Across India by Oliver Optic

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Then they began to twist their trunks together, and buck with their tusks.
For some minutes the giants wrestled together, but the combat proved to be
of brief duration. The party could see that one of them was getting the
worst of it, and was inclined to "hedge." In fact, he had had enough of it;
but he was too wise to abandon his tactics when it was time for him to
retreat. Mustering all his power, he made a desperate effort, and succeeded
in forcing the other back enough to turn his huge body without exposing his
flank to the tusks of the enemy, and then beat a hasty retreat.

The vanquished brute was removed from the arena, and the victor remained
alone on the field he had won; but he had only come to the beginning of his
troubles, for there was a second act to the affair. The men, who were armed
with whips, fireworks, red cloths, and other instruments of torment,
assailed him. They pricked him with the javelins, shook the red banners in
his face, and fizzed the pyrotechnics before his eyes. They tormented the
poor creature till he was furious. He had no adequate weapon for this
unequal and unfair warfare.

He chased one assailant and then another, being as often turned aside from
his intended victims by the thorning of the other tormentors. As he became
a little more accustomed to the game, he ceased to be diverted from his
victim and confined his attention to only one. The red banners, the blows
from the whips, and the fizzing of the powder, did not affect him. He
pursued his victim till the man was glad to save himself by dodging through
one of the narrow doors in the wall, where the monster could not follow
him. He butted against the wall, and then pounded the earth with his feet
in the fury of his wrath.

If the man had far to run he would inevitably be lost; for the elephant,
clumsy as he appears to be, develops great speed of foot when he is
excited. An incident was related by one of the nobles to Captain Ringgold
as the runner disappeared within the door. A young man who was very swift
of foot was closely pursued by the elephant, and had reached the door, when
he was seized by the arm, tossed in the air, and came down heavily on the
ground. The foot of the infuriate beast was raised to crush his skull, when
another man flashed a Bengal light in his face, with the flame almost in
his eyes, and the giant bellowed and fled.

At the blast of a bugle all the men in the ring suddenly deserted it. The
elephant looked about him for any new assailant, and was immediately
provided with one. A door flew open, and a fine looking fellow, mounted on
a magnificent horse, dashed into the arena. After the manner of the
_matador_ in a bull-fight, he conducted his steed, prancing in his
pride, up to the arch at which the Guicowar stood, and saluted him with the
grace of a knight-errant whose head was full of ladies.

The elephant is said to have an especial aversion to a horse; and the
tormented beast in the ring at once manifested the prejudice of his race,
for he made a dart for him. The horse did not flinch, but stood still till
the giant was almost upon him. Then, at the command of his master, he
wheeled, and the rider gave the big beast a smart punch with his lance. For
a few minutes there was a lively skirmish between them, the horseman
pricking him on the trunk or the flanks, and the rage of the elephant was
at its highest pitch.

The fleetness of the horse and the skill of his rider kept the latter out
of harm's way till the elephant seemed to be exhausted. The Americans
thought he had done enough for one day, and the horseman retired. The great
beast which had borne the brunt of three combats was allowed to cool off,
and then his mahout conducted him to the rest he had bravely won. The
nobles in attendance were sufficiently civilized to indulge in betting, and
wagers had been made on the various fights in progress. Mr. Woolridge, who
was a reformed sportsman, may have been tempted; but he did not feel at
home in this kind of sporting, and he did not break through any of his good
resolutions.

After the elephant had been removed, there was no little excitement among
the assemblage in the veranda, and the betting seemed to be livelier than
ever. A dozen officers armed with rifles and lances were stationed about
the walls of the arena; and then an iron-bound cage was drawn into the
enclosure, which contained a monstrous tiger. The guests wondered if this
fierce brute was to be loosed in the arena, and they examined with interest
into the safety of the situation. A number of rifles were brought into the
veranda, with which the Guicowar and his native guests armed themselves.

"What does this mean, Sir Modava?" asked Captain Ringgold.

"The next battle will be a noble one, and immense wagers are depending upon
the result," replied the Hindu gentleman.

"Is that big tiger to fight the crowd here assembled?"

"Not at all; but it is such a battle as has never been fought here, if
anywhere. His Highness had long desired to see a bull-fight, and he
imported four of the finest Spanish bulls his agent could find. The
_toreadors_ came with them; but they all refused to fight in this
arena, which they declared was not adapted to the purpose, and they went
home. Three of the bulls died of disease, and only one was left. A
discussion arose as to whether he was a match for a tiger. This battle is
to settle the question; and the bets are mostly in favor of the tiger,
though the Guicowar, with a few others, places his stake on the bull," Sir
Modava explained.

The tiger was released from the cage at a signal from the king. He leaped
from the cage, and seemed to be astonished at the sight of so many people.
Three officers took possession of the brute's prison, armed with rifles to
shoot him if he killed the bull. No person was in the ring, or within reach
of the savage animal. The door by which the horseman had entered was thrown
wide open, and the bovine, vexed to the highest degree of wrath, came into
the arena with a bounding run.

The tiger had advanced quietly to the centre of it, though with the royal
mien of the "king of beasts," as he was here, his eyes like a couple of
coals of fire. He caught sight of the bull as soon as he appeared, for he
had doubtless killed many a bullock in the jungle. He planted himself on
the ground in readiness for a spring. His present enemy saw him at the same
instant; but he did not halt, or show any signs of fear.

[Illustration: "The striped beast went up into the air."--Page 263.]

The bull crouched his head, increased his speed, and bounded on the tiger.
At that moment the striped beast went up into the air so quickly that the
audience could hardly see how it was done. His horned foe showed that he
had not wholly escaped, for his head was covered with blood. But the tiger
was not yet defeated. He sprang to his feet, and darted furiously at his
enemy. He fastened with claws and teeth upon the neck of the bull, and the
king believed that his wager was lost.

But the Spaniard shook him off, and turned upon him again, tossing him
higher in the air than before. He came down badly disabled; and the bull,
as though it was the finest sport in the world for him, gored him with his
long horns till the life was gone out of him. The Spaniard was the victor.
The people shouted themselves hoarse; but their cries were in honor of the
Guicowar, and not the bull. The victor had lost a great deal of blood from
a bad wound in the neck, and it was a question whether or not he would die;
but he did not; he recovered, and before the tourists left India Sir Modava
learned that he had been killed in a battle with a smaller tiger than the
first.

Though the guests said but little about it, most of them were disgusted
with these spectacles, and considered them cruel and brutal. They remained
their week at Baroda. Those who desired to do so were taken to a hunt one
day with a cheetah, in which this animal killed deer and other animals; and
on another, on elephants, for tigers. Two tigers were killed, and Louis
Belgrave had the honor of shooting one of them. Felix brought down a couple
of cobras; and killing them seemed to be his forte. Khayrat invited the
party to witness a battle between his mongoose and a couple of cobras his
hunters had caught; and he killed them both, one at a time.

They all declined to attend a fight between a couple of coolies, with horn
spikes attached to their hands, for this was worse than a prize-fight. But
there was no end of amusements that were not brutal, and they enjoyed
themselves abundantly to the end of their stay. They visited the temples
and the palaces of the nobles, where they were received with the utmost
attention. Captain Sharp and his wife declared this was the red-letter week
of their lives; but the commander of the Blanche insisted that he must take
his ship around to Calcutta, and left by train for Bombay the day before
the company departed.

The Guicowar resorted to various expedients to retain his guests, with whom
he was evidently sincerely pleased; but the commander was inflexible. It
was not possible to see a tithe of India, and he felt obliged to leave at
the expiration of the time he had fixed for the visit, and he begged Lord
Tremlyn and Sir Modava not to place them in any more courts, or they would
never get out of India. The train was prepared for their departure, and, in
addition to the compartment cars in which they were to pass most of their
time, a carriage was fitted up, so that all of them could assemble in it;
in fact, it was a conference hall on wheels.

CHAPTER XXVIII

AT THE CAPITAL OF THE PUNJAB

An early breakfast was provided for the travellers, and at this repast the
farewells were spoken. Speeches were made by all the principal persons of
the party of Americans, and by the Moroccan magnate, expressive of the very
great enjoyment of the visit, and in praise of the liberality of the kingly
host's hospitality. Captain Ringgold returned his thanks quite eloquently.

The Guicowar again enlarged upon the service the commander had rendered to
India in saving the lives of two of his best friends, who had also been the
friends of his country, and his only regret was that the Americans could
not remain longer. Lord Tremlyn and Sir Modava could not in a lifetime
discharge their obligations to their friends who had entertained them like
princes on board of the Guardian-Mother.

The ladies did not make speeches; but they expressed their gratitude to his
Highness in a less prominent manner for the kindness extended to them, and
at the close of the entertainment Miss Blanche advanced to the king, and
presented to him a package containing the photographs of the whole company,
and that of General Noury, each with the autograph upon it.

"I am very sorry that our party are unable to present to your Highness a
gift in keeping with the magnificence of the hospitality extended to us,"
said the beautiful young lady; "but this package contains the photograph of
every member of our company, and we beg that you will accept them as the
only tribute of our gratitude for your kindness which is available to us at
this distance from our homes. We leave behind us our best wishes for the
prosperity, health, and happiness of your Highness."

The Guicowar declared that he should value the gift more than all the gold
and gems that could have been gathered together, and he should always
remember with delight the fairy who had presented them to him, and it would
afford him the greatest pleasure to look in the future upon the faces of
those whose presence at the palace he had so greatly enjoyed.

The actual parting was the scene of a great deal of hand-shaking, mingled
with pretty speeches. The Guicowar went with them to the station, and saw
them seated in the great carriage that had been prepared for them. The
train moved off, with handkerchiefs waving at every window, and with a
profusion of gestures on the part of the magnificent host. It required some
time to talk about the scenes at the court of the king, though all of the
party were observing the country through the windows.

It was a strange country to the Americans; and they found something to look
at all the time, though it was a wild and rugged region for the first two
hours, with only a single town that was noticeable in that time. As they
were passing out of Baroda, the viscount called their attention to a
building at some distance from the road, and called it a "travellers'
bungalow." It was a very comfortable house, where tourists may find hotel
accommodations, though they are hardly hotels. They are provided by the
government, and are to be found in all the travelled regions of India. They
are sometimes free for the rooms, but the guest pays at a very low rate for
his food.

"We are coming now to Ahmedabad, which is in Gujrat, or Goozerat, for you
take your choice in regard to many of these Indian names; and this city is
its chief town, and the second in the province of Bombay. It was formerly
one of the largest and most magnificent cities of the East, as the ruins
still indicate. It contains several elegant mosques, but the town has not
more than a seventh part of its former population of nine hundred
thousand," said Sir Modava, as he opened a travelling-bag, and took from it
a large bundle of photographs.

"Oodeypore is the capital of a Rajputana state; and its palace is said to
be the largest and most magnificent in India, though the town has a
population of less than forty thousand. The maharajah entertained the
Prince of Wales in it when he made his progress through the country. It is
built in the mountains, and it would be a troublesome journey for us to
reach it. The next city of any importance to which we shall come is
Jeypore, and we shall dine there."

When the train stopped for water a lunch was sent to the compartments, to
which all the passengers now retired for the rest of the day. At Jeypore
dinner was served, good enough, though not elaborate. At the table Sir
Modava passed around some photographs of the place, including the palace of
the Maharajah, the Golden Kiosk, and the temples of the valley of Ambir. It
was impossible to visit all the wonderful structures on the road without
spending at least a year in the country; and a dozen volumes would hardly
contain the description of them. The palace at Jeypore is half a mile long,
and contains one seventh of the area of the town.

Though the railroad passed within fifty miles of Delhi, the train sped on
its way to the north all night and nearly the whole of the next day,
arriving at Lahore at five in the afternoon. No towns of any considerable
importance were passed during this long stretch of 540 miles. Though Lord
Tremlyn and Sir Modava, with their friends, were invited to the residence
of the lieutenant-governor, the party went to the Victoria Hotel, for the
viscount thought it would be an imposition to quarter them on the chief
authority, being eighteen in number.

"We are now in the Punjab, the north-western corner of India," said the
Hindu gentleman, when they were seated in the parlor of the hotel. "It is
watered by the Indus and five of its branches, on one of which, the Ravi,
Lahore is situated. Punjab means five rivers. It has a population of more
than twenty-five million; and, General Noury, it has more Mohammedans than
the whole of Morocco. I will not give you any more statistics, for I fear
you would not remember them."

"Thank you, Sir Modava," added Mr. Woolridge.

"The manufactures of silk, cotton, and metals are very important; for the
soil is not very fertile, though cotton, rice, sugar, indigo, and all kinds
of grains and fruits, are raised. Lahore is the capital of the Punjab, and
has a population of a hundred and seventy-seven thousand, though it once
contained a million. At this point we are near the Himalaya Mountains.
About a hundred and fifty miles east of Lahore is Simla, nearly eight
thousand feet above the sea. This is a noted sanitarium; and in the hot
season it is the resort of thousands of people, including the highest
officers of the army and the government."

"Is this as near the Himalayas as we are to go?" asked Scott.

"About as near, though at Patna you will be about one hundred and fifty
miles from Mount Everest, the highest peak on the earth."

"I should like to go there," added Scott.

"You couldn't climb it; and what good would it do you? I could mention a
hundred places in India I should like to visit; but it is not practicable
to do so," added the commander. "We can only take along with us a few
specimens of the wonderful country, and make the best of them."

After dinner the party divided up according to their own fancy, and went
out to walk, though some were too tired to do so. Louis invited Miss
Blanche to go with him; and she was always glad to be in his company,
especially as Sir Modava was to be his companion. The first sight they saw
in the street was a regiment of Punjab sepoys, a well-drilled body of men,
not very different from the soldiers they had seen in other countries.

They wore frock-coats, buttoned tight to the throat, and a sort of turban
on the head. Their faces were swarthy, but none of them wore full beards.
There were plenty of street sights after the regiment had passed. The
different kinds of vehicles attracted their attention first. In a kind of
gig drawn by a horse, two men and two women were crowded together. The
driver seemed to be seated behind, and one of the women was on the floor in
front of the two who were seated. By the side of the man on the seat was a
girl of sixteen or eighteen, and she was very pretty.

In a two-wheeled cart drawn by a humped bullock were a couple of Hindu
ladies, under a canopy supported by four poles. Then came a camel bearing
two bearded men on his back. Two or three palanquins were seen; but they
were an old story, and they turned their attention to the architecture of
the houses that lined the street. There was an abundance of what we call
bay-windows, and ornamented balconies. There was a great deal of variety in
the construction of these appendages of the houses; and all of them were
occupied by ladies, who wore no veils over their faces, though most of them
were doubtless Mohammedans, and the yashmak had evidently gone out of
fashion.

"There is the dak-bungalow," said the Hindu gentleman as they passed a
building of considerable size.

"What is a dak-bungalow?" asked Louis.

"It is one which answers the purpose of a hotel. I pointed one out to you
at Baroda. Sometimes they are free so far as the rooms are concerned; but
here the guest pays two rupees a day, or fifty cents of your money, and the
food is furnished at a low price."

"But this is not half so much of a place as I expected to find," said
Louis, after they had walked an hour, and it was time to return to the
hotel.

"It is a place of considerable importance, though there are not so many
temples, mosques, tombs, and other fine structures, as in many other cities
of India; and I wondered that the commander had placed it in his list of
places to be visited. Jeypore and Oodeypore would have been far more
interesting to your party," replied Sir Modava. "Yet you will see some of
the finest structures in the country before you reach Calcutta."

The company returned to the hotel at an early hour, and all of them were
tired enough to retire at once. But they were up at six in the morning, and
the four boys went out to explore the city by themselves for a couple of
hours. Even at this early hour the ladies, old and young, were in the
balconies, and they were much occupied in observing the latter. Though the
yashmak, or veil, was not often used to cover the face, it appeared to have
been only thrown back upon the head.

After breakfast carriages were at the door to convey the party to the more
interesting sights of the city. At the request of Lord Tremlyn, they were
driven first to the office of the lieutenant-governor, to whom they were
presented. The government buildings are in Lawrence Hall Gardens, where
there is also a memorial building in honor of Lord John Lawrence, the first
lieutenant-governor, who won his distinction in subduing and ruling over
the Punjab.

They were next conveyed to the mosque of Jehanghir, built of red stone, and
so much like a score of other mosques that they were not much interested in
the building. The mosque of Vazir Khan pleased them more; for it was a
beautiful edifice, though crumbling before the ravages of time. But even
here they were more pleased on observing the loafers around the entrance
and in the court in front of it. An old bald-headed Hindu, with a beard as
white as snow, was a study to the boys; and perhaps it was fortunate that
the subject of their remarks did not understand English, or there might
have been another war in the Punjab.

The cook-shops in the street were instructive to them, and they watched the
customers with interest; but, as they had attempted to eat in a Turkish
restaurant in Constantinople, they were content with looking on. The
minarets of the Vazir Khan pleased all the party, for they were certainly
very beautiful. They went to the Golden Temple of Amritsar in the
afternoon, and were impressed with the beauty of its surroundings.

Lahore was rather a disappointment to the tourists, though it would not
have been if they had not spent some days in Bombay before visiting it. The
train in which they had come from Baroda was to be used by them as far as
Calcutta, and they were ready to leave that night. The journey was by a
different route from that by which they had come, and through a more
densely populated region. It was a bright moonlight night when the train
passed out of the capital of the Punjab.

They had gathered in what they had come to call the Conference Hall
compartment; and as they looked out into the light of the evening they
believed they could see some of the peaks of the Himalayas, though Lord
Tremlyn doubted it. Possibly they saw some of the peaks, for Mount Nauda
Devi was within a hundred miles of the point on the railroad where they
would be in the morning; and this is more than twenty-five thousand feet
high. Mont Blanc is seen in very clear weather at the distance of a hundred
miles, and it is about eight thousand feet less in height.

They were awake very early in the morning, and they certainly saw some high
mountains in the distance, but could not identify them by name. At eight
o'clock the train rolled into the station at Delhi, perhaps the most
wonderful city of India.

CHAPTER XXIX

THE WONDERFUL CITY OF DELHI

The Mohammedans of Bombay whose acquaintance General Noury had made were
wealthy and influential men; they had notified their friends in other
cities of the coming of the distinguished Moroccan, and he had several
invitations to make his home in Delhi with them. Lord Tremlyn and Sir
Modava were even more abundantly tendered accommodations from British and
Hindu persons of distinction.

Captain Ringgold had no friends, and received no invitations, though the
entire company of tourists were included in those of both the general and
the distinguished gentlemen who had insisted upon being the hosts of the
party. But the commander was a wealthy man himself, and a very independent
one. To throw a company of a dozen and a half upon the generous hospitality
of private individuals, or even public officials, seemed like an imposition
to him.

The viscount and his Hindu companion were equally sensitive on this point;
and it was proposed by Sir Modava to divide the guests among those who had
not only given the invitations but had pressed them upon the travellers.
The others did not like this plan; and, after some consideration, it was
decided to go to a hotel; at least it was suggested as the remedy by the
commander, who again insisted upon paying the bill. But there was no
suitable hotel in the place. The dak-bungalow was the only resort, though a
hotel was soon to be opened. Those who were consulted in the party were all
for the bungalow, and the problem was finally settled in this manner.

A couple of small omnibuses were taken, and the party proceeded to the
dak-bungalow, which was in the centre of the city. Their apartments were
not elegant, but they were comfortable; and no one found any fault at the
absence of the splendors with which they had been surrounded in the palace
of the Guicowar, or even those of Bombay. A good breakfast was obtained,
and the forenoon was given up to rest; but after a couple of hours in their
chambers the company were assembled in the coffee-room.

"Delhi is a city which figures largely in the history of India," said Lord
Tremlyn, seated very informally in an arm-chair. "It existed fifteen or
twenty centuries before the time of Christ, and was the capital of the
great Aryan empire. It was founded by the invaders of India. The chronology
of India is not reliable, but it is claimed that this event dates back to
3101 B.C. Its name was Indrapechta, which it holds to the present time
among the learned Hindus, so that the city appears to have existed while
Egypt was still in its infancy.

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