The Humour and Pathos of Anglo-Indian Life: Extracts from his brother's note-book, made by Dr. TicklemoreMayer, J. E.
General
The Humour and Pathos of Anglo-Indian Life: Extracts from his brother's note-book, made by Dr. Ticklemore
Mayer, J. E.
British -- India; India -- Social life and customs
The officers at that time wore those horrid little forage-caps covered
on line of march with black oilskin. To ride fourteen miles with such a
covering to the head, under a burning sun, was infinitely worse than
being exposed to the hottest fire. My informant, the doctor, assured me
that if he had not devised a special defence he must have fallen from
his horse from sunstroke. His plan was this: he arranged with the
regimental puckally (that is, the man who attends with a bullock
carrying two mushues, or bullock-hides, filled with water) to be always
close at hand during the march. Nothing but this could have saved him.
He utilized the mushues in this way: before starting on the second march
he had taken out two towels, which the puckally kept constantly soaked
with water. One, well-soaked, was placed under the forage-cap, and as
soon as it got heated it was replaced by the other. All the officers
resorted to the use of wet cloths, but no one carried out the plan so
systematically as the doctor did, and he escaped as well as any of them,
though he had previously suffered from sunstroke.
At last the second march was accomplished, but the men were so tired and
exhausted that they had taken five hours and a half to do it, though
they had performed the first fourteen miles in little more than four
hours. Both men and officers were so dead-beat that, on reaching the
ground, everyone wanted to throw himself down where he stood; but
necessary duties had to be attended to. Luckily some Bamans, Bunganies,
as they were called, had halted at this stage, and readily supplied the
men with the various grains they wanted; and large mango-tops afforded
shelter from the sun, and gradually food and rest were obtained.
By-and-by palanquins, tents, and carts arrived, and the officers got
better shelter and their usual food; and as there was a halt for the
next day, all things gradually fell into working order. On the morning
after the halt, the march was resumed, and in a week the regiment
reached the cantonment of Secunderabad.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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