Reminiscences Part 14

Cholera and other Diseases--The Causes of Cholera--How the Soldiers are Protected Against it--Sudden Deaths--Fevers--The Teraj--Contempt for Death--The Cholera Hospital--The Sisters of Mercy--The Princes Tagore--Hindoo Family Customs--Hindoo Gallantry--A Hindoo Fete.

The cholera has its home proper in India, and breeds in the Bengal lowlands after the rainy season, which closes in the fall. Its ravages are most p.r.o.nounced in the month of December, but cases are quite frequent the whole year round. During my second year's sojourn in India it was very violent in December, but I would scarcely have known of it at all if my official duties had not made it inc.u.mbent on me to report from the board of health of India to that of the United States at Washington. Now and then I was reminded of the existence of the malady by the sudden deaths of my acquaintances. On three different occasions I enjoyed a pleasant evening entertainment in company with a number of friends, one of whom was not only dead, but even buried before the next morning.

Although India is ravaged by different deadly diseases, especially a kind of fever of which people die after one or two days' sickness; still, disease and death are scarcely ever mentioned among Anglo-Indians. They don't like to talk about such unpleasant things. A friend is suddenly and unexpectedly s.n.a.t.c.hed away from social circles, but his death is seldom or never mentioned, just as if a secret and united agreement of taciturnity had been entered into by the survivors.

Once I was invited to dine at the table d'hote of the officers at the military station Dum-Dum, a few miles from Calcutta. I drove out there in the evening, and at eight o'clock I had dinner in company with about forty officers, the majority of whom belonged to the Scotch frontier regiment. Col. Chapman, one of the party, was a jolly old Scotch warrior and Lieut.-Col. Hill was my host. After a splendid dinner such as India alone can offer, the company grouped themselves around several whist-tables according to the custom in the higher circles among the English. Col. Chapman was my partner, and we parted company at one o'clock. I accompanied Lieut.-Col. Hill to his villa, and retired for the night. At eight o'clock the next morning he entered my room with the sad news that he was just returning from the funeral of Col. Chapman.

The stern old warrior who returned unscathed from twenty battle-fields was attacked by the cholera at two o'clock, died at four o'clock, and was buried at six o'clock. Such is life in India.

At the foot of the Himalayas is a very extensive territory called Teraj.

Its soil is very fertile and adapted for tea culture. The whole territory is covered with timber, bushes and other plants, which, with the exception of certain cultivated portions, form an impenetrable jungle, affording a natural resort for tigers, leopards, and other wild beasts. The lofty mountains and the dense jungles shut out the sun, and the whole region is full of poisonous vapors which are never dispelled.

It would be almost certain death for an European to live there for any length of time, and it is customary even in pa.s.sing through the country on the railway train to take double doses of quinine as a precaution.

The fever and cholera which are thus generated in the jungles and spread through the rice fields cause terrible ravages, not only among the Europeans, but also among the natives. Medical science has done a great deal to mitigate this evil, and the cholera, at least, has been carefully studied and controlled by the medical department of the Anglo-Indian army, so at present the malady is not feared so much as might be expected. The germs of the disease consist of microbes, which are carried in swarms by the wind. If such a pestiferous current of air strikes a place where soldiers are stationed, they are immediately ordered to break camp, and in a few hours the whole force is marching at a right angle with the wind, and after a day's march and a night's bivouac the physicians are generally able to tell whether the troops are out of the cholera district or not. If not, the march is continued day after day, always at a right angle with that of the preceding day, until the air contains no more cholera microbes.

Old officers of the army told me that they had seen the cholera pa.s.s over one part of the camp attacking every fourth man on one side of the camp street without touching a single one on the other. It is claimed that the fear and anxiety caused by this dreadful malady are even more dangerous than the disease itself.

One day while sitting at my breakfast table I received a message from the University hospital that an American sailor was very anxious to see me before he died. I immediately drove over there and was met at the entrance by the president, Dr. J. M. Coates, but when I arrived in the cholera apartment the man had just died. A sister of mercy was present at his death-bed, and had promised to carry his last message to me, which consisted in a greeting of love and a few trinkets to be sent to his mother in the state of Maine. There was a large apartment filled with cholera patients. Many of the native patients were visited by their friends and relatives; for the Hindoos do not entertain any fear of death, but rather court it, believing that a death caused by a contagious disease or a poisonous snake is simply a dispensation of Providence by which they are called away to a better life.

As an ill.u.s.tration of this fact I mention the following incident: One day while I was inspecting an American vessel a Hindoo laborer fell overboard, and a Norwegian sailor plunged into the water and saved him.

After being brought safely on the deck the Hindoo became so angry at the Norwegian that he could have killed him, simply because he had prevented his entering paradise. Such occurrences are quite frequent.

I mentioned that I met a sister of mercy at the death-bed of an American cholera patient in the hospital. I cannot neglect this opportunity to express my heartfelt grat.i.tude to these n.o.ble women, the modern nuns of the Catholic church. I have seen them in the dens of degradation and wretchedness in the American cities, among the sick, wounded and dying soldiers on the battle-fields of the South; I have seen them in an Arabian sea-port, searching for poverty-stricken travelers, among the cholera patients and among the unfortunate inmates of the prisons of India, always performing the same angelic duty, helping the poor, tending the sick, and comforting the despondent. Of course I am no Catholic, nor is it my intention to defend the Catholic faith; but I wish to acknowledge my appreciation of and pay my respect to the n.o.ble work which the priests and nuns of that church are carrying on among the lowly and erring members of our race.

The Hindoos are the most polite and clever people I ever saw. Their manners are exquisitely fine; no rudeness, no profanity, no intemperance is to be found among them, not even among the lowest cla.s.ses. As has been said already, the higher cla.s.ses are exceedingly polished and cleanly; all treat their parents and old people with marked respect. I shall narrate a few incidents to ill.u.s.trate this: Shortly after my arrival in Calcutta I became acquainted with the two Princes Tagore, especially the younger of them. They are t.i.tled princes, and enormously rich. They have many palaces, hundreds of secretaries, workingmen, servants, and pensioners, and, as is the custom among the Hindoos, whose families are governed according to the principles of patriarchal life, they all live together and get their support from the common property. I visited them several times, but mostly the younger prince who was at that time about forty-five years old, and a great admirer of America.

Although a man of that age and rank he never talked in the presence of his elder brother until the latter had by a word or a nod signified that he was allowed to speak. A son is never allowed to talk in the presence of his father until the latter has finished. The eldest member of the family is its highest ruler, and even the Princes Tagore would never take any important steps before obtaining the consent of their aged mother.

Many prominent Hindoos and Mohammedans, some of whom were native rulers, came and visited me, before they invited me to their great fetes. One of the frequent visitors was Dr. L. N. Maitra, a Brahmin of the highest cla.s.s, and one of the most intelligent and clever men I met in India. He used to sit with me for hours, telling about the life, history and religion of the Hindoos. Having become acquainted with each other by several months' intercourse, one day he sat a long while at my house as if absorbed in deep thought, and when he was ready to leave he asked if I would allow him to recite a Hindoo proverb in Sanskrit. In doing this he proved himself to be a fine elocutionist, and it seemed to me that I had never heard more music in prose, although I could not, of course, understand a single word of it.

[Ill.u.s.tration: DR. MAITRA READING SANSKRIT.]

I asked him for a translation, and the next day he sent me one with the a.s.surance that he intended to apply the proverb to me. It reads thus: "Do not enter into a very intimate acquaintance with anybody; but if you do, see that your friend is not a stranger; but if he is a stranger, see to it that he is not an educated man; but if he is educated, never part from him; but if fate compels you to part from him, then try to control that which we cannot control, that is, die, for death alone can make up for the loss of such a good man." I have told this to show not only the Hindoo's conception of the happiness of death, but also his exquisite politeness and delicacy of feeling.

When a Hindoo wishes to pay an elderly man or woman his respect or in some manner honor them, he calls them father or mother, or, if they are his equals in age, brother or sister. Even to-day, when my former clerks write to me they call me father, and ask me to remember them to their dear mother, that is, my wife.

[Ill.u.s.tration: MY CHIEF CLERK.]

On a few occasions some Hindoo princes and n.o.bles would arrange special entertainments and fetes for me, or rather in honor of the country represented by me, and on such occasions the invitation was not limited to me, but was extended to my friends also, so that I could take with me of these as many as I pleased.

The Tagore family had a beautiful country house outside the city, where, one day shortly after my arrival, a party was given in honor of myself as representing the United States. Among the friends who accompanied me on this occasion was the Danish traveler, D'Irgens-Bergh, whose acquaintance I had made on my journey from Naples to Alexandria. The villa might more correctly have been called a palace, for it was on a grand scale and a perfect gem of architectural beauty. The floors and walls of all apartments were of marble. A beautiful and finely kept park surrounded the palace, and here, on the evening of our visit, hundreds of Chinese lanterns illuminated the s.p.a.cious grounds. The most brilliant feature of the entertainment was music rendered by a complete orchestra of native musicians who used Hindoo instruments entirely different from ours; but pianos, guitars and other instruments with which we are acquainted, were also used. The younger prince was a great lover of music, and maintained, at his own expense, a conservatory of music and a large orchestra, giving instruction in music free of charge to any young man who was peculiarly gifted in that line. He is also well versed in Sanskrit literature, and has written several scientific works in Sanskrit. Before I left he presented me with one of these works containing his autograph, which is reproduced here as a sample of the hand-writing of an educated Hindoo:

[Ill.u.s.tration: (dedication note)]

Our refreshments at the fete consisted of dainties prepared by native cooks. Cream, rice, sugar, eggs, fish, flour, and spices were the chief ingredients of the different courses. Champagne and other European drinks were served with the courses, and after the repast we were offered coffee, and the servants brought wash basins and towels. Finally the major domo pa.s.sed an urn-shaped golden goblet, placed on a gold tray. In this goblet was a fine sponge soaked with attar of roses, which costs about a dollar a drop, and in which the guests dipped the tips of their fingers and moistened their foreheads and clothes. The least contact with this attar causes a fragrance which lasts for months.

Neither on this occasion nor at any other festivity arranged by native Hindoos were any of the women present or visible to us, although we knew they were close enough to see us through windows or gratings. The men themselves a.s.sisted in waiting on us, but tasted nothing in our presence. When finally the carriages drove up and the guests parted each one of them received a huge bouquet of beautiful, fragrant flowers.

[Ill.u.s.tration: RAJAH TAGORE.]

CHAPTER XXV.

Agriculture, Manufacture and Architecture--Wheat Growing--The Farm Laborer--His Condition, Implements, etc. The Taj-Mahal--Jugglers--Snake Charmers--From My Journal.

A large majority of the Hindoos are agriculturists. The staple crops are wheat, rice, and different species of pease. The wheat production of India exerts a great influence on the grain market of Europe, and is one of the most dangerous compet.i.tors to our American wheat. Having been ordered by the United States government to report on the wheat growing of India, I made this a special object of investigation and study, and in December, 1882, sent a report to the government in Washington which is our first reliable information on that subject; it elicited a great deal of attention, and was a source of genuine surprise in this country.

I submit a few extracts from this report:

The annual wheat production of India now reaches two hundred and forty million bushels, of which two hundred million may be exported, while the natives make their bread from other kinds of grain. The total area devoted to wheat each year is now a little over twenty million acres, and the best average yield is thirteen and one-half bushels per acre.

Wheat growing is now receiving the special attention of the general and local governments, and important works are being made and projected for an extensive system of ca.n.a.l irrigation. One of these, the Sirhind ca.n.a.l in the Punjab, has just been completed; it was built mainly by prison labor, is five hundred and two miles long, and will irrigate seven hundred and eighty thousand acres through two thousand five hundred miles of minor channels.

The wheat is sown in the autumn and harvested in March or April; it is usually sown in drills or rows, weeded like garden stuff, and in quant.i.ties not much larger than garden patches in the United States.

The agricultural population numbers nearly two hundred millions; it is the aggregate of innumerable little units which, in agriculture, as in everything else in India, brings the country into importance; and this fact is so closely interwoven with the whole social, industrial and legal network of India, that it bears a strong influence even upon the future question of Indian _versus_ American wheat.

[Ill.u.s.tration: PLOWING IN INDIA.]

The Indian agriculturist,--"Ryot,"--can in no sense be compared to the American farmer, but rather to the late serf of Russia. He is a tenant on hard conditions, and is by custom and bigotry almost a fixture on the spot of land where he was born; his farming is done on a very small scale and according to old methods, to which he clings with religious veneration; his wants are very few, and he endures poverty and even hunger with patience; he cultivates his patch of five to fifteen acres on shares for the landed proprietor,--"zemindar,"--who holds under rental to the government, and the better half of his gross income generally goes to the zemindar, the priest (Brahmin) and the usurer, in the form of rent, presents, offerings and interest, and if he can net ten cents a day by his hard and hopeless labor, that will suffice for the most pressing wants of his household. His home is a mud, or bamboo-hut, his property a pair of small bullocks, a few cows, calves and goats, a wooden cart, and a few bra.s.s and earthen pots, in all worth about fifty dollars, and his implements and tools are of the rudest kind, such as his ancestors used a thousand years ago; and yet he is making some progress under British rule, and finds his wants increasing, and at the same time better outlets for his produce and better recompense for his labor, and on the whole, is so independent on ten cents a day, that he will eat or store his wheat rather than sell it below a certain price. Of course he does not employ machinery in farming, but plows his land with a crooked piece of iron-pointed wood, harrows it with an instrument resembling a common ladder laid flat on the ground and dragged by little bullocks crossways over the field; he sows by hand, reaps with a rude sickle, carries the sheaves home on his back or in the bullock cart, threshes them with a wooden club, or lets the cattle tramp out the grain, and cleans it by hand-winnowing.

[Ill.u.s.tration: LABORERS AT THE INDIGO PRESS.]

India of course yields a great number of other kinds of agricultural products, especially the indigo plant, from which the renowned dye-stuff is made; rape, mustard and other species of seeds from which oils are pressed, the opium plant, etc.

In the cities and towns the people devote themselves to trades and handicrafts, in some of which they attain greater perfection than any other people. Their beautiful carvings in wood and ivory, their exquisite embroideries, their textiles and yarns exceed everything in that line. But their ability is not due to any genius or ingenuity, but to close observation and patient application. According to their religious tenets the sons must learn the trade of their father, and they begin to work at his side as soon as they can handle a needle, chisel, or other tool, and continue the practice day after day, year after year, until they also in turn, have taught their children and grandchildren the same trade. Certain places are noted for certain industries, as Dakka for its fine muslin; Benares for its embroideries, etc. The muslin weavers of Dakka can with their hands spin and weave fabrics which are almost as fine as cobweb, and a person who is not accustomed to such work would not be able to feel the thread between his fingers; but the sensitiveness of the Hindoo spinner in Dakka has been developed to such an extraordinary degree during a hundred generations that he is able to perform works which would be perfectly impossible for others. I have seen a garment presented to a Hindoo king which was so fine in texture that, although it was a complete suit, it was folded up and safely packed into a mango sh.e.l.l, which is only a little larger than an almond sh.e.l.l, and thus presented. I have in my possession a little box two inches wide and four inches long, made of sandal-wood and adorned with fine carvings; all the edges are inlaid with pieces of ivory, in which are again inlaid more than two thousand separate pieces of different metals so skilfully put together that the joints can not be detected even by using a magnifying gla.s.s.

In architecture the Hindoos also distinguished themselves centuries ago by the erection of buildings which are still objects of the admiration of the world. One of these master works of architecture is regarded as the most beautiful ever erected by the hands of men. It is the Taj-Mahal at Agra, a mausoleum erected by emperor Shah Jehan over the remains of his wife, Bengos Begum, who died in 1630. "During a period of seventeen years after her death Shah Jehan collected building material of marble and precious stones to be used in the construction of the mausoleum. All parts of India contributed to this, as did the different parts of the Holy Land to the temple of Solomon, and its estimated cost is twenty-five million dollars. It is built in Moorish style, with slender pillars, and its majesty and beauty profoundly impress the beholder.

Many buildings in the world excel this temple in size, but none can rival it in ideal beauty and finish. It looks more like a temple of thanksgiving and praise than an abode of sorrow, and the spirit of love seems to fill its silent chambers, quickening and warming the cold marble and transforming the whole building into a dream, into a psalm in stone. It is rich in mosaics, and precious stones of different colors a.s.sume the shape of fresh vines and living flowers. There it stands in solemn silence on the banks of the Jumna, like an enchanted vision. It seemed to grow in magnificent splendor before my eyes as I approached it. The airy dome and the white marble pillars glittered in fabulous, mystic beauty, and towered far above the gigantic cypress trees, which stood in rows like sentinels around it. One enters the park in front of the main building through a pillared archway of colossal dimensions, built of red sand-stone and surmounted by twenty-six white cupolas. The height of the arches is one hundred and forty feet.

[Ill.u.s.tration: TAJ-MAHAL.]

"Taj-Mahal is erected on a base of red sand-stone nine hundred and sixty-four feet long and three hundred and twenty-nine feet wide, one side of which is washed by the river Jumna, and on each of the four corners is a tower of red sand-stone covered by a white marble kiosk.

Two mosques take up the east and west sides. From this ground rises a fine terrace of white marble, three hundred and thirteen feet square, in the center of which is the beautiful main building itself. At each angle is an airy marble spire of exquisite style, surmounted by a n.o.ble cupola resting on eight pillars. They are about one hundred and fifty feet high, and a spiral stairway leads to the very top. The ground-plan of Taj-Mahal forms a regular octangle. The four sides on which the entrances are located are each about one hundred and thirty feet long, and turn to the four cardinal points of the compa.s.s. The roof is seventy feet above the base. Over each corner is a gorgeous spire, and over the center towers a marble dome measuring seventy feet in diameter, and rising to a height of one hundred and twenty feet. It is covered by a gilt vault in the shape of a half-moon about two hundred and sixty feet above the floor. All this is of the finest Jaypoor marble, carefully polished, and still retaining its pure color.

"Notwithstanding the colossal size of Taj-Mahal, every part of it, from the foundation to the dome, is adorned with artistically executed designs, and the whole is as carefully wrought as the finest ebony ornament. Thus the entire Koran is inscribed on it. Even to-day the burial vault of the beautiful queen is filled with the fragrance of roses, jasmines and sandal-wood. The graves of the empress and emperor const.i.tute sarcophagi of the purest marble, covered with elegant inlays of agate, carnelians, lapis lazuli and other precious stones, and surrounded by a six-foot-high gallery in the open net-work of which lilies, roses and other flowers of gems are inlaid. The dome in Taj-Mahal produces an echo which is more pleasant, pure and lasting than any other. A single musical sound produced by the human voice seems to flow or soar up there like a prolonged, pleasant modulation, which dies away so slowly that one seems to hear it after it is silent, just as one seems to see a lark after following it with the eyes after it has disappeared. Twenty thousand workmen were engaged for twenty-two years in erecting this mausoleum."

These recollections from India would be incomplete if I should omit to describe some of the wonderful tricks which I saw performed by Hindoo jugglers. As I was sitting one day in an open place before the hotel in Benares, together with some English army officers, an ordinary looking Hindoo of the lower cla.s.ses, accompanied by a small boy, appeared before us, and asked permission to show the mango trick. This being granted, the boy sc.r.a.ped up some earth on the road before our eyes, and made a little mound of it on the floor of the open veranda in front of the hotel. The magician, who had no other garment on than a loosely wrapped cotton cloth, usually worn by the men, and in his hand a white cloth and a little bag containing a few sticks and other small implements, stooped down beside the little mound of earth, and, with his eyes fixed on us, took a mango kernel about twice the size of a peach stone, which he planted in the little mound. Having smoothed the mound with his hands he recited several prayers and incantations, and made some motions over the mound with a magic wand, carefully a.s.suming an air of expectancy. After a minute or two we saw the mound slowly opening at the top and the tender shoot of a plant coming up through the crack. The Hindoo sat with folded hands, occasionally breathing on the plant, and every now and then he would invoke some invisible being. Meanwhile the plant grew taller and more solid, until it finally a.s.sumed the shape of a dwarf tree, which kept growing and sent out branches and leaves. This development took place gradually and slowly, until finally a ripe mango fruit was seen hanging down from one of the branches. During this wonderful performance the magician had only now and then for a moment covered the plant with the cloth in his hand.

At another time, when I was on the deck of a large steamer, a Hindoo accompanied by a little girl asked the pa.s.sengers to permit him to perform a trick. This being granted, he placed a round wicker basket, resembling a paper wastebasket, on the deck, and the little girl sat down in it so that her head and feet were flush with the edge of the basket, which was thus fairly filled up by the girl. Thereupon the Hindoo put the cover on and took a long, straight, double-edged sword which he ran through the basket in all directions. It was a shocking sight, some of the ladies screamed, others fainted. But when he removed the cover from the basket the girl came out alive and without injury.

The sword was handed to us for inspection, and I am perfectly sure that it was a straight, solid, honest infantry weapon. During all this time the basket stood on the deck of the ship so that no springs, machinery or other contrivance could be concealed under it.

Snake charmers are very common in India. "When one of these is to perform a trick he asks for a piece of paper, which he puts in the out-stretched hand of the spectator, and begins to play on his flute, and stare with his eyes as if he sees something near the hand. His whole body seems to be changed; writhing like a worm, he continually plays on the instrument and keeps his eyes riveted on the hand. Suddenly he rushes forward and points to the same. But the spectator sees nothing, and the charmer again plays and contorts his body still more wildly. His arms are bare up to the elbows, and he holds the flute with both hands.

Suddenly he throws his flute away, continues his motions and repeats incantations. Again he points to the paper, and while the observer turns his eyes in that direction without seeing anything unusual, the charmer presses his folded hands down on it and pulls out three large cobras, raising their heads and stretching out their poisonous tongues in different directions while he holds them in his hand."

[Ill.u.s.tration: SNAKE CHARMERS.]

These and similar tricks are performed daily, yet no one has been able to detect how they are done. The theory of hypnotism has recently been advanced, and it does not seem improbable.

The following extract from my journal may be of interest:

Oct. 8, 1882.--Yesterday I witnessed one of the most important expressions of public opinion ever recorded in Asia, in favor of religious liberty. Three thousand prominent persons, mostly Hindoos and Mohammedans, and a few Christians and Pa.r.s.ees, a.s.sembled in the city hall of Calcutta, and brilliant speeches were made eliciting most animated applause from the native non-Christian inhabitants as a protest against the police prosecuting the salvation army, lately arrived in Bombay. What do the American and European Christians think of the necessity for Brahmins, Mohammedans, and Pa.r.s.ees to protest against prosecutions by Christians against Christians?