Across India by Oliver Optic

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A bountiful collation was then served in another apartment, at which the
Maharajah presided. He spoke English as fluently as any person present, and
was very affable to all. The Italian band played during the repast, and the
Guicowar declared that it was the finest music he had ever heard. General
Noury had been placed on his right as the one highest in rank of any
present.

The king proved himself to be exceedingly well informed in regard to the
United States, and was even able to talk intelligently with the gentlemen
about Morocco. Though he had a wife, a mother, and a young daughter, they
were never presented to the gentlemen of the party, though the ladies were
permitted to make their acquaintance, and learned more from them about
Hindu domestic life than they could have obtained from any others.

"To-morrow will be a great day in Baroda," said Sir Modava to the
commander. "It is the great Sowari, a procession such as none of your
people ever saw, I will venture to say; and his Highness has provided
places for all of you where you can see the whole of it in detail."

The king announced this great state occasion himself before the lunch was
finished, and gave the visitors a cordial invitation to witness the
procession. The "Big Four," a term of which the viscount and Sir Modava had
already learned the meaning, were very impatient to do some hunting. They
had brought their guns with them, and Louis informed the Hindu gentleman of
their desire.

"Is there any place near the palace where we could find any game?" he
inquired.

"Not in the palace grounds, but within a few miles of it a very rugged
region may be reached, and a road-wagon will be provided for you. I will
speak to the Guicowar about it," replied Sir Modava; and he broached the
subject at once.

In half an hour a vehicle was at the door; and the boys were ready, dressed
for the hunt, and with their guns in their hands. Two officers were
appointed to attend them, and both of them spoke English very well. The
vehicle provided was a kind of coach, the floor of which was cushioned, so
that several persons could sleep on it during a long journey. It was drawn
by four high-spirited horses; and, though the road was bad, it was driven
at a high rate of speed; and in less than an hour they alighted in a wild
region, where there was not a building of any kind to be seen.

The two officers directed the servants to take some boards from the top of
the carriage, with which they stated their purpose to make a platform in a
tree, where they could watch for game; but the boys objected to this
arrangement, and declared that each of them would hunt on his own hook.

"But suppose you should come across a tiger, for they have been found here,
though I hardly think you will see one," said one of the officers. "What
would you do then?"

"Shoot him, of course," replied Scott. "What are our guns for?"

"But you may fire half a dozen balls into him without disabling the beast,"
added Khayrat, the principal officer. "Tiger-hunting is dangerous sport,
and you can't be too careful."

But the boys were very confident, and all of them were good shots; but they
had never tried any hunting of this kind. Khayrat said there was plenty of
deer in the vicinity, and they had better confine their attention to them.
If they approached the foothill of the Vindya Mountains, which he pointed
out to them, they might find tigers. With this warning, the "Big Four"
separated, and struck into the jungle. Khayrat followed Louis, for he had
been informed that he was the most important person in the quartet. Adil,
the other officer, kept near Scott, who appeared to be the most reckless of
the four.

Felix was not attended by any one; but he had not gone more than a hundred
yards before he saw a huge cobra directly in front of him, bestirring
himself as though he "meant business." The fellow stood up, and he looked
mad enough to chew up the hunter. But before he had time to discharge his
piece at the monster, for he looked as though he was six feet long, Felix
heard a rustling in the bushes at his left, and a moment later a
disturbance on his right.

[Illustration: "He saw a huge cobra directly in front of him."--Page 242.]

He looked in the direction of the noises, and saw two more cobras lifting
their vicious heads into the air. These were more than he had bargained
for; and, believing that discretion was the better part of valor, he
climbed a tree in which he saw a convenient resting-place. Between him and
the three snakes there was a small pool of water, half concealed by the
bushes, and the reptiles had probably come there to drink or to obtain for
food some of the amphibious creatures that lived there.

The enthusiastic sportsman had hardly begun to climb the tree before he
heard a hissing behind him, and discovered another cobra. Two of the four
in sight were much smaller than the other two, and he could easily believe
he had come upon a family of them. He got a position in the tree, and lost
no time in attacking the enemy. He was a good shot, for he and Louis had
both been thoroughly trained in a shooting-gallery in New York. He gave his
attention to the one nearest to him, and wondered he had not trodden upon
him as he came to the spot.

As this one stood up Felix could see the top of his head, and he decided to
use his revolver first. He fired; and, as the reptile was not ten feet from
him, so skilful a marksman could hardly help hitting him. He did hit him,
and the ball passed through his head. He wriggled a moment, and then
stretched himself out at full length, dead.

One of the larger ones was within twenty-five feet of him, and he used his
repeating rifle this time. He slipped a little in his perch as he
discharged the piece, and the ball went through the snake's body, which was
furiously mad, hissed and shook himself. He held still a moment, and then
Felix fired again. The ball seemed to tear his head all to pieces, and he
dropped down out of sight. He had to fire several times to kill the other
two; for, as he expressed it, they "would not hold still."

But he had killed the four, and felt just as though he had settled the
snake question. Most of the natives, who are oftener the victims of the
cobra than the white people, go about in the dark with naked feet, and it
is not strange that they are bitten. He descended from the tree, and went
to examine the game he had brought down. Cutting some pliable sticks, he
dragged the serpents together, and passed a withe around them behind the
hood, and started back for the rendezvous where they were to take the
carriage. He was determined to convince Scott that he was not afraid of
snakes.

He had already heard several shots, and realized that his companions had
found game of some kind. He waited a full hour for them, when Louis
returned first, with a very handsome deer slung on a pole with Khayrat
carrying the other end. Morris came in with a monkey, which the officers
would not have permitted him to kill if they had been near him. Scott came
in last with only a couple of birds.

"Did ye's mate ony cobrys, Musther Scott?" asked Felix.

"Not a cobra; and I didn't want to meet any," replied Scott, disappointed
at his luck.

"You's air afeered of the schnakes," rallied the Milesian.

"So are you, Flix. If you saw one you wouldn't stop running till you got
back to Baroda," returned the third officer of the ship.

"But I have seen four of them in my little walk, and I'm not doing any
running just now," said Felix triumphantly.

"Go 'way with you, Milesian, and don't tell any fish stories!" replied
Scott, continuing to blackguard him while the servants were putting the
deer on the top of the wagon.

"Do you want to carry those snakes back to the palace?" asked Khayrat.

"What snakes?" asked Scott.

"I'll be most happy to introjuce you to four uv 'em I killed," added Felix;
and Scott was convinced against his will, and the dead serpents were put on
the wagon.

In another hour they reached the palace, and the game was exhibited to a
wondering audience. The officers explained how so many of the cobras
happened to be together; but Felix had reached a correct conclusion before.
Mrs. Blossom scolded him for not running away when he saw the first one;
but he declared he had to prove that a boy with Kilkenny blood in his veins
was not afraid of snakes.

CHAPTER XXVI

THE MAGNIFICENT PROCESSION OF THE SOWARI

Felix had to repeat his story, and he was regarded as quite a hero by the
Americans, though Sir Modava and other natives thought but little of it.
Mrs. Blossom continued to scold at him for not running away from the
serpents.

"How could I run away when I was surrounded by the snakes?" demanded Felix,
when the worthy lady's discipline became somewhat monotonous to him. "If I
had done what you say I should certainly have been bitten. I did better: I
climbed the tree, and bagged the whole four at my leisure."

"But snakes can climb trees," persisted the excellent woman.

"I suppose they can, but they don't always; and I knew the one nearest me
wouldn't do much climbing with a hole through his head. Besides, they say
the cobra does not come at you unless you meddle with him, like the
rattlesnake. I suppose I disturbed them, and they hoisted the flags to let
me know they were in town. I wanted to reduce the number of the varmints a
little."

"But why did Khayrat tell me I ought not to have shot a monkey?" asked
Morris.

"Because monkeys are harmless, and the Hindus consider them sacred. Before
you get to Calcutta you will find them housed in temples. Besides, the
natives are very tender of all animals," replied Sir Modava.

"In the hospital for lame ducks and superannuated bullfrogs we visited in
Bombay, do they take in sick cobras?" asked Felix. "Do they nurse lame
tigers?"

"They do not; it would not be quite safe to do so. Morris, the monkey you
shot will be decently buried," said the Hindu gentleman.

"I am willing; for, though they eat them in some countries, I don't hanker
after any monkey-flesh," replied the young hunter. "I met a man at my
father's house who had lived for years in Africa, and he said they ate the
boa-constrictor there,--the natives did, not the white people."

"So I have heard; but many Hindus never eat meat at all," added Sir Modava,
as the party retired to dress for dinner.

The party were to dine at the palace with the Guicowar, and it was to be a
state dinner. Though contrary to Hindu etiquette, the ladies were all
invited, and they were treated with "distinguished consideration." It was a
very elaborate occasion, and a few speeches were made at the last of it.
The principal one was by the king himself, who enlarged upon his relations
with Lord Tremlyn and Sir Modava, whom he regarded as two of his best
friends.

From this point, he dwelt upon his esteem for the commander of the
Guardian-Mother, who had rendered a service to India in saving them from
certain death, which they, better than he, could understand and appreciate.

Captain Ringgold and General Noury made fitting replies; and the party
returned, escorted by a score of torch-bearers, to the "Garden of Pearls"
as the summer palace in which they were lodged was called. They appeared
early in the morning, and after they had taken their coffee Louis and Felix
took a long walk outside the palace walls. At the gate they saw a little
animal which seemed disposed to make friends with them. They had brought
their guns with them, and Felix was on the point of firing at him when
Louis interposed.

"That's a mongoose," said the latter. "Haven't you heard of him?"

"Never did."

"The creature is a sort of ichneumon, with a long body, extending back of
his hind legs, which gradually decreases in size till it becomes his tail.
His body is long, even without the portion of it which belongs to his
caudal appendage. He has a small head and a sharp nose, and is something
like a weasel. He has the reputation of being the great serpent-killer of
India, and many wonderful stories are told of him. He is very useful about
a house in destroying rats and other small nuisances."

The mongoose ran along ahead of the boys while Louis told what he knew
about him. Felix protested that a little fellow like that couldn't do
anything with such a cobra as he had shot the day before, for the snake was
a trifle more than five feet long. They had gone but a short distance
farther before Khayrat stepped out from a tree which had concealed him.

"There's a cobra in here somewhere," said the officer, who was one of the
king's huntsmen. "I brought out my mongoose, but the little rascal has left
me."

"There he is, just ahead of us," replied Louis. "He seems like a kitten, he
is so tame."

"He is my pet, and I am very fond of him, for I think he saved my life
once. I was just on the point of stepping on a cobra when Dinky attacked
the snake and killed him after a fight," added Khayrat. "I think he is on
the track of the enemy, for the serpent killed two chickens last night."

"There he is!" exclaimed Felix, as he brought his gun to his shoulder.

"Don't fire! Let Dinky take care of him; for my pet is spoiling for a
fight, as one of the Americans said yesterday," interposed Khayrat.

The serpent was a large one, though not equal in size to the one Felix had
shot the day before. He had erected his head, and spread out his hood, and
he looked as ugly as sin itself. He knows all about the mongoose, and seems
to have an instinctive hatred of his little but mighty enemy.

The little snake-killer made a spring at him, and then skilfully whirled
himself around so that the snake could not bite him. Dinky knew what he was
about all the time; and though his foe struck at him several times, he
dodged him and put in several bites. After considerable manoeuvring, the
snake appeared to have had enough of it, and deemed it prudent to beat a
retreat. He dropped on the ground, and headed for a thicket; but this was
just what Dinky wanted. He sprang upon the neck of the cobra, placing his
fore-paws on him, and then crushed his spine with his sharp teeth. The
serpent was dead, after writhing an instant.

The fight was ended, and Khayrat caressed the victor. Louis declared that
the mongoose was a friend worth having, and immediately made a bargain with
the huntsman to procure him a couple of them, and send them to Calcutta.
They returned to the palace; and at the breakfast-table Louis told the
story of the battle, in which all the Americans were much interested. But
the business of the forenoon was the great Sowari, or public procession;
and the party were conveyed in carriages to the pavilion, from the veranda
of which they were to see the spectacle. An abundance of easy-chairs was
provided for them, and they were made very comfortable.

It required more than an hour for the procession to pass the point of
observation; and when the last of it had disappeared in the distance all
the Americans declared that they had never seen anything, even in Europe,
which could be compared with it in variety and magnificence. It was an
Oriental spectacle, and the tourists could easily believe they had
witnessed a pageant that had stepped out of the pages of the "Arabian
Nights."

First came the regular soldiers of the Maharajah, who were sepoys, all
under the command of English officers; and they marched like veterans who
had been drilling half their lives. They were followed by a company of
Arabs, who seemed to have been imported for the occasion. Sir Modava
explained what the troops were as they passed. Next came a whole squadron
of Mahratta cavalry, which looked as though they were serviceable soldiers
of that arm, for they were good riders, well mounted, and were all lusty
fellows.

After the cavalry came a troop of dromedaries with small cannons mounted on
their backs, with gunners to work the pieces. The military portion of the
procession was completed by several regiments of the Guicowar's special
army. Following the household troops, apparently acting as an escort, came
the royal standard-bearer, a personage of decided importance in an Oriental
pageant. He was mounted alone on a huge elephant, magnificently caparisoned
and adorned with the royal standard, a flag of cloth-of-gold, on a long
staff.

In front of the elephant marched a band of eighteen or twenty native
musicians, playing upon all sorts of Indian instruments, including
tom-toms, lutes, like flageolets, cymbals, and horns. Surrounding the great
beast that had the honor to bear the flag of the Mahratta States were
numerous horsemen, all clothed in the richest Oriental costumes, armed with
spears and curved sabres, with shining shields, and steel gauntlets on
their hands. All these, and all the others, wore white turbans,
picturesquely folded.

Behind the standard-bearer were two more elephants, each decked in all the
splendor of the East; and mounted upon them were some of the great
dignitaries of the court, over whom servants held highly fringed and
ornamented umbrellas. In the procession was a troop of camels, all dressed
out in the style of the horses and elephants. To say that the Americans
were dazzled by the splendor of the scene would be to state it very mildly,
for they were literally confounded and overwhelmed; and yet they had not
seen the great feature of the spectacle, the Guicowar himself. Sir Modava
had to talk very fast to describe the scene as it passed before them.

A dozen men, handsomely dressed like all the others, presently appeared,
each bearing on a long pole something that looked like a crown. This was a
sort of incense-censor, in which perfumes were burned, and from which a
column of blue vapor proceeded. They were immediately before one of the
king's elephants, which now came in front of the veranda. He was a gigantic
creature, bearing on his back a howdah of solid gold. He was robed like the
others, and the portions of his skin in sight were fantastically painted in
various designs.

The howdah was surmounted by two pyramidal roofs, one in front of the
other, supported by small columns. At the end of the elephant's tusks,
which were sawed off square, were attached bouquets of rich feathers. On
each side of the huge beast was a platform, suspended at the outside by
golden cords, on which stood four men very richly dressed. One of them
bears the hook, or pipe, presented to the Guicowar by the viceroy, another
waves a banner, and the others flourish fans of peacock feathers. In front
of the mahout is planted an ornament reaching nearly to the top of the
howdah.

The golden howdah was presented by the Queen and Empress of India, and
glitters with diamonds and other precious stones. The two domes make it
look like two pavilions, and in the forward one sits the Guicowar in solemn
dignity. He wears a tunic of scarlet velvet, which is covered with gold and
diamonds. In fact, he seems to have diamonds enough to freight a schooner.
Either he or one of his predecessors purchased a brilliant for which he
paid the bagatelle of four hundred thousand dollars. Under the rear
pavilion, and behind him, is the king's prime minister.

One of the officials at his side is the king's herald, who unfolds a flag
of cloth-of-gold, and flourishes it before the people, and there are not
less than a hundred thousand of them in the streets. As he does so he
announces in good Hindustanee and in a loud voice a proclamation:
"_Srimunt Sircar! Khunderao Guicowar! Sena Khas Khel! Shamshar
Bahadoor!_"

"Exactly so," said Felix in a low tone.

"I suppose it is not given to outsiders to know what all that means?" added
Louis.

"Certainly it is," replied Sir Modava. "It means, 'Behold the King of
Kings, Khunderao Guicowar, whose army is invincible, whose courage is
indomitable.'"

"Is that in a Pickwickian sense?" asked Scott.

"Not at all, for the Guicowar is as brave a man as ever put a foot into
shoe-leather, or went barefooted," replied Lord Tremlyn, "though there is a
little exaggeration common to the Orient in the proclamation."

As his Majesty came in front of the veranda the party rose and saluted him
with low bows, and the waving of handkerchiefs by the ladies. He responded
with a kingly smile and a graceful wave of the hand. The procession passed
on, and shortly afterwards the booming cannon announced that the moment of
the solemn benediction had come. The attentive officials of the court
presently appeared with the carriages, and an invitation to the whole
company to dine with the Guicowar again at his table.

They had to wait an hour for the king, but they found enough to interest
them in observing the coming of numerous other guests. In an ante-room the
floor was almost covered with shoes, many of them of the richest material,
even with precious stones upon them. Sir Modava explained that Eastern
etiquette required that the visitors going into the presence of the
Maharajah should remove their shoes, but that Europeans and Americans were
exempt from this requirement.

When the party entered they found the king seated in an apartment open to
the air of heaven on two sides. All were barefoot or in their stocking-feet
except the Gruicowar, who occupied a bench, or platform, at one side. He
had removed his state garments, and was dressed in a suit of white linen.
Most of the native officials present were seated on the floor; but the
gentlemen of the visitors were invited to sit with his Highness, though
only Lord Tremlyn and Sir Modava accepted it.

CHAPTER XXVII

VARIOUS COMBATS IN THE GUICOWAR'S ARENA

The party remained a week at the palace of the Guicowar, and every day had
a new pleasure or recreation. The king was as familiar with all the members
as though they had belonged to his own household. He was sociable with
them, and they ceased to be embarrassed in his presence. Even Mrs. Blossom
no longer trembled before him, and he was as jolly with the boys as though
he had been one of them.

On the day after the Sowari the gentlemen of the party were conducted to
the arena of the elephants, which was a large enclosure, reminding those
who had seen them of the bull-rings of Spain. It was surrounded by
buildings; and on one side, behind a wall, was a vast area of elevated
ground from which the people of the town could witness the scenes presented
in the arena.

The ladies of the party had made the acquaintance of those of their own sex
in the household, and the sports of the day had been discussed among them.
On this day it was to be an elephant fight. The native women did not
attend, for they never took part in any public affair. Mrs. Belgrave, as
soon as she learned the nature of the entertainment, promptly declined to
be present at it, and the others were of the same mind.

To make the best of it, it was a brutal sport. The elephant is a noble
beast, so intelligent that he deserves the consideration of man; and to
them it seemed barbarous to set them fighting, even if the animals had
belligerent instincts, though they never displayed them in their
domesticated condition unless under strong provocation. Some of the
gentlemen regarded the exhibition as but little better than a prize-fight;
though they all attended the occasion, for the more sensitive ones thought
it would be impolite to decline the invitation, especially as the
exhibition was got up especially for them.

They were ushered into a large apartment, one side of which consisted of
lofty arches, through which the display could be witnessed. At either end
of the arena was chained a monster male elephant. A number of female
elephants were on an elevation near it; and it seemed as though they were
placed there for the same reason that the ladies were admitted to the
tournaments of the knights in England and France. It was said that these
females had a decided taste for such fights, and possibly the sight of them
stimulated the male combatants.

There were a number of men, very slightly clothed, in the ring, who seemed
like the _chulos_ of the Spanish arena, though their functions could
hardly be the same; and there were many openings in the walls through which
they could escape, instead of leaping over the fence, as the bull-fighters
do. Some of them were armed with lances, and others with a stick with
fireworks at the end.

The Guicowar entered the spectators' apartment, which was already well
filled with nobles and the foreigners. He was dressed in white linen, with
an elegant cap on his head. He had a fine athletic form, and wore a short
beard. He was not inclined to take the special arm-chair assigned to him,
but walked about, speaking to his guests, not omitting the boys, to whom he
appeared to have taken a fancy.

His Highness gave a signal, at which the mahouts took their places on the
necks of the big beasts, and the chains which secured the combatants were
cast off. The monsters roared, and, with their trunks elevated, advanced to
the affray. They increased their speed as they came nearer to each other.
They rushed together, as Scott expressed it, "head on," and the strangers
seemed to feel the shock through their nerves. It was so violent the beasts
dropped upon their knees forward.

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