them surrender their captive. Hastings seized the opportunity
+of their suing for peace to send an Envoy, Bogle, to endeavour to
+establish trading relations with Bhutan. Bogle entered the country by
+way of Buxa Duar and was at first well received by the Deb Raja. He gave
+a flattering account of the people and their customs in his journal; and
+his description of Bhutan might almost have been written yesterday, so
+little changed is it. His mission bore little fruit; and the jealousy of
+strangers, inherent in all Buddhist nations, soon put a stop to any
+intercourse with India. A long series of raids into our territory and
+outrages on our subjects along the border was borne with exemplary
+patience for many years by the East India Company. But at length the
+ill-treatment of another Envoy, Eden, sent to remonstrate with the
+Bhutanese, led to our declaring war on them in 1864. Taken by<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[Pg 49]</a></span> surprise
+at first, they were driven out of their forts in the Himalayan passes;
+but they soon rallied, chased one of our columns in disorder out of the
+country, forcing it to abandon its guns, and penned in our garrisons in
+the captured forts. But, in the following year, despite their fanatical
+bravery, they were defeated finally and compelled to beg for peace. The
+Indian Government deprived them of the Duars, the forest strip of
+country lying along the base of the Himalayas. The word <i>duar</i> means
+"door," or "gateway," and originally referred to the passes leading
+through the mountains into India. The Bhutanese pleaded that this
+deprived them of their most profitable raiding ground and source of
+supply of slaves. Our Government, moved by this ingenuous plea,
+compensated them by the grant of an annual subsidy of fifty thousand
+rupees (now equal to £3333) which has recently been raised to a lakh,
+which is one hundred thousand. This sum, like similar but smaller
+amounts disbursed by us to savage tribes along our frontiers, may be
+regarded as either a species of blackmail or a reward of good behaviour.
+Should the recipients displease us in the conduct of their relations
+with other countries or should they allow their unruly young men to raid
+across our borders, the payment is suspended until amends are made. It
+generally has the desired effect, and saves a punitive little war. I was
+surprised, however, to find that the Bhuttias inside our frontier, who
+were mostly refugees from the exactions and oppression of their own
+officials, attributed our paying this subsidy to fear of the might of
+Bhutan, and held it up to my sepoys as a proof of the greatness of their
+nation.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[Pg 50]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Bhutan to-day stands much where it has for centuries past. Its religion
+is a debased lamaism and idolatry, which replace the high moral teaching
+of Buddha. Its impoverished peasants and even the lay officials are
+heavily taxed to support in idleness the innumerable shoals of Buddhist
+monks and nuns. Praying wheels and prayer flags and the support of lamas
+are, as in Tibet, all that is necessary to ensure salvation. Arts and
+handicrafts are decaying. Trade is principally carried on by the
+primitive method of barter. Owing to the mountainous nature of the
+country cultivation is much restricted. The only coins I could find
+struck in Bhutan were a silver piece worth sixpence, and a copper one
+worth the sixteenth of a penny. British, Tibetan and Chinese coins are
+used. Most of our annual subsidy finds its way back into India in
+exchange for cloth and food-stuffs. When paid by us a large portion of
+it used to go to the ecclesiastical dignitaries in the capital, Punakha,
+and the rest was distributed among the various <i>Penlops</i>. The Deb
+Zimpun, the official sent into our territory every year to receive it,
+now hands it over to the Maharajah, who disburses it.</p>
+
+<p>The roads through Bhutan are mere ill-kept mule tracks. The forests,
+which are in strong contrast to the usually treeless plateaux of
+Northern Tibet, though not found at the greatest elevation in the
+country, are well looked after; and the regulations for their
+preservation are strictly enforced. A long series of internecine wars
+has ruined the land; but of late years the predominance of the Tongsa
+<i>Penlop</i> has ensured internal peace. The only buildings of note are the
+temples, the <i>gumpas</i> or large monasteries<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[Pg 51]</a></span>
+and the <i>jongs</i> or castles, huge rambling edifices of stone and wood.
+The towns mostly consist of wooden huts. But the Bhutanese are very clever in constructing bridges
+over the rivers and torrents that traverse their mountainous country.
+These are sometimes marvels of engineering skill, great wooden
+structures on the cantilever principle or well-constructed iron
+suspension bridges, remarkable when one considers the rude appliances at
+the disposal of the builders.</p>
+
+<p>There is no regular army in Bhutan, each <i>Penlop</i> and important official
+maintaining his own armed retinue; but every man in the country is
+liable for service. Their weapons are chiefly single-edged straight
+swords and bows and arrows. The swords are practically long knives and
+are universally carried as cutting tools, for use in the forests. There
+are very few modern fire-arms in the country. The Deb Zimpun, in his
+visit to Buxa to receive the subsidy, was accompanied by his guard of
+sixty men without a gun among them. He told me that he possessed a
+fowling-piece himself which he had left behind, as he had no cartridges
+for it.</p>
+
+<p>Although Bhutan now possesses a Maharajah, the government is still
+carried on on feudal lines. The <i>Penlops</i> rule their own territories
+without much outside interference. Under them are the <i>jongpens</i> or
+commanders of <i>jongs</i>, who act as governors of districts. Each <i>Penlop</i>
+has a <i>tarpon</i> or general to command his troops. Under the <i>jongpens</i>
+are lesser officials known as <i>tumbas</i>. There is no judiciary branch,
+and justice is rudely administered. A murderer is punished by the loss
+of a hand and being hamstrung, or sometimes is tied to the corpse of
+his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[Pg 52]</a></span> victim and thrown into a river or over a precipice. The exactions
+of the officials drive many refugees over our border: and the hills
+around Buxa were peopled almost entirely by Bhuttias who had fled from
+slavery and oppression.</p>
+
+<p>The Bhuttia is a cheerful, hard-working and easily contented individual.
+He is naturally brave, and has the makings of a good soldier in him. He
+is generally medium-sized, broad and sturdy, with thick muscular legs
+such as I have only seen equalled in the chair coolies of Hong Kong and
+the rickshawmen in Japan. The northern Bhutanese are fair and often
+blue-eyed. Their Tibetan neighbours hold them in dread. The dress of a
+Bhuttia man is simple and consists of one garment shaped like the
+Japanese kimono, kilted by a girdle at the waist to leave the legs free.
+Their heads and feet are generally bare. The costume of the richer folk,
+except on occasions of ceremony, is very much the same; but they
+generally wear stockings and shoes or long Chinese boots. But even the
+Maharajah often goes barelegged. The Bhutanese women are the ugliest
+specimens of femininity I have ever seen. In the south they cut their
+hair shorter even than the men do. But when they can they load
+themselves with ornaments of turquoises or coloured stones.</p>
+
+<p>Around Buxa the Bhuttia inhabitants build, high upon the steepest hills,
+villages of wooden, palm-thatched huts supported on poles which raise
+them well off the ground. Their household utensils and drinking vessels
+are usually made of the useful bamboo. Around their houses they scratch
+up the ground and plant a little; but their chief employment<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[Pg 53]</a></span> is as
+porters or as woodcutters in the Government forests. They never seek for
+work in the tea gardens near; though on these the coolies are well paid
+and have to be brought from a long distance away in India. But the
+Bhuttia is essentially a hill-man; and life in the steamy heat of the
+Bengal plains would be unendurable to him.</p>
+
+<p>A thousand feet above Buxa, on the slopes of Sinchula, stood a hamlet of
+a dozen huts. Learning that the inhabitants were celebrating a yearly
+festival, Smith and I, accompanied by a native officer, set off to visit
+it. As we climbed the steep hill-side we heard fiendish yells and
+shrieks, and conjectured that we were coming upon a devil-dance at
+least. But we only found the men of the village engaged in an archery
+contest. Two targets were placed about a couple of hundred yards apart;
+and a party at either end shot at them. The small marks were rarely hit,
+even when we placed rupees on them to stimulate the competitors; but
+most of the arrows fell very close to them. A good shot was hailed with
+vociferous applause by the marksman's team, a bad one by the shrieks,
+groans and derisive laughter we had heard. When the contest was over we
+were invited to try our skill and luckily did not disgrace ourselves.
+Then the bows of the contestants were stacked together on the ground and
+hung with garlands and leafy branches. The men sat down in two lines
+forming a lane to the bows; and each drew out from the breast of his
+kimono a small wooden or metal cup. Several women appeared from the
+village, bearing food and drink in cane baskets or gaily decorated
+vessels made of bamboo. We learned that the feast lasted six days and
+that each one of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[Pg 54]</a></span> principal villagers acted as host and provided the
+provender a day in turn and his womenfolk dispensed his hospitality.
+To-day's entertainer began the proceedings by filling his own cup,
+advancing to the pile of bows, bowing profoundly before it several times
+and pouring the contents of his cup on the ground. As he did so he
+muttered some words. Then he turned about and walked back. The other
+men, as they sat cross-legged on the ground, shouted out a long
+utterance which I took to be a form of grace before meals, and ended
+with a series of ear-piercing yells which would have done credit to a
+pack of mad jackals. The effect of the contrast between the fiendish
+noises they made and their beaming countenances was comical. Then the
+hostesses passed down the lines of men, handed them platters and heaped
+rice and other food on them. The cups were filled first with the
+vile-smelling and worse-tasting native liquor, and afterwards, when
+emptied several times, with tea. Undisturbed by our presence the guests
+made a hearty meal, the host walking up and down the lines and
+encouraging them to enjoy themselves, while his women brought fresh
+relays of victuals. But at last their appetites were satisfied. Then the
+ladies of the hamlet who had been watching their lords and masters from
+a respectful distance came forward. In addition to their ordinary
+garments they wore capes of black velveteen, only donned on occasions of
+ceremony; and their necks were hung with chains of imitation turquoises
+and large, coloured stone beads. To the monotonous accompaniment of two
+tiny hand-drums, beaten by men, they performed a mournful and
+exceedingly proper dance. This the <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[Pg 55]</a></span>men applauded languidly. Among the
+women I was struck by the European-like features of the very ugliest of
+them. She was fair-haired, high-cheek-boned and long-nosed. She
+contrasted strongly with the Tartar type of features of those around
+her. I learned that she was the illegitimate daughter of a Scotch
+military surgeon who had formerly been quartered in Buxa. She was
+married to a Bhuttia, and, judging from her silver ornaments, was quite
+a person of importance in the hamlet. But as I saw her afterwards
+working as a coolie and passing with heavy loads up and down through
+Buxa, it was evident that her economical father had not left her beyond
+the necessity of toiling for her daily rice.</p>
+
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"><br /><br />
+<a name="Ill_9" id="Ill_9"></a><img src="images/gs09.jpg" width="450" height="346" alt="&quot;THE LADIES OF THE HAMLET CAME FORWARD.&quot;" title="" />
+<span class="caption">&quot;THE LADIES OF THE HAMLET CAME FORWARD.&quot;</span><br /><br />
+</div>
+
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"><br /><br />
+<a name="Ill_10" id="Ill_10"></a><img src="images/gs10.jpg" width="450" height="303" alt="BHUTTIA DRUMMERS." title="" />
+<span class="caption">BHUTTIA DRUMMERS.</span><br /><br />
+</div>
+
+<p>The dance finished the festivities for the day. We were led in
+procession by the revellers through the village with songs and beating
+of drums; and, having bestowed a few rupees on them, we departed amid a
+loud chorus of thanks.</p>
+
+<p>Some time afterwards I was present at a similar festival in Chunabatti,
+the large village containing nearly a thousand Bhuttias, a few miles
+over the hills from Buxa. Here the American lady missionary had resided
+for over fifteen years; and I asked her for some explanation of the
+festival. But she confessed that, even after her long residence among
+the villagers, she knew nothing of their beliefs, religion or
+ceremonies. I may mention that she had never made a convert. But as far
+as I could see these cis-border Bhuttias were even more ignorant of
+their faith than the dwellers in Bhutan. There were a few prayer flags
+fluttering on the hill above the village; but <i>chortens</i> and praying
+wheels were conspicuous by their absence, though there was enough<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[Pg 56]</a></span>
+water-power in the mountains for the latter to ensure salvation for
+millions of believers in their efficacy. The village possessed one lama,
+who was treated with scant respect. I often saw him teaching the small
+boys to read the Hindi characters, which are the same as used for the
+written Tibetan language.</p>
+
+<p>This Chunabatti festival was celebrated in the same manner as the one we
+had seen before, with eating, drinking, dances by the women, and archery
+contests by the men. Some of the small boys were brought out to practise
+with the bow; and many of them shot quite well. But there was absolutely
+no trace of religious celebration.</p>
+
+<p>To-day the boundary-line between Bhutan and India lies generally along
+the summits of the last mountain-chain above the plains. Dense jungle
+clothes the sides of the hills and descends to meet the upward waves of
+the Terai Forest, which stretches along the foot of the Himalayas
+through Assam, Bengal, and Nepal. The mountains are cloven by deep and
+gloomy ravines through which swift-flowing rivers like the Menass,
+Raidak, Torsa, and Tista pour their waters to swell the Brahmaputra and
+the Ganges. Some of these torrents disappear underground a few hundred
+yards from the hills and leave a broad river-bed empty for miles, except
+during the Rains. But farther away they suddenly appear again above the
+surface and flow to the south. The character of the jungle in the region
+where they reappear is damper and more tropical than near the mountains,
+and has earned for the forest the title of Terai, which means "wet."
+Streams which on the level of Santrabari reached the plains, there
+vanish, to come again above the ground near Rajabhatkawa.</p>
+
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"><br /><br />
+<a name="Ill_11" id="Ill_11"></a><img src="images/gs11.jpg" width="450" height="322" alt="CHUNABATTI." title="" />
+<span class="caption">CHUNABATTI.</span><br /><br />
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[Pg 57]</a></span></p><p>The long belt of the Terai Jungle is nowadays patched with clearings for
+tea gardens; for the Duars' tea is famous. Mixed with tea grown near
+Darjeeling at an elevation of six thousand or seven thousand feet it
+forms a favourite blend. But the sportsman, no matter how fond he may be
+of the "cup that cheers," cannot view without regret the clearing away
+of thousands of acres of forests that shelter big game. And an artist
+would not consider the destruction of the giant, orchid-clad trees with
+the festoons of swinging creepers compensated for by the stretches of
+more profitable low green tea-bushes in symmetrical and orderly rows.</p>
+
+<p>Nor do the other signs of man's handiwork on a tea garden compensate for
+the natural beauties they replace. Hideous factories, gaunt drying and
+engine-houses with stove-pipe like chimneys rising above corrugated iron
+roofs, villages of dilapidated thatched huts sheltering the hundreds of
+coolies employed on the estate, and the unbeautiful bungalows of the
+Europeans in charge. For on each garden there are from one to four
+Britishers. The larger ones have a manager, two assistants, and an
+engineer; on the smaller ones the manager perhaps combines the functions
+of the others in his own person.</p>
+
+<p>A planter's life is a lonely one. The gardens are generally a few miles
+apart. Men busy, especially in the gathering season, from dawn to dark
+have little inclination to go visiting after the day's work is done,
+even if the roads were better and freer from the danger of meeting a
+wild elephant on them at night. But in each little district a club-house
+is built in some central spot within comparatively easy reach of all the
+gardens around. It is generally only<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[Pg 58]</a></span> a rough wooden shed; but in the
+small clearing around it a few tennis courts, or perhaps a polo ground,
+are made. And here once a week all the planters of the neighbourhood,
+with an occasional lady or two among them, repair on horseback through
+the jungle. There may be flooded rivers to cross, wild beasts to avoid;
+but, unless writhing in the grip of the planters' plagues, malarial or
+blackwater fever, all will be there on club day. Like the Bhuttias in
+our village feast one of the number takes it in turn to act as host. He
+sends over from his bungalow, miles away, crockery, glasses, a cold
+lunch, and, possibly, tea. For planters are not fond of it as a
+beverage. Then men, who have not seen another white face for a week,
+foregather, do justice to the lunch, play tennis or polo, and take a
+farewell drink or two when the setting sun warns them to depart. Then
+into the saddle again and off by forest road and jungle track to another
+week of loneliness and labour. What tales they have to tell of the wild
+beasts they meet on their way home in the deepening gloom! But the
+planter fears nothing except wild elephants; and not them if he is on
+horseback and a good road. Two men from the same garden who used to
+linger longest at the bar came one evening upon a tiger, another time
+upon a fine specimen of the more dreaded Himalayan bear, right in their
+path. They were unarmed, but their libations had added to their natural
+courage. Without hesitation, they dug spurs into their unwilling ponies
+and with demoniac yells charged straight at the astonished wild beasts.
+In each case tiger or bear found this too much for his nerves and
+promptly bolted into the jungle.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[Pg 59]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>There are few finer bodies of men in the world than the planters of
+India. Educated men, they lead the life of a <i>gaucho</i>. Hard riders, good
+shots, keen sportsmen, they are the best volunteers we have in the
+Indian Empire; and more than once some of them have worthily upheld the
+fame of their class in war.</p>
+
+<p>During the last Abor Expedition of 1912 several of the Assam Valley
+Light Horse, a Planters' corps, gave up their posts and went to the
+front as troopers.</p>
+
+<p>It is well to be content with your lot. From our cool hills I used to
+look down on the bright green patches of the gardens in the dark forests
+below and pity the poor planters in the humid heat of the summer months.
+But when I visited them I found that their sympathy went out to us in
+Buxa. On one occasion my host pointed to the dark wall of hills on which
+three tiny white specks, the Picquet Towers of my fort, shone out in the
+sunlight. With a sigh of compassion he said:</p>
+
+<p>"Whenever we look up there and think of you poor fellows shut up in that
+isolated spot we pity you immensely and wonder how you can bear the
+dreadful loneliness of it. Down here we are so much better off."</p>
+
+<p>As he spoke we looked towards the mountains, and at that moment a dark
+cloud was drawn like a pall across their face. Its black expanse was
+rent by vivid lightning; and the hollow roll of distant thunder in the
+hills told us that one of the frequent storms was raging over my little
+Station, while we stood in brilliant sunshine. And certainly at the
+moment Buxa looked a gloomy spot.</p>
+
+<p>Tea growing seems a profitable industry. I heard<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[Pg 60]</a></span> of estates which paid
+a profit of sixty per cent, and noticed with regret fresh inroads being
+made in the forest for more ground to plant in. Of course with a new
+garden one must wait five years or so for any return on the capital
+invested. And the initial expenses of clearing and preparing the soil,
+buying machinery and erecting factories, are great. The coolies must be
+brought from a distance, as the country around is too sparsely populated
+to supply a sufficiency of labour. And before quitting their houses they
+demand an advance of pay to leave with their relatives, and not
+infrequently abscond after getting the money. Each company sends a
+recruiting agent to collect these coolies who are well paid according to
+the Indian labour-market rates. And the father of a family is better off
+than a bachelor; for women and children help to gather the leaves, and
+each worker brings in his or her basket to be weighed, and payment is
+made by results. One sees the mothers with their babies on their hips
+moving among the bushes and plucking the tender green shoots. The whole
+process of manufacturing, from the planting and pruning, the gathering
+of the leaf, and the withering and drying, down to the packing of the
+tea ready for the market is interesting. Little goes to waste. The
+floors of the factories are regularly swept, and the tea-dust thus
+collected is pressed into blocks to form the brick-tea popular in
+Central Asia and used as currency in the absence of money.</p>
+
+<p>But tea growing is not all profit. Sometimes a hailstorm ruins the
+year's crop, frost blights the plants, and losses occur in other ways.
+The planters rarely own their gardens, but are usually in the service of
+companies in England. They are not<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[Pg 61]</a></span> overpaid; a manager in the Duars
+generally receives six hundred rupees a month, together with a house,
+allowances for his horse and certain servants which make his salary up
+to another hundred, in all about forty-seven pounds. But an assistant
+begins on less than twenty pounds a month. Engineers, who look after the
+machinery, are better paid; and some economically minded companies
+promote the engineer to be manager, and so save a salary. The expenses
+of living are not great, and a frugal planter&mdash;if such a being
+exists&mdash;can save money.</p>
+
+<p>To those fond of an outdoor existence the work is pleasant enough. Early
+in the morning manager and assistants mount their ponies and set out to
+ride over the hundreds of acres of the estate, inspect the plants, visit
+the nurseries, and watch the coolies at work among the bushes or
+clearing the jungle. Then through the factory and, if it be the season,
+see the baskets of leaves brought in and weighed. And back to a late
+breakfast, where tea rarely finds its way to the table, and a siesta
+until the afternoon calls them forth to ride round the garden again. It
+sounds an easy life and idyllic, but the planters say it is not.</p>
+
+<p>In any land the sight of the rich plains stretching away from the foot
+of the barren hills is always a tempting sight to the fierce mountain
+dwellers. And for the Bhutanese it must have been a sore struggle to
+curb their predatory instincts and cease from their profitable descents
+on the unwarlike inhabitants of Bengal. Wealth and women were the prizes
+of the freebooter until the shield of the Briton was thrust between him
+and his timorous prey. Yet even to-day, although their nation is at
+peace with us,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[Pg 62]</a></span> the temptation sometimes proves too much for lawless
+borderers. And parties of raiders from across the frontier swoop down on
+the Duars. A tea garden, when a store of silver coin is brought to pay
+the wages of the hundreds of coolies, is their favourite mark. The few
+police scattered far apart over the north of Eastern Bengal are
+powerless to stop a rush of savage swordsmen who suddenly emerge from
+the forest, loot the <i>bunniahs</i> and the huts on a garden, and disappear
+long before an appeal for succour can reach the nearest troops. With the
+fear of the white man before their eyes they do not seek to meddle with
+the Europeans in their factories and bungalows. But the fearless
+planters do not imitate their forbearance. In one garden a terrified
+coolie rushed to the manager's house to inform him that Bhuttias were
+raiding the village. Without troubling to inquire the number of the
+dacoits the planter called his one assistant; and taking their rifles
+the two Englishmen mounted their ponies and galloped to the village.
+They found it in the hands of about sixty Bhuttias, armed with <i>dahs</i>,
+who were plundering right and left. The planters sprang from their
+saddles and opened fire on them. The raiders, aghast at this unpleasant
+interruption to their profitable undertaking, strove to show a bold
+front. But the pitiless bullets and still more the calm courage of the
+two white men daunted them; and they fled into the friendly shelter of
+the forest. That garden was never attacked again.</p>
+
+<p>I was surprised to learn that on such occasions the planters had never
+sent information to the detachment at Buxa. But they told me that, as
+they never saw anything of the troops there, they almost forgot<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[Pg 63]</a></span> their
+existence. They added that the raiders came and went with such rapidity
+that it was hopeless for infantry to try to catch them. I determined to
+alter this state of affairs. So, shortly after our arrival, I took
+almost all my men out on a ten days' march, lightly equipped, through
+the jungle district to show that we were not tied to the fort and that
+we could mobilise and move swiftly if needed. I also devised a scheme by
+which, on the first intimation of a raid reaching me, mobile parties of
+my detachment would dash off at once over the hills to secure all the
+passes near and cut off the retreat of the invaders, while other
+parties, descending into the forest, would shepherd them into their
+hands.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[Pg 64]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="ChapterIV" id="ChapterIV"></a>CHAPTER IV</h2>
+
+<h3>A DURBAR IN BUXA</h3>
+
+<blockquote><p>Notice of the Political Officer's approaching visit&mdash;A
+Durbar&mdash;The Bhutan Agent and the interpreter&mdash;Arrival
+of the Deb Zimpun&mdash;An official call&mdash;Exchange of
+presents&mdash;Bhutanese fruit&mdash;A return call&mdash;Native
+liquor&mdash;A welcome gift&mdash;The Bhutanese
+musicians&mdash;Entertaining the Envoy&mdash;A thirsty Lama&mdash;A
+rifle match&mdash;An awkward official request&mdash;My
+refusal&mdash;The Deb Zimpun removes to Chunabatti&mdash;Arrival
+of the treasure&mdash;The Political Officer comes&mdash;His
+retinue&mdash;The Durbar&mdash;The Guard of Honour&mdash;The
+visitors&mdash;The Envoy comes in state&mdash;Bhutanese
+courtesies&mdash;The spectators&mdash;The payment of the
+subsidy&mdash;Lunch in Mess&mdash;Entertaining a difficult
+guest&mdash;The official dinner&mdash;An archery match&mdash;Sikh
+quoits&mdash;Field firing&mdash;Bhutanese
+impressed&mdash;Blackmail&mdash;British subjects captured&mdash;Their
+release&mdash;Tashi's case&mdash;Justice in Bhutan&mdash;Tyranny of
+officials&mdash;Tashi refuses to quit Buxa&mdash;The next payment
+of the subsidy&mdash;The treaty&mdash;Misguided humanitarians.</p></blockquote>
+
+
+<p>Soon after our arrival in Buxa I received a letter from the Political
+Officer in Sikkim, Tibet, and Bhutan informing me that he proposed to
+visit our little Station and hold a Durbar there in order to pay over to
+a representative of the Bhutanese Government the annual subsidy of fifty
+thousand rupees. He requested me to furnish a Guard of Honour of a
+hundred men for the ceremony. The news that Buxa was to rise to the
+dignity of a Durbar of its own and be honoured with the presence of the
+Envoy of a friendly State was positively exciting. True,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[Pg 65]</a></span> neither the
+Durbar nor the Envoy were very important; still, with them, we felt that
+we were about to make history. The officer who has charge of our
+political relations with these three countries resides at Gantok, the
+capital of Sikkim, and, until recently, administered the affairs of that
+State. Of late years the Maharajah has been admitted to a share of the
+Government.</p>
+
+<p>In Chunabatti lived two natives of Darjeeling, British subjects, who
+were paid a salary by our Government to help in transacting diplomatic
+affairs with Bhutan. They were officially styled the Bhutan Agent and
+the Bhutanese interpreter. Their knowledge of English, acquired in a
+school of Darjeeling, was not extensive; and their acquaintance with
+Hindustani was on a par. They were men of a Tibetan type, dressed like
+our Bhuttias, except that they wore a headgear like a football cap and
+also gaily striped, undoubted football stockings.</p>
+
+<p>Shortly after the receipt of the Political Officer's letter, one of
+these men, the Agent, came to my bungalow one afternoon and informed me
+that the Bhutan Government's representative had arrived in Buxa and was
+lodged in the Circuit House. The Agent wished to know when I intended
+paying an official call on this personage. I had sufficient acquaintance
+with the ways of Orientals to be aware that this was an impertinence,
+for it was the place of the Envoy to make his visit first to the officer
+commanding the Station; but, like the Chinese, who have a childish
+desire to assert their own importance on every occasion, he was
+endeavouring to steal a march on me. So I assumed a haughty demeanour
+and informed the Agent that I would be prepared to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[Pg 66]</a></span> receive the Envoy at
+my house in two hours' time, as he must first call on me. The Agent at
+once agreed that this was the proper course, as, indeed he had known all
+the time.</p>
+
+<p>I sent an order to the fort for a native officer and twenty men to
+parade in full dress at my bungalow in a couple of hours, and then
+prepared to hold my first official reception. Punctually to the time
+named a ragged procession of sixty bareheaded, barelegged Bhuttias,
+armed with swords and every second man of them disfigured by an enormous
+goitre, descended the road from the Circuit House. From my doorstep I
+watched them coming down the hill. They escorted a stout cheery old
+gentleman in dirty white kimono and cap and long Chinese boots. He was
+accompanied by the Agent and the interpreter and followed by two coolies
+carrying baskets of oranges. This was the Bhutan Envoy, the Deb Zimpun,
+a member of the Supreme Council of Punakha and Cup Bearer to the Deb
+Raja, when there is one. The Guard of Honour presented arms as I
+advanced to meet and shake hands with him. I addressed him in
+Hindustani; but the old gentleman grinned feebly and looked round for
+the interpreter. The latter explained that the Deb Zimpun spoke only his
+own language; but that he would interpret my greeting. I then formally
+welcomed the Envoy to India, and invited him to inspect the Guard of
+Honour, such being the procedure with distinguished visitors. He was
+quite pleased at this and passed down the ranks, looking closely at the
+men's rifles and accoutrements. He noticed that two or three of the
+sepoys, who had been called from the rifle-range and had dressed
+hurriedly, wore their pouches in the wrong <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[Pg 67]</a></span>place and pointed it out
+to me. When he had minutely inspected the Guard I led the way into my
+bungalow and begged him to be seated. He took off his cap politely, and,
+sitting down, produced a metal box from the breast of his robe, took
+betel-nut out of it and began to chew it. An attendant holding a
+spittoon immediately took up his position beside him. The Agent and
+interpreter stood behind us and translated our remarks to each other.
+The remainder of the motley crew remained in the garden or crowded into
+the veranda, scuffling and shoving each other aside in their attempts to
+get near the open door and look in at us.</p>
+
+
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 422px;"><br /><br />
+<a name="Ill_12" id="Ill_12"></a><img src="images/gs12.jpg" width="422" height="600" alt="&quot;FROM MY DOORSTEP I WATCHED THEM COMING DOWN THE HILL.&quot;" title="" />
+<span class="caption">&quot;FROM MY DOORSTEP I WATCHED THEM COMING DOWN THE HILL.&quot;</span><br /><br />
+</div>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 433px;"><br /><br />
+<a name="Ill_13" id="Ill_13"></a><img src="images/gs13.jpg" width="433" height="600" alt="THE DEB ZIMPUN&#39;S PRISONERS." title="" />
+<span class="caption">THE DEB ZIMPUN&#39;S PRISONERS.</span><br /><br />
+</div>
+
+<p>At first the conversation, consisting of the usual formal compliments
+full of hyperbole, did not flourish; and the Deb Zimpun's eyes roamed
+round the apartment as he gazed with interest at my trophies of sport,
+pictures, photographs, and curios. When the interpreter had finished
+explaining some extravagant phrase, the Envoy asked eagerly if I had a
+gramaphone. He was visibly disappointed when I replied in the negative,
+and said that he had seen one on a previous visit to India and was much
+interested in it. To console him I took out my cigar-case and offered
+him a cheroot, which he accepted and smoked with evident pleasure. I
+asked him if he would like a drink; and the interpreter replied that the
+Deb Zimpun begged for two whiskies-and-sodas. I wondered if he wanted to
+consume both at once or thought that my hospitality stopped at one. But
+when the drinks were brought by my servant, I found that they were
+wanted by the interpreter himself and his friend the Agent, as the Envoy
+did not like whisky. I am sure that the old gentleman never asked for<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[Pg 68]</a></span>
+them at all; so it was a piece of distinct impertinence on the part of
+the interpreter, who was only an understrapper. I was struck all the
+time by the contrast between his casual manner to me, an officer of his
+own Government, and his servile deference to the Deb Zimpun who treated
+him as an individual altogether beneath his notice.</p>
+
+<p>When the conversation again languished I produced some luridly coloured
+Japanese prints of the capture of Pekin by the Allied Troops, which I
+had bought in Tokio after the Boxer War. I thought that they might serve
+as a useful lesson of the weakness of the Chinese, who endeavour to
+intrigue against us in Bhutan. These gaudy pictures delighted the Deb
+Zimpun. He asked to have all the details explained to him and seemed so
+interested that I made a present of the prints to him to start a Fine
+Art Gallery with in Punakha when he returned to the capital. This gift
+quite won his heart. He called into the room the coolies carrying
+baskets of oranges and brown paper bags of walnuts and presented them to
+me. The fruit, which was grown in Bhutan, was excellent; and only in
+Malta have I tasted better oranges. This terminated the visit; the Envoy
+rose, accepted another cigar, shook hands, and took his departure.</p>
+
+<p>Next day Creagh and I dressed ourselves in full uniform and, accompanied
+by an escort of sepoys, proceeded up the hill to the Circuit House to
+return the visit. We were met on the veranda by the Deb Zimpun and,
+chairs being placed for us, we three sat down. The interpreter was again
+present, being temporarily attached to the Envoy's suite. I learned that
+the Deb Zimpun was allowed by our Government<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[Pg 69]</a></span> the sum of two thousand
+rupees (about £133) for his expenses while he remained in India. He must
+have saved most of this money; for I found that he lived chiefly on the
+contributions, voluntary or otherwise, of the Bhuttias residing in our
+territory.</p>
+
+<p>A servitor came forward and filled two glasses with Bhutanese liquor
+from a bamboo bottle. They were offered us; and my subaltern and I made
+a heroic attempt to drink the nauseous-looking stuff. But the smell was
+enough. The taste! A mixture of castor and codliver oil, senna and
+asaf&oelig;tida would have been nectar compared with it. We begged to be
+excused, on the plea that we had been teetotallers all our lives. I then
+ordered my present to be brought forward. It was a haunch of a <i>sambhur</i>
+which I had shot two days before. The gift was a great success. The Deb
+Zimpun's eyes glistened and he showed his teeth, stained red with
+betel-nut chewing, in a gracious smile. His unkempt followers crowded
+around us, looked hungrily at the meat, and seemed to calculate whether
+there was enough to go round. The Maharajah of Bhutan, as a good
+Buddhist, had recently decreed that for two years no animals were to be
+slaughtered for food in his country. So this venison was a luxury to
+them all. Before the excellent impression of our gift could die Creagh
+and I rose to take our leave and departed hurriedly.</p>
+
+<p>But we were not to escape so easily. Hardly had we reached the Mess on
+our return when we were informed that the Deb Zimpun had, as a special
+mark of favour, sent his two best musicians to play for us. So we came
+out on the veranda and found two swarthy ruffians squatting in the
+garden, holding silver-banded pipes like flageolets. We seated<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[Pg 70]</a></span>
+ourselves and the performance began. I have patiently endured Chinese,
+Japanese, and Indian music, have even listened unmoved to the strains of
+a German band in London; but the ear-piercing, soul-harrowing noises
+that these two ruffians produced were too much for me. We wondered, if
+these were the Envoy's best musicians, what his worst could be like. I
+hurriedly presented each of them with a rupee and sent them away, more
+than compensated by the money for their abrupt dismissal.</p>
+
+<p>On the following day we invited the Deb Zimpun to lunch with us in the
+Mess and instructed our Gurkha cook to do his best, which was not much.
+We found that our guest, having visited India before and having
+accompanied the Tongsa <i>Penlop</i> to Calcutta, was quite expert in the use
+of a knife and fork, and enjoyed European fare. He was very temperate
+and refused to touch liquor. But he was not imitated in this by his
+suite. After lunch he told us that his lama, who was sitting with the
+rest of his followers in the Mess garden, was anxious to taste whisky,
+of which he had heard. We invited the priest in and poured him out a
+stiff five-finger peg of neat Scotch whisky. The holy man smelled it,
+raised the glass to his lips, and elevated it until not a drop was left.
+He could not apparently make up his mind as to whether he liked the
+liquor or not. So we offered him another glass. He accepted it and
+disposed of it as promptly. We looked at him in astonishment; but it had
+no effect on him. I told the interpreter to ask him what he thought of
+whisky.</p>
+
+<p>"I don't like it much; it is too sweet," replied the lama.</p>
+
+<p>We officers glanced at each other; and the same<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[Pg 71]</a></span> idea occurred to us
+all. It happened that some time before we had got a small cask of beer
+from Calcutta, which, owing to the journey or the heat, had gone very
+sour and tasted abominably. A large glass of this delectable beverage
+was offered to the holy man. As he drained it a beatific smile spread
+over his saintly but exceedingly dirty face and he put down the empty
+glass with a sigh.</p>
+
+<p>"Ah! that is good. That is very good," he said to the interpreter. "I
+would like more."</p>
+
+<p>So he was given another large tumblerful. Then, absolutely unaffected by
+his potations, he left the Mess reluctantly. After this experience we
+kept this beer, while it lasted, for Bhuttia visitors, and found it a
+popular brand.</p>
+
+<p>After lunch I brought the Deb Zimpun down to shoot on the rifle-range,
+as he had expressed a wish to that effect through the interpreter. He
+seemed to understand the mechanism of the Lee-Enfield and made some fair
+shooting at a moving target at two hundred yards. When my score proved
+better than his he said laughingly that the rifle was not the weapon
+with which he was best acquainted, but that he would challenge me one
+day to a match with bows and arrows. By this time the old man and I had
+become quite friendly, and we had all taken a liking to him. He had
+invited me to pay a visit to Bhutan and promised to obtain the
+permission of the Maharajah for me to enter the country.</p>
+
+<p>Consequently I was not pleased when next day I received a letter from
+the civil authorities of the district informing me that the Deb Zimpun
+was occupying the Circuit House without permission, and requesting me to
+remove him and his retinue to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[Pg 72]</a></span> Chunabatti. The Political Officer had
+asked that he might be allowed to reside in it; but, as on a previous
+occasion he and his followers had done so and left it in an absolutely
+uninhabitable state, this permission was now refused. The letter stated
+that it had cost two hundred rupees to clean the house and make it fit
+for European occupation again. I thought that this was but a small sum,
+after all, compared with the two thousand the Government were already
+expending on him. And to turn the Envoy of a friendly State out of the
+house he was occupying in all good faith seemed an insulting course. If
+he refused to vacate it peaceably, I presume I was expected to use
+force, which would probably result in bloodshed. As to the issue there
+could be no doubt, as the swords and bows of his followers would be poor
+things to oppose to our rifles. But it seemed to me that this would be
+giving rather too warm a reception to an official visitor and guest of
+the Government of India. So I refused to comply with the wishes of the
+civil authorities, much to the relief of the Political Officer when he
+arrived and was informed of the matter. He told me that had I acted
+otherwise it would have given dire offence in Bhutan just at a time when
+our Government were particularly anxious to be on good terms with the
+Bhutanese. I only understood what he meant when, more than a year
+afterwards, I heard of the signing of the treaty with the Maharajah,
+which placed the foreign affairs of the country under our control.</p>
+
+<p>But, unfortunately, the Agent had received the same instructions as I;
+and, to avoid trouble, he induced the Deb Zimpun to go to Chunabatti and
+reside in his home. The Envoy was very displeased<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[Pg 73]</a></span> at having to leave
+the Circuit House. I offered to place the empty bungalow, known as the
+Married Officers' Quarters, at his disposal; but the old gentleman,
+though very grateful and thanking me warmly, declined, as he did not
+want to make another move.</p>
+
+<p>The day after our luncheon-party to the Deb Zimpun a detachment of
+native police came from Alipur Duar escorting a train of coolies
+carrying wooden boxes which contained the fifty thousand rupees of the
+subsidy. These were handed over to me; and I placed them in our
+guard-room under a special sentry. Lastly the Political Officer, Mr
+Bell, arrived by train from Darjeeling, which is three days' ride from
+Gantok. He was accompanied by a portly Sikkimese head clerk in wadded
+Chinese silk coat and gown, another clerk and a couple of pig-tailed
+Sikkimese soldiers in striped petticoats and straw hats like inverted
+flower-pots ornamented with a long peacock feather.</p>
+
+<p>On the day after his arrival the Durbar was held. On the parade ground a
+few of our tents were pitched to form an open-air reception hall. A
+Guard of Honour of two native officers and a hundred sepoys in their
+full-dress uniform of red tunics, blue trousers and white spats, was
+drawn up near it; and the boxes of treasure were brought down and
+deposited on the ground beside the tents. The only outside visitors were
+the nearest civil official, the Subdivisional Officer of Alipur Duar,
+and his wife and children; the three British officers and the native
+officers not required with the Guard joined them in the tents. Mr Bell,
+wearing his political uniform, descended on to the parade ground from my
+bungalow and was received with a salute by the Guard of Honour.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[Pg 74]</a></span> Then to
+the beating of tom-toms and the wild strains of barbaric music a double
+file of Bhuttias advanced across the parade ground escorting the Envoy,
+who was riding a mule. We hardly recognised our old friend. He was
+magnificently garbed for the occasion in a very voluminous robe of red
+silk embroidered with Chinese symbols in gold, and wore a gold-edged cap
+in shape something like a papal tiara. At the tail of the procession
+came a number of coolies carrying baskets of oranges and packages
+wrapped up in paper.</p>
+
+<p>In front of the tents the Envoy dismounted. The Political Officer came
+forward to shake hands with him; and the Deb Zimpun threw a white silk
+scarf around his neck. This scarf is called the <i>Khatag</i> and is the
+invariable Tibetan and Bhutanese accompaniment of a reception. It is
+also sent with important official letters. Bell now presented each of us
+formally to the Envoy, who shook hands solemnly and hung us with
+scarves. The scene in its picturesque setting of mountains and jungle
+was a striking one. The Political Officer in his trim uniform and the
+British officers in their scarlet tunics were outshone by the gaudier
+garbs of the Asiatics. The Deb Zimpun's flowing red robe, the head clerk
+in his flowered black silk Chinese garb, the Sikkimese soldiers in their
+bright garments and the Bhutanese in their kimonos, made a blaze of
+varied hues. Along one side of the ground was the scarlet and blue line
+of the Guard of Honour, the yellow and gold <i>puggris</i> or turbans of the
+native officers and the gold-threaded cummerbunds, or waist-sashes, of
+the sepoys shining in the brilliant sun. Above the Guard the slope and
+wall of the fort were crowded with the other men of <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[Pg 75]</a></span>the detachment in
+white undress, mingled with native followers in brighter colours. Down
+the other side of the parade ground was a long line of Bhuttia men,
+women, and children.</p>
+
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"><br /><br />
+<a name="Ill_14" id="Ill_14"></a><img src="images/gs14.jpg" width="450" height="299" alt="THE DURBAR IN BUXA." title="" />
+<span class="caption">THE DURBAR IN BUXA.</span><br /><br />
+</div>
+
+<p>When we were seated the Deb Zimpun produced a document accrediting him
+as the duly appointed envoy and representative of the Bhutan Government
+to receive the subsidy. This having been perused by the Political
+Officer and his head clerk and the official seals inspected, the boxes
+of money were formally handed over. The usual procedure was to have one
+of them opened and the contents counted, but on this occasion the Deb
+Zimpun accepted them as correct and ordered his escort to take charge of
+them. They were hoisted on the backs of porters who took them off to
+Chunabatti. Then coolies came forward with the Envoy's basket of oranges
+and the packages, which we found to contain cheap native blankets worth
+a couple of shillings each. Oranges and blankets were given to each of
+us. But as the Government of India has made a strict rule that no civil
+or military officer in its service is to accept a present from natives,
+the blankets were taken charge of by Bell's clerks to be sold afterwards
+and the proceeds credited to Government. We were allowed to keep the
+oranges. This proceeding terminated the Durbar.</p>
+
+<p>As the officers of the detachment had invited the visitors to lunch, we
+now adjourned to the Mess. Although our guests consisted only of the
+Envoy, Bell, the Subdivisional Officer, Mr Ainslie, and his wife and two
+children, our resources were sorely strained to provide enough furniture
+for them. The doctor had to sit on a box. The head clerk acted<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[Pg 76]</a></span> as
+interpreter and stood behind the Political Officer's chair. A special
+shooting-party having descended to the jungle the previous day to
+replenish the larder, the menu was almost luxurious.</p>
+
+<p>After luncheon the Ainslies departed to Santrabari, where they were
+encamped, having declined our hospitality in Buxa. As Bell was desirous
+of entertaining the Deb Zimpun himself, he had arranged a dinner to him
+and us in the forest officer's empty bungalow that evening. So it
+devolved on me to keep our old gentleman amused until dinner-time, while
+the Political Officer wrote his despatches. I took our guest down to the
+rifle-range and kept him busy there till sunset. Then we had to go to my
+house, where I tried to entertain him by showing him old copies of
+English illustrated journals. But these require a deal of explanation to
+the untutored Oriental, who cannot understand the portraits of the
+favourites of the stage in the scanty costumes in which they are
+frequently photographed. And I was distinctly embarrassed by some of the
+Deb Zimpun's questions.</p>
+
+<p>At dinner-time Bell preceded us from my bungalow, where he was staying,
+and was ready to receive us on the veranda of the forest officer's house
+when, escorted by servants carrying lanterns, we toiled up the steep
+path to it. Dinner was laid in the long, draughty centre room in the
+rambling wooden edifice; and as the night was cold the apartment was
+warmed by an iron stove. The furniture was scantier and worse than in
+the Mess. When we sat down to table the Deb Zimpun's rickety chair
+collapsed under his weight and sent him sprawling on the floor. It was
+an undignified opening to our official banquet.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[Pg 77]</a></span> The old man presented a
+ludicrous spectacle as he lay entangled in his red silk robe with the
+gold-trimmed papal cap tilted over his eye; but we rushed to help him up
+and controlled our countenances until we found him laughing heartily at
+his own mishap. Then one glance at our host's horrified expression set
+us off. A fresh chair was with difficulty procured and we sat down
+again.</p>
+
+<p>After dinner we gathered round the stove in informal fashion and smoked,
+the Deb Zimpun helping himself steadily to my cigars. With the aid of
+the head clerk, who was present to interpret, the conversation grew
+almost animated. Our old gentleman expressed himself deeply gratified by
+the kindness he had received from the officers of the detachment,
+particularly the offer of a military bungalow, and said that if he
+returned to Buxa the following year he hoped to find us all there again.
+Me he personally regarded as a brother. We drank his health, a
+compliment he quite understood, and with difficulty refrained from
+singing "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow." When he departed we escorted him
+as far as the Mess and bade him a vociferous "Good night," to the
+amazement of the squad of ragged swordsmen and lantern-bearers who were
+accompanying him back to Chunabatti.</p>
+
+<p>Next day Bell left us to return to Sikkim; and we expected the Deb
+Zimpun would also take his departure for Bhutan with the subsidy. But
+day after day passed without any sign of his going, and we began to
+wonder at his remaining after the purpose of his visit was completed. I
+invited him to lunch with me again. One afternoon he appeared at the
+head of his wild gathering, all of them carrying<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[Pg 78]</a></span> bows. He had come to
+challenge me to an archery contest. We set up targets on the range at a
+distance of two hundred yards. He defeated me easily, and chaffed me
+gaily over his victory. To retrieve my honour I sent to the fort for
+some Sikh throwing quoits, formerly used as weapons in war. They are of
+thin steel with edges ground sharp, and when thrown by an expert will
+skim through the air for nearly two hundred yards and would almost cut
+clean through a man if they struck him fair. They ricochet off the
+ground for a good distance after the first graze. We set up plantain
+tree stems as targets, for the soft wood does not injure the edge. I
+showed the Envoy how to hold and throw the weapon; but his first shot
+went very wide indeed and nearly ended the mortal career of one of his
+swordsmen. However, he improved with a little practice, and insisted
+that all his followers should try the sport.</p>
+
+<p>A day or two after this my detachment did its annual field firing. This
+is a most practical form of musketry, consisting of an attack on a
+position with ball cartridge, the enemy being represented by small
+targets, the size of a man's head, nearly hidden behind entrenchments or
+suddenly appearing from holes dug in the ground. I invited the Envoy and
+his suite to witness it. The Deb Zimpun was deeply interested. He
+followed us everywhere as we scrambled up and down steep hills firing on
+the small marks dotted about between the trees, in the jungle and at the
+bottom of precipices. The attack was arranged to finish up on the parade
+ground where we could make use of the running and vanishing targets in
+the rifle butts. The Bhuttias were immensely delighted with the
+crouching figures of men drawn<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[Pg 79]</a></span> swiftly across the range and saluted
+with bursts of rapid fire from the sepoys' rifles. But they broke into
+an excited roar when our men fixed bayonets and charged the position
+with loud cheers; and I looked back to find the Bhuttias following us at
+a run, waving their swords and yelling wildly. When I went round to
+inspect the targets and count the hits, the Deb Zimpun and his followers
+accompanied me and were much impressed by the accuracy of the shooting.
+They talked eagerly, pointed out the bullet-holes to each other, and
+shook their heads solemnly over them. The interpreter told me that they
+were saying that they would be sorry to face our soldiers in battle
+after seeing the range, accuracy, and rapidity of fire of our rifles.
+The Deb Zimpun returned with me to my bungalow and enjoyed a meal of
+tea, cake, and chocolate creams as heartily as a schoolboy. On departing
+he shook my hand and bade the interpreter express the interest with
+which he had watched the field firing.</p>
+
+<p>But alas for the inconstancy of human friendships! Our pleasant
+intercourse was destined to an abrupt termination. The very next day I
+was informed that the genial old gentleman had been levying blackmail on
+Bhuttias residing in our territory and had seized and imprisoned in the
+house in which he resided a man, three women, and three children,
+intending to carry them off to Bhutan. The unexpected appearance of a
+score of my men with rifles and fixed bayonets changed the programme;
+and the prisoners were removed to our fort until Government should
+decide their fate. As we marched them through Chunabatti the villagers
+flocked round us and called down blessings on our heads for saving their
+friends.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[Pg 80]</a></span> One old lady, the wife of the male prisoner, fell on the
+ground before Smith, who had accompanied me, embraced his legs and
+kissed his feet, much to our medical officer's embarrassment.</p>
+
+<p>Much correspondence and a Government inquiry resulted in the freedom of
+the wretched captives. But before their release the Envoy, in response
+to impatient letters from the Maharajah who was none too well pleased
+with the delay in his return with the subsidy, marched off over the
+hills to Bhutan without a farewell to us.</p>
+
+<p>The case of the man who had been seized is a typical example of the
+justice meted out in uncivilised countries. He was named Tashi and had
+been born in Buxa before its capture by the British in 1864 and its
+subsequent incorporation in our territory. After the war his family
+retired across the newly made boundary. His father possessed land in a
+village close to the frontier, which was in the jurisdiction of a
+certain <i>jongpen</i>. He acquired more several miles away in a district
+governed by another <i>jongpen</i>. On his death he left everything to Tashi,
+who continued to reside in the first village. The second official
+objected to this and eventually confiscated the land in his district and
+applied it to his own use. When Tashi threatened to appeal to the
+Supreme Council at Punakha he sent a party of his retainers to slay him
+as the easiest method of avoiding litigation. When the other <i>jongpen</i>
+remonstrated against this invasion of his district and proceeded to
+repel it by force, his brother official pointed out to him that he could
+not do better than follow the good example set him and seize Tashi's
+remaining property. The advice seemed good; and the first<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[Pg 81]</a></span> <i>jongpen</i>
+determined to kill Tashi himself. He sent several soldiers to put him to
+death; but as they learned on arrival that the unfortunate owner of this
+Bhutanese Naboth's vineyard had several stalwart sons and possessed a
+gun, the gallant warriors contented themselves with establishing a
+cordon round the village and sending for reinforcements. The luckless
+Tashi realised that discretion was the better part of valour. He bribed
+some of the soldiers to let him pass through the cordon at night and
+with his family and five cows, all that he could save from the wreck, he
+escaped into British territory. But the two Ahabs were not satisfied. It
+was always believed that Tashi had managed to take some hoarded wealth
+with him, although he lived in a poor way and worked hard for his living
+in India. And this belief accounted for his capture on this occasion. On
+previous visits of the Envoy he and his family had taken the precaution
+to leave Chunabatti before his arrival.</p>
+
+<p>After his release Tashi resolutely refused to quit Buxa.</p>
+
+<p>"The Commanding Sahib is my father and my mother," he declared. "He has
+saved my worthless life," for he had been informed that he would be put
+to death as soon as he was out of British territory; "and I will not
+leave his shadow, in which I and my family will dwell the rest of our
+lives." However, he thought that this might not prove sufficient shelter
+from the weather; so he built a bamboo house in the cantonment limits
+and announced that he felt safe at last under our protection. Like all
+Asiatics he considered that my interference on his behalf had
+constituted a claim on me. However, as he was a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[Pg 82]</a></span> useful man, I found
+employment for him and allowed him to continue to reside in Buxa.</p>
+
+<p>In the following year the Political Officer, accompanied by Captain
+Kennedy, I.M.S., passed through Buxa on their way to Bhutan, where the
+subsidy, now doubled, was paid in Punakha, the capital, and the treaty
+by which the country was placed under British protection signed by the
+Maharajah. So the Deb Zimpun and I never met again.</p>
+
+<p>There is a certain type of individuals with malformed minds who moan
+over the subjugation of the countries of barbarous nations by civilised
+Powers. Do they honestly believe that the cause of humanity is better
+served by allowing the noble savage to plunder and slay the weak at his
+own sweet will rather than by subjecting him to the domination of
+Europeans, be they French, Germans, Russians, Italians or British, who
+guarantee freedom of life and property in the lands under their rule?
+Liberty, with these barbarous races, means the liberty of the strong to
+oppress the weak. Here, in the borderland of Bhutan to-day, the peasant
+can till the soil, the trader enjoy his hard-earned wealth, where,
+before the <i>pax Britannica</i> settled on it, rapine, blood, and lust went
+unchecked, where no man's life nor woman's honour was safe from the
+fierce raiders of the hills. We hold the gates of India. Inside them all
+is peace. Beyond them, oppression, injustice, murder!<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[Pg 83]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="ChapterV" id="ChapterV"></a>CHAPTER V</h2>
+
+<h3>IN THE JUNGLE</h3>
+
+<blockquote><p>An Indian jungle&mdash;The trees&mdash;Creepers&mdash;Orchids&mdash;The
+undergrowth&mdash;On an elephant in the jungle&mdash;Forcing a
+passage&mdash;Wild bees&mdash;Red ants&mdash;A lost river&mdash;A <i>sambhur</i>
+hind&mdash;Spiders&mdash;Jungle fowl&mdash;A stag&mdash;<i>Hallal</i>&mdash;Wounded
+beasts&mdash;A halt&mdash;Skinning the stag&mdash;Ticks&mdash;Butcher
+apprentices&mdash;Natural rope&mdash;Water in the air&mdash;<i>Pani
+bel</i>&mdash;Trail of wild elephants&mdash;Their habits&mdash;An
+impudent monkey&mdash;An adventure with a rogue
+elephant&mdash;Fire lines&mdash;Wild dogs&mdash;A giant squirrel&mdash;The
+barking deer&mdash;A good bag&mdash;Spotted deer&mdash;Protective
+colouring&mdash;Dangerous beasts&mdash;Natives' dread of bears&mdash;A
+bison calf&mdash;The fascination of the forest&mdash;The generous
+jungle&mdash;Wild vegetables&mdash;Natural products&mdash;A home in
+the trees&mdash;Forest Lodge the First&mdash;Destroyed by a wild
+elephant&mdash;Its successor&mdash;A luncheon-party in the
+air&mdash;The salt lick&mdash;Discovery of a coal mine&mdash;A
+monkey's parliament&mdash;The jungle by night.</p></blockquote>
+
+
+<p>From the dense tangled undergrowth the great trees lift their bare
+stems, each striving to push its leafy crown through the thick canopy of
+foliage and get its share of the sun. The huge trunks are devoid of
+branches for many feet above the ground; but around them twist giant
+creepers which strangle them in close embrace and sink their coils deep
+into the bark. Here and there a tree, killed by the cruel pressure,
+stands withered and lifeless but still held up by the murderous
+parasite. From bole to bole these creepers, thick as a ship's hawser,
+swing in festoons, coiling and writhing around each other<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[Pg 84]</a></span> in tangled
+confusion. Tree-trunk and bough are matted with the glossy green leaves
+and trails of mauve and white blossoms of innumerable orchids. The trees
+are not the slender palms that fill the pictures of tropical jungles by
+untravelled artists, but the giants of the forest&mdash;huge <i>sal</i> and teak
+trees and straight-stemmed <i>simal</i> with its buttressed trunk star-shaped
+in section with its curious projecting flanges.</p>
+
+<p>Through the leafy canopy high overhead the sunlight can scarcely filter,
+and fills the forest with a pleasant green gloom. The undergrowth is
+dense and rank&mdash;tangled and thorny bushes, high grass, shrubs covered
+with great bell-shaped white flowers&mdash;so thick that a man on foot must
+hack his way through it. But here and there are open glades where the
+ground is covered with tall bracken. Near the hills and in the damper
+jungle to the south the bamboo grows extensively. Beside the river-beds
+are patches of elephant grass, eight to ten feet high, with feathered
+plumes six feet higher still. This is so strong and dense as to be
+almost impenetrable to men, but everywhere through it wild elephants
+have made paths. Wherever the big trees have been felled and the sun can
+reach the ground the vegetation grows more luxuriantly. And, in the
+southern belt of the forest, where the water from the hills rises to the
+surface again, the jungle is wilder and more tropical. Here are huge
+tree-ferns, the under sides of the fronds studded with long and sharp
+thorns. Cane brakes, through which none but the heaviest and strongest
+animals can make their way, abound.</p>
+
+<p>Through the tangled confusion of undergrowth and twisted creepers my
+elephant forces a passage<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[Pg 85]</a></span> with swaying stride, as a steamer ploughs her
+way through a heavy sea and shoulders the waves aside. I am sitting on
+Khartoum's pad near the <i>mahout</i> perched astride her neck, guiding her
+by the pressure of his feet behind her huge flapping ears. A network of
+leafy branches of low trees bound together by lianas bars her progress.
+At a word she lifts her trunk and tears it down, while the <i>mahout</i>
+hacks at bough and creeper with his <i>kukri</i> or heavy, curved knife. As
+she moves on she plucks a small branch and strikes her sides and stomach
+with it to drive off the flies which are annoying her. For thick as her
+skin is, yet the insects which prey on her can pierce it and drive her
+frantic. And once, feeling a sudden pain in my instep, I looked at my
+foot and discovered an elephant fly biting through a lace hole in my
+boot. Khartoum, having driven off the pests temporarily, lifts the
+branch to her mouth and chews it, wood and all. Bechan, her <i>mahout</i>,
+espies a small creeper which is highly esteemed by the natives as a
+febrifuge and is considered a good tonic for elephants. So he directs
+her attention to it. Out shoots the snake-like trunk and tears it from
+the tree around which it is growing; and, crunching it with enjoyment,
+she strides on through the undergrowth. Suddenly Bechan, in evident
+alarm, kicks her violently behind the left ear and beats her thick skull
+with the heavy iron goad he carries, the <i>ankus</i>, a short crook with a
+sharp spike at the end. Khartoum stops short, then moves off to the
+right. Thinking that he has seen some dangerous wild animal I whisper in
+Hindustani, "What is it, Bechan?" "Bees," he says shortly and points
+apparently to a lump of mud hanging from a low branch right in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[Pg 86]</a></span> our
+former path. Then I understand that he would be far less alarmed at the
+sight of a tiger. For a swarm of wild bees is regarded with terrified
+respect in India. The lump of mud is a nest; and, had we continued on
+our original course and brushed against it, we would have been promptly
+attacked by a cloud of these irritable little insects whose stings have
+killed many a man. So we prudently give the nest a wide berth. The wild
+beasts of the forest are not its only dangers. As again Khartoum tears
+her way through some low-hanging branches, I feel a sudden sting and
+burning pain in the back of my bare neck. I put my hand to the spot and
+my fingers close on a big red ant which, knocked from a bough, has
+fallen on me and is avenging its being disturbed by burying its venomous
+little fangs in my flesh. Though I crush it, the pain of its bite
+lingers for hours. Sometimes one dislodges a number of these insects
+when forcing a passage through dense jungle; and they at once attack the
+man or animal they alight on. So it is necessary to keep a sharp
+look-out for them as well as for bees. Nor are these the only perils
+that lurk in the trees. Though in the jungle serpents do not hang by
+their tails from every branch, as we read in the books of wonderful
+adventures that delighted our boyhood, still there is supposed to be one
+poisonous snake in the Terai which lies along the branches, and if
+dislodged strikes the disturber with deadly fang. I fortunately never
+saw one; though in another place I have shot a viper in a tree.</p>
+
+<p>We plod steadily on through the jungle. A gleam of daylight between the
+stems of the trees shows that we are approaching a <i>nullah</i>. Khartoum
+comes to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[Pg 87]</a></span> a stop on the edge of the steep bank of a broad and empty
+river-bed. After the gloom of the forest the bright transition into the
+glaring sunlight is dazzling. To the right I can now see the mountains
+towering above us; and, two thousand feet up, on the dark face of the
+hills, the three Picquet Towers of Buxa shine out in the sun. At our
+feet on the white sand lie huge rounded rocks which have been rolled
+down from the mountains by the furious torrents of the last rainy
+season. The river-bed is dry now; but were we to follow it a few miles
+to the south, we would find at first an occasional pool and then further
+on the water appearing above the surface and flowing on in a gradually
+increasing stream. For these smaller rivers are lost underground in the
+boulder formation near the foot of the hills and rise again ten miles
+further south.</p>
+
+<p>Our elephant slips and stumbles over the polished, rounded rocks until
+she reaches the opposite bank. Up it she climbs at so steep an angle
+that to avoid sliding off I have to lie at full length along the pad and
+hold on to the front edge of it until she regains level ground. We pass
+from the glare of the sunlight into the cool shade of the forest, and
+the trees close around us and shut off the mountains from our view. As
+we push our way through the undergrowth the <i>mahout</i> stops the elephant
+suddenly. "<i>Sambhur!</i>" he whispers. Following the direction of his
+outstretched arm my eyes see nothing at first but the tangled
+vegetation, the straight tree-trunks and the curving festoons of
+creepers. But gradually they rest on a warm patch of colour and I make
+out the form of a deer scarcely visible in the deep shadows. "<i>Maddi</i>"
+(a female) grunts Bechan disgustedly and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[Pg 88]</a></span> urges on his elephant. For he
+knows the Sahibs', to him, ridiculous forest law, which ordains that
+females are not to be slain, although their flesh is more toothsome than
+that of a tough old stag.</p>
+
+<p>It is a <i>sambhur</i> hind. Apparently aware of her immunity she stands
+watching us unconcernedly. Accustomed to the wild species, other animals
+allow tame elephants to approach close to them until they discover the
+presence of human beings on their backs. So this hind looks calmly at
+Khartoum. Her long ears twitch restlessly, but otherwise she is
+motionless; and I can admire her graceful form and the rich brown colour
+of her hide at my ease. But at last it dawns on her that there is
+something wrong about our elephant. She swings round and crashes off
+through the undergrowth and is lost to sight in a moment. And we resume
+our course.</p>
+
+<p>Across our path from bush to bush great spiders have spun their webs;
+and Khartoum, pushing through them, has accumulated so many layers of
+them across her face as to blind her. So the <i>mahout</i> leans down and
+tears them off. These spiders are huge black insects measuring several
+inches from tip to tip; and their webs are stout and strong almost as
+linen.</p>
+
+<p>Something scuttling over the fallen leaves in the undergrowth draws my
+attention and I raise my rifle, only to lower it when, with a frightened
+squawk, a jungle hen flutters up out of the bushes and flies away among
+the trees. These birds are the progenitors of our ordinary barnyard
+fowl, and so like them that once close to Santrabari, when out with a
+shot-gun, I let several hens pass me unscathed,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[Pg 89]</a></span> under the impression
+that they were fowls belonging to our <i>mahouts</i>. And when in the heart
+of the forest I first heard the cocks crowing I thought that we were
+near a village. In Northern India these jungle cocks are beautifully
+plumaged with red, yellow, and dark green feathers and long tails. In
+Southern India they are speckled black and white with a little yellow.
+When in the forest villages the tame roosters crow, their challenge is
+taken up and repeated by the wild ones in the jungle around. And the
+natives often peg out a cock and surround him with snares to catch the
+wild birds which come to attack him.</p>
+
+<p>But now Bechan suddenly stops Khartoum and whispers excitedly, "<i>Sambhur
+nur!</i>" "A stag." For a moment I can see nothing in the tangled bit of
+jungle he points to. Then suddenly the deepened blackness of a patch of
+shadow reveals itself as the dark hide of a <i>sambhur</i> stag. We have
+almost passed him. He is to my right rear; and I cannot swing round far
+enough to fire from the right shoulder. But I bring up the rifle rapidly
+to my left and press the trigger. As the recoil of the heavy .470
+high-velocity weapon almost knocks me back flat on the pad I hear a
+crash in the brushwood. "<i>Shabash! Luga!</i> (Well done! Hit!") cries
+Bechan and slips from the neck of the elephant to the ground. Drawing
+his knife he dashes into the jungle. For, being a Mussulman, he is
+anxious to reach the stricken stag and <i>hallal</i> it; that is, let blood
+by cutting its throat while there is life in it. For the Mohammedan
+religion enjoins that an animal is only lawful food if the blood has run
+before its death. This is borrowed from the Mosaic Law<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[Pg 90]</a></span> and is really a
+hygienic precaution against long-dead carrion being eaten.</p>
+
+<p>From the elephant's back I cannot see the quarry now, but I slip down to
+the ground and leave Khartoum standing stolidly, contentedly plucking
+and chewing leaves from the trees around. Following Bechan's track I
+find him holding the horn of a still feebly struggling <i>sambhur</i> and
+drawing his knife across its throat. The animal is a fine old stag about
+fourteen hands high. The bullet has broken its shoulder and pierced its
+heart. But such a wound does not necessarily imply instantaneous death.
+I have seen a tiger, shot through the heart, dash across a <i>nullah</i> and
+climb half-way up the steep bank until laid low by a second bullet. And
+<i>sambhur</i> and other deer stricken in the same manner will run a hundred
+yards before dropping. But this stag will never move again of its own
+volition. As the blood gushes from the gaping wound in the throat the
+limbs twitch violently and are still. Then Bechan raises its head for me
+to photograph. This done I look at my watch. It is almost noon and I
+have been on the elephant's back since six o'clock, so I am glad of a
+rest; and, sitting on the ground with my back against a tree, I pull out
+sandwiches and my water-bottle and have my lunch. But, having on a
+previous occasion been disturbed by a rogue wild elephant, I lay my
+loaded rifle beside me.</p>
+
+<p>Bechan is busily employed. He cuts off the head, <i>grallochs</i> the stag
+and begins to flay it. After my lunch I get up to help him; for a
+sportsman in India soon learns to turn his hand to this gruesome task.
+It is a long job; and the <i>sambhur</i> is a heavy weight when we come to
+turn him over. The skin, particularly <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[Pg 91]</a></span>on the belly, is covered with
+ticks, some big, bloated and immovably fixed, others small and agile. We
+have to watch carefully lest any of them lodge on us, which they are apt
+to do; for, with its jaws once clenched in the skin, this insect can
+only be got rid of by cutting the body off and then pulling the head
+away, which generally takes a bit of one's skin with it. And the
+irritation of a bite lasts for months.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"><br /><br />
+<a name="Ill_15" id="Ill_15"></a><img src="images/gs15.jpg" width="450" height="347" alt="A SAMBHUR STAG AND MY ELEPHANT." title="" />
+<span class="caption">A SAMBHUR STAG AND MY ELEPHANT.</span><br /><br />
+</div>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"><br /><br />
+<a name="Ill_16" id="Ill_16"></a><img src="images/gs16.jpg" width="450" height="350" alt="BRINGING HOME THE BAG." title="" />
+<span class="caption">BRINGING HOME THE BAG.</span><br /><br />
+</div>
+
+<p>At last the animal is completely flayed and the skin rolled up into a
+bundle; for it makes excellent leather, and is much used in India for
+soft shooting-boots and gaiters. Then Bechan displays his aptitude for
+the butcher's trade. With his heavy curved <i>kukri</i> he divides the
+carcass, hacking through the thick bones with powerful blows. Having cut
+it into portable pieces (for a whole <i>sambhur</i> weighs six or seven
+hundred pounds) he leaves me wondering as to where the rope to tie them
+up will come from. He looks around him and then goes to a
+straight-stemmed small tree with grey and black mottled bark. He cuts
+off a long flap of this bark, disclosing an inner skin. In this he makes
+incisions with his knife, pulls a long strip of it off and cuts it into
+narrower strips. He hands one of these to me and tells me to test its
+strength. Pull as I will I cannot break it. This is the <i>udal</i> tree
+which thus provides a natural cordage of wonderful strength. It is very
+common in the forest. Making a hole between the bones of a haunch Bechan
+passes a length of this fibre through and knots it. Then it takes all
+our combined strength to lift the haunch and bear it to where Khartoum
+is still patiently waiting. With difficulty we raise and fasten it to
+the ropes around the pad. And when at last we have<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[Pg 92]</a></span> secured all this
+meat, destined for hungry officers and sepoys in the fort and the
+<i>mahouts</i> and their families in Santrabari we look like butchers'
+apprentices. My khaki shooting-garments are stained, my hands are
+covered with blood and grime. I gaze around me hopelessly for water,
+though I know we are miles from a stream. But the resources of this
+wonderful jungle are not exhausted. Bechan points to one of the myriad
+lianas criss-crossing between the trees.</p>
+
+<p>"<i>Pani bel.</i> The water creeper," he says. I have heard of this
+extraordinary plant and look carefully at it. It is about two inches in
+diameter, four-sided rather than round, with rough, corrugated, withered
+bark, in appearance similar to the corkwood bark used for rustic
+summer-houses in England. Bechan walks to a hanging festoon of it and
+cuts it through with a blow of his <i>kukri</i>. Nothing happens. I am
+disappointed; for I had expected to find it tubular and see a stream of
+water gush out. But the interior is of a white pulpy and moist material.
+Then Bechan strikes another blow and holds up a length of the creeper
+cut off. Suddenly from one end of this water begins to trickle and soon
+flows freely. I wash my hands, using clay as soap. Bechan then tells me
+to taste the water. Holding the cut creeper above my head I let the
+water drain into my mouth and find it cold and delicious as spring
+water. This useful <i>pani bel</i>, like the <i>udal</i>, is found everywhere in
+these forests; and, as I am anxious to learn all I can of jungle lore to
+instruct my sepoys, I carefully note the appearance of both.</p>
+
+<p>We have consumed two hours in the task of flaying and cutting up the
+<i>sambhur</i>. We sit down to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[Pg 93]</a></span> rest and smoke before moving on again. I
+light a cigarette and Bechan pulls out the clay head of a hookah and
+fills it with coarse native tobacco.</p>
+
+<p>Then at length, with Khartoum hung round with meat and looking like a
+perambulating butcher's shop, we move on again. After we had been going
+for ten minutes we come to a spot where a number of trees, some nearly
+two feet in diameter, have been uprooted, and their upper branches
+stripped off. This is the work of wild elephants, which push down the
+trees with their heads to reach the leaves in the tops. We find their
+trail in the long grass and bushes&mdash;not wide, for elephants move in
+single file, so that it is difficult to tell whether one or twenty have
+passed. However here and there tracks diverge from the main trail and
+rejoin it further on, showing where one of the animals has wandered off
+to one side in search of some succulent morsel; and in the sandy bed of
+a dry stream we find their footprints, huge, almost circular impression
+in the dust. Each elephant seems to step exactly in the marks of the
+leader. Even tame ones advancing over open country will walk in single
+file if left to themselves. We reach a spot where the herd had evidently
+passed the night. All around the grass is pressed down and shows where
+the huge beasts lay down to sleep. Wild elephants usually halt from
+about 10 p.m. to 4 a.m., then move and feed until 10 or 11 a.m., when
+they stop and shelter from the heat of the day in thick jungle. About
+three or four o'clock in the afternoon they get on the move again; and
+if they come upon water then they bathe. They travel about twenty or
+thirty miles in the day, though if alarmed will keep on for double that
+distance.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[Pg 94]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>While we are following this trail a loud crash ahead of us awakens the
+silent forest. I think at once that it is caused by the herd in whose
+tracks we are. But Bechan, who is a man of few words, mutters
+"<i>bunder</i>". And I look up and see a troop of monkeys leaping through the
+upper branches and hurling themselves in alarm at the sight of us from
+tree to tree. But their insatiable curiosity brings them back to peep at
+us. Once this curiosity in one developed into impertinence; and the
+impudent little beast deliberately pelted me. It happened that day that
+when on foot I had been attacked by a rogue elephant which I had only
+brought down with a bullet in the head fifteen paces from me. Ruffled by
+the encounter I was going back to camp, seated on Khartoum's back.
+Passing under a big tree a jungle fruit fell on me. Then, raising my
+head, I saw a monkey in the tree grimacing and grinning derisively at
+me. Coming after the elephant's attack his insolence seemed to add
+insult to injury, and I felt tempted to reward it with a bullet. But it
+would have been unnecessary cruelty; and I passed on leaving him still
+mowing and making faces at me.</p>
+
+<p>We leave the elephants' trail and emerge on a "fire line"; for in these
+Government forests parallel belts, about twenty yards broad, are cleared
+annually in an attempt to confine the ravages of the jungle fires in the
+hot weather. They run east and west and are a mile apart, so that they
+serve not only as roads, but also as guides to one's whereabouts in the
+forest. As we come suddenly out on the fire line we see two or three
+fox-like animals playing in it. They are the dreaded wild dogs which do
+infinite damage to game. Even the tiger regards<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[Pg 95]</a></span> them with dislike and
+fear; for, small as they are, they will worry him in a pack, chasing him
+night and day and giving him no rest. They keep him always on the move,
+remaining out of his reach until he is exhausted from fatigue and want
+of sleep. They are pretty little animals, generally reddish, with sharp
+ears and bushy tails. As soon as these stray dogs in the fire line see
+us they bolt off into the jungle before I can get a shot at them; for on
+account of the harm they do to the game every sportsman tries to kill
+them. I once came upon a <i>sambhur</i> and her fawn being attacked by a
+number of these jungle pests. The hind was circling round, trying to
+keep between her offspring and the enemy, and striking at the assailants
+with her sharp hoof. Whilst some of the dogs engaged her in front others
+tried to dash in at the fawn, retreating at once when the angry mother
+swung round at them. They had already hamstrung the poor little beast
+and torn out one of its eyes; so, when they fled as soon as they caught
+sight of my elephant and the hind ran off, I put the wretched fawn out
+of its misery with a merciful shot.</p>
+
+<p>Across the fire line we entered the jungle again. Along a branch over
+our heads a small animal runs swiftly and leaps into a neighbouring
+tree. It is a giant squirrel, a pretty animal with long and bushy tail
+and thick black fur, except on the breast, where it is white. It peeps
+at us from behind the tree-trunk and then is lost to sight in the
+foliage.</p>
+
+<p>Khartoum pursues her leisurely way through the forest; for, in thick
+jungle where we must swerve aside to avoid trees and hack a path through
+creepers and undergrowth, we hardly go a mile an hour. But<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[Pg 96]</a></span> on a road I
+have timed her to walk at the rate of four miles an hour. Suddenly my
+eye is caught by a flash of bright colour; and I see a <i>khakur</i> buck and
+doe bounding through the trees ahead. Laying my hand on Bechan's
+shoulder I make him stop the elephant. Then as the graceful little deer
+cross our front in an open glade I fire and drop the male in its tracks.
+The doe bounds off in affright. As the <i>mahout</i> picks up the pretty
+animal, too dead for him to <i>hallal</i> it, binds its legs together and
+hands it up to me to fasten on the pad, only the thought of its
+succulent flesh reconciles me to the slaying of it. The <i>khakur</i>, or
+barking deer, as it is called from its cry, which is similar to a dog's
+bark, is of a bright chestnut colour and has a curious marking on the
+face like a pair of very black eyebrows raised in surprise and continued
+down the nose. The male has peculiar little horns with skin-covered
+pedicles about three inches long, from which project the brow antlers
+and the upper tines, which curve inward towards each other. These horns
+are small, six inches being considered a very good length. The buck has,
+in addition, a pair of sharp, thin, curved tusks in the upper jaw, which
+it uses as weapons of offence. Satisfied with our bag we turn Khartoum's
+head towards home, and reach Santrabari before dusk.</p>
+
+<p>Such is a typical day in the jungle. Sometimes, though rarely, I was
+unsuccessful in procuring something for the pot. But on one day I shot
+three <i>sambhur</i> and a <i>khakur</i>. My Rajput sepoys would not eat the flesh
+of the former; for, like most Hindus, they imagined that its cloven hoof
+made it kin to the sacred cow. But the Mussulmans of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[Pg 97]</a></span> detachment,
+and the <i>mahouts</i> and their families, and our coolies were grateful for
+the meat.</p>
+
+<p>Tough as a <i>sambhur's</i> flesh is, we officers were glad of it ourselves
+when nothing better offered. But our Hindus rejoiced exceedingly
+whenever one of us brought home a wild boar; and the Mohammedans were
+correspondingly disgusted, as pork is anathema to them. The slaying of a
+boar with a gun in open country where pigsticking is possible is as
+great a crime in India as shooting a fox in a hunting county in England;
+but in the forest it is permissible. There were a few <i>cheetul</i> or
+spotted deer very like the English fallow deer in our jungles; but I
+only saw one herd and secured one stag all the time I was at Buxa. They
+usually frequent more open forests; and the spots on their hide
+assimilating to the dappled light and shade of the sun through the
+leaves is a good example of Nature's protective colouring. Thus the
+black hide of the <i>sambhur</i> stag blends easily with the dark shadows of
+the denser forest and makes them very hard to see.</p>
+
+<p>One does not often meet the dangerous beasts of the jungle by day.
+Tigers and panthers, though frequent enough, generally move only by
+night. Yet I often saw on the tree-trunks long scratches where these
+animals had cleaned and sharpened their claws, just as the domestic cat
+does on the legs of chairs and tables. They keep out of the way of
+elephants; and so I sometimes must have passed some great feline, whose
+fresh tracks I had just observed, sheltering in the undergrowth and
+watching us as we went by. I have seen high up on the stems and branches
+other scratches which showed<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[Pg 98]</a></span> where a bear had climbed in search of
+fruit. These animals, the dreaded large Himalayan variety, usually dwell
+in the hills and descend into the forest by night, so that they are
+rarely met with by daylight. The natives regard them with terror; for,
+if stumbled upon accidentally by some woodcutter, they will probably
+attack him and smash his skull with a crushing blow of a paw. In our
+stretch of jungle I only came across one rhinoceros and a herd of six
+bison, which, being protected by the rules of the forest department, we
+could not shoot. Once my elephant put up a stray bison calf which looked
+at us with mild curiosity until my orderly climbed down and tried to
+catch it. It trotted off out of his reach and stopped to look back at
+him. We drove it for a mile before us, hoping to shepherd it into camp
+and capture it: but we lost it in thick jungle. Wild elephants I
+occasionally came across, and had a couple of unpleasant adventures with
+them.</p>
+
+<p>The fascination of a day's sport in the heart of the great forest is
+beyond words. Even if nothing falls to one's rifle the pleasure of
+roaming through the woodland is intense. Of the world nothing seems to
+exist farther than the eye can see down the short vistas of soft green
+light between the giant trees. Lulled by the swaying motion of the
+elephant&mdash;not unpleasant when used to it&mdash;one's senses are nevertheless
+keenly on the alert; for every stride may disclose some strange denizen
+of the jungle either to be sought after or guarded against. And the
+beauty of it all. The fern-carpeted glades, the drooping trails of
+bright-coloured orchids, the tangled shadows of the dense undergrowth,
+the glimpses of never-ending woodland between<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[Pg 99]</a></span> the great boles. And
+always the hush, the intense silence of this enchanted forest.</p>
+
+<p>The generous jungle provides everything that savage man needs. The
+profusely growing bamboo will make his house or bridge the streams for
+him. Its delicate young shoots can be eaten. Its bark gives excellent
+lashing. Slit longitudinally it will serve as an aqueduct and convey the
+water from the mountain torrents to his door. Cut into lengths it makes
+cups and bottles for him. Should he need a cooking-pot, a length of
+bamboo cut off below a knot can be filled with water and placed on the
+fire; and the water will be boiled and food cooked long before the green
+wood is much charred. For food the forest offers deer, pigs, and fowl.
+There are several varieties of edible tubers. The unopened flowers of
+the <i>simal</i> tree are eaten as vegetables; while its seed makes a good
+nourishing food for cattle, and the cotton of its burst-open pods is
+used for stuffing pillows. The <i>pua</i>, a shrub with hairy shoots and dark
+grey bark gives the fibre which can be woven into cloth or made into
+fishing-nets, twine and net-bags. There is a creeper, the bark of which,
+bruised and thrown into a stream, stupefies the fish and brings them
+floating to the surface, where they can be easily caught. The <i>pani bel</i>
+gives man water to drink. And, if he is ill, another creeper makes an
+excellent febrifuge, while the gum of the <i>udal</i> tree is used as a
+purgative, and fomentations of the leaves of a shrub called <i>madar</i> are
+excellent for sprains and bruises. Food, drink, clothing, houses,
+household utensils, medicine; what more does savage and simple man
+require?</p>
+
+<p>The jungle was called upon to provide me with an<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[Pg 100]</a></span> abode; for camping in
+tents in the forest was a very unsafe proceeding, owing to the wild
+elephants which might rush over the tents at night or, from sheer
+curiosity, pull them down and stand on them to the detriment of the
+occupants. So I got Bhuttia coolies to build a bamboo hut for me up in
+the trees. Twenty-two feet from the ground they constructed a platform
+supported by the tree-trunks and branches; and on this they erected a
+cosy three-roomed dwelling with walls of split bamboo and roof thatched
+with grass. It was reached by ladders. Although it shook to the tread of
+anyone walking about in it, it was very strong. Split bamboo partitions
+divided it off into the three apartments, sitting, bed and bathroom. It
+was quite a romantic dwelling, such as a boy steeped in the lore of
+Robinson Crusoe or Jules Verne would have loved. I named it Forest Lodge
+and regarded it with pride. I thought it safe from the destructive
+tendencies of wild elephants; for it was supported entirely by the
+neighbouring trees, with the exception of one long bamboo pole helping
+to hold up the roof. But once when it was left empty some mischievous
+elephant discovered it. How it entered into his thick skull to do it I
+do not know; but he dragged on the bamboo pole until he brought the
+whole in ruins about his ears. However, I had it built up again, this
+time with an open lower story surrounded by a bamboo wall to be used as
+a dining-room. On its apparently frail flooring of split bamboo I once
+entertained eight planters who had ridden over to see Forest Lodge the
+Second and who, with my junior officer, myself, and three servants, made
+a total of thirteen persons standing on the floor at the <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[Pg 101]</a></span>same time.
+When shooting or when in camp in the forest with my detachment, for I
+often brought my sepoys down to teach them jungle lore and practise them
+in bush warfare, I always occupied it. It was never again dismantled by
+elephants; though a similar but smaller building close by, occupied by
+my servants, was several times destroyed by them.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"><br /><br />
+<a name="Ill_17" id="Ill_17"></a><img src="images/gs17.jpg" width="450" height="353" alt="FOREST LODGE THE FIRST." title="" />
+<span class="caption">FOREST LODGE THE FIRST.</span><br /><br />
+</div>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"><br /><br />
+<a name="Ill_18" id="Ill_18"></a><img src="images/gs18.jpg" width="450" height="349" alt="FOREST LODGE THE SECOND." title="" />
+<span class="caption">FOREST LODGE THE SECOND.</span><br /><br />
+</div>
+
+<p>The fact was that its position invited attack. It stood near a path,
+much frequented by elephants, leading to a salt lick in the hills a few
+hundred yards away. This was in a curious amphitheatre in the foothills
+where landslips had left exposed precipitous slopes of a curious white
+earth impregnated with some chemical salts, probably soda or natron, of
+which wild animals are extremely fond. Bison, elephants, and deer of all
+sorts used to come here at night to eat this earth; and tigers prowled
+around it in search of prey. Native <i>shikarees</i> (hunters) erected
+<i>machâns</i> or platforms over it to pot the deer at their ease. This
+amphitheatre was almost a complete circle, save for one narrow chasm
+which must have been cut by the force of water. It was a winding gully,
+in places scarcely broad enough to allow the passage of an elephant with
+a pad on its back. I wondered what happened when two tuskers met in the
+narrow path. Its perpendicular sides were formed of the same white clay;
+but at their bases were seams of coal, black and shining where freshly
+exposed. When I saw them I thought that I had made a valuable discovery
+of mineral wealth. But when I broke off lumps of the coal and placed
+them on my camp fire I found that they would not burn; and I learned
+that there is coal in these hills which is a thousand years too young
+and, so, valueless.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[Pg 102]</a></span> Thus faded my dream of the boundless wealth the
+jungle was to give me.</p>
+
+<p>Forest Lodge was a constant source of interest and wonderment to all the
+monkeys in the neighbourhood. They used to gather in the tree-tops
+around and hold conferences to discuss it. Perched on the branches
+mothers with small babies clinging to them, sedate old men and frivolous
+youngsters scratched themselves meditatively and chattered and argued as
+to what manner of strange ape I was who had thus invaded their realm.
+When restless young monkeys wearied of the endless discussion and
+started to frivol, the elder ones seemed to rebuke their levity, and
+when this failed to have the desired effect would spring with bared
+teeth on the irreverent youth to chastise them; and the meeting then
+broke up in disorder.</p>
+
+<p>When my detachment was encamped around Forest Lodge the scene at night,
+as I looked down from my windows, was truly Rembrandtesque. Their fires
+glowed in the trees, lighting up the dark faces of the sepoys and
+revealing with weird effect the huge forms of our transport elephants
+restlessly swaying at their pickets, ears flapping and trunks swinging
+as the big beasts incessantly shifted their weight from foot to foot.
+Around the bivouac was built a zareba of cut thorny bushes; and the
+guards mounted with ball cartridge in their pouches, not merely because
+it is the custom of the Service, but to repel any prowling dangerous
+beasts that might be tempted to visit the camp by night; for within
+fifty yards of a sentry I had a shot at a bear; and a tiger killed a
+<i>sambhur</i> not a hundred yards from the zareba. And once I sat at the
+window of my tree-dwelling<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[Pg 103]</a></span> listening to a tiger prowling around for a
+long time, uttering short snorting roars but never approaching near
+enough to give me a shot at him.</p>
+
+<p>The voices of the men in the camp sounded loud through the silent forest
+and must have astonished the wild animals making their way to the salt
+lick close by, for at night all the jungle is awake. The beasts of prey
+wander from sunset to sunrise in search of a meal; and the deer must be
+on the alert against them. Only in the hot hours of the day dare they
+repose in security and lie down to sleep in the shade of the
+undergrowth. Even then they start at every sound, and the snapping of a
+twig brings them to their feet; for to the harmless animals life in the
+jungle is one constant menace. The birds and the monkeys in the trees
+alone can devote the dark hours to slumber; there is no rest at night
+for anything that dwells on the ground.</p>
+
+<p>Now gradually the sepoys' voices die away and the flickering fires burn
+low. The forest is hushed in silence, broken only by the eerie cry of
+the great owl or the distant crash of a tree knocked down by a wild
+elephant.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[Pg 104]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="ChapterVI" id="ChapterVI"></a>CHAPTER VI</h2>
+
+<h3>ROGUES OF THE FOREST</h3>
+
+<blockquote><p>The lord of the forest&mdash;Wild elephants in India&mdash;<i>Kheddah</i>
+operations in the Terai&mdash;How rogues are made&mdash;Rogues
+attack villages&mdash;Highway robbers&mdash;Assault on a railway
+station&mdash;A police convoy&mdash;A poacher's death&mdash;Chasing an
+officer&mdash;My first encounter with a rogue&mdash;Stopping a
+charge&mdash;Difficulty of killing an elephant&mdash;The law on
+rogue-shooting&mdash;A Government gazette&mdash;A tame elephant
+shot by the Maharajah of Cooch Behar&mdash;Executing an
+elephant&mdash;A chance shot&mdash;A planter's escape&mdash;Attack on
+a tame elephant&mdash;The <i>mahout's</i> peril&mdash;Jhansi's
+wounds&mdash;Changes among the officers in Buxa&mdash;A Gurkha's
+terrible death&mdash;The beginner's luck&mdash;Indian and Malayan
+<i>sambhur</i>&mdash;A shot out of season&mdash;A fruitless
+search&mdash;Jhansi's flight&mdash;A scout attacked by a
+bear&mdash;Advertising for a truant&mdash;The agony
+column&mdash;Runaway elephants&mdash;A fatal fraud&mdash;Jhansi's
+return.</p></blockquote>
+
+
+<p>What animal can dispute with the elephant the proud title of lord of the
+forest? All give way to him as he stalks unchallenged through the
+woodland. The vaunted tiger shrinks aside from his path; and only the
+harmless beasts regard him without dismay, for he is merciful as he is
+strong. And the shield of the British Government is raised to protect
+him from man; for the laws of its forest department ordain that he must
+not be slain.</p>
+
+<p>The stretches of jungle along the foot of the Himalayas harbour herds of
+wild elephants, which, thus saved from the sportsman's rifle, increase
+and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[Pg 105]</a></span> multiply. These useful and usually harmless animals are far from
+being exterminated in India. Free to wander unscathed in Government
+forests, their numbers are not diminishing. The continuity of the Terai
+saves them from capture; for the ordinary <i>kheddah</i> operations, which
+consist of hemming a herd into a certain patch of jungle and driving it
+into a stockade of stout timbers is useless in forests where the animals
+can wander on in shelter indefinitely. This method is costly; for it
+requires the services of a trained staff of hunters and large numbers of
+coolies, and may take months. It was once tried near Buxa and, after a
+great expenditure of money, labour and time, did not result in the
+capture of one elephant. So the Government has adopted here another
+system. It lets out the <i>kheddah</i> rights to certain rajahs and big
+<i>Zemindars</i> (landholders) who furnish parties of hunters and tame
+elephants to go into the jungle and pursue the herds. Once on the trail
+of one they follow it persistently and keep it constantly on the move.
+When a calf elephant becomes exhausted and falls behind the others, the
+men fire on the mother and drive her off or kill her, surround the
+youngster and secure it by slipping ropes on its legs. It is then
+fastened between tame elephants and led off, a prisoner.</p>
+
+<p>This method is responsible for the existence of a number of dangerous
+"rogue" elephants in the jungles near Buxa; for the worried herds break
+up and some of the males take to a solitary life. And of all the perils
+of the forest the rogue is the worst. The tiger or the panther rarely
+attacks man; and when it does, it is only for food. The bear, when
+unmolested, is generally harmless. But the vicious<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[Pg 106]</a></span> rogue seems to kill
+for the mere lust of murder. Occasionally a tusker, not belonging to a
+harried herd, develops a liking to a lonely existence and strays away
+from the others of his kind. Probably because he is an old bachelor and
+deprived of the softening influence of the female sex, he becomes surly
+and dangerous. He may take to wandering into cultivation at night and
+feeding on the crops, as wild elephants often do. The villagers
+naturally object to this, light fires around their fields, and turn out
+with torches, horns and drums to scare the intruders off. The herds are
+generally easily stampeded; but sometimes the surly old tusker, enraged
+at having his meal of succulent grain disturbed, charges the peasants
+and perhaps kills one or two of them. This not only destroys in him the
+wild animal's natural dread of man, but seems to give him a taste for
+bloodshed quite at variance with the elephant's accustomed gentleness of
+disposition.</p>
+
+<p>The tales told me when I first went to Buxa of the ferocity and lust of
+cruelty of rogues seemed incredible. I heard of them deliberately
+entering villages on tea gardens, breaking through the frail structures
+of bamboo and tearing down hut after hut until they reached the houses
+of the <i>bunniahs</i>, or tradesmen who dealt in grain and food-stuffs. Then
+they feasted royally on the contents of the shops. Roads cut through the
+forest lead from the railway line to the gardens or from village to
+village; and along these come trains of bullock carts loaded with grain.
+Wild elephants used to lie in wait in the jungle until these were
+passing, then charge out on them, kill the drivers and bullocks and loot
+the grain.</p>
+
+<p>While I was at Buxa two cases occurred of such<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[Pg 107]</a></span> attacks on carts close
+to Rajabhatkawa Station. In one the drivers got away safely; but a woman
+with them tripped and fell to the ground. The elephant overtook her,
+deliberately put his foot on her head and crushed her to death. In the
+other case the natives all escaped; but the rogue killed several of the
+bullocks, broke up the carts and hurled one on to the rails, where it
+lay until removed by the railway company officials who actually
+prosecuted the owner for obstructing the line. The station at
+Rajabhatkawa was attacked on one occasion. A tusker elephant suddenly
+appeared on the metals. The staff rushed into the building and locked
+themselves in. An engine happened to be standing in the station and the
+driver blew the whistle loudly to scare the animal off. The sound only
+infuriated the elephant; but, probably not liking the appearance of the
+engine, he ignored it, attacked the platform and tried to root it up. In
+doing so he broke off one of his tusks and, screaming with pain, rushed
+off into the jungle. I think that this was a brute with which I had a
+fight afterwards.</p>
+
+<p>The rogues did not always grasp the fact that every bullock cart passing
+through the forest was not necessarily loaded with grain. On one
+occasion a convoy of convicts loaded with iron fetters was being taken
+to Alipur Duar in carts, escorted by armed native police. Suddenly from
+the jungle through which they were passing rushed out a wild elephant
+which charged the procession furiously. Drivers, police, prisoners,
+leapt from the carts and fled in terror. The wretched convicts, hampered
+by their leg-irons, stumbled, tripped and fell frequently. But
+fortunately for them the rogue was too busily engaged<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[Pg 108]</a></span> in chasing the
+frightened bullocks, killing them and smashing up the carts in a
+fruitless search for grain, to pay any attention to the men; and they
+all escaped.</p>
+
+<p>A vicious elephant's method of slaughtering its human prey is
+particularly horrible. Our nearest planter neighbour, Tyson of
+Hathipota, was a man who knew the Terai well, having lived in various
+parts of the Duars, and had had much experience in big-game shooting. He
+told me of a terrible case which he had seen when on a visit to a forest
+officer in the Western Duars jungles. Into his host's solitary bungalow
+one day rushed two terrified forest guards to tell him of an awful
+spectacle which they had just witnessed. They had been lying hidden
+watching a well-known native poacher fishing in a preserved river. He
+was on the opposite bank and the stream at that part was unfordable.
+While they were discussing a plan to capture him, they saw a wild
+elephant appear out of the jungle behind the poacher and stealthily
+approach him. To their horror the brute suddenly rushed on the
+unsuspecting man, knocked him down, trampled on him and then, placing
+one foot on his thighs, wound its trunk round his body, seized him in
+its mouth and literally tore him to pieces. The story seemed too
+horrible to be true; but the forest officer and Tyson visited the spot
+and found the corpse of the luckless poacher crushed and mutilated as
+the eyewitnesses to the tragedy had narrated. The elephant's footprints
+were clearly visible. I could hardly credit the story until a similar
+case came to my own notice.</p>
+
+<p>Another instance of unprovoked attack was related to me by Captain
+Denham White, Indian Medical Service, who had formerly been doctor to
+the Buxa<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[Pg 109]</a></span> detachment. An elephant had been reported to be committing
+havoc in the forest in the vicinity; and the then commanding officer and
+Denham White endeavoured to find and shoot him. They searched the jungle
+for a week in vain. Then White vowed that the animal was a phantom
+elephant and refused to accompany the commandant on the eighth day of
+the hunt. Taking his orderly with him, he went fishing in a river which
+flowed through the forest. The water in it was low; and the greater part
+of the bed was dry and covered with loose, rounded boulders which had
+been swept down from the hills during the Rains. White was busily
+engaged with his rod and line when he heard the orderly shout. Turning,
+he saw to his horror a large tusker elephant descending the steep bank
+and coming straight towards them. It was the missing rogue. The two men
+ran for their lives. The elephant pursued them, but, slipping and
+stumbling over the loose boulders, was unable to move quickly. Denham
+White, and his orderly gained the opposite bank and reached a road along
+a fire line and got away. It was fortunate for them that they had a good
+start and were close to this road; for in the jungle they would
+inevitably have been overtaken and killed.</p>
+
+<p>A good runner may outpace an elephant on level ground for a short
+sprint. But in thick jungle a man has a poor chance. Undergrowth and
+creepers that bar his progress will not hinder an elephant, which can
+burst through them easily. He cannot escape up a tree; for the large
+ones in the forest are devoid of branches for many feet from the ground,
+and any tree slender enough for him to grasp and climb could be easily
+knocked down by the elephant.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[Pg 110]</a></span> But I am not sure that the animal would
+have sufficient intelligence to do so in order to reach the man.</p>
+
+<p>I was not long in Buxa before making the acquaintance of a rogue. About
+three weeks after my arrival I was out in the forest on Khartoum,
+accompanied by her <i>mahout</i>, Bechan, and a <i>shikaree</i> or native hunter.
+Early in the day I shot a <i>sambhur</i> stag. The two men slipped off the
+elephant to <i>hallal</i> it; and I followed to photograph the dead beast
+with a hand-camera. The <i>mahout</i> was holding up the head in position for
+me, when we heard a sudden crashing in the jungle behind us. Bechan
+dropped the head in evident alarm and said:</p>
+
+<p>"Sahib, that is a wild elephant. I believe it has been following us; for
+I heard it behind us as we came along."</p>
+
+<p>Hardly had he spoken, when the head of an elephant appeared above the
+undergrowth. It was a male with a splendid pair of long curved tusks.
+The moment it caught sight of us it stopped. New to the jungle, I was
+under the impression that all wild elephants were inoffensive creatures.
+So I was rejoiced at this opportunity of photographing one, for such
+pictures are very rare; and, camera in hand, I started towards it. But
+the moment Khartoum saw the intruder, she stampeded, followed by her
+<i>mahout</i>. The <i>shikaree</i> yelled:</p>
+
+<p>"It's a mad elephant. Shoot, Sahib, shoot, and save our lives!" And he
+bolted.</p>
+
+<p>The newcomer still stood motionless, looking at me; and I smiled at my
+men's alarm. Still I thought it advisable to put the camera down and
+take up my rifle. It was unloaded; so I slipped in a couple of solid
+bullets instead of the "soft-nosed" <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[Pg 111]</a></span>ones used for animals less hard
+to pierce than elephants or bison. But I had no intention of firing; for
+the forest regulations impose penalties up to six months' imprisonment
+or a fine of five hundred rupees for killing an elephant. I looked
+regretfully at the fine tusks; they would have been a splendid trophy.
+Still smoking my pipe I walked towards the animal which had not moved
+but was regarding me with a fixed stare. I halted and, taking off my big
+sun-helmet, waved it in the air and shouted:</p>
+
+<p>"Shoo! you brute. Be off!"</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"><br /><br />
+<a name="Ill_19" id="Ill_19"></a><img src="images/gs19.jpg" width="450" height="328" alt="&quot;THE MAHOUT WAS HOLDING UP THE HEAD.&quot;" title="" />
+<span class="caption">&quot;THE MAHOUT WAS HOLDING UP THE HEAD.&quot;</span><br /><br />
+</div>
+
+<p>My voice seemed to enrage the elephant. Up went its head, it curled its
+trunk, uttered a slight squeal and charged at me. I dropped on one knee
+and aimed at its forehead. With the fear of the forest department before
+my eyes, I hesitated to press the trigger until the huge bulk seemed
+almost towering over me. Then I fired. As if struck by a thunderbolt the
+elephant stopped dead in its furious rush and sank on its knees only
+fifteen paces from me. But even then I did not realise what an escape I
+had had. My first thought, as I picked up my pipe and stood erect was:
+"How can I hide the body, so that the forest officer will never know of
+my crime?"</p>
+
+<p>So dense was the undergrowth that I could not see the prostrate animal
+in it. Rifle-butt resting on the ground, I pulled at my pipe
+perplexedly. I wondered how I could explain my act to the forest
+authorities. I knew, of course, that I had not to fear imprisonment; but
+a fine seemed certain. And a worse penalty might be inflicted, the
+cancellation of my shooting-licence. And I shuddered at the thought of
+two years in Buxa Duar if I were not allowed to solace my solitude by
+sport. It never occurred to me<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[Pg 112]</a></span> that the fact that I would have been
+killed if I had not fired would be accepted as a sufficient excuse for
+breaking the Draconic laws of Government.</p>
+
+<p>Suddenly the elephant rose up, turned and dashed away blindly into the
+forest. My bullet had only stunned it. Bursting through the tangled
+undergrowth, snapping tough creepers like thread, trampling down small
+trees and smashing off thick branches, it rushed off mad with pain and
+terror. Long after I had lost sight of it I could hear its noisy
+progress through the jungle. I was intensely relieved at its recovery
+and departure, and did not realise that it was fortunate for me that it
+did not renew the attack.</p>
+
+<p>I inspected the spot where it had fallen. The ground was ploughed up by
+its toes where it had been suddenly stopped in its charge; and the
+undergrowth was crushed flat from the weight of its body. There was a
+fair amount of blood on the leaves and grass around. I measured the
+distance to the spot where I had knelt. It was exactly fifteen paces; so
+I had not fired a moment too soon. While I stood disconsolate the
+<i>shikaree</i> returned. He explained that after the shot he had listened
+for my dying shrieks and, not hearing them, concluded that I had come
+off victorious in the encounter. He endeavoured in vain to convince me
+that I had been right to fire. Shortly afterwards Bechan returned with
+the still terrified Khartoum; and he agreed with the other man. It
+occurred to me that the elephant might have fallen again further on; so
+I thought it advisable to follow him and if I found him dying, put him
+out of pain. But Bechan and the <i>shikaree</i> absolutely refused to go with
+me; so I started off on<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[Pg 113]</a></span> foot. But in fifty yards I realised that I
+would certainly lose myself in the jungle, so I was obliged to return
+ignominiously to them.</p>
+
+<p>Next day, however, Bechan's courage was restored; and he took me again
+to the spot. We had no difficulty in picking out the tusker's trail. A
+broad, almost straight track led away for hundreds of yards. The
+undergrowth was trampled down, small trees broken off and the ground
+covered with branches snapped off by the animal's body in its blind
+haste. At one place the beast had stopped and kicked up some earth to
+plaster on its wound, as elephants always do. We followed the trail for
+nearly three miles and then lost it where it mingled with innumerable
+old tracks of other elephants.</p>
+
+<p>When I knew more about these animals I was not surprised that my shot
+had not killed the rogue. The front of an elephant's skull is enormously
+thick and the brain is very small. A bullet in the head not reaching the
+brain will never kill the brute on the spot, and is not necessarily
+fatal. Sanderson, the great authority on elephant-shooting narrates many
+such cases and says:</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>"It will be evident, on an examination of the skull, that if
+the brain be missed by a shot no harm will be done to the
+animal, as there are no other vital organs, such as large
+blood-vessels etc., situated in the head. It thus happens that,
+in head shots, if the elephant is not dropped on the spot he is
+very rarely bagged at all. A shot that goes through his skull
+into his neck without touching his brain may kill him, but it
+will take time. I have never recovered any elephant that has
+left the spot with a head shot. The blood-trail <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[Pg 114]</a></span>for a few
+yards is generally very thick; but it often ceases as suddenly
+as it is at first copious. Elephants are sometimes floored by
+the concussion of a shot, if the ball passes very close to the
+brain; large balls frequently effect this. No time should be
+lost in finishing a floored elephant, or he will certainly make
+his escape. Many cases have occurred of elephants which have
+been regarded as dead suddenly recovering themselves and making
+off."</p></blockquote>
+
+<p>The position of the head held high in charging protects the one deadly
+spot in the forehead; and, to quote Sanderson again:</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>"To reach the brain of a charging elephant from in front the
+bullet must pass through about three feet of curled trunk,
+flesh and bone. It is thus occasionally impossible to kill an
+elephant if the head be held very high."</p></blockquote>
+
+<p>I could have finished off the tusker at my ease as he lay on the ground,
+had it not been for my loyal obedience to the regulations. On my return
+to Buxa I sent a telegram, followed by an official letter of explanation
+and apology, to the forest officer. His reply filled me with annoyance
+when I learned that my scruples had been uncalled for and that I could
+have slain the brute, and probably would have been allowed to keep the
+tusks. His letter said:</p>
+
+<p>
+<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"<span class="smcap">Rajabhatkawa</span>,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 9em;">"14-1-09.</span><br />
+</p>
+
+<p>"<span class="smcap">My Dear Casserly</span>,&mdash;Yours of 11-1-09 <i>re</i> elephant. You were undoubtedly
+justified in shooting at it; and I must congratulate you on a very
+narrow escape. In defence of self or property or cultivation you may
+shoot at any elephant but as far<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[Pg 115]</a></span> as I read the Act, which is somewhat
+vague, you must not pursue the elephant further unless it is a
+'proclaimed' rogue; that is, proclaimed by Government. There are a
+number of solitary male rogue elephants about that are always dangerous
+and should be shot at on sight, especially if you have an elephant with
+you. If you can tell me the approximate height of this elephant and if a
+single or double tusker and any distinguishing peculiarities, I will
+write to the deputy commissioner and get it proclaimed. We had a man
+killed in one of our forest villages at Mendabari recently; and our
+<i>babus</i> were held up the other day by a rogue. But this animal has one
+tusk broken off short. A double tusker killed one of our sawyers near
+here and was proclaimed and a reward of fifty rupees and the tusks
+offered. Possibly this was your elephant.</p>
+
+<p>
+"Yours etc., etc."<br />
+</p>
+
+<p>Rogue elephants, like man-eating tigers, are honoured with a notice in
+Government gazettes. Shortly afterwards I received a copy of such a
+gazette, which read:</p>
+
+<p>"A reward of fifty rupees is offered for the destruction of each of the
+rogue elephants described below:</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>(1). One single-tusker height 9' 10". This animal killed a man
+on 2nd January, 1909, and frequents the Borojhar Forest and
+western portion of the Buxa reserve and does considerable
+damage to crops in the adjoining villages.</p>
+
+<p>(2). One double-tusker with large tusks. Height 9' 10". This
+animal charged Captain Casserly and his elephant on the 30th
+Mile line of the Buxa reserve and was only turned by a shot at
+close quarters."</p></blockquote><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[Pg 116]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Not long afterwards, when on a visit to the Maharajah of Cooch Behar, I
+was taken by his second son, Prince Jitendra, to inspect the Peelkhana.
+There I saw an example of how easily elephants recover from terrible
+wounds. Securely chained to a tree at a distance from the other animals
+was a large tusker which, while the Maharajah had been having a beat for
+tiger a few weeks before, had suddenly gone mad and attacked the other
+elephants. Prince Rajendra, the present Maharajah,<a name="FNanchor_3_3" id="FNanchor_3_3"></a><a href="#Footnote_3_3" class="fnanchor">[3]</a> had ridden up
+close to it and fired two shots at it from his heavy cordite rifle. One
+bullet struck it in the head, the other in the shoulder. Yet here it was
+feeding in apparently the best of health. Below the right eye was the
+scar of an almost healed wound; while in the shoulder a hole was still
+visible but nearly filled up. And five years before, when suffering from
+a similar attack of madness, it had been shot by the Maharajah with his
+·500 rifle, and had completely recovered in a very short time from the
+wounds then received.</p>
+
+<p>In the days of a previous commanding officer of Buxa a tame elephant had
+been condemned to death on account of old age and infirmity and was
+handed over to the detachment to be shot. A squad of sepoys with ·303
+Lee-Enfield rifles was drawn up five paces in front of it and fired a
+volley at its forehead. But the elephant only winced at the blows and
+stood its ground. Then the men drew off to one side and aimed at its
+heart. A volley here killed it. The British officer had the head skinned
+and found that the first bullets had only penetrated a very short way
+into the skull, some of them being flattened against the bone.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[Pg 117]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>On the other hand cases have occurred of elephants succumbing easily to
+chance shots from small-bore rifles. On a tea garden not far from Buxa a
+rogue had been destroying the crops in the cultivation. A young planter
+sat up in a <i>machân</i><a name="FNanchor_4_4" id="FNanchor_4_4"></a><a href="#Footnote_4_4" class="fnanchor">[4]</a> in a tree near the fields to watch for it. He
+was armed with a ·303 carbine. He fell asleep and suddenly woke up to
+find the elephant passing right underneath him. Without taking aim he
+fired blindly into the dark mass below his <i>machân</i>. The elephant rushed
+off. The planter remained on his perch until daylight, and, descending,
+met his manager and told him what he had done. The latter was an
+experienced sportsman and inveighed forcibly at the useless cruelty of
+firing at an elephant with such a small bullet, which could only wound
+and infuriate the animal. While he was speaking a coolie ran up to
+inform that the elephant was lying dead a few hundred yards in the
+fields. The bullet, entering the back from above, had been deflected by
+bones and had taken an erratic course through the body, seeming to have
+pierced every vital organ in it in turn.</p>
+
+<p>I heard of a case in Assam where a planter, carrying a ·303 rifle, was
+walking along a road when he was suddenly charged by a wild elephant. He
+fired at its mouth. The animal turned and ran away. As it did so the
+planter fired again and hit it under the tail. The elephant staggered on
+a short distance and then fell dead. One of my sepoys, when on guard at
+Santrabari, fired at a wild elephant which was attacking our tame ones
+in the stables. The man used his Lee-Enfield rifle and scarcely waited
+to take aim.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[Pg 118]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Yet the animal, a <i>muckna</i> or tuskerless male, dropped dead within a few
+yards.</p>
+
+<p>Our tame elephants were taken into the forest every day to graze. One
+morning Jhansi was out in charge of her <i>mahout</i> about two miles from
+Santrabari, when a single-tusker rogue suddenly charged out of the
+jungle at her. The terrified <i>mahout</i> flung himself off her neck and
+crept away through the undergrowth. The rogue hurled himself against
+Jhansi and knocked her down by the force of his attack. He drove his one
+tusk deep into her back and drew off to gather impetus for a fresh
+charge. Jhansi scrambled to her feet and bolted. The brute pursued her,
+prodding viciously at her hind quarters; but being a fast mover, she
+outstripped him and got back to Santrabari. Her vicious assailant
+followed her for a short distance and then returned to search the
+undergrowth for the <i>mahout</i> but, luckily for the latter, without
+finding him. Jhansi was brought up to the fort for me to doctor. I found
+a round punctured wound several inches deep in her back; and on her rump
+were several smaller holes and cuts made by the <ins title="Transcriber's Note: original reads 'rogue elephants she was'">rogue elephants. She was</ins>
+an excellent patient and stood the cleaning and disinfecting of her
+wounds admirably.</p>
+
+<p>This unprovoked attack made it imperative that I should try to put an
+end to the rogue's career; for, if he remained in our neighbourhood, the
+<i>mahouts</i> would be afraid to take their animals out to graze. So I
+instituted a hunt for him. Creagh had been transferred to Gyantse in
+Tibet, his place being taken by a junior captain of the regiment named
+Balderston. A young Irish lieutenant in the Indian<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[Pg 119]</a></span> Medical Service was
+now our doctor, as Smith had gone to another corps. As it was during the
+rainy season when the Terai Jungle is filled with the deadliest malarial
+fever, it was impossible to camp in the forest. But I came down from the
+hills every day and searched far and wide for the outlaw and soon found
+terrible traces of his presence. The body of a Gurkha, killed by him,
+was discovered on a path through the jungle. The man had been proceeding
+along it on foot when he had been met and attacked by the rogue. His
+head and body had been crushed flat and stamped into the ground, the
+legs torn off and hurled twenty yards away. The elephant had evidently
+placed his foot on the body, taken the legs in his mouth and torn the
+poor wretch to pieces. The sight made me long to meet the brute and put
+an end to his vicious career. But though we searched the jungle day
+after day, we never met him.</p>
+
+<p>However, during the hunt, our doctor, who was new to big-game shooting,
+had the usual beginner's luck and secured the record <i>sambhur</i> head for
+the district. The <i>sambhur</i> in these jungles belong to the Malayan
+species which, probably owing to the dense forest they inhabit, have
+much shorter though thicker horns than the so-called Indian <i>sambhur</i>
+found in other parts of the Peninsula. The stags are generally darker,
+the old ones almost black or slate-coloured; and their tails are more
+bushy. While the record Indian head is fifty and an eighth inches,
+Lydekker gives the longest Malayan antlers as thirty and an eighth
+inches; though an officer formerly in Buxa shot one with horns
+thirty-three inches in length.</p>
+
+<p>As killing deer is prohibited in Government jungles<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[Pg 120]</a></span> during the hot
+weather and Rains, that being the close season, I had warned Balderston
+and the doctor not to fire at any we met with. And besides this, I did
+not want to run the risk of alarming the rogue for which we were
+hunting. But one day we came suddenly upon a large <i>sambhur</i> stag. It
+was the first specimen of big game that the doctor, new to India, had
+ever seen. He became greatly excited and raised his rifle. Balderston,
+behind whom he was seated on Dundora, warned him not to fire; but,
+misunderstanding in his excitement, he pulled the trigger. The bullet
+struck the <i>sambhur</i> in the foreleg; and the beast went off limping.
+Shooting a stag in the close season is a dire offence in the sportsman's
+eye; and Balderston and I abused the unfortunate doctor roundly.
+However, as it would have been sheer cruelty to allow a wounded animal
+to get away, I ordered our <i>mahouts</i> to pursue. We came up to the stag
+in about half an hour; and I shot him through the heart. On measuring
+the horns we discovered them to be thirty-three inches long, which
+equalled the record Malay <i>sambhur</i> I have mentioned.</p>
+
+<p>About three weeks after we gave up the search for the rogue and were
+satisfied that he had left our jungles, our three elephants were taken
+out to graze in the forest by the coolies who assist the <i>mahouts</i>. It
+was the duty of these men to remain with their charges; but, as it
+happened to be pay-day in Buxa, they shackled the elephants' forelegs
+with chains and left them to feed, while they themselves climbed up to
+the fort for their salaries. On their return, several hours later, they
+found Khartoum and Dundora browsing placidly on the trees; but Jhansi
+had<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[Pg 121]</a></span> disappeared. She had contrived to slip her shackles, which lay on
+the ground. The <i>mahouts</i>, searching for her, came on the track of a
+herd of wild elephants, which had passed close to our tame ones. It was
+conjectured that Jhansi, remembering her recent unpleasant adventure
+with the rogue, had become alarmed at the sight of them, got rid of her
+chain and fled away in an opposite direction. But, unlike the previous
+occasion, she did not return to Santrabari. At the time I happened to be
+on leave in Darjeeling; so Captain Balderston took our trained company
+scouts to look for her. Each man carried his rifle and ball cartridge to
+protect himself if necessary. It was well that they did; for on the
+second day of their search one of them was wantonly attacked by a large
+bear. A bullet from the sepoy's rifle taught it that it had not a
+helpless woodcutter to deal with; and, howling with pain, it ran off.</p>
+
+<p>On my return I borrowed elephants from the forest officer and started
+out on a systematic hunt for the truant. As in the army an officer
+generally has to pay for any article of Government property lost while
+in his charge, I was afraid that I might be called upon to replace
+Jhansi. The cost of a female elephant runs into hundreds of pounds; so I
+did not relish the prospect. I telegraphed to the brigade headquarters
+announcing Jhansi's loss; and when the reply came I opened it in fear
+and trembling. It only referred me to a certain paragraph in the Army
+Regulations for India. I consulted it at once, and to my relief found
+that it merely directed me to advertise the loss of a Government
+elephant in a newspaper. Not knowing which journal Jhansi was in the
+habit of perusing, and wondering if I was supposed to word the
+announcement<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[Pg 122]</a></span> in the phrasing of the agony column, "Come back to your
+sorrowing friends and all will be forgiven," I eventually tried the
+columns of a Calcutta daily. But it did not bring the truant back. As
+month after month went by, I lost hope of ever seeing her again.
+Whenever I heard that a <i>kheddah</i> party had captured an elephant which
+evidently had once been tame I sent off Jhansi's <i>mahout</i> to inspect the
+prisoner.</p>
+
+<p>It often happens that animals which have been in captivity for some time
+escape and take to the jungle again. If caught they are soon discovered
+to have been domesticated; and <i>mahouts</i> of lost elephants are sent to
+view them, as their former charges will always recognise and obey them.
+I heard of a case of attempted fraud, with a fatal ending, in this
+connection. A <i>mahout</i> falsely claimed an elephant as his and mounted
+it. The animal, enraged at being handled by a stranger, dragged him off
+her neck and stamped him to death before the horrified spectators could
+intervene.</p>
+
+<p>Eight months after Jhansi's disappearance I was informed by the
+<i>mahouts</i> that she had suddenly come out of the jungle and approached
+the Peelkhana. She stood at a safe distance watching her former
+comrades. When the men went towards her to secure her, she fled into the
+jungle. I ordered the <i>mahouts</i> to leave food in her stall and not to
+attempt to interfere with her unless she came right into the stables.
+Next day she made her appearance at feeding-time. The men took no notice
+of her, placed the usual meal of rice and leaves before Dundora and
+Khartoum and deposited her allowance in her "standing." Jhansi marched
+boldly in and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[Pg 123]</a></span> began to eat it; and the men crept in behind her and
+slipped the iron shackles on her legs. She showed no resentment and
+continued feeding unconcernedly, and afterwards she gave no trouble, did
+her usual work, and seemed to feel no regret at the loss of her
+freedom.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[Pg 124]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_3_3" id="Footnote_3_3"></a><a href="#FNanchor_3_3"><span class="label">[3]</span></a> He died in 1913, since this was written.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_4_4" id="Footnote_4_4"></a><a href="#FNanchor_4_4"><span class="label">[4]</span></a> A platform erected in a tree at a height above the ground.</p></div>
+</div>
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="ChapterVII" id="ChapterVII"></a>CHAPTER VII</h2>
+
+<h3>A FIGHT WITH AN ELEPHANT</h3>
+
+<blockquote><p>We sight a rogue&mdash;A sudden onslaught&mdash;A wild elephant's
+attack&mdash;Shooting under difficulties&mdash;Stopping a
+rush&mdash;Repeated attacks&mdash;An invulnerable foe&mdash;Darkness
+stops the pursuit&mdash;A council of war&mdash;Picking up the
+trail&mdash;A <i>muckna</i>&mdash;A female elephant&mdash;Photographing a
+lady&mdash;A good sitter&mdash;A stampede&mdash;A gallant
+Rajput&mdash;Attacking on foot&mdash;A hazardous feat&mdash;A narrow
+escape&mdash;Final charge&mdash;A bivouac in the forest&mdash;Dangers
+of the night&mdash;A long chase&mdash;Planter
+hospitality&mdash;Another stampede&mdash;A career of
+crime&mdash;Eternal hope&mdash;A king-cobra&mdash;Abandoning the
+pursuit&mdash;An unrepentant villain&mdash;In the moment of
+danger.</p></blockquote>
+
+<p>Khartoum stepped along at her usual deliberate pace through the jungle,
+occasionally raising her trunk to sweep the leaves off a branch and cram
+them into her mouth, or plucking a tuft of long grass to brush away the
+troublesome flies. On her neck the <i>mahout</i> swayed to the motion, while
+I sat nursing my heavy ·470 cordite rifle and talking to my orderly,
+Draj Khan, seated behind me on the pad. He carried a ·303 carbine. We
+were passing through a patch of thin forest bare of undergrowth, when
+Bechan pulled up suddenly and whispered:</p>
+
+<p>"<i>Jungli hathi!</i> (A wild elephant)."</p>
+
+<p>About sixty yards ahead a large tusker was standing apparently half
+asleep under the trees, its right side towards us. I wondered if, since
+it was alone, I could consider it an outlaw which it would be<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[Pg 125]</a></span>
+justifiable to shoot. The probabilities were, as there were no signs of
+a herd in the vicinity, that it was a rogue. While I was mentally
+debating the question I slipped a couple of solid cartridges into my
+rifle. As I did so the elephant turned its head slowly and I saw that it
+had only one tusk.</p>
+
+<p>"<i>Sahib! Sahib! wuh budmash hai!</i> (It is the rogue!") whispered Bechan
+excitedly.</p>
+
+<p>At that moment it caught sight of us. Without hesitation, it turned and
+charged straight at us. There was no doubt now of its being a rogue; and
+probably it was Jhansi's assailant and the murderer of the Gurkha. I
+wished to wait until it was near enough for me to make sure of a fatal
+head-shot; but Khartoum became alarmed and tried to bolt. The <i>mahout</i>
+did his best to stop her.</p>
+
+<p>"Shoot, Sahib, shoot! My elephant will not stand," he cried, beating her
+savagely with the iron <i>ankus</i>.</p>
+
+<p>So, as I could not get a shot at the head as the animal came through the
+trees at us, I fired at its shoulder in the hope of laming it and
+bringing it to a stand, so that I could finish it at close quarters. But
+it did not seem to feel the bullet and never checked in its stride. I
+was being favoured with a spectacle which it is not given to many
+sportsmen in India to witness. Sanderson says of it that</p>
+
+<p>"the wild elephant's attack is one of the noblest sights of the chase. A
+grander animated object than a wild elephant in full charge can hardly
+be imagined. The cocked ears and broad forehead present an immense
+frontage; the head is held high with the trunk curled between the tusks
+to be uncurled in the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[Pg 126]</a></span> moment of attack; the massive forelegs come down
+with the force and regularity of ponderous machinery; and the whole
+figure is foreshortened, and appears to double in size with each
+advancing stride. The wild elephant's onslaught is as dignified as it
+seems overwhelming."</p>
+
+<p>I confess that at the moment I was little disposed to admire the
+spectacle. Khartoum plunged and swayed until I was nearly shot off her
+back. If she stampeded our position would be extremely dangerous, for we
+would probably be swept off her back by the branches and creepers; and
+to be thrown to the ground in front of the pursuing rogue meant a
+certain and awful death. Bechan, hammering furiously at Khartoum's thick
+skull, yelled at me to fire; and my excited orderly kept urging me to
+"kill the <i>budmash</i>." I fired again, and the tusker, checked in his
+rush, swung off to one side. As he passed us among the trees, I gave him
+a third bullet in the ribs at forty yards. The report of my rifle had an
+almost instantaneously calming effect on Khartoum. She desisted from her
+efforts to bolt; and when I ordered the <i>mahout</i> to follow the fleeing
+rogue, she obeyed him and moved off quietly. We came on him about a
+quarter of a mile away in much denser jungle. He was standing sideways
+to us; and I took a steady shot at his ear, which should have been
+fatal. But instead of dropping to it, he swung round and charged us
+again. I told my orderly to aim at his knee, while I fired at his
+forehead. The two shots rang out together; but the apparently
+invulnerable brute only turned and fled. He was, however, limping badly;
+and I quickened his flight with<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[Pg 127]</a></span> another bullet. This time Khartoum had
+stood like a rock. We urged her on after him and overtook him partially
+concealed behind a stout tree-trunk. He seemed on the point of
+collapsing on the ground. But the moment he caught sight of us he
+charged again. My orderly and I aimed at the same spots as before and
+fired together. But the brute bore a charmed life. He swung off and
+dashed into thick jungle, but not before I could get another shot at
+him. The undergrowth closed around him and hid him from our sight. We
+followed at once on his track and found the bushes and grass splashed
+with blood. Every moment I expected to come upon him lying dead or
+dying. None of our shots had missed him; so he carried eight bullets
+from my heavy rifle and two from Draj Khan's carbine. It seemed
+impossible that he could live long. The trail was an easy one to follow
+and we found no difficulty in distinguishing it from old tracks; for he
+was evidently limping badly. One of his forelegs seemed to be useless;
+and where he had passed across a dry river-bed we found the impressions
+of three sound feet and the marks of the fourth trailing helplessly. But
+for all that we did not overtake him until we had covered three miles.
+We came upon him standing head towards us under a tree in thorny
+undergrowth. We stopped Khartoum about thirty yards from him; and he
+never moved as we took deliberate aim. We fired; and the shock of my
+heavy bullet in the skull drove him back on his haunches in the
+undergrowth. But again he recovered his footing and dashed away before
+we could get in a second shot. I was absolutely amazed at his tenacity
+of life and began to think that it was useless wasting lead on him; but
+we forced<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[Pg 128]</a></span> our way through the thorns and followed until the sun sank
+low in the sky. Then, marking a spot where the trail led across a broad
+and empty river-bed, I gave the order to turn Khartoum's head towards
+camp, resolved to take up the pursuit next day. I thought it highly
+probable that we should find the animal dead; for he now had twelve
+bullets in him.</p>
+
+<p>At the time the detachment was inhabiting a stockaded post we had built
+in the jungle; and the men were out practising bush warfare in the
+forest every day. The spot where I first encountered the rogue was
+hardly a mile from this post. It was imperative that I should find and
+finally dispose of him, for I could not expose my sepoys to the danger
+of an unexpected meeting with him while engaged in their work; and the
+jungle would be absolutely unsafe while he was in the neighbourhood. He
+was almost undoubtedly the elephant which had wounded Jhansi and killed
+the Gurkha; and there were probably many more crimes to his account. His
+first unprovoked attack on us, and the daring of his repeated charges
+after being wounded, showed that he was a vicious and formidable brute;
+and the forest would be uninhabitable until he had been slain or driven
+far away.</p>
+
+<p>When we reached camp that night I held a council of war with Captain
+Balderston and our native officers. It was resolved that I should take
+out with me next day one of our <i>subhedars</i>, a fine old Rajput named
+Sohanpal Singh, and his orderly on a second elephant. We determined to
+bring blankets and food with us, so that we could follow the trail for
+days if necessary, bivouacking wherever night found us. I hoped that,
+badly wounded as the animal was, the <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[Pg 129]</a></span>pursuit would not be a long one;
+but I was prepared to carry it on for days, if necessary.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 239px;"><br /><br />
+<a name="Ill_20" id="Ill_20"></a><img src="images/gs20.jpg" width="239" height="600" alt="SUBHEDAR SOHANPAL SINGH." title="" />
+<span class="caption">SUBHEDAR SOHANPAL SINGH.</span><br /><br />
+</div>
+
+<p>At daybreak we started out, Sohanpal Singh and his orderly on Dundora,
+while Draj Khan and I led the way on Khartoum. The three were armed with
+Government ·303 rifles, while I had my cordite rifle. Our blankets were
+strapped on the pads, and our haversacks were filled with food. I
+carried a loaf of bread and a tin of corned beef in mine; while my
+Thermos flask was filled with limejuice and boiled water. Thus equipped,
+we started out amidst the cheers of the sepoys, who had been deeply
+interested in the account of the fights we had had on the previous day.
+Our route lay by a jungle village called Rungamutti, two miles from our
+stockade; and a couple of hours after we had passed it we picked up the
+elephant's trail.</p>
+
+<p>The jungle across the river-bed where we had stopped the pursuit was at
+first fairly open; and I hoped that we should find our quarry in it. We
+came on the spot where he had passed the night. The grass was pressed
+down all around and was covered with blood. This was encouraging; and we
+went on full of hope. Suddenly through the trees we caught sight of an
+elephant standing sideways to us. The mahouts halted their animals and
+we brought our rifles to the ready.</p>
+
+<p>But Bechan whispered, "That is not the <i>budmash</i>, Sahib. See, it has no
+tusks."</p>
+
+<p>It was a <i>muckna</i> or tuskerless male. These are generally timid beasts,
+being constantly bullied in the herds by the males provided by Nature
+with weapons of offence. As soon as this one caught sight of us it
+bolted away through the jungle. We<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[Pg 130]</a></span> watched its headlong flight and then
+continued on the trail. A mile or two further on the jungle had the
+appearance of an English wood and the ground was carpeted with ferns. In
+an open glade we saw another elephant. It was a female; and, although it
+turned its head and looked at us, it did not evince any alarm. So I
+determined to try to secure a photograph of it. I handed my rifle to
+Draj Khan and took up my Kodak. The wild elephant stood still while I
+opened and adjusted the camera and pressed the bulb. As soon as the
+click of the shutter announced that the operation was over, she turned
+and moved slowly off into the jungle, while I waved my hat to her and
+expressed my thanks for her courtesy in waiting until I had taken her
+portrait. Unfortunately I had been too far off to secure a really good
+photograph, which was to be regretted, for such pictures are, naturally,
+extremely rare.</p>
+
+<p>After her departure we moved on again. The forest grew denser; and the
+thick and entangled undergrowth delayed our progress; for, of course, a
+tame elephant with a pad and men on her back cannot slip through it as
+easily as an unencumbered wild one can do. So we were continually
+obliged to make detours and could not follow the trail closely.</p>
+
+<p>About eleven o'clock in the morning a sudden crash in the jungle a
+hundred yards ahead of us startled our elephants. Before the <i>mahouts</i>
+could stop them they swung round and stampeded. It was my first
+experience of being bolted with; and it was decidedly unpleasant.
+Dundora, which had been behind, was now leading, and dashed through the
+trees, followed closely by Khartoum. As the noise had apparently been
+caused by the rogue, I tried to <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[Pg 131]</a></span>turn round on the pad, ready to fire.
+And doing so, while at the same time endeavouring to hold on and dodge
+the boughs and creepers overhead, was no easy task. Over and over again
+I was nearly swept off. Luckily the <i>mahouts</i> soon got their elephants
+in hand and stopped them. Then we cautiously advanced again, expecting
+every moment that the rogue would charge out on us. But when we reached
+the spot whence the noise had proceeded we found by the trail that he
+had been lying down and, startled by our appearance, had risen and fled.
+We urged our elephants forward. The chase was becoming exciting. We
+followed as fast as we could go, hoping every minute to catch sight of
+the quarry. The jungle was growing more difficult and we made slow
+progress.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"><br /><br />
+<a name="Ill_21" id="Ill_21"></a><img src="images/gs21.jpg" width="450" height="324" alt="&quot;WE SAW ANOTHER ELEPHANT.&quot;" title="" />
+<span class="caption">&quot;WE SAW ANOTHER ELEPHANT.&quot;</span><br /><br />
+</div>
+
+<p>At last, after three hours, we heard him. He was concealed in a dense
+thicket of thorny undergrowth. We skirted cautiously round it, hoping to
+see him and get a shot. But, although we could hear him, he was
+completely hidden. At length my native officer said:</p>
+
+<p>"Sahib, why should we men be afraid of an animal? Let us attack him on
+foot."</p>
+
+<p>The plucky old man had, in his own country and armed only with a sword,
+ridden at a tiger; but he did not realise that we were now facing a far
+more dangerous foe. His proposal was madness. The jungle was almost
+impenetrable, and we could not see five yards ahead in it. But before I
+could dissuade him the gallant old Rajput slid from Dundora's back,
+followed by his orderly, and walked towards the thicket. It was useless
+to try and stop him; so, cursing his foolhardiness, I dropped to the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[Pg 132]</a></span>
+ground with Draj Khan. As I had the best rifle I pushed the others aside
+and got in front. But I had to reckon with the devotion of the native
+soldier for his British officer. They tried to prevent me from taking
+the post of danger and pulled me back. We had a ridiculous struggle for
+precedence, which was liable to be turned into a tragedy by the rogue's
+appearance at any moment. With difficulty I had my own way; though I
+certainly felt no desire to go first into what I knew was a mad
+undertaking. But it was only when I tried to force my way into the
+thicket that I fully realised our folly. The tangled vegetation was
+composed of thickly interlaced thorny bushes; I can only compare it to
+strong fishing-nets studded freely with hooks. Torn and bleeding from a
+dozen scratches I tried to worm my way in. Then to my horror I heard the
+rogue bursting through it at us. I was pinned down by the thorny
+branches, bound around by pliant creepers, unable to stand upright or
+even raise my rifle. I certainly thought that my last hour had come;
+for, securely pinioned by the cruel vegetation, I was helpless. The men
+behind me were in the same plight. But at that moment the <i>mahouts</i>
+saved us. Realising our extreme danger, they bravely urged their
+elephants into the thicket after us. The rogue at the sight of them
+stopped dead. Though he was not five yards from me, I could not
+distinguish him clearly, so dense was the undergrowth, but could only
+make out portions of his body through the tangle. He retreated a few
+paces, and we tried to scramble out. I could not turn; but shoving my
+legs out backwards, I tore myself free from the vicious thorns and
+retired face to the foe. My rifle was at full cock and I was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[Pg 133]</a></span> afraid
+that the triggers might be caught by the twigs, but I dared not lower
+the hammers. Foot by foot I forced my way back slowly and painfully.
+When I reached the edge of the thicket, my men, who had extricated
+themselves, seized me and dragged me out. We looked at each other. I
+don't know what colour I was; but my men were as nearly pale as it is
+possible for a native to be. Even my brave old <i>subhedar's</i> courage was
+shaken. He had lost all desire to enter the thicket again, for the
+danger had been really great. Had the rogue not stopped of his own
+accord nothing could have saved me, and probably the others, from a most
+unpleasant death. Of course I ought never to have attempted to enter the
+undergrowth, as I had fully realised the foolhardiness of it; but I
+could not allow my sepoys to believe that I was afraid. However,
+everybody now had quite enough of the attack on foot and gladly mounted
+the elephants. We did so one by one, the others standing with rifles
+ready to repel an assault. We circled round the thicket cautiously,
+hoping to find an easier line of approach. Suddenly our vicious
+antagonist came charging through the dense undergrowth straight at
+Khartoum. I halted her ten yards from the edge of the covert. I could
+vaguely make out the rogue's vast bulk bursting through the tangle, and
+raised my rifle. Half his body was clear of the jungle, the head thrown
+up, the trunk curled and the single tusk pointed menacingly at me, when
+I fired straight at his forehead. The force of the blow drove him back
+on his haunches into the undergrowth; while the native officer and the
+two orderlies poured a volley into his side, one of the men getting in a
+second shot. I could not see him clearly enough to give<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[Pg 134]</a></span> him the other
+barrel, and I expected to hear him collapse at last. But, inconceivable
+as it seems, he recovered himself, swung about and bolted out of the
+other side of the thicket. I could hardly believe it; but we heard him
+plainly enough as he dashed off through the jungle. I began to think
+that it really was useless to waste lead on him; but we followed. He was
+lost to sight; but the trail was plain. I looked at my watch; it was two
+o'clock in the afternoon. From that hour until night fell we kept up the
+pursuit. Obliged to desist owing to the darkness, I determined to
+bivouac in the forest. We were now too far from the camp to return to
+it. So we made our way along a river-bed until, near the foot of the
+hills, we found water in it. Then dismounting we let our elephants drink
+and prepared for the night. As the tracks of wild animals abounded in
+the sand near the edge of the water, for the stream disappeared into the
+ground here and it was the last drinking-place for miles, I ordered
+fires to be lit around us; for, in the dark, wild elephants attracted by
+Dundora and Khartoum might rush over us, or a hungry tiger might be
+unable to resist the temptation of an easy meal provided by sleeping
+men. My companions ate the <i>chupatties</i> or flour cakes they carried with
+them; while I dined on my bread and preserved meat. Then, telling off
+one of our number to keep watch in turn, we rolled ourselves in our
+blankets and lay down to sleep. A chill wind blew down from the
+mountains and the damp sand made a cold bed; but in a few minutes
+everyone but the sentry and I was asleep. I heard our elephants chained
+on the bank tearing the branches from the trees near them. A sudden
+spurt of flame from the fires lit up their<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[Pg 135]</a></span> huge bodies, which were
+vague and shadowy in the flickering light. I looked at the stars
+overhead and the faint outline of the mountains towering over us, until
+at last fatigue overpowered me and I slept.</p>
+
+<p>At daybreak next morning we turned out. On going to wash in the stream
+we found the "pugs"<a name="FNanchor_5_5" id="FNanchor_5_5"></a><a href="#Footnote_5_5" class="fnanchor">[5]</a> of a panther in the sand about fifty yards from
+our bivouac, while a couple of hundred yards farther away the huge
+footprints of elephants were plainly visible; so our fires had probably
+saved us from some unwelcome visitors. I had to make a frugal breakfast
+on the heel of the loaf and the last fragments of tinned meat, washed
+down by a drink from the stream. The blankets were rolled up and
+strapped on the elephants' backs; and we started to pick up the trail.
+We found it without difficulty and followed it all day. It led us
+towards the south away from the hills. But we could not come up with the
+rogue. Night found us in the vicinity of a tea garden, the manager of
+which I had met once; so I determined to claim his hospitality. When we
+reached his bungalow I learned that he had ridden over to a neighbouring
+estate, but was expected back to dinner. His native overseers took
+charge of my party and found them food and shelter. After a long wait in
+the bungalow I yielded to the persuasions of the owner's servant and ate
+the excellent dinner he provided for me; then I lay down in the
+guest-room and fell asleep. At midnight I was awakened by the return of
+my unwitting host, who, however, made me thoroughly welcome when he
+discovered me. And next morning before I started off on the pursuit
+again he loaded me with supplies.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[Pg 136]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>To record the incidents of what proved a long, weary and fruitless chase
+would fill a volume. For nine days more we followed the trail, never far
+behind the rogue but never catching sight of him. He led us first into
+the dense and tropical vegetation of the jungles around Rajabhatkawa,
+where we forced our way through luxuriant tree-ferns, their undersides
+studded thick with long curved thorns. On the second day we were passing
+through tall elephant grass with waving plumes that nodded high over our
+heads. We followed a path made by the passage of wild animals. The two
+orderlies were on foot in front, picking up the trail, when we heard,
+fifty yards ahead, the rogue crashing suddenly through the jungle. The
+startled men turned and ran towards our elephants which, alarmed at the
+sight of their terror, turned sharp and stampeded. Having been leading,
+I now found myself looking down the muzzle of Sohanpal Singh's rifle as
+he swung round ready to fire over Dundora's tail if the rogue chased us.
+Luckily in the tall grass there was no danger of our being swept off the
+pads; and the <i>mahouts</i> soon stopped their animals and brought them
+back. But when we got clear of the cover we found that it lined the bank
+of a broad, empty river-bed across which our prey had escaped while our
+elephants had been retreating. In the sand we found his unmistakable
+track with the useless foreleg dragging helplessly over the ground. Had
+our animals not bolted at the critical moment we would have reached the
+river-bank in time to have a clear shot at him as he crossed in the
+open. For the remainder of the chase we never got so close to him again.</p>
+
+<p>Wherever night found us we bivouacked; unless<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[Pg 137]</a></span> a lucky chance brought us
+near a tea garden, where I sought the planters' unfailing hospitality.
+Men whose names I did not know welcomed me with the cordiality of old
+friends and made me and my train comfortable for the night. I found that
+I was known to most by reputation as the lunatic who had walked up to a
+notorious rogue elephant with only a camera in his hand. All gladly
+aided me in my venture; for I learned that the brute I was pursuing was
+infamous throughout the district. Everyone had a tale to tell of him,
+and never to his credit. On one garden he had entered the coolies'
+village and, finding a native baby in his path, had picked it up in his
+trunk and hurled it on to the roof of a hut. Alarmed by its cries the
+parents had rushed out only to be met and trampled to death by the
+murderous brute. On another garden the manager and a friend were
+strolling in the dusk along a road within two hundred yards of the
+bungalow. Smoking and chatting, they were all unconscious of the fact
+that this rogue was stalking silently towards them intent on murder.
+Suddenly the planter's terrier saw it and rushed barking at it.
+Frightened as all elephants are of dogs, the animal turned off the road
+and plunged in among the tea bushes; and it was only then that his
+intended victims perceived him. My bullets were by no means the first
+that he had received. He had been shot at and wounded over and over
+again. One planter advised me, if I eventually succeeded in killing him,
+to exploit his body as a lead mine.</p>
+
+<p>Hope springs eternal in the sportsman's breast; and day after day I set
+out at dawn cheered by the expectation that surely this day must bring
+the chase to a successful conclusion. As we started at five or<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[Pg 138]</a></span> six
+o'clock each morning and kept on the move until 6 p.m., we must have
+covered altogether well over two hundred miles in the pursuit, as we
+averaged a mile and a half in the hour. The rogue seemed to know that we
+were on his track and changed his direction frequently. Strange were the
+sights I saw and varied the wild jungles we traversed. Sometimes for
+hours we pushed our way through brakes of tough cane. Sometimes we
+passed for miles under huge trees in grassy land. Once in the forest
+Khartoum stopped short so suddenly that I was nearly thrown off her pad.
+As she backed away the <i>mahout</i> pointed to a great snake twelve or
+thirteen feet long wriggling away from almost under her forelegs. The
+glimpses I got of it showed it to be the terrible king-cobra.</p>
+
+<p>For the first four days of the chase we had found no droppings left by
+the fleeing elephant. Then we came on some, small, hard and black with
+coagulated blood. And only on the sixth day did we discover traces of
+where he had begun to eat again. And one morning we passed a patch of
+cultivation in the jungle and a peasant who told us that at daybreak he
+had found a lame single-tusker elephant feeding on his crops. When the
+sun rose it moved on again without discovering the man.</p>
+
+<p>At last on the twelfth day since our first encounter I was obliged to
+give up the chase. We found his trail leading across the wide and rapid
+river, the Torsa, which pours down its flood from the mountains of
+Bhutan. My men and animals were worn out by the unceasing pursuit.
+Although the former suffered less than I did from the want of food, for
+every village supplied their wants and I had to depend on<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[Pg 139]</a></span> the kind
+charity of the planters, yet the irregular meals and the strain told on
+them. They were not spurred on by the same eagerness to kill the rogue
+as I. But greatly disappointed as I was at being unable to compass his
+death, yet I thought that at least we had rid our jungles of his
+dangerous presence; so, sadly and reluctantly, I yielded to my
+followers' entreaties and turned our elephants' heads towards home.</p>
+
+<p>We really had deserved better fortune. We had done our best to kill the
+rogue, and nothing but the most astonishing fortune had saved him. One
+bullet out of the many half an inch to one side or the other would have
+given us the victory. And we had shot calmly and steadily. I was sure
+that not one of our bullets had missed him, which of course was not
+astonishing, as they had all been fired at the closest range. Yet I have
+seen a man miss a fourteen-hand <i>sambhur</i> at ten yards. But with this
+elephant I knew that every shot had struck. I have never heard of so
+long and continuous a pursuit of one animal as ours had been. But the
+fact remained that with ten solid bullets from my heavy rifle, and seven
+from the Lee-Enfields, the brute still lived to mock us, and to do
+worse. For three weeks from the day when we ended the chase on the banks
+of the Torsa the rogue was back again in our jungles and attacked the
+tame elephants of an Indian Civil Servant near Buxa Road Station.
+Needless to say, I was off again after him the moment I heard of this
+fresh outrage. But all in vain. And a few months afterwards while I was
+lying dangerously ill in Buxa the brute surprised a Bhuttia and his wife
+in the jungle three miles from Santrabari and trampled the woman to
+death; and,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[Pg 140]</a></span> for aught I know, still carrying our bullets he yet lives
+to terrorise the forest. May we meet again! And yet, when I think how
+narrowly I escaped an agonising death under his terrible feet, I should
+perhaps be thankful that the chances of our meeting are small; for
+hundreds of miles of India now divide us.</p>
+
+<p>It is fortunate that in sudden danger one has not time to think; for if,
+in the nerve-trying moment when a man stands facing the onrush of a
+charging elephant, a vivid imagination painted to his eyes the awful
+fate in store for him should the bullet fail to strike home, the rifle
+would drop from his shaking fingers. But though in anticipation the
+heart beats quickly and the breath comes fast, yet when the instant of
+danger comes the nerves turn to steel and the hand never falters. A
+tiger is not always a formidable foe; and one generally meets him on
+advantageous terms. But the wild elephant's charge must be met on ground
+of his own choosing; and the odds are perhaps in his favour. Yet the man
+who has once stopped him in his headlong rush will long to do battle
+with his kind again; and the recollections of the peril escaped acts
+only as a spur.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[Pg 141]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_5_5" id="Footnote_5_5"></a><a href="#FNanchor_5_5"><span class="label">[5]</span></a> Footprints.</p></div>
+</div>
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="ChapterVIII" id="ChapterVIII"></a>CHAPTER VIII</h2>
+
+<h3>IN TIGER LAND</h3>
+
+<p>The tiger in India&mdash;His reputation&mdash;Wounded tigers&mdash;Man-eaters&mdash;Game
+killers and cattle thieves&mdash;A tiger's residence&mdash;Chance
+meetings&mdash;Methods of tiger hunting&mdash;Beating with elephants&mdash;Sitting
+up&mdash;A sportsman's patience&mdash;The charm of a night watch&mdash;A cautious
+beast&mdash;A night over a kill&mdash;An unexpected visitor&mdash;A tantalising
+tiger&mdash;A tiger at Asirgarh&mdash;A chance shot&mdash;Buffaloes as
+trackers&mdash;Panthers&mdash;The wrong prey&mdash;A beat for tiger&mdash;The Colonel wounds
+a tiger&mdash;A night march&mdash;An elusive quarry&mdash;A successful beat&mdash;A watery
+grave&mdash;Skinning a tiger.</p>
+
+
+<p>Would any book on India be complete without a tiger in it? Although he
+is found in many other Asiatic countries&mdash;in China they shoot him in
+caves, in Corea there is a whole militia raised to deal with him&mdash;yet in
+the popular mind the tiger is particularly associated with Hindustan. No
+distinguished visitor would consider himself properly entertained if one
+were not provided for him to shoot. The young subaltern in England pines
+for the day to come when he will be ordered to India and have his chance
+to face the striped beast in his native jungle.</p>
+
+<p>The usual conception of the tiger is an animal of infinite cunning,
+cruelty and ferocity. Cunning he certainly is; but his reputation for
+ferocity and courage is hardly deserved. He is really rather a harmless
+and timid creature, of a decidedly shy and retiring disposition,
+avoiding, rather than courting,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[Pg 142]</a></span> notoriety. Sanderson, one of the
+greatest authorities on sport in India, argues that the tiger is
+actually a public benefactor, inasmuch as he kills off old and sick
+cattle which, since the pious Hindu would not put them to death, would
+otherwise linger on spreading disease among the herds. Natives, near
+whose village a tiger takes up his residence, betray no fear of him and
+go about their daily avocations in his vicinity as indifferently as if
+he did not exist. I have seen women drawing water from a stream not a
+hundred yards from the spot where half an hour later I drove a tiger
+from his lair. For, except in rare cases, these animals prefer to give
+man a wide berth, and, when stumbled upon accidentally, will usually
+effect a rapid retreat if they can. Of course a wounded tiger followed
+up is an exceedingly dangerous foe. Furious with pain, exhausted and in
+agony, he will turn savagely on his pursuers; and then a quick eye and
+steady rifle are needed to check him in his fierce charge. Even shot
+through the heart he may retain sufficient vitality to reach and maul
+his aggressor, then perhaps fall dead on his mangled victim without
+killing him outright. But few men wounded by a tiger ever recover; for
+the shock and the blood-poisoning set up by the unclean claws of the
+carrion feeder are almost invariably fatal.</p>
+
+<p>The man-eater is, fortunately, rare; for, having once learned how easy a
+prey human beings prove, he is apt to devote himself too exclusively to
+them; and the total of his victims soon mounts up into the hundreds. The
+man-eater is made, not born. Sometimes it is an old beast no longer
+agile enough to surprise the animals of the forest or even bring down a
+stray cow, but still supple enough to spring upon<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[Pg 143]</a></span> some unwary
+wood-cutter or villager. Natives believe that human flesh disagrees with
+a tiger's digestion, and point in proof to the mangy state of most
+man-eaters' hides. But the reason of this is that the animal is
+generally old or sick. Sometimes, however, the tiger who takes to the
+slaughter of human beings is a young and vigorous beast. He has probably
+some time or other been disturbed over a kill or foiled in an attempt to
+carry off cattle by some rashly courageous individual, and in anger or
+the desperation of hunger has slain the intruder. Finding that after all
+man is not a formidable enemy and quite palatable, he continues to prey
+on him and in time almost devastates a whole district. He becomes a
+public character and attracts more attention than he likes. Government
+gazettes honour him with a notice proclaiming him. A price is set on his
+head. White men come from all sides to hunt him down; and the
+unfortunate animal knows no peace until a lucky bullet lays him low.
+Scared natives regard him as an evil spirit and set up altars to him.
+And yet it is extraordinary how indifferent the inhabitants of a
+district ravaged by a man-eater become to his presence. I have seen a
+postman jog-trotting along night after night on a road on which two men
+had been killed and eaten by a tiger the week before. The man's
+ridiculous little spear and bells would have been no protection against
+the Striped Death springing on him out of the darkness; but he had his
+living to make. His orders were to carry the mail-bag along that stretch
+of road every night; so with true Oriental fatalism he jogged on,
+seemingly indifferent to the chances of an unlucky meeting.</p>
+
+<p>The man-eater being an exception, tigers may be<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[Pg 144]</a></span> classified as game
+slayers and cattle killers. Those haunting a jungle where <i>sambhur</i>,
+<i>cheetul</i>, pig and small antelopes abound take their toll of them. A
+monkey is quite a delicate morsel, if they can catch an unwary <i>bunder</i>
+on the ground or fetch him from a low bough by an unexpected spring.
+Those that take up their residence in cultivated country usually prey on
+the cattle grazing in the scrub jungle near the villages. A tiger
+generally rules over a stretch of ground about five miles square and
+keeps strictly within his own domain. Any intruder of his own sex is
+speedily ejected. But it is a curious fact that when a tiger is shot,
+another quickly appears and takes up his abode in the defunct animal's
+dominions. A certain patch of jungle, a particular <i>nullah</i>, may be the
+residence of a tiger which is known to be the only one for miles round.
+But if he is killed his habitat is almost certain of another striped
+tenant very soon.</p>
+
+<p>The game slayer is not often seen, living as he does in the heart of the
+jungle and prowling mostly by night. The cattle lifter levies
+contributions from the villages in his district in turn, usually killing
+a cow every two or three days. He takes up his residence for the time
+being near the carcass in some shady spot close to water. He eats about
+sixty or eighty pounds of beef at his first meal, goes to drink and lies
+up during the day to digest his heavy meal, returning at night to feed
+again. If any villager happens to blunder in on his privacy during his
+siesta, he gives a low, warning growl which usually suffices to scare
+the intruder off. The natives pay little heed to him and go about their
+usual pursuits without heeding his proximity.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[Pg 145]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>On my first introduction to the jungle&mdash;it was in the Central Provinces
+years ago&mdash;I had a wholesome respect for tigers. When I learned that one
+lived in the particular part of the forest where I went shooting, I used
+to feel anything but comfortable as I wandered about in <ins title="Transcriber's Note: original reads 'seach'">search</ins> of
+<i>sambhur</i>. I marvelled at the unconcerned way in which even women and
+children traversed this jungle from village to village. One day I
+climbed down into a deep, narrow ravine in the hope of finding a stag
+sheltering in it from the unpleasantly hot sun. Suddenly from a clump of
+bushes above my head came a deep "Wough! wough!" like the bark of a
+great dog; and a tiger crashed out of it and bounded up and over the
+edge of the <i>nullah</i>. I swung my rifle round; but he was out of sight
+before the butt touched my shoulder. My <i>shikaree</i> (native hunter) cried
+"Bagh! Bagh! (A tiger! a tiger!)" and rushed up past me after the
+vanished animal. Rather unwillingly I clambered up too; and I was
+decidedly relieved when, on emerging from the ravine, I found that the
+ground was covered with grass six feet high, so that pursuit of the
+tiger was hopeless. However, on calmly considering the matter
+afterwards, I came to the conclusion that the beast was even more afraid
+of me than I of him. So I devoted much time and attention to trying to
+meet him again. Many a night did I sit up for him over a cow tied up as
+a bait. Time after time I followed his footprints by day and tried to
+walk him up near the carcass of some deer he had killed and half-eaten.
+But never again did I see him.</p>
+
+<p>A few months ago in the Kanera Forests I was wandering about one
+afternoon, shot-gun in hand, in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[Pg 146]</a></span> search of jungle fowl for the pot,
+about half a mile from the Government <i>dâk</i> bungalow&mdash;or rest-house&mdash;in
+which I was staying. I was making my way along a narrow path. Just as I
+reached a spot where it came out on a small clearing in the forest, I
+heard some heavy animal forcing its way through the undergrowth about
+forty yards to my left. I stepped out into the open and looked in the
+direction from whence came the sound, which stopped as soon as I
+appeared. I stood still for a couple of minutes. Suddenly a tiger, which
+had evidently been watching me, gave a deep roar and crashed off through
+the thick jungle. It was useless to try to follow him up even if I had
+had a rifle instead of a shot-gun. The setting sun warned me that I must
+hurry home; so I continued on my way. Two hundred yards further on the
+path led down into a narrow <i>nullah</i> with steep banks. Here I found the
+fresh prints of the tiger's paws in the mud, the water just oozing into
+them. Had I come along a few minutes earlier we would have met face to
+face in the narrow way; and the chances were that, in his hurry to
+escape, he would have charged me and knocked me down. And a blow from a
+tiger's paw is not a caress to be courted. But the two incidents will
+show that these animals are generally anxious to avoid men.</p>
+
+<p>Native <i>shikarees</i> frequently sit up over water for tigers; but European
+sportsmen usually adopt one of the three following methods. The first
+and most effective is to shoot them from elephants; but this does not
+often fall to the lot of the average man. I was fortunate in having the
+opportunity in Buxa. The second method is to mark down where the animal
+is lying up after a kill and have him driven by a line<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[Pg 147]</a></span> of beaters to
+the spot where the sportsman is concealed.</p>
+
+<p>In the Central Provinces I went out one day with a friend who had
+arranged such a beat for a tiger which had killed a cow tied up as a
+bait for him near a village. After a ten miles' drive we reached this
+village; and, having had an early start, we breakfasted under a tree on
+a hillock just above a long <i>nullah</i> which seamed the bare, brown fields
+with a winding line of green. Below us the hundred and sixty coolies
+collected as beaters squatted and smoked until the Sahibs were ready.
+Just as we had finished our meal, a cow burst out of the jungle in the
+<i>nullah</i> and dashed in among the groups of men. They caught her and
+became very excited over her. We could see them crowding round her,
+talking volubly. Then the cow was led up to us; and we found that she
+was bleeding from a wound in the throat. All down her flanks and rump
+ran long scratches as if from the claws of a monster cat. This told us
+plainly that the tiger we were in quest of was still in the <i>nullah</i> and
+that the cow had stumbled on him unawares. The tiger had evidently tried
+to seize it but, gorged with his night's meal, missed the fatal
+neck-breaking spring and, as the cow fled, struck out and clawed it
+behind.</p>
+
+<p>The coolies cried "Wah! wah! the <i>shaitan's</i> (devil's) last day has
+dawned. See how the cow has come straight to the Sahib's feet to show
+her wounds and claim justice!" I am afraid the animal's bovine
+intelligence was not equal to this, but, in terror, she was only making
+for her village and safety.</p>
+
+<p>We waited under our tree until the day was at its hottest, so that the
+tiger, when driven, would be all<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[Pg 148]</a></span> the more reluctant to face the burning
+sun in the open and would retreat along the <i>nullah</i> in the shade; for
+where the ravine forked off in two branches <i>machâns</i>, strong wooden
+platforms, had been built for us up in the trees, one commanding each
+branch. We took a short cut across the open in the terrific heat. The
+pitiless sun beat down on us as we walked over the shadeless fields, and
+seemed to boil the brains in our skulls. It was a relief to reach the
+<i>nullah</i> and the cool shelter of the trees in it. We climbed up into our
+respective <i>machâns</i>, which were about a mile away from where the
+beaters were to begin the drive. I could see my friend perched up in his
+tree across the bank dividing his branch of the <i>nullah</i> from mine. This
+bank was covered with undergrowth from which sprang a line of trees. In
+these a number of <i>langurs</i>&mdash;the big grey apes with black faces
+surrounded by a fringe of white whisker, which gives them a comic
+resemblance to aged negroes, a resemblance increased by their white
+eyebrows&mdash;were playing. They came to look at us, leaping from bough to
+bough, stooping and craning their necks to see us as we sat hidden by
+the leafy screens around our <i>machns</i>. Then, their curiosity satisfied,
+they continued their play and swung through the branches away in the
+direction of the beaters. For a couple of hours I sat drowsing in the
+intense heat. The silence was profound. Suddenly loud cries, the
+drumming of tom-toms, and the tapping of sticks against tree-trunks,
+told me that the drive had begun. I looked to my rifle and sat ready.
+The noise drew nearer; every nerve in my body was aquiver. Then in the
+tree-tops pandemonium broke loose. The <i>langurs</i> were coming back<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[Pg 149]</a></span>
+towards us, leaping from branch to branch, shrieking, chattering with
+rage at something moving along beneath them. It was evidently the tiger,
+their foe as well as ours, which was trying to steal away silently
+before the beaters. The apes seemed to know his design and to be
+endeavouring to foil him. I really believe that they realised that our
+presence boded no good to him; for several looked at me as much as to
+say:</p>
+
+<p>"Here he is. He is trying to escape. We won't let him creep off
+unnoticed."</p>
+
+<p>I had read of this extraordinary behaviour on the part of monkeys during
+a beat in Captain Forsyth's interesting book, "The Highlands of Central
+India"; but I could scarcely credit it. But now I saw these <i>langurs</i>
+following the tiger's progress and shrieking abuse down at him. He
+seemed to be coming straight for me; and my heart rejoiced. But suddenly
+from the change of direction of the apes I saw that he had turned,
+crossed the dividing bank, and was going down the other <i>nullah</i>. Then I
+heard a deep short growl; and at the same moment my friend's rifle went
+up to his shoulder and he fired. Mad with excitement and furious at
+being unable to see what was happening, I did a very foolish thing. I
+slipped down from my tree and dashed through the undergrowth to the
+brink of the <i>nullah</i>. I saw the tiger rush across the narrow ravine and
+spring up the opposite bank, which was higher than the one on which I
+stood. Near the top his strength seemed to fail him. He clung on
+desperately, unable to pull himself up. My friend fired again; and the
+brute, struck in the foreleg, dropped back into the <i>nullah</i>. He rolled
+over and over in agony, biting at his paws<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[Pg 150]</a></span> and tearing them with his
+teeth. I fired at his shoulder. Even then he rolled about for a few
+minutes; and then his head fell back, his frame stiffened and he lay
+still.</p>
+
+<p>The shot drew my friend's attention to me; for he had not noticed me on
+the ground. He shouted angrily:</p>
+
+<p>"Go back, you fool. Get up your tree. There is a second tiger in the
+beat."</p>
+
+<p>I well deserved his uncomplimentary epithet; for, had the first animal
+sprung up the low bank on which I stood we would have met face to face.
+I hurriedly scrambled up again and sat with my rifle ready, until I saw
+first one man, then another and another, appear in the <i>nullah</i>; and
+finally the whole line of beaters reached us. There had been a tigress
+in the drive as well; but she had broken out to one side. She passed a
+tree in which a man had been placed as a "stop"; but, although he flung
+his <i>puggri</i> in her face, she was not to be turned, and escaped out over
+the fields. I climbed down again and cautiously approached the tiger,
+keeping my rifle ready lest there might be some life in him still. I
+have known a sportsman to walk up to an apparently dead tiger and pull
+its tail, to be laid low the next moment by a blow from the animal's
+paw. Some of our coolies threw stones at the body; and as these elicited
+no response I walked up to the beast and found it dead. As the natives
+try to steal the whiskers, which they believe to have a certain magical
+power, I mounted guard until a litter had been made from cut branches to
+convey the tiger to the village for skinning. Arrived there the local
+flayers were set to work. The dead brute looked the embodiment of
+strength; and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[Pg 151]</a></span> I marvelled at the masses of muscle the knives disclosed
+in the thick limbs. The first bullet had struck behind the shoulder; and
+when the carcass was cut open we found a hole the size of a florin right
+through the heart. Yet even with this wound the animal had been able to
+dash across the <i>nullah</i> and spring up the bank. It showed that a tiger
+shot through the heart could reach and kill a man before falling dead
+itself. The other wounds were in the foreleg and ribs. The natives did
+not leave a scrap of flesh on the bones. For it and certain parts of the
+tiger are supposed to endow anyone who eats them with courage and
+vigour; and crowds of women came to carry off their husbands' share of
+the meat. The fat&mdash;such layers of it, white and firm, on the well-fed
+cattle thief&mdash;is boiled down for oil, which is considered a sovereign
+remedy for rheumatism. The skin was pegged out, hair downwards, on the
+ground and scraped clean, then covered with wood ashes. And the last
+stage of the proceedings consisted in the beaters being assembled and
+paid their wages&mdash;fourpence a man. Had the drive been unsuccessful, they
+would have only received twopence each. It seems little reward for
+disturbing a sleeping tiger; but the coolies were quite satisfied.</p>
+
+<p>The cause of the <i>langurs</i> rage was evident when a beater brought us the
+half-eaten body of one of their number which he had found near the spot
+where the tiger had been sleeping. My friend told me that he was able to
+mark the brute's progress through the undergrowth by the movements of
+the apes above him. The tiger had come out from the cover into the clear
+bed of the <i>nullah</i> with his head turned over his shoulder glaring up at
+them in anger. And the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[Pg 152]</a></span> deep growl I had heard was uttered against these
+betrayers of his flight.</p>
+
+<p>This is a fair example of the second method of tiger shooting. But
+neither it nor the first are possible in very dense forest; and then
+"sitting up" must be tried. This consists of tying up a cow near a
+<i>nullah</i> or patch of jungle in which the tiger is suspected or known to
+be. If he kills and eats part of it, a <i>machân</i> is built in a tree close
+to the carcass and concealed by a tree of leafy branches. On this the
+sportsman takes up his position in the afternoon and tries to shoot the
+tiger when he returns to feed on the kill at dusk or later on moonlight
+nights. Sometimes he is obliged to wait till dawn. This is the method
+which least often proves effective. It is particularly tantalising and
+demands the patience of a Job. From about 4 p.m. to 6 a.m. the hunter
+must sit still in a cramped position. He scarcely dares to move his
+limbs, must make no noise, cannot smoke; if he has brought food with him
+he must consume it quietly. The dead cow, specially in the hot weather,
+offends his nostrils with a terrible stench. And thus, sickened by the
+awful odour, tormented by mosquitoes, he must sit through the night,
+every sense on the alert. He dare not drowse, for he cannot tell at what
+moment the quarry may appear. And the tiger is a cautious beast. If he
+does return to the kill, he will generally prowl around for some time
+before approaching it; and if he scents the waiting man in the tree
+above or anything arouses his suspicions, he will melt away without a
+sound into the darkness, leaving the hunter's vigil unrewarded.</p>
+
+<p>Yet sitting up is not without its charm. While daylight lasts it is
+interesting to watch the carrion<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[Pg 153]</a></span> feeders hastening to snatch a mouthful
+of the feast Chance has provided for them, always on the alert lest the
+rightful owner of the banquet should suddenly appear. High overhead a
+dim speck is seen against the sky. It grows larger and clearer, sinks
+down and, wheeling in great circles, reveals itself as a vulture.
+Another and another follow and, gradually descending, perch on the trees
+around. An impudent grey-headed crow pushes in before them and alights
+close to the dead cow. Then hopping on to the carcass it cocks its head
+impertinently at the less courageous vultures and begins to dig its beak
+into the putrid flesh. The big birds flop heavily to the ground and with
+much rustling of wings, shoving, hustling, angry squawks and vicious
+pecks at each other, begin their meal. But up fly the birds as a couple
+of jackals make their appearance and slink furtively to the kill. While
+they feed they look around apprehensively and start at every sound. The
+vultures flap over towards the dead cow again and demand their share of
+the good things that Chance has provided. The jackals snarl and snap at
+them, driving them off with short rushes. But suddenly they bolt
+themselves, as a dozen fox-like little beasts with reddish skins, sharp
+ears and handsome brushes trot up to the kill. These are the dreaded
+wild dogs which decimate the game in the jungle. They hungrily tear at
+the flesh, quarrelling and snapping at each other, ready to fly if the
+tiger appears. If the carcass is near water a white-and-black,
+long-legged bird is certain to be hovering about, crying plaintively and
+incessantly: "Did he do it? Did he&mdash;did he&mdash;did he do it?" until the
+exasperated watcher in the tree longs to shoot him. Then the sun sets,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[Pg 154]</a></span>
+the noises of the day sink into silence; but the jungle wakes.</p>
+
+<p>In the forest below Buxa lived a very large tiger which vexed my soul
+exceedingly. Generations of commanding officers had pursued him in vain;
+and the task was handed down as a legacy from each to his successor for
+years. Fired at once, and possibly wounded, over a live cow tied up as
+bait, he was never to be tempted to approach another. Inspired to
+compass his death by the impressions of his huge paws, which I often
+found in the sand of river-beds, I had three cows tied up for weeks in
+different <i>nullahs</i>. In the daytime a man whom I employed for the
+purpose took them to graze and water and fastened them up again before
+dark. At first I used to sit up in a tree over one or other of them
+night after night without result. Then I resolved to wait until he had
+killed one. It was equally fruitless. For, although his "pugs" or
+footprints, were often to be traced coming up the <i>nullah</i> and diverging
+towards the cow tied up in it, they always showed that he had turned
+abruptly and made off as soon as he discovered the nature of the bait.</p>
+
+<p>At last one day news was brought to me that he had killed a <i>sambhur</i>
+hind in the forest. As it was just at full moon, I gave orders that a
+<i>machân</i> should be built in a tree near the carcass. Leaving the fort
+early in the afternoon I descended into the jungle and reached the spot
+about 6 p.m. when there was still some daylight. I found that the
+<i>sambhur</i> had been killed in a <i>nullah</i> a hundred yards off while
+drinking, and had been dragged by the tiger over the top of an almost
+perpendicular bank, up which I found it necessary to pull myself by my
+hands, and then over<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[Pg 155]</a></span> a small and steep hill. As a full-grown hind
+stands thirteen hands high and weighs five hundred pounds or more, this
+gives one some idea of a tiger's strength. The jungle here consisted of
+high trees with little undergrowth. As it was now the hot season when
+most of the leaves are shed, I noticed with satisfaction that the ground
+around below my <i>machân</i> would be well lighted when the moon rose. My
+orderly and two sturdy-limbed Bhuttia coolies were up in a tree over the
+kill, tying an inverted <i>charpoy</i>, or native bed (which makes the best
+and most comfortable <i>machân</i>) in a fork, and hanging leafy branches
+around it to screen it from sight. I climbed up and tried to enter it.
+It was awkwardly placed and overhung me. I succeeded in getting my chest
+on the edge, when the rotten framework broke and nearly precipitated me
+to the earth, thirty feet below. I managed to save myself and sat
+astride a branch while one of the coolies cut a few bamboos from a clump
+close by and repaired the damage. Then I got into the <i>machân</i>, laid a
+packet of sandwiches and my Thermos flask beside me, loaded my rifle
+and, sending my orderly and the Bhuttias away, settled myself for my
+lonely vigil. I amused myself at first by watching the birds preparing
+for the night. A troop of monkeys came to drink in the neighbouring
+<i>nullah</i> and passed overhead, leaping through the branches, hurling
+themselves from tree to tree, chasing each other in play or pausing now
+and then for a comfortable scratch. Mothers with tiny babies clinging
+closely to them sprang across the voids and swung themselves by hand or
+foot. A peacock sailed down majestically from the tree-tops to the water
+and gave its weird cat-like cry. The heavy flapping of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[Pg 156]</a></span> wings and an
+eerie wail told of a big owl bestirring itself early. The harsh "honk"
+of a <i>sambhur</i> stag rang out; and the sharp bark of a <i>khakur</i> sounded
+at regular intervals. The sun sank lower and the twittering of the birds
+faded into silence. The drone of the multitudinous insect-life,
+unceasing in the day, yet only heard plainly at the hour when the louder
+sounds of larger life are hushed, seemed to rise now with startling
+distinctness. But even it died; and only the irritating hum of the
+mosquitoes around my head was left to break the complete silence. The
+air was still; and the sudden fall of a withered leaf seemed to echo
+clearly through the hushed forest. There was yet daylight in the sky;
+but a dusky gloom deepened under the trees. I lay down on the <i>charpoy</i>,
+peering through my leafy screen at the dead hind. My rifle was uncocked
+beside me, for I judged the hour too early for the tiger's visit; and I
+stretched myself at full length to rest before it would be necessary to
+sit upright with every sense alert for my long watch. Suddenly I was
+roused by the sound of loud footfalls to my rear passing over the dry
+leaves which crackled like tin to the tread. They came without
+hesitation towards my tree; and I thought angrily that it could only be
+one of my coolies returning to me contrary to orders. Without moving my
+body I turned my head around at the risk of dislocating my neck,
+intending to bid him in a loud whisper to go away. To my astonishment,
+instead of a man, I made out in the gloom of the underwood a huge bulk
+that I first took to be a baby elephant. Thirty yards away from my tree
+it stopped; and I saw that it was a large Himalayan bear, which looked
+immense to me after the smaller species of the Central<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[Pg 157]</a></span> Provinces.
+Fearful of scaring it I lay still in my constrained position. It stood
+motionless and seemed to be staring up at my <i>machân</i>. I hurriedly
+debated the question whether I ought to take a shot at it and give up
+all hope of the tiger, whom the sound would alarm, or let it go and wait
+for the greater prize. I decided on the latter course and simply watched
+it. Suddenly it turned and walked away as noisily as it had come. This
+surprised me; for I had imagined that wild animals tried to move
+silently through the forest. But the bear is indifferent to the other
+jungle dwellers; he does not fear the ferocious beasts nor attack the
+harmless ones.</p>
+
+<p>As soon as it had gone I glanced at my watch which showed 6-40 p.m. I
+sat up, cocked my rifle, and held it across my knees. The daylight died
+away in the swift oncoming of the tropic night; but the full moon shone
+overhead and cast the tangled pattern of leaves and branches on the
+ground. For hours I sat, scarcely daring to change my position or move
+my cramped limbs. Suddenly from the direction of the <i>nullah</i> where the
+deer had been killed came the tramping of some heavy animal over the dry
+leaves towards me. The tiger at last! One touch of the hand to assure
+myself that my rifle was cocked and I sat motionless, though the beating
+of my heart sounded loud in my ears. Few sportsmen, after long hours of
+waiting, can hear the approach of their quarry without a quickened
+pulse. The brute walked straight towards the kill. In another second it
+must emerge into the full glare of the moonlight. Stealthily I raised my
+rifle to my shoulder. Alas! just as one step more would have brought it
+out from under the black shadows of the trees, the tiger<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[Pg 158]</a></span> stopped. For
+minutes that seemed hours it remained motionless. Then it moved back so
+silently that only the sharp crackle of a dry twig farther away told me
+that the animal had gone. What had aroused its suspicions I cannot tell.
+Perhaps it had scented me up in the tree or detected the recent presence
+of humans around its kill. Cursing its cunning, I uncocked my rifle and
+stretched my cramped limbs. It was then half-past eleven. I was strongly
+tempted to lie down and sleep; but I knew that the tiger <i>might</i> return.
+So I continued my watch. It is in the small hours that the vigil becomes
+hardest. About half-past three in the morning I was nodding drowsily,
+when again from the <i>nullah</i> I heard the sound of the animal
+approaching. His tread seemed even more assured than before; and I made
+certain of getting him. But once more, just within the shadow, he
+paused. I strained my ears but could detect no sound. Another few
+minutes of anxious waiting; and then gradually, almost imperceptibly, he
+withdrew. This was the climax. I showered maledictions on his head. I
+had to wait until after six o'clock before one of my elephants came to
+take me on a long day's shoot in the jungle. Before quitting the spot I
+searched the ground and found the tiger's two trails leading up from the
+<i>nullah</i>.</p>
+
+<p>The sportsman who tries his luck in "sitting up" must be prepared for
+many disappointments. He may watch night after night and never once see
+his quarry. He may select an evening when the moon is full, only to find
+clouds come up and obscure its light; and then, in the unforeseen
+darkness, he may be tantalised by hearing the tiger come to feed on the
+kill, may listen for an hour to the tearing<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[Pg 159]</a></span> of flesh and the crunching
+of bones and be utterly unable to get a shot. The adjutant of my
+regiment, Captain Hore, once paid us a visit at Buxa and went shooting
+in our jungles. On his first day he came across the carcass of a
+<i>sambhur</i> killed the previous day by a tiger. So he had a canvas chair
+tied up in a tree over it and climbed up to wait in it for the slayer to
+return. Before daylight faded he saw some wild pigs come and feed on the
+kill. But just as the moon rose they fled hurriedly; and he heard some
+large animal moving in the jungle close by. It prowled cautiously around
+in cover near the carcass for over two hours, but would not show itself.
+Meantime heavy clouds drew across the sky, blotting out the moon and
+shrouding the forest in impenetrable darkness. Suddenly Hore heard the
+prowling tiger leave the cover at last. It sprang out on the carcass as
+though the <i>sambhur</i> were alive and tore and rent it furiously. The
+sound of bones cracked to an accompaniment of snarls and growls came
+clearly to the watcher above; but the darkness was opaque. At last, in
+desperation, he fired in the direction of the noise but missed; and the
+tiger bolted. And the next moment, as though the shot had been the
+signal for the storm, a vivid flash of lightning rent the clouds, a
+terrific peal of thunder sounded overhead, the sky seemed to open and
+pour down sheets of rain. Hore's position was unenviable. The so-called
+waterproof he had with him was wet through in a few minutes. He could
+not put his rifle away from him, yet feared lest it should attract the
+lightning. It was hopeless to descend and try to find his way through
+the forest in the darkness. And so through the weary night, exposed to
+all the fury of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[Pg 160]</a></span> a tropical storm, he was obliged to sit shivering in
+his chair, forty feet above the ground. And to add to his annoyance the
+tiger, evidently confusing the flash and report of the shot with the
+lightning and thunder, returned and fed on the kill again, while Hore on
+his uncomfortable perch listened, powerless. And when at six o'clock in
+the morning one of my elephants came to fetch him, it was a very sodden,
+chilled, and miserable individual that climbed from the tree on to its
+pad. But not disheartened he ordered the <i>mahout</i>, instead of returning
+to Buxa, to take him for a wide sweep through the jungle in the hope of
+shooting something to console him for the night's disappointment. The
+storm had ceased. Within a mile he came upon a herd of six bison with a
+splendid old bull among them. But the rules of the forest department
+prohibit their being shot in Government jungle; and so the again baffled
+sportsman was forced to let them go unscathed, while they stared at him
+and his elephant for several minutes before they moved away.</p>
+
+<p>Once during the rainy season at Asirgarh I was sitting up over the
+carcass of a white cow in what should have been brilliant moonlight. But
+heavy clouds gathered; and soon all I could see of the kill was a faint
+whitish glimmer. Suddenly this was blotted out, and I heard a crunching
+of bones and tearing of flesh. I could not see my sights, but I fired in
+the direction of the sounds. A terrific howl followed by fiendish
+shrieks and groans told me that I had hit a tiger. I heard him rush off
+thirty or forty yards and throw himself on the ground, where he rolled
+in agony, tearing up the earth and sending the stones rattling down into
+a small <i>nullah</i> beside which<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[Pg 161]</a></span> he lay. I hoped that I was listening to
+his dying moans; but he got up again and the groaning and snarling died
+away in the distance. There was a village a mile off; so, giving the
+tiger time to get well away, I climbed down and made for it. It was a
+nerve-trying walk in the darkness; for I feared every moment to stumble
+on the wounded beast. However I reached shelter without encountering
+him. I gave my <i>shikaree</i> instructions to bid the cowherds of the
+village be ready with their buffaloes at daybreak to track the tiger.
+For these great black beasts are frequently used in this work. Their
+instinct tells them that the tiger is the enemy of their race; and they
+regard him with savage hatred. In a herd they do not fear him; for the
+hungriest cattle thief will not dare to attack a number of them which
+form round the calves and present to him an impenetrable front of
+lowered heads and sharp horns. On their backs the small children of the
+village who drive them to and from the grazing ground are safe. When a
+sportsman employs them to track a wounded tiger, the herds take them to
+a point where they can scent his trail. As soon as they have smelt it,
+they paw up the earth and bellow with rage, then dash off in pursuit. If
+they come on him lying up wounded and sore under a tree, they will
+charge him if allowed to. And no tiger would dare to face their savage
+onslaught; for little avails his strength and cunning against the fierce
+rush of the infuriated beasts. If he is not too badly hurt, he will
+invariably fly before their attack. If not, then must the sportsman
+shoot quick and the herds exert all their authority to keep the
+buffaloes back; for, if left to themselves, they will rush in on the
+tiger, gore him and stamp him to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">[Pg 162]</a></span> death under their hoofs. And the skin
+will be of little use as a trophy when they are allowed to work their
+will on the battered carcass.</p>
+
+<p>Having given my orders, I slept in the local police station on a
+<i>charpoy</i> lent me by the <i>havildar</i>, or sergeant, in charge. At daylight
+my <i>shikaree</i> woke me and I went out to find about twenty buffaloes
+collected. They were driven out to the kill. The sight of the dead cow
+enraged them. They bellowed and stamped, then snuffing up the trail set
+off at a run across the fields like a pack of hounds. They soon tracked
+the tiger into the jungle. They crashed through the undergrowth, now and
+then at fault, but questing round until they picked up the trail again.
+They followed it up for two or three miles and finally lost it in broken
+and precipitous ground among the low hills. My <i>shikaree</i> assured me
+that it was useless to search further, as the tiger could not have been
+badly wounded and was certain to have retreated to a great distance. To
+my regret I let myself be persuaded; for, a few days after, the sight of
+vultures gathering from all quarters led to the discovery of the tiger's
+body not half a mile from where we had left off. But the carcass was
+putrid and half-eaten, so the skin was useless.</p>
+
+<p>But shooting on chance in the dark is not always productive of the
+desired result. Once when sitting up on a cloudy night for a panther, I
+discharged my rifle at some animal which I could hear, but could not
+see, at the kill. A pandemonium of shrieks and yells told me that by
+good luck my bullet had gone home. I waited for silence, and then,
+having reloaded, climbed down and cautiously approached. But to my
+disappointment, instead of the dead panther<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[Pg 163]</a></span> which I had hoped to find,
+there lay the corpse of a loathsome hyena. On another occasion when
+sitting up in the middle of a village for a daring leopard which used to
+enter it at night and kill the cattle in their pens, I shot a mangy
+pariah dog in the dark.</p>
+
+<p>A panther is a much bolder animal than a tiger. He generally returns to
+his kill earlier, often in broad daylight. I have seen one come out,
+five minutes after my coolies had left, from some bushes in which he had
+evidently been watching them. Even when shot at and missed or slightly
+wounded they will return the same night to a kill. And sometimes one has
+been known to discover the waiting sportsman in the <i>machân</i> first and
+spring up the tree to attack him unprovoked. So that sitting up for
+these animals is not without its risks.</p>
+
+<p>The method of shooting tiger from elephants undoubtedly gives the best
+sport. Seventeen miles from Buxa Fort the great forest ends abruptly.
+From its ragged edge, five miles above the town of Alipur Duar, the
+cultivated plains stretch away to the south, seamed with <i>nullahs</i> which
+run from inside the jungle through the open fields. They are generally
+deep and filled with low trees and scrub, and as they contain water form
+ideal bases of operation for a tiger issuing from the forest to carry on
+war against herds of cattle in the villages. The striped thief can lie
+up within a few hundred yards of a farm and kill the cows when they come
+to drink. If disturbed, he can retreat up the <i>nullah</i> to the shelter of
+the forest. Consequently the stretch of ground just outside the south
+border of the Terai Jungle is full of tigers.</p>
+
+<p>During a visit from our Colonel to Buxa for his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">[Pg 164]</a></span> annual inspection I
+received an invitation from Mr Ainslie, the Subdivisional Officer of
+Alipur Duar, to bring my elephants and join him in a beat for a cattle
+thief which was lying up in a <i>nullah</i> three or four miles from the
+town. At that time I had only Khartoum and Dundora; as Jhansi had run
+away to the forest after being attacked by a wild elephant and had been
+missing for months. However, on our arrival, we found Ainslie had
+collected seven; so that we had nine altogether. This number was not a
+great one; but we hoped that it would suffice. Mrs Ainslie was to
+accompany us; for she was a great sportswoman and had shot five tigers
+herself, as well as various panthers, bears and bison. We started out in
+the early morning, crossed the railway line, forded a river&mdash;which each
+elephant carefully sounded with its trunk&mdash;and reached the <i>nullah</i> in
+which the tiger was reported to be lurking. It was broad and dry, filled
+with scrub and low trees. Ainslie took the Colonel in his howdah; and
+Mrs Ainslie shared mine. Taking up our positions on the bank we sent the
+beater elephants half a mile further on to drive towards us. At a signal
+from Ainslie the beat began. The elephants formed line across the
+<i>nullah</i> and advanced, forcing their way through the jungle. An
+occasional squeal from one of them when the <i>mahout</i> struck it on the
+head for shirking a particularly thorny bit of scrub, the cries of the
+men and the crashing of the huge beasts through the jungle as they
+trampled down the undergrowth and broke off branches from the trees,
+made din enough to scare anything. It soon proved too much for the
+tiger's nerves. My <i>mahout</i> had carelessly allowed his elephant to draw
+back from the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[Pg 165]</a></span> edge of the steep bank. I saw a sudden flash of yellow as
+the tiger darted through the scrub along under the overhanging brink in
+such a way that he was sheltered from my rifle. But I shouted a warning
+to the others, who were posted farther down where the bank sloped less
+steeply. The Colonel fired and wounded the beast, which dashed up the
+bank and received a bullet from Ainslie before it was lost to sight in
+the high grass on the level. The beater elephants emerged from the
+<i>nullah</i>, surrounded it, and drove it in again. They endeavoured to send
+it to us; but the tiger refused to face the guns a second time and broke
+through their line, my orderly, Draj Khan, hurling a heavy stick at it
+and hitting it as it flashed past his elephant. We tried for it again
+lower down, several times, but without success.</p>
+
+<p>While we were thus engaged it seemed strange to see the mail train pass
+on the railway line not half a mile from us, driver, guard, and
+passengers leaning out to look at us. Leaving the <i>nullah</i> we ranged
+through the long grass on the level and put up a number of wild pigs,
+the Colonel shooting a fine old boar with long tusks as sharp as knives.</p>
+
+<p>Having heard that a panther was supposed to be lying up in another
+<i>nullah</i> a couple of miles away, we took our elephants there and tried a
+beat for it. This time the howdah bearers advanced along the bank in
+line with the beaters, spaced across the <i>nullah</i>, which was fairly
+open, with patches of scrub here and there in it. We were unsuccessful
+in finding the panther but were afforded an excellent example of the
+terror with which elephants regard tiny, harmless animals. Over some
+bushes in front of me I<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">[Pg 166]</a></span> caught a glimpse of a hare running through them
+down into the <i>nullah</i>. Its course brought it right across the line of
+beaters. Then these huge beasts, which had just faced a wounded tiger
+unmoved, went mad at the sight of it. All trumpeted shrilly, some
+planted their forefeet firmly and refused to advance, others turned and
+stampeded, despite the heavy blows showered on them with the iron
+<i>ankus</i> by the enraged <i>mahouts</i>. I saw Ainslie and the Colonel, unable
+to discover the cause of the disturbance, stand up in their howdah,
+clutching their rifles and looking everywhere for the charging panther,
+which they imagined must have scared the elephants.</p>
+
+<p>One afternoon in Buxa I received a telegram from Ainslie telling me to
+be with him early next morning as a tiger had killed in his
+neighbourhood that day. As Alipur Duar was twenty-two miles away it
+behoved me to start at once and march through the night. So, filling my
+Thermos flask and putting a loaf of bread and a tin of preserved meat
+into my haversack, I shouldered my rifle and walked down the three miles
+of steep road to Santrabari. Here I found the <i>mahouts</i> and ordered them
+to get the two elephants ready, Jhansi still being a deserter. I bade
+them put the howdah on Dundora's back, as she was the steadier with a
+charging tiger. We started off at once; but before we reached the
+railway station at Buxa Road, darkness had fallen. My elephant stepped
+out briskly with the swaying stride that is particularly trying in a
+howdah, the occupant of which is shaken about like a pea on a drum. I
+kept slipping off the hard wooden seat; so I tried standing up, holding
+on to the front rail. This was almost worse; for if I forgot for a
+moment to brace<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[Pg 167]</a></span> myself up with stiffened arms I was thrown against the
+side. So for twenty-two miles I had to keep changing my position
+continually and found it tiring work. Through the forest we lumbered on
+without stopping. The night was dark. Fortunately, the road ran along
+beside the railway line clear of the trees, which would otherwise have
+swept the howdah off Dundora's back. Once or twice a wild elephant
+trumpeted in the jungle, much to the alarm of our tame ones; so I kept
+my rifle loaded, ready to drive off any we might meet. When I felt
+hungry I opened the tin of meat and, as we went along, made a frugal
+dinner, having to use my fingers as knife and fork, washing the food
+down with water from my flask. The long march was extremely fatiguing;
+but by daylight we were clear of the forest. Arrived at the <i>dâk</i>
+bungalow at Alipur Duar I found one of the officers of my regiment,
+Major Burrard, who had come there on leave from headquarters at
+Dibrugarh in Assam for a shoot. The Ainslies could not accompany us that
+day, but had kindly lent us their four elephants. The kill was reported
+to be in a <i>nullah</i> about four miles away, close to the edge of the
+forest. Burrard and I started for it at once. Our way lay over open bare
+fields. Our elephants, as is their habit, persisted in tailing off in
+single file, though a hundred could have marched abreast. Each kept
+exactly in the footprints of the one in front of it. As we went along, I
+noticed half a mile to our left a <i>nullah</i> fringed with trees. In these,
+or circling overhead, were a number of vultures. I remarked that every
+now and then one would swoop down to the ground, only to rise again into
+the air like a rocketting pheasant without alighting.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[Pg 168]</a></span> They indicated
+the presence of a dead animal; and I asked the <i>mahouts</i> if our kill was
+there. They answered that it was about a mile further on. I judged that
+another cow must have been killed in this <i>nullah</i>; and from the fact
+that the vultures did not dare to settle on it, I concluded that a tiger
+must be in the immediate vicinity. So I directed my elephant towards the
+spot. As we drew near I looked at the rows of bald-headed vultures,
+those repulsive-looking scavengers of India, sitting on the branches.
+Every few minutes one would fly down towards the ground and, without
+settling, hurriedly shoot up again into the air. Cautiously approaching
+the edge of the bank we found, as I expected, the carcass of a cow. We
+skirted the bank but could not see the tiger, which was probably asleep
+somewhere in the tangled scrub in the bottom of the <i>nullah</i>. So,
+marking the spot for a visit next day, we went on our way. Arrived at
+the place where the beat was to begin, we found another <i>nullah</i> filled
+with jungle, with bare, open ground stretching away on either side of
+it. We took up our positions in it on our two howdah elephants and put
+the beaters in farther down.</p>
+
+<p>They came on the tiger lying asleep under a tree. He sprang up in alarm
+and, instead of retreating along the <i>nullah</i> towards us, rushed up the
+bank and broke away over the open past a group of natives who had come
+out from a farm close by to watch the hunt. As he was not fifty yards
+from them, they were very scared. It must have been a fine sight to see
+the big cat bounding across the bare plain until he reached and plunged
+into a parallel <i>nullah</i> a few hundred yards away. But we in the bottom<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">[Pg 169]</a></span>
+of our ravine saw or heard nothing of him until our beaters came up. We
+searched the other <i>nullah</i> for him in vain. He probably had not stopped
+until he had reached the shelter of the forest.</p>
+
+<p>That night, when dining with the Ainslies, our host told us of some
+curious happenings in tiger hunts around Alipur Duar. A former
+commandant was shooting one day on Dundora. Mrs Ainslie was in the
+howdah with him. A tiger burst out of the jungle before the beat. The
+officer fired and wounded it; but, hardly checking in its rush, it
+dashed forward, being missed by another bullet, and sprang on to the
+elephant's head. For a second it stood with its hind feet on Dundora's
+skull, its forepaws on the front rail of the howdah. The officer dropped
+his empty rifle and, seizing a second gun, shoved the muzzle against the
+tiger's chest and fired. The brute fell back off the elephant, dead. The
+whole incident had passed like a flash. The tiger had actually stood
+right over the <i>mahout</i> crouching on the neck; but the man, although he
+found afterwards a long tear in the shoulder of his coat from the
+animal's claw, was not touched. On another occasion a tiger was shot in
+mid air as it sprang clean across a <i>nullah</i>, crumpled up and fell into
+the stream at the bottom. When the sportsmen on their elephants reached
+the edge of the bank, it was nowhere to be seen; and they concluded that
+it must have escaped down the <i>nullah</i>. But a month afterwards a second
+tiger was similarly shot in the middle of a spring and was seen from a
+distance to fall into a stream in the <i>nullah</i>, try to struggle out of
+the water and collapse beneath the surface. So the mystery of the first
+one's disappearance was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">[Pg 170]</a></span> solved. It must have been lying under water at
+the bottom of the <i>nullah</i>; but no one thought of looking for it there.</p>
+
+<p>Next morning I came out on to the veranda of the <i>dâk</i> bungalow and
+surveyed with pride the six elephants drawn up in line before me. On the
+neck of each sat the <i>mahout</i>, who raised his hand to his forehead in a
+salaam. Then at the word of command the six trunks were lifted into the
+air and the elephants trumpeted in salute. As I looked at them I
+murmured inwardly: "This day a tiger must die!"</p>
+
+<p>We were to look for the animal that had killed the cow I had found the
+previous morning. So Burrard and I made an early start and proceeded to
+the spot I had marked. The <i>nullah</i> was narrow, S-shaped, with almost
+perpendicular banks fifteen feet high. A stream of water filled it from
+bank to bank. On either side of it was thick scrub jungle and elephant
+grass eight feet high. I stationed Burrard at one end of the S and took
+up my position at the other about a hundred yards from him. My elephant
+was back a little from the <i>nullah</i>, along the far bank of which the
+tall, stiff grass stood like a wall. The beaters started a quarter of a
+mile from us and drove through the scrub on the other side of the
+<i>nullah</i>. A tiger, as a rule, begins to move at the first sound of the
+beat; so I stood up in my howdah with my rifle cocked. I may mention
+that shooting from an elephant, even when it is standing, is not easy,
+for the animal is never still. It continually shifts its weight from
+foot to foot, flaps its ears, moves its head and beats its sides or
+chest with its trunk to drive off the flies.</p>
+
+<p>The line of beaters advanced through the scrub<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">[Pg 171]</a></span> with their usual din.
+Now and then, under the tangled undergrowth, I caught a glimpse of my
+orderly or a <i>mahout</i>. They drew nearer and nothing broke out of the
+jungle in front of them. My heart sank when I saw them not a hundred
+yards from me. But at that moment a number of small birds flew up from
+the tall grass and I heard the sound of some heavy animal forcing its
+way through the tough stems. I held my rifle ready to cover the spot.
+The next instant I saw the head and shoulders of a large tiger push out
+through the grass on the very brink of the <i>nullah</i>. Though the tall
+stalks on my side almost concealed my elephant, the tiger saw me at once
+and crouched for a spring. Its savage face was plainly visible, the
+fierce eyes fastened on me, the snarling lips drawn back over the white
+fangs, the bristling whiskers, all forming a fiendish mask appalling in
+its cruel expression. I threw up the rifle to my shoulder, took a quick
+aim and fired. The tiger started convulsively, sprang erect for an
+instant, then plunged head foremost into the <i>nullah</i> with stiffened
+forelegs close to the body, as a man diving holds his arms straight by
+his sides and hurls himself into the water. I was too far back from the
+bank to see down to the bottom of the <i>nullah</i>; but suddenly the tiger
+sprang convulsively straight into my view and then fell back again. The
+<i>mahout</i>, shrouded by the high grass, had seen nothing of all this. I
+shouted at him to urge Dundora forward to the edge of the <i>nullah</i>. From
+the brink I peered down into it; but, to my intense disappointment, no
+prostrate body of a tiger met my eyes. The banks were sheer; and I could
+look up and down the <i>nullah</i> for a hundred yards. I could<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">[Pg 172]</a></span> not believe
+that the brute had escaped. I was convinced that I had not missed him,
+that my bullet had struck where I aimed, right between the shoulders, as
+he crouched for the spring. It should have been a fatal shot; but the
+tiger had vanished.</p>
+
+<p>Suddenly Ainslie's stories of the previous night recurred to me. I
+glanced down the stream and saw, twenty yards from where we stood, a
+discoloured patch in the dark water. I had the elephant brought opposite
+it. I stared hard until I believed that I could make out the outlines of
+a tiger below the surface and see the stripes on the body. I pointed it
+out to the <i>mahout</i>. He gazed unbelievingly for a moment, then gave vent
+to an excited shout. The beaters had meantime reached the opposite bank
+and were calling across to ask if I had hit the tiger. When we told them
+where it was they laughed incredulously. I ordered Bechan to dismount
+from Khartoum's neck and enter the stream. With the air of one who does
+a ridiculous thing to please a fretful child, he slid down the bank and
+walked into the water. Suddenly he yelled in terror and sprang for the
+dry land. He had put his bare foot on the tiger's body. The animal was
+lying dead in three feet of water. The others urged Bechan to go in
+again; and with some trepidation he did so. Reaching down he lifted up
+the tail and held the tip up above the surface. The other <i>mahouts</i> and
+my orderly shouted with joy, for it meant largesse to them, and jumped
+in after Bechan. They moved the body easily to the edge of the water but
+could not lift it up the bank. We called some coolies from huts close
+by; and it took twenty men to raise the carcass up to the level.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"><br /><br />
+<a name="Ill_22" id="Ill_22"></a><img src="images/gs22.jpg" width="450" height="317" alt="THE TIGER&#39;S LYING IN STATE." title="" />
+<span class="caption">THE TIGER&#39;S LYING IN STATE.</span><br /><br />
+</div>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"><br /><br />
+<a name="Ill_23" id="Ill_23"></a><img src="images/gs23.jpg" width="450" height="352" alt="THE TIGER&#39;S LAST HOME." title="" />
+<span class="caption">THE TIGER&#39;S LAST HOME.</span><br /><br />
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">[Pg 173]</a></span></p><p>The tiger was a fine young male in splendid condition, and measured nine
+and a half feet from nose to tip of tail. After photographing it, we
+brought the elephants in turn up to it as it lay on the ground and
+encouraged them to smell and strike it. This is done to show them that
+the animal is not a foe to be dreaded. We all had to help in lifting the
+limp body on to Khartoum's back; for a well-grown tiger weighs nearly
+three hundred and fifty pounds. It was fastened on to the pad with
+ropes; and we started back in triumphal procession to Alipur Duar, where
+the beast was flayed and the flesh scrambled for by the women of the
+neighbourhood, who gathered like vultures. The skin was pegged out on
+the grass to dry, before being sent to a taxidermist to be dressed and
+mounted to adorn my bungalow.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">[Pg 174]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="ChapterIX" id="ChapterIX"></a>CHAPTER IX</h2>
+
+<h3>A FOREST MARCH</h3>
+
+<blockquote><p>Reasons for showing the flag&mdash;Soldierless Bengal&mdash;Planning
+the march&mdash;Difficulties of transport&mdash;The first day's
+march&mdash;Sepoys in the jungle&mdash;The water-creeper&mdash;The
+commander loses his men&mdash;The bivouac at
+Rajabhatkawa&mdash;Alipur Duar&mdash;A small Indian
+Station&mdash;Long-delayed pay&mdash;The Sub-divisional
+Officer&mdash;A <i>dâk</i> bungalow&mdash;The sub-judge&mdash;Brahmin
+pharisees&mdash;The <i>nautch</i>&mdash;A dusty march&mdash;Santals&mdash;A
+mission settlement&mdash;Crossing a river&mdash;Rafts&mdash;A bivouac
+in a tea garden&mdash;A dinner-party in an 80-lb.
+tent&mdash;Bears at night&mdash;A daring tiger&mdash;Chasing a tiger
+on elephants&mdash;In the forest again&mdash;A fickle river&mdash;A
+strange animal&mdash;The Maharajah of Cooch Behar's
+experiment&mdash;A scare and a disappointment&mdash;Across the
+Raidak&mdash;A woman killed by a bear&mdash;A planters'
+club&mdash;Hospitality in the jungle&mdash;The zareba&mdash;Impromptu
+sports&mdash;The Alarm Stakes&mdash;The raft
+race&mdash;Hathipota&mdash;Jainti.</p></blockquote>
+
+
+<p>There is a tale told of the Indian Army in the good old days when
+soldiering in peace time was an easy life and very different to what it
+has now become. The story runs that a general order was published to the
+effect that "Officers are forbidden to drill the men from the verandas
+of their bungalows." For it was said that, attired in pyjamas, they
+lounged comfortably in long chairs and shouted out the words of command
+to their companies drilling on the parade ground in front of the
+bungalows. But those delightful days have gone for ever. Despite what
+democratic orators say, the British Army has become<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">[Pg 175]</a></span> a professional one;
+and soldiering in it is a strenuous existence. In India only the Rains,
+when outdoor work is almost impossible, give rest to the hard-worked
+officer and man. Musketry, field firing, company training, both winter
+and summer, keep them fully employed until battalion training leads up
+to the culminating point of the year&mdash;the brigade or divisional
+man&oelig;uvres, or both. And then it begins all over again. And this, mark
+you, in a tropical climate!</p>
+
+<p>Up to the rank of Colonel every officer must pass difficult examinations
+for promotion to each successive grade. And generals and colonels sit on
+the benches of class-rooms in the Schools of Musketry, and in their own
+commands lecture, or listen to other officers lecturing, on military
+subjects.</p>
+
+<p>In the good old days I could have sat in my bungalow in Buxa Duar and
+watched my sepoys drilling in the narrow limits of our small parade
+ground. But nowadays too high a standard of efficiency is required from
+the troops for this method of commanding to pass muster. So, for the
+first month after our arrival, we scrambled up and down the steep
+mountains, scaled precipices and fought our way through thorny jungle
+practising hill warfare. Then I determined to take the detachment
+farther afield, where the men could have more varied ground to work over
+and learn something of jungle life. So I mapped out a ten days' march,
+under war conditions, through the forest below. We should go out as a
+self-contained force, like the little columns that are sent against the
+savage tribes along our North-East Frontier. We should carry our own
+supplies with us, find our own transport, move by<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">[Pg 176]</a></span> day and bivouac at
+night exactly as we should do in an enemy's country. As the route
+selected would emerge into open country for a couple of days, the men
+would have a change from jungle work.</p>
+
+<p>I was influenced in my decision to march through the surrounding;
+country and "show the flag" by private representations made to me by
+civil officers of the district. They pointed out the advisability of
+letting the natives of the neighbourhood see soldiers, probably for the
+first time in the lives of many of them. Asiatics have short memories;
+and the inhabitants of the Bengals, who rarely see troops, are inclined
+to forget that the British Army still exists. At that time sedition was
+supposed to be spreading among them. For it is a curious fact that it
+chiefly makes headway among the unwarlike races of India, probably for
+the very reason that they have never learned in the field the respect
+that the brave man feels for the still braver antagonist who has
+conquered him. And British rule is more popular among the races that we
+have only vanquished after a hard struggle than it is among those whose
+ancestors never dared to meet us in battle. In all history the Bengali
+never was, never could be, a fighting-man. He was the easy prey of every
+invader; and, like the cowardly Corean, only the extreme suppleness of
+his back saved him from extermination. If the British left India the
+cities and rich lands of Bengal would be scrambled for by every warrior
+race in India; and her sons would not venture to lift a hand to defend
+themselves. But cowards are ingrates. Forgetful of all this the
+so-called educated Bengali whispers of the day to come when the English
+tyrants will be driven into the sea. He does not suggest<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">[Pg 177]</a></span> that he and
+his kind will do it themselves. The young Calcutta student, crammed with
+undigested, ill-understood European knowledge, will talk treason glibly.
+Insulting women, hurling bombs, assassinating in secret or, gun in hand,
+plundering unarmed villagers even more timorous than himself, he is a
+hero in his own eyes. But even in the wildest frenzy of his ill-balanced
+brain he never pictures himself facing British troops in battle. The
+cowardly agitator allots that task to the native soldiers when we shall
+have succeeded in seducing them from their allegiance. But the sepoys,
+recruited from races that hold only the warrior in honour, look on him
+and his race as something more despicable than dogs. My
+Rajputs&mdash;descendants of the gallant fighters who conquered half India,
+who struggled through bloody centuries against the Mohammedan invaders,
+whose women killed themselves when their lords had been slain and
+preferred death to dishonour&mdash;my sepoys regarded the effeminate Bengalis
+as unsexed beings.</p>
+
+<p>The Duars abound in tea states; and each manager rules six or seven
+hundred coolies by moral force. Several planters hinted to me that it
+would be a good thing to let these coolies see the gleam of bayonets for
+once, and realise that the white man has something more than the baton
+of an occasional native policeman to rely on if need arise.</p>
+
+<p>Thrown on our own resources as we were in Buxa, the question of
+transporting the supplies and baggage of nearly two hundred men required
+some thinking out. We had no funds at our disposal to hire coolies; and
+all we could depend on was our three elephants. Ten days' food supply
+for so many<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">[Pg 178]</a></span> men weighs a good deal; and we had to carry with us as well
+their bedding, cooking-pots, blank ammunition, pickaxes and shovels for
+entrenching. It needed some careful arrangement to enable three
+elephants to do the work of ten. I was obliged to send them out to form
+depots of sacks of flour, grain, and other food-stuffs at places along
+the route, and bring them back again to accompany us carrying the other
+things we required with us. Each sepoy was limited to two blankets and a
+change of clothing and boots rolled up in his <i>dhurri</i> or strip of
+carpet. Contrary to the usual custom on peace man&oelig;uvres each man
+carried a packet of ten rounds of ball cartridge in his pocket; for, had
+any sudden call for our services come before we could communicate with
+the magazine in our fort, we would have been of little use with only
+blank ammunition for our rifles. And in the forest at night we might
+require ball to protect ourselves against wild animals.</p>
+
+<p>At last, our arrangements complete, we left forty men behind at Buxa to
+guard the Station; and one morning in February saw us, a hundred and
+sixty strong, marching through the jungle in the direction of
+Rajabhatkawa. We moved with fixed bayonets and all the proper
+precautions of a column passing through an enemy's country. Advanced,
+rear and flank guards protected us on all sides. These detachments,
+instead of being thrown out a mile or more from the main body, as they
+would have been in open country, were not a hundred yards from it. And
+even that was often too much in the dense jungle. Every man carried at
+his belt a <i>kukri</i>, the Gurkha's heavy, curved knife, and used it to
+hack his way through the tangle of creepers and undergrowth. <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">[Pg 179]</a></span>The
+progress was necessarily very slow, and we hardly advanced a mile an
+hour. We marched by compass, no easy task in thick forest.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"><br /><br />
+<a name="Ill_24" id="Ill_24"></a><img src="images/gs24.jpg" width="450" height="315" alt="&quot;MY SEPOYS DRILLING.&quot;" title="" />
+<span class="caption">&quot;MY SEPOYS DRILLING.&quot;</span><br /><br />
+</div>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"><br /><br />
+<a name="Ill_25" id="Ill_25"></a><img src="images/gs25.jpg" width="450" height="319" alt="BUGLERS AND NON-COMMISSIONED OFFICERS OF MY DETACHMENT." title="" />
+<span class="caption">BUGLERS AND NON-COMMISSIONED OFFICERS OF MY DETACHMENT.</span><br /><br />
+</div>
+
+<p>At the first fire line, as there was an open space, I halted and closed
+the detachment to give them their first object-lesson in the jungle. To
+my men, inhabitants of the sandy deserts of Rajputana or the cultivated
+plains of the North-West Provinces, forest lore was unknown. And as all
+the warfare the Assam Brigade, to which we belonged, would be called
+upon to wage would be fought against savages in thick jungle, I lost no
+chance of teaching our men all conditions of the bush. I now asked them
+where, when the rivers were dry, would they look for water in the
+forest. They mostly replied:</p>
+
+<p>"We would dig for it, Sahib."</p>
+
+<p>I told them that Nature had been too generous to call for such exertion
+and had kindly provided water in the trees. They looked at me in
+surprise and evidently thought that I meant to be facetious. I pointed
+to a thick creeper swinging between the trees in front of me and
+introduced them to the mysterious <i>pani bel</i>. A piece was cut off; and
+the water flowed from it. That astonished them.</p>
+
+<p>"<i>Wah! wah!</i> but that is <i>jadu</i> (magic)," they said to each other.
+"Marvellous is the Sahib's knowledge. Like us he is new to the forest.
+Then how could he know of such a wonderful thing?"</p>
+
+<p>The water creeper grew freely all round. Permission given, they broke
+ranks and rushed into the jungle, each resolved to handle the marvel for
+himself. In a few minutes I was surrounded by scores of sepoys leaning
+on their rifles with heads well thrown back to catch in their mouths the
+water<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">[Pg 180]</a></span> dropping from the cut pieces of creeper. The <i>pani bel</i> was a
+great success. They filled their haversacks with it, and all that day,
+at every halt, pulled it out to taste and marvel at the magic plant.</p>
+
+<p>We moved on again in our original formation. Carrying my sporting rifle
+I walked a few yards behind the advanced line of scouts. So dense was
+the jungle that, out of all the hundred and sixty men around me, I could
+only occasionally catch glimpses of three or four. Suddenly from a
+hundred yards ahead I heard a large animal forcing its way through the
+undergrowth. Fearing that it might be a wild elephant I pushed on in
+front of the scouts, as my rifle would be more effective than theirs.
+The animal retreated before me without my being able to see it; and I
+followed, glancing over my shoulder now and then to sight the sepoys
+behind and ensure that I was keeping the proper direction. But
+neglecting this precaution for five minutes, I completely lost the whole
+detachment. The beast I was pursuing had gone beyond hearing; so I
+turned back to rejoin my men. But search as I might I could not find one
+of them. It seemed absurd to lose in a few minutes a hundred and sixty
+men spread out in a loose formation. But I had succeeded in doing it.</p>
+
+<p>It was a ridiculous position for the commander who was supposed to be
+instructing his soldiers in jungle training. But, fortunately, I already
+knew the forest in the neighbourhood fairly well; and guiding myself by
+the sun, I succeeded in getting ahead of my warriors and rejoining them
+at the place on which they were marching by compass without any of them
+realising that they had lost me. We<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">[Pg 181]</a></span> halted for the night and bivouacked
+close to Rajabhatkawa Station.</p>
+
+<p>The next day's march brought us out clear of the forest. As we emerged
+on the cultivated plains to the north of Alipur Duar, it seemed quite
+strange to be on open ground again and able to swing along at four miles
+an hour. The sepoy is a faster marcher than his British comrade and will
+do his five miles in the hour on a road if wanted. In his own home he
+thinks nothing of covering forty miles a day, shuffling along at the
+native jog-trot that eats up the ground.</p>
+
+<p>After Buxa Alipur Duar seemed almost a city, though it is not an
+imposing town. The houses, when not made of mud or bamboo and thatched
+with straw, are built of brick and roofed with corrugated iron. But it
+boasts a jail, a hospital, a <i>dâk</i> bungalow and a sub-treasury. And the
+last was the cause of my including it in our itinerary; for the
+detachment was in the throes of a financial crisis. None of the officers
+or men had received their pay for December and January; and we had not
+five rupees between us. But the long-delayed pay-cheque on this
+sub-treasury had just reached me; and I was anxious to cash it at the
+earliest opportunity. Unfortunately we arrived at Alipur Duar after
+office hours and were forced to wait another day for our money, instead
+of marching on next morning as I had intended.</p>
+
+<p>The town had no amusement to offer us Britishers. The only Europeans who
+resided in it were the Ainslies; and they were then absent; for
+throughout the winter the district officials are out in camp, moving
+from village to village in their districts, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">[Pg 182]</a></span> administering the law
+and carrying on the ground work of the Government of the land.</p>
+
+<p>However, Alipur Duar boasted among its public buildings that useful
+institution, a <i>dâk</i> bungalow. In little Stations and dotted every ten
+or fifteen miles along the highways of India, the <i>dâk</i> bungalow is
+there to shelter the European traveller whom Fate or his work leads far
+from cities and railways. It is a humble, one-storied building, erected
+by Government, and containing one two or three scantily furnished rooms.
+It is in charge of a native attendant, who sometimes provides food for
+the hungry traveller, though as a rule the latter has to bring his own
+with him. Luckily India is the land of tinned food.</p>
+
+<p>The Alipur bungalow boasted a <i>khansamah</i>, or butler, who was able to
+furnish us with meals. We found already installed in it a native
+sub-judge who had come from the headquarters of the district to try some
+cases in Ainslie's absence. I got into conversation with him and found
+him a cheery, pleasant little Bengali, a follower of the new reformed
+<i>Brahmo Samaj</i> faith and consequently free from the caste prejudices of
+the orthodox Hindu, which do so much to keep him and the Englishman
+apart. Finding that our new acquaintance had no scruples about eating
+with Europeans, I invited him to share our dinner. He held very decided
+opinions on what he termed the hypocrisy of the educated Brahmins who,
+in public, profess to adhere strictly to the severest caste restrictions
+in the matter of eating with others, particularly with Europeans.</p>
+
+<p>"Sir, I am not possessed of patience to endure them," he said in his
+quaint English. "In the town<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">[Pg 183]</a></span> where I have the habit to reside, the
+Brahmin lawyers and under-official strappers invite to the farewell
+entertainment of a garden-party our much-to-be-regretted late
+Deputy-Commissioner, when being about to depart from us. They request me
+to pose as a host with them. I say to them: 'No; I am not willing. You
+ask to Mr and Mrs&mdash;&mdash;, an English gentleman and lady, to come partake of
+your hospitality. But you put on a table in corner of tent cakes, tea
+and other cheering refreshments and tell them to eat alone while you
+turn your faces, lest to see them eat would break your caste. It is all
+a bosh! I have seen many of you in strange places to eat of forbidden
+food at the restaurants of railway stations where you sit cheek-by-jowl
+with unknown Englishmen. And yet you cannot indulge in cake,
+refreshment, etcetera, with the esteemed departing Deputy-Commissioner.
+It is all a bosh!'"</p>
+
+<p>He more than repaid our hospitality that night by his amusing remarks
+and shrewd comments on Indian and European manners. He said that, never
+having come in contact with military officers before, he had watched us
+all that day and was astonished to see that we were on friendly terms
+with our native subordinates, knew the names of all our men, and did not
+treat them with disdainful hauteur, as alleged by the Bengali journals.
+And I thought of an untravelled Englishman who had told me in a London
+drawing-room that we British officers were in the habit of beating our
+sepoys!</p>
+
+<p>Next day we visited the court-house to watch our little friend
+dispensing justice from the bench. We were amused to see how quickly he
+disposed of long-winded native lawyers who, in a case involving a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">[Pg 184]</a></span>
+matter of a few shillings, were prepared to deliver a speech in
+high-flown English lasting five hours. He cut them very short with his
+favourite phrase: "It is all a bosh!"</p>
+
+<p>The pay having been disbursed that afternoon, our men asked me for leave
+to engage a troop of dancers and enjoy a <i>nautch</i>, that entertainment
+dear to the heart of the Indian but wearisome beyond measure to the
+European spectator. It was held at night on the open ground behind the
+<i>dâk</i> bungalow. As is customary in native regiments we were invited to
+witness it and, much against our will, went to it after dinner. The
+sepoys squatting in a wide circle round the performers rose to their
+feet; and the Indian officers welcomed us with the usual formalities.
+After we had shaken hands with them they hung garlands of flowers round
+our necks, thrust small bouquets on us and liberally besprinkled us with
+scent. When we sat down small plates were offered us on which, wrapped
+up in leaves, were various pungent and aromatic spices to chew. Then we
+were given cigars, cigarettes, and whiskies-and-sodas&mdash;these a
+concession to European tastes. The performance, interrupted by our
+arrival, continued. Two fat women with well-oiled hair, jewelled
+ornaments in their noses, gold bangles on their wrists and ankles, their
+toes adorned with rings, swayed their fleshy bodies and shuffled a few
+inches forward and back on their heels, singing the while in high
+falsetto voices. Wrapped from throat to ankle in voluminous coloured
+draperies as they were, the propriety of their costume was a reproach to
+the scantily clad dancers of so-called Indian dances in the English
+music-halls. The musicians squatted<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">[Pg 185]</a></span> on the grass behind them, two men
+producing weird and monotonous sounds from strangely shaped instruments,
+while a third beat with his hands on a tom-tom, the native drum. And
+this is the famous <i>nautch</i> at which the Indian will gaze with rapture
+all night. The flaring oil-lamps shone on the ring of eager dark faces
+and eyes glistening with enjoyment, as the sepoys watched intently every
+movement of the ungainly dancers. Fortunately we were not obliged to
+remain long and soon took our leave of the native officers. Although we
+were to march at seven o'clock in the morning I heard the monotonous
+drumming and the shrill voices throughout the night; for the
+entertainment did not end before five o'clock. And it was a hollow-eyed
+detachment that tramped behind us on the dusty road that day. Our route
+lay at an angle to our former course which had been due south; for now
+we headed north-east towards the jungle and the hills again.</p>
+
+<p>On the left hand lay the ragged fringe of the forest stretching east and
+west beyond the limit of vision; and high above it towered the long
+rampart of the mountains. Far away as we were we could see the white
+specks of the Picquet Towers at Buxa. And back among the jagged peaks
+rose up the snow-clad summit of a mountain in Bhutan, its gleaming crest
+seeming to float like a cloud in air above the darker hills. Over the
+level plain we spread out in fighting formation, one company forming an
+advanced guard and driving back the skirmishing line of the other which
+acted as the rear guard of a retreating enemy. And here and there the
+peasants working in the fields, knowing nothing of the harmlessness of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">[Pg 186]</a></span>
+blank cartridges, fled in terror at the sound of the firing.</p>
+
+<p>We halted for our bivouac near a village in a mission settlement of
+Santals, a wild tribe recently civilised by hard-working missionaries
+and taught the dignity of labour and the joys of agriculture. We met the
+clergyman and his wife who were in charge of the settlement and invited
+them to dinner with us. They showed us a large iron church in the
+village, the materials of which had been purchased by money willingly
+subscribed by the Santals, who had erected the building with their own
+hands. Our guests told us that their half-tamed flock, when they saw us
+marching in, had deserted the village and fled into the jungle. They
+explained to their wondering pastor that we were soldiers, and soldiers
+were folk whose one object in life was to kill people&mdash;and who easier to
+slay than the poor Santals? It took him hours to induce them to return
+to their homes. But before night they had lost all fear and flocked
+inquisitively round our bivouac.</p>
+
+<p>Next day we marched through outlying patches of jungle, the advanced
+guards of the great forest; and we hailed the trees as old friends.
+After an attack by one company on the other in position on a low hill,
+we found our way barred by an unfordable river. Along the banks lay logs
+and trunks of trees swept down from the forest; so we turned to to make
+rafts, binding the timber together with the men's putties and
+<i>puggris</i>&mdash;for their head-gear is made of strips of cloth nine yards
+long. On these rafts the few non-swimmers, the rifles, clothing and
+accoutrements were placed; and the swimmers towed<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">[Pg 187]</a></span> and pushed them
+across the stream. With the same rude materials we made an excellent
+flying bridge which, moved by the swift current, floated backwards and
+forwards across the river on ropes made from the <i>puggris</i> and putties.
+The men revelled in the work. Stripped to their loin-cloths they sported
+like dolphins in the clear, cold water flowing down from the melting
+snows of the Himalayas.</p>
+
+<p>Then we marched on again until I halted the column on the outskirts of a
+tea garden and sent Creagh galloping to ask the manager's permission to
+encamp on it and draw water for my men from the wells. While awaiting
+his return, I stretched myself along a squared log of timber and,
+despite my hard couch, fell asleep, awaking with a start to find
+Khartoum standing over me staring at me with curiosity out of her little
+eyes, as she flapped her big ears and brushed away the flies from her
+sides with a branch. For a second I fancied I was in the forest under
+the feet of a wild elephant; and I sprang up hastily. Then Creagh
+returned with a cheery, hospitable Englishman, who invited me to
+consider the tea garden my own. In a few minutes the fires were going,
+the <i>bhistis</i> fetching water from the wells, and the cooks rolling up
+the balls of dough, deftly patting them out into thin cakes and
+spreading them on the convex iron griddle over the flames. Sentries
+posted and guards mounted, the rest of the men piled arms, took off
+their accoutrements; and, while some hungrily watched the cooks, others
+lay down on the ground and slept contentedly until food was ready. The
+coolies gathered to see the novel sight of soldiers; and the inevitable
+pariah dogs hung about the cooking places and quarrelled over the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">[Pg 188]</a></span>
+scraps thrown to them. At every bivouac some of these four-footed
+recruits joined us; and when we reached Buxa again I found that at least
+a dozen nondescript curs had adopted the detachment and marched into the
+fort with the air of veterans.</p>
+
+<p>That night we invited the planter to dine with us. Our meal was laid in
+my small 80-lb. tent; and, as this measured seven feet by seven feet
+with a sloping roof, there was not much room for four of us and the
+servants. Our guest told us of a daring daylight attack by a tiger that
+morning. While some villagers were driving their cattle on a road which
+passed along the edge of the tea garden, the animal had sprung out from
+the jungle skirting it and tried to carry off a cow. The men, being
+fairly numerous, rushed shouting at him and scared him away. When I
+heard this I determined to beat up that tiger's quarters in the morning
+and told the other officers of the detachment, who were delighted with
+the idea. While discussing it after dinner we were startled by fiendish
+growls and howls from the darkness outside; for a minute we were puzzled
+by the awful noises and then recognised them as the sounds of two bears
+fighting close by. Creagh, Smith and I seized our rifles; and, followed
+by servants carrying lanterns as the night was very dark, we sallied
+forth to find the disturbers of the peace. The noise came from a spot
+about two hundred yards away. We reached a high bank below which was
+thick scrub and long tiger grass. We climbed down it and formed line
+with the servants close up behind us holding the lanterns over our heads
+to throw the light in front. As we pushed our way with difficulty
+through the scrub a bear gave a sudden growl five yards to our<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">[Pg 189]</a></span> left. We
+swung round and made for the spot; but the animal did not await our
+approach. After searching for half an hour without result we gave up the
+chase and returned to the camp. Next morning daylight showed us that we
+had been down in a <i>nullah</i>, the ground on either side of it being quite
+open. Had we known this at the time we could have divided our forces,
+gone along both banks and probably got the bears as they scrambled up
+out of the <i>nullah</i>.</p>
+
+<p>At daybreak we started out with the elephants to look for the tiger. As
+we possessed only one howdah, it was strapped on Khartoum's back and we
+all three crowded into it; for the tall grass rose higher than the head
+of a man sitting on an elephant's pad. Having thoroughly beaten the wide
+strip of long grass we pushed on and came out on a very broad, empty
+river-bed. This was the River Raidak, which formerly brought down an
+immense volume of water from the hills only a few miles away. But a few
+years before it had grown tired of its old road and suddenly changed its
+course, flowing into the bed of a smaller stream parallel to it, which
+became greatly enlarged and was now itself generally known as the
+Raidak. This was the river we had crossed on rafts.</p>
+
+<p>As our elephants passed over the wide strip of sand, a curious animal
+broke out of the jungle a couple of hundred yards from us and bounded
+away up the <i>nullah</i>. It was apparently a hornless deer with black back
+and white belly and looked like a "black buck"; but as these inhabit
+open plains and do not shed their horns we were puzzled as to its
+identity. It halted and looked back at us, and then<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">[Pg 190]</a></span> went off again in a
+series of high leaps and bounds strangely like a black buck's motion.
+Some months afterwards the Maharajah of Cooch Behar told me that several
+years before he had turned loose a number of black buck and does into
+the forest near the Raidak as an experiment, being curious to know what
+effect life in dense jungle would have on these dwellers of the open
+plains. Apparently the animal we had seen was descended from these and
+for some reason of acclimatisation Nature had deprived their progeny of
+horns. This should interest naturalists.</p>
+
+<p>Our search for the tiger ended in a scare and a disappointment. First,
+when passing through another patch of tall grass on our way back to
+camp, one of the two pad elephants, Dundora, trumpeted shrilly and
+charged some animal in the cover. Her alarm communicated itself to the
+others, who squealed and tried to bolt. We thought that it was the tiger
+and, with rifles at the ready, attempted to stand up in the swaying
+howdah, which was no easy task as Khartoum was plunging violently. When
+at last we got her near Dundora, the latter's <i>mahout</i>, viciously
+belabouring her thick skull with the <i>ankus</i>, told us that the cause of
+her fright was only a small pariah dog. We passed on into more open
+jungle and to our joy saw a herd of wild buffaloes. As we were not in
+Government forest these were fair game for the hunter; and we urged the
+<i>mahout</i> forward. The animals were grazing and did not see us.
+Cautiously approaching up wind we got within range and were raising our
+rifles, when an old cow lifted her head and we saw a bell hung round her
+neck. We swore loudly. They were tame animals; but, as these are like
+the wild species and we were deep<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">[Pg 191]</a></span> in the jungle, our error was
+pardonable. Half a mile further on we came on the huts of their owners.</p>
+
+<p>Our course next day lay north-west; and I intended to recross the new
+Raidak at a point near the hills at a ferry, close to which was a
+club-house where the planters of the neighbourhood gathered once a week.
+This was the day of their meeting; so I resolved to make our bivouac
+there. The march lay through very dense jungle; but at last our advanced
+guard came out on the bank of a wide river, a swift-racing torrent of
+clear water that eddied and swirled over the pebbly bottom. On the
+opposite side was the ferryman's hut, his boat drawn up near it. Behind,
+in a clearing, stood a long wooden building which was evidently the
+club-house. Our shouts brought Charon out of his abode; and he ferried
+us over in driblets. As elephants are excellent swimmers ours made their
+own way across.</p>
+
+<p>In the jungle, not far from the club, I marked out the spot for our
+bivouac around which I ordered a zareba to be constructed. As everything
+was to be done under war conditions, scouts were thrown out on every
+side. The rest of the detachment piled arms, drew their <i>kukris</i> and
+proceeded to clear the jungle. The small trees and undergrowth cut down
+were dragged to form a belt, ten yards deep, of entanglement breast-high
+around the camp. The stems of the trees and bushes were fastened to
+pickets by creepers to prevent their being pulled away. Thorny branches
+and a shrub which causes an intense irritation when touched were thrown
+in among them; and the zareba thus constructed formed a formidable
+obstacle. Then parties were told off to erect shelters of leafy boughs;
+others<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">[Pg 192]</a></span> made the cooking-places or dug latrines; and the <i>bhistis</i> were
+taken down under escort to the river to fill the goat-skin bags, or
+<i>mussacks</i>, in which they carry water. Then guards and inlying pickets
+were mounted and the scouts withdrawn. Bathing-parties went down with
+their rifles, only half of the men in them being allowed into the river
+at a time, while the others kept guard against sudden attack.</p>
+
+<p>By this time the planters were beginning to assemble at the rough wooden
+building which they proudly called their club. And certainly I believe
+it saw more jollity and good-fellowship within its timber walls than one
+would find in any of the palatial club-houses of Pall Mall. From gardens
+lost in the forest for miles round they gathered. Some dashed up to the
+opposite river-bank on their smart little ponies and kept the ferryman
+busy. The host that day was our friend Tyson of Hathipota, which now lay
+between us and Buxa Duar. He cordially invited us to eat our share of
+the sumptuous cold lunch he had provided, and introduced us to the other
+planters of the district, who welcomed us warmly.</p>
+
+<p>During lunch one of our new friends told me that the ferryman, whom we
+could see busy at his boat on the beach, had lost his wife under tragic
+circumstances. The woman had gone across the river to a village a couple
+of miles away to buy provisions. On her return she hailed him from the
+opposite bank. As he was shoving his boat into the water he saw to his
+horror a huge bear emerge from the jungle and steal silently up behind
+the woman. At her husband's warning cry she turned; but before she could
+move the animal rose on its hind legs and felled her with a blow from
+its great paw. When<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">[Pg 193]</a></span> the terrified man reached the bank, the bear had
+disappeared and the woman lay dead with a fractured skull.</p>
+
+<p>After lunch, the planters, most of whom were keen Volunteers, asked me
+to let them inspect our fortified camp. They were much impressed by the
+rapidity with which it had been placed in a state of defence and with
+the ingenuity of our sepoys, who had already made comfortable little
+huts. Then the senior among the planters told me that he was
+commissioned by the others to express the gratitude of them all for
+marching the detachment through their district. He emphasised the fact
+that the sight of our armed men sweeping through the countryside would
+have a good effect, not only on the thousands of unruly coolies on the
+tea gardens around, but also on the lawless dwellers over the border on
+the hills above us. He said that he and his friends had subscribed on
+the spot a sum of six or seven pounds and asked my permission to offer
+the money as prizes for sports to be held by our men that day. I thanked
+them all heartily and drew up a programme.</p>
+
+<p>The sepoys were delighted and flocked down to the open beach where the
+sports took place. Of the two events which interested the planters most,
+the first was called "The Alarm Race." Teams from each section lay
+undressed and apparently sleeping on the ground beside their uniforms
+and accoutrements. On a bugle sounding they sprang up, dressed, put on
+their belts and bandoliers, rolled and strapped up their bedding, and
+fell in ready to march off. We inspected them; and the team first ready
+and properly dressed won the prize. The other event was very popular
+among the spectators.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">[Pg 194]</a></span> Teams of men in full marching order were ferried
+across the river and landed on the opposite bank. At a signal they
+started to collect driftwood and build it into rafts, tying the logs
+together with their <i>puggris</i> and putties. Then some with long bamboo
+poles took their places on each raft, while others of the team
+undressed, placed their rifles, belts and clothing on the raft and,
+springing into the water, swam alongside and helped to bring it across
+to our bank. The current ran swiftly and the excited men made their
+rafts swing round like teetotums. The first party to reach the spot
+where I stood on the beach and form up properly dressed were the
+winners.</p>
+
+<p>After the sports some of us played tennis on the courts made in the
+clearing. As the sun set, after a parting drink and hearty invitations
+to visit their estates, our friends bade us good-bye and rode off.</p>
+
+<p>On our next day's march our faces were set homewards. We passed several
+tea gardens until we reached Hathipota, where the hospitable Tyson
+welcomed us, and placed the resources of his estate at our men's
+disposal and entertained the British officers in his bungalow. Parties
+of our non-commissioned officers and men were taken over the factories
+and withering sheds, and were as deeply interested as we were in the
+ponderous machinery and clever contrivances. We left Hathipota next day.
+Later on, we were to see it again under more tragic auspices, when we
+were conveying a murderer to his doom.</p>
+
+<p>Thence to the end of the ten days' march we worked through the forest
+back towards home. We passed almost dryshod over a wide river at
+Jainti,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">[Pg 195]</a></span> which during the Rains can only be crossed by a cradle running
+on an iron cable from bank to bank. At Jainti ends the little railway by
+which we had arrived. The next station to it was Buxa Road.</p>
+
+<p>From Santrabari we climbed our hills again, sorry to have finished our
+pleasant and instructive march. The men had learned much of jungle
+conditions; and I had acquired a knowledge of the district which was to
+stand me in good stead in days to come.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">[Pg 196]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="ChapterX" id="ChapterX"></a>CHAPTER X</h2>
+
+<h3>THROUGH FIRE AND WATER</h3>
+
+<blockquote><p>India in the hot weather&mdash;A land of torment&mdash;The
+drought&mdash;Forest fires&mdash;The cholera huts
+burned&mdash;Fighting the flames&mdash;Death of a sepoy&mdash;The bond
+between British officers and their men&mdash;The sepoy's
+funeral&mdash;A fortnight's vigil&mdash;Saving the Station&mdash;The
+hills ablaze&mdash;A sublime spectacle&mdash;The devastated
+forest&mdash;Fallen leaves on fire&mdash;Our elephants'
+peril&mdash;Saving the zareba&mdash;A beat for game in the
+jungle&mdash;Trying to catch a wild elephant&mdash;A moonlight
+ramble&mdash;We meet a bear&mdash;The burst of the Monsoons&mdash;A
+dull existence&mdash;Three hundred inches of rain&mdash;The
+monotony of thunderstorms&mdash;A changed
+world&mdash;Leeches&mdash;Monster hailstones&mdash;Surveyors caught in
+a storm&mdash;A break in the Rains&mdash;The revived
+jungle&mdash;Useless lightning-conductors&mdash;The Monsoon
+again&mdash;The loneliness of Buxa.</p></blockquote>
+
+
+<p>Through the long months of the Indian summer the cool Hills look down in
+pity on the Plains steeped in the brooding heat, where the sun is an
+offence and a torture, where the hot wind, like a blast of fiery air
+from an opened furnace door, mocks with the thought of pleasant breezes
+in a temperate land, where night brings only the breathless hours of
+darkness when the parched earth gives out the heat it has stored by day,
+and only dawn affords a momentary relief.</p>
+
+<p>From early March to the end of June India is indeed turned into a place
+of torment. In the crowded quarters of the cities millions of natives<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">[Pg 197]</a></span>
+swelter and endure with the dumb resignation of animals. Shut up in
+darkened houses from morning to evening thousands of Englishwomen and
+children suffer through the weary months. The fortunate ones fly to the
+Hills; but Hill Stations are expensive and not for the poorer classes of
+Europeans. And the white men of all ranks and professions must carry on
+their work. His drill done, the British soldier lies on his cot under
+the punkah of the barrack-room, thinks with regret of the cool land he
+has left and forgets the misery of the unemployed in the rain and frosts
+of England. And his officer, whose work takes him more frequently out
+into the sun than the soldier, envies the lucky mortals who can obtain
+leave and fly to Europe or the Hills. Through the hot night he tosses on
+his bed placed under a punkah out in his garden and dozes fitfully until
+the punkah coolie drops asleep and the faint wind of the overhead fan is
+stilled. Then, bathed in perspiration, devoured by mosquitoes, he wakes;
+and who can blame him if his language to the neglectful coolie, who can
+sleep all day while his master works, is as hot as the climate?</p>
+
+<p>From our little post on the face of the Himalayas we gazed to the south
+over the lowlands, seen dimly through the heat haze, and pitied the
+suffering millions in the India that stretched away from the foot of our
+hills to the far-distant sea. Buxa is usually cool. The Monsoons which
+sweep up from the equator and bring the welcome Rains towards the end of
+June are here forestalled by other currents that deluge mountain and
+forest with tropical showers as early as February. But for our sins in
+our first year they failed us. And the heat crept<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">[Pg 198]</a></span> up from its kingdom
+in the Plains below and laughed at our boasts of the coolness of our
+Hill Station. In March the only comfortable man in the detachment was a
+prisoner whom I had sentenced for desertion to two months' confinement
+in the one cell of the fort. For while we sweated on the hot parade
+ground below, he gazed at us through the barred window of his cool,
+stone-paved apartment beside the guard-room; and since I could find no
+hard labour for his idle hands, he must have laughed as he watched us,
+officers and men, toiling bare armed in the hot sun, digging earthworks
+and erecting stockades on the knolls around. It seemed hard to believe
+that only a few weeks before cheerful wood fires had burned in the
+grates of our bungalows and after dinner we had pulled our chairs in
+front of the comforting blaze and defied the cold with jorums of hot
+punch.</p>
+
+<p>But soon we had more than enough of other fires. The vast forests
+stretching through Assam, Bhutan, the Terai and Nepal, were dry as
+tinder owing to the unusual drought. From our eyrie in the hills we
+looked down at night on the glow in the sky, east, south and west, that
+told of jungles blazing around us. By day columns of smoke rose up in
+the distance and spread until a black pall covered the landscape. The
+hot wind brought the acrid smell of ashes and burning wood to us; and
+soon the air was full of smuts. From Assam and Bhutan came the tale of
+leagues of forest devoured by the flames. The dwellers in the pleasant
+Hill Station of Darjeeling, seven thousand feet above the sea,
+complained of the pall of smoke that veiled the mountains around them.
+Day after day I gazed<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">[Pg 199]</a></span> apprehensively on our happy hunting-grounds in
+the forest below and feared to see them invaded by the conquering fires.
+I pictured with dismay the game destroyed by the rushing flames or
+driven far from us. And at last doubt became cruel certainty. Our
+forests blazed. The legions of the victorious fire king swept through
+the jungles we loved and denied them to us.</p>
+
+<p>But at first we did not realise that danger threatened us, that our
+small Station was itself imperilled. On a wooded spur below the fort
+stood two long bamboo-walled buildings, intended as a segregation
+hospital for cases of infectious disease. One afternoon news was brought
+me that the forest fires had crept up to the base of the hill on which
+they stood. I ran down to the fort and ordered out the whole detachment.
+The men in whatever garb they were wearing at the moment turned out; and
+we raced through the back gate and down a zigzag path cut on the face of
+the precipice on the south side of the fort. Then we struggled up the
+steep hill to the threatened buildings. Below us the forest blazed. The
+flames were sweeping up the slopes towards us. The sight was a fine one;
+but we had little leisure or inclination to admire it. Breaking branches
+from the trees we fell upon the advancing enemy and endeavoured to beat
+it back. The wind was against us. Sparks and burning embers flew past
+and set alight to the hill-top behind us. It was curious to see how the
+flames ran up the trees and, leaving the trunks unscathed, seized on the
+masses of orchids on the boughs. Their leaves and stems blazed fiercely
+as if filled with oil. Scorched by the heat, grimed with the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">[Pg 200]</a></span> flying
+ashes and smuts, officers and men fought shoulder to shoulder against
+the encroaching flames. In a long line we descended to meet them and
+beat down the burning undergrowth. Suddenly a sharp gust of wind carried
+a burst of fire against us. Smothered by the smoke, our clothes alight
+from the red cinders, we were forced back. The flames lit up a patch of
+tall grass, dry as tinder, which went up in a sheet of fire. We turned
+and ran up to the summit. But one unfortunate sepoy stumbled and fell;
+and the wave of flame swept over him. It passed him by and then died as
+suddenly as it had risen. He stood up and staggered towards the
+hill-top. The moment he was seen a dozen men rushed down over the
+smouldering ground to help him. They carried him up to the crest and, as
+he was badly burnt, took him to the hospital as soon as a litter could
+be brought for him.</p>
+
+<p>The flames began to circle round the base of the hill and threatened to
+cut us off; so I was forced to abandon the position and order a retreat.
+Hardly had we reached the zigzag path to the fort when the huts went up
+in pillars of flame.</p>
+
+<p>In the evening I visited my unfortunate sepoy. Though in pain, he was
+conscious and able to speak to me; and I thought he would recover. But
+during the night he collapsed suddenly and died. This was the first
+death we had had in the detachment; and it cast a gloom over us all. The
+sepoys regretted a comrade; while the loss of one of his men always
+affects an officer. And in our isolated Station the death of one of our
+small number was acutely felt.</p>
+
+<p>There exists more sympathy between the British<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">[Pg 201]</a></span> officers of an Indian
+regiment and the sepoys than between the latter and the native officers.
+Where the men imagine, not always without reason, that these last are
+swayed by considerations of different race or caste, of favouritism
+towards some and a dislike to others, of village and family feuds in
+their homes&mdash;for the Indian officers are generally promoted from the
+ranks&mdash;they know that the British officer is unaffected by such
+influences. Consequently, the men have far more confidence in his
+justice. When a sepoy is to be arraigned before a court martial for an
+offence, he is allowed to choose whether he will be tried by British or
+by Indian officers. In all my service I have known only one case in
+which the man elected for the latter. And when he came before the court
+and found it composed of native officers, he objected strongly and
+declared that he wished to be tried by the Sahibs. When it was pointed
+out to him that he had been given his choice of judges, he protested
+that he had not understood, and that he had no wish to be tried by men
+of his own nationality.</p>
+
+<p>There is perhaps even a greater bond of union between the sepoys and the
+white officers of a native regiment than between the soldiers and the
+commissioned ranks in a British corps. In the first place the Indian
+Army is a long-service one; and so officers and men remain longer
+together. Many of my sepoys have watched me advance from subaltern to
+captain, from captain to major; and youngsters I knew as recruits are
+now native officers under me. Then the Indian soldier leans more on his
+British officer. He comes to him with all his troubles about lawsuits
+over land and his fields&mdash;for<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">[Pg 202]</a></span> every man is a land-holder&mdash;and
+confidently expects that his Sahib will fight for justice for him. Some
+continental armies would be horrified to see the sepoy off parade
+talking with friendly freedom to his British officer or playing hockey
+with him on terms of perfect equality.</p>
+
+<p>The flag of the fort was half-mast high, as the funeral-party marched
+out to pay the last honours to their dead comrade. As the deceased sepoy
+was a Rajput his body was carried down to Santrabari to be there placed
+on a pile of wood and burned with all the ceremonies of his religion;
+for, while Mohammedans are buried, Hindus are cremated.</p>
+
+<p>But we had little leisure to brood over the dead man's fate. The
+position of the fort and of the Station of Buxa was very precarious, now
+that the fires had reached the hills. The former I safeguarded by
+burning the grass on the isolated mound on which it stood. But our
+bungalows, hemmed in by the jungle which grew to within a few yards of
+them, were in constant danger. The diary of parades which I was obliged
+to furnish every week to the brigade office in Shillong for the
+information of the General bore for a fortnight the words "fighting
+fires," instead of the usual entries of "company drill," "musketry,"
+"field training," and the like. Day and night whenever the bugles rang
+out the alarm, we had to turn out to fight the intruding flames. Once we
+had to battle the whole day to save the forest officer's bungalow from
+being burned. I well remember how, while we officers and men toiled in
+the heat and smoke to beat back the fire, the Bengali clerks, whose
+houses were also in danger, stood at a safe distance, weeping and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">[Pg 203]</a></span>
+wringing their hands, but never attempting to help.</p>
+
+<p>At night the burning forests below were a gorgeous though pitiable
+sight. And when the fires, repelled from Buxa, swept past us upwards,
+and the semicircle of hills around blazed to the summit of Sinchula one
+night, the spectacle was sublime. In one spot, high overhead, the trees
+had been felled and left lying on the ground after a half-hearted
+attempt at cultivation by the Bhuttias. Here the long sparkling lines of
+fire from the burning undergrowth were changed to pillars of flame, as
+the huge, dry tree-trunks blazed fiercely up in the darkness.</p>
+
+<p>But life was not pleasant in Buxa during those days. The atmosphere was
+filled with smoke which veiled the sun. The heat was intense. So when
+the danger had passed our Station, I took the detachment down into the
+burned-out forest for a week's training in camp. The jungle was a sad
+sight for a sportsman's eyes. The big trees stood scorched, their trunks
+blackened and the branches charred where the masses of orchids that
+clothed them had burned. Some of the hollow stems were still on fire
+inside and sent out smoke among the tree-tops as from a steamer's
+funnel. Dead trees, long supported by creepers, now lay smouldering on
+the ground. The undergrowth which sheltered the game was gone. It was
+strange to be able to see for a hundred yards or more between the
+tree-trunks, where formerly ten paces was the limit of vision. The earth
+was covered ankle-deep in ashes, which rose up in suffocating clouds at
+every breath of hot wind. And above them was strewn a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">[Pg 204]</a></span> thick layer of
+dead leaves; for the trees shed them in the hot weather. And these I
+soon found constituted a fresh danger.</p>
+
+<p>To my surprise I discovered that the little corner in the foot-hills
+around Forest Lodge had been spared by the fire and my bamboo hut,
+twenty-two feet up in the air among the branches, was intact. So I
+halted the men and established the bivouac here. We had marched on ahead
+of the baggage, which was loaded on the elephants. While these were
+following us from Santrabari the masses of dry leaves underfoot caught
+fire from some smouldering log; and a long line of flames swept down on
+the terrified animals. Fortunately they were near a broad, dry
+river-bed; and the scared <i>mahouts</i> drove them into it for safety. A
+mile away the crackling of the burning leaves aroused us to our new
+danger. Breaking off branches, officers and men set to work to sweep the
+leaves around the bivouac into heaps and leave the ground bare for a
+couple of hundred yards on every side. By the morrow the fire had died
+out, all the leaves having been consumed.</p>
+
+<p>As we man&oelig;uvred through the forest every day I was astonished to
+still find traces of animal life in it. The destruction of the
+undergrowth and creepers having left the jungle more open, I determined
+to try a beat through it. On our last afternoon I sent all the men of
+the detachment a mile away across a broad river-bed with orders to drive
+towards it in a long line through the trees. On the near bank, which
+rose sheer to a height of thirty-three feet above the sand, the British
+and native officers, armed with rifles, took up their position.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">[Pg 205]</a></span> Lying
+flat on the ground at the edge of the bank, we listened to the shouts of
+the men coming nearer and nearer. The branches of the trees across the
+<i>nullah</i> became violently agitated; and a large troop of monkeys swung
+through them, leaped to the ground, and rushed over the sand on all
+fours. Then a barking deer broke out about a hundred and fifty yards
+away, and I fired at it. I was using a 470 cordite rifle; yet, struck
+just behind the shoulder by a soft-nosed bullet, the little animal ran a
+furlong before dropping dead. Nothing else followed it. Soon the men
+came into view between the trees and halted below us. Draj Khan, who was
+managing the line of beaters, was berating his comrades vehemently. He
+told me that they had come across a large tusker elephant; and instead
+of shepherding it gently towards the guns, a number of foolish young
+sepoys, armed only with sticks, had rushed boldly at it with wild yells.
+Luckily it did not attack them, but escaped out to one side of the beat.
+At the other end of the line the men had come on a small herd of
+<i>sambhur</i>, including two stags, and in their excitement had valiantly
+charged them in the absurd hope of taking them alive. A <i>sambhur</i> stag
+with his sharp horns and the driving-power of his great weight behind
+them is no mean foe; and it was just as well that the deer had fled from
+the men and broke out through a gap in the line.</p>
+
+<p>We tried a beat lower down the river, which resulted in the men putting
+up a panther. But again some foolishly daring spirits rushed at it to
+attack it with their sticks; and the animal got away at one end of the
+beat. Draj Khan caught a young<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206">[Pg 206]</a></span> <i>sambhur</i> fawn, a week old, and brought
+it to me in his arms. This and the <i>khakur</i> were our whole bag.</p>
+
+<p>I was surprised to find that the burnt forest still sheltered so much
+life. As the fires do not advance very rapidly the wild beasts can
+generally keep ahead of them and escape. But I cannot understand how the
+harmless animals support existence when all their fodder is destroyed.</p>
+
+<p>One night when Creagh and I were sitting in the bivouac after dinner in
+the dim light of a half moon, the idea occurred to me to take one of our
+elephants and wander along the bed of a river a few hundred yards away,
+in which, as there was still some water left, we might come upon wild
+animals drinking. So we got our rifles, and a pad was strapped on
+Khartoum's back. On her we passed out of the zareba surrounding the
+camp, in which most of the men lay asleep on their <i>dhurries</i> stretched
+on the ground; for the native requires no softer bed and can repose
+contentedly on paving stones. A couple of the Indian officers still sat
+talking by a fire near the shelter of boughs erected for them by their
+men. We answered the sentry's challenge and turned Khartoum down a path
+from the bivouac to the water. It lay faintly white in the misty
+moonlight which barely lit up the ground under the leafless trees. Not a
+hundred yards from the camp the <i>mahout</i> stopped Khartoum suddenly and
+pointed to a black object which indistinctly blurred the path.</p>
+
+<p>"A bear, Sahib," he whispered.</p>
+
+<p>It was too dark to see my rifle-sights; but I rapidly tied my
+handkerchief round the barrel and tried to aim at the shadowy outline of
+the animal.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207">[Pg 207]</a></span> Unluckily at that moment it moved off the path and entered
+a patch of shadow under a tree which still kept its leaves. I fired both
+barrels in quick succession without result and the bear scuttled away
+among the trees. We tried to follow it but could not find it again.</p>
+
+<p>When we reached the river-bed, down the middle of which a narrow stream
+still ran, we wandered up it for a couple of miles in the misty light.
+It was a curious sensation to be roaming noiselessly&mdash;for Khartoum's
+feet made no sound on the soft sand&mdash;in the dead of night through the
+silent jungle. Far away a <i>khakur's</i> harsh bark rang out suddenly once
+or twice, giving warning of the presence of some beast of prey; but
+otherwise all was still. We disturbed a few deer drinking; and they
+dashed away up the <i>nullah</i> in alarm. But we saw no wild elephant or
+tiger, such as I had hoped to come upon; and so we turned and made for
+camp again.</p>
+
+<p>On our return to Buxa the hills near us were bare and blackened; but
+farther away the fires still blazed. The heat and the oppression of the
+smoky atmosphere were still almost unendurable. But one night in the
+first week of April I was awakened by a terrific peal of thunder right
+overhead, which shook my bungalow and echoed and re-echoed among the
+hills. Another followed, as the intense darkness was lit up by a
+blinding lightning flash. And a dull moaning sound advancing from the
+plains below and steadily increasing to a roar made me sit up in bed and
+wonder what was about to happen. It drew near; and then a torrential
+downpour of tropical rain beat down on the Station. My iron roof rattled
+as if millions of pebbles were being<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_208" id="Page_208">[Pg 208]</a></span> flung on it. The noise was so
+great that I lay awake for hours.</p>
+
+<p>The storm raged all night; and when I rose for parade I looked out on a
+changed world. The rain still descended in sheets. The parade ground was
+a swamp. Down the <i>nullah</i> beside my garden raced a tumbling torrent of
+brown water flecked with white foam. Our rainy season had set in nearly
+three months earlier than throughout the greater part of the Peninsula
+of India. And now began the dullest time of our life in the outpost. In
+the five months that followed nearly three hundred inches of rain fell
+in Buxa. Work was at a standstill, save for physical drill in the men's
+barrack-rooms and lectures to the non-commissioned officers. To walk
+from my bungalow to the office in the fort every day was almost an
+adventure. Wearing long rubber boots to the knee and wrapped in a
+mackintosh I paddled across the swampy parade ground in drenching rain,
+and even in the short distance was wet through. And at night I struggled
+up the hill to dinner in the Mess along the steep road which was
+converted into a mountain torrent a foot deep, fearing at every step to
+find some snake, washed out of its hole in the ground, clinging
+affectionately round my legs to stop its downward career. All night long
+and most of the day storms swept down on us; and thunder growled and
+grumbled among the hills. Dwellers in temperate lands can form no
+conception of the awful grandeur of a tropical tempest, the fury of the
+wind, the vivid lightning that spatters the sky and runs in chains and
+linked patterns across its darkness, the awful sound of the crashing
+thunder that seems to shake<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209">[Pg 209]</a></span> the world. But, terrifying at first, they
+became actually wearisome from their frequency. When a thunderstorm has
+raged about one's house for eighteen hours, circling round the hills and
+returning again and again, one gets simply bored with it&mdash;there is no
+other expression to describe the feeling.</p>
+
+<p>It was wonderful to see the revivifying effect of the rain on the
+parched ground. One could almost watch the grass grow. Where a few days
+before was only bare earth, now the herbage stood feet high. All traces
+of the devastating fires were washed away. On the hill-sides, fertilised
+by the ashes, the undergrowth sprang up more luxuriantly than ever. But
+it brought with it the greatest curse of the rainy season in the jungle.
+Every twig, every leaf, every blade of grass, harboured leeches, thin
+threads of black and yellow which waved one end in the air and seemed to
+scent an approaching prey. Walk over the grass, brush past the bushes,
+and a dozen of these pests fastened on you. Through the lace-holes of
+one's boots, between the folds of putties, down one's collar they
+insinuated themselves unnoticed; and you did not feel them until,
+bloated with blood and swollen to an enormous size, they were
+perceptible to the touch under the clothing. After a walk one was
+obliged, on returning to the bungalow, to undress and was sure to find
+several leeches fastened to one's body. I saw one sepoy with a leech
+firmly fixed in his nostril. Another time I noticed a man's shirt sleeve
+stained with blood from elbow to wrist, and, on examining the arm,
+discovered that, unknown to the sepoy, two leeches were fastened on it
+and had punctured veins.</p>
+
+<p>Sometimes hailstorms alternated with the rain. I<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210">[Pg 210]</a></span> had heard stories of
+the size of the hailstones in the Duars. Planters had assured me that
+animals were often killed and the corrugated iron roofs of the factories
+perforated by them. I declined to credit these assertions; although in
+other parts of India I have seen hailstones an inch in diameter. But one
+night in Buxa, while we were at dinner, a hailstorm rattled on the roof
+of the bungalow; and I really believe that if this had not been made of
+thick sheets of iron it would have been drilled through. My orderly
+picked up one hailstone outside and brought it in to us. We passed it
+from hand to hand; and then it occurred to me to measure it. It was a
+rectangular block of clear ice containing as a core a round, whitish
+hailstone of the usual size and shape; and, using the tape and compass,
+we found it was two and a quarter inches long, one and a half broad, and
+one inch thick. And this after it had lain for a few minutes on the
+ground and had been handled by several persons. Next day a native survey
+party, under the command of a European, arrived in Buxa on its way to
+inspect the boundary marks along the Bhutan frontier, as these are
+frequently moved back into our territory by the wily Bhutanese. The
+Englishman in charge told me that he had been caught by the fringe of
+this storm on the previous evening. He had only a few yards to run for
+shelter but put up his umbrella as he did so. It was drilled through by
+the hailstones as if they had been bullets. I heard afterwards of
+several animals killed in the hills by this storm.</p>
+
+<p>Shut up in our small Station by the relentless rain the days passed
+wearily during the long wet months. Often in the afternoon the rain
+ceased for<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">[Pg 211]</a></span> a couple of hours; and we were able to get out for a little
+exercise. So steep were the slopes, so rocky the soil, that in half an
+hour after the cessation of the downpour the road and the parade ground
+were comparatively dry. But we could not wander off them without the
+risk of being attacked by scores of leeches.</p>
+
+<p>In July came a break of nearly a week. I took advantage of it to descend
+into the forest. Wonderful was the transformation there! No longer could
+I complain that there was no shelter for game. The undergrowth was
+higher and denser than ever. Save for an occasional blackened
+tree-trunk, half hidden in the greenery, there was no trace of the
+devastation wrought by the fires. The ashes had only served to fertilise
+the ground, and the vegetation pushed more vigorously than ever. Orchids
+again clothed the boughs. And, sporting in the unusual sunshine, myriads
+of gorgeous tropical butterflies, scarlet and black, peacock-green, pale
+blue, yellow, all the colours imaginable, rose up in clouds before my
+elephant. The creepers again swinging from stem to stem writhed and
+twisted in fantastic confusion. The rivers were in flood and rolled
+their masses of brown, foam-flecked water to the south.</p>
+
+<p>Despite the awful storms I saw no trace in the forest or the hills of
+damage wrought by lightning. When we arrived in Buxa I had thought the
+buildings well protected, as conductors ran down every chimney in
+bungalow and barrack. But just before the Rains an engineer of the
+Public Works Department had visited us to inspect them. To my alarm he
+informed me that none of them were properly insulated, and that so far
+from being a safeguard,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212">[Pg 212]</a></span> they were a positive danger. Then, having
+cheered me by saying that possibly in a year or two his Department would
+put them to rights, he left. So when the thunderstorms broke over us I
+used to wonder in pained resignation which building would be the first
+struck. But we weathered them all successfully. Probably the hills
+around saved us by attracting the electric fluid.</p>
+
+<p>Our brief glimpse of fine weather was soon gone. Then the clouds rolled
+up from the sea before the breath of the south-west Monsoons, the storms
+again assailed us, and the floodgates of the sky were opened once more.
+In England one complains of the dullness of a wet summer. Think of five
+months' incessant rain in a small Station that never boasted more than
+three European inhabitants, cut off from the world and thrown entirely
+on their own resources! Smith had long since left us and we had no
+doctor. In the middle of the Rains Creagh was ordered off to command the
+Trade Agent's escort in Gyantse in Tibet; and I was left the only white
+man in Buxa. Life was not gay. Even the relief of work was denied us;
+and sport was impossible, for malaria and blackwater fever hold
+possession of the jungles during the Monsoon. And even when the Rains
+moderated in September, we were not allowed to shoot until the close
+season ended in October. The wet season is not really over in India
+until near the beginning of November; and in Buxa we sometimes had rain
+in that month and in December.</p>
+
+<p>But still we managed to survive the trial by fire and by water; and the
+winter found us as ready for work and sport as ever.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_213" id="Page_213">[Pg 213]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="ChapterXI" id="ChapterXI"></a>CHAPTER XI</h2>
+
+<h3>IN THE PALACE OF THE MAHARAJAH</h3>
+
+<blockquote><p>The Durbar&mdash;Outside the palace&mdash;The State elephants&mdash;The
+soldiery&mdash;The Durbar Hall&mdash;Officials and gentry of the
+State&mdash;The throne&mdash;Queen Victoria's banner&mdash;The hidden
+ladies&mdash;<i>Purdah nashin</i>&mdash;Arrival of the <i>Dewan</i>&mdash;The
+Maharajah's entry&mdash;The Sons' Salute&mdash;A chivalrous
+Indian custom&mdash;<i>Nuzzurs</i>&mdash;The Dewan's task&mdash;The
+Maharani&mdash;An Indian reformer&mdash;<i>Bramo Samaj</i>&mdash;Pretty
+princesses&mdash;An informal banquet&mdash;The <i>nautch</i>&mdash;A
+moonlight ride&mdash;The Maharajah&mdash;A soldier and a
+sportsman&mdash;Cooch Behar&mdash;The palace&mdash;A dinner-party&mdash;The
+heir's birthday celebrations&mdash;Schoolboys'
+sports&mdash;Indian amateur theatricals&mdash;An evening in the
+palace&mdash;A panther-drive&mdash;Exciting sport&mdash;Death of the
+panther&mdash;Partridge shooting on elephants&mdash;A stray
+rhinoceros&mdash;Prince Jit's luck&mdash;Friendly intercourse
+between Indians and Englishmen&mdash;An unjust complaint.</p></blockquote>
+
+
+<p>The long arcaded front of the Palace of Cooch Behar gleamed in the glow
+of torches held by hundreds of white-clad natives. From the broad steps
+of the entrance to the lofty dome above it was outlined with lamps
+flickering in the night breeze. Before the great portals were ranged two
+lines of elephants with the State silver howdahs and trappings of
+heavily embroidered cloth of gold. Their broad faces streaked with white
+paint in quaint designs, their tusks tipped with brass, the great beasts
+looked like legendary monsters in the ruddy torchlight as they stood
+swinging their trunks, flapping their ears, and shifting restlessly from
+foot to foot. Up the lane<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_214" id="Page_214">[Pg 214]</a></span> between them came carriages and palankeens
+bearing the officials and nobles of the State to do homage to their
+Maharajah, who this night held his annual Durbar. The flight of broad
+steps in front of the great doorway was crowded with swordsmen and
+spearmen; while on the ground below were the uniformed State Band under
+a European conductor, and a Guard of Honour of the red-coated Cooch
+Behar Infantry with muzzle-loading muskets.</p>
+
+<p>The large circular Durbar Hall running up to the high domed roof and
+surrounded by a balustraded gallery seemed set for a stage scene. The
+floor was covered with the seated forms of officials and gentry clothed
+in white and wearing their jewels. On a dais under a golden canopy stood
+an empty gilt throne, one arm fashioned into the shape of an elephant,
+the other a tiger. Beside it was a large banner, the gift of the late
+Queen Victoria, heavily embroidered in gold with the same animals, which
+are the armorial bearings of the State. Behind the throne stood a number
+of swordsmen and halberdiers. One portion of the gallery was shrouded by
+latticed screens, from behind which came the rustle of draperies and the
+murmur of female voices; for they hid Her Highness the Maharani, her
+daughters, and the ladies of Cooch Behar&mdash;<i>purdah nashin</i>, that is,
+"hidden behind the veil" and never to reveal their faces to any men but
+their near kin. In another part of the gallery were a few British
+officers and civilians gazing with interest on the brilliant spectacle
+below. Through the great entrance could be seen the crowd outside, the
+soldiery and the lines of restlessly swaying elephants. Through them up
+the broad roadway came a palankeen borne on the shoulders of coolies<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_215" id="Page_215">[Pg 215]</a></span>
+and surrounded by torch-bearers and swordsmen. A cheer went up from the
+crowd; and all inside the hall rose as the palankeen stopped, and from
+it emerged a frail old man, clothed in white and adorned with splendid
+jewels which flashed in the ruddy glow of the torches and the clearer
+light of the electric lamps. It was the <i>Dewan</i>, the Prime Minister of
+the State. As he entered the Durbar Hall the mass of white-robed
+officials swayed like a field of ripe grain in the wind, as all present
+bowed to him. He took his place before the empty throne.</p>
+
+<p>Then the assemblage bent lower and a murmured acclamation went up from
+all as their Maharajah entered, followed by a procession of Indian
+aides-de-camp in white uniforms with gold aigulettes, white spiked
+helmets and trailing swords, similar to the summer dress of British
+officers in India. His Highness was clothed in a beautiful native garb
+of pale blue, with a <i>puggri</i>, or turban, of the same delicate hue with
+a diamond-studded aigrette. From the broad gold belt around his waist
+hung a jewelled scimitar. His breast glittered with orders and war
+medals, for he had seen active service with the British Army. His jewels
+flashed in coloured fire in the lamps.</p>
+
+<p>With slow and stately step he passed through the great chamber and
+seated himself on the golden throne; while silver trumpets pealed a
+welcome and the State Band played the National Anthem of Cooch Behar.
+Then came a silence and an expectant pause; and there entered four
+gallant young figures, the Maharajah's sons. Foremost came the heir,
+Prince Rajendra Narayen, in the scarlet tunic of the Westminster
+Dragons, and his brother, Prince<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_216" id="Page_216">[Pg 216]</a></span> Jitendra, in the beautiful white, blue
+and gold uniform of the Imperial Cadet Corps. Then followed Prince
+Victor, a godson of the late Queen Victoria, in the same magnificent
+dress, and the youngest son, Prince Hitendra, in a fine Indian costume
+of cloth of gold. The four young men halted and fronted their royal
+father. Then the heir apparent walked forward to the steps of the throne
+and held out his sheathed sword horizontally before him in the splendid
+Indian salute which means "I place my life and my sword in your hand."
+His Highness bent forward and touched the hilt, the emblematic sign
+meaning "I accept the gift and give you back your life." Prince Rajendra
+let fall the sword to his side, brought his hand to his helmet in
+military salute and took his place on the dais beside his father. Each
+of the other sons came forward in turn, did homage likewise; and then
+the four stood two and two on each side of the throne.</p>
+
+<p>Never have I looked on a more picturesque ceremonial or magnificent
+spectacle than this scene of the Durbar. It seemed too splendid, too
+glowing with colour, to be real life. The brilliantly lit chamber, the
+flashing of jewels and gold, the dense throng of white-clad officials,
+the glittering weapons of the armed attendants; and then the four richly
+apparelled princes pledging their fealty to their Sovereign and Sire in
+the historic Oriental custom that has come down to us through the
+storied ages of Indian chivalry. I could hardly realise that this
+gorgeous pageant was not some magnificent stage scene.</p>
+
+<p>The staff officers now came forward and offered their swords. Then the
+<i>Dewan</i>, followed by the swarms of officials and nobles, advanced one by
+one<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_217" id="Page_217">[Pg 217]</a></span> to the steps of the throne and presented their <i>muzzurs</i>, the
+Indian offering of gold or silver coins, which His Highness "touched and
+remitted," as the quaint phrase runs. Each, after salaaming profoundly
+before the throne, retired backwards and brought his gift to an
+official, who counted the amount of the offering, for next day the donor
+would be dowered with a present of equal amount, a profitable
+transaction as his own was returned to him.</p>
+
+<p>An attendant brought forward a splendid embossed gold hookah two feet
+high and placed it before the throne. The long snake-like gold tube and
+mouthpiece were handed to the Maharajah, who smoked during the remainder
+of the proceedings. For now a quaint ceremony began. The accounts of the
+various parts and departments of the State were brought solemnly to the
+<i>Dewan</i>, who sat on the floor surrounded by piles of account-books,
+which he examined. When he had concluded his lengthy task the Durbar
+came to an end. The assemblage rose and bowed low as the Maharajah,
+attended by his sons and his aides-de-camp, passed in procession out of
+the hall.</p>
+
+<p>Half an hour later the few military and civilian guests assembled in the
+beautiful State drawing-room, where we were joined by the Maharani and
+her two pretty daughters attired in exceedingly artistic native costumes
+and wearing delicately tinted <i>saris</i> draped most becomingly over their
+heads. Her Highness looked almost as youthful and lovely as on the day
+when the Maharajah first saw her and lost his heart to her. For, unlike
+most Indian marriages, theirs was a true love-match. She was a daughter
+of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_218" id="Page_218">[Pg 218]</a></span> the famous religious reformer, Mr Sen, the founder of the <i>Bramo
+Samaj</i> faith, which substitutes for the mythology and the seventy
+thousand deities of the Hindu worship, a purer belief in one God. The
+Maharani has the fair complexion of high-class Brahmin ladies, and an
+individuality and a charm of her own that makes her hosts of friends.
+The pretty young princesses seemed more to be masquerading in an
+attractive fancy dress than wearing their national costume; for they had
+been brought up by English governesses and educated in England, had
+danced through the ball-rooms of London and Calcutta in the smartest
+Parisian toilettes, and were as much at home in the Park or at a gala
+night at the Opera as in their own country.</p>
+
+<p>Owing to the Durbar, dinner was served at a late hour in the State
+dining-room, a spacious apartment in white and gold. At one end hung
+full-length portraits of our host and hostess in the gorgeous robes they
+wore at the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria in the celebrations in
+London. Table and sideboard shone with massive silver cups won at
+race-meetings and shows by the horses of the Cooch Behar stable. Native
+servants in scarlet and gold waited on the guests; but with all the
+luxury of a banquet served on silver there was no formality about the
+meal. The Maharajah and his sons had changed their magnificent attire
+for a comfortable native dress; and listening to their conversation in
+colloquial English on polo, shooting, and London theatrical gossip it
+was hard to realise that an hour before they had been playing their
+picturesque parts in such a stately Oriental pageant. All the family
+generally used English as their speech. The boys had been educated<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_219" id="Page_219">[Pg 219]</a></span> at
+Eton; and Victor, in addition, had done a course at an American
+University.</p>
+
+<p>After dinner we adjourned to the Durbar Hall again to witness from the
+galleries a <i>nautch</i>; and real Indian dancing is a spectacle of which
+the European soon has his fill. And somewhere about three o'clock in the
+morning, fatigued with the monotonous chant and the lazily moving fat
+figures of the <i>nautch</i> girls, overpowered by the heated atmosphere
+heavy with scent, I gladly hailed the suggestion of Prince Rajendra to
+escape from it all and go for a mad rush in his motor-car through the
+surrounding country in the brilliant moonlight. His brothers followed us
+in their cars. <i>Nautches</i> and motor-cars, the brilliant spectacle of the
+Durbar and these Eton-bred Indian Princes; what a fantastic medley it
+all seemed! And the swift sweep through the park in the cool morning air
+back to an Indian palace and a guest-chamber fitted like the best
+bedroom in a European <i>hôtel de luxe</i>. But when next day I left, in
+response to an urgent message bidding me come to shoot a tiger near
+Buxa, even the prospect of the sport scarcely reconciled me to quitting
+the lavish hospitality of my hosts.</p>
+
+<p>The Maharajah of that day is unfortunately no longer alive. The
+descendant of a hill race, he had all the fighting spirit of his
+ancestors who left their mountains to carve out a kingdom for themselves
+among the unwarlike dwellers of the Bengal plains. He took part in the
+Tirah Campaign with our troops, and held the rank of colonel in our
+Indian Cavalry. A sportsman, he was regarded throughout India, that land
+of sportsmen, as one of the best authorities in the world on big-game
+shooting. He had not his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_220" id="Page_220">[Pg 220]</a></span> equal in the art of managing a beat with
+elephants; and it was a marvellous sight to see him working a long line
+of them through thick jungle with the skill of a M.F.H. with his hounds
+in covert. He was a splendid horseman. Excelling in all games, he
+brought up his sons in the love of sport and athletics and made them
+fine polo players, first-class cricketers and footballers and crack
+shots. But, in addition, he was an extremely clever and well-read man
+and a most interesting talker. He had been everywhere, seen everything,
+and knew most of the interesting personalities of the day. His
+hospitality was proverbial. In his residences in Calcutta and
+Darjeeling, in his Palace of Cooch Behar, he kept open house. His
+courtesy and charm of manner endeared him to all who knew him.</p>
+
+<p>On my first visit to Cooch Behar in response to an invitation of His
+Highness, Creagh and I were met at the railway station by Captain Denham
+White, then temporarily acting civil surgeon of the State. He drove us
+through the town which, though small, is well planned. The streets are
+broad, well laid, and shaded with trees. In the centre of it lies a
+large square tank or pond surrounded by roads bordered by public and
+official buildings. Here afterwards I often saw the invalid permanent
+civil surgeon, for whom Captain White was then acting, sitting in a
+chair on the bank fishing, with a table beside him on which his servant
+laid his tea. And undisturbed by the endless procession of bullock
+carts, coolies, and natives of all ages, the old doctor sat and cast his
+line, hooking some extraordinary large fish at times.</p>
+
+<p>The poorer houses of the town were built on posts<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_221" id="Page_221">[Pg 221]</a></span> with bamboo walls and
+thatched roofs, similar to the Filipino dwellings in Manila, cool and
+airy and far healthier than the awful abodes of the lower classes in an
+English city. Cooch Behar could boast a fine college, a good civil
+hospital and quite a comfortable prison. I visited it once and found the
+thieves, highway robbers, and murderers, anything but miserable despite
+their chains, making soda water, grinding corn, cultivating vegetables
+or eating better and more plentiful meals than they had ever got in
+their own homes.</p>
+
+<p>Beyond the town we drove through the open tree-shaded park to the
+palace, a long two-storied building with arcaded verandas above and
+below. It was shaped like a T laid on its side; and at the junction of
+the two strokes was the portico leading to a large hall, off which
+opened the great Durbar room surmounted by its lofty white dome. On the
+left of the entrance, as one approached, were, on both stories, the long
+series of guest-chambers. On the right along the lower veranda was the
+State dining-room. Off the entrance hall to the right a broad staircase
+led to the upper story. Its walls were crowded with trophies of sport
+which had fallen to the Maharajah's rifle all over the world. Heads of
+bison, Indian and Cape buffaloes, moose, wapiti, <i>sambhur</i>, cheetal and
+roe deer from Germany&mdash;relics of many lands. To the right lay the State
+drawing-room and the splendidly appointed billiard-room carpeted with
+the skins of tigers. It occupied the front end of the short stroke of
+the T, and so from its windows and doors gave a fine view over the park
+on three sides, which made it a popular apartment for the afternoon tea
+rendezvous with the ladies of the family and their European<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_222" id="Page_222">[Pg 222]</a></span> guests.
+Behind, lay the private apartments of His Highness, the Maharani and her
+daughters, from the flat roofs above which, reached by a small
+staircase, one could see for many miles over the flat country beyond the
+English-like park. From here the Maharani could look down unseen, for in
+deference to the customs of her husband's subjects she and her daughters
+were <i>purdah</i> in the State outside the palace, and watch her sons
+playing football with the Cooch Behar team in the annual association
+tournament for a cup given by His Highness. The ground was situated in
+the park close under the walls of the building.</p>
+
+<p>At the time of this visit the Maharajah was the only member of the
+family in Cooch Behar. He had issued invitations to a dinner-party in
+our honour that evening, at which we met his staff and some of the
+principal gentlemen of his State. He joined us at dinner himself; for,
+being a follower of the <i>Bramo Samaj</i> faith, he had no religious
+prejudices that prevented him from eating with Europeans. I have hunted,
+shot, played polo and pigsticked with Hindu Princes who yet could not
+sit down at the same table with me when I dined at their palaces. At
+most they entered the room when dinner was over and filled a glass of
+wine to drink our Sovereign's health. But this meal in Cooch Behar was
+enlivened for me by the interesting conversation of my host, whom I was
+meeting for the first time. The State Band played outside the
+dining-room. After dinner we adjourned to the billiard-room or made up a
+bridge table. The Maharajah was practically the first Indian Prince to
+adopt English customs and was a frequent visitor to England, where he
+and his consort<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_223" id="Page_223">[Pg 223]</a></span> were great favourites of the late Queen Victoria. For
+her and the then reigning monarch King Edward VII. he entertained the
+warmest personal regard and admiration; and his loyalty to the British
+rule was founded on his sincere conviction of the benefits it conferred
+on India. I remember that during dinner that night he said to me:</p>
+
+<p>"If ever, during my lifetime, the British quitted India, my departure
+would precede theirs; for this would be no country to live in then.
+Chaos, bloodshed and confusion would be its lot."</p>
+
+<p>I drew him out on the subject of big-game shooting, of which few men
+living knew more, and listened with interest to his tales of <i>shikar</i>.
+Then the conversation ranged to art, the theatre, war, and politics; and
+on each he could speak entertainingly. He was deeply interested in
+developing the resources of his State and was anxious to introduce
+scientific methods among his farmers. Among other plans he was anxious
+to improve the quality of the native tobacco grown largely in the State,
+and had got for the purpose the best species of American and Turkish
+plants. His third son Victor, after finishing his course at an American
+University, was sent to Cuba to inspect the plantations and factories,
+and study the methods in use there.</p>
+
+<p>On the following day my subaltern and I were obliged to set our faces
+towards Buxa again; and it seemed like turning our backs on civilisation
+when we left the luxury of Cooch Behar Palace behind us and wended our
+way to our solitary little Station in the hills.</p>
+
+<p>On another occasion I was present for the celebrations of the birthday
+of the eldest son, Prince<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_224" id="Page_224">[Pg 224]</a></span> Rajendra, best known to his friends as
+"Raji," who is now the Maharajah.<a name="FNanchor_6_6" id="FNanchor_6_6"></a><a href="#Footnote_6_6" class="fnanchor">[6]</a>] In the palace park the annual
+sports of the Cooch Behar Boys' School were held. To a European new to
+India the sight of the native youngsters competing in sprint, hurdle and
+long-distance races and doing high and broad jumps like their
+contemporaries in England would have seemed strange. But wherever the
+Briton goes he takes his sports and games with him and imbues the race
+he finds himself among with his own love of them. So Chinese lads play
+cricket and football; and swarthy-bearded Indian sepoys rush round the
+obstacle course in their regimental sports or play side by side with
+their white officers on the hockey ground.</p>
+
+<p>Among the marquees in the enclosure for the spectators who were watching
+the schoolboys' competitions was one which was shrouded by <i>chikks</i>, or
+bamboo latticed blinds which enabled the occupants to see all that was
+passing outside and remain invisible themselves. It was intended for the
+use of the Maharani and her daughters, who, as I have said, were
+<i>purdah</i> in their own State in deference to the prejudices of the Cooch
+Beharis. This custom among the Hindus sprang up at the time of the
+Mohammedan invasions, partly from imitation of their conquerors, but
+probably more to shield their women from the licentious gaze of the
+victorious Mussulmans, who would have had small scruple in seizing any
+female whose Beauty attracted them.</p>
+
+<p>The Maharani and the young princesses emerged heavily veiled from the
+palace and entered a motor-car which was shrouded in white linen in such
+a way <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_225" id="Page_225">[Pg 225]</a></span>as to hide them from sight. It took them through the park to the
+sports enclosure, where servants held up white sheets to form a lane
+through which the ladies could pass unseen to the seclusion of their
+marquee.</p>
+
+<p>Among the celebrations in honour of the day&mdash;how English customs are
+seizing in the East!&mdash;was an amateur theatrical performance by the Young
+Men's Club of Cooch Behar. After dinner, Prince Raji motored me into the
+town to see it. The play was in Bengali, the plot being an episode in
+the history of the State several hundred years ago and containing much
+bloodshed and tragedy. It was excellently well staged and the acting was
+capital. Being ignorant of the language I was dependent on my
+companion's explanations. Like all Oriental plays it was of inordinate
+length; and having witnessed six or seven acts I was quite ready to
+depart without waiting for the end when my friend suggested it.</p>
+
+<p>Once when staying at the palace I was fortunate in having an opportunity
+of witnessing the Maharajah's skill in handling a line of elephants in a
+beat. The previous night at dinner he told us that he had received
+information of a "kill" by a panther near a village five miles away, and
+that he had given orders for his elephants to be ready on the spot next
+morning. The male guests present hailed the news with joy. We happened
+to be a curiously assorted party in race and in costume round the table
+that night. The Maharajah and his family wore Indian dress, as they
+usually did in the palace; though elsewhere they invariably wore
+European attire. Two Sikh nobles, officers of the Maharajah of Patiala's
+Bodyguard,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_226" id="Page_226">[Pg 226]</a></span> were in correct evening clothes but wore white <i>puggris</i>
+round their heads, which concealed their long hair, which the Sikh is
+forbidden by his religion to cut. They were tall, handsome men with the
+good features of their race. As they spoke no English, we were obliged
+to converse with them in Urdu. The Maharani was not well acquainted with
+that language and so was forced to appeal to me to interpret for her
+several times. The Indian aide-de-camp of His Highness wore white mess
+dress; while a major in a British regiment and I were in the
+conventional black and white.</p>
+
+<p>After dinner we joined the ladies in the beautiful yellow and gold State
+drawing-room. We found one of the pretty young princesses seated at the
+piano, making a delightful picture in the charming Indian dress, the
+gold-bordered <i>sari</i> draped becomingly over her dark hair, her tiny bare
+feet pressing the pedals as she played&mdash;how incongruous it seemed!&mdash;a
+selection from a musical comedy; and, attracted by the melody of the
+song then the rage in London, her brothers came in from the
+billiard-room to join in the chorus.</p>
+
+<p>Next morning my orderly woke me at 4-30 a.m. I hurriedly drank my tea
+and got into shooting kit; for we were to start at five o'clock. When I
+came out of my room on to the lower veranda I found some of our party
+already assembled by the great entrance. The Maharajah was seated in his
+motor-car with his youngest daughter, Princess Sudhira, beside him. To
+my surprise she was attired in a very smartly cut coat and skirt and
+wore a sun helmet; for, as she promptly informed me, she did not
+consider herself old enough&mdash;she was only sixteen&mdash;to be bothered<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_227" id="Page_227">[Pg 227]</a></span> by
+the restrictions of <i>purdah</i> when it did not suit her. Her father shook
+his head and smiled at the pretty rebel against Hindu customs.</p>
+
+<p>Major F&mdash;&mdash; and I went with them in their car; while the Sikh officers
+followed in another. We sped rapidly through the park and out along
+rough country roads, by thatched cottages and grass huts, groves of
+mango trees and dense thickets of bamboo. By the village wells dark-eyed
+women, poising their water jars on their heads turned to stare at us as
+we passed in a cloud of dust. From the hamlets tiny naked children
+rushed out to gaze at the <i>shaitan ki gharri</i>&mdash;the "devil's car." We
+soon reached the spot where the elephants were waiting for us beside the
+road. On the backs of the splendid tuskers intended for the shooters
+were howdahs fitted with gun rests and seats. Our elephants knelt down
+for us to clamber up. The Maharajah, with the true spirit of
+hospitality, left the sport to his guests and went off to take charge of
+the line of beaters. Princess Sudhira, armed with a camera, shared his
+howdah. The shooting elephants moved across the fields to a <i>nullah</i>
+filled with small trees and scrub jungle, in which the panther was
+reported to be hiding, and took up places in or on either bank of it.
+The beaters made a long circuit and formed line across the <i>nullah</i>.
+Then at a signal from the Maharajah they advanced towards us. As the
+ground on either side consisted of open, ploughed fields devoid of cover
+the panther would be forced to come along the ravine to the guns. The
+loud cries of the <i>mahouts</i>, the trumpeting of the elephants, the
+crashing of trampled jungle and the rending of boughs torn from the
+trees made a pandemonium of noise. I was posted high up on a bank<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_228" id="Page_228">[Pg 228]</a></span> and
+had a good general view of the scene. One of the Sikh nobles suddenly
+raised his rifle and fired; and I saw the lithe form of the panther for
+a few seconds as it dashed past his elephant and bounded like a great
+cat along the <i>nullah</i>. I caught an occasional glimpse of it between the
+patches of jungle but could not succeed in getting a shot. The Sikh's
+bullet had wounded it; but for the time it had succeeded in making its
+escape.</p>
+
+<p>The Maharajah came up and rearranged the beat. Our howdah elephants were
+sent along the banks; and we took up fresh positions farther on. Again
+the line of beaters bore down on us. The panther clung obstinately to
+the cover, not moving until the beaters were almost on it. Then it slunk
+cautiously towards the guns and gave the other Sikh officer a chance to
+wound it again. It turned and dashed against the line of beaters,
+recoiling almost from under the elephants' feet. For the first time I
+got a clear view of it but dared not fire lest I should hit anyone in
+the line. The elephants trumpeted shrilly; and while some tried to
+charge it and impale it on their tusks, others stampeded. All was
+confusion; but the Maharajah's voice rang loud above the uproar and made
+the excited <i>mahouts</i> keep their animals in the alignment. The panther,
+baffled in his attempt to break through, turned again and charged
+towards us. I lost sight of it in the scrub; but both Sikhs fired, and I
+saw it spring up the bank towards Major F&mdash;&mdash; who stopped it with a
+bullet. I urged my <i>mahout</i> forward and came on it rolling on the ground
+howling in agony and tearing up the earth with sharp claws. It was
+surrounded by the elephants of the other sportsmen and of the Maharajah.
+Princess<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_229" id="Page_229">[Pg 229]</a></span> Sudhira calmly leant over the front of her howdah and
+snapshotted it as it sprang up and tried to charge, only to be bowled
+over by a final shot. With a last spasm the beautiful animal sank on the
+ground and lay still, its yellow and black skin shining in the brilliant
+sunlight. Several <i>mahouts</i> climbed down and approached the body
+cautiously, while we covered it with our rifles. But it was dead at
+last; and they lifted it on to the pad of one of the "beater" elephants.</p>
+
+<p>Then, exchanging our weapons for shot-guns we moved off in a long line
+over the fields in search of partridges. Birds were plentiful. Covey
+after covey flashed up from the grass under the elephants' feet. A
+scattered fire opened along the line and the partridges dropped in
+crumpled balls of feathers. How different it seemed from walking them up
+over the stubble in the brisk air of an autumn morning in distant
+England! The Maharajah was shooting now and we soon secured a good bag.
+We reached the road, found the motor-cars waiting for us, and were
+whirled back to the palace. Panther and partridges before
+breakfast&mdash;what an attractive programme that would be for a
+shooting-party in an English country-house!</p>
+
+<p>Though formerly the haunt of every species of big game, Cooch Behar has
+been so opened up for cultivation that it no longer affords cover for
+the larger animals of the chase. But in recent years the Maharajah's
+second son, Jitendra, had an unexpected bit of good fortune in <i>shikar</i>.
+His father was absent in Assam organising a big shoot, and had taken
+with him all his elephants except one. "Jit," then little more than a
+schoolboy, was the only member of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_230" id="Page_230">[Pg 230]</a></span> family at the palace and was very
+disgusted at being considered too young to be taken on the shoot. But
+the Fates were good to him. One day an excited peasant repaired to the
+palace with the information that a rhinoceros had appeared in a village
+not five miles from the town. Jit was incredulous. Such a thing seemed
+impossible; for a rhino had not been seen in Cooch Behar State for many
+years. But the man stuck to his story. So the boy sent the solitary
+elephant out to the spot, mounted his bicycle and rode to the village.
+Here he found a crowd of peasants surrounding, at a respectful distance,
+a small clump of bamboos in the middle of a large bare field in which
+several cows were grazing. It seemed impossible that a rhinoceros, which
+in India always inhabits dense jungle, could have come into such open
+country. But the villagers declared the animal was there in the bamboos.
+Jit, still half incredulous, mounted his elephant. Hardly had he done so
+when a large rhinoceros burst out from the tiny patch of cover, and,
+apparently objecting to the presence of the cows, charged furiously at
+them. Up went their tails and off went the cows. Round and round the
+field they raced, the young heifers leaping and frisking like black
+buck, while the rhino lumbered heavily after them. The villagers
+scattered and fled. The scene was so comical that Jit, standing like a
+circus-master in the centre of the ring, could hardly stop laughing long
+enough to lift his rifle and take aim. At last he fired; and the
+rhinoceros checked, stumbled forward a few paces and collapsed in an
+inert mass on the ground. Then the boy, fearful lest his father might
+resent his having appropriated the best bit of sport that the State had
+afforded for years, got on his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_231" id="Page_231">[Pg 231]</a></span> bicycle and sped home to write a hurried
+letter of explanation and apology, which had the effect of the
+proverbial "soft answer."</p>
+
+<p>The late Maharajah of Cooch Behar,<a name="FNanchor_7_7" id="FNanchor_7_7"></a><a href="#Footnote_7_7" class="fnanchor">[7]</a> as I have said, was practically
+the first Indian Prince to adopt English customs, and, with his family,
+mixed freely in European society. By doing so he helped greatly the
+cause of friendly intercourse between the two races and did much to
+break down the great barrier between Briton and Indian. But, be it
+remembered, that barrier is not of the white man's raising. Educated
+Indians when in England, complain bitterly to sympathising audiences
+that in their own land they are not admitted freely into Anglo-Indian
+society. And the cry is taken up parrot-like and echoed in the British
+Isles by people absolutely ignorant of Indian conditions. The educated
+native, fresh from the boarding-houses of Bayswater, claims that he has
+a right to be introduced to a white man's house, to his wife and
+daughters. But he would hardly let a European see the face of <i>his</i> wife
+or permit him to enter anywhere but the fringe of his domicile. He has
+all the Oriental's contempt for women, and yet demands to be freely
+admitted to the society of English ladies, for whom in his heart he has
+no respect. And we who live in the land know it. But until he
+emancipates his own womenkind he cannot reasonably expect to be allowed
+a familiar footing in an Englishman's home.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_232" id="Page_232">[Pg 232]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_6_6" id="Footnote_6_6"></a><a href="#FNanchor_6_6"><span class="label">[6]</span></a>  He died in <span class="smcap">A.D.</span> 1913, and was succeeded by his brother,
+Prince Jitendra.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_7_7" id="Footnote_7_7"></a><a href="#FNanchor_7_7"><span class="label">[7]</span></a> He died in 1911; and his eldest son and successor, Rajendra,
+died in 1913. Prince Jitendra is now Maharajah.</p></div>
+</div>
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="ChapterXII" id="ChapterXII"></a>CHAPTER XII</h2>
+
+<h3>A MILITARY TRAGEDY</h3>
+
+<blockquote><p>In the Mess&mdash;A gloomy conversation&mdash;Murder in the army&mdash;A
+gallant officer&mdash;Running amuck on a rifle-range&mdash;"Was
+that a shot?"&mdash;The alarm&mdash;The native officer's
+report&mdash;The "fall in"&mdash;A dying man&mdash;A search round the
+fort&mdash;A narrow escape&mdash;The flight&mdash;Search parties&mdash;The
+inquiry into the crime&mdash;A fifty miles cordon&mdash;An
+unexpected visit&mdash;Havildar Ranjit Singh on the trail&mdash;A
+night march through the forest&mdash;A fearsome ride&mdash;The
+lost detachment&mdash;An early start&mdash;The ferry&mdash;The
+prisoner&mdash;A well-planned capture&mdash;The prisoner's
+story&mdash;The march to Hathipota&mdash;Return to the fort&mdash;A
+well-guarded captive&mdash;A weary wait&mdash;A journey to
+Calcutta&mdash;The escort&mdash;Excitement among the passengers
+on the steamer&mdash;American globe-trotters&mdash;the court
+martial&mdash;A callous criminal&mdash;Appeal to the
+Viceroy&mdash;Sentence of death&mdash;The execution.</p></blockquote>
+
+
+<p>A January night in Buxa. The last bugle call, "lights out," had sounded
+in the fort at a quarter-past ten o'clock, and the silence of the
+mountains hung over the little Station. In the Mess, Balderston and I
+drew our chairs closer to the cheery wood fire, for the weather was
+bitterly cold. The glass doors leading on to the veranda were closed.
+The servants had retired for the night and we were alone, for our Irish
+doctor was absent on leave. I cannot remember what gave our conversation
+so gloomy a turn, but the talk ran on cases of murder in the army.</p>
+
+<p>Where men trained to the use of arms and with<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_233" id="Page_233">[Pg 233]</a></span> weapons within reach are
+found, there is always the danger of this crime, due to sudden anger or
+long-smouldering resentment; and no army in the world is free from it.
+And when a man has committed one murder, too often he is liable to "see
+red" and run amuck, killing until he is killed himself. Consequently his
+apprehension is fraught with much danger. Though I have rarely known a
+case occur in an Indian regiment in which a British officer has been the
+first victim, yet many have fallen in leading attempts to seize an
+assassin. At night the sound of a shot in barracks sends a thrill
+through all who hear it; for it generally means that some grim tragedy
+has been accomplished. And it may only usher in a series of crimes and a
+desperate search for an armed assassin in the darkness where death is
+lurking; not a soldier's glorious ending on the battlefield, but a
+pitiful fate at the hand of a comrade.</p>
+
+<p>I had just related to my companion a happening which I had witnessed
+some years before when, at a large rifle meeting and in the presence of
+hundreds of men, a sepoy ran amuck and shot down a native officer and a
+havildar or sergeant. A young British subaltern standing close by rushed
+at him unarmed. The murderer cried:</p>
+
+<p>"Do not come on, Sahib, I do not want to harm you."</p>
+
+<p>But the officer still advanced. The sepoy, to frighten him, sent a
+bullet close to him, then, failing to stop him, fired again and shot him
+through the heart. Then, as we around were closing in on him, the
+assassin placed the muzzle of his rifle to his head and blew his own
+brains out, rather than be taken alive.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_234" id="Page_234">[Pg 234]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Scarcely had I recounted this incident when I thought I heard the sound
+of a shot coming from the direction of the fort. I sprang from my chair
+and ran out on to the veranda. The night was perfectly still. I listened
+for a few minutes.</p>
+
+<p>"What is the matter, major?" cried Balderston from the mess-room.</p>
+
+<p>"Did you not hear a shot?" I asked.</p>
+
+<p>"No," he replied.</p>
+
+<p>I looked at my watch. It was a quarter-past eleven o'clock. Just then
+from the parade ground came the short, harsh bark of a <i>khakur</i>. It was
+like the noise I had heard; for I had noticed that, instead of the
+sharp, clear ring of a rifle-shot, the sound had been a long-drawn-out
+one. So, laughing at what seemed my nervous fear, I went in again and
+closed the door. But before I could sit down a bugle rang out loudly in
+the fort. It was sounding the "Alarm"; and it was followed by loud
+shouts.</p>
+
+<p>"Good God, Balderston, there has been a murder," I cried. "That <i>was</i> a
+shot I heard. Get your revolver, turn out your orderly with his rifle,
+and follow me to the fort."</p>
+
+<p>I sprang down the steps into the garden and raced down the steep road.
+Across it lay a broad stream of light from the window of my bungalow;
+and as I ran through it I thought that if anyone was lying in wait for
+me with murderous intent, here was the place for him. As I neared the
+parade ground I vaguely made out in the darkness two figures approaching
+me. I called out in Hindustani:</p>
+
+<p>"Who is there?"</p>
+
+<p>No answer came. I shouted again but got no<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_235" id="Page_235">[Pg 235]</a></span> reply. This was suspicious;
+but as I was unarmed the only thing to do was to close with them. I ran
+up to them and found them to be two sepoys with rifles. To my relief
+they said:</p>
+
+<p>"We are men of the guard sent by the subhedar-major to you, Sahib.
+Someone has fired a shot inside the fort."</p>
+
+<p>I ran past them across the parade ground and at the gate was met by my
+senior native officer who stopped me and said in a low tone:</p>
+
+<p>"Sahib, Colour-Havildar Shaikh Bakur has been shot in his bed. The
+sentry on the magazine, a young Mussulman named Farid Khan, has
+disappeared with his rifle."</p>
+
+<p>The news stunned me. Shaikh Bakur was one of my best non-commissioned
+officers. And the murderer was still at large. The sentry's absence from
+his post pointed to his being the assassin. In that case he had still
+nine rounds of ball ammunition, and, if he wished to run amuck, held as
+many lives in his hand. I eagerly questioned the subhedar-major; but he
+could tell me no more.</p>
+
+<p>The sepoys were falling in in front of the quarter guard and the company
+orderlies were calling over the rolls by the light of lanterns to see if
+any of the men were missing. I ordered them to extinguish the lamps,
+which only served to give a target to the invisible assassin, and bade
+the section commanders check their sections by memory. The sound of my
+voice stilled the confusion; and only the low muttering of the havildars
+and equally low responses of the sepoys were heard. Suddenly from a
+barrack-room close by rang out shrieks and wailing groans.</p>
+
+<p>"What is that noise, subhedar-major?" I asked.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_236" id="Page_236">[Pg 236]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"It is Shaikh Bakur, Sahib. He is not dead and is crying out in his
+pain."</p>
+
+<p>As at that moment Balderston arrived I ordered him to examine the rifles
+of all in the detachment and see if a shot had been fired from any of
+them. Then I went to the room from which the cries proceeded. The
+high-roofed, stone-paved chamber was lighted only by a small lantern
+that cast weird shadows on the ceiling and showed a group of men
+standing around a bed at the far end. On it the wounded man was writhing
+in agony, trying with frenzied strength to hurl himself on to the floor;
+and it required the united efforts of two men to hold him on the cot. He
+was a dreadful sight. From a bullet hole in his chest the blood welled
+out at every motion of the body. His face was wet with sweat, the lips
+drawn back showing the white teeth clenched in pain. His staring eyes
+saw nothing; and he was delirious. Again and again his awful shrieks
+rang out through the lofty room and then subsided into meaningless
+mutterings. In the group by the bed stood an old native hospital
+assistant, the very inefficient substitute for our absent doctor. He was
+weeping copiously and seemed utterly helpless. I questioned him about
+the wound.</p>
+
+<p>"Sir, he has been shot through the body; and the bullet has come out
+through the chest," he sobbed.</p>
+
+<p>"Have you&mdash;can you do anything for him?" I said.</p>
+
+<p>"Sir, it is hopeless. The man will die," he cried through his tears.</p>
+
+<p>I shook him by the shoulders.</p>
+
+<p>"Collect yourself, <i>babu-ji</i>," I said sternly. "Try<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_237" id="Page_237">[Pg 237]</a></span> to do something.
+Can you not give him an opiate to relieve the pain?"</p>
+
+<p>He wrung his hands in the abandonment of helpless despair.</p>
+
+<p>"Sir, the case is hopeless. The man will die," he repeated mechanically.
+I could scarcely hear him through the heart-rending shrieks of the dying
+man, whose handsome bearded face was distorted, and his strong frame
+convulsed in agony. I turned again to the weeping Brahmin hospital
+assistant, useless, like so many of his race, in an emergency.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, for God's sake, drug him into insensibility and let him die in
+peace," I cried.</p>
+
+<p>But he only sobbed helplessly. As I turned to leave the death-bed, I
+trod on an empty cartridge-case. I picked it up. It was the one from
+which the fatal bullet had been fired. It showed that the murderer had
+reloaded his rifle on the spot and intended that the killing should not
+end there. I went out into the darkness again. The sepoys were standing
+silently in the ranks; and the native officers were gathered in a group
+around Balderston. As the rifle of every man in the detachment, except
+the missing sentry, had been examined and found clean, it was evident
+that Farid Khan was the murderer. He had been reprimanded that day, so I
+learned, by Shaikh Bakur for having his accoutrements dirty on parade.
+It was a small cause to take a man's life for. But now the first thing
+to do was to try and find the assassin. This was no easy task on so dark
+a night, for there was cover for him everywhere in the fort. No one
+could tell in what corner he might be lurking, ready to shoot down the
+search-party. Then the means of egress from the fort<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_238" id="Page_238">[Pg 238]</a></span> were easy. The
+loopholed walls connecting the various barrack-rooms were low; and a man
+could scale them at any point. As I hurriedly thought over the best
+means of beginning the hunt, the piteous shrieks of the dying man rang
+through the silent night and chilled our blood.</p>
+
+<p>I took a couple of armed men with me and commenced to search the empty
+buildings of the fort. One of the native officers came running to me and
+called out:</p>
+
+<p>"Sahib, the outer door of my room, which I left open, is now closed and
+bolted from the inside. Farid Khan must be within."</p>
+
+<p>I went to the room, which was in the same single-storied building as the
+barrack-room in which the crime had been committed. I tried the door. It
+was fastened at the bottom. Bidding the sepoys with me load their
+rifles, I endeavoured to push the door in, sincerely hoping that if I
+succeeded I would not be received by a bullet. The door resisted, then
+gave way so suddenly that I fell inside head foremost. I sprang up
+hurriedly with the uncomfortable feeling that at any moment I might have
+the murderer's bayonet in me. I groped round the room in the darkness,
+then lit a match and found the place empty. The door must have swung to
+in the wind and the bolt fallen down and been caught in the socket.
+Annoyed at having the scare for nothing I turned to walk out and found
+myself confronted by the muzzles of my men's rifles, for they could not
+see who was emerging from the dark interior. Having no desire to be shot
+by mistake, I quickly let them know who I was. As I came out into the
+open air, a voice cried:<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_239" id="Page_239">[Pg 239]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Sahib, Sahib! He has escaped. He has left the fort"; and a native
+follower rushed up breathlessly to say that he had just been passed by a
+flying figure which had climbed over the back gate.</p>
+
+<p>Calling to my two sepoys to follow me, I ran to this gate and struggled
+with the stiff bolts. With difficulty we dragged open the heavy iron
+leaves which grated noisily on their hinges. Outside lay a strip of
+grass dotted with trees and a few wooden sheds. It ran the length of the
+back wall but was only forty yards wide, ending on the edge of the
+precipice which fell sheer for three hundred feet. Down the steep face a
+zigzag path was cut leading to the hill on which the segregation
+hospital, burned in the forest fires, had stood. I searched around and
+inside the sheds and moved cautiously over the grassy shelf, keeping
+carefully away from the brink of the cliff. I was not carrying a weapon
+myself; for the night was so dark that the murderer, if he stood
+motionless, would see us first and could get in the first shot. If he
+missed I preferred trying to close with him at once, and not engaging in
+a duel with rifles with him. Should I succeed in grappling with him, the
+bayonets of my two men would soon end the struggle.</p>
+
+<p>Where the back wall terminated the side walls joined it at right angles;
+and here our task became doubly dangerous, for they were built almost on
+the edge of the precipice; and we had to move along in single file,
+keeping one hand on the wall, for a false step meant a fall on to the
+rocks far below. I groped cautiously along in the utter darkness,
+feeling much more afraid of tumbling over the cliffs than I was of the
+chance of meeting with the murderer.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_240" id="Page_240">[Pg 240]</a></span> But, though I did not know it at
+the time, we had already passed him; for he was standing motionless
+behind one of the trees near the back wall, watching us as we went by,
+ready to fire at us if we saw and tried to catch him.</p>
+
+<p>Then, when we had gone by, he stole silently down the zigzag path and
+climbed the opposite hill, intending to descend on the other side and
+gain the mountain road leading down to Santrabari.</p>
+
+<p>But when I had completely circled the outer walls I entered the fort by
+the front gate and at once sent off a party of men under my old Rajput
+Subhedar, Sohanpal Singh, to go down to Santrabari and hide in the
+elephant stables. I gave them orders that, if the fugitive came by, they
+were to cover him with their rifles, call on him to surrender and shoot
+him down if he attempted to resist. The murderer, crouching on the hill
+above, heard them passing on the road below him, and turned off in
+another direction.</p>
+
+<p>Having sent off another party along the mountain-track to Chunabatti, I
+fell out the detachment and entered the orderly-room to hold an inquiry
+into the case. The story of the crime was soon told. In the barrack-room
+there were thirty-three beds, all occupied except the one exactly
+opposite Shaikh Bakur's. This belonged to the missing sentry, Farid
+Khan, who was on guard for the night. The men had been awakened by the
+deafening report of a rifle fired in the room. Although, when they had
+gone to sleep, the big wall-lanterns had been extinguished and the room
+was in darkness, there was now a small lamp burning beside Farid Khan's
+bed. By its light some of the sepoys saw a figure rush out<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_241" id="Page_241">[Pg 241]</a></span> through the
+open door and heard the clatter of heavy nailed boots on the stone-paved
+veranda outside. The colour-havildar had shrieked out: "I am shot! I am
+shot!"</p>
+
+<p>Suddenly the small lamp was extinguished; and the darkness increased the
+confusion of the room. The men nearest Shaikh Bakur rushed to his
+bedside, others called out to him to ask what was the matter; some cried
+out for the lamps to be lit; and others, not realising what had
+happened, shouted inquiries. At last a lantern was lighted and revealed
+the unfortunate man writhing in agony on his bed. Meanwhile the sentry
+on the quarter guard not fifty yards away, hearing the shot and the
+consequent uproar, awoke the havildar in charge of the guard. He ordered
+the bugler to sound the "alarm." The guard having fallen in, the <i>naik</i>
+(or corporal) went to the magazine close by and found that the sentry
+over it, whom he had visited fifteen minutes before, was missing from
+his post. On the "alarm" being sounded, the sepoys rushed out of their
+barrack-rooms with their rifles and accoutrements and fell in on parade.
+Still the magazine sentry did not appear, and his absence aroused
+suspicion. It was remembered that he was a young Mussulman called Farid
+Khan whom I had checked on parade that morning for carelessness in drill
+and who had been previously reprimanded by Shaikh Bakur for not having
+his accoutrements clean.</p>
+
+<p>I discovered that the small lamp, which had been burning when the shot
+was fired and the murderer ran out of the room, had been put out by a
+young sepoy who slept in the next cot to Farid Khan's, apparently to
+help the assassin to escape in the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_242" id="Page_242">[Pg 242]</a></span> darkness. This sepoy came from the
+same district as the missing sentry and was his intimate friend. I made
+him a prisoner.</p>
+
+<p>There was nothing more to be done now until daylight, except to dispatch
+telegrams to the police and to regimental and brigade headquarters. I
+sent everyone off to bed and sat alone in the orderly-room by the light
+of a solitary lamp, planning out measures to capture the murderer. The
+cries from the barrack-room had ceased; for the poor havildar was dead,
+and his body had been removed to the hospital. After the recent
+confusion and bustle the stillness and silence seemed intense. I was
+haunted by the vision of the murdered man's face and filled with a
+bitter resentment against his slayer. The odds were greatly in favour of
+the assassin's escape. In the wild country around us, the broken,
+jungle-covered hills, the dense forest, a fugitive could hide himself
+indefinitely, provided only that he could procure food. If he succeeded
+in making his way to the main railway line the only chance of capturing
+him lay in his returning to his own country, hundreds of miles away; and
+I had telegraphed to the police of his village. The knowledge I had
+acquired of the country about us in shooting and on the march stood me
+now in good stead. The little railway from Buxa Road would be too
+dangerous for him; but he might try to make his way on foot to the
+junction of the main line at Gitaldaha; or a route through the forest
+led to villages and tea gardens at Kalchini, whence he might eventually
+reach another railway. But what I feared most was that he might commit
+suicide somewhere in the mountains or in the jungle and his body be
+never found,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_243" id="Page_243">[Pg 243]</a></span> or cross the border to Bhutan, where he would probably be
+murdered for his rifle. In either case we would always remain ignorant
+of his fate. Then it would be believed that he had succeeded in
+effecting his escape. Four or five years before, another murder had been
+committed in the regiment and the assassin had never been captured. It
+would be a fatal thing if this murderer also succeeded in avoiding
+arrest; as it might encourage a repetition of the crime. The hours were
+interminable. It seemed as if the daylight to help us in our search
+would never come. My thoughts wandered to the fugitive. I pictured him
+lying out in the jungle, trembling at every rustle in the undergrowth
+that might herald the stealthy approach of a savage beast, realising now
+that his life was forfeit and that henceforth every man's hand was
+against him. I wondered if in the hours of silent watching in the
+darkness he had begun to appreciate his deed and its consequences.</p>
+
+<p>At last the wished-for dawn came. I sent out armed patrols in all
+directions to follow up every track and to occupy every village and
+hamlet in which the fugitive might try to obtain food. Other parties
+went by train to Gitaldaha, one to remain there, the rest to go east and
+west to the junctions of other railways. When these dispositions were
+complete we had a net, fifty miles wide, around the district. These
+patrols had orders to take the fugitive dead or alive. I instructed them
+to shoot him down if he attempted to resist; for I did not want to lose
+another of my men by his hand.</p>
+
+<p>The day passed wearily. No news came in; and I chafed at the inaction.
+At noon a sepoy rushed<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_244" id="Page_244">[Pg 244]</a></span> up to my bungalow to tell me that the men of the
+quarter guard had heard two shots on a wooded hill about half a mile
+from the fort. I doubled out with an armed party at once and searched
+the jungle around, without result. To this day I have never found an
+explanation of these shots, which had been distinctly heard by all the
+sepoys left in the fort. Night fell without any intelligence reaching me
+from any of the parties out. The native officers urged us to have a
+guard placed over the Mess and my bungalow, lest the murderer should be
+tempted to come back in the dark and shoot me; but I refused, as I
+wished the men to get all the rest they could in view of the exertions
+they might be called on to make. I slept little that night; for the
+memory of the tragedy weighed heavily on me.</p>
+
+<p>Next morning some of the patrols straggled in, exhausted and weary,
+having found no trace of the fugitive. But in the afternoon Tyson of
+Hathipota and an officer of the Royal Engineers named Marriott, who had
+been staying with him in his bungalow, rode into Buxa; and from them I
+got the first news of the murderer. For on their way from Hathipota they
+had met one of our search-parties under a havildar, called Ranjit Singh,
+who told them of the crime and said that he had been informed by
+villagers at Jainti that a man carrying a rifle had been seen coming out
+of the jungle early that morning and going east. Shortly afterwards one
+of Ranjit Singh's patrol arrived and confirmed this. The havildar had
+sent him back to report to me and tell me that the rest of the party
+were continuing in pursuit. The news was electrifying. Although the
+fugitive was going in the opposite direction to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_245" id="Page_245">[Pg 245]</a></span> where his home lay, yet
+he was heading towards a river down which he could get by boat to a main
+railway line. It was imperative to bar his way. I gave orders for a
+party to start by the first train to Gitaldaha, change to this main
+line, and proceed to the point where it crossed the river. There they
+were to detrain and search every boat coming down from the north. A
+native officer was dispatched on Balderston's pony at once to overtake
+Ranjit Singh and urge him on the trail. Then I ordered sixty Rajputs,
+who being Hindus would not be in sympathy with the Mohammedan fugitive,
+to prepare to start in half an hour and march through the forest to
+Hathipota, where they were to halt for the night. I determined to take
+command of this party myself. It was to be spread out into a cordon
+miles long between the hills and the main railway line. As I had to send
+telegrams warning the police in the direction in which the murderer was
+moving and make other arrangements, I sent the party on ahead under a
+native officer.</p>
+
+<p>Our guests and Balderston volunteered for the pursuit. The latter
+borrowed a small pony about twelve hands high from a <i>bunniah</i>, as he
+had lent his own to the native officer. Mounting our horses we set off
+down the steep mountain-road to Santrabari. When we reached the more
+level ground we galloped the three miles to Buxa Road Station. I
+expected to overtake my party before we reached this point, but to my
+surprise found no signs of them. It turned out that they had taken a
+short cut through the forest.</p>
+
+<p>From the station a narrow track led through the jungle to Jainti. We
+rode down it in single file.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_246" id="Page_246">[Pg 246]</a></span> Night had now fallen, and under the trees
+the darkness was intense. Marriott was leading and I was immediately
+behind him; but I could not see even his horse. Our animals stumbled
+over the fallen trees. Overhanging boughs, invisible to us, nearly swept
+us from our saddles. A crash and an exclamation from the leader told us
+that his horse had come to grief. Bruised by the fall, Marriott picked
+himself up and remounted. And on we blundered in the utter darkness. But
+there was a greater danger. We were passing through a part of the forest
+much frequented at night by wild elephants. None of us were armed; and
+the prospect of meeting with a rogue was not pleasant. Even if it did
+not attack us it would certainly stampede our horses. And to be bolted
+with in the thick forest in the dark would be a dangerous experience.
+Imagination peopled the black jungle with lurking tigers ready to spring
+out on us; and every sound seemed to herald the approach of a wild
+elephant. A deer crashing through the undergrowth would have been
+sufficient to scare our horses. To make matters worse Balderston's tiny
+pony could not keep up with us. Every time it lagged behind and its
+rider failed to answer our shouts, we were obliged to halt and wait for
+them. I shall not readily forget the terrors of that night ride. We were
+confronted by the constant risk of a fall over a prostrate tree-trunk or
+of being knocked out of the saddle by a low branch, and by the likely
+chance of encountering some dangerous wild beast. To keep up our spirits
+and in the hope of scaring off the elephants, tigers and bears by the
+far from melodious sounds, we sang choruses loudly in rather shaky
+voices. The miles<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_247" id="Page_247">[Pg 247]</a></span> through the forest seemed interminable; and I felt
+that I would sooner face a dozen armed murderers than ride them again.</p>
+
+<p>At last we emerged on the bank of the river at Jainti, on the other side
+of which was the road to Hathipota along which we had come on our return
+from the ten days' march with the detachment. Our relief at being clear
+of the forest was great. We splashed through the shallows and set off at
+a gallop along the road. Suddenly my horse stumbled and fell in a hole,
+throwing me over its head. I was badly shaken, but I climbed into the
+saddle as the others, hearing the sound of the fall, pulled up and came
+back to me. The hole had evidently been dug in the roadway by a wild
+boar that night; as it had not been there when Tyson and Marriott came
+by in the morning. We rode on again. When I expressed to Tyson,
+cantering alongside, my relief at being out of the forest and safe from
+the chance of a meeting with wild elephants, I was appalled at hearing
+that the stretch of road we were then on was a regular thoroughfare for
+these animals on their way from the hills to the jungle.</p>
+
+<p>We reached Tyson's bungalow about ten o'clock and found that my men had
+not arrived; and they did not march in until midnight. The native
+officer in command had tried a short cut through the forest, following a
+woodcutter's path which led the party into deep <i>nullahs</i>, up
+precipitous banks, and through the densest jungle. The sepoys were
+utterly exhausted by their toilsome march. The three elephants had
+started out with them, carrying the men's blankets and rations, but had
+fallen far behind. But when Tyson showed the party<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_248" id="Page_248">[Pg 248]</a></span> quarters for the
+night in one of his sheds, no one waited for food or bedding but flung
+himself on the floor and fell asleep at once.</p>
+
+<p>Ranjit Singh's patrol had reached the village of Hathipota near the tea
+garden on the previous night. The havildar had learned at Jainti that a
+man in white dress and carrying a rifle had been seen coming from the
+forest and crossing the river early on the morning after the murder.
+Farid Khan, having been on guard, was clad in khaki uniform when he left
+the fort. But the villagers told Ranjit Singh that this man had a bundle
+rolled up in a military greatcoat. The havildar guessed that the
+murderer had been wearing white undress under his uniform and had taken
+off the latter during the night. So he crossed the river and found in
+the dust of the road to Hathipota the footprints of a man wearing
+ammunition boots. He followed them for some miles until they turned off
+into the jungle, where he lost the trail. Thinking that Hathipota
+Village was the nearest place where the fugitive could procure food, he
+pushed on with his two men and hid close to it all night. As by morning
+their quarry had not appeared, the patrol went on to the ferry over the
+Raidak River near the planters' club, where the detachment had
+bivouacked and held sports on the march. Ranjit Singh had brought with
+him an armed policeman whom he had met at Jainti and who had been sent
+out to search for the murderer. But this worthy had no desire to meet
+him and declined to accompany our havildar any farther, alleging that he
+was fatigued by the previous day's exertions and must stay to rest and
+refresh himself in Hathipota. But scarcely had our patrol left the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_249" id="Page_249">[Pg 249]</a></span>
+village when the policeman, standing with a group of peasants, was
+horrified by the sudden apparition of a man dressed in white and
+carrying a rifle. It was Farid Khan. The guardian of the law, though he
+had a rifle himself, was far too frightened to use it. Farid Khan walked
+boldly up to him and asked him if any sepoys had visited the village.
+The terrified policeman, anxious to get rid of him at all costs, told
+him that a havildar with a party who were looking for him, had just
+left. He even told him truthfully the direction they had taken. Farid
+Khan at once disappeared into the jungle.</p>
+
+<p>Meanwhile Ranjit Singh, having reached the river and learned from the
+ferryman that the fugitive had not arrived there, warned the former not
+to help the murderer across the stream if he came. Then the patrol
+turned back to Hathipota. There they were informed of Farid Khan's
+appearance in the village. They at once retraced their steps to the
+ferry and found that the fugitive had come to it soon after they had
+left. He had reached it by a jungle path. When the ferryman refused to
+take him over the river Farid Khan raised his rifle and threatened to
+shoot him; and the man was forced to take him across. Ranjit Singh and
+his men at once followed.</p>
+
+<p>No news of this had reached us. Next morning, as soon as there was light
+enough to show the way, I marched my party off in a south-easterly
+direction to reach a point from which we could spread out and form the
+cordon. Marriott accompanied us, and Balderston was now mounted on a
+good pony lent him by Tyson, who was obliged to remain behind. As the
+little column swung along in the light of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_250" id="Page_250">[Pg 250]</a></span> rising sun, the
+excitement of the chase was visible in the sepoys. Struck by their
+silence, unusual when "marching at ease," I turned in the saddle to look
+at them. Every man's face was set in a grim, stern look; and as they
+strode on their eyes swept the country around with quick, keen glances
+as if they expected to see the fugitive every moment. Absorbing as is
+the chase of wild animals it is nothing to the excitement of a man-hunt.
+I forgot that we were tracking a human being to his doom, and remembered
+only that I had the blood of one of my best soldiers to avenge and that
+I was pursuing a cowardly murderer. I had given orders to all that Farid
+Khan, if overtaken and seen to be armed, was to be fired at on the spot;
+for I was determined to give him as little chance as possible to kill
+anyone else. Had I come upon him myself I would have shot him down
+without compunction, and regretted only that my bullet saved him from
+the gallows.</p>
+
+<p>Some miles ahead of us lay a village which contained a police station. I
+sent Balderston and Marriott galloping on ahead to give warning to the
+havildar and constables in it, as they might not yet have heard of the
+crime. The column tramped on in gloomy silence through fairly open
+country, until we reached the new Raidak River and found our way barred
+by the swift-flowing stream. However, at this point there was a ferry
+consisting of a small dug-out canoe. I halted the detachment and was
+superintending the embarkation of the first batch of men, when higher up
+on the opposite bank two horsemen appeared. They were Marriott and
+Balderston. They called out across the water something that I did not
+hear. But the sepoys<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_251" id="Page_251">[Pg 251]</a></span> farther along on our side of the river did; and a
+wild burst of cheering from them startled me. They seemed to have gone
+mad. They threw their <i>puggris</i> in the air and waved their rifles above
+their heads yelling excitedly. Then a wild rush was made towards me.</p>
+
+<p>"They've caught him, Sahib. Ranjit Singh has caught him," they cried, as
+they crowded round me. Never in my service had I seen the usually stolid
+sepoys so moved. Only then did I realise fully their bitter feeling of
+personal hatred of the treacherous assassin who had slain a comrade, and
+how keenly they had desired his capture.</p>
+
+<p>Fording the stream the two officers approached me. Balderston waved his
+helmet, his face aglow with excitement.</p>
+
+<p>"They've got him, major! They've got the brute, thank God!" he cried.</p>
+
+<p>A load seemed lifted off my heart; but a sudden fear gripped me.</p>
+
+<p>"Are the others safe?" I asked. "Anyone shot?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, no. They sprang on him before he could use his rifle," he replied,
+as his pony scrambled up the bank. Swinging himself out of the saddle he
+continued: "We met Ranjit Singh on the road bringing him along. They are
+not far off. They tracked him to a village and overpowered him before he
+could resist. He had his loaded rifle beside him."</p>
+
+<p>That was the first happy moment I had experienced since the fatal night.
+The murderer was in our hands; and my poor havildar's death would be
+avenged.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_252" id="Page_252">[Pg 252]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>We stood in silence beside the river, watching the opposite bank
+intently. At last on it appeared a little group of figures, three in
+khaki, a fourth in white. Again the cheering burst out from the sepoys
+and continued as the canoe was sent across the stream to bring over the
+prisoner and his captors. Farid Khan was in front, his hands bound
+behind his back by a rope, the end of which was held by Havildar Ranjit
+Singh, who carried a rifle. As they came down the sloping path to the
+water's edge, it occurred to me that the prisoner, when in the cranky
+boat, might endeavour to capsize it and drown himself. So I ordered two
+or three of my best swimmers to strip and be ready to plunge into the
+river. But Farid Khan stepped carefully into the canoe and seated
+himself in the bottom of it and never moved until it reached our side.
+He laughed amusedly when one of his escort, trying to spring ashore,
+fell into the shallow water. As the canoe grounded the sepoys crowded
+round it with menacing looks; and we officers had to drive them back.
+Had we not been there they would have lynched him. Some cursed and
+reviled him, while others applauded his captors. But coolly and
+unconcernedly he stepped ashore with a cynical smile on his face. When
+the havildar had marched him up in front of me he stood quietly at
+attention. He was a young man twenty-one years old, with good features
+and a slight, well-knit frame. He returned my gaze steadily and seemed
+as little perturbed as though the offence he would have to answer for
+were of the slightest nature. The havildar handed me a rifle.</p>
+
+<p>"This was in the prisoner's possession when I arrested him," he said.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_253" id="Page_253">[Pg 253]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>I examined the weapon. The barrel was fouled; and in the magazine were
+eight cartridges.</p>
+
+<p>I warned Farid Khan that anything he said might be used in evidence
+against him, and then asked:</p>
+
+<p>"Why did you run away from the fort?"</p>
+
+<p>"Because, when I had shot the colour-havildar, it was the only thing to
+do," he replied unconcernedly.</p>
+
+<p>"You confess that you did shoot Shaikh Bakur?" I said.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, I did shoot him."</p>
+
+<p>"Why?"</p>
+
+<p>"Because he punished me and abused me that day. I knew that I would be
+on guard that evening and would have cartridges for my rifle. So I
+resolved to shoot him. At first I did not intend to do it in the night;
+as it would cause a lot of trouble to the other sepoys of the
+detachment, since they would be obliged to turn out and try to capture
+me. But while I was on sentry I thought the matter over and reflected
+that I might not have as good a chance to kill him in the morning as
+when he was sleeping. So I determined to make sure of him and do it at
+once."</p>
+
+<p>He spoke calmly and without the least sign of remorse or apprehension.</p>
+
+<p>"How did you do it?" I asked.</p>
+
+<p>"As soon as the <i>naik</i> (corporal) of the guard had visited my post at
+eleven o'clock that night, I walked across to the barrack-room. I groped
+my way to my cot, beside which was a small lamp. This I lighted. Then I
+got my pipe, sat down on my bed and had a smoke. When I had finished it
+I stood up and took my rifle, which I loaded. Shaikh Bakur<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_254" id="Page_254">[Pg 254]</a></span> was lying
+asleep opposite me. I shot him and ran out of the room."</p>
+
+<p>I tried to picture the scene with the callous youngster calmly smoking
+as he watched his unconscious victim. I wondered if the sight of his
+enemy's face had aroused his anger as he looked at it.</p>
+
+<p>"How was Shaikh Bakur lying?" I questioned. "Was his face turned towards
+you?"</p>
+
+<p>"I don't know," he replied indifferently. "His head was covered up in
+the bedclothes; and I could not see it."</p>
+
+<p>The cold-blooded manner of the crime horrified me. The murderer had
+coolly fired at a huddled mass of blankets. The listening sepoys around
+us were awed into silence as he calmly related the details of his foul
+deed.</p>
+
+<p>"What did you do then?" I asked.</p>
+
+<p>"I reloaded my rifle to shoot anyone who tried to stop me, thus putting
+one cartridge in the chamber and leaving eight in the magazine. I ran
+out of the room and stood outside near the building until the sepoys
+began to come out. Then I went to the back gate. While I was climbing it
+the bolt of the rifle dropped back and let the cartridge in the breach
+fall out. So you will only find eight in the magazine. Soon I heard the
+gate open and saw you come out with two men. I got behind a tree and
+watched you pass within five yards of me."</p>
+
+<p>"Why did not you shoot me?" I said.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, I had no desire to kill you, Sahib, as long as you did not discover
+and try to capture me. If you had I would have shot you."</p>
+
+<p>He spoke as coolly about killing me as if it were a most ordinary
+matter. I was less indifferent, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_255" id="Page_255">[Pg 255]</a></span> felt thankful that I had not
+blundered on him in the dark. I realised fully what a narrow escape I
+had had.</p>
+
+<p>"Why did you take your rifle with you when you went off?" I asked.</p>
+
+<p>For the first time his indifferent manner vanished. A malevolent gleam
+shone in his eyes.</p>
+
+<p>"Because my greatest enemy still lived," he said. "The man I most wanted
+to kill was the subhedar-major. I had gone to his room first that night
+and tried to enter it. But, luckily for him, the door was bolted. So, as
+I was determined to shoot someone, I went to the barrack-room and killed
+Shaikh Bakur. But I took my rifle; for I resolved to escape, hide in the
+jungle until the pursuit was over, then return at night and kill the
+subhedar-major."</p>
+
+<p>He announced his murderous intention with the utmost calmness. I thanked
+God that we had been able to capture him; for if he had returned and
+shot his native officer, he would then have run amuck and killed until
+slain himself.</p>
+
+<p>"How did you get away?" I said.</p>
+
+<p>"After you had passed me, Sahib, I went down the zigzag path. I meant to
+get on to the road to Santrabari, but heard the patrol passing down it
+below me and knew that you had cut my retreat off that way. So I sat on
+the hill until daylight and then made my way through the forest to
+Jainti."</p>
+
+<p>I asked him if he had any accomplices. He denied that he had; and, when
+I refused to believe him, he said:</p>
+
+<p>"Why should I tell a lie now? I know that my life is forfeit."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," I replied. "You'll hang for this."<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_256" id="Page_256">[Pg 256]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"I don't care. My father has five other sons and can spare me. But my
+one regret," he said, and again a baleful light shone in his eyes, "is
+that my worst enemy still lives."</p>
+
+<p>I turned away from him and interrogated Ranjit Singh about the capture.</p>
+
+<p>When the havildar learned that the man he was pursuing had crossed the
+river after he had been seen in Hathipota, he followed with the two men
+of the patrol. On the other side they picked up his trail, which led to
+another village. Near it they met some peasants and learned from them
+that Farid Khan was in this village. Approaching cautiously they dodged
+from hut to hut until they saw him sitting on the ground before a
+<i>bunniah's</i> shop, eating food which he had just bought. His rifle lay
+beside him. They crept up behind him, for they were resolved to take him
+alive, rushed on him suddenly and tumbled him over before he could seize
+his weapon. As they held him down and bound him, he said:</p>
+
+<p>"It was lucky for you, havildar, that I did not see you first. I had my
+magazine full and would have shot you all."</p>
+
+<p>After his capture he seemed resigned to his fate and scarcely spoke
+again until he was brought before me. I praised Ranjit Singh and his
+patrol warmly and then fell in my men. We marched back to Hathipota,
+where we halted for the night. Next day we reached Buxa.</p>
+
+<p>I was determined that our prisoner should not cheat the gallows by
+escape or suicide. So night and day for the two months that elapsed
+before he was brought to trial a guard was mounted over him in his
+cell.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_257" id="Page_257">[Pg 257]</a></span> All through those weary weeks of waiting his indifferent
+demeanour never changed. I visited him every day. To my inquiries as to
+whether he had any request to make, he always replied respectfully. But
+he never acknowledged that he had had any accomplices in his crime; and
+I was never able to bring his comrade Gulab Khan to trial.</p>
+
+<p>At last the orders came to conduct Farid Khan to Calcutta to appear
+before a general court martial. We marched out of the fort and down to
+Buxa Road Railway Station with the prisoner in the centre of a guard of
+six men with fixed bayonets. By one of his wrists he was handcuffed to a
+burly Rajput over six feet high. These precautions were necessary, as
+the journey would take a day and a night and necessitated many changes;
+and I was determined to give Farid Khan no chance to escape. At
+Gitaldaha we had to wait for some time for another train which brought
+us in the early morning to the banks of the River Ganges. Across this we
+were taken in a steamer, the passage occupying over an hour. Our
+appearance excited much interest among the passengers on board, some of
+whom were American tourists returning from a flying visit to Darjeeling.
+My party, including the witnesses and the escort, was quite a large one;
+and I heard one fair daughter of Uncle Sam remark:</p>
+
+<p>"Wa'al, it takes a lot of soldiers to guard that one poor man."</p>
+
+<p>One of her male companions, who addressed me as "Officer!" questioned me
+as to the prisoner's crime, and seemed quite disappointed at learning
+that it was only murder.</p>
+
+<p>On the other side of the Ganges we entrained again<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_258" id="Page_258">[Pg 258]</a></span> and reached Calcutta
+by noon. I handed over my prisoner to the care of a regiment quartered
+in Fort William; and he was safely consigned to their guard-room cell.</p>
+
+<p>On the bank of the broad River Hugli, which flows through the city of
+Calcutta and up which the ships come from the sea, stands this large
+fort, which dates back far into the days of the Honourable East India
+Company. One face fronts the stream, the others look on the <i>maidan</i>, a
+broad open space, tree-studded and seamed with roads, which lies between
+the frowning, embrasured walls and the nearest houses. Within the wide
+precincts of the fort, a city in a city, are found barracks, the
+arsenal, houses for military and civil officers, a church, and the
+official residence of the Commander-in-Chief, all separated by broad
+squares and green lawns.</p>
+
+<p>Here next day in the garrison library, a large recreation-room for
+soldiers, Sepoy Farid Khan faced the court martial which was to try him
+for his life. When I had given him his choice in Buxa of having either
+British or Indian officers as his judges, he answered unhesitatingly:</p>
+
+<p>"I want to be tried by Sahibs, of course."</p>
+
+<p>And so, in accordance with his wish, nine British officers in white
+full-dress summer uniform, swords at their sides and medals on their
+breasts, sat in judgment on him at a long table. Behind them was a stage
+on which military amateur actors strut their hour in the garrison
+theatricals. The drop curtain was up, showing a pretty English country
+scene. It seemed an incongruous setting for the grim drama of real life
+which was now to be enacted.</p>
+
+<p>Near the members of the court sat another officer,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_259" id="Page_259">[Pg 259]</a></span> the deputy judge
+advocate general, who was present to see that the trial was conducted in
+accordance with the rules of military law, and to advise the court on
+legal points. At a small table to one side Captain Balderston took his
+place as prosecutor. Then the prisoner, his handcuffs removed, was
+marched into the room by the guard of the regiment in whose cells he was
+confined. He walked in with an erect and soldierly bearing and stood to
+attention as the president of the court read out the charge to him and
+called on him to plead. And to this charge of "Murder" he answered
+composedly "I am guilty." But, since with this plea no evidence in his
+defence or in extenuation of his crime could be given, the court, with
+the extreme fairness of a military tribunal, advised him to withdraw it
+and plead "Not Guilty." Then the native witnesses who testified to his
+desertion of his post, his flight and capture, gave their evidence in
+Hindustani. After them I repeated his confession of the crime to me. I
+spoke in English, my evidence being translated to the prisoner by a
+British officer who acted as interpreter. But I noticed that Farid Khan
+did not seem to understand this officer, who spoke a purer and correcter
+Urdu than did the prisoner himself.</p>
+
+<p>I stated my belief to the court. The president, who spoke the
+vernacular, asked Farid Khan if this were so.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, it is true. I cannot understand what that Sahib says," he replied;
+"but I can understand my own major Sahib," pointing to me.</p>
+
+<p>Then, with the court's permission, I repeated to him the evidence I had
+given.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, that is all quite true," he said.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_260" id="Page_260">[Pg 260]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Then the president bade me ask the prisoner if he wished to question me
+on my evidence. I did so.</p>
+
+<p>"No, Sahib," he replied. "What you have said is correct. I only wish to
+say that on that night I intended to kill the subhedar-major first. I
+tried his door first but&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>I told him to be silent, as he was only committing himself deeper. Then
+the court asked me what the prisoner had said and I answered that it was
+something to his disadvantage; the president told me that in that case I
+need not interpret his words.</p>
+
+<p>The trial lasted two days and ended in a verdict of guilty. But in
+accordance with military law it was not announced at the time, as the
+whole of the proceedings of the court had to be first carefully
+scrutinised at army headquarters; so that if any illegality had been
+committed, or the verdict was not justified by the evidence, the case
+could be quashed and a fresh trial ordered. But in due course the
+decision of the court martial and the sentence of "Death by hanging"
+were published. But long before this I had left Calcutta with my party
+and returned to Buxa, Farid Khan remaining a prisoner in Fort William.
+His father and a brother came across India from Rajputana to visit him;
+and, probably acting on their advice, he appealed for mercy to the
+Viceroy.</p>
+
+<p>But his appeal was rejected. One night at eleven o'clock the adjutant of
+the regiment which had him in charge was handed a telegram to that
+effect and informing him that the prisoner was to be hanged next morning
+at eight o'clock. The officer went at once to the condemned man's cell.
+Farid Khan was asleep. The adjutant woke him up and said:</p>
+
+<p>"You are to die to-morrow morning."<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_261" id="Page_261">[Pg 261]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Very well, Sahib," was the unconcerned reply; and the prisoner lay down
+again and was asleep before the adjutant had quitted the cell.</p>
+
+<p>I had feared that Farid Khan would be sent back to Buxa Duar, so that
+the execution could be carried out in presence of his comrades. But the
+last act of the tragedy took place in the courtyard of the civil jail in
+Calcutta. Detachments of all the regiments, British and Indian, in that
+city were formed up in front of the gallows.</p>
+
+<p>When the condemned man was marched into the courtyard, the adjutant
+asked if he had any last request to make.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, Sahib," he replied. "I want to know how many men you have told off
+to bury me."</p>
+
+<p>"Two," said the officer.</p>
+
+<p>"That is not enough, Sahib; I should like eight."</p>
+
+<p>"Very well, you will have them."</p>
+
+<p>"Thank you, Sahib," replied the condemned man cheerfully. Then with a
+firm step he mounted the scaffold. As the rope was adjusted round his
+neck, he looked down at the adjutant and called out to him with a smile:</p>
+
+<p>"Salaam, Sahib. Good-bye."</p>
+
+<p>They were his last words.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_262" id="Page_262">[Pg 262]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="ChapterXIII" id="ChapterXIII"></a>CHAPTER XIII</h2>
+
+<h3>IN AN INDIAN HILL STATION</h3>
+
+<blockquote><p>To Darjeeling&mdash;Railway journeys in India&mdash;Protection for
+solitary ladies&mdash;Reappearing rivers&mdash;Siliguri&mdash;At the
+foot of the Himalayas&mdash;A mountain railway&mdash;Through the
+jungle&mdash;Looping the loop&mdash;View of the
+Plains&mdash;Darjeeling&mdash;Civilisation seven thousand feet
+high&mdash;Varied types&mdash;View from the Chaurasta&mdash;White
+workers in India&mdash;Life in Hill
+Stations&mdash;Lieutenant-Governors&mdash;A "dull time" in
+Darjeeling&mdash;The bazaar&mdash;Types of hill
+races&mdash;Turquoises&mdash;Tiger-skins for tourists&mdash;The
+Amusement Club&mdash;The Everlasting
+Snows&mdash;Kinchinjunga&mdash;The bachelors' ball&mdash;A Government
+House ball&mdash;The marriage-market value of Indian
+civilians&mdash;Less demand for military
+men&mdash;Theatricals&mdash;Lebong Races&mdash;Picturesque
+race-goers&mdash;Ladies in India&mdash;Husband hunters&mdash;The empty
+life of an Englishwoman&mdash;The dangers of Hill
+Stations&mdash;A wife four months in the year&mdash;The hills
+<i>taboo</i> for the subaltern&mdash;Back to Buxa.</p></blockquote>
+
+
+<p>Sixty or eighty miles west of Buxa Duar and seven thousand feet above
+the sea is the pleasant Himalayan Hill Station of Darjeeling. Less than
+a day's journey by rail from Calcutta, it attracts to it the fortunate
+mortals who, in the summer months, can escape from the heat of that
+crowded city and the Bengal plains and plunge into a whirl of gaieties
+on the cool heights of the Pleasure Colony. To it I had my first change
+from Buxa. About a year after my arrival I got fourteen days' leave to
+Darjeeling in order to meet the officer of my regiment commanding our
+detachment at Gantok in Sikkim, who was coming<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_263" id="Page_263">[Pg 263]</a></span> there to appear at one
+of the many examinations that plague the soldier's soul. The month was
+October, perhaps the unpleasantest time of the year in India, when the
+Rains are almost ended and the heat is intensified by the dampness of
+earth and atmosphere.</p>
+
+<p>To reach my destination required a very round-about journey by rail.
+First from Buxa Road to the junction at Gitaldaha, where I could get on
+to the main line which took me to Siliguri at the foot of the mountains
+again; thence up the toy Himalayan Railway which crawled in spirals and
+zigzags up the face of the giant hills. The Indian first-class railway
+carriage is very unlike an English one. It is divided into two
+compartments, each entered by a door at the end and containing along
+each side a broad, leather-covered couch, used as a seat by day, a bed
+by night. Above each is a hanging bed, hooked up until it is required
+for use. There is thus sleeping accommodation for four in the
+compartment, off which is a lavatory, which on some lines contains a
+bath, a luxury much needed on a long journey in India. In the hot
+weather the carriages are fitted with electric fans, which only serve to
+stir the heated air, and hardly cool the perspiring occupants. Every
+traveller carries his roll of bedding, which his servant spreads down at
+night and in the morning ties up and stows out of the way. Until
+comparatively recently restaurant cars were unknown; and the trains
+halted three times a day for half an hour to allow their passengers to
+descend at stations where meals could be obtained. For long journeys,
+and in India three or four days in a train is not unusual, the type of
+carriage I have described is more comfortable than the corridor
+carriages which are now being introduced. This<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_264" id="Page_264">[Pg 264]</a></span> change is greatly due to
+the number of running-train thefts and the murder of a Eurasian girl;
+for of course in the corridor system travellers are less isolated.
+Recent occurrences have somewhat scared ladies travelling alone. To
+reassure them the railway companies allow them to have their <i>ayahs</i> or
+native female servants to share the carriage, the window-shutters have
+been provided with bolts, and the guards have instructions to lock the
+doors of their compartments.</p>
+
+<p>As my train rolled along through the level country I was surprised to
+note the number of rivers we crossed. These were the streams which
+vanish at the foot of the hills and reappear above ground farther south.
+The country we passed through was typical of Bengal&mdash;level plains well
+cultivated and dotted with clumps of bamboos, numerous villages and
+prosperous-looking farms.</p>
+
+<p>In the early morning we reached Siliguri where we had to change to the
+Himalayan Railway. A crowd of sleepy passengers descended and entered
+the refreshment-room in search of breakfast, while their servants
+gathered their luggage together. Then we took our seats in the tiny open
+carriages of the small train which climbs the steep slopes of the mighty
+mountains. At first it plunged into forest between huge trees clothed
+with orchids, walled in by dense undergrowth; for we were in the Terai
+again. Then it wound among the jungle-clad foot-hills and climbed ever
+higher, while the forest grew thinner and sparser. Anon it emerged on
+the sides of the open bare mountains; and we looked down on the dark
+belt of trees and the plains spread like a map below us. We could trace
+for miles the winding course of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_265" id="Page_265">[Pg 265]</a></span> Tista, the wide river that flows
+down through the hills from Sikkim. Here and there we passed by long
+stretches of tea gardens. In one place the railway forms a complete
+circle, looping the loop; so that, with a long train, the engine would
+be crossing over a bridge while the last carriage was still under it.
+Beside the line ran the mountain road, by which heavily laden coolies
+toiled between the villages of rough wooden huts. At last the greatest
+elevation was reached at the small station of Goom; and the train ran
+down for a thousand feet and ended its journey in Darjeeling.</p>
+
+<p>Mark Twain was enraptured by the beauties and marvels of engineering of
+this Himalayan Railway. But to me it seemed far less wonderful and
+lovely than the lines over the Rocky Mountains of his own country. I
+have crossed them by the Denver and Rio Grande route, where in broad
+Pullmans and big-windowed observation-cars we sat in comfort, and at an
+elevation of ten thousand feet gazed at the snow-clad peaks towering
+above us or, lower down in the deep gorges, strove to see the tops of
+the sheer, two-thousand feet high walls of the Grand Canyon, painted in
+brilliant colours by the lavish hand of Nature.</p>
+
+<p>But Darjeeling was unique in my experience; for I had visited no other
+Himalayan Hill Station. A town on the mountain-tops, a town of pretty
+villas, large hotels, clubs and churches, of big English shops with
+plate-glass windows, of jumbled native bazaars thronged with thousands
+of men and women of a dozen different hill races. Broad, well-kept roads
+run along the ridges and up and down the steep hill-sides, lined with
+lovely gardens, in which<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_266" id="Page_266">[Pg 266]</a></span> stand fascinating European houses like the
+villas of Trouville and Deauville under the shade of giant orchid-clad
+trees. English ladies in smart frocks go by in rickshaws or reclining in
+chairs carried on the shoulders of strong coolies. Officers and
+civilians on well-groomed ponies trot past groups of sturdy-limbed
+Bhuttias or rosy-cheeked Lepcha women hung with turquoise and silver
+ornaments. British soldiers in khaki stop to chat with small, cheery
+Gurkha policemen by the roadside. Pig-tailed Sikkimese and Tibetan lamas
+fingering their rosaries stare into the plate-glass windows of shops
+that would not be out of place in Oxford Street and which display to the
+bewildered heathen Paris fashions or the latest pattern of coloured
+shirts and smart waistcoats.</p>
+
+<p>The central point of Darjeeling is the cross roads at the Chaurasta.
+Here on one side the ground rises a thousand feet or more to the summit
+of Jalapahar, crowded with barracks and European bungalows. To the other
+the hill-sides slope steeply away covered with tea gardens. Along the
+ridge the road runs by a trim English Church in pretty grounds, the
+straggling building of the Amusement Club with tennis courts terraced
+one above the other, and on to the Lieutenant-Governor of Bengal's
+summer residence set in a lovely park. To the north the ground falls
+sharply another thousand feet; and one looks down on the roofs of the
+bungalows and British Infantry Barracks of Lebong, with its race-course
+around the polo ground and the rifle-range, seeming like a toy station
+set out far beneath. Below, the deep valley; and beyond it rises a
+jumble of mountains on mountains in bewildering profusion. And at dawn
+and evening above the clouds hangs high in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_267" id="Page_267">[Pg 267]</a></span> air the long line of the
+Everlasting Snows. Over it towers Kinchinjunga, twenty-eight thousand
+feet high, with its jagged white peaks gleaming in the morning or
+pink-flushed in the rosy light of sunset; forty miles away, yet so clear
+and distinct that the beholder imagines he would be able to see a man on
+it, if some climber could scale its untrodden heights.</p>
+
+<p>The abrupt change from the sweltering heat of the Bengal plains, seven
+thousand feet below, to the cool climate and refreshing breezes of
+Darjeeling is marvellous. In less than twenty-four hours the English
+dwellers in the hot and crowded city of Calcutta are borne to this gay
+Hill Station, which must seem another world to them. In the brisk
+mountain air the jaded visitors from the Plains revive and are filled
+with renewed energy; and one and all plunge feverishly into social
+gaieties. In India only in such places as this does one find the
+Englishman unoccupied by work; for in the East there is no leisured
+class of Europeans. Even the Viceroys and Governors are busy mortals,
+and perhaps the hardest-worked individuals in the dominions they rule.
+Every white man in India has his employment; for he is a soldier, a
+civil servant, a judge, a lawyer, a railwayman or a merchant. Each has
+his work and his place in the scheme of things. But in the Hills, save
+for those at the military or civil headquarters, he is on leave, and has
+come to enjoy a well-earned rest.</p>
+
+<p>The life in an Indian Hill Station is unlike anything that we have in
+England. Gaiety reigns supreme. Games, races, dances, theatricals, and
+all such entertainments abound. To take Darjeeling as an example. In the
+mornings and forenoons the roads are thronged with riders or with ladies
+in chairs or<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_268" id="Page_268">[Pg 268]</a></span> rickshaws, going to pay calls or on their way to
+luncheon-parties. In the afternoons on the polo ground of Lebong the
+players on their agile little ponies jostle each other, or race after
+the ball. The tennis courts in the grounds of the Amusement Club are
+full. The skating rink inside the Club is thronged in the mornings, and
+when dusk falls, the lamps are lighted and the tea-tables are set out
+beside the polished floor. The nights are never dull; dinner-parties in
+the bungalows, restaurants and hotels, dances and theatricals at the
+Club, fill them.</p>
+
+<p>In these Hill Stations the summer residents in the bungalows, the
+visitors at the hotels or boarding-houses, though they come from places
+in the Plains far apart, are of the same class in life and know each
+other or of each other. For, except for the lawyers and merchants, the
+names of all are set forth in either of the two great books of India,
+the Civil Service or the Army List. And they are linked by the bond of a
+similar profession. All are members of the Club and see each other there
+every day. To all are sent invitations to each big festivity. The
+Lieutenant-Governor of the province has his summer residence in its Hill
+Station and gives a series of official entertainments to which are asked
+all those who have written their names in the book which, guarded by
+red-coat servitors, lies on a table in the veranda of Government House.
+He is constrained by his position to give dances, dinners, and
+garden-parties, regardless of his private inclinations. For he is a very
+important personage, and lives in almost regal state. He has his
+military aides-de-camp, his military or police guard; the Union Jack
+flies from a flagstaff on his lawn as a sign of his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_269" id="Page_269">[Pg 269]</a></span> dignity. He rules
+over a province as big as England and is supreme in his dominions unless
+the Viceroy chances to visit them. Think what a change it must be for
+such a proconsul when he has to retire and takes up his abode in a
+London suburb or a small country town, where he is unknown to fame, and
+unhonoured!</p>
+
+<p>Life is indeed gay in these Hill Stations. To them flock the ladies to
+escape the burning heat of the Plains, leaving their poor husbands to
+grill and earn their pay while their wives are enjoying themselves up in
+the cool mountains. And the fair ones must be amused. So the bachelors,
+who can more easily afford to take leave than the married men, are at
+their service to ride, play tennis, dance and flirt with them.</p>
+
+<p>The fortnight of my stay in Darjeeling was supposed to be quite a dull
+time in the Station; for it preceded the holidays of the Poojahs, a
+Hindu feast, when all the Government and mercantile offices in Bengal
+are closed and the Englishmen thus set free flock up to the Hills. These
+holidays lasted two weeks; and an elaborate programme of festivities was
+prepared for them. Yet during the period of my stay I found that there
+were to be three balls, four afternoon dances, two days' races and two
+separate amateur theatricals. So it seemed to me a whirl of gaiety after
+the hermit-like seclusion of Buxa Duar.</p>
+
+<p>On the first afternoon I rickshawed down into the bazaar or native
+quarter thronged with representatives of many hill races. Sturdy little
+Gurkhas, pig-tailed Sikkimese, broad-shouldered Bhuttias, dusky Hindu
+women and fair-complexioned, red-cheeked Lepcha girls jostled each other
+in the narrow, hilly streets.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_270" id="Page_270">[Pg 270]</a></span> In the open market-place were stalls of
+vendors of cheap commodities; and harsh-featured old women sat behind
+trays of rough-cut turquoises or smoothly polished imitations of the
+blue stone dear to the hearts of the female hill dwellers. In the bazaar
+many of the dingy native shops were filled with curios to attract the
+white resident or globe-trotter. Tibetan prayer-wheels, lama
+devil-dancers' masks, Chinese embroideries and roughly hammered brass
+gods were heaped in confusion. Trays of cut turquoises and lumps of
+matrix stood on the counters. The window of one shop was filled with
+skins of tigers, bears, and panthers; a sight to move the sportsman to
+wrath, for to him such things are trophies to be won in fair chase, not
+articles to be exposed for sale to the American tourist. I noticed that
+tiger-skins were ticketed at £20, the pelts of other animals at lower
+prices. Beyond the market-place, on a knoll, stood the European
+sanatorium, in which I was to find myself a patient months afterwards.</p>
+
+<p>As I entered the Amusement Club at sunset, after my visit to the bazaar,
+I was quite bewildered by the sight of so many white folk. Outside, the
+tennis courts were emptying as the dusk fell. Inside the building the
+rink was crowded with skaters. Along one side of it were set out scores
+of tea-tables, around which sat ladies attired in the latest fashions.
+The card-room was full. People were changing books in the Club library
+or looking at the English illustrated papers and magazines in the
+reading-room. And in the bar was gathered together a festive crowd of
+men of many professions and callings, though the military predominated,
+chatting and disposing of the "short drinks" beloved of the
+Anglo-Indian. Here I met<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_271" id="Page_271">[Pg 271]</a></span> two subalterns of my regiment, one on leave,
+the other on his way back to headquarters from Gyantse in the heart of
+Tibet, where he had been commanding the escort to the British Trade
+Agent. In that isolated spot, thirteen thousand feet above the sea, he
+had lived for eighteen months, solacing his solitude by stalking the
+wily ibex. Here, too, I came across the major of the Punjabi regiment
+whom I had relieved nearly a year before at Buxa Duar. After a cheery
+greeting he asked me pityingly how I managed to endure the loneliness of
+my little outpost. When he heard that I liked the existence there
+immensely he seemed to regard me as a half-demented individual. While I
+was chatting with him there descended upon me emissaries of a frantic
+amateur stage-manager who, having heard that I had had much experience
+in theatricals, besought me to take the place of one of his actors who
+had suddenly fallen ill, as the performance was to come off in two days'
+time. The dress rehearsal of the piece, a well-known London comedy, was
+just about to commence in the Club theatre. Having consented I was borne
+off to it, a typed book placed in my hand and I dragged into the
+dressing-room to be "made up." I was already caught in the grip of the
+amusement machine.</p>
+
+<p>Next morning I was up before the sun to see the gorgeous panorama of the
+Everlasting Snows. As the day dawned the lower hills were shrouded in
+clouds; but high above them rose the long line of snow-clad summits,
+seeming to float in air, unreal, unsubstantial in their beauty; and
+Kinchinjunga's white and jagged crest towered over them all and was the
+first to flush with rose colour in the rays of the morning sun. Then<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_272" id="Page_272">[Pg 272]</a></span> a
+veil was slowly drawn over the glorious picture, as the clouds soared
+slowly up from the lower levels and hid the gorgeous vision from sight.</p>
+
+<p>I spent the day paying calls, rehearsing my part in the theatricals, and
+becoming acquainted with Darjeeling. I visited the beautiful Botanical
+Gardens, picturesquely situated on a steep slope and giving a wide view
+over the deep valleys below.</p>
+
+<p>I found that the transition from the two thousand feet height of Buxa to
+the seven thousand of Darjeeling was rather trying at first; as the
+least exertion of walking and climbing soon left me breathless. In a few
+days I was quite accustomed to the superior altitude.</p>
+
+<p>That night the bachelors of the Station gave a large ball in the
+Amusement Club. Their coat-of-arms&mdash;a bottle, slippers, and a pipe
+crossed with a latch-key&mdash;was blazoned on the walls. Gay was the
+revelry, which lasted well into the small hours; and I was glad that I
+was on leave and no early parade could claim me in the morning.</p>
+
+<p>On the following night came another ball given by the
+Lieutenant-Governor in his official residence. Government House was
+filled with the wearers of pretty frocks and varied uniforms; and in the
+glamour of scarlet and blue mess-jackets the black-coated civilian was
+for once at a discount. But, alas! for the mercenary nature of the fair
+sex; if he belong to the Indian Civil Service he is preferred to the
+soldier as a husband. For he is worth "£400 a year dead or alive"; for
+his widow will get that amount as a pension. Whereas an ungrateful
+country dowers a lieutenant's relict with £40 a year, a captain's with
+£70, a major's £100 and a colonel's £120. So<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_273" id="Page_273">[Pg 273]</a></span> how can the red-coat
+compete with him in the matrimonial stakes?</p>
+
+<p>The illuminated grounds of Government House and the cunningly-devised
+"kala juggas," as sitting-out places are termed in India, lured many of
+the dancers from the ball-room. At supper that night I sat at a small
+table with a merry little party consisting of the subaltern of my
+regiment on leave, Prince Rajendra of Cooch Behar and his partner, a
+pretty Armenian girl. And of the four of us two are now dead. The
+subaltern died a few months after attaining to his captaincy. Prince
+Rajendra soon succeeded his father as Maharajah, but only lived to enjoy
+his dignities two short years.</p>
+
+<p>Next night the Club theatre was filled with a kindly disposed and
+enthusiastic audience to witness our performance of the comedy. As India
+is rarely visited by professional companies, which only appear in the
+large cities, it is mainly dependent on the efforts of its amateur
+actors. But these often, through natural talent and much practice,
+attain a degree of excellence that would not disgrace the London stage.
+And few would gainsay this who saw the performances of "The Country
+Girl" given by another troop of amateurs before the end of my stay. They
+were under the direction of His Highness the Maharajah of Cooch Behar,
+who had lavished money on the production. The scenery and dresses had
+come from London; and the piece was magnificently staged. The singing,
+acting, and even the dancing could not be surpassed by at least any
+first-class touring company in England.</p>
+
+<p>The Maharajah had a house in Darjeeling where his entertainments were
+princely and his hospitality<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_274" id="Page_274">[Pg 274]</a></span> profuse. The ladies of his family were
+absent in Simla; but his sons were with him. Prince Rajendra, as
+befitted the heir apparent, had a separate house and an establishment of
+his own. Here one night I was present at a merry supper-party, after
+renewing my acquaintance and dining informally with the Maharajah.</p>
+
+<p>Every day of my short stay seemed to have its particular gaiety. The
+races at Lebong were a sporting and a fashionable event. Down the steep
+hill roads from Darjeeling, a thousand feet above, poured the stream of
+Europeans in rickshaws or on ponies and of natives afoot early in the
+afternoon to the miniature race-course which is built on the cut-away
+hill-top. There is scant room for any horse to bolt out of it; for a few
+yards will bring it to the edge of the precipitous slopes around. In
+fact, the "straight" for the run home is gained by finishing up the
+Darjeeling road. Most of the events were for hill ponies, sturdy and
+plucky little animals; and the jockeys were mainly natives. But the
+excitement of the crowds of race-goers of many shades of colour, the
+keenness of the plungers on the totalisator or with the few bookmakers,
+and the gaiety of the pleasure-seekers, could not be exceeded at Ascot
+or Epsom. The scene was an animated one. The enclosure was gay with the
+colours of the English ladies' frocks, the bright hues of Parsee women's
+<i>saris</i>, the white refreshment tents, and the uniforms of the military
+bandsmen; while outside was the varied crowd of British Infantry
+soldiers in red, gunners in blue, and natives of a score of different
+races, each in their distinctive garb. And over it all towered the
+heights of Darjeeling and Jalapahar; while on three sides lay<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_275" id="Page_275">[Pg 275]</a></span> the deep
+valleys, beyond which stood the mountains that barred the way to Sikkim
+and Tibet.</p>
+
+<p>Such is life in a Hill Station. To a man not devoted to social
+frivolities existence in them soon palls. He tires of the sameness of
+tennis in the afternoons, the vapid conversation of the tea-tables, and
+nights spent in the heated atmosphere of ball-rooms. But to the fair sex
+it appeals strongly; and they gladly hail the approach of the hot
+weather, which will free them from the monotony of small Stations in the
+plains and send them flocking to Simla, Darjeeling, Missourie or Naini
+Tal.</p>
+
+<p>Who would not be an English woman in India?</p>
+
+<p>As Gilbert says:</p>
+
+<p>
+<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"They are treasured as precious stones</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 2em;">And for the self-same reason&mdash;for their scarcity."</span><br />
+</p>
+
+<p>But they are not inclined to recognise this, and are apt to attribute
+the attentions paid them by the men to their own charms and not to the
+paucity of their sex in the land. Consequently they are too liable to
+become conceited and over-bearing and forgetful of the fact that
+courtesy <i>is</i> a ladylike quality. It is perhaps not to be wondered at
+that their heads get turned. The plainest girl, who in England would
+spend most of her time at a ball sitting with her chaperon, in India can
+fill her programme thrice over. She, who in her country village sees no
+men of her own class except the parson and the doctor, out here finds
+herself among crowds of military officers and better-paid civilians who,
+prudence whispers, are more eligible <i>partis</i>. But the day has passed
+when any failure in the English marriage-market can be shipped off to
+India, sure of securing a husband there. Frequent leave and fast
+steamers have altered all<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_276" id="Page_276">[Pg 276]</a></span> that. When men can find themselves back in
+England in a fortnight they are not so prone to wed plain-featured and
+dowerless maidens, sent out in search of a spouse, as were their
+predecessors in the old days when it took six months in a sailing ship
+to reach London from Calcutta or Bombay. The attractive but penniless
+girl in India has still a better chance of marrying than she would in
+England; for she is thrown in daily companionship with a large number of
+bachelors. But many a damsel who, dispatched by her parents with a
+single ticket to distant relatives or mere acquaintances in the East,
+thinks on first arrival that she has only to pick and choose among the
+surplus men and give herself airs accordingly, is forced to write home
+for her return fare and go back reluctantly to the unwelcome existence
+of an old maid. To my mind there is something almost immoral in the
+custom which prevails of girls going out to India as paying-guests in
+the known, if unavowed, hope of securing a husband. But the practice
+grows every year.</p>
+
+<p>Yet the existence of a white woman in India is not all unalloyed
+pleasure. Her lot may be cast in some small out-of-the-way Station,
+where there is little society and less amusement. And even in larger
+places her life is empty enough. In the morning, perhaps, she goes for a
+ride and then has to shut herself up in her bungalow on account of the
+heat, until in the cool of the afternoon she can drive out to play
+tennis or golf and then go to the club, where she sits on the lawn and
+talks scandal with her female friends or, possibly, flirts with her male
+ones. She is not occupied with the cares of the household as is her less
+fortunate sister in England. Her cook goes<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_277" id="Page_277">[Pg 277]</a></span> to the bazaar early in the
+morning and then later appears before her to show her his account book
+and take her orders for the day. And she has little else to do to fill
+in the long, weary hours in the house from breakfast until tea-time. An
+occasional caller may come to pay his or her visit; but otherwise the
+time hangs heavy on her hands. Any accomplishments she may possess are
+apt to be neglected. Her reading is generally confined to novels from
+the Club library; and she seldom tries to improve her mind by more
+strenuous studies. In a land where all the white men are workers, she is
+idle. And so the English woman in the East is generally uninteresting.
+The gossip and scandal of the Station are her chief topics. The wonders
+of the country she lives in, the strange life of the peoples outside her
+door, the greater questions of Empire, are a sealed book to her; and she
+is generally as commonplace as her untravelled sisters in English
+country towns. The clever Mrs Hauksbees that Kipling depicts are
+rare&mdash;more's the pity, for Anglo-Indian society would be brighter if
+there were more of her type.</p>
+
+<p>The petty squabbles among the ladies of a small Station are pitiful.</p>
+
+<p>The Anglo-Indian wife too often takes little interest in her husband's
+work, and so cannot prove very companionable to him. And this probably
+accounts for the extraordinary latitude he allows her in seeking the
+society of some particular bachelor with whom she rides, drives and sits
+in the Club every day, who becomes a standing feature in her life. The
+<i>mènage à trois</i> flourishes in India.</p>
+
+<p>Hill stations have much to answer for in the frequency of domestic
+trouble in Anglo-Indian society.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_278" id="Page_278">[Pg 278]</a></span> In the old days before they existed,
+and passages to England were long and costly, the wives stayed by their
+husbands' side for weal or woe. What the latter could endure their
+spouses were not afraid of. Now, at the first signs of the approach of
+the hot weather, the married ladies, as well as the maidens, fly to the
+Hills. In Darjeeling I met many who said they had not seen their
+husbands for eight months&mdash;and yet I found them in October booking their
+rooms in the hotels for the following March. Naturally this separation
+does not tend to the continuance of conjugal love. And there is a still
+greater danger. A married woman arriving from the Plains to take up her
+residence in a hotel probably finds no other woman in it whom she has
+known before. Among the guests there is sure to be a preponderance of
+her own sex; and though many ladies may call on her, they will probably
+be too much engrossed in their own concerns to give her much of their
+society. She sits by herself at table at meals and spends most of her
+time alone in her own room. Then some bachelor on leave, and staying
+perhaps at the same hotel, makes her acquaintance. He finds her pleasant
+and attractive, offers to join her in her solitary rides and walks,
+comes in often to chat with her in her private sitting-room, takes her
+to the many dances, and, as men are scarcer at them than in the
+ball-rooms of the Plains, engages half her programme and escorts her
+back to their hotel afterwards. Even from sheer loneliness she accepts
+his attentions and allows him to drop into the acknowledged position of
+her <i>cavaliere servente</i>. Two or three months of this daily, hourly
+companionship and&mdash;well, another Hill scandal is caused.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_279" id="Page_279">[Pg 279]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>The man who brings a pretty wife to India is brave; the one who sends
+her away from him for six or eight months in the year is, to say the
+least of it, unwise. It is not fair to her to expose her thus to
+temptation. Far be it from me to assert that every Hill grass-widow
+forgets her absent husband. But many do; and all the blame should not
+rest on them.</p>
+
+<p>The careful commanding officer of a regiment discourages his young
+subalterns from taking leave to Hill Stations. He knows that in such
+places mischief is too often found for idle hands. He urges them rather
+to go shooting in the jungles or in Kashmir. And certainly this latter
+is a better way for the youngster to spend his holiday than loafing
+about a Hill Station.</p>
+
+<p>Despite the novelty of the life in Darjeeling and its social gaieties I
+did not repine when my time came to quit it; and my heart rejoiced as I
+got out of the train at Buxa Road, mounted the elephant awaiting me, and
+rode through the silent forest towards my lonely hills.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_280" id="Page_280">[Pg 280]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="ChapterXIV" id="ChapterXIV"></a>CHAPTER XIV</h2>
+
+<h3>A JUNGLE FORT</h3>
+
+<blockquote><p>I decide on Fort Bower&mdash;Felling trees&mdash;A big
+python&mdash;Clearing the jungle&mdash;Laying out the
+post&mdash;Stockades and <i>Sungars</i>&mdash;The bastions&mdash;<i>Panjis</i>
+and <i>abattis</i>&mdash;The huts&mdash;Jungle materials&mdash;Ingenious
+craftsmen&mdash;The
+furniture&mdash;Sentry-posts&mdash;Alarm-signals&mdash;The
+<i>machicoulis</i> gallery&mdash;Booby-traps&mdash;The
+water-lifter&mdash;The hospital&mdash;Chloroforming a
+monkey&mdash;Jungle dogs&mdash;An extraordinary shot&mdash;An unlucky
+deer&mdash;A meeting with a panther&mdash;The alarm&mdash;Sohanpal
+Singh and the tiger&mdash;Turning out to the rescue&mdash;The
+General's arrival&mdash;Closed gates&mdash;The inspection&mdash;The
+"Bower" and the "'Ump"&mdash;Flares and bombs&mdash;The General's
+praise&mdash;Night firing&mdash;A Christmas camp.</p></blockquote>
+
+
+<p>The month of November in Buxa brought the end of the Rains and the
+beginning of the cold weather. Once more we could descend into the
+jungles below, for work or sport, without risking the deadly Terai
+fever. Our open-air military training, which had to be laid aside during
+the long, weary months of the Monsoon, was resumed.</p>
+
+<p>The warfare which the Assam Brigade would be called upon to wage would
+generally be against the savage jungle dwellers along the north-east
+borders. Consequently the training of the troops composing it demanded
+much practice in forest country; for, in the jungle, wide extensions and
+thin lines suitable to troops attacking in the open would be replaced by
+close formations, and the bayonet more often used<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_281" id="Page_281">[Pg 281]</a></span> than the bullet.
+Timber barriers would be substituted for earthworks, and the axe for the
+spade. In a jungle campaign, as the fighting column moved forward,
+stockaded posts would be established on the line of communication, in
+which convoys of supplies going to the front or of wounded or prisoners
+sent back to the rear could halt for the night under the protection of
+the permanent garrisons.</p>
+
+<p>When General Bower announced his intention of coming to hold his annual
+inspection of our detachment at the end of November, I determined to
+build such a stockaded post in the forest below Buxa Duar for him to
+see, and as useful instruction for my men. Consequently, three weeks
+before his arrival, I moved the double company down into the jungle.
+While Captain Balderston and I took up our abode in Forest Lodge, the
+sepoys bivouacked a few hundred yards away on a high bluff over a broad
+river-bed now almost dry. Here I proposed building our forest fort.</p>
+
+<p>Our first task consisted in clearing away the undergrowth, now denser
+than ever after the fires and Rains. With curved <i>kukris</i> and straight
+<i>dahs</i> the sepoys fell to work on the thick scrub and tangle of thorny
+bushes. Then came the harder labour of felling the trees for the
+stockades&mdash;and the tools that contractors supply the Government with are
+not of the best quality. The forest rang to the stroke of axes and the
+shouts of the sepoys who, delighted at the change from their ordinary
+routine, vied with each other in bringing the trees crashing to the
+ground. As I watched them one day I saw a sudden commotion among a
+group. The men<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_282" id="Page_282">[Pg 282]</a></span> scattered, then closed in again; and vicious blows at
+the ground, mingled with cries of "<i>samp!</i>", told me that they had
+disturbed a snake. Then on poles bending under its weight they brought
+me the body of a beautifully marked python nearly ten and a half feet
+long. Though not poisonous, such a beast would be a formidable
+antagonist. With the driving-power of its weight and muscle, its head
+could strike with the force of a battering ram; and a man's body,
+crushed in its folds, would soon be a shapeless pulp. I kept its skin as
+a companion to the king-cobra we had killed in Buxa.</p>
+
+<p>The plan I had decided on for the fort was a square, each side fifty
+yards long. For instructional purposes I varied the design of the faces.
+That on the river-bank was to be a <i>sungar</i>&mdash;a loopholed wall, seven
+feet high and three feet thick, of large boulders from the <i>nullah</i>
+below. The east side opposite it was to be a loopholed stockade of
+single timbers two feet thick and fourteen feet above the ground. Each
+of the other two faces was to be a "double stockade" of shorter trees,
+that is, each two timber walls four feet apart, the space between them
+being filled with earth. At opposite corners were bastions, or towers,
+eighteen feet high, projecting out, and thus each giving a flanking fire
+along two faces of the fort. They were arranged for three tiers of fire,
+one row of loopholes three feet from the ground for men kneeling, one
+four and a half feet for others standing, the third above a gallery
+running round inside the top. Below the galleries the bastions were
+roofed in and formed barrack-rooms for the guards.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"><br /><br />
+<a name="Ill_26" id="Ill_26"></a><img src="images/gs26.jpg" width="450" height="349" alt="THE WALLED FACE OF FORT BOWER OVER THE RIVER." title="" />
+<span class="caption">THE WALLED FACE OF FORT BOWER OVER THE RIVER.</span><br /><br />
+</div>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"><br /><br />
+<a name="Ill_27" id="Ill_27"></a><img src="images/gs27.jpg" width="450" height="355" alt="THE STOCKADE AND DITCH AT FORT BOWER." title="" />
+<span class="caption">THE STOCKADE AND DITCH AT FORT BOWER.</span><br /><br />
+</div>
+
+<p>In front of the three stockaded sides of the fort <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_283" id="Page_283">[Pg 283]</a></span>a broad, V-shaped
+ditch was dug, five feet deep. On the fourth face the bank fell sheer
+thirty or forty feet to the river; and built out over the <i>nullah</i> on
+tree-trunks laid horizontally, their butts buried in the ground, was a
+gallery projecting from the stone wall. It was loopholed for men to
+fire, not only on three sides, but also directly beneath them down into
+the river-bed. Entrance to it was gained from a small door in the wall.
+Close to it, and similarly projecting over the <i>nullah</i>, was a device
+copied from the savage tribes of the frontier. This was a booby-trap, a
+bamboo platform hinged and held up by thick, hawser-like creepers
+fastened inside the wall. On it were piled rocks. A couple of blows with
+an axe would cut through the supporting creepers; and the platform,
+falling, would shower down an avalanche of huge stones on the heads of
+enemies gathered close under the sheer bank, and safe from the rifles of
+the defenders above. These traps are largely used by the Nagas, Mishmis,
+and other wild races along the borders of Assam and Burma. They are
+placed over steep and narrow mountain paths and discharged with
+disastrous effect on foes toiling up to the assault. During the Abor War
+they were frequently tried on General Bower who was too wary to be
+caught by them. He always took the precaution of sending parties of
+Gurkhas to scale the heights to search for and cut the booby-traps away
+before his column passed under them.</p>
+
+<p>As the shallow stream ran close to the bank we erected, behind the wall,
+a dipping-pole and bucket to bring up water without danger from hostile
+fire to the men fetching it.</p>
+
+<p>Our stockades would have proved very unpleasant<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_284" id="Page_284">[Pg 284]</a></span> obstacles to surmount.
+They had a forward rake to increase by the overhang the difficulty of
+escalading them. And along their tops was fastened a tangle of cut and
+sharp-pointed branches projecting well outwards, so that it was almost
+impossible to climb over.</p>
+
+<p>In attacking a stockade the assailants try to get close up to it, fire
+in through the loopholes and hack it down with axes. To prevent this,
+six-foot <i>panjis</i>&mdash;sharpened bamboo stakes, their pointed ends hardened
+by fire&mdash;stuck thickly out from the face of our stockades. On the near
+slope of the ditches lines of <i>panjis</i> projected with their points at a
+downward angle; while on the far side fences of sharpened bamboos were
+planted. At the bottom of the ditches <i>chevaux de frise</i> of long
+<i>panjis</i> were fixed.</p>
+
+<p>These <i>panjis</i> inflict ghastly injuries, and are more dangerous than
+bayonets. An officer of my acquaintance, when leading an assault on a
+stockade held by dacoits in Burma, ran against a <i>panji</i> which
+transfixed his thigh. He was eleven months in hospital before the wound
+healed; and for many years afterwards he was lame.</p>
+
+<p>For twenty yards beyond the ditches the ground was covered with a
+five-feet-high entanglement of felled trees. Their butts were lashed to
+stout pegs driven deep into the earth. Their thinner branches were
+lopped off, the thicker ones cut and trimmed with sharp points towards
+the front. In military parlance this is called an <i>abattis</i>.</p>
+
+<p>Anyone endeavouring to rush the defences of our fort would have found it
+a difficult feat, even if no bullets were showered on him from the
+loopholes. He would first have to force his way through twenty<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_285" id="Page_285">[Pg 285]</a></span> yards of
+entanglement, then climb a sharp-pointed fence, pass the <i>chevaux de
+frise</i> in the ditch, get by the downward-pointing <i>panjis</i>, evade the
+six-foot stakes projecting from the face of the stockade, and climb over
+the stockade itself through the overhead tangle of branches. And to do
+it under a hot fire would be almost impossible. To attack such a post
+successfully guns would be necessary&mdash;and a well-built double stockade
+would withstand light artillery.</p>
+
+<p>For our own use winding paths led through the <i>abattis</i> to drawbridges
+before the two gates. These latter were of bamboo, hinged at the top and
+opening outwards and upwards, supported when open by high, forked poles.
+In each was a small wicket constructed on the same principle and only
+wide enough to admit one man at a time. Wickets and gates were stuck
+thick with projecting <i>panjis</i>.</p>
+
+<p>Trees in the interior of the post were left standing to give shade, as
+were others growing in the line of the defences. And in the latter,
+forty feet from the ground, were platforms reached by ladders and hidden
+by the leafy branches. On them the sentries were stationed; and from
+them, during a night attack, men could fire and hurl bombs down on the
+assailants who would find it difficult to locate their position. From
+these sentry posts stout cords of twisted <i>udal</i> fibre led to kerosene
+oil tins hung up in the quarters occupied by officers and section
+commanders. In the tins stones were put, so that a pull on the cords
+would rattle the tins throughout the post and arouse the defenders
+without an approaching enemy being aware that the alarm had been given.</p>
+
+<p>So much for the defences. As such a post would<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_286" id="Page_286">[Pg 286]</a></span> be constructed with a
+view to long occupation the question of housing the garrison comfortably
+remained. In the interior along each face two huts, each to hold a
+section of twenty or twenty-five men, with huts for the native officers,
+were built. The roofs were thickly thatched. The back and side walls
+were made of two rows of bamboo a foot apart, with rammed earth between
+them. The front walls were lightly made of bamboo and hinged at the top
+to open outwards and upwards in an emergency, so that the whole section
+could come out in line. For ordinary use a small door sufficed. Along
+the back wall ran a sloping guard-bed, with a broad shelf underneath, on
+which the sepoys' clothing could be laid. Overhead were pegs for their
+rifles and accoutrements.</p>
+
+<p>Along the cross-roads through the fort were built the storerooms,
+hospital, and native followers' quarters. And on them were also the Mess
+and huts for the British officers. These were quite comfortable little
+cottages, the walls of split bamboo with the latticed windows and the
+doors screened by blinds of cane strips. The floors and walls were
+covered with two-inch mats of jungle grass.</p>
+
+<p>The sepoys proved themselves wonderfully ingenious craftsmen and made
+excellent furniture for our quarters. Out of the ever-useful bamboo they
+constructed beds, chairs, tables, and writing-desks with drawers and
+pigeon-holes. And like the fort and everything else in it, the jungle
+provided the materials for all this furniture, in which not a nail was
+used; for it was held together by lashings of bamboo bark or <i>udal</i>
+fibre.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"><br /><br />
+<a name="Ill_28" id="Ill_28"></a><img src="images/gs28.jpg" width="450" height="354" alt="THE GATE CLOSED, WITH WICKET OPEN AND DRAWBRIDGE
+LOWERED." title="" />
+<span class="caption">THE GATE CLOSED, WITH WICKET OPEN AND DRAWBRIDGE
+LOWERED.</span><br /><br />
+</div>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"><br /><br />
+<a name="Ill_29" id="Ill_29"></a><img src="images/gs29.jpg" width="450" height="341" alt="CAPTAIN BALDERSTON INSIDE THE STOCKADE." title="" />
+<span class="caption">CAPTAIN BALDERSTON INSIDE THE STOCKADE.</span><br /><br />
+</div>
+
+<p>All this was not quickly done. The building of <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_287" id="Page_287">[Pg 287]</a></span>the defences and the
+huts and the construction of a military bridge across the river took
+every day of the three weeks before the General's arrival. Our working
+hours were from 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. with an hour's interval at noon for
+food. But the sepoys revelled in their novel labours and looked on them
+as a welcome change from the monotony of drill. So interested were they
+that I often found them at work long after the bugle had sounded the
+"dismiss" in the evening; and when I told them to knock off, they would
+reply: "Oh, Sahib, we would like to finish this to-day."</p>
+
+<p>Our comfortable and airy little hospital was rarely tenanted. Almost the
+only patient our medical officer had was a pet monkey which required a
+surgical operation. The native sub-assistant surgeon, who took the
+proceedings very seriously, was called on to administer the anæsthetic.
+Chloroform was poured on a wad of wool in a paper cone which, much to
+the patient's annoyance, was pressed firmly against its muzzle. It
+scratched and bit for quite a long time before sinking into
+unconsciousness. And when, after the surgeon's knife had been swiftly
+and dexterously plied, it came back to life again it looked a very sick
+monkey indeed. Wrapped up in a towel with only its tiny puckered face
+showing, it presented such a woebegone and comical appearance that the
+onlookers were moved to unseemly mirth. But the little beast was too ill
+to care, though usually it fiercely resented being laughed at.</p>
+
+<p>We were too busy during these weeks to do any shooting. But a curious
+bit of <i>shikar</i> fell to my lot one day. While I was superintending the
+building<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_288" id="Page_288">[Pg 288]</a></span> of the fort a sepoy who had been gathering stones for the wall
+ran up to tell me that he had seen some curious little animals in the
+<i>nullah</i>. Borrowing an ancient Martini rifle from a native officer, I
+ran down to the river-bed and found several wild dogs playing on the
+sand a few hundred yards away in front of a small island covered with
+thick undergrowth. On seeing me they bolted. I took a hurried shot at
+one and missed it, the bullet glancing off a rock behind which the dog
+had disappeared. To my horror a low wailing cry issued from the bushes
+on the island behind. Alarmed at the thought that I might have wounded
+one of my sepoys, I ran to the spot. There to my astonishment I found a
+barking deer standing up with half its face blown away. The unlucky
+beast had been struck by my chance bullet. Its shrieks were piteous and
+almost human, until we put it out of its pain.</p>
+
+<p>Another day a sepoy cutting bamboos was disturbed by a herd of wild
+elephants. He had the sense to remain motionless; and the animals passed
+without seeing him.</p>
+
+<p>One evening another man met a more dangerous beast. He had gone down at
+dusk to bathe in the river just below the fort and came face to face
+with a panther drinking. The man was unarmed; but fortunately for him
+the brute only growled and trotted away.</p>
+
+<p>One Sunday afternoon we had a serious alarm. No work being done on that
+day two of the native officers, taking a few sepoys with them, had gone
+out with shot-guns to look for jungle fowl. Splitting up into two
+parties they separated and beat through the undergrowth a few hundred
+yards away from the fort.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_289" id="Page_289">[Pg 289]</a></span> Suddenly one of them came upon a tiger which
+snarled viciously at them and retreated in a direction which would bring
+him upon the other party. With this was Subhedar Sohanpal Singh, the
+sturdy old Rajput who had been my companion in the long chase after the
+rogue elephant.</p>
+
+<p>A sepoy came running back to the fort with the news. Seizing a rifle, I
+turned out a number of men with their arms and ammunition and hurried
+off to the rescue. Reaching the spot where the tiger had been seen, we
+searched the jungle for it and for Sohanpal Singh's party until dusk,
+without result. We shouted the <i>subhedar's</i> name loudly but got no
+answer. When night fell we returned to the fort. I was in hopes that the
+missing party had passed us in the jungle and got in safely. When I
+found that it had not come back I began to be seriously alarmed. But I
+reflected that it contained four men and that the tiger could hardly
+have killed them all and not left one to bring back the news. The
+missing men returned at ten o'clock. They had not actually seen the
+tiger but had heard it growling close to them in the thick undergrowth.
+As one of the sepoys had his rifle with him, Sohanpal Singh took it and
+tried to get a shot at the animal. The beast retreated slowly before
+him, growling all the time, but keeping in dense jungle where he could
+not see it. In vain the <i>subhedar</i> tried to get ahead and cut it off. He
+and his party followed the tiger until night put an end to the
+tantalising pursuit. Then, when they tried to retrace their steps, they
+lost their way in the darkness and wandered blindly through the jungle
+for hours until they struck the river.</p>
+
+<p>On the day of General Bower's arrival I sent two<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_290" id="Page_290">[Pg 290]</a></span> elephants to bring him
+and his staff officer with their baggage from Buxa Road Station.
+Balderston and I awaited him in the fire line about four hundred yards
+from our fort. When our visitors reached us they dismounted and shook
+hands with us. After our greetings were over I said to the General:</p>
+
+<p>"You told me last year, sir, to teach my men the art of making
+themselves and their officers comfortable in the jungle. You have got to
+test the result of my instruction practically now. You must live in a
+jungle hut, sleep on a jungle bed, sit at jungle-made tables on
+jungle-made chairs."</p>
+
+<p>General Bower laughed. "Is the jungle supplying my food too?" he asked.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, sir; jungle fowl and venison. Captain Balderston wanted to give
+you wild vegetables from the jungle as well. But I tried them myself
+once; and as I don't want a bad report of my detachment, I dare not
+offer them to you."</p>
+
+<p>I led the way along a road which we had cut through the forest. Where it
+emerged on the clearing around our post I stopped and said:</p>
+
+<p>"There is the fort."</p>
+
+<p>Our visitors looked about them in astonishment. For, at a distance of
+two hundred yards, the stockades with the living trees in them behind
+the tangle of <i>abattis</i> could not be distinguished from the surrounding
+jungle. In warfare this would be a great advantage, because it would
+come as a surprise on an advancing enemy.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"><br /><br />
+<a name="Ill_30" id="Ill_30"></a><img src="images/gs30.jpg" width="450" height="288" alt="BRINGING HOME THE GENERAL&#39;S DINNER." title="" />
+<span class="caption">BRINGING HOME THE GENERAL&#39;S DINNER.</span><br /><br />
+</div>
+
+<p>When we reached the <i>abattis</i>, we passed down the winding path through
+it and stopped at the edge of the ditch. For, in order to give the
+General a good idea of the strength of our defences, I had ordered
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_291" id="Page_291">[Pg 291]</a></span>that the gates should be closed and the drawbridges raised. On a board
+above the gateway were painted the words "Fort Bower," the name given by
+the sepoys to the post in honour of our inspecting officer. Having
+allowed our visitors time to be suitably impressed by the formidable
+stockade and the grim-looking <i>panjis</i> in the ditch, I called to the
+sentry hidden forty feet above us in a tree:</p>
+
+<p>"Open the gate!"</p>
+
+<p>The invisible doorkeeper pulled a string to inform the guard in the
+bastion. Then the heavy drawbridge fell across the ditch, the gate was
+raised and held up in position by the supporting forked poles.</p>
+
+<p>"That is very ingenious," said the General as he entered the fort.</p>
+
+<p>The men's huts were first inspected; and then we proceeded to the
+officer's quarters on the main street. We showed the General the cosy
+little two-roomed cottage he was to occupy, and pointed out the name
+painted on it, "The Bower."</p>
+
+<p>"Captain Humphreys' quarters are next door," we told him. "They gave us
+more trouble to find a title for. When we thought that the brigade
+major, Major Hutchinson, was to accompany you, the name suggested
+itself&mdash;we'd have called it 'The Hutch.' But when we heard that
+Humphreys was coming instead we were puzzled&mdash;until the idea occurred to
+us to name it 'The 'Ump.'"</p>
+
+<p>The General seemed to appreciate the mild joke more than his staff
+officer did. I pulled up the cane blind on the door of "The Bower" and
+invited the General to enter and see his jungle abode.</p>
+
+<p>"Here, sir, is your hat-rack," I said, showing a bamboo pole stuck in
+the flooring, its top split open<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_292" id="Page_292">[Pg 292]</a></span> into several points held apart by a
+cone of wood, thus providing a number of pegs. I drew his attention to
+an ingeniously-made writing-table with pigeon-holes and drawers. Then we
+passed into the inner room. Here a comfortable bed had been formed by
+driving the ends of six forked sticks, arranged in a parallelogram, into
+the earth. In the forks four light poles had been laid and fastened,
+making the head, foot and sides of the bedstead. Then across from side
+to side were tied split bamboos, which formed a bottom as elastic as
+steel springs. On it was laid a grass mat, three inches thick, as a
+mattress. The best bed ever turned out by Maple's could not have been
+more comfortable. Against the walls stood a bamboo dressing-table and a
+washstand. On the latter was an enamelled iron basin, the only article I
+could not replace from the jungle. But above it hung a length of hollow
+bamboo filled with water and pierced near the bottom by a hole now
+plugged. I withdrew the plug; and the water poured down into the basin.</p>
+
+<p>The General gazed around admiringly.</p>
+
+<p>"These contrivances are very clever," he said; "and there is no doubt
+that now your sepoys know how to make themselves and their officers very
+comfortable with the help only of jungle materials. All this is very
+ingenious and practical."</p>
+
+<p>After lunch the General inspected the defences and asked to see the
+sepoys man them. I led him up the ladder into the <i>machân</i> or platform
+occupied by the sentry in a tree over the river-bank. The men were all
+shut up in their huts.</p>
+
+<p>"Give the alarm," I said to the sentry.</p>
+
+<p>He gathered in his hand the strings leading from<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_293" id="Page_293">[Pg 293]</a></span> the <i>machân</i> to the
+officers' and section-leaders' quarters and pulled them. Throughout the
+fort we could faintly hear the stones rattling in the suspended tins.
+Instantly the fronts of the huts were raised; and the men of each
+section came silently out in line and went straight to the loopholes
+they had been posted to.</p>
+
+<p>"That is the best device I have seen yet," said General Bower. "The
+whole camp can be simultaneously aroused at once without any noise being
+heard by an approaching enemy, who would remain in ignorance of the fact
+that the defenders were on the alert. Consequently they would come on
+confidently in fancied security until they exposed themselves to a
+sudden fire at close range."</p>
+
+<p>Climbing down from the <i>machân</i> he inspected the booby trap. At a
+signal, men inside the wall cut the creepers supporting the outer end of
+the bamboo platform which fell on its hinges and sent an avalanche of
+rocks into the <i>nullah</i> below.</p>
+
+<p>As soon as it was dark we went out on to the gallery projecting over the
+river-bed. From it cords led to bombs buried in the sand and piled
+around with stones. They were made of bamboos filled with powder and
+fitted with a rifle cartridge so arranged that, on pulling the cord, a
+rock fell on a nail which struck the cartridge-cap and exploded the
+bomb.</p>
+
+<p>We fired these off one after another. The explosions hurled the stones
+in all directions with terrific force. Captain Balderston had devised an
+arrangement similar to the old Roman catapults for throwing
+hand-grenades over a hundred yards. He gave us an exhibition of this. On
+the sand of the river-bed<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_294" id="Page_294">[Pg 294]</a></span> bonfires had been piled to be set on fire by
+flares ignited by men tripping against cords laid along the ground.
+These were now worked; and the flames rose high and lit up the <i>nullah</i>
+clearly, so that anyone in it was plainly visible from the fort.</p>
+
+<p>Our dinner that night in the thatched bamboo hut dignified by the title
+of "Officers' Mess" was quite a festive affair. Our forest fare was much
+appreciated by our visitors; for it comprised <i>sambhur</i> soup, roast
+jungle fowls and the delicate venison of a barking deer. But the river
+was not called upon to supply the liquor for our feast. General Bower
+was as full of good stories as ever; and long after the sepoys had
+turned in for the night their slumbers must have been disturbed by the
+hearty laughter of their Sahibs in the Mess.</p>
+
+<p>The next two days were occupied in doing man&oelig;uvres through the
+jungle.</p>
+
+<p>At the conclusion of the inspection General Bower ordered me to form up
+the detachment and made a little speech to the men. He praised all ranks
+for their keenness and efficiency and complimented them on the ingenuity
+displayed in the construction of the fort.</p>
+
+<p>"You have made its defences so strong," he said, "that without artillery
+it would be almost impossible for an assault on it to be successful. I
+am very pleased with what you have done and at hearing from your Major
+Sahib how well and how willingly you have worked. I shall give this
+detachment a very good report."</p>
+
+<p>The Indians, like other races, love their meed of praise; and at the
+General's words the sepoys' faces beamed. Contrary to strict ideas of
+discipline<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_295" id="Page_295">[Pg 295]</a></span> Subhedar Sohanpal Singh, standing in front of his company,
+turned to his men and cried:</p>
+
+<p>"Three cheers for the General Sahib!"</p>
+
+<p>And as General Bower, having said good-bye to us and mounted his
+elephant, disappeared in the jungle on his way to the railway station,
+the hearty cheers of the sepoys followed him.</p>
+
+<p>For the remainder of our stay in Buxa Duar Fort Bower served to
+accommodate officers and men whenever we went down into the forest for
+military training. On one occasion we had some useful practice in
+night-firing from it. In the cleared space around it and in the
+river-bed targets were placed to represent an attacking army. A hundred
+yards from the defences bonfires, to be lit by flares ignited by cords
+leading into the fort, were arranged. When darkness fell these were set
+alight. The leaping flames showed up the targets, at which the sepoys
+fired through the loopholes of stockade and wall with very good results.
+At the time I had an American Cavalry officer on a visit to me. This was
+his first experience of the Indian Army at work; and he was very much
+impressed by it.</p>
+
+<p>At Christmas, Balderston and I invited friends to come to us for a
+shooting camp. Fort Bower served us as a residence; and from it we
+sallied out every morning into the forest on our elephants. On Christmas
+Day we added to our usual fare of jungle fowl and venison a plum pudding
+and mince-pies sent out from England, brewed punch, and in the heart of
+the jungle, thousands of miles from home, kept the feast in the good old
+fashion.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_296" id="Page_296">[Pg 296]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="ChapterXV" id="ChapterXV"></a>CHAPTER XV</h2>
+
+<h3>FAREWELL TO THE HILLS</h3>
+
+<blockquote><p>The Proclamation Parade&mdash;An unsteady charger&mdash;"Three cheers
+for the King-Emperor!"&mdash;The Indian Army's loyalty&mdash;King
+George and the sepoys&mdash;A land held by the sword&mdash;An
+American Cavalry officer's visit&mdash;Hospitality of
+American officers&mdash;Killing by kindness&mdash;The brotherhood
+of soldiers&mdash;The bond between American and British
+troops sealed by blood&mdash;U.S. officers' opinion of us&mdash;A
+roaring tiger&mdash;Prince Jitendra Narayen&mdash;His visit to
+Buxa&mdash;An intoxicated monkey&mdash;Projected visits&mdash;A road
+report&mdash;A sketch fourteen feet long&mdash;The
+start&mdash;Jalpaiguri&mdash;A planters' dinner-party&mdash;Crossing
+the Tista River&mdash;A quicksand&mdash;A narrow
+escape&mdash;Map-making in the army&mdash;In the China War of
+1860&mdash;Officers' sketches used for the Canton Railway
+survey&mdash;The country south of the hills&mdash;A sepoy's
+explanation of Kinchinjunga&mdash;A native officer's theory
+of the cause of earthquakes&mdash;Types on the road&mdash;After
+the day's work&mdash;A man-eater&mdash;A brave postman&mdash;Human
+beings killed by wild animals and snakes in
+India&mdash;Crocodiles&mdash;Shooting a monster&mdash;Crocodiles on
+land&mdash;Crossing the Torsa&mdash;Value of small
+detachments&mdash;The maligned military officer&mdash;A life of
+examinations&mdash;The man-killing elephant again&mdash;Death of
+a Bhuttia woman&mdash;Ordered home&mdash;A last good-bye to a
+comrade&mdash;Captain Balderston's death&mdash;A last view of the
+hills.</p></blockquote>
+
+
+<p>When our Christmas shoot ended I returned to Buxa with our guests in
+time to hold the Proclamation Parade; for on 1st January, 1877, Queen
+Victoria was proclaimed Empress of India, and on this date every year
+the event is celebrated in military Stations throughout our Eastern
+Empire by a parade of <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_297" id="Page_297">[Pg 297]</a></span>troops in garrison. Even in our little outpost
+we did not forget to honour the day.</p>
+
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"><br /><br />
+<a name="Ill_31" id="Ill_31"></a><img src="images/gs31.jpg" width="450" height="348" alt="&quot;I WAS MOUNTED ON A COUNTRYBRED PONY.&quot;" title="" />
+<span class="caption">&quot;I WAS MOUNTED ON A COUNTRYBRED PONY.&quot;</span><br /><br />
+</div>
+
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"><br /><br />
+<a name="Ill_32" id="Ill_32"></a><img src="images/gs32.jpg" width="450" height="351" alt="&quot;AN ELEPHANT LOADED WITH MY STORES AND BAGGAGE.&quot;" title="" />
+<span class="caption">&quot;AN ELEPHANT LOADED WITH MY STORES AND BAGGAGE.&quot;</span><br /><br />
+</div>
+
+<p>On the drill ground a flagstaff had been erected, from which flew the
+Union Jack. The two companies of the detachment, officers and men in
+their full-dress uniform of scarlet and blue, were drawn up in line
+facing it. Captain Balderston rode a pony recently purchased from a
+planter, which strongly objected to soldiers and refused to go near the
+troops. No persuasions of its rider could induce it to approach the
+line; and when Balderston called the men to attention on my arrival and
+the rifles were brought smartly to the "slope," his disobedient charger
+swung round and bolted with him off the parade ground, jumping a ditch
+and nearly ending both their careers in a deep <i>nullah</i>. I was mounted
+on a country-bred pony which I had brought from Darjeeling and trained
+to troops. Deprived of the assistance of my second in command I started
+the parade. After the royal salute had been given, the men fired the
+<i>feu de joie</i>, when the rifles are discharged one by one along the front
+rank from right to left and back again in the opposite direction down
+the rear rank. Then taking off my helmet I gave the command "Three
+cheers for the King Emperor!"; and the hills re-echoed the shouts of the
+sepoys. A useless ceremony this, to the Little Englander; yet one
+fraught with deep meaning and stirring the heart to the core; for at
+that moment throughout the Indian Empire from the Himalayas to Colombo,
+from Aden to Mandalay, the cheers of His Majesty's soldiers, white and
+black, were ringing in loyal chorus.</p>
+
+<p>Fifty years ago, in the dark days of the Mutiny, the revolted sepoy
+regiments faced their erstwhile<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_298" id="Page_298">[Pg 298]</a></span> comrades in battle; but the guilt of
+that black crime has long ago been purged in blood and obliterated by
+faithful service; and to-day the Kaiser-i-Hind has no more loyal
+soldiers than the men of his Indian Army. Until a few years ago the
+Sovereign was only a name to the warrior races that fill its ranks. But
+King George by his visits to India has made them realise his existence.
+He has given his Indian subjects what Orientals always desire, the
+knowledge that they have a living monarch. And by so doing he has
+changed the vague loyalty of the sepoys into a real and affectionate
+attachment to the person of their ruler. The native troops whom he
+reviewed, who lined the streets or formed his Guards of Honour in
+Bombay, Delhi and Calcutta, rejoice to have actually seen their
+"<i>Badshah</i>" (Emperor) and proudly boast of it to others who have not
+been so fortunate. Only we officers of the Indian Army can fully realise
+how much this means, how wise were the councils that dictated his visits
+to India.</p>
+
+<p>For, despite the politician and the civil servant, we hold the land, as
+we won it, by the sword. No concessions to the clamour of the <i>babus</i> of
+Bengal will retain the loyalty of this country. It rests on the weapons
+and in the hearts of the gallant warrior races that aided us to conquer
+India and help us to retain it. Would that the Englishman in England
+could realise the fact!</p>
+
+<p>Shortly after the departure of our guests who had come for the Christmas
+shoot, I received a long-expected visit from an American officer,
+Captain Brees, 1st United States Cavalry. Years before, in China, Japan,
+and California I had foregathered with a cheery Irish subaltern of his
+regiment,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_299" id="Page_299">[Pg 299]</a></span> Lieutenant Coghlan, who had won his commission in the fierce
+fighting in Luzon. And when Captain Brees, their corps being then in the
+Philippine Islands, arranged to visit India on his way home on leave to
+his native country, Lieutenant Coghlan guaranteed him a warm welcome
+from me. For I felt that I owed a debt of gratitude to every officer of
+the American Army for the kindly hospitality I had received from them in
+the United States&mdash;from the Pacific to the Atlantic. Before I landed in
+San Francisco, Coghlan, then stationed in Los Angeles and unable to come
+to meet me, had written to friends of his in regiments quartered in the
+Army Post in the Presidio, the Golden City's splendid park, and asked
+them to welcome me in his stead. As soon as I arrived not only they, but
+a score of other officers of the garrison, had made their way through
+the ruins of the city not long before devastated by earthquake and fire
+to give me that welcome to their country. They offered me all the
+hospitality of their camp and clubs. A Cavalry regiment on the point of
+departing for their summer training in the famous Yosemite Valley
+extended a cordial invitation to accompany them and promised me a horse,
+a tent, and rations. The Field Battery offered to mount me whenever I
+liked to march out with them. I was asked to every military
+entertainment; and at every regimental dance my hosts saw that I had my
+programme full.</p>
+
+<p>One night at a magnificent entertainment at the Fairmont Hotel in
+celebration of the first anniversary of the earthquake and San
+Francisco's ph&oelig;nix-like rising again from the flames, a civilian
+asked me if I belonged to the Indian Army. On my replying<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_300" id="Page_300">[Pg 300]</a></span> in the
+affirmative he begged to be allowed to introduce me to two friends of
+his present that night, American officers on leave from another Station,
+as they were anxious to meet an officer of my Service. As I shook hands
+with them, one said:</p>
+
+<p>"We've been looking for a fellow in the Indian Army."</p>
+
+<p>"Which one?" I asked.</p>
+
+<p>"Anyone. It doesn't matter who. We want to kill him," was the alarming
+reply.</p>
+
+<p>"Good Heaven! why?" I queried apprehensively, backing away from him.</p>
+
+<p>"Say, don't be afraid," he answered, laughingly. "We only mean to kill
+him with kindness. The fact is that we have just been on leave through
+India and Burma; and your fellows were so good to us everywhere we went
+that we have been looking for any stray officer of your army to give us
+an opportunity of returning their hospitality."</p>
+
+<p>"That's so," said his companion. "Now, what can we do for you? Dine you,
+wine you, or lend you money?"</p>
+
+<p>And when I told them that the unbounded kindness of their comrades in
+San Francisco had left me nothing to desire, they were very
+disappointed.</p>
+
+<p>Between the soldiers of every nationality there is a bond of
+brotherhood; and never have I found it so strong as between American
+officers and ours in the too few occasions on which they have met.</p>
+
+<p>"Blood is thicker than water"; and in the China War of 1900 Uncle Sam's
+troops and the British seemed to form one army. Side by side they fought
+in the grim combats around Tientsin. On the day when the city was
+stormed, when the pouches of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_301" id="Page_301">[Pg 301]</a></span> gallant 9th United States Infantry
+were empty, their brave colonel, Liscum, and a score of men killed, and
+four officers and seventy-two men wounded out of total of two hundred
+Americans engaged, a British officer, Ollivant, was killed in trying to
+replenish their ammunition, another, Major Pereira, was wounded in
+trying to bring in their injured, and Lieutenant Phillimore and his
+bluejackets of H.M.S. <i>Barfleur</i> helped them to hold their ground, and
+brought back their wounded.</p>
+
+<p>In less strenuous days in North China after the fighting, our American
+friends there told us that they found us very different to their
+preconceived ideas of the English officer, whom they had pictured as a
+languidly haughty individual, inseparable from his eyeglass, and
+prefacing every remark by "I say, by Jove!" They frankly admitted that
+they had come prepared to dislike us, but had found us on acquaintance
+not such bad fellows after all.</p>
+
+<p>Similarly Captain Brees confessed to me that he had been obliged to
+reconstruct all his preconceived ideas of British military men as soon
+as he had met them. Before his departure from Manila I had sent him
+letters of introduction to many of our officers in Hong Kong, Singapore,
+Colombo and Calcutta. He told me that on arriving in Hong Kong he had
+hesitated to avail himself of them but, hardening his heart, had at last
+dispatched them to the addresses.</p>
+
+<p>"I can tell you, major," he said, "that, with the ideas I had of what
+your fellows would be like, I was considerably surprised when several of
+them swooped down upon me in my hotel and insisted on my transferring
+myself and my baggage at once to their quarters, where they entertained
+me royally for<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_302" id="Page_302">[Pg 302]</a></span> the rest of my stay in Hong Kong. The same in Singapore.
+And when my ship reached Calcutta, two British officers came on board as
+soon as the anchor dropped, took me ashore, and gave me a bully time
+there. I tell you that after this you can just inform any of your army
+friends that, if they visit America, their address is '1st United States
+Cavalry.' And don't you forget it!"</p>
+
+<p>"Jimmy" Brees was one of the most charming men I have ever known; and
+everywhere he went in India he made a most favourable impression on all
+our officers who met him. In Buxa we could not offer him any social
+gaieties; but we made him free of the jungle, taught him to ride on and
+shoot from elephants, and did the little we could to entertain him.</p>
+
+<p>Once, after a long day in the forest on Khartoum's back, we climbed up
+into Forest Lodge to dine and sleep. Exhausted by his tiring experience,
+Brees had just fallen asleep and I was preparing to follow his example,
+when I heard a tiger roaring in the jungle close to my lofty
+tree-dwelling, and apparently approaching us. I was delighted to give my
+guest the opportunity of at least hearing a tiger and possibly shooting
+it in the moonlight if it came close enough. So I sprang out of bed,
+seized my rifle and, posting myself at the window, called out over my
+shoulder:</p>
+
+<p>"Wake up, Jimmy, wake up! There is a tiger close by."</p>
+
+<p>"Eh? What?" came the sleepy reply.</p>
+
+<p>"Get up, man, get up!" I whispered excitedly. "I tell you there's a
+tiger near us. It may come close enough to give us a shot at it."<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_303" id="Page_303">[Pg 303]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>But the fatigues of the day had been too much for him. A loud snore was
+his only answer; and although the tiger roamed around the house for half
+an hour, uttering its peculiar snorting roar, it never woke him.
+However, he lost nothing but the noise; for, though I sat eagerly
+expectant by the window for a long time, the brute never came within
+range.</p>
+
+<p>My next visitor was Prince Jitendra Narayen, now through the death of
+his eldest brother Maharajah of Cooch Behar. Before Darjeeling came into
+existence as a Hill Station the rulers of his State possessed a house in
+Buxa Duar, to which they used to come in the summer to avoid the heat of
+the Plains. But this was before the day of the present generation of the
+family, none of whom, except the then Maharajah, had ever visited Buxa.
+So Prince "Jit" was glad of an opportunity of seeing our small Station,
+and spent several days with me. As he belonged to the Imperial Service
+Cadet Corps he was keenly interested in military matters, and passed
+much time in watching our detachment at work. Like his father, he was an
+ardent sportsman and good shot; and, used to the more open country south
+of the forest, he enjoyed wandering on one of our elephants through our
+dense jungle in search of <i>sambhur</i>. His cheery manner made him popular
+with everyone in Buxa&mdash;except our pet monkey. For that little beast,
+having a severe cold, was given whisky-and-milk one day, and, imbibing
+too freely, became absolutely drunk. Its antics as it reeled about the
+mess-room were extremely comical and made us all roar with laughter. It
+seemed to pardon its owners' want of good manners but resented Prince
+Jitendra's mirth as an impertinence<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_304" id="Page_304">[Pg 304]</a></span> in a stranger. Swaying drunkenly as
+it tried to stand on its hind legs, it chattered and shrieked with rage
+at him and endeavoured to stagger across the room to bite him, falling
+down and rolling helplessly on the floor on its way. And next morning it
+was plain to see that it suffered from a bad headache. But when Jit
+entered the Mess at breakfast-time and condoled with it on its evident
+pain, it flew at him and attacked him savagely.</p>
+
+<p>When my guest returned to Cooch Behar I accompanied him. At the Palace
+his account of the beauties of Buxa Duar made the ladies of the family
+eager to see the place; and it was arranged that Her Highness the
+Maharani and her two daughters, the Princess Pretiva and Sudhira, should
+pay us a visit in our outpost. The Maharajah's four sons were also to
+come at another time, bringing all the elephants belonging to the State,
+to join me in making a systematic search for a rogue which was
+committing havoc in the forest near Buxa. But the Maharajah's illness,
+which necessitated his going to Europe for medical treatment and which
+resulted in his lamented death the following year, deprived me of the
+pleasure of these visits.</p>
+
+<p>Shortly after Prince Jitendra's departure an order from the brigadier to
+report on and sketch eighty-four miles of road and country across
+Eastern Bengal afforded me an opportunity of seeing something of this
+province south of the Terai Jungle. The task was no light one. The
+military sketch was to be executed on a scale of two inches to a mile;
+so that I had to make a map fourteen feet long! It was to begin more
+than twenty miles west of Jalpaiguri, a town on the railway to Siliguri
+and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_305" id="Page_305">[Pg 305]</a></span> Darjeeling, the route running parallel to the mountains and thirty
+or forty miles south of them, and ended at Alipur Duar.</p>
+
+<p>As the ground to be traversed contained no towns where I could purchase
+supplies, I had to make my own arrangements for food as well as
+transport. I might find an empty <i>dâk</i> bungalow here and there; but it
+behoved me to carry a tent with me. So, dispatching my pony and an
+elephant loaded with my baggage and stores to march across country and
+meet me at Jalpaiguri, I went by train to this station, reaching it of
+course several days before my animals could arrive. There I borrowed an
+elephant from the police officer, bought some tinned provisions and
+flour, and set out west along the twenty-four miles of road to the spot
+where I was to begin my sketch. I was fortunate in finding <i>dâk</i>
+bungalows on it every ten or twelve miles in which to shelter at night.
+At the first of these I was informed by the native in charge of it that
+on a tank&mdash;as ponds and lakes are called in India&mdash;about six miles away
+I would find hundreds of duck. So I shouldered my gun and set out across
+the fields. I discovered the tank and from a distance saw that the water
+was dotted with birds. Cautiously stalking them, with glowing
+anticipations of wild duck for dinner, I reached the bank to find that
+they were coots and "divers." Not even a snipe rewarded me for my long
+walk; and I returned to the <i>dâk</i> bungalow to give my misinformant my
+candid and unflattering opinion of him.</p>
+
+<p>Next day I reached the spot where my sketch was to begin. My
+starting-point was near another <i>dâk</i> bungalow, perched on a little hill
+overlooking a broad river flowing through thin jungle and
+well-cultivated<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_306" id="Page_306">[Pg 306]</a></span> fields. Here I turned my face towards Jalpaiguri and
+commenced my task. Cavalry sketching-case in hand I walked along the
+road through open and uninteresting country, counting my paces as
+measurement and filling in the meagre details of the country on either
+hand on my map. I completed the mapping of the twenty-four miles in two
+days.</p>
+
+<p>Arrived at Jalpaiguri I had to wait there a day for my elephant and
+pony, which were accompanied by my butler and a sepoy orderly, as well
+as the <i>mahout</i> and a <i>syce</i>; so that with Draj Khan, who was already
+with me, I had quite a following. Jalpaiguri is built on the west bank
+of the broad Tista River, which flows from Sikkim through the Himalayas
+to the plains of Bengal. The civil Station contains the usual
+Anglo-Indian community of such a town, the deputy commissioner, a judge,
+a settlement officer, a Public Works Department engineer, a police
+officer and a few more Europeans. There are no troops there. The
+engineer who had visited me at Buxa, which was in his charge, kindly
+offered me the shelter of his bungalow; and I was hospitably entertained
+by everyone in the Station. I came in for a very merry dinner-party
+given at the club by a number of planters of the neighbourhood to two
+members of their community who were leaving India for England. Near
+midnight we escorted the guests to the railway station and considerably
+delayed the mail train by our lengthy good-byes and parting libations.
+In vain the stationmaster, the guard, and the engine-driver in turn
+stormed, argued, and pleaded with the two departing planters to take
+their seats and let the train start. Sleepy and irate English passengers
+put their heads out of the carriage windows and cursed the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_307" id="Page_307">[Pg 307]</a></span> causes of
+the delay. One of our party had to be stopped by main force from pouring
+a whisky-and-soda into the interior mechanism of what he declared to be
+"a poor thirsty engine that nobody thought of offering a drink to." The
+native stationmaster, torn between his dread of official reprimand for
+delaying the mail and his fear of displeasing the Sahibs of his town,
+almost wept as he implored the party to end their farewells and let the
+train depart.</p>
+
+<p>My transport having arrived that night I continued on my way next
+morning. I had to cross the Tista, which here, though the banks were
+more than a mile or a mile and a half apart, was at that season shrunk
+to a stream half a mile in breadth flowing between wide stretches of
+sand, over which I rode on my pony to reach the ferryboat. This was a
+broad, flat-bottomed craft, loaded with natives, cattle, bullocks and a
+cart which carried the baggage and camp equipment of a civil official
+going out to tour his district. The cart was festooned with wicker
+crates containing hens and ducks destined to supply "master's dinner in
+jungle," as the servant in charge informed me. With sail, oar and pole
+the ferry-boat made its way across the stream, until it reached a wide
+stretch of sand lying between the water and the bank. My pony, after
+much urging, jumped out; and I mounted. I had ridden four or five
+hundred yards when the animal stopped suddenly and its legs began to
+sink. To my horror I found that we were in a quicksand. The pony plunged
+and struggled wildly. I slipped from the saddle to ease it of my weight
+and sank at once up to my knees. Visions of a horrible death engulfed in
+the yielding mass of sand flashed across me as I struggled against the
+invisible monster that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_308" id="Page_308">[Pg 308]</a></span> seemed to clutch me and drag me down. Luckily
+the pony got its forefeet on to firmer ground and fought its way out of
+the quicksand, pulling me out with it by the reins to which I clung. It
+stood terrified and quivering while I tried to soothe it. Fifty yards
+away was a group of natives who had been watching the incident
+phlegmatically and had made no move to come to our help. When I was safe
+they called out to me.</p>
+
+<p>"That is a very dangerous place, Sahib. A cow was swallowed up there the
+other day."</p>
+
+<p>Having told them forcibly what I thought of them for not warning me in
+time, I cautiously led my pony forward to the firm earth bank, which I
+was delighted to reach after the treacherous sand. Here the road to
+Alipur Duar began again. I swung myself into the saddle and continued my
+sketch on horseback, thus covering the ground much more quickly than on
+the first days. I was able to get my measurements by having previously
+counted the number of paces my pony took to cover a distance of a
+hundred yards at a trot.</p>
+
+<p>In the old days knowledge of map-making was, in the army, confined to
+the Royal Engineers. A late inspector-general of fortifications, General
+Sir Richard Harrison, R.E., told me that in the China War of 1860 only
+two officers, he and Captain, afterwards Lord, Wolseley, in the
+Anglo-Indian Army there could make a military sketch, and very few
+others were able to understand it when made. Nowadays every officer can
+map any country and during the drill season is called upon to furnish at
+least one sketch. The civil engineers brought out in 1905-6 to Hong Kong
+to survey the route of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_309" id="Page_309">[Pg 309]</a></span> railway to Canton told me that in the
+British Hinterland they made no maps, and contented themselves with such
+annual military sketches of the country done by officers of the
+garrison. And these they found accurate enough for railway laying. The
+task that I was now engaged on, which was for the purpose of revising
+the military route-book of Eastern Bengal, was set me as part of my
+ordinary work; I being the nearest available officer.</p>
+
+<p>The country through which my road lay for the next sixty miles was open,
+level, and well-cultivated, dotted with groves of feathery bamboos and
+the typical, compact, thatched villages and farm-buildings of Bengal. As
+usual, in India, the fields were not divided by hedges or any obstacles.
+Even at that season of the year the country-side looked green, in
+striking contrast to other parts of the land then when the hot weather
+was drawing near. And always along and parallel to my route lay the wall
+of the mountains thirty or forty miles away, rising abruptly from the
+plains in a confused jumble of rugged hills overtopping each other until
+they culminated in the long white crest of Kinchinjunga, which now and
+then at sunset or dawn towered over them all above the clouds and seemed
+to float detached in the sky.</p>
+
+<p>At the first <i>dâk</i> bungalow which sheltered me after leaving Jalpaiguri
+we had a splendid view of this magnificent mountain; and I overheard my
+orderly, Draj Khan, who had been with me in Darjeeling and had seen it
+from there, explaining to the Rajput sepoy with us that it was composed
+entirely of ice. The latter, a man from the sandy deserts of Bikanir,
+never having seen snow or more ice than a small lump in some native
+liquor-dealer's shop in the bazaar,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_310" id="Page_310">[Pg 310]</a></span> refused to believe Draj's statement
+and appealed to me. I found it no easy task to explain the mystery of
+the Everlasting Snows to the intellect of this more or less untutored
+savage; and I fear that he understood me even less than he did Draj
+Khan's explanation. Natural physical phenomena that we accept as
+articles of belief we find not so easy to make clear to the minds of
+uneducated people. The Pathan subhedar-major of my regiment rejected my
+account of the causes of earthquakes in favour of his own theory that
+they arise from the movements of a dragon slumbering in the centre of
+the earth and occasionally shaking itself or turning round in its sleep.</p>
+
+<p>I found my journey day by day along the road interesting from the many
+types of natives whom I passed. Brown-skinned peasants, many clad simply
+in a cotton cloth wound round the waist and between the legs, and
+<i>puggris</i> tied loosely about their heads, saluted me respectfully as I
+rode by. Native women, nose-ringed and glass-braceletted, modestly drew
+their <i>saris</i> over their dark faces to hide their problematical beauty
+from my profane gaze. Naked little brown urchins with them stopped to
+gaze, finger in mouth, at the Sahib and scampered off in simulated fear
+when I waved my hand to them, but halted at a safe distance to wave back
+laughingly. Bearded Mohammedans uttered a "Salaam Aleikoum"<a name="FNanchor_8_8" id="FNanchor_8_8"></a><a href="#Footnote_8_8" class="fnanchor">[8]</a> and
+grinned with pleasure at the correct reply "Aleikoum salaam."<a name="FNanchor_9_9" id="FNanchor_9_9"></a><a href="#Footnote_9_9" class="fnanchor">[9]</a> Groups
+of lean-shanked jungle-dwellers shuffled by, the men unencumbered, the
+ragged women laden with cooking-pots, babies, and other possessions.
+Once or twice I passed a tall, stately <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_311" id="Page_311">[Pg 311]</a></span>Pathan, long-haired and
+hook-nosed, clad in baggy trousers, gold-laced velvet waistcoat and
+voluminous turban. These gave me a cheery salutation, with no trace of
+servility; for the Pathan is of a haughty race and thinks himself any
+man's equal. These individuals had wandered far from their homes among
+the mountains beyond the North-West Frontier to make small fortunes as
+usurers among the simple peasants of Bengal. Small boys herding cattle
+drove their black buffaloes to one side of the road to let me pass,
+fearlessly beating with shrill cries the savage-looking animals which
+seemed inclined to charge my pony. Heavy carts, their wheels solid discs
+of wood, drawn by stolid white bullocks, lumbered noisily along, the
+drivers twisting the <i>byles'</i> tails to accelerate their speed. Although
+I was in so-called disaffected Eastern Bengal I met with no rudeness or
+black looks; for the sedition carefully fostered among the
+feather-headed young Bengali students has not affected the simple
+cultivators of the soil, who still respect the white man and look
+confidently to the Sahibs for justice. Even well-fed <i>babus</i> on the road
+stopped and closed their umbrellas, a native sign of respect, and were
+always ready to answer my questions or enter into a chat.</p>
+
+<p>Every day after completing ten or twelve miles of my sketch I halted at
+a <i>dâk</i> bungalow or pitched my tent. My servants and elephant had
+usually arrived before me; and I found my breakfast of biscuit, tinned
+meat and tea, occasionally supplemented by eggs from the nearest
+village, awaiting me. My orderly, scouting on ahead on my bicycle, had
+sought for information of sport; and, if the prospects of it were good,
+I took my gun or rifle and went out in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_312" id="Page_312">[Pg 312]</a></span> search of something to shoot.
+But in such well-cultivated country there was very little game.</p>
+
+<p>At one village near which I halted for the night I heard that a
+man-eating tiger was lurking in the neighbourhood. It had killed two
+natives on the road within the week. Of course I went out to look for
+it, but with scant hope of finding it, as I could only stay a day in the
+place. Mounting my elephant I started after breakfast and beat through
+all the small patches of jungle for miles round and along the banks of a
+small stream flowing by the village. But, though I hunted until after
+dusk, I found no traces of it, and returned disappointed to the <i>dâk</i>
+bungalow.</p>
+
+<p>As I sat smoking after dinner out in the compound under the stars I
+heard the tinkle of bells coming along the road and drawing nearer and
+nearer. Then past the gate of the enclosure around the bungalow a native
+postman shuffled by at a dog-trot, his spear and bells over his
+shoulder. I stopped him and asked him if he had heard of the tiger.</p>
+
+<p>The little old man, bent almost double under the weight of his mail-bag,
+wiped his brow, as he answered:</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, Protector of the Poor, the <i>shaitan</i> (devil) killed two men of
+this village on this very road by which I come each night."</p>
+
+<p>"Are you not afraid of meeting him?" I asked.</p>
+
+<p>"That is in the hands of God, Sahib. I must earn my pay by carrying the
+<i>dâk</i> (mail) along that road every day."</p>
+
+<p>"But why come by night?"</p>
+
+<p>"The <i>dâk</i> only reaches my post office after nightfall, and must be sent
+on at once. <i>Hukm hai.</i> It<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_313" id="Page_313">[Pg 313]</a></span> is the order." And with a farewell salaam he
+trotted off into the darkness and danger of the night; and the tinkle of
+the bells died away down the fatal road.</p>
+
+<p>Next morning I moved on, deeply regretting that I could not afford the
+time to remain and make a systematic search for the man-eater. It was
+tantalising to be in its hunting-ground and yet be unable to stay longer
+and devote myself to its destruction. To shoot an ordinary tiger is not
+much of an achievement; but to circumvent and kill a murderous beast,
+grown daring and wily in the slaughter of human beings, is something to
+be proud of, and a good and useful deed. The hunter must pit his brains
+against its cunning and risk his life freely; for the man-eater is acute
+beyond all others and has lost the wild animals' usual dread of man. It
+is fortunate that such are rare; for last year tigers killed eight
+hundred and eighty-five persons in India, one being credited with
+forty-one deaths. Other wild beasts were far behind in the grim count.
+Wolves killed two hundred and fifty-five; while panthers slew two
+hundred and sixty-one human beings. But these figures fall far short of
+the havoc caused by venomous reptiles. In 1911 over twenty-five thousand
+persons died from snake-bite; in 1912, twenty-one thousand four hundred
+and sixty-one deaths were recorded from the same cause. But it must be
+remembered that in villages far from police investigations and coroners'
+inquests, snake-bite is a very convenient explanation of a sudden and
+violent death.</p>
+
+<p>As I rode along day by day busy with my sketch I had not time to feel
+lonely; though, with the exception of my brief stay in Jalpaiguri, I had
+not<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_314" id="Page_314">[Pg 314]</a></span> exchanged a word with one of my own colour for over a week. But in
+India one grows accustomed to that. Soldiers, planters, forest and civil
+officers are used to being cut off from their kind; and on detachment I
+have passed months without seeing another European. The evenings, when
+the day's work is done, are the hardest to bear; and now in this long
+and solitary ride, when I sat in my tent or a <i>dâk</i> bungalow after
+dinner by the flickering light of a hurricane lantern I did occasionally
+wish for a white man to talk to.</p>
+
+<p>My road, running parallel to the hills, crossed many rivers flowing from
+them. Most of these were, at that season of the year, easily fordable;
+though in some the water was up to my pony's girths. Warned by my
+experience at the Tista, I kept a sharp look-out for quicksands. At one
+broad stream villagers bade me beware of crocodiles; and fording a river
+in which these brutes lurk is not a pleasant task.</p>
+
+<p>The crocodiles of India are divided into two species. The <i>ghavial</i>, or
+fish eater, attains a length of eighteen feet and is reputed not to
+attack human beings. Yet with their long, narrow snouts studded with a
+serrated row of sharp teeth they look much more formidable than the
+man-eating, blunt-nosed <i>muggers</i>. The latter are similar to the
+alligators of the New World and the crocodiles of Africa, though they do
+not reach the length of the latter. The largest I have known was an old
+veteran twelve and a half feet long, which I shot in the Jumna near its
+confluence with the Ganges at Allahabad. The latter river is full of
+<i>muggers</i>; but the former is reputed locally to contain only <i>ghavials</i>.
+My<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_315" id="Page_315">[Pg 315]</a></span> crocodile may have been a stray. From a boat in which I was drifting
+down stream I saw it, looking like an immense log, lying on the bank;
+for these brutes are in the habit of coming ashore to sun themselves
+during the heat of the day. They are not easy to shoot, as at the least
+sign of danger they are prone to dive into the river. Even if wounded
+they are hard to secure; for they nearly always lie at the water's edge,
+so that the least movement takes them into the stream and, if they die
+below the surface, their bodies do not float for some time.</p>
+
+<p>Having spotted the crocodile in question from a distance I landed on the
+opposite bank and, cautiously stalking it, managed to get within two
+hundred yards without its being alarmed. I was armed with a ·303 carbine
+and, aiming at its neck, luckily paralysed it by my first shot with a
+bullet in the spine. To make sure of it I fired several more rounds at
+it, then, hailing my boat, crossed over to where it lay. It feebly
+snapped its huge jaws at me as I approached, but was unable to move
+otherwise; and a final bullet laid it out. It was an old and immensely
+powerful brute, broad out of all proportion to its length. Its thick
+hide studded with bosses was like armour-plate, and over its back
+impenetrable to bullets. Its teeth were large and blunted and its nails
+long and thick.</p>
+
+<p>At the sound of my shots a number of natives had run out from a village
+close by. When they saw the <i>mugger</i> lying dead, they streamed down to
+the bank and to my surprise swarmed round me, hung garlands about my
+neck and lauded me to the skies. I learned from them that the dead
+monster had closed a ford from their village to one on the other<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_316" id="Page_316">[Pg 316]</a></span> side
+of the river for two years, had carried off several women bathing or
+drawing water (this was a minor offence to the native, women being cheap
+in India); but, worse still, had killed several of their sacred and
+valuable cows. Hence my ovation. The brute was so large and heavy that
+it took fourteen villagers to drag and push it up an inclined plane of
+planks into my big native sailing-boat. We brought it down the river to
+the Lines of my regiment, which were built close to the bank. There we
+landed it and cut it open. In its stomach were seven metal anklets or
+armlets of different sizes, ornaments such as are worn by native women
+and girls, and&mdash;a horrible sight!&mdash;the entire body of a child about a
+year old. It was in the process of being digested; and, when exposed to
+the air, the flesh fell away from the bones. The stench was
+unforgettable.</p>
+
+<p>The rivers of Bengal are full of these unpleasant saurians. And
+crocodiles do not always confine themselves to the water; for they are
+reputed to have an undesirable habit of wandering across country by
+night from stream to stream and, if these are far apart, hiding by day
+in any convenient tank. I have seen a large one in quite a small pond
+which was rapidly drying up and would contain no water in a week. A
+friend of mine in the Civil Service told me that once, riding into a
+village in his district in Eastern Bengal, he found it in a state of
+commotion and the whole population gathered in front of the local post
+office but keeping a respectful distance from the building; for on the
+steps of it was a crocodile about six feet long, snapping fiercely at
+anyone who approached it. It must have been overtaken by daylight when
+passing through the village on its<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_317" id="Page_317">[Pg 317]</a></span> way from water to water. My friend
+shot it, to the intense relief of the besieged postal officials inside
+the building.</p>
+
+<p>A crocodile would certainly be an unpleasant animal to meet on the land
+in the dark. However, I forded all the streams I came to without mishap.
+When I reached the Torsa, a broad and rapid river, across which, some
+thirty miles to the north, I had driven the man-killing rogue elephant
+months before, I found it unfordable. A large ferry-boat was plying
+across it; and in company with two carts and their bullocks and drivers,
+a wandering Pathan, several peasants and a gipsy family, I embarked on
+it. We had an adventurous voyage. Heavy squalls sweeping down from the
+mountains churned up the dark surface of the river and drove our
+shallow, top-heavy craft back. The few boatmen, striving with paddles
+and poles, to propel it against the wind, were helpless. I seized a long
+bamboo and tried to aid them. The Pathan followed my example, while the
+other natives on board sat watching our efforts apathetically. This
+infuriated him; and he fell upon them with kicks and cuffs until they
+rose, took up other bamboos and helped to pole the boat across. But such
+was the strength of the gale that it took us two hours to force a
+passage against it; and once or twice we were nearly capsized.</p>
+
+<p>Another couple of days or so brought me to the end of my task. When I
+saw the tin-roofed buildings of Alipur Duar rise before me on the road,
+I struck spurs to my pony and finished my sketch at a gallop. And the
+next day saw me back in Buxa Duar, glad to be among the friendly hills
+again, for the charm of the mountains was upon me. And on<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_318" id="Page_318">[Pg 318]</a></span> them I hoped
+to spend another year; but the gods willed otherwise.</p>
+
+<p>Such outposts as ours may not be as good for the training of the rank
+and file as service in large garrisons. But for the individual officer
+there is no better way of developing his power of initiative and
+teaching him to rely on himself than the command of these small
+detachments. And in these jungle outposts the sport to be found is an
+additional advantage. Save only active service what better education can
+he have than the pursuit of big game, when every sense is trained to be
+on the alert, and quick decision becomes a second nature? An eye for
+country, readiness of resource, generalship and courage is needed in
+this "image of war." The time he spends in the jungles is not wasted.</p>
+
+<p>The British military officer is a much-maligned individual. It seems an
+article of faith among civilians in England to believe that he leads a
+life of luxury, is ignorant of the science of his profession, and leaves
+the training and instruction of his men to be done by the sergeants. As
+to luxury&mdash;see him in his plainly furnished one room in barracks in the
+British Isles or his rat-infested Indian bungalow for which he pays an
+exorbitant rent! Examinations all through his service up to the rank of
+colonel; examinations for promotion to each grade, signalling, transport
+and musketry classes, each with its final examination, examinations in
+Indian and other foreign languages keep his brain from rusting for want
+of exercise. I have had to pass nine professional, and three obligatory
+language examinations myself during my service; and there are many who
+have passed more. That there is no army in the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_319" id="Page_319">[Pg 319]</a></span> world that has as many
+officers qualified as interpreters in foreign tongues as ours was well
+exemplified in North China during the Boxer War of 1900. And as for
+leaving his work to be done by the non-commissioned ranks, only a person
+absolutely ignorant of our army to-day would venture to make that
+assertion. Who created the auxiliary armies throughout the Empire, who
+made the Indian, the Egyptian, the West and the East African Armies? Not
+the drill-instructor, not Sergeant What's-his-name, but the British
+officer!</p>
+
+<p>Little did I think as I rode into Buxa, after making my sketch, that my
+time among my beloved mountains was drawing to a close. One day, not
+long afterwards, when out tiger-shooting I was taken suddenly ill and
+was barely able to remain in the howdah long enough to fire my rifle and
+bag the tiger. Hardly capable of sitting in the saddle I made my way on
+my pony back to my Station, there to lie on a sick-bed for over a month.
+And I raged at my helplessness when news was brought me during that time
+that the man-killing elephant I had fought with was back in our forests
+again. Within a few miles of us he surprised a Bhuttia woodcutter and
+his wife encamped in the jungle. He came upon them at dawn. They fled
+before him; but he overtook the woman, struck her down, and crushed her
+into a shapeless mass under his feet. When I heard of it I longed to be
+well enough to go out to meet him again. But the Fates forbade it.</p>
+
+<p>Thanks to the devoted care of our Indian doctor, Captain Sarkar, I.M.S.,
+I recovered sufficiently to be sent to England on sick leave, much
+against my will, for I had no desire to quit Buxa. But four<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_320" id="Page_320">[Pg 320]</a></span> sturdy
+<i>kahars</i> (bearers) carried me in a litter down the steep road from our
+little outpost through the forest to the train. Beside me walked Captain
+Balderston wishing me farewell and a speedy return to health. I little
+knew that I was never to see him again, as he shook my hand for the last
+time. Four months afterwards his sorrowing sepoys laid my cheery little
+comrade to rest in his grave in the deserted cemetery of Buxa. He died
+there all alone.</p>
+
+<p>As the train bore me out of the forest and through the green plains of
+Eastern Bengal, I raised myself from my couch in the railway carriage
+and with sadness in my heart looked back to where the white Picquet
+Towers shone out on the purple background of the fast-receding hills.</p>
+
+<p class="center"><br /><br />THE NORTHUMBERLAND PRESS, THORNTON STREET, NEWCASTLE-UPON-TYNE<br />
+</p>
+
+<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_8_8" id="Footnote_8_8"></a><a href="#FNanchor_8_8"><span class="label">[8]</span></a> "Peace be with you!"</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_9_9" id="Footnote_9_9"></a><a href="#FNanchor_9_9"><span class="label">[9]</span></a> "With you be Peace!"</p></div>
+
+</div>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<div class='tnote'><h3>Transcriber's Notes:</h3> <p>Obvious punctuation errors repaired.</p>
+<p>The remaining corrections made are indicated by dotted lines under the corrections. Scroll the mouse over the word and the original text will <ins title="Transcriber's Note: original reads 'apprear'">appear</ins>.
+This book uses both "country-side" and "countryside", "ferry-boat" and "ferryboat", "foothills" and "foot-hills", "goat-skin" and "goatskin", "head-gear" and "headgear", "woodcutter" and "wood-cutter".</p>
+
+
+
+</div>
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<pre>
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's Life in an Indian Outpost, by Gordon Casserly
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+
+</body>
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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Life in an Indian Outpost, by Gordon Casserly
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Life in an Indian Outpost
+
+Author: Gordon Casserly
+
+Release Date: October 17, 2011 [EBook #37782]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LIFE IN AN INDIAN OUTPOST ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Steve Klynsma, Suzanne Shell and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This
+file was produced from images generously made available
+by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+    LIFE IN AN
+    INDIAN OUTPOST
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+
+    BOOKS OF TRAVEL
+
+    Demy 8vo. Cloth Bindings. All fully Illustrated
+
+    THROUGH INDIA AND BURMA
+      WITH PEN AND BRUSH
+      By A. HUGH FISHER. 15s. net
+
+    ALONE IN WEST AFRICA
+      By MARY GAUNT. 15s. net
+
+    CHINA REVOLUTIONISED
+      By J. S. THOMPSON. 12s. 6d. net
+
+    NEW ZEALAND
+      By Dr MAX HERZ. 12s. 6d. net
+
+    THE DIARY OF A SOLDIER OF
+      FORTUNE
+      By STANLEY PORTAL HYATT. 12s. 6d. net
+
+    OFF THE MAIN TRACK
+      By STANLEY PORTAL HYATT. 12s. 6d. net
+
+    WITH THE LOST LEGION IN
+      NEW ZEALAND
+      By Colonel G. HAMILTON-BROWNE
+        ("Maori Browne"). 12s. 6d. net
+
+    A LOST LEGIONARY IN SOUTH
+      AFRICA
+      By Colonel G. HAMILTON-BROWNE
+        ("Maori Browne"). 12s 6d.
+
+    MY BOHEMIAN DAYS IN PARIS
+      By JULIUS M. PRICE. 10s. 6d. net
+
+    WITH GUN AND GUIDE IN
+      N.B. COLUMBIA
+      By T. MARTINDALE. 10s. 6d. net
+
+    SIAM
+      By PIERRE LOTI. 7s. 6d. net
+
+
+[Illustration: AFTER THE PROCLAMATION PARADE.]
+
+
+
+
+    LIFE IN AN
+    INDIAN OUTPOST
+
+    BY
+
+    MAJOR GORDON CASSERLY
+
+    (INDIAN ARMY)
+
+    AUTHOR OF
+    "THE LAND OF THE BOXERS; OR CHINA UNDER THE ALLIES"; ETC.
+
+    ILLUSTRATED
+
+    LONDON
+    T. WERNER LAURIE LTD.
+    CLIFFORD'S INN
+
+
+
+
+
+
+    CONTENTS
+
+    CHAPTER I
+
+    A FRONTIER POST
+                                                                     PAGE
+        Our first view of the Himalayas--Across India in a troop
+            train--A scattered regiment--An elephant-haunted
+            railway--Kinchinjunga--The great Terai
+            Jungle--Rajabhatkawa--In the days of Warren
+            Hastings--Hillmen--Roving Chinese--We arrive at Buxa
+            Road--Relieved officers--An undesirable outpost--March
+            through the forest--The hills--A mountain road--Lovely
+            scenery--Buxa Duar--A lonely Station--The labours of an
+            Indian Army officer--Varied work--The frontier of
+            Bhutan--A gate of India--A Himalayan paradise--The
+            fort--Intrusive monkeys--The cantonment--The Picquet
+            Towers--The bazaar--The cemetery--Forgotten
+            graves--Tragedies of loneliness--From Bhutan to the sea     1
+
+
+    CHAPTER II
+
+    LIFE ON OUTPOST
+
+        The daily routine--Drill in the Indian Army--Hindustani--A
+            lingua franca--The divers tongues of India--The sepoys'
+            lodging--Their ablutions--An Indian's fare--An Indian
+            regiment--Rajput customs--The hospital--The doctor at
+            work--Queer patients--A vicious bear--The Officers'
+            Mess--Plain diet--Water--The simple life--A bachelor's
+            establishment--A faithful Indian--Fighting the
+            trusts--Transport in the hills--My bungalow--Amusements
+            in Buxa--Dull days--Asirgarh--A lonely
+            outpost--Poisoning a General--A storied
+            fortress--Soldier ghosts--A spectral officer--The
+            tragedy of isolation--A daring panther--A day on an
+            elephant--Sport in the jungle--_Gooral_ stalking in the
+            hills--Strange pets--A friendly deer--A terrified
+            visitor--A walking menagerie--Elephants tame and
+            wild--Their training--Their caution--Their rate of
+            speed--Fondness for water--Quickly reconciled to
+            captivity--Snakes--A narrow escape--A king-cobra; the
+            hamadryad--Hindu worship of the cobra--General Sir
+            Hamilton Bower--An adventurous career--E. F.
+            Knight--The General's inspection                           19
+
+
+    CHAPTER III
+
+    THE BORDERLAND OF BHUTAN
+
+        The races along our North-East Border--Tibet--The
+            Mahatmas--Nepal---Bhutan--Its geography--Its
+            founder--Its Government--Religious rule--Analogy
+            between Bhutan and old Japan--_Penlops_ and
+            _Daimios_--The Tongsa _Penlop_--Reincarnation of the
+            Shaptung Rimpoche--China's claim to Bhutan--Capture of
+            the Maharajah of Cooch Behar--Bogle's mission--Raids
+            and outrages--The Bhutan War of 1864-5--The Duars--The
+            annual subsidy--Bhutan to-day--Religion--An impoverished
+            land--Bridges--Soldiers in Bhutan--Thefeudal
+            system--Administration of justice--Tyranny of
+            officials--The Bhuttias--Ugly women--Our neighbours in
+            Buxa--A Bhuttia festival--Archery--A banquet--A
+            dance--A Scotch half-caste--Chunabatti--Nature of the
+            borderland--Disappearing rivers--The Terai--Tea
+            gardens--A planter's life--The club--Wild beasts in the
+            path--The Indian planters--Misplaced sympathy--The tea
+            industry--Profits and losses--Planters' salaries--Their
+            daily life--Bhuttia raids on tea gardens--Fearless
+            planters--An unequal fight                                 45
+
+
+    CHAPTER IV
+
+    A DURBAR IN BUXA
+
+        Notice of the Political Officer's approaching visit--A
+            Durbar--The Bhutan Agent and the interpreter--Arrival
+            of the Deb Zimpun--An official call--Exchange of
+            presents--Bhutanese fruit--A return call--Native
+            liquor--A welcome gift--The Bhutanese
+            musicians--Entertaining the Envoy--A thirsty Lama--A
+            rifle match--An awkward official request--My
+            refusal--The Deb Zimpun removes to Chunabatti--Arrival
+            of the treasure--The Political Officer comes--His
+            retinue--The Durbar--The Guard of Honour--The
+            visitors--The Envoy comes in state--Bhutanese
+            courtesies--The spectators--The payment of the
+            subsidy--Lunch in Mess--Entertaining a difficult
+            guest--The official dinner--An archery match--Sikh
+            quoits--Field firing--Bhutanese
+            impressed--Blackmail--British subjects captured--Their
+            release--Tashi's case--Justice in Bhutan--Tyranny of
+            officials--Tashi refuses to quit Buxa--The next payment
+            of the subsidy--The treaty--Misguided humanitarians        64
+
+
+    CHAPTER V
+
+    IN THE JUNGLE
+
+        An Indian jungle--The trees--Creepers--Orchids--The
+            undergrowth--On an elephant in the jungle--Forcing a
+            passage--Wild bees--Red ants--A lost river--A _sambhur_
+            hind--Spiders--Jungle fowl--A stag--_Hallal_--Wounded
+            beasts--A halt--Skinning the stag--Ticks--Butcher
+            apprentices--Natural rope--Water in the air--_Pani
+            bel_--Trail of wild elephants--Their habits--An
+            impudent monkey--An adventure with a rogue
+            elephant--Fire lines--Wild dogs--A giant squirrel--The
+            barking deer--A good bag--Spotted deer--Protective
+            colouring--Dangerous beasts--Natives' dread of bears--A
+            bison calf--The fascination of the forest--The generous
+            jungle--Wild vegetables--Natural products--A home in
+            the trees--Forest Lodge the First--Destroyed by a wild
+            elephant--Its successor--A luncheon-party in the
+            air--The salt lick--Discovery of a coal mine--A
+            monkey's parliament--The jungle by night                   83
+
+
+    CHAPTER VI
+
+    ROGUES OF THE FOREST
+
+        The lord of the forest--Wild elephants in India--_Kheddah_
+            operations in the Terai--How rogues are made--Rogues
+            attack villages--Highway robbers--Assault on a railway
+            station--A police convoy--A poacher's death--Chasing an
+            officer--My first encounter with a rogue--Stopping a
+            charge--Difficulty of killing an elephant--The law on
+            rogue shooting--A Government gazette--A tame elephant
+            shot by the Maharajah of Cooch Behar--Executing an
+            elephant--A chance shot--A planter's escape--Attack on
+            a tame elephant--The _mahout's_ peril--Jhansi's
+            wounds--Changes among the officers in Buxa--A Gurkha's
+            terrible death--The beginner's luck--Indian and Malayan
+            _sambhur_--A shot out of season--A fruitless
+            search--Jhansi's flight--A scout attacked by a
+            bear--Advertising for a truant--The agony
+            column--Runaway elephants--A fatal fraud--Jhansi's
+            return                                                    104
+
+
+    CHAPTER VII
+
+    A FIGHT WITH AN ELEPHANT
+
+        We sight a rogue--A sudden onslaught--A wild elephant's
+            attack--Shooting under difficulties--Stopping a
+            rush--Repeated attacks--An invulnerable foe--Darkness
+            stops the pursuit--A council of war--Picking up the
+            trail--A _muckna_--A female elephant--Photographing a
+            lady--A good sitter--A stampede--A gallant
+            Rajput--Attacking on foot--A hazardous feat--A narrow
+            escape--Final charge--A bivouac in the forest--Dangers
+            of the night--A long chase--Planter
+            hospitality--Another stampede--A career of
+            crime--Eternal hope--A king-cobra--Abandoning the
+            pursuit--An unrepentant villain--In the moment of
+            danger                                                    124
+
+
+    CHAPTER VIII
+
+    IN TIGER LAND
+
+        The tiger in India--His reputation--Wounded
+            tigers--Man-eaters--Game killers and cattle thieves--A
+            tiger's residence--Chance meetings--Methods of tiger
+            hunting--Beating with elephants--Sitting up--A
+            sportsman's patience--The charm of a night watch--A
+            cautious beast--A night over a kill--An unexpected
+            visitor--A tantalising tiger--A tiger at Asirgarh--A
+            chance shot--Buffaloes as trackers--Panthers--The wrong
+            prey--A beat for tiger--The Colonel wounds a tiger--A
+            night march--An elusive quarry--A successful beat--A
+            watery grave--Skinning a tiger                            141
+
+
+    CHAPTER IX
+
+    A FOREST MARCH
+
+        Reasons for showing the flag--Soldierless Bengal--Planning
+            the march--Difficulties of transport--The first day's
+            march--Sepoys in the jungle--The water-creeper--The
+            commander loses his men--The bivouac at
+            Rajabhatkawa--Alipur Duar--A small Indian
+            Station--Long-delayed pay--The Subdivisional Officer--A
+            _dak_ bungalow--The sub-judge--Brahmin pharisees--The
+            _nautch_--A dusty march--Santals--A mission
+            settlement--Crossing a river--Rafts--A bivouac in a tea
+            garden--A dinner-party in an 80-lb. tent--Bears at
+            night--A daring tiger--Chasing a tiger on elephants--In
+            the forest again--A fickle river--A strange animal--The
+            Maharajah of Cooch Behar's experiment--A scare and a
+            disappointment--Across the Raidak--A woman killed by a
+            bear--A planters' club--Hospitality in the jungle--The
+            zareba--Impromptu sports--The Alarm Stakes--The raft
+            race--Hathipota--Jainti                                   174
+
+
+    CHAPTER X
+
+    THROUGH FIRE AND WATER
+
+        India in the hot weather--A land of torment--The
+            drought--Forest fires--The cholera huts
+            burned--Fighting the flames--Death of a sepoy--The bond
+            between British officers and their men--The sepoy's
+            funeral--A fortnight's vigil--Saving the Station--The
+            hills ablaze--A sublime spectacle--The devastated
+            forest--Fallen leaves on fire--Our elephants'
+            peril--Saving the zareba--A beat for game in the
+            jungle--Trying to catch a wild elephant--A moonlight
+            ramble--We meet a bear--The burst of the Monsoons--A
+            dull existence--Three hundred inches of rain--The
+            monotony of thunderstorms--A changed
+            world--Leeches--Monster hailstones--Surveyors caught in
+            a storm--A brink in the Rains--The revived
+            jungle--Useless lightning-conductors--The Monsoon
+            again--The loneliness of Buxa                             196
+
+
+    CHAPTER XI
+
+    IN THE PALACE OF THE MAHARAJAH
+
+        The Durbar--Outside the palace--The State elephants--The
+            soldiery--The Durbar Hall--Officials and gentry of the
+            State--The throne--Queen Victoria's banner--The hidden
+            ladies--_Purdah nashin_--Arrival of the _Dewan_--The
+            Maharajah's entry--The Sons' Salute--A chivalrous
+            Indian custom--_Nuzzurs_--The Dewan's task--The
+            Maharani--An Indian reformer--_Bramo Samaj_--Pretty
+            princesses--An informal banquet--The _nautch_--A
+            moonlight ride--The Maharajah--A soldier and a
+            sportsman--Cooch Behar--The palace--A dinner-party--The
+            heir's birthday celebrations--Schoolboys'
+            sports--Indian amateur theatricals--An evening in the
+            palace--A panther-drive--Exciting sport--Death of the
+            panther--Partridge shooting on elephants--A stray
+            rhinoceros--Prince Jit's luck--Friendly intercourse
+            between Indians and Englishmen--An unjust complaint       213
+
+
+    CHAPTER XII
+
+    A MILITARY TRAGEDY
+
+        In the Mess--A gloomy conversation--Murder in the army--A
+            gallant officer--Running amuck on a rifle-range--"Was
+            that a shot?"--The alarm--The native officer's
+            report--The "fall in"--A dying man--A search round the
+            fort--A narrow escape--The flight--Search parties--The
+            inquiry into the crime--A fifty miles' cordon--An
+            unexpected visit--Havildar Ranjit Singh on the trail--A
+            night march through the forest--A fearsome ride--The
+            lost detachment--An early start--The ferry--The
+            prisoner--A well-planned capture--The prisoner's
+            story--The march to Hathipota--Return to the fort--A
+            well-guarded captive--A weary wait--A journey to
+            Calcutta--The escort--Excitement among the passengers
+            on the steamer--American globe-trotters--The court
+            martial--A callous criminal--Appeal to the
+            Viceroy--Sentence of death--The execution                 232
+
+
+    CHAPTER XIII
+
+    IN AN INDIAN HILL STATION
+
+        To Darjeeling--Railway journeys in India--Protection for
+            solitary ladies--Reappearing rivers--Siliguri--At the
+            foot of the Himalayas--A mountain railway--Through the
+            jungle--Looping the loop--View of the
+            Plains--Darjeeling--Civilisation seven thousand feet
+            high--Varied types--View from the Chaurasta--White
+            workers in India--Life in Hill
+            Stations--Lieutenant-Governors--A "dull time" in
+            Darjeeling--The bazaar--Types of hill
+            races--Turquoises--Tiger-skins for tourists--The
+            Amusement Club--The Everlasting
+            Snows--Kinchinjunga--The bachelors' ball--A Government
+            House ball--The marriage-market value of Indian
+            civilians--Less demand for military
+            men--Theatricals--Lebong Races--Picturesque
+            race-goers--Ladies in India--Husband hunters--The empty
+            life of an Englishwoman--The dangers of Hill
+            Stations--A wife four months in the year--The hills
+            _taboo_ for the subaltern--Back to Buxa                   262
+
+
+    CHAPTER XIV
+
+    A JUNGLE FORT
+
+        I decide on Fort Bower--Felling trees--A big
+            python--Clearing the jungle--Laying out the
+            post--Stockades and _Sungars_--The bastions--_Panjis_
+            and _abattis_--The huts--Jungle materials--Ingenious
+            craftsmen--The furniture--Sentry-posts--Alarm
+            signals--The _machicoulis_ gallery--Booby-traps--The
+            water-lifter--The hospital--Chloroforming a
+            monkey--Jungle dogs--An extraordinary shot--An unlucky
+            deer--A meeting with a panther--The alarm--Sohanpal
+            Singh and the tiger--Turning out to the rescue--The
+            General's arrival--Closed gates--The inspection--The
+            "Bower" and the "'Ump"--Flares and bombs--The General's
+            praise--Night firing--A Christmas camp                    280
+
+
+    CHAPTER XV
+
+    FAREWELL TO THE HILLS
+
+        The Proclamation Parade--An unsteady charger--"Three cheers
+            for the King-Emperor!"--The Indian Army's loyalty--King
+            George and the sepoys--A land held by the sword--An
+            American Cavalry officer's visit--Hospitality of
+            American officers--Killing by kindness--The brotherhood
+            of soldiers--The bond between American and British
+            troops sealed by blood--U.S. officers' opinion of us--A
+            roaring tiger--Prince Jitendra Narayen--His visit to
+            Buxa--An intoxicated monkey--Projected visits--A road
+            report--A sketch fourteen feet long--The
+            start--Jalpaiguri--A planters' dinner-party--Crossing
+            the Tista River--A quicksand--A narrow
+            escape--Map-making in the army--In the China War of
+            1860--Officers' sketches used for the Canton Railway
+            survey--The country south of the hills--A sepoy's
+            explanation of Kinchinjunga--A native officer's theory
+            of the cause of earthquakes--Types on the road--After
+            the day's work--A man-eater--A brave postman--Human
+            beings killed by wild animals and snakes in
+            India--Crocodiles--Shooting a monster--Crocodiles on
+            land--Crossing the Torsa--Value of small
+            detachments--The maligned military officer--A life of
+            examinations--The man-killing elephant again--Death of
+            a Bhuttia woman--Ordered home--A last good-bye to a
+            comrade--Captain Balderston's death--A last view of the
+            hills                                                     296
+
+
+
+
+LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
+
+
+    After the Proclamation Parade                 _Frontispiece_
+
+    Buxa Duar                                _To face page_   16
+
+    "The fort was built on a knoll"                 "         16
+
+    Rajput sepoys cooking                           "         24
+
+    British and Indian officers                     "         24
+
+    My double company                               "         28
+
+    My bachelor establishment                       "         28
+
+    A kneeling elephant                             "         36
+
+    "The ladies of the hamlet came forward"         "         54
+
+    Bhuttia drummers                                "         54
+
+    Chunabatti                                      "         56
+
+    "From my doorstep I watched them coming
+    down the hill"                                  "         66
+
+    The Deb Zimpun's prisoners                      "         66
+
+    The Durbar in Buxa                              "         74
+
+    A _sambhur_ stag and my elephant                "         90
+
+    Bringing home the bag                           "         90
+
+    Forest Lodge the First                          "        100
+
+    Forest Lodge the Second                         "        100
+
+    "The _mahout_ was holding up the head"          "        110
+
+    Subhedar Sohanpal Singh                         "        128
+
+    "We saw another elephant"                       "        130
+
+    The tiger's Lying in state                      "        172
+
+    The tiger's last home                           "        172
+
+    "My sepoys drilling"                            "        178
+
+    Buglers and non-commissioned officers of
+    my detachment                                   "        178
+
+    The walled face of Fort Bower over the
+    river                                           "        282
+
+    The stockade and ditch of Fort Bower            "        282
+
+    The gate with wicket open and drawbridge
+    lowered                                         "        286
+
+    Captain Balderston inside the stockade          "        286
+
+    Bringing home the General's dinner              "        290
+
+    "I was mounted on a country bred pony"          "        296
+
+    "An elephant loaded with my stores and
+    baggage"                                        "        296
+
+
+
+
+LIFE IN AN INDIAN OUTPOST
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I
+
+A FRONTIER POST
+
+    Our first view of the Himalayas--Across India in a troop
+        train--A scattered regiment--An elephant-haunted
+        railway--Kinchinjunga--The great Terai
+        Jungle--Rajabhatkawa--In the days of Warren
+        Hastings--Hillmen--Roving Chinese--We arrive at Buxa
+        Road--Relieved officers--An undesirable outpost--March
+        through the forest--The hills--A mountain road--Lovely
+        scenery--Buxa Duar--A lonely Station--The labours of an
+        Indian Army officer--Varied work--The frontier of
+        Bhutan--A gate of India--A Himalayan paradise--The
+        fort--Intrusive monkeys--The cantonment--The Picquet
+        Towers--The bazaar--The cemetery--Forgotten
+        graves--Tragedies of loneliness--From Bhutan to the
+        sea.
+
+
+Against the blue sky to the north lay a dark blur that, as our troop
+train ran on through the level plains of Eastern Bengal, rose ever
+higher and took shape--the distant line of the Himalayas. Around us the
+restful though tame scenery of the little Cooch Behar State. The
+chess-board pattern of mud-banked rice fields, long groves of the
+graceful feathery bamboo, here and there a tiny hamlet of palm-thatched
+huts--on their low roofs great sprawling green creepers with white
+blotches that look like skulls but are only ripe melons. But the dark
+outlines of the distant mountains drew my gaze and brought the heads of
+my sepoys out of the carriage windows to stare at them.
+
+For somewhere on the face of those hills was Buxa Duar, the little fort
+that was to be our home for the next two years.
+
+For four days my detachment of two hundred men of the 120th Rajputana
+Infantry had been whirled across India from west to east towards it.
+From Baroda we had come--Baroda with its military cantonment set in an
+English-like park, its vast native city with the gaily painted houses
+and narrow streets where the Gaikwar's Cavalry rode with laced jackets
+and slung pelisses like the Hussars of old, and his sentries mounted
+guard over gold and silver cannons in a dingy backyard. Where in low
+rooms, set out in glass cases, as in a cheap draper's shop, were the
+famous pearl-embroidered carpets and gorgeous jewels of the State, worth
+a king's ransom.
+
+Four days of travel over the plains of India with their closely
+cultivated fields, mud-walled villages, stony hills and stretches of
+scrub jungle, where an occasional jackal slunk away from the train or an
+antelope paused in its bounding flight to look back at the strange iron
+monster. Across the sacred Ganges where Allahabad lies at its junction
+with the River Jumna. The regiment was on its way to garrison widely
+separated posts in outlying parts of the Indian Empire and neighbouring
+countries. Two companies had already gone to be divided between Chumbi
+in Tibet and Gantok in the dependent State of Sikkim, and to furnish the
+guard to our Agent at Gyantse.
+
+The month was December; and they had started in August to cross the
+sixteen-thousand-feet high passes in the Himalayas before the winter
+snows blocked them. The regimental headquarters, with four companies,
+was on its way to embark on the steamers which would convey them a
+fourteen days' journey on the giant rivers Ganges and Brahmaputra to
+Dibrugarh and Sadiya in Assam.
+
+At Benares my two companies had parted from the rest and entered another
+troop train which carried us into Eastern Bengal.
+
+Every day for three or four hours our trains had halted at some little
+wayside station to enable the men to get out, make their cooking-places,
+and prepare their food for the day. The previous night my detachment had
+detrained at Gitaldaha, where we had to change again on to a narrow
+gauge railway, two feet six inches in width, which would take us through
+Cooch Behar to our destination. The railway officials informed me that
+we must stay in the station all night, as the trains on this line ran
+only by daylight. I asked the reason of this.
+
+"They cannot go by night on account of the wild animals," was the reply.
+
+"The wild animals?" I echoed in surprise.
+
+"Yes; the line runs through a forest, the Terai Jungle, full of
+elephants and bison. Three months ago one of our engines was derailed by
+a wild elephant and the driver badly injured. And not long before that
+another rogue elephant held up a station on the line, stopped a train,
+blockaded the officials in the buildings, and broke a tusk trying to
+root up the platform."
+
+And when daylight dawned and I could see the toy engine and carriages, I
+was not surprised at the fear of encountering an elephant on the line.
+
+Now on our fifth day of travel we were nearing the end of the journey.
+We had passed the capital of Cooch Behar and were approaching Alipur
+Duar, the last station before the Terai Forest is reached. Suddenly,
+high in the air above the now distinct line of hills, stood out in the
+brilliant sunlight the white crest and snowy peaks of Kinchinjunga,
+twenty-eight thousand feet high, and nearly one hundred and twenty miles
+away. Past Alipur Duar, and then hills and snow-clad summits were lost
+to sight as our little train plunged from the sunny plain into the deep
+shadows of the famous Terai Forest--the wonderful jungle that stretches
+east and west along the foot of the Himalayas, and clothes their lowest
+slopes. In whose recesses roam the wild elephant, the rhinoceros and the
+bison, true lords of the woods; where deadlier foes to man than these,
+malaria and blackwater fever hold sway and lay low the mightiest hunter
+before the Lord. And standing on the back platform of our tiny carriage
+my subaltern and I strove to pierce its gloomy depths, half hoping to
+see the giant bulk of a wild elephant or a rhinoceros. But nothing met
+our gaze save the great orchid-clad trees, the graceful fronds of
+monster ferns, and the dense undergrowth that would deny a passage to
+anything less powerful than bisons or elephants.
+
+In a sudden clearing in the heart of the forest, the train stopped at a
+small station near which stood a few bamboo huts and a gaunt,
+two-storied wooden house in which, we afterwards learned, an English
+forest officer lived his lonely life. The place was called Rajabhatkawa,
+which in the vernacular means, "The Rajah ate his food." It was so named
+because, nearly one hundred and thirty years before, in the days of
+Warren Hastings, a Rajah of Cooch Behar ate his first meal there after
+his release from captivity among the hill tribesmen of Bhutan who had
+carried him away into their mountain fastnesses. They had released him
+at the urgent instance of a British captain and two hundred sepoys who
+had followed them up and captured three of their forts.
+
+Among the crowd of natives on the platform at this station were several
+of various hill races, Bhuttias and Gurkhas, with the small eyes and
+flat nose of the Mongolian. I was surprised to see two Chinamen in blue
+linen suits and straw hats, fanning themselves and smoking cigarettes,
+as much at home as if they were on the Bund in Shanghai or in Queen's
+Road in Hong Kong. But later on I learned that Rajabhatkawa led to
+several tea gardens, where Chinese carpenters are always welcome. These
+men are generally from Canton, the inhabitants of which city emigrate
+freely. I have met them in Calcutta, Penang, Singapore, Manila, and San
+Francisco.
+
+On again through the jungle our train passed for another eight miles,
+and then drew up at a small station of one low, stone building with a
+nameboard nearly as big as itself, which bore the words "Buxa Road." It
+stood in a little clearing in the forest, where the ground was piled
+high with felled trees, ready to be dispatched to Calcutta. This was the
+end of our railway journey.
+
+The sepoys tumbled eagerly out of the train, threw their rolls of
+bedding out of the compartments, fell in on the platform and piled arms,
+and then turned to with a will to unload the heavy baggage from the
+brake-vans. A number of tall, bearded Mohammedans, men of the detachment
+of the Punjabi Regiment we were replacing, were at the station. Their
+major came forward to welcome me, and expressed his extreme pleasure in
+meeting the man who was to relieve him and enable him to quit a most
+undesirable place.
+
+This was a blow to me; for I had pictured life in this little outpost as
+an ideal existence in a sportsman's paradise.
+
+"What? Don't you like Buxa Duar?" I asked in surprise.
+
+"Like it?" he exclaimed vehemently. "Most certainly not. In my time I
+have been stationed in some poisonous places in Upper Burmah, when I was
+in the Military Police; but the worst of them was heaven to Buxa."
+
+I gasped with horror. "Is it as bad as all that? How long have you been
+here?"
+
+"Three weeks," replied the major; "and that was three weeks too long.
+Before you have been here a fortnight you will be praying to all your
+gods to take you anywhere else."
+
+This was pleasant. The subaltern of the Punjabis now came up and was
+introduced to me. He had been six months in Buxa; and _his_ opinion of
+it was too lurid to print. My subaltern, who had been superintending the
+unloading of the baggage, joined us and in his turn was regaled with
+these cheering criticisms of our new home. His face fell; for, like me,
+he had been looking forward eagerly to being quartered in this little
+outpost, where, we had been told, the sport was excellent. Fortunately
+men's tastes differ; and after eighteen months' experience of this
+much-abused Buxa, I liked it better than any other place I have ever
+served in in all my soldiering.
+
+I learned from our new friends that the fort was six miles from the
+railway and fifteen hundred feet above it; so I inquired for the
+transport to convey our baggage there.
+
+Before leaving Baroda the quartermaster of our regiment had written to
+the nearest civil official of the district, requesting him to provide me
+with a hundred coolies for the purpose. There were also, I knew, three
+Government transport elephants in charge of the detachment quartered in
+Buxa Duar. These I saw at the station engaged in conveying the baggage
+of the Punjabis, who were to leave on the following day. I asked for my
+hundred coolies.
+
+The major laughed when I told him of our quartermaster's requisition.
+"Your regimental headquarters," he said, "evidently did not realise what
+a desolate, uninhabited place this is. A hundred coolies? Why, with
+difficulty I have procured eight; four of them women. You will have to
+leave your baggage here under a guard, and have it brought up piecemeal
+on the elephants after our departure. And now, if you will fall in your
+men, I'll lead the way up to Buxa and gladly take my last look at it."
+
+A baggage guard having been left at the station with our food and
+cooking-pots, etc., my detachment fell in, formed fours and followed us.
+From the clearing near the railway a broad road, cut through the forest,
+led towards the hills. For the first three miles it was comparatively
+level; and we swung along at a good pace between the tall trees rising
+from the dense undergrowth. Breaking the solemn silence of the forest, I
+eagerly plied our new friends with questions on the chances of sport
+that Buxa afforded. But I found that they had done little in that way
+and could give me scant information. The subaltern had shot a tiger on a
+tea garden, but had hardly ever gone into the jungle. I learned,
+however, that out of the three transport elephants now at my disposal,
+two were trained for shooting purposes and were remarkably steady. This
+at least was good news.
+
+Towards the end of the third mile the road began to rise; and when it
+emerged into a small clearing we halted for a few minutes. We were now
+at the very foot of the hills; and from here we could see them for the
+first time since our train had entered the forest. High above our heads
+they towered. At first low, rounded, tree-clad buttresses of the giant
+ramparts of India, long spurs thrust out from the flanks of the
+mountains. Then lofty rugged walls of rock, jagged peaks, dark even in
+the brilliant sunshine, precipitous cliffs over which thin threads of
+water leapt and seemed to hang wavering down the steep sides.
+
+In the clearing stood two or three wooden huts; and a hundred yards
+farther on was a long and lofty open structure, with a thatched roof
+supported on rough wood pillars. The flooring was of pounded earth with
+three brick "standings," with iron rings inserted in them; for this was
+the Peelkhana or elephant stables of the detachment. The clearing was
+dignified with the euphonious name of Santrabari. Past the Peelkhana the
+road entered the hills. At first it wound around their flanks, crossing
+by wooden bridges over clear streams; then, rising ever higher, it
+climbed the steep slopes in zigzags. Along above a brawling mountain
+torrent, tumbling over rounded rocks in a deep ravine it went, across
+wooded spurs and under stony cliffs. Huge bushes flamed with strange red
+and purple flowers, thick shrubs hung out great white bells to tempt the
+giant scarlet and black butterflies hovering overhead. Above our path
+tall trees stretched out their long limbs covered with the glossy green
+leaves of orchids. From trunk to trunk swung creepers thick as a ship's
+hawser, trailing in long festoons or interlacing and writhing around
+each other like great snakes.
+
+But, as we climbed, the forest fell behind us. The trees stood farther
+apart, grew fewer and smaller. The undergrowth became denser. Tall
+brakes of the drooping plumes of the bamboo, thick-growing thorny
+bushes, plantain trees with their broad leaves and hanging bunches of
+bananas, the straight slender stems of sago palms with trailing clusters
+of nut-like fruit springing up from tangled vegetation. A troop of
+little brown monkeys leapt in alarm from tree to tree and vanished over
+a cliff. With a measured flapping of wings a brilliantly plumaged
+hornbill passed over our heads. The road crossed and recrossed the
+mountain stream and led into a deep cleft among the hills towering
+precipitously over us. And looking up I saw on the edge of a cliff the
+corner of a building. It was the fort of Buxa at last. But before we
+reached it a few hundred feet more of climbing had to be done; and we
+panted wearily upward. Through a narrow cutting we emerged on a stretch
+of artificially levelled soil, the parade ground, and halted gladly. We
+stood in a deep horseshoe among the mountains, nearly two thousand feet
+above the plains. Before us, peeping out from low trees and flowering
+bushes, were a few bungalows; and above them towered a conical peak, its
+summit another four thousand feet higher still. From it right and left
+ran down on either side of us two long wooded spurs; and on knolls on
+them stood three white square towers. Behind us, on a long mound, were
+fortified barracks with loopholed walls. These formed the fort; and this
+was Buxa Duar. We had reached our destination.
+
+The major first showed our men to their new quarters; and I told them
+off to their different barrack-rooms, and saw them settled down. Then he
+and his subaltern led us to the Mess where we met a third officer, the
+doctor, a young lieutenant in the Indian Medical Service named Smith,
+who was to remain on in Buxa in medical charge of my detachment. Then
+ensued the wearisome task of taking over charge of all the Government
+property in the Station, from the rifle-range and the ammunition in the
+magazine to picks and shovels, buckets and waterproof coats. We had next
+to do our own bargaining over the buying of the store of tinned
+provisions, jams, pickles and wines in the Mess, as well as the scanty
+furniture in it. Among other things we purchased were two Bhutanese
+mountain sheep--huge creatures with horns. Meat being a rare commodity
+in Buxa, the major had bought them from a Bhuttia from across the
+border. Not needing to kill them at once, he had let them roam freely
+about the Mess garden until, as he said, they had become such pets that
+he could not harden his heart sufficiently to order them to be killed
+for food. My subaltern and I mentally resolved not to allow them to
+become thus endeared to us by long association.
+
+Dinner in the Mess that night was quite a pleasant function, everyone
+but the doctor being in the best of spirits. As he was not to take his
+departure on the morrow, he was not as cheerful as the two Punjabi
+officers, who were delighted to think that they were so soon to leave
+Buxa. They had, perhaps, reason to rejoice at their return to
+civilisation and the society of their kind. They had come there from
+Tibet, where they had been quartered in the wilds from the end of the
+fighting in the war of 1904 to the evacuation of the country by our
+troops. They frankly pitied us for the prospect of two years' exile in
+this isolated post, where a strange white face was rarely seen. They
+fully expatiated on the loneliness of it. In a Bhuttia village a few
+miles over the hills there was an elderly American lady missionary. Down
+in the forest below a few English tea-planters were scattered about, the
+nearest fifteen or twenty miles from us. During the winter we might
+expect an occasional visitor, a General or our Colonel on inspection
+duty, or a Public Works Department Official come to see to the state of
+the road or the repair of the buildings. During the rainy season, which
+lasts seven months, from April to the end of October, with a rainfall
+therein from two hundred to three hundred inches, we would see no
+stranger and probably be cut off from outside intercourse by the washing
+away of the roads. As during those months the forest below would be
+filled with the deadly Terai fever, we could not solace our loneliness
+by sport which rendered the remainder of the year bearable. And as the
+jungle around us, which grew to our very doors would, during the Rains,
+swarm with leeches which fasten in scores on man or beast if given the
+chance, we would scarcely be able to put foot outside our bungalows,
+even if tempted to face the awful thunderstorms and torrential Rains.
+
+All this certainly did not sound cheering; so I changed the subject and
+asked for information regarding my duties in the Station. I learned
+that, in addition to my work of my detachment, I would hold the proud
+but unpaid post of Officer Commanding Buxa Duar--an appointment which
+would entail voluminous routine correspondence on me. I would also,
+again without extra pay, represent law and order by being Cantonment
+Magistrate, third class, with power to award imprisonment up to three
+months' hard labour. Verily, the duties that fall to the lot of the
+Indian Army Officer are many and various. Besides being a soldier he is
+also a schoolmaster, having to set and correct examination papers for
+certificates of education. He must be something of a master tailor to
+decide on the fit and alteration of his men's new uniforms; a clerk to
+cope with interminable correspondence; an accountant to wrestle with
+complicated accounts. He must be an architect and builder to direct and
+oversee the erection and repair of the barracks, which is done by the
+sepoys themselves. Bad for him if he is not a good business man, for he
+must often give out contracts for hundreds or thousands of pounds, and
+see that they are properly carried out. A lawyer, to sit on or preside
+at courts martial, or to administer the law to civilians as Cantonment
+Magistrate. And sometimes it falls to his lot to replace the chaplain in
+a military Station, read the lessons in church, or, perhaps, the Burial
+Service over the grave of a comrade.
+
+Next morning the detachment of Punjabis marched off; and as we watched
+their files disappear down the winding mountain road, we three
+Britishers certainly felt a little isolated and cut off from our kind.
+Before the small column passed the last bend which would hide them from
+our eyes, the major turned to wave us a cheery farewell. Poor fellow,
+not long after, when in command of his regiment, he died of cholera in
+Benares.
+
+However, our depression was momentary; and we turned away to begin
+making ourselves acquainted with our new surroundings. Buxa Duar stands
+guard over one of the gates of India, which opens into it from the
+little-known country of Bhutan. It commands a pass through the Himalayas
+into the fertile plains of Eastern Bengal, a pass that has run with
+blood many a time in the past. Through it fierce raiders have poured to
+the laying waste of the rich plains below. Back through it weeping women
+and weary children have passed to slavery in a savage land. And were the
+strong hand of Briton lifted from it, its jungle-clad hills would see
+again the blood-dyed columns of fighting men and the sad processions of
+wailing captives. To-day its gloomy depths are peaceful. But to-morrow,
+when the menace of a regenerated and aggressive China becomes real, its
+rocky walls may once more echo to the sounds of war.
+
+Three thousand feet above our heads, two miles away in a straight line,
+but six by the winding mule track, lay the boundary-line between the
+Indian Empire and Bhutana--a line that runs along the mountain tops and
+rarely fringes the plains. It curves round the northern slopes of the
+conical hill that towers above Buxa, Sinchula, the "Hill of the Misty
+Pass."
+
+Buxa Duar has been the scene of fierce fighting even in the short
+history of England's rule in India. It was first taken by the British
+from the Bhutanese in the days of Warren Hastings, when in 1772 Captain
+Jones and his small column of sepoys swept them back into their
+mountainous land. It was given back the following year. In 1864 we again
+went to war with Bhutan and captured Buxa; and, although throughout the
+winter of that year, our troops were closely besieged in it, it has
+remained in our possession ever since. Formerly garrisoned by a whole
+regiment, it is now occupied merely by a double company--two hundred
+men--of an Indian Infantry battalion. They are the only troops between
+the Bhutan border and Calcutta--three hundred miles away.
+
+In all my wanderings I have seldom seen a lovelier spot than this lonely
+outpost. Nestling in the little hollow on the giant Himalayas, its few
+bungalows stood in gardens flaming with the brilliant colours of
+bougainvillias and poinsettias, surrounded by hedges of wild roses, and
+shaded by clusters of tall bamboos and the dense foliage of mango trees.
+The encircling arms of the mountains held it closely pressed. The jungle
+clothed the steep slopes around it, and rioted to our very doors. No
+sound disturbed its peace, save the shrill notes of our bugles or the
+chattering of monkeys by day, and the sudden harsh cry of barking deer
+or the monotonous bell-like note of the night-jar after the sun had set.
+
+The building dignified by the name of fort was in reality an irregular
+square of one-storied stone barracks, their outer faces and
+iron-shuttered windows loopholed for rifle fire. They were connected by
+a low stone wall pierced with three gateways, closed at night or on an
+alarm by iron gates, which slid into place on wheels. The fort was built
+on a knoll, which on three sides fell perpendicularly for two or three
+hundred feet in rocky precipices from ten to forty yards from the walls.
+On the north face it was only about fifty feet above the parade ground,
+which was a levelled space two hundred yards long and a hundred broad.
+This served also for hockey and as a rifle-range; the targets being
+placed in tiers up the steep hill-side on the east end.
+
+Standing at the front gate and looking northwards towards the mountains,
+one saw the ground rise sharply to the foot of Sinchula. Dotted about
+among the trees and set round with orchid-studded, low stone walls or
+flowering hedges, were four or five single-storied bungalows.
+
+The lowest and nearest to the parade ground of these was the Commanding
+Officer's Quarters, which I occupied. Higher up to the right, and
+separated from mine by a deep ravine crossed by a little wooden bridge,
+was an empty house, known as Married Officers' Quarters. Behind it was a
+long wooden building raised on pillars, the forest officer's bungalow,
+to shelter that official in his annual visit. Around it were a few
+bamboo huts for his native clerks. Past my quarters ran the mountain
+road which climbed the steep sides of Sinchula, and, degenerating into
+a narrow mule track, wound round it to the Bhutan frontier. Near my
+house it was shaded by mango trees which, when the fruit was ripe, were
+very popular with the wild monkeys. To preserve the mangoes for
+ourselves, I was then obliged to station a sentry on the road at
+daybreak to keep the marauders off. In my garden stood a very large
+mango tree, up which I used in the season to send a small Bhuttia boy to
+gather the fruit. One day he found a large monkey there before him. It
+attacked him savagely and I was obliged to shoot it to save him from its
+fury.
+
+A hundred feet above my house and on the left of the road stood in a
+terraced garden the Officers' Mess, occupied by my subaltern and the
+doctor. And three hundred feet higher still was the last building in
+Buxa, the Circuit House, intended as a court-house and temporary
+residence for any civil official who should chance to come there on
+duty. The three white square towers, which stood on the spurs running
+down from Sinchula were known as the Picquet Towers, and, conspicuous
+against the dark mountains could be seen for many miles from the plains
+below. They were intended to contain in war time small parties of the
+garrison and hold points which commanded the fort at close range. From
+one above the east face of the fort even arrows could be shot into the
+interior of our defences; so its possession was a necessity to us. They
+were strongly built of stone and loopholed, the door eight feet from the
+ground, and reached by a ladder, windowless, the only light coming from
+the loopholes. To the west of the fort beyond the mountain road and
+behind another spur, was the bazaar or native town, which consisted
+of a dozen wooden huts, and three or four brick houses, in which lived
+the few _bunniahs_ or merchants who resided there to trade grain, salt,
+and cloth, with the Bhutanese across the border. There were hardly
+thirty natives in the bazaar, comprising our whole civil population. The
+"shops" in the one tiny street contained little of use, even for our
+sepoys' frugal needs, and nothing for ours; so that anything we required
+had to be sent for from Calcutta--a day and a night by train.
+
+[Illustration: BUXA DUAR.
+My bungalow in the foreground; the Officers' Mess among the trees.]
+
+[Illustration: "THE FORT WAS BUILT ON A KNOLL."]
+
+Beside the bazaar was the European cemetery, a mournful enclosure which
+was dotted with ruinous tombstones of British officers who had been
+killed or died of disease in this solitary outpost. The most recent
+grave was that of a former forest officer of Rajabhatkawa who, unable to
+bear the loneliness of his isolated life, had shot himself in his house
+in the jungle below. But before our detachment left Buxa another grave
+was dug here to hold the body of a young captain of my regiment. Though
+he died of disease, with no doctor there at the time to attend him, yet
+it was in reality loneliness that killed him; for, depressed by the
+solitude, he had no heart in him to fight against illness. But the
+far-flung boundaries of England's Empire are marked everywhere by graves
+like his.
+
+From the south wall of the fort the ground fell in wooded spurs and
+rocky cliffs to the forest fifteen hundred feet below. East and west the
+interminable miles of trees ran on beyond the range of sight, clothing
+the foot-hills and climbing the steep mountain sides. Here and there a
+light green island in the darker-hued sea of foliage showed where a tea
+garden lay in a clearing, the iron-roofed factories, and the planters'
+bungalows visible through a field-glass. But to the south, beyond the
+clearly defined edge of the forest, the cultivated plains of Eastern
+Bengal stretched unbroken to Calcutta--three hundred miles away.
+South-west, in the Rains when the Indian atmosphere is clearest, we
+could see the Garo Hills fifty miles away in Assam, lying beyond the
+broad Brahmaputra where it flows to join the Ganges and pour their
+united waters through a hundred mouths into the Bay of Bengal--close on
+four hundred miles to the south of us.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II
+
+LIFE ON OUTPOST
+
+    The daily routine--Drill in the Indian Army--Hindustani--A
+        lingua franca--The divers tongues of India--The sepoys'
+        lodging--Their ablutions--An Indian's fare--An Indian
+        regiment--Rajput customs--The hospital--The doctor at
+        work--Queer patients--A vicious bear--The Officers'
+        Mess--Plain diet--Water--The simple life--A bachelor's
+        establishment--A faithful Indian--Fighting the
+        trusts--Transport in the hills--My bungalow--Amusements
+        in Buxa--Dull days--Asirgarh--A lonely
+        outpost--Poisoning a General--A storied
+        fortress--Soldier ghosts--A spectral officer--The
+        tragedy of isolation--A daring panther--A day on an
+        elephant--Sport in the jungle--_Gooral_ stalking in the
+        hills--Strange pets--A friendly deer--A terrified
+        visitor--A walking menagerie--Elephants tame and
+        wild--Their training--Their caution--Their rate of
+        speed--Fondness for water--Quickly reconciled to
+        captivity--Snakes--A narrow escape--A king-cobra; the
+        hamadryad--Hindu worship of the cobra--General Sir
+        Hamilton Bower--An adventurous career--E. F.
+        Knight--The General's inspection.
+
+            "Why, soldiers, why should we be melancholy, boys,
+             Whose business 'tis to die?"
+
+
+With the easy philosophy of the soldier we three officers settled down
+rapidly in our new surroundings--new at least to my subaltern Creagh and
+me. Life was a little monotonous; but we did not grumble more than the
+Briton considers is his right. Our daily existence did not vary much.
+Before the sun had risen above the Picquet Towers, my white-robed
+Mohammedan servant woke me to the labours of the day, as the bugles in
+the fort were sounding the "dress for parade." Moving noiselessly about
+the room on bare feet he placed on a small table beside my camp bed, the
+_chota hazri_ or "little breakfast," the light refreshment of tea,
+toast, and fruit with which the good Anglo-Indian begins the morning.
+The bad one prefers whisky-and-soda. Then my servitor laid out for me
+the dull khaki uniform which in India, except on occasions of ceremony,
+replaces the gayer garb of the soldier in England.
+
+Morning and afternoon we drilled our men, watched them at musketry on
+the rifle-range, or practised them in mountain warfare up the steep
+slopes.
+
+We found it difficult to manoeuvre off the parade ground, as the hills
+around were mostly covered with such tangled jungle that one had to hack
+a passage through it with a _kukri_ or a _dah_.[1] The drill of the
+Indian Army is precisely the same as for British troops. The words of
+command are invariably given in English, while only the explanations of
+movements are made in the vernacular. Thus in action an officer ignorant
+of Hindustani could take command of a native regiment in a crisis when
+all its white officers had been killed. Hindustani is a lingua franca
+invented in India by the Mohammedan armies of invasion from the north
+for intercourse with the peoples of the many conquered States. It is
+really a camp language made up of Sanscrit, Persian, Hindi and many
+other tongues. Even some military words, such as "_cartouche_,"
+"_tambour_," have been borrowed from the French, owing to so many French
+adventurers having taken service in the armies of native princes in past
+times. Nowadays the English terms for military things or new inventions
+are adopted as they stand. Hindustani or Urdu is by no means
+universally understood in India, though most Mohammedans throughout the
+Peninsula have some knowledge of it; for nearly every race has its own
+separate language or dialect and there are probably a hundred and fifty
+different tongues spoken in our Indian Empire. Urdu, however, is a _sine
+qua non_ for the British officer of the native army; and he has to pass
+at least two examinations, the Lower and the Higher Standard, in it. But
+in addition he must also qualify in the particular language spoken by
+the majority of men in his regiment. A subaltern in a Gurkha regiment,
+for instance, must pass in Gurkhali, in a Mahratta regiment in Mahratti;
+and so on.
+
+After morning parade I held orderly room, disposed of any
+prisoners--rare things in the Indian Army--and took reports from the
+native officers commanding the companies. Then I went to my office
+where, such is the amount of accounts and correspondence in the Service,
+I found at least two hours' work. Then I visited the hospital and went
+on to inspect the lines, as the barracks of native troops are called.
+The Indian sepoy is not luxuriously lodged. The barrack-rooms in Buxa,
+better and more substantial than in most places, were single-storied
+stone buildings roughly paved and furnished only with the men's
+belongings; for Government does not even provide them with beds. So each
+of my sepoys had fitted himself out with a _charpoy_ or native cot, a
+four-legged wooden bedstead with a string network bottom which makes a
+comfortable couch. On this lay his _dhurri_ or carpet, and his blankets.
+Overhead on a rough shelf stood his canvas kit-bag containing his
+clothing, while on pegs hung his belt, bayonet, and _puggri_ or turban.
+Such luxuries as basins and baths are unknown to the sepoy. He strips to
+his waist-cloth and even in the coldest weather washes himself under a
+stand-pipe or pours water over his body from his _lotah_ or small brass
+vessel which he always carries to drink from or use for his ablutions.
+In personal cleanliness most Indian races are surpassed only by the
+Japanese; and my men were either Mohammedans or Rajputs whose religions
+enjoin frequent ablutions.
+
+From the barrack-rooms I passed on to the sepoys' cooking-places. In the
+Indian Army rations in peace-time are not provided for the men; but,
+instead, they are given a certain allowance of money above their pay
+known as "compensation for dearness of provisions." This helps them to
+purchase their food, which consists in general of _chupatties_ or cakes
+of flour and water, supplemented by _ghee_ or clarified butter, various
+grain-stuffs, curry and sometimes a little meat. Many races eat rice
+instead of flour. Their method of cooking is primitive. A hole scratched
+in the ground and a couple of stones make the _chula_ or fireplace, in
+which burn a few bits of wood or a handful of dry twigs. The sepoy mixes
+his _atta_, or flour, into a paste with a little water in a large brass
+dish, rolls it into balls and flattens them out into thin cakes on a
+convex iron plate over the fire, the result being something like crisp,
+thick pancakes. Having made a pile of these he grinds between stones
+various spices, such as turmeric, chillies, onions and poppy seed,
+moistened with water to make his curry, adds some cooked vegetables or a
+raw onion, and his simple meal is ready.
+
+Among Hindus, men of different castes cook and eat apart. A Brahmin must
+have his separate fireplace, prepare his own food and eat alone. Other
+castes are not so particular and can employ cooks. In an Indian regiment
+each company or double company is generally composed of men of one race;
+and Government allows and pays two cooks and a _bhisti_ or water-carrier
+to each company, these menials, with Hindus, being necessarily of the
+same caste as the sepoys they serve. Thus in my own battalion we have a
+double company of Rajputs, one of Gujars, and one of Rawats--all these
+being Hindus. The fourth is composed of Mohammedans. Each company is
+officered by men of their own caste, a _Subhedar_ or captain, and a
+_Jemadar_ or lieutenant; and every two companies are under a double
+company commander and a double company officer, who are British, and
+with the commandant, adjutant and quartermaster make up the European
+officers of the regiment.
+
+My double company in Buxa was composed of Rajputs; but, having had to
+detach signallers, bandsmen, clerks, and other employed men to go with
+the headquarters to Dibrugarh, some Mussulmans were temporarily attached
+to bring it up to its original strength of two hundred men. The Rajputs'
+method of eating their meals is rather peculiar. Before each they must
+bathe and put on a clean _dhotie_, a cotton cloth wrapped round the
+waist, passing between the legs and falling to the knees. They must eat
+inside the _chauka_, a space of ground marked out and swept clean. Food
+which they wish to carry away and consume outside the _chauka_, as, for
+instance, if they are going on a long march, must be prepared in a
+particular way with water instead of _ghee_, which is generally used by
+them in cooking.
+
+In my daily visit to the hospital I would find our medical officer,
+Smith, hard at work. For, besides the sick of the detachment, he had to
+tend any natives from outside who chose to seek the white man's
+medicine. To help him he had a young Indian sub-assistant surgeon, who,
+despite the scanty medical training he had received, pined to perform
+major operations. With little knowledge of surgery he wished to resort
+to the knife on every possible occasion. Once, when left in sole charge
+of the hospital, he determined to amputate the leg of a Bhuttia
+suffering from gangrenous sores. The patient, however, was of a
+different opinion and during the night stole silently from the hospital
+and fled in terror across the hills to his village. Like most
+mountaineers the Bhuttias are very subject to goitre. Two out of every
+three are the proud possessors of these enormous appendages, in some
+cases nearly as large as the owner's head. They seemed to regard them as
+ornaments, and absolutely refused to allow our medico to operate on
+them. One day there was carried to the fort from Chunabatti, the only
+village for miles round, a Chinaman suffering from beriberi. This man,
+who knew no word of any language but his own, had made his way on foot
+from China across Tibet and Bhutan over the Himalayas endeavouring to
+reach Calcutta in search of work. Stricken down with this fell disease
+he had lain for months in the village, living on the charity of the
+Bhuttias, and was brought to our hospital only to die. Another
+interesting case was a boy about seven years old who was brought in,
+absolutely scalped by a blow from the paw of a bear which he had
+disturbed when gathering wood in the forest. From brow to nape of neck
+his skull had been left bare to the bone, in which were deep
+indentations from the animal's claws. The shock of the blow would
+probably have killed a European, but with the marvellous tenacity of
+life among savage races, the boy soon recovered.
+
+[Illustration: RAJPUT SEPOYS COOKING.]
+
+[Illustration: BRITISH AND INDIAN OFFICERS.]
+
+Our morning's work finished, we climbed up the hill for breakfast in the
+Mess. This was a long, single-storied stone building with an iron roof,
+erected on pillars which raised it six feet from the ground. From the
+tangled wilderness of the garden, bright with the vivid colours of huge
+bushes of poinsettia and bougainvillias, a flight of steps led up to the
+railed veranda which ran along the front of the building, and on to
+which opened the four rooms--the end ones used as quarters by Creagh and
+Smith, the centre apartments being the ante-room and dining-room. I
+wonder what some writers of military fiction, who prate glibly of the
+luxury in which army officers live, would say to the bare rooms and
+whitewashed walls of our Mess, furnished only with a few rickety tables
+and unsteady chairs. Or my subaltern's abode. One room, an iron cot
+borrowed from the hospital, a kitchen table, one dilapidated chair, a
+tin bath, and an iron basin on an old packing-case, comprised the
+sum-total of his possessions. Other furniture we could not get in Buxa;
+for the nearest shops were three hundred miles away in Calcutta. Of
+course, crockery, cooking-pots, glassware, linen and cutlery, we had to
+provide for ourselves. These we had brought with us. Before long, by
+dint of colour-washing the stone walls, hanging curtains and draperies
+of native cloth, and decorating the bare walls with the heads of
+animals we shot, we succeeded in making the Mess quite habitable and
+cosy.
+
+We were not much better off in the bare necessities of life. Buxa
+produced little in the way of food. Chickens--more literally, hens of no
+uncertain antiquity--and eggs of almost equal age were often procurable
+locally. But no meat. Sometimes a Bhuttia from across the frontier
+brought a goat for sale; and, although the Asiatic goat is an
+abomination, yet such an occasion was a red-letter day for us. Bread was
+sent us by rail from a railway refreshment-room twenty-four hours away,
+and did not always arrive. Fresh vegetables we never saw until later on
+we tried our prentice hands at gardening--and a sorry mess we made of
+it. In the winter we could add to the pot by the help of our rifles and
+guns; and venison and jungle fowl were a welcome change from the
+monotony of our menus. But our staple food consisted of tinned
+provisions--an expensive and wearisome diet. I dare say the British
+workman would have turned up his nose at our usual fare; and I could not
+blame him. Even the water supply in Buxa was a difficult question. Our
+Mess got its water from a spring in the hills hundreds of yards away,
+led down in bamboos to the kitchen. The fort was supplied from another
+spring in the base of the hill on which it was built; and all day long
+the _bhistis_[2] toiled up and down bringing the water in goatskin bags.
+But a few months after our arrival the springs nearly gave out; and I
+was faced with the necessity of abandoning fort and station, and moving
+the military and civil population to camp on the banks of a river miles
+away in the forest below, when we were saved by timely rain.
+
+Yet despite the simple life we were leading in Buxa my monthly expenses
+were more than twenty pounds for the bare necessities of existence. I
+had to pay rent to Government for my bungalow, and a share of the rent
+for the Mess, as well as my share of the expenses of mess-servants,
+lighting, and food. My personal household consisted of my "boy" or
+body-servant, a _dhobi_ or washerman, a _bhisti_ or water-carrier, a
+_syce_ or groom, and my sword-orderly, a sepoy of the regiment. This
+last individual, a Mussulman named Mohammed Draj Khan, had been in my
+service for many years and, with the fidelity of the Indian, was
+faithfully attached to me. He went with me to China in 1900 with the
+Indian Expeditionary Force and returned with me again there five years
+later. When I was going from Hong Kong on furlough to the United States,
+Canada and Europe, I arranged for him to be given six months' leave to
+his home in India. But when he heard of it Draj Khan was exceedingly
+wroth.
+
+"What? Am I not to accompany my Sahib?" he demanded indignantly.
+
+"No; I cannot take you with me to Europe," I replied. "But I have got
+you leave to go home to your wife whom you have not seen for four
+years."
+
+"Oh, my wife does not matter," was the ungallant answer; "she can wait.
+But my place is with my Sahib wherever he goes."
+
+And he has never forgiven me for not taking him; although he still
+continues to serve me faithfully.
+
+Our sepoys fared better than their British officers. We found on arrival
+that the local _bunniahs_ or shop-keepers were in the habit of
+supplying the men with very inferior and bad flour and other food-stuffs
+and charging a high price for them, relying on the monopoly they
+enjoyed. I determined to follow the example of the United States
+Government and make war on trusts. So I sent my native officers to Cooch
+Behar and other towns fifty miles away to purchase supplies, and ordered
+flour in bulk from a mill under English management in Calcutta. I had it
+sent by rail to Buxa Road Station, and conveyed thence by our elephants
+and Bhuttia coolies. An elephant can carry a weight of ten or twelve
+maunds--a maund being equal to eighty pounds. The sturdy Bhuttias, women
+as well as men, could come up our steep road, each with a load of two
+maunds on his or her back. Their burdens were fixed in two forked sticks
+bound to the shoulders in such a way that when the bearers sat down the
+ends of the sticks rested on the ground and supported the weight. But
+when heavily laden a coolie cannot then rise to his feet unaided, unless
+he first lies down, rolls over on his face, then pushes himself on to
+his knees with his hands and stands up. In Chemulpo and Seoul in Corea I
+have seen coolies employ a similar method of carrying their loads.
+
+After breakfast I returned to my house to pass the hours until the
+afternoon parade. After the dilapidated bungalows of most stations in
+India, with their thatched roofs sheltering rats, squirrels and even
+snakes, and their floors of pounded earth and decayed matting full of
+fleas, ants and the myriad plagues of insect life of the East, my small
+house seemed luxurious. It was built strongly of rough stone blocks to
+withstand the awful mountain storms. The roof was of iron which rang
+like a drum to the heavy rain and monster hailstones of the Monsoon.
+It contained four small rooms with ceilings and floors of wood, each
+with its fireplace. For during the winter we found it cold enough to
+have fires going day and night, the jungle around furnishing us with an
+ample supply of fuel. The meagre furniture which I had bought from the
+major of the Punjabis was soon supplemented with a few more articles
+sent from Calcutta. The little garden contained mango trees and a tree
+bearing the huge and evil-smelling jack-fruit, of which natives are very
+fond, though its sickening odour and oversweet taste repel most
+Europeans. The hedges around my compound were of wild roses. At one side
+stood my stable and the stone outhouses in which my servants lived; for
+in India the domestics are not lodged in the bungalow.
+
+[Illustration: MY DOUBLE COMPANY.]
+
+[Illustration: MY BACHELOR ESTABLISHMENT.]
+
+The afternoon was occupied with drills, signalling practice and military
+lectures to the non-commissioned officers.
+
+Buxa offered scant amusement within its limits to us Britishers. We had
+hockey-matches with the men two or three times a week. Creagh, being a
+keen golfer, tried to make miniature links about the fort; but, after
+losing six balls in his first game in the jungle around, he gave it up.
+We turned our attention to tennis. A comparatively level space hewed out
+of the mountain-side was fixed on as a court. Rocks four or five feet
+high were dug out of it; and the elephants were employed for days in
+bringing up earth from the plains below to spread on it. But more rocks
+seemed to grow in it and shove their heads through the thin covering of
+mould, grass came in thick, wiry patches; and altogether our tennis
+court could not be pronounced a success.
+
+Evening brought with it the dullest hours of the day. The Calcutta
+newspaper, which arrived by post every afternoon, was soon read; and the
+English journals sent to us from regimental headquarters were a month
+old. None of us were keen card players. Our library was small; and, as
+light literature, drill books soon cease to charm. Our daily life was
+too uneventful to afford many subjects of conversation; and as topics
+the incompetency of Naik Chandu Singh or the slackness on parade of
+Sepoy Pem Singh were not engrossing. England seemed too far away for the
+discussion of its politics to interest us. The pitiable limitations of
+men as talkers was painfully evident. Not being women we had no
+ever-ready subjects of conversation in dress, babies and servants'
+misdemeanours; and we could not talk scandal about ourselves. So, after
+the meagre dinner that our Gurkha cook contrived out of the athletic hen
+or tinned sausage, we threw ourselves into long chairs around the fire;
+Creagh betook himself to the study of military books for his forthcoming
+examination for promotion, and the doctor and I thumbed tattered novels
+we had read a dozen times.
+
+But Buxa was not the loneliest spot in which I have been quartered. As a
+subaltern I was stationed alone for many months in Asirgarh in the
+Central Provinces, an old Indian fortress on a hill lost in the jungle.
+That was solitude itself. My nearest European neighbour was forty miles
+away. I saw no white face and spoke no word of English for months at a
+time. Once a year a General was supposed to pay it the compliment of an
+official inspection, although the garrison consisted only of a British
+subaltern and fifty sepoys. But I think that after one occasion when the
+General and his staff officers nearly died on my hands of ptomaine
+poisoning--really contracted on their journey thither, but ascribed by
+the uncharitable among my friends to my base devices and resentment at
+having my peace disturbed by this officious intrusion--this duty grew
+out of favour with generals who valued their lives. This detachment has
+since been abolished.
+
+The fortress was wonderfully interesting, with a history reaching back
+to the eighth century. It had passed through the hands of the various
+masters of India in turn, and every stone of its walls had a story to
+tell. Taken by the British from the Maharajah of Gwalior twice, it
+remained in our possession from 1818, and was formerly garrisoned by a
+company of Artillery, a British regiment and a wing of a native
+battalion. Fallen from its high estate, a subaltern and half a company
+were considered enough for it in my time. And the subaltern combined in
+his own person the important offices of Commandant of Asirgarh Fortress,
+officer commanding the troops, officer in charge of military treasure
+chest, Cantonment Magistrate third class, and Church Trustee. For inside
+the fort were a Protestant Church in disused barracks, a ruined Catholic
+Chapel on the altar of which wild monkeys perched, and two cemeteries
+full of graves of English dead. The post was a lonely one for a young
+officer. I lived in the only habitable European building, formerly the
+general hospital, for which I paid twenty-four pounds a year to
+Government. The dead house was just outside my bedroom window. The
+interior of the fort, the fifty-feet-high walls of which were a mile and
+a half in circumference, was crowded with the ruins of an ancient
+palace, a large mosque, an old Moghul prison with wonderful underground
+passages and cells, and--most depressing of all--the gaunt wrecks of
+English bungalows with bare rafters and tattered ceiling-cloths. A fit
+habitation for ghosts. And ghosts there were. No native would venture
+about the fort alone at night. Weird tales had my sepoys to tell of the
+_Shaitans_ and _bhuts_, as they termed the spectral beings that wandered
+within the walls in the dark hours and were seen again and again by my
+men. They invariably took the form of British soldiers. And actually one
+night when I was miles away out shooting in the jungle the sentry at the
+gate turned out the guard to an approaching white officer, whom he took
+to be me. The whole guard, eleven men in all, swore next day to the
+ghostly visitant.
+
+Few English folk at home, who fondly picture an officer's life in India
+as one long round of social gaieties, of polo, sport, races and balls,
+realise the tragedies of loneliness of many who serve the Empire. Of the
+dreary solitude of a military police post in the jungles of Burma, of a
+fort on the Indian frontier, where a young subaltern lives for months,
+for years, alone. A boy brought up in the comfort of an English home,
+used to the pleasant fellowship of a regimental mess, is there condemned
+to isolation from his kind, to food that a pauper would reject, and a
+lodging a cottager would scorn. Should one of the many diseases of India
+lay its grisly hand on him he is far from medical aid. He must fight his
+illness alone, lying unattended in his comfortless quarters. Outside, a
+pitiless sun in a sky of brass pours down its rays on the glaring,
+shadowless desert. Inside, the droning whine of the punkah mocks him
+throughout the weary day, as it scarcely stirs the heated air. Night
+brings only the more terrible hours of darkness when sleep is banished
+from the tired eyes and the fever-racked brain knows no relief. Small
+wonder that too often in his agony he seeks death by his own hand. I
+have gone through the hell of sickness in a lonely post, when day after
+day the awful pains of jungle fever tortured me and night brought no
+relief. I have known what it is to gaze in my delirium at my revolver
+and think it the kindly friend that alone could end my misery, until a
+sane moment made me realise that its touch meant death and I had it
+taken away from me. But I have known, too, many a poor fellow to whom
+that saving interval of sanity was denied, to whom a bullet through the
+tortured brain brought oblivion.
+
+In comparison with Asirgarh, Buxa was quite a gay place. I was seldom
+alone in it, and generally had at least one other white man with me. We
+were kept in touch with the outside world by a telegraph line, which,
+however, was constantly being broken by trees blown down by storms or
+uprooted by elephants. Once a day a sturdy little Bhuttia postman toiled
+up the hill with our letters. "His Majesty's Mail" carried for his
+protection a short spear with bells on it to scare wild beasts; but this
+did not save him from being occasionally stopped by wild elephants and
+once being treed by a tiger. For sport we had to descend to the forest;
+though sometimes a barking deer wandered into our gardens from the
+jungle, and from the Mess veranda we shot a couple on the hill-side
+across a deep _nullah_ or ravine.
+
+Between my bungalow and the Married Officers' Quarters ran another
+_nullah_. Occasionally, when there was no moon, a panther used to wander
+down it, calling like a cat in the darkness which was too intense to
+allow me a shot at the animal. When we came to Buxa we had wondered why
+the windows of our houses were covered with strong wire netting, and
+were inclined to be sceptical when told that this was to keep predatory
+beasts out. But the Punjabi subaltern had been awakened one night by the
+noise of some animal moving about his room in the Mess, he having left
+his door open. He seized a handful of matches, struck them and saw a
+panther scared by the sudden blaze dash out through the door. And twice
+during our sojourn in Buxa did a similar thing happen.
+
+This particular panther, for we assumed that it was always the same
+animal, haunted the Station and preyed on the dogs in the bazaar. One
+day on the road just below the fort it met one of my sepoys who promptly
+climbed the nearest tree and remained in the topmost branches until his
+shouts brought some other men to the rescue. Once at night I was roused
+from sleep by wild cries from a Bhuttia's hut on the spur above our Mess
+and learned on inquiry that the panther had carried off his dog. Another
+time, in brilliant moonlight, an Indian doctor then in medical charge of
+the detachment, who lived in the bungalow next to mine, saw the beast
+sitting in the small garden intently watching the door of an outhouse in
+which a milch-goat was kept shut up. The doctor ran indoors to fetch his
+gun and had an unsuccessful shot at it as it jumped the hedge. Needless
+to say we made many efforts to compass its death. One night it killed a
+goat tied up as a bait to a tree within fifteen yards of the fort and
+was wounded by a native officer waiting for it behind the wall. Yet not
+long afterwards it climbed into the fort at night and carried off a
+sepoy's dog. Many a time I sat up in a tree over a bleating goat in the
+moonlight, but always in vain; and I suppose that panther still lives to
+afford sport to our successors in Buxa.
+
+Life was well worth living on the days when we could descend into the
+forest for a shoot. At dawn we started down the three miles of steep
+road to Santrabari where the elephants awaited us. For work in the
+jungle these animals, instead of the howdahs or cage-like structures
+with seats which they carry on shoots in fairly open country, have only
+their pads, thick, straw-stuffed mattresses bound on their backs by
+stout ropes. For in dense forest howdahs would soon be swept off. When
+we arrived at the Peelkhana the _mahouts_ made the huge beasts kneel
+down, or we clambered up, either by hauling oneself up by the tail,
+aided by one foot on the hind leg held up for the purpose at the
+driver's command, or by catching hold of the ears from the front and
+standing on the curled-up trunk which then raised us up on to the
+elephant's head. One either sat sideways on the pad or astride above the
+shoulders and behind the _mahout_ who rode on the neck with his bare
+feet behind the ears. Then our giant steeds lumbered off into the forest
+with an awkward, disjointed stride which is sorely trying to the novice.
+And sitting upright with nothing to rest the back against for eight
+hours or more, shaken violently all the time by the jerky motion, is
+decidedly tiring. Prepared for beast or bird, each of us carried a rifle
+and a shot-gun, and, separating from the others, went his own way
+through the forest. Sometimes a _sambhur_, the big Indian stag, was the
+bag; sometimes a wild boar. Perhaps a _khakur_, the small, alert barking
+deer, of which the flesh is infinitely more tender than a _sambhur's_,
+or a few jungle fowl, rewarded our efforts. We carried with us food and
+water for the day and did not return until evening. Then, after leaving
+the elephants at the Peelkhana, came the fifteen-hundred-feet climb up
+the steep road to Buxa. And in a long chair in the Mess the fatigues of
+the day were forgotten in the pleasure of recounting every incident of
+the sport.
+
+Sometimes we went out among the hills around us to stalk _gooral_, an
+active little wild goat. Clambering up the almost sheer sides of the
+mountains or clinging to the faces of rugged precipices while carrying a
+heavy rifle was a toilsome task; and too often, after a long and
+perilous climb, did I arrive in sight of the quarry only to see it
+disappear in bounding flight over the cliffs.
+
+[Illustration: A KNEELING ELEPHANT.]
+
+In our excursions into the forest or by purchase from natives we
+gradually gathered together a varied collection of pets to solace our
+loneliness. At different times I possessed half a dozen barking deer
+fawns, one of which became an institution in Buxa. Scorning confinement
+she insisted on being allowed to wander loose about the Station, and,
+soon getting to know the sepoys' meal hours, visited the fort regularly.
+She was punctual in her attendance at tea-time in my bungalow, being
+exceedingly fond of buttered toast, and always claiming her share of
+mine. More than once I have only just been in time to save her from the
+rifle of one of our rare visitors who, seeing her on the hill-side, took
+her to be wild. A small green parrot which I had similarly objected
+to being shut up and flew freely about the Station. From wherever it
+happened to be its quick eye always marked my servant bringing my
+afternoon meal to the bungalow from the kitchen; and, having a strange
+liking for hot tea, it used to fly in through the open door of my
+sitting-room and perch on my head. It was little use my objecting to
+this familiarity; for, if I attempted to dislodge it, it would stick its
+claws into my scalp and hold on to my ear by its sharp beak until I let
+it drink from my cup. Its propensity for swooping down in the open on
+any white man was sometimes alarming to strangers. Once a certain civil
+official visitor to Buxa who was jocularly reputed to be overfond of
+alcohol and never far from the verge of delirium tremens was approaching
+my bungalow when the parrot swept down on him and tried to alight on his
+hat. Uncertain as to the reality of the vision circling around his head,
+our visitor uttered a cry of terror and tried to brush the phantom aside
+until I laughingly assured him that it was a real bird. He revenged
+himself afterwards by encouraging the parrot in a depraved taste for
+whisky.
+
+In my afternoon walks I used to be accompanied by a small menagerie. Two
+small barking deer stepped daintily behind me, their long ears twitching
+incessantly. A monkey loped on all fours ahead, now and then stopping to
+sit down and scratch himself thoughtfully. A bear cub shambled along,
+playing with my dogs and being occasionally rolled over by a combined
+rush of riotous puppies. On our return to the bungalow we would be
+greeted by no less than five cats; while from its perch on the veranda a
+young hornbill, scarcely feathered and possessing a beak almost as big
+as its body, would survey us with a cold and glassy stare from its
+unwinking eyes. Once in a beat in the forest my orderly caught a
+_sambhur_ fawn which he bore, shrieking piteously, in his arms to me. In
+a day or two it was perfectly tame, fed from my hand, and insisted on
+sleeping on my bed. It was killed by a snake shortly afterwards.
+
+I might almost include in our list of pets our three Government
+elephants, of which we became very fond. They were named Jhansi,
+Dundora, and Khartoum. I generally used the last in the jungle; though
+when looking for dangerous game I preferred Dundora. Jhansi was a
+frivolous and unsteady young lady of forty years of age; and shooting
+from her back was impossible. I soon learned to drive them, sitting on
+their necks and guiding them by pressing my feet behind the ears, as the
+_mahouts_ do. I was sometimes called on to doctor them; and had to
+perform almost a surgical operation on Jhansi, when wounded by a wild
+elephant out in the jungle. I had fortunately been taught how to treat
+their ailments when doing veterinary work in a transport course some
+years before. Elephants are somewhat delicate animals and liable to a
+multiplicity of diseases. Accustomed in the wild state to shelter from
+the noonday heat in thick forests, they suffer greatly if worked in a
+hot sun and get sore feet if obliged to tramp along hard roads.
+Domesticated elephants are generally very gentle and docile; though
+males in a state of _musth_ often become very dangerous. Contrary to the
+usually received opinion they are not intelligent; but they are very
+obedient. At the word of command they will kneel, rise, pick up an
+article from the ground or lift a man on to their necks. When a _mahout_
+is gathering fodder for his charge and sees suitable leaves out of reach
+at the top of a small tree, he orders his elephant to break the tree
+down. This it does by curling up its trunk and pressing its forehead
+with all its weight behind it against the stem and thus uprooting it.
+When crossing a stream they try to sound the depth with their trunks. A
+bridge they attempt cautiously with one foot, and, if not satisfied with
+its strength, will resolutely refuse to trust themselves on it. Though
+good at climbing up steep slopes they are the reverse when descending.
+On the level they are fast for a short distance only; but they can cover
+many miles in the day when travelling. They are excellent swimmers and
+are very fond of water. In the wild state they bathe whenever they can;
+and tame elephants thoroughly enjoy being taken into the river and lie
+in the shallows with a look of blissful content while their _mahouts_
+wash them and scrub them with bricks. It is extraordinary how quickly
+they become used to captivity. In a few days they let their keepers feed
+them, mount them and take them to water. I have seen two, caught only
+four months before, being driven in a beat for a tiger; and when he was
+wounded and broke back into thick jungle they followed him
+unhesitatingly at their _mahouts'_ command.
+
+Like all hill-places Buxa was full of snakes. One night in the hot
+weather when dining on the veranda, we found a viper climbing up the
+rough stone wall of the Mess just behind our chairs. We vacated our
+seats promptly and killed it with long bamboos. Another evening I
+discovered one on my veranda. Once when camped in the forest with my
+detachment, the officer who was then with me and I were sitting at a
+small table having tea when one of the native officers came up. I had a
+chair brought for him and he sat talking to us until dusk came. My
+servant placed a lighted lamp on the table. Suddenly the native officer
+who was sitting a few yards from me said quietly:
+
+"Do not move, Sahib. There is a snake under your chair; and if you try
+to stand up you may tread on it."
+
+It was difficult to obey him and remain motionless; but, as it was the
+wisest thing to do, I sat quietly until I saw a small and very poisonous
+viper emerge between my feet and wriggle off. Then I jumped up, seized
+the lamp from the table and a cane from my native officer and killed it.
+
+In Buxa one afternoon when I happened to be inspecting the bazaar a
+native ran up in a state of great excitement to inform me that a "_bahut
+burra samp_," a _very_ large snake, was climbing up the precipice on the
+west side of the hill on which the bazaar stood. I went with him and
+found two or three Bhuttias looking over the edge at an enormous serpent
+which was making its way up the steep face, clinging to projecting rocks
+and bushes. From its size I took it to be a python, which is not
+poisonous and kills its prey only by compression. We waited until the
+snake had got its head and a third of its length over the brink and fell
+upon it with sticks and clubbed it to death. I had it carried to my
+bungalow where I measured it and found it to be fifteen feet two inches
+in length. Preparatory to skinning it, I compared it with the coloured
+plates in a book on Indian reptiles and found to my horror that it was
+a king-cobra or hamadryad, the most dreaded and dangerous ophidian in
+Asia. It is very venomous and wantonly attacks human beings; so that it
+was fortunate for us that we had caught it at a disadvantage. There is a
+recorded instance of one chasing and overtaking a man on a pony. It is
+generally to be found only in the forests of Eastern Bengal, Assam, and
+Burmah.
+
+When one considers the enormous number of snakes in India it is
+surprising how seldom they are seen. This is due to their rarely
+venturing out in the daytime. But I have killed one with my sword when
+returning from a morning parade in Bhuj and another, a black cobra five
+feet nine inches long, in my bathroom in Asirgarh. Few Europeans ever
+get over their instinctive horror of these reptiles; but the natives,
+thousands of whom die every year from snake-bite owing to their going
+about with bare feet and legs at night, have not the same dread of them.
+In fact Hindus hold the cobra sacred, and have an annual festival, the
+Nagpanchmai, in its honour. I have seen in Cutch the Rao (or Rajah) of
+that State go in solemn procession on that day to worship it in a
+temple, accompanied by his strangely-uniformed troops, which included
+soldiers in steel caps and chain mail walking on stilts. They were
+supposed to be prepared to fight in the salt deserts and sandy wastes
+which surround Cutch.
+
+Our first visitors from the outside world reached Buxa about a month
+after our arrival. They were General Bower, commanding the Assam Brigade
+to which we belonged, and his staff officer, come for the annual
+inspection of the detachment. Brigadier-General (now Major-General Sir
+Hamilton) Bower is a man whose paths have lain in strange places and
+whose career reads like a book of adventures. A keen sportsman and a
+daring explorer of untrodden ways, he was as a captain ordered by the
+Government of India to pursue the Mohammedan murderer of an English
+traveller, Dalgleish, through the savage wilds of Central Asia. For
+months he chased the assassin through sterile regions where no European
+had ever before set foot and at last hounded him into the hands of the
+Russians at Samarcand where he killed himself in jail. His capture was
+necessary to show the lawless tribesmen of Central Asia that a price
+must be paid for a white man's blood and that the arm of our Government
+could reach an Englishman's slayer in any land. Readers of E. F.
+Knight's fascinating book, "Where Three Empires Meet" will remember the
+author's meeting with Captain Bower in Kashmir in 1891, after the
+latter's successful pursuit of this murderer, Dad Mohammed. Bower was
+then starting on his celebrated journey from India overland to China,
+which he has described in his work "Across Tibet." And since those days
+his life has not been tame. Ordered to raise a regiment of Chinamen to
+garrison Wei-hai-wei, he landed in Shanghai with one follower and soon
+brought a corps of Northern Chinese into being, which, in two years
+after its raising, fought splendidly in the bloody struggles around
+Tientsin in the Boxer War of 1900. He afterwards commanded the British
+Legation Guard in Pekin and found ample scope for all his tact and good
+temper in the intercourse with the officers of the Guards of other
+nationalities in the Chinese capital.
+
+He spent three days with us; and though his inspection was thorough, and
+entailed fatiguing manoeuvres through jungle I had hitherto regarded as
+impenetrable and up mountains I had considered unscaleable, we were
+sorry when his visit terminated. As a rule one does not hail a General's
+inspection as a pleasant function. But General Bower proved the
+pleasantest and most interesting visitor we ever had. Tired of our own
+thrice-told tales we revelled in the interesting conversation of a man
+who had seen and done so much in his adventurous career, who had
+journeyed along untrodden ways, had fought strange foes and carried his
+life in his hand in wild lands where no king's writ runs. We talked much
+of Knight, whom I have the good fortune to know, a man who, like the
+General, might be the hero of a boy's book of romance. His life had been
+equally adventurous. He fought for the French in 1870, and against them
+later in Madagascar. In a small yacht he crossed the Atlantic and
+visited most countries in South America. In his wanderings beyond the
+frontier of India he came in for the difficult little Hunza-Nagar
+campaign and fought in it. Author, traveller, war-correspondent, amateur
+soldier, he has been everywhere, seen and done everything. And, simple
+and courageous, he is a type of the adventurers who made England great.
+Romance is not dead while such men as he and Bower live.
+
+With a General on official inspection one is inclined to speed the
+parting guest; but as General Bower waved his farewell to us from the
+back of the elephant which was carrying him downhill we were sorry to
+part with him, and all three hoped to meet him the following year again
+in Buxa. But when he came I alone was left. Smith had gone to Calcutta,
+and Creagh was commanding another detachment of the regiment in the
+heart of Tibet, even farther from civilisation than Buxa.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[1] Heavy native knives.
+
+[2] Water-carriers.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III
+
+THE BORDERLAND OF BHUTAN
+
+    The races along our North-East Border--Tibet--The
+        Mahatmas--Nepal--Bhutan--Its geography--Its
+        founder--Its Government--Religious rule--Analogy
+        between Bhutan and old Japan--_Penlops_ and
+        _Daimios_--The Tongsa _Penlop_--Reincarnation of the
+        Shaptung Rimpoche--China's claim to Bhutan--Capture of
+        the Maharajah of Cooch Behar--Bogle's mission--Raids
+        and outrages--The Bhutan War of 1864-5--The Duars--The
+        annual subsidy--Bhutan to-day--Religion--An
+        impoverished land--Bridges--Soldiers in Bhutan--The
+        feudal system--Administration of justice--Tyranny of
+        officials--The Bhuttias--Ugly women--Our neighbours in
+        Buxa--A Bhuttia festival--Archery--A banquet--A
+        dance--A Scotch half-caste--Chunabatti--Nature of the
+        borderland--Disappearing rivers--The Terai--Tea
+        gardens--A planter's life--The club--Wild beasts in the
+        path--The Indian planters--Misplaced sympathy--The tea
+        industry--Profits and losses--Planters' salaries--Their
+        daily life--Bhuttia raids on tea gardens--Fearless
+        planters--An unequal fight.
+
+
+Along the North-East Frontier of India lie numerous States and races of
+which the average Britisher is very ignorant. Of late years Tibet has
+bulked largely in the public eye owing to international and diplomatic
+intrigues and our little war with it in 1904. But, previously, it was
+probably best known to the Man in the Street as the country from which
+according to the Theosophists, "the Mahatmas come from." They must all
+have deserted it long since; for I never met anyone who had been in
+Tibet who had ever heard of them there. Travellers like General Bower
+who had journeyed through the land from end to end, officers of the
+Anglo-Indian Army that made its way to Lhasa, others of my regiment who
+had lived in Gyantse, learned to speak the language and mixed much with
+the people, were all ignorant of the existence of these mysterious and
+supernaturally gifted beings.
+
+Nepal is best known as the country which supplies us with the popular
+little Gurkha soldiers. But Bhutan, which lies along our Indian border,
+is scarcely known even by name to the crowd. Yet, as long ago as in the
+days of Warren Hastings, we had diplomatic intercourse with it; and half
+a century has not elapsed since we were at war with the Bhutanese. Yet,
+to-day, there are not a dozen Englishmen who have crossed its borders.
+
+Bhutan is an exceedingly mountainous country, twenty thousand square
+miles in extent, lying along the northern boundary of Bengal and Assam,
+hemmed in on the west by Sikkim, a State under our suzerainty, and on
+the west and north by Tibet. A Buddhist land, its system of government
+is very similar to that of Japan before the Meiji, the revolution of
+1868. It was founded by a lama who, after establishing himself as
+supreme ruler, handed over the control of temporal matters to a layman
+and a council of elders. Until the other day the country was nominally
+governed by a spiritual head, the Shaptung Rimpoche, an incarnation of
+the deified founder, known in India as the Durma Raja, and a mundane
+monarch whom we term the Deb Raja. They were assisted by a council. The
+analogy between them and the Mikados and Shoguns of Japan was very
+close. To complete it the real control of the land was practically in
+the hands of feudal barons called _Penlops_, who, like the _Daimios_ of
+old Japan, ruled their own territories, and, when strong enough, defied
+the Central Government. For the greater part of the last century the
+_Penlops_ of Tongsa were the most powerful among these. The present
+holder of the title was recently elected hereditary Maharajah of Bhutan.
+He is Sir Ugyen Wang-chuk, K.C.I.E.--a most enlightened man and strongly
+in favour of the British. During the war of 1904 with Tibet, he placed
+all his influence on our side; and, his efforts to prevent bloodshed
+being unavailing, he accompanied our troops to Lhasa. The Government of
+India, in recognition of his services rewarded him with the K.C.I.E.,
+and a present of rifles and ammunition. When our present King-Emperor
+visited India as Prince of Wales in 1906, Sir Ugyen Wang-chuk was
+invited to Calcutta and saw for himself the wonders of civilisation and
+learned something of the might of England. It was shortly after his
+return from India that he was elected Maharajah. Though he is now the
+real ruler of the country the pretence is kept up of the Government
+still being in the hands of the Durma and Deb Rajas. On the death of the
+incumbent of the former position, his reincarnation is sought for among
+young boys throughout the land, as happens in the case of the Dalai Lama
+in Tibet.
+
+In former times China held a shadowy claim to the suzerainty of Bhutan;
+and when, after our war with Tibet, we re-established her influence over
+that country, the Chinese endeavoured to reassert their hold over Bhutan
+as well. The Tongsa _Penlop_ preferred having the British to deal with
+and in January, 1910 signed a treaty by which he placed the foreign
+relations of his country under the control of the Government of India.
+But otherwise Bhutan is completely independent. We do not interfere in
+any way in its internal affairs; and while the Bhutanese can enter India
+freely, no Britisher is allowed into their country without special
+sanction from our own authorities, which is rarely given.
+
+The first occasion on which the Indian Government was brought into
+contact with Bhutan was in the time of Warren Hastings. In those days
+the Bhutanese claimed sovereignty over the forest-clad plains in the
+north of Eastern Bengal. In 1772 they carried off the Maharajah of Cooch
+Behar as a prisoner. A small British force pursued them into the hills
+and made them surrender their captive. Hastings seized the opportunity
+of their suing for peace to send an Envoy, Bogle, to endeavour to
+establish trading relations with Bhutan. Bogle entered the country by
+way of Buxa Duar and was at first well received by the Deb Raja. He gave
+a flattering account of the people and their customs in his journal; and
+his description of Bhutan might almost have been written yesterday, so
+little changed is it. His mission bore little fruit; and the jealousy of
+strangers, inherent in all Buddhist nations, soon put a stop to any
+intercourse with India. A long series of raids into our territory and
+outrages on our subjects along the border was borne with exemplary
+patience for many years by the East India Company. But at length the
+ill-treatment of another Envoy, Eden, sent to remonstrate with the
+Bhutanese, led to our declaring war on them in 1864. Taken by surprise
+at first, they were driven out of their forts in the Himalayan passes;
+but they soon rallied, chased one of our columns in disorder out of the
+country, forcing it to abandon its guns, and penned in our garrisons in
+the captured forts. But, in the following year, despite their fanatical
+bravery, they were defeated finally and compelled to beg for peace. The
+Indian Government deprived them of the Duars, the forest strip of
+country lying along the base of the Himalayas. The word _duar_ means
+"door," or "gateway," and originally referred to the passes leading
+through the mountains into India. The Bhutanese pleaded that this
+deprived them of their most profitable raiding ground and source of
+supply of slaves. Our Government, moved by this ingenuous plea,
+compensated them by the grant of an annual subsidy of fifty thousand
+rupees (now equal to L3333) which has recently been raised to a lakh,
+which is one hundred thousand. This sum, like similar but smaller
+amounts disbursed by us to savage tribes along our frontiers, may be
+regarded as either a species of blackmail or a reward of good behaviour.
+Should the recipients displease us in the conduct of their relations
+with other countries or should they allow their unruly young men to raid
+across our borders, the payment is suspended until amends are made. It
+generally has the desired effect, and saves a punitive little war. I was
+surprised, however, to find that the Bhuttias inside our frontier, who
+were mostly refugees from the exactions and oppression of their own
+officials, attributed our paying this subsidy to fear of the might of
+Bhutan, and held it up to my sepoys as a proof of the greatness of their
+nation.
+
+Bhutan to-day stands much where it has for centuries past. Its religion
+is a debased lamaism and idolatry, which replace the high moral teaching
+of Buddha. Its impoverished peasants and even the lay officials are
+heavily taxed to support in idleness the innumerable shoals of Buddhist
+monks and nuns. Praying wheels and prayer flags and the support of lamas
+are, as in Tibet, all that is necessary to ensure salvation. Arts and
+handicrafts are decaying. Trade is principally carried on by the
+primitive method of barter. Owing to the mountainous nature of the
+country cultivation is much restricted. The only coins I could find
+struck in Bhutan were a silver piece worth sixpence, and a copper one
+worth the sixteenth of a penny. British, Tibetan and Chinese coins are
+used. Most of our annual subsidy finds its way back into India in
+exchange for cloth and food-stuffs. When paid by us a large portion of
+it used to go to the ecclesiastical dignitaries in the capital, Punakha,
+and the rest was distributed among the various _Penlops_. The Deb
+Zimpun, the official sent into our territory every year to receive it,
+now hands it over to the Maharajah, who disburses it.
+
+The roads through Bhutan are mere ill-kept mule tracks. The forests,
+which are in strong contrast to the usually treeless plateaux of
+Northern Tibet, though not found at the greatest elevation in the
+country, are well looked after; and the regulations for their
+preservation are strictly enforced. A long series of internecine wars
+has ruined the land; but of late years the predominance of the Tongsa
+_Penlop_ has ensured internal peace. The only buildings of note are the
+temples, the _gumpas_ or large monasteries and the _jongs_ or castles,
+huge rambling edifices of stone and wood. The towns mostly consist of
+wooden huts. But the Bhutanese are very clever in constructing bridges
+over the rivers and torrents that traverse their mountainous country.
+These are sometimes marvels of engineering skill, great wooden
+structures on the cantilever principle or well-constructed iron
+suspension bridges, remarkable when one considers the rude appliances at
+the disposal of the builders.
+
+There is no regular army in Bhutan, each _Penlop_ and important official
+maintaining his own armed retinue; but every man in the country is
+liable for service. Their weapons are chiefly single-edged straight
+swords and bows and arrows. The swords are practically long knives and
+are universally carried as cutting tools, for use in the forests. There
+are very few modern fire-arms in the country. The Deb Zimpun, in his
+visit to Buxa to receive the subsidy, was accompanied by his guard of
+sixty men without a gun among them. He told me that he possessed a
+fowling-piece himself which he had left behind, as he had no cartridges
+for it.
+
+Although Bhutan now possesses a Maharajah, the government is still
+carried on on feudal lines. The _Penlops_ rule their own territories
+without much outside interference. Under them are the _jongpens_ or
+commanders of _jongs_, who act as governors of districts. Each _Penlop_
+has a _tarpon_ or general to command his troops. Under the _jongpens_
+are lesser officials known as _tumbas_. There is no judiciary branch,
+and justice is rudely administered. A murderer is punished by the loss
+of a hand and being hamstrung, or sometimes is tied to the corpse of
+his victim and thrown into a river or over a precipice. The exactions
+of the officials drive many refugees over our border: and the hills
+around Buxa were peopled almost entirely by Bhuttias who had fled from
+slavery and oppression.
+
+The Bhuttia is a cheerful, hard-working and easily contented individual.
+He is naturally brave, and has the makings of a good soldier in him. He
+is generally medium-sized, broad and sturdy, with thick muscular legs
+such as I have only seen equalled in the chair coolies of Hong Kong and
+the rickshawmen in Japan. The northern Bhutanese are fair and often
+blue-eyed. Their Tibetan neighbours hold them in dread. The dress of a
+Bhuttia man is simple and consists of one garment shaped like the
+Japanese kimono, kilted by a girdle at the waist to leave the legs free.
+Their heads and feet are generally bare. The costume of the richer folk,
+except on occasions of ceremony, is very much the same; but they
+generally wear stockings and shoes or long Chinese boots. But even the
+Maharajah often goes barelegged. The Bhutanese women are the ugliest
+specimens of femininity I have ever seen. In the south they cut their
+hair shorter even than the men do. But when they can they load
+themselves with ornaments of turquoises or coloured stones.
+
+Around Buxa the Bhuttia inhabitants build, high upon the steepest hills,
+villages of wooden, palm-thatched huts supported on poles which raise
+them well off the ground. Their household utensils and drinking vessels
+are usually made of the useful bamboo. Around their houses they scratch
+up the ground and plant a little; but their chief employment is as
+porters or as woodcutters in the Government forests. They never seek for
+work in the tea gardens near; though on these the coolies are well paid
+and have to be brought from a long distance away in India. But the
+Bhuttia is essentially a hill-man; and life in the steamy heat of the
+Bengal plains would be unendurable to him.
+
+A thousand feet above Buxa, on the slopes of Sinchula, stood a hamlet of
+a dozen huts. Learning that the inhabitants were celebrating a yearly
+festival, Smith and I, accompanied by a native officer, set off to visit
+it. As we climbed the steep hill-side we heard fiendish yells and
+shrieks, and conjectured that we were coming upon a devil-dance at
+least. But we only found the men of the village engaged in an archery
+contest. Two targets were placed about a couple of hundred yards apart;
+and a party at either end shot at them. The small marks were rarely hit,
+even when we placed rupees on them to stimulate the competitors; but
+most of the arrows fell very close to them. A good shot was hailed with
+vociferous applause by the marksman's team, a bad one by the shrieks,
+groans and derisive laughter we had heard. When the contest was over we
+were invited to try our skill and luckily did not disgrace ourselves.
+Then the bows of the contestants were stacked together on the ground and
+hung with garlands and leafy branches. The men sat down in two lines
+forming a lane to the bows; and each drew out from the breast of his
+kimono a small wooden or metal cup. Several women appeared from the
+village, bearing food and drink in cane baskets or gaily decorated
+vessels made of bamboo. We learned that the feast lasted six days and
+that each one of the principal villagers acted as host and provided the
+provender a day in turn and his womenfolk dispensed his hospitality.
+To-day's entertainer began the proceedings by filling his own cup,
+advancing to the pile of bows, bowing profoundly before it several times
+and pouring the contents of his cup on the ground. As he did so he
+muttered some words. Then he turned about and walked back. The other
+men, as they sat cross-legged on the ground, shouted out a long
+utterance which I took to be a form of grace before meals, and ended
+with a series of ear-piercing yells which would have done credit to a
+pack of mad jackals. The effect of the contrast between the fiendish
+noises they made and their beaming countenances was comical. Then the
+hostesses passed down the lines of men, handed them platters and heaped
+rice and other food on them. The cups were filled first with the
+vile-smelling and worse-tasting native liquor, and afterwards, when
+emptied several times, with tea. Undisturbed by our presence the guests
+made a hearty meal, the host walking up and down the lines and
+encouraging them to enjoy themselves, while his women brought fresh
+relays of victuals. But at last their appetites were satisfied. Then the
+ladies of the hamlet who had been watching their lords and masters from
+a respectful distance came forward. In addition to their ordinary
+garments they wore capes of black velveteen, only donned on occasions of
+ceremony; and their necks were hung with chains of imitation turquoises
+and large, coloured stone beads. To the monotonous accompaniment of two
+tiny hand-drums, beaten by men, they performed a mournful and
+exceedingly proper dance. This the men applauded languidly. Among the
+women I was struck by the European-like features of the very ugliest of
+them. She was fair-haired, high-cheek-boned and long-nosed. She
+contrasted strongly with the Tartar type of features of those around
+her. I learned that she was the illegitimate daughter of a Scotch
+military surgeon who had formerly been quartered in Buxa. She was
+married to a Bhuttia, and, judging from her silver ornaments, was quite
+a person of importance in the hamlet. But as I saw her afterwards
+working as a coolie and passing with heavy loads up and down through
+Buxa, it was evident that her economical father had not left her beyond
+the necessity of toiling for her daily rice.
+
+[Illustration: "THE LADIES OF THE HAMLET CAME FORWARD."]
+
+[Illustration: BHUTTIA DRUMMERS.]
+
+The dance finished the festivities for the day. We were led in
+procession by the revellers through the village with songs and beating
+of drums; and, having bestowed a few rupees on them, we departed amid a
+loud chorus of thanks.
+
+Some time afterwards I was present at a similar festival in Chunabatti,
+the large village containing nearly a thousand Bhuttias, a few miles
+over the hills from Buxa. Here the American lady missionary had resided
+for over fifteen years; and I asked her for some explanation of the
+festival. But she confessed that, even after her long residence among
+the villagers, she knew nothing of their beliefs, religion or
+ceremonies. I may mention that she had never made a convert. But as far
+as I could see these cis-border Bhuttias were even more ignorant of
+their faith than the dwellers in Bhutan. There were a few prayer flags
+fluttering on the hill above the village; but _chortens_ and praying
+wheels were conspicuous by their absence, though there was enough
+water-power in the mountains for the latter to ensure salvation for
+millions of believers in their efficacy. The village possessed one lama,
+who was treated with scant respect. I often saw him teaching the small
+boys to read the Hindi characters, which are the same as used for the
+written Tibetan language.
+
+This Chunabatti festival was celebrated in the same manner as the one we
+had seen before, with eating, drinking, dances by the women, and archery
+contests by the men. Some of the small boys were brought out to practise
+with the bow; and many of them shot quite well. But there was absolutely
+no trace of religious celebration.
+
+To-day the boundary-line between Bhutan and India lies generally along
+the summits of the last mountain-chain above the plains. Dense jungle
+clothes the sides of the hills and descends to meet the upward waves of
+the Terai Forest, which stretches along the foot of the Himalayas
+through Assam, Bengal, and Nepal. The mountains are cloven by deep and
+gloomy ravines through which swift-flowing rivers like the Menass,
+Raidak, Torsa, and Tista pour their waters to swell the Brahmaputra and
+the Ganges. Some of these torrents disappear underground a few hundred
+yards from the hills and leave a broad river-bed empty for miles, except
+during the Rains. But farther away they suddenly appear again above the
+surface and flow to the south. The character of the jungle in the region
+where they reappear is damper and more tropical than near the mountains,
+and has earned for the forest the title of Terai, which means "wet."
+Streams which on the level of Santrabari reached the plains, there
+vanish, to come again above the ground near Rajabhatkawa.
+
+[Illustration: CHUNABATTI.]
+
+The long belt of the Terai Jungle is nowadays patched with clearings for
+tea gardens; for the Duars' tea is famous. Mixed with tea grown near
+Darjeeling at an elevation of six thousand or seven thousand feet it
+forms a favourite blend. But the sportsman, no matter how fond he may be
+of the "cup that cheers," cannot view without regret the clearing away
+of thousands of acres of forests that shelter big game. And an artist
+would not consider the destruction of the giant, orchid-clad trees with
+the festoons of swinging creepers compensated for by the stretches of
+more profitable low green tea-bushes in symmetrical and orderly rows.
+
+Nor do the other signs of man's handiwork on a tea garden compensate for
+the natural beauties they replace. Hideous factories, gaunt drying and
+engine-houses with stove-pipe like chimneys rising above corrugated iron
+roofs, villages of dilapidated thatched huts sheltering the hundreds of
+coolies employed on the estate, and the unbeautiful bungalows of the
+Europeans in charge. For on each garden there are from one to four
+Britishers. The larger ones have a manager, two assistants, and an
+engineer; on the smaller ones the manager perhaps combines the functions
+of the others in his own person.
+
+A planter's life is a lonely one. The gardens are generally a few miles
+apart. Men busy, especially in the gathering season, from dawn to dark
+have little inclination to go visiting after the day's work is done,
+even if the roads were better and freer from the danger of meeting a
+wild elephant on them at night. But in each little district a club-house
+is built in some central spot within comparatively easy reach of all the
+gardens around. It is generally only a rough wooden shed; but in the
+small clearing around it a few tennis courts, or perhaps a polo ground,
+are made. And here once a week all the planters of the neighbourhood,
+with an occasional lady or two among them, repair on horseback through
+the jungle. There may be flooded rivers to cross, wild beasts to avoid;
+but, unless writhing in the grip of the planters' plagues, malarial or
+blackwater fever, all will be there on club day. Like the Bhuttias in
+our village feast one of the number takes it in turn to act as host. He
+sends over from his bungalow, miles away, crockery, glasses, a cold
+lunch, and, possibly, tea. For planters are not fond of it as a
+beverage. Then men, who have not seen another white face for a week,
+foregather, do justice to the lunch, play tennis or polo, and take a
+farewell drink or two when the setting sun warns them to depart. Then
+into the saddle again and off by forest road and jungle track to another
+week of loneliness and labour. What tales they have to tell of the wild
+beasts they meet on their way home in the deepening gloom! But the
+planter fears nothing except wild elephants; and not them if he is on
+horseback and a good road. Two men from the same garden who used to
+linger longest at the bar came one evening upon a tiger, another time
+upon a fine specimen of the more dreaded Himalayan bear, right in their
+path. They were unarmed, but their libations had added to their natural
+courage. Without hesitation, they dug spurs into their unwilling ponies
+and with demoniac yells charged straight at the astonished wild beasts.
+In each case tiger or bear found this too much for his nerves and
+promptly bolted into the jungle.
+
+There are few finer bodies of men in the world than the planters of
+India. Educated men, they lead the life of a _gaucho_. Hard riders, good
+shots, keen sportsmen, they are the best volunteers we have in the
+Indian Empire; and more than once some of them have worthily upheld the
+fame of their class in war.
+
+During the last Abor Expedition of 1912 several of the Assam Valley
+Light Horse, a Planters' corps, gave up their posts and went to the
+front as troopers.
+
+It is well to be content with your lot. From our cool hills I used to
+look down on the bright green patches of the gardens in the dark forests
+below and pity the poor planters in the humid heat of the summer months.
+But when I visited them I found that their sympathy went out to us in
+Buxa. On one occasion my host pointed to the dark wall of hills on which
+three tiny white specks, the Picquet Towers of my fort, shone out in the
+sunlight. With a sigh of compassion he said:
+
+"Whenever we look up there and think of you poor fellows shut up in that
+isolated spot we pity you immensely and wonder how you can bear the
+dreadful loneliness of it. Down here we are so much better off."
+
+As he spoke we looked towards the mountains, and at that moment a dark
+cloud was drawn like a pall across their face. Its black expanse was
+rent by vivid lightning; and the hollow roll of distant thunder in the
+hills told us that one of the frequent storms was raging over my little
+Station, while we stood in brilliant sunshine. And certainly at the
+moment Buxa looked a gloomy spot.
+
+Tea growing seems a profitable industry. I heard of estates which paid
+a profit of sixty per cent, and noticed with regret fresh inroads being
+made in the forest for more ground to plant in. Of course with a new
+garden one must wait five years or so for any return on the capital
+invested. And the initial expenses of clearing and preparing the soil,
+buying machinery and erecting factories, are great. The coolies must be
+brought from a distance, as the country around is too sparsely populated
+to supply a sufficiency of labour. And before quitting their houses they
+demand an advance of pay to leave with their relatives, and not
+infrequently abscond after getting the money. Each company sends a
+recruiting agent to collect these coolies who are well paid according to
+the Indian labour-market rates. And the father of a family is better off
+than a bachelor; for women and children help to gather the leaves, and
+each worker brings in his or her basket to be weighed, and payment is
+made by results. One sees the mothers with their babies on their hips
+moving among the bushes and plucking the tender green shoots. The whole
+process of manufacturing, from the planting and pruning, the gathering
+of the leaf, and the withering and drying, down to the packing of the
+tea ready for the market is interesting. Little goes to waste. The
+floors of the factories are regularly swept, and the tea-dust thus
+collected is pressed into blocks to form the brick-tea popular in
+Central Asia and used as currency in the absence of money.
+
+But tea growing is not all profit. Sometimes a hailstorm ruins the
+year's crop, frost blights the plants, and losses occur in other ways.
+The planters rarely own their gardens, but are usually in the service of
+companies in England. They are not overpaid; a manager in the Duars
+generally receives six hundred rupees a month, together with a house,
+allowances for his horse and certain servants which make his salary up
+to another hundred, in all about forty-seven pounds. But an assistant
+begins on less than twenty pounds a month. Engineers, who look after the
+machinery, are better paid; and some economically minded companies
+promote the engineer to be manager, and so save a salary. The expenses
+of living are not great, and a frugal planter--if such a being
+exists--can save money.
+
+To those fond of an outdoor existence the work is pleasant enough. Early
+in the morning manager and assistants mount their ponies and set out to
+ride over the hundreds of acres of the estate, inspect the plants, visit
+the nurseries, and watch the coolies at work among the bushes or
+clearing the jungle. Then through the factory and, if it be the season,
+see the baskets of leaves brought in and weighed. And back to a late
+breakfast, where tea rarely finds its way to the table, and a siesta
+until the afternoon calls them forth to ride round the garden again. It
+sounds an easy life and idyllic, but the planters say it is not.
+
+In any land the sight of the rich plains stretching away from the foot
+of the barren hills is always a tempting sight to the fierce mountain
+dwellers. And for the Bhutanese it must have been a sore struggle to
+curb their predatory instincts and cease from their profitable descents
+on the unwarlike inhabitants of Bengal. Wealth and women were the prizes
+of the freebooter until the shield of the Briton was thrust between him
+and his timorous prey. Yet even to-day, although their nation is at
+peace with us, the temptation sometimes proves too much for lawless
+borderers. And parties of raiders from across the frontier swoop down on
+the Duars. A tea garden, when a store of silver coin is brought to pay
+the wages of the hundreds of coolies, is their favourite mark. The few
+police scattered far apart over the north of Eastern Bengal are
+powerless to stop a rush of savage swordsmen who suddenly emerge from
+the forest, loot the _bunniahs_ and the huts on a garden, and disappear
+long before an appeal for succour can reach the nearest troops. With the
+fear of the white man before their eyes they do not seek to meddle with
+the Europeans in their factories and bungalows. But the fearless
+planters do not imitate their forbearance. In one garden a terrified
+coolie rushed to the manager's house to inform him that Bhuttias were
+raiding the village. Without troubling to inquire the number of the
+dacoits the planter called his one assistant; and taking their rifles
+the two Englishmen mounted their ponies and galloped to the village.
+They found it in the hands of about sixty Bhuttias, armed with _dahs_,
+who were plundering right and left. The planters sprang from their
+saddles and opened fire on them. The raiders, aghast at this unpleasant
+interruption to their profitable undertaking, strove to show a bold
+front. But the pitiless bullets and still more the calm courage of the
+two white men daunted them; and they fled into the friendly shelter of
+the forest. That garden was never attacked again.
+
+I was surprised to learn that on such occasions the planters had never
+sent information to the detachment at Buxa. But they told me that, as
+they never saw anything of the troops there, they almost forgot their
+existence. They added that the raiders came and went with such rapidity
+that it was hopeless for infantry to try to catch them. I determined to
+alter this state of affairs. So, shortly after our arrival, I took
+almost all my men out on a ten days' march, lightly equipped, through
+the jungle district to show that we were not tied to the fort and that
+we could mobilise and move swiftly if needed. I also devised a scheme by
+which, on the first intimation of a raid reaching me, mobile parties of
+my detachment would dash off at once over the hills to secure all the
+passes near and cut off the retreat of the invaders, while other
+parties, descending into the forest, would shepherd them into their
+hands.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV
+
+A DURBAR IN BUXA
+
+    Notice of the Political Officer's approaching visit--A
+        Durbar--The Bhutan Agent and the interpreter--Arrival
+        of the Deb Zimpun--An official call--Exchange of
+        presents--Bhutanese fruit--A return call--Native
+        liquor--A welcome gift--The Bhutanese
+        musicians--Entertaining the Envoy--A thirsty Lama--A
+        rifle match--An awkward official request--My
+        refusal--The Deb Zimpun removes to Chunabatti--Arrival
+        of the treasure--The Political Officer comes--His
+        retinue--The Durbar--The Guard of Honour--The
+        visitors--The Envoy comes in state--Bhutanese
+        courtesies--The spectators--The payment of the
+        subsidy--Lunch in Mess--Entertaining a difficult
+        guest--The official dinner--An archery match--Sikh
+        quoits--Field firing--Bhutanese
+        impressed--Blackmail--British subjects captured--Their
+        release--Tashi's case--Justice in Bhutan--Tyranny of
+        officials--Tashi refuses to quit Buxa--The next payment
+        of the subsidy--The treaty--Misguided humanitarians.
+
+
+Soon after our arrival in Buxa I received a letter from the Political
+Officer in Sikkim, Tibet, and Bhutan informing me that he proposed to
+visit our little Station and hold a Durbar there in order to pay over to
+a representative of the Bhutanese Government the annual subsidy of fifty
+thousand rupees. He requested me to furnish a Guard of Honour of a
+hundred men for the ceremony. The news that Buxa was to rise to the
+dignity of a Durbar of its own and be honoured with the presence of the
+Envoy of a friendly State was positively exciting. True, neither the
+Durbar nor the Envoy were very important; still, with them, we felt that
+we were about to make history. The officer who has charge of our
+political relations with these three countries resides at Gantok, the
+capital of Sikkim, and, until recently, administered the affairs of that
+State. Of late years the Maharajah has been admitted to a share of the
+Government.
+
+In Chunabatti lived two natives of Darjeeling, British subjects, who
+were paid a salary by our Government to help in transacting diplomatic
+affairs with Bhutan. They were officially styled the Bhutan Agent and
+the Bhutanese interpreter. Their knowledge of English, acquired in a
+school of Darjeeling, was not extensive; and their acquaintance with
+Hindustani was on a par. They were men of a Tibetan type, dressed like
+our Bhuttias, except that they wore a headgear like a football cap and
+also gaily striped, undoubted football stockings.
+
+Shortly after the receipt of the Political Officer's letter, one of
+these men, the Agent, came to my bungalow one afternoon and informed me
+that the Bhutan Government's representative had arrived in Buxa and was
+lodged in the Circuit House. The Agent wished to know when I intended
+paying an official call on this personage. I had sufficient acquaintance
+with the ways of Orientals to be aware that this was an impertinence,
+for it was the place of the Envoy to make his visit first to the officer
+commanding the Station; but, like the Chinese, who have a childish
+desire to assert their own importance on every occasion, he was
+endeavouring to steal a march on me. So I assumed a haughty demeanour
+and informed the Agent that I would be prepared to receive the Envoy at
+my house in two hours' time, as he must first call on me. The Agent at
+once agreed that this was the proper course, as, indeed he had known all
+the time.
+
+I sent an order to the fort for a native officer and twenty men to
+parade in full dress at my bungalow in a couple of hours, and then
+prepared to hold my first official reception. Punctually to the time
+named a ragged procession of sixty bareheaded, barelegged Bhuttias,
+armed with swords and every second man of them disfigured by an enormous
+goitre, descended the road from the Circuit House. From my doorstep I
+watched them coming down the hill. They escorted a stout cheery old
+gentleman in dirty white kimono and cap and long Chinese boots. He was
+accompanied by the Agent and the interpreter and followed by two coolies
+carrying baskets of oranges. This was the Bhutan Envoy, the Deb Zimpun,
+a member of the Supreme Council of Punakha and Cup Bearer to the Deb
+Raja, when there is one. The Guard of Honour presented arms as I
+advanced to meet and shake hands with him. I addressed him in
+Hindustani; but the old gentleman grinned feebly and looked round for
+the interpreter. The latter explained that the Deb Zimpun spoke only his
+own language; but that he would interpret my greeting. I then formally
+welcomed the Envoy to India, and invited him to inspect the Guard of
+Honour, such being the procedure with distinguished visitors. He was
+quite pleased at this and passed down the ranks, looking closely at the
+men's rifles and accoutrements. He noticed that two or three of the
+sepoys, who had been called from the rifle-range and had dressed
+hurriedly, wore their pouches in the wrong place and pointed it out
+to me. When he had minutely inspected the Guard I led the way into my
+bungalow and begged him to be seated. He took off his cap politely, and,
+sitting down, produced a metal box from the breast of his robe, took
+betel-nut out of it and began to chew it. An attendant holding a
+spittoon immediately took up his position beside him. The Agent and
+interpreter stood behind us and translated our remarks to each other.
+The remainder of the motley crew remained in the garden or crowded into
+the veranda, scuffling and shoving each other aside in their attempts to
+get near the open door and look in at us.
+
+[Illustration: THE DEB ZIMPUN'S PRISONERS.]
+
+[Illustration: "FROM MY DOORSTEP I WATCHED THEM COMING DOWN THE HILL."]
+
+At first the conversation, consisting of the usual formal compliments
+full of hyperbole, did not flourish; and the Deb Zimpun's eyes roamed
+round the apartment as he gazed with interest at my trophies of sport,
+pictures, photographs, and curios. When the interpreter had finished
+explaining some extravagant phrase, the Envoy asked eagerly if I had a
+gramaphone. He was visibly disappointed when I replied in the negative,
+and said that he had seen one on a previous visit to India and was much
+interested in it. To console him I took out my cigar-case and offered
+him a cheroot, which he accepted and smoked with evident pleasure. I
+asked him if he would like a drink; and the interpreter replied that the
+Deb Zimpun begged for two whiskies-and-sodas. I wondered if he wanted to
+consume both at once or thought that my hospitality stopped at one. But
+when the drinks were brought by my servant, I found that they were
+wanted by the interpreter himself and his friend the Agent, as the Envoy
+did not like whisky. I am sure that the old gentleman never asked for
+them at all; so it was a piece of distinct impertinence on the part of
+the interpreter, who was only an understrapper. I was struck all the
+time by the contrast between his casual manner to me, an officer of his
+own Government, and his servile deference to the Deb Zimpun who treated
+him as an individual altogether beneath his notice.
+
+When the conversation again languished I produced some luridly coloured
+Japanese prints of the capture of Pekin by the Allied Troops, which I
+had bought in Tokio after the Boxer War. I thought that they might serve
+as a useful lesson of the weakness of the Chinese, who endeavour to
+intrigue against us in Bhutan. These gaudy pictures delighted the Deb
+Zimpun. He asked to have all the details explained to him and seemed so
+interested that I made a present of the prints to him to start a Fine
+Art Gallery with in Punakha when he returned to the capital. This gift
+quite won his heart. He called into the room the coolies carrying
+baskets of oranges and brown paper bags of walnuts and presented them to
+me. The fruit, which was grown in Bhutan, was excellent; and only in
+Malta have I tasted better oranges. This terminated the visit; the Envoy
+rose, accepted another cigar, shook hands, and took his departure.
+
+Next day Creagh and I dressed ourselves in full uniform and, accompanied
+by an escort of sepoys, proceeded up the hill to the Circuit House to
+return the visit. We were met on the veranda by the Deb Zimpun and,
+chairs being placed for us, we three sat down. The interpreter was again
+present, being temporarily attached to the Envoy's suite. I learned that
+the Deb Zimpun was allowed by our Government the sum of two thousand
+rupees (about L133) for his expenses while he remained in India. He must
+have saved most of this money; for I found that he lived chiefly on the
+contributions, voluntary or otherwise, of the Bhuttias residing in our
+territory.
+
+A servitor came forward and filled two glasses with Bhutanese liquor
+from a bamboo bottle. They were offered us; and my subaltern and I made
+a heroic attempt to drink the nauseous-looking stuff. But the smell was
+enough. The taste! A mixture of castor and codliver oil, senna and
+asafoetida would have been nectar compared with it. We begged to be
+excused, on the plea that we had been teetotallers all our lives. I then
+ordered my present to be brought forward. It was a haunch of a _sambhur_
+which I had shot two days before. The gift was a great success. The Deb
+Zimpun's eyes glistened and he showed his teeth, stained red with
+betel-nut chewing, in a gracious smile. His unkempt followers crowded
+around us, looked hungrily at the meat, and seemed to calculate whether
+there was enough to go round. The Maharajah of Bhutan, as a good
+Buddhist, had recently decreed that for two years no animals were to be
+slaughtered for food in his country. So this venison was a luxury to
+them all. Before the excellent impression of our gift could die Creagh
+and I rose to take our leave and departed hurriedly.
+
+But we were not to escape so easily. Hardly had we reached the Mess on
+our return when we were informed that the Deb Zimpun had, as a special
+mark of favour, sent his two best musicians to play for us. So we came
+out on the veranda and found two swarthy ruffians squatting in the
+garden, holding silver-banded pipes like flageolets. We seated
+ourselves and the performance began. I have patiently endured Chinese,
+Japanese, and Indian music, have even listened unmoved to the strains of
+a German band in London; but the ear-piercing, soul-harrowing noises
+that these two ruffians produced were too much for me. We wondered, if
+these were the Envoy's best musicians, what his worst could be like. I
+hurriedly presented each of them with a rupee and sent them away, more
+than compensated by the money for their abrupt dismissal.
+
+On the following day we invited the Deb Zimpun to lunch with us in the
+Mess and instructed our Gurkha cook to do his best, which was not much.
+We found that our guest, having visited India before and having
+accompanied the Tongsa _Penlop_ to Calcutta, was quite expert in the use
+of a knife and fork, and enjoyed European fare. He was very temperate
+and refused to touch liquor. But he was not imitated in this by his
+suite. After lunch he told us that his lama, who was sitting with the
+rest of his followers in the Mess garden, was anxious to taste whisky,
+of which he had heard. We invited the priest in and poured him out a
+stiff five-finger peg of neat Scotch whisky. The holy man smelled it,
+raised the glass to his lips, and elevated it until not a drop was left.
+He could not apparently make up his mind as to whether he liked the
+liquor or not. So we offered him another glass. He accepted it and
+disposed of it as promptly. We looked at him in astonishment; but it had
+no effect on him. I told the interpreter to ask him what he thought of
+whisky.
+
+"I don't like it much; it is too sweet," replied the lama.
+
+We officers glanced at each other; and the same idea occurred to us
+all. It happened that some time before we had got a small cask of beer
+from Calcutta, which, owing to the journey or the heat, had gone very
+sour and tasted abominably. A large glass of this delectable beverage
+was offered to the holy man. As he drained it a beatific smile spread
+over his saintly but exceedingly dirty face and he put down the empty
+glass with a sigh.
+
+"Ah! that is good. That is very good," he said to the interpreter. "I
+would like more."
+
+So he was given another large tumblerful. Then, absolutely unaffected by
+his potations, he left the Mess reluctantly. After this experience we
+kept this beer, while it lasted, for Bhuttia visitors, and found it a
+popular brand.
+
+After lunch I brought the Deb Zimpun down to shoot on the rifle-range,
+as he had expressed a wish to that effect through the interpreter. He
+seemed to understand the mechanism of the Lee-Enfield and made some fair
+shooting at a moving target at two hundred yards. When my score proved
+better than his he said laughingly that the rifle was not the weapon
+with which he was best acquainted, but that he would challenge me one
+day to a match with bows and arrows. By this time the old man and I had
+become quite friendly, and we had all taken a liking to him. He had
+invited me to pay a visit to Bhutan and promised to obtain the
+permission of the Maharajah for me to enter the country.
+
+Consequently I was not pleased when next day I received a letter from
+the civil authorities of the district informing me that the Deb Zimpun
+was occupying the Circuit House without permission, and requesting me to
+remove him and his retinue to Chunabatti. The Political Officer had
+asked that he might be allowed to reside in it; but, as on a previous
+occasion he and his followers had done so and left it in an absolutely
+uninhabitable state, this permission was now refused. The letter stated
+that it had cost two hundred rupees to clean the house and make it fit
+for European occupation again. I thought that this was but a small sum,
+after all, compared with the two thousand the Government were already
+expending on him. And to turn the Envoy of a friendly State out of the
+house he was occupying in all good faith seemed an insulting course. If
+he refused to vacate it peaceably, I presume I was expected to use
+force, which would probably result in bloodshed. As to the issue there
+could be no doubt, as the swords and bows of his followers would be poor
+things to oppose to our rifles. But it seemed to me that this would be
+giving rather too warm a reception to an official visitor and guest of
+the Government of India. So I refused to comply with the wishes of the
+civil authorities, much to the relief of the Political Officer when he
+arrived and was informed of the matter. He told me that had I acted
+otherwise it would have given dire offence in Bhutan just at a time when
+our Government were particularly anxious to be on good terms with the
+Bhutanese. I only understood what he meant when, more than a year
+afterwards, I heard of the signing of the treaty with the Maharajah,
+which placed the foreign affairs of the country under our control.
+
+But, unfortunately, the Agent had received the same instructions as I;
+and, to avoid trouble, he induced the Deb Zimpun to go to Chunabatti and
+reside in his home. The Envoy was very displeased at having to leave
+the Circuit House. I offered to place the empty bungalow, known as the
+Married Officers' Quarters, at his disposal; but the old gentleman,
+though very grateful and thanking me warmly, declined, as he did not
+want to make another move.
+
+The day after our luncheon-party to the Deb Zimpun a detachment of
+native police came from Alipur Duar escorting a train of coolies
+carrying wooden boxes which contained the fifty thousand rupees of the
+subsidy. These were handed over to me; and I placed them in our
+guard-room under a special sentry. Lastly the Political Officer, Mr
+Bell, arrived by train from Darjeeling, which is three days' ride from
+Gantok. He was accompanied by a portly Sikkimese head clerk in wadded
+Chinese silk coat and gown, another clerk and a couple of pig-tailed
+Sikkimese soldiers in striped petticoats and straw hats like inverted
+flower-pots ornamented with a long peacock feather.
+
+On the day after his arrival the Durbar was held. On the parade ground a
+few of our tents were pitched to form an open-air reception hall. A
+Guard of Honour of two native officers and a hundred sepoys in their
+full-dress uniform of red tunics, blue trousers and white spats, was
+drawn up near it; and the boxes of treasure were brought down and
+deposited on the ground beside the tents. The only outside visitors were
+the nearest civil official, the Subdivisional Officer of Alipur Duar,
+and his wife and children; the three British officers and the native
+officers not required with the Guard joined them in the tents. Mr Bell,
+wearing his political uniform, descended on to the parade ground from my
+bungalow and was received with a salute by the Guard of Honour. Then to
+the beating of tom-toms and the wild strains of barbaric music a double
+file of Bhuttias advanced across the parade ground escorting the Envoy,
+who was riding a mule. We hardly recognised our old friend. He was
+magnificently garbed for the occasion in a very voluminous robe of red
+silk embroidered with Chinese symbols in gold, and wore a gold-edged cap
+in shape something like a papal tiara. At the tail of the procession
+came a number of coolies carrying baskets of oranges and packages
+wrapped up in paper.
+
+In front of the tents the Envoy dismounted. The Political Officer came
+forward to shake hands with him; and the Deb Zimpun threw a white silk
+scarf around his neck. This scarf is called the _Khatag_ and is the
+invariable Tibetan and Bhutanese accompaniment of a reception. It is
+also sent with important official letters. Bell now presented each of us
+formally to the Envoy, who shook hands solemnly and hung us with
+scarves. The scene in its picturesque setting of mountains and jungle
+was a striking one. The Political Officer in his trim uniform and the
+British officers in their scarlet tunics were outshone by the gaudier
+garbs of the Asiatics. The Deb Zimpun's flowing red robe, the head clerk
+in his flowered black silk Chinese garb, the Sikkimese soldiers in their
+bright garments and the Bhutanese in their kimonos, made a blaze of
+varied hues. Along one side of the ground was the scarlet and blue line
+of the Guard of Honour, the yellow and gold _puggris_ or turbans of the
+native officers and the gold-threaded cummerbunds, or waist-sashes, of
+the sepoys shining in the brilliant sun. Above the Guard the slope and
+wall of the fort were crowded with the other men of the detachment in
+white undress, mingled with native followers in brighter colours. Down
+the other side of the parade ground was a long line of Bhuttia men,
+women, and children.
+
+[Illustration: THE DURBAR IN BUXA.]
+
+When we were seated the Deb Zimpun produced a document accrediting him
+as the duly appointed envoy and representative of the Bhutan Government
+to receive the subsidy. This having been perused by the Political
+Officer and his head clerk and the official seals inspected, the boxes
+of money were formally handed over. The usual procedure was to have one
+of them opened and the contents counted, but on this occasion the Deb
+Zimpun accepted them as correct and ordered his escort to take charge of
+them. They were hoisted on the backs of porters who took them off to
+Chunabatti. Then coolies came forward with the Envoy's basket of oranges
+and the packages, which we found to contain cheap native blankets worth
+a couple of shillings each. Oranges and blankets were given to each of
+us. But as the Government of India has made a strict rule that no civil
+or military officer in its service is to accept a present from natives,
+the blankets were taken charge of by Bell's clerks to be sold afterwards
+and the proceeds credited to Government. We were allowed to keep the
+oranges. This proceeding terminated the Durbar.
+
+As the officers of the detachment had invited the visitors to lunch, we
+now adjourned to the Mess. Although our guests consisted only of the
+Envoy, Bell, the Subdivisional Officer, Mr Ainslie, and his wife and two
+children, our resources were sorely strained to provide enough furniture
+for them. The doctor had to sit on a box. The head clerk acted as
+interpreter and stood behind the Political Officer's chair. A special
+shooting-party having descended to the jungle the previous day to
+replenish the larder, the menu was almost luxurious.
+
+After luncheon the Ainslies departed to Santrabari, where they were
+encamped, having declined our hospitality in Buxa. As Bell was desirous
+of entertaining the Deb Zimpun himself, he had arranged a dinner to him
+and us in the forest officer's empty bungalow that evening. So it
+devolved on me to keep our old gentleman amused until dinner-time, while
+the Political Officer wrote his despatches. I took our guest down to the
+rifle-range and kept him busy there till sunset. Then we had to go to my
+house, where I tried to entertain him by showing him old copies of
+English illustrated journals. But these require a deal of explanation to
+the untutored Oriental, who cannot understand the portraits of the
+favourites of the stage in the scanty costumes in which they are
+frequently photographed. And I was distinctly embarrassed by some of the
+Deb Zimpun's questions.
+
+At dinner-time Bell preceded us from my bungalow, where he was staying,
+and was ready to receive us on the veranda of the forest officer's house
+when, escorted by servants carrying lanterns, we toiled up the steep
+path to it. Dinner was laid in the long, draughty centre room in the
+rambling wooden edifice; and as the night was cold the apartment was
+warmed by an iron stove. The furniture was scantier and worse than in
+the Mess. When we sat down to table the Deb Zimpun's rickety chair
+collapsed under his weight and sent him sprawling on the floor. It was
+an undignified opening to our official banquet. The old man presented a
+ludicrous spectacle as he lay entangled in his red silk robe with the
+gold-trimmed papal cap tilted over his eye; but we rushed to help him up
+and controlled our countenances until we found him laughing heartily at
+his own mishap. Then one glance at our host's horrified expression set
+us off. A fresh chair was with difficulty procured and we sat down
+again.
+
+After dinner we gathered round the stove in informal fashion and smoked,
+the Deb Zimpun helping himself steadily to my cigars. With the aid of
+the head clerk, who was present to interpret, the conversation grew
+almost animated. Our old gentleman expressed himself deeply gratified by
+the kindness he had received from the officers of the detachment,
+particularly the offer of a military bungalow, and said that if he
+returned to Buxa the following year he hoped to find us all there again.
+Me he personally regarded as a brother. We drank his health, a
+compliment he quite understood, and with difficulty refrained from
+singing "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow." When he departed we escorted him
+as far as the Mess and bade him a vociferous "Good night," to the
+amazement of the squad of ragged swordsmen and lantern-bearers who were
+accompanying him back to Chunabatti.
+
+Next day Bell left us to return to Sikkim; and we expected the Deb
+Zimpun would also take his departure for Bhutan with the subsidy. But
+day after day passed without any sign of his going, and we began to
+wonder at his remaining after the purpose of his visit was completed. I
+invited him to lunch with me again. One afternoon he appeared at the
+head of his wild gathering, all of them carrying bows. He had come to
+challenge me to an archery contest. We set up targets on the range at a
+distance of two hundred yards. He defeated me easily, and chaffed me
+gaily over his victory. To retrieve my honour I sent to the fort for
+some Sikh throwing quoits, formerly used as weapons in war. They are of
+thin steel with edges ground sharp, and when thrown by an expert will
+skim through the air for nearly two hundred yards and would almost cut
+clean through a man if they struck him fair. They ricochet off the
+ground for a good distance after the first graze. We set up plantain
+tree stems as targets, for the soft wood does not injure the edge. I
+showed the Envoy how to hold and throw the weapon; but his first shot
+went very wide indeed and nearly ended the mortal career of one of his
+swordsmen. However, he improved with a little practice, and insisted
+that all his followers should try the sport.
+
+A day or two after this my detachment did its annual field firing. This
+is a most practical form of musketry, consisting of an attack on a
+position with ball cartridge, the enemy being represented by small
+targets, the size of a man's head, nearly hidden behind entrenchments or
+suddenly appearing from holes dug in the ground. I invited the Envoy and
+his suite to witness it. The Deb Zimpun was deeply interested. He
+followed us everywhere as we scrambled up and down steep hills firing on
+the small marks dotted about between the trees, in the jungle and at the
+bottom of precipices. The attack was arranged to finish up on the parade
+ground where we could make use of the running and vanishing targets in
+the rifle butts. The Bhuttias were immensely delighted with the
+crouching figures of men drawn swiftly across the range and saluted
+with bursts of rapid fire from the sepoys' rifles. But they broke into
+an excited roar when our men fixed bayonets and charged the position
+with loud cheers; and I looked back to find the Bhuttias following us at
+a run, waving their swords and yelling wildly. When I went round to
+inspect the targets and count the hits, the Deb Zimpun and his followers
+accompanied me and were much impressed by the accuracy of the shooting.
+They talked eagerly, pointed out the bullet-holes to each other, and
+shook their heads solemnly over them. The interpreter told me that they
+were saying that they would be sorry to face our soldiers in battle
+after seeing the range, accuracy, and rapidity of fire of our rifles.
+The Deb Zimpun returned with me to my bungalow and enjoyed a meal of
+tea, cake, and chocolate creams as heartily as a schoolboy. On departing
+he shook my hand and bade the interpreter express the interest with
+which he had watched the field firing.
+
+But alas for the inconstancy of human friendships! Our pleasant
+intercourse was destined to an abrupt termination. The very next day I
+was informed that the genial old gentleman had been levying blackmail on
+Bhuttias residing in our territory and had seized and imprisoned in the
+house in which he resided a man, three women, and three children,
+intending to carry them off to Bhutan. The unexpected appearance of a
+score of my men with rifles and fixed bayonets changed the programme;
+and the prisoners were removed to our fort until Government should
+decide their fate. As we marched them through Chunabatti the villagers
+flocked round us and called down blessings on our heads for saving their
+friends. One old lady, the wife of the male prisoner, fell on the
+ground before Smith, who had accompanied me, embraced his legs and
+kissed his feet, much to our medical officer's embarrassment.
+
+Much correspondence and a Government inquiry resulted in the freedom of
+the wretched captives. But before their release the Envoy, in response
+to impatient letters from the Maharajah who was none too well pleased
+with the delay in his return with the subsidy, marched off over the
+hills to Bhutan without a farewell to us.
+
+The case of the man who had been seized is a typical example of the
+justice meted out in uncivilised countries. He was named Tashi and had
+been born in Buxa before its capture by the British in 1864 and its
+subsequent incorporation in our territory. After the war his family
+retired across the newly made boundary. His father possessed land in a
+village close to the frontier, which was in the jurisdiction of a
+certain _jongpen_. He acquired more several miles away in a district
+governed by another _jongpen_. On his death he left everything to Tashi,
+who continued to reside in the first village. The second official
+objected to this and eventually confiscated the land in his district and
+applied it to his own use. When Tashi threatened to appeal to the
+Supreme Council at Punakha he sent a party of his retainers to slay him
+as the easiest method of avoiding litigation. When the other _jongpen_
+remonstrated against this invasion of his district and proceeded to
+repel it by force, his brother official pointed out to him that he could
+not do better than follow the good example set him and seize Tashi's
+remaining property. The advice seemed good; and the first _jongpen_
+determined to kill Tashi himself. He sent several soldiers to put him to
+death; but as they learned on arrival that the unfortunate owner of this
+Bhutanese Naboth's vineyard had several stalwart sons and possessed a
+gun, the gallant warriors contented themselves with establishing a
+cordon round the village and sending for reinforcements. The luckless
+Tashi realised that discretion was the better part of valour. He bribed
+some of the soldiers to let him pass through the cordon at night and
+with his family and five cows, all that he could save from the wreck, he
+escaped into British territory. But the two Ahabs were not satisfied. It
+was always believed that Tashi had managed to take some hoarded wealth
+with him, although he lived in a poor way and worked hard for his living
+in India. And this belief accounted for his capture on this occasion. On
+previous visits of the Envoy he and his family had taken the precaution
+to leave Chunabatti before his arrival.
+
+After his release Tashi resolutely refused to quit Buxa.
+
+"The Commanding Sahib is my father and my mother," he declared. "He has
+saved my worthless life," for he had been informed that he would be put
+to death as soon as he was out of British territory; "and I will not
+leave his shadow, in which I and my family will dwell the rest of our
+lives." However, he thought that this might not prove sufficient shelter
+from the weather; so he built a bamboo house in the cantonment limits
+and announced that he felt safe at last under our protection. Like all
+Asiatics he considered that my interference on his behalf had
+constituted a claim on me. However, as he was a useful man, I found
+employment for him and allowed him to continue to reside in Buxa.
+
+In the following year the Political Officer, accompanied by Captain
+Kennedy, I.M.S., passed through Buxa on their way to Bhutan, where the
+subsidy, now doubled, was paid in Punakha, the capital, and the treaty
+by which the country was placed under British protection signed by the
+Maharajah. So the Deb Zimpun and I never met again.
+
+There is a certain type of individuals with malformed minds who moan
+over the subjugation of the countries of barbarous nations by civilised
+Powers. Do they honestly believe that the cause of humanity is better
+served by allowing the noble savage to plunder and slay the weak at his
+own sweet will rather than by subjecting him to the domination of
+Europeans, be they French, Germans, Russians, Italians or British, who
+guarantee freedom of life and property in the lands under their rule?
+Liberty, with these barbarous races, means the liberty of the strong to
+oppress the weak. Here, in the borderland of Bhutan to-day, the peasant
+can till the soil, the trader enjoy his hard-earned wealth, where,
+before the _pax Britannica_ settled on it, rapine, blood, and lust went
+unchecked, where no man's life nor woman's honour was safe from the
+fierce raiders of the hills. We hold the gates of India. Inside them all
+is peace. Beyond them, oppression, injustice, murder!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V
+
+IN THE JUNGLE
+
+    An Indian jungle--The trees--Creepers--Orchids--The
+        undergrowth--On an elephant in the jungle--Forcing a
+        passage--Wild bees--Red ants--A lost river--A _sambhur_
+        hind--Spiders--Jungle fowl--A stag--_Hallal_--Wounded
+        beasts--A halt--Skinning the stag--Ticks--Butcher
+        apprentices--Natural rope--Water in the air--_Pani
+        bel_--Trail of wild elephants--Their habits--An
+        impudent monkey--An adventure with a rogue
+        elephant--Fire lines--Wild dogs--A giant squirrel--The
+        barking deer--A good bag--Spotted deer--Protective
+        colouring--Dangerous beasts--Natives' dread of bears--A
+        bison calf--The fascination of the forest--The generous
+        jungle--Wild vegetables--Natural products--A home in
+        the trees--Forest Lodge the First--Destroyed by a wild
+        elephant--Its successor--A luncheon-party in the
+        air--The salt lick--Discovery of a coal mine--A
+        monkey's parliament--The jungle by night.
+
+
+From the dense tangled undergrowth the great trees lift their bare
+stems, each striving to push its leafy crown through the thick canopy of
+foliage and get its share of the sun. The huge trunks are devoid of
+branches for many feet above the ground; but around them twist giant
+creepers which strangle them in close embrace and sink their coils deep
+into the bark. Here and there a tree, killed by the cruel pressure,
+stands withered and lifeless but still held up by the murderous
+parasite. From bole to bole these creepers, thick as a ship's hawser,
+swing in festoons, coiling and writhing around each other in tangled
+confusion. Tree-trunk and bough are matted with the glossy green leaves
+and trails of mauve and white blossoms of innumerable orchids. The trees
+are not the slender palms that fill the pictures of tropical jungles by
+untravelled artists, but the giants of the forest--huge _sal_ and teak
+trees and straight-stemmed _simal_ with its buttressed trunk star-shaped
+in section with its curious projecting flanges.
+
+Through the leafy canopy high overhead the sunlight can scarcely filter,
+and fills the forest with a pleasant green gloom. The undergrowth is
+dense and rank--tangled and thorny bushes, high grass, shrubs covered
+with great bell-shaped white flowers--so thick that a man on foot must
+hack his way through it. But here and there are open glades where the
+ground is covered with tall bracken. Near the hills and in the damper
+jungle to the south the bamboo grows extensively. Beside the river-beds
+are patches of elephant grass, eight to ten feet high, with feathered
+plumes six feet higher still. This is so strong and dense as to be
+almost impenetrable to men, but everywhere through it wild elephants
+have made paths. Wherever the big trees have been felled and the sun can
+reach the ground the vegetation grows more luxuriantly. And, in the
+southern belt of the forest, where the water from the hills rises to the
+surface again, the jungle is wilder and more tropical. Here are huge
+tree-ferns, the under sides of the fronds studded with long and sharp
+thorns. Cane brakes, through which none but the heaviest and strongest
+animals can make their way, abound.
+
+Through the tangled confusion of undergrowth and twisted creepers my
+elephant forces a passage with swaying stride, as a steamer ploughs her
+way through a heavy sea and shoulders the waves aside. I am sitting on
+Khartoum's pad near the _mahout_ perched astride her neck, guiding her
+by the pressure of his feet behind her huge flapping ears. A network of
+leafy branches of low trees bound together by lianas bars her progress.
+At a word she lifts her trunk and tears it down, while the _mahout_
+hacks at bough and creeper with his _kukri_ or heavy, curved knife. As
+she moves on she plucks a small branch and strikes her sides and stomach
+with it to drive off the flies which are annoying her. For thick as her
+skin is, yet the insects which prey on her can pierce it and drive her
+frantic. And once, feeling a sudden pain in my instep, I looked at my
+foot and discovered an elephant fly biting through a lace hole in my
+boot. Khartoum, having driven off the pests temporarily, lifts the
+branch to her mouth and chews it, wood and all. Bechan, her _mahout_,
+espies a small creeper which is highly esteemed by the natives as a
+febrifuge and is considered a good tonic for elephants. So he directs
+her attention to it. Out shoots the snake-like trunk and tears it from
+the tree around which it is growing; and, crunching it with enjoyment,
+she strides on through the undergrowth. Suddenly Bechan, in evident
+alarm, kicks her violently behind the left ear and beats her thick skull
+with the heavy iron goad he carries, the _ankus_, a short crook with a
+sharp spike at the end. Khartoum stops short, then moves off to the
+right. Thinking that he has seen some dangerous wild animal I whisper in
+Hindustani, "What is it, Bechan?" "Bees," he says shortly and points
+apparently to a lump of mud hanging from a low branch right in our
+former path. Then I understand that he would be far less alarmed at the
+sight of a tiger. For a swarm of wild bees is regarded with terrified
+respect in India. The lump of mud is a nest; and, had we continued on
+our original course and brushed against it, we would have been promptly
+attacked by a cloud of these irritable little insects whose stings have
+killed many a man. So we prudently give the nest a wide berth. The wild
+beasts of the forest are not its only dangers. As again Khartoum tears
+her way through some low-hanging branches, I feel a sudden sting and
+burning pain in the back of my bare neck. I put my hand to the spot and
+my fingers close on a big red ant which, knocked from a bough, has
+fallen on me and is avenging its being disturbed by burying its venomous
+little fangs in my flesh. Though I crush it, the pain of its bite
+lingers for hours. Sometimes one dislodges a number of these insects
+when forcing a passage through dense jungle; and they at once attack the
+man or animal they alight on. So it is necessary to keep a sharp
+look-out for them as well as for bees. Nor are these the only perils
+that lurk in the trees. Though in the jungle serpents do not hang by
+their tails from every branch, as we read in the books of wonderful
+adventures that delighted our boyhood, still there is supposed to be one
+poisonous snake in the Terai which lies along the branches, and if
+dislodged strikes the disturber with deadly fang. I fortunately never
+saw one; though in another place I have shot a viper in a tree.
+
+We plod steadily on through the jungle. A gleam of daylight between the
+stems of the trees shows that we are approaching a _nullah_. Khartoum
+comes to a stop on the edge of the steep bank of a broad and empty
+river-bed. After the gloom of the forest the bright transition into the
+glaring sunlight is dazzling. To the right I can now see the mountains
+towering above us; and, two thousand feet up, on the dark face of the
+hills, the three Picquet Towers of Buxa shine out in the sun. At our
+feet on the white sand lie huge rounded rocks which have been rolled
+down from the mountains by the furious torrents of the last rainy
+season. The river-bed is dry now; but were we to follow it a few miles
+to the south, we would find at first an occasional pool and then further
+on the water appearing above the surface and flowing on in a gradually
+increasing stream. For these smaller rivers are lost underground in the
+boulder formation near the foot of the hills and rise again ten miles
+further south.
+
+Our elephant slips and stumbles over the polished, rounded rocks until
+she reaches the opposite bank. Up it she climbs at so steep an angle
+that to avoid sliding off I have to lie at full length along the pad and
+hold on to the front edge of it until she regains level ground. We pass
+from the glare of the sunlight into the cool shade of the forest, and
+the trees close around us and shut off the mountains from our view. As
+we push our way through the undergrowth the _mahout_ stops the elephant
+suddenly. "_Sambhur!_" he whispers. Following the direction of his
+outstretched arm my eyes see nothing at first but the tangled
+vegetation, the straight tree-trunks and the curving festoons of
+creepers. But gradually they rest on a warm patch of colour and I make
+out the form of a deer scarcely visible in the deep shadows. "_Maddi_"
+(a female) grunts Bechan disgustedly and urges on his elephant. For he
+knows the Sahibs', to him, ridiculous forest law, which ordains that
+females are not to be slain, although their flesh is more toothsome than
+that of a tough old stag.
+
+It is a _sambhur_ hind. Apparently aware of her immunity she stands
+watching us unconcernedly. Accustomed to the wild species, other animals
+allow tame elephants to approach close to them until they discover the
+presence of human beings on their backs. So this hind looks calmly at
+Khartoum. Her long ears twitch restlessly, but otherwise she is
+motionless; and I can admire her graceful form and the rich brown colour
+of her hide at my ease. But at last it dawns on her that there is
+something wrong about our elephant. She swings round and crashes off
+through the undergrowth and is lost to sight in a moment. And we resume
+our course.
+
+Across our path from bush to bush great spiders have spun their webs;
+and Khartoum, pushing through them, has accumulated so many layers of
+them across her face as to blind her. So the _mahout_ leans down and
+tears them off. These spiders are huge black insects measuring several
+inches from tip to tip; and their webs are stout and strong almost as
+linen.
+
+Something scuttling over the fallen leaves in the undergrowth draws my
+attention and I raise my rifle, only to lower it when, with a frightened
+squawk, a jungle hen flutters up out of the bushes and flies away among
+the trees. These birds are the progenitors of our ordinary barnyard
+fowl, and so like them that once close to Santrabari, when out with a
+shot-gun, I let several hens pass me unscathed, under the impression
+that they were fowls belonging to our _mahouts_. And when in the heart
+of the forest I first heard the cocks crowing I thought that we were
+near a village. In Northern India these jungle cocks are beautifully
+plumaged with red, yellow, and dark green feathers and long tails. In
+Southern India they are speckled black and white with a little yellow.
+When in the forest villages the tame roosters crow, their challenge is
+taken up and repeated by the wild ones in the jungle around. And the
+natives often peg out a cock and surround him with snares to catch the
+wild birds which come to attack him.
+
+But now Bechan suddenly stops Khartoum and whispers excitedly, "_Sambhur
+nur!_" "A stag." For a moment I can see nothing in the tangled bit of
+jungle he points to. Then suddenly the deepened blackness of a patch of
+shadow reveals itself as the dark hide of a _sambhur_ stag. We have
+almost passed him. He is to my right rear; and I cannot swing round far
+enough to fire from the right shoulder. But I bring up the rifle rapidly
+to my left and press the trigger. As the recoil of the heavy .470
+high-velocity weapon almost knocks me back flat on the pad I hear a
+crash in the brushwood. "_Shabash! Luga!_ (Well done! Hit!") cries
+Bechan and slips from the neck of the elephant to the ground. Drawing
+his knife he dashes into the jungle. For, being a Mussulman, he is
+anxious to reach the stricken stag and _hallal_ it; that is, let blood
+by cutting its throat while there is life in it. For the Mohammedan
+religion enjoins that an animal is only lawful food if the blood has run
+before its death. This is borrowed from the Mosaic Law and is really a
+hygienic precaution against long-dead carrion being eaten.
+
+From the elephant's back I cannot see the quarry now, but I slip down to
+the ground and leave Khartoum standing stolidly, contentedly plucking
+and chewing leaves from the trees around. Following Bechan's track I
+find him holding the horn of a still feebly struggling _sambhur_ and
+drawing his knife across its throat. The animal is a fine old stag about
+fourteen hands high. The bullet has broken its shoulder and pierced its
+heart. But such a wound does not necessarily imply instantaneous death.
+I have seen a tiger, shot through the heart, dash across a _nullah_ and
+climb half-way up the steep bank until laid low by a second bullet. And
+_sambhur_ and other deer stricken in the same manner will run a hundred
+yards before dropping. But this stag will never move again of its own
+volition. As the blood gushes from the gaping wound in the throat the
+limbs twitch violently and are still. Then Bechan raises its head for me
+to photograph. This done I look at my watch. It is almost noon and I
+have been on the elephant's back since six o'clock, so I am glad of a
+rest; and, sitting on the ground with my back against a tree, I pull out
+sandwiches and my water-bottle and have my lunch. But, having on a
+previous occasion been disturbed by a rogue wild elephant, I lay my
+loaded rifle beside me.
+
+Bechan is busily employed. He cuts off the head, _grallochs_ the stag
+and begins to flay it. After my lunch I get up to help him; for a
+sportsman in India soon learns to turn his hand to this gruesome task.
+It is a long job; and the _sambhur_ is a heavy weight when we come to
+turn him over. The skin, particularly on the belly, is covered with
+ticks, some big, bloated and immovably fixed, others small and agile. We
+have to watch carefully lest any of them lodge on us, which they are apt
+to do; for, with its jaws once clenched in the skin, this insect can
+only be got rid of by cutting the body off and then pulling the head
+away, which generally takes a bit of one's skin with it. And the
+irritation of a bite lasts for months.
+
+[Illustration: A SAMBHUR STAG AND MY ELEPHANT.]
+
+[Illustration: BRINGING HOME THE BAG.]
+
+At last the animal is completely flayed and the skin rolled up into a
+bundle; for it makes excellent leather, and is much used in India for
+soft shooting-boots and gaiters. Then Bechan displays his aptitude for
+the butcher's trade. With his heavy curved _kukri_ he divides the
+carcass, hacking through the thick bones with powerful blows. Having cut
+it into portable pieces (for a whole _sambhur_ weighs six or seven
+hundred pounds) he leaves me wondering as to where the rope to tie them
+up will come from. He looks around him and then goes to a
+straight-stemmed small tree with grey and black mottled bark. He cuts
+off a long flap of this bark, disclosing an inner skin. In this he makes
+incisions with his knife, pulls a long strip of it off and cuts it into
+narrower strips. He hands one of these to me and tells me to test its
+strength. Pull as I will I cannot break it. This is the _udal_ tree
+which thus provides a natural cordage of wonderful strength. It is very
+common in the forest. Making a hole between the bones of a haunch Bechan
+passes a length of this fibre through and knots it. Then it takes all
+our combined strength to lift the haunch and bear it to where Khartoum
+is still patiently waiting. With difficulty we raise and fasten it to
+the ropes around the pad. And when at last we have secured all this
+meat, destined for hungry officers and sepoys in the fort and the
+_mahouts_ and their families in Santrabari we look like butchers'
+apprentices. My khaki shooting-garments are stained, my hands are
+covered with blood and grime. I gaze around me hopelessly for water,
+though I know we are miles from a stream. But the resources of this
+wonderful jungle are not exhausted. Bechan points to one of the myriad
+lianas criss-crossing between the trees.
+
+"_Pani bel._ The water creeper," he says. I have heard of this
+extraordinary plant and look carefully at it. It is about two inches in
+diameter, four-sided rather than round, with rough, corrugated, withered
+bark, in appearance similar to the corkwood bark used for rustic
+summer-houses in England. Bechan walks to a hanging festoon of it and
+cuts it through with a blow of his _kukri_. Nothing happens. I am
+disappointed; for I had expected to find it tubular and see a stream of
+water gush out. But the interior is of a white pulpy and moist material.
+Then Bechan strikes another blow and holds up a length of the creeper
+cut off. Suddenly from one end of this water begins to trickle and soon
+flows freely. I wash my hands, using clay as soap. Bechan then tells me
+to taste the water. Holding the cut creeper above my head I let the
+water drain into my mouth and find it cold and delicious as spring
+water. This useful _pani bel_, like the _udal_, is found everywhere in
+these forests; and, as I am anxious to learn all I can of jungle lore to
+instruct my sepoys, I carefully note the appearance of both.
+
+We have consumed two hours in the task of flaying and cutting up the
+_sambhur_. We sit down to rest and smoke before moving on again. I
+light a cigarette and Bechan pulls out the clay head of a hookah and
+fills it with coarse native tobacco.
+
+Then at length, with Khartoum hung round with meat and looking like a
+perambulating butcher's shop, we move on again. After we had been going
+for ten minutes we come to a spot where a number of trees, some nearly
+two feet in diameter, have been uprooted, and their upper branches
+stripped off. This is the work of wild elephants, which push down the
+trees with their heads to reach the leaves in the tops. We find their
+trail in the long grass and bushes--not wide, for elephants move in
+single file, so that it is difficult to tell whether one or twenty have
+passed. However here and there tracks diverge from the main trail and
+rejoin it further on, showing where one of the animals has wandered off
+to one side in search of some succulent morsel; and in the sandy bed of
+a dry stream we find their footprints, huge, almost circular impression
+in the dust. Each elephant seems to step exactly in the marks of the
+leader. Even tame ones advancing over open country will walk in single
+file if left to themselves. We reach a spot where the herd had evidently
+passed the night. All around the grass is pressed down and shows where
+the huge beasts lay down to sleep. Wild elephants usually halt from
+about 10 p.m. to 4 a.m., then move and feed until 10 or 11 a.m., when
+they stop and shelter from the heat of the day in thick jungle. About
+three or four o'clock in the afternoon they get on the move again; and
+if they come upon water then they bathe. They travel about twenty or
+thirty miles in the day, though if alarmed will keep on for double that
+distance.
+
+While we are following this trail a loud crash ahead of us awakens the
+silent forest. I think at once that it is caused by the herd in whose
+tracks we are. But Bechan, who is a man of few words, mutters
+"_bunder_". And I look up and see a troop of monkeys leaping through the
+upper branches and hurling themselves in alarm at the sight of us from
+tree to tree. But their insatiable curiosity brings them back to peep at
+us. Once this curiosity in one developed into impertinence; and the
+impudent little beast deliberately pelted me. It happened that day that
+when on foot I had been attacked by a rogue elephant which I had only
+brought down with a bullet in the head fifteen paces from me. Ruffled by
+the encounter I was going back to camp, seated on Khartoum's back.
+Passing under a big tree a jungle fruit fell on me. Then, raising my
+head, I saw a monkey in the tree grimacing and grinning derisively at
+me. Coming after the elephant's attack his insolence seemed to add
+insult to injury, and I felt tempted to reward it with a bullet. But it
+would have been unnecessary cruelty; and I passed on leaving him still
+mowing and making faces at me.
+
+We leave the elephants' trail and emerge on a "fire line"; for in these
+Government forests parallel belts, about twenty yards broad, are cleared
+annually in an attempt to confine the ravages of the jungle fires in the
+hot weather. They run east and west and are a mile apart, so that they
+serve not only as roads, but also as guides to one's whereabouts in the
+forest. As we come suddenly out on the fire line we see two or three
+fox-like animals playing in it. They are the dreaded wild dogs which do
+infinite damage to game. Even the tiger regards them with dislike and
+fear; for, small as they are, they will worry him in a pack, chasing him
+night and day and giving him no rest. They keep him always on the move,
+remaining out of his reach until he is exhausted from fatigue and want
+of sleep. They are pretty little animals, generally reddish, with sharp
+ears and bushy tails. As soon as these stray dogs in the fire line see
+us they bolt off into the jungle before I can get a shot at them; for on
+account of the harm they do to the game every sportsman tries to kill
+them. I once came upon a _sambhur_ and her fawn being attacked by a
+number of these jungle pests. The hind was circling round, trying to
+keep between her offspring and the enemy, and striking at the assailants
+with her sharp hoof. Whilst some of the dogs engaged her in front others
+tried to dash in at the fawn, retreating at once when the angry mother
+swung round at them. They had already hamstrung the poor little beast
+and torn out one of its eyes; so, when they fled as soon as they caught
+sight of my elephant and the hind ran off, I put the wretched fawn out
+of its misery with a merciful shot.
+
+Across the fire line we entered the jungle again. Along a branch over
+our heads a small animal runs swiftly and leaps into a neighbouring
+tree. It is a giant squirrel, a pretty animal with long and bushy tail
+and thick black fur, except on the breast, where it is white. It peeps
+at us from behind the tree-trunk and then is lost to sight in the
+foliage.
+
+Khartoum pursues her leisurely way through the forest; for, in thick
+jungle where we must swerve aside to avoid trees and hack a path through
+creepers and undergrowth, we hardly go a mile an hour. But on a road I
+have timed her to walk at the rate of four miles an hour. Suddenly my
+eye is caught by a flash of bright colour; and I see a _khakur_ buck and
+doe bounding through the trees ahead. Laying my hand on Bechan's
+shoulder I make him stop the elephant. Then as the graceful little deer
+cross our front in an open glade I fire and drop the male in its tracks.
+The doe bounds off in affright. As the _mahout_ picks up the pretty
+animal, too dead for him to _hallal_ it, binds its legs together and
+hands it up to me to fasten on the pad, only the thought of its
+succulent flesh reconciles me to the slaying of it. The _khakur_, or
+barking deer, as it is called from its cry, which is similar to a dog's
+bark, is of a bright chestnut colour and has a curious marking on the
+face like a pair of very black eyebrows raised in surprise and continued
+down the nose. The male has peculiar little horns with skin-covered
+pedicles about three inches long, from which project the brow antlers
+and the upper tines, which curve inward towards each other. These horns
+are small, six inches being considered a very good length. The buck has,
+in addition, a pair of sharp, thin, curved tusks in the upper jaw, which
+it uses as weapons of offence. Satisfied with our bag we turn Khartoum's
+head towards home, and reach Santrabari before dusk.
+
+Such is a typical day in the jungle. Sometimes, though rarely, I was
+unsuccessful in procuring something for the pot. But on one day I shot
+three _sambhur_ and a _khakur_. My Rajput sepoys would not eat the flesh
+of the former; for, like most Hindus, they imagined that its cloven hoof
+made it kin to the sacred cow. But the Mussulmans of the detachment,
+and the _mahouts_ and their families, and our coolies were grateful for
+the meat.
+
+Tough as a _sambhur's_ flesh is, we officers were glad of it ourselves
+when nothing better offered. But our Hindus rejoiced exceedingly
+whenever one of us brought home a wild boar; and the Mohammedans were
+correspondingly disgusted, as pork is anathema to them. The slaying of a
+boar with a gun in open country where pigsticking is possible is as
+great a crime in India as shooting a fox in a hunting county in England;
+but in the forest it is permissible. There were a few _cheetul_ or
+spotted deer very like the English fallow deer in our jungles; but I
+only saw one herd and secured one stag all the time I was at Buxa. They
+usually frequent more open forests; and the spots on their hide
+assimilating to the dappled light and shade of the sun through the
+leaves is a good example of Nature's protective colouring. Thus the
+black hide of the _sambhur_ stag blends easily with the dark shadows of
+the denser forest and makes them very hard to see.
+
+One does not often meet the dangerous beasts of the jungle by day.
+Tigers and panthers, though frequent enough, generally move only by
+night. Yet I often saw on the tree-trunks long scratches where these
+animals had cleaned and sharpened their claws, just as the domestic cat
+does on the legs of chairs and tables. They keep out of the way of
+elephants; and so I sometimes must have passed some great feline, whose
+fresh tracks I had just observed, sheltering in the undergrowth and
+watching us as we went by. I have seen high up on the stems and branches
+other scratches which showed where a bear had climbed in search of
+fruit. These animals, the dreaded large Himalayan variety, usually dwell
+in the hills and descend into the forest by night, so that they are
+rarely met with by daylight. The natives regard them with terror; for,
+if stumbled upon accidentally by some woodcutter, they will probably
+attack him and smash his skull with a crushing blow of a paw. In our
+stretch of jungle I only came across one rhinoceros and a herd of six
+bison, which, being protected by the rules of the forest department, we
+could not shoot. Once my elephant put up a stray bison calf which looked
+at us with mild curiosity until my orderly climbed down and tried to
+catch it. It trotted off out of his reach and stopped to look back at
+him. We drove it for a mile before us, hoping to shepherd it into camp
+and capture it: but we lost it in thick jungle. Wild elephants I
+occasionally came across, and had a couple of unpleasant adventures with
+them.
+
+The fascination of a day's sport in the heart of the great forest is
+beyond words. Even if nothing falls to one's rifle the pleasure of
+roaming through the woodland is intense. Of the world nothing seems to
+exist farther than the eye can see down the short vistas of soft green
+light between the giant trees. Lulled by the swaying motion of the
+elephant--not unpleasant when used to it--one's senses are nevertheless
+keenly on the alert; for every stride may disclose some strange denizen
+of the jungle either to be sought after or guarded against. And the
+beauty of it all. The fern-carpeted glades, the drooping trails of
+bright-coloured orchids, the tangled shadows of the dense undergrowth,
+the glimpses of never-ending woodland between the great boles. And
+always the hush, the intense silence of this enchanted forest.
+
+The generous jungle provides everything that savage man needs. The
+profusely growing bamboo will make his house or bridge the streams for
+him. Its delicate young shoots can be eaten. Its bark gives excellent
+lashing. Slit longitudinally it will serve as an aqueduct and convey the
+water from the mountain torrents to his door. Cut into lengths it makes
+cups and bottles for him. Should he need a cooking-pot, a length of
+bamboo cut off below a knot can be filled with water and placed on the
+fire; and the water will be boiled and food cooked long before the green
+wood is much charred. For food the forest offers deer, pigs, and fowl.
+There are several varieties of edible tubers. The unopened flowers of
+the _simal_ tree are eaten as vegetables; while its seed makes a good
+nourishing food for cattle, and the cotton of its burst-open pods is
+used for stuffing pillows. The _pua_, a shrub with hairy shoots and dark
+grey bark gives the fibre which can be woven into cloth or made into
+fishing-nets, twine and net-bags. There is a creeper, the bark of which,
+bruised and thrown into a stream, stupefies the fish and brings them
+floating to the surface, where they can be easily caught. The _pani bel_
+gives man water to drink. And, if he is ill, another creeper makes an
+excellent febrifuge, while the gum of the _udal_ tree is used as a
+purgative, and fomentations of the leaves of a shrub called _madar_ are
+excellent for sprains and bruises. Food, drink, clothing, houses,
+household utensils, medicine; what more does savage and simple man
+require?
+
+The jungle was called upon to provide me with an abode; for camping in
+tents in the forest was a very unsafe proceeding, owing to the wild
+elephants which might rush over the tents at night or, from sheer
+curiosity, pull them down and stand on them to the detriment of the
+occupants. So I got Bhuttia coolies to build a bamboo hut for me up in
+the trees. Twenty-two feet from the ground they constructed a platform
+supported by the tree-trunks and branches; and on this they erected a
+cosy three-roomed dwelling with walls of split bamboo and roof thatched
+with grass. It was reached by ladders. Although it shook to the tread of
+anyone walking about in it, it was very strong. Split bamboo partitions
+divided it off into the three apartments, sitting, bed and bathroom. It
+was quite a romantic dwelling, such as a boy steeped in the lore of
+Robinson Crusoe or Jules Verne would have loved. I named it Forest Lodge
+and regarded it with pride. I thought it safe from the destructive
+tendencies of wild elephants; for it was supported entirely by the
+neighbouring trees, with the exception of one long bamboo pole helping
+to hold up the roof. But once when it was left empty some mischievous
+elephant discovered it. How it entered into his thick skull to do it I
+do not know; but he dragged on the bamboo pole until he brought the
+whole in ruins about his ears. However, I had it built up again, this
+time with an open lower story surrounded by a bamboo wall to be used as
+a dining-room. On its apparently frail flooring of split bamboo I once
+entertained eight planters who had ridden over to see Forest Lodge the
+Second and who, with my junior officer, myself, and three servants, made
+a total of thirteen persons standing on the floor at the same time.
+When shooting or when in camp in the forest with my detachment, for I
+often brought my sepoys down to teach them jungle lore and practise them
+in bush warfare, I always occupied it. It was never again dismantled by
+elephants; though a similar but smaller building close by, occupied by
+my servants, was several times destroyed by them.
+
+[Illustration: FOREST LODGE THE FIRST.]
+
+[Illustration: FOREST LODGE THE SECOND.]
+
+The fact was that its position invited attack. It stood near a path,
+much frequented by elephants, leading to a salt lick in the hills a few
+hundred yards away. This was in a curious amphitheatre in the foothills
+where landslips had left exposed precipitous slopes of a curious white
+earth impregnated with some chemical salts, probably soda or natron, of
+which wild animals are extremely fond. Bison, elephants, and deer of all
+sorts used to come here at night to eat this earth; and tigers prowled
+around it in search of prey. Native _shikarees_ (hunters) erected
+_machans_ or platforms over it to pot the deer at their ease. This
+amphitheatre was almost a complete circle, save for one narrow chasm
+which must have been cut by the force of water. It was a winding gully,
+in places scarcely broad enough to allow the passage of an elephant with
+a pad on its back. I wondered what happened when two tuskers met in the
+narrow path. Its perpendicular sides were formed of the same white clay;
+but at their bases were seams of coal, black and shining where freshly
+exposed. When I saw them I thought that I had made a valuable discovery
+of mineral wealth. But when I broke off lumps of the coal and placed
+them on my camp fire I found that they would not burn; and I learned
+that there is coal in these hills which is a thousand years too young
+and, so, valueless. Thus faded my dream of the boundless wealth the
+jungle was to give me.
+
+Forest Lodge was a constant source of interest and wonderment to all the
+monkeys in the neighbourhood. They used to gather in the tree-tops
+around and hold conferences to discuss it. Perched on the branches
+mothers with small babies clinging to them, sedate old men and frivolous
+youngsters scratched themselves meditatively and chattered and argued as
+to what manner of strange ape I was who had thus invaded their realm.
+When restless young monkeys wearied of the endless discussion and
+started to frivol, the elder ones seemed to rebuke their levity, and
+when this failed to have the desired effect would spring with bared
+teeth on the irreverent youth to chastise them; and the meeting then
+broke up in disorder.
+
+When my detachment was encamped around Forest Lodge the scene at night,
+as I looked down from my windows, was truly Rembrandtesque. Their fires
+glowed in the trees, lighting up the dark faces of the sepoys and
+revealing with weird effect the huge forms of our transport elephants
+restlessly swaying at their pickets, ears flapping and trunks swinging
+as the big beasts incessantly shifted their weight from foot to foot.
+Around the bivouac was built a zareba of cut thorny bushes; and the
+guards mounted with ball cartridge in their pouches, not merely because
+it is the custom of the Service, but to repel any prowling dangerous
+beasts that might be tempted to visit the camp by night; for within
+fifty yards of a sentry I had a shot at a bear; and a tiger killed a
+_sambhur_ not a hundred yards from the zareba. And once I sat at the
+window of my tree-dwelling listening to a tiger prowling around for a
+long time, uttering short snorting roars but never approaching near
+enough to give me a shot at him.
+
+The voices of the men in the camp sounded loud through the silent forest
+and must have astonished the wild animals making their way to the salt
+lick close by, for at night all the jungle is awake. The beasts of prey
+wander from sunset to sunrise in search of a meal; and the deer must be
+on the alert against them. Only in the hot hours of the day dare they
+repose in security and lie down to sleep in the shade of the
+undergrowth. Even then they start at every sound, and the snapping of a
+twig brings them to their feet; for to the harmless animals life in the
+jungle is one constant menace. The birds and the monkeys in the trees
+alone can devote the dark hours to slumber; there is no rest at night
+for anything that dwells on the ground.
+
+Now gradually the sepoys' voices die away and the flickering fires burn
+low. The forest is hushed in silence, broken only by the eerie cry of
+the great owl or the distant crash of a tree knocked down by a wild
+elephant.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI
+
+ROGUES OF THE FOREST
+
+    The lord of the forest--Wild elephants in India--_Kheddah_
+        operations in the Terai--How rogues are made--Rogues
+        attack villages--Highway robbers--Assault on a railway
+        station--A police convoy--A poacher's death--Chasing an
+        officer--My first encounter with a rogue--Stopping a
+        charge--Difficulty of killing an elephant--The law on
+        rogue-shooting--A Government gazette--A tame elephant
+        shot by the Maharajah of Cooch Behar--Executing an
+        elephant--A chance shot--A planter's escape--Attack on
+        a tame elephant--The _mahout's_ peril--Jhansi's
+        wounds--Changes among the officers in Buxa--A Gurkha's
+        terrible death--The beginner's luck--Indian and Malayan
+        _sambhur_--A shot out of season--A fruitless
+        search--Jhansi's flight--A scout attacked by a
+        bear--Advertising for a truant--The agony
+        column--Runaway elephants--A fatal fraud--Jhansi's
+        return.
+
+
+What animal can dispute with the elephant the proud title of lord of the
+forest? All give way to him as he stalks unchallenged through the
+woodland. The vaunted tiger shrinks aside from his path; and only the
+harmless beasts regard him without dismay, for he is merciful as he is
+strong. And the shield of the British Government is raised to protect
+him from man; for the laws of its forest department ordain that he must
+not be slain.
+
+The stretches of jungle along the foot of the Himalayas harbour herds of
+wild elephants, which, thus saved from the sportsman's rifle, increase
+and multiply. These useful and usually harmless animals are far from
+being exterminated in India. Free to wander unscathed in Government
+forests, their numbers are not diminishing. The continuity of the Terai
+saves them from capture; for the ordinary _kheddah_ operations, which
+consist of hemming a herd into a certain patch of jungle and driving it
+into a stockade of stout timbers is useless in forests where the animals
+can wander on in shelter indefinitely. This method is costly; for it
+requires the services of a trained staff of hunters and large numbers of
+coolies, and may take months. It was once tried near Buxa and, after a
+great expenditure of money, labour and time, did not result in the
+capture of one elephant. So the Government has adopted here another
+system. It lets out the _kheddah_ rights to certain rajahs and big
+_Zemindars_ (landholders) who furnish parties of hunters and tame
+elephants to go into the jungle and pursue the herds. Once on the trail
+of one they follow it persistently and keep it constantly on the move.
+When a calf elephant becomes exhausted and falls behind the others, the
+men fire on the mother and drive her off or kill her, surround the
+youngster and secure it by slipping ropes on its legs. It is then
+fastened between tame elephants and led off, a prisoner.
+
+This method is responsible for the existence of a number of dangerous
+"rogue" elephants in the jungles near Buxa; for the worried herds break
+up and some of the males take to a solitary life. And of all the perils
+of the forest the rogue is the worst. The tiger or the panther rarely
+attacks man; and when it does, it is only for food. The bear, when
+unmolested, is generally harmless. But the vicious rogue seems to kill
+for the mere lust of murder. Occasionally a tusker, not belonging to a
+harried herd, develops a liking to a lonely existence and strays away
+from the others of his kind. Probably because he is an old bachelor and
+deprived of the softening influence of the female sex, he becomes surly
+and dangerous. He may take to wandering into cultivation at night and
+feeding on the crops, as wild elephants often do. The villagers
+naturally object to this, light fires around their fields, and turn out
+with torches, horns and drums to scare the intruders off. The herds are
+generally easily stampeded; but sometimes the surly old tusker, enraged
+at having his meal of succulent grain disturbed, charges the peasants
+and perhaps kills one or two of them. This not only destroys in him the
+wild animal's natural dread of man, but seems to give him a taste for
+bloodshed quite at variance with the elephant's accustomed gentleness of
+disposition.
+
+The tales told me when I first went to Buxa of the ferocity and lust of
+cruelty of rogues seemed incredible. I heard of them deliberately
+entering villages on tea gardens, breaking through the frail structures
+of bamboo and tearing down hut after hut until they reached the houses
+of the _bunniahs_, or tradesmen who dealt in grain and food-stuffs. Then
+they feasted royally on the contents of the shops. Roads cut through the
+forest lead from the railway line to the gardens or from village to
+village; and along these come trains of bullock carts loaded with grain.
+Wild elephants used to lie in wait in the jungle until these were
+passing, then charge out on them, kill the drivers and bullocks and loot
+the grain.
+
+While I was at Buxa two cases occurred of such attacks on carts close
+to Rajabhatkawa Station. In one the drivers got away safely; but a woman
+with them tripped and fell to the ground. The elephant overtook her,
+deliberately put his foot on her head and crushed her to death. In the
+other case the natives all escaped; but the rogue killed several of the
+bullocks, broke up the carts and hurled one on to the rails, where it
+lay until removed by the railway company officials who actually
+prosecuted the owner for obstructing the line. The station at
+Rajabhatkawa was attacked on one occasion. A tusker elephant suddenly
+appeared on the metals. The staff rushed into the building and locked
+themselves in. An engine happened to be standing in the station and the
+driver blew the whistle loudly to scare the animal off. The sound only
+infuriated the elephant; but, probably not liking the appearance of the
+engine, he ignored it, attacked the platform and tried to root it up. In
+doing so he broke off one of his tusks and, screaming with pain, rushed
+off into the jungle. I think that this was a brute with which I had a
+fight afterwards.
+
+The rogues did not always grasp the fact that every bullock cart passing
+through the forest was not necessarily loaded with grain. On one
+occasion a convoy of convicts loaded with iron fetters was being taken
+to Alipur Duar in carts, escorted by armed native police. Suddenly from
+the jungle through which they were passing rushed out a wild elephant
+which charged the procession furiously. Drivers, police, prisoners,
+leapt from the carts and fled in terror. The wretched convicts, hampered
+by their leg-irons, stumbled, tripped and fell frequently. But
+fortunately for them the rogue was too busily engaged in chasing the
+frightened bullocks, killing them and smashing up the carts in a
+fruitless search for grain, to pay any attention to the men; and they
+all escaped.
+
+A vicious elephant's method of slaughtering its human prey is
+particularly horrible. Our nearest planter neighbour, Tyson of
+Hathipota, was a man who knew the Terai well, having lived in various
+parts of the Duars, and had had much experience in big-game shooting. He
+told me of a terrible case which he had seen when on a visit to a forest
+officer in the Western Duars jungles. Into his host's solitary bungalow
+one day rushed two terrified forest guards to tell him of an awful
+spectacle which they had just witnessed. They had been lying hidden
+watching a well-known native poacher fishing in a preserved river. He
+was on the opposite bank and the stream at that part was unfordable.
+While they were discussing a plan to capture him, they saw a wild
+elephant appear out of the jungle behind the poacher and stealthily
+approach him. To their horror the brute suddenly rushed on the
+unsuspecting man, knocked him down, trampled on him and then, placing
+one foot on his thighs, wound its trunk round his body, seized him in
+its mouth and literally tore him to pieces. The story seemed too
+horrible to be true; but the forest officer and Tyson visited the spot
+and found the corpse of the luckless poacher crushed and mutilated as
+the eyewitnesses to the tragedy had narrated. The elephant's footprints
+were clearly visible. I could hardly credit the story until a similar
+case came to my own notice.
+
+Another instance of unprovoked attack was related to me by Captain
+Denham White, Indian Medical Service, who had formerly been doctor to
+the Buxa detachment. An elephant had been reported to be committing
+havoc in the forest in the vicinity; and the then commanding officer and
+Denham White endeavoured to find and shoot him. They searched the jungle
+for a week in vain. Then White vowed that the animal was a phantom
+elephant and refused to accompany the commandant on the eighth day of
+the hunt. Taking his orderly with him, he went fishing in a river which
+flowed through the forest. The water in it was low; and the greater part
+of the bed was dry and covered with loose, rounded boulders which had
+been swept down from the hills during the Rains. White was busily
+engaged with his rod and line when he heard the orderly shout. Turning,
+he saw to his horror a large tusker elephant descending the steep bank
+and coming straight towards them. It was the missing rogue. The two men
+ran for their lives. The elephant pursued them, but, slipping and
+stumbling over the loose boulders, was unable to move quickly. Denham
+White, and his orderly gained the opposite bank and reached a road along
+a fire line and got away. It was fortunate for them that they had a good
+start and were close to this road; for in the jungle they would
+inevitably have been overtaken and killed.
+
+A good runner may outpace an elephant on level ground for a short
+sprint. But in thick jungle a man has a poor chance. Undergrowth and
+creepers that bar his progress will not hinder an elephant, which can
+burst through them easily. He cannot escape up a tree; for the large
+ones in the forest are devoid of branches for many feet from the ground,
+and any tree slender enough for him to grasp and climb could be easily
+knocked down by the elephant. But I am not sure that the animal would
+have sufficient intelligence to do so in order to reach the man.
+
+I was not long in Buxa before making the acquaintance of a rogue. About
+three weeks after my arrival I was out in the forest on Khartoum,
+accompanied by her _mahout_, Bechan, and a _shikaree_ or native hunter.
+Early in the day I shot a _sambhur_ stag. The two men slipped off the
+elephant to _hallal_ it; and I followed to photograph the dead beast
+with a hand-camera. The _mahout_ was holding up the head in position for
+me, when we heard a sudden crashing in the jungle behind us. Bechan
+dropped the head in evident alarm and said:
+
+"Sahib, that is a wild elephant. I believe it has been following us; for
+I heard it behind us as we came along."
+
+Hardly had he spoken, when the head of an elephant appeared above the
+undergrowth. It was a male with a splendid pair of long curved tusks.
+The moment it caught sight of us it stopped. New to the jungle, I was
+under the impression that all wild elephants were inoffensive creatures.
+So I was rejoiced at this opportunity of photographing one, for such
+pictures are very rare; and, camera in hand, I started towards it. But
+the moment Khartoum saw the intruder, she stampeded, followed by her
+_mahout_. The _shikaree_ yelled:
+
+"It's a mad elephant. Shoot, Sahib, shoot, and save our lives!" And he
+bolted.
+
+The newcomer still stood motionless, looking at me; and I smiled at my
+men's alarm. Still I thought it advisable to put the camera down and
+take up my rifle. It was unloaded; so I slipped in a couple of solid
+bullets instead of the "soft-nosed" ones used for animals less hard
+to pierce than elephants or bison. But I had no intention of firing; for
+the forest regulations impose penalties up to six months' imprisonment
+or a fine of five hundred rupees for killing an elephant. I looked
+regretfully at the fine tusks; they would have been a splendid trophy.
+Still smoking my pipe I walked towards the animal which had not moved
+but was regarding me with a fixed stare. I halted and, taking off my big
+sun-helmet, waved it in the air and shouted:
+
+"Shoo! you brute. Be off!"
+
+[Illustration: "THE MAHOUT WAS HOLDING UP THE HEAD."]
+
+My voice seemed to enrage the elephant. Up went its head, it curled its
+trunk, uttered a slight squeal and charged at me. I dropped on one knee
+and aimed at its forehead. With the fear of the forest department before
+my eyes, I hesitated to press the trigger until the huge bulk seemed
+almost towering over me. Then I fired. As if struck by a thunderbolt the
+elephant stopped dead in its furious rush and sank on its knees only
+fifteen paces from me. But even then I did not realise what an escape I
+had had. My first thought, as I picked up my pipe and stood erect was:
+"How can I hide the body, so that the forest officer will never know of
+my crime?"
+
+So dense was the undergrowth that I could not see the prostrate animal
+in it. Rifle-butt resting on the ground, I pulled at my pipe
+perplexedly. I wondered how I could explain my act to the forest
+authorities. I knew, of course, that I had not to fear imprisonment; but
+a fine seemed certain. And a worse penalty might be inflicted, the
+cancellation of my shooting-licence. And I shuddered at the thought of
+two years in Buxa Duar if I were not allowed to solace my solitude by
+sport. It never occurred to me that the fact that I would have been
+killed if I had not fired would be accepted as a sufficient excuse for
+breaking the Draconic laws of Government.
+
+Suddenly the elephant rose up, turned and dashed away blindly into the
+forest. My bullet had only stunned it. Bursting through the tangled
+undergrowth, snapping tough creepers like thread, trampling down small
+trees and smashing off thick branches, it rushed off mad with pain and
+terror. Long after I had lost sight of it I could hear its noisy
+progress through the jungle. I was intensely relieved at its recovery
+and departure, and did not realise that it was fortunate for me that it
+did not renew the attack.
+
+I inspected the spot where it had fallen. The ground was ploughed up by
+its toes where it had been suddenly stopped in its charge; and the
+undergrowth was crushed flat from the weight of its body. There was a
+fair amount of blood on the leaves and grass around. I measured the
+distance to the spot where I had knelt. It was exactly fifteen paces; so
+I had not fired a moment too soon. While I stood disconsolate the
+_shikaree_ returned. He explained that after the shot he had listened
+for my dying shrieks and, not hearing them, concluded that I had come
+off victorious in the encounter. He endeavoured in vain to convince me
+that I had been right to fire. Shortly afterwards Bechan returned with
+the still terrified Khartoum; and he agreed with the other man. It
+occurred to me that the elephant might have fallen again further on; so
+I thought it advisable to follow him and if I found him dying, put him
+out of pain. But Bechan and the _shikaree_ absolutely refused to go with
+me; so I started off on foot. But in fifty yards I realised that I
+would certainly lose myself in the jungle, so I was obliged to return
+ignominiously to them.
+
+Next day, however, Bechan's courage was restored; and he took me again
+to the spot. We had no difficulty in picking out the tusker's trail. A
+broad, almost straight track led away for hundreds of yards. The
+undergrowth was trampled down, small trees broken off and the ground
+covered with branches snapped off by the animal's body in its blind
+haste. At one place the beast had stopped and kicked up some earth to
+plaster on its wound, as elephants always do. We followed the trail for
+nearly three miles and then lost it where it mingled with innumerable
+old tracks of other elephants.
+
+When I knew more about these animals I was not surprised that my shot
+had not killed the rogue. The front of an elephant's skull is enormously
+thick and the brain is very small. A bullet in the head not reaching the
+brain will never kill the brute on the spot, and is not necessarily
+fatal. Sanderson, the great authority on elephant-shooting narrates many
+such cases and says:
+
+     "It will be evident, on an examination of the skull, that if
+     the brain be missed by a shot no harm will be done to the
+     animal, as there are no other vital organs, such as large
+     blood-vessels etc., situated in the head. It thus happens that,
+     in head shots, if the elephant is not dropped on the spot he is
+     very rarely bagged at all. A shot that goes through his skull
+     into his neck without touching his brain may kill him, but it
+     will take time. I have never recovered any elephant that has
+     left the spot with a head shot. The blood-trail
+     for a few yards is generally very thick; but it often ceases as
+     suddenly as it is at first copious. Elephants are sometimes
+     floored by the concussion of a shot, if the ball passes very
+     close to the brain; large balls frequently effect this. No time
+     should be lost in finishing a floored elephant, or he will
+     certainly make his escape. Many cases have occurred of
+     elephants which have been regarded as dead suddenly recovering
+     themselves and making off."
+
+The position of the head held high in charging protects the one deadly
+spot in the forehead; and, to quote Sanderson again:
+
+     "To reach the brain of a charging elephant from in front the
+     bullet must pass through about three feet of curled trunk,
+     flesh and bone. It is thus occasionally impossible to kill an
+     elephant if the head be held very high."
+
+I could have finished off the tusker at my ease as he lay on the ground,
+had it not been for my loyal obedience to the regulations. On my return
+to Buxa I sent a telegram, followed by an official letter of explanation
+and apology, to the forest officer. His reply filled me with annoyance
+when I learned that my scruples had been uncalled for and that I could
+have slain the brute, and probably would have been allowed to keep the
+tusks. His letter said:
+                                                        "RAJABHATKAWA,
+                                                           "14-1-09.
+"MY DEAR CASSERLY,--Yours of 11-1-09 _re_ elephant. You were undoubtedly
+justified in shooting at it; and I must congratulate you on a very
+narrow escape. In defence of self or property or cultivation you may
+shoot at any elephant but as far as I read the Act, which is somewhat
+vague, you must not pursue the elephant further unless it is a
+'proclaimed' rogue; that is, proclaimed by Government. There are a
+number of solitary male rogue elephants about that are always dangerous
+and should be shot at on sight, especially if you have an elephant with
+you. If you can tell me the approximate height of this elephant and if a
+single or double tusker and any distinguishing peculiarities, I will
+write to the deputy commissioner and get it proclaimed. We had a man
+killed in one of our forest villages at Mendabari recently; and our
+_babus_ were held up the other day by a rogue. But this animal has one
+tusk broken off short. A double tusker killed one of our sawyers near
+here and was proclaimed and a reward of fifty rupees and the tusks
+offered. Possibly this was your elephant.
+
+                                                 "Yours etc., etc."
+
+Rogue elephants, like man-eating tigers, are honoured with a notice in
+Government gazettes. Shortly afterwards I received a copy of such a
+gazette, which read:
+
+"A reward of fifty rupees is offered for the destruction of each of the
+rogue elephants described below:
+
+     (1). One single-tusker height 9' 10". This animal killed a man
+     on 2nd January, 1909, and frequents the Borojhar Forest and
+     western portion of the Buxa reserve and does considerable
+     damage to crops in the adjoining villages.
+
+     (2). One double-tusker with large tusks. Height 9' 10". This
+     animal charged Captain Casserly and his elephant on the 30th
+     Mile line of the Buxa reserve and was only turned by a shot at
+     close quarters."
+
+Not long afterwards, when on a visit to the Maharajah of Cooch Behar, I
+was taken by his second son, Prince Jitendra, to inspect the Peelkhana.
+There I saw an example of how easily elephants recover from terrible
+wounds. Securely chained to a tree at a distance from the other animals
+was a large tusker which, while the Maharajah had been having a beat for
+tiger a few weeks before, had suddenly gone mad and attacked the other
+elephants. Prince Rajendra, the present Maharajah,[3] had ridden up
+close to it and fired two shots at it from his heavy cordite rifle. One
+bullet struck it in the head, the other in the shoulder. Yet here it was
+feeding in apparently the best of health. Below the right eye was the
+scar of an almost healed wound; while in the shoulder a hole was still
+visible but nearly filled up. And five years before, when suffering from
+a similar attack of madness, it had been shot by the Maharajah with his
+.500 rifle, and had completely recovered in a very short time from the
+wounds then received.
+
+In the days of a previous commanding officer of Buxa a tame elephant had
+been condemned to death on account of old age and infirmity and was
+handed over to the detachment to be shot. A squad of sepoys with .303
+Lee-Enfield rifles was drawn up five paces in front of it and fired a
+volley at its forehead. But the elephant only winced at the blows and
+stood its ground. Then the men drew off to one side and aimed at its
+heart. A volley here killed it. The British officer had the head skinned
+and found that the first bullets had only penetrated a very short way
+into the skull, some of them being flattened against the bone.
+
+On the other hand cases have occurred of elephants succumbing easily to
+chance shots from small-bore rifles. On a tea garden not far from Buxa a
+rogue had been destroying the crops in the cultivation. A young planter
+sat up in a _machan_[4] in a tree near the fields to watch for it. He
+was armed with a .303 carbine. He fell asleep and suddenly woke up to
+find the elephant passing right underneath him. Without taking aim he
+fired blindly into the dark mass below his _machan_. The elephant rushed
+off. The planter remained on his perch until daylight, and, descending,
+met his manager and told him what he had done. The latter was an
+experienced sportsman and inveighed forcibly at the useless cruelty of
+firing at an elephant with such a small bullet, which could only wound
+and infuriate the animal. While he was speaking a coolie ran up to
+inform that the elephant was lying dead a few hundred yards in the
+fields. The bullet, entering the back from above, had been deflected by
+bones and had taken an erratic course through the body, seeming to have
+pierced every vital organ in it in turn.
+
+I heard of a case in Assam where a planter, carrying a .303 rifle, was
+walking along a road when he was suddenly charged by a wild elephant. He
+fired at its mouth. The animal turned and ran away. As it did so the
+planter fired again and hit it under the tail. The elephant staggered on
+a short distance and then fell dead. One of my sepoys, when on guard at
+Santrabari, fired at a wild elephant which was attacking our tame ones
+in the stables. The man used his Lee-Enfield rifle and scarcely waited
+to take aim.
+
+Yet the animal, a _muckna_ or tuskerless male, dropped dead within a few
+yards.
+
+Our tame elephants were taken into the forest every day to graze. One
+morning Jhansi was out in charge of her _mahout_ about two miles from
+Santrabari, when a single-tusker rogue suddenly charged out of the
+jungle at her. The terrified _mahout_ flung himself off her neck and
+crept away through the undergrowth. The rogue hurled himself against
+Jhansi and knocked her down by the force of his attack. He drove his one
+tusk deep into her back and drew off to gather impetus for a fresh
+charge. Jhansi scrambled to her feet and bolted. The brute pursued her,
+prodding viciously at her hind quarters; but being a fast mover, she
+outstripped him and got back to Santrabari. Her vicious assailant
+followed her for a short distance and then returned to search the
+undergrowth for the _mahout_ but, luckily for the latter, without
+finding him. Jhansi was brought up to the fort for me to doctor. I found
+a round punctured wound several inches deep in her back; and on her rump
+were several smaller holes and cuts made by the rogue elephants. She was
+an excellent patient and stood the cleaning and disinfecting of her
+wounds admirably.
+
+This unprovoked attack made it imperative that I should try to put an
+end to the rogue's career; for, if he remained in our neighbourhood, the
+_mahouts_ would be afraid to take their animals out to graze. So I
+instituted a hunt for him. Creagh had been transferred to Gyantse in
+Tibet, his place being taken by a junior captain of the regiment named
+Balderston. A young Irish lieutenant in the Indian Medical Service was
+now our doctor, as Smith had gone to another corps. As it was during the
+rainy season when the Terai Jungle is filled with the deadliest malarial
+fever, it was impossible to camp in the forest. But I came down from the
+hills every day and searched far and wide for the outlaw and soon found
+terrible traces of his presence. The body of a Gurkha, killed by him,
+was discovered on a path through the jungle. The man had been proceeding
+along it on foot when he had been met and attacked by the rogue. His
+head and body had been crushed flat and stamped into the ground, the
+legs torn off and hurled twenty yards away. The elephant had evidently
+placed his foot on the body, taken the legs in his mouth and torn the
+poor wretch to pieces. The sight made me long to meet the brute and put
+an end to his vicious career. But though we searched the jungle day
+after day, we never met him.
+
+However, during the hunt, our doctor, who was new to big-game shooting,
+had the usual beginner's luck and secured the record _sambhur_ head for
+the district. The _sambhur_ in these jungles belong to the Malayan
+species which, probably owing to the dense forest they inhabit, have
+much shorter though thicker horns than the so-called Indian _sambhur_
+found in other parts of the Peninsula. The stags are generally darker,
+the old ones almost black or slate-coloured; and their tails are more
+bushy. While the record Indian head is fifty and an eighth inches,
+Lydekker gives the longest Malayan antlers as thirty and an eighth
+inches; though an officer formerly in Buxa shot one with horns
+thirty-three inches in length.
+
+As killing deer is prohibited in Government jungles during the hot
+weather and Rains, that being the close season, I had warned Balderston
+and the doctor not to fire at any we met with. And besides this, I did
+not want to run the risk of alarming the rogue for which we were
+hunting. But one day we came suddenly upon a large _sambhur_ stag. It
+was the first specimen of big game that the doctor, new to India, had
+ever seen. He became greatly excited and raised his rifle. Balderston,
+behind whom he was seated on Dundora, warned him not to fire; but,
+misunderstanding in his excitement, he pulled the trigger. The bullet
+struck the _sambhur_ in the foreleg; and the beast went off limping.
+Shooting a stag in the close season is a dire offence in the sportsman's
+eye; and Balderston and I abused the unfortunate doctor roundly.
+However, as it would have been sheer cruelty to allow a wounded animal
+to get away, I ordered our _mahouts_ to pursue. We came up to the stag
+in about half an hour; and I shot him through the heart. On measuring
+the horns we discovered them to be thirty-three inches long, which
+equalled the record Malay _sambhur_ I have mentioned.
+
+About three weeks after we gave up the search for the rogue and were
+satisfied that he had left our jungles, our three elephants were taken
+out to graze in the forest by the coolies who assist the _mahouts_. It
+was the duty of these men to remain with their charges; but, as it
+happened to be pay-day in Buxa, they shackled the elephants' forelegs
+with chains and left them to feed, while they themselves climbed up to
+the fort for their salaries. On their return, several hours later, they
+found Khartoum and Dundora browsing placidly on the trees; but Jhansi
+had disappeared. She had contrived to slip her shackles, which lay on
+the ground. The _mahouts_, searching for her, came on the track of a
+herd of wild elephants, which had passed close to our tame ones. It was
+conjectured that Jhansi, remembering her recent unpleasant adventure
+with the rogue, had become alarmed at the sight of them, got rid of her
+chain and fled away in an opposite direction. But, unlike the previous
+occasion, she did not return to Santrabari. At the time I happened to be
+on leave in Darjeeling; so Captain Balderston took our trained company
+scouts to look for her. Each man carried his rifle and ball cartridge to
+protect himself if necessary. It was well that they did; for on the
+second day of their search one of them was wantonly attacked by a large
+bear. A bullet from the sepoy's rifle taught it that it had not a
+helpless woodcutter to deal with; and, howling with pain, it ran off.
+
+On my return I borrowed elephants from the forest officer and started
+out on a systematic hunt for the truant. As in the army an officer
+generally has to pay for any article of Government property lost while
+in his charge, I was afraid that I might be called upon to replace
+Jhansi. The cost of a female elephant runs into hundreds of pounds; so I
+did not relish the prospect. I telegraphed to the brigade headquarters
+announcing Jhansi's loss; and when the reply came I opened it in fear
+and trembling. It only referred me to a certain paragraph in the Army
+Regulations for India. I consulted it at once, and to my relief found
+that it merely directed me to advertise the loss of a Government
+elephant in a newspaper. Not knowing which journal Jhansi was in the
+habit of perusing, and wondering if I was supposed to word the
+announcement in the phrasing of the agony column, "Come back to your
+sorrowing friends and all will be forgiven," I eventually tried the
+columns of a Calcutta daily. But it did not bring the truant back. As
+month after month went by, I lost hope of ever seeing her again.
+Whenever I heard that a _kheddah_ party had captured an elephant which
+evidently had once been tame I sent off Jhansi's _mahout_ to inspect the
+prisoner.
+
+It often happens that animals which have been in captivity for some time
+escape and take to the jungle again. If caught they are soon discovered
+to have been domesticated; and _mahouts_ of lost elephants are sent to
+view them, as their former charges will always recognise and obey them.
+I heard of a case of attempted fraud, with a fatal ending, in this
+connection. A _mahout_ falsely claimed an elephant as his and mounted
+it. The animal, enraged at being handled by a stranger, dragged him off
+her neck and stamped him to death before the horrified spectators could
+intervene.
+
+Eight months after Jhansi's disappearance I was informed by the
+_mahouts_ that she had suddenly come out of the jungle and approached
+the Peelkhana. She stood at a safe distance watching her former
+comrades. When the men went towards her to secure her, she fled into the
+jungle. I ordered the _mahouts_ to leave food in her stall and not to
+attempt to interfere with her unless she came right into the stables.
+Next day she made her appearance at feeding-time. The men took no notice
+of her, placed the usual meal of rice and leaves before Dundora and
+Khartoum and deposited her allowance in her "standing." Jhansi marched
+boldly in and began to eat it; and the men crept in behind her and
+slipped the iron shackles on her legs. She showed no resentment and
+continued feeding unconcernedly, and afterwards she gave no trouble, did
+her usual work, and seemed to feel no regret at the loss of her
+freedom.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[3] He died in 1913, since this was written.
+
+[4] A platform erected in a tree at a height above the ground.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII
+
+A FIGHT WITH AN ELEPHANT
+
+    We sight a rogue--A sudden onslaught--A wild elephant's
+        attack--Shooting under difficulties--Stopping a
+        rush--Repeated attacks--An invulnerable foe--Darkness
+        stops the pursuit--A council of war--Picking up the
+        trail--A _muckna_--A female elephant--Photographing a
+        lady--A good sitter--A stampede--A gallant
+        Rajput--Attacking on foot--A hazardous feat--A narrow
+        escape--Final charge--A bivouac in the forest--Dangers
+        of the night--A long chase--Planter
+        hospitality--Another stampede--A career of
+        crime--Eternal hope--A king-cobra--Abandoning the
+        pursuit--An unrepentant villain--In the moment of
+        danger.
+
+Khartoum stepped along at her usual deliberate pace through the jungle,
+occasionally raising her trunk to sweep the leaves off a branch and cram
+them into her mouth, or plucking a tuft of long grass to brush away the
+troublesome flies. On her neck the _mahout_ swayed to the motion, while
+I sat nursing my heavy .470 cordite rifle and talking to my orderly,
+Draj Khan, seated behind me on the pad. He carried a .303 carbine. We
+were passing through a patch of thin forest bare of undergrowth, when
+Bechan pulled up suddenly and whispered:
+
+"_Jungli hathi!_ (A wild elephant)."
+
+About sixty yards ahead a large tusker was standing apparently half
+asleep under the trees, its right side towards us. I wondered if, since
+it was alone, I could consider it an outlaw which it would be
+justifiable to shoot. The probabilities were, as there were no signs of
+a herd in the vicinity, that it was a rogue. While I was mentally
+debating the question I slipped a couple of solid cartridges into my
+rifle. As I did so the elephant turned its head slowly and I saw that it
+had only one tusk.
+
+"_Sahib! Sahib! wuh budmash hai!_ (It is the rogue!") whispered Bechan
+excitedly.
+
+At that moment it caught sight of us. Without hesitation, it turned and
+charged straight at us. There was no doubt now of its being a rogue; and
+probably it was Jhansi's assailant and the murderer of the Gurkha. I
+wished to wait until it was near enough for me to make sure of a fatal
+head-shot; but Khartoum became alarmed and tried to bolt. The _mahout_
+did his best to stop her.
+
+"Shoot, Sahib, shoot! My elephant will not stand," he cried, beating her
+savagely with the iron _ankus_.
+
+So, as I could not get a shot at the head as the animal came through the
+trees at us, I fired at its shoulder in the hope of laming it and
+bringing it to a stand, so that I could finish it at close quarters. But
+it did not seem to feel the bullet and never checked in its stride. I
+was being favoured with a spectacle which it is not given to many
+sportsmen in India to witness. Sanderson says of it that
+
+"the wild elephant's attack is one of the noblest sights of the chase. A
+grander animated object than a wild elephant in full charge can hardly
+be imagined. The cocked ears and broad forehead present an immense
+frontage; the head is held high with the trunk curled between the tusks
+to be uncurled in the moment of attack; the massive forelegs come down
+with the force and regularity of ponderous machinery; and the whole
+figure is foreshortened, and appears to double in size with each
+advancing stride. The wild elephant's onslaught is as dignified as it
+seems overwhelming."
+
+I confess that at the moment I was little disposed to admire the
+spectacle. Khartoum plunged and swayed until I was nearly shot off her
+back. If she stampeded our position would be extremely dangerous, for we
+would probably be swept off her back by the branches and creepers; and
+to be thrown to the ground in front of the pursuing rogue meant a
+certain and awful death. Bechan, hammering furiously at Khartoum's thick
+skull, yelled at me to fire; and my excited orderly kept urging me to
+"kill the _budmash_." I fired again, and the tusker, checked in his
+rush, swung off to one side. As he passed us among the trees, I gave him
+a third bullet in the ribs at forty yards. The report of my rifle had an
+almost instantaneously calming effect on Khartoum. She desisted from her
+efforts to bolt; and when I ordered the _mahout_ to follow the fleeing
+rogue, she obeyed him and moved off quietly. We came on him about a
+quarter of a mile away in much denser jungle. He was standing sideways
+to us; and I took a steady shot at his ear, which should have been
+fatal. But instead of dropping to it, he swung round and charged us
+again. I told my orderly to aim at his knee, while I fired at his
+forehead. The two shots rang out together; but the apparently
+invulnerable brute only turned and fled. He was, however, limping badly;
+and I quickened his flight with another bullet. This time Khartoum had
+stood like a rock. We urged her on after him and overtook him partially
+concealed behind a stout tree-trunk. He seemed on the point of
+collapsing on the ground. But the moment he caught sight of us he
+charged again. My orderly and I aimed at the same spots as before and
+fired together. But the brute bore a charmed life. He swung off and
+dashed into thick jungle, but not before I could get another shot at
+him. The undergrowth closed around him and hid him from our sight. We
+followed at once on his track and found the bushes and grass splashed
+with blood. Every moment I expected to come upon him lying dead or
+dying. None of our shots had missed him; so he carried eight bullets
+from my heavy rifle and two from Draj Khan's carbine. It seemed
+impossible that he could live long. The trail was an easy one to follow
+and we found no difficulty in distinguishing it from old tracks; for he
+was evidently limping badly. One of his forelegs seemed to be useless;
+and where he had passed across a dry river-bed we found the impressions
+of three sound feet and the marks of the fourth trailing helplessly. But
+for all that we did not overtake him until we had covered three miles.
+We came upon him standing head towards us under a tree in thorny
+undergrowth. We stopped Khartoum about thirty yards from him; and he
+never moved as we took deliberate aim. We fired; and the shock of my
+heavy bullet in the skull drove him back on his haunches in the
+undergrowth. But again he recovered his footing and dashed away before
+we could get in a second shot. I was absolutely amazed at his tenacity
+of life and began to think that it was useless wasting lead on him; but
+we forced our way through the thorns and followed until the sun sank
+low in the sky. Then, marking a spot where the trail led across a broad
+and empty river-bed, I gave the order to turn Khartoum's head towards
+camp, resolved to take up the pursuit next day. I thought it highly
+probable that we should find the animal dead; for he now had twelve
+bullets in him.
+
+At the time the detachment was inhabiting a stockaded post we had built
+in the jungle; and the men were out practising bush warfare in the
+forest every day. The spot where I first encountered the rogue was
+hardly a mile from this post. It was imperative that I should find and
+finally dispose of him, for I could not expose my sepoys to the danger
+of an unexpected meeting with him while engaged in their work; and the
+jungle would be absolutely unsafe while he was in the neighbourhood. He
+was almost undoubtedly the elephant which had wounded Jhansi and killed
+the Gurkha; and there were probably many more crimes to his account. His
+first unprovoked attack on us, and the daring of his repeated charges
+after being wounded, showed that he was a vicious and formidable brute;
+and the forest would be uninhabitable until he had been slain or driven
+far away.
+
+When we reached camp that night I held a council of war with Captain
+Balderston and our native officers. It was resolved that I should take
+out with me next day one of our _subhedars_, a fine old Rajput named
+Sohanpal Singh, and his orderly on a second elephant. We determined to
+bring blankets and food with us, so that we could follow the trail for
+days if necessary, bivouacking wherever night found us. I hoped that,
+badly wounded as the animal was, the pursuit would not be a long one;
+but I was prepared to carry it on for days, if necessary.
+
+[Illustration: SUBHEDAR SOHANPAL SINGH.]
+
+At daybreak we started out, Sohanpal Singh and his orderly on Dundora,
+while Draj Khan and I led the way on Khartoum. The three were armed with
+Government .303 rifles, while I had my cordite rifle. Our blankets were
+strapped on the pads, and our haversacks were filled with food. I
+carried a loaf of bread and a tin of corned beef in mine; while my
+Thermos flask was filled with limejuice and boiled water. Thus equipped,
+we started out amidst the cheers of the sepoys, who had been deeply
+interested in the account of the fights we had had on the previous day.
+Our route lay by a jungle village called Rungamutti, two miles from our
+stockade; and a couple of hours after we had passed it we picked up the
+elephant's trail.
+
+The jungle across the river-bed where we had stopped the pursuit was at
+first fairly open; and I hoped that we should find our quarry in it. We
+came on the spot where he had passed the night. The grass was pressed
+down all around and was covered with blood. This was encouraging; and we
+went on full of hope. Suddenly through the trees we caught sight of an
+elephant standing sideways to us. The mahouts halted their animals and
+we brought our rifles to the ready.
+
+But Bechan whispered, "That is not the _budmash_, Sahib. See, it has no
+tusks."
+
+It was a _muckna_ or tuskerless male. These are generally timid beasts,
+being constantly bullied in the herds by the males provided by Nature
+with weapons of offence. As soon as this one caught sight of us it
+bolted away through the jungle. We watched its headlong flight and then
+continued on the trail. A mile or two further on the jungle had the
+appearance of an English wood and the ground was carpeted with ferns. In
+an open glade we saw another elephant. It was a female; and, although it
+turned its head and looked at us, it did not evince any alarm. So I
+determined to try to secure a photograph of it. I handed my rifle to
+Draj Khan and took up my Kodak. The wild elephant stood still while I
+opened and adjusted the camera and pressed the bulb. As soon as the
+click of the shutter announced that the operation was over, she turned
+and moved slowly off into the jungle, while I waved my hat to her and
+expressed my thanks for her courtesy in waiting until I had taken her
+portrait. Unfortunately I had been too far off to secure a really good
+photograph, which was to be regretted, for such pictures are, naturally,
+extremely rare.
+
+After her departure we moved on again. The forest grew denser; and the
+thick and entangled undergrowth delayed our progress; for, of course, a
+tame elephant with a pad and men on her back cannot slip through it as
+easily as an unencumbered wild one can do. So we were continually
+obliged to make detours and could not follow the trail closely.
+
+About eleven o'clock in the morning a sudden crash in the jungle a
+hundred yards ahead of us startled our elephants. Before the _mahouts_
+could stop them they swung round and stampeded. It was my first
+experience of being bolted with; and it was decidedly unpleasant.
+Dundora, which had been behind, was now leading, and dashed through the
+trees, followed closely by Khartoum. As the noise had apparently been
+caused by the rogue, I tried to turn round on the pad, ready to fire.
+And doing so, while at the same time endeavouring to hold on and dodge
+the boughs and creepers overhead, was no easy task. Over and over again
+I was nearly swept off. Luckily the _mahouts_ soon got their elephants
+in hand and stopped them. Then we cautiously advanced again, expecting
+every moment that the rogue would charge out on us. But when we reached
+the spot whence the noise had proceeded we found by the trail that he
+had been lying down and, startled by our appearance, had risen and fled.
+We urged our elephants forward. The chase was becoming exciting. We
+followed as fast as we could go, hoping every minute to catch sight of
+the quarry. The jungle was growing more difficult and we made slow
+progress.
+
+[Illustration: "WE SAW ANOTHER ELEPHANT."]
+
+At last, after three hours, we heard him. He was concealed in a dense
+thicket of thorny undergrowth. We skirted cautiously round it, hoping to
+see him and get a shot. But, although we could hear him, he was
+completely hidden. At length my native officer said:
+
+"Sahib, why should we men be afraid of an animal? Let us attack him on
+foot."
+
+The plucky old man had, in his own country and armed only with a sword,
+ridden at a tiger; but he did not realise that we were now facing a far
+more dangerous foe. His proposal was madness. The jungle was almost
+impenetrable, and we could not see five yards ahead in it. But before I
+could dissuade him the gallant old Rajput slid from Dundora's back,
+followed by his orderly, and walked towards the thicket. It was useless
+to try and stop him; so, cursing his foolhardiness, I dropped to the
+ground with Draj Khan. As I had the best rifle I pushed the others aside
+and got in front. But I had to reckon with the devotion of the native
+soldier for his British officer. They tried to prevent me from taking
+the post of danger and pulled me back. We had a ridiculous struggle for
+precedence, which was liable to be turned into a tragedy by the rogue's
+appearance at any moment. With difficulty I had my own way; though I
+certainly felt no desire to go first into what I knew was a mad
+undertaking. But it was only when I tried to force my way into the
+thicket that I fully realised our folly. The tangled vegetation was
+composed of thickly interlaced thorny bushes; I can only compare it to
+strong fishing-nets studded freely with hooks. Torn and bleeding from a
+dozen scratches I tried to worm my way in. Then to my horror I heard the
+rogue bursting through it at us. I was pinned down by the thorny
+branches, bound around by pliant creepers, unable to stand upright or
+even raise my rifle. I certainly thought that my last hour had come;
+for, securely pinioned by the cruel vegetation, I was helpless. The men
+behind me were in the same plight. But at that moment the _mahouts_
+saved us. Realising our extreme danger, they bravely urged their
+elephants into the thicket after us. The rogue at the sight of them
+stopped dead. Though he was not five yards from me, I could not
+distinguish him clearly, so dense was the undergrowth, but could only
+make out portions of his body through the tangle. He retreated a few
+paces, and we tried to scramble out. I could not turn; but shoving my
+legs out backwards, I tore myself free from the vicious thorns and
+retired face to the foe. My rifle was at full cock and I was afraid
+that the triggers might be caught by the twigs, but I dared not lower
+the hammers. Foot by foot I forced my way back slowly and painfully.
+When I reached the edge of the thicket, my men, who had extricated
+themselves, seized me and dragged me out. We looked at each other. I
+don't know what colour I was; but my men were as nearly pale as it is
+possible for a native to be. Even my brave old _subhedar's_ courage was
+shaken. He had lost all desire to enter the thicket again, for the
+danger had been really great. Had the rogue not stopped of his own
+accord nothing could have saved me, and probably the others, from a most
+unpleasant death. Of course I ought never to have attempted to enter the
+undergrowth, as I had fully realised the foolhardiness of it; but I
+could not allow my sepoys to believe that I was afraid. However,
+everybody now had quite enough of the attack on foot and gladly mounted
+the elephants. We did so one by one, the others standing with rifles
+ready to repel an assault. We circled round the thicket cautiously,
+hoping to find an easier line of approach. Suddenly our vicious
+antagonist came charging through the dense undergrowth straight at
+Khartoum. I halted her ten yards from the edge of the covert. I could
+vaguely make out the rogue's vast bulk bursting through the tangle, and
+raised my rifle. Half his body was clear of the jungle, the head thrown
+up, the trunk curled and the single tusk pointed menacingly at me, when
+I fired straight at his forehead. The force of the blow drove him back
+on his haunches into the undergrowth; while the native officer and the
+two orderlies poured a volley into his side, one of the men getting in a
+second shot. I could not see him clearly enough to give him the other
+barrel, and I expected to hear him collapse at last. But, inconceivable
+as it seems, he recovered himself, swung about and bolted out of the
+other side of the thicket. I could hardly believe it; but we heard him
+plainly enough as he dashed off through the jungle. I began to think
+that it really was useless to waste lead on him; but we followed. He was
+lost to sight; but the trail was plain. I looked at my watch; it was two
+o'clock in the afternoon. From that hour until night fell we kept up the
+pursuit. Obliged to desist owing to the darkness, I determined to
+bivouac in the forest. We were now too far from the camp to return to
+it. So we made our way along a river-bed until, near the foot of the
+hills, we found water in it. Then dismounting we let our elephants drink
+and prepared for the night. As the tracks of wild animals abounded in
+the sand near the edge of the water, for the stream disappeared into the
+ground here and it was the last drinking-place for miles, I ordered
+fires to be lit around us; for, in the dark, wild elephants attracted by
+Dundora and Khartoum might rush over us, or a hungry tiger might be
+unable to resist the temptation of an easy meal provided by sleeping
+men. My companions ate the _chupatties_ or flour cakes they carried with
+them; while I dined on my bread and preserved meat. Then, telling off
+one of our number to keep watch in turn, we rolled ourselves in our
+blankets and lay down to sleep. A chill wind blew down from the
+mountains and the damp sand made a cold bed; but in a few minutes
+everyone but the sentry and I was asleep. I heard our elephants chained
+on the bank tearing the branches from the trees near them. A sudden
+spurt of flame from the fires lit up their huge bodies, which were
+vague and shadowy in the flickering light. I looked at the stars
+overhead and the faint outline of the mountains towering over us, until
+at last fatigue overpowered me and I slept.
+
+At daybreak next morning we turned out. On going to wash in the stream
+we found the "pugs"[5] of a panther in the sand about fifty yards from
+our bivouac, while a couple of hundred yards farther away the huge
+footprints of elephants were plainly visible; so our fires had probably
+saved us from some unwelcome visitors. I had to make a frugal breakfast
+on the heel of the loaf and the last fragments of tinned meat, washed
+down by a drink from the stream. The blankets were rolled up and
+strapped on the elephants' backs; and we started to pick up the trail.
+We found it without difficulty and followed it all day. It led us
+towards the south away from the hills. But we could not come up with the
+rogue. Night found us in the vicinity of a tea garden, the manager of
+which I had met once; so I determined to claim his hospitality. When we
+reached his bungalow I learned that he had ridden over to a neighbouring
+estate, but was expected back to dinner. His native overseers took
+charge of my party and found them food and shelter. After a long wait in
+the bungalow I yielded to the persuasions of the owner's servant and ate
+the excellent dinner he provided for me; then I lay down in the
+guest-room and fell asleep. At midnight I was awakened by the return of
+my unwitting host, who, however, made me thoroughly welcome when he
+discovered me. And next morning before I started off on the pursuit
+again he loaded me with supplies.
+
+To record the incidents of what proved a long, weary and fruitless chase
+would fill a volume. For nine days more we followed the trail, never far
+behind the rogue but never catching sight of him. He led us first into
+the dense and tropical vegetation of the jungles around Rajabhatkawa,
+where we forced our way through luxuriant tree-ferns, their undersides
+studded thick with long curved thorns. On the second day we were passing
+through tall elephant grass with waving plumes that nodded high over our
+heads. We followed a path made by the passage of wild animals. The two
+orderlies were on foot in front, picking up the trail, when we heard,
+fifty yards ahead, the rogue crashing suddenly through the jungle. The
+startled men turned and ran towards our elephants which, alarmed at the
+sight of their terror, turned sharp and stampeded. Having been leading,
+I now found myself looking down the muzzle of Sohanpal Singh's rifle as
+he swung round ready to fire over Dundora's tail if the rogue chased us.
+Luckily in the tall grass there was no danger of our being swept off the
+pads; and the _mahouts_ soon stopped their animals and brought them
+back. But when we got clear of the cover we found that it lined the bank
+of a broad, empty river-bed across which our prey had escaped while our
+elephants had been retreating. In the sand we found his unmistakable
+track with the useless foreleg dragging helplessly over the ground. Had
+our animals not bolted at the critical moment we would have reached the
+river-bank in time to have a clear shot at him as he crossed in the
+open. For the remainder of the chase we never got so close to him again.
+
+Wherever night found us we bivouacked; unless a lucky chance brought us
+near a tea garden, where I sought the planters' unfailing hospitality.
+Men whose names I did not know welcomed me with the cordiality of old
+friends and made me and my train comfortable for the night. I found that
+I was known to most by reputation as the lunatic who had walked up to a
+notorious rogue elephant with only a camera in his hand. All gladly
+aided me in my venture; for I learned that the brute I was pursuing was
+infamous throughout the district. Everyone had a tale to tell of him,
+and never to his credit. On one garden he had entered the coolies'
+village and, finding a native baby in his path, had picked it up in his
+trunk and hurled it on to the roof of a hut. Alarmed by its cries the
+parents had rushed out only to be met and trampled to death by the
+murderous brute. On another garden the manager and a friend were
+strolling in the dusk along a road within two hundred yards of the
+bungalow. Smoking and chatting, they were all unconscious of the fact
+that this rogue was stalking silently towards them intent on murder.
+Suddenly the planter's terrier saw it and rushed barking at it.
+Frightened as all elephants are of dogs, the animal turned off the road
+and plunged in among the tea bushes; and it was only then that his
+intended victims perceived him. My bullets were by no means the first
+that he had received. He had been shot at and wounded over and over
+again. One planter advised me, if I eventually succeeded in killing him,
+to exploit his body as a lead mine.
+
+Hope springs eternal in the sportsman's breast; and day after day I set
+out at dawn cheered by the expectation that surely this day must bring
+the chase to a successful conclusion. As we started at five or six
+o'clock each morning and kept on the move until 6 p.m., we must have
+covered altogether well over two hundred miles in the pursuit, as we
+averaged a mile and a half in the hour. The rogue seemed to know that we
+were on his track and changed his direction frequently. Strange were the
+sights I saw and varied the wild jungles we traversed. Sometimes for
+hours we pushed our way through brakes of tough cane. Sometimes we
+passed for miles under huge trees in grassy land. Once in the forest
+Khartoum stopped short so suddenly that I was nearly thrown off her pad.
+As she backed away the _mahout_ pointed to a great snake twelve or
+thirteen feet long wriggling away from almost under her forelegs. The
+glimpses I got of it showed it to be the terrible king-cobra.
+
+For the first four days of the chase we had found no droppings left by
+the fleeing elephant. Then we came on some, small, hard and black with
+coagulated blood. And only on the sixth day did we discover traces of
+where he had begun to eat again. And one morning we passed a patch of
+cultivation in the jungle and a peasant who told us that at daybreak he
+had found a lame single-tusker elephant feeding on his crops. When the
+sun rose it moved on again without discovering the man.
+
+At last on the twelfth day since our first encounter I was obliged to
+give up the chase. We found his trail leading across the wide and rapid
+river, the Torsa, which pours down its flood from the mountains of
+Bhutan. My men and animals were worn out by the unceasing pursuit.
+Although the former suffered less than I did from the want of food, for
+every village supplied their wants and I had to depend on the kind
+charity of the planters, yet the irregular meals and the strain told on
+them. They were not spurred on by the same eagerness to kill the rogue
+as I. But greatly disappointed as I was at being unable to compass his
+death, yet I thought that at least we had rid our jungles of his
+dangerous presence; so, sadly and reluctantly, I yielded to my
+followers' entreaties and turned our elephants' heads towards home.
+
+We really had deserved better fortune. We had done our best to kill the
+rogue, and nothing but the most astonishing fortune had saved him. One
+bullet out of the many half an inch to one side or the other would have
+given us the victory. And we had shot calmly and steadily. I was sure
+that not one of our bullets had missed him, which of course was not
+astonishing, as they had all been fired at the closest range. Yet I have
+seen a man miss a fourteen-hand _sambhur_ at ten yards. But with this
+elephant I knew that every shot had struck. I have never heard of so
+long and continuous a pursuit of one animal as ours had been. But the
+fact remained that with ten solid bullets from my heavy rifle, and seven
+from the Lee-Enfields, the brute still lived to mock us, and to do
+worse. For three weeks from the day when we ended the chase on the banks
+of the Torsa the rogue was back again in our jungles and attacked the
+tame elephants of an Indian Civil Servant near Buxa Road Station.
+Needless to say, I was off again after him the moment I heard of this
+fresh outrage. But all in vain. And a few months afterwards while I was
+lying dangerously ill in Buxa the brute surprised a Bhuttia and his wife
+in the jungle three miles from Santrabari and trampled the woman to
+death; and, for aught I know, still carrying our bullets he yet lives
+to terrorise the forest. May we meet again! And yet, when I think how
+narrowly I escaped an agonising death under his terrible feet, I should
+perhaps be thankful that the chances of our meeting are small; for
+hundreds of miles of India now divide us.
+
+It is fortunate that in sudden danger one has not time to think; for if,
+in the nerve-trying moment when a man stands facing the onrush of a
+charging elephant, a vivid imagination painted to his eyes the awful
+fate in store for him should the bullet fail to strike home, the rifle
+would drop from his shaking fingers. But though in anticipation the
+heart beats quickly and the breath comes fast, yet when the instant of
+danger comes the nerves turn to steel and the hand never falters. A
+tiger is not always a formidable foe; and one generally meets him on
+advantageous terms. But the wild elephant's charge must be met on ground
+of his own choosing; and the odds are perhaps in his favour. Yet the man
+who has once stopped him in his headlong rush will long to do battle
+with his kind again; and the recollections of the peril escaped acts
+only as a spur.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[5] Footprints.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII
+
+IN TIGER LAND
+
+The tiger in India--His reputation--Wounded tigers--Man-eaters--Game
+killers and cattle thieves--A tiger's residence--Chance
+meetings--Methods of tiger hunting--Beating with elephants--Sitting
+up--A sportsman's patience--The charm of a night watch--A cautious
+beast--A night over a kill--An unexpected visitor--A tantalising
+tiger--A tiger at Asirgarh--A chance shot--Buffaloes as
+trackers--Panthers--The wrong prey--A beat for tiger--The Colonel wounds
+a tiger--A night march--An elusive quarry--A successful beat--A watery
+grave--Skinning a tiger.
+
+
+Would any book on India be complete without a tiger in it? Although he
+is found in many other Asiatic countries--in China they shoot him in
+caves, in Corea there is a whole militia raised to deal with him--yet in
+the popular mind the tiger is particularly associated with Hindustan. No
+distinguished visitor would consider himself properly entertained if one
+were not provided for him to shoot. The young subaltern in England pines
+for the day to come when he will be ordered to India and have his chance
+to face the striped beast in his native jungle.
+
+The usual conception of the tiger is an animal of infinite cunning,
+cruelty and ferocity. Cunning he certainly is; but his reputation for
+ferocity and courage is hardly deserved. He is really rather a harmless
+and timid creature, of a decidedly shy and retiring disposition,
+avoiding, rather than courting, notoriety. Sanderson, one of the
+greatest authorities on sport in India, argues that the tiger is
+actually a public benefactor, inasmuch as he kills off old and sick
+cattle which, since the pious Hindu would not put them to death, would
+otherwise linger on spreading disease among the herds. Natives, near
+whose village a tiger takes up his residence, betray no fear of him and
+go about their daily avocations in his vicinity as indifferently as if
+he did not exist. I have seen women drawing water from a stream not a
+hundred yards from the spot where half an hour later I drove a tiger
+from his lair. For, except in rare cases, these animals prefer to give
+man a wide berth, and, when stumbled upon accidentally, will usually
+effect a rapid retreat if they can. Of course a wounded tiger followed
+up is an exceedingly dangerous foe. Furious with pain, exhausted and in
+agony, he will turn savagely on his pursuers; and then a quick eye and
+steady rifle are needed to check him in his fierce charge. Even shot
+through the heart he may retain sufficient vitality to reach and maul
+his aggressor, then perhaps fall dead on his mangled victim without
+killing him outright. But few men wounded by a tiger ever recover; for
+the shock and the blood-poisoning set up by the unclean claws of the
+carrion feeder are almost invariably fatal.
+
+The man-eater is, fortunately, rare; for, having once learned how easy a
+prey human beings prove, he is apt to devote himself too exclusively to
+them; and the total of his victims soon mounts up into the hundreds. The
+man-eater is made, not born. Sometimes it is an old beast no longer
+agile enough to surprise the animals of the forest or even bring down a
+stray cow, but still supple enough to spring upon some unwary
+wood-cutter or villager. Natives believe that human flesh disagrees with
+a tiger's digestion, and point in proof to the mangy state of most
+man-eaters' hides. But the reason of this is that the animal is
+generally old or sick. Sometimes, however, the tiger who takes to the
+slaughter of human beings is a young and vigorous beast. He has probably
+some time or other been disturbed over a kill or foiled in an attempt to
+carry off cattle by some rashly courageous individual, and in anger or
+the desperation of hunger has slain the intruder. Finding that after all
+man is not a formidable enemy and quite palatable, he continues to prey
+on him and in time almost devastates a whole district. He becomes a
+public character and attracts more attention than he likes. Government
+gazettes honour him with a notice proclaiming him. A price is set on his
+head. White men come from all sides to hunt him down; and the
+unfortunate animal knows no peace until a lucky bullet lays him low.
+Scared natives regard him as an evil spirit and set up altars to him.
+And yet it is extraordinary how indifferent the inhabitants of a
+district ravaged by a man-eater become to his presence. I have seen a
+postman jog-trotting along night after night on a road on which two men
+had been killed and eaten by a tiger the week before. The man's
+ridiculous little spear and bells would have been no protection against
+the Striped Death springing on him out of the darkness; but he had his
+living to make. His orders were to carry the mail-bag along that stretch
+of road every night; so with true Oriental fatalism he jogged on,
+seemingly indifferent to the chances of an unlucky meeting.
+
+The man-eater being an exception, tigers may be classified as game
+slayers and cattle killers. Those haunting a jungle where _sambhur_,
+_cheetul_, pig and small antelopes abound take their toll of them. A
+monkey is quite a delicate morsel, if they can catch an unwary _bunder_
+on the ground or fetch him from a low bough by an unexpected spring.
+Those that take up their residence in cultivated country usually prey on
+the cattle grazing in the scrub jungle near the villages. A tiger
+generally rules over a stretch of ground about five miles square and
+keeps strictly within his own domain. Any intruder of his own sex is
+speedily ejected. But it is a curious fact that when a tiger is shot,
+another quickly appears and takes up his abode in the defunct animal's
+dominions. A certain patch of jungle, a particular _nullah_, may be the
+residence of a tiger which is known to be the only one for miles round.
+But if he is killed his habitat is almost certain of another striped
+tenant very soon.
+
+The game slayer is not often seen, living as he does in the heart of the
+jungle and prowling mostly by night. The cattle lifter levies
+contributions from the villages in his district in turn, usually killing
+a cow every two or three days. He takes up his residence for the time
+being near the carcass in some shady spot close to water. He eats about
+sixty or eighty pounds of beef at his first meal, goes to drink and lies
+up during the day to digest his heavy meal, returning at night to feed
+again. If any villager happens to blunder in on his privacy during his
+siesta, he gives a low, warning growl which usually suffices to scare
+the intruder off. The natives pay little heed to him and go about their
+usual pursuits without heeding his proximity.
+
+On my first introduction to the jungle--it was in the Central Provinces
+years ago--I had a wholesome respect for tigers. When I learned that one
+lived in the particular part of the forest where I went shooting, I used
+to feel anything but comfortable as I wandered about in search of
+_sambhur_. I marvelled at the unconcerned way in which even women and
+children traversed this jungle from village to village. One day I
+climbed down into a deep, narrow ravine in the hope of finding a stag
+sheltering in it from the unpleasantly hot sun. Suddenly from a clump of
+bushes above my head came a deep "Wough! wough!" like the bark of a
+great dog; and a tiger crashed out of it and bounded up and over the
+edge of the _nullah_. I swung my rifle round; but he was out of sight
+before the butt touched my shoulder. My _shikaree_ (native hunter) cried
+"Bagh! Bagh! (A tiger! a tiger!)" and rushed up past me after the
+vanished animal. Rather unwillingly I clambered up too; and I was
+decidedly relieved when, on emerging from the ravine, I found that the
+ground was covered with grass six feet high, so that pursuit of the
+tiger was hopeless. However, on calmly considering the matter
+afterwards, I came to the conclusion that the beast was even more afraid
+of me than I of him. So I devoted much time and attention to trying to
+meet him again. Many a night did I sit up for him over a cow tied up as
+a bait. Time after time I followed his footprints by day and tried to
+walk him up near the carcass of some deer he had killed and half-eaten.
+But never again did I see him.
+
+A few months ago in the Kanera Forests I was wandering about one
+afternoon, shot-gun in hand, in search of jungle fowl for the pot,
+about half a mile from the Government _dak_ bungalow--or rest-house--in
+which I was staying. I was making my way along a narrow path. Just as I
+reached a spot where it came out on a small clearing in the forest, I
+heard some heavy animal forcing its way through the undergrowth about
+forty yards to my left. I stepped out into the open and looked in the
+direction from whence came the sound, which stopped as soon as I
+appeared. I stood still for a couple of minutes. Suddenly a tiger, which
+had evidently been watching me, gave a deep roar and crashed off through
+the thick jungle. It was useless to try to follow him up even if I had
+had a rifle instead of a shot-gun. The setting sun warned me that I must
+hurry home; so I continued on my way. Two hundred yards further on the
+path led down into a narrow _nullah_ with steep banks. Here I found the
+fresh prints of the tiger's paws in the mud, the water just oozing into
+them. Had I come along a few minutes earlier we would have met face to
+face in the narrow way; and the chances were that, in his hurry to
+escape, he would have charged me and knocked me down. And a blow from a
+tiger's paw is not a caress to be courted. But the two incidents will
+show that these animals are generally anxious to avoid men.
+
+Native _shikarees_ frequently sit up over water for tigers; but European
+sportsmen usually adopt one of the three following methods. The first
+and most effective is to shoot them from elephants; but this does not
+often fall to the lot of the average man. I was fortunate in having the
+opportunity in Buxa. The second method is to mark down where the animal
+is lying up after a kill and have him driven by a line of beaters to
+the spot where the sportsman is concealed.
+
+In the Central Provinces I went out one day with a friend who had
+arranged such a beat for a tiger which had killed a cow tied up as a
+bait for him near a village. After a ten miles' drive we reached this
+village; and, having had an early start, we breakfasted under a tree on
+a hillock just above a long _nullah_ which seamed the bare, brown fields
+with a winding line of green. Below us the hundred and sixty coolies
+collected as beaters squatted and smoked until the Sahibs were ready.
+Just as we had finished our meal, a cow burst out of the jungle in the
+_nullah_ and dashed in among the groups of men. They caught her and
+became very excited over her. We could see them crowding round her,
+talking volubly. Then the cow was led up to us; and we found that she
+was bleeding from a wound in the throat. All down her flanks and rump
+ran long scratches as if from the claws of a monster cat. This told us
+plainly that the tiger we were in quest of was still in the _nullah_ and
+that the cow had stumbled on him unawares. The tiger had evidently tried
+to seize it but, gorged with his night's meal, missed the fatal
+neck-breaking spring and, as the cow fled, struck out and clawed it
+behind.
+
+The coolies cried "Wah! wah! the _shaitan's_ (devil's) last day has
+dawned. See how the cow has come straight to the Sahib's feet to show
+her wounds and claim justice!" I am afraid the animal's bovine
+intelligence was not equal to this, but, in terror, she was only making
+for her village and safety.
+
+We waited under our tree until the day was at its hottest, so that the
+tiger, when driven, would be all the more reluctant to face the burning
+sun in the open and would retreat along the _nullah_ in the shade; for
+where the ravine forked off in two branches _machans_, strong wooden
+platforms, had been built for us up in the trees, one commanding each
+branch. We took a short cut across the open in the terrific heat. The
+pitiless sun beat down on us as we walked over the shadeless fields, and
+seemed to boil the brains in our skulls. It was a relief to reach the
+_nullah_ and the cool shelter of the trees in it. We climbed up into our
+respective _machans_, which were about a mile away from where the
+beaters were to begin the drive. I could see my friend perched up in his
+tree across the bank dividing his branch of the _nullah_ from mine. This
+bank was covered with undergrowth from which sprang a line of trees. In
+these a number of _langurs_--the big grey apes with black faces
+surrounded by a fringe of white whisker, which gives them a comic
+resemblance to aged negroes, a resemblance increased by their white
+eyebrows--were playing. They came to look at us, leaping from bough to
+bough, stooping and craning their necks to see us as we sat hidden by
+the leafy screens around our _machans_. Then, their curiosity satisfied,
+they continued their play and swung through the branches away in the
+direction of the beaters. For a couple of hours I sat drowsing in the
+intense heat. The silence was profound. Suddenly loud cries, the
+drumming of tom-toms, and the tapping of sticks against tree-trunks,
+told me that the drive had begun. I looked to my rifle and sat ready.
+The noise drew nearer; every nerve in my body was aquiver. Then in the
+tree-tops pandemonium broke loose. The _langurs_ were coming back
+towards us, leaping from branch to branch, shrieking, chattering with
+rage at something moving along beneath them. It was evidently the tiger,
+their foe as well as ours, which was trying to steal away silently
+before the beaters. The apes seemed to know his design and to be
+endeavouring to foil him. I really believe that they realised that our
+presence boded no good to him; for several looked at me as much as to
+say:
+
+"Here he is. He is trying to escape. We won't let him creep off
+unnoticed."
+
+I had read of this extraordinary behaviour on the part of monkeys during
+a beat in Captain Forsyth's interesting book, "The Highlands of Central
+India"; but I could scarcely credit it. But now I saw these _langurs_
+following the tiger's progress and shrieking abuse down at him. He
+seemed to be coming straight for me; and my heart rejoiced. But suddenly
+from the change of direction of the apes I saw that he had turned,
+crossed the dividing bank, and was going down the other _nullah_. Then I
+heard a deep short growl; and at the same moment my friend's rifle went
+up to his shoulder and he fired. Mad with excitement and furious at
+being unable to see what was happening, I did a very foolish thing. I
+slipped down from my tree and dashed through the undergrowth to the
+brink of the _nullah_. I saw the tiger rush across the narrow ravine and
+spring up the opposite bank, which was higher than the one on which I
+stood. Near the top his strength seemed to fail him. He clung on
+desperately, unable to pull himself up. My friend fired again; and the
+brute, struck in the foreleg, dropped back into the _nullah_. He rolled
+over and over in agony, biting at his paws and tearing them with his
+teeth. I fired at his shoulder. Even then he rolled about for a few
+minutes; and then his head fell back, his frame stiffened and he lay
+still.
+
+The shot drew my friend's attention to me; for he had not noticed me on
+the ground. He shouted angrily:
+
+"Go back, you fool. Get up your tree. There is a second tiger in the
+beat."
+
+I well deserved his uncomplimentary epithet; for, had the first animal
+sprung up the low bank on which I stood we would have met face to face.
+I hurriedly scrambled up again and sat with my rifle ready, until I saw
+first one man, then another and another, appear in the _nullah_; and
+finally the whole line of beaters reached us. There had been a tigress
+in the drive as well; but she had broken out to one side. She passed a
+tree in which a man had been placed as a "stop"; but, although he flung
+his _puggri_ in her face, she was not to be turned, and escaped out over
+the fields. I climbed down again and cautiously approached the tiger,
+keeping my rifle ready lest there might be some life in him still. I
+have known a sportsman to walk up to an apparently dead tiger and pull
+its tail, to be laid low the next moment by a blow from the animal's
+paw. Some of our coolies threw stones at the body; and as these elicited
+no response I walked up to the beast and found it dead. As the natives
+try to steal the whiskers, which they believe to have a certain magical
+power, I mounted guard until a litter had been made from cut branches to
+convey the tiger to the village for skinning. Arrived there the local
+flayers were set to work. The dead brute looked the embodiment of
+strength; and I marvelled at the masses of muscle the knives disclosed
+in the thick limbs. The first bullet had struck behind the shoulder; and
+when the carcass was cut open we found a hole the size of a florin right
+through the heart. Yet even with this wound the animal had been able to
+dash across the _nullah_ and spring up the bank. It showed that a tiger
+shot through the heart could reach and kill a man before falling dead
+itself. The other wounds were in the foreleg and ribs. The natives did
+not leave a scrap of flesh on the bones. For it and certain parts of the
+tiger are supposed to endow anyone who eats them with courage and
+vigour; and crowds of women came to carry off their husbands' share of
+the meat. The fat--such layers of it, white and firm, on the well-fed
+cattle thief--is boiled down for oil, which is considered a sovereign
+remedy for rheumatism. The skin was pegged out, hair downwards, on the
+ground and scraped clean, then covered with wood ashes. And the last
+stage of the proceedings consisted in the beaters being assembled and
+paid their wages--fourpence a man. Had the drive been unsuccessful, they
+would have only received twopence each. It seems little reward for
+disturbing a sleeping tiger; but the coolies were quite satisfied.
+
+The cause of the _langurs_ rage was evident when a beater brought us the
+half-eaten body of one of their number which he had found near the spot
+where the tiger had been sleeping. My friend told me that he was able to
+mark the brute's progress through the undergrowth by the movements of
+the apes above him. The tiger had come out from the cover into the clear
+bed of the _nullah_ with his head turned over his shoulder glaring up at
+them in anger. And the deep growl I had heard was uttered against these
+betrayers of his flight.
+
+This is a fair example of the second method of tiger shooting. But
+neither it nor the first are possible in very dense forest; and then
+"sitting up" must be tried. This consists of tying up a cow near a
+_nullah_ or patch of jungle in which the tiger is suspected or known to
+be. If he kills and eats part of it, a _machan_ is built in a tree close
+to the carcass and concealed by a tree of leafy branches. On this the
+sportsman takes up his position in the afternoon and tries to shoot the
+tiger when he returns to feed on the kill at dusk or later on moonlight
+nights. Sometimes he is obliged to wait till dawn. This is the method
+which least often proves effective. It is particularly tantalising and
+demands the patience of a Job. From about 4 p.m. to 6 a.m. the hunter
+must sit still in a cramped position. He scarcely dares to move his
+limbs, must make no noise, cannot smoke; if he has brought food with him
+he must consume it quietly. The dead cow, specially in the hot weather,
+offends his nostrils with a terrible stench. And thus, sickened by the
+awful odour, tormented by mosquitoes, he must sit through the night,
+every sense on the alert. He dare not drowse, for he cannot tell at what
+moment the quarry may appear. And the tiger is a cautious beast. If he
+does return to the kill, he will generally prowl around for some time
+before approaching it; and if he scents the waiting man in the tree
+above or anything arouses his suspicions, he will melt away without a
+sound into the darkness, leaving the hunter's vigil unrewarded.
+
+Yet sitting up is not without its charm. While daylight lasts it is
+interesting to watch the carrion feeders hastening to snatch a mouthful
+of the feast Chance has provided for them, always on the alert lest the
+rightful owner of the banquet should suddenly appear. High overhead a
+dim speck is seen against the sky. It grows larger and clearer, sinks
+down and, wheeling in great circles, reveals itself as a vulture.
+Another and another follow and, gradually descending, perch on the trees
+around. An impudent grey-headed crow pushes in before them and alights
+close to the dead cow. Then hopping on to the carcass it cocks its head
+impertinently at the less courageous vultures and begins to dig its beak
+into the putrid flesh. The big birds flop heavily to the ground and with
+much rustling of wings, shoving, hustling, angry squawks and vicious
+pecks at each other, begin their meal. But up fly the birds as a couple
+of jackals make their appearance and slink furtively to the kill. While
+they feed they look around apprehensively and start at every sound. The
+vultures flap over towards the dead cow again and demand their share of
+the good things that Chance has provided. The jackals snarl and snap at
+them, driving them off with short rushes. But suddenly they bolt
+themselves, as a dozen fox-like little beasts with reddish skins, sharp
+ears and handsome brushes trot up to the kill. These are the dreaded
+wild dogs which decimate the game in the jungle. They hungrily tear at
+the flesh, quarrelling and snapping at each other, ready to fly if the
+tiger appears. If the carcass is near water a white-and-black,
+long-legged bird is certain to be hovering about, crying plaintively and
+incessantly: "Did he do it? Did he--did he--did he do it?" until the
+exasperated watcher in the tree longs to shoot him. Then the sun sets,
+the noises of the day sink into silence; but the jungle wakes.
+
+In the forest below Buxa lived a very large tiger which vexed my soul
+exceedingly. Generations of commanding officers had pursued him in vain;
+and the task was handed down as a legacy from each to his successor for
+years. Fired at once, and possibly wounded, over a live cow tied up as
+bait, he was never to be tempted to approach another. Inspired to
+compass his death by the impressions of his huge paws, which I often
+found in the sand of river-beds, I had three cows tied up for weeks in
+different _nullahs_. In the daytime a man whom I employed for the
+purpose took them to graze and water and fastened them up again before
+dark. At first I used to sit up in a tree over one or other of them
+night after night without result. Then I resolved to wait until he had
+killed one. It was equally fruitless. For, although his "pugs" or
+footprints, were often to be traced coming up the _nullah_ and diverging
+towards the cow tied up in it, they always showed that he had turned
+abruptly and made off as soon as he discovered the nature of the bait.
+
+At last one day news was brought to me that he had killed a _sambhur_
+hind in the forest. As it was just at full moon, I gave orders that a
+_machan_ should be built in a tree near the carcass. Leaving the fort
+early in the afternoon I descended into the jungle and reached the spot
+about 6 p.m. when there was still some daylight. I found that the
+_sambhur_ had been killed in a _nullah_ a hundred yards off while
+drinking, and had been dragged by the tiger over the top of an almost
+perpendicular bank, up which I found it necessary to pull myself by my
+hands, and then over a small and steep hill. As a full-grown hind
+stands thirteen hands high and weighs five hundred pounds or more, this
+gives one some idea of a tiger's strength. The jungle here consisted of
+high trees with little undergrowth. As it was now the hot season when
+most of the leaves are shed, I noticed with satisfaction that the ground
+around below my _machan_ would be well lighted when the moon rose. My
+orderly and two sturdy-limbed Bhuttia coolies were up in a tree over the
+kill, tying an inverted _charpoy_, or native bed (which makes the best
+and most comfortable _machan_) in a fork, and hanging leafy branches
+around it to screen it from sight. I climbed up and tried to enter it.
+It was awkwardly placed and overhung me. I succeeded in getting my chest
+on the edge, when the rotten framework broke and nearly precipitated me
+to the earth, thirty feet below. I managed to save myself and sat
+astride a branch while one of the coolies cut a few bamboos from a clump
+close by and repaired the damage. Then I got into the _machan_, laid a
+packet of sandwiches and my Thermos flask beside me, loaded my rifle
+and, sending my orderly and the Bhuttias away, settled myself for my
+lonely vigil. I amused myself at first by watching the birds preparing
+for the night. A troop of monkeys came to drink in the neighbouring
+_nullah_ and passed overhead, leaping through the branches, hurling
+themselves from tree to tree, chasing each other in play or pausing now
+and then for a comfortable scratch. Mothers with tiny babies clinging
+closely to them sprang across the voids and swung themselves by hand or
+foot. A peacock sailed down majestically from the tree-tops to the water
+and gave its weird cat-like cry. The heavy flapping of wings and an
+eerie wail told of a big owl bestirring itself early. The harsh "honk"
+of a _sambhur_ stag rang out; and the sharp bark of a _khakur_ sounded
+at regular intervals. The sun sank lower and the twittering of the birds
+faded into silence. The drone of the multitudinous insect-life,
+unceasing in the day, yet only heard plainly at the hour when the louder
+sounds of larger life are hushed, seemed to rise now with startling
+distinctness. But even it died; and only the irritating hum of the
+mosquitoes around my head was left to break the complete silence. The
+air was still; and the sudden fall of a withered leaf seemed to echo
+clearly through the hushed forest. There was yet daylight in the sky;
+but a dusky gloom deepened under the trees. I lay down on the _charpoy_,
+peering through my leafy screen at the dead hind. My rifle was uncocked
+beside me, for I judged the hour too early for the tiger's visit; and I
+stretched myself at full length to rest before it would be necessary to
+sit upright with every sense alert for my long watch. Suddenly I was
+roused by the sound of loud footfalls to my rear passing over the dry
+leaves which crackled like tin to the tread. They came without
+hesitation towards my tree; and I thought angrily that it could only be
+one of my coolies returning to me contrary to orders. Without moving my
+body I turned my head around at the risk of dislocating my neck,
+intending to bid him in a loud whisper to go away. To my astonishment,
+instead of a man, I made out in the gloom of the underwood a huge bulk
+that I first took to be a baby elephant. Thirty yards away from my tree
+it stopped; and I saw that it was a large Himalayan bear, which looked
+immense to me after the smaller species of the Central Provinces.
+Fearful of scaring it I lay still in my constrained position. It stood
+motionless and seemed to be staring up at my _machan_. I hurriedly
+debated the question whether I ought to take a shot at it and give up
+all hope of the tiger, whom the sound would alarm, or let it go and wait
+for the greater prize. I decided on the latter course and simply watched
+it. Suddenly it turned and walked away as noisily as it had come. This
+surprised me; for I had imagined that wild animals tried to move
+silently through the forest. But the bear is indifferent to the other
+jungle dwellers; he does not fear the ferocious beasts nor attack the
+harmless ones.
+
+As soon as it had gone I glanced at my watch which showed 6-40 p.m. I
+sat up, cocked my rifle, and held it across my knees. The daylight died
+away in the swift oncoming of the tropic night; but the full moon shone
+overhead and cast the tangled pattern of leaves and branches on the
+ground. For hours I sat, scarcely daring to change my position or move
+my cramped limbs. Suddenly from the direction of the _nullah_ where the
+deer had been killed came the tramping of some heavy animal over the dry
+leaves towards me. The tiger at last! One touch of the hand to assure
+myself that my rifle was cocked and I sat motionless, though the beating
+of my heart sounded loud in my ears. Few sportsmen, after long hours of
+waiting, can hear the approach of their quarry without a quickened
+pulse. The brute walked straight towards the kill. In another second it
+must emerge into the full glare of the moonlight. Stealthily I raised my
+rifle to my shoulder. Alas! just as one step more would have brought it
+out from under the black shadows of the trees, the tiger stopped. For
+minutes that seemed hours it remained motionless. Then it moved back so
+silently that only the sharp crackle of a dry twig farther away told me
+that the animal had gone. What had aroused its suspicions I cannot tell.
+Perhaps it had scented me up in the tree or detected the recent presence
+of humans around its kill. Cursing its cunning, I uncocked my rifle and
+stretched my cramped limbs. It was then half-past eleven. I was strongly
+tempted to lie down and sleep; but I knew that the tiger _might_ return.
+So I continued my watch. It is in the small hours that the vigil becomes
+hardest. About half-past three in the morning I was nodding drowsily,
+when again from the _nullah_ I heard the sound of the animal
+approaching. His tread seemed even more assured than before; and I made
+certain of getting him. But once more, just within the shadow, he
+paused. I strained my ears but could detect no sound. Another few
+minutes of anxious waiting; and then gradually, almost imperceptibly, he
+withdrew. This was the climax. I showered maledictions on his head. I
+had to wait until after six o'clock before one of my elephants came to
+take me on a long day's shoot in the jungle. Before quitting the spot I
+searched the ground and found the tiger's two trails leading up from the
+_nullah_.
+
+The sportsman who tries his luck in "sitting up" must be prepared for
+many disappointments. He may watch night after night and never once see
+his quarry. He may select an evening when the moon is full, only to find
+clouds come up and obscure its light; and then, in the unforeseen
+darkness, he may be tantalised by hearing the tiger come to feed on the
+kill, may listen for an hour to the tearing of flesh and the crunching
+of bones and be utterly unable to get a shot. The adjutant of my
+regiment, Captain Hore, once paid us a visit at Buxa and went shooting
+in our jungles. On his first day he came across the carcass of a
+_sambhur_ killed the previous day by a tiger. So he had a canvas chair
+tied up in a tree over it and climbed up to wait in it for the slayer to
+return. Before daylight faded he saw some wild pigs come and feed on the
+kill. But just as the moon rose they fled hurriedly; and he heard some
+large animal moving in the jungle close by. It prowled cautiously around
+in cover near the carcass for over two hours, but would not show itself.
+Meantime heavy clouds drew across the sky, blotting out the moon and
+shrouding the forest in impenetrable darkness. Suddenly Hore heard the
+prowling tiger leave the cover at last. It sprang out on the carcass as
+though the _sambhur_ were alive and tore and rent it furiously. The
+sound of bones cracked to an accompaniment of snarls and growls came
+clearly to the watcher above; but the darkness was opaque. At last, in
+desperation, he fired in the direction of the noise but missed; and the
+tiger bolted. And the next moment, as though the shot had been the
+signal for the storm, a vivid flash of lightning rent the clouds, a
+terrific peal of thunder sounded overhead, the sky seemed to open and
+pour down sheets of rain. Hore's position was unenviable. The so-called
+waterproof he had with him was wet through in a few minutes. He could
+not put his rifle away from him, yet feared lest it should attract the
+lightning. It was hopeless to descend and try to find his way through
+the forest in the darkness. And so through the weary night, exposed to
+all the fury of a tropical storm, he was obliged to sit shivering in
+his chair, forty feet above the ground. And to add to his annoyance the
+tiger, evidently confusing the flash and report of the shot with the
+lightning and thunder, returned and fed on the kill again, while Hore on
+his uncomfortable perch listened, powerless. And when at six o'clock in
+the morning one of my elephants came to fetch him, it was a very sodden,
+chilled, and miserable individual that climbed from the tree on to its
+pad. But not disheartened he ordered the _mahout_, instead of returning
+to Buxa, to take him for a wide sweep through the jungle in the hope of
+shooting something to console him for the night's disappointment. The
+storm had ceased. Within a mile he came upon a herd of six bison with a
+splendid old bull among them. But the rules of the forest department
+prohibit their being shot in Government jungle; and so the again baffled
+sportsman was forced to let them go unscathed, while they stared at him
+and his elephant for several minutes before they moved away.
+
+Once during the rainy season at Asirgarh I was sitting up over the
+carcass of a white cow in what should have been brilliant moonlight. But
+heavy clouds gathered; and soon all I could see of the kill was a faint
+whitish glimmer. Suddenly this was blotted out, and I heard a crunching
+of bones and tearing of flesh. I could not see my sights, but I fired in
+the direction of the sounds. A terrific howl followed by fiendish
+shrieks and groans told me that I had hit a tiger. I heard him rush off
+thirty or forty yards and throw himself on the ground, where he rolled
+in agony, tearing up the earth and sending the stones rattling down into
+a small _nullah_ beside which he lay. I hoped that I was listening to
+his dying moans; but he got up again and the groaning and snarling died
+away in the distance. There was a village a mile off; so, giving the
+tiger time to get well away, I climbed down and made for it. It was a
+nerve-trying walk in the darkness; for I feared every moment to stumble
+on the wounded beast. However I reached shelter without encountering
+him. I gave my _shikaree_ instructions to bid the cowherds of the
+village be ready with their buffaloes at daybreak to track the tiger.
+For these great black beasts are frequently used in this work. Their
+instinct tells them that the tiger is the enemy of their race; and they
+regard him with savage hatred. In a herd they do not fear him; for the
+hungriest cattle thief will not dare to attack a number of them which
+form round the calves and present to him an impenetrable front of
+lowered heads and sharp horns. On their backs the small children of the
+village who drive them to and from the grazing ground are safe. When a
+sportsman employs them to track a wounded tiger, the herds take them to
+a point where they can scent his trail. As soon as they have smelt it,
+they paw up the earth and bellow with rage, then dash off in pursuit. If
+they come on him lying up wounded and sore under a tree, they will
+charge him if allowed to. And no tiger would dare to face their savage
+onslaught; for little avails his strength and cunning against the fierce
+rush of the infuriated beasts. If he is not too badly hurt, he will
+invariably fly before their attack. If not, then must the sportsman
+shoot quick and the herds exert all their authority to keep the
+buffaloes back; for, if left to themselves, they will rush in on the
+tiger, gore him and stamp him to death under their hoofs. And the skin
+will be of little use as a trophy when they are allowed to work their
+will on the battered carcass.
+
+Having given my orders, I slept in the local police station on a
+_charpoy_ lent me by the _havildar_, or sergeant, in charge. At daylight
+my _shikaree_ woke me and I went out to find about twenty buffaloes
+collected. They were driven out to the kill. The sight of the dead cow
+enraged them. They bellowed and stamped, then snuffing up the trail set
+off at a run across the fields like a pack of hounds. They soon tracked
+the tiger into the jungle. They crashed through the undergrowth, now and
+then at fault, but questing round until they picked up the trail again.
+They followed it up for two or three miles and finally lost it in broken
+and precipitous ground among the low hills. My _shikaree_ assured me
+that it was useless to search further, as the tiger could not have been
+badly wounded and was certain to have retreated to a great distance. To
+my regret I let myself be persuaded; for, a few days after, the sight of
+vultures gathering from all quarters led to the discovery of the tiger's
+body not half a mile from where we had left off. But the carcass was
+putrid and half-eaten, so the skin was useless.
+
+But shooting on chance in the dark is not always productive of the
+desired result. Once when sitting up on a cloudy night for a panther, I
+discharged my rifle at some animal which I could hear, but could not
+see, at the kill. A pandemonium of shrieks and yells told me that by
+good luck my bullet had gone home. I waited for silence, and then,
+having reloaded, climbed down and cautiously approached. But to my
+disappointment, instead of the dead panther which I had hoped to find,
+there lay the corpse of a loathsome hyena. On another occasion when
+sitting up in the middle of a village for a daring leopard which used to
+enter it at night and kill the cattle in their pens, I shot a mangy
+pariah dog in the dark.
+
+A panther is a much bolder animal than a tiger. He generally returns to
+his kill earlier, often in broad daylight. I have seen one come out,
+five minutes after my coolies had left, from some bushes in which he had
+evidently been watching them. Even when shot at and missed or slightly
+wounded they will return the same night to a kill. And sometimes one has
+been known to discover the waiting sportsman in the _machan_ first and
+spring up the tree to attack him unprovoked. So that sitting up for
+these animals is not without its risks.
+
+The method of shooting tiger from elephants undoubtedly gives the best
+sport. Seventeen miles from Buxa Fort the great forest ends abruptly.
+From its ragged edge, five miles above the town of Alipur Duar, the
+cultivated plains stretch away to the south, seamed with _nullahs_ which
+run from inside the jungle through the open fields. They are generally
+deep and filled with low trees and scrub, and as they contain water form
+ideal bases of operation for a tiger issuing from the forest to carry on
+war against herds of cattle in the villages. The striped thief can lie
+up within a few hundred yards of a farm and kill the cows when they come
+to drink. If disturbed, he can retreat up the _nullah_ to the shelter of
+the forest. Consequently the stretch of ground just outside the south
+border of the Terai Jungle is full of tigers.
+
+During a visit from our Colonel to Buxa for his annual inspection I
+received an invitation from Mr Ainslie, the Subdivisional Officer of
+Alipur Duar, to bring my elephants and join him in a beat for a cattle
+thief which was lying up in a _nullah_ three or four miles from the
+town. At that time I had only Khartoum and Dundora; as Jhansi had run
+away to the forest after being attacked by a wild elephant and had been
+missing for months. However, on our arrival, we found Ainslie had
+collected seven; so that we had nine altogether. This number was not a
+great one; but we hoped that it would suffice. Mrs Ainslie was to
+accompany us; for she was a great sportswoman and had shot five tigers
+herself, as well as various panthers, bears and bison. We started out in
+the early morning, crossed the railway line, forded a river--which each
+elephant carefully sounded with its trunk--and reached the _nullah_ in
+which the tiger was reported to be lurking. It was broad and dry, filled
+with scrub and low trees. Ainslie took the Colonel in his howdah; and
+Mrs Ainslie shared mine. Taking up our positions on the bank we sent the
+beater elephants half a mile further on to drive towards us. At a signal
+from Ainslie the beat began. The elephants formed line across the
+_nullah_ and advanced, forcing their way through the jungle. An
+occasional squeal from one of them when the _mahout_ struck it on the
+head for shirking a particularly thorny bit of scrub, the cries of the
+men and the crashing of the huge beasts through the jungle as they
+trampled down the undergrowth and broke off branches from the trees,
+made din enough to scare anything. It soon proved too much for the
+tiger's nerves. My _mahout_ had carelessly allowed his elephant to draw
+back from the edge of the steep bank. I saw a sudden flash of yellow as
+the tiger darted through the scrub along under the overhanging brink in
+such a way that he was sheltered from my rifle. But I shouted a warning
+to the others, who were posted farther down where the bank sloped less
+steeply. The Colonel fired and wounded the beast, which dashed up the
+bank and received a bullet from Ainslie before it was lost to sight in
+the high grass on the level. The beater elephants emerged from the
+_nullah_, surrounded it, and drove it in again. They endeavoured to send
+it to us; but the tiger refused to face the guns a second time and broke
+through their line, my orderly, Draj Khan, hurling a heavy stick at it
+and hitting it as it flashed past his elephant. We tried for it again
+lower down, several times, but without success.
+
+While we were thus engaged it seemed strange to see the mail train pass
+on the railway line not half a mile from us, driver, guard, and
+passengers leaning out to look at us. Leaving the _nullah_ we ranged
+through the long grass on the level and put up a number of wild pigs,
+the Colonel shooting a fine old boar with long tusks as sharp as knives.
+
+Having heard that a panther was supposed to be lying up in another
+_nullah_ a couple of miles away, we took our elephants there and tried a
+beat for it. This time the howdah bearers advanced along the bank in
+line with the beaters, spaced across the _nullah_, which was fairly
+open, with patches of scrub here and there in it. We were unsuccessful
+in finding the panther but were afforded an excellent example of the
+terror with which elephants regard tiny, harmless animals. Over some
+bushes in front of me I caught a glimpse of a hare running through them
+down into the _nullah_. Its course brought it right across the line of
+beaters. Then these huge beasts, which had just faced a wounded tiger
+unmoved, went mad at the sight of it. All trumpeted shrilly, some
+planted their forefeet firmly and refused to advance, others turned and
+stampeded, despite the heavy blows showered on them with the iron
+_ankus_ by the enraged _mahouts_. I saw Ainslie and the Colonel, unable
+to discover the cause of the disturbance, stand up in their howdah,
+clutching their rifles and looking everywhere for the charging panther,
+which they imagined must have scared the elephants.
+
+One afternoon in Buxa I received a telegram from Ainslie telling me to
+be with him early next morning as a tiger had killed in his
+neighbourhood that day. As Alipur Duar was twenty-two miles away it
+behoved me to start at once and march through the night. So, filling my
+Thermos flask and putting a loaf of bread and a tin of preserved meat
+into my haversack, I shouldered my rifle and walked down the three miles
+of steep road to Santrabari. Here I found the _mahouts_ and ordered them
+to get the two elephants ready, Jhansi still being a deserter. I bade
+them put the howdah on Dundora's back, as she was the steadier with a
+charging tiger. We started off at once; but before we reached the
+railway station at Buxa Road, darkness had fallen. My elephant stepped
+out briskly with the swaying stride that is particularly trying in a
+howdah, the occupant of which is shaken about like a pea on a drum. I
+kept slipping off the hard wooden seat; so I tried standing up, holding
+on to the front rail. This was almost worse; for if I forgot for a
+moment to brace myself up with stiffened arms I was thrown against the
+side. So for twenty-two miles I had to keep changing my position
+continually and found it tiring work. Through the forest we lumbered on
+without stopping. The night was dark. Fortunately, the road ran along
+beside the railway line clear of the trees, which would otherwise have
+swept the howdah off Dundora's back. Once or twice a wild elephant
+trumpeted in the jungle, much to the alarm of our tame ones; so I kept
+my rifle loaded, ready to drive off any we might meet. When I felt
+hungry I opened the tin of meat and, as we went along, made a frugal
+dinner, having to use my fingers as knife and fork, washing the food
+down with water from my flask. The long march was extremely fatiguing;
+but by daylight we were clear of the forest. Arrived at the _dak_
+bungalow at Alipur Duar I found one of the officers of my regiment,
+Major Burrard, who had come there on leave from headquarters at
+Dibrugarh in Assam for a shoot. The Ainslies could not accompany us that
+day, but had kindly lent us their four elephants. The kill was reported
+to be in a _nullah_ about four miles away, close to the edge of the
+forest. Burrard and I started for it at once. Our way lay over open bare
+fields. Our elephants, as is their habit, persisted in tailing off in
+single file, though a hundred could have marched abreast. Each kept
+exactly in the footprints of the one in front of it. As we went along, I
+noticed half a mile to our left a _nullah_ fringed with trees. In these,
+or circling overhead, were a number of vultures. I remarked that every
+now and then one would swoop down to the ground, only to rise again into
+the air like a rocketting pheasant without alighting. They indicated
+the presence of a dead animal; and I asked the _mahouts_ if our kill was
+there. They answered that it was about a mile further on. I judged that
+another cow must have been killed in this _nullah_; and from the fact
+that the vultures did not dare to settle on it, I concluded that a tiger
+must be in the immediate vicinity. So I directed my elephant towards the
+spot. As we drew near I looked at the rows of bald-headed vultures,
+those repulsive-looking scavengers of India, sitting on the branches.
+Every few minutes one would fly down towards the ground and, without
+settling, hurriedly shoot up again into the air. Cautiously approaching
+the edge of the bank we found, as I expected, the carcass of a cow. We
+skirted the bank but could not see the tiger, which was probably asleep
+somewhere in the tangled scrub in the bottom of the _nullah_. So,
+marking the spot for a visit next day, we went on our way. Arrived at
+the place where the beat was to begin, we found another _nullah_ filled
+with jungle, with bare, open ground stretching away on either side of
+it. We took up our positions in it on our two howdah elephants and put
+the beaters in farther down.
+
+They came on the tiger lying asleep under a tree. He sprang up in alarm
+and, instead of retreating along the _nullah_ towards us, rushed up the
+bank and broke away over the open past a group of natives who had come
+out from a farm close by to watch the hunt. As he was not fifty yards
+from them, they were very scared. It must have been a fine sight to see
+the big cat bounding across the bare plain until he reached and plunged
+into a parallel _nullah_ a few hundred yards away. But we in the bottom
+of our ravine saw or heard nothing of him until our beaters came up. We
+searched the other _nullah_ for him in vain. He probably had not stopped
+until he had reached the shelter of the forest.
+
+That night, when dining with the Ainslies, our host told us of some
+curious happenings in tiger hunts around Alipur Duar. A former
+commandant was shooting one day on Dundora. Mrs Ainslie was in the
+howdah with him. A tiger burst out of the jungle before the beat. The
+officer fired and wounded it; but, hardly checking in its rush, it
+dashed forward, being missed by another bullet, and sprang on to the
+elephant's head. For a second it stood with its hind feet on Dundora's
+skull, its forepaws on the front rail of the howdah. The officer dropped
+his empty rifle and, seizing a second gun, shoved the muzzle against the
+tiger's chest and fired. The brute fell back off the elephant, dead. The
+whole incident had passed like a flash. The tiger had actually stood
+right over the _mahout_ crouching on the neck; but the man, although he
+found afterwards a long tear in the shoulder of his coat from the
+animal's claw, was not touched. On another occasion a tiger was shot in
+mid air as it sprang clean across a _nullah_, crumpled up and fell into
+the stream at the bottom. When the sportsmen on their elephants reached
+the edge of the bank, it was nowhere to be seen; and they concluded that
+it must have escaped down the _nullah_. But a month afterwards a second
+tiger was similarly shot in the middle of a spring and was seen from a
+distance to fall into a stream in the _nullah_, try to struggle out of
+the water and collapse beneath the surface. So the mystery of the first
+one's disappearance was solved. It must have been lying under water at
+the bottom of the _nullah_; but no one thought of looking for it there.
+
+Next morning I came out on to the veranda of the _dak_ bungalow and
+surveyed with pride the six elephants drawn up in line before me. On the
+neck of each sat the _mahout_, who raised his hand to his forehead in a
+salaam. Then at the word of command the six trunks were lifted into the
+air and the elephants trumpeted in salute. As I looked at them I
+murmured inwardly: "This day a tiger must die!"
+
+We were to look for the animal that had killed the cow I had found the
+previous morning. So Burrard and I made an early start and proceeded to
+the spot I had marked. The _nullah_ was narrow, S-shaped, with almost
+perpendicular banks fifteen feet high. A stream of water filled it from
+bank to bank. On either side of it was thick scrub jungle and elephant
+grass eight feet high. I stationed Burrard at one end of the S and took
+up my position at the other about a hundred yards from him. My elephant
+was back a little from the _nullah_, along the far bank of which the
+tall, stiff grass stood like a wall. The beaters started a quarter of a
+mile from us and drove through the scrub on the other side of the
+_nullah_. A tiger, as a rule, begins to move at the first sound of the
+beat; so I stood up in my howdah with my rifle cocked. I may mention
+that shooting from an elephant, even when it is standing, is not easy,
+for the animal is never still. It continually shifts its weight from
+foot to foot, flaps its ears, moves its head and beats its sides or
+chest with its trunk to drive off the flies.
+
+The line of beaters advanced through the scrub with their usual din.
+Now and then, under the tangled undergrowth, I caught a glimpse of my
+orderly or a _mahout_. They drew nearer and nothing broke out of the
+jungle in front of them. My heart sank when I saw them not a hundred
+yards from me. But at that moment a number of small birds flew up from
+the tall grass and I heard the sound of some heavy animal forcing its
+way through the tough stems. I held my rifle ready to cover the spot.
+The next instant I saw the head and shoulders of a large tiger push out
+through the grass on the very brink of the _nullah_. Though the tall
+stalks on my side almost concealed my elephant, the tiger saw me at once
+and crouched for a spring. Its savage face was plainly visible, the
+fierce eyes fastened on me, the snarling lips drawn back over the white
+fangs, the bristling whiskers, all forming a fiendish mask appalling in
+its cruel expression. I threw up the rifle to my shoulder, took a quick
+aim and fired. The tiger started convulsively, sprang erect for an
+instant, then plunged head foremost into the _nullah_ with stiffened
+forelegs close to the body, as a man diving holds his arms straight by
+his sides and hurls himself into the water. I was too far back from the
+bank to see down to the bottom of the _nullah_; but suddenly the tiger
+sprang convulsively straight into my view and then fell back again. The
+_mahout_, shrouded by the high grass, had seen nothing of all this. I
+shouted at him to urge Dundora forward to the edge of the _nullah_. From
+the brink I peered down into it; but, to my intense disappointment, no
+prostrate body of a tiger met my eyes. The banks were sheer; and I could
+look up and down the _nullah_ for a hundred yards. I could not believe
+that the brute had escaped. I was convinced that I had not missed him,
+that my bullet had struck where I aimed, right between the shoulders, as
+he crouched for the spring. It should have been a fatal shot; but the
+tiger had vanished.
+
+Suddenly Ainslie's stories of the previous night recurred to me. I
+glanced down the stream and saw, twenty yards from where we stood, a
+discoloured patch in the dark water. I had the elephant brought opposite
+it. I stared hard until I believed that I could make out the outlines of
+a tiger below the surface and see the stripes on the body. I pointed it
+out to the _mahout_. He gazed unbelievingly for a moment, then gave vent
+to an excited shout. The beaters had meantime reached the opposite bank
+and were calling across to ask if I had hit the tiger. When we told them
+where it was they laughed incredulously. I ordered Bechan to dismount
+from Khartoum's neck and enter the stream. With the air of one who does
+a ridiculous thing to please a fretful child, he slid down the bank and
+walked into the water. Suddenly he yelled in terror and sprang for the
+dry land. He had put his bare foot on the tiger's body. The animal was
+lying dead in three feet of water. The others urged Bechan to go in
+again; and with some trepidation he did so. Reaching down he lifted up
+the tail and held the tip up above the surface. The other _mahouts_ and
+my orderly shouted with joy, for it meant largesse to them, and jumped
+in after Bechan. They moved the body easily to the edge of the water but
+could not lift it up the bank. We called some coolies from huts close
+by; and it took twenty men to raise the carcass up to the level.
+
+[Illustration: THE TIGER'S LYING IN STATE.]
+
+[Illustration: THE TIGER'S LAST HOME.]
+
+The tiger was a fine young male in splendid condition, and measured nine
+and a half feet from nose to tip of tail. After photographing it, we
+brought the elephants in turn up to it as it lay on the ground and
+encouraged them to smell and strike it. This is done to show them that
+the animal is not a foe to be dreaded. We all had to help in lifting the
+limp body on to Khartoum's back; for a well-grown tiger weighs nearly
+three hundred and fifty pounds. It was fastened on to the pad with
+ropes; and we started back in triumphal procession to Alipur Duar, where
+the beast was flayed and the flesh scrambled for by the women of the
+neighbourhood, who gathered like vultures. The skin was pegged out on
+the grass to dry, before being sent to a taxidermist to be dressed and
+mounted to adorn my bungalow.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX
+
+A FOREST MARCH
+
+    Reasons for showing the flag--Soldierless Bengal--Planning
+        the march--Difficulties of transport--The first day's
+        march--Sepoys in the jungle--The water-creeper--The
+        commander loses his men--The bivouac at
+        Rajabhatkawa--Alipur Duar--A small Indian
+        Station--Long-delayed pay--The Sub-divisional
+        Officer--A _dak_ bungalow--The sub-judge--Brahmin
+        pharisees--The _nautch_--A dusty march--Santals--A
+        mission settlement--Crossing a river--Rafts--A bivouac
+        in a tea garden--A dinner-party in an 80-lb.
+        tent--Bears at night--A daring tiger--Chasing a tiger
+        on elephants--In the forest again--A fickle river--A
+        strange animal--The Maharajah of Cooch Behar's
+        experiment--A scare and a disappointment--Across the
+        Raidak--A woman killed by a bear--A planters'
+        club--Hospitality in the jungle--The zareba--Impromptu
+        sports--The Alarm Stakes--The raft
+        race--Hathipota--Jainti.
+
+
+There is a tale told of the Indian Army in the good old days when
+soldiering in peace time was an easy life and very different to what it
+has now become. The story runs that a general order was published to the
+effect that "Officers are forbidden to drill the men from the verandas
+of their bungalows." For it was said that, attired in pyjamas, they
+lounged comfortably in long chairs and shouted out the words of command
+to their companies drilling on the parade ground in front of the
+bungalows. But those delightful days have gone for ever. Despite what
+democratic orators say, the British Army has become a professional one;
+and soldiering in it is a strenuous existence. In India only the Rains,
+when outdoor work is almost impossible, give rest to the hard-worked
+officer and man. Musketry, field firing, company training, both winter
+and summer, keep them fully employed until battalion training leads up
+to the culminating point of the year--the brigade or divisional
+manoeuvres, or both. And then it begins all over again. And this, mark
+you, in a tropical climate!
+
+Up to the rank of Colonel every officer must pass difficult examinations
+for promotion to each successive grade. And generals and colonels sit on
+the benches of class-rooms in the Schools of Musketry, and in their own
+commands lecture, or listen to other officers lecturing, on military
+subjects.
+
+In the good old days I could have sat in my bungalow in Buxa Duar and
+watched my sepoys drilling in the narrow limits of our small parade
+ground. But nowadays too high a standard of efficiency is required from
+the troops for this method of commanding to pass muster. So, for the
+first month after our arrival, we scrambled up and down the steep
+mountains, scaled precipices and fought our way through thorny jungle
+practising hill warfare. Then I determined to take the detachment
+farther afield, where the men could have more varied ground to work over
+and learn something of jungle life. So I mapped out a ten days' march,
+under war conditions, through the forest below. We should go out as a
+self-contained force, like the little columns that are sent against the
+savage tribes along our North-East Frontier. We should carry our own
+supplies with us, find our own transport, move by day and bivouac at
+night exactly as we should do in an enemy's country. As the route
+selected would emerge into open country for a couple of days, the men
+would have a change from jungle work.
+
+I was influenced in my decision to march through the surrounding;
+country and "show the flag" by private representations made to me by
+civil officers of the district. They pointed out the advisability of
+letting the natives of the neighbourhood see soldiers, probably for the
+first time in the lives of many of them. Asiatics have short memories;
+and the inhabitants of the Bengals, who rarely see troops, are inclined
+to forget that the British Army still exists. At that time sedition was
+supposed to be spreading among them. For it is a curious fact that it
+chiefly makes headway among the unwarlike races of India, probably for
+the very reason that they have never learned in the field the respect
+that the brave man feels for the still braver antagonist who has
+conquered him. And British rule is more popular among the races that we
+have only vanquished after a hard struggle than it is among those whose
+ancestors never dared to meet us in battle. In all history the Bengali
+never was, never could be, a fighting-man. He was the easy prey of every
+invader; and, like the cowardly Corean, only the extreme suppleness of
+his back saved him from extermination. If the British left India the
+cities and rich lands of Bengal would be scrambled for by every warrior
+race in India; and her sons would not venture to lift a hand to defend
+themselves. But cowards are ingrates. Forgetful of all this the
+so-called educated Bengali whispers of the day to come when the English
+tyrants will be driven into the sea. He does not suggest that he and
+his kind will do it themselves. The young Calcutta student, crammed with
+undigested, ill-understood European knowledge, will talk treason glibly.
+Insulting women, hurling bombs, assassinating in secret or, gun in hand,
+plundering unarmed villagers even more timorous than himself, he is a
+hero in his own eyes. But even in the wildest frenzy of his ill-balanced
+brain he never pictures himself facing British troops in battle. The
+cowardly agitator allots that task to the native soldiers when we shall
+have succeeded in seducing them from their allegiance. But the sepoys,
+recruited from races that hold only the warrior in honour, look on him
+and his race as something more despicable than dogs. My
+Rajputs--descendants of the gallant fighters who conquered half India,
+who struggled through bloody centuries against the Mohammedan invaders,
+whose women killed themselves when their lords had been slain and
+preferred death to dishonour--my sepoys regarded the effeminate Bengalis
+as unsexed beings.
+
+The Duars abound in tea states; and each manager rules six or seven
+hundred coolies by moral force. Several planters hinted to me that it
+would be a good thing to let these coolies see the gleam of bayonets for
+once, and realise that the white man has something more than the baton
+of an occasional native policeman to rely on if need arise.
+
+Thrown on our own resources as we were in Buxa, the question of
+transporting the supplies and baggage of nearly two hundred men required
+some thinking out. We had no funds at our disposal to hire coolies; and
+all we could depend on was our three elephants. Ten days' food supply
+for so many men weighs a good deal; and we had to carry with us as well
+their bedding, cooking-pots, blank ammunition, pickaxes and shovels for
+entrenching. It needed some careful arrangement to enable three
+elephants to do the work of ten. I was obliged to send them out to form
+depots of sacks of flour, grain, and other food-stuffs at places along
+the route, and bring them back again to accompany us carrying the other
+things we required with us. Each sepoy was limited to two blankets and a
+change of clothing and boots rolled up in his _dhurri_ or strip of
+carpet. Contrary to the usual custom on peace manoeuvres each man
+carried a packet of ten rounds of ball cartridge in his pocket; for, had
+any sudden call for our services come before we could communicate with
+the magazine in our fort, we would have been of little use with only
+blank ammunition for our rifles. And in the forest at night we might
+require ball to protect ourselves against wild animals.
+
+At last, our arrangements complete, we left forty men behind at Buxa to
+guard the Station; and one morning in February saw us, a hundred and
+sixty strong, marching through the jungle in the direction of
+Rajabhatkawa. We moved with fixed bayonets and all the proper
+precautions of a column passing through an enemy's country. Advanced,
+rear and flank guards protected us on all sides. These detachments,
+instead of being thrown out a mile or more from the main body, as they
+would have been in open country, were not a hundred yards from it. And
+even that was often too much in the dense jungle. Every man carried at
+his belt a _kukri_, the Gurkha's heavy, curved knife, and used it to
+hack his way through the tangle of creepers and undergrowth. The
+progress was necessarily very slow, and we hardly advanced a mile an
+hour. We marched by compass, no easy task in thick forest.
+
+[Illustration: "MY SEPOYS DRILLING."]
+
+[Illustration: BUGLERS AND NON-COMMISSIONED OFFICERS OF MY DETACHMENT.]
+
+At the first fire line, as there was an open space, I halted and closed
+the detachment to give them their first object-lesson in the jungle. To
+my men, inhabitants of the sandy deserts of Rajputana or the cultivated
+plains of the North-West Provinces, forest lore was unknown. And as all
+the warfare the Assam Brigade, to which we belonged, would be called
+upon to wage would be fought against savages in thick jungle, I lost no
+chance of teaching our men all conditions of the bush. I now asked them
+where, when the rivers were dry, would they look for water in the
+forest. They mostly replied:
+
+"We would dig for it, Sahib."
+
+I told them that Nature had been too generous to call for such exertion
+and had kindly provided water in the trees. They looked at me in
+surprise and evidently thought that I meant to be facetious. I pointed
+to a thick creeper swinging between the trees in front of me and
+introduced them to the mysterious _pani bel_. A piece was cut off; and
+the water flowed from it. That astonished them.
+
+"_Wah! wah!_ but that is _jadu_ (magic)," they said to each other.
+"Marvellous is the Sahib's knowledge. Like us he is new to the forest.
+Then how could he know of such a wonderful thing?"
+
+The water creeper grew freely all round. Permission given, they broke
+ranks and rushed into the jungle, each resolved to handle the marvel for
+himself. In a few minutes I was surrounded by scores of sepoys leaning
+on their rifles with heads well thrown back to catch in their mouths the
+water dropping from the cut pieces of creeper. The _pani bel_ was a
+great success. They filled their haversacks with it, and all that day,
+at every halt, pulled it out to taste and marvel at the magic plant.
+
+We moved on again in our original formation. Carrying my sporting rifle
+I walked a few yards behind the advanced line of scouts. So dense was
+the jungle that, out of all the hundred and sixty men around me, I could
+only occasionally catch glimpses of three or four. Suddenly from a
+hundred yards ahead I heard a large animal forcing its way through the
+undergrowth. Fearing that it might be a wild elephant I pushed on in
+front of the scouts, as my rifle would be more effective than theirs.
+The animal retreated before me without my being able to see it; and I
+followed, glancing over my shoulder now and then to sight the sepoys
+behind and ensure that I was keeping the proper direction. But
+neglecting this precaution for five minutes, I completely lost the whole
+detachment. The beast I was pursuing had gone beyond hearing; so I
+turned back to rejoin my men. But search as I might I could not find one
+of them. It seemed absurd to lose in a few minutes a hundred and sixty
+men spread out in a loose formation. But I had succeeded in doing it.
+
+It was a ridiculous position for the commander who was supposed to be
+instructing his soldiers in jungle training. But, fortunately, I already
+knew the forest in the neighbourhood fairly well; and guiding myself by
+the sun, I succeeded in getting ahead of my warriors and rejoining them
+at the place on which they were marching by compass without any of them
+realising that they had lost me. We halted for the night and bivouacked
+close to Rajabhatkawa Station.
+
+The next day's march brought us out clear of the forest. As we emerged
+on the cultivated plains to the north of Alipur Duar, it seemed quite
+strange to be on open ground again and able to swing along at four miles
+an hour. The sepoy is a faster marcher than his British comrade and will
+do his five miles in the hour on a road if wanted. In his own home he
+thinks nothing of covering forty miles a day, shuffling along at the
+native jog-trot that eats up the ground.
+
+After Buxa Alipur Duar seemed almost a city, though it is not an
+imposing town. The houses, when not made of mud or bamboo and thatched
+with straw, are built of brick and roofed with corrugated iron. But it
+boasts a jail, a hospital, a _dak_ bungalow and a sub-treasury. And the
+last was the cause of my including it in our itinerary; for the
+detachment was in the throes of a financial crisis. None of the officers
+or men had received their pay for December and January; and we had not
+five rupees between us. But the long-delayed pay-cheque on this
+sub-treasury had just reached me; and I was anxious to cash it at the
+earliest opportunity. Unfortunately we arrived at Alipur Duar after
+office hours and were forced to wait another day for our money, instead
+of marching on next morning as I had intended.
+
+The town had no amusement to offer us Britishers. The only Europeans who
+resided in it were the Ainslies; and they were then absent; for
+throughout the winter the district officials are out in camp, moving
+from village to village in their districts, and administering the law
+and carrying on the ground work of the Government of the land.
+
+However, Alipur Duar boasted among its public buildings that useful
+institution, a _dak_ bungalow. In little Stations and dotted every ten
+or fifteen miles along the highways of India, the _dak_ bungalow is
+there to shelter the European traveller whom Fate or his work leads far
+from cities and railways. It is a humble, one-storied building, erected
+by Government, and containing one two or three scantily furnished rooms.
+It is in charge of a native attendant, who sometimes provides food for
+the hungry traveller, though as a rule the latter has to bring his own
+with him. Luckily India is the land of tinned food.
+
+The Alipur bungalow boasted a _khansamah_, or butler, who was able to
+furnish us with meals. We found already installed in it a native
+sub-judge who had come from the headquarters of the district to try some
+cases in Ainslie's absence. I got into conversation with him and found
+him a cheery, pleasant little Bengali, a follower of the new reformed
+_Brahmo Samaj_ faith and consequently free from the caste prejudices of
+the orthodox Hindu, which do so much to keep him and the Englishman
+apart. Finding that our new acquaintance had no scruples about eating
+with Europeans, I invited him to share our dinner. He held very decided
+opinions on what he termed the hypocrisy of the educated Brahmins who,
+in public, profess to adhere strictly to the severest caste restrictions
+in the matter of eating with others, particularly with Europeans.
+
+"Sir, I am not possessed of patience to endure them," he said in his
+quaint English. "In the town where I have the habit to reside, the
+Brahmin lawyers and under-official strappers invite to the farewell
+entertainment of a garden-party our much-to-be-regretted late
+Deputy-Commissioner, when being about to depart from us. They request me
+to pose as a host with them. I say to them: 'No; I am not willing. You
+ask to Mr and Mrs----, an English gentleman and lady, to come partake of
+your hospitality. But you put on a table in corner of tent cakes, tea
+and other cheering refreshments and tell them to eat alone while you
+turn your faces, lest to see them eat would break your caste. It is all
+a bosh! I have seen many of you in strange places to eat of forbidden
+food at the restaurants of railway stations where you sit cheek-by-jowl
+with unknown Englishmen. And yet you cannot indulge in cake,
+refreshment, etcetera, with the esteemed departing Deputy-Commissioner.
+It is all a bosh!'"
+
+He more than repaid our hospitality that night by his amusing remarks
+and shrewd comments on Indian and European manners. He said that, never
+having come in contact with military officers before, he had watched us
+all that day and was astonished to see that we were on friendly terms
+with our native subordinates, knew the names of all our men, and did not
+treat them with disdainful hauteur, as alleged by the Bengali journals.
+And I thought of an untravelled Englishman who had told me in a London
+drawing-room that we British officers were in the habit of beating our
+sepoys!
+
+Next day we visited the court-house to watch our little friend
+dispensing justice from the bench. We were amused to see how quickly he
+disposed of long-winded native lawyers who, in a case involving a
+matter of a few shillings, were prepared to deliver a speech in
+high-flown English lasting five hours. He cut them very short with his
+favourite phrase: "It is all a bosh!"
+
+The pay having been disbursed that afternoon, our men asked me for leave
+to engage a troop of dancers and enjoy a _nautch_, that entertainment
+dear to the heart of the Indian but wearisome beyond measure to the
+European spectator. It was held at night on the open ground behind the
+_dak_ bungalow. As is customary in native regiments we were invited to
+witness it and, much against our will, went to it after dinner. The
+sepoys squatting in a wide circle round the performers rose to their
+feet; and the Indian officers welcomed us with the usual formalities.
+After we had shaken hands with them they hung garlands of flowers round
+our necks, thrust small bouquets on us and liberally besprinkled us with
+scent. When we sat down small plates were offered us on which, wrapped
+up in leaves, were various pungent and aromatic spices to chew. Then we
+were given cigars, cigarettes, and whiskies-and-sodas--these a
+concession to European tastes. The performance, interrupted by our
+arrival, continued. Two fat women with well-oiled hair, jewelled
+ornaments in their noses, gold bangles on their wrists and ankles, their
+toes adorned with rings, swayed their fleshy bodies and shuffled a few
+inches forward and back on their heels, singing the while in high
+falsetto voices. Wrapped from throat to ankle in voluminous coloured
+draperies as they were, the propriety of their costume was a reproach to
+the scantily clad dancers of so-called Indian dances in the English
+music-halls. The musicians squatted on the grass behind them, two men
+producing weird and monotonous sounds from strangely shaped instruments,
+while a third beat with his hands on a tom-tom, the native drum. And
+this is the famous _nautch_ at which the Indian will gaze with rapture
+all night. The flaring oil-lamps shone on the ring of eager dark faces
+and eyes glistening with enjoyment, as the sepoys watched intently every
+movement of the ungainly dancers. Fortunately we were not obliged to
+remain long and soon took our leave of the native officers. Although we
+were to march at seven o'clock in the morning I heard the monotonous
+drumming and the shrill voices throughout the night; for the
+entertainment did not end before five o'clock. And it was a hollow-eyed
+detachment that tramped behind us on the dusty road that day. Our route
+lay at an angle to our former course which had been due south; for now
+we headed north-east towards the jungle and the hills again.
+
+On the left hand lay the ragged fringe of the forest stretching east and
+west beyond the limit of vision; and high above it towered the long
+rampart of the mountains. Far away as we were we could see the white
+specks of the Picquet Towers at Buxa. And back among the jagged peaks
+rose up the snow-clad summit of a mountain in Bhutan, its gleaming crest
+seeming to float like a cloud in air above the darker hills. Over the
+level plain we spread out in fighting formation, one company forming an
+advanced guard and driving back the skirmishing line of the other which
+acted as the rear guard of a retreating enemy. And here and there the
+peasants working in the fields, knowing nothing of the harmlessness of
+blank cartridges, fled in terror at the sound of the firing.
+
+We halted for our bivouac near a village in a mission settlement of
+Santals, a wild tribe recently civilised by hard-working missionaries
+and taught the dignity of labour and the joys of agriculture. We met the
+clergyman and his wife who were in charge of the settlement and invited
+them to dinner with us. They showed us a large iron church in the
+village, the materials of which had been purchased by money willingly
+subscribed by the Santals, who had erected the building with their own
+hands. Our guests told us that their half-tamed flock, when they saw us
+marching in, had deserted the village and fled into the jungle. They
+explained to their wondering pastor that we were soldiers, and soldiers
+were folk whose one object in life was to kill people--and who easier to
+slay than the poor Santals? It took him hours to induce them to return
+to their homes. But before night they had lost all fear and flocked
+inquisitively round our bivouac.
+
+Next day we marched through outlying patches of jungle, the advanced
+guards of the great forest; and we hailed the trees as old friends.
+After an attack by one company on the other in position on a low hill,
+we found our way barred by an unfordable river. Along the banks lay logs
+and trunks of trees swept down from the forest; so we turned to to make
+rafts, binding the timber together with the men's putties and
+_puggris_--for their head-gear is made of strips of cloth nine yards
+long. On these rafts the few non-swimmers, the rifles, clothing and
+accoutrements were placed; and the swimmers towed and pushed them
+across the stream. With the same rude materials we made an excellent
+flying bridge which, moved by the swift current, floated backwards and
+forwards across the river on ropes made from the _puggris_ and putties.
+The men revelled in the work. Stripped to their loin-cloths they sported
+like dolphins in the clear, cold water flowing down from the melting
+snows of the Himalayas.
+
+Then we marched on again until I halted the column on the outskirts of a
+tea garden and sent Creagh galloping to ask the manager's permission to
+encamp on it and draw water for my men from the wells. While awaiting
+his return, I stretched myself along a squared log of timber and,
+despite my hard couch, fell asleep, awaking with a start to find
+Khartoum standing over me staring at me with curiosity out of her little
+eyes, as she flapped her big ears and brushed away the flies from her
+sides with a branch. For a second I fancied I was in the forest under
+the feet of a wild elephant; and I sprang up hastily. Then Creagh
+returned with a cheery, hospitable Englishman, who invited me to
+consider the tea garden my own. In a few minutes the fires were going,
+the _bhistis_ fetching water from the wells, and the cooks rolling up
+the balls of dough, deftly patting them out into thin cakes and
+spreading them on the convex iron griddle over the flames. Sentries
+posted and guards mounted, the rest of the men piled arms, took off
+their accoutrements; and, while some hungrily watched the cooks, others
+lay down on the ground and slept contentedly until food was ready. The
+coolies gathered to see the novel sight of soldiers; and the inevitable
+pariah dogs hung about the cooking places and quarrelled over the
+scraps thrown to them. At every bivouac some of these four-footed
+recruits joined us; and when we reached Buxa again I found that at least
+a dozen nondescript curs had adopted the detachment and marched into the
+fort with the air of veterans.
+
+That night we invited the planter to dine with us. Our meal was laid in
+my small 80-lb. tent; and, as this measured seven feet by seven feet
+with a sloping roof, there was not much room for four of us and the
+servants. Our guest told us of a daring daylight attack by a tiger that
+morning. While some villagers were driving their cattle on a road which
+passed along the edge of the tea garden, the animal had sprung out from
+the jungle skirting it and tried to carry off a cow. The men, being
+fairly numerous, rushed shouting at him and scared him away. When I
+heard this I determined to beat up that tiger's quarters in the morning
+and told the other officers of the detachment, who were delighted with
+the idea. While discussing it after dinner we were startled by fiendish
+growls and howls from the darkness outside; for a minute we were puzzled
+by the awful noises and then recognised them as the sounds of two bears
+fighting close by. Creagh, Smith and I seized our rifles; and, followed
+by servants carrying lanterns as the night was very dark, we sallied
+forth to find the disturbers of the peace. The noise came from a spot
+about two hundred yards away. We reached a high bank below which was
+thick scrub and long tiger grass. We climbed down it and formed line
+with the servants close up behind us holding the lanterns over our heads
+to throw the light in front. As we pushed our way with difficulty
+through the scrub a bear gave a sudden growl five yards to our left. We
+swung round and made for the spot; but the animal did not await our
+approach. After searching for half an hour without result we gave up the
+chase and returned to the camp. Next morning daylight showed us that we
+had been down in a _nullah_, the ground on either side of it being quite
+open. Had we known this at the time we could have divided our forces,
+gone along both banks and probably got the bears as they scrambled up
+out of the _nullah_.
+
+At daybreak we started out with the elephants to look for the tiger. As
+we possessed only one howdah, it was strapped on Khartoum's back and we
+all three crowded into it; for the tall grass rose higher than the head
+of a man sitting on an elephant's pad. Having thoroughly beaten the wide
+strip of long grass we pushed on and came out on a very broad, empty
+river-bed. This was the River Raidak, which formerly brought down an
+immense volume of water from the hills only a few miles away. But a few
+years before it had grown tired of its old road and suddenly changed its
+course, flowing into the bed of a smaller stream parallel to it, which
+became greatly enlarged and was now itself generally known as the
+Raidak. This was the river we had crossed on rafts.
+
+As our elephants passed over the wide strip of sand, a curious animal
+broke out of the jungle a couple of hundred yards from us and bounded
+away up the _nullah_. It was apparently a hornless deer with black back
+and white belly and looked like a "black buck"; but as these inhabit
+open plains and do not shed their horns we were puzzled as to its
+identity. It halted and looked back at us, and then went off again in a
+series of high leaps and bounds strangely like a black buck's motion.
+Some months afterwards the Maharajah of Cooch Behar told me that several
+years before he had turned loose a number of black buck and does into
+the forest near the Raidak as an experiment, being curious to know what
+effect life in dense jungle would have on these dwellers of the open
+plains. Apparently the animal we had seen was descended from these and
+for some reason of acclimatisation Nature had deprived their progeny of
+horns. This should interest naturalists.
+
+Our search for the tiger ended in a scare and a disappointment. First,
+when passing through another patch of tall grass on our way back to
+camp, one of the two pad elephants, Dundora, trumpeted shrilly and
+charged some animal in the cover. Her alarm communicated itself to the
+others, who squealed and tried to bolt. We thought that it was the tiger
+and, with rifles at the ready, attempted to stand up in the swaying
+howdah, which was no easy task as Khartoum was plunging violently. When
+at last we got her near Dundora, the latter's _mahout_, viciously
+belabouring her thick skull with the _ankus_, told us that the cause of
+her fright was only a small pariah dog. We passed on into more open
+jungle and to our joy saw a herd of wild buffaloes. As we were not in
+Government forest these were fair game for the hunter; and we urged the
+_mahout_ forward. The animals were grazing and did not see us.
+Cautiously approaching up wind we got within range and were raising our
+rifles, when an old cow lifted her head and we saw a bell hung round her
+neck. We swore loudly. They were tame animals; but, as these are like
+the wild species and we were deep in the jungle, our error was
+pardonable. Half a mile further on we came on the huts of their owners.
+
+Our course next day lay north-west; and I intended to recross the new
+Raidak at a point near the hills at a ferry, close to which was a
+club-house where the planters of the neighbourhood gathered once a week.
+This was the day of their meeting; so I resolved to make our bivouac
+there. The march lay through very dense jungle; but at last our advanced
+guard came out on the bank of a wide river, a swift-racing torrent of
+clear water that eddied and swirled over the pebbly bottom. On the
+opposite side was the ferryman's hut, his boat drawn up near it. Behind,
+in a clearing, stood a long wooden building which was evidently the
+club-house. Our shouts brought Charon out of his abode; and he ferried
+us over in driblets. As elephants are excellent swimmers ours made their
+own way across.
+
+In the jungle, not far from the club, I marked out the spot for our
+bivouac around which I ordered a zareba to be constructed. As everything
+was to be done under war conditions, scouts were thrown out on every
+side. The rest of the detachment piled arms, drew their _kukris_ and
+proceeded to clear the jungle. The small trees and undergrowth cut down
+were dragged to form a belt, ten yards deep, of entanglement breast-high
+around the camp. The stems of the trees and bushes were fastened to
+pickets by creepers to prevent their being pulled away. Thorny branches
+and a shrub which causes an intense irritation when touched were thrown
+in among them; and the zareba thus constructed formed a formidable
+obstacle. Then parties were told off to erect shelters of leafy boughs;
+others made the cooking-places or dug latrines; and the _bhistis_ were
+taken down under escort to the river to fill the goat-skin bags, or
+_mussacks_, in which they carry water. Then guards and inlying pickets
+were mounted and the scouts withdrawn. Bathing-parties went down with
+their rifles, only half of the men in them being allowed into the river
+at a time, while the others kept guard against sudden attack.
+
+By this time the planters were beginning to assemble at the rough wooden
+building which they proudly called their club. And certainly I believe
+it saw more jollity and good-fellowship within its timber walls than one
+would find in any of the palatial club-houses of Pall Mall. From gardens
+lost in the forest for miles round they gathered. Some dashed up to the
+opposite river-bank on their smart little ponies and kept the ferryman
+busy. The host that day was our friend Tyson of Hathipota, which now lay
+between us and Buxa Duar. He cordially invited us to eat our share of
+the sumptuous cold lunch he had provided, and introduced us to the other
+planters of the district, who welcomed us warmly.
+
+During lunch one of our new friends told me that the ferryman, whom we
+could see busy at his boat on the beach, had lost his wife under tragic
+circumstances. The woman had gone across the river to a village a couple
+of miles away to buy provisions. On her return she hailed him from the
+opposite bank. As he was shoving his boat into the water he saw to his
+horror a huge bear emerge from the jungle and steal silently up behind
+the woman. At her husband's warning cry she turned; but before she could
+move the animal rose on its hind legs and felled her with a blow from
+its great paw. When the terrified man reached the bank, the bear had
+disappeared and the woman lay dead with a fractured skull.
+
+After lunch, the planters, most of whom were keen Volunteers, asked me
+to let them inspect our fortified camp. They were much impressed by the
+rapidity with which it had been placed in a state of defence and with
+the ingenuity of our sepoys, who had already made comfortable little
+huts. Then the senior among the planters told me that he was
+commissioned by the others to express the gratitude of them all for
+marching the detachment through their district. He emphasised the fact
+that the sight of our armed men sweeping through the countryside would
+have a good effect, not only on the thousands of unruly coolies on the
+tea gardens around, but also on the lawless dwellers over the border on
+the hills above us. He said that he and his friends had subscribed on
+the spot a sum of six or seven pounds and asked my permission to offer
+the money as prizes for sports to be held by our men that day. I thanked
+them all heartily and drew up a programme.
+
+The sepoys were delighted and flocked down to the open beach where the
+sports took place. Of the two events which interested the planters most,
+the first was called "The Alarm Race." Teams from each section lay
+undressed and apparently sleeping on the ground beside their uniforms
+and accoutrements. On a bugle sounding they sprang up, dressed, put on
+their belts and bandoliers, rolled and strapped up their bedding, and
+fell in ready to march off. We inspected them; and the team first ready
+and properly dressed won the prize. The other event was very popular
+among the spectators. Teams of men in full marching order were ferried
+across the river and landed on the opposite bank. At a signal they
+started to collect driftwood and build it into rafts, tying the logs
+together with their _puggris_ and putties. Then some with long bamboo
+poles took their places on each raft, while others of the team
+undressed, placed their rifles, belts and clothing on the raft and,
+springing into the water, swam alongside and helped to bring it across
+to our bank. The current ran swiftly and the excited men made their
+rafts swing round like teetotums. The first party to reach the spot
+where I stood on the beach and form up properly dressed were the
+winners.
+
+After the sports some of us played tennis on the courts made in the
+clearing. As the sun set, after a parting drink and hearty invitations
+to visit their estates, our friends bade us good-bye and rode off.
+
+On our next day's march our faces were set homewards. We passed several
+tea gardens until we reached Hathipota, where the hospitable Tyson
+welcomed us, and placed the resources of his estate at our men's
+disposal and entertained the British officers in his bungalow. Parties
+of our non-commissioned officers and men were taken over the factories
+and withering sheds, and were as deeply interested as we were in the
+ponderous machinery and clever contrivances. We left Hathipota next day.
+Later on, we were to see it again under more tragic auspices, when we
+were conveying a murderer to his doom.
+
+Thence to the end of the ten days' march we worked through the forest
+back towards home. We passed almost dryshod over a wide river at
+Jainti, which during the Rains can only be crossed by a cradle running
+on an iron cable from bank to bank. At Jainti ends the little railway by
+which we had arrived. The next station to it was Buxa Road.
+
+From Santrabari we climbed our hills again, sorry to have finished our
+pleasant and instructive march. The men had learned much of jungle
+conditions; and I had acquired a knowledge of the district which was to
+stand me in good stead in days to come.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X
+
+THROUGH FIRE AND WATER
+
+    India in the hot weather--A land of torment--The
+        drought--Forest fires--The cholera huts
+        burned--Fighting the flames--Death of a sepoy--The bond
+        between British officers and their men--The sepoy's
+        funeral--A fortnight's vigil--Saving the Station--The
+        hills ablaze--A sublime spectacle--The devastated
+        forest--Fallen leaves on fire--Our elephants'
+        peril--Saving the zareba--A beat for game in the
+        jungle--Trying to catch a wild elephant--A moonlight
+        ramble--We meet a bear--The burst of the Monsoons--A
+        dull existence--Three hundred inches of rain--The
+        monotony of thunderstorms--A changed
+        world--Leeches--Monster hailstones--Surveyors caught in
+        a storm--A break in the Rains--The revived
+        jungle--Useless lightning-conductors--The Monsoon
+        again--The loneliness of Buxa.
+
+
+Through the long months of the Indian summer the cool Hills look down in
+pity on the Plains steeped in the brooding heat, where the sun is an
+offence and a torture, where the hot wind, like a blast of fiery air
+from an opened furnace door, mocks with the thought of pleasant breezes
+in a temperate land, where night brings only the breathless hours of
+darkness when the parched earth gives out the heat it has stored by day,
+and only dawn affords a momentary relief.
+
+From early March to the end of June India is indeed turned into a place
+of torment. In the crowded quarters of the cities millions of natives
+swelter and endure with the dumb resignation of animals. Shut up in
+darkened houses from morning to evening thousands of Englishwomen and
+children suffer through the weary months. The fortunate ones fly to the
+Hills; but Hill Stations are expensive and not for the poorer classes of
+Europeans. And the white men of all ranks and professions must carry on
+their work. His drill done, the British soldier lies on his cot under
+the punkah of the barrack-room, thinks with regret of the cool land he
+has left and forgets the misery of the unemployed in the rain and frosts
+of England. And his officer, whose work takes him more frequently out
+into the sun than the soldier, envies the lucky mortals who can obtain
+leave and fly to Europe or the Hills. Through the hot night he tosses on
+his bed placed under a punkah out in his garden and dozes fitfully until
+the punkah coolie drops asleep and the faint wind of the overhead fan is
+stilled. Then, bathed in perspiration, devoured by mosquitoes, he wakes;
+and who can blame him if his language to the neglectful coolie, who can
+sleep all day while his master works, is as hot as the climate?
+
+From our little post on the face of the Himalayas we gazed to the south
+over the lowlands, seen dimly through the heat haze, and pitied the
+suffering millions in the India that stretched away from the foot of our
+hills to the far-distant sea. Buxa is usually cool. The Monsoons which
+sweep up from the equator and bring the welcome Rains towards the end of
+June are here forestalled by other currents that deluge mountain and
+forest with tropical showers as early as February. But for our sins in
+our first year they failed us. And the heat crept up from its kingdom
+in the Plains below and laughed at our boasts of the coolness of our
+Hill Station. In March the only comfortable man in the detachment was a
+prisoner whom I had sentenced for desertion to two months' confinement
+in the one cell of the fort. For while we sweated on the hot parade
+ground below, he gazed at us through the barred window of his cool,
+stone-paved apartment beside the guard-room; and since I could find no
+hard labour for his idle hands, he must have laughed as he watched us,
+officers and men, toiling bare armed in the hot sun, digging earthworks
+and erecting stockades on the knolls around. It seemed hard to believe
+that only a few weeks before cheerful wood fires had burned in the
+grates of our bungalows and after dinner we had pulled our chairs in
+front of the comforting blaze and defied the cold with jorums of hot
+punch.
+
+But soon we had more than enough of other fires. The vast forests
+stretching through Assam, Bhutan, the Terai and Nepal, were dry as
+tinder owing to the unusual drought. From our eyrie in the hills we
+looked down at night on the glow in the sky, east, south and west, that
+told of jungles blazing around us. By day columns of smoke rose up in
+the distance and spread until a black pall covered the landscape. The
+hot wind brought the acrid smell of ashes and burning wood to us; and
+soon the air was full of smuts. From Assam and Bhutan came the tale of
+leagues of forest devoured by the flames. The dwellers in the pleasant
+Hill Station of Darjeeling, seven thousand feet above the sea,
+complained of the pall of smoke that veiled the mountains around them.
+Day after day I gazed apprehensively on our happy hunting-grounds in
+the forest below and feared to see them invaded by the conquering fires.
+I pictured with dismay the game destroyed by the rushing flames or
+driven far from us. And at last doubt became cruel certainty. Our
+forests blazed. The legions of the victorious fire king swept through
+the jungles we loved and denied them to us.
+
+But at first we did not realise that danger threatened us, that our
+small Station was itself imperilled. On a wooded spur below the fort
+stood two long bamboo-walled buildings, intended as a segregation
+hospital for cases of infectious disease. One afternoon news was brought
+me that the forest fires had crept up to the base of the hill on which
+they stood. I ran down to the fort and ordered out the whole detachment.
+The men in whatever garb they were wearing at the moment turned out; and
+we raced through the back gate and down a zigzag path cut on the face of
+the precipice on the south side of the fort. Then we struggled up the
+steep hill to the threatened buildings. Below us the forest blazed. The
+flames were sweeping up the slopes towards us. The sight was a fine one;
+but we had little leisure or inclination to admire it. Breaking branches
+from the trees we fell upon the advancing enemy and endeavoured to beat
+it back. The wind was against us. Sparks and burning embers flew past
+and set alight to the hill-top behind us. It was curious to see how the
+flames ran up the trees and, leaving the trunks unscathed, seized on the
+masses of orchids on the boughs. Their leaves and stems blazed fiercely
+as if filled with oil. Scorched by the heat, grimed with the flying
+ashes and smuts, officers and men fought shoulder to shoulder against
+the encroaching flames. In a long line we descended to meet them and
+beat down the burning undergrowth. Suddenly a sharp gust of wind carried
+a burst of fire against us. Smothered by the smoke, our clothes alight
+from the red cinders, we were forced back. The flames lit up a patch of
+tall grass, dry as tinder, which went up in a sheet of fire. We turned
+and ran up to the summit. But one unfortunate sepoy stumbled and fell;
+and the wave of flame swept over him. It passed him by and then died as
+suddenly as it had risen. He stood up and staggered towards the
+hill-top. The moment he was seen a dozen men rushed down over the
+smouldering ground to help him. They carried him up to the crest and, as
+he was badly burnt, took him to the hospital as soon as a litter could
+be brought for him.
+
+The flames began to circle round the base of the hill and threatened to
+cut us off; so I was forced to abandon the position and order a retreat.
+Hardly had we reached the zigzag path to the fort when the huts went up
+in pillars of flame.
+
+In the evening I visited my unfortunate sepoy. Though in pain, he was
+conscious and able to speak to me; and I thought he would recover. But
+during the night he collapsed suddenly and died. This was the first
+death we had had in the detachment; and it cast a gloom over us all. The
+sepoys regretted a comrade; while the loss of one of his men always
+affects an officer. And in our isolated Station the death of one of our
+small number was acutely felt.
+
+There exists more sympathy between the British officers of an Indian
+regiment and the sepoys than between the latter and the native officers.
+Where the men imagine, not always without reason, that these last are
+swayed by considerations of different race or caste, of favouritism
+towards some and a dislike to others, of village and family feuds in
+their homes--for the Indian officers are generally promoted from the
+ranks--they know that the British officer is unaffected by such
+influences. Consequently, the men have far more confidence in his
+justice. When a sepoy is to be arraigned before a court martial for an
+offence, he is allowed to choose whether he will be tried by British or
+by Indian officers. In all my service I have known only one case in
+which the man elected for the latter. And when he came before the court
+and found it composed of native officers, he objected strongly and
+declared that he wished to be tried by the Sahibs. When it was pointed
+out to him that he had been given his choice of judges, he protested
+that he had not understood, and that he had no wish to be tried by men
+of his own nationality.
+
+There is perhaps even a greater bond of union between the sepoys and the
+white officers of a native regiment than between the soldiers and the
+commissioned ranks in a British corps. In the first place the Indian
+Army is a long-service one; and so officers and men remain longer
+together. Many of my sepoys have watched me advance from subaltern to
+captain, from captain to major; and youngsters I knew as recruits are
+now native officers under me. Then the Indian soldier leans more on his
+British officer. He comes to him with all his troubles about lawsuits
+over land and his fields--for every man is a land-holder--and
+confidently expects that his Sahib will fight for justice for him. Some
+continental armies would be horrified to see the sepoy off parade
+talking with friendly freedom to his British officer or playing hockey
+with him on terms of perfect equality.
+
+The flag of the fort was half-mast high, as the funeral-party marched
+out to pay the last honours to their dead comrade. As the deceased sepoy
+was a Rajput his body was carried down to Santrabari to be there placed
+on a pile of wood and burned with all the ceremonies of his religion;
+for, while Mohammedans are buried, Hindus are cremated.
+
+But we had little leisure to brood over the dead man's fate. The
+position of the fort and of the Station of Buxa was very precarious, now
+that the fires had reached the hills. The former I safeguarded by
+burning the grass on the isolated mound on which it stood. But our
+bungalows, hemmed in by the jungle which grew to within a few yards of
+them, were in constant danger. The diary of parades which I was obliged
+to furnish every week to the brigade office in Shillong for the
+information of the General bore for a fortnight the words "fighting
+fires," instead of the usual entries of "company drill," "musketry,"
+"field training," and the like. Day and night whenever the bugles rang
+out the alarm, we had to turn out to fight the intruding flames. Once we
+had to battle the whole day to save the forest officer's bungalow from
+being burned. I well remember how, while we officers and men toiled in
+the heat and smoke to beat back the fire, the Bengali clerks, whose
+houses were also in danger, stood at a safe distance, weeping and
+wringing their hands, but never attempting to help.
+
+At night the burning forests below were a gorgeous though pitiable
+sight. And when the fires, repelled from Buxa, swept past us upwards,
+and the semicircle of hills around blazed to the summit of Sinchula one
+night, the spectacle was sublime. In one spot, high overhead, the trees
+had been felled and left lying on the ground after a half-hearted
+attempt at cultivation by the Bhuttias. Here the long sparkling lines of
+fire from the burning undergrowth were changed to pillars of flame, as
+the huge, dry tree-trunks blazed fiercely up in the darkness.
+
+But life was not pleasant in Buxa during those days. The atmosphere was
+filled with smoke which veiled the sun. The heat was intense. So when
+the danger had passed our Station, I took the detachment down into the
+burned-out forest for a week's training in camp. The jungle was a sad
+sight for a sportsman's eyes. The big trees stood scorched, their trunks
+blackened and the branches charred where the masses of orchids that
+clothed them had burned. Some of the hollow stems were still on fire
+inside and sent out smoke among the tree-tops as from a steamer's
+funnel. Dead trees, long supported by creepers, now lay smouldering on
+the ground. The undergrowth which sheltered the game was gone. It was
+strange to be able to see for a hundred yards or more between the
+tree-trunks, where formerly ten paces was the limit of vision. The earth
+was covered ankle-deep in ashes, which rose up in suffocating clouds at
+every breath of hot wind. And above them was strewn a thick layer of
+dead leaves; for the trees shed them in the hot weather. And these I
+soon found constituted a fresh danger.
+
+To my surprise I discovered that the little corner in the foot-hills
+around Forest Lodge had been spared by the fire and my bamboo hut,
+twenty-two feet up in the air among the branches, was intact. So I
+halted the men and established the bivouac here. We had marched on ahead
+of the baggage, which was loaded on the elephants. While these were
+following us from Santrabari the masses of dry leaves underfoot caught
+fire from some smouldering log; and a long line of flames swept down on
+the terrified animals. Fortunately they were near a broad, dry
+river-bed; and the scared _mahouts_ drove them into it for safety. A
+mile away the crackling of the burning leaves aroused us to our new
+danger. Breaking off branches, officers and men set to work to sweep the
+leaves around the bivouac into heaps and leave the ground bare for a
+couple of hundred yards on every side. By the morrow the fire had died
+out, all the leaves having been consumed.
+
+As we manoeuvred through the forest every day I was astonished to still
+find traces of animal life in it. The destruction of the undergrowth and
+creepers having left the jungle more open, I determined to try a beat
+through it. On our last afternoon I sent all the men of the detachment a
+mile away across a broad river-bed with orders to drive towards it in a
+long line through the trees. On the near bank, which rose sheer to a
+height of thirty-three feet above the sand, the British and native
+officers, armed with rifles, took up their position. Lying flat on the
+ground at the edge of the bank, we listened to the shouts of the men
+coming nearer and nearer. The branches of the trees across the _nullah_
+became violently agitated; and a large troop of monkeys swung through
+them, leaped to the ground, and rushed over the sand on all fours. Then
+a barking deer broke out about a hundred and fifty yards away, and I
+fired at it. I was using a 470 cordite rifle; yet, struck just behind
+the shoulder by a soft-nosed bullet, the little animal ran a furlong
+before dropping dead. Nothing else followed it. Soon the men came into
+view between the trees and halted below us. Draj Khan, who was managing
+the line of beaters, was berating his comrades vehemently. He told me
+that they had come across a large tusker elephant; and instead of
+shepherding it gently towards the guns, a number of foolish young
+sepoys, armed only with sticks, had rushed boldly at it with wild yells.
+Luckily it did not attack them, but escaped out to one side of the beat.
+At the other end of the line the men had come on a small herd of
+_sambhur_, including two stags, and in their excitement had valiantly
+charged them in the absurd hope of taking them alive. A _sambhur_ stag
+with his sharp horns and the driving-power of his great weight behind
+them is no mean foe; and it was just as well that the deer had fled from
+the men and broke out through a gap in the line.
+
+We tried a beat lower down the river, which resulted in the men putting
+up a panther. But again some foolishly daring spirits rushed at it to
+attack it with their sticks; and the animal got away at one end of the
+beat. Draj Khan caught a young _sambhur_ fawn, a week old, and brought
+it to me in his arms. This and the _khakur_ were our whole bag.
+
+I was surprised to find that the burnt forest still sheltered so much
+life. As the fires do not advance very rapidly the wild beasts can
+generally keep ahead of them and escape. But I cannot understand how the
+harmless animals support existence when all their fodder is destroyed.
+
+One night when Creagh and I were sitting in the bivouac after dinner in
+the dim light of a half moon, the idea occurred to me to take one of our
+elephants and wander along the bed of a river a few hundred yards away,
+in which, as there was still some water left, we might come upon wild
+animals drinking. So we got our rifles, and a pad was strapped on
+Khartoum's back. On her we passed out of the zareba surrounding the
+camp, in which most of the men lay asleep on their _dhurries_ stretched
+on the ground; for the native requires no softer bed and can repose
+contentedly on paving stones. A couple of the Indian officers still sat
+talking by a fire near the shelter of boughs erected for them by their
+men. We answered the sentry's challenge and turned Khartoum down a path
+from the bivouac to the water. It lay faintly white in the misty
+moonlight which barely lit up the ground under the leafless trees. Not a
+hundred yards from the camp the _mahout_ stopped Khartoum suddenly and
+pointed to a black object which indistinctly blurred the path.
+
+"A bear, Sahib," he whispered.
+
+It was too dark to see my rifle-sights; but I rapidly tied my
+handkerchief round the barrel and tried to aim at the shadowy outline of
+the animal. Unluckily at that moment it moved off the path and entered
+a patch of shadow under a tree which still kept its leaves. I fired both
+barrels in quick succession without result and the bear scuttled away
+among the trees. We tried to follow it but could not find it again.
+
+When we reached the river-bed, down the middle of which a narrow stream
+still ran, we wandered up it for a couple of miles in the misty light.
+It was a curious sensation to be roaming noiselessly--for Khartoum's
+feet made no sound on the soft sand--in the dead of night through the
+silent jungle. Far away a _khakur's_ harsh bark rang out suddenly once
+or twice, giving warning of the presence of some beast of prey; but
+otherwise all was still. We disturbed a few deer drinking; and they
+dashed away up the _nullah_ in alarm. But we saw no wild elephant or
+tiger, such as I had hoped to come upon; and so we turned and made for
+camp again.
+
+On our return to Buxa the hills near us were bare and blackened; but
+farther away the fires still blazed. The heat and the oppression of the
+smoky atmosphere were still almost unendurable. But one night in the
+first week of April I was awakened by a terrific peal of thunder right
+overhead, which shook my bungalow and echoed and re-echoed among the
+hills. Another followed, as the intense darkness was lit up by a
+blinding lightning flash. And a dull moaning sound advancing from the
+plains below and steadily increasing to a roar made me sit up in bed and
+wonder what was about to happen. It drew near; and then a torrential
+downpour of tropical rain beat down on the Station. My iron roof rattled
+as if millions of pebbles were being flung on it. The noise was so
+great that I lay awake for hours.
+
+The storm raged all night; and when I rose for parade I looked out on a
+changed world. The rain still descended in sheets. The parade ground was
+a swamp. Down the _nullah_ beside my garden raced a tumbling torrent of
+brown water flecked with white foam. Our rainy season had set in nearly
+three months earlier than throughout the greater part of the Peninsula
+of India. And now began the dullest time of our life in the outpost. In
+the five months that followed nearly three hundred inches of rain fell
+in Buxa. Work was at a standstill, save for physical drill in the men's
+barrack-rooms and lectures to the non-commissioned officers. To walk
+from my bungalow to the office in the fort every day was almost an
+adventure. Wearing long rubber boots to the knee and wrapped in a
+mackintosh I paddled across the swampy parade ground in drenching rain,
+and even in the short distance was wet through. And at night I struggled
+up the hill to dinner in the Mess along the steep road which was
+converted into a mountain torrent a foot deep, fearing at every step to
+find some snake, washed out of its hole in the ground, clinging
+affectionately round my legs to stop its downward career. All night long
+and most of the day storms swept down on us; and thunder growled and
+grumbled among the hills. Dwellers in temperate lands can form no
+conception of the awful grandeur of a tropical tempest, the fury of the
+wind, the vivid lightning that spatters the sky and runs in chains and
+linked patterns across its darkness, the awful sound of the crashing
+thunder that seems to shake the world. But, terrifying at first, they
+became actually wearisome from their frequency. When a thunderstorm has
+raged about one's house for eighteen hours, circling round the hills and
+returning again and again, one gets simply bored with it--there is no
+other expression to describe the feeling.
+
+It was wonderful to see the revivifying effect of the rain on the
+parched ground. One could almost watch the grass grow. Where a few days
+before was only bare earth, now the herbage stood feet high. All traces
+of the devastating fires were washed away. On the hill-sides, fertilised
+by the ashes, the undergrowth sprang up more luxuriantly than ever. But
+it brought with it the greatest curse of the rainy season in the jungle.
+Every twig, every leaf, every blade of grass, harboured leeches, thin
+threads of black and yellow which waved one end in the air and seemed to
+scent an approaching prey. Walk over the grass, brush past the bushes,
+and a dozen of these pests fastened on you. Through the lace-holes of
+one's boots, between the folds of putties, down one's collar they
+insinuated themselves unnoticed; and you did not feel them until,
+bloated with blood and swollen to an enormous size, they were
+perceptible to the touch under the clothing. After a walk one was
+obliged, on returning to the bungalow, to undress and was sure to find
+several leeches fastened to one's body. I saw one sepoy with a leech
+firmly fixed in his nostril. Another time I noticed a man's shirt sleeve
+stained with blood from elbow to wrist, and, on examining the arm,
+discovered that, unknown to the sepoy, two leeches were fastened on it
+and had punctured veins.
+
+Sometimes hailstorms alternated with the rain. I had heard stories of
+the size of the hailstones in the Duars. Planters had assured me that
+animals were often killed and the corrugated iron roofs of the factories
+perforated by them. I declined to credit these assertions; although in
+other parts of India I have seen hailstones an inch in diameter. But one
+night in Buxa, while we were at dinner, a hailstorm rattled on the roof
+of the bungalow; and I really believe that if this had not been made of
+thick sheets of iron it would have been drilled through. My orderly
+picked up one hailstone outside and brought it in to us. We passed it
+from hand to hand; and then it occurred to me to measure it. It was a
+rectangular block of clear ice containing as a core a round, whitish
+hailstone of the usual size and shape; and, using the tape and compass,
+we found it was two and a quarter inches long, one and a half broad, and
+one inch thick. And this after it had lain for a few minutes on the
+ground and had been handled by several persons. Next day a native survey
+party, under the command of a European, arrived in Buxa on its way to
+inspect the boundary marks along the Bhutan frontier, as these are
+frequently moved back into our territory by the wily Bhutanese. The
+Englishman in charge told me that he had been caught by the fringe of
+this storm on the previous evening. He had only a few yards to run for
+shelter but put up his umbrella as he did so. It was drilled through by
+the hailstones as if they had been bullets. I heard afterwards of
+several animals killed in the hills by this storm.
+
+Shut up in our small Station by the relentless rain the days passed
+wearily during the long wet months. Often in the afternoon the rain
+ceased for a couple of hours; and we were able to get out for a little
+exercise. So steep were the slopes, so rocky the soil, that in half an
+hour after the cessation of the downpour the road and the parade ground
+were comparatively dry. But we could not wander off them without the
+risk of being attacked by scores of leeches.
+
+In July came a break of nearly a week. I took advantage of it to descend
+into the forest. Wonderful was the transformation there! No longer could
+I complain that there was no shelter for game. The undergrowth was
+higher and denser than ever. Save for an occasional blackened
+tree-trunk, half hidden in the greenery, there was no trace of the
+devastation wrought by the fires. The ashes had only served to fertilise
+the ground, and the vegetation pushed more vigorously than ever. Orchids
+again clothed the boughs. And, sporting in the unusual sunshine, myriads
+of gorgeous tropical butterflies, scarlet and black, peacock-green, pale
+blue, yellow, all the colours imaginable, rose up in clouds before my
+elephant. The creepers again swinging from stem to stem writhed and
+twisted in fantastic confusion. The rivers were in flood and rolled
+their masses of brown, foam-flecked water to the south.
+
+Despite the awful storms I saw no trace in the forest or the hills of
+damage wrought by lightning. When we arrived in Buxa I had thought the
+buildings well protected, as conductors ran down every chimney in
+bungalow and barrack. But just before the Rains an engineer of the
+Public Works Department had visited us to inspect them. To my alarm he
+informed me that none of them were properly insulated, and that so far
+from being a safeguard, they were a positive danger. Then, having
+cheered me by saying that possibly in a year or two his Department would
+put them to rights, he left. So when the thunderstorms broke over us I
+used to wonder in pained resignation which building would be the first
+struck. But we weathered them all successfully. Probably the hills
+around saved us by attracting the electric fluid.
+
+Our brief glimpse of fine weather was soon gone. Then the clouds rolled
+up from the sea before the breath of the south-west Monsoons, the storms
+again assailed us, and the floodgates of the sky were opened once more.
+In England one complains of the dullness of a wet summer. Think of five
+months' incessant rain in a small Station that never boasted more than
+three European inhabitants, cut off from the world and thrown entirely
+on their own resources! Smith had long since left us and we had no
+doctor. In the middle of the Rains Creagh was ordered off to command the
+Trade Agent's escort in Gyantse in Tibet; and I was left the only white
+man in Buxa. Life was not gay. Even the relief of work was denied us;
+and sport was impossible, for malaria and blackwater fever hold
+possession of the jungles during the Monsoon. And even when the Rains
+moderated in September, we were not allowed to shoot until the close
+season ended in October. The wet season is not really over in India
+until near the beginning of November; and in Buxa we sometimes had rain
+in that month and in December.
+
+But still we managed to survive the trial by fire and by water; and the
+winter found us as ready for work and sport as ever.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI
+
+IN THE PALACE OF THE MAHARAJAH
+
+    The Durbar--Outside the palace--The State elephants--The
+        soldiery--The Durbar Hall--Officials and gentry of the
+        State--The throne--Queen Victoria's banner--The hidden
+        ladies--_Purdah nashin_--Arrival of the _Dewan_--The
+        Maharajah's entry--The Sons' Salute--A chivalrous
+        Indian custom--_Nuzzurs_--The Dewan's task--The
+        Maharani--An Indian reformer--_Bramo Samaj_--Pretty
+        princesses--An informal banquet--The _nautch_--A
+        moonlight ride--The Maharajah--A soldier and a
+        sportsman--Cooch Behar--The palace--A dinner-party--The
+        heir's birthday celebrations--Schoolboys'
+        sports--Indian amateur theatricals--An evening in the
+        palace--A panther-drive--Exciting sport--Death of the
+        panther--Partridge shooting on elephants--A stray
+        rhinoceros--Prince Jit's luck--Friendly intercourse
+        between Indians and Englishmen--An unjust complaint.
+
+
+The long arcaded front of the Palace of Cooch Behar gleamed in the glow
+of torches held by hundreds of white-clad natives. From the broad steps
+of the entrance to the lofty dome above it was outlined with lamps
+flickering in the night breeze. Before the great portals were ranged two
+lines of elephants with the State silver howdahs and trappings of
+heavily embroidered cloth of gold. Their broad faces streaked with white
+paint in quaint designs, their tusks tipped with brass, the great beasts
+looked like legendary monsters in the ruddy torchlight as they stood
+swinging their trunks, flapping their ears, and shifting restlessly from
+foot to foot. Up the lane between them came carriages and palankeens
+bearing the officials and nobles of the State to do homage to their
+Maharajah, who this night held his annual Durbar. The flight of broad
+steps in front of the great doorway was crowded with swordsmen and
+spearmen; while on the ground below were the uniformed State Band under
+a European conductor, and a Guard of Honour of the red-coated Cooch
+Behar Infantry with muzzle-loading muskets.
+
+The large circular Durbar Hall running up to the high domed roof and
+surrounded by a balustraded gallery seemed set for a stage scene. The
+floor was covered with the seated forms of officials and gentry clothed
+in white and wearing their jewels. On a dais under a golden canopy stood
+an empty gilt throne, one arm fashioned into the shape of an elephant,
+the other a tiger. Beside it was a large banner, the gift of the late
+Queen Victoria, heavily embroidered in gold with the same animals, which
+are the armorial bearings of the State. Behind the throne stood a number
+of swordsmen and halberdiers. One portion of the gallery was shrouded by
+latticed screens, from behind which came the rustle of draperies and the
+murmur of female voices; for they hid Her Highness the Maharani, her
+daughters, and the ladies of Cooch Behar--_purdah nashin_, that is,
+"hidden behind the veil" and never to reveal their faces to any men but
+their near kin. In another part of the gallery were a few British
+officers and civilians gazing with interest on the brilliant spectacle
+below. Through the great entrance could be seen the crowd outside, the
+soldiery and the lines of restlessly swaying elephants. Through them up
+the broad roadway came a palankeen borne on the shoulders of coolies
+and surrounded by torch-bearers and swordsmen. A cheer went up from the
+crowd; and all inside the hall rose as the palankeen stopped, and from
+it emerged a frail old man, clothed in white and adorned with splendid
+jewels which flashed in the ruddy glow of the torches and the clearer
+light of the electric lamps. It was the _Dewan_, the Prime Minister of
+the State. As he entered the Durbar Hall the mass of white-robed
+officials swayed like a field of ripe grain in the wind, as all present
+bowed to him. He took his place before the empty throne.
+
+Then the assemblage bent lower and a murmured acclamation went up from
+all as their Maharajah entered, followed by a procession of Indian
+aides-de-camp in white uniforms with gold aigulettes, white spiked
+helmets and trailing swords, similar to the summer dress of British
+officers in India. His Highness was clothed in a beautiful native garb
+of pale blue, with a _puggri_, or turban, of the same delicate hue with
+a diamond-studded aigrette. From the broad gold belt around his waist
+hung a jewelled scimitar. His breast glittered with orders and war
+medals, for he had seen active service with the British Army. His jewels
+flashed in coloured fire in the lamps.
+
+With slow and stately step he passed through the great chamber and
+seated himself on the golden throne; while silver trumpets pealed a
+welcome and the State Band played the National Anthem of Cooch Behar.
+Then came a silence and an expectant pause; and there entered four
+gallant young figures, the Maharajah's sons. Foremost came the heir,
+Prince Rajendra Narayen, in the scarlet tunic of the Westminster
+Dragons, and his brother, Prince Jitendra, in the beautiful white, blue
+and gold uniform of the Imperial Cadet Corps. Then followed Prince
+Victor, a godson of the late Queen Victoria, in the same magnificent
+dress, and the youngest son, Prince Hitendra, in a fine Indian costume
+of cloth of gold. The four young men halted and fronted their royal
+father. Then the heir apparent walked forward to the steps of the throne
+and held out his sheathed sword horizontally before him in the splendid
+Indian salute which means "I place my life and my sword in your hand."
+His Highness bent forward and touched the hilt, the emblematic sign
+meaning "I accept the gift and give you back your life." Prince Rajendra
+let fall the sword to his side, brought his hand to his helmet in
+military salute and took his place on the dais beside his father. Each
+of the other sons came forward in turn, did homage likewise; and then
+the four stood two and two on each side of the throne.
+
+Never have I looked on a more picturesque ceremonial or magnificent
+spectacle than this scene of the Durbar. It seemed too splendid, too
+glowing with colour, to be real life. The brilliantly lit chamber, the
+flashing of jewels and gold, the dense throng of white-clad officials,
+the glittering weapons of the armed attendants; and then the four richly
+apparelled princes pledging their fealty to their Sovereign and Sire in
+the historic Oriental custom that has come down to us through the
+storied ages of Indian chivalry. I could hardly realise that this
+gorgeous pageant was not some magnificent stage scene.
+
+The staff officers now came forward and offered their swords. Then the
+_Dewan_, followed by the swarms of officials and nobles, advanced one by
+one to the steps of the throne and presented their _muzzurs_, the
+Indian offering of gold or silver coins, which His Highness "touched and
+remitted," as the quaint phrase runs. Each, after salaaming profoundly
+before the throne, retired backwards and brought his gift to an
+official, who counted the amount of the offering, for next day the donor
+would be dowered with a present of equal amount, a profitable
+transaction as his own was returned to him.
+
+An attendant brought forward a splendid embossed gold hookah two feet
+high and placed it before the throne. The long snake-like gold tube and
+mouthpiece were handed to the Maharajah, who smoked during the remainder
+of the proceedings. For now a quaint ceremony began. The accounts of the
+various parts and departments of the State were brought solemnly to the
+_Dewan_, who sat on the floor surrounded by piles of account-books,
+which he examined. When he had concluded his lengthy task the Durbar
+came to an end. The assemblage rose and bowed low as the Maharajah,
+attended by his sons and his aides-de-camp, passed in procession out of
+the hall.
+
+Half an hour later the few military and civilian guests assembled in the
+beautiful State drawing-room, where we were joined by the Maharani and
+her two pretty daughters attired in exceedingly artistic native costumes
+and wearing delicately tinted _saris_ draped most becomingly over their
+heads. Her Highness looked almost as youthful and lovely as on the day
+when the Maharajah first saw her and lost his heart to her. For, unlike
+most Indian marriages, theirs was a true love-match. She was a daughter
+of the famous religious reformer, Mr Sen, the founder of the _Bramo
+Samaj_ faith, which substitutes for the mythology and the seventy
+thousand deities of the Hindu worship, a purer belief in one God. The
+Maharani has the fair complexion of high-class Brahmin ladies, and an
+individuality and a charm of her own that makes her hosts of friends.
+The pretty young princesses seemed more to be masquerading in an
+attractive fancy dress than wearing their national costume; for they had
+been brought up by English governesses and educated in England, had
+danced through the ball-rooms of London and Calcutta in the smartest
+Parisian toilettes, and were as much at home in the Park or at a gala
+night at the Opera as in their own country.
+
+Owing to the Durbar, dinner was served at a late hour in the State
+dining-room, a spacious apartment in white and gold. At one end hung
+full-length portraits of our host and hostess in the gorgeous robes they
+wore at the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria in the celebrations in
+London. Table and sideboard shone with massive silver cups won at
+race-meetings and shows by the horses of the Cooch Behar stable. Native
+servants in scarlet and gold waited on the guests; but with all the
+luxury of a banquet served on silver there was no formality about the
+meal. The Maharajah and his sons had changed their magnificent attire
+for a comfortable native dress; and listening to their conversation in
+colloquial English on polo, shooting, and London theatrical gossip it
+was hard to realise that an hour before they had been playing their
+picturesque parts in such a stately Oriental pageant. All the family
+generally used English as their speech. The boys had been educated at
+Eton; and Victor, in addition, had done a course at an American
+University.
+
+After dinner we adjourned to the Durbar Hall again to witness from the
+galleries a _nautch_; and real Indian dancing is a spectacle of which
+the European soon has his fill. And somewhere about three o'clock in the
+morning, fatigued with the monotonous chant and the lazily moving fat
+figures of the _nautch_ girls, overpowered by the heated atmosphere
+heavy with scent, I gladly hailed the suggestion of Prince Rajendra to
+escape from it all and go for a mad rush in his motor-car through the
+surrounding country in the brilliant moonlight. His brothers followed us
+in their cars. _Nautches_ and motor-cars, the brilliant spectacle of the
+Durbar and these Eton-bred Indian Princes; what a fantastic medley it
+all seemed! And the swift sweep through the park in the cool morning air
+back to an Indian palace and a guest-chamber fitted like the best
+bedroom in a European _hotel de luxe_. But when next day I left, in
+response to an urgent message bidding me come to shoot a tiger near
+Buxa, even the prospect of the sport scarcely reconciled me to quitting
+the lavish hospitality of my hosts.
+
+The Maharajah of that day is unfortunately no longer alive. The
+descendant of a hill race, he had all the fighting spirit of his
+ancestors who left their mountains to carve out a kingdom for themselves
+among the unwarlike dwellers of the Bengal plains. He took part in the
+Tirah Campaign with our troops, and held the rank of colonel in our
+Indian Cavalry. A sportsman, he was regarded throughout India, that land
+of sportsmen, as one of the best authorities in the world on big-game
+shooting. He had not his equal in the art of managing a beat with
+elephants; and it was a marvellous sight to see him working a long line
+of them through thick jungle with the skill of a M.F.H. with his hounds
+in covert. He was a splendid horseman. Excelling in all games, he
+brought up his sons in the love of sport and athletics and made them
+fine polo players, first-class cricketers and footballers and crack
+shots. But, in addition, he was an extremely clever and well-read man
+and a most interesting talker. He had been everywhere, seen everything,
+and knew most of the interesting personalities of the day. His
+hospitality was proverbial. In his residences in Calcutta and
+Darjeeling, in his Palace of Cooch Behar, he kept open house. His
+courtesy and charm of manner endeared him to all who knew him.
+
+On my first visit to Cooch Behar in response to an invitation of His
+Highness, Creagh and I were met at the railway station by Captain Denham
+White, then temporarily acting civil surgeon of the State. He drove us
+through the town which, though small, is well planned. The streets are
+broad, well laid, and shaded with trees. In the centre of it lies a
+large square tank or pond surrounded by roads bordered by public and
+official buildings. Here afterwards I often saw the invalid permanent
+civil surgeon, for whom Captain White was then acting, sitting in a
+chair on the bank fishing, with a table beside him on which his servant
+laid his tea. And undisturbed by the endless procession of bullock
+carts, coolies, and natives of all ages, the old doctor sat and cast his
+line, hooking some extraordinary large fish at times.
+
+The poorer houses of the town were built on posts with bamboo walls and
+thatched roofs, similar to the Filipino dwellings in Manila, cool and
+airy and far healthier than the awful abodes of the lower classes in an
+English city. Cooch Behar could boast a fine college, a good civil
+hospital and quite a comfortable prison. I visited it once and found the
+thieves, highway robbers, and murderers, anything but miserable despite
+their chains, making soda water, grinding corn, cultivating vegetables
+or eating better and more plentiful meals than they had ever got in
+their own homes.
+
+Beyond the town we drove through the open tree-shaded park to the
+palace, a long two-storied building with arcaded verandas above and
+below. It was shaped like a T laid on its side; and at the junction of
+the two strokes was the portico leading to a large hall, off which
+opened the great Durbar room surmounted by its lofty white dome. On the
+left of the entrance, as one approached, were, on both stories, the long
+series of guest-chambers. On the right along the lower veranda was the
+State dining-room. Off the entrance hall to the right a broad staircase
+led to the upper story. Its walls were crowded with trophies of sport
+which had fallen to the Maharajah's rifle all over the world. Heads of
+bison, Indian and Cape buffaloes, moose, wapiti, _sambhur_, cheetal and
+roe deer from Germany--relics of many lands. To the right lay the State
+drawing-room and the splendidly appointed billiard-room carpeted with
+the skins of tigers. It occupied the front end of the short stroke of
+the T, and so from its windows and doors gave a fine view over the park
+on three sides, which made it a popular apartment for the afternoon tea
+rendezvous with the ladies of the family and their European guests.
+Behind, lay the private apartments of His Highness, the Maharani and her
+daughters, from the flat roofs above which, reached by a small
+staircase, one could see for many miles over the flat country beyond the
+English-like park. From here the Maharani could look down unseen, for in
+deference to the customs of her husband's subjects she and her daughters
+were _purdah_ in the State outside the palace, and watch her sons
+playing football with the Cooch Behar team in the annual association
+tournament for a cup given by His Highness. The ground was situated in
+the park close under the walls of the building.
+
+At the time of this visit the Maharajah was the only member of the
+family in Cooch Behar. He had issued invitations to a dinner-party in
+our honour that evening, at which we met his staff and some of the
+principal gentlemen of his State. He joined us at dinner himself; for,
+being a follower of the _Bramo Samaj_ faith, he had no religious
+prejudices that prevented him from eating with Europeans. I have hunted,
+shot, played polo and pigsticked with Hindu Princes who yet could not
+sit down at the same table with me when I dined at their palaces. At
+most they entered the room when dinner was over and filled a glass of
+wine to drink our Sovereign's health. But this meal in Cooch Behar was
+enlivened for me by the interesting conversation of my host, whom I was
+meeting for the first time. The State Band played outside the
+dining-room. After dinner we adjourned to the billiard-room or made up a
+bridge table. The Maharajah was practically the first Indian Prince to
+adopt English customs and was a frequent visitor to England, where he
+and his consort were great favourites of the late Queen Victoria. For
+her and the then reigning monarch King Edward VII. he entertained the
+warmest personal regard and admiration; and his loyalty to the British
+rule was founded on his sincere conviction of the benefits it conferred
+on India. I remember that during dinner that night he said to me:
+
+"If ever, during my lifetime, the British quitted India, my departure
+would precede theirs; for this would be no country to live in then.
+Chaos, bloodshed and confusion would be its lot."
+
+I drew him out on the subject of big-game shooting, of which few men
+living knew more, and listened with interest to his tales of _shikar_.
+Then the conversation ranged to art, the theatre, war, and politics; and
+on each he could speak entertainingly. He was deeply interested in
+developing the resources of his State and was anxious to introduce
+scientific methods among his farmers. Among other plans he was anxious
+to improve the quality of the native tobacco grown largely in the State,
+and had got for the purpose the best species of American and Turkish
+plants. His third son Victor, after finishing his course at an American
+University, was sent to Cuba to inspect the plantations and factories,
+and study the methods in use there.
+
+On the following day my subaltern and I were obliged to set our faces
+towards Buxa again; and it seemed like turning our backs on civilisation
+when we left the luxury of Cooch Behar Palace behind us and wended our
+way to our solitary little Station in the hills.
+
+On another occasion I was present for the celebrations of the birthday
+of the eldest son, Prince Rajendra, best known to his friends as
+"Raji," who is now the Maharajah.[6] In the palace park the annual
+sports of the Cooch Behar Boys' School were held. To a European new to
+India the sight of the native youngsters competing in sprint, hurdle and
+long-distance races and doing high and broad jumps like their
+contemporaries in England would have seemed strange. But wherever the
+Briton goes he takes his sports and games with him and imbues the race
+he finds himself among with his own love of them. So Chinese lads play
+cricket and football; and swarthy-bearded Indian sepoys rush round the
+obstacle course in their regimental sports or play side by side with
+their white officers on the hockey ground.
+
+Among the marquees in the enclosure for the spectators who were watching
+the schoolboys' competitions was one which was shrouded by _chikks_, or
+bamboo latticed blinds which enabled the occupants to see all that was
+passing outside and remain invisible themselves. It was intended for the
+use of the Maharani and her daughters, who, as I have said, were
+_purdah_ in their own State in deference to the prejudices of the Cooch
+Beharis. This custom among the Hindus sprang up at the time of the
+Mohammedan invasions, partly from imitation of their conquerors, but
+probably more to shield their women from the licentious gaze of the
+victorious Mussulmans, who would have had small scruple in seizing any
+female whose Beauty attracted them.
+
+The Maharani and the young princesses emerged heavily veiled from the
+palace and entered a motor-car which was shrouded in white linen in such
+a way as to hide them from sight. It took them through the park to the
+sports enclosure, where servants held up white sheets to form a lane
+through which the ladies could pass unseen to the seclusion of their
+marquee.
+
+Among the celebrations in honour of the day--how English customs are
+seizing in the East!--was an amateur theatrical performance by the Young
+Men's Club of Cooch Behar. After dinner, Prince Raji motored me into the
+town to see it. The play was in Bengali, the plot being an episode in
+the history of the State several hundred years ago and containing much
+bloodshed and tragedy. It was excellently well staged and the acting was
+capital. Being ignorant of the language I was dependent on my
+companion's explanations. Like all Oriental plays it was of inordinate
+length; and having witnessed six or seven acts I was quite ready to
+depart without waiting for the end when my friend suggested it.
+
+Once when staying at the palace I was fortunate in having an opportunity
+of witnessing the Maharajah's skill in handling a line of elephants in a
+beat. The previous night at dinner he told us that he had received
+information of a "kill" by a panther near a village five miles away, and
+that he had given orders for his elephants to be ready on the spot next
+morning. The male guests present hailed the news with joy. We happened
+to be a curiously assorted party in race and in costume round the table
+that night. The Maharajah and his family wore Indian dress, as they
+usually did in the palace; though elsewhere they invariably wore
+European attire. Two Sikh nobles, officers of the Maharajah of Patiala's
+Bodyguard, were in correct evening clothes but wore white _puggris_
+round their heads, which concealed their long hair, which the Sikh is
+forbidden by his religion to cut. They were tall, handsome men with the
+good features of their race. As they spoke no English, we were obliged
+to converse with them in Urdu. The Maharani was not well acquainted with
+that language and so was forced to appeal to me to interpret for her
+several times. The Indian aide-de-camp of His Highness wore white mess
+dress; while a major in a British regiment and I were in the
+conventional black and white.
+
+After dinner we joined the ladies in the beautiful yellow and gold State
+drawing-room. We found one of the pretty young princesses seated at the
+piano, making a delightful picture in the charming Indian dress, the
+gold-bordered _sari_ draped becomingly over her dark hair, her tiny bare
+feet pressing the pedals as she played--how incongruous it seemed!--a
+selection from a musical comedy; and, attracted by the melody of the
+song then the rage in London, her brothers came in from the
+billiard-room to join in the chorus.
+
+Next morning my orderly woke me at 4-30 a.m. I hurriedly drank my tea
+and got into shooting kit; for we were to start at five o'clock. When I
+came out of my room on to the lower veranda I found some of our party
+already assembled by the great entrance. The Maharajah was seated in his
+motor-car with his youngest daughter, Princess Sudhira, beside him. To
+my surprise she was attired in a very smartly cut coat and skirt and
+wore a sun helmet; for, as she promptly informed me, she did not
+consider herself old enough--she was only sixteen--to be bothered by
+the restrictions of _purdah_ when it did not suit her. Her father shook
+his head and smiled at the pretty rebel against Hindu customs.
+
+Major F---- and I went with them in their car; while the Sikh officers
+followed in another. We sped rapidly through the park and out along
+rough country roads, by thatched cottages and grass huts, groves of
+mango trees and dense thickets of bamboo. By the village wells dark-eyed
+women, poising their water jars on their heads turned to stare at us as
+we passed in a cloud of dust. From the hamlets tiny naked children
+rushed out to gaze at the _shaitan ki gharri_--the "devil's car." We
+soon reached the spot where the elephants were waiting for us beside the
+road. On the backs of the splendid tuskers intended for the shooters
+were howdahs fitted with gun rests and seats. Our elephants knelt down
+for us to clamber up. The Maharajah, with the true spirit of
+hospitality, left the sport to his guests and went off to take charge of
+the line of beaters. Princess Sudhira, armed with a camera, shared his
+howdah. The shooting elephants moved across the fields to a _nullah_
+filled with small trees and scrub jungle, in which the panther was
+reported to be hiding, and took up places in or on either bank of it.
+The beaters made a long circuit and formed line across the _nullah_.
+Then at a signal from the Maharajah they advanced towards us. As the
+ground on either side consisted of open, ploughed fields devoid of cover
+the panther would be forced to come along the ravine to the guns. The
+loud cries of the _mahouts_, the trumpeting of the elephants, the
+crashing of trampled jungle and the rending of boughs torn from the
+trees made a pandemonium of noise. I was posted high up on a bank and
+had a good general view of the scene. One of the Sikh nobles suddenly
+raised his rifle and fired; and I saw the lithe form of the panther for
+a few seconds as it dashed past his elephant and bounded like a great
+cat along the _nullah_. I caught an occasional glimpse of it between the
+patches of jungle but could not succeed in getting a shot. The Sikh's
+bullet had wounded it; but for the time it had succeeded in making its
+escape.
+
+The Maharajah came up and rearranged the beat. Our howdah elephants were
+sent along the banks; and we took up fresh positions farther on. Again
+the line of beaters bore down on us. The panther clung obstinately to
+the cover, not moving until the beaters were almost on it. Then it slunk
+cautiously towards the guns and gave the other Sikh officer a chance to
+wound it again. It turned and dashed against the line of beaters,
+recoiling almost from under the elephants' feet. For the first time I
+got a clear view of it but dared not fire lest I should hit anyone in
+the line. The elephants trumpeted shrilly; and while some tried to
+charge it and impale it on their tusks, others stampeded. All was
+confusion; but the Maharajah's voice rang loud above the uproar and made
+the excited _mahouts_ keep their animals in the alignment. The panther,
+baffled in his attempt to break through, turned again and charged
+towards us. I lost sight of it in the scrub; but both Sikhs fired, and I
+saw it spring up the bank towards Major F---- who stopped it with a
+bullet. I urged my _mahout_ forward and came on it rolling on the ground
+howling in agony and tearing up the earth with sharp claws. It was
+surrounded by the elephants of the other sportsmen and of the Maharajah.
+Princess Sudhira calmly leant over the front of her howdah and
+snapshotted it as it sprang up and tried to charge, only to be bowled
+over by a final shot. With a last spasm the beautiful animal sank on the
+ground and lay still, its yellow and black skin shining in the brilliant
+sunlight. Several _mahouts_ climbed down and approached the body
+cautiously, while we covered it with our rifles. But it was dead at
+last; and they lifted it on to the pad of one of the "beater" elephants.
+
+Then, exchanging our weapons for shot-guns we moved off in a long line
+over the fields in search of partridges. Birds were plentiful. Covey
+after covey flashed up from the grass under the elephants' feet. A
+scattered fire opened along the line and the partridges dropped in
+crumpled balls of feathers. How different it seemed from walking them up
+over the stubble in the brisk air of an autumn morning in distant
+England! The Maharajah was shooting now and we soon secured a good bag.
+We reached the road, found the motor-cars waiting for us, and were
+whirled back to the palace. Panther and partridges before
+breakfast--what an attractive programme that would be for a
+shooting-party in an English country-house!
+
+Though formerly the haunt of every species of big game, Cooch Behar has
+been so opened up for cultivation that it no longer affords cover for
+the larger animals of the chase. But in recent years the Maharajah's
+second son, Jitendra, had an unexpected bit of good fortune in _shikar_.
+His father was absent in Assam organising a big shoot, and had taken
+with him all his elephants except one. "Jit," then little more than a
+schoolboy, was the only member of the family at the palace and was very
+disgusted at being considered too young to be taken on the shoot. But
+the Fates were good to him. One day an excited peasant repaired to the
+palace with the information that a rhinoceros had appeared in a village
+not five miles from the town. Jit was incredulous. Such a thing seemed
+impossible; for a rhino had not been seen in Cooch Behar State for many
+years. But the man stuck to his story. So the boy sent the solitary
+elephant out to the spot, mounted his bicycle and rode to the village.
+Here he found a crowd of peasants surrounding, at a respectful distance,
+a small clump of bamboos in the middle of a large bare field in which
+several cows were grazing. It seemed impossible that a rhinoceros, which
+in India always inhabits dense jungle, could have come into such open
+country. But the villagers declared the animal was there in the bamboos.
+Jit, still half incredulous, mounted his elephant. Hardly had he done so
+when a large rhinoceros burst out from the tiny patch of cover, and,
+apparently objecting to the presence of the cows, charged furiously at
+them. Up went their tails and off went the cows. Round and round the
+field they raced, the young heifers leaping and frisking like black
+buck, while the rhino lumbered heavily after them. The villagers
+scattered and fled. The scene was so comical that Jit, standing like a
+circus-master in the centre of the ring, could hardly stop laughing long
+enough to lift his rifle and take aim. At last he fired; and the
+rhinoceros checked, stumbled forward a few paces and collapsed in an
+inert mass on the ground. Then the boy, fearful lest his father might
+resent his having appropriated the best bit of sport that the State had
+afforded for years, got on his bicycle and sped home to write a hurried
+letter of explanation and apology, which had the effect of the
+proverbial "soft answer."
+
+The late Maharajah of Cooch Behar,[7] as I have said, was practically
+the first Indian Prince to adopt English customs, and, with his family,
+mixed freely in European society. By doing so he helped greatly the
+cause of friendly intercourse between the two races and did much to
+break down the great barrier between Briton and Indian. But, be it
+remembered, that barrier is not of the white man's raising. Educated
+Indians when in England, complain bitterly to sympathising audiences
+that in their own land they are not admitted freely into Anglo-Indian
+society. And the cry is taken up parrot-like and echoed in the British
+Isles by people absolutely ignorant of Indian conditions. The educated
+native, fresh from the boarding-houses of Bayswater, claims that he has
+a right to be introduced to a white man's house, to his wife and
+daughters. But he would hardly let a European see the face of _his_ wife
+or permit him to enter anywhere but the fringe of his domicile. He has
+all the Oriental's contempt for women, and yet demands to be freely
+admitted to the society of English ladies, for whom in his heart he has
+no respect. And we who live in the land know it. But until he
+emancipates his own womenkind he cannot reasonably expect to be allowed
+a familiar footing in an Englishman's home.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[6] He died in A.D. 1913, and was succeeded by his brother, Prince
+Jitendra.
+
+[7] He died in 1911; and his eldest son and successor, Rajendra, died in
+1913. Prince Jitendra is now Maharajah.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII
+
+A MILITARY TRAGEDY
+
+    In the Mess--A gloomy conversation--Murder in the army--A
+        gallant officer--Running amuck on a rifle-range--"Was
+        that a shot?"--The alarm--The native officer's
+        report--The "fall in"--A dying man--A search round the
+        fort--A narrow escape--The flight--Search parties--The
+        inquiry into the crime--A fifty miles cordon--An
+        unexpected visit--Havildar Ranjit Singh on the trail--A
+        night march through the forest--A fearsome ride--The
+        lost detachment--An early start--The ferry--The
+        prisoner--A well-planned capture--The prisoner's
+        story--The march to Hathipota--Return to the fort--A
+        well-guarded captive--A weary wait--A journey to
+        Calcutta--The escort--Excitement among the passengers
+        on the steamer--American globe-trotters--the court
+        martial--A callous criminal--Appeal to the
+        Viceroy--Sentence of death--The execution.
+
+
+A January night in Buxa. The last bugle call, "lights out," had sounded
+in the fort at a quarter-past ten o'clock, and the silence of the
+mountains hung over the little Station. In the Mess, Balderston and I
+drew our chairs closer to the cheery wood fire, for the weather was
+bitterly cold. The glass doors leading on to the veranda were closed.
+The servants had retired for the night and we were alone, for our Irish
+doctor was absent on leave. I cannot remember what gave our conversation
+so gloomy a turn, but the talk ran on cases of murder in the army.
+
+Where men trained to the use of arms and with weapons within reach are
+found, there is always the danger of this crime, due to sudden anger or
+long-smouldering resentment; and no army in the world is free from it.
+And when a man has committed one murder, too often he is liable to "see
+red" and run amuck, killing until he is killed himself. Consequently his
+apprehension is fraught with much danger. Though I have rarely known a
+case occur in an Indian regiment in which a British officer has been the
+first victim, yet many have fallen in leading attempts to seize an
+assassin. At night the sound of a shot in barracks sends a thrill
+through all who hear it; for it generally means that some grim tragedy
+has been accomplished. And it may only usher in a series of crimes and a
+desperate search for an armed assassin in the darkness where death is
+lurking; not a soldier's glorious ending on the battlefield, but a
+pitiful fate at the hand of a comrade.
+
+I had just related to my companion a happening which I had witnessed
+some years before when, at a large rifle meeting and in the presence of
+hundreds of men, a sepoy ran amuck and shot down a native officer and a
+havildar or sergeant. A young British subaltern standing close by rushed
+at him unarmed. The murderer cried:
+
+"Do not come on, Sahib, I do not want to harm you."
+
+But the officer still advanced. The sepoy, to frighten him, sent a
+bullet close to him, then, failing to stop him, fired again and shot him
+through the heart. Then, as we around were closing in on him, the
+assassin placed the muzzle of his rifle to his head and blew his own
+brains out, rather than be taken alive.
+
+Scarcely had I recounted this incident when I thought I heard the sound
+of a shot coming from the direction of the fort. I sprang from my chair
+and ran out on to the veranda. The night was perfectly still. I listened
+for a few minutes.
+
+"What is the matter, major?" cried Balderston from the mess-room.
+
+"Did you not hear a shot?" I asked.
+
+"No," he replied.
+
+I looked at my watch. It was a quarter-past eleven o'clock. Just then
+from the parade ground came the short, harsh bark of a _khakur_. It was
+like the noise I had heard; for I had noticed that, instead of the
+sharp, clear ring of a rifle-shot, the sound had been a long-drawn-out
+one. So, laughing at what seemed my nervous fear, I went in again and
+closed the door. But before I could sit down a bugle rang out loudly in
+the fort. It was sounding the "Alarm"; and it was followed by loud
+shouts.
+
+"Good God, Balderston, there has been a murder," I cried. "That _was_ a
+shot I heard. Get your revolver, turn out your orderly with his rifle,
+and follow me to the fort."
+
+I sprang down the steps into the garden and raced down the steep road.
+Across it lay a broad stream of light from the window of my bungalow;
+and as I ran through it I thought that if anyone was lying in wait for
+me with murderous intent, here was the place for him. As I neared the
+parade ground I vaguely made out in the darkness two figures approaching
+me. I called out in Hindustani:
+
+"Who is there?"
+
+No answer came. I shouted again but got no reply. This was suspicious;
+but as I was unarmed the only thing to do was to close with them. I ran
+up to them and found them to be two sepoys with rifles. To my relief
+they said:
+
+"We are men of the guard sent by the subhedar-major to you, Sahib.
+Someone has fired a shot inside the fort."
+
+I ran past them across the parade ground and at the gate was met by my
+senior native officer who stopped me and said in a low tone:
+
+"Sahib, Colour-Havildar Shaikh Bakur has been shot in his bed. The
+sentry on the magazine, a young Mussulman named Farid Khan, has
+disappeared with his rifle."
+
+The news stunned me. Shaikh Bakur was one of my best non-commissioned
+officers. And the murderer was still at large. The sentry's absence from
+his post pointed to his being the assassin. In that case he had still
+nine rounds of ball ammunition, and, if he wished to run amuck, held as
+many lives in his hand. I eagerly questioned the subhedar-major; but he
+could tell me no more.
+
+The sepoys were falling in in front of the quarter guard and the company
+orderlies were calling over the rolls by the light of lanterns to see if
+any of the men were missing. I ordered them to extinguish the lamps,
+which only served to give a target to the invisible assassin, and bade
+the section commanders check their sections by memory. The sound of my
+voice stilled the confusion; and only the low muttering of the havildars
+and equally low responses of the sepoys were heard. Suddenly from a
+barrack-room close by rang out shrieks and wailing groans.
+
+"What is that noise, subhedar-major?" I asked.
+
+"It is Shaikh Bakur, Sahib. He is not dead and is crying out in his
+pain."
+
+As at that moment Balderston arrived I ordered him to examine the rifles
+of all in the detachment and see if a shot had been fired from any of
+them. Then I went to the room from which the cries proceeded. The
+high-roofed, stone-paved chamber was lighted only by a small lantern
+that cast weird shadows on the ceiling and showed a group of men
+standing around a bed at the far end. On it the wounded man was writhing
+in agony, trying with frenzied strength to hurl himself on to the floor;
+and it required the united efforts of two men to hold him on the cot. He
+was a dreadful sight. From a bullet hole in his chest the blood welled
+out at every motion of the body. His face was wet with sweat, the lips
+drawn back showing the white teeth clenched in pain. His staring eyes
+saw nothing; and he was delirious. Again and again his awful shrieks
+rang out through the lofty room and then subsided into meaningless
+mutterings. In the group by the bed stood an old native hospital
+assistant, the very inefficient substitute for our absent doctor. He was
+weeping copiously and seemed utterly helpless. I questioned him about
+the wound.
+
+"Sir, he has been shot through the body; and the bullet has come out
+through the chest," he sobbed.
+
+"Have you--can you do anything for him?" I said.
+
+"Sir, it is hopeless. The man will die," he cried through his tears.
+
+I shook him by the shoulders.
+
+"Collect yourself, _babu-ji_," I said sternly. "Try to do something.
+Can you not give him an opiate to relieve the pain?"
+
+He wrung his hands in the abandonment of helpless despair.
+
+"Sir, the case is hopeless. The man will die," he repeated mechanically.
+I could scarcely hear him through the heart-rending shrieks of the dying
+man, whose handsome bearded face was distorted, and his strong frame
+convulsed in agony. I turned again to the weeping Brahmin hospital
+assistant, useless, like so many of his race, in an emergency.
+
+"Oh, for God's sake, drug him into insensibility and let him die in
+peace," I cried.
+
+But he only sobbed helplessly. As I turned to leave the death-bed, I
+trod on an empty cartridge-case. I picked it up. It was the one from
+which the fatal bullet had been fired. It showed that the murderer had
+reloaded his rifle on the spot and intended that the killing should not
+end there. I went out into the darkness again. The sepoys were standing
+silently in the ranks; and the native officers were gathered in a group
+around Balderston. As the rifle of every man in the detachment, except
+the missing sentry, had been examined and found clean, it was evident
+that Farid Khan was the murderer. He had been reprimanded that day, so I
+learned, by Shaikh Bakur for having his accoutrements dirty on parade.
+It was a small cause to take a man's life for. But now the first thing
+to do was to try and find the assassin. This was no easy task on so dark
+a night, for there was cover for him everywhere in the fort. No one
+could tell in what corner he might be lurking, ready to shoot down the
+search-party. Then the means of egress from the fort were easy. The
+loopholed walls connecting the various barrack-rooms were low; and a man
+could scale them at any point. As I hurriedly thought over the best
+means of beginning the hunt, the piteous shrieks of the dying man rang
+through the silent night and chilled our blood.
+
+I took a couple of armed men with me and commenced to search the empty
+buildings of the fort. One of the native officers came running to me and
+called out:
+
+"Sahib, the outer door of my room, which I left open, is now closed and
+bolted from the inside. Farid Khan must be within."
+
+I went to the room, which was in the same single-storied building as the
+barrack-room in which the crime had been committed. I tried the door. It
+was fastened at the bottom. Bidding the sepoys with me load their
+rifles, I endeavoured to push the door in, sincerely hoping that if I
+succeeded I would not be received by a bullet. The door resisted, then
+gave way so suddenly that I fell inside head foremost. I sprang up
+hurriedly with the uncomfortable feeling that at any moment I might have
+the murderer's bayonet in me. I groped round the room in the darkness,
+then lit a match and found the place empty. The door must have swung to
+in the wind and the bolt fallen down and been caught in the socket.
+Annoyed at having the scare for nothing I turned to walk out and found
+myself confronted by the muzzles of my men's rifles, for they could not
+see who was emerging from the dark interior. Having no desire to be shot
+by mistake, I quickly let them know who I was. As I came out into the
+open air, a voice cried:
+
+"Sahib, Sahib! He has escaped. He has left the fort"; and a native
+follower rushed up breathlessly to say that he had just been passed by a
+flying figure which had climbed over the back gate.
+
+Calling to my two sepoys to follow me, I ran to this gate and struggled
+with the stiff bolts. With difficulty we dragged open the heavy iron
+leaves which grated noisily on their hinges. Outside lay a strip of
+grass dotted with trees and a few wooden sheds. It ran the length of the
+back wall but was only forty yards wide, ending on the edge of the
+precipice which fell sheer for three hundred feet. Down the steep face a
+zigzag path was cut leading to the hill on which the segregation
+hospital, burned in the forest fires, had stood. I searched around and
+inside the sheds and moved cautiously over the grassy shelf, keeping
+carefully away from the brink of the cliff. I was not carrying a weapon
+myself; for the night was so dark that the murderer, if he stood
+motionless, would see us first and could get in the first shot. If he
+missed I preferred trying to close with him at once, and not engaging in
+a duel with rifles with him. Should I succeed in grappling with him, the
+bayonets of my two men would soon end the struggle.
+
+Where the back wall terminated the side walls joined it at right angles;
+and here our task became doubly dangerous, for they were built almost on
+the edge of the precipice; and we had to move along in single file,
+keeping one hand on the wall, for a false step meant a fall on to the
+rocks far below. I groped cautiously along in the utter darkness,
+feeling much more afraid of tumbling over the cliffs than I was of the
+chance of meeting with the murderer. But, though I did not know it at
+the time, we had already passed him; for he was standing motionless
+behind one of the trees near the back wall, watching us as we went by,
+ready to fire at us if we saw and tried to catch him.
+
+Then, when we had gone by, he stole silently down the zigzag path and
+climbed the opposite hill, intending to descend on the other side and
+gain the mountain road leading down to Santrabari.
+
+But when I had completely circled the outer walls I entered the fort by
+the front gate and at once sent off a party of men under my old Rajput
+Subhedar, Sohanpal Singh, to go down to Santrabari and hide in the
+elephant stables. I gave them orders that, if the fugitive came by, they
+were to cover him with their rifles, call on him to surrender and shoot
+him down if he attempted to resist. The murderer, crouching on the hill
+above, heard them passing on the road below him, and turned off in
+another direction.
+
+Having sent off another party along the mountain-track to Chunabatti, I
+fell out the detachment and entered the orderly-room to hold an inquiry
+into the case. The story of the crime was soon told. In the barrack-room
+there were thirty-three beds, all occupied except the one exactly
+opposite Shaikh Bakur's. This belonged to the missing sentry, Farid
+Khan, who was on guard for the night. The men had been awakened by the
+deafening report of a rifle fired in the room. Although, when they had
+gone to sleep, the big wall-lanterns had been extinguished and the room
+was in darkness, there was now a small lamp burning beside Farid Khan's
+bed. By its light some of the sepoys saw a figure rush out through the
+open door and heard the clatter of heavy nailed boots on the stone-paved
+veranda outside. The colour-havildar had shrieked out: "I am shot! I am
+shot!"
+
+Suddenly the small lamp was extinguished; and the darkness increased the
+confusion of the room. The men nearest Shaikh Bakur rushed to his
+bedside, others called out to him to ask what was the matter; some cried
+out for the lamps to be lit; and others, not realising what had
+happened, shouted inquiries. At last a lantern was lighted and revealed
+the unfortunate man writhing in agony on his bed. Meanwhile the sentry
+on the quarter guard not fifty yards away, hearing the shot and the
+consequent uproar, awoke the havildar in charge of the guard. He ordered
+the bugler to sound the "alarm." The guard having fallen in, the _naik_
+(or corporal) went to the magazine close by and found that the sentry
+over it, whom he had visited fifteen minutes before, was missing from
+his post. On the "alarm" being sounded, the sepoys rushed out of their
+barrack-rooms with their rifles and accoutrements and fell in on parade.
+Still the magazine sentry did not appear, and his absence aroused
+suspicion. It was remembered that he was a young Mussulman called Farid
+Khan whom I had checked on parade that morning for carelessness in drill
+and who had been previously reprimanded by Shaikh Bakur for not having
+his accoutrements clean.
+
+I discovered that the small lamp, which had been burning when the shot
+was fired and the murderer ran out of the room, had been put out by a
+young sepoy who slept in the next cot to Farid Khan's, apparently to
+help the assassin to escape in the darkness. This sepoy came from the
+same district as the missing sentry and was his intimate friend. I made
+him a prisoner.
+
+There was nothing more to be done now until daylight, except to dispatch
+telegrams to the police and to regimental and brigade headquarters. I
+sent everyone off to bed and sat alone in the orderly-room by the light
+of a solitary lamp, planning out measures to capture the murderer. The
+cries from the barrack-room had ceased; for the poor havildar was dead,
+and his body had been removed to the hospital. After the recent
+confusion and bustle the stillness and silence seemed intense. I was
+haunted by the vision of the murdered man's face and filled with a
+bitter resentment against his slayer. The odds were greatly in favour of
+the assassin's escape. In the wild country around us, the broken,
+jungle-covered hills, the dense forest, a fugitive could hide himself
+indefinitely, provided only that he could procure food. If he succeeded
+in making his way to the main railway line the only chance of capturing
+him lay in his returning to his own country, hundreds of miles away; and
+I had telegraphed to the police of his village. The knowledge I had
+acquired of the country about us in shooting and on the march stood me
+now in good stead. The little railway from Buxa Road would be too
+dangerous for him; but he might try to make his way on foot to the
+junction of the main line at Gitaldaha; or a route through the forest
+led to villages and tea gardens at Kalchini, whence he might eventually
+reach another railway. But what I feared most was that he might commit
+suicide somewhere in the mountains or in the jungle and his body be
+never found, or cross the border to Bhutan, where he would probably be
+murdered for his rifle. In either case we would always remain ignorant
+of his fate. Then it would be believed that he had succeeded in
+effecting his escape. Four or five years before, another murder had been
+committed in the regiment and the assassin had never been captured. It
+would be a fatal thing if this murderer also succeeded in avoiding
+arrest; as it might encourage a repetition of the crime. The hours were
+interminable. It seemed as if the daylight to help us in our search
+would never come. My thoughts wandered to the fugitive. I pictured him
+lying out in the jungle, trembling at every rustle in the undergrowth
+that might herald the stealthy approach of a savage beast, realising now
+that his life was forfeit and that henceforth every man's hand was
+against him. I wondered if in the hours of silent watching in the
+darkness he had begun to appreciate his deed and its consequences.
+
+At last the wished-for dawn came. I sent out armed patrols in all
+directions to follow up every track and to occupy every village and
+hamlet in which the fugitive might try to obtain food. Other parties
+went by train to Gitaldaha, one to remain there, the rest to go east and
+west to the junctions of other railways. When these dispositions were
+complete we had a net, fifty miles wide, around the district. These
+patrols had orders to take the fugitive dead or alive. I instructed them
+to shoot him down if he attempted to resist; for I did not want to lose
+another of my men by his hand.
+
+The day passed wearily. No news came in; and I chafed at the inaction.
+At noon a sepoy rushed up to my bungalow to tell me that the men of the
+quarter guard had heard two shots on a wooded hill about half a mile
+from the fort. I doubled out with an armed party at once and searched
+the jungle around, without result. To this day I have never found an
+explanation of these shots, which had been distinctly heard by all the
+sepoys left in the fort. Night fell without any intelligence reaching me
+from any of the parties out. The native officers urged us to have a
+guard placed over the Mess and my bungalow, lest the murderer should be
+tempted to come back in the dark and shoot me; but I refused, as I
+wished the men to get all the rest they could in view of the exertions
+they might be called on to make. I slept little that night; for the
+memory of the tragedy weighed heavily on me.
+
+Next morning some of the patrols straggled in, exhausted and weary,
+having found no trace of the fugitive. But in the afternoon Tyson of
+Hathipota and an officer of the Royal Engineers named Marriott, who had
+been staying with him in his bungalow, rode into Buxa; and from them I
+got the first news of the murderer. For on their way from Hathipota they
+had met one of our search-parties under a havildar, called Ranjit Singh,
+who told them of the crime and said that he had been informed by
+villagers at Jainti that a man carrying a rifle had been seen coming out
+of the jungle early that morning and going east. Shortly afterwards one
+of Ranjit Singh's patrol arrived and confirmed this. The havildar had
+sent him back to report to me and tell me that the rest of the party
+were continuing in pursuit. The news was electrifying. Although the
+fugitive was going in the opposite direction to where his home lay, yet
+he was heading towards a river down which he could get by boat to a main
+railway line. It was imperative to bar his way. I gave orders for a
+party to start by the first train to Gitaldaha, change to this main
+line, and proceed to the point where it crossed the river. There they
+were to detrain and search every boat coming down from the north. A
+native officer was dispatched on Balderston's pony at once to overtake
+Ranjit Singh and urge him on the trail. Then I ordered sixty Rajputs,
+who being Hindus would not be in sympathy with the Mohammedan fugitive,
+to prepare to start in half an hour and march through the forest to
+Hathipota, where they were to halt for the night. I determined to take
+command of this party myself. It was to be spread out into a cordon
+miles long between the hills and the main railway line. As I had to send
+telegrams warning the police in the direction in which the murderer was
+moving and make other arrangements, I sent the party on ahead under a
+native officer.
+
+Our guests and Balderston volunteered for the pursuit. The latter
+borrowed a small pony about twelve hands high from a _bunniah_, as he
+had lent his own to the native officer. Mounting our horses we set off
+down the steep mountain-road to Santrabari. When we reached the more
+level ground we galloped the three miles to Buxa Road Station. I
+expected to overtake my party before we reached this point, but to my
+surprise found no signs of them. It turned out that they had taken a
+short cut through the forest.
+
+From the station a narrow track led through the jungle to Jainti. We
+rode down it in single file. Night had now fallen, and under the trees
+the darkness was intense. Marriott was leading and I was immediately
+behind him; but I could not see even his horse. Our animals stumbled
+over the fallen trees. Overhanging boughs, invisible to us, nearly swept
+us from our saddles. A crash and an exclamation from the leader told us
+that his horse had come to grief. Bruised by the fall, Marriott picked
+himself up and remounted. And on we blundered in the utter darkness. But
+there was a greater danger. We were passing through a part of the forest
+much frequented at night by wild elephants. None of us were armed; and
+the prospect of meeting with a rogue was not pleasant. Even if it did
+not attack us it would certainly stampede our horses. And to be bolted
+with in the thick forest in the dark would be a dangerous experience.
+Imagination peopled the black jungle with lurking tigers ready to spring
+out on us; and every sound seemed to herald the approach of a wild
+elephant. A deer crashing through the undergrowth would have been
+sufficient to scare our horses. To make matters worse Balderston's tiny
+pony could not keep up with us. Every time it lagged behind and its
+rider failed to answer our shouts, we were obliged to halt and wait for
+them. I shall not readily forget the terrors of that night ride. We were
+confronted by the constant risk of a fall over a prostrate tree-trunk or
+of being knocked out of the saddle by a low branch, and by the likely
+chance of encountering some dangerous wild beast. To keep up our spirits
+and in the hope of scaring off the elephants, tigers and bears by the
+far from melodious sounds, we sang choruses loudly in rather shaky
+voices. The miles through the forest seemed interminable; and I felt
+that I would sooner face a dozen armed murderers than ride them again.
+
+At last we emerged on the bank of the river at Jainti, on the other side
+of which was the road to Hathipota along which we had come on our return
+from the ten days' march with the detachment. Our relief at being clear
+of the forest was great. We splashed through the shallows and set off at
+a gallop along the road. Suddenly my horse stumbled and fell in a hole,
+throwing me over its head. I was badly shaken, but I climbed into the
+saddle as the others, hearing the sound of the fall, pulled up and came
+back to me. The hole had evidently been dug in the roadway by a wild
+boar that night; as it had not been there when Tyson and Marriott came
+by in the morning. We rode on again. When I expressed to Tyson,
+cantering alongside, my relief at being out of the forest and safe from
+the chance of a meeting with wild elephants, I was appalled at hearing
+that the stretch of road we were then on was a regular thoroughfare for
+these animals on their way from the hills to the jungle.
+
+We reached Tyson's bungalow about ten o'clock and found that my men had
+not arrived; and they did not march in until midnight. The native
+officer in command had tried a short cut through the forest, following a
+woodcutter's path which led the party into deep _nullahs_, up
+precipitous banks, and through the densest jungle. The sepoys were
+utterly exhausted by their toilsome march. The three elephants had
+started out with them, carrying the men's blankets and rations, but had
+fallen far behind. But when Tyson showed the party quarters for the
+night in one of his sheds, no one waited for food or bedding but flung
+himself on the floor and fell asleep at once.
+
+Ranjit Singh's patrol had reached the village of Hathipota near the tea
+garden on the previous night. The havildar had learned at Jainti that a
+man in white dress and carrying a rifle had been seen coming from the
+forest and crossing the river early on the morning after the murder.
+Farid Khan, having been on guard, was clad in khaki uniform when he left
+the fort. But the villagers told Ranjit Singh that this man had a bundle
+rolled up in a military greatcoat. The havildar guessed that the
+murderer had been wearing white undress under his uniform and had taken
+off the latter during the night. So he crossed the river and found in
+the dust of the road to Hathipota the footprints of a man wearing
+ammunition boots. He followed them for some miles until they turned off
+into the jungle, where he lost the trail. Thinking that Hathipota
+Village was the nearest place where the fugitive could procure food, he
+pushed on with his two men and hid close to it all night. As by morning
+their quarry had not appeared, the patrol went on to the ferry over the
+Raidak River near the planters' club, where the detachment had
+bivouacked and held sports on the march. Ranjit Singh had brought with
+him an armed policeman whom he had met at Jainti and who had been sent
+out to search for the murderer. But this worthy had no desire to meet
+him and declined to accompany our havildar any farther, alleging that he
+was fatigued by the previous day's exertions and must stay to rest and
+refresh himself in Hathipota. But scarcely had our patrol left the
+village when the policeman, standing with a group of peasants, was
+horrified by the sudden apparition of a man dressed in white and
+carrying a rifle. It was Farid Khan. The guardian of the law, though he
+had a rifle himself, was far too frightened to use it. Farid Khan walked
+boldly up to him and asked him if any sepoys had visited the village.
+The terrified policeman, anxious to get rid of him at all costs, told
+him that a havildar with a party who were looking for him, had just
+left. He even told him truthfully the direction they had taken. Farid
+Khan at once disappeared into the jungle.
+
+Meanwhile Ranjit Singh, having reached the river and learned from the
+ferryman that the fugitive had not arrived there, warned the former not
+to help the murderer across the stream if he came. Then the patrol
+turned back to Hathipota. There they were informed of Farid Khan's
+appearance in the village. They at once retraced their steps to the
+ferry and found that the fugitive had come to it soon after they had
+left. He had reached it by a jungle path. When the ferryman refused to
+take him over the river Farid Khan raised his rifle and threatened to
+shoot him; and the man was forced to take him across. Ranjit Singh and
+his men at once followed.
+
+No news of this had reached us. Next morning, as soon as there was light
+enough to show the way, I marched my party off in a south-easterly
+direction to reach a point from which we could spread out and form the
+cordon. Marriott accompanied us, and Balderston was now mounted on a
+good pony lent him by Tyson, who was obliged to remain behind. As the
+little column swung along in the light of the rising sun, the
+excitement of the chase was visible in the sepoys. Struck by their
+silence, unusual when "marching at ease," I turned in the saddle to look
+at them. Every man's face was set in a grim, stern look; and as they
+strode on their eyes swept the country around with quick, keen glances
+as if they expected to see the fugitive every moment. Absorbing as is
+the chase of wild animals it is nothing to the excitement of a man-hunt.
+I forgot that we were tracking a human being to his doom, and remembered
+only that I had the blood of one of my best soldiers to avenge and that
+I was pursuing a cowardly murderer. I had given orders to all that Farid
+Khan, if overtaken and seen to be armed, was to be fired at on the spot;
+for I was determined to give him as little chance as possible to kill
+anyone else. Had I come upon him myself I would have shot him down
+without compunction, and regretted only that my bullet saved him from
+the gallows.
+
+Some miles ahead of us lay a village which contained a police station. I
+sent Balderston and Marriott galloping on ahead to give warning to the
+havildar and constables in it, as they might not yet have heard of the
+crime. The column tramped on in gloomy silence through fairly open
+country, until we reached the new Raidak River and found our way barred
+by the swift-flowing stream. However, at this point there was a ferry
+consisting of a small dug-out canoe. I halted the detachment and was
+superintending the embarkation of the first batch of men, when higher up
+on the opposite bank two horsemen appeared. They were Marriott and
+Balderston. They called out across the water something that I did not
+hear. But the sepoys farther along on our side of the river did; and a
+wild burst of cheering from them startled me. They seemed to have gone
+mad. They threw their _puggris_ in the air and waved their rifles above
+their heads yelling excitedly. Then a wild rush was made towards me.
+
+"They've caught him, Sahib. Ranjit Singh has caught him," they cried, as
+they crowded round me. Never in my service had I seen the usually stolid
+sepoys so moved. Only then did I realise fully their bitter feeling of
+personal hatred of the treacherous assassin who had slain a comrade, and
+how keenly they had desired his capture.
+
+Fording the stream the two officers approached me. Balderston waved his
+helmet, his face aglow with excitement.
+
+"They've got him, major! They've got the brute, thank God!" he cried.
+
+A load seemed lifted off my heart; but a sudden fear gripped me.
+
+"Are the others safe?" I asked. "Anyone shot?"
+
+"No, no. They sprang on him before he could use his rifle," he replied,
+as his pony scrambled up the bank. Swinging himself out of the saddle he
+continued: "We met Ranjit Singh on the road bringing him along. They are
+not far off. They tracked him to a village and overpowered him before he
+could resist. He had his loaded rifle beside him."
+
+That was the first happy moment I had experienced since the fatal night.
+The murderer was in our hands; and my poor havildar's death would be
+avenged.
+
+We stood in silence beside the river, watching the opposite bank
+intently. At last on it appeared a little group of figures, three in
+khaki, a fourth in white. Again the cheering burst out from the sepoys
+and continued as the canoe was sent across the stream to bring over the
+prisoner and his captors. Farid Khan was in front, his hands bound
+behind his back by a rope, the end of which was held by Havildar Ranjit
+Singh, who carried a rifle. As they came down the sloping path to the
+water's edge, it occurred to me that the prisoner, when in the cranky
+boat, might endeavour to capsize it and drown himself. So I ordered two
+or three of my best swimmers to strip and be ready to plunge into the
+river. But Farid Khan stepped carefully into the canoe and seated
+himself in the bottom of it and never moved until it reached our side.
+He laughed amusedly when one of his escort, trying to spring ashore,
+fell into the shallow water. As the canoe grounded the sepoys crowded
+round it with menacing looks; and we officers had to drive them back.
+Had we not been there they would have lynched him. Some cursed and
+reviled him, while others applauded his captors. But coolly and
+unconcernedly he stepped ashore with a cynical smile on his face. When
+the havildar had marched him up in front of me he stood quietly at
+attention. He was a young man twenty-one years old, with good features
+and a slight, well-knit frame. He returned my gaze steadily and seemed
+as little perturbed as though the offence he would have to answer for
+were of the slightest nature. The havildar handed me a rifle.
+
+"This was in the prisoner's possession when I arrested him," he said.
+
+I examined the weapon. The barrel was fouled; and in the magazine were
+eight cartridges.
+
+I warned Farid Khan that anything he said might be used in evidence
+against him, and then asked:
+
+"Why did you run away from the fort?"
+
+"Because, when I had shot the colour-havildar, it was the only thing to
+do," he replied unconcernedly.
+
+"You confess that you did shoot Shaikh Bakur?" I said.
+
+"Yes, I did shoot him."
+
+"Why?"
+
+"Because he punished me and abused me that day. I knew that I would be
+on guard that evening and would have cartridges for my rifle. So I
+resolved to shoot him. At first I did not intend to do it in the night;
+as it would cause a lot of trouble to the other sepoys of the
+detachment, since they would be obliged to turn out and try to capture
+me. But while I was on sentry I thought the matter over and reflected
+that I might not have as good a chance to kill him in the morning as
+when he was sleeping. So I determined to make sure of him and do it at
+once."
+
+He spoke calmly and without the least sign of remorse or apprehension.
+
+"How did you do it?" I asked.
+
+"As soon as the _naik_ (corporal) of the guard had visited my post at
+eleven o'clock that night, I walked across to the barrack-room. I groped
+my way to my cot, beside which was a small lamp. This I lighted. Then I
+got my pipe, sat down on my bed and had a smoke. When I had finished it
+I stood up and took my rifle, which I loaded. Shaikh Bakur was lying
+asleep opposite me. I shot him and ran out of the room."
+
+I tried to picture the scene with the callous youngster calmly smoking
+as he watched his unconscious victim. I wondered if the sight of his
+enemy's face had aroused his anger as he looked at it.
+
+"How was Shaikh Bakur lying?" I questioned. "Was his face turned towards
+you?"
+
+"I don't know," he replied indifferently. "His head was covered up in
+the bedclothes; and I could not see it."
+
+The cold-blooded manner of the crime horrified me. The murderer had
+coolly fired at a huddled mass of blankets. The listening sepoys around
+us were awed into silence as he calmly related the details of his foul
+deed.
+
+"What did you do then?" I asked.
+
+"I reloaded my rifle to shoot anyone who tried to stop me, thus putting
+one cartridge in the chamber and leaving eight in the magazine. I ran
+out of the room and stood outside near the building until the sepoys
+began to come out. Then I went to the back gate. While I was climbing it
+the bolt of the rifle dropped back and let the cartridge in the breach
+fall out. So you will only find eight in the magazine. Soon I heard the
+gate open and saw you come out with two men. I got behind a tree and
+watched you pass within five yards of me."
+
+"Why did not you shoot me?" I said.
+
+"Oh, I had no desire to kill you, Sahib, as long as you did not discover
+and try to capture me. If you had I would have shot you."
+
+He spoke as coolly about killing me as if it were a most ordinary
+matter. I was less indifferent, and felt thankful that I had not
+blundered on him in the dark. I realised fully what a narrow escape I
+had had.
+
+"Why did you take your rifle with you when you went off?" I asked.
+
+For the first time his indifferent manner vanished. A malevolent gleam
+shone in his eyes.
+
+"Because my greatest enemy still lived," he said. "The man I most wanted
+to kill was the subhedar-major. I had gone to his room first that night
+and tried to enter it. But, luckily for him, the door was bolted. So, as
+I was determined to shoot someone, I went to the barrack-room and killed
+Shaikh Bakur. But I took my rifle; for I resolved to escape, hide in the
+jungle until the pursuit was over, then return at night and kill the
+subhedar-major."
+
+He announced his murderous intention with the utmost calmness. I thanked
+God that we had been able to capture him; for if he had returned and
+shot his native officer, he would then have run amuck and killed until
+slain himself.
+
+"How did you get away?" I said.
+
+"After you had passed me, Sahib, I went down the zigzag path. I meant to
+get on to the road to Santrabari, but heard the patrol passing down it
+below me and knew that you had cut my retreat off that way. So I sat on
+the hill until daylight and then made my way through the forest to
+Jainti."
+
+I asked him if he had any accomplices. He denied that he had; and, when
+I refused to believe him, he said:
+
+"Why should I tell a lie now? I know that my life is forfeit."
+
+"Yes," I replied. "You'll hang for this."
+
+"I don't care. My father has five other sons and can spare me. But my
+one regret," he said, and again a baleful light shone in his eyes, "is
+that my worst enemy still lives."
+
+I turned away from him and interrogated Ranjit Singh about the capture.
+
+When the havildar learned that the man he was pursuing had crossed the
+river after he had been seen in Hathipota, he followed with the two men
+of the patrol. On the other side they picked up his trail, which led to
+another village. Near it they met some peasants and learned from them
+that Farid Khan was in this village. Approaching cautiously they dodged
+from hut to hut until they saw him sitting on the ground before a
+_bunniah's_ shop, eating food which he had just bought. His rifle lay
+beside him. They crept up behind him, for they were resolved to take him
+alive, rushed on him suddenly and tumbled him over before he could seize
+his weapon. As they held him down and bound him, he said:
+
+"It was lucky for you, havildar, that I did not see you first. I had my
+magazine full and would have shot you all."
+
+After his capture he seemed resigned to his fate and scarcely spoke
+again until he was brought before me. I praised Ranjit Singh and his
+patrol warmly and then fell in my men. We marched back to Hathipota,
+where we halted for the night. Next day we reached Buxa.
+
+I was determined that our prisoner should not cheat the gallows by
+escape or suicide. So night and day for the two months that elapsed
+before he was brought to trial a guard was mounted over him in his
+cell. All through those weary weeks of waiting his indifferent
+demeanour never changed. I visited him every day. To my inquiries as to
+whether he had any request to make, he always replied respectfully. But
+he never acknowledged that he had had any accomplices in his crime; and
+I was never able to bring his comrade Gulab Khan to trial.
+
+At last the orders came to conduct Farid Khan to Calcutta to appear
+before a general court martial. We marched out of the fort and down to
+Buxa Road Railway Station with the prisoner in the centre of a guard of
+six men with fixed bayonets. By one of his wrists he was handcuffed to a
+burly Rajput over six feet high. These precautions were necessary, as
+the journey would take a day and a night and necessitated many changes;
+and I was determined to give Farid Khan no chance to escape. At
+Gitaldaha we had to wait for some time for another train which brought
+us in the early morning to the banks of the River Ganges. Across this we
+were taken in a steamer, the passage occupying over an hour. Our
+appearance excited much interest among the passengers on board, some of
+whom were American tourists returning from a flying visit to Darjeeling.
+My party, including the witnesses and the escort, was quite a large one;
+and I heard one fair daughter of Uncle Sam remark:
+
+"Wa'al, it takes a lot of soldiers to guard that one poor man."
+
+One of her male companions, who addressed me as "Officer!" questioned me
+as to the prisoner's crime, and seemed quite disappointed at learning
+that it was only murder.
+
+On the other side of the Ganges we entrained again and reached Calcutta
+by noon. I handed over my prisoner to the care of a regiment quartered
+in Fort William; and he was safely consigned to their guard-room cell.
+
+On the bank of the broad River Hugli, which flows through the city of
+Calcutta and up which the ships come from the sea, stands this large
+fort, which dates back far into the days of the Honourable East India
+Company. One face fronts the stream, the others look on the _maidan_, a
+broad open space, tree-studded and seamed with roads, which lies between
+the frowning, embrasured walls and the nearest houses. Within the wide
+precincts of the fort, a city in a city, are found barracks, the
+arsenal, houses for military and civil officers, a church, and the
+official residence of the Commander-in-Chief, all separated by broad
+squares and green lawns.
+
+Here next day in the garrison library, a large recreation-room for
+soldiers, Sepoy Farid Khan faced the court martial which was to try him
+for his life. When I had given him his choice in Buxa of having either
+British or Indian officers as his judges, he answered unhesitatingly:
+
+"I want to be tried by Sahibs, of course."
+
+And so, in accordance with his wish, nine British officers in white
+full-dress summer uniform, swords at their sides and medals on their
+breasts, sat in judgment on him at a long table. Behind them was a stage
+on which military amateur actors strut their hour in the garrison
+theatricals. The drop curtain was up, showing a pretty English country
+scene. It seemed an incongruous setting for the grim drama of real life
+which was now to be enacted.
+
+Near the members of the court sat another officer, the deputy judge
+advocate general, who was present to see that the trial was conducted in
+accordance with the rules of military law, and to advise the court on
+legal points. At a small table to one side Captain Balderston took his
+place as prosecutor. Then the prisoner, his handcuffs removed, was
+marched into the room by the guard of the regiment in whose cells he was
+confined. He walked in with an erect and soldierly bearing and stood to
+attention as the president of the court read out the charge to him and
+called on him to plead. And to this charge of "Murder" he answered
+composedly "I am guilty." But, since with this plea no evidence in his
+defence or in extenuation of his crime could be given, the court, with
+the extreme fairness of a military tribunal, advised him to withdraw it
+and plead "Not Guilty." Then the native witnesses who testified to his
+desertion of his post, his flight and capture, gave their evidence in
+Hindustani. After them I repeated his confession of the crime to me. I
+spoke in English, my evidence being translated to the prisoner by a
+British officer who acted as interpreter. But I noticed that Farid Khan
+did not seem to understand this officer, who spoke a purer and correcter
+Urdu than did the prisoner himself.
+
+I stated my belief to the court. The president, who spoke the
+vernacular, asked Farid Khan if this were so.
+
+"Yes, it is true. I cannot understand what that Sahib says," he replied;
+"but I can understand my own major Sahib," pointing to me.
+
+Then, with the court's permission, I repeated to him the evidence I had
+given.
+
+"Yes, that is all quite true," he said.
+
+Then the president bade me ask the prisoner if he wished to question me
+on my evidence. I did so.
+
+"No, Sahib," he replied. "What you have said is correct. I only wish to
+say that on that night I intended to kill the subhedar-major first. I
+tried his door first but----"
+
+I told him to be silent, as he was only committing himself deeper. Then
+the court asked me what the prisoner had said and I answered that it was
+something to his disadvantage; the president told me that in that case I
+need not interpret his words.
+
+The trial lasted two days and ended in a verdict of guilty. But in
+accordance with military law it was not announced at the time, as the
+whole of the proceedings of the court had to be first carefully
+scrutinised at army headquarters; so that if any illegality had been
+committed, or the verdict was not justified by the evidence, the case
+could be quashed and a fresh trial ordered. But in due course the
+decision of the court martial and the sentence of "Death by hanging"
+were published. But long before this I had left Calcutta with my party
+and returned to Buxa, Farid Khan remaining a prisoner in Fort William.
+His father and a brother came across India from Rajputana to visit him;
+and, probably acting on their advice, he appealed for mercy to the
+Viceroy.
+
+But his appeal was rejected. One night at eleven o'clock the adjutant of
+the regiment which had him in charge was handed a telegram to that
+effect and informing him that the prisoner was to be hanged next morning
+at eight o'clock. The officer went at once to the condemned man's cell.
+Farid Khan was asleep. The adjutant woke him up and said:
+
+"You are to die to-morrow morning."
+
+"Very well, Sahib," was the unconcerned reply; and the prisoner lay down
+again and was asleep before the adjutant had quitted the cell.
+
+I had feared that Farid Khan would be sent back to Buxa Duar, so that
+the execution could be carried out in presence of his comrades. But the
+last act of the tragedy took place in the courtyard of the civil jail in
+Calcutta. Detachments of all the regiments, British and Indian, in that
+city were formed up in front of the gallows.
+
+When the condemned man was marched into the courtyard, the adjutant
+asked if he had any last request to make.
+
+"Yes, Sahib," he replied. "I want to know how many men you have told off
+to bury me."
+
+"Two," said the officer.
+
+"That is not enough, Sahib; I should like eight."
+
+"Very well, you will have them."
+
+"Thank you, Sahib," replied the condemned man cheerfully. Then with a
+firm step he mounted the scaffold. As the rope was adjusted round his
+neck, he looked down at the adjutant and called out to him with a smile:
+
+"Salaam, Sahib. Good-bye."
+
+They were his last words.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII
+
+IN AN INDIAN HILL STATION
+
+    To Darjeeling--Railway journeys in India--Protection for
+        solitary ladies--Reappearing rivers--Siliguri--At the
+        foot of the Himalayas--A mountain railway--Through the
+        jungle--Looping the loop--View of the
+        Plains--Darjeeling--Civilisation seven thousand feet
+        high--Varied types--View from the Chaurasta--White
+        workers in India--Life in Hill
+        Stations--Lieutenant-Governors--A "dull time" in
+        Darjeeling--The bazaar--Types of hill
+        races--Turquoises--Tiger-skins for tourists--The
+        Amusement Club--The Everlasting
+        Snows--Kinchinjunga--The bachelors' ball--A Government
+        House ball--The marriage-market value of Indian
+        civilians--Less demand for military
+        men--Theatricals--Lebong Races--Picturesque
+        race-goers--Ladies in India--Husband hunters--The empty
+        life of an Englishwoman--The dangers of Hill
+        Stations--A wife four months in the year--The hills
+        _taboo_ for the subaltern--Back to Buxa.
+
+
+Sixty or eighty miles west of Buxa Duar and seven thousand feet above
+the sea is the pleasant Himalayan Hill Station of Darjeeling. Less than
+a day's journey by rail from Calcutta, it attracts to it the fortunate
+mortals who, in the summer months, can escape from the heat of that
+crowded city and the Bengal plains and plunge into a whirl of gaieties
+on the cool heights of the Pleasure Colony. To it I had my first change
+from Buxa. About a year after my arrival I got fourteen days' leave to
+Darjeeling in order to meet the officer of my regiment commanding our
+detachment at Gantok in Sikkim, who was coming there to appear at one
+of the many examinations that plague the soldier's soul. The month was
+October, perhaps the unpleasantest time of the year in India, when the
+Rains are almost ended and the heat is intensified by the dampness of
+earth and atmosphere.
+
+To reach my destination required a very round-about journey by rail.
+First from Buxa Road to the junction at Gitaldaha, where I could get on
+to the main line which took me to Siliguri at the foot of the mountains
+again; thence up the toy Himalayan Railway which crawled in spirals and
+zigzags up the face of the giant hills. The Indian first-class railway
+carriage is very unlike an English one. It is divided into two
+compartments, each entered by a door at the end and containing along
+each side a broad, leather-covered couch, used as a seat by day, a bed
+by night. Above each is a hanging bed, hooked up until it is required
+for use. There is thus sleeping accommodation for four in the
+compartment, off which is a lavatory, which on some lines contains a
+bath, a luxury much needed on a long journey in India. In the hot
+weather the carriages are fitted with electric fans, which only serve to
+stir the heated air, and hardly cool the perspiring occupants. Every
+traveller carries his roll of bedding, which his servant spreads down at
+night and in the morning ties up and stows out of the way. Until
+comparatively recently restaurant cars were unknown; and the trains
+halted three times a day for half an hour to allow their passengers to
+descend at stations where meals could be obtained. For long journeys,
+and in India three or four days in a train is not unusual, the type of
+carriage I have described is more comfortable than the corridor
+carriages which are now being introduced. This change is greatly due to
+the number of running-train thefts and the murder of a Eurasian girl;
+for of course in the corridor system travellers are less isolated.
+Recent occurrences have somewhat scared ladies travelling alone. To
+reassure them the railway companies allow them to have their _ayahs_ or
+native female servants to share the carriage, the window-shutters have
+been provided with bolts, and the guards have instructions to lock the
+doors of their compartments.
+
+As my train rolled along through the level country I was surprised to
+note the number of rivers we crossed. These were the streams which
+vanish at the foot of the hills and reappear above ground farther south.
+The country we passed through was typical of Bengal--level plains well
+cultivated and dotted with clumps of bamboos, numerous villages and
+prosperous-looking farms.
+
+In the early morning we reached Siliguri where we had to change to the
+Himalayan Railway. A crowd of sleepy passengers descended and entered
+the refreshment-room in search of breakfast, while their servants
+gathered their luggage together. Then we took our seats in the tiny open
+carriages of the small train which climbs the steep slopes of the mighty
+mountains. At first it plunged into forest between huge trees clothed
+with orchids, walled in by dense undergrowth; for we were in the Terai
+again. Then it wound among the jungle-clad foot-hills and climbed ever
+higher, while the forest grew thinner and sparser. Anon it emerged on
+the sides of the open bare mountains; and we looked down on the dark
+belt of trees and the plains spread like a map below us. We could trace
+for miles the winding course of the Tista, the wide river that flows
+down through the hills from Sikkim. Here and there we passed by long
+stretches of tea gardens. In one place the railway forms a complete
+circle, looping the loop; so that, with a long train, the engine would
+be crossing over a bridge while the last carriage was still under it.
+Beside the line ran the mountain road, by which heavily laden coolies
+toiled between the villages of rough wooden huts. At last the greatest
+elevation was reached at the small station of Goom; and the train ran
+down for a thousand feet and ended its journey in Darjeeling.
+
+Mark Twain was enraptured by the beauties and marvels of engineering of
+this Himalayan Railway. But to me it seemed far less wonderful and
+lovely than the lines over the Rocky Mountains of his own country. I
+have crossed them by the Denver and Rio Grande route, where in broad
+Pullmans and big-windowed observation-cars we sat in comfort, and at an
+elevation of ten thousand feet gazed at the snow-clad peaks towering
+above us or, lower down in the deep gorges, strove to see the tops of
+the sheer, two-thousand feet high walls of the Grand Canyon, painted in
+brilliant colours by the lavish hand of Nature.
+
+But Darjeeling was unique in my experience; for I had visited no other
+Himalayan Hill Station. A town on the mountain-tops, a town of pretty
+villas, large hotels, clubs and churches, of big English shops with
+plate-glass windows, of jumbled native bazaars thronged with thousands
+of men and women of a dozen different hill races. Broad, well-kept roads
+run along the ridges and up and down the steep hill-sides, lined with
+lovely gardens, in which stand fascinating European houses like the
+villas of Trouville and Deauville under the shade of giant orchid-clad
+trees. English ladies in smart frocks go by in rickshaws or reclining in
+chairs carried on the shoulders of strong coolies. Officers and
+civilians on well-groomed ponies trot past groups of sturdy-limbed
+Bhuttias or rosy-cheeked Lepcha women hung with turquoise and silver
+ornaments. British soldiers in khaki stop to chat with small, cheery
+Gurkha policemen by the roadside. Pig-tailed Sikkimese and Tibetan lamas
+fingering their rosaries stare into the plate-glass windows of shops
+that would not be out of place in Oxford Street and which display to the
+bewildered heathen Paris fashions or the latest pattern of coloured
+shirts and smart waistcoats.
+
+The central point of Darjeeling is the cross roads at the Chaurasta.
+Here on one side the ground rises a thousand feet or more to the summit
+of Jalapahar, crowded with barracks and European bungalows. To the other
+the hill-sides slope steeply away covered with tea gardens. Along the
+ridge the road runs by a trim English Church in pretty grounds, the
+straggling building of the Amusement Club with tennis courts terraced
+one above the other, and on to the Lieutenant-Governor of Bengal's
+summer residence set in a lovely park. To the north the ground falls
+sharply another thousand feet; and one looks down on the roofs of the
+bungalows and British Infantry Barracks of Lebong, with its race-course
+around the polo ground and the rifle-range, seeming like a toy station
+set out far beneath. Below, the deep valley; and beyond it rises a
+jumble of mountains on mountains in bewildering profusion. And at dawn
+and evening above the clouds hangs high in air the long line of the
+Everlasting Snows. Over it towers Kinchinjunga, twenty-eight thousand
+feet high, with its jagged white peaks gleaming in the morning or
+pink-flushed in the rosy light of sunset; forty miles away, yet so clear
+and distinct that the beholder imagines he would be able to see a man on
+it, if some climber could scale its untrodden heights.
+
+The abrupt change from the sweltering heat of the Bengal plains, seven
+thousand feet below, to the cool climate and refreshing breezes of
+Darjeeling is marvellous. In less than twenty-four hours the English
+dwellers in the hot and crowded city of Calcutta are borne to this gay
+Hill Station, which must seem another world to them. In the brisk
+mountain air the jaded visitors from the Plains revive and are filled
+with renewed energy; and one and all plunge feverishly into social
+gaieties. In India only in such places as this does one find the
+Englishman unoccupied by work; for in the East there is no leisured
+class of Europeans. Even the Viceroys and Governors are busy mortals,
+and perhaps the hardest-worked individuals in the dominions they rule.
+Every white man in India has his employment; for he is a soldier, a
+civil servant, a judge, a lawyer, a railwayman or a merchant. Each has
+his work and his place in the scheme of things. But in the Hills, save
+for those at the military or civil headquarters, he is on leave, and has
+come to enjoy a well-earned rest.
+
+The life in an Indian Hill Station is unlike anything that we have in
+England. Gaiety reigns supreme. Games, races, dances, theatricals, and
+all such entertainments abound. To take Darjeeling as an example. In the
+mornings and forenoons the roads are thronged with riders or with ladies
+in chairs or rickshaws, going to pay calls or on their way to
+luncheon-parties. In the afternoons on the polo ground of Lebong the
+players on their agile little ponies jostle each other, or race after
+the ball. The tennis courts in the grounds of the Amusement Club are
+full. The skating rink inside the Club is thronged in the mornings, and
+when dusk falls, the lamps are lighted and the tea-tables are set out
+beside the polished floor. The nights are never dull; dinner-parties in
+the bungalows, restaurants and hotels, dances and theatricals at the
+Club, fill them.
+
+In these Hill Stations the summer residents in the bungalows, the
+visitors at the hotels or boarding-houses, though they come from places
+in the Plains far apart, are of the same class in life and know each
+other or of each other. For, except for the lawyers and merchants, the
+names of all are set forth in either of the two great books of India,
+the Civil Service or the Army List. And they are linked by the bond of a
+similar profession. All are members of the Club and see each other there
+every day. To all are sent invitations to each big festivity. The
+Lieutenant-Governor of the province has his summer residence in its Hill
+Station and gives a series of official entertainments to which are asked
+all those who have written their names in the book which, guarded by
+red-coat servitors, lies on a table in the veranda of Government House.
+He is constrained by his position to give dances, dinners, and
+garden-parties, regardless of his private inclinations. For he is a very
+important personage, and lives in almost regal state. He has his
+military aides-de-camp, his military or police guard; the Union Jack
+flies from a flagstaff on his lawn as a sign of his dignity. He rules
+over a province as big as England and is supreme in his dominions unless
+the Viceroy chances to visit them. Think what a change it must be for
+such a proconsul when he has to retire and takes up his abode in a
+London suburb or a small country town, where he is unknown to fame, and
+unhonoured!
+
+Life is indeed gay in these Hill Stations. To them flock the ladies to
+escape the burning heat of the Plains, leaving their poor husbands to
+grill and earn their pay while their wives are enjoying themselves up in
+the cool mountains. And the fair ones must be amused. So the bachelors,
+who can more easily afford to take leave than the married men, are at
+their service to ride, play tennis, dance and flirt with them.
+
+The fortnight of my stay in Darjeeling was supposed to be quite a dull
+time in the Station; for it preceded the holidays of the Poojahs, a
+Hindu feast, when all the Government and mercantile offices in Bengal
+are closed and the Englishmen thus set free flock up to the Hills. These
+holidays lasted two weeks; and an elaborate programme of festivities was
+prepared for them. Yet during the period of my stay I found that there
+were to be three balls, four afternoon dances, two days' races and two
+separate amateur theatricals. So it seemed to me a whirl of gaiety after
+the hermit-like seclusion of Buxa Duar.
+
+On the first afternoon I rickshawed down into the bazaar or native
+quarter thronged with representatives of many hill races. Sturdy little
+Gurkhas, pig-tailed Sikkimese, broad-shouldered Bhuttias, dusky Hindu
+women and fair-complexioned, red-cheeked Lepcha girls jostled each other
+in the narrow, hilly streets. In the open market-place were stalls of
+vendors of cheap commodities; and harsh-featured old women sat behind
+trays of rough-cut turquoises or smoothly polished imitations of the
+blue stone dear to the hearts of the female hill dwellers. In the bazaar
+many of the dingy native shops were filled with curios to attract the
+white resident or globe-trotter. Tibetan prayer-wheels, lama
+devil-dancers' masks, Chinese embroideries and roughly hammered brass
+gods were heaped in confusion. Trays of cut turquoises and lumps of
+matrix stood on the counters. The window of one shop was filled with
+skins of tigers, bears, and panthers; a sight to move the sportsman to
+wrath, for to him such things are trophies to be won in fair chase, not
+articles to be exposed for sale to the American tourist. I noticed that
+tiger-skins were ticketed at L20, the pelts of other animals at lower
+prices. Beyond the market-place, on a knoll, stood the European
+sanatorium, in which I was to find myself a patient months afterwards.
+
+As I entered the Amusement Club at sunset, after my visit to the bazaar,
+I was quite bewildered by the sight of so many white folk. Outside, the
+tennis courts were emptying as the dusk fell. Inside the building the
+rink was crowded with skaters. Along one side of it were set out scores
+of tea-tables, around which sat ladies attired in the latest fashions.
+The card-room was full. People were changing books in the Club library
+or looking at the English illustrated papers and magazines in the
+reading-room. And in the bar was gathered together a festive crowd of
+men of many professions and callings, though the military predominated,
+chatting and disposing of the "short drinks" beloved of the
+Anglo-Indian. Here I met two subalterns of my regiment, one on leave,
+the other on his way back to headquarters from Gyantse in the heart of
+Tibet, where he had been commanding the escort to the British Trade
+Agent. In that isolated spot, thirteen thousand feet above the sea, he
+had lived for eighteen months, solacing his solitude by stalking the
+wily ibex. Here, too, I came across the major of the Punjabi regiment
+whom I had relieved nearly a year before at Buxa Duar. After a cheery
+greeting he asked me pityingly how I managed to endure the loneliness of
+my little outpost. When he heard that I liked the existence there
+immensely he seemed to regard me as a half-demented individual. While I
+was chatting with him there descended upon me emissaries of a frantic
+amateur stage-manager who, having heard that I had had much experience
+in theatricals, besought me to take the place of one of his actors who
+had suddenly fallen ill, as the performance was to come off in two days'
+time. The dress rehearsal of the piece, a well-known London comedy, was
+just about to commence in the Club theatre. Having consented I was borne
+off to it, a typed book placed in my hand and I dragged into the
+dressing-room to be "made up." I was already caught in the grip of the
+amusement machine.
+
+Next morning I was up before the sun to see the gorgeous panorama of the
+Everlasting Snows. As the day dawned the lower hills were shrouded in
+clouds; but high above them rose the long line of snow-clad summits,
+seeming to float in air, unreal, unsubstantial in their beauty; and
+Kinchinjunga's white and jagged crest towered over them all and was the
+first to flush with rose colour in the rays of the morning sun. Then a
+veil was slowly drawn over the glorious picture, as the clouds soared
+slowly up from the lower levels and hid the gorgeous vision from sight.
+
+I spent the day paying calls, rehearsing my part in the theatricals, and
+becoming acquainted with Darjeeling. I visited the beautiful Botanical
+Gardens, picturesquely situated on a steep slope and giving a wide view
+over the deep valleys below.
+
+I found that the transition from the two thousand feet height of Buxa to
+the seven thousand of Darjeeling was rather trying at first; as the
+least exertion of walking and climbing soon left me breathless. In a few
+days I was quite accustomed to the superior altitude.
+
+That night the bachelors of the Station gave a large ball in the
+Amusement Club. Their coat-of-arms--a bottle, slippers, and a pipe
+crossed with a latch-key--was blazoned on the walls. Gay was the
+revelry, which lasted well into the small hours; and I was glad that I
+was on leave and no early parade could claim me in the morning.
+
+On the following night came another ball given by the
+Lieutenant-Governor in his official residence. Government House was
+filled with the wearers of pretty frocks and varied uniforms; and in the
+glamour of scarlet and blue mess-jackets the black-coated civilian was
+for once at a discount. But, alas! for the mercenary nature of the fair
+sex; if he belong to the Indian Civil Service he is preferred to the
+soldier as a husband. For he is worth "L400 a year dead or alive"; for
+his widow will get that amount as a pension. Whereas an ungrateful
+country dowers a lieutenant's relict with L40 a year, a captain's with
+L70, a major's L100 and a colonel's L120. So how can the red-coat
+compete with him in the matrimonial stakes?
+
+The illuminated grounds of Government House and the cunningly-devised
+"kala juggas," as sitting-out places are termed in India, lured many of
+the dancers from the ball-room. At supper that night I sat at a small
+table with a merry little party consisting of the subaltern of my
+regiment on leave, Prince Rajendra of Cooch Behar and his partner, a
+pretty Armenian girl. And of the four of us two are now dead. The
+subaltern died a few months after attaining to his captaincy. Prince
+Rajendra soon succeeded his father as Maharajah, but only lived to enjoy
+his dignities two short years.
+
+Next night the Club theatre was filled with a kindly disposed and
+enthusiastic audience to witness our performance of the comedy. As India
+is rarely visited by professional companies, which only appear in the
+large cities, it is mainly dependent on the efforts of its amateur
+actors. But these often, through natural talent and much practice,
+attain a degree of excellence that would not disgrace the London stage.
+And few would gainsay this who saw the performances of "The Country
+Girl" given by another troop of amateurs before the end of my stay. They
+were under the direction of His Highness the Maharajah of Cooch Behar,
+who had lavished money on the production. The scenery and dresses had
+come from London; and the piece was magnificently staged. The singing,
+acting, and even the dancing could not be surpassed by at least any
+first-class touring company in England.
+
+The Maharajah had a house in Darjeeling where his entertainments were
+princely and his hospitality profuse. The ladies of his family were
+absent in Simla; but his sons were with him. Prince Rajendra, as
+befitted the heir apparent, had a separate house and an establishment of
+his own. Here one night I was present at a merry supper-party, after
+renewing my acquaintance and dining informally with the Maharajah.
+
+Every day of my short stay seemed to have its particular gaiety. The
+races at Lebong were a sporting and a fashionable event. Down the steep
+hill roads from Darjeeling, a thousand feet above, poured the stream of
+Europeans in rickshaws or on ponies and of natives afoot early in the
+afternoon to the miniature race-course which is built on the cut-away
+hill-top. There is scant room for any horse to bolt out of it; for a few
+yards will bring it to the edge of the precipitous slopes around. In
+fact, the "straight" for the run home is gained by finishing up the
+Darjeeling road. Most of the events were for hill ponies, sturdy and
+plucky little animals; and the jockeys were mainly natives. But the
+excitement of the crowds of race-goers of many shades of colour, the
+keenness of the plungers on the totalisator or with the few bookmakers,
+and the gaiety of the pleasure-seekers, could not be exceeded at Ascot
+or Epsom. The scene was an animated one. The enclosure was gay with the
+colours of the English ladies' frocks, the bright hues of Parsee women's
+_saris_, the white refreshment tents, and the uniforms of the military
+bandsmen; while outside was the varied crowd of British Infantry
+soldiers in red, gunners in blue, and natives of a score of different
+races, each in their distinctive garb. And over it all towered the
+heights of Darjeeling and Jalapahar; while on three sides lay the deep
+valleys, beyond which stood the mountains that barred the way to Sikkim
+and Tibet.
+
+Such is life in a Hill Station. To a man not devoted to social
+frivolities existence in them soon palls. He tires of the sameness of
+tennis in the afternoons, the vapid conversation of the tea-tables, and
+nights spent in the heated atmosphere of ball-rooms. But to the fair sex
+it appeals strongly; and they gladly hail the approach of the hot
+weather, which will free them from the monotony of small Stations in the
+plains and send them flocking to Simla, Darjeeling, Missourie or Naini
+Tal.
+
+Who would not be an English woman in India?
+
+As Gilbert says:
+
+    "They are treasured as precious stones
+    And for the self-same reason--for their scarcity."
+
+But they are not inclined to recognise this, and are apt to attribute
+the attentions paid them by the men to their own charms and not to the
+paucity of their sex in the land. Consequently they are too liable to
+become conceited and over-bearing and forgetful of the fact that
+courtesy _is_ a ladylike quality. It is perhaps not to be wondered at
+that their heads get turned. The plainest girl, who in England would
+spend most of her time at a ball sitting with her chaperon, in India can
+fill her programme thrice over. She, who in her country village sees no
+men of her own class except the parson and the doctor, out here finds
+herself among crowds of military officers and better-paid civilians who,
+prudence whispers, are more eligible _partis_. But the day has passed
+when any failure in the English marriage-market can be shipped off to
+India, sure of securing a husband there. Frequent leave and fast
+steamers have altered all that. When men can find themselves back in
+England in a fortnight they are not so prone to wed plain-featured and
+dowerless maidens, sent out in search of a spouse, as were their
+predecessors in the old days when it took six months in a sailing ship
+to reach London from Calcutta or Bombay. The attractive but penniless
+girl in India has still a better chance of marrying than she would in
+England; for she is thrown in daily companionship with a large number of
+bachelors. But many a damsel who, dispatched by her parents with a
+single ticket to distant relatives or mere acquaintances in the East,
+thinks on first arrival that she has only to pick and choose among the
+surplus men and give herself airs accordingly, is forced to write home
+for her return fare and go back reluctantly to the unwelcome existence
+of an old maid. To my mind there is something almost immoral in the
+custom which prevails of girls going out to India as paying-guests in
+the known, if unavowed, hope of securing a husband. But the practice
+grows every year.
+
+Yet the existence of a white woman in India is not all unalloyed
+pleasure. Her lot may be cast in some small out-of-the-way Station,
+where there is little society and less amusement. And even in larger
+places her life is empty enough. In the morning, perhaps, she goes for a
+ride and then has to shut herself up in her bungalow on account of the
+heat, until in the cool of the afternoon she can drive out to play
+tennis or golf and then go to the club, where she sits on the lawn and
+talks scandal with her female friends or, possibly, flirts with her male
+ones. She is not occupied with the cares of the household as is her less
+fortunate sister in England. Her cook goes to the bazaar early in the
+morning and then later appears before her to show her his account book
+and take her orders for the day. And she has little else to do to fill
+in the long, weary hours in the house from breakfast until tea-time. An
+occasional caller may come to pay his or her visit; but otherwise the
+time hangs heavy on her hands. Any accomplishments she may possess are
+apt to be neglected. Her reading is generally confined to novels from
+the Club library; and she seldom tries to improve her mind by more
+strenuous studies. In a land where all the white men are workers, she is
+idle. And so the English woman in the East is generally uninteresting.
+The gossip and scandal of the Station are her chief topics. The wonders
+of the country she lives in, the strange life of the peoples outside her
+door, the greater questions of Empire, are a sealed book to her; and she
+is generally as commonplace as her untravelled sisters in English
+country towns. The clever Mrs Hauksbees that Kipling depicts are
+rare--more's the pity, for Anglo-Indian society would be brighter if
+there were more of her type.
+
+The petty squabbles among the ladies of a small Station are pitiful.
+
+The Anglo-Indian wife too often takes little interest in her husband's
+work, and so cannot prove very companionable to him. And this probably
+accounts for the extraordinary latitude he allows her in seeking the
+society of some particular bachelor with whom she rides, drives and sits
+in the Club every day, who becomes a standing feature in her life. The
+_menage a trois_ flourishes in India.
+
+Hill stations have much to answer for in the frequency of domestic
+trouble in Anglo-Indian society. In the old days before they existed,
+and passages to England were long and costly, the wives stayed by their
+husbands' side for weal or woe. What the latter could endure their
+spouses were not afraid of. Now, at the first signs of the approach of
+the hot weather, the married ladies, as well as the maidens, fly to the
+Hills. In Darjeeling I met many who said they had not seen their
+husbands for eight months--and yet I found them in October booking their
+rooms in the hotels for the following March. Naturally this separation
+does not tend to the continuance of conjugal love. And there is a still
+greater danger. A married woman arriving from the Plains to take up her
+residence in a hotel probably finds no other woman in it whom she has
+known before. Among the guests there is sure to be a preponderance of
+her own sex; and though many ladies may call on her, they will probably
+be too much engrossed in their own concerns to give her much of their
+society. She sits by herself at table at meals and spends most of her
+time alone in her own room. Then some bachelor on leave, and staying
+perhaps at the same hotel, makes her acquaintance. He finds her pleasant
+and attractive, offers to join her in her solitary rides and walks,
+comes in often to chat with her in her private sitting-room, takes her
+to the many dances, and, as men are scarcer at them than in the
+ball-rooms of the Plains, engages half her programme and escorts her
+back to their hotel afterwards. Even from sheer loneliness she accepts
+his attentions and allows him to drop into the acknowledged position of
+her _cavaliere servente_. Two or three months of this daily, hourly
+companionship and--well, another Hill scandal is caused.
+
+The man who brings a pretty wife to India is brave; the one who sends
+her away from him for six or eight months in the year is, to say the
+least of it, unwise. It is not fair to her to expose her thus to
+temptation. Far be it from me to assert that every Hill grass-widow
+forgets her absent husband. But many do; and all the blame should not
+rest on them.
+
+The careful commanding officer of a regiment discourages his young
+subalterns from taking leave to Hill Stations. He knows that in such
+places mischief is too often found for idle hands. He urges them rather
+to go shooting in the jungles or in Kashmir. And certainly this latter
+is a better way for the youngster to spend his holiday than loafing
+about a Hill Station.
+
+Despite the novelty of the life in Darjeeling and its social gaieties I
+did not repine when my time came to quit it; and my heart rejoiced as I
+got out of the train at Buxa Road, mounted the elephant awaiting me, and
+rode through the silent forest towards my lonely hills.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV
+
+A JUNGLE FORT
+
+    I decide on Fort Bower--Felling trees--A big
+        python--Clearing the jungle--Laying out the
+        post--Stockades and _Sungars_--The bastions--_Panjis_
+        and _abattis_--The huts--Jungle materials--Ingenious
+        craftsmen--The
+        furniture--Sentry-posts--Alarm-signals--The
+        _machicoulis_ gallery--Booby-traps--The
+        water-lifter--The hospital--Chloroforming a
+        monkey--Jungle dogs--An extraordinary shot--An unlucky
+        deer--A meeting with a panther--The alarm--Sohanpal
+        Singh and the tiger--Turning out to the rescue--The
+        General's arrival--Closed gates--The inspection--The
+        "Bower" and the "'Ump"--Flares and bombs--The General's
+        praise--Night firing--A Christmas camp.
+
+
+The month of November in Buxa brought the end of the Rains and the
+beginning of the cold weather. Once more we could descend into the
+jungles below, for work or sport, without risking the deadly Terai
+fever. Our open-air military training, which had to be laid aside during
+the long, weary months of the Monsoon, was resumed.
+
+The warfare which the Assam Brigade would be called upon to wage would
+generally be against the savage jungle dwellers along the north-east
+borders. Consequently the training of the troops composing it demanded
+much practice in forest country; for, in the jungle, wide extensions and
+thin lines suitable to troops attacking in the open would be replaced by
+close formations, and the bayonet more often used than the bullet.
+Timber barriers would be substituted for earthworks, and the axe for the
+spade. In a jungle campaign, as the fighting column moved forward,
+stockaded posts would be established on the line of communication, in
+which convoys of supplies going to the front or of wounded or prisoners
+sent back to the rear could halt for the night under the protection of
+the permanent garrisons.
+
+When General Bower announced his intention of coming to hold his annual
+inspection of our detachment at the end of November, I determined to
+build such a stockaded post in the forest below Buxa Duar for him to
+see, and as useful instruction for my men. Consequently, three weeks
+before his arrival, I moved the double company down into the jungle.
+While Captain Balderston and I took up our abode in Forest Lodge, the
+sepoys bivouacked a few hundred yards away on a high bluff over a broad
+river-bed now almost dry. Here I proposed building our forest fort.
+
+Our first task consisted in clearing away the undergrowth, now denser
+than ever after the fires and Rains. With curved _kukris_ and straight
+_dahs_ the sepoys fell to work on the thick scrub and tangle of thorny
+bushes. Then came the harder labour of felling the trees for the
+stockades--and the tools that contractors supply the Government with are
+not of the best quality. The forest rang to the stroke of axes and the
+shouts of the sepoys who, delighted at the change from their ordinary
+routine, vied with each other in bringing the trees crashing to the
+ground. As I watched them one day I saw a sudden commotion among a
+group. The men scattered, then closed in again; and vicious blows at
+the ground, mingled with cries of "_samp!_", told me that they had
+disturbed a snake. Then on poles bending under its weight they brought
+me the body of a beautifully marked python nearly ten and a half feet
+long. Though not poisonous, such a beast would be a formidable
+antagonist. With the driving-power of its weight and muscle, its head
+could strike with the force of a battering ram; and a man's body,
+crushed in its folds, would soon be a shapeless pulp. I kept its skin as
+a companion to the king-cobra we had killed in Buxa.
+
+The plan I had decided on for the fort was a square, each side fifty
+yards long. For instructional purposes I varied the design of the faces.
+That on the river-bank was to be a _sungar_--a loopholed wall, seven
+feet high and three feet thick, of large boulders from the _nullah_
+below. The east side opposite it was to be a loopholed stockade of
+single timbers two feet thick and fourteen feet above the ground. Each
+of the other two faces was to be a "double stockade" of shorter trees,
+that is, each two timber walls four feet apart, the space between them
+being filled with earth. At opposite corners were bastions, or towers,
+eighteen feet high, projecting out, and thus each giving a flanking fire
+along two faces of the fort. They were arranged for three tiers of fire,
+one row of loopholes three feet from the ground for men kneeling, one
+four and a half feet for others standing, the third above a gallery
+running round inside the top. Below the galleries the bastions were
+roofed in and formed barrack-rooms for the guards.
+
+[Illustration: THE WALLED FACE OF FORT BOWER OVER THE RIVER.]
+
+[Illustration: THE STOCKADE AND DITCH AT FORT BOWER.]
+
+In front of the three stockaded sides of the fort a broad, V-shaped
+ditch was dug, five feet deep. On the fourth face the bank fell sheer
+thirty or forty feet to the river; and built out over the _nullah_ on
+tree-trunks laid horizontally, their butts buried in the ground, was a
+gallery projecting from the stone wall. It was loopholed for men to
+fire, not only on three sides, but also directly beneath them down into
+the river-bed. Entrance to it was gained from a small door in the wall.
+Close to it, and similarly projecting over the _nullah_, was a device
+copied from the savage tribes of the frontier. This was a booby-trap, a
+bamboo platform hinged and held up by thick, hawser-like creepers
+fastened inside the wall. On it were piled rocks. A couple of blows with
+an axe would cut through the supporting creepers; and the platform,
+falling, would shower down an avalanche of huge stones on the heads of
+enemies gathered close under the sheer bank, and safe from the rifles of
+the defenders above. These traps are largely used by the Nagas, Mishmis,
+and other wild races along the borders of Assam and Burma. They are
+placed over steep and narrow mountain paths and discharged with
+disastrous effect on foes toiling up to the assault. During the Abor War
+they were frequently tried on General Bower who was too wary to be
+caught by them. He always took the precaution of sending parties of
+Gurkhas to scale the heights to search for and cut the booby-traps away
+before his column passed under them.
+
+As the shallow stream ran close to the bank we erected, behind the wall,
+a dipping-pole and bucket to bring up water without danger from hostile
+fire to the men fetching it.
+
+Our stockades would have proved very unpleasant obstacles to surmount.
+They had a forward rake to increase by the overhang the difficulty of
+escalading them. And along their tops was fastened a tangle of cut and
+sharp-pointed branches projecting well outwards, so that it was almost
+impossible to climb over.
+
+In attacking a stockade the assailants try to get close up to it, fire
+in through the loopholes and hack it down with axes. To prevent this,
+six-foot _panjis_--sharpened bamboo stakes, their pointed ends hardened
+by fire--stuck thickly out from the face of our stockades. On the near
+slope of the ditches lines of _panjis_ projected with their points at a
+downward angle; while on the far side fences of sharpened bamboos were
+planted. At the bottom of the ditches _chevaux de frise_ of long
+_panjis_ were fixed.
+
+These _panjis_ inflict ghastly injuries, and are more dangerous than
+bayonets. An officer of my acquaintance, when leading an assault on a
+stockade held by dacoits in Burma, ran against a _panji_ which
+transfixed his thigh. He was eleven months in hospital before the wound
+healed; and for many years afterwards he was lame.
+
+For twenty yards beyond the ditches the ground was covered with a
+five-feet-high entanglement of felled trees. Their butts were lashed to
+stout pegs driven deep into the earth. Their thinner branches were
+lopped off, the thicker ones cut and trimmed with sharp points towards
+the front. In military parlance this is called an _abattis_.
+
+Anyone endeavouring to rush the defences of our fort would have found it
+a difficult feat, even if no bullets were showered on him from the
+loopholes. He would first have to force his way through twenty yards of
+entanglement, then climb a sharp-pointed fence, pass the _chevaux de
+frise_ in the ditch, get by the downward-pointing _panjis_, evade the
+six-foot stakes projecting from the face of the stockade, and climb over
+the stockade itself through the overhead tangle of branches. And to do
+it under a hot fire would be almost impossible. To attack such a post
+successfully guns would be necessary--and a well-built double stockade
+would withstand light artillery.
+
+For our own use winding paths led through the _abattis_ to drawbridges
+before the two gates. These latter were of bamboo, hinged at the top and
+opening outwards and upwards, supported when open by high, forked poles.
+In each was a small wicket constructed on the same principle and only
+wide enough to admit one man at a time. Wickets and gates were stuck
+thick with projecting _panjis_.
+
+Trees in the interior of the post were left standing to give shade, as
+were others growing in the line of the defences. And in the latter,
+forty feet from the ground, were platforms reached by ladders and hidden
+by the leafy branches. On them the sentries were stationed; and from
+them, during a night attack, men could fire and hurl bombs down on the
+assailants who would find it difficult to locate their position. From
+these sentry posts stout cords of twisted _udal_ fibre led to kerosene
+oil tins hung up in the quarters occupied by officers and section
+commanders. In the tins stones were put, so that a pull on the cords
+would rattle the tins throughout the post and arouse the defenders
+without an approaching enemy being aware that the alarm had been given.
+
+So much for the defences. As such a post would be constructed with a
+view to long occupation the question of housing the garrison comfortably
+remained. In the interior along each face two huts, each to hold a
+section of twenty or twenty-five men, with huts for the native officers,
+were built. The roofs were thickly thatched. The back and side walls
+were made of two rows of bamboo a foot apart, with rammed earth between
+them. The front walls were lightly made of bamboo and hinged at the top
+to open outwards and upwards in an emergency, so that the whole section
+could come out in line. For ordinary use a small door sufficed. Along
+the back wall ran a sloping guard-bed, with a broad shelf underneath, on
+which the sepoys' clothing could be laid. Overhead were pegs for their
+rifles and accoutrements.
+
+Along the cross-roads through the fort were built the storerooms,
+hospital, and native followers' quarters. And on them were also the Mess
+and huts for the British officers. These were quite comfortable little
+cottages, the walls of split bamboo with the latticed windows and the
+doors screened by blinds of cane strips. The floors and walls were
+covered with two-inch mats of jungle grass.
+
+The sepoys proved themselves wonderfully ingenious craftsmen and made
+excellent furniture for our quarters. Out of the ever-useful bamboo they
+constructed beds, chairs, tables, and writing-desks with drawers and
+pigeon-holes. And like the fort and everything else in it, the jungle
+provided the materials for all this furniture, in which not a nail was
+used; for it was held together by lashings of bamboo bark or _udal_
+fibre.
+
+All this was not quickly done. The building of the defences and the
+huts and the construction of a military bridge across the river took
+every day of the three weeks before the General's arrival. Our working
+hours were from 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. with an hour's interval at noon for
+food. But the sepoys revelled in their novel labours and looked on them
+as a welcome change from the monotony of drill. So interested were they
+that I often found them at work long after the bugle had sounded the
+"dismiss" in the evening; and when I told them to knock off, they would
+reply: "Oh, Sahib, we would like to finish this to-day."
+
+[Illustration: THE GATE CLOSED, WITH WICKET OPEN AND DRAWBRIDGE LOWERED.]
+
+[Illustration: CAPTAIN BALDERSTON INSIDE THE STOCKADE.]
+
+Our comfortable and airy little hospital was rarely tenanted. Almost the
+only patient our medical officer had was a pet monkey which required a
+surgical operation. The native sub-assistant surgeon, who took the
+proceedings very seriously, was called on to administer the anaesthetic.
+Chloroform was poured on a wad of wool in a paper cone which, much to
+the patient's annoyance, was pressed firmly against its muzzle. It
+scratched and bit for quite a long time before sinking into
+unconsciousness. And when, after the surgeon's knife had been swiftly
+and dexterously plied, it came back to life again it looked a very sick
+monkey indeed. Wrapped up in a towel with only its tiny puckered face
+showing, it presented such a woebegone and comical appearance that the
+onlookers were moved to unseemly mirth. But the little beast was too ill
+to care, though usually it fiercely resented being laughed at.
+
+We were too busy during these weeks to do any shooting. But a curious
+bit of _shikar_ fell to my lot one day. While I was superintending the
+building of the fort a sepoy who had been gathering stones for the wall
+ran up to tell me that he had seen some curious little animals in the
+_nullah_. Borrowing an ancient Martini rifle from a native officer, I
+ran down to the river-bed and found several wild dogs playing on the
+sand a few hundred yards away in front of a small island covered with
+thick undergrowth. On seeing me they bolted. I took a hurried shot at
+one and missed it, the bullet glancing off a rock behind which the dog
+had disappeared. To my horror a low wailing cry issued from the bushes
+on the island behind. Alarmed at the thought that I might have wounded
+one of my sepoys, I ran to the spot. There to my astonishment I found a
+barking deer standing up with half its face blown away. The unlucky
+beast had been struck by my chance bullet. Its shrieks were piteous and
+almost human, until we put it out of its pain.
+
+Another day a sepoy cutting bamboos was disturbed by a herd of wild
+elephants. He had the sense to remain motionless; and the animals passed
+without seeing him.
+
+One evening another man met a more dangerous beast. He had gone down at
+dusk to bathe in the river just below the fort and came face to face
+with a panther drinking. The man was unarmed; but fortunately for him
+the brute only growled and trotted away.
+
+One Sunday afternoon we had a serious alarm. No work being done on that
+day two of the native officers, taking a few sepoys with them, had gone
+out with shot-guns to look for jungle fowl. Splitting up into two
+parties they separated and beat through the undergrowth a few hundred
+yards away from the fort. Suddenly one of them came upon a tiger which
+snarled viciously at them and retreated in a direction which would bring
+him upon the other party. With this was Subhedar Sohanpal Singh, the
+sturdy old Rajput who had been my companion in the long chase after the
+rogue elephant.
+
+A sepoy came running back to the fort with the news. Seizing a rifle, I
+turned out a number of men with their arms and ammunition and hurried
+off to the rescue. Reaching the spot where the tiger had been seen, we
+searched the jungle for it and for Sohanpal Singh's party until dusk,
+without result. We shouted the _subhedar's_ name loudly but got no
+answer. When night fell we returned to the fort. I was in hopes that the
+missing party had passed us in the jungle and got in safely. When I
+found that it had not come back I began to be seriously alarmed. But I
+reflected that it contained four men and that the tiger could hardly
+have killed them all and not left one to bring back the news. The
+missing men returned at ten o'clock. They had not actually seen the
+tiger but had heard it growling close to them in the thick undergrowth.
+As one of the sepoys had his rifle with him, Sohanpal Singh took it and
+tried to get a shot at the animal. The beast retreated slowly before
+him, growling all the time, but keeping in dense jungle where he could
+not see it. In vain the _subhedar_ tried to get ahead and cut it off. He
+and his party followed the tiger until night put an end to the
+tantalising pursuit. Then, when they tried to retrace their steps, they
+lost their way in the darkness and wandered blindly through the jungle
+for hours until they struck the river.
+
+On the day of General Bower's arrival I sent two elephants to bring him
+and his staff officer with their baggage from Buxa Road Station.
+Balderston and I awaited him in the fire line about four hundred yards
+from our fort. When our visitors reached us they dismounted and shook
+hands with us. After our greetings were over I said to the General:
+
+"You told me last year, sir, to teach my men the art of making
+themselves and their officers comfortable in the jungle. You have got to
+test the result of my instruction practically now. You must live in a
+jungle hut, sleep on a jungle bed, sit at jungle-made tables on
+jungle-made chairs."
+
+General Bower laughed. "Is the jungle supplying my food too?" he asked.
+
+"Yes, sir; jungle fowl and venison. Captain Balderston wanted to give
+you wild vegetables from the jungle as well. But I tried them myself
+once; and as I don't want a bad report of my detachment, I dare not
+offer them to you."
+
+I led the way along a road which we had cut through the forest. Where it
+emerged on the clearing around our post I stopped and said:
+
+"There is the fort."
+
+Our visitors looked about them in astonishment. For, at a distance of
+two hundred yards, the stockades with the living trees in them behind
+the tangle of _abattis_ could not be distinguished from the surrounding
+jungle. In warfare this would be a great advantage, because it would
+come as a surprise on an advancing enemy.
+
+[Illustration: BRINGING HOME THE GENERAL'S DINNER.]
+
+When we reached the _abattis_, we passed down the winding path through
+it and stopped at the edge of the ditch. For, in order to give the
+General a good idea of the strength of our defences, I had ordered
+that the gates should be closed and the drawbridges raised. On a board
+above the gateway were painted the words "Fort Bower," the name given by
+the sepoys to the post in honour of our inspecting officer. Having
+allowed our visitors time to be suitably impressed by the formidable
+stockade and the grim-looking _panjis_ in the ditch, I called to the
+sentry hidden forty feet above us in a tree:
+
+"Open the gate!"
+
+The invisible doorkeeper pulled a string to inform the guard in the
+bastion. Then the heavy drawbridge fell across the ditch, the gate was
+raised and held up in position by the supporting forked poles.
+
+"That is very ingenious," said the General as he entered the fort.
+
+The men's huts were first inspected; and then we proceeded to the
+officer's quarters on the main street. We showed the General the cosy
+little two-roomed cottage he was to occupy, and pointed out the name
+painted on it, "The Bower."
+
+"Captain Humphreys' quarters are next door," we told him. "They gave us
+more trouble to find a title for. When we thought that the brigade
+major, Major Hutchinson, was to accompany you, the name suggested
+itself--we'd have called it 'The Hutch.' But when we heard that
+Humphreys was coming instead we were puzzled--until the idea occurred to
+us to name it 'The 'Ump.'"
+
+The General seemed to appreciate the mild joke more than his staff
+officer did. I pulled up the cane blind on the door of "The Bower" and
+invited the General to enter and see his jungle abode.
+
+"Here, sir, is your hat-rack," I said, showing a bamboo pole stuck in
+the flooring, its top split open into several points held apart by a
+cone of wood, thus providing a number of pegs. I drew his attention to
+an ingeniously-made writing-table with pigeon-holes and drawers. Then we
+passed into the inner room. Here a comfortable bed had been formed by
+driving the ends of six forked sticks, arranged in a parallelogram, into
+the earth. In the forks four light poles had been laid and fastened,
+making the head, foot and sides of the bedstead. Then across from side
+to side were tied split bamboos, which formed a bottom as elastic as
+steel springs. On it was laid a grass mat, three inches thick, as a
+mattress. The best bed ever turned out by Maple's could not have been
+more comfortable. Against the walls stood a bamboo dressing-table and a
+washstand. On the latter was an enamelled iron basin, the only article I
+could not replace from the jungle. But above it hung a length of hollow
+bamboo filled with water and pierced near the bottom by a hole now
+plugged. I withdrew the plug; and the water poured down into the basin.
+
+The General gazed around admiringly.
+
+"These contrivances are very clever," he said; "and there is no doubt
+that now your sepoys know how to make themselves and their officers very
+comfortable with the help only of jungle materials. All this is very
+ingenious and practical."
+
+After lunch the General inspected the defences and asked to see the
+sepoys man them. I led him up the ladder into the _machan_ or platform
+occupied by the sentry in a tree over the river-bank. The men were all
+shut up in their huts.
+
+"Give the alarm," I said to the sentry.
+
+He gathered in his hand the strings leading from the _machan_ to the
+officers' and section-leaders' quarters and pulled them. Throughout the
+fort we could faintly hear the stones rattling in the suspended tins.
+Instantly the fronts of the huts were raised; and the men of each
+section came silently out in line and went straight to the loopholes
+they had been posted to.
+
+"That is the best device I have seen yet," said General Bower. "The
+whole camp can be simultaneously aroused at once without any noise being
+heard by an approaching enemy, who would remain in ignorance of the fact
+that the defenders were on the alert. Consequently they would come on
+confidently in fancied security until they exposed themselves to a
+sudden fire at close range."
+
+Climbing down from the _machan_ he inspected the booby trap. At a
+signal, men inside the wall cut the creepers supporting the outer end of
+the bamboo platform which fell on its hinges and sent an avalanche of
+rocks into the _nullah_ below.
+
+As soon as it was dark we went out on to the gallery projecting over the
+river-bed. From it cords led to bombs buried in the sand and piled
+around with stones. They were made of bamboos filled with powder and
+fitted with a rifle cartridge so arranged that, on pulling the cord, a
+rock fell on a nail which struck the cartridge-cap and exploded the
+bomb.
+
+We fired these off one after another. The explosions hurled the stones
+in all directions with terrific force. Captain Balderston had devised an
+arrangement similar to the old Roman catapults for throwing
+hand-grenades over a hundred yards. He gave us an exhibition of this. On
+the sand of the river-bed bonfires had been piled to be set on fire by
+flares ignited by men tripping against cords laid along the ground.
+These were now worked; and the flames rose high and lit up the _nullah_
+clearly, so that anyone in it was plainly visible from the fort.
+
+Our dinner that night in the thatched bamboo hut dignified by the title
+of "Officers' Mess" was quite a festive affair. Our forest fare was much
+appreciated by our visitors; for it comprised _sambhur_ soup, roast
+jungle fowls and the delicate venison of a barking deer. But the river
+was not called upon to supply the liquor for our feast. General Bower
+was as full of good stories as ever; and long after the sepoys had
+turned in for the night their slumbers must have been disturbed by the
+hearty laughter of their Sahibs in the Mess.
+
+The next two days were occupied in doing manoeuvres through the jungle.
+
+At the conclusion of the inspection General Bower ordered me to form up
+the detachment and made a little speech to the men. He praised all ranks
+for their keenness and efficiency and complimented them on the ingenuity
+displayed in the construction of the fort.
+
+"You have made its defences so strong," he said, "that without artillery
+it would be almost impossible for an assault on it to be successful. I
+am very pleased with what you have done and at hearing from your Major
+Sahib how well and how willingly you have worked. I shall give this
+detachment a very good report."
+
+The Indians, like other races, love their meed of praise; and at the
+General's words the sepoys' faces beamed. Contrary to strict ideas of
+discipline Subhedar Sohanpal Singh, standing in front of his company,
+turned to his men and cried:
+
+"Three cheers for the General Sahib!"
+
+And as General Bower, having said good-bye to us and mounted his
+elephant, disappeared in the jungle on his way to the railway station,
+the hearty cheers of the sepoys followed him.
+
+For the remainder of our stay in Buxa Duar Fort Bower served to
+accommodate officers and men whenever we went down into the forest for
+military training. On one occasion we had some useful practice in
+night-firing from it. In the cleared space around it and in the
+river-bed targets were placed to represent an attacking army. A hundred
+yards from the defences bonfires, to be lit by flares ignited by cords
+leading into the fort, were arranged. When darkness fell these were set
+alight. The leaping flames showed up the targets, at which the sepoys
+fired through the loopholes of stockade and wall with very good results.
+At the time I had an American Cavalry officer on a visit to me. This was
+his first experience of the Indian Army at work; and he was very much
+impressed by it.
+
+At Christmas, Balderston and I invited friends to come to us for a
+shooting camp. Fort Bower served us as a residence; and from it we
+sallied out every morning into the forest on our elephants. On Christmas
+Day we added to our usual fare of jungle fowl and venison a plum pudding
+and mince-pies sent out from England, brewed punch, and in the heart of
+the jungle, thousands of miles from home, kept the feast in the good old
+fashion.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV
+
+FAREWELL TO THE HILLS
+
+    The Proclamation Parade--An unsteady charger--"Three cheers
+        for the King-Emperor!"--The Indian Army's loyalty--King
+        George and the sepoys--A land held by the sword--An
+        American Cavalry officer's visit--Hospitality of
+        American officers--Killing by kindness--The brotherhood
+        of soldiers--The bond between American and British
+        troops sealed by blood--U.S. officers' opinion of us--A
+        roaring tiger--Prince Jitendra Narayen--His visit to
+        Buxa--An intoxicated monkey--Projected visits--A road
+        report--A sketch fourteen feet long--The
+        start--Jalpaiguri--A planters' dinner-party--Crossing
+        the Tista River--A quicksand--A narrow
+        escape--Map-making in the army--In the China War of
+        1860--Officers' sketches used for the Canton Railway
+        survey--The country south of the hills--A sepoy's
+        explanation of Kinchinjunga--A native officer's theory
+        of the cause of earthquakes--Types on the road--After
+        the day's work--A man-eater--A brave postman--Human
+        beings killed by wild animals and snakes in
+        India--Crocodiles--Shooting a monster--Crocodiles on
+        land--Crossing the Torsa--Value of small
+        detachments--The maligned military officer--A life of
+        examinations--The man-killing elephant again--Death of
+        a Bhuttia woman--Ordered home--A last good-bye to a
+        comrade--Captain Balderston's death--A last view of the
+        hills.
+
+
+When our Christmas shoot ended I returned to Buxa with our guests in
+time to hold the Proclamation Parade; for on 1st January, 1877, Queen
+Victoria was proclaimed Empress of India, and on this date every year
+the event is celebrated in military Stations throughout our Eastern
+Empire by a parade of troops in garrison. Even in our little outpost
+we did not forget to honour the day.
+
+[Illustration: "I WAS MOUNTED ON A COUNTRYBRED PONY."]
+
+[Illustration: "AN ELEPHANT LOADED WITH MY STORES AND BAGGAGE."]
+
+On the drill ground a flagstaff had been erected, from which flew the
+Union Jack. The two companies of the detachment, officers and men in
+their full-dress uniform of scarlet and blue, were drawn up in line
+facing it. Captain Balderston rode a pony recently purchased from a
+planter, which strongly objected to soldiers and refused to go near the
+troops. No persuasions of its rider could induce it to approach the
+line; and when Balderston called the men to attention on my arrival and
+the rifles were brought smartly to the "slope," his disobedient charger
+swung round and bolted with him off the parade ground, jumping a ditch
+and nearly ending both their careers in a deep _nullah_. I was mounted
+on a country-bred pony which I had brought from Darjeeling and trained
+to troops. Deprived of the assistance of my second in command I started
+the parade. After the royal salute had been given, the men fired the
+_feu de joie_, when the rifles are discharged one by one along the front
+rank from right to left and back again in the opposite direction down
+the rear rank. Then taking off my helmet I gave the command "Three
+cheers for the King Emperor!"; and the hills re-echoed the shouts of the
+sepoys. A useless ceremony this, to the Little Englander; yet one
+fraught with deep meaning and stirring the heart to the core; for at
+that moment throughout the Indian Empire from the Himalayas to Colombo,
+from Aden to Mandalay, the cheers of His Majesty's soldiers, white and
+black, were ringing in loyal chorus.
+
+Fifty years ago, in the dark days of the Mutiny, the revolted sepoy
+regiments faced their erstwhile comrades in battle; but the guilt of
+that black crime has long ago been purged in blood and obliterated by
+faithful service; and to-day the Kaiser-i-Hind has no more loyal
+soldiers than the men of his Indian Army. Until a few years ago the
+Sovereign was only a name to the warrior races that fill its ranks. But
+King George by his visits to India has made them realise his existence.
+He has given his Indian subjects what Orientals always desire, the
+knowledge that they have a living monarch. And by so doing he has
+changed the vague loyalty of the sepoys into a real and affectionate
+attachment to the person of their ruler. The native troops whom he
+reviewed, who lined the streets or formed his Guards of Honour in
+Bombay, Delhi and Calcutta, rejoice to have actually seen their
+"_Badshah_" (Emperor) and proudly boast of it to others who have not
+been so fortunate. Only we officers of the Indian Army can fully realise
+how much this means, how wise were the councils that dictated his visits
+to India.
+
+For, despite the politician and the civil servant, we hold the land, as
+we won it, by the sword. No concessions to the clamour of the _babus_ of
+Bengal will retain the loyalty of this country. It rests on the weapons
+and in the hearts of the gallant warrior races that aided us to conquer
+India and help us to retain it. Would that the Englishman in England
+could realise the fact!
+
+Shortly after the departure of our guests who had come for the Christmas
+shoot, I received a long-expected visit from an American officer,
+Captain Brees, 1st United States Cavalry. Years before, in China, Japan,
+and California I had foregathered with a cheery Irish subaltern of his
+regiment, Lieutenant Coghlan, who had won his commission in the fierce
+fighting in Luzon. And when Captain Brees, their corps being then in the
+Philippine Islands, arranged to visit India on his way home on leave to
+his native country, Lieutenant Coghlan guaranteed him a warm welcome
+from me. For I felt that I owed a debt of gratitude to every officer of
+the American Army for the kindly hospitality I had received from them in
+the United States--from the Pacific to the Atlantic. Before I landed in
+San Francisco, Coghlan, then stationed in Los Angeles and unable to come
+to meet me, had written to friends of his in regiments quartered in the
+Army Post in the Presidio, the Golden City's splendid park, and asked
+them to welcome me in his stead. As soon as I arrived not only they, but
+a score of other officers of the garrison, had made their way through
+the ruins of the city not long before devastated by earthquake and fire
+to give me that welcome to their country. They offered me all the
+hospitality of their camp and clubs. A Cavalry regiment on the point of
+departing for their summer training in the famous Yosemite Valley
+extended a cordial invitation to accompany them and promised me a horse,
+a tent, and rations. The Field Battery offered to mount me whenever I
+liked to march out with them. I was asked to every military
+entertainment; and at every regimental dance my hosts saw that I had my
+programme full.
+
+One night at a magnificent entertainment at the Fairmont Hotel in
+celebration of the first anniversary of the earthquake and San
+Francisco's phoenix-like rising again from the flames, a civilian asked
+me if I belonged to the Indian Army. On my replying in the affirmative
+he begged to be allowed to introduce me to two friends of his present
+that night, American officers on leave from another Station, as they
+were anxious to meet an officer of my Service. As I shook hands with
+them, one said:
+
+"We've been looking for a fellow in the Indian Army."
+
+"Which one?" I asked.
+
+"Anyone. It doesn't matter who. We want to kill him," was the alarming
+reply.
+
+"Good Heaven! why?" I queried apprehensively, backing away from him.
+
+"Say, don't be afraid," he answered, laughingly. "We only mean to kill
+him with kindness. The fact is that we have just been on leave through
+India and Burma; and your fellows were so good to us everywhere we went
+that we have been looking for any stray officer of your army to give us
+an opportunity of returning their hospitality."
+
+"That's so," said his companion. "Now, what can we do for you? Dine you,
+wine you, or lend you money?"
+
+And when I told them that the unbounded kindness of their comrades in
+San Francisco had left me nothing to desire, they were very
+disappointed.
+
+Between the soldiers of every nationality there is a bond of
+brotherhood; and never have I found it so strong as between American
+officers and ours in the too few occasions on which they have met.
+
+"Blood is thicker than water"; and in the China War of 1900 Uncle Sam's
+troops and the British seemed to form one army. Side by side they fought
+in the grim combats around Tientsin. On the day when the city was
+stormed, when the pouches of the gallant 9th United States Infantry
+were empty, their brave colonel, Liscum, and a score of men killed, and
+four officers and seventy-two men wounded out of total of two hundred
+Americans engaged, a British officer, Ollivant, was killed in trying to
+replenish their ammunition, another, Major Pereira, was wounded in
+trying to bring in their injured, and Lieutenant Phillimore and his
+bluejackets of H.M.S. _Barfleur_ helped them to hold their ground, and
+brought back their wounded.
+
+In less strenuous days in North China after the fighting, our American
+friends there told us that they found us very different to their
+preconceived ideas of the English officer, whom they had pictured as a
+languidly haughty individual, inseparable from his eyeglass, and
+prefacing every remark by "I say, by Jove!" They frankly admitted that
+they had come prepared to dislike us, but had found us on acquaintance
+not such bad fellows after all.
+
+Similarly Captain Brees confessed to me that he had been obliged to
+reconstruct all his preconceived ideas of British military men as soon
+as he had met them. Before his departure from Manila I had sent him
+letters of introduction to many of our officers in Hong Kong, Singapore,
+Colombo and Calcutta. He told me that on arriving in Hong Kong he had
+hesitated to avail himself of them but, hardening his heart, had at last
+dispatched them to the addresses.
+
+"I can tell you, major," he said, "that, with the ideas I had of what
+your fellows would be like, I was considerably surprised when several of
+them swooped down upon me in my hotel and insisted on my transferring
+myself and my baggage at once to their quarters, where they entertained
+me royally for the rest of my stay in Hong Kong. The same in Singapore.
+And when my ship reached Calcutta, two British officers came on board as
+soon as the anchor dropped, took me ashore, and gave me a bully time
+there. I tell you that after this you can just inform any of your army
+friends that, if they visit America, their address is '1st United States
+Cavalry.' And don't you forget it!"
+
+"Jimmy" Brees was one of the most charming men I have ever known; and
+everywhere he went in India he made a most favourable impression on all
+our officers who met him. In Buxa we could not offer him any social
+gaieties; but we made him free of the jungle, taught him to ride on and
+shoot from elephants, and did the little we could to entertain him.
+
+Once, after a long day in the forest on Khartoum's back, we climbed up
+into Forest Lodge to dine and sleep. Exhausted by his tiring experience,
+Brees had just fallen asleep and I was preparing to follow his example,
+when I heard a tiger roaring in the jungle close to my lofty
+tree-dwelling, and apparently approaching us. I was delighted to give my
+guest the opportunity of at least hearing a tiger and possibly shooting
+it in the moonlight if it came close enough. So I sprang out of bed,
+seized my rifle and, posting myself at the window, called out over my
+shoulder:
+
+"Wake up, Jimmy, wake up! There is a tiger close by."
+
+"Eh? What?" came the sleepy reply.
+
+"Get up, man, get up!" I whispered excitedly. "I tell you there's a
+tiger near us. It may come close enough to give us a shot at it."
+
+But the fatigues of the day had been too much for him. A loud snore was
+his only answer; and although the tiger roamed around the house for half
+an hour, uttering its peculiar snorting roar, it never woke him.
+However, he lost nothing but the noise; for, though I sat eagerly
+expectant by the window for a long time, the brute never came within
+range.
+
+My next visitor was Prince Jitendra Narayen, now through the death of
+his eldest brother Maharajah of Cooch Behar. Before Darjeeling came into
+existence as a Hill Station the rulers of his State possessed a house in
+Buxa Duar, to which they used to come in the summer to avoid the heat of
+the Plains. But this was before the day of the present generation of the
+family, none of whom, except the then Maharajah, had ever visited Buxa.
+So Prince "Jit" was glad of an opportunity of seeing our small Station,
+and spent several days with me. As he belonged to the Imperial Service
+Cadet Corps he was keenly interested in military matters, and passed
+much time in watching our detachment at work. Like his father, he was an
+ardent sportsman and good shot; and, used to the more open country south
+of the forest, he enjoyed wandering on one of our elephants through our
+dense jungle in search of _sambhur_. His cheery manner made him popular
+with everyone in Buxa--except our pet monkey. For that little beast,
+having a severe cold, was given whisky-and-milk one day, and, imbibing
+too freely, became absolutely drunk. Its antics as it reeled about the
+mess-room were extremely comical and made us all roar with laughter. It
+seemed to pardon its owners' want of good manners but resented Prince
+Jitendra's mirth as an impertinence in a stranger. Swaying drunkenly as
+it tried to stand on its hind legs, it chattered and shrieked with rage
+at him and endeavoured to stagger across the room to bite him, falling
+down and rolling helplessly on the floor on its way. And next morning it
+was plain to see that it suffered from a bad headache. But when Jit
+entered the Mess at breakfast-time and condoled with it on its evident
+pain, it flew at him and attacked him savagely.
+
+When my guest returned to Cooch Behar I accompanied him. At the Palace
+his account of the beauties of Buxa Duar made the ladies of the family
+eager to see the place; and it was arranged that Her Highness the
+Maharani and her two daughters, the Princess Pretiva and Sudhira, should
+pay us a visit in our outpost. The Maharajah's four sons were also to
+come at another time, bringing all the elephants belonging to the State,
+to join me in making a systematic search for a rogue which was
+committing havoc in the forest near Buxa. But the Maharajah's illness,
+which necessitated his going to Europe for medical treatment and which
+resulted in his lamented death the following year, deprived me of the
+pleasure of these visits.
+
+Shortly after Prince Jitendra's departure an order from the brigadier to
+report on and sketch eighty-four miles of road and country across
+Eastern Bengal afforded me an opportunity of seeing something of this
+province south of the Terai Jungle. The task was no light one. The
+military sketch was to be executed on a scale of two inches to a mile;
+so that I had to make a map fourteen feet long! It was to begin more
+than twenty miles west of Jalpaiguri, a town on the railway to Siliguri
+and Darjeeling, the route running parallel to the mountains and thirty
+or forty miles south of them, and ended at Alipur Duar.
+
+As the ground to be traversed contained no towns where I could purchase
+supplies, I had to make my own arrangements for food as well as
+transport. I might find an empty _dak_ bungalow here and there; but it
+behoved me to carry a tent with me. So, dispatching my pony and an
+elephant loaded with my baggage and stores to march across country and
+meet me at Jalpaiguri, I went by train to this station, reaching it of
+course several days before my animals could arrive. There I borrowed an
+elephant from the police officer, bought some tinned provisions and
+flour, and set out west along the twenty-four miles of road to the spot
+where I was to begin my sketch. I was fortunate in finding _dak_
+bungalows on it every ten or twelve miles in which to shelter at night.
+At the first of these I was informed by the native in charge of it that
+on a tank--as ponds and lakes are called in India--about six miles away
+I would find hundreds of duck. So I shouldered my gun and set out across
+the fields. I discovered the tank and from a distance saw that the water
+was dotted with birds. Cautiously stalking them, with glowing
+anticipations of wild duck for dinner, I reached the bank to find that
+they were coots and "divers." Not even a snipe rewarded me for my long
+walk; and I returned to the _dak_ bungalow to give my misinformant my
+candid and unflattering opinion of him.
+
+Next day I reached the spot where my sketch was to begin. My
+starting-point was near another _dak_ bungalow, perched on a little hill
+overlooking a broad river flowing through thin jungle and
+well-cultivated fields. Here I turned my face towards Jalpaiguri and
+commenced my task. Cavalry sketching-case in hand I walked along the
+road through open and uninteresting country, counting my paces as
+measurement and filling in the meagre details of the country on either
+hand on my map. I completed the mapping of the twenty-four miles in two
+days.
+
+Arrived at Jalpaiguri I had to wait there a day for my elephant and
+pony, which were accompanied by my butler and a sepoy orderly, as well
+as the _mahout_ and a _syce_; so that with Draj Khan, who was already
+with me, I had quite a following. Jalpaiguri is built on the west bank
+of the broad Tista River, which flows from Sikkim through the Himalayas
+to the plains of Bengal. The civil Station contains the usual
+Anglo-Indian community of such a town, the deputy commissioner, a judge,
+a settlement officer, a Public Works Department engineer, a police
+officer and a few more Europeans. There are no troops there. The
+engineer who had visited me at Buxa, which was in his charge, kindly
+offered me the shelter of his bungalow; and I was hospitably entertained
+by everyone in the Station. I came in for a very merry dinner-party
+given at the club by a number of planters of the neighbourhood to two
+members of their community who were leaving India for England. Near
+midnight we escorted the guests to the railway station and considerably
+delayed the mail train by our lengthy good-byes and parting libations.
+In vain the stationmaster, the guard, and the engine-driver in turn
+stormed, argued, and pleaded with the two departing planters to take
+their seats and let the train start. Sleepy and irate English passengers
+put their heads out of the carriage windows and cursed the causes of
+the delay. One of our party had to be stopped by main force from pouring
+a whisky-and-soda into the interior mechanism of what he declared to be
+"a poor thirsty engine that nobody thought of offering a drink to." The
+native stationmaster, torn between his dread of official reprimand for
+delaying the mail and his fear of displeasing the Sahibs of his town,
+almost wept as he implored the party to end their farewells and let the
+train depart.
+
+My transport having arrived that night I continued on my way next
+morning. I had to cross the Tista, which here, though the banks were
+more than a mile or a mile and a half apart, was at that season shrunk
+to a stream half a mile in breadth flowing between wide stretches of
+sand, over which I rode on my pony to reach the ferryboat. This was a
+broad, flat-bottomed craft, loaded with natives, cattle, bullocks and a
+cart which carried the baggage and camp equipment of a civil official
+going out to tour his district. The cart was festooned with wicker
+crates containing hens and ducks destined to supply "master's dinner in
+jungle," as the servant in charge informed me. With sail, oar and pole
+the ferry-boat made its way across the stream, until it reached a wide
+stretch of sand lying between the water and the bank. My pony, after
+much urging, jumped out; and I mounted. I had ridden four or five
+hundred yards when the animal stopped suddenly and its legs began to
+sink. To my horror I found that we were in a quicksand. The pony plunged
+and struggled wildly. I slipped from the saddle to ease it of my weight
+and sank at once up to my knees. Visions of a horrible death engulfed in
+the yielding mass of sand flashed across me as I struggled against the
+invisible monster that seemed to clutch me and drag me down. Luckily
+the pony got its forefeet on to firmer ground and fought its way out of
+the quicksand, pulling me out with it by the reins to which I clung. It
+stood terrified and quivering while I tried to soothe it. Fifty yards
+away was a group of natives who had been watching the incident
+phlegmatically and had made no move to come to our help. When I was safe
+they called out to me.
+
+"That is a very dangerous place, Sahib. A cow was swallowed up there the
+other day."
+
+Having told them forcibly what I thought of them for not warning me in
+time, I cautiously led my pony forward to the firm earth bank, which I
+was delighted to reach after the treacherous sand. Here the road to
+Alipur Duar began again. I swung myself into the saddle and continued my
+sketch on horseback, thus covering the ground much more quickly than on
+the first days. I was able to get my measurements by having previously
+counted the number of paces my pony took to cover a distance of a
+hundred yards at a trot.
+
+In the old days knowledge of map-making was, in the army, confined to
+the Royal Engineers. A late inspector-general of fortifications, General
+Sir Richard Harrison, R.E., told me that in the China War of 1860 only
+two officers, he and Captain, afterwards Lord, Wolseley, in the
+Anglo-Indian Army there could make a military sketch, and very few
+others were able to understand it when made. Nowadays every officer can
+map any country and during the drill season is called upon to furnish at
+least one sketch. The civil engineers brought out in 1905-6 to Hong Kong
+to survey the route of the railway to Canton told me that in the
+British Hinterland they made no maps, and contented themselves with such
+annual military sketches of the country done by officers of the
+garrison. And these they found accurate enough for railway laying. The
+task that I was now engaged on, which was for the purpose of revising
+the military route-book of Eastern Bengal, was set me as part of my
+ordinary work; I being the nearest available officer.
+
+The country through which my road lay for the next sixty miles was open,
+level, and well-cultivated, dotted with groves of feathery bamboos and
+the typical, compact, thatched villages and farm-buildings of Bengal. As
+usual, in India, the fields were not divided by hedges or any obstacles.
+Even at that season of the year the country-side looked green, in
+striking contrast to other parts of the land then when the hot weather
+was drawing near. And always along and parallel to my route lay the wall
+of the mountains thirty or forty miles away, rising abruptly from the
+plains in a confused jumble of rugged hills overtopping each other until
+they culminated in the long white crest of Kinchinjunga, which now and
+then at sunset or dawn towered over them all above the clouds and seemed
+to float detached in the sky.
+
+At the first _dak_ bungalow which sheltered me after leaving Jalpaiguri
+we had a splendid view of this magnificent mountain; and I overheard my
+orderly, Draj Khan, who had been with me in Darjeeling and had seen it
+from there, explaining to the Rajput sepoy with us that it was composed
+entirely of ice. The latter, a man from the sandy deserts of Bikanir,
+never having seen snow or more ice than a small lump in some native
+liquor-dealer's shop in the bazaar, refused to believe Draj's statement
+and appealed to me. I found it no easy task to explain the mystery of
+the Everlasting Snows to the intellect of this more or less untutored
+savage; and I fear that he understood me even less than he did Draj
+Khan's explanation. Natural physical phenomena that we accept as
+articles of belief we find not so easy to make clear to the minds of
+uneducated people. The Pathan subhedar-major of my regiment rejected my
+account of the causes of earthquakes in favour of his own theory that
+they arise from the movements of a dragon slumbering in the centre of
+the earth and occasionally shaking itself or turning round in its sleep.
+
+I found my journey day by day along the road interesting from the many
+types of natives whom I passed. Brown-skinned peasants, many clad simply
+in a cotton cloth wound round the waist and between the legs, and
+_puggris_ tied loosely about their heads, saluted me respectfully as I
+rode by. Native women, nose-ringed and glass-braceletted, modestly drew
+their _saris_ over their dark faces to hide their problematical beauty
+from my profane gaze. Naked little brown urchins with them stopped to
+gaze, finger in mouth, at the Sahib and scampered off in simulated fear
+when I waved my hand to them, but halted at a safe distance to wave back
+laughingly. Bearded Mohammedans uttered a "Salaam Aleikoum"[8] and
+grinned with pleasure at the correct reply "Aleikoum salaam."[9] Groups
+of lean-shanked jungle-dwellers shuffled by, the men unencumbered, the
+ragged women laden with cooking-pots, babies, and other possessions.
+Once or twice I passed a tall, stately Pathan, long-haired and
+hook-nosed, clad in baggy trousers, gold-laced velvet waistcoat and
+voluminous turban. These gave me a cheery salutation, with no trace of
+servility; for the Pathan is of a haughty race and thinks himself any
+man's equal. These individuals had wandered far from their homes among
+the mountains beyond the North-West Frontier to make small fortunes as
+usurers among the simple peasants of Bengal. Small boys herding cattle
+drove their black buffaloes to one side of the road to let me pass,
+fearlessly beating with shrill cries the savage-looking animals which
+seemed inclined to charge my pony. Heavy carts, their wheels solid discs
+of wood, drawn by stolid white bullocks, lumbered noisily along, the
+drivers twisting the _byles'_ tails to accelerate their speed. Although
+I was in so-called disaffected Eastern Bengal I met with no rudeness or
+black looks; for the sedition carefully fostered among the
+feather-headed young Bengali students has not affected the simple
+cultivators of the soil, who still respect the white man and look
+confidently to the Sahibs for justice. Even well-fed _babus_ on the road
+stopped and closed their umbrellas, a native sign of respect, and were
+always ready to answer my questions or enter into a chat.
+
+Every day after completing ten or twelve miles of my sketch I halted at
+a _dak_ bungalow or pitched my tent. My servants and elephant had
+usually arrived before me; and I found my breakfast of biscuit, tinned
+meat and tea, occasionally supplemented by eggs from the nearest
+village, awaiting me. My orderly, scouting on ahead on my bicycle, had
+sought for information of sport; and, if the prospects of it were good,
+I took my gun or rifle and went out in search of something to shoot.
+But in such well-cultivated country there was very little game.
+
+At one village near which I halted for the night I heard that a
+man-eating tiger was lurking in the neighbourhood. It had killed two
+natives on the road within the week. Of course I went out to look for
+it, but with scant hope of finding it, as I could only stay a day in the
+place. Mounting my elephant I started after breakfast and beat through
+all the small patches of jungle for miles round and along the banks of a
+small stream flowing by the village. But, though I hunted until after
+dusk, I found no traces of it, and returned disappointed to the _dak_
+bungalow.
+
+As I sat smoking after dinner out in the compound under the stars I
+heard the tinkle of bells coming along the road and drawing nearer and
+nearer. Then past the gate of the enclosure around the bungalow a native
+postman shuffled by at a dog-trot, his spear and bells over his
+shoulder. I stopped him and asked him if he had heard of the tiger.
+
+The little old man, bent almost double under the weight of his mail-bag,
+wiped his brow, as he answered:
+
+"Yes, Protector of the Poor, the _shaitan_ (devil) killed two men of
+this village on this very road by which I come each night."
+
+"Are you not afraid of meeting him?" I asked.
+
+"That is in the hands of God, Sahib. I must earn my pay by carrying the
+_dak_ (mail) along that road every day."
+
+"But why come by night?"
+
+"The _dak_ only reaches my post office after nightfall, and must be sent
+on at once. _Hukm hai._ It is the order." And with a farewell salaam he
+trotted off into the darkness and danger of the night; and the tinkle of
+the bells died away down the fatal road.
+
+Next morning I moved on, deeply regretting that I could not afford the
+time to remain and make a systematic search for the man-eater. It was
+tantalising to be in its hunting-ground and yet be unable to stay longer
+and devote myself to its destruction. To shoot an ordinary tiger is not
+much of an achievement; but to circumvent and kill a murderous beast,
+grown daring and wily in the slaughter of human beings, is something to
+be proud of, and a good and useful deed. The hunter must pit his brains
+against its cunning and risk his life freely; for the man-eater is acute
+beyond all others and has lost the wild animals' usual dread of man. It
+is fortunate that such are rare; for last year tigers killed eight
+hundred and eighty-five persons in India, one being credited with
+forty-one deaths. Other wild beasts were far behind in the grim count.
+Wolves killed two hundred and fifty-five; while panthers slew two
+hundred and sixty-one human beings. But these figures fall far short of
+the havoc caused by venomous reptiles. In 1911 over twenty-five thousand
+persons died from snake-bite; in 1912, twenty-one thousand four hundred
+and sixty-one deaths were recorded from the same cause. But it must be
+remembered that in villages far from police investigations and coroners'
+inquests, snake-bite is a very convenient explanation of a sudden and
+violent death.
+
+As I rode along day by day busy with my sketch I had not time to feel
+lonely; though, with the exception of my brief stay in Jalpaiguri, I had
+not exchanged a word with one of my own colour for over a week. But in
+India one grows accustomed to that. Soldiers, planters, forest and civil
+officers are used to being cut off from their kind; and on detachment I
+have passed months without seeing another European. The evenings, when
+the day's work is done, are the hardest to bear; and now in this long
+and solitary ride, when I sat in my tent or a _dak_ bungalow after
+dinner by the flickering light of a hurricane lantern I did occasionally
+wish for a white man to talk to.
+
+My road, running parallel to the hills, crossed many rivers flowing from
+them. Most of these were, at that season of the year, easily fordable;
+though in some the water was up to my pony's girths. Warned by my
+experience at the Tista, I kept a sharp look-out for quicksands. At one
+broad stream villagers bade me beware of crocodiles; and fording a river
+in which these brutes lurk is not a pleasant task.
+
+The crocodiles of India are divided into two species. The _ghavial_, or
+fish eater, attains a length of eighteen feet and is reputed not to
+attack human beings. Yet with their long, narrow snouts studded with a
+serrated row of sharp teeth they look much more formidable than the
+man-eating, blunt-nosed _muggers_. The latter are similar to the
+alligators of the New World and the crocodiles of Africa, though they do
+not reach the length of the latter. The largest I have known was an old
+veteran twelve and a half feet long, which I shot in the Jumna near its
+confluence with the Ganges at Allahabad. The latter river is full of
+_muggers_; but the former is reputed locally to contain only _ghavials_.
+My crocodile may have been a stray. From a boat in which I was drifting
+down stream I saw it, looking like an immense log, lying on the bank;
+for these brutes are in the habit of coming ashore to sun themselves
+during the heat of the day. They are not easy to shoot, as at the least
+sign of danger they are prone to dive into the river. Even if wounded
+they are hard to secure; for they nearly always lie at the water's edge,
+so that the least movement takes them into the stream and, if they die
+below the surface, their bodies do not float for some time.
+
+Having spotted the crocodile in question from a distance I landed on the
+opposite bank and, cautiously stalking it, managed to get within two
+hundred yards without its being alarmed. I was armed with a .303 carbine
+and, aiming at its neck, luckily paralysed it by my first shot with a
+bullet in the spine. To make sure of it I fired several more rounds at
+it, then, hailing my boat, crossed over to where it lay. It feebly
+snapped its huge jaws at me as I approached, but was unable to move
+otherwise; and a final bullet laid it out. It was an old and immensely
+powerful brute, broad out of all proportion to its length. Its thick
+hide studded with bosses was like armour-plate, and over its back
+impenetrable to bullets. Its teeth were large and blunted and its nails
+long and thick.
+
+At the sound of my shots a number of natives had run out from a village
+close by. When they saw the _mugger_ lying dead, they streamed down to
+the bank and to my surprise swarmed round me, hung garlands about my
+neck and lauded me to the skies. I learned from them that the dead
+monster had closed a ford from their village to one on the other side
+of the river for two years, had carried off several women bathing or
+drawing water (this was a minor offence to the native, women being cheap
+in India); but, worse still, had killed several of their sacred and
+valuable cows. Hence my ovation. The brute was so large and heavy that
+it took fourteen villagers to drag and push it up an inclined plane of
+planks into my big native sailing-boat. We brought it down the river to
+the Lines of my regiment, which were built close to the bank. There we
+landed it and cut it open. In its stomach were seven metal anklets or
+armlets of different sizes, ornaments such as are worn by native women
+and girls, and--a horrible sight!--the entire body of a child about a
+year old. It was in the process of being digested; and, when exposed to
+the air, the flesh fell away from the bones. The stench was
+unforgettable.
+
+The rivers of Bengal are full of these unpleasant saurians. And
+crocodiles do not always confine themselves to the water; for they are
+reputed to have an undesirable habit of wandering across country by
+night from stream to stream and, if these are far apart, hiding by day
+in any convenient tank. I have seen a large one in quite a small pond
+which was rapidly drying up and would contain no water in a week. A
+friend of mine in the Civil Service told me that once, riding into a
+village in his district in Eastern Bengal, he found it in a state of
+commotion and the whole population gathered in front of the local post
+office but keeping a respectful distance from the building; for on the
+steps of it was a crocodile about six feet long, snapping fiercely at
+anyone who approached it. It must have been overtaken by daylight when
+passing through the village on its way from water to water. My friend
+shot it, to the intense relief of the besieged postal officials inside
+the building.
+
+A crocodile would certainly be an unpleasant animal to meet on the land
+in the dark. However, I forded all the streams I came to without mishap.
+When I reached the Torsa, a broad and rapid river, across which, some
+thirty miles to the north, I had driven the man-killing rogue elephant
+months before, I found it unfordable. A large ferry-boat was plying
+across it; and in company with two carts and their bullocks and drivers,
+a wandering Pathan, several peasants and a gipsy family, I embarked on
+it. We had an adventurous voyage. Heavy squalls sweeping down from the
+mountains churned up the dark surface of the river and drove our
+shallow, top-heavy craft back. The few boatmen, striving with paddles
+and poles, to propel it against the wind, were helpless. I seized a long
+bamboo and tried to aid them. The Pathan followed my example, while the
+other natives on board sat watching our efforts apathetically. This
+infuriated him; and he fell upon them with kicks and cuffs until they
+rose, took up other bamboos and helped to pole the boat across. But such
+was the strength of the gale that it took us two hours to force a
+passage against it; and once or twice we were nearly capsized.
+
+Another couple of days or so brought me to the end of my task. When I
+saw the tin-roofed buildings of Alipur Duar rise before me on the road,
+I struck spurs to my pony and finished my sketch at a gallop. And the
+next day saw me back in Buxa Duar, glad to be among the friendly hills
+again, for the charm of the mountains was upon me. And on them I hoped
+to spend another year; but the gods willed otherwise.
+
+Such outposts as ours may not be as good for the training of the rank
+and file as service in large garrisons. But for the individual officer
+there is no better way of developing his power of initiative and
+teaching him to rely on himself than the command of these small
+detachments. And in these jungle outposts the sport to be found is an
+additional advantage. Save only active service what better education can
+he have than the pursuit of big game, when every sense is trained to be
+on the alert, and quick decision becomes a second nature? An eye for
+country, readiness of resource, generalship and courage is needed in
+this "image of war." The time he spends in the jungles is not wasted.
+
+The British military officer is a much-maligned individual. It seems an
+article of faith among civilians in England to believe that he leads a
+life of luxury, is ignorant of the science of his profession, and leaves
+the training and instruction of his men to be done by the sergeants. As
+to luxury--see him in his plainly furnished one room in barracks in the
+British Isles or his rat-infested Indian bungalow for which he pays an
+exorbitant rent! Examinations all through his service up to the rank of
+colonel; examinations for promotion to each grade, signalling, transport
+and musketry classes, each with its final examination, examinations in
+Indian and other foreign languages keep his brain from rusting for want
+of exercise. I have had to pass nine professional, and three obligatory
+language examinations myself during my service; and there are many who
+have passed more. That there is no army in the world that has as many
+officers qualified as interpreters in foreign tongues as ours was well
+exemplified in North China during the Boxer War of 1900. And as for
+leaving his work to be done by the non-commissioned ranks, only a person
+absolutely ignorant of our army to-day would venture to make that
+assertion. Who created the auxiliary armies throughout the Empire, who
+made the Indian, the Egyptian, the West and the East African Armies? Not
+the drill-instructor, not Sergeant What's-his-name, but the British
+officer!
+
+Little did I think as I rode into Buxa, after making my sketch, that my
+time among my beloved mountains was drawing to a close. One day, not
+long afterwards, when out tiger-shooting I was taken suddenly ill and
+was barely able to remain in the howdah long enough to fire my rifle and
+bag the tiger. Hardly capable of sitting in the saddle I made my way on
+my pony back to my Station, there to lie on a sick-bed for over a month.
+And I raged at my helplessness when news was brought me during that time
+that the man-killing elephant I had fought with was back in our forests
+again. Within a few miles of us he surprised a Bhuttia woodcutter and
+his wife encamped in the jungle. He came upon them at dawn. They fled
+before him; but he overtook the woman, struck her down, and crushed her
+into a shapeless mass under his feet. When I heard of it I longed to be
+well enough to go out to meet him again. But the Fates forbade it.
+
+Thanks to the devoted care of our Indian doctor, Captain Sarkar, I.M.S.,
+I recovered sufficiently to be sent to England on sick leave, much
+against my will, for I had no desire to quit Buxa. But four sturdy
+_kahars_ (bearers) carried me in a litter down the steep road from our
+little outpost through the forest to the train. Beside me walked Captain
+Balderston wishing me farewell and a speedy return to health. I little
+knew that I was never to see him again, as he shook my hand for the last
+time. Four months afterwards his sorrowing sepoys laid my cheery little
+comrade to rest in his grave in the deserted cemetery of Buxa. He died
+there all alone.
+
+As the train bore me out of the forest and through the green plains of
+Eastern Bengal, I raised myself from my couch in the railway carriage
+and with sadness in my heart looked back to where the white Picquet
+Towers shone out on the purple background of the fast-receding hills.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[8] "Peace be with you!"
+
+[9] "With you be peace!"
+
+    THE NORTHUMBERLAND PRESS, THORNTON STREET, NEWCASTLE-UPON-TYNE
+
+
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+Transcript Notes
+
+
+1. This book uses both "country-side" and "countryside"
+
+2. This book uses both "ferry-boat" and "ferryboat"
+
+3. This book uses both "foothills" and "foot-hills"
+
+4. This book uses both "goat-skin" and "goatskin"
+
+5. This book uses both "head-gear" and "headgear"
+
+6. This book uses both "woodcutter" and "wood-cutter"
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's Life in an Indian Outpost, by Gordon Casserly
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