SMOKING WOLVES FROM THEIR EARTHS. 1 2 5
cnnilalion, and under which no jealous suspicions or intrigues could exist. And
p e r h a p s no stronger confirmalion of niy posilion could be adduced, tlian the
well known fad llial, whenever a inuliny has arisen, and llie Europeau ofliccrs
have been dispensed wiLli, ibe discoiilculcd corps have invariably been boalcn
and brouglil. to punislimeut by very inferior forces under European officers.
I ' a r t h c r , it has on several occasions happened, lhal when these officers have been
killed or disabled,, the native officers have conducted themselves in sucli a mann
e r as to obtiiiu those succe^es, wljich, had I h ey been in the service of Indian
princes, never could have ])een achieved.
T cannot concUitle this par i of iny subject without remarking Lliat, wheLher
for sobriety, patience, personal prowess or courage, I cainiot tbiiik any army
can surpass the troops of the Honourable Company's eslablisbmenl. Upwards
of twenty years' service enables me to pi-onounce their jus t euloginm ; and I feel
tlie utmost pleasure in obser\'ing, that the many who have visited India,
w h i t h e r they went fraught willi prejudice, have in the most candid and handsome
manner, avowed the completest acquiescence as to their iiiiinitc merits.
T h e annexed Plate, while i t conveys to the reader a lolerably exact idea of the
situations in which the earths of wolves are generally found, and of ihe manner
of fumigat ing them, serves to exhibit the dress of the Niijeebs. in the front
oTound the servants are seen attending their masters, and hearing large
u m b r e l l a s to keep oil" the sun and rain. Another kind of parasol is in use with
inanv. Il is made round and lh>t, with a stick fastened to one side; and the
circle, which is usually covered with cliinlz, an<l has a full llouncc of about a
fool long all round, being applied laterally, serves to keep ofl'the sun w hen not
in the zenith. This shade, wlticli is called a Punkah, is useful and at times more
commodious than an uinbrella, to attend upon palankeens, and has the farther
convenience of being used as a fan within doors; for this purpose the staff is
placed on its euil. and a bearer, laving hold of the small jiart which is a])ovc
the place \vliere the circle is affixed, swings the punkah backwards and forwards,
with more or less force as occasion may require; thus causing a most
r e f r e s h i n g ventilation.
A t a distance in the back ground is seen a small encampmcnt of a battaliou.
T h e large flag which is displayed is the Imzar, or market-llag, near which all
t h e tradespeople, who travel with the corps, are encamped in (heir little booths.
T h e bazars are respectively attached to corps, and that of each battalion has
its par t icidar standard, made of strong calico, and affixed to a bamboo, which is
kept perpendicular by four strong ropes stretched out in diilerent directions.
E a c h tlas; has the distinguishing device of the corps, or its numercial rank,
p o u l r a y e d on it, in .some consjiicuons or contrasting colour. As these flags are
very large, l)eing sometimes as spacious as a frigate's ensigns, and as the wind
is very strong during the day, a smaller flag of a similar pattern is aflixed
above ; so that wlicn the large one is furled rouud the bamboo, there may
remain suilieient indication as to each market respectively.
Those who live near the Ganges never fail to burn llieir dead on its banks,
and to throw the ashes into the stream. The bedstead on which a Hindoo h
conveyed to the \valer side is sometimes burnt also ; at least it is ever after cortsidered
as impure; nor would u Gentoo, however distressed for fu.rl, take one
for thill purpose. The body of lb e deceased should be couipletcly burnt, ljul
such is rarel y the case ; a small pile of wood sufficient to singe it, is ordinarily
provided, which being expended, the remains are launched into the river, where
they float in a pnlrid state for a long time, to tlic great annoyance of sucli a.s
travel by water. Those villages situated inland, and remote from any great
river, have recourse to any small stream for the purpose of performing the
last offices : eventually, though not ofl.<m, a tank, or jeel, if more coiamodiou.s
is substituted, when numbers of bedsteads and human bones may he seen along
the banks.
A Hindoo would bo miserable were lie to know that his lx>dy would not l)e
b u r n t . Many in their old age, or when seriously ill, removt- to the banks of
the Ganges, whose waters are held sacroit among th<- Hindoos (for the .Mussulmans
inter their dead), and when about to resign tlieir breath, are taken to the
edge of the river on their beds, where a Bmmin, or priest, attends to perform
various superstitious ceremonies. No donbt that many who might recover with
d u e attention, are thus consigiicfl to an untimely end. The damp bonltTs of
the stream, nith a burning sun, rarely fail, however favourable the »ea-son may
bo, to put a speedy termination to the sick person's pain. But it ha.s often
happened, that the attendants become tired by the delay the poor wretch
makes iu " shaking ofl' his mortal coil," and, perhaps, with the hnmaiie intention
of terminating his suliei-ings, either place the bed at low-water mark, if
t h e spot be within the flow of tlie tide, or smear tlie dying man with the
slime of the holy waters; not forgetting to lake care that a due portion of the
precious mud pass into the mouth. This doubtless will sliock the European
r e a d e r ; but is nevertheless strictly true. Intleed, when we come to consider,
one particular tenet of the Hindoo religion, we may rather consider what at
first may appear inhuman, to be an act of chanty.
When a person has been taken to the side of the Ganges, or other suhstitnted
water, under the supposition that he is dying ; he is, in the eye of the Gentoo
law, dead. His property passess to his heir, or according to bei(uest; and in
the event of reeoveiy, the poor fellow become.^ an outcast. Not a soul, not
even his own children, will eat with him, or allbrd him the least accommodation.
I f by chance ihey come in contact, ablution must instantly follow. The
wTctched survivor from that time is held in abhorrence, and has no other resort
hut to associate himself in a village inhabited solely by persons under similar
circumstances. There are bui few such receptacles ; the largest, and most conspicuous,
is on the banks of the Mullah, which passes near Sooksorgah, about
f o r t y miles north of Calcutta.
iiir