T H E GANGES BREAKING ITS BANKS, WITH FISHING, i,.-
1 2 8
s .lolo ,l,cn.; »ml .« «.nvincc l,i,„.„If locked the room ami look the
key „i, h him, slill .ho ogg. ai.appe«,-oJ ! At loog.h he e „„ged h,s hoor f
v i l t l n g the place, and going very early one corning »aw a largo co.r. ca Ma
colled np „ndcr the hen, with its ll.roat quUe J,.tended by an egg, >. « - s then
swallowing. Tlic snake was killed, and tl.e rcnaioing egg. were hatohed.
Whether it l.e owing lo the soil, or to ihe very frec|nen, and dreadful Dashes
of lightning, « hiel, ,>crva,le all couniri « ahoundingwi.h it . . certatn that
,„ the vicimty of iron nnnes, very few snake, are 10 he fonnd, on dry land at
leas, thongh' son.c ar>. occ.ionally seen in Ihe „eighhonr.ng waters. A ong
; hank. : f great river., hnt especially near Bn.Kar, .here a .ort of yellow
.„ako ahonndmg in the waters; these frcqnently ascend .nto iW;, .»» and
^ther hoats by means of the rndjer ropes, and by the oar. wh.ch are constantly
snspendcd in the water.
Even crows and starling, will allack small snake., and hover over them in
f l i „ h l . The larm-r hirils, such as the c:/™», u r g M . &c. arc particularly fond
of'killing then,, as are pcacoeks. They dance round the snake, wl„el, rea.-s to
defe,„l it.eir, and keeping it in a pe,-pel„al .late of alarn,, weary ,1 on, ; or ,1
there be other hirds at iiaiul, they wa,ch their opportunity lo catch hold near
t h e tl„-oat, an,l giving a l,ea,-ty shake, spee.lily sicken and k,ll ,t They then
v„,.y dclihc-ately take the reptile hy ,l,c tail and swallow ,t whole; not, however
without „,uch cou.pctition a,nong the fraternity, oi which each individual
„ e r h a i x "ets the snake halfway .low,, his long throat, when another, making a
snap a, the pendant remainder, pulls it forth, and flying ofl'drops it as he proceeds
thi-ougli the air, followed by his disappointed knidred.
Sinkcs swallow luiimal. which often arc more than five or .i.x times as thick
as tl,mn.clves. Thn. il i. common to see one not more than one inch in diameter
with a large rat or frog in its maw ; appealing like a great swelling. J he
skeleton o(°an aij-ghtr, which was discovered near Chittagoiig, i., I believe, yet
to he seen : it measured upwards of twenty-five feel in length. The skelelon ol
an antelope was found in its throat. There was every reason to hellevc that the
snake was in tile act of swallowing the antelope, whose horns, though compressed
by the snake's jaws ami gullet yet forced theirway through, before they
passed among llie ribs, and prevented digestion.
The birds seen in this Plate attacking the c«vra cipdh are the argcdah, or
adjutant. This last „an,e was given them hy the European soldiery, m consequence
of their being always seen in number, on the parade., walling for
such bones and oll'al as might be ihrowi, out. When erect, many of them
measure at least six feet. They devour large rat., &e. with perfect ease; and
after some turnings will rarely fail lo swallow a joint of meat weighing lour
or five pounds.
Whether there cverwas a snake answering individually to the description we
have of the cockatrice, may be ,liQ'icull lo ascertain ; certain it is, however, that
all snakes fascinate their prey. I have fi-equcntly seen little bird, so frightened
b y them as to lose the power of escaping.
Considering the numbers of snakes found in all covers, it i. wonderful that
so few accidents happen in sporting. I recollect hut one instance, when the late
Lieutenant Colonel Hutchinson of the Tonnah establishment was bit in the
leg. The Colonel with equal presence of mind and fortitmle seized a large firebniiid,
with which he hurnt a deep hole in the part—An instance of resolntioii
w hich we may not always find equalled !
The greater part of the fish in India are escellenl for the table. The mee,
which is a specie, of carp, grows lo a large size, as docs ihe cntlah, which i. a
kind of pe,-ch. These often weigh thirty or folly pounds. The mcergy is likewise
of Ihe ear,, species, and having fewer hones i. prefer.-ible to the raoce.
Eels, shrimps, prawns, and claw-lish abound, as do mullets. The finest fish is.
however, ihe sahle; it is in flavour like a salmon, and not unlike il in form. It
rarely weighs more than four pounds. It is esteemed very healing on account
of lis being very fat and oily. The eodmp is evidently llie salt water pike.
Such as do not' weigh more than live or sl.x pounds are in great request. I
once saw a cockup taken near Dacca that tneasured more than eight feet in
leogih, anil requireil four men to take il to Mr. Bchb'., the commercial resideiu.
There arc great varieties of fish, all very good, but not known in Europe.
Skait abound ; they take a hail well, but are apt lo hug the bottom. It is
dangerous lo ha,idle them on acconnl of a large spike in the middle of their
tails. A Mr. Campbell was killed by a skait which struck at him in tlic water.
a„,l will, this lerrihle weapon cut the artery which lies heUveen the bones of
t h e leg. The poor man died from loss of blood, much regretted.
Bathing is very dangerous on account of the alllgiitors. The sharp-nosed
kind called the gumol, lives on fish ; but the hlunt-headed kinds such as the
muggah, (which na,nc is often a|,plied lo the shark) and the koomar, make
cattTe and men their ehicfprey. These am],l,ihio,is devils g,'ow to an enormous
size. Some are krpi in tanks, and are said lo he lame, as ihcy will come wllcn
eallcd lo receive their daily idlowanee. Slill after wlial I have known, I would
not trust myself to thoin, even when in a state of reflection. The Nahoh liad
some taiiif alligators ill a tank at I^ncknow, which, however, occasionally snapt
u p a bather ! It is very common to see dogs pulled ilown by alligators in small
rivulets. A gentleman who was shooting near Jiiijemalmk ill some long gras.s
on the bank, of a nullah, or small river, suddenly saw two of his pointer,
seized and .wallowed by an alligator which lurked in Ihe cover ; and he might
himself have been aildcil lo the meal, bul for a round of small shot which he
pourcil down Ihe a,,inial's throat.
In the ditches of some forts in the Carnatic, alligators are encouraged, to
prevent desertions. Sueli ]iariah dogs as arc found in the fort are thrown in as
T H E GANGES BUEAKING ITS BANKS, W I T H FISHING, be. m
food for tlic alligators, which soon devour them. Only one dog was ever known
Id swim across, and his escape was occasioncd by tlic number of bis pursuers;
wliich crowding logelber, obsLriicted each olher from seizing the fugitive. It is
remarkable, that tlie alligator returns lo the place where she lias laid her eggs in
the sand, at the lime when she expects the breed lo hatch. She awails in the
water opposite lo the spot, and sweeps iheni up as they arrive at tlic eleinenl,
lo which instinct leads ihcin.
The quantilies of f ish caught when a bank or poolbimilij gives w a y are astonishing;
baskets having holes at their tops are used for this purpose : the iish being
seci) in the shallows, these arc thrown over them; and ihe hand being inlroduced,
they are taken out with ease. The common seine and casting net, as also
the tunnel, are all in use in India. Those who fish in shallow waters have a
triangular not Hxed to two cross bamboos ; which, being sunk nearly to ihe
bottom, the fishennen moving on slowly, is raised up occasionally, when often
both large and small fish are taken. The natives use spears and gigs wilh
success.
1 shall briefly observe that ljudjriws arc boals for pleasure and travelling, and
that a large kind of wherry called a diugt-e i.s in use for expedition, fishing,
The common merchant boats vary in size, and are mostly thatched over. Some
carry from fifty to seventy tons, and row from ten to sixteen oars. \onc of the
hoaU in India have keels, except those built by Tuiropeans.
Tu closing this head, I should inform the reader, that the breaking oi n poolbuni/
i/ is rarely attended with considerable damage, as llie riverseUlom remains
long at its full height ; it often falling several feel in a few hours. I recollect
seeing a village saved by presence of mind in an old man, who had once witnessed
the place destroyed, owing to the inundation following a course through
some low lands. As soon as he found the poolhundij giving way, he collected
all tlie people, and repairing lo the spot whence the waters had before found
their way lo the village, set all hauds lo work, and completed a dam Just in
time to prevent a repctilioii of the calamity.