A Popular Account of the Manners and Customs of IndiaAcland, Charles
History
A Popular Account of the Manners and Customs of India
Acland, Charles
India -- Description and travel; India -- Social life and customs
from some one who had wandered from the path, answered as shrilly by
the other men. As the fog thickened everything disappeared. The path
was barely discernible, and I almost wished myself at home. However I
trusted to the sagacity of my sure-footed little pony, and he carried
me safely over the sand-hills and through the hollows for about
three-quarters of an hour, when I heard a shout in front, announcing
that Mr. L. had reached the water. I soon came up with him. We
waited till our servants joined us, then dismounted, gave our horses
to the syces with orders to be at the same place at six o'clock on
Thursday evening, and embarked in a large boat, which, to render it
water-tight, or rather to keep it afloat, was filled up to the seat
with bushes and brambles trodden into a compact mass.
The boatmen told us that two nights before, as three carts were going
along the path to Chogga, a tiger had sprung out and carried off the
man in the centre cart, and that a few days earlier two men had been
carried away from the village itself. The other side of the river is
a steep bank without sand, and by the time we reached it the day was
just breaking, of which, to tell the truth, I was by no means sorry.
[Sidenote: SPORTING.]
On the bank we found the coolies whom we had sent forward the evening
before, and who had waited there for us, being afraid to proceed
through the jungle until they had the protection of the sahibs. There
we took our guns, &c., into our own hands, girded on our belts, in
which were thrust our long hunting knives or daggers and our pistols,
letting our servants carry our powder-flasks, shot-belts, &c. This is
done in order to be able to load with greater rapidity, the servant
holding the shot, wad, cap, &c., in readiness. He also carries a
heavy ramrod with a round knob at the top, as the drawing the ramrod
from the gun, returning it, and hammering away with it at the powder,
which you must do on account of its lightness, might frequently cause
delay that might be fatal. Most people, for the sake of safety, use
double-barrelled guns; mine was, however, only single, but the barrel
was long enough for two.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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