112 HUNT ING A K U T T A U S S , OR C I V E T .
fuiind llicro, than lo risk Llic failure of Llicir iiiorning's divers ion. Pole-cat s ,
wliicli all eel, hoii litis ill llie s ame inaniicr, Uiough not by any me ans so foreibly,
are nsnal ly mcl. >villi in llie s ame siliialions. T h e y a r c l a r g e and s avage, and
are started in sng a r canes, maize, whe r e they kill g r e a t quant i l ies of
v e rmin; not confining themselves to r a l s , mice, and bi rds , but a t t a cking l a r g e
snakes , gene r a l ly Avitb suc c e s s ; seizing them by the ba ck of the neck, and
shaking them violently.
II. is a cur ious fac! lluit jackals, foxe s , and kuffaitsses, are mos t nnme rous
near lo the vi l lages inhabi ted by Mus sulmans . T h i s p r o b a b l y is lo be a t t r ibut ed
to ibeir re a r ing poidt ry. ^vhicb ihe Hindoos never do. Al l h o u g b fowl s are
very cheap ihroughoul Indi a , be ing g ene r a l ly from twoi)ence to fonrpenc e each,
y d one may travel a whol e day througb a popul ous count ry wi thout be ing abl e
to obtain either an e g g or a chicken ! T h e Hindoo religion pros c r ibes them
as bein"' uneloan ; wbeuc e a native of that per suas ion will not even touch one !
Il is from the Mu s s u lmans only that poul t ry can b e obtained ; ihougb tbey
arc occas ional ly rea red by the lower cas t s , or sects, who a r e cons idered a s
pe r f e c t outcas t s , and are only loleraled on a c count of ihe convenience tbey
alVord by o c c u p y ing the most menial olRces, or b y fol lowing the lowe s t ocenpations.
T h e de g ene r a t e Por tugue z e , who a bound in many pa r t s of Indi a ,
who, n-enerally spe aking , may be deemed as ihe mos t de spi c abl e of the human
race, and who retain all ihe pr ide, wi thout the va lour of their i l lus t r ious ances
tors , deal extens ively in all kinds of poul t ry. The s e sable gent r ) ' a r e for the
most pa r t of the lowest classes, and sup] ) ly the r egiment s w t h dr umme r s and
f i f e r s ; in which c apa c i ty many serve witli credit . Indeed there a r c in Ca l cut t a
and in olher pa r t s of Indi a , but especial ly on tlic wes t coas t , numbe r s of
opulent and hi ghly respec t able individual s , who eng a g e in t r a de both inland
and by sea to u very g r e a t extent . The i r credi t is e. \ tcus ive; and I have rema
rk ed. that a l though wi lh few e.xceptions they arc not clas sed upon a fair
equa l i ty with the Br i t i sh merchant s in that «[uarler, ye t that fewer , in propor -
tion to their number s , f a i l ; and tiial in hospi tal i ty, loya l ly, and l iberal i ty,
espec i „ | |y in p„bl l c imd pr ivate conlrll.uHoiis, t l iey at least equa l our own
count rymen !
In ihe back g round of the Pl a t e a t t a ched to this Numb e r is exhibi ted a large
tree, called the burghut. I t has before been noticed in the descri[)tion given of
the sccond Plate, wbcrc a distant view of it may be seen. T h e burghut, g ene r a l ly
known amo n g Europe ans by the name ol ihe huninn tree, g rows to an immens e
size : b e ing often known to me a sur e f rom twenty-live lo thirty feel in gi rt l i . I l
is di s t ingui shed from every other Ircc hi therto known, by ihc very pecul i a r circnms
lanco of its throwing out I'oots Ironi all its br anches . The s e be ing pendant ,
and pe r f e c l ly l a x , in time reach the g r ound, whi ch they penel ra te, and ultima
tely become subs t ant i a l props to the very ma s s y horizontal boughs , whi ch,
bill for such a su])port, mus t either be s topped in thei r g rowth, or give wa y , f rom
their own we i ght . Ma n y of these (¡uondam roots, chang ing their outwa rd
appe a r anc e f rom a br own rougb r iud to a r e gul a r ba rk, uot unlike that of the
beech, increase to a g r e a t di ame t e r . T h e y ma y b e of ten seen f rom four to five
feet in ci rcumference, and in a t rue pe rpendi cul a r line. Wh e n they a r e nu
merous , a s some t ime s ha ppens , an observer , i gnor ant of their na tur e and or igin,
mi ght think them artificial, and that they had been pl a c ed for the purpo s e
of sus t a ining the b o u ghs f rom which they or igiua t ed.
1 am a lmos t afraid to state wl i a t I have seen on this s u b j e c t ; and I fear tha t
I shall be cons ide red as having ma d e a trip lo Aby s s ini a , when I inform the
re ade r tliat there wa s , some y e a r s since, a banian tree g r owi n g not far f rom
Nuddeap, whi ch, p r o b a b l y a ided by ar t , hatl spr e ad ne a r ly round a lank, of
about two thi rds of an acre in size, so that the br anche s dive r g ing to the r ight ,
ne a r ly me t those proc e eding f rom the lef t . Ma n y wi l l p e rha p s avail themselves
of the as ser t ion I offer, that, " if I had not seen 1 should not liave bel ieved i t . "
T h i s wonde r ful t ree wa s sup p o r t ed by its r adi a l columns in a most ext raor -
dina ry manne r , and p r o b a b l y would have l ong since be c ome an objec t of that
spi r i ted resea rch which ha s of late ye a r s preva i led in Indi a , we r e it not that in
cons equenc e of an ox having been killed unde r it by some Eu r o p e a n , the s p o t
had been cons idered a s def i led, and the t ree, d u r i n g the p a r o x y sm of f ana l i c a l
zeal, de s t royed, whi ch c aus ed \.\-\e Jau}cecr, wl io res ided unde r its ext ens ive
shade s , to level il to the g r o u n d !
We ma y s a f e ly cons ider the hirghut as an unique in na ture ; for we ma y , I
believe, sea rch in vain for its pa r a l lel . We k now of no produc l ion in the
v e g e t a bl e wor ld, whicii thus s e a r che s for s u p p o r t ; and, whi ch, inve r t ing its
orde r o f circulation, procures s a p f rom that l imb, whi ch wa s or i g ina l ly produced
and fed b y one of its br anches . Th e s e root s proceed f r om all the br anche s
indi s c r imina tely, whe the r near or far r emoved f rom the g r o und. T h e y a p p e a r
l ike new swabs , such as are in use on boa rd s h i p s ; howeve r f ew reach sullicient
ly low to l ake a hold of the soil, e x c ept those of ihe lowe r br anches . I
have seen some do so f r om a g r e a t h e i g h t ; but they we r e thin, and di{l not
pr omi s e well. Ma n y of the rami f ical ions pendant f rom the higher b o u ghs are
seen lo twine rfiun<l the lowe r b r a n c h e s ; but wi thout any obvious eliect on
either. Pos s ibly, liovvever, they ma y der ive sus t enance, or sup p o r t , even f rom
that pa r t i a l mode of cominunical ion.
T h e height of a full g r own burghut ma y be f rom s ixty to seventy f e e t ; and
ma n y of ihem, I am ful ly conf ident , cover at least two acres . Th e i r l e a v e s a r e
s imi lar to, but rather l a rge r than those of the laurel . T h e wo od of ihe trunk
is us ed only for f u e l ; it is l ight and bri t t le ; but the pi l lar s formed by the roots
a r c va luabl e , be ing e x t r eme ly clastic and l ight , \vorking wi th ease, and ])ossessing
g r c a l t o u ghne s s ; it re s embl e s a good kind of a sh. l i enc e it is found lo
answe r well for tent poles , and such articles as a r e usual ly ma d e of that wood.
T h e hea t of the c l ima t e render s it ex| )edient to have g r e a t numbe r s of wel l s
and t anks , all of wliich a r e the work of individual.-', who fri:(|nently lay oul
l a r g e sums in thi.s wa y , though in very lew i i i s lances any claim rests a s lo ihcir